Random Non-Book Chat > Likes and Comments

This is a thread for any random discussions people would like to have. This folder can be used for discussing things such as the weather, TV shows, movies, or what you or your pets have been up to lately. It is completely up to you!

However, please refrain from self-promotion and politics in this thread.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in the group.

Here are some things I learned today. Many countries follow the U.S. date, including: Australia, Canada, China, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, and Philippines.

United Kingdom & Ireland: Known as "Mothering Sunday," it is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent (March 15, 2026).

Additional countries celebrate it on other days including France, Mexico, Thailand, Egypt, Russia, and Ethiopia.

I looked up May 11 to see if it was a notable day in any country. Here is what I found:

It's National Technology Day in India.
It's Statehood Day in Minnesota (USA).
It's Saints Cyril and Methodius Day in some regions including Ukraine to honor the creators of the first Slavic alphabet.

2 of the more unusual items I found:
(US) National Eat What You Want Day
(US) National Twilight Zone Day

We may have seen our last frost until fall in my part of MN Sunday night. Therefore, I finished buying plants for my annual garden today. Now I need to set out 150-200 plants!

You'll certainly be busy planting, Pam! It's been a beautiful spring here in Illinois, 78 today. A few hummingbirds and Baltimore Orioles have been visiting my feeders this past week--always a thrill to see them return. I also ordered plants to replace a few perennials that didn't come back--seven Roseanne geraniums, three Gaillardia and a Seven Sons heptacodium bush.

We haven't seen any hummingbirds yet, but I did see my first Baltimore Oriole of the season a couple of days ago. We haven't started on our perennial gardens yet.

Roseanne geraniums are beautiful. Happy planting when your plants arrive.

At my bird feeding station this morning I had sweet little finches.
Almost daily I see young cardinals more red males than females. I also have a bird bath that they enjoy drinking from and splashing in.

The male goldfinches at this time of year are gorgeous.

I'm in TN and my hummingbirds showed up very early this year. I heard they were coming in 3 weeks early everywhere. I have many bird feeders and many birds to entertain my patio sitting hours. I also have a crow that has adopted me and keeps leaving me bizarre and macabre gifts. So far, I have received broken eggs (mostly robin), crawfish and shrimp parts and the severed whole head of a male cardinal. Freaky!

I would like to share this wonderful app for any other birders in the group who may not know about it. After you have downloaded it for free, you simply press "sound" and let your microphone do the work; it will identify all the birds singing/calling in your area (at that time). You can keep track of them in the app and go in to explore all the fun info on that particular bird. It's so awesome!

Apple App Store (iOS): Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab App Store

Google Play Store (Android): Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab Google Play

PamG wrote: "The male goldfinches at this time of year are gorgeous."

Yes, aren't they beautiful? I've been seeing cute little house finches in pairs at my hummingbird feeders too. I have robins nesting in my pergola and wrens in a hollow gourd. We had six trees planted since we moved here seven years ago and are seeing so many more birds.

Thank you, Lisa, for the bird call app!

LISA wrote: "I'm in TN and my hummingbirds showed up very early this year. I heard they were coming in 3 weeks early everywhere. I have many bird feeders and many birds to entertain my patio sitting hours. I al..."

My parents have a crow like that at their house. You just never know what they will bring you.

The Merlin app is good. It has several thousand species of birds globally and they continue to add to it.

Bam cooks the books wrote: "PamG wrote: "The male goldfinches at this time of year are gorgeous."

Yes, aren't they beautiful? I've been seeing cute little house finches in pairs at my hummingbird feeders too. I have robins n..."

Absolutely. We also have ring-necked pheasants, a wild turkey, wood ducks, and sandhill cranes visiting the yard plus all of the smaller birds using our feeders. Deer, rabbits, and squirrels are also abundant.

"The Merlin Bird ID app currently includes over 10,000 bird species worldwide.
Merlin, developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, has expanded significantly since its launch in 2014. Initially, it could identify 285 common North American backyard birds, but it now covers more than 10,315 species globally, making it a comprehensive tool for birdwatchers anywhere in the world. The app provides detailed descriptions, photos, and audio recordings for each species, with over 55,000 photos and 26,000 audio clips available for reference."

Pam G. wrote: "This folder can be used for discussing things such as the weather, TV shows, movies...."

I rarely watch movies, not because I don't like them, but mostly because the time and logistics rarely afford me a chance to. But, I'm in the process of reading Cutthroat Island, the novelization of the movie, which I'd never seen (although it's been on my radar for some time). I'd become curious about how the two art forms compare; so even though I'm not done with the book, I seized some spare time today to watch the film itself, since I'm on vacation from work this week. (It can be watched for free on Tubi --with commercials, but you'd have those on TV, too.)

This probably isn't really the place for a detailed movie review, and a number of them are probably available on other sites anyway. But I will say that I was aware, going into it, that this movie has a spectacularly poor reputation. (I was determined to make my own judgment of it.) Having now actually seen it, for whatever it's worth, I don't understand the level of negativity it evokes. It's not great cinematic art. But if you like pirate-themed action adventure with an involving storyline and engaging characters, it amply delivers. (Personally, I liked it, and consider it better done than the more touted Pirates of the Caribbean.)

For movie viewers who want to be warned about objectionable content (and I'm included in that number!), this has a PG-13 rating. There's very little bad language and none that's very rough; although there's a lot of violence, none of it's very gory, and there's no on-screen sex. (It's clear that some illicit sex took place just before the film begins, and protagonist Morgan briefly disguises herself as a prostitute in one scene; but I'd say that sexual content here is relatively minimal.) Obviously, our main characters have made a bad career choice (though neither are out-and-out-evil), and definitely aren't perfect role models. But I don't think that most viewers in this group would find any of the content here especially scandalizing.

Werner, I understand how your rating can be different from that of others. I know that sometimes Dan and I can hardly believe some of the ratings of movies and TV shows we've watched. However, other times we are in agreement.

True --like rating books, rating movies is a very subjective thing. But it would be a dull world if we all had identical likes and dislikes! :-)

Werner wrote: "...But it would be a dull world if we all had identical likes and dislikes! :-)"

Isn't that the truth!

After today, I'll be offline until sometime on Sunday afternoon. My wife and I will be going out of town to visit family, and I'll have very limited Internet access. The couple we stay with don't have a computer; and although I have a cell phone, I don't use it for connecting to the Internet. (I'm spoiled enough by habitual use of a PC to disdain messing with any format that's less convenient. :-) ) But I'll be eager to catch up when we get home!

Safe travels, Werner. Have a great visit with your family.

Thank you, Pam!

Have fun, Werner!

Thanks, Bam!

I saw my first hummingbird of the season today. We also have various warblers (migrants and summer residents) starting to show up.

That’s great! I’ve noticed the first who come are usually little males. I think of them as advanced scouts.

That's a great way to view them.

It's a beautiful warm spring day in Minnesota. We're actually supposed to hit 79 degrees F today before rain showers move in this this evening. I saw several migrating warblers this morning as I watched from my deck.

After a couple of days in the 80's, we're going to have several days in the upper 50's to 60's before it warms back up for us.

There are several historical events that occurred on May 20th:

In 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis were granted the U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh left Long Island, NY to complete the first solo, nonstop transatlantic flight.

In 1932, Amelia Earhart landed in Northern Ireland, becoming the first woman to successfully fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Additionally, there are a few Global notable day observances for May 20th.

World Bee Day: Established by the United Nations

World Metrology Day: Commemorating the signing of the Metre Convention in 1875, which established the International System of Units (SI).

Thanks for these! Fun facts to know.

You're welcome. I enjoy seeing what has happened historically on a day as well as how various countries have notable day observances.

Events for May 22:

1980 - The arcade game Pac-Mac was released.

1906 - The Wright brothers' flying machine was patented.

1859 - Arthur Conan Doyle was born.

May 23rd is World Turtle Day - created in 2000 by the American Tortoise Rescue

1934 - Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow (fugitive bank robbers) were killed.

1911 - The New York Public Library was dedicated with President William Howard Taft presiding over the official dedication ceremony of the main branch building on Fifth Avenue.

Is anyone watching any TV series they're enjoying?

My husband and I are watching Scott & Bailey as well as The Brokenwood Mysteries.

We're also watching some of the WNBA basketball games.

Have a Great Memorial Day, and if you served...thank you for your service.

It's supposed to be another hot and muggy day in Minnesota today. (91F, 33 C)

Sitting and reading the end of Pachinko by Min Jin Lee while I wait for an isotope to travel through my body so I can have a routine PET scan. I am in what my oncologist calls deep remission.

In 2015 I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and given 4 years to live and now 11 years later here I am. In another social media reading group they ask once in a while if my life were a book what would be the title.

My answer is...
They Gave Her Four Years and She Took 11.

Cheryl wrote: "Sitting and reading the end of Pachinko by Min Jin Lee while I wait for an isotope to travel through my body so I can have a routine PET scan. I am in what my oncologist calls deep remission.

In 2..."

You sound brave, strong and determined, Cheryl. May you be blessed with many more wonderful years.

PamG wrote: "It's supposed to be another hot and muggy day in Minnesota today. (91F, 33 C)"

87 predicted here today. I've heard Europe is experiencing a heatwave with 95 in London.

The Chicago area is under an air quality alert the past two days so it's back to walking at the Y since my husband has pulmonary issues.

Bam cooks the books wrote: "You sound brave, strong and determined, Cheryl. May you be blessed with many more wonderful years...."

I totally agree.

Cheryl, what Bam said! (I couldn't say it any better.)

WERN, PAMG, BAM

What a beautiful group we have here ❤️.

Thank you for all the beautiful comments.

We're at 86 F and on our way to 88 F today with an air quality alert until 9 PM for ground-level ozone.

Cheryl- I agree with Werner and what Bam said!💞

My husband and I don't have any pets.

We have enough wildlife on our property. Deer, Rabbits, Groundhogs, Opossum, Red Fox, Gray Fox, Gray Squirrels, Red Squirrels, Coyotes, and of course, lots of birds that we enjoy watching.

Do you have a pet?

Barb and I don't currently have any pets. However, we sometimes describe our middle daughter's house as essentially a 'no kill" animal shelter. I think the present census is ten cats, three dogs, and a rabbit. (All of them were rescues, drop-offs, or brought home by our grandkids who found them wandering around.)

Your daughter's house must be filled with love and energy to give a home to so many animals.

Deborah does have a great deal of love for every living creature, and always has!

Werner wrote: "Deborah does have a great deal of love for every living creature, and always has!"

That's wonderful, Werner. You've raised her well.

Thanks, Bam!

We have both houseplants and outdoor garden areas. We also have a field where we've planted native wildflowers. Right now, the lupine are in full bloom in the field and the Columbine, Penstemons, and Spiderworts are blooming in the outdoor gardens.

Do you keep any houseplants or outdoor garden areas?