According to Wikipedia: The family Oriolidae comprises the figbirds in the genus Sphecotheres, and the Old World orioles in the genus Oriolus.[1] Several other genera have been proposed to split up the genus Oriolus. For example, the African black-headed species are sometimes placed in the genus Baruffius. In 2011 the genus Turnagra which contained two extinct species from New Zealand, the piopio, were found to be placed within this family.[2] The family is not related to the New World orioles, which are icterids, family Icteridae.
Judging from the stamp above, Orioles are much appreciated in Moldova. The capital of Moldova is Chisinau.
Baltimore has its own Oriol in the form of a baseball team which has sucked majorly for most of its existence.
Notable Orioles: Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, Earl Weaver, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, and of course the iron man himself: Cal Ripken Jr.
When I think of Baltimore, I think of John Watters and the critically acclaimed HBO series The Wire. IMO the show is highly overrated. John Watters on the other hand delivered cult classics in the form of Pink Flamingos, Hairspray, Cry Baby (introducing a young TV actor named Johnny Depp) and many others.
I just checked some info on John Watters and as it turns out Watters is spelled Waters. Thank you Mr Internet. Mr Internet also mentions that JW's nicknames are "The Prince of Puke" and "The Pope of Trash".
John Waters was also featured in one of my favorite Simpsons episode of all-time: Homer's Phobia.
You covered a lot of ground in this one! I can't wait to drop the capitol of Moldova into my conversations to show everyone how smart I am...
ReplyDeleteWow! Impressive. I think I'll use the Orioles tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteHaha, I love how you described the baseball team. Well Said!!!
ReplyDeleteBut don't forget Anne Tyler, who is my favorite author. She's also from Baltimore.
ReplyDelete@dw I'm glad I double-checked before dropping this fact. I was going to say it's Skopje, but everyone knows that's the capital of Macedonia !
ReplyDelete@mm @Goodwoman Thanks !
@LH I had no idea. Thanks for spreading the knowledge !
I'm new to this whole blogging thing. I'll work on a blogroll and twitter feeds and whatnot soon. This is fun !