Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Dear elected officials: Trump is temporary, dishonor is forever.

All hail the time of the bunny!

Everybody saw this coming.

You cannot shame the shameless.

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

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

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

Saturday Afternoon Open Thread

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We’re waiting for a storm that should be here in a few hours. The mister is watching a terrible movie about Alexander the Great. It has Angelina Jolie in it, plus Anthony Hopkins, and it appears to be expensively filmed, but my gawd, what an awful movie! To avoid the painful spectacle, I’m finding projects to keep myself busy and ducking out to look for birds every now and then. Here’s what I’ve seen so far — an Osprey perched in a tree across the river:

Saturday Afternoon Open Thread 3

A heron stalking through the swamp in search of fish, frogs, crawdads, etc.:

Saturday Afternoon Open Thread 5

And here’s one of the several hummies who claim dominion over our feeders:

Saturday Afternoon Open Thread 7

They are mostly on the move, the hummies, driven by their absurd metabolism, but they take periodic breaks high in the trees. They have specific roosts that afford a view of the feeder they regard as their property. If another bird comes near, they’ll launch themselves at it like a ballistic missile, making angry record-scratch noises.

As soon as this dreadful Alexander movie is over and it’s my turn to control the media, I’m going to watch “Thunder Force” on Netflix, a new superhero flick starring Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer. Anyone seen it?

What are y’all up to today? Open thread!

 

 

Reader Interactions

179Comments

  1. 1.

    Xantar

    That Alexander movie is quite something. Instead of having Colin Ferrell do an American accent (which he can do flawlessly), Oliver Stone decided to make everybody else do an Irish accent.

    And Angelina Jolie was Russian for some reason.

  3. 3.

    Yutsano

    I’m just happy with the birds right now. I’ll hold on to the shocking detail I just learned about the Capitol insurrection for a bit later. Oh and the heron picture has me craving mudbugs something awful.

  5. 5.

    pluky

    My introduction to the life of Alexander the Great was Mary Renault’s historical fiction trilogy. What Oliver Stone did in his film adaptation was. travesty!

  6. 6.

    OzarkHillbilly

    I’m picking my nose and flicking the boogers at the dogs.

    Hey, it’s a hobby and it keeps me off the streets.

  7. 7.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @Xantar:  Yeah Chris Rock lampooned that movie mercilessly one time they let him host the Oscars. Something along the lines of if you want Russell Crow but you have to settle for Colin Farrell, don’t make the movie.

  8. 8.

    Cermet

    Got my second shot of the vaccine (Pfizer.) There were well over 200 people in line in front of me; from the time I arrived by car and got the vaccine in my arm – 27 mins. I can’t see how they did that for so many people so damn fast. Amazing.

  9. 9.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    I’ve been having a good time with TCM’s 31 Days of Oscar, recording and catching up on a few movies I’ve never seen, like Goodbye Mr. Chips. I was surprised to learn Robert Donat beat out Clark Gable (GWTW), Laurence Olivier (Wuthering Heights), and Jimmy Stewart (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) to win Best Actor (1940)! The movies are being shown alphabetically, which makes for some interesting contrasts. Inherit The Wind is shown on Sunday, just after In Cold Blood and In the Heat of the Night. Monday has Jezebel (Bette Davis) and Johnny Belinda (Jane Wyman), who both won Best Actress for their parts.

    Have also been watching the Ken Burns doc on Hemingway. Martha Gellhorn was an amazing woman!.

  10. 10.

    Brachiator

    The mister is watching a terrible movie about Alexander the Great.

    I think it was re-edited to make it less bad. Didn’t work.

    The 1956 “Alexander the Great” with Richard Burton is also generally mediocre. The only good Alexander movie is probably “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” from 1938.

    And maybe “Alexander Nevsky,” also from 1938.

  12. 12.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @pluky: One of my favorite historical novels is The Persian Boy. So evocative. Mary Renault was an amazing writer. I really like first-person narrative, so have not gotten into the other 2 books as much. I also love The King Must Die.

    Yeah, I’ve never seen the Alexander movie, but it looks ridiculous even in the still photos. A blond Colin Farrell is something to see

    Betty, great photos as always. Except for being in FL, I envy where you live, Swamp Creature. :-)

  13. 13.

    PJ

    @Xantar:  Stone’s idea was that the Macedonians would speak with an Irish accent, while the Greeks spoke with an English accent, to emphasize the “barbarian” (i.e. foreign) nature of the Macedonians to the Greeks. But putting modern accents or dialects on ancient or historical peoples will always sound funny to us, because we immediately think of modern day stereotypes.

    It’s a terrible movie with terrible acting and a terrible script, based on a terrible book (Robin Lane Fox’s history, which views Alexander, one of the most bloodthirsty, egomaniacal tyrants in history, as a sort of “boy’s own” adventure story hero.)

  15. 15.

    JoyceH

    I’m going to watch “Thunder Force” on Netflix, a new superhero flick starring Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer. Anyone seen it?

    Report back, the trailer is cute.

    I’m doing housework and later will take the dog out for a walk. I’ve been walking in the house to build up strength, and only recently reached the point where I could walk down the road a ways. I like walking outside because I feel less like an invalid, even if I don’t get very far.

  18. 18.

    frosty

    We got Moderna #2 yesterday in 29 Palms CA. So two shots 4 weeks apart in two states, neither one the state we live in. Vaccinefinder.org was good at finding appointments, and the pharmacies were great about not caring about residency. This is such a huge relief!

  19. 19.

    J R in WV

    Betty,

    Are there outfits kinda local to your swamps that do houseboat rentals, or even guided birb watching trips in your area? Naturally we would want to visit the swamp in the very late fall or very early spring, if not the flat dead of winter. One of our mistakes in revisiting Key West was going too early in the fall, it was scorching hot to us hillbillies in September.

    Would love to actually see the great upwelling springs of Florida… not to swim in particularly, but just to see the waters mixing and such. And eat oysters and grouper and shrimp locally caught, dug, etc. When is stone crab season these days? When we lived in Key West all you could eat stone drab was $7.95 at a nice seafood place.

  20. 20.

    Brachiator

    @NotMax: 

    Fanny and Alexander?

    Forgot this one, and it is one of my favorite films ever.

    Might as well throw in the exquisite “Berlin Alexanderplatz” miniseries by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Shown on the big screen in the US and selected countries.

  21. 21.

    wmd

    I watched Thunderforce last night. Pretty silly and formulaic.  Some of the prop comedy was funny.

  22. 22.

    AnotherBruce

    Ospreys are cool. They used to be called fish Eagle. They almost always get their prey (fish, usually). They are world wide except Antartica. They are their own family. If you see one You’ve seen them all. Except for maturation.

  23. 23.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    Also, in a definite sign of Spring, I got my first foster kitten litter on Thursday, a black mama cat with two tabby kittens who are less than a week old. Although Mama was skittish enough that she had to be trapped by Animal Control after the kittens were found outside, she turns out not to be feral at all, instead being completely purry and happy to be inside. So nice to be able to give her a safe harbor to raise her kittens in peace after what has to have been a difficult period outside as a pregnant stray.

  24. 24.

    frosty

    @J R in WV: Check out Blue Spring State Park. Manatees winter over there and there’s a concessionaire that has boat tours on the St Johns River.  Not specifically for birds, they point out all kinds of wildlife as they go. Always lots of gators.

  26. 26.

    Betty Cracker

    @raven: I forgot about that, so my movie will have to wait. But it’s possible the golf will get washed out by the same storm that is barreling toward us.

  27. 27.

    RandomMonster

    Took advantage of a brief dry spell to mow lawns. I hate lawns and wish I didn’t have any.

  28. 28.

    JoyceH

    @RandomMonster: Took advantage of a brief dry spell to mow lawns. I hate lawns and wish I didn’t have any.

    Psst… there are people who will do that for you! All you have to do is give them some money.

  35. 35.

    Scott P.

    The Oliver Stone Alexander is a solid B+. I don’t know what kind of benchmark you use for your ancient historical dramas, but the pickings are slim. In fact for Ancient Greece, 7th century – 4th century, there is this, The 300 Spartans, 300 and … what? And those don’t rate an ‘A’.

  36. 36.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @m.j.:

    I see that the Supreme Court has decided, 5-4, that god is not omnipresent.

    Point made more obvious by them doing it in the dead of night.

  37. 37.

    JPL

    Grand Imp spent the night and has now returned home.   I’m debating whether or not to take a nap.  A few months ago, the imp wanted to cuddle with the mutt  but the mutt was not happy about it.  Now it’s just the opposite and the dog wants to cuddle.

     

    @zhena gogolia:  Same..   What a tease Yutsano is.

  38. 38.

    Betty Cracker

    @J R in WV: There are houseboat rentals on the Suwannee and St. John’s — I’ve done the former and it’s fabulous. If you come in late fall, winter or early spring, stone crabs will be in season. Have you been to Crystal River? It’s a great place to bird watch, eat seafood and rent a Jon boat to see manatees. Gorgeous turquoise freshwater springs too.

  39. 39.

    Another Scott

    @frosty: Thanks for the report.  I was curious!

    Enjoy your travels.  I hope you’re sending Water Girl pictures!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  40. 40.

    dmsilev

    They are mostly on the move, the hummies, driven by their absurd metabolism, but they take periodic breaks high in the trees. They have specific roosts that afford a view of the feeder they regard as their property. If another bird comes near, they’ll launch themselves at it like a ballistic missile, making angry record-scratch noises.

    I get endless amusement watching this play out at the feeders I put out on the balcony. My flowers! No, MY FLOWERS! SCREW YOU! MY FLOWERS!! WITH MY LAST DYING BREATH, I CHIRP AT THEE!!!

  42. 42.

    Spanky

    I got Moderna #2 a couple of hours ago. So far no side effects.

    How soon before the prehensile tail emerges? I’ve got a couple of trees that need some pruning in their tops, and I’m eager to start brachiating.

  43. 43.

    Jay

    Was supposed to sleep in, cats decided to be assholes.

    So, I am sitting on the couch, surfing the web, catching up to the world.

    Of course, the cats are now sleeping, as they did their One Evil Job for the day.

  45. 45.

    Geoduck

    One Far Side cartoon had Alexander’s wife nagging at him, saying he needs to do better if people are just calling him “Alexander the Pretty Good”.

  46. 46.

    dmsilev

    @Betty Cracker: One of the columnists for the local paper had a piece a week or so ago about “lessons I learned during the year of COVID”. Relevant here:

    Hummingbirds are intense, and way scarier than crows. When I moved to California many years ago, I spent hours contemplating the miracle of the hummingbird, the surprisingly loud hum of those seemingly delicate wings, the iridescent beauty of their tiny bodies as they darted, then hung, sipping from lavender blooms. Crows, on the other hand, always seemed slightly menacing, hanging out on phone lines, shattering the peace with their alarming voices and “Omen” evocations.

    Then I put a hummingbird feeder outside my window and mayhem ensued. Hummingbirds do not like to share, apparently, and as feeder scheduling is even more screwed up than vaccine scheduling, premium nectar access requires dive-bombing one another. Also, increasingly, me. On several occasions, I have been innocently reading in the backyard and found myself suddenly swooped at by a tiny shimmering creature, wings thrumming in a way that can only be described as irate because (and I say “because” as it has happened too often to be coincidental) the damn feeder was empty. So now, apparently, I am in the nectar business permanently.

    Meanwhile, those blessed crows sit and caw and take care of themselves.

    I certainly get the “the feeder is empty. Refill NOW.” from my local flock.

  47. 47.

    Yutsano

    @zhena gogolia: @JPL:  Heh. Tease is mostly because I wanted people to enjoy the hummers and such. But the Capitol riots could have been taken care of sooner except the DoD sat on their hands even after Pence requested help. And it wasn’t just him. Schumer and Pelosi were also desperate for assistance from the National Guard. But they just stood around ready for traffic control until Dolt45 finally allowed them to do their jobs. I’m trying to not be even more enraged but if somehow the Senate hadn’t been cleared in time it could have been so much worse.

  50. 50.

    Spanky

    Now I’m reminded that I should disinfect the hummer feeders and fill ’em.

    Alexander is a theme, if not character  in The Man Who Would Be King.

  53. 53.

    germy

    Speaking of historical dramas, Gal Gadot will be playing Cleopatra in a new movie.  I don’t think it’s gone into production yet.  Patty Jenkins will direct.

  55. 55.

    Phylllis

    @dmsilev: We have a Firecracker plant in our little flower plot outside our dining area window. We have seen 3-4 hummingbirds get into a brawl over the blooms. Dinner and a show.

  57. 57.

    Jeffro

    @raven: ha!

    I was just reading That Paper’s piece on how the Masters still prices their pimento cheese sandwiches super-low.

    I don’t care about that – I’m just mad that I forgot to get some pimento cheese when I went to the store this morning!

  58. 58.

    Mornington Crescent

    There was a pilot for a TV show Alexander the Great starring William Shatner and Adam West that was never picked up.  Imagine Captain Kirk and Batman starring in the same show.

  62. 62.

    Betty Cracker

    @dmsilev: They boss me around too. A week before I intended to put the feeders up, an early returnee lit on my window screen and dragged its beak back and forth to get my attention. Nectar! Now!

  63. 63.

    maeve

    I am resigned to Spring never coming – it’s snowing – again- today.  I have complained to the National Weather Service but as usual they will do nothing about it.

  66. 66.

    germy

    @NotMax:

    We laugh, but viewers have noticed how Joss Whedon filmed Wonder Woman vs. how Patty Jenkins filmed her.

    Whedon utilized more lingering closeups of her various body parts, and made sure the Amazons wore less.

  69. 69.

    Juju

    I always love your bird pictures. The hummie picture reminds me that I need to put my feeder out soon. The hummies should be here soon.

    I don’t want to drag the thread down, but I’m so sad today. The last few months have been hard with regard to my dogs. I lost my dear little Heidi dog at the end of last October. I sort of expected it because she was an older dog, I adopted her when she was a very spry 11.  I wished for at least 3 years with her, and I got that with a few extra months.  It still hurts just the same. Yesterday I had to put my beautiful curly red golden retriever rescue girl down because the kidney disease we thought we had under control, apparently wasn’t under control. I didn’t see this coming.  She saw her vets regularly and we were keeping an eye on things.  She seemed just fine, and then she didn’t. Things really went down hill during the week and the vet tried all the treatments that can help a dog with failing kidneys, but nothing worked and yesterday I had to make the decision I hate making.  I was hoping to have her just a bit longer, but that wasn’t to be.  I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.

  71. 71.

    lgerard

    @Jeffro:

    I was just reading That Paper’s piece on how the Masters still prices their pimento cheese sandwiches super-low.

    According to an excellent article in the New Yorker 2 years ago the best food hack at the Masters is to take the chicken cutlet out of the chicken sandwich, stick it in the pimento sandwich, then carry it around in your pocket for a while.

    A must read!

  74. 74.

    trollhattan

    NWSL (wimmenfolk professional soccer for yew rubes) kicked off 2021 last night with 25% stadium occupancy and in Portland at least, a hockey match between the hometown Thorns and newly minted Kansas City squad (moved from Utah, where they had previously moved to from Kansas City. It’s complicated).

    Soccer was played in half 1. Half 2 turned into hockey. Minute 48: yellow card. Minute 49: yellow card. Minute 70: yellow card. Minute 90: second yellow and ejection (red card), plus Portland coach receives red card and ejection. Minute 90+1: yellow card. Minute 90+3 red card, second red card from a scuffle that included a body slam and face punch.

    Not for sissies, this beautiful game. Programming note: USWNT playing a “friendly” versus Sweden today. Hopefully no face punches.

  75. 75.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Brachiator:

    Alexander Nevsky is pretty damn good, in an old-school Russian kind of way. But, hey, Eisenstein—I repeat myself.

  85. 85.

    trollhattan

    @Phylllis: ​
     
    Our bottlebrush is about to bloom (couple of timid early-risers showing) and the first bloom of the season is the showiest and the thing is a huge attractant for hummers and bees. Can’t wait! (We have hummers year-round at the feeder but more species show up for spring-fall.)

  86. 86.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @Benw: Stressful is raising young kittens without a mama cat. Bottle feeding kittens is SO. MUCH. WORK., and even then, you are barely adequate to a job Mama can do effortlessly. But when kittens get to the “explore the world” stage, the house can become pretty lively. Last year we had one litter with 6 kittens, and that was a lot of kittens when they were all running around

    The only really stressful mama and kittens I’ve had was a truly feral mom who seriously swiped at me every time I put my (long-sleeved, gloved) hands into the cage. I had to make a rule to remove the kittens first before doing anything else in the cage (clean the cat box, sweep up litter, etc.) because she could injure the kittens she was so reactive to me.

  92. 92.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Brachiator:

    Might as well throw in the exquisite “Berlin Alexanderplatz” miniseries by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. 

    Don’t forgot the 1931 feature-length version.

  94. 94.

    CaseyL

    @Betty Cracker: That sounds lovely.  The northern part of Florida is practically terra incognito to me (during my time at college in Gainesville, I traveled out to Cedar Key one weekend.  That was, oh lordy, 45 years ago).

  96. 96.

    Geoduck

    @trollhattan: The Alexander pilot was made several years before West and Shatner landed their iconic roles. Imagine how history might have turned out if it had gone to series. (Not very likely, judging from West’s comments at least..)

  97. 97.

    satby

    @Juju: I’m so sorry Juju. You gave them a happy life full of love, that was their heaven on earth. And then made the greatest sacrifice of all for them when you let them go gently at the time it became hopeless so that they didn’t suffer. Condolences.

  99. 99.

    JPL

    @Yutsano:  Mitt Romney came so close to meeting his demise, that his family must be horrified.   btw I do believe that trump would have blamed Romney for his own death.

  100. 100.

    Mary G

    @Juju: Whether you expect it or not, it’s a huge loss, and you’ve had two in the middle of the pandemic. {{{Virtual socially distanced hugs.}}} (yes, that makes no sense).

    I’m finishing up an audiobook and then I’m going to watch “The Great Pottery Throw Down” on HBOMAX. It’s supposed to be a Great British Bakeoff vibe with amazing things made, and I’ve seen so many people rave about it on Twitter I’m kicking it up to the top of my list. I must have four series going, but none of them floats my boat and I decided, like reading bad books, that I am too old to spend any of my precious remaining time not interacting with anything mediocre.

  102. 102.

    different-church-lady

    @germy: Weaponized Socratic Method. It’s like every one of her replies is, “Would you like to keep drinking that hemlock you brought in here with you?”

  103. 103.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @MomSense: I know! Actually, AJ struck me as good casting (EXCEPT for the age thing, which is excluding right there) in that she has the requisite “high maintenance” aspect to her that Olympias had, judging by reports. Alexander is quoted as saying the highly-strung Olympias made him pay a high rent for the nine months she had housed him in her womb.

  104. 104.

    JPL

    @Juju:   Over a decade ago, I lost two dogs within a few weeks of each other, and it really sucks.   Time does make it easier, and you just have to wade through.    I’m so sorry.

  106. 106.

    Brachiator

    @germy:

    Speaking of historical dramas, Gal Gadot will be playing Cleopatra in a new movie.

    Probably sparking some controversy over not casting a black Cleopatra.

  107. 107.

    HinTN

    @Betty Cracker: Wanna go in on a houseboat on the St John’s in October? That sounds like a real nice laid back time. If course this pair of geezers would make you younguns do all the work. ?

    Seriously, where do I look to rent said craft?

    PS: That line of storms is just about there for you. Stay safe.

  110. 110.

    Steeplejack

    @Betty Cracker:

    Weather delay right now, in fact. Just got home and tuned in. For a second I was like, “Wow, Tiger sure made a miraculous recovery!”

  115. 115.

    brendancalling

    Spring has sprung in Burlington Vermont, so I went for a run. Tuesday I start work coaching boys’ track at a local middle school. I’ve resigned myself to another year here—the healthcare and social programs are nice, the mountains are lovely, the Performative Progressivism is grating, the music scene is dominated by fucking hippies, the rents are exorbitant, and the Lake Wobegone Cosplaying makes me want to shoot someone in the face—so I’m enjoying the weather before October comes and it all goes to shit again. Memphis by 2022!

  116. 116.

    NotMax

    About to dive back into the two-part very, very gritty Swedish noir The Fat and the Angry on Prime. Mostly because it is byzantine enough that I’m curious where it ends up. Alternates almost drunkenly between frustrating and gripping, so far.

    Also, nothing wrong with your TV should you choose to watch. It for some reason was purposely done in a washed out visual style.

  117. 117.

    Mary G

    At one point we had five hummingbird feeders around the house and one guy spent all his time running others off, going from one to the other.

  118. 118.

    Brachiator

    @germy:

    Whedon utilized more lingering closeups of her various body parts, and made sure the Amazons wore less.

    I thought that was more Zack Snyder vs Whedon, but I forget.

  122. 122.

    Jay

    A heartbreaking sign of the times: In isolation wards where patients die alone, craving the touch of their loved ones, nurses fill gloves with warm water to simulate that comfort. They call it the Hand of God. pic.twitter.com/KAhzweRlB4— Marc Goldstein (@marcgoldstein_) April 9, 2021

  125. 125.

    Another Scott

    I’ve missed Popehat – I’m glad he’s back.

    So @RepMattGaetz was super excited when someone told him he could expect 12 – 18 until he found out that’s a guideline range

    — VenmoCrimingHat (@Popehat) April 10, 2021

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  127. 127.

    PJ

    @Brachiator: Cleo was a plain looking Macedonian, but that’s never stopped Hollywood from putting some of the most attractive actresses in the role.

  128. 128.

    Brachiator

    @mrmoshpotato:

    Might as well throw in the exquisite “Berlin Alexanderplatz” miniseries by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. 

    Don’t forgot the 1931 feature-length version.

    Never saw that one. I did not know it was available or ever shown in the US. Fassbinder’s version knocked me out.

  129. 129.

    MizPurple

    @pluky: I thought Steven Pressfield’s Virtues of War was an excellent, deeply researched historical fiction version of Alexander’s life, and utterly destroys that silly Colin Farrell “Alexander” movie. (Pressfield’s Gates of Fire, about the Spartans at Thermopylae, is even better – and utterly destroys the wretched “300”.)

  131. 131.

    Jeffro

    @germy: I’m surprised she didn’t say, “What would your question to me be, do you think, if President Biden’s poll numbers sucked?  Hmm?”

  132. 132.

    Steeplejack

    @raven:

    Perfect weather here in NoVA: sunny, 70°, slight breeze, humidity 65% (relatively low for here). Went out to do a couple of things and brought home a thin-crust pizza (pepperoni, sausage, black olives) from the Lost Dog Café in Arlington. Holding off a food coma for now, but if they don’t get back to live play I may succumb.

    One thing the pandemic has done is to kill almost all my interest in watching sports—all of them. They just don’t “feel” the same. And golf used to be one of my favorite video wallpaper sources: Golf Channel on Thursday-Friday, then the networks on the weekend. Nice, quiet commentary, lovely scenery, occasional drama.

    It took a major effort for me to even watch a couple of stages of the Tour de France, and that’s usually must-see TV for me.

  133. 133.

    Jeffro

    @JPL:Mitt Romney came so close to meeting his demise, that his family must be horrified.   btw I do believe that trump would have blamed Romney for his own death.

    This whole country came *this * close to seeing dozens of American lawmakers executed on the steps of the Capitol.  I wish our media and Dem lawmakers would make more noise about that.

  134. 134.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    We went down a Trapp Family rabbit hole this morning. It started with hearing the end of a piece on “This American Life” about somebody’s relationship with “Sound of Music.” From there it went into exploring the bios of the von Trapps, a YouTube with Julie Andrews yodeling with Maria von Trapp, various TV appearances by different generations of Trapps (apparently they dropped the “von”) and finally discovering that there was a German movie based on Maria’s memoir in the 50s, a decade before “Sound of Music”. So now we’re planning on watching that this weekend.

    But “Thunder Force” sounds awesome. Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer are both in my “will watch anything they’re in” category.

  135. 135.

    Jeffro

    @Steeplejack:One thing the pandemic has done is to kill almost all my interest in watching sports—all of them. They just don’t “feel” the same.

    Yup.  Attending live sports is weird too.  We went to a very socially distanced college baseball game this past week and it was just…weird.  All the usual stuff the announcers/stadium plays to get the crowd clapping, people stomping, etc, it was like, “Just stop it, please”.  7th inning stretch?  NO ONE singing “Take me out to the ball game”.

    Although it was kind of cool to be able to hear all the dugout chatter for once.

  141. 141.

    Mary G

    Oh Dog dammit, covid cases quadrupled overnight in the OC, from 95 to 422, and there is going to be a Klan rally, AKA “White Lives Matter Rally” in Huntington Beach, the Alabama of SoCal tomorrow. The OC NAACP is not participating in the counterprotest, so looks like violence may be expected, and the city’s police department doesn’t have a good record of shutting down MAGAts.

    (LAT) The Huntington Beach Police Department said it will deploy personnel and monitor the gathering, but it could not confirm how many people are expected to attend.

    Police Chief Julian Harvey said during Monday’s City Council meeting that the department is attempting to “work with the organizers to avoid surprises,” and to remind them of municipal codes and laws.

    He did not mention asking the group to abstain.

    The department has struggled with protests in the past. One rally against COVID-19 shutdowns in May drew 2,500 people with no injuries or arrests, but a 500-person Black Lives Matter protest that same month was declared an “unlawful assembly,” with police firing pepper balls at demonstrators.

    In light of that distinction, some residents are concerned the response to Sunday’s events would be less than equitable. Smith reaffirmed the Police Department’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, but he also spoke in favor of understanding.

    “We just hope everybody can be respectful of each other, treat everybody with dignity and understand that everybody has different perspectives and different opinions,” he said. “We hope that they can utilize events like this as a means to find the common ground and work together for a common goal.”

    These fucking assholes. Every time we think we got out, they pull us back in.

  146. 146.

    Brachiator

    From BBC News. Love this quote…

    Rachael Blackmore made sporting history by becoming the first female jockey to win the Grand National with victory on Minella Times at Aintree. 
    The Irish rider scored a thrilling triumph aboard the 11-1 chance, trained by Henry de Bromhead who also saddled runner-up Balko Des Flos. 
    “I don’t feel male or female right now. I don’t even feel human,” 31-year-old Blackmore told ITV.

    Not even Covid could get in the way.

    There were no spectators at the Merseyside track because of Covid-19 protocols, but the historic moment was not lost on the jockeys, trainers and owners in attendance who cheered the pair back into the winner’s enclosure.

  147. 147.

    Tehanu

    Check out the review of Thunder Force in the L.A. Times from Friday 4/9. My husband literally had tears running down his face from laughing. One of the funniest putdowns I’ve ever read.

  148. 148.

    JPL

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: When I was a youngin the Catholic school that I attended reserved the local movie theatre so we could watch the original movie about the family in America.   I can’t remember the name, but Disney ended up buying the story, and destroying the original movie.   They then produced The Sound of Music.

  154. 154.

    rikyrah

    @Yutsano:

    Sad to say, but I knew this.

    As soon as they got to their hiding place, both Nancy Smash and Steny Boyer called the Governors of Virginia and Maryland. The Governor of Maryland is on record as not being able to get through to anyone of authority at the Pentagon for NINETY MINUTES-.

    EXPLAIN THAT ?

    Other than INSIDE JOB??

  155. 155.

    Steeplejack

    @Another Scott:

    No seriously at this point the AUSAs are just rolling into the grand jury and turning on the TV and saying “Check this dipshit out.”

    Also loving the parallel timeline of the completely innocent @MattGertz.

    When the fake news comes after me they’re really coming after you and I’m just in the way!
    https://t.co/Zm6qUa36zt

    — Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) April 10, 2021

  156. 156.

    Jay

    Detroit-area hospital is out of ventilators tonight for Covid patients, a source tells me. Michigan has almost as many people hospitalized now as the peak last April. It's very bad.— Justin Miller (@justinjm1) April 10, 2021

  163. 163.

    Tony Jay

    @Steeplejack:

    Yeah, she was, but she was a Ptolemy, and the point that was being made was that the Ptolemaic Dynasty was entirely Macedonian Greek and took very great pains to stay that way. Having an African actress play her would be historically inaccurate, and as happy as I am to watch Gal Gadot on a screen of any size, and as much as it really, really doesn’t matter in the greater scheme of things, even she’s lacking in the blondes for a real Ptolemy.

  165. 165.

    Plain Dave

    @pluky:

    Same here, when I was a young fella.   Years later I recall those books but now see Alexander in a new light.   Think of the length of his supply chain.  He was (or had) one of the greatest logisticians who ever lived.  Also, I agree the movie was terrible while I admit enjoying Rosario Dawson’s scenes.

  166. 166.

    raven

    @Steeplejack: Late to get back. I don’t know, covid made things different for everyone and I’m not immune. We’ve been fortunate to live where we do and have maintained pretty well. I’ve been fighting motor issues the whole time with no success but I just had an MRI and I have “tethered spinal cord”. I’m actually glad to know because I’ve tried everything I could and nothing worked. There is a surgery for this and it’s pretty successful in most cases. I don’t want to put myself in a position not to be able to help Bohdi, at 16 1/5 he’s struggling so, right now, I’ll wait until he doesn’t need me anymore. If, and when, I have the surgery and am able to resume a more normal life we want to do lots of stuff.

  167. 167.

    Brachiator

    @Tony Jay:

    Yeah, she was, but she was a Ptolemy, and the point that was being made was that the Ptolemaic Dynasty was entirely Macedonian Greek and took very great pains to stay that way.

    Do we know for certain that there were no Egyptian wives along the way? The Macedonians were not opposed to marrying foreign women to seal alliances.

    Having an African actress play her would be historically inaccurate

    Playing Cleopatra (or most other historical figures) has never been about historical accuracy.

  168. 168.

    NotMax

    @Steeplejack

    Reviews across the board have not been pleasant (snippet from your link included below).

    Thunder Force doesn’t work as a comedy, but that’s because it doesn’t really work as a movie.… Source

    Melissa McCarthy and her husband, filmmaker Ben Falcone, have managed to put out not one but two movies during this global pandemic. It prompts two questions: What did we do to deserve them? And how do we stop it?
    [snip]
    …The trailer for the film is way better than sitting through it. It’s a tedious mess to endure and seemed like way more fun making than watching. Source

    All of this is very standard and none of it is particularly interesting. Watching CGI-generated McCarthy and Spencer flipping and twirling through the air attacking their enemies is not my idea of a good time. What is my idea of a good time, however, is watching them develop a relationship, watching them make each other laugh, watching them act together. They’re great together. That’s the draw, the two of them. There’s not enough of it.… Source

    “Thunder Force” is at least an equal-opportunities bummer: It doesn’t work as a superhero adventure or a midlife reclamation movie or a mismatched buddy comedy or a family entertainment unless your aim is to disappoint all members of the family equally. Adults bathed in their device’s garish Netflix glow will be bemused at just how little there is to like about a film starring two of their generation’s most likable actresses, while teens and younger will be bored beyond belief by the lame gags, herniated action and tacky special effects if they haven’t already tuned out of its off-brand fakey vibe. Source

    A comedy about women of a certain age, and of all body types, demanding the spotlight from the 20-somethings who star in Hollywood’s favorite genre is an admirable thing. It could even be applauded in a comedy that is barely competent. But there is nothing competent about Thunder Force.… Source

  169. 169.

    J R in WV

    @Juju:

    I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.

    You have been. So sorry for your losses! They are so hard to let go of. Right now our older cats have lost some weight, and started cuddling in bed late at night, which our cats do nearer their respective ends.

    So sweet.

    Of course are first I had no clue that it was an end stage game, now it seems more bitter-sweet than it did the first time some years back. Take care of yourself now and keep in touch with us here.

  171. 171.

    Tony Jay

    @Brachiator:

    Hellenic Period. The Greeks, led by the Greek(ish), had conquered the known world and adapted to (some of) the cultural mores of their subject populations that they felt would give their military occupations dynastic legitimacy. In Egypt that was incest with a dose of Only Marry Peer Competitors, and since all of their peers were Macedonians…..

    I get your point about traditional lack of historical accuracy, but the original point was that there might be a pseudo-historical ‘scandal’ about a non-African actress playing an African Queen. My point was Cleopatra was African by birth in the same way that F W de Klerk was African by birth, and anyone insisting that he be played in a biopic by a black actor “because he was African” would also be pointed and laughed at.

  172. 172.

    Geminid

     

     

    @Plain Dave: But did Alexander need a long supply chain? His army relied on edged weapons, and did not need ammunition resupply. At a compact 35-40,000 troops,² Alexander’s army could live off the well populated areas he conquered, and pack grain, oil and salt for long marches. Replacement soldiers could march to him across pacified territories. Alexander lost troops to privation when he returned to Persia from India, across what is now Southwest Pakistan. But then he purposefully took the hard way.

  173. 173.

    Another Scott

    Quiet thread about birds – check. Maybe this can be posted now. The squeamish may want to skip it.

    This morning I was looking in the backyard and saw a flash of a male goldfinch being chased by a crow. I thought “that’s strange”. I think he managed to get away, but I wasn’t sure.

    Late this evening I was walking Ellie through the local park and I heard a ruckus. I looked up and saw a few crows flying together, one of them carrying something in its feet. And heard a robin crying and trying to hassle them to leave.

    The crow that was carrying something landed on a path to the side and I saw it was carrying a bird. It was pulling out feathers and working on it, so I thought it was done for, but as we approached the bird put up a last bit of a fight and the crow hopped a few feet away. Ellie and I approached and it was clear that it was an adult robin. It wasn’t able to lift itself up, so the poor fellow was done for. We left it and let the crow(s) have their meal. One of them carried it off to a pine tree maybe 30 yards away, in close pursuit by the other crows.

    I knew crows were opportunistic hunters and scavengers, but I didn’t think of them as aggressive hunters of adult birds.

    I wonder if it was the same crow in both cases, and if it’s teaching its offspring to hunt.

    Nature red of tooth and claw, indeed…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  175. 175.

    Another Scott

    In other OpenThread news:

    After delayed enactment from '20, @ssurovell's bill establishing a Do Not Sell List takes effect July 1. Residents can put themselves in the prohibited purchaser database in a time of crisis to block accessing guns. Read more here ? @MomsDemand #valeg https://t.co/xGIax0n44U

    — Mike (@JustCallMeFoxy) April 10, 2021

    Surovell is my state senator. Just an amazingly hard-working, effective, and thoughtful legislator. He pushed the effort to outlaw the death penalty in VA (and so much more) and recently did a virtual meeting with folks in South Carolina trying to do the same there.

    He’s someone to watch.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  176. 176.

    Regine Touchon

    Oh Lordy Betty I thought of you today when me and my hubby were in our vegetable garden. We have a close view of our pond and watched our great blue heron who visits us quite often spear a one pound bass. Utterly amazing!

  179. 179.

    Brachiator

    @Tony Jay:

    I had to step out for a while. Sorry that this is probably a dead thread now.

    My point was Cleopatra was African by birth in the same way that F W de Klerk was African by birth, and anyone insisting that he be played in a biopic by a black actor “because he was African” would also be pointed and laughed at.

    Unfortunately I think the casting decision here is going to result in some bitterness and hard feelings. I understand that Patty Jenkins wants to continue her cinematic partnership with Gal Gadot. But I really wish that she had chosen another project.

    Oh, well.

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