I LOVE swans! I mean, they're super mean, but I like seeing them. Once we stayed with a lady close to a place where they raised swans and you could go visit them--she never went because they scared her--it's right, but still...
Swans are as beautiful as they are intimidating, kind of a win-win :) Fun fact: Elsa Lanchester based her hissing in Bride of Frankenstein on the swans in Regent's Park :))
Love it, also I'm a bit worried about cygnet #3, not only because it doesn't have a name like the other folks in the cast who have more lines, but because cygnet #3 doesn't seem to have made it onto Mama's back before heading out into the water. A sitting duck for things that lurk and eat ducklings and cygnets out there. EEK! I've got to calm down...
There were a lot of swans when I visited Galway, it always makes me think of that. I love seeing the babies ride on the waterbird's back, what a delightful transport!
There’s a tiny little park tucked away in Dublin, with a pond in the middle of it. It’s actually just a pond. The park is a pond with a walkway around it. And some organization responsible for destroying small lovely things was going to remove part of the pond, but they didn’t because the people who lived there measured the necessary length of a landing strip for swans, and insisted on not, and they also filled out reams of paperwork and eventually the organization responsible for destroying small lovely things (ORDSLT) decided that that would be a bad look even for them, and desisted.
And so instead, they put some fountains in. And they put in an art project made by school children, and you can walk around the pond and sit on little benches and watch the swans. And I would be there now…
Our neighborhood came together to save a lovely little creek that developers called a drainage ditch on their proposed plans. It took a long time and support of an amazing woman who protected the river the creek ran into, but the developers were finally denied. Beaver built a dam on the creek and we had a little pond. A Scout built a bridge across the creek. Wildlife has only the occasional hiker to deal with and neighbors together keep one little footpath cleared where you can walk along the creek all the way to the river.
As a young, I worked at a country club with a golf course frequented by swans.
I received a harsh "New Guy Lesson" when a co-worker gave me a handful of bread to feed them, "They are weird birds, you have to run right at them or they ignore you..."
As it turns out, being ignored by swans is A Good Thing.
Ta, Evan! Thanks for the Diane K. links. Was fortunate to work for her on and off, she was every bit as inspiring and SUPER smart as one would imagine. Very witty as well xo
NYT: "Dr. Ralph Abraham, who as Louisiana’s surgeon general ordered the state health department to stop promoting vaccinations and who has called Covid vaccines “dangerous,” has been named the second in command at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
“Here’s one particularly exercised senior House Republican…”
Not to be pedantic (I love being pedantic), but “exercised?” Did they mean “incensed,” or “execrable?” Was the person working out when they said it? Or did they mean to use “exorcised,” as in the GOPper is some sort of demon who will be expelled from the People’s House?!?
I'm going by a thread over at jefftiedrich where lots of people were as puzzled as I was by the usage (some guessing it was a typo for "excised" or "exorcised"; me thinking it implied "heavily sweating").
Maybe it's the kind of thing that's used in the UK only in, say, Cornwall, but made it into Appalachian like "I reckon" and other quaint usages.
Gomer Pyles Is The Man Pete Hegseth Will Never Be. Barney Fife Is The Man Pete Hegseth Will Never Be. Maxine Waters Is The Man Pete Hegseth Will Never Be.
HuffPost: "Also pardoned: “Gobble” and “Waddle,” two turkeys from North Carolina, who were granted clemency at the 78th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation on Tuesday, but not before Trump got in a joke about considering extra-judicially sending them to a megaprison in El Salvador. Trump also couldn’t resist getting in a dig at his predecessor, President Joe Biden, whom he’s accused of using an autopen to sign pardons, which, Trump argues, renders them null and void. (It’s an odd argument — Trump has also used an autopen.) “[Biden] used an autopen last year for the turkey’s pardon,” Trump said. “I have determined that last year’s turkey pardons are totally invalid, as are the pardons of almost every other person.” The president then stared down Attorney General Pam Bondi in the crowd and asked, “What are you going to do about that, Pam?” Trump then made a show of re-pardoning the 2024 turkeys, Peach and Blossom."
Via HuffPost: Trump Pardoned Nursing Home Fraudster After $960,000 Lobbying Push: Report
"Trump pardoned a nursing home tycoon convicted of fraud after two other men — also convicted of fraud — were paid almost $1 million to lobby the Trump administration for clemency, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
The story revolves around Joseph Schwartz, who was sentenced in April to three years for defrauding the government of $38 million. The conviction was secured by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, which was led by Alina Habba, Trump’s former defense lawyer, at the time of the sentencing.
Schwartz was given a "full and unconditional" pardon by Trump earlier this month after Schwartz paid $960,000 to lobbyists Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl, according to The Post. Burkman and Wohl, both well-known right-wing agitators, have themselves been convicted of telecommunications fraud."
So Russia seems to be claiming that they have deep historical tires to Ukraine. Weren't the people of Ukraine, the Kievan Rus', the original people who took Moscow and became Russia? So shouldn't Russia belong to Ukraine, not the other way around?
Splish, splash, it’s your hed gif source info: https://martiniambassador.substack.com/p/cygnets-first-swim
Soccer moms everywhere feel simpatico.
I LOVE swans! I mean, they're super mean, but I like seeing them. Once we stayed with a lady close to a place where they raised swans and you could go visit them--she never went because they scared her--it's right, but still...
Swans are as beautiful as they are intimidating, kind of a win-win :) Fun fact: Elsa Lanchester based her hissing in Bride of Frankenstein on the swans in Regent's Park :))
♫ Swanie, how.I love ya, how I love ya, my dear old Swanie ♫
They headed for the water
To be cute swimming swans
They ended up as passengers
On their quite patient mom
She knows that they're still learning
And she doesn't mind
Having the kids riding
On her sleek behind
I swan!
Love it, also I'm a bit worried about cygnet #3, not only because it doesn't have a name like the other folks in the cast who have more lines, but because cygnet #3 doesn't seem to have made it onto Mama's back before heading out into the water. A sitting duck for things that lurk and eat ducklings and cygnets out there. EEK! I've got to calm down...
Clearly, the middle cygnet.
Obligatory: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5IJMjMg-fJ8
Obligatory song reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LmvAUmvLA4
Wow, talk about oldies but goodies.
There were a lot of swans when I visited Galway, it always makes me think of that. I love seeing the babies ride on the waterbird's back, what a delightful transport!
There’s a tiny little park tucked away in Dublin, with a pond in the middle of it. It’s actually just a pond. The park is a pond with a walkway around it. And some organization responsible for destroying small lovely things was going to remove part of the pond, but they didn’t because the people who lived there measured the necessary length of a landing strip for swans, and insisted on not, and they also filled out reams of paperwork and eventually the organization responsible for destroying small lovely things (ORDSLT) decided that that would be a bad look even for them, and desisted.
And so instead, they put some fountains in. And they put in an art project made by school children, and you can walk around the pond and sit on little benches and watch the swans. And I would be there now…
https://substack.com/profile/1687878-1d57a1d5931d/note/c-181038114?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=106di
https://vanderkrogt.net/statues/object.php?webpage=ST&record=ie407
Our neighborhood came together to save a lovely little creek that developers called a drainage ditch on their proposed plans. It took a long time and support of an amazing woman who protected the river the creek ran into, but the developers were finally denied. Beaver built a dam on the creek and we had a little pond. A Scout built a bridge across the creek. Wildlife has only the occasional hiker to deal with and neighbors together keep one little footpath cleared where you can walk along the creek all the way to the river.
How wonderful! Thanks for the link!!
As a young, I worked at a country club with a golf course frequented by swans.
I received a harsh "New Guy Lesson" when a co-worker gave me a handful of bread to feed them, "They are weird birds, you have to run right at them or they ignore you..."
As it turns out, being ignored by swans is A Good Thing.
While goslings will gander
at whimsical things
they never meander
until they take wing.
"So. Ugly."
~The Ducks
What does this charming scene cygnetfy?
Swanning about...?
Geese with pretensions!
Are they riding on mom's back at the end? Cool if true.
Swans are the most attentive parents around!
Meme Chat:
https://substack.com/chat/1783367/post/3fe23904-fb1e-45c2-ac57-d1c8959baecd
Yeah, DOGE cut where it shouldn't, for reasons it didn't have and couldn't justify.
DOGE didn’t know, didnt care, was only into smash grab and chaos — and bwahaha.
Sweet... ;>)
"what a real dumbass Steve Witkoff is" from a poster on jefftiedrich: The name was originally Witlessjackoff but it got shortened at Ellis Island.
Any day a House Republican resigns is a good day.
Ta, Evan. There will never be a President Mark Kelly; he's too devoted to his wife to do that to her.
Thank you Z for understanding that.
during the McCain/Palin presidential election run
Palin put a bull’s-eye on Gabby’s face in a campaign ad we all know what happened next.
Gabby is a strong woman, but she’ll never recover from her injuries.
Mark would never put her under added pressure.
Ta, Evan! Thanks for the Diane K. links. Was fortunate to work for her on and off, she was every bit as inspiring and SUPER smart as one would imagine. Very witty as well xo
NYT: "Dr. Ralph Abraham, who as Louisiana’s surgeon general ordered the state health department to stop promoting vaccinations and who has called Covid vaccines “dangerous,” has been named the second in command at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
“Here’s one particularly exercised senior House Republican…”
Not to be pedantic (I love being pedantic), but “exercised?” Did they mean “incensed,” or “execrable?” Was the person working out when they said it? Or did they mean to use “exorcised,” as in the GOPper is some sort of demon who will be expelled from the People’s House?!?
In the UK and parts of the South, "exercised" is used to mean "worked up, feeling hot"
Mrs Brit 🦡🍄🐍 has never used it that way in 13 years of marriage, but I’ve avoided the South for most of my life so I can’t comment on that.
I'm going by a thread over at jefftiedrich where lots of people were as puzzled as I was by the usage (some guessing it was a typo for "excised" or "exorcised"; me thinking it implied "heavily sweating").
Maybe it's the kind of thing that's used in the UK only in, say, Cornwall, but made it into Appalachian like "I reckon" and other quaint usages.
Will do my bestest to cross-post this on today's Open Thread, but wanted to leave this here whilst it was on the tip-o'-muh-tongue (mentally)
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/25/nx-s1-5619202/a-former-u-s-attorney-offers-a-manual-for-keeping-a-democracy
Lady Joyce of Vance is a-friggin'-mazing!!
Am reading it now. I love reading her as much as I love listening to her!
Gomer Pyles Is The Man Pete Hegseth Will Never Be. Barney Fife Is The Man Pete Hegseth Will Never Be. Maxine Waters Is The Man Pete Hegseth Will Never Be.
https://gizmodo.com/tucker-carlson-is-launching-his-own-precious-metals-company-2000690962
Best of luck with that, precious!
Ah, gold brokers scams. The bread-and-butter of fascist media grifters from Limbaugh to Jones.
HuffPost: "Also pardoned: “Gobble” and “Waddle,” two turkeys from North Carolina, who were granted clemency at the 78th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation on Tuesday, but not before Trump got in a joke about considering extra-judicially sending them to a megaprison in El Salvador. Trump also couldn’t resist getting in a dig at his predecessor, President Joe Biden, whom he’s accused of using an autopen to sign pardons, which, Trump argues, renders them null and void. (It’s an odd argument — Trump has also used an autopen.) “[Biden] used an autopen last year for the turkey’s pardon,” Trump said. “I have determined that last year’s turkey pardons are totally invalid, as are the pardons of almost every other person.” The president then stared down Attorney General Pam Bondi in the crowd and asked, “What are you going to do about that, Pam?” Trump then made a show of re-pardoning the 2024 turkeys, Peach and Blossom."
He cannot help being a huge fucking asshole.
PWOC
https://gizmodo.com/where-is-the-trump-phone-2000690807
🤣😂🤣😂 [okay, maybe a lil comment]
not really surprising that wilkins isn't well liked in Nashville.
Via HuffPost: Trump Pardoned Nursing Home Fraudster After $960,000 Lobbying Push: Report
"Trump pardoned a nursing home tycoon convicted of fraud after two other men — also convicted of fraud — were paid almost $1 million to lobby the Trump administration for clemency, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
The story revolves around Joseph Schwartz, who was sentenced in April to three years for defrauding the government of $38 million. The conviction was secured by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, which was led by Alina Habba, Trump’s former defense lawyer, at the time of the sentencing.
Schwartz was given a "full and unconditional" pardon by Trump earlier this month after Schwartz paid $960,000 to lobbyists Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl, according to The Post. Burkman and Wohl, both well-known right-wing agitators, have themselves been convicted of telecommunications fraud."
Moar on Burkman and Wohl:
https://www.wonkette.com/p/filthy-vote-suppressors-jacob-wohl-and-jack-burkman-sentenced-to-register-voters
https://www.wonkette.com/p/how-do-incompetent-fakes-jacob-wohl-and-jack-burkman-even-pay-their-rent
https://www.wonkette.com/p/stupidest-man-on-internet-has-limits-turns-out-and-other-updates-from-jacob-wohls-dipsh-tgate
So Russia seems to be claiming that they have deep historical tires to Ukraine. Weren't the people of Ukraine, the Kievan Rus', the original people who took Moscow and became Russia? So shouldn't Russia belong to Ukraine, not the other way around?
Russia’s tires are often deep in the Ukraine mud… 😉
Swans are badass. Kegsbreath is a dumbass.