#IsmuasMonthOfMusic 🎼 #MusicChallenge 🎶 DAY 14: A bebop track with fast improvisation. “Pontius Pilate’s Decision” is the title track from Delfeayo Marsalis’ debut. It features brother Jason on drums, Red Atkins on piano, Chris Thomas on bass, and Joshua Redman on tenor saxophone. It moves.

Blackmail… bullying… thuggery. Maybe Gavin Newsom hurt his feelings? Either way, it’s the people who will suffer.

Even if your palate has outgrown the sugary tastes of childhood, there’s something comforting about revisiting an old favorite (especially if it’s made with strawberry jam).

If Chinese officials want any more leverage in their negotiations with Trump all they need to do is distribute copies of this article to everyone present:

I meant to repost this essay on Sunday as it was Mother’s Day here in the States, but time and life got the better of me. It’s about the complex legacies of parenting; and of finding beauty in trying and grace when failing. If this finds you, I hope it resonates. #CNF #Parenting 💡📚

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #FeatheredFemmes, pics showing the beauty of any female bird. The alt theme is #Funnies, any comical capture of a bird. This beautiful female northern shoveler seems to have gotten her center of gravity just so in order to maintain her balance on that rock. #Birds🪶

#IsmuasMonthOfMusic 🎼 #MusicChallenge 🎶 DAY 13: A smooth R&B love song. I had the privilege of seeing Corinne Bailey Rae perform “I’ve Been to the Moon” live earlier this year and I’m the better for it. It’s a joy to share this talented artist’s work here. She’s a gem!

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #LinedUp, 3 or more birds in a line, and the alt theme is #Laridae, any of the named species. Here’s a Canada goose with three pretty goslings all in a row. There’s a fourth gosling out of frame and therefore out of line. There’s always one… #Birds #Birdsky🪶

#IsmuasMonthOfMusic 🎼 #MusicChallenge 🎶 DAY 12: A hip hop collaboration between multiple artists. Here’s “Buddy” by De La Soul featuring Jungle Brothers and Q-Tip from De La Soul’s iconic debut 3 Feet High and Rising (which was part of the soundtrack of my senior year of high school).

While every little bit helps, that’s all this would amount to given that gas prices have gone from just under $3 per gallon to about $4.50 a gallon. Plus gas companies aren’t legally required to pass such savings on to us.

Our fertility rate is on par with other comparable industrialized nations… Actual a little higher. You know what’s WAYYY higher? Maternal and infant mortality rates. Maybe we should make it less dangerous to birth and be babies in this country before we ask people to have more?

No amount of golden gilding or blue paint can hide the ugly underneath almost everything this administration touches. $13.1 million to turn a historic landmark into the Bushwood Country Club pool. What would Elon and his DOGE Bros say about this?

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #LockedOn, any bird with an intense gaze. The alt theme is #Breezy, birds in windy conditions. I’m going for a double with this rare, wind-crested red-tailed hawk. 🤣 I shared this fella a few days ago vole in beak, so he was definitely locked on. #Birds🪶

#IsmuasMonthOfMusic 🎼 #MusicChallenge 🎶 DAY 11: A house track with a steady 4/4 beat. Do remixes count? This version of “Good Morning Britain” by Aztec Camera and Mick Jones was given a “hypno-mix” by the Laylow Posse. It got those raves thinking about UK politics. The original’s a stomper!

#IsmuasMonthOfMusic 🎼 #MusicChallenge 🎶 DAY 10: A song that uses many samples. I’m adding “Because I’m Me” to the small avalanche of songs by The Avalanches others have shared today. This song features a sample from a Smithsonian Folkways recording of project kids in late 50s NYC improvising.

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Raptors, any of the birds of prey. The alt theme is #Paridae, any of the species. This black-capped chickadee is catching a bit of late-day sunshine, and thinking about its next move. #Birds 🪶

I kinda disagree with @nymag.com on this one. Trump definitely deserves a statue. Dude won the Iran war like 8 times! Plus he got that peace prize from FIFA. And he is a championship-caliber napper.

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #EFGH, birds who have any of these letters at the beginning of any part of their name. The alt is #UrbanLegends, birds captured in urban environments. Here’s a hungry hawk (of the red-tailed variety) helping himself to a helpless vole. #Birds🪶

#IsmuasMonthOfMusic 🎼 #MusicChallenge 🎶 DAY 9: A synth-pop track from the 80s. Book of Love formed at art school in 1983. Three of the four members played keys. One of them, Lauren Roselli, had a small part in Silence of the Lambs. “I Touch Roses” is from their eponymous 1986 debut, and I dig it.

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Photogenic, birds you find to be great to snap. The alt is #Corvidae, any member of that family of birds. This double crested cormorant was definitely striking a pose, looking all regal on the branch of a dead tree. #Birds 🪶

#IsmuasMonthOfMusic 🎼 #MusicChallenge 🎶 DAY 8: A duet between two pop artists. Here’s a new track called "Bad Husband” by Trashcan Sinatras, from their forthcoming album Ever the Optimist. Lead vocalist Frank Reader duets with Tracyanne Campbell)" of Camera Obscura.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

This headline from Justice Roberts and the red banner of what Tennessee just did to Memphis after the SCOTUS gutted the Voting Rights Act..

In my mind, this is how President Trump works out a strategy for re-opening the Strait of Hormuz.

This situation highlights everything that’s wrong with this administration: the back room deals that do or don’t get made that have little to do with the everyday lives of Americans, the inability to consider or understand history, the hubris of leading with gut feeling instead of logical thought.

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #InMotion, a bird showing any motion except flight. The alt is #Yellow, a bird with any yellow anywhere. This male northern shoveler looks like he’s getting a leg up and getting out. Maybe he’s not ready for commitment? #Birds 🪶

#IsmuasMonthOfMusic 🎼 #MusicChallenge 🎶 DAY 7: A track where rhythm drops out entirely for a dramatic effect. That happens on “Young Americans” by David Bowie, when he asks “Ain't there one damn song that can make me break down and cry?” A young Luther Vandross sings backup on this track.

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #SeaBirds, birds that spend most of their time at Sea. I had the great fortune to tour the Galapagos Islands and got to see a flock of Elliot's Storm-petrels descend on a floating mass of decaying something or other. #bird #birdphotography #elliotsstormpetrel

“Only ballrooms can end gun violence.” ⬆️ Being seeing this quote a lot lately.

Good Morning Folks. Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #SeaBirds, birds that spend most of their time at sea. The alt is #Black, birds that have mainly black plumage. Since I spend most of my time on land, I’m going with this American crow in mid-flex. #Birds 🪶

There is artistry in fashion, beyond a doubt. But anything beautiful gets corrupted and commodified… “Lauren Sánchez Bezos is tackiness personified, with meticulously squinched and inflated facial features and a vendetta against any garment that conceals her gargantuan breasts.”

#IsmuasMonthOfMusic 🎼 #MusicChallenge 🎶 DAY 6: A genre bending track. “Rapture” by Blondie blended new wave with hip-hop. It featured a rap verse that helped bring hip-hop to white ears, and was the first “rap” song to crack the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. @blondieband.bsky.social

The #BirdOfTheDay theme today is #Dappled, any birds with dapples on their plumage, and the alt theme is #LowFlying, any bird flying just above ground or water. My library has a few pics of great egrets flying low (usually not fully in frame). I like how this beauty pops against the grass. #Birds 🪶

#IsmuasMonthOfMusic 🎼 #MusicChallenge 🎶 DAY 5: A song everyone knows, but doesn’t know the title of. Not sure if everyone knows “Chocolate” by Snow Patrol, but I remember it being popular enough. It has little to do with products derived from cocoa beans, despite its title suggesting otherwise.

The world is coming undone… …But we have friends everywhere. Here’s to my favorite #StarWars film. It turns 10 this year but its message has never been more relevant. #MayThe4th #RogueOne

I know I’m oversimplifying here but if the government owned a 90% stake in Spirit Airlines wouldn’t that almost be like, oh, I don’t know, SOCIALISM?! Publicly funded ballrooms aside, I thought MAGA didn’t like socialism?

I’ve been doing my best to not give total control to the anger and sadness that’s so often riding shotgun in my mind, to keep seeing beauty in the. Especially in people. Pieces like this help. #CNF #Birds

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Pairs, any bird pairs whether it be same of mixed pairs. Alt Theme is #Gulls. Here’s a female northern shoveler and a male cinnamon teal doing their best to hurray away from the paparazzi. #Birds🪶

#IsmuasMonthOfMusic 🎼 #MusicChallenge 🎶 DAY 4: A blues song with a 12-bar structure. “Let’s have a ball and biscuit, sugar...”

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #RockSolid, any bird perched on or standing by a rocky surface. The alt theme is #Mouthful, any bird with a mouthful of food. Here’s a red-bellied woodpecker on a rock with a beak full of seed. If you look closely you can see why its name (almost) makes sense. #Birds 🪶

#IsmuasMonthOfMusic 🎼 #MusicChallenge 🎶 DAY 3: A song that clearly follows AABA. “Every Breath You Take” by The Police — perhaps one of the least appropriate yet most popular wedding songs of all time — is a great example of this structure.

Mainstream media is starting to cover the dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service. Thank you for speaking out and helping keep this story alive. #SaveUSFS

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Stretched, any bird stretching. The alt theme is #Robins, any robin. will do. Here’s a chipping sparrow doing the bird version of a shoulder roll. #Birds 🪶 I’m also paying tribute to a different singing robin. See the Australian Gibb, Robin type, far left. Via HBO.

#IsmuasMonthOfMusic 🎼 #MusicChallenge 🎶 DAY 2: A catchy pop song released after 2015. Here’s “Pearl of Glue” from Mikayla Geier’s album HOT POT! This record is full of finely crafted, incredibly catchy tunes that don’t feel over-produced.

They are so juvenile they don’t realize how embarrassing and bizarre this is.

What worries me most about Hegseth is not his incompetence, his confusing movie lines for Bible quotes, his lying, or even his drinking and cheating. It’s his unwavering certainty in his rightness in spite of all of that—his belief that his blind faith in God gives him permission to move blindly.

Good morning, today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Parenthood, any capture of parents and young. The alt is #BirdOnAWire, any capture of a bird perched on a wire. Here are some herring gulls hanging around a cell tower- the modern equivalent of a telephone line. And perhaps they’re related? #Birds 🪶

#IsmuasMonthOfMusic 🎼 #MusicChallenge 🎶 DAY 1: a song with a bass line that outshines the melody. “Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs…” And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that ❤️

The #BirdOfTheDay theme today is #BestOfTheMonth. My last few birds of the day came from April. Since I mis-hash-tagged yesterday’s mourning dove, it gets a take 2. I’m also adding another pic of that vole munching hawk, and my best warbler shot this month - a pine warbler. They’re tough to catch!

Here’s the thing. If both racial and partisan gerrymandering is perfectly legal, then you won’t live in a democracy. You live in a country where politicians pick their voters not the other way around. It’s pretty much that simple.

#IsmuasMonthOfMusic 🎼 #MusicChallenge 🎶 DAY 30: a song that teaches you something about music theory. This may be a stretch but I’m going with “Way Over Yonder in a Minor Key” by Billy Bragg & Wilco from the Mermaid Avenue sessions, where they set unpublished lyrics by Woody Guthrie to music.