The Birds

[greennui]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDNOhsJy_rk

[sally]

aw!

i wish i was here for this

https://twitter.com/overtime/status/1478840191414587392

[niminy-piminy]

A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird
B-b-b-bird, b-birdd's the word
A-well, a bird, bird, bird, bird is the word
A-well, a bird, bird, bird, well-a bird is the word
A-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well, a bird, bird, bird, well-a bird is the word
A-well, a bird, bird, b-bird is the word
A-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well, a bird, bird, bird, well-a bird is the word
A-well, a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word
A-well-a-bird, bird, b-bird's the word, a-well-a
A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird
Bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well, a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well, a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody's talking about the bird!
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, surfing bird, brr, brr, ah, ah
Ah, bap-a-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pap
Ma-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-pa
Ma-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-pa
Ma-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-pa
Ma-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-pa
Ma-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-pa
Ma-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-pa
Ma-ma-ma-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-pa
Ma-ma-ma-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-pa
Ma-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-pa
Ma-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-pa
Ma-ma-mow, ma-ma-mow, pa-pa
Ma-ma-mow, ma-ma-mow, pa-pa
Ma-ma-ma-ma, ma-ma-mow
Ma-ma-ma-ma, ma-ma-mow
Ma-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-pa
Ma-ma-mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow
A-well-a don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word
A-well, a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a mow, mow, pa-pa, ma-ma-mow, pa-pa
Ma-ma-mow, ma-ma, mow, pa-pa

https://youtu.be/9Gc4QTqslN4

[rischka]

https://twitter.com/rbgscfz/status/1491 ... GPlIK38nwQ

ok so he's not actually surfing

[sally]

was not aware there were two robins. this is like that flapjack situation again where we use the same word to describe totally different things and no one ever realises until it's too late (let's not even get into australian 'magpies' *shudder*)

https://twitter.com/bri66thomp/status/1 ... 1940093960

[rischka]

yeah i wasn't real familiar with them til i drove to missouri last spring and they were everywhere! they're bigger than i imagined, and kind of...ugly?? lol

they certainly aren't red but i read somewhere they were named (in europe) robin-redbreast before there was a word for orange. that word entered into late middle english in the 14th century and it's earliest recorded use as a color name was in 1512 - thx wikipedia!

[niminy-piminy]

To Impress Lady Birds, Male Sparrows Sing Their Songs on Shuffle
The singers will memorize a 30-minute playlist and remix the order later to avoid losing their lover’s attention

Any good DJ knows playing the same song too many times at a party is a buzzkill. Likewise, male sparrows will remix and shuffle their set list to captivate their love interests. The songbirds keep track of each new melody they sing and switch up the order every 30 minutes to keep the ladies guessing
...
Previous studies have shown that female sparrows prefer a tune with complexity, vigor, and distinctiveness that showcases their suitor's smarts.
...
The findings suggest male sparrows don't randomly sift through their tracks, instead they curate and design their own playlists.
...
Though normally meant to insult someone's intelligence, perhaps the title "bird brain" should actually be used as a compliment. Male sparrows seem to have incredible memory capacities and recall abilities, a statement explains. Other birds, such as canaries, can only remember about 5 to 10 seconds of previously played tracks
...
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-ne ... OsP1m8krMk

[sally]

well the lovebirds are certainly out in force! all the ducks were shagging in the canal when i strolled past this evening.

also, a strange message on the street bins

[rischka]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-22/ ... /100851458

content warning: australian 'magpies'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM0j_GybEKw

[niminy-piminy]

Unidentifired artist of the Lombard School, Cats being instructed in the art of mouse-catching (or music) by an Owl, ca. 1700
Oil on canvas within a painted lunette . 83.5 x 110.5 cm

[niminy-piminy]

invasion, day 17, situation on the battlefield & homefront, digest.

The Kremlin’s efforts to convince its citizens that Ukraine is the real aggressor are becoming increasingly desperate.

For example, the Kremlin’s latest claim is that the U.S. has trained an army of migratory birds to carry bioweapons developed by the Ukrainian army, and that said birds are preparing to fly into Russia and deploy those bioweapons.

This message wasn’t seeded on some fringe message board by a conspiracy theory-addled extremist: It was boosted by Major General Igor Konashenkov, the chief spokesman for the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, who was speaking on camera Thursday about this outrageous (and entirely fictional) plot.

https://twitter.com/haltman/status/1502 ... DnduzLdFEA

aka questions of the day:
1/ an African or European swallow?
2/ two swallows?

https://youtu.be/w8Rn_f75UHs

[rischka]

https://martcult.hypotheses.org/1042

reminds me of this medieval manuscript on animal warfare - sending cats in the start fires? good luck with that

https://twitter.com/rbgscfz/status/1502 ... WurAw2oWAA

i disturbed these ravens having a secret meeting earlier...

[...]

Don't disturb the ravens! They'll remember and seek revenge!

I always try to befriend corvids, never know when you'll need a feathered ally.

[sally]

For example, the Kremlin’s latest claim is that the U.S. has trained an army of migratory birds to carry bioweapons developed by the Ukrainian army, and that said birds are preparing to fly into Russia and deploy those bioweapons.

hmmm, maybe this is not as far-flown as people think...

https://twitter.com/Singaporehodler/sta ... 1896900615

[rischka]

aww that's adorable

[rischka]

https://youtu.be/o7_OWYrLVOU

the birds know

[niminy-piminy]

Morris dancing cockerel at Uppingham

[niminy-piminy]

woodpecker's work song!

https://soundcloud.com/sonic_kitchen/an ... al_sharing

[greennui]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC0O0048pPw

[sally]

^ i forgive them for being the false kind of magpie, because they're being such cute dumb-asses.

i've made a start on 46, and there are LOADS of non-letterboxd, non-imdb, non-fiction ones on bfi player including two ones for this thread.

the first is theo kay's gannets at lerwick. we are still in the throes of the mass observation movement so there is Science! in these films. this one was accompanied by experienced gannet counters. scoff, but you try counting them when they're sky-zipping & dive-bombing the water (there are 48 in this picture):



and the last portion of the film is a cool 6 minute almost abstract sea scene of bird-boiling fury

[sally]

second one is amazing

birds of the village - james fisher

beautifully shot, pastoral idyll of a gentle doc about wild birds and their relations to the inhabitants of quaint english villages (though with a whisper of folk-horror) that is utterly OBSESSED, to the point of peter greenaway levels of mania, with the proportion of each of the birds' diet that is made up of insects. especially when literally all the birds just eat insects. i was howling with laughter....glorious little film

two intrepid lady bird-watchers/hikers (!!!) arrive at a village and meet the not-scary locals



they begin the wander around summerisle & find a slightly obscene tit-filled hole



oh god jeesus help things are getting wrong



How to Look at Birds: saved by Science! (good)



Science! (bad!)



Science! has gone rogue and released the mutant psycho toad-birds



phew, finally, cuteness, get out whilst you can

[rischka]

https://twitter.com/TG22110/status/1507 ... myncg&s=19

[niminy-piminy]

besides the film festival (viz another thread) i also visited (besides some other museums & galleries) a museum of local lore (offering plenty of disparate expositions).

one of these expositions was devoted to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (despite he never gave a fuck about the city of Olomouc!).
it was mainly conceived in such a way to become first of all appreciated by local kids & simpletons.
however, i must admit i also learned a new tidbit related to the way of life of the local 16th/17th-century nobility.
namely, a tidbit about Don Julius Caesar d'Austria, the oldest illegitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II.

allegedly, it was the custom in the pious & godly House of Habsburg, to adorn the illegitimate offsprings with the epithet "d'Austria".
despite Don Julius Caesar d'Austria was not a product of the usual married bed incest of Habsburg cousins, he was still pretty deranged and committed a lesser-known defenestration (victim (as usually) survived due to falling into a pile of soft shit accumulated (as usually) around the walls of the local picturesque medieval castles).
despite the victim (the daughter of a barber) surviving the defenestration, she didn't escape later dismemberment...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Juliu ... %27Austria

D'Austria was born in 1584 or 1585. Despite his illegitimacy, Emperor Rudolf provided his son with a comprehensive education, and actively sought a good position at a royal court.

Emperor Rudolf purchased Český Krumlov Castle to serve as his son's seat, and Don Julius arrived first in 1605. In 1607, Don Julius invited Markéta Pichlerová, the daughter of a local barber, to live with him. Her parents agreed. Showing signs of schizophrenia, Don Julius behaved violently towards Pichlerová, including cutting and beating her. Thinking he had killed her, he tossed her body out of a window, but she survived and recovered.

According to local chronicler Václav Březan, "She was so terribly damaged that she was no longer a single piece of the body, and in this condition, she was thrown by him to the rocks. But it wasn't meant to be her last hour, because she fell on a rubbish heap which saved her life. Once she was healthy again she hid from him, but he kept returning to her mother so Markéta had to go to him again."

Don Julius requested that her parents allow her to return. When her father refused, Don Julius put him in prison. After five weeks, the father relented and Markéta returned. On Monday, 18 February 1608, Don Julius murdered Markéta and disfigured her body. Březan recorded the event: "On the 18th of February, Julius, that awful tyrant, and devil, bastard of the Emperor, did an incredibly terrible thing to his bed partner, the daughter of a barber, when he cut off her head and other parts of her body, and people had to put her into her coffin in single pieces."

Emperor Rudolf did not defend his son and ordered his imprisonment for the remainder of his life. Julius died on 25 June 1609 after showing significant signs of schizophrenia, refusing to bathe, and living in squalor; his death was apparently caused by an ulcer that ruptured.

in the museum of local lore, i also heard that Don Julius Caesar D'Austria not only lived (in his last stage of life) like a dirty (unwashed) pig but also kept demolishing all the furniture of his barred boudoir.

for some strange reason, the aforementioned glories of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II were accompanied/illustrated (in the museum of local lore) by this surreal still life with birds! ↓

[niminy-piminy]

another noteworthy (bird-related) item of another exposition of the museum of local lore (in the city of Olomouc) was this obscenity called "a nest of a penduline tit" ↓

[sally]

WTF? that is AMAZING

[niminy-piminy]

WTF?

[sally]

...dude with the pink frills at the back...♥

were you accidentally on the set of švankmajer's new movie?

from now on all historical re-enactments should only be done with startled taxidermy in blood red boxes. nice commentary on the aristocracy

[sally]

i mean, not even commenting on the nest

there's a whole lot of complexes going on in that museum

[niminy-piminy]

there was also a photo exhibition of Vladimír Birgus (pics from the commie era).
f.e. a photo called "Our Best Workers" ↓


in the other room were f.e. vintage crucifications in a bottle ↓



or this vintage double-faced nobleman ↓




etc., etc., etc., etc.

[niminy-piminy]

i truly believe that 1946 cinema climaxed in the following masterpiece ↓

https://youtu.be/x3Wh703f3_M

https://twitter.com/jirinvk/status/1510 ... FXUuFIY_TA