Re: Penultimate Month (fwd)

[robert <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>]

 > From: Noelle <noelle>
 > Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2025 10:14:55 -0800 (PST)
 >
 > Michael Ellis
 > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdxUm-3tfLc

Added to queue.

 >  > From: "Michael Ellis" <http://www.footlooseforays.com/~mjellis>
 >  > Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2025 16:45:54 +0000
 >  > 
 >  > Footloose Forays  <
 >  > https://www.footlooseforays.com?ss_source=sscampaigns&ss_campaign_id=69229058f5a65373aeadb1e5&ss_email_id=69233a348284b840a8cc489e&ss_campaign_name=Penultimate+Month&ss_campaign_sent_date=2025-11-23T16%3A45%3A52Z
 >  > > Penultimate 
 >  > Month Michael Ellis — November 22, 2025 Hi Everyone, Well, once again I 
 >  > dropped the ball, I wanted to get this out a bit sooner. Oh well. This is 
 >  > better on a larger device than your phone. But you know that. A little 
 >  > business first—folks have already asked me about the Birds Birds Birds 
 >  > trips that I have led for decades in the northern Sacramento Valley. Maybe 
 >  > two offerings. December 12-13 and December 14-15. The caveat is I just had 
 >  > my second hip replacement - the right leg this time and I’m in recovery. I�>  > ��m getting better slowly slowly and I’m pretty sure I’ll be up for that 
 >  > spectacular birding adventure but I’m going to wait, just a little bit to 
 >  > confirm. So, stay tuned. All three Tanzania safaris in January and February 
 >  > are full. But 2027 is coming right up. Here is an x-ray of my left leg 5 
 >  > years ago. Some nice knee work done on a royal Egyptian priest thousands of 
 >  > years ago!! The priest Usermontu, was found to have an iron screw connecting 
 >  > his thigh and lower leg bones in a way that suggests a prosthetic or 
 >  > post-mortem stabilization of the knee. The screw, inserted after death, was 
 >  > secured with an organic resin similar to modern bone cement and was likely 
 >  > intended to ensure the body was intact for the afterlife. “After death” 
 >  > is a key phrase. I was and am very much alive during mine. As you readers 
 >  > know there can be much to peruse in my little blogs. Save and return at your 
 >  > leisure. BOOMER ALERT. I am 13 and it is Sunday night and The Ed Sullivan 
 >  > Show is on <https://time.com/7304108/sunday-best-netflix-ed-sullivan-show/ > 
 >  > . I had no idea what a pioneer he was in getting black performers the 
 >  > exposure they deserved as well as bringing a wide variety of entertainment 
 >  > into our living rooms. The show “Sunday Best” is streaming on Netflix. 
 >  > The Fake Band that Changed Comedy (The Story of Spinal Tap <
 >  > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdxUm-3tfLc > ). I give this documentary an 
 >  > 11. I am sure with AI this knowledge about the use of Semicolons <
 >  > https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/grammarpunct/semicolons/ > will be 
 >  > unnecessary I shared this once before but I love the passion and energy 
 >  > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqwrwwOzVcQ <
 >  > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqwrwwOzVcQ > The power from these indigenous 
 >  > Siberians especially that woman!! Life lessons are useful, endure them. We 
 >  > are not really certain when the first humans entered the “new world”. 
 >  > But this discovery <
 >  > https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adv4951?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExRWUzNDZZOHJ2NDcxaXFOMgEer-7X6rjkVvTkXzEsQqtK1jV6uorwG-pKdfqv9l30nbijfia9LDrY-KR8s5U_aem_wC49yuxjGzwy8e1cOPa1mw
 >  > > seems to push the date back a bit. 
 >  > Ray Wylie Hubbard can tell a story <
 >  > https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&fbclid=IwY2xjawLiFzNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFwUXdJSEFMV3JMZmlSZGVYAR4rY8NibZSRUHOG4WY8MiZP_vkcMSg6hGuEBaewi0f4peGBZvgVBlOUPjUxzw_aem_TISVYGcYqwq6uKBg5KkqbQ&v=rIQVG0Bcu6w
 >  > > Can something come 
 >  > from nothing? I like this guy Jim Al-Khalili, he can explain very 
 >  > complicated science in a very accessible manner. <
 >  > https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=X6B5qo7fvQw> NASA’s view of 
 >  > the Great Salt Lake <
 >  > https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/154632/sweeping-vistas-above-the-great-salt-lake
 >  > > I am in love with Alie Ward. I know a lot about owls but I 
 >  > learned even more from this podcast. 
 >  > https://www.alieward.com/ologies/strigiformology <
 >  > https://www.alieward.com/ologies/strigiformology > There are stars whose 
 >  > radiance is visible on Earth though they have long been extinct. There are 
 >  > people whose brilliance continues to light the world though they are no 
 >  > longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night 
 >  > is dark. They light the way for humankind. – Hannah Senesh, poet, 
 >  > playwright, and paratrooper (17 Jul 1921-1944) Big Dipper at the Alabama 
 >  > Hills, Ca In October, I went to Memphis to visit my sister and we 
 >  > did a road trip slashing diagonally through the state of Arkansas up through 
 >  > the Ozarks to the resort town of Eureka Springs. Did you ever wonder why 
 >  > Arkansas is pronounced that way while neighboring Kansas is not? I had 
 >  > totally forgotten from my American history that the French explorers were 
 >  > some of the first Europeans in this part of North America. The state of 
 >  > Arkansas is pronounced "Arkansaw" because it's a French adaptation of a 
 >  > Native American name, and the final "s" is silent, following French 
 >  > pronunciation rules. The name is derived from a French transliteration of 
 >  > the Algonquian word for the Quapaw tribe, which was often called "Akanza" or 
 >  > "Arkansa". The Arkansas state legislature officially declared this 
 >  > pronunciation in 1881 to honor the state's original inhabitants while the 
 >  > spelling reflected its French heritage. This is in contrast to the 
 >  > neighboring state of Kansas, which is pronounced with a sounded "s". Also 
 >  > named for another tribe that is related the Quapaws. But they went for the 
 >  > Anglo/Angle. What would a town named Memphis be without its very own pyramid?
 >  >  This pix snapped through the window. It maybe the tenth largest pyramid in 
 >  > the world. It is 321 feet (about 32 stories) tall and has base sides of 591 
 >  > feet. But still not as large as the one at Giza. But it is now the largest 
 >  > BASS PRO SHOP in the world. Weeeeeee Haaaaaa. Top that Egypt! I was excited 
 >  > to get back to my Tennessee roots and to enjoy some southern artery-plugging 
 >  > cooking. Yep, hush puppies, catfish, slaw, fries. Later I enjoyed some okra, 
 >  > grits, fried green tomatoes and sweet iced tea. Let’s put it this way-- I 
 >  > was happy to get back to the food in the Bay Area. One of the nation’s key 
 >  > trucking routes is Interstate 40 which runs from Barstow, CA to Wilmington, 
 >  > NC 2500 miles. A truck full of Oreos, the number one selling cookie 
 >  > throughout the world since 2014. I bought a package in a remote desert 
 >  > outpost in Namibia along with some Ca almonds! American commerce and 
 >  > influence. And how do you eat your Oreo? Yes, Virginia there really is a 
 >  > Toad Suck, Arkansas and in nearby Conway every year the TOAD SUCK DAZE 
 >  > festival brings 150,000 folks to the middle of Arkansas for food, family and 
 >  > fun. And they have toad jumping contests. Only locally raised toads and no 
 >  > non-natives allowed. Here comes those French again. "Ozarks" is a shortened 
 >  > version of the French phrase "aux arcs," which means "of arches" and refers 
 >  > to the natural rock arches and bridges. This second oldest mountain range in 
 >  > North America (after the Appalachians) is located in southern Missouri and 
 >  > northwestern Arkansas. Second oldest??? However, the St. Francois Mountains 
 >  > in Missouri are over 1.5 billion years old. But the entire uplift of the 
 >  > Ozarks was later than the Appalachians. Hence the confusion about the 
 >  > respective ages. Google and you will find different opinions about the 
 >  > oldest. Arkansas is a very diverse state with 139 endemic species and 2700 
 >  > vascular plants. And has 32 Endangered species – red-cockaded woodpecker, 
 >  > Hell Creek cave crayfish, speckled pocketbook (a mussel), Rose Mathias. 
 >  > Looking north from State Rd. 65 the beginning of the Range. Rolling hills, a 
 >  > lot of water, productive farmland, isolated communities with a strong sense 
 >  > of independence. Significant development only fairly recently. A lot of 
 >  > recreation—-camping, hunting fishing, kayaking, and mountain biking. 
 >  > Gorgeous country. Making a political statement during my trip through the 
 >  > South. Sister Pam is a great guide. Must run in the family. At one of our 
 >  > stops we found a Texas Tarantula. I decided to pick it up and impress 
 >  > other tourists with my stupidity. It worked. Eureka Springs, the Crescent 
 >  > Hotel built in 1886 by some railroad tycoons. Best hotel west of the 
 >  > Mississippi for many years. Many iterations including the Baker Cancer Cure 
 >  > hospital. Here is the story from the New Yorker. <
 >  > https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/the-haunting-history-of-a-hucksters-cancer-cure
 >  > > We did sign up for the haunted house tour. There were many 
 >  > deaths here from the very ineffective cancer cures by “Doctor Baker” As you can see by 
 >  > the expressions of our fellow tourists, we were little impressed by our guide. 
 >  > And, sorry, this is her day job. The Buffalo National River, in Northern 
 >  > Arkansas, was as the first National River to be designated in the USA. The 
 >  > River is 153 miles long. It is therefore protected from significant development,
 >  > The headwaters begins in the Boston Mountains in the Ozarks and flows to the 
 >  > White River and then into the Mississippi. HALLOWEEN Ariel, Medusa and Perseus. 
 >  > From a KQED Perspective. <
 >  > https://www.kqed.org/perspectives/201510300643/to-mock-the-darkness > Footloose 
 >  > Forays, 1275 4th St , Santa Rosa, CA 95404, United States