Julia Erickson ☮️

A surprise guest at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf is quite literally making waves. Meet Chonkers, the name given to a giant Steller sea lion spotted this week lounging among his considerably smaller California sea lion neighbors. Chonkers belongs to the Steller species, the largest of all sea lions, known for their commanding presence and dock-dominating energy. Adult males can weigh over a ton.

No matter how educated, talented or rich you are, how you treat people ultimately tells all.

It is okay … to wear old clothes to not upgrade your phone to buy second-hand items to live in a simple home to read older books to enjoy home cooking to travel to unknown locations to earn a living doing what you love to be an introvert it is okay to live a simpler life.

After six months and nearly 1,000 cases, the South Carolina measles outbreak is officially over. How'd they do it? "Measles vaccinations were the most effective single containment tool." abcnews.com/Health/after-1…

That’s…. not how it works

I have said it before, and it has never been more true. The labor movement is the last line of defense against the erosion of America’s middle class. The 40-hour week. The weekend. Safe workplaces. A living wage. None of it was given. All of it was won, by workers who organized, marched, and refused to back down. That fight is not history. It is happening right now, in warehouses and classrooms, on picket lines and shop floors, against an administration determined to gut the protections generations fought for. This May Day, do not just honor the sacrifices of those who came before. Stand with workers. The middle class does not defend itself.

Very Important Message!! Do NOT, and I repeat do not buy plants treated with Neonicotinoids. Bees take the pollen back to the hive and feed it to the brood. This is a number one cause of the colony collapse. It's important to NOT buy these plants! Make sure to share this post!

Tomorrow is the 1st—the day Tammy always secures supplies. Between her rescues and her own care (which isn't covered here due to her kidney history), she is facing a real financial crisis. To her Twitter family: if you can help keep her mission standing while she fights to recover, please use her link: paypal.me/catswithnohope

📍 SF Bay Area This is a desperate plea for Bertie, a sweet ~13 y/o cat who has not had it easy. He is a very sweet boy but is not doing well in a kennel and needs out of here. He needs an adopter ASAP. He prefers to be the only pet in the home. more info in next tweet

Elfie is playing hide and seek this afternoon at Bradford Cat Watch Rescue and Sanctuary... can anyone find Elfie🤣🤣🤣

Anduril is supporting the @DeptofWar's Golden Dome for America. We're establishing a missile defense shield: a network that connects and fuses data from the entire spectrum of available sensors, effectors, and other assets spread across domains, enabling real-time decision making while eliminating single points of failure.

Pictured: Orion – 30,000 miles above Earth on the Artemis II mission – separating from the rocket's upper stage. Anduril now has over 400 telescopes around the globe. Advanced space sensing software provides real-time focal plane processing to identify & track objects. Think Sentry Tower software, but for space.

Kindness matters

In January 1998, for approximately one week, the British public stopped whatever it was doing and gave its full attention to the fate of two pigs. This actually happened. Newspapers cleared their front pages. Television news led with daily updates. Office workers asked colleagues whether there'd been any sightings. Pubs debated strategy. Children wrote letters. And somewhere in a damp thicket in Wiltshire, two young Tamworth pigs, blissfully unaware that they had just become the most followed fugitives in the English-speaking world, were curled up in a mud wallow they had built to their own specifications, having the time of their lives. They stole the nation's heart in a week. This is how it happened. On the morning of 8 January 1998, a man named Arnoldo Dijulio loaded two five-month-old Tamworth pigs into a lorry bound for V & G Newman's abattoir in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. They were a sister and a brother. Ginger-coloured, leggy, bright-eyed, of the oldest native pig breed in Britain. Worth approximately £40 each. Nobody had told them any of this. The lorry arrived. The ramp went down. The pigs came out. And then, in a moment that would shortly consume the attention of three continents, the pair of them took one look at where they were, assessed the fence, and left. They squeezed under it. They crossed a field. They came to the River Avon, a river most pigs, if asked, would probably decline on principle. They swam it. On the far bank they shook themselves off, had a brief consultation, and disappeared into a dense thicket near Tetbury Hill, where they proceeded to do what every Tamworth has done since the Domesday Book. Root. Forage. Sleep under brambles. Ignore humans entirely. Within 48 hours, the story had escaped the thicket more comprehensively than the pigs had. ITN sent a crew. NBC sent a crew. Japanese television dispatched a helicopter. The Daily Mail installed a reporter in Malmesbury essentially full-time. Every national paper carried daily updates on the Tamworth Two, named after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which is what happens when a nation is trying to work out how to describe two pigs who had outwitted an entire abattoir staff. A woman thought she saw them in her rhubarb. A man was certain they'd crossed his lawn at dawn. A postman swore he'd made eye contact with one of them near a bus stop. In the thicket, Butch and Sundance were doing none of these things. They were asleep in the mud wallow, occasionally emerging to eat something, before returning to the wallow. On day four, the owner was interviewed on national television and stated, somewhat tactlessly, that if recaptured the pigs would still be going to slaughter. The nation, briefly, lost its composure. The Daily Mail, sensing a story of the sort that does not come around twice in a career, stepped in and bought both pigs from their owner in exchange for exclusive rights. The bidding, it was reported, had reached £15,000 by the time he cracked. The pigs were now, legally and commercially, Daily Mail property. This was probably the only time in recorded history that being purchased by the Daily Mail constituted a happy ending. Butch was captured on 15 January, foraging in the garden of a local couple who had popped out to the shed and found a pig in their flowerbed. Sundance, sister now gone, made a break for the thicket again. He held out one more day. He was flushed from cover by two springer spaniels and darted by the RSPCA. The first dart bounced off. This was worth remarking on at the time. Veterinary examination later revealed that Sundance was in fact half wild boar, which explained both the thick skin and the week-long refusal to co-operate with any human institution. He was eventually subdued. He was not pleased about it. The pair were transferred to the Rare Breeds Centre near Ashford in Kent, with the Daily Mail covering their upkeep. A generous enclosure. A large wallow. A woodland run that Sundance, in particular, approved of. And there they lived. Butch was the boss. Her keeper described her as a grump who could move fast when she felt like it and had strong opinions about who was allowed near her breakfast. Sundance, free at last of any agenda, became extraordinarily mellow. He spent his days wallowing. He lay in the sun. He greeted visitors with a sort of detached amiability that suggested he had thought about life and found it, on balance, acceptable. They lived together for twelve more years. Butch died in October 2010, aged 13. Sundance was quieter after she went. He had been in her company since the day he was born. He carried on for seven more months, pottering along, and was put down in May 2011 after his arthritis worsened beyond comfort. They were buried in a quiet corner of the Rare Breeds Centre. Two young pigs, on a cold January morning in Wiltshire, decided they were not going to do the thing everybody had planned for them to do. They squeezed under a fence. They swam a river. They held out long enough that the entire country stopped what it was doing and paid attention. And when it was all over, they went on to live twelve more years in a Kentish paddock, visited by the occasional tourist, neither of them with any idea that they had briefly been the most famous fugitives on the planet. They would not have cared if you'd told them. They cared about the wallow. They cared about each other. That was enough.

BREAKING: About 120 U.S. military veterans were arrested inside the Cannon House Office Building today protesting Trump's war on Iran. Some were on crutches. Some were in wheelchairs. Some carried the burial flags of fallen soldiers. They are members of About Face — veterans who know what war costs because they have already paid for one. Capitol Police handcuffed disabled veterans and dragged them out of the rotunda. 53% of American voters oppose the war. 74% oppose ground troops. 61% disapprove of Trump's handling of it. The people who fought America's last wars are now being arrested for trying to stop the next one. Never stop connecting the dots.

Poor Rodger. Adopted out with his sibling then separated and dropped to the city shelter. It’s so sad what these cats go through and is really upsetting for us. Pets are a lifetime commitment and if you adopt siblings why would you ever separate them. It’s so mean and selfish.

😺Meet Robyn, who is approximately 9 months old😺 😻Robyn is a beautiful, black & white girl 😻Robyn is a quiet soul 😻She is quite nervous & understandably unsure of the world right now 🏡Looking for a calm, patience home filled with kindness 🏡Given time & understanding, Robyn will begin to relax & show her gentle personality 🏡If you think you can offer Robyn the right home, please complete the application form by following the link below👇 🔗 greenacresrescue.org.uk/find-a-pet/cat… 📝FYI: Applications are processed Monday to Thursday. Please be patient, our rehoming team will be in contact with you as soon as possible📝 🏡🏥All successful applications will be subject to home & vet checks🏥🏡 📍Our animals are based in #Pembrokeshire South West #Wales While we do rehome across the UK, please keep our location in mind because visits to the centre are essential. We may also prioritise homes that are closer to the rescue For full details on our adoption process please visit: 🔗 greenacresrescue.org.uk/adoption-proce… 🔁Can’t adopt right now? The best way to help animals in need is to SHARE THIS POST so it reaches their forever home🔁 Thank you for considering adoption & for helping us find a truly special home for Robyn 💚🙏💚 #teamgreenacres #rescue #rehomehour #caturdayeve #caturday #CaturdaySaturday

Look at these sweet babies. $100 Chewy gift card to their lucky adopters and Jinx’s forever love. Please share. ❤️❤️❤️

Blakey Blake from the drain has been living life on the edge like Leo Bear💔so I am just trying to make him comfortable until he can get a CT scan to see if there is anything further I can do. Vet: April 13 Blakey Blake $236.82 April 13 Leo Bear $305.96 April 13 Medlock Bridge Animal Hospital Paid $ 922.68 There is a CASH MATCH if anyone can help with a free retweet please 🙏 paypal.me/ppknox