A Decade of Potpourri

Ten years ago today I launched this blog/mission/quest/thing with a modest first post. Obviously things have slowed somewhat and I find myself in the odd position of thanking JJV for posting something, anything, well almost anything.

 The kids are growing, the layout cries for attention, and my social media feed is full of much the same kind of hate and foolishness swirling its way around the rim of the blogosphere in 2005. Although there are also cat videos. Now, of course, we have Twitter and Facebook and God knows what other means of getting on my lawn, which by the way really needs another reseeding.

So, Happy Birthday to the blog! Plus, it's almost rutabaga time.

It's a World of Laughter, a World of OH MY GOD TURN IT DOWN OR BETTER YET OFF

This morning I was "inspired" by the cacophony emanating from our family room to pen this, using my finely honed skill at haiku:

Shouting child actors
With laugh track; please make it stop
The Disney Channel

I posted it to Facebook and a spirited discussion ensued, highlighted by this contribution from a nurse in the North Country:



For those of you without elementary school-aged children, you can simulate the experience by playing this over and over and over and over. And over.

Snow Job

Last weekend's massive snowstorm, which despite its great massiveness completely missed our area and embittered the children further, was assigned the name Nemo. This was not the first winter storm to be named, but the name's association in most people's minds with the Disney clownfish drew additional attention to the fact that we are now naming winter storms. Which, and I want to get this out here in front, is LAME.

Turns out that the naming of storms, which most people (though not necessarily the "most people" cited above) would assume would be the purview of the National Weather Service or some such, is being perpetrated by the Weather Channel, most likely in a bid to draw more eyeballs thither. Harumph. Harumph, I say!

Here is how to refer to winter storms; you may want to print this out and retain for your records in case the power goes during Blizzard Goofy dammit!

• Massive storms (lots of snow, high winds) may be referred to by year (Blizzard of '77, Blizzard of '96) or by the nearest holiday (2003 Presidents' Day Storm). In a pinch, Snowmageddon may be used although that's kind of a restricted-use situation ("WHICH Snowmageddon?!").
• Anything smaller is "that time it snowed a fair bit" or "Arlington schools are opening two hours late for THIS?!"
• That is all.

Speak Up, I Can't Hear You over the Sound of All These Seals of the Apocalypse Breaking

Hard on the heels of its neighbor suffering what is bound to be a gentrifying fire comes word that emergency backup dive Hawk 'n' Dove will close in October for a grime- and soul-stripping renovation.

I am in no way trying to romanticize the dark, indifferently-serviced Hawk, but dammit, that was one of my dives and to see it turned into one of a chain of like-decorated places (in terms of decor and patrons) is dispiriting. Kids today etc.

Venetian Blindside

I suppose I should have left this to JJV but it was hard to sit on news that the Italian government has taken control of Venice's Grand Canal.

On the other hand, it's really hard to come up with an appropriate punchline, so maybe I should have left it to JJV to wax quasi-eloquently on the dangers of the nany state, it could happen here, hey you gondoliers get off my lawn, etc. This is what I get for devoting all my energy to coming up with a snappy title.

Penny Dreadful

If you're like me, and God help you if you are by the way, you don't use a lot of cash for financial transactions. If you're a little bit like me and have a vestigial numismatic interest, you look at your change and check the dates and mint marks and wonder whether it would kill someone out West to come visit and pay for stuff using some goddamn D-mintmark state quarters.

So when I got back to my desk with my lunch today I checked out my change and found this:"Funny," I thought to myself, "I didn't think we had gone to the arcade at Enchanted Forest, and besides, game tokens are usually bigger." Then I turned it over and saw the familiar profile of our sixteenth President, and reacted thus:



Fortunately, as with most everything these days, I can blame the previous Administration for screwing up the penny,* as described here. I recall seeing the Lincoln bicentennial pennies (some of them anyway) and thought them mostly harmless, assuming that the design would revert to the familiar and beloved (yes) Lincoln Memorial this year.

It pains me to admit that I suspect one of the driving forces behind this redesign is a fellow alumnus of Hamilton, Rep. (and, after November, Senator) Mike Castle of Delaware. Although his Wikipedia entry is strangely mum on his involvement with currency redesign, a rudimentary Google search indicates otherwise.

The damage has been done, but at least I'm not alone. By the way, that link references the extraordinarily clever redesign of British coinage. Perhaps the phrase should be "penny foolish, pound wise."

*Who knew that the Lincoln penny was designed by a 70s comedian? Oh, wrong guy? Fine.