Holy trinity!

This definitely earns the epithet "cute". It's from the Daily Mail, and my thanks to John S for drawing my attention to it.
For more information about this Norfolk spectacular, click HERE.

Peregrine PS

There's more about the Finnish Peregrine on the BTO's blog.

Peregrine

On Monday, I went with my colleagues, Peter Wilkinson and David Garner, to the Raptor Foundation to see a very special bird that had been brought in injured. On examination, it was found that the broken bones in the wing were the result of a shotgun wound. Fortunately, the bird is on the mend, although it is still not certain whether it will be able to return to the wild. You see, it is no ordinary bird. It is a Peregrine Falcon, so it must be in perfect condition if it is to survive in the wild. The people at the Raptor Foundation will fly it, falcon-style on a creance, to assess its ability to fly and to stoop at prey.
If it can't make an independent living, there is the consolation that, as a captive bird, it can be bred from.
But the most amazing thing about this bird is that it was ringed last year as a nestling - in the very north of Finland, not far from Murmansk in Russia. If it is released, it will take its time returning whence it came, and should be breeding next year.
As to who or why shot the falcon, we don't know. Under my breath I have been damning the miscreant, using some fine Italian curses that I learned from an angry Neapolitan who was upset at the behaviour of another driver: Che ti bruci la casa! Che ti crepino i figli! Che la moglie ti metta le corne!
Personally, I hope the shooter's dick falls off.

Fethullah Gulen - sinister prophet

The secular democratic republic founded by Kemal Ataturk is being dismantled. It bodes ill for stability in the Middle East (and beyond) if or when Turkey becomes a theocracy like Iran. This article from Middle East Quarterly makes chilling reading. Ne mutlu Turkum diyene - for how much longer will that be true?
If you don't like horror stories, switch off now. Try the Simpsons, always good for a giggle.

Sorry, arkadeslerim, this couldn't wait till Friday.

Cute or sexy?

English is rich in near synomyms, mainly as a result of the multiple derivations from Anglo-Saxon (Germanic), Viking, Norman French and, later, deliberate coinages from Classical Latin. This richness can be a source of difficulty for foreign learners. They have to distinguish, for instance, between
shy (German scheu) and timid (Lat timidus)
frail (Norman French import) and fragile (later Latin import)
They also have to cope with a myriad noun-adjective combinations such as
moon - lunar
hand-manual
sheep - mutton
When we, as native speakers of English, are asked the difference between shy v timid, to close v to shut, pale v pallid, etc, we embark on explanations at our peril.
So, to avoid tying yourself in knots, as I did once in front of a class of learners when they asked me to explain the difference between presume and assume, take refuge in a Venn Diagram like the one above. The shaded area is where the area of meaning overlaps, so that either word could be used in a given situation, and the unshaded area is where only one of the words can be used.
And, for the cognoscenti, try Osgood's Semantic Differential, a fun device to while away a cold winter's evening.

Un jour au tribunal

Another of Angit's little gems:-

Dans un procès se déroulant dans une ville de province, un avocat appelle son 1er témoin à la barre : une grand-mère très âgée.
Il s' approche d' elle et lui demande :
- Mme Jeanne, me connaissez-vous ?
- Oh ! Oui je vous connais depuis votre enfance Maître Langlois, et sincèrement vous me décevez beaucoup ! Vous êtes un grand menteur, vous trompez votre femme, vous manipulez les gens et vous êtes un médisant et un calomniateur. Au lit, vous pensez être un bon coup alors que tout le monde sait que vous êtes un éjaculateur précoce. Vous n' êtes qu 'une mauviette et vous ne voyez pas plus loin que le bout de votre nez. Oh! Oui je vous connais !
l' avocat surpris, ne sachant que faire, pointe l' autre avocat du doigt.Mme Jeanne, connaissez-vous l' avocat de la défense?
- Bien sûr que je le connais ! Je connais Maître Richard depuis qu' il est tout jeune. Il est paresseux, obèse et il est alcoolique. Il ne peut pas avoir de relation sexuelle normale et il est l' un des pires avocats de tout le département. Non seulement il a trompé sa femme avec trois femmes différentes, mais l' une d' entre elles est votre épouse. Oh! Oui je le connais !
l' avocat de la défense est au bord de l'apoplexie.
Le juge demande alors aux deux avocats d' approcher et, d' une voix très calme, leur dit:
- Si l' un de vous demande à cette dame si elle me connaît, je vous envoie tous les deux en prison pour outrage à la Cour !

Are squirrels cute too?

Our native Red Squirrel, which is very cute (see pic), has all but been replaced by the alien Grey Squirrel, which is not. But, if you have never seen a Red Squirrel, the Grey is better than nothing.
The problem is that the Grey is bigger and more aggressive than the Red, and outcompetes it for food. There have been attempts to reintroduce the Red Squirrel into woodland using an ingenious feeder, which has a hinged platform in front of the feeding hopper that will take the weight of the Red but not the Grey.
Unfortunately, there is strong evidence that the Grey carries a lethal virus to which it is immune, but which is a killer for the more delicate Red.
It's a bugger, isn't it, when Might is Right?