You really can't make this shit up. You really can't. But apparently you can. And quite often, people will believe it. Believe it as TRUTH. Something you know is made up because YOU MADE IT UP. There are all kinds of conspiracies that have wormed their way around Lewis Carroll's Alice books; a book I have adored since childhood but now find kind of tainted because of all the weIrdness around it; not least of which is that Carroll was more than likely a pedophile and the real-life Alice was one of the objects of his...lets just say...intentions. I think there exist actual photographs of Alice that are...let's just say...inapporpriate. And I am not going to try and find them and/or post them here. First of all, I don't want to see them. Secondly, I do not want to end up on some watchlist. I'll get back to Alice later with some of the more disturbing "theories" about the books. Or rather, what has happened to the books.
I started writing this blog because I've been thinking about birds. I have also loved birds since childhood; and thus far, there have been no "theories" about them to impede that enjoyment--
But let's go back a bit. Do you remember back when Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds came out? Back in a time when people actually cared about things like grammatical correctness? Do you recall how people actually got upset when the tagline for the movie was seen as being an affront to the English language? The Birds Is Coming! People were perturbed by this perceived error in grammar. Can you believe it? Let's take a look at the trailer:
There was also a cultural kerfuffle over the grammar of this ad campaign, if my College of Communication learnin' serves me correctly. Back when the Culture Wars were about actual culture:
Anyways...
My original thought about this blog was birds. The animals. You know; Our Fine Feathered Friends. Our Web Footed Friends. I hear a song cue. Put your hands together for Mitch Miller and his Orchestra!
But yes, birds.
Some people are dog people. Some people are cat people. Some people are dog and cat people. And some people are bird people. But I would argue that bird ownership is still somtething of a niche group. I don't think a lot of people realize that birds can be not just intelligent; but also, quite affectionate. And I also think most people simply take birds in the world around us for granted. And if not exhibiting outright hostility; usually affectless indifference. A lot of people consciously or unconsciously suss out what other humans are like on a core level by the way they treat animals; particularly cats and dogs. I go further. I think you can glean a lot more from people and what they're all about in regards to how they regard birds. So I wanted to do a little experiment. For example, Donald Trump. What is his attitude towards birds. I mean, he famously does not have a dog and I think that says a lot. But what does he think about birds and what does that tell us about his personality? So I did a search: DOES DONALD TRUMP LIKE BIRDS? HAL 9000 immediately brought up the infamous "Eagle Clip":
How about a person who I have doubts is an actual human being? How about Laura Ingraham? What does she think about birds? Cue HAL! HAL, What Does Laura Ingraham Think About Birds?
Here's a link to her musing on the attempts to bring back the Dodo bird with her frequent co-host Raymond Arroyo (and this is what passes for right wing "comedy" I guess). You're welcome to watch but in sum, she seems extremely indifferent to the Dodo birds plight or it's potential come-back. And Raymond seems concerned the Dodo could pose some sort of existential threat.
www.foxnews.com/video/6319625649112
No, that's an insult to Maleficent. She actually had a sense of humor. And an insult to ravens; who not only seem to have a sense of humor, but superiour intelligence, gratitude, kindness and affection. Let's take a look!
But back to Mr. Arroyo, our glass house residing "personality" who love to throw stones. Which makes sense, as he seems to have a real Biblical bent. He writes a book series about a twelve year-old boy who's a sort of knock-off Harry Potter who is decidedly Christian, what with all his non-Wizarding Biblical Utility Belts. His name is Will Wilder:
Mr. Arroyo seems to write mostly about boys and nuns. Remember that scene in Airplane?
So let's ask HAL about someone that I think we can all agree is a "nice" person who has buckets of humility:
HAL, What does Keanu Reeves think about birds?
Please see: Here Come the Bird! Part 2 for next installment!
CFR 6/11/25