Rules for Revolution?

Someone sent me a ridiculous booklet by David Horowitz which is meant to demean either Barack Obama or Saul Alinsky (or both). The latter of whom once wrote:

One of the most important things in life is what Judge Learned Hand described as 'that ever-gnawing inner doubt as to whether you're right.' If you don't have that, if you think you've got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated.

Makes sense to me.

Le Cirque du Soleil Zed - Tokyo

"Inspired by the Fool of the Tarot, Zed is the main character in the show. Called to undergo a transformation, he is both multiple and omnipresent. The initial state of Zed is associated with the unconscious and chaos: his imbecility is obvious, but his silliness is touching because it reveals his vulnerability and naivety. By the end of the show, Zed represents consciousness, restored harmony and the reversal of the order of things through laughter."

We just saw "Ovo" which was great but this sounds even better.

Ben's Buns

His looked even better. And I know they tasted better because I ate one.

Best bun yet. Yum!

"Tu Seras Mi Baby"

I woke up to music this morning, the Spanish version of one of my favorites (hear it?). What a way to wake up. Unfortunately my bliss soon ended when I heard the "castrato" story (and its accompanying music) which followed on BBC's The Strand. What do you expect at 3 in the morning?

How Hot

How hot is hell?

A Day Late

I forgot that yesterday- September 15th- was Agatha Christie's 120th birthday. Someone has come up with a cake (recipe) for the occasion called Delicious Death "inspired by a passage in one of her Miss Marple books called “A Murder is Announced” in which housekeeper Mitzi bakes it for Dora Bunner’s birthday tea. ‘Impossible to make such a cake. I need for it chocolate and much butter, and sugar and raisins’ she tells her employer."

Decorating Ideas

To go with your Zebra.

The Hornworm

The clubhouse garden is in terrible shape rignt now but this little "animal" still finds our tomato plants tasty. I'm not sure if he's a tobacco or a tomato hornworm (they both eat tomatoes) but he's a 2 inch long chunker, neon green with those unreal white sprinkles.

Actually, I found him kind of scary. K though wanted to pick him up (yuck) but in the end we left him munching away. Here's what he turns into:

Always Learning

Last night I learned that Zachary Taylor's daughter, Sarah Knox Taylor (1814-1835) was married to Jefferson Davis before he became President of the Confederate States of America. Davis was second in command to Taylor during the Black Hawk War when Sarah met and fell in love with him and although Taylor admired Davis for his soldiering skills, he was opposed to the match. I suppose to appease Jackson, Davis resigned from the Army and married Sarah on June 17, 1835. Unfortunately, both of the newlyweds contracted malaria, and she died three months later. He remarried in 1845 and later became President of the Confederate States. (I have smart friends, don't I?)

Beans, beans, beans

The more you eat...
I just learned that Pythagoras promoted bean-eating abstinence. (Thanks for telling me this, Ben.) Or did he?

Evidently there's a passage about this directive in the book "Moby Dick". I didn't get the joke at the time (actually, didn't even remember it) but now I do.

What A Drag It Is...

Someone lost her DMV identification card today. We looked for it for an hour at the Library. I think I know how that flight steward felt...where's my escape chute?

Leggo My Lego

Buildings out of Legos at the Building Museum.
It would've looked better with King Kong.

October Comes In September (18th)

From the Internets:

Why is Oktoberfest in September?

The answer goes back to 1810 during the dark days of beer drinking before refridgeration (sic).

In those days in Germany beer would never be brewed in the summer months. The batches would never turn out good.

The last batches were usually made in March. These last batches would have higher alcohol content to take advantage of alcohol as a preservative.

Traditionally there would be a big fest starting on the last Saturday in September till the First Sunday in October. The purpose was to drink up the old stocks of beer to make room for the new brew that would be make after harvest. The tradition goes back to the 15th and 16th Centuries.

The first official Oktoberfest was held in 1810. Crown Prince Ludwig threw a big party to celebrate his wedding to Princess Therese on October 12, 1810. The party was open to all. Everyone liked it so much they kept having the party every year.

So now how shall I celebrate Oktoberfest on September 18th?
We'll make a pretzel.