Balloon Juice - Sister Golden Bear, Author at Balloon Juice

Fluffy Birbs Respite Post

Since dread and disassociation have pretty much decimated my ability to focus and catch up on the overdue projects I should be working on today, I for one, could use a respite thread.

Back in 2012 Jackie was the first bald eagle known to ever have hatched in the Big Bear (CA) Valley, part of the San Bernardino Mountains, southeast of Los Angeles. She’s been laying eggs there for the past eight years, helped by her current mate, Shadow. About a decade ago, locals raised money and worked with the US Forest Service to install two nest webcams, which have been streaming live coverage 24/7/365 ever since. (Interesting background at the link well.

The latest (as yet unnamed chicks) were born April 4th and 5th and watching them is helpeing distract me from… well everything.

What are you doing to keep your sanity?

Fluffy Birbs Respite ThreadPost + Comments (53)

<tap, tap> Is this thing on? I wasn’t planning to make this make this my first post—don’t worry there will be plenty of trans-related posts later on—but given <gestures at everything today> I figured we all could use a little joy.

"Renewable Energy Jesus" won San Francisco's 2025 Hunky Jesus contest. — “Renewable Energy Jesus” won San Francisco’s 2026 Hunky Jesus contest on Easter Sunday. He’s wearing a crown in miniature solar panels and the cross is also a wind turbine. Photo from *The Bold Italic.*

While I didn’t make it yesterday, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’s annual Easter celebration, featuring the (in)famous “Hunky Jesus” contest is the sort of bad taste good fun event that San Francisco is famous for. As one local writer put it:

Hunky Jesus is queer church without the guilt. It is what Pride would be if corporations hadn’t found it. And it is San Francisco’s most sacred act of nonsense.

It, and the Sisters, are irresistible bait for denunciations by reactionaries, but in my book the Sisters embody the spirit of Christian charity far more than their screeching detractors. They began the eve of the AIDS years as a small group of gay men here who began wearing the attire of Catholic nuns with clown-like makeup, using camp to promote various social and political causes. In the decades since, they’ve grown into an international network of autonomous orders, which are mostly registered as non-profit charity organizations that raise money for AIDS, LGBT-related causes, and mainstream community service organizations. They also promote safer sex and educate others about the harmful effects of drug use and other high risk behaviors.

The Sisters’ annual Easter celebrations—What’s the Story Behind the Hunky Jesus and Foxy Mary Contests?—are obviously camp and a bit tongue-in-cheek, but they genuinely provide “joyful communion” as well. Here’s one round-up of photos, as well as a second set of photos (both generally safe for work).

What’s bringing you joy in these grim times?

Note: While this is generally an open-ish thread, I’m not planning to get into trans issues and I’d appreciate if you do the same (hey even I need a break from dealing with them). Also, a quick reminder that I use she/her pronouns. Finally, as our Blogmeister has made clear, those who want to engage in transphobic and queerphobic shit are not welcome. Those who do so here will get up close and personal with the Mallet of Loving Correction. As was said by ACT UP! activists in the AIDS days: “You killed off all the nice queers, now you’re gonna have to deal with the pissed-off cockroach queers.” So please don’t test me. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

The San Francisco (Easter) TreatPost + Comments (142)

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

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

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

You cannot love your country only when you win.

That meeting sounds like a shotgun wedding between a shitshow and a clusterfuck.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Fluffy Birbs Respite Thread

The San Francisco (Easter) Treat