happy 4th of july from the u.s.a.
very proud that my country chose freedom over fear
Jul4
Author Archives: beth
Jul3
“dogs have boundless enthusiasm but no sense of shame. i should have a dog as a life coach.” – moby
JULY 3: THE START OF THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER
“dog days” originally referred to the period of the summer
when sirius, the dog star rose each day around the same time as the sun.
even though the two events don’t line up around this time as perfectly anymore,
it’s still the name given to
the really, really hot stretch of summer from july 3 to august 11.
—
credits: googleimages, moby
Jul2
700.
700 Posts Published
as of today
looks like i share this special number with some very diverse company:
fireworks, guns, comedians, romantic skeletons,
piles of poop,
knights, and the religious right
who could ask for more?
—
700 AD Chinese Invent Gunpowder–
The Chinese combined saltpeter, sulpher, and carbon to create gun powder. The Chinese used gun powder primarily for fireworks.
700-Year-Old Skeletons Found Holding Hands –
For one medieval couple, “till death do us part” wasn’t nearly long enough. A team of archeologists excavating the Chapel of St. Morrell in England’s Leicestershire County recently discovered two skeletons buried with their arms entwined. Believed to be a destination for pilgrims in the 14th century, the chapel was “lost” for centuries before being rediscovered by a local historian.
Barrels of 700-year-old poop found in Denmark –
Archaeologists excavating I. Vilhelm Werners Square in Hans Christian Andersen’s hometown of Odense, Denmark, are delighted to have found barrels full of medieval excrement. Poop is a boon to modern archaeology because it can tell us more about the daily lives of past people than golden treasures, and this particular poop is very well preserved thanks to having been buried in an oxygen-poor environment.
700-Year-Old William Wallace Letter Finally Reaches Scotland –
Few traces remain of Scottish hero William Wallace, the medieval knight who fought against English oppression until his 1305 execution and later inspired the 1995 blockbuster “Braveheart.” Now, after spending the last seven centuries in England, one of two surviving documents associated with the legendary warrior will go on display this August at the Scottish Parliament.
The Remington 700 –
When Remington introduced the Model 700 in 1962, advertising it as “the world’s strongest bolt action,” sales were swift and immediate. Its good looks, light recoil, and strong accuracy for the money, combined with Winchester’s move to a push-feed action in 1964, put the 700 on a path to dominance.
700 Sundays (2014) –
In 700 Sundays, legendary comedian and actor Billy Crystal tells the stories of his youth, growing up in the jazz world of Manhattan, his teenage years, and finally adulthood.
The 700 Club (1966– ) –
Television talk show dedicated to bringing stories, guests, news, and much more from a Christian perspective.
—
credits: the history channel, wordpress.com, entertainment channel
Jul2
as day turns to dusk on the detroit river.
so sinks the day-star in the ocean bed,
and yet anon repairs his drooping head,
and tricks his beams,
and with new-spangled ore,
flames in the forehead of the morning sky.
~john milton
—-
credits: john milton, detroit renaissance
Jul1
fruit only angers my need for chocolate. ~ jason love
happy international fruit day!!
Jul1
oh! canada?
we set out on a 2-hour tour
not unlike
*’gilligan’s island’
all kinds of us
togethe
with high hopes
for a grand day
on the detroit river
a natural boundary
between
the united states
and
canada
and were
met with
gale force winds
and
torrential downpours
and slippery decks
but we made the best of the rough seas
most people are rowing against the current of life.
instead of turning the boat around,
all they need to do is let go of the oars.
– esther hicks
and this guy
jack
our mascot for the day
survived
a bit the worse for wear
paper mache mashed
one eye blown off
quickly balding
open wounds
but
like jack
we all hung in there
(nowhere to get off really)
and it was a grand adventure
we may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.
– martin luther king, jr.
canada is like a loft apartment over a really great party.
– robin williams
happy canada day to our very friendly neighbors!
—
*gilligan’s island backstory:
IT WAS INTENDED TO BE A “METAPHORICAL SHAMING OF WORLD POLITICS.”
One day in a public speaking class at New York University, the professor had students compose an impromptu one-minute speech on this topic: If you were stranded on a desert island, what one item would you like to have? Sherwood Schwartz (the show’s creator), was a student in that class, and the question so intrigued him that it remained lodged in the back of his mind for many years.
After working for some time as a comedy writer for other shows, Schwartz decided to pitch his own idea for a sitcom. Thinking back to that desert island question, he thought it would make for an interesting dynamic to have a group of very dissimilar individuals stranded together and have to learn to live and work together. The island would be “a social microcosm and a metaphorical shaming of world politics in the sense that when necessary for survival, yes we can all get along,” Schwartz explained in Inside Gilligan’s Island: From Creation to Syndication. Schwartz quickly discovered after his first few pitch meetings that words like “microcosm” and “metaphor” were not very helpful when trying to sell a comedy.
—
credits: cbs television, mental floss, sherwood schwartz, diamond jack boats
Jun30
a gift from the universe.
we’re getting a leap second today
because the earth is taking an extra .002 seconds to rotate.
use it wisely.
Jun29
man, if you gotta ask you’ll never know. – louis armstrong
indeed.
Jun28
imagination… its limits are only those of the mind itself. – rod serling
rod serling
one of my favorite writers,
a man who never let his mind limit his imagination.
little golden t.z. bedtime stories anyone?
wild dreams guaranteed.
—
image credit: the twilight zone
Jun27
the power of one word.
THE SPARTANS ON CALLING AN ENEMY’S BLUFF: “IF.”
Philip II of Macedon was the father of Alexander the Great. His son would one day conquer the (known) world, but Philip got things started by conquering all the city-states of ancient Greece. Well, almost all. Sparta, on the southernmost tip of the land Philip sought to control, was a strict military culture known for its brutal martial prowess.
In 346 B.C, Philip sent a message to intimidate the Spartans. “You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I bring my army on your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people and raze your city.” The term “Laconic wit,” comes from the Spartan region Laconia.
The Spartans employed it to great effect with their one word response to Philip: “If.”
Philip never attempted to conquer Sparta.
