Sunbird

According to this Wikipedia page, loons are found both in North America and in Eurasia, but in the UK/Ireland they're known as divers. They're highly adapted for swimming and diving and catching fish--in fact, the positioning of their feet with respect to the rest of their body is such that they can't even really walk on land and can only take off from the water. This means that if the loon lands in a body of water that is too small for it to have room to take off again, it's stranded. Wildlife rehabilitators whose pages I follow on Facebook sometimes post about having to rescue loons that have gotten stuck in a puddle or a tiny pond or something. And you know what's totally adorable? Common loon mommas give rides to their babies on their backs.

I felt pretty much the same way. I loved the character of Hank the octopus! Also, I'm sure you've heard the expression "crazy as a loon," right? Well, Becky is a common loon.

Ok. Um... WLIU name 10 famous (or at least semi-famous) people with the first name Chris (or any variation thereof).

Beginning a re-read of Alcatraz #2 soon, because I have the new illustrated edition and must look at all the pictures. (Plus I like to laugh, and Alcatraz is storming hilarious.)

@Darkness Ascendant, I don't think we're ever going to guess it. Better just tell us so we can either facepalm and go, "Oh, duh, that's so obvious!" or blink and say, "Huh. Never heard of it."

I'm all for picking another one.

I'm a huge fan of Matthew Bellamy. He writes most of Muse's songs, and he's their lead singer, and the combination is FABULOUS.

Ok, Tuesday it is, I guess. Who's in charge of pizza this time around?

Oh man, I love Messy Mondays! I had to consciously stop myself from getting sucked into watching more of those videos just now or I would be on YouTube for like 4 hours straight.

Utah Republican Party failed so hard today. They sent out a "Happy Independence Day" email that included this quote from the Declaration of Independence: "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; among these which are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Except that's NOT what the Declaration actually says. The CORRECT quote is "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Get your facts straight, people!

Ok, maybe we should plan on Wednesday for little wilson's convenience, since everyone else who's chimed in seems to be able to make it either day.

When one of your life goals is to achieve the same post-to-upvote ratio as Sheep.

Is it The Hobbit?

In German, a man (an adult male human) is Mann. When you're talking about a hypothetical generic person, you use "man," which sort of correlates to the English generic pronoun "one." (As in, "One does not simply walk into Mordor.") Then there's also the word "Mensch," which in German can be used to mean a human being of either gender even though the noun itself is grammatically masculine. Or, alternatively, you can use Mensch as an exclamation of dismay, like, "Oh man (Mensch), the weather is so hot today!"

*light bulb* Just had an idea. Indiana Jones. At least Willie from "Temple of Doom" fits the mold. Probably any woman in a James Bond movie does as well.

Granted. However, once you buy the item, everyone mocks you for liking it. I wish for the ability to climate control my immediate surroundings so I don't have to argue with people over where to set the thermostat.

@Finallity Awesome! That sure looks to be how it's shaping up. I'm excited to meet some more local Sharders.

@TwiLyghtSansSparkles That's what I was thinking. And I honestly don't know whether to take that headline seriously.

Electricity is a victim of bullying; it always takes the path of least resistance. Ba-dum-TSS.

I'm completely drawing a blank. While lots of books I read include romance, it's usually a subplot rather than the main plot, so the love interest has other major roles in the story besides "person the MC kisses/agonizes over."

So funny story from church today: at one point we were having a discussion about some verses of scripture and one of the women in the room said, "I'm accountable," and for a minute I was really confused because she didn't fully pronounce the "T" in accountable so what I thought I heard was "I'm a cannibal."

But that won't help me remember my baking measurements. D:

I can do Tues or Weds, whichever is more convenient for the group.

When baking, you remember that there are 16 tablespoons in a cup by reminding yourself that there are 16 allomantic metals and 16 shards.

Can confirm: 100% true. False cognates are fun. Other misleading German words for English speakers: das Boot - looks like a clothing item for your foot, right? Nope. It's pronounced approximately like the English word "boat," and that's what it means. schenken - a verb which looks suspiciously like "shank". It really means "to give (someone) a present." das Ei - pronounced like the English word "eye," but it means "egg." On the other hand, there are far more German words that are pretty similar to their English counterparts. Das Bier (beer), die Banane (banana), der Ozean (ocean), der Hut (hat), die Katze (cat), das Wasser (water), waschen (to wash)... The list goes on.