Apr. 9th, 2014

thistlechaser: (:P)
Beware them if you are flatbread or a small bird.

Or perhaps if you live in a dumpster.

I live in a large apartment complex. Among other features, we have trees and dumpsters. This means we have a lot of squirrels.

On one of my first days living there, a squirrel dropped a corn cob on my head. That would be bad enough if it hadn't been from the dumpster, so it was old, gross, and had been half-eaten by someone (and then further eaten by the squirrel). There had been enough kernels left on it that they fell down the back of my shirt. Yuck.

This morning, as I was approaching the dumpster to toss out a bag of trash, I saw a squirrel struggling with something. Whatever it was, it was as big as it was. As I got closer, I thought it was a slice of pizza, but as the squirrel wrestled it up the nearby tree, I saw it was one of those really big flatbreads. The squirrel will be able to feast for a week on it!

Once I arrived at work, I encountered another squirrel. It was crossing our parking lot, but unlike most squirrels, it was just walking instead of that bouncing-bounding they do. It had been holding something in its mouth, but again I couldn't tell what until I got closer. A bird. A dead bird. I had no idea squirrels ate meat! The bird was big enough and heavy enough that the squirrel was struggling to carry it.

Now I'm worried. Instead of just watching for trash to be dropped on my head, I have to be concerned that squirrels will drop out of the trees to eat me. Luckily I'm not nearly as tasty as leftovers from the dumpster. I hope.

thistlechaser: (Book with cat: Litterbox)
Okay, writers of the world, I missed a memo somewhere, didn't I? For some reason "murmur" is now the in thing to do? Doesn't matter if it's appropriate or not, we should just shove it in everywhere we can?

One of those not-zombie trilogy books I read a couple weeks back, the girl addressed her army in a murmur. They heard her to the back ranks.

Book after book, fanfic after fanfic, characters are murmuring endlessly, and murmuring or whispering where it does not fit at all. Is it supposed to lend a dramatic air to things?

Fanfic I'm reading now, two grown men are in a fistfight. During it, one murmured to the other "Fuck you!". This fanfic is written with someone who has a strong grasp of physics (or at least can fake it well), she has to know what murmur means!

Be loud, be proud! Don't murmur unless it fits the scene!

Profile

thistlechaser: (Default)
thistlechaser

September 2023

S M T W T F S
      12
34567 89
1011 12131415 16
17 181920212223
24252627282930

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 7th, 2025 07:21 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios