Totes adorbs! One of your best TABS selections ever, MG! TY!
I had just completed a delivery last night around 11 pm and was driving back down the dark road to whatever was coming next when (and I still have no explanation for how I caught sight of this) I passed by something small and with eyes by the side of the street. What was that? I had to know!
So on the deserted avenue I stopped my truck and slowly backed up the fifteen feet until I was parallel with it and rolled down my window to better get a glimpse.
It was an owl! Likely a screech owl or maybe a sawhet owl and for a long moment we locked eyes; me wondering if it was hurt (I didn’t recall it then but when I was a botanist one summer I accidentally tagged an owl with my car early one morning on the way to work in the woods, stopped, rescued it, and eventually after passing through numerous hands -two of whom were Barry Lopez’s- it’s broken wing was healed and it was released back in the same spot where I had injured it to live out the rest of its best life) the owl trying to asses its safety.
After a long few seconds it flew up into the nearby tree leaving behind some kind of prey perhaps? It was so dark I couldn’t tell. But I was glad to see it seemed fine and drove on still marveling at how I had noticed it in the first place and what our encounter may have portended.
I'm fascinated by all kinds of raptors, and one of the best things about my new house is that, according to Merlin (the Cornell Ornithological Lab app), I have not one but two kinds of owl neighbors - Eastern Screech Owl and Great Horned Owl.
Less excellently, the whole backyard is so squishy that I suspect it's just a thin cover over a vast complex of mouse tunnels, but I guess that just means there's more than enough prey for multiple owl families to make a living.
I was working in my office one day last fall and heard a new bird-ish sound and just started Merlin up without looking out the window... it instantly told me it was wild turkeys, which led me to spend the next hour or so watching about 17 turkeys just noodling around my front yard and the yards of my neighbors.
Best hour ever, as turkeys only ever visited my old house once... and I got a ton of pictures to bore my friends and family with.
Every time someone references owls, my mind immediately goes to this excerpt from "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." I think it's among the most beautiful sentences in American literature:
"The stars were shining, and the leaves rustled in the woods ever so mournful; and I heard an owl, away off, who-whooing about somebody that was dead, and a whippowill and a dog crying about somebody that was going to die; and the wind was trying to whisper something to me, and I couldn't make out what it was, and so it made the cold shivers run over me."
Not fond of the word "huntress," or any "female-denoting" nouns, also "huntress" sounds a bit off in general. Not a word in current use, I think.
I do not want to tear the haiku to complete shreds, and I am not fond of it as a form to write in myself, but this is a pretty good one. Once I rewrote a poem of Dylan Thomas' to make it better. That's the kind of arrogant bastard I am!
"We're all going to Owl, if we don't change our ways!"
A sister of mine once voiced a fondness for the old children's book 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘖𝘸𝘭, (Said "Why?" instead of "Who?"), in the following half century, she has received owl merchandise, photos, paintings, figures, sunglasses and key fobs at every gift giving occasion... She and her kids have taken to saying "This Owl House" relentlessly too.
Right now the discussion is "Christmas or Thanksgiving at This Owl House?". I wonder what Bob Vila would say
Yeah. I told my mom I liked her date-nut bars one Christmas and now I get nothing else. And I hate the little buggers. Now that she voted for Trump, maybe I'll tell her.
The story of the clandestine photog taking pics of occupied Paris did not in fact have a happy ending, which is somehow fitting, it reminds me of French cinema, French directors don't feel they owe their audiences a happy ending. It was fascinating because, as the NPR story mentioned, there were very few pics of those days.
I was very happy to be reminded of Suzanne Vega. She sort of made me think of a 90's version of the Talking Heads, sweet, somewhat unusual tunes, interesting lyrics. Thanks.
Just want to say this Friday is the montly wonk meet up, San Francisco edition.
6PM
Eclipse Restaurant and Bar in the Embarcadero Hyatt Regency.
We sit at a table in front of the bar right of center as you cross from the elevators. Usually the tell is a woman in a wheelchair, but there's a chance I won't make it. Ask. The people who will be there will not savage you for asking. and if other people do, they may even (metaphorically) lick your wounds.
It's been a rough month, so spending an evening with some funny, warm, insightful, well-read people will be good for you. Also, we don't care if you just read, instead of being an active poster, or a seldom active poster. Life's too short to fuss about that. Please come, we'd love to meet you.
Today's tabs inspired me to delete X and create a Bluesky that I can also think about making use of and then not. But at least I won't be counted as a user on X for whatever advertisers are looking at that shit.
I love Suzanne Vega. She was one of my faves in the 80s and early 90s in my eclectic symphonic/folk/prog/metal period. Then I went full Riot Grrl and didn't look back at Vega for a good long while. Sue me. I have grown up into someone who can like it all, though, and now I happily listen to Vega and Le Tigre in the same playlist.
Late to check in as doing household management & reading first, today. But got in an email to finally propose an idea to Editrix that I've brought up to a number of you. It may also bring in greater engagement and *maybe paid!* readership to Wonketaria/Rebecca-Shy Household.
Some form of place for Wonks to bring ideas & questions, workshop, support etc to address:
Our own survival, a Survivor's Guide and Open-All-Night Diner, of sorts, to bring solutions In Light of Current and Changing Circumstances! BY WONKS, FOR WONKS. Not more work for Editrix.
Volunteer Mods, some kind of Wonk Hub or Dept, though not just our own Substack due to it's vulnerability to free unfetterable access by trolls etc.
Activities of Daily Living; yes, food security, also repairing/restoring/rescuing necessary or desirable items of common use, BUDGET & personal resources (utilities, blah blah whatever) management, Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without etc.
Support Resources incl. for psychological & medical issues, kids/elders needs, LAW concerns for those in most vulnerable positions, i.e., those we're nearest who are Trans, undocumented residents, have disabilities, POC, people who are pregnant & don't want to or cannot be. EDUCATION, also, too.
These are ideas for our own needs, in addition to our contributing to larger efforts in our local or national communities, the Getting Our Black Panther On.
I'm under-caffeinated so far but this is how much I remember from my previous mentions.
WASHINGTON ― Senate Minority Whip John Thune was elected the next Senate Republican leader on Wednesday, multiple outlets have reported, ensuring Sen. Mitch McConnell’s right-hand man will lead the new GOP majority. Thune beat his colleagues John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida in an internal party vote. A longtime member of the GOP leadership team who was first elected in 2004, Thune, 63, is an establishment figure who is likely to continue McConnell’s focus on confirming judges and advancing a traditional conservative platform: tax cuts, defense spending and deregulation.
[HuffPost] Elon Musk To Join Trump At House GOP Meeting: Reports
Elon Musk is expected to join Trump at the House GOP conference that's taking place in Washington this morning, both CNN and The New York Times reported, citing people close to Trump.
I watched a few videos last night about MAGAts crying that their families and friends are cutting them off because of their embrace of fascism. Their whining self-pity was very cathartic for me.
So, been meaning to explore BlueSky for a while, which of course entails making an account, the idea of which made me grumpy somehow. But, inspired by SER's tribute to the demise of Black Twitter (https://www.playtyperguy.com/p/long-live-black-twitter-but-not-on) and Evan's and Dok's frequent mention of being on the site, I kicked myself in the butt and did it. Yes, still SisterArtemis over there, same avatar.
If you are so inclined, be sure to friend all your favorite Wonkette folks, and if you cruise through Evan's follower's list, you'll find a lot of excellent accounts to follow - most of my favorite lawyers and journalists are there, plus a whole lot more.
Anyway, gonna explore over there for a while and see if it clicks. I like Mastodon (via Wonkodon) too, and BlueSky looks like a good complement to that and Wonkette.
All of this is in effort not to just crawl into a whole existing of work, home and stewing about things.
for the second day in a row, America was introduced to a whole new cast of toadies, lackies, dipshits, ass-kissers, incompetents, ideologues, and low-wattage empty suits whose current jobs are to look good on Fox News.
basically, America’s getting a clown show — and not a funny ha ha! clown show. nope, we’re getting sewer clowns.
Take a pause with snuggly owls. It’s your hed gif source info: https://open.substack.com/pub/martiniambassador/p/owl-ya-doing-out-there
And a blessed meme chat, amen: https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/fdcbae8c-fd23-40a1-ae32-fa7235b647bc?utm_source=share
𝘖𝘸𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴
𝘐𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴
🦉
Headline: "Snuggly Murderers Snuggle, Contemplate Murder"
Totes adorbs! One of your best TABS selections ever, MG! TY!
I had just completed a delivery last night around 11 pm and was driving back down the dark road to whatever was coming next when (and I still have no explanation for how I caught sight of this) I passed by something small and with eyes by the side of the street. What was that? I had to know!
So on the deserted avenue I stopped my truck and slowly backed up the fifteen feet until I was parallel with it and rolled down my window to better get a glimpse.
It was an owl! Likely a screech owl or maybe a sawhet owl and for a long moment we locked eyes; me wondering if it was hurt (I didn’t recall it then but when I was a botanist one summer I accidentally tagged an owl with my car early one morning on the way to work in the woods, stopped, rescued it, and eventually after passing through numerous hands -two of whom were Barry Lopez’s- it’s broken wing was healed and it was released back in the same spot where I had injured it to live out the rest of its best life) the owl trying to asses its safety.
After a long few seconds it flew up into the nearby tree leaving behind some kind of prey perhaps? It was so dark I couldn’t tell. But I was glad to see it seemed fine and drove on still marveling at how I had noticed it in the first place and what our encounter may have portended.
They are so cool. Spotting one in nature is a rare gift that I'm glad you got to experience.
I love owls, and I love these snuggly owls even more.
Thank you for snuggly owls. Very very nice.
Hooray!
I'm fascinated by all kinds of raptors, and one of the best things about my new house is that, according to Merlin (the Cornell Ornithological Lab app), I have not one but two kinds of owl neighbors - Eastern Screech Owl and Great Horned Owl.
Less excellently, the whole backyard is so squishy that I suspect it's just a thin cover over a vast complex of mouse tunnels, but I guess that just means there's more than enough prey for multiple owl families to make a living.
I RAN to download that app. Can’t wait to use it!
It's absolutely awesome!
I was working in my office one day last fall and heard a new bird-ish sound and just started Merlin up without looking out the window... it instantly told me it was wild turkeys, which led me to spend the next hour or so watching about 17 turkeys just noodling around my front yard and the yards of my neighbors.
Best hour ever, as turkeys only ever visited my old house once... and I got a ton of pictures to bore my friends and family with.
I embiggined that gif and I've been dwelling on it some.
I'm guessing that momma owl is some kind of fierce in defense of the fledgling
Thanks for the morning earls, Martini. Makes waking up a little less dreadful. ❤️
Every time someone references owls, my mind immediately goes to this excerpt from "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." I think it's among the most beautiful sentences in American literature:
"The stars were shining, and the leaves rustled in the woods ever so mournful; and I heard an owl, away off, who-whooing about somebody that was dead, and a whippowill and a dog crying about somebody that was going to die; and the wind was trying to whisper something to me, and I couldn't make out what it was, and so it made the cold shivers run over me."
and the wind whispered Mary. Wait, that's not it.
Close enough.
Don't they call the wind Mariah? Or is that Maria taking a letter?
*I haven't had enough coffee.
It’s “the most beautiful sound [he’s] ever heard. Maria.”
That is beautiful isn’t it. Thanks!
Snowflakes!
Cats with wings.
She guards the young child
Huntress in new fallen snow
Peace falls from above
Not "Death falls from above"? That would make the sharper turn for a haiku.
Apologies if unwanted, I am a tinkerer when it comes to werdz.
Aren’t the prints left in the snow after an owl catching prey called Death Angels?
That's my standard term for my 7th-grade students, but it works for the owls, too.
Mary Oliver wrote a poem about white owls
https://www.poemsthatilove.com/2010/09/white-owl-flies-into-and-out-of-field.html?m=1
I think peace is a better reverse from Hunter, though I don't get the first line, so that might be why I am not giving it more thought.
Not fond of the word "huntress," or any "female-denoting" nouns, also "huntress" sounds a bit off in general. Not a word in current use, I think.
I do not want to tear the haiku to complete shreds, and I am not fond of it as a form to write in myself, but this is a pretty good one. Once I rewrote a poem of Dylan Thomas' to make it better. That's the kind of arrogant bastard I am!
I like it. Very Dark Brandon.
Tinker away.
I alienated two complete girlfriends this way.
🥰
"We're all going to Owl, if we don't change our ways!"
A sister of mine once voiced a fondness for the old children's book 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘖𝘸𝘭, (Said "Why?" instead of "Who?"), in the following half century, she has received owl merchandise, photos, paintings, figures, sunglasses and key fobs at every gift giving occasion... She and her kids have taken to saying "This Owl House" relentlessly too.
Right now the discussion is "Christmas or Thanksgiving at This Owl House?". I wonder what Bob Vila would say
Hunter Thompson’s old place is ‘Owl Farm’
He'd chuckle, and remember Norm.
Yeah. I told my mom I liked her date-nut bars one Christmas and now I get nothing else. And I hate the little buggers. Now that she voted for Trump, maybe I'll tell her.
I grew up on that stuff. Send 'em my way
You could tell her your tastes have changed.
This is why you don't lie to people out of politeness.
Fairly festooned with things of and about 'em...
That fluffy wee owlet is just so perfectly precious!
Supurb Owls!!
Not yet - I think that's in February.
Here's my Bluesky handle: @rockymtngrrl.bsky.social
The story of the clandestine photog taking pics of occupied Paris did not in fact have a happy ending, which is somehow fitting, it reminds me of French cinema, French directors don't feel they owe their audiences a happy ending. It was fascinating because, as the NPR story mentioned, there were very few pics of those days.
I was very happy to be reminded of Suzanne Vega. She sort of made me think of a 90's version of the Talking Heads, sweet, somewhat unusual tunes, interesting lyrics. Thanks.
Just want to say this Friday is the montly wonk meet up, San Francisco edition.
6PM
Eclipse Restaurant and Bar in the Embarcadero Hyatt Regency.
We sit at a table in front of the bar right of center as you cross from the elevators. Usually the tell is a woman in a wheelchair, but there's a chance I won't make it. Ask. The people who will be there will not savage you for asking. and if other people do, they may even (metaphorically) lick your wounds.
It's been a rough month, so spending an evening with some funny, warm, insightful, well-read people will be good for you. Also, we don't care if you just read, instead of being an active poster, or a seldom active poster. Life's too short to fuss about that. Please come, we'd love to meet you.
Today's tabs inspired me to delete X and create a Bluesky that I can also think about making use of and then not. But at least I won't be counted as a user on X for whatever advertisers are looking at that shit.
I love Suzanne Vega. She was one of my faves in the 80s and early 90s in my eclectic symphonic/folk/prog/metal period. Then I went full Riot Grrl and didn't look back at Vega for a good long while. Sue me. I have grown up into someone who can like it all, though, and now I happily listen to Vega and Le Tigre in the same playlist.
Please look down one non-comm, for my Brilliant Idea, Maybe.
XOX
Hi, you characters!
Late to check in as doing household management & reading first, today. But got in an email to finally propose an idea to Editrix that I've brought up to a number of you. It may also bring in greater engagement and *maybe paid!* readership to Wonketaria/Rebecca-Shy Household.
Some form of place for Wonks to bring ideas & questions, workshop, support etc to address:
Our own survival, a Survivor's Guide and Open-All-Night Diner, of sorts, to bring solutions In Light of Current and Changing Circumstances! BY WONKS, FOR WONKS. Not more work for Editrix.
Volunteer Mods, some kind of Wonk Hub or Dept, though not just our own Substack due to it's vulnerability to free unfetterable access by trolls etc.
Possible topics could be:
Employment/financial issues, alternatives, searching, tips
Activities of Daily Living; yes, food security, also repairing/restoring/rescuing necessary or desirable items of common use, BUDGET & personal resources (utilities, blah blah whatever) management, Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without etc.
Support Resources incl. for psychological & medical issues, kids/elders needs, LAW concerns for those in most vulnerable positions, i.e., those we're nearest who are Trans, undocumented residents, have disabilities, POC, people who are pregnant & don't want to or cannot be. EDUCATION, also, too.
These are ideas for our own needs, in addition to our contributing to larger efforts in our local or national communities, the Getting Our Black Panther On.
I'm under-caffeinated so far but this is how much I remember from my previous mentions.
WHAT DO WE THINK?
Most people have stopped looking here. You should repost in afternoon open thread.
Agreed, and this is the plan :-D
John Thune Will Be Senate’s New Republican Leader
WASHINGTON ― Senate Minority Whip John Thune was elected the next Senate Republican leader on Wednesday, multiple outlets have reported, ensuring Sen. Mitch McConnell’s right-hand man will lead the new GOP majority. Thune beat his colleagues John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida in an internal party vote. A longtime member of the GOP leadership team who was first elected in 2004, Thune, 63, is an establishment figure who is likely to continue McConnell’s focus on confirming judges and advancing a traditional conservative platform: tax cuts, defense spending and deregulation.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/john-thune-gop-senate-leader_n_6734125fe4b0c06fd0e3d36f
Thanks for including my art scam post! The more people who know about these, the better : )
[HuffPost] Elon Musk To Join Trump At House GOP Meeting: Reports
Elon Musk is expected to join Trump at the House GOP conference that's taking place in Washington this morning, both CNN and The New York Times reported, citing people close to Trump.
Anybody else just hearing the news that the coalition running Germany’s government collapsed last week? They’ve scheduled new elections for February.
The Guardian ran a story on it, but it kinda got overshadowed on this side of the pond.
I watched a few videos last night about MAGAts crying that their families and friends are cutting them off because of their embrace of fascism. Their whining self-pity was very cathartic for me.
To borrow a phrase, fuck their feelings.
Ahhhhhhhh. So comforting. Almost hygge.
Thank you!
We need that owl momma to head up the Democratic Party.
Do not fuck with that momma owl.
So, been meaning to explore BlueSky for a while, which of course entails making an account, the idea of which made me grumpy somehow. But, inspired by SER's tribute to the demise of Black Twitter (https://www.playtyperguy.com/p/long-live-black-twitter-but-not-on) and Evan's and Dok's frequent mention of being on the site, I kicked myself in the butt and did it. Yes, still SisterArtemis over there, same avatar.
If you are so inclined, be sure to friend all your favorite Wonkette folks, and if you cruise through Evan's follower's list, you'll find a lot of excellent accounts to follow - most of my favorite lawyers and journalists are there, plus a whole lot more.
Anyway, gonna explore over there for a while and see if it clicks. I like Mastodon (via Wonkodon) too, and BlueSky looks like a good complement to that and Wonkette.
All of this is in effort not to just crawl into a whole existing of work, home and stewing about things.
Oh, okay, fine. ;-)
Will stick in toe.
I’ve been on the fence about creating any more social media accounts for mental health reasons, but I’ve heard mostly good things about Bluesky.
I do think a lot of the law and similar types that I followed on Twitter moved over there, and I've missed reading some of their stuff.
More on the cabinet picks:
for the second day in a row, America was introduced to a whole new cast of toadies, lackies, dipshits, ass-kissers, incompetents, ideologues, and low-wattage empty suits whose current jobs are to look good on Fox News.
basically, America’s getting a clown show — and not a funny ha ha! clown show. nope, we’re getting sewer clowns.
https://www.jefftiedrich.com/p/elect-a-clown-get-a-circus?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1162742&post_id=151579288&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2lqx8q&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email