I’m off to Ottawa today, will give one talk for the Centre for Inquiry, and be part of a brunch discussion of free will. Meanwhile, on this day in history, Samuel Colt patented his eponymous revolver in 1836, in 1870 Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, became the first African American Congressman—a U.S. Senator, in 1932 Hitler became a German citizen (remember, he was born in Austria). Notable people born on this day include the painter Renoir (1841) and Zeppo Marx (1901)—not a great day for births. Deaths on this day include Mark Rothko (1970), Tennessee Williams (1983), and Eugenie Clark (2015), nicknamed the “Shark Lady” and once my colleague at the University of Maryland. Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili for once is showing a penchant for learning over noms.
A: Hili, you must be uncomfortable there.
Hili: Yes, very, but these are important books.
Ja: Hili, chyba ci tam niewygodnie?
Hili: Bardzo, ale to są ważne książki.
We haven’t seen the Dark Tabby, Leon, for a while, but here he checks in. The subject, of course, is noms:
Leon: Oh no, no, this pizza is mine!
And Gus is still hanging out in his newly renovated Ikea box (he’s gnawed off part of the roof to make a patio). He also looks stoned on ‘nip:
Extra lagniappe: a chipmunk from Diana MacPherson.
I saw a chipmunk this morning. He was really annoyed with the sleet at one point as he started getting pelted. Here, the sleet has relaxed a bit so the chipmunk can get seeds in peace.Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus) Wakes from Torpor to have seeds in the sleet:
Chipmunks are SO sweet – the prettiest of the sciurids! Well, all rodents are, particularly the muroidea… 🙂
I love what Gus has done with his Ikea digs. So innovative. 🙂
“not a great day for births”.
Though you could have mentioned George Harrison, Anthony Burgess and Enrico Caruso amongst others!
I didn’t see them in Wikipedia; but of course it was, as always, very early in the a.m. when I looked
What exactly is the difference between torpor and hibernation, (he asked while pouring his second cup of coffee)?
“Torpor is a short-term reduction of body temperature on cool days. Hibernation is an extended form of torpor.
Torpor is driven by ambient temperature and food availability; hibernation is associated with day length and hormone changes.”
Is that a dead lizard on the wooden rail?
The Writer’s Almanac mentions George
Harrison and a long description of Enrico
Caruso, but not Burgess.
Here’s a Tennessee W story that I heard from Larry Harvey in Key West: At the conclusion of the 1980 premiere of his play Mister Merriweather in KW, the first person to arrive at his house for the after-party was invitee Tallulah Bankhead, who said, “Dahling, I would have gotten here sooner, but they made me sit through some awful play.”
True, the last plays are forgettable, but he’s still the greatest American playwright.
Hmmm, name rings a bell. (as did Quasimodo’s face).
Ah, some painter dude. Boxes on boxes.