What are you up to?

[OliveOyl]

Okay Brian….what’s that furry thing on the roof? He’s creeping me out…has a face like a dorky man!

 

[OliveOyl]

Last Saturday (on the “big news” event day), my back went out so I’ve been feeling like I’m 108 years old. But as usual, Bad Back time always passes and now I’m standing straighter, and the pain is lessening, and normal mobility is coming back. So this morning, I took a favorite short walk around the block which happens to run along the open grasslands of the Petroglyph National Park. (I saw 2 coyotes in there a few weeks ago!)

Anyway, I grabbed some deserty plant things as I walked and ended up with a Bird of Paradise (the yellow flower with red spikes) and some Desert Willow (the pink stuff…all over the place around here) and some kind of Sage (maybe Sand or Fringed). The rest are probably just weeds but…I don’t know because I still haven’t learned what’s what.

But whatever, I think this New Mexico bouquet looks pretty good sitting in my grandmother’s antique iridescent vase, on my handmade New England table with the embedded BB pellets (<one of my favorite things. Umm…the table not the pellets).

I wish I was more poetic because there’s something here about the passing of time (and passing the torch?) and holding onto hopefulness and the lovelier bits of our world and slowly moving forward….

 

[brianvds]

Okay Brian….what’s that furry thing on the roof? He’s creeping me out…has a face like a dorky man!

It's a hyrax. I find it peculiar that you find it creepy - most people think they're cute.

Of course they're not supposed to be found in suburbs; they're wild animals. I was flabbergasted to see one here, and I can only assume it is someone's (probably very much illegal) pet.

Hyrax trivia: their closest living relatives are, wait for it, elephants. Perhaps next thing I'll see an elephant sitting on a roof and enjoying the early morning sun.

 

[OliveOyl]

Well, make sure you get a picture of THAT when it happens. And I’ve never heard of a hyrax before and I suppose the “cuteness factor” is that they’re round and have fur, but that face….ugh. Animals should not have people faces. I object!

 

[john]

Saw this at an antiques store and it reminded me Olive's paintings.

At the ocean........

In NYC , Pier 17, The Thompson Twins, with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background. It was a five hour concert of multiple 80's English bands. Let's just say that standing for five hours was a challenge for the age demographic. Amazing venue. Whenever I get into the city I'm always amazed. Luckily my wife knows how to get around it on the subways etc because it confuses the heck out of me.

 

[brianvds]

Well, make sure you get a picture of THAT when it happens. And I’ve never heard of a hyrax before and I suppose the “cuteness factor” is that they’re round and have fur, but that face….ugh. Animals should not have people faces. I object!

Looking through the results of a Google image search, I can't quite see why you think their faces look human. But admittedly, they can look creepy when they want to...

Sweet dreams...

 

[Terri]

It's a hyrax. I find it peculiar that you find it creepy - most people think they're cute.

Of course they're not supposed to be found in suburbs; they're wild animals. I was flabbergasted to see one here, and I can only assume it is someone's (probably very much illegal) pet.

Hyrax trivia: their closest living relatives are, wait for it, elephants. Perhaps next thing I'll see an elephant sitting on a roof and enjoying the early morning sun.

Thanks for that info - I think he's a cute little fat thing, too!

But I find it bizarre that it's so closely attached genetically to elephants!

Nice set of images, Brian.

 

[Terri]

Looking through the results of a Google image search, I can't quite see why you think their faces look human. But admittedly, they can look creepy when they want to...

View attachment 42077

Sweet dreams...

I wouldn't want this one mad at me!

 

[brianvds]

Thanks for that info - I think he's a cute little fat thing, too!

But I find it bizarre that it's so closely attached genetically to elephants!

Nice set of images, Brian.

They're actually not very closely related - elephants just happen to be the closest available cousins, but the two lineages split apart very long ago - as far as I can find out, around the time the dinosaurs became extinct.

 

[PaintBoss]

Wow
Brian. What a handsome animal! It’s just those teeth make him look devilish.Lol
John, that most certainly does look like one of Olive’s paintings! Love the Thompson Twins – what a great night out! And of course I love the water pic.
I don’t get out much at all. But let me share my sweet companion. He’s starting to get very close to me again. I was in the hospital so long last year that it really affected our bond. My husband tells me he laid by my bedroom door for several months missing me. He is now very much my husband’s dog. Which is fine -does him a lot of good. He’s more fun, can take him out to interesting places and for his walks/ playdates with kids and other dogs. But I am slowly winning him over! This little dog which is a Pomeranian poodle cross, seems to know when I’m not well before I do. He tries to stick his nose down my mouth to sniff. So I don’t know if that’s asthma or sugar levels he is sensing. But I also know something is happening because he won’t leave me even in the bathroom. Not even for his favourite things or my hubby. And he has to be as close as possible. He is very gentle even with his toys and play. He is a little gentleman always wanting permission before he gets up to see us on the couch or in bed. You gotta love dogs!

They gave him a summer cut. Here he is sleeping on my bed with me. I have severe oedema as you can see. I literally couldn’t find any socks on the market even for severe oedema. I got desperate when I got cold in winter and I just started pulling apart socks and then knitting them together very basic as I don’t knit. I really didn’t care about the appearance. But also you can see the other side of the room some of my art supplies. You can’t see the canvases but I keep my art stuff right in front of me, no matter how well or not well I am feeling!

 

[brianvds]

I almost got myself embroiled in a stupid online debate.

Some days ago, YouTube recommended a video about (so says the guy who made the video) very well known South African conspiracy theory. The theory holds that Nelson Mandela in fact died in prison in the 1980s, and was then replaced by an impostor, who proceeded to sell out Mandela's people at the peace negotiations (something the real Mandela would never have done).

Now note that this is distinct from the so-called Mandela Effect, which simply holds that people sometimes distinctly remember things that never happened, or happened differently or at a different time. In the original version, people remember that Mandela died in the 1980s, but this has nothing to do with him being replaced. That is a separate conspiracy theory.

Anyway, I have never heard that one before, and in a brief comment on the video, said so. And then I got inundated with angry messages urging me to just wake up, and arguing that I have been the victim of propaganda, and that I must be spectacularly stupid and ignorant, and so on and so forth.

The saga ended with me very proud of myself: I did not respond to any of it, and did not get dragged into a pointless and angry debate.

Next thing I'll no doubt be unwise enough to comment on a flat earth video...

 

[brianvds]

And now it's following me around: yesterday I watched an episode of The X-Files, and it turned out to be about, yes, the Mandela Effect. I wonder if there's a term for this kind of thing.

 

[Hermes2020]

Perhaps it is an example of Jungian synchronicity?

 

[Artyczar]

Didn't you know the earth is now in the shape of a cannoli? Not a pizza after all.

 

[brianvds]

Didn't you know the earth is now in the shape of a cannoli? Not a pizza after all.

 

[stlukesguild]

I spent much of Friday cleaning out one of the storage units and consolidating most of the stuff into a single unit or bringing it to our current residence. This will save me a chunk of money. Temporary storage units are something of a scam with the price increasing every 3 or 4 months. I brought the majority of my books home except for the art books... which weigh a ton. I've been going through the boxes and doing some major editing. We are looking into a smaller home... ranch style (single floor) because my brother who lives with us walks with a cane and steps are a real obstacle. When we move... into a space smaller than our previous home but larger than our apartment... I have decided not shelve the entirety of my library but only those books I am most likely to need access to. This means mostly poetry, short stories, and my absolute favorite works. I've been dividing the books into separate boxes... those with books to remain boxed for the foreseeable future, and those to be shelved. It looks like I'll end up keeping less than a 1000 of my current library (of some 3000+ books...not counting the art books) out on shelves. My wife was somewhat upset seeing me place so many books into what will become "deep storage" but it seems ridiculous surrounded by the clutter of books I likely won't need or want to read any time soon. Who knows... down the road I may end up selling these.

 

[Terri]

I spent much of Friday cleaning out one of the storage units and consolidating most of the stuff into a single unit or bringing it to our current residence. This will save me a chunk of money. Temporary storage units are something of a scam with the price increasing every 3 or 4 months. I brought the majority of my books home except for the art books... which weigh a ton. I've been going through the boxes and doing some major editing. We are looking into a smaller home... ranch style (single floor) because my brother who lives with us walks with a cane and steps are a real obstacle. When we move... into a space smaller than our previous home but larger than our apartment... I have decided not shelve the entirety of my library but only those books I am most likely to need access to. This means mostly poetry, short stories, and my absolute favorite works. I've been dividing the books into separate boxes... those with books to remain boxed for the foreseeable future, and those to be shelved. It looks like I'll end up keeping less than a 1000 of my current library (of some 3000+ books...not counting the art books) out on shelves. My wife was somewhat upset seeing me place so many books into what will become "deep storage" but it seems ridiculous surrounded by the clutter of books I likely won't need or want to read any time soon. Who knows... down the road I may end up selling these.

It's hard to downsize - period. It's worse when you have to downsize your own library. All the books I gave away when we moved cross-country I have made up for by new purchases. I had our books in storage for nearly a year while we lived at my mom's place, emptying it out so she could transition to assisted living. During that time, our storage rental fees went up three times! It is a racket, I agree.

I remember being sad for my mom when she started giving away her books about 5 years ago - she switched to just using a Kindle for reading. But I appreciated it when *I* was the one helping her pack up and move. It was bad enough to donate dining room furniture, bedroom suites, and empty a basement of 40+ years of junk - if I'd had to convince her to get rid of books, too, we would have thrown down more than we already did at that time!

I have a room converted to an office/library that still holds all our books. Art books, photography books, wine books, history, and general favorites - they still all fit but we're at the point where we carefully consider our purchases these days.

 

[brianvds]

Perhaps it is an example of Jungian synchronicity?

It's precisely the kind of thing that would have interested Fox Mulder.

 

[Ellen Easton]

I like this little guy lots better than the hyrax. I just get so happy whenever I look at a picture of one. These are called quokka and I never knew they existed till my cousin married a lady from Australia and they posted pictures. Just look at this face!

 

[stlukesguild]

Along with sorting out all the books in my library so that I can be a bit more organized... not to say Minimalist, I have also begun going through my CD collection that might be even bigger. I believe I counted 3500 or 4000+ the last time I went through them... with some 300 recordings by Bach alone! I know that when I move into a more permanent abode I don't want to deal with shelving this many CDs so I have begun going through all the recordings and documenting them. I plan to then look through Spotify to see which recordings I can access there and then only shelve my absolute favorite discs... especially boxed sets... and those that cannot be found on Spotify.

I know Brian would be heartbroken to hear that Herbert von Karajan's recording of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde... one of the most absolutely lush recordings... cannot be found on Spotify. You'll need to look elsewhere... or keep the disc handy... like I have.