Category: Pi monologue

Wednesday: Hili dialogue

March 20, 2019 • 6:30 am

Only one more day until formal Spring, as it’s March 20, 2019. Duck season (for rearing, not for hunting) will soon be upon us, and I’m crossing my fingers that Honey returns to make another brood. However, the Spring Equinox occurs today—at 4:58 p.m. in Chicago. It’s is celebrated with today’s Google Doodle: It’s National Ravioli Day, World Sparrow Day (they are pretty, you know), and the Great American Meatout Day, on which you’re supposed to pledge to forever refrain from eating meat.

Schadenfreude of the day. It about an Italian politician and was published in The Independent (click on screenshot). The guy is better now but was in hospital for four days. (h/t: David)

On this day in 1616, Sir Walter Raleigh, after being imprisoned in the Tower of London for 13 years, was freed. But it wasn’t long before he was imprisoned again, and then beheaded in October of 1618.  On March 20, 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe published her abolitionist novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Exactly two years later, the Republican Party of the U.S. was organized in Ripon, Wisconsin. Do not forget that Abe Lincoln was a member of that party. It was much better back then.

On March 20, 1915, Albert Einstein published his general theory of relativity, combining the earlier special theory with gravitation and establishing the notion of “space-time”. On this day in 1942, General Douglas MacArthur, having pulled American troops from the Philippines in the face of the Japanese, made his famous statement, “I came out of Bataan and I shall return”. And he did.

On March 20, 1966, Tunisia gained independence from France. In 1985, Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, modeled on the 1925 Serum Run to Nome.  On March 20, 1995—and most of us remember this—the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo carried out a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, which killed 13 and wounded more than 6,200. Ten men were involved: five released the gas and each had a getaway driver. All ten were either executed or sentenced to life imprisonment.

Finally, it was on this day 15 years ago that the Invasion of Iraq began in the dawn hours when the U.S., along with troops from the UK, Australia, and Poland, began military operations.

Notables born on this day include Ovid (43 BC), Henrik Ibsen (1828), B. F. Skinner (1904), Ozzie Nelson (1906), Vera Lynn (1917, still alive at 102), Carl Reiner (1922, still alive at 97), Fred Rogers (1928), Mary Ellen Mark (1940), John Boswell (1947, lived across the hall from me in my college dorm), Bobby Orr (1948), Spike Lee (1957), and Holly Hunter (1958).

Mary Ellen Mark was a street and portrait photographer specializing in the underbelly of American life, much like Diane Arbus. Here are two of her pictures:

Those who went underground on this day include Brendan Behan (1964), Chet Huntley (1974), V. S. Pritchett (1997), and David Rockefeller (2017).

Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili and Cyrus are feeling a bit peckish after their walkies::

Cyrus: Let’s go back to civilisation.
Hili: Yes, we have to eat something.
In Polish:
Cyrus: Wracamy do cywilizacji.
Hili: Tak, trzeba coś zjeść.
And in Honolulu, Pi is enjoying his new box (Pi speaks Hawaiian pidgin):
Pi: Mahalo fo’ da box, brudda, but wea is my kalua pig?

Laurie sent this cat meme:

A cartoon from Science Humor‘s Facebook page:From reader Barry, who exults (with me): “The seal was saved!” This seal had gotten itself entangled in a plastic ring and some fishing line, and you can see how hard it was to rescue. You need a special “seal stick”!

Tweets from Grania. First, a baby badger named Bumblebee.

Grania notes this: “They are trying to re-introduce him to his mother as he seems to have lost her a few nights ago. As far as I know that he is not Mr & Mrs Lumpy’s offspring. I think it may be a grandchild, but I don’t know if they are sure. Anyway, they seem fairly confident they can return him to his mother.” 

And here’s how Bumblebee was rescued:

There’s a goodly crop of kakapo chicks this year!

An oldie but a goodie (clearly the alleles are codominant):

And who can’t use an adorable kitten on Wednesday?

https://twitter.com/AMAZlNGNATURE/status/1101351398246035456

Tweets from Matthew. Did you know there were marine mites? I didn’t, and Matthew calls them to our attention:

I may have shown this before, but it’s still one of the funniest captions I’ve seen:

Here’s a veritable Cunk-o-Rama in which she questions the Expert Men:

I love these animal-reunion videos. Clearly these wild wolves remember this person, and they’ve kept that memory for two years. How lovely!