Stone Soup by Jan Eliot for January 17, 2010

Don’t forget that everyone’s up to their ears in steroids.

Rather stereotypical, but shockingly accurate, alas.

It’s nothing more than mere pandering to the lowest common denominator.

Though it does provide a nice social activity.

I LOVE football…..and snacks!!

I’d rather enjoy the quiet day at home without all that noise. You can still have snacks.

My two sons are now married, with families of there own. I don’t have to watch sports any more.

Joan, you’re right on. Neanderthals in action on both sides of the TV screen.

Ah yes, most of them are functionally illiterate, too :P

I watched the Cardinals in the final and the Superbowl last year - but only because one of my sons was here visiting and REALLY wanted it on. He explained enough so I actually knew what was going on. Now I can say that in my 72 years, I’ve still seen far less than 6 football games (including HS) and I still think they are overpaid neanderthals and a waste…

I enjoy watching football. I’ll bet you all watch American Idol or some such bleeep

I dont watch football or American Idol - but I DO love me some chips and salsa!

I don’t watch football or American Idol. I do love chips and salsa but only when I am agitating my son-in-law while he watches ‘I Carli’ with my grand= daughter.

Watching football with friends and family is not unhealthy. Making it the most important thing in your life is.

I only watch baseball. Sans chips.

My brother-in-law watches football even at our mom’s and I dread going there my sister is into football. I can’t stand it. I don’t watch American Idol. There is one show that comes on that is not on very long I watch. Otherwise I like to read. The starting go comments I’m not sure what is said. I do like SS though. Their talking about to much eatting.

I don’t get to watch much REAL football - unfortunately I’m a 49ers fan…

Aryalover - My wife watches “Project Runway” and “Next Top Model” marathons over and over. You say football is for neanderthals, but what does it say about a woman who thinks clothes are the only thing worth thinking about?

We hardly watch any TV, but I do make time for one show every week. It’s a trashy show, but since it’s not a “reality” show, I’m fine with that because it’s meant to be ridiculous(compared to real people acting stupid and making up drama for attention).

@somebodyshort, they’re sitting on a thin layer of gravel that was put there by people who constructed a made-to-order nest for them (the individual bits of gravel had to be of a particular size, for example). This is part of the project to save falcons, who almost became extinct in the last century but are now making a comeback.

They are peregrine falcon chicks, not more than a few days old - their eyes aren’t even open. You can see the remains of an eggshell at the left, and one still-unhatched egg in the centre.

Peregrine falcons are quite happy nesting in cities. Apparently they have been doing so for centuries in Spain. Anything that resembles a high, sheer cliff so no other animals can get at them - a high-rise office building for example… And there is an ample supply of food in the form of pigeons (they eat birds almost exclusively).

Right now they are living in many large cities all over Canada and the US. There is enough information available about what they like to use as a nest, so people put one up, and wait to see if falcons will use it, which very often they do.

I have become obsessed with watching them. In most of the nest boxes, people put webcams, so you can watch the babies developing. This photo was taken on such a webcam.

So yes, they are very much out in the open! They are on top of a water tower somewhere in Alberta. The view is gorgeous. A beautiful lake, and lots of air space to hunt birds in.

The nest is outdoors, attached to the tower high up.

I don’t particularly like team sports - I find them boring. Including football. But as a Canadian I am required to love hockey (it’s in our constitution even - in both senses of the word). In hockey everyone is moving all the time. Whereas baseball consists of long periods of nothing happening followed by extremely short intense bursts of activity. Yawwwnnn.

Now don’t get annoyed, I only said it to tease. I know that one sure way to bug Americans is to make negative remarks about baseball.

@mjensen9999, I hate American Idol (and I think we have a Canadian Idol, which I also don’t watch) and reality shows. I prefer public television.

I have enjoyed watching hockey with my father or with a bunch of friends from the office. It’s our patriotic duty! Bet you thought Canadians had no patriotism!

I don’t like watching any sports,except the Olympics, and coming from St. Louis that’s outright heresy; I hate-hate-hate reality shows unless they’re true reality (e.g., Life in the ER–real people, real places). Books are good. There are shows we enjoy, but they are ordinary TV, not pseudoreality or overpaid grown men playing little boys’ games.

Only sports I watch are figure skating, and both winter and summer olympics. I’m ashamed that I even watched part of one episode of Survivor, even though it was because my roommate was into it. I do love So You Think You Can Dance, it gives very talented young ppl some excellent exposure, and there is no backstabbing nonsense going on.

I only watched football when I was single, thinking it might come in handy depending on the guy I married. Turns out my hubby doesn’t like sports, so now neither one of us watches sports, or for that matter, any television on a regular basis. The only time our family watches TV is when we’re on a trip, because we didn’t bother to convert to digital. I don’t mind watching TV on vacation, but when I’m at home, there are so many other things to do instead.

Snacks mmm snacks!

Bring enough salsa and guacamole for me too.

I never liked team sports, especially in HS, but as I am a talented cook, seamstress and decorator I enjoy watching (just once) all the good competitions that involve those. (current music trends?-Phtttt!!!)

@somebodyshort, falcons have a high mortality rate in their first year of life - I think it’s around 60% or more. A large part of that is learning how to fly. They know some of it instinctively, but they have to learn how to land (e.g. a leaf is not a suitable place - not strong enough). I read that falcon experts can tell how old a bird is by checking out its flying skills.

A lot of them lose their lives in the first few days after they fledge (leave the nest to fly for the first time). So there are groups of volunteers, watching for them. Say if one of the babies gets disoriented and lands in the road (NOT a good place), the human will stop traffic and get the bird. Ultimately the appropriate expert will put the bird back in the nest or other appropriate place.

These volunteers have made a huge difference to falcon survival.

When i was 1st dating my husband, he worked at a little corner store in our neighborhood. The beer truck driver came in one day while I was there and asked my future DH, “So how’s about those Seahawks?” (our local football team.) DH said,”Uh, Seahawks…baseball?” I knew at that moment that he was the one, haha. The beer truck guy, however, never spoke to him again.