In a recent Newsweek article, I learned that plants may well be able to communicate. Fungi have been recorded having conversations in a language that is similar to humans. Earlier research suggested that the fungi “scream” when cut. You likely recall that fungi are neither plant nor animal, they belong to their own kingdom. The communication comes from spikes of electrical activity. Andrew Adamatzky, of the Unconventional Computing Laboratory, mapped the impulses to those seen in human language an guesstimates about 50 words, with word length similar to human language. The professor explains there is much more to do to fully understand the language and reminds us we are still trying to understand the language of our own cats and dogs. No surprise that humans can speak the same words and reach totally different conclusions and many do not seem to care if their utterances are factual.
The Smithsonian Magazine asked “how do birds stay upright when sleeping?” Birds are known to sleep while perched on a branch, standing on one foot, clinging to bark and a few even while flying. The all important REM sleep is possible because they are able to isolate sleep to only a certain part of the brain at a time. The birds may also have an extra balance sensing organ located between their hips. Birds have so much going for them, I don’t know why we humans say “it’s strictly for the birds”. Well the phrase is American and coined during WWII with the observation that our feathered friends pecked away at manure piles to find seeds. It is a small idiosyncrasy for a creature that brings us so much joy.
Many of us awake each night with the Ukranian people weighing heavily on our mind. It is a very sad state of affairs in our world today. Truth is perverted by professional liars and despots. On our planet, I can say two things are immutable, gravity and greed. In my mind greed covers financial finagling as well as the control of power. The greed of Putin drives him forward. War crimes and indiscriminate bombings are a strategic approach to victory. Atrocities are called false flags by the aggressor. In the face of these criminal acts the Ukranian people continue to fight for their country and their freedom. It is encouraging to see the democratic world unite help them protect their sovereignty.
How can you tell if they are lying?—if their lips move, it is a lie. Russia’s attempt to blame the war on “them” and the Nazi regime is not credible to nearly anyone but the uninformed masses in his country. The scariest fact is that we have seen these same levels of false rhetoric in our own country. The big lie – the Presidential election was stolen. Critical race theory is an existential threat, Chief Justice elect Ketanji Brown Jackson is soft on criminals, the January 6th insurrection was a social gathering, the 7 hours of missing White House phone logs are just sloppy attention to detail, the QAnon conspiracy theory, Ivermectin is a cure for Covid, there is no climate crisis and Putin is a genius are simply smoke screens to bring the truth into doubt.
We must continue the good fight for our democracy, assure an independent judiciary, and protect the freedom of the press. Important tasks that need our attention.
The trip to Edwards Green House had a calming effect, almost time to plant your garden. Mike
Screaming Fungus
