My Picks for Top Tweets: 30 August 2017

by | Aug 30, 2017 | Tweets | 10 comments

Tweets of the ongoing crisis in Texas following Hurricane Harvey is still, of course, the main thing on Twitter today. The Washington Post is so far confirming sixteen deaths as a result of the storm. One is a police officer (see below). I suspect we haven’t seen the worst of it yet.

I was living in Gisborne, NZ, when Cyclone Bola hit in 1985. It’s still the costliest cyclone in our country’s history. I recall driving in the country a few months later when something struck me – the paddocks (fields) that were now above road level used to be several metres below it. They were built up by all the papa soil that had washed down from the hills.

Anyway, bad as Cyclone Bola was, Hurricane Harvey is much worse, especially in terms of the number of people who will suffer. It took years and a lot of work and money to recover from Cyclone Bola. It will be tough for the people in southern Texas for a long time to come.

We’ll start off with the Weather Tweets today, which are all about Hurricane Harvey.

Weather Tweets

This is sad news. Sergeant Steve Perez died trying to get to work to save people. From the Washington Post:

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said Tuesday that Sgt. Steve Perez, 60, a veteran officer, drowned Sunday while driving on duty in the floodwater. …

Acevedo said Perez’s wife said she asked him not to go in because conditions were so bad, but Perez insisted “because he has that in his DNA.”

 

 

This news would scare the $*** out of me …

 

And it’s for real!

 

And how about this! I don’t know if it’s real or if it’s made up, but I like the pic so it’s in! I think the water in the pic might be too clean for this to be real. What do you think?
(Via Ann German.)

 

This statistic blew me away …

 

Wow!
(Via Ann German.)

 

Here’s what’s known about the potential link between climate change and hurricanes.

 

Cat Tweets

There are few things cuter than a kitten playing.

 

That’s a cat-sized hole. It looks like it was made just for the cat!

 

At this age, their heads always looks too big for their bodies.

 

Cats are pretty smart when it comes to we humans.

 

Awww!

 

How many can you count?

 

I want them!

 

Didn’t I just say this? Kittens playing is the cutest thing in the world!

 

Yes, daddy …

Dog Tweets

You can see it coming!
(Via Ann German.)

 

Another counting challenge!

 

More extreme cuteness.

 

Dogs are a bit obsessive when it comes to their toys …

Bird Tweets

Birds just wanna have fun!

 

What the eff is going on here??? No, I don’t expect you to try to count them this time!

Other Apes Tweets

This is so cool!

 

Other Animals Tweets

Poor wee thing. Good on SWCC for all the work they do.

 

I think I’ve said before how much I like otters.

Insect Tweets

This is a lucky sighting.

 

It just looks like a dead leaf!

Reptile Tweets

I like frogs too.

Marine Tweets

Sea sponges are fascinating creatures, and they also have enormous potential. There is so much that we can learn from studying them.

 

How many of you were put off swimming in the see after seeing Jaws? I know I was.

Political Tweets

Here’s some good news …
(Via Ann German.)

 

It even gets a special mention by Twitter!

 

 

Architecture Tweets

The mosque ceilings in the article at this link are stunning! The work that has gone into them blows the mind!

 

There are also some lovely old buildings here …

Scenic Tweets

There are some stunning mountain vistas in Chile.

 

Isn’t it lovely?

 

Harry Potter lives!

History Tweets

Someone always has to change the light bulbs.

 

Literature Tweets

I think if Shakespeare met Trump, this is what he would say.

 

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10 Comments

  1. Kim
    Kim on 31st August 2017 at 1:19 am

    This is one of your best collections so far!

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 31st August 2017 at 4:47 am

      Thanks Kim. It’s always interesting to see what appeals to different people. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Ann German
    Ann German on 31st August 2017 at 3:23 am

    THE OTTER
    I state most emphatic:
    An otter’s aquatic.
    An otter loves water—
    An utter fanatic.
    It’s most acrobatic,
    And quite charismatic.
    I state most emphatic:
    An otter’s aquatic.

    From Douglas Florian’s “Mammalabilia”

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 31st August 2017 at 4:50 am

      That poem is making me pronounce aquatic incorrectly in my head! 🙂

      Reply
      • Mark R.
        Mark R. on 31st August 2017 at 6:45 am

        Me too!

        Reply
  3. Mark R.
    Mark R. on 31st August 2017 at 7:00 am

    I loved the monkey teacher. Ha!

    And re. the transgender soldiers; why is Trump such a sadist? Because he does the evangelical’s bidding. Other than groups like ISIS, I can’t think of another group of people as odious as the fundamentalist evangelicals. The intrinsic tragedy of this group is they actually (and arrogantly) think they are doing g*d’s “work”; whatever the hell that means. What it means to me as someone from the outside looking in: the creator of the universe must be petty and evil.

    Reply
    • Heather Hastie
      Heather Hastie on 31st August 2017 at 1:34 pm

      I’ve been writing a post about Trump and the Evangelicals for the last few days. Not sure when it will be finished.

      Reply
      • Trevor
        Trevor on 31st August 2017 at 8:22 pm

        American evangelical christianity has merged with the doctrines of the atheist Ayn Rand to produce the Religious Right wing of the GOP. It’s as toxic a faith as you could imagine.

        Reply
  4. rickflick
    rickflick on 31st August 2017 at 1:29 pm

    The complexity of the Islamic architectural detail reminds me of some ideas I read years ago. The artistic style is highly significant in reflecting the cultural and psychological perspective of Middle Eastern cultures. The suggestion was that the complex patterning is indicative of a philosophy that sees reality as a complex and incomprehensible flux as opposed to the Western, scientific, rational view of life as something to be brought into an organized system of understanding. The consequence is that Islamic culture has little appreciation of science and the enlightenment, and is opposed to the Western take on government because life is more of a kaleidoscope than a telescope or microscope. Religion takes precedence over science and never the twain shall meet – so to speak.

    Reply

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