Good morning. More rain last night (but no tornado warnings).
The mothership, in a report I might call “The Empire Strikes Back”, covers TikTok’s response to the recently passed laws requiring TikTok to be sold by its China parent company, or else be banned from online app stores for US customers.
Sirens went off Tuesday night, went around us. A community north of us got some damage (Greenville). Greenville is mostly straight east of Winchester, IN (which got slammed a month ago).
We went to the basement and read awhile, then an hour later went back upstairs.
And over on the Front Page, the lead story is about how the Gaza conflict has affected online dating for anyone Jewish. This sounds much like how politics has affected, not just dating, but all manner of relationships, in the era of Trump.
What was the Mexican man & woman combo you posted here in the last couple weeks? I meant to note their name. I think Optimum said he was a big fan. The vid was of a pre-concert-looking picking session, with some very impressive picking, iirc.
Love Taj Mahal. "Fishin' Blues" is my personal favorite. I also really like The Tedeschi Trucks Band. Never liked each one of them solo (he just went on too many weird licks). But I love them together. Saw them once and was blown away. She is an excellent guitarist; you just never notice it with all his wizardry. That was a fun clip of Taj and them rehearsing.
My understanding is that Taj has some spectacular depth of knowledge about all sorts of folk music from around the world.
Don’t know if you’ve seen it, but he had an early, early collaboration with Ry Cooder called “The Rising Sons”. They released the one album they made together, recorded in the late 60s, in the 2010s. They apparently didn’t quite see eye to eye as young men. But the album has several interesting tracks, including a version of “Statesboro Blues” that sounds like it was early-Beatles inspired.
Found it! Absolutely a Beatles influence! In searching, I found a number of other artists versions, including Chris Smither and (improbably) The Youngbloods!
Today’s special animal friend is the Central African rock python, Python sebae, a large, nonvenomous, constrictor snake that can eat yesterday’s friend, the lechwe. This reminds me of a song. “The alligator ate my friend. He will eat your friend, too.” Only it’s a snake. One of ten species in the Python genus, it is the largest snake in Africa. The longest “considered to be authentic” individual was 24’7” long. Before you get too concerned, it is rare for one to be longer than 15 feet, and 10 feet or so is typical. The largest individuals are found in isolated areas.
Females are bigger than males and may weigh over 200 lbs. The rock python’s thick body is marked with irregular blotches in colors that blend into the local ground, such as brown, yellow, and olive. They have a white underside. There is a triangular dark mark under each eye. They have lots of sharp teeth, which hold on to their prey as they squeeze it to death and then swallow it.
They have a varied diet of mammals, birds, and reptiles. In agricultural or suburban areas, they will eat domestic poultry, goats, dogs, and cats, as well as rats and other rodents. In forests, they eat monkeys, bats, and birds. In the savannah, they eat antelope, young crocodiles, and the cubs of wild dogs and cats. One has been observed eating a large, adult hyena.
Rock pythons mate in the spring. The female lays between 20 and 200 eggs; older, larger females have larger clutches. She will lay the eggs in a termite mound, animal burrow, or cave. She will guard the eggs for about 90 days, until they hatch, and defend the babies for another two weeks or so. The hatchlings are 18 to 24 inches long. This is a very unusual level of parental care for a mother snake, although some other python species also guard their eggs.
The Central African rock python is rated Near Threatened by IUCN. They are hunted in some areas because people don’t like snakes, for their skins, and for “bushmeat.” Habitat loss is also a threat, but they are more adaptable than many animals and can live in disturbed habitats or even in towns, if there is sufficient food. There is some collection for the pet trade and captive breeding. They have been found in the Florida Everglades, alone with the Burmese Python.
The rock python is rarely a threat to humans. There are a handful of reports of attacks in Africa over the past 50 years, and some children have been killed by pet snakes in the United States.
There used to be a dangerous python in England that killed people too, they died laughing. I think it was a Monty sub-genus. But it hasn't done much killing in a long time. But people over there have long memories.
You obviously haven't witnessed the military horror of "the killer bunny". look how many crusaders it killed, despite their having the holy hand grenade of Antioch. Harmless bunny? Ha!
I enjoyed the music. I had jeard of Taj Mahal but never listened. I like him!
His voice was clearly designed for blues by the Acting Deity.
Today is our 32nd anniversary. We tend to tack on the 8 years we were together prior to getting married. 😊
Congratulations! And many more!
Happy anniversary! May you have many more!
Congrats! 🥳🎊🤩
Happy 32nd, but good luck finding a greeting card with a 32 on it.
Could do a 25th, but put a carat between the two and five.
Good morning. More rain last night (but no tornado warnings).
The mothership, in a report I might call “The Empire Strikes Back”, covers TikTok’s response to the recently passed laws requiring TikTok to be sold by its China parent company, or else be banned from online app stores for US customers.
We have finally accumulated an inch in the rain gauge, much less than forecast over the past week
We got the extra.
Sirens went off Tuesday night, went around us. A community north of us got some damage (Greenville). Greenville is mostly straight east of Winchester, IN (which got slammed a month ago).
We went to the basement and read awhile, then an hour later went back upstairs.
And over on the Front Page, the lead story is about how the Gaza conflict has affected online dating for anyone Jewish. This sounds much like how politics has affected, not just dating, but all manner of relationships, in the era of Trump.
YouTube autoplay brought up a lot of other songs. Hank Williams, Jr., covered "Mind Your Own Business".
What was the Mexican man & woman combo you posted here in the last couple weeks? I meant to note their name. I think Optimum said he was a big fan. The vid was of a pre-concert-looking picking session, with some very impressive picking, iirc.
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Thanks!
You're welcome.
Love Taj Mahal. "Fishin' Blues" is my personal favorite. I also really like The Tedeschi Trucks Band. Never liked each one of them solo (he just went on too many weird licks). But I love them together. Saw them once and was blown away. She is an excellent guitarist; you just never notice it with all his wizardry. That was a fun clip of Taj and them rehearsing.
I also think his architecture is really inspiring too!
It’s very Agra-ssive.
My understanding is that Taj has some spectacular depth of knowledge about all sorts of folk music from around the world.
Don’t know if you’ve seen it, but he had an early, early collaboration with Ry Cooder called “The Rising Sons”. They released the one album they made together, recorded in the late 60s, in the 2010s. They apparently didn’t quite see eye to eye as young men. But the album has several interesting tracks, including a version of “Statesboro Blues” that sounds like it was early-Beatles inspired.
Just listened to it. Love it but don't get the early-Beatles vibe.
It’s “Statesboro Blues (Version 2)” on the album list.
Found it! Absolutely a Beatles influence! In searching, I found a number of other artists versions, including Chris Smither and (improbably) The Youngbloods!
Still looking. The interweb is obsessed with their new "reunion" album.
Here’s the Apple Music link, in case it works…
https://music.apple.com/us/album/statesboro-blues-version-2/288104087?i=288104201
Thanks. See previous. I found it. And agree. Definitely Beatles.
Oh. Will listen now. I was watching a live version on YouTube. Hold please.
Maybe I had the wrong track in mind… Will report back.
Thanks. I will check it out. Tedeschi Trucks also has a live version of Statesboro Blues that's quite good.
Today’s special animal friend is the Central African rock python, Python sebae, a large, nonvenomous, constrictor snake that can eat yesterday’s friend, the lechwe. This reminds me of a song. “The alligator ate my friend. He will eat your friend, too.” Only it’s a snake. One of ten species in the Python genus, it is the largest snake in Africa. The longest “considered to be authentic” individual was 24’7” long. Before you get too concerned, it is rare for one to be longer than 15 feet, and 10 feet or so is typical. The largest individuals are found in isolated areas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AubT3c1KVI
Females are bigger than males and may weigh over 200 lbs. The rock python’s thick body is marked with irregular blotches in colors that blend into the local ground, such as brown, yellow, and olive. They have a white underside. There is a triangular dark mark under each eye. They have lots of sharp teeth, which hold on to their prey as they squeeze it to death and then swallow it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyWBgKa1rKY
They have a varied diet of mammals, birds, and reptiles. In agricultural or suburban areas, they will eat domestic poultry, goats, dogs, and cats, as well as rats and other rodents. In forests, they eat monkeys, bats, and birds. In the savannah, they eat antelope, young crocodiles, and the cubs of wild dogs and cats. One has been observed eating a large, adult hyena.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0rk5zh7RaE
Rock pythons mate in the spring. The female lays between 20 and 200 eggs; older, larger females have larger clutches. She will lay the eggs in a termite mound, animal burrow, or cave. She will guard the eggs for about 90 days, until they hatch, and defend the babies for another two weeks or so. The hatchlings are 18 to 24 inches long. This is a very unusual level of parental care for a mother snake, although some other python species also guard their eggs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=givdcP05rVQ
The Central African rock python is rated Near Threatened by IUCN. They are hunted in some areas because people don’t like snakes, for their skins, and for “bushmeat.” Habitat loss is also a threat, but they are more adaptable than many animals and can live in disturbed habitats or even in towns, if there is sufficient food. There is some collection for the pet trade and captive breeding. They have been found in the Florida Everglades, alone with the Burmese Python.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MosOA408Ye8
The rock python is rarely a threat to humans. There are a handful of reports of attacks in Africa over the past 50 years, and some children have been killed by pet snakes in the United States.
There used to be a dangerous python in England that killed people too, they died laughing. I think it was a Monty sub-genus. But it hasn't done much killing in a long time. But people over there have long memories.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgj3nZWtOfA
Monty Python you are not -- 🚪
That was clever, Jay.
The idea of a python, a snake, that can swallow adult antelopes and hyenas is -- freaky.
I agree. It's a very big snake.
There’s a replica of the largest anaconda ever found at the Madison zoo. It’s terrifying to imagine a snake that big.
Many world mythologies feature immense snakes.
And the focus on Africa continues.
Correct. It's a long safari. Africa is full of animals.
> The rock python’s thick body is marked with irregular blotches in colors that blend into the local ground, such as brown, yellow, and olive. <
I take it the one with the mullet is the “hard rock python”.
Clever.
"...some children have been killed by pet snakes in the United States."
I have no words for the stupidity of our species. For goodness sake, people, get something your kids can play with that won't kill them. Like a bunny.
You obviously haven't witnessed the military horror of "the killer bunny". look how many crusaders it killed, despite their having the holy hand grenade of Antioch. Harmless bunny? Ha!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgj3nZWtOfA
Good point.
Yeah. We are a bizarre animal.
Good morning. The ad on the first video was a black woman with an Anglo-Caribbean accent advertising "Better Help" because "Your pain is real."
You could just try listening to music.