Bizarropillar

The larva of the Pacific fruit-piercing moth eat leaves and are usually kept in check by Trichogramma, tiny parasitic wasps.

The moth stage does the real damage. The adult moth flies at night and sucks out the juices of ripe mango, banana, tomato, melon, citrus, guava, papaya and other fruit through its nose, and is considered an economic pest in the Pacific Basin Area.

[Image found here; more here.]

Allochthonous Hot Links

Right Around The Corner, The “5” Royales (1956)The Royal Sons Quintet, aka The Royals, aka The “5” Royales were a gospel group that made the crossover to R&B and laid the foundation for what would later be called Soul Music. Active during the years 1951 through 1965, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

Rock and roll.

This poor dog.

Norwegian Word.

GET OUT OF MY #@%$’n CAR!

Armed robbery is hard in Russia.

Bunkerville is a good name for a blog.

Recreating a 121 year old hamburger.

“Cool costume, bro, but what ARE you?”

Anyone besides me want to see him attacked by giant lagoon weasels?

The saddest Egyptian god. He has a dung beetle for a head.

[Top image: Bean goose flying upside down (“whiffling”) near Arnhem, Netherlands. It’s a quick maneuver  by young show offs. More here.]


From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.

The .Gif Friday Post No. 697 – IN-N-OUT, 3X FAIL & Golf on a 386

[1st from a vid from somewhere on Twitter;
2nd and 3rd found here and here.]

Sea Lice

Sea lice are actually jellyfish

The term sea lice was inappropriately coined by residents who suffered strange rashes after swimming in coastal waters in the 1950s, according to the Florida Department of Health. (There is such a thing as actual sea lice, it turns out, but they are tiny parasites that affect fish, not humans.)

The rash that humans tend to get, on the other hand, “is caused by miniature jellyfish larvae trapped under bathing suits when in the water,” states a 2017 brochure available on the Health Department’s website.

“If pressure occurs from exercising, surfboards, lying on the beach, etc., stinging cells are released and cause itching, irritation, and welts,” the brochure continues. The larvae also like to hang out in people’s hair, so the back of the neck—where hair hangs down and touches the skin—is a common place for lesions.

[Image found here, caption here.]

Grallatory Hot Links

Funny, Joe Hinton (1964)First recorded by country singer Billy Walker in 1961, Joe Hinton’s version made No. 13 on Billboard’s Top 100, No. 1 on Cash Box Magazine’s R&B list, and was one of Willie Nelson’s first hits as songwriter. The title Funny How Time Slips Away was shortened on the record label. Hinton succumbed to skin cancer in 1968 at the age of 38.

Al and Gloria.

Bird from hell.

This wheelbarrow.

Only Charlie Watts. R.I.P.

THIS BETTER NOT BE TRUE.

Another Funny is posted here.

How to keep your notes warm.

Raccoon kit learns the trades.

Springfield School District board meeting?

Watch a tortoise eat stuff [h/t Mme. Jujujive].

This is what jellyfish larvae look like. The comments are fun, too.

Someone thought it was a good idea to put antifa (?!) in the classroom.

[Top image: Unknown source, probably from Reddit. h/t rightymouse.]


From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.

Saturday Matinee – Guitar Wolf, Robert Gordon & Wesseh Freeman

Guitar Wolf mixes The Ramones, Link Wray, rockabilly & 1977 punk and they call it “jet rock ‘n’ roll.” Don’t know how I missed these guys – they make some great noise.

Robert Gordon took Marshal Crenshaw‘s catchy tune and added just a pinch of psychobilly. The band includes Danny Gatton and Lance Quinn on guitars, Tony Garnier on electric bass and Shannon Ford on drums.

Wesseh Freeman from Monrovia, Liberia, was almost completely blind. He built his guitar from an oil can, a neck shaped with a machete, and strings from bicycle cables.  Amazing story despite a sad ending: he was 41 when he was struck by a car and died in 2018. [h/t Octopus]

That’ll do it for this episode. Have a great 3-day weekend, don’t drive through the deep water, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.

The .Gif Friday Post No. 696 – The Mask, The Milky Way & The 99 Percent

[2nd & 3rd gifs found here and here;
h/t rightymouse for The Mask.]

Heliocopter

USS Halsey (DDG-97) conducts flight operations in the Arabian Sea on Aug. 21, 2021. US Navy Photo

Destroyer Squadron 15 is based in Yokosuka, Japan, and is embarked on the carrier. U.S. 7th Fleet has not fully specified the escorts accompanying USS Reagan on its patrol, but the CSG includes the USS Halsey (DDG-97), homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

[Photo and caption via USNI News.]

Sulcata Rotata Blossoms

Close up image below the break shows a large home-grown specimen. More about these wonders of nature here.
Continue reading “Sulcata Rotata Blossoms”

Kelp

[Photo by J. Erick Smith.]