Art Museums

    Go to the art museum, they said.  It will be educational, they said.

Boob

    And now you know how the word came to be.

The Internet in the 90's

    Ah, the internet in the 90's.  I remember when you had a separate phone line for the internet, when AOL ruled the web, and when, if you were able to get a connection in under 10 minutes during peak hours, you considered yourself very fortunate.

Virginville

   Yes, there really is a town named Virginville.  It's in Pennsylvania, a couple miles from where I grew up, and about 20 miles from Intercourse, Penna.

Chemistry Lab

    For the record, I was once kicked out of chemistry lab - as a college senior, no less - for showing up for class barefoot.

Friday Wine Day

    This is going on my Xmas list to Santa.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    (I)t is perhaps worth pausing for a moment to remember just some of the things that happened that summer: Babe Ruth hit sixty home runs.  The Federal Reserve made the mistake that precipitated the stock market crash.  Al Capone enjoyed his last summer of eminence.  The Jazz Singer was filmed.  Television was created.  Radio came of age.  Sacco and Vanzetti were executed.  President Coolidge chose not to run.  Work began on Mount Rushmore.  The Mississippi flooded as it never had before.  A madman in Michigan blew up a school and killed forty-four people in the worst slaughter of children in American history.  Henry Ford stopped making the Model T and promised to stop insulting Jews.  And a kid from Minnesota flew across an ocean and captivated the planet in a way it had never been captivated before.

    Whatever else it was, it was one hell of a summer.

    (from One Summer – America, 1927  by Bill Bryson)

  8½*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Neil Armstrong

    Coincidence?  I think not.

Geezer Reminder

    In fairness, at the moment the two time spans are very close.  But this is only going to get more one-sided with each passing day.

Belts

    Sadly, I can relate.

History Sunday!

    I totally love historical photographs.

Book Excerpt for the Day

    An old story is told of ancient Lord Rekson, lord of the Agami regions, about how, when a runner brought him the news of the defeat of the Three Armies at Presteen, he insisted that his wizard discover the implications of the defeat by reading the runner’s entrails.  One of the inferences I’ve always taken from that story is that bringing bad news to a member of our beloved ruling class is not an entirely safe proposition; even during times of stomach distress, I’ve always felt that my entrails are entirely happy where and how they are, not lying on the ground and getting all dirty.

    (from Hour of the Octopus by Joel Rosenberg)

    5*/10.  The complete review is here.

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Macaroni and Cheese

    Full disclosure.  Once upon a time, as a child, I did indeed eat mac-&-cheese this way.  Especially if the mac-&-cheese wasn't very "cheesy".

  And yes, pineapple DOES belong on pizza.

Grocery Bagging

    For the record, I worked as a bagger in a grocery store one summer, in between college years.   Proper Grocery Bagging *is* a lost art.

    Further details.  This was in Lake Havasu City, in 110-115°F weather and monsoon humidity, and we had to carry the bags of groceries to the customers' cars.  Brutal.  Simply brutal.

When does an air conditioner bust?

    In August, of course.  When it's 108°F outside and with monsoonal humidity.  Fortunately, our neighbors have their own A/C repair business, and fortunately they were able to come right over.  It turns out it was a capacitor on the fritz.

A Better World

    This is why statistics majors make for crappy companions.

Mythology Monday

    Last Friday was Edith Hamilton's 149th birthday, for those of you who know who she was.

Sunday Goals

    Well, it is a Day of Rest, you know.

Things I judge others by

   Truth be told, I will not judge you by whether or not you use your turn signal or not.  But #2 and #3 are deal makers/breakers.

Graffiti Friday

    And Hope Solo, dearie.  Do try to be a good sport, even when your team loses.  The Swedish team wasn't a bunch of cowards.  You and your team just got thoroughly out-coached and outplayed by them.

Tool Kit

    That covers just about every situation.

30 Minutes

    Seems reasonable to me.

Real Books Tuesday

    Yes indeed; this is a real book.  You can buy it at Amazon for $3.99 (Kindle version).

Pangaea Joke Monday

    And let's face it, Pangaea jokes are few and far between.

Book Excerpt for the Day

        And here I was in France.  France seemed so slow to change.  How I loved it.  The Provence I knew was sunny and beautiful, yes, but its darker side appealed to something dark in me.  It was a place soaked in blood, layered with history, mysterious with sorcery and the unexplained.  The countryside fragrant with lavender in summer once smelled of death, gunpowder, and fear.

    (from A Provençal Mystery by Ann Elwood)

    7*/10.  The complete review is here.

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My Spirit Animal

   Ah yes, I think I've found my spirit animal.

Intercourse, Pennsylvania

    Yes, there really is a town named Intercourse, Pennsylvania.  I grew up about 30 miles from it, and there are several stories about how it got its name.  It is in the middle of Amish country, hence the horse-&-buggy in the pic.

Music Appreciation Thursday

    Actually, Garbage isn't half-bad, albeit it's a band from my son's generation, not mine  But they can't compare to anything by Haydn.

Once you hit 60

    True dis.

Chalk Art Tuesday

   The rendering of the crushed soda can is particularly impressive.

Book Excerpt For The Day

    “We are a famously stealin’ folk.  Aren’t we lads?  Whut’s it we’re famous for?”

    “Stealin’!” shouted the blue men.

    “And what else, lads?”

   “Fightin’!”

    “And what else?”

    “Drinkin’!”

    “And what else?”

    There was a certain amount of thought about this, but they all reached the same conclusion.

    “Drinkin’ and fightin’!”

    (from The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett)

    8*/10.  The complete review is here.

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