I am late to the party this morning, but I like the quetzal better than the the quetzalcoatlus, the pterosaur that was perhaps the largest flying animal ever.
I have somewhere a photo I took of a Resplendent Quetzal through a binocular lens. It's a good picture and the lens made the picture come out as well color circle over a black background. I thought it was cool.
An important Aztec deity used quetzal feathers to make ultra-stylish clothing.
Quetzalcōātl was wise and awesome and all-around a great god to have on your side. He was also the god associated with favorable winds making him a proponent of renewable energy.
I forget the name of the deity whose portfolio is filled with unfavorable winds. Trumpalcōātl?
When my daughter was tiny, one of the books I would read to her was an animal alphabet book; Quetzal was the Q animal. I couldn’t even get past “and Q is” when gales of laughter would erupt “QUETZAL!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” I still don’t know what she found so funny about it.
His AI Wikipedia competition is just a temper tantrum because Wikipedia won't change their entries naming him the founder of Tesla and SpaceX simply because he isn't the founder of either, and he can't find the leverage to make them do it.
Despite the great universities and multinational pharma companies that do research here, Boston is a small, parochial town. The people who are most upset about Wu are the local big fish in this small pond. It's not worth giving them the ink. They're inconsequential (but don't realize it) and it's long past time we start treating them that way.
The flaw in the 25th is that it must be initiated by the President's cabinet. If you think (and I do) that we'll never get him impeached because Republicans in Congress will stop it, being cultists as they are, then why would we think that his hand-picked Cabinet of currently overpaid and always incompetent toadies could ever be convinced to invoke the 25th?
Jefferson wrote, and Lincoln quoted, "[W]henever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it[.]" But no actual process has ever been provided to accomplish this. And, honestly, I don't know what it could be. Possibly a national referendum, analogous to recall elections in some states? And even then, we would be stuck the JD Vance.
Jefferson was part of the landed/monied oligarchy that decided to ditch the King, and then 12 years later to ditch the Confederation, because neither one was working well for their commercial interests. We make much of the agrarian/tradesman divide, and it did end up in a Civil War, but ultimately both revolutions were by the American business elites.
Jefferson liked to fetishize the actual proletarian revolution that happened in France, but he was never going to man the barricades.
Trump's actual popular base was and still is small. When he loses the business elites, he's toast. That's how it's always been, and it hasn't changed yet.
Erm, 'Pope Bobby from Chicago' is still pro-FORCED BIRTH, still pro-homophobia, and still misogynist (e.g. anti women holding positions of power in his church), last I checked.
Hilarious addendum to Josh Kraft losing in Boston: he outfundraised the mayor by something like 6:1, but the majority of his donations were from him. She he lost like $5M in this whole thing. What a jackass.
| I have never understood the evangelical thing of God wants us to make the earth dirtier? Because “dominion”?
As I understand this bizarre belief, it's that their god made the Earth specifically as a human playground and source of commodities for humans to use - and abuse - in whatever ways we like. Since that's the god's plan, the god will also clean up our messes and continuously restock the world with stuff for our comfort and benefit like some kind of cosmic janitor tidying up a planet-shaped loo.
Yesterday was the last hard push for getting ready for winter. With the help of a smart, strong teenager, we moved the rest of my stuff back into the garage in sort of a reverse Tetris. I still need to get the walls painted so I had to keep them accessible. And then the shelving and the lumber rack needed to be accessible so that it could go up and then the stuff that goes up in the shelves goes up, and then the lumber rack needed to be accessible, and then wood that’s gonna go up on the rack, and also all the tools needed to mount this stuff need to not be buried, and then somehow everything in there has to still be reachable, and leaving the boiler clear, plus room enough for the boiler guy to come in and do his annual. Like I said, reverse Tetris.
I also needed to get everything under shelter because the snow is coming, and I used the porch on the house, and a sheltered area next to the garage to store stuff, and I needed those clear for the coming winter, so I could walk safely on the porch, and so I could stack the firewood for next year under the overhang by the garage.
There will not be a quiz. I’m just saying all this because in spite of the hot bath last night, I am so, so sore this morning. But I knew today was coming. I had hoped to have all this done a few months ago, but for several reasons I did not.
There’s one little pile left of stuff that needs to get sorted and a lot of that is going to the dumpster site. But the other, stuff that I could not have done on my own, is done. And I am here to whine and say, I am so sore. Ouch. But that’s behind me.
I admit that I was kind of stupidly hoping for a financial miracle. But my rent has come due, and tomorrow I have to shell out more money I don't have for my monthly bus pass.
SNAP should have a higher maximum benefit amount--$130 doesn't last but half the month, and then I'm screwed. I shouldn't be paying $300 a month for rent--i don't make enough money as it is. And maybe I shouldn't be typing this all out. I'm depressed and sad, and it's affecting my thinking. Goddamnit.
Thanks. It means a lot to hear that. I know I whine about lack of money a lot, but life is difficult right now. Talking about it definitely helps—more than some people might know
I just come here to whine sometimes. And somehow, it always helps.
I hope you have other resources around, like food banks and community refrigerators and gleaning. It’s a struggle to be resourceful when you’re hungry, and I’m really sorry that you’re going through that. It’s a struggle to be resourceful when you’re depressed and sad. Sometimes going back to sleep is the wisest course of action.
Thanks. Sadly, even if I could somehow get to the local food bank, they're so underfunded there's a waiting list. Maybe at some point I'll get a blast of great news today.
My daughter lives in an urban area, and she told me about community refrigerators, which I thought is such a cool idea.
Gonna ask some questions, feel free to ignore them if you wish. I tend to go into problem-solving mode, and the questions give mea picture of your situation. You mentioned difficulty getting to the local food bank, so I’m guessing transportation is difficult for you? You mentioned getting a bus pass, so I assume that’s your transportation. Is it a pretty good system? Does it take you near the places you need to go? Do you live near a place that has a community kitchen? Do you live by yourself or do you share housing? Do you have a place to store staples? Do you have foods that you will not or cannot eat? Do you have a place to cook? Do you have to share refrigerator space? Do you have a pet that you’re responsible for?
I retired this summer, because it was completely time more than a matter of my being completely financially ready. So I am learning a new set of skills in terms of making do and getting by on a lower income. I also live in a place that is kind of the end of the road when it comes to food delivery, and more than once I’ve seen empty grocery shelves. It’s kind of a shock after being accustomed to abundance.
But I am adapting, learning new strategies, changing the way I shop. I have a pantry, and for the first time I’m thinking about how to make really good use of that. I made a soup over the weekend using a rotisserie chicken carcass, rice, and lentils and vegetables, and it was really good, and made about five meals out of it. I’m hoping to get a garden started in the spring, and a berry bed. A few weeks ago, I saw a free small refrigerator freezer at what we have for free cycle here, and first I was trying to think of somebody I knew that could use it, and as I was driving home, I turned around and went back and got it for myself. And by having that extra storage space, I can go for a few weeks longer without going to the grocery store, and buy stuff on sale.
Everybody’s situation is unique, but we’re also often on a similar journey. This is such a great support system, and I am so grateful to get the help here that I so often find, whether regarding repairing a washing machine, or a refrigerator or a light switch or a phone, or people to walk beside me when things are difficult with a pet. So by asking all these questions, I am trying to pay it forward here. If it’s helpful, I’m interested, and if you’ve got this, I respect that.
Sometimes these solutions don’t come in ways that we are hoping for. In the absence of a windfall, tenacity and stubbornness and kicking over rocks until you find an answer can be a pretty good second.
Thankfully, the bus system around here is pretty good (when it works), and I'm lucky enough to live on a bus route. The problem I'm going to have after today is that my bus pass will expire, and I don't have the funds to reload it. I live alone (I wouldn't want a roommate, especially not in my one-bedroom apartment). I wish my diet was more flexible, but my body rejects pretty much all vegetables, but things like potatoes and noodles and meats of all kinds are my diet as it is.
Four years ago I had no idea how to cook for myself. It's been a wild ride learning, but thankfully I have yet to poison myself or seriously injure myself in cooking. (Although I did once nick my finger while cutting onions. I remember my thought in the moment was "wait, I don't think onions are supposed to be pink...")
🤭 nope, typically onions, are not supposed to be pink. But onions are a great vegetable, and they can make a lot of boring foods bearable.
I remember reading that you have limited hours of work available, but thankfully at least you have a job. Can you talk to the people at the bus station and see if they have any kind of assistance available for low income people? Sounds like it would be time to reach out to any resources available. If you’re already getting snap benefits, that might open the door for receiving other help. Energy assistance might pay your heating bill, for example.
If you know that you’re gonna get paid in a few more weeks, buying a daily bus pass until that comes through might be the way you have to go.
I’ve been getting a lot of ideas off of YouTube for frugal eating. And if there’s a soup kitchen around, I wouldn’t hesitate if I needed to make use of that resource. Sometimes local churches will help people in need even if they’re not members. I have a friend who gets her electric bill paid, fuel oil paid, they’re buying her a new stove from the LDS church. It’s hard to reach out for help, I know, but a lot of times people will be generous with things like food and fuel, but not money. It’s hard to find the resilience to ask for help when you’re feeling discouraged, but food is a basic necessity.
If you have a friend with a Costco card, a lot of things are a whole lot cheaper there than they would be at a regular grocery store.
HuffPost: "FBI Director Kash Patel said the law enforcement agency will no longer work with the Anti-Defamation League, following conservative backlash over the organization's decision to include Turning Point USA in a "Glossary of Extremism And Hate." "This FBI won’t partner with political fronts masquerading as watchdogs," Patel said in a Wednesday post on X, which also knocked former FBI Director James Comey for his ties to ADL. The Anti-Defamation League, which describes itself as a "nonpartisan organization that fights antisemitism, extremism," was previously praised by Comey for the training it ran for FBI agents on hate crimes."
The resplendent quetzal is pretty freakin’ resplendent. Learn more about your hed gif bird here: https://martiniambassador.substack.com/p/the-resplendent-quetzal
And here’s your meme chat: https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/e95518c8-7bc4-4745-abbb-4d58e0b4d784?utm_source=share
That looked refreshing.
I'm psyched that I guessed right what kind of bird it was. Because, as usual, it's all about ME.
Perty birdy Martini. Thanks!!!
Here's that photo I mentioned...
https://substack.com/profile/156014256-whale-chowder/note/c-162202489?r=2kvxdc&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web
Gorgeous, WC!
I am late to the party this morning, but I like the quetzal better than the the quetzalcoatlus, the pterosaur that was perhaps the largest flying animal ever.
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fi02mhqg53lfa1.jpg
I dunno, man, quetzalcoatlus was pretty freaking cool.
Not like I'd want one nesting in the backyard or anything, but still cool.
Getting ka-bobbed by that beak might be a problem.
I have somewhere a photo I took of a Resplendent Quetzal through a binocular lens. It's a good picture and the lens made the picture come out as well color circle over a black background. I thought it was cool.
That was an interesting science fact about the need for iron-free water for the quetzals to thrive.
I wrote a poem about the quetzal in high school. For a time, I was obsessed with Mesoamerican history.
I still am! Fascinating stuff that I’m always happy to read about and include a little in my stories when it pops up.
An important Aztec deity used quetzal feathers to make ultra-stylish clothing.
Quetzalcōātl was wise and awesome and all-around a great god to have on your side. He was also the god associated with favorable winds making him a proponent of renewable energy.
I forget the name of the deity whose portfolio is filled with unfavorable winds. Trumpalcōātl?
Didn't the Spanish claim the Aztecs thought their first Spanish visitors were Quetzalcoatl and hangers-on?
Gorgeous creatures!
"But one thing resplendent quetzals of any age really love is avocados..."
Me too!
"...they will swallow the fruit whole, consume the flesh and then regurgitate the pit."
Stand back...
"...resplendent quetzals do put on a display of song and dance during mating season..."
Another thing we may have in common and certainly another reason to stand back!
Mighty fancy tail ya got there.
GIVE THE QUETZEL A PRETZEL!!!
From Mae Questel!
How about the "Gruejay" now being spotted in Texas?
https://share.google/e9fKxCuUcao1M5lTN
It is Teh Corvids!
What a beauty! Apparently it’s yet another species whose behavior has been affected by climate change.
https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/green-jay-south-texas-critter/
When my daughter was tiny, one of the books I would read to her was an animal alphabet book; Quetzal was the Q animal. I couldn’t even get past “and Q is” when gales of laughter would erupt “QUETZAL!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” I still don’t know what she found so funny about it.
An inherently funny word is always funny.
For instance: try the word "underwear" in front of any K - 5th classroom and be hailed as a comedy genius.
It's sort of like "pretzel".
Lovely Plumage!
"Enhance!"
"Can you get in closer?!"
Lovely plumage, and it's not even a Norwegian Blue!
An absolutely gorgeous boid.
The quetzal not only looks resplendent, but has a very resplendent name.
Seriously, I thought that was AI. Nothing could be that beautiful.
Thank you. I have less feathers.
(Fewer)
That too
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42889/hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers-314
AI could never create anything that beautiful.
Hey now
Elon Musk is a child.
His AI Wikipedia competition is just a temper tantrum because Wikipedia won't change their entries naming him the founder of Tesla and SpaceX simply because he isn't the founder of either, and he can't find the leverage to make them do it.
Despite the great universities and multinational pharma companies that do research here, Boston is a small, parochial town. The people who are most upset about Wu are the local big fish in this small pond. It's not worth giving them the ink. They're inconsequential (but don't realize it) and it's long past time we start treating them that way.
Can’t someone get him a 72 hour hold for threatening to harm someone else?!
The flaw in the 25th is that it must be initiated by the President's cabinet. If you think (and I do) that we'll never get him impeached because Republicans in Congress will stop it, being cultists as they are, then why would we think that his hand-picked Cabinet of currently overpaid and always incompetent toadies could ever be convinced to invoke the 25th?
Jefferson wrote, and Lincoln quoted, "[W]henever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it[.]" But no actual process has ever been provided to accomplish this. And, honestly, I don't know what it could be. Possibly a national referendum, analogous to recall elections in some states? And even then, we would be stuck the JD Vance.
Jefferson was part of the landed/monied oligarchy that decided to ditch the King, and then 12 years later to ditch the Confederation, because neither one was working well for their commercial interests. We make much of the agrarian/tradesman divide, and it did end up in a Civil War, but ultimately both revolutions were by the American business elites.
Jefferson liked to fetishize the actual proletarian revolution that happened in France, but he was never going to man the barricades.
Trump's actual popular base was and still is small. When he loses the business elites, he's toast. That's how it's always been, and it hasn't changed yet.
Erm, 'Pope Bobby from Chicago' is still pro-FORCED BIRTH, still pro-homophobia, and still misogynist (e.g. anti women holding positions of power in his church), last I checked.
Still Catlick, in other words.
Ted “Stop Attacking Pedophiles” Cruz can go eat a metric fuckton of rancid, unsalted rat dicks. With votes.
Hilarious addendum to Josh Kraft losing in Boston: he outfundraised the mayor by something like 6:1, but the majority of his donations were from him. She he lost like $5M in this whole thing. What a jackass.
I remember a time when the Reich Wing QAnon pre-MAGA nutz went ballistic over Operation Jade Helm. Now they cheer for invading free cities.
They've never had a problem with whips so long as they're on the right end of one.
SCOTUS is not so much "right wing" as "Pro-Capitalist". Fascinating where they draw the lines isn't it?
| I have never understood the evangelical thing of God wants us to make the earth dirtier? Because “dominion”?
As I understand this bizarre belief, it's that their god made the Earth specifically as a human playground and source of commodities for humans to use - and abuse - in whatever ways we like. Since that's the god's plan, the god will also clean up our messes and continuously restock the world with stuff for our comfort and benefit like some kind of cosmic janitor tidying up a planet-shaped loo.
That's not a cosmic janitor your describing.
It's an incel's mother.
Yesterday was the last hard push for getting ready for winter. With the help of a smart, strong teenager, we moved the rest of my stuff back into the garage in sort of a reverse Tetris. I still need to get the walls painted so I had to keep them accessible. And then the shelving and the lumber rack needed to be accessible so that it could go up and then the stuff that goes up in the shelves goes up, and then the lumber rack needed to be accessible, and then wood that’s gonna go up on the rack, and also all the tools needed to mount this stuff need to not be buried, and then somehow everything in there has to still be reachable, and leaving the boiler clear, plus room enough for the boiler guy to come in and do his annual. Like I said, reverse Tetris.
I also needed to get everything under shelter because the snow is coming, and I used the porch on the house, and a sheltered area next to the garage to store stuff, and I needed those clear for the coming winter, so I could walk safely on the porch, and so I could stack the firewood for next year under the overhang by the garage.
There will not be a quiz. I’m just saying all this because in spite of the hot bath last night, I am so, so sore this morning. But I knew today was coming. I had hoped to have all this done a few months ago, but for several reasons I did not.
There’s one little pile left of stuff that needs to get sorted and a lot of that is going to the dumpster site. But the other, stuff that I could not have done on my own, is done. And I am here to whine and say, I am so sore. Ouch. But that’s behind me.
I wish I could quickly find my quetzal photo from Costa Rica....beautiful birds!
Will Grokipedia go full mecha-Nazi? Probably. We know Muskrat always promises to “fix” Grok whenever it goes woke, ie, presents factual information.
Probably the most amazing thing is that Conservapedia has been out there being shitty for decades now but it still isn’t shitty enough for Muskrat.
This is the first time I've thought of Conservapedia in years.
I admit that I was kind of stupidly hoping for a financial miracle. But my rent has come due, and tomorrow I have to shell out more money I don't have for my monthly bus pass.
SNAP should have a higher maximum benefit amount--$130 doesn't last but half the month, and then I'm screwed. I shouldn't be paying $300 a month for rent--i don't make enough money as it is. And maybe I shouldn't be typing this all out. I'm depressed and sad, and it's affecting my thinking. Goddamnit.
I'm going back to bed for a couple hours.
Please continue to say what you feel here, CK.
You are among friends, even if we can't make it all better. We wish we could.
Thanks. It means a lot to hear that. I know I whine about lack of money a lot, but life is difficult right now. Talking about it definitely helps—more than some people might know
I just come here to whine sometimes. And somehow, it always helps.
I hope you have other resources around, like food banks and community refrigerators and gleaning. It’s a struggle to be resourceful when you’re hungry, and I’m really sorry that you’re going through that. It’s a struggle to be resourceful when you’re depressed and sad. Sometimes going back to sleep is the wisest course of action.
Wishing you well.
Thanks. Sadly, even if I could somehow get to the local food bank, they're so underfunded there's a waiting list. Maybe at some point I'll get a blast of great news today.
My daughter lives in an urban area, and she told me about community refrigerators, which I thought is such a cool idea.
Gonna ask some questions, feel free to ignore them if you wish. I tend to go into problem-solving mode, and the questions give mea picture of your situation. You mentioned difficulty getting to the local food bank, so I’m guessing transportation is difficult for you? You mentioned getting a bus pass, so I assume that’s your transportation. Is it a pretty good system? Does it take you near the places you need to go? Do you live near a place that has a community kitchen? Do you live by yourself or do you share housing? Do you have a place to store staples? Do you have foods that you will not or cannot eat? Do you have a place to cook? Do you have to share refrigerator space? Do you have a pet that you’re responsible for?
I retired this summer, because it was completely time more than a matter of my being completely financially ready. So I am learning a new set of skills in terms of making do and getting by on a lower income. I also live in a place that is kind of the end of the road when it comes to food delivery, and more than once I’ve seen empty grocery shelves. It’s kind of a shock after being accustomed to abundance.
But I am adapting, learning new strategies, changing the way I shop. I have a pantry, and for the first time I’m thinking about how to make really good use of that. I made a soup over the weekend using a rotisserie chicken carcass, rice, and lentils and vegetables, and it was really good, and made about five meals out of it. I’m hoping to get a garden started in the spring, and a berry bed. A few weeks ago, I saw a free small refrigerator freezer at what we have for free cycle here, and first I was trying to think of somebody I knew that could use it, and as I was driving home, I turned around and went back and got it for myself. And by having that extra storage space, I can go for a few weeks longer without going to the grocery store, and buy stuff on sale.
Everybody’s situation is unique, but we’re also often on a similar journey. This is such a great support system, and I am so grateful to get the help here that I so often find, whether regarding repairing a washing machine, or a refrigerator or a light switch or a phone, or people to walk beside me when things are difficult with a pet. So by asking all these questions, I am trying to pay it forward here. If it’s helpful, I’m interested, and if you’ve got this, I respect that.
Sometimes these solutions don’t come in ways that we are hoping for. In the absence of a windfall, tenacity and stubbornness and kicking over rocks until you find an answer can be a pretty good second.
I will try to answer your questions in order.
Thankfully, the bus system around here is pretty good (when it works), and I'm lucky enough to live on a bus route. The problem I'm going to have after today is that my bus pass will expire, and I don't have the funds to reload it. I live alone (I wouldn't want a roommate, especially not in my one-bedroom apartment). I wish my diet was more flexible, but my body rejects pretty much all vegetables, but things like potatoes and noodles and meats of all kinds are my diet as it is.
Four years ago I had no idea how to cook for myself. It's been a wild ride learning, but thankfully I have yet to poison myself or seriously injure myself in cooking. (Although I did once nick my finger while cutting onions. I remember my thought in the moment was "wait, I don't think onions are supposed to be pink...")
For now, I must get ready to head for work.
🤭 nope, typically onions, are not supposed to be pink. But onions are a great vegetable, and they can make a lot of boring foods bearable.
I remember reading that you have limited hours of work available, but thankfully at least you have a job. Can you talk to the people at the bus station and see if they have any kind of assistance available for low income people? Sounds like it would be time to reach out to any resources available. If you’re already getting snap benefits, that might open the door for receiving other help. Energy assistance might pay your heating bill, for example.
If you know that you’re gonna get paid in a few more weeks, buying a daily bus pass until that comes through might be the way you have to go.
I’ve been getting a lot of ideas off of YouTube for frugal eating. And if there’s a soup kitchen around, I wouldn’t hesitate if I needed to make use of that resource. Sometimes local churches will help people in need even if they’re not members. I have a friend who gets her electric bill paid, fuel oil paid, they’re buying her a new stove from the LDS church. It’s hard to reach out for help, I know, but a lot of times people will be generous with things like food and fuel, but not money. It’s hard to find the resilience to ask for help when you’re feeling discouraged, but food is a basic necessity.
If you have a friend with a Costco card, a lot of things are a whole lot cheaper there than they would be at a regular grocery store.
HuffPost: "FBI Director Kash Patel said the law enforcement agency will no longer work with the Anti-Defamation League, following conservative backlash over the organization's decision to include Turning Point USA in a "Glossary of Extremism And Hate." "This FBI won’t partner with political fronts masquerading as watchdogs," Patel said in a Wednesday post on X, which also knocked former FBI Director James Comey for his ties to ADL. The Anti-Defamation League, which describes itself as a "nonpartisan organization that fights antisemitism, extremism," was previously praised by Comey for the training it ran for FBI agents on hate crimes."
Patel is obviously anti-semitic.
Which is why Jews are such morons to cozy up to Nazi Rapeublicunts over Israeli genocide. These people haaaate you and are using you....news flash...
There's a new term out there for Republicans who don't support Netanyahu.
Woke Republicans.