Sheldon Herman dead at zero

Dead at zero. Possibly the son of Florence Duboisson.

Rathgar the tyrant

 
This is rathgar. A hastily chosen name for a dictator of a grackle.
 

He just realized I was taking a picture, and tried to pose like a nice bird.  He’s not very nice.  He isn’t satisfied getting enough to eat- he’s  not done until he finishes running all the other birds off of the table at El Sol Y La Luna.  The boys and I love to go there on the weekend, but Rathgar has been unruly lately.  What happened to leaving well enough alone? This is where the links between birds and dinosaurs become pretty discernible (to me).  Can birds be nice?  I mean- nobody expects a lizard to be nice, and I’ve never really met a bird I would call ’friendly’. The closest is Florence- who I’d say is curious… I guess anything is possible.  I think it’s time to read about avian ethology. Here’s some highlights of a search: 

A REVIEW OF SOME ASPECTS OF AVIAN FIELD ETHOLOGY

 

This page has a lot of info, including audio samples of the (horrible) grackle song.

From a social perspective, there are two camps.

The anti-gracklists:

This is a movie/conspiracy theory about Grackles called Night of the Grackles.  It’s almost unbearable. You can skip the first 2:30.  She almost has a theory about what grackles are conspiring to do…

 

The anti-gracklist guerilla faction video was ultimately silenced by Pro-Gracklists, but you get the idea. Grackles are up to something.

The Pro Gracklists are responding with ’scientific’ evidence that grackles are smart. I think you’ll find the evidence shocking.

 

Then there’s this site which offers a book- I realized I was nerding out somewhat when I read the caption:

“… Serious birders or amateur naturalists possessing sufficient background information may begin to ask: What messages are encoded in the song of Chestnut-sided Warbler males? What does the white forehead patch signal on male Collared Flycatchers? Are Barn Swallow pairs formed by chance, and if not, what mechanisms influence them? Why is rape common among waterfowl? Do Reed Bunting parents always raise their own genetic offspring?”

apparently this book will answer those kinds of questions. 

Suspiciously missing: “Why is Rathgar a jerk to the good birds?” 

Science (and sometimes even wikipedia) can be really disappointing. Soon I’ll be able to understand (for example) avian ethology instantly.  For now- apparently it will take more than six minutes.  More bird phenomenon when I have more time to research…

.j.

 

Florence Duboisson

Meet Florence.
She’s been hanging around my office window lately. She’s part of the recent bird phenomenon. Click her picture to see a little slideshow. She’s very curious about what I do.  Or maybe about how to break in and steal my stuff.

She’s named after the (possibly) real Florence Duboisson, an almost pen pal of mine who lived in France. Our class (elementary school) was assigned pen pals who lived in distant countries.  So I wrote her a long letter, discussing all the things I liked about America, and was full of questions about Paris.  She didn’t write back, I assume because my letter didn’t get to her, or hers didn’t get to me.  The letter was not to blame- it was so answerable.  I mean… the response pretty much wrote itself.  Even a busy little Parisian girl would feel compelled to answer such a genuine effort to communicate. 

Anyway, the name Florence is synonymous with mystery and curiosity to me.

Wanderlust | Contentment and the Bird Phenomenon

I like art that has a story. Here’s one for your consideration.  (Yes, it has to do with contentment)

Austin had an art show in April. It was excellent, and had plenty of nationally known artists. (rare for the shows here)   I was on a fantastic self-date to ride my bike, hear music, and see art.  I was an excellent date. I think I cursed when the second tire got a flat, but I tried to see the opportunity to graciously learn patience.  (I didn’t, but I tried. A little.)

By the time I got to the show, I had already run and ridden my bike all over town. I was sweaty and stinky, and a bit dehydrated.  This made me question how much I liked all the art at the show, but I went to a bunch of the websites of the artists the next few days and I was correct.  It was just a good show. On with it.

So I found Mary Thomas’ work pretty.. fresh and.. classic, but graphic, and.. waxy? I don’t know. Different, and beautiful.  This story is about this painting:

I knew I really liked this painting, but I didn’t know how I felt about the bird being in a cage. It was a nice light cage, but.. I’ve always been claustrophobic, and it made me a little uneasy. Someone told me a couple years ago that my claustrophobia is probably related to wanderlust. I agree, it’s the same feeling essentially. It’s about lack of choices. (I think)  Anyway, to add to this feeling there were two title cards- one on either side of this painting. On the left it said “Wanderlust“, and on the right it said “Contentment“.  I knew I liked the painting, but… how could it be both? There’s no such thing as contentment and wanderlust. Right? They are essentially opposites. So which was it?

I looked at Mary (the artist) and I was almost too afraid to ask. I looked at the prices instead. Wanderlust was more expensive than Contentment. Of course. That’s not helpful though.

I was going to buy it either way, but the question was burning in my stomach. I decided I had better ask which it was. It turns out the title is Contentment. I really like it. Later Mary wrote me that the woman is taking the bird outside where she can sit and enjoy the garden.  Wanderlust and contentment both. Hmph.

This made me consider the idea as a possibility.  This is something I’m still thinking about.  How is the bird content?  Surely the bird would rather be free!?  OK let’s refer back to why the caged bird sings.. from “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar:

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,

When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,

When he beats his bars and would be free;

It is not a carol of joy or glee,

But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,

But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings -

I know why the caged bird sings.

 

Wow. Oppressively heavy.  I guess I asked for it.  

So lately birds have been everywhere I look.  This is definitely a theme- I’m getting more art and images and pictures with birds, they have been an eerily recurring theme.  It’s worth looking at more for sure. I’ll refer to this (hopefully)temporary fascination as the bird phenomenon until I can think of something else. 

On the other hand, if I start posting things like “don’t see the cage.. the cage is you”, please feel free to smack me. *ducks*

.j.