As I’ve said before, I dvr CBS Sunday morning and cherry-pick which segments I’ll watch. These two (and the story on Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward here).
Sharing two this afternoon. First up, Steve Hartman always brings the kindness:
And this story on Jason Reynolds is remarkable:
I just loved how frank and honest Reynolds is with the kids. I’m not a Jane Pauley fan, but managed to cringe only a few times at her interview style.
From my garden, I had a bit of surprise this week – the volunteer bush that appeared my second summer here, has grown taller than my privacy fence and is now producing berries. I have no idea why I chose not to pull it up when it first appeared.
I still had no idea what it could be, but a horticulturist friend told me it’s a chokecherry bush. Looking it up, it’s got all the hallmarks of a great bush for the area: low water, hardy, and berries for the birds (which is probably how I acquired a sprout – there are no bushes in neighboring yards). I will have to watch out for suckers as they can take over. But I deal with that all the time from my plum tree, so I’m up for the task. It’s so pretty, I’m glad I let it hang out instead of pulling it up when it arrived.
This is an open thread…
TaMara
I have a turkey breast on the grill and I have to finish up with that, but I’ll check in later.
Scout211
TaMara, I think I sent you a link to this incredible and uplifting story that I read on CNN.
. . .
Baud
@Scout211:
Wow.
Phylllis
The Paul Newman-Joanne Woodward story was terrific. Their youngest daughter is interviewed; she looks like Joanne with Paul’s eyes and voice. If you saw her on the street you’d be like, ‘Have we met?’. I missed the Jason Reynolds interview; will get caught up on that.
Jay
https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2022/07/it-takes-at-least-377-good-men-with-guns
dr. luba
We had a chokecherry tree next door when I was growing up. They don’t all stay bushes…….
Another Scott
ObOpenThread – Beware “random acts of kindness” in the age of TikTok. PetaPixel:
I agree with her. If he wanted to give her flowers, and film her reaction, he should have asked (even if it wasn’t strictly required). There’s a big difference between random anonymous acts of kindness and making a production of it for clicks.
Cheers,
Scott.
Benw
Birds, man. They’ll poop anywhere
raven
The b-52’s were on today!
Ohio Mom
@Scout211: Two things struck me about that awesome story: first, the treatment was only new to us, it had been used in former Soviet bloc countries but we discounted it, I thinking maybe because of language barriers or maybe because of plain old chauvinism? What else are we missing out on because we don’t respect its source?
And second, how long until some pharmaceutical start-up grabs all this information, patents the virus that eats bacteria treatment and charges a gazillion dollars for a single half dose?
Lapassionara
@Phylllis: I enjoyed that too. A friend of mine once sat near Paul Newman in a NY theater. She did not notice him until she got up to leave, and she basically ended up looking right into those gorgeous blue eyes. She was probably 5’5″, and he was not much taller than she was, But what a handsome person he was.
OzarkHillbilly
@Scout211: My youngest almost lost his leg to a MRSA. Scary shit.
Leslie
Weirdly, the two videos that show up on the front page are both Ukraine-related, but when I click through, I see the correct ones.
TaMara
@dr. luba: I would take a tree – although it would be awkwardly placed. I have a 50+ year old Siberian Elm, and while it’s resistant to elm disease, I suspect at some point it will need to be taken down. I have an oak tree (from a squirrel left acorn!) started, and I’m getting an apple tree this fall. But a big chokecherry tree would be fun. I may need to hire my landscaper to relocate it further from the fence, though.
SiubhanDuinne
@Lapassionara:
I once had a boss who dated Paul Newman a few times in high school.
JPL
My Newman/Woodward story that didn’t happen. They purchased a home not far from where my previous home was located. My house backed up to a small park with a wonderful, although hilly two-mile walk. I always imagined meeting them on the trail. I mentioned this to a neighbor, who laughed and said, all you had to do is go to Target. He was always checking on how they were promoting his brand.
Power couple indeed.
Van Buren
My dog caught a robin today. My instinct was to get it from Rosie , but now I think I should have let her kill it, because it seems doomed to die a painful death from thirst, hunger, or injuries.
And if I go in my yard, a lot of birds start screeching alarms. 14 years of building trust with bird baths and feeders down the drain.
trollhattan
Speaking of writers, a photography blogger I’ve been following since back when blogs were cool has been picked up by The New Yorker. It’s a fitting venue because his writing has always been less about gear and technique but rather, about seeing and the philosophy of composition. His second piece for them is “The Secret Art of the Family Photo” and IMHO is a good read, beautifully illustrated, even for folks who never touch a camera. Y’all have families*.
*Yes, he addresses “difficult” family members.
trollhattan
@Van Buren: Very lucky my bird dog has only caught rats. That, I wholly support even though I do NOT let him keep them.
He might have his own secrets in this regard, but he’s not a permanent yard-dweller either. Also, there was that one time he came this close to snagging a squirrel with bad decisionmaking skills.
Scout211
Reposted from downstairs in a dead thread.
@Jay #5
The Texas House committee report on the Uvalde Robb Elementary School mass shooting was released today.
Full report here.
JPL
@Van Buren: Although it’s horrifying, it happens. My terrier mix has delivered, birds, field mice and Penelope rabbit to my feet. The absolute worse was when he uncovered a nest of baby bunnies. Nine or ten little things went scurrying and the only thing that saved them, was he couldn’t decide which direction to go in. I was able to grab him and bring him inside.
Okay that wasn’t the worse, the absolute worse up to this point was the great hawk chase all over my woods and finally up near my house. I grabbed him before he got clawed to death. He scared the juvenile hawk and it was unable to take flight. After a hour the hawk was able to take off. The things your pets teach you.
Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.)
Can people eat chokecherries?
Van Buren
@JPL: I had a bichon and a Maltese/miniature schnauzer mix. The bichon once dug up a rabbit den and and killed 5 baby bunnies, and the other one caught a cat bird in the middle of elder son’s HS graduation party. I had to enlist a friend to man the grill while I disposed of the corpse.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@trollhattan: What a great essay. Thanks for sharing
Baud
@Scout211:
I’ll need to see a lot of evidence to get over my skepticism that that part isn’t political.
Baud
@Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.):
Not without choking.
JPL
@Van Buren: Fortunately, Finch is slowing down due to age. The grand imps make sure that he’s well fed, so no need to hunt down varmints.
Albatrossity
@Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.): Yes, chokecherries are edible (although the seeds are toxic). You can make a delicious jelly from them, however.
And you can read a great essay about them in this delightful book by Merrill Gilfillan.
Dangerman
@JPL: Several years ago, while I was house sitting for a friend, the cat (the reason for said sitting), brought in a very live bat. Said bat proceeded to go upstairs and fly here, there, and everywhere except outside through the opened sliding glass door.
As I recall, it was a weekend night and I didn’t have a clue who to call to help get a bat out of the house, so I called Animal Control, who also had no clue, but they called the Fire Department, and the Firemen had a HELL of a time getting the bat to leave. Glad it wasn’t just me. If I had videotaped it, it would be played at these Guys retirement party. They were laughing. I was laughing. Bat was probably laughing as it finally went out the door.
Not too long ago, same friend had a need for me to call 911 again; Fire Department came out. One of them remarked “oh, the bat house”. Yup.
Ken
Can’t help but think that line was chosen to sting.
Jay
@Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.):
yes,
For many Native American tribes of the Northern Rockies, Northern Plains, and boreal forest region of Canada and the United States, chokecherries are the most important fruit in their traditional diets and are part of pemmican, a staple traditional food. The bark of chokecherry root is made into an asperous-textured concoction used to ward off or treat colds, fever and stomach maladies by Native Americans.[16] The inner bark of the chokecherry, as well as red osier dogwood, or alder, is also used by some tribes in ceremonial smoking mixtures, known as kinnikinnick.[17] The chokecherry fruit can be eaten when fully ripe, but otherwise contains a toxin.[18] The fruit can be used to make jam or syrup, but the bitter nature of the fruit requires sugar to sweeten the preserves.[19] The Plains Indians pound up the whole fruits—including the toxic pits—in a mortar, from which they made sun-baked cakes.[20]
Chokecherry is also used to craft wine[6] in the Western United States, mainly in the Dakotas and Utah, as well as in Manitoba, Canada.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_virginiana
It’s a small bitter fruit, wild blueberry sized, with a large toxic pit. In the fall, the foliage becomes toxic.
Ripley
For anyone in the market for an electric mower, here’s my very initial reviews of the E-GO 21″ mower:
Today was my 5th or 6th use, on a .25 acre residential lot. I paid ~$865 incl tax, a charger ($150 as an accessory), 10aH battery, 2 extra blades, bag, and mulch/discharge inserts for the self-propelled model. I purchased it from a family owned hardware franchise in a small town, so it might be a little more than a metro big box hardware outlet.
Two days after some hard rain, the grass was nice and dry. Running the blade at 6/7 height trimmed ~3/4 inch – enough to see where I had mowed. I keep my lawn fairly long by neighborhood standards. So far, the E-GO hasn’t met any grass it can’t handle, though I haven’t tried it on very long or very wet grass.
The battery charges up in ~ 40 minutes from nearly dead, and the charger fan might just make more noise than the mower. The mower is VERY quiet – far less noise than my Ryobi 40v blower or trimmer, frankly.
I could probably ask two full mowing jobs out of one charge, esp. with some judicious use of the self-propulsion function, which is adjustable (maybe 6 levels?) and tops out at a VERY fast max setting, if you’re a brave and very fit homeowner looking for a workout.
All in all, I’m quite happy with it. For roughly 50 lbs, it’s pretty easy to maneuver and control. Battery removal is effortless, as are mulch/discharge plate swaps (underneath back flap). Speaking of side discharge, interesting engineering – the outlet is on the back deck and turns a smooth, curved 90* to the right, held in place by the rear flap. Most interesting (to me), the discharge chute has a vertical orientation, so the clippings aren’t blasted down into the grass in a windrow but allowed to float through the air a few inches off the ground and dissipate a little more than a standard side discharge allows.
5 year warranty on the mower, 3 years on battery/charger. At this point, I’d offer a strong “recommend”, if you’re looking to enter the electric mower market. There are less expensive models, of course, but this was the only self-propelled model available the day I bought it.
And I sold my 30″ rider to a neighbor, so recouped ~40% of the E-GO purchase.
JPL
@Dangerman: ha Loved the ending.
ColoradoGuy
376 law enforcement officers. That’s a lot of doughnuts.
Ripley
@Ripley:
Adding – I’m not affiliated with E-GO or any marketing operations. Just thought I’d share a, so far, happy experience with anyone who might be looking at similar products.
PAM Dirac
@Ohio Mom:
The Navy folks involved have already filed a patent, so no one else can patent the exact treatment. They have the case description from this story in the patent. There is another case description, but unfortunately in that case the patient died. There are updates to the patent in 2019, but in a quick reading I didn’t see any more case reports. I’m not sure what that means, but it is clear that they are working on it and haven’t gotten it to the point that it can be put into wide spread use.
Jay
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/zelenskyy-fires-security-service-chief-prosecutor-general-1.6523496
JimBob
@Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.): Only once.
Nelle
@OzarkHillbilly: Sorry to say that we had the same with my son. We were on the other side of the world (New Zealand) and he arrived in DC to start an internship with CBS Evening News. Instead he was in the hospital where they fought to save his leg and to keep it from going into his brain. I was urged to stay in place and monitor it by phone rather than be incommunicado for 26 hours at the least that it would take to make a the connections to fly to him. He is fine but apparently once in your system, you always need to be on alert. Did I understand that right?
I was never so gratified to pay a $15,000 hospital bill (his student insurance didn’t pay much). They saved his life. (Still, in New Zealand, we had national health insurance so it still seemed weird.)
Scout211
Border Patrol was there.
Still skeptical?
Baud
@Scout211:
Do you trust Texas not to use this opportunity to make fake criticisms about Biden?
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Nelle: How terrifying
Scout211
@Baud: Well, no. There are definitely parts of the report that can be used politically. Like this:
HeartlandLiberal
Hey, be easy on Jane Pauley. She graduated from Indiana University, where I worked on staff for 25 years. Decades ago, she was to give commencement address. My wife worked for Alumni Association. Gary Trudeau had accompanied her, and was given an office at alumni offices so he could work. My wife sneaked in and had him sign one of his Doonesbury books for me. They are both good peoples.
Baud
@Scout211:
I’m curious to see how they blamed CRT and the gays.
zhena gogolia
@HeartlandLiberal: She signed a head shot for my 92-year-old father, who loved her. We had a friend who worked with her. It was very sweet.
TaMara
@HeartlandLiberal:
@zhena gogolia:
Hey, not disparaging her, just not a fan of her interview style. Glad to hear she’s nice in person; I couldn’t imagine otherwise. :-)
MaryRC
@Albatrossity: As children we’d pick chokecherries for my mother who made a wonderful jelly from them. I’ve bought it online from time to time as a treat. The berries are too tart to eat raw.
Ohio Mom
@PAM Dirac: Thanks, that’s interesting to know. I’m impressed you knew that or knew how to look that up.
smedley the uncertain
@OzarkHillbilly: Too late, bnut just gotta say it; my best friend died of MRSA. Good health, bad med procedure.
dr. luba
@Ohio Mom: I was a huge fan of Sinclair Lewis in high school, read everything of his I could find. I vaguely recall the books now, but one stands out–Arrowsmith, about an idealistic young doctor who uses phages to treat a bacterial disease outbreak. The book was published in 1925, in the pre-antibiotic era.
My understanding is that phage research died out in the west because antibiotics were discovered, and were easier to produce, store and use. Phages, being viruses, were much more complex, and viruses themselves were not well understood until much later (? after DNA and RNA were understood).
Also, much of the research on phages was published in the USSR/Soviet bloc, in Russian and Georgian. And westerners had doubts about much that came out of the USSR, e.g. Lysenko.
Thanks to there being so many MDR bugs now, and a lack of new antibiotics in the pipeline, interest in phages has revived.
dr. luba
@smedley the uncertain: A friend of mine from residency died of MRSA about 10 years ago. He was diabetic, and it started as a small infection on his toe, I am told. Despite getting the best care possible, he died of sepsis.