Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

He really is that stupid.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

We will not go back.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Human rights are not a matter of opinion!

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

No Kings: Americans standing in the way of bad history saying “Oh, Fuck No!”

’Where will you hide, Roberts, the laws all being flat?’

You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Birdwatching / Thursday Afternoon Open Thread

Thursday Afternoon Open Thread

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How about some uncontroversial birds to look at? Here’s a gorgeous Little Blue Heron, who was stalking fish by the riverbank yesterday:

That slate-blue color just knocks me out!

And here’s an Anhinga drying his extra-fancy wings:

And here’s a glimpse of the elusive Black-and-White Banded Bra-Snatcher:

Sorry about the poor quality of that last shot; it’s hard to get feral creatures like that to pose. Fortunately, this species only steals undergarments from laundry baskets rather than heisting them from one’s person.

That’s all I got. Open thread!

Reader Interactions

101Comments

  2. 2.

    Jerzy Russian

    How about some uncontroversial birds to look at?

    I have some fish that would like a word with you…

    Fortunately, this species only steals undergarments from laundry baskets rather than heisting them from one’s person.

    The male cat of the family just likes to sleep in the laundry basket. As far as I know he has never stolen any articles of clothing, undergarments or otherwise.

  8. 8.

    catclub

    @Barbara: my cat loves spending time in the dry bathtub. Why? Nobody knows.

    From the other thread, a smoke signal for Amir Khalid to tell us more about the latest 1MDB news.

  9. 9.

    Mnemosyne

    @Barbara:

    But if the laundry basket is not in use, there won’t be anything in it for the thief to take anyway. ?

    I was getting annoyed that I had tiny inexplicable holes in several of my favorite cotton shirts (so not a clothes moth) and then I realized it’s probably from wrestling the shirts away from Charlotte and her needle-sharp claws when I’m trying to fold them. Most of the time, I just give up and wait for her to finish her nap.

  10. 10.

    Gravenstone

    @catclub: Shit, one of my cats has taken to rolling around in my wet shower. The same one who will hold his paw or head under the stream from their water fountain. Damned Turkish Van genes.

  11. 11.

    opiejeanne

    Wow, Betty! The intense blue of that heron is amazing. Around here they’re more gray than anything else.
    I do not know the anhinga bird. His shape suggests kinship with herons. I’ll have to look him up.
    And when is Badger not adorable? Is there any time of day or night when he’s not just the cutest thing on four feet?

  12. 12.

    catclub

    A Kurdish-led force backed by a US-led coalition on Wednesday suspended operations against the Islamic State group and said they would not resume until Turkey halts its attacks on Kurdish militia posts in northern Syria.

    Turkey is still in the running for worst US ally, catching back up with Saudi Arabia. I read somewhere that SA was backing Kurds to needle Turkey, so Turkey was needling SA over the Khashoggi murder.

  13. 13.

    trollhattan

    Badger=burglar? Who knew?

    Our Rocco initially stole everything he could with an emphasis on shoes. Adorable to see your size 11 motor past carried “just so” by a proud and tiny bird dog. Adorable that is until he decided they’re also chew toys. “Naughty, bad puppy, expen$ive puppy!”

    Now generally limits himself to socks, which gather by the livingroom front window. Besides the obvious, the biggest problem is knowing whether they were clean or dirty at the time of theft.

    This article by an author who worked as a 9-1-1 operator to pay the bills is pretty eye-opening.

  17. 17.

    catclub

    @trollhattan: his article by an author who worked as a 9-1-1 operator to pay the bills is pretty eye-opening.

    So a standard question for 911 operators needs to be: “If this person were white, would you be calling me over this?”

  18. 18.

    MomSense

    Last spring when I was visiting the Everglades I saw an Anhinga dive for a fish and come up just in time to avoid getting eaten by a gator. Then the bird slowly walked up a low hanging tree branch with the fish in its mouth. Periodically s/he would slam the fish against the tree branch. It was very cool.

  19. 19.

    opiejeanne

    @catclub: Because of the neck? Not a bad guess. We saw some grebes on the Columbia River near the tri-cities area of Washington. It was funny that all of the people on the bike/jogging path were so busy with their phones that no one else noticed them, other than a guy who sounded like he was totally stoned.
    Cool. Birds, man. Birds.

  20. 20.

    Platonailedit

    Go Simone Biles.

    Simone Biles made history by becoming the first woman to win four all-around titles at the World Championships.

    Biles had not competed internationally since the 2016 Olympics, while she revealed in January she had been sexually abused by a former Team USA sports doctor.

    In addition, the 21-year-old American was admitted to hospital with a kidney stone on the eve of the Worlds.

    “This is definitely the scariest one from the ones from the past,” she said.

    Biles had previously shared the record of three all-around world golds with Svetlana Khorkina of Russia.

    “This year has definitely had its ups and downs, going to therapy and other things besides. Just being in the gym has been a little bit rough, but you try to focus on one thing at a time to get through it,” she said.

  21. 21.

    Crashman06

    Our daughter was born last Thursday and now we’re all back at home, safe and healthy. I have to keep reminding myself that’s what is important when I’m only sleeping one hour a night. I honestly forgot how hard this could be after the first time! Struggling to keep everything going and get back into the routine at work, but it’s really tough. It will get better eventually… I think? I just have to remember how lucky we are.

  22. 22.

    germy

    @Mnemosyne:

    I was getting annoyed that I had tiny inexplicable holes in several of my favorite cotton shirts (so not a clothes moth)

    I have some old t-shirts that I can tell which side is front (instead of tags they have print that fades) by the tiny cat claw holes.

    My cat will knead me if I doze off. When I wake up I just sit there and let her, because the purring relaxes me.

  23. 23.

    trollhattan

    @Crashman06:
    Congratulations! Your first? My daughter changed my life, 99% for the better (will never get back that sleep, though). Treasure every minute.

  24. 24.

    catclub

    Good lord. E-cigarettes with 20 times the nicotine of one tobacco cigarette.

    Most of Juul’s single pods contain the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. That’s one of the highest levels of nicotine content in the U.S. e-cigarette market, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Juul also comes in flavors like mango, cucumber, fruit and creme, which may appeal to children, in addition to people trying to quit smoking.

    and somehow Juul has grown rapidly. tis a mystery.

  25. 25.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Crashman06: Congratulations!

    When my son was an infant, I used to say that I was to sleep as teenaged boys are to sex. I thought about it all the time. I wondered what it would feel like. I schemed for how to get some.

  27. 27.

    Crashman06

    @trollhattan: Second, actually. The first is five. It’s only been a week, but in some ways it feels both harder and easier? I’m not sure; I’m still sorting out my thoughts, which is hard when I’m so sleep deprived!

  28. 28.

    Kraux Pas

    @catclub: I wonder how long each pod lasts for the average user. I’m not here to advocate for nicotine addiction, but it seems like relevant information.

  29. 29.

    Sloane Ranger

    Ooh! Badger’s legs look too spindly for his massive body. Clearly this is why he needs bras – for support:)

  30. 30.

    jl

    @Jerzy Russian: There is nothing on this blog that is uncontroversial!
    I will never ever forgive Cracker for her outrageous microaggression against my sense of the very essence and identity of this blog.

    I’d hang around to start a comment battle to the death with Cracker, but it’s lunchtime here and I’m hungry.

  32. 32.

    jacy

    Speaking of birds, took the kid to class at LSU today and was driving up Dalrymple through the lakes and to the left were hundreds of pelicans. Literally so many that you couldn’t see the water. Nearly slammed on my brakes in shock. It was just awesome. Was hoping they would still be there on the drive back when I could pull over and snap a picture, but, alas, in the 15 minutes it took me to drop him off and get back they had taken wing for elsewhere. Still, it was a tremendous thing to see, made me kind of goofily happy.

  33. 33.

    divF

    @Crashman06: For about 30 years, my hobby was relief babysitting of newborns and infants*. one of my “clients” would have me come over for a couple of
    hours in the middle of the day and take her daughter while she (ETA: the mother) slept.

    *It isn’t that I’ve given this up, I’m just waiting for another generation to start spawning. Especially now that I am retiring from full-time work next July,

  34. 34.

    Mnemosyne

    @trollhattan:

    I just saw her speak at the Writer’s Digest Conference in Pasadena last weekend. She briefly alluded to getting calls like that in the course of another discussion.

  36. 36.

    chris

    @catclub: Does it mention how long a pod lasts? you might want to check.

    (I quit smoking by vaping high nicotine juice. Now I’m stepping down the nicotine and it’s working.)

  37. 37.

    donnah

    Thanks a million, Betty! I did actually LOL.

    Looking to canvass this weekend with my husband and son. No rest for the weary, I guess. We voted last Saturday. There was a single volunteer outside the building, and she was handing out Democratic ballot lists. We thanked her profusely for her time and effort.

    Everyone counts. We all have to vote.

  38. 38.

    divF

    @Crashman06: She was. Plus, every once in a while I would bring her one of my homemade cheesecakes, parts of which she bartered with the neighborhood teenagers for more assistance. I’m still a minor legend in her neighborhood.

  39. 39.

    The Moar You Know

    Shit, one of my cats has taken to rolling around in my wet shower. The same one who will hold his paw or head under the stream from their water fountain. Damned Turkish Van genes.

    @Gravenstone: I had a Van hybrid (50%) a long time ago. She’s gone now. I miss her to this day. She’d get into a full bathtub with me and just paddle around and purr. No prompting on my part. Back then I probably would have guessed that “Turkish Van” was a shitty motor car or a candy. And I’d had cats all my life, so when she just jumped up around age 4 months or so and demanded to get in the bath, I figured I’d be in for a scratching at best. Nope. She loved it.

  41. 41.

    TenguPhule

    Speaking of Uncontroversial….

    Republicans more likely to view Muslim Americans negatively, study finds

    Seventy-one percent of self-described Republicans agreed they don’t believe Islam is compatible with American values, compared to an overall 42%.

    Sixty percent agreed with the idea that Muslim Americans weren’t as patriotic as non-Muslim Americans, compared to 38% generally.

    Fifty-six per cent of Republicans surveyed agreed they’d be concerned if a mosque or Islamic center were constructed in their neighborhood, compared to an overall level of 33%.

    And slightly more than half – 53% – disagree that the influx of Muslim candidates for public office is positive for America, compared to 31% of the entire response pool.

  45. 45.

    Betty Cracker

    @Crashman06: Oh, congrats! My “baby” is 20 now (my God, how did THAT happen?!?!?), but I still remember those first few months of stumbling through the world unhinged by lack of sleep. May your new little one learn to sleep through the night quickly, and may friends, relatives and spousal teamwork keep you going in the interim!

    @opiejeanne: Looks to me like the pictured Anhinga has a tail — those feathers trailing into the water — but perhaps it is sparse? Maybe it had a close call with a gator!

  47. 47.

    Jeffro

    @Crashman06: congratulations to you and your family! Being a dad is totally worth it. SLEEP WHENEVER THE KID SLEEPS, period! You’ll catch up soon enough. =)

  49. 49.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @ruemara: They’re not threaded. At least I don’t think so. But there’s a hashtag #LadiesLikeMe. I hope that more or less works.

    I’m not the most skilled online person which is one reason I wanted to try this. It’s fun and if I learn something, all the better.

  50. 50.

    Spanky

    Shay Khatiri closely tracked the GoFundMe account he set up to help in the wake of the Tree of Life tragedy as it surpassed $1 million Wednesday evening and kept climbing.

    The 29-year-old Iranian political refugee has been too busy, however, to yet count the number of offers of free Steelers and Penguins tickets from Pittsburghers both touched and impressed by his fundraising. They are sufficient in number, though, that he could attend many future sports events at no personal expense in Pittsburgh — a city’s he never been to — if he so chose.

    The graduate student in international relations at Johns Hopkins University described in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette interview Monday how he was spurred to action when a Jewish friend he was staying with told him of Saturday morning’s horrific shootings. He was groggy from a hangover after a Halloween party the night before, he explained, but he had experience setting up GoFundMe accounts and quickly set one up putting Tree of Life in the spotlight. The proceeds go directly to financial accounts designated by the Tree of Life congregation.

    Iranian immigrant, hung over from a pagan celebration, employs modern technology to crowdsource funds for Jewish institution. I welcome our new world order.

    ETA: You ladies might want to check out the pic at the link.

  51. 51.

    Barbara

    Has anyone heard from FatKateMiddleton? Wishing you the best, and I hope you can check in to let us know how you are doing.

  52. 52.

    opiejeanne

    @danielx: Would you look at those poor starving creatures? Just look at them! They haven’t had a bite of anything to eat in months, I tell you.

  55. 55.

    TenguPhule

    Saudi crown prince described slain journalist as a dangerous Islamist in call with White House

    Okay, who had “Saudis blame murder victim for having to murder him” in the BJ pool?

    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman described slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi as a dangerous Islamist days after his disappearance in a phone call with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and national security adviser John Bolton, according to people familiar with the discussion.

    In the call, which occurred before the kingdom publicly acknowledged killing Khashoggi, the crown prince urged Kushner and Bolton to preserve the U.S.-Saudi alliance and said the journalist was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group long opposed by Bolton and other senior Trump officials.

  57. 57.

    Aleta

    @The Moar You Know: I rescued a van from a hoarder situation and then we kept one of her kittens too. I still miss them a lot, though they were territorial and aggressive to other cats. Neither were into water but one could catch and bat when you pitched to him. At night he played piano.

  65. 65.

    geg6

    @Kraux Pas:

    Having tried some electronic cigarettes (for trying to quit the tobacco kind), if the Juul has a pack work in each pod, that’s pretty good. I found that a pod lasted me a week to ten days. I smoke about half a pack a day of the regular cigarettes. So I think that’s an improvement.

  68. 68.

    geg6

    @geg6:

    Edit is not working for #61, so I actually meant “a pack worth.”

    I actually know several people who have quit smoking altogether and others who have almost done so using the electronic cigarettes, so I am not going to slag on them. Everything I’ve seen shows me that they aren’t as bad as regular cigarettes. Now if I could only find one the taste of which I could deal with, I’d be among that bunch.

  69. 69.

    Wapiti

    @TenguPhule: I think that many Republicans, from the top to bottom of their organization, might be predisposed to theft from clients, employers, employees, parishioners, co-parishioners, business partners, etc. I’ll sarcastically suggest that they might fear losing one or both hands if Sharia law were ever implemented.

  70. 70.

    SenyorDave

    @TenguPhule: The head of the Republican party, one Donald J Fuckhead Trump, is a racist piece of shit. It certainly doesn’t surprise me that many of his supporters are also racist pieces of shit.

  71. 71.

    cain

    @Crashman06:
    Congratulations!

    No paternity time off ? That’s too bad to have to work after a birth and not be able to support your partner and have bonding time.

  72. 72.

    Baquist

    It is actually a relief to hear other dogs steal undergarments and afterwards there are holes. I thought mine was the only freak.

  74. 74.

    TenguPhule

    Mattis, who used a Hollywood actor as a stand-in spokesman, says the military doesn’t ‘do stunts’

    Sadly, not the Onion.

    A reporter Wednesday asked Defense Secretary Jim Mattis if the mobilization was a stunt to stoke Trump’s base.

    “The support that we provide to the secretary for homeland security is practical support based on the request from the commissioner of customs and border police, so we don’t do stunts in this department,” Mattis said. He has previously said every military task must build the capacity to kill enemies but has sent troops to fill roles that have recently included shoveling manure in Border Patrol horse stables.

    Pentagon reporters have for months criticized limited access to Mattis and other top officials, who, on the occasional chance they are made available, have been sometimes instructed to only answer narrow questions in an effort to avoid contentious issues.

    Enter Gerard Butler. In promotion of his Navy-endorsed submarine film “Hunter Killer,” the actor was invited to helm a Pentagon news conference Oct. 15.

    That means he has held more news conferences recently than White, who has not held a briefing since May.

  76. 76.

    Crashman06

    @cain: Actually, I got a month’s paternity time, but I’m stretching it out over a longer period and decided to go back into the office a few days a week to stay on top of things. But most of my days over the next few months will be at home, which is good.

  77. 77.

    chris

    @geg6: Keep trying! It took me five years of messing with e-cigs. Nicotine salts turned out to be the answer.
    Three months in and I can feel my lungs getting better.

    PS: I got a lot of help from… Reddit.

  78. 78.

    debit

    @chris: Another ex smoker here. I used nicotine gum when I finally quit for good. It only took one day because I didn’t read the instructions, chewed it like normal gum and gave myself a nice case of nicotine poisoning. That cured me ever craving it again (not that I recommend this approach!).

  81. 81.

    Dan B

    @jl: When’s the first innaugural Betties? (Award ceremony in case you were wondering.)

    Would the statuette be The Anhynga or The Water Turkey?

    What categories should be included? Most Perverted Mopping Disaster? The Wohl Award for freakish hybrid two Stooges press conference or public humiliation/ own goal? Adimal Awahd for critter post most successful at distraction from politics?

    Ideas?

  82. 82.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @geg6: @chris: When I quit, I went cold turkey, but it took about six tries over four or five years before the try that took took (so far– it’s been not quite 25 years).

  83. 83.

    karensky

    That Anhinga is just a thriller and the little blue is gorgeous. As for the bra snatcher, he is adorable.

  84. 84.

    Redshift

    @Dan B: Speaking of which, apparently Wohl and Burkman went ahead with their “press conference” today. Jared Holt covered it for Right Wing Watch and tweeted lowlights.

    Personal fave: “Jack Burkman’s fly is down. ???”

    And yes, he posted a picture.

  87. 87.

    Dan B

    @Spanky: What? You got a problem with us gayzz lookin up his pic?

    Now I got problems deciding if my biggest crush is on Beto, Stacey, Andrewww, or this thirst trap! And how come their integrity seems to light up their faces?

  88. 88.

    Kent

    @debit:

    So just curious you ex-smokers. Do the e-cigarettes that have become uber popular with today’s teens have any utility for stopping smoking? Or are they just tapping into the new teen market and pretending that they are medical devices? Because they are EVERYWHERE in both of the two high schools that I have taught at in the past couple of years and have gotten so small and sophisticated that they look just like tiny flash drives and kids can put them on keychains without anyone noticing. Kids are vaping everywhere. Maybe the solution is to make them prescription only or something

  91. 91.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Quit a packaday habit cold-turkey, resumed it 3.5 years later, quit again 4 good chilled-gobbler a dozen years later. Quitters need to address the oral fetish/fixation associated with cancer sticks without gaining a ton. What worked for me was a baggie in my pocket of uncooked spaghetti broken into toothpick-size lengths – get the urge to smoke, stick one of those between your lips, worry it all you want, it takes forever to dissolve & is calorically trivial.

    The other thing I did was to carry the last pack of cigs & a book of matches with me. Sounds crazy, but hear me out: Back then cigarettes were damn near everywhere – in bars, restaurants, workplaces – & you couldn’t just say, Well, I’ll avoid having them around – & you never knew what might happen if you were sitting in a bar & a friend sat down next to you & idly dropped a pack on the counter. I said to myself, I’m quitting because I decided I would, & if it ever comes to a point where I absolutely have to have a smoke, they’re right there. And every time I thought I absolutely had to have a smoke, I told myself to give it five minutes, & then I could smoke. And five minutes later, give it five minutes more. Repeat until craving subsides. It worked.

  92. 92.

    debit

    @Kent: I never tried vaping. It was well after my last cigarette and my deadbugdead craving for nicotine. I will say that I worked with two smokers who tried e-cigs as a tool for quitting, but had no success. I feel that when a person is ready to quit, they will. They have to get to the point where they take no enjoyment from smoking, no, not even that first one in the morning with coffee. For some people that moment never comes. For me, I couldn’t take one more morning waking up with a headache and being vaguely nauseated all day every day. It was a revelation when I quit, like, “WOW. This is how every one else feels all day every day. It’s AMAZING.”

  93. 93.

    Dan B

    @Redshift: The “press conference” sounds like a screamer. The guy with the giant rat with the Spanky Orange wig, the fake woman who emailed the “real woman” who just skipped town, and on. Sad ending soon when FBI comes knocking?

  94. 94.

    Gbbalto

    Quit using Zyban. It suppresses the withdrawal symptoms. Got it after doctor looked up at me one visit and said “Quit smoking!” Had no excuse ready. Only adverse effect was a couple of times dreaming that I had tried a few cigarettes and dope slapping self on waking up before recalling that it was just a dream. I was already about ready to quit anyway

  95. 95.

    chris

    @Kent: Here in Canada you have to be 19 to enter a vape shop. Sure you can lie to the online shop but then the mail person shows up with your package and demands ID. I don’t know about the US, are there age limits?

    ETA: Of course some teens will get around the law just as they do with booze, drugs and cigarettes.

  96. 96.

    J R in WV

    Good friend stopped with nicotine patches, she wore them for months, tapering down the concentration in the patches. But finally stopped, which is great, I would hate to see her go down with lung cancer, which is a stone killer. She’s a wonderful person.

  99. 99.

    CaseyL

    I don’t know if vaping helps you stop smoking altogether, buy it did help me stop smoking “real” cigarettes. I keep using the vapes, though, and don’t think I’ll ever quit them.

    (I’m one of those people who adored smoking, loved the feeling of the smoke in my throat and the rush you get from the first cig of the day. Could only quit on Chantix – which really does work! but you have to stop taking it at some point. And I’m definitely a stress smoker.)

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