Month: October 2010

The day Houdini died

On this date, in 1926……..Magician Harry Houdini died of complications from a ruptured appendix.  Eyewitnesses to an incident in Montreal gave rise to speculation that Houdini’s death was caused by a guy named J. Gordon Whitehead, who delivered multiple blows to Houdini’s abdomen to test Houdini’s claim that he was able to take any blow to the body above the waist without injury.  Didn’t work out so good for Houdini.

I like ol’ Harry.  His real name was Erik Weisz, and he was born in Hungary.  He told everyone, later in life, that he was born in Appleton, Wisconsin.  Appleton is just north of Milwaukee.  Tom Terrific’s adversary, “Crabby Appleton,” was named for the city.   Tom Terrific also had a dog named Manfred.  Harry’ Houdini’s father was named Manfred.  He father had a skin affliction…. whiteheads.  See?  Once again, just a series of dots, waiting to be connected……..  RIP HH aka EH…..

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Houdini (Wiki File Photo)  He was simply terrific with his magic.

Help.

When bad things happen to good ghosts….

I’ll tell you what….  I’m blaming it on the Tea Party and the Ultra-Conservative Right.  Okay, I normally don’t get political here.  But I think us ghost-fearing folks need to take action.  You see, it is almost Halloween.  And, an increasing number of people aren’t participating in this holiday of holidays… because they think it is somehow…..pagan, or evil, or…..just not Christian-like???  Some even talk about human sacrifice and such. C’mon.  (I won’t mention Christine O’Donnell’s name on this one, but Christine O’Donnell…)  So here’s to Casper, and the Ghost of the Seven Gables, and to Jacob Marley too.  As for all you radical conservatives, and Tea Party folks…  maybe if you spent some time dressing up like Glinda the Good Witch, and eating yummy treats like popcorn balls and milk duds… you wouldn’t have to do this at your rallies….

This sort of looks “not-so-Christian-like” to me.  A bit more like human sacrifice, really.  (Definitely an infringement on this person’s Constitutional Rights.)   I, for one,  think this behavior has to stop.   I pray to any god that will listen on this one….deliver us from evil and restore us to sanity.

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In case you missed the above news story:  http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/10/woman-stomped-outside-rand-pau.html

The FONT

Well, it’s not the first church I’ve ever been kicked out of….  HOWEVER…. in MY defense….

The sign on the wall is just a bit ambiguous.  Wouldn’t you agree?

“Don’t touch the Baptismal FONT.”  Okay, first, I do a lot of design work… print ads, websites, etc.  So when I see FONT, I think of “typeface”….. and clearly, that led me to believe that I couldn’t touch that sign on the wall, especially the word that said “baptismal”!  No problem-O.  It didn’t say anything about that sparkly bird hanging from the chain NEXT to the font printed on the sign.

So there I am, pulling up and down on that birdie on the chain…. as it turns out…..it lifts up that big marble lid…. up and down (BAM)…. up and down (BAM)… all of a sudden I was doing this great little rhythm.  I almost felt like I was in the Blue Man Group. There was water pitching everywhere outa’ that thing.  Every time I let that big marble lid fall… SPLASH!  I was drawing quite a crowd too….  had a real nice beat going….  water flying WAY up in the air.  Just like Vegas!

Next thing I know, I’m being led out by my elbow by this little fella in a cardboard collar. As he flicked me out on to the walk, he hollered… “I told you to quit yanking my chain!”  (Hell, like I could EVEN hear him over the clanking of the big contraption…..)

Horse feet…and the Pokey….

That’s what it’s all about….

You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out…. you put your right foot in and you shake it all about…..

This song can’t really make up its mind.  Do this, no, do that, noooooooo, do this again.  Shake it around a little.  Okay, do it again, but with the OTHER one this time….  Oh for crying out loud.  Maybe that’s what it really IS all about…..  Ambiguity.  Oh, horse hockey.

And speaking of Pokey (we were)…. that was Gumby’s horse’s name.   It’s ALL starting to make sense now, isn’t it?

Fed Papers and Ray Bans

On today’s date, October 27th, in the year 1787…….The first of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays calling for ratification of the U.S. Constitution, was published in a New York newspaper. The general consensus is that Alexander Hamilton wrote 52, James Madison wrote 28, and John Jay contributed the remaining five.  (As a side note:  Christine O’Donnell has never heard of any of these men, the Federalist Papers, or for that matter, the U.S. Constitution.  But we can save that commentary for another time.)  We have more important things to get to here….

You may have noticed that Hamilton is not present in the photo below.  But, as you can see, Madison (far left), and Jay (2nd from left) are pictured, with their future wives… sisters Abagail and Gertrude Persimmons.  A little known fact is that John Jay also invented the first pair of sunglasses.  He made sets for all his homies, better known as The Founding Fathers of Our Nation.  Rad baby.   Rad.  Totally, rad.

…. and a very Happy Birthday goes out to my Mom……  Love you Mom!

I can make it on my own…

To heck with you anyhow.  I’ve been waiting by the dang door for an hour now.  Had to pee, had to pee.  Why do you humans think we dogs can hold our bladders for hours on end?  Do I look like like a camel?  Do you see a hump?  No sirrrreeeee.   The only humping I do is…. WELL, never mind THAT…..   ANYHOW….. back to the subject at hand.  Your human misconceptions.

We are not saints.  You humans forget that sometimes.  Calling us things like St. Bernards, and Shepherds, and Cavalier Kings,  and such.  We are dogs, with dog bladders, just like dog you.  I KNOW how our species is spelled backward.  It makes no difference.  We still have to e-e-p.

Taking myself for my own dog-gone walk.  No pun intended.  I can make it on my own.

Haunted, or just creepy…

This place gives me the heebie-jeebies.  Everytime I walk by, I look up into the windows, because I feel like there is someone up there, looking out… somehow watching.  I get tingles up and down my neck…  heck, I’ll even go so far as to say it is spine-tingling.

Could just be I need to switch to decaf.

The Gift

Some beings on this earth are gifted in ways most of us will never see or appreciate.

This is Gilcrest, the flip-flop-chasing-wonder-dog…….

Shifting Floors and Other Devices…..

courthouse |ˈkôrtˌhous|
noun
1. a building in which a judicial court is held.
2. a building containing the administrative offices of a county.
3. a building equipped with trick mirrors, shifting floors, and other devices designed to scare or amuse people as they walk through.

That ol’ dictionary is a pretty good book, I’ll tell you….  a pretty good book.

Where’s the chicken…

The biggest deal of my day today, and I’m not joking about this, in any way, shape or form…..  my revelation of it all on this day…….

Chick-fil-A

I never had the opportunity to eat at a Chick-fil-A Restaurant before today.   Oh the waffle fries of it all!  And that slaw!  On top of the classic chicken deluxe sandwich.  Holy…..cow!  Who the heck knew???  I loved every drumstickin’ bite!

A friend of mine recently told me about this place.  She said, “Hey PK.  Quit messing around with Wendy’s and Burger King.  Take your butt on over to a Chick-fil-A for some world-class fast food eats.”  Boy, was she ever right.

Thanks Bessie……ol’ gal.    It was grand.  (But do they pronounce it Chick Fill LAY?  Or Chick Fill uhh?

Hey, before you make like a chicken, and get the cluck out of here, check out their cute site…

http://www.eatmorchikin.com/