Largest Eggs in the World

The ostrich lays the largest eggs on land, but the whale shark lays the largest eggs in the world.*

An egg from a whale shark measuring 14 inches in diameter was found in the Gulf of Mexico in 1953.

*Not counting the huge eggs the Cowboys have laid in several games this season.

How to Make Collard Greens

This looks SO good and an interesting change-of-pace to use turkey instead of pork.

Panglossian

Panglossian   adjective [pan-glos-ee-uh n, - glaw-see-, pang-]

characterized by or given to extreme optimism, especially in the face of unrelieved hardship or adversity

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This would describe most of we die-hard Cowboys fans as we drink our blue Kool-Aid.

New Definition of "A-List" Celebrities

I was looking through a TV/movie website earlier and saw the series Running Wild with Bear Grylls hosted by the survival "expert" Bear Grylls (I previously wrote about him, hence the "expert" in quotation marks). I watched an episode of his earlier show, Man vs. Wild, where Grylls was accompanied by Will Ferrell and while I found it mildly amusing, I wasn't impressed. I had hoped the celebrity accompanying Grylls would at least take it a bit more seriously, if for nothing other to keep up the farce that they were ever in any real danger.

This new show's description reads: Bear Grylls, British adventurer, takes A-list celebrities on wild outdoor adventures, pushing them beyond their comfort zone.  There are a couple of people on this list I am not familiar with, but knew the rest.  I intend to watch the episodes with Kate Hudson (so cute!) and Kate Winslet (be still my beating heart) but I am not particularly enthused about watching any of the rest...I might or I might not. 

That said, it's the description I have some problems with;  while some of the celebs are definitely on the "A-List", I am pretty sure some others aren't, one in particular.  I've given a hint on the screenshot below. 

(Click for larger view)

I don't have anything against Tom Arnold;  he was really good in True Lies, but he's not someone I care to see much of in anything. He's "B-List" at best.

How Low Can YOU Go?

The limbo world record is under six inches.

Limbo Rock - Chubby Checker

Lethal Buzz

A lethal dose of caffeine is about 10 grams or a hundred cups of coffee consumed within 4 hours.

QWERTY Trivia

F-G-H and J-K-L are the only three consecutive letter sets on a QWERTY style keyboard and they are right next to each other.

Lots of Licks

It takes somewhere between 144 and 411 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop^TM

For your musical enjoyment, a topical video:

Slinky Cat

Not The Last, But The First

The drinking straw was developed by the Egyptians in order to taste beer without removing the fermenting ingredients that floated on top of the container.  The oldest straw ever found was in a Sumerian tomb and was a tube made of gold and inlaid with the precious stone lapis lazuli.

The modern paper straw was invented by Marvin C. Stone in 1888 because the rye grass straw he was using to drink his mint julep was dissolving into the drink and altering the taste.

Get Out of My Bed!

Hairs to You

The average person has 100,000 hairs on his/her head.  Each hair grows about 5 inches every year.

This is one time I'm not proud of at least being average. -sigh-

Us and Them - Pink Floyd

I love saxophone music, so when I saw today's Google doodle celebrating the birthday of Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone, it made me think about my favorite songs which use that instrument. Maybe it's my advancing age and failing memory, but I couldn't think of any. Thank goodness my senility hasn't prevented me from remembering how to use Google, so I did a quick search and was reminded of this Pink Floyd tune with some great sax solos.

Pug Life - Simon's Cat

20 Questions Squared

A 4-year-old child asks an average of 437 questions a day.

pics on Sodahead

I don't ask that many per day, but I do wonder about a good number of things each day and thanks to the Internet, I can find my own answers. The only thing I don't ask that children do is "Why?"...because as an adult (technically), I know there's often no answer at all to that particular question.

Let The Mystery Be - Iris DeMent

I've been watching "The Leftovers" and really enjoying it, but am behind a few episodes and a couple of weeks ago while reading a review of the 2nd season, saw a comment that stated they didn't like the new theme song.  I finally got around to watching the first couple of episodes of the new season and immediately knew who the singer was.   Here's the new opening theme, followed by the full version of the song:

I like it just fine (love Iris DeMent!), but the theme to the first season is hauntingly beautiful and still used in parts of these newest episodes. I plan on doing a review of "The Leftovers", but will wait until I catch up on the couple of episodes I've not yet seen.

Full of It

The longest known record for constipation is 102 days.

Happy Halloween

For 10 Cats, but for you, too!

Season Of The Witch - Donovan

Vintage clips from the 1921 film called Haxan Witchcraft Through The Ages

So Funny It's Scary

Your Halloween Style is Funny

You are never one to take yourself too seriously, and that's especially true on Halloween. You dress up to have fun and get a few laughs. You don't worry about having the best or coolest costume. You like a costume that pokes fun at something in our culture, someone, or even yourself. And it doesn't need to take much effort. In fact, you think that some of the best costumes are minimalist in nature. You're willing to get meta or punny in creating your absurd Halloween outfit.

What's Your Halloween Style?

Samhainophobia

Samhainophobia  noun

A fear of Halloween.

So I Could Find My Way - Enya

From the soon-to-be-released album "Dark Sky Island".

Friday the 13th Trivia

Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a Friday the 13th.

This blog will probably always post something scary when Halloween is near.

The Ice Cream Truck Test

You Are Emotional

You are a highly sensitive person, and you can't help but feel more than most people. Your senses are always in tune. You are very protective of those around you. You hurt when they hurt, and you're happiest when they're happy. You are sympathetic to anyone who is need or hurting, even if that person has hurt you in the process. You have a great capacity for compassion. Naturally intuitive, you can sense what those around you are feeling, even if they are strangers. You can't help but tap into feelings. You tend to be moody at times, but it's only because the emotional world is so amplified for you. It's easy to feel overwhelmed. If you're a bit touchy, it's not personal. You often need time alone to process everything that is going on emotionally.

The Ice Cream Truck Test

King of the Cabinet

Recipe Puppy

Recipe Puppy is an ingredient based recipe search engine. You can enter your ingredients in the search form or try an example search. If you already know what you want to make, there's a CookThing feature that lets you select the ingredients you want to use.

They also provide the code to put a nifty widget on your own website or blog.

Recipe Search by Ingredients:
Powered by Recipe Puppy

Recipe Puppy

10 Ways Cats Are Good For You!

Blanket Skin

A full-grown adult has about 20 sq. ft. of skin on their body - about the same square footage as a blanket for a queen-sized bed.

Amazon Filler Item Finder

If you're like me and use Amazon but are too cheap frugal to pay for Prime and get free shipping, you'll like Amazon Filler Item Finder.  From the website:

Certain items at Amazon.com qualify for free shipping, but sometimes the purchase falls short of the minimum $35 needed to receive the free shipping. Enter the amount you need to see a list of products that qualify for free shipping.

According to the creator of this script, the site has been up for 6+ yrs. and mentioned in several other websites. (but I hadn't heard of it before).  It's a brilliant concept and even though I didn't find anything I wanted for the $8.51 worth of items I currently need in my Amazon cart to get free shipping, I bookmarked it and imagine I will use it again in the future for suggestions to bring my total up to $35 to get the free shipping.  I also again might not use any of the suggestions, but it doesn't take but a few seconds and you never know!

What's really ingenious is that each result is basically an "affiliate link" where the site owner makes a small commission on each sale for the referral.  Clever, and I wish I had thought of it. (or at least been smart enough to write the script)

Amazon Filler Item Finder

Gilligan's Island Original Intro

From the un-aired pilot episode.

kakistocracy

kakistocracy noun [kak-uh-stok-ruh-see]

A form of government in which the worst persons are in power.

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I was unfamiliar with this word, but definitely familiar with the definition. To paraphrase the Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart in a 60's obscenity case: "I may not know how to define it, but I know it when I see it."

Clean Break

Clean Break is an four-part Irish drama set in the small coastal town of Wexford.  The village is quaint, the surrounding countryside lovely, yet both show the scars of the economic downturn in that nation.

Frank Mallon, a local luxury car dealer, has already lost his wife, is slowly losing his daughter and is on the verge of losing both his home and business, plus some gorgeous seaside property he was planning to develop. He hatches a plot to rob the local bank, headed by the loathsome manager, the husband of a woman with whom Mallon once had an affair.

It would be giving away too much to reveal any more and I'm afraid I've already said too much if you're one of those who didn't even like that much information about a movie or TV show before you have a chance to watch.  That said,  there are some interesting plot twists and turns and some "Oh, no!" moments.  Clean Break doesn't have a lot of action; no car chases or gun battles, yet it never is boring....which such a short series should never be and it certainly doesn't fail in that regard. I was riveted through each episode and eagerly awaited the next.

As was mentioned, the scenery is, for the most part, lovely and even the abandoned and dilapidated buildings in some of the scenes have a forlorn  beauty all their own.  For a four-part series, the character development was more than sufficient.  The cinematography is first rate, the writing and dialog  superb, the acting is excellent by all and the ending...well, I like to think I can usually see what's coming, but I certainly didn't see this one.  To be honest, I didn't like the way it ended, but it wasn't disappointing...if that makes any sense and I reckon it will if you watch the series.

At this writing, the first three episodes have been uploaded to YouTube and if you're so inclined, the complete series can be found via your favorite search engine, I'm sure.

I gave it a "7" on IMDb, which might not sound as good as I made it out to be, but I'm very stingy with my grades.  (It was probably a good thing I wasn't a teacher;  the kids might have liked me, but they would have hated my grading)  I've discovered some drama gems from British television and now I'm wondering what-else the Irish have done that I've missed.  If Clean Break is indicative of their version of quality TV, then I want to see more.

Deer vs Ball

Hoo-Hoo Knows This Owl Trivia?

Owls are the only bird that lowers their upper eyelids to blink;  all others raise their lower lid to blink.

An owl has three eyelids: one for blinking, one for sleeping and one for keeping the eye clean and healthy.

Cocaine - Eric Clapton

Live At The Royal Albert Hall

Cocaine is God's way of saying that you're making too much money.
 - Robin Williams

Are You a Bookworm?

You Are a Bookworm

You can't help it - you just love to read. And it's likely you've been reading since you were a kid. You love to stick your nose in a book whenever you can, preferably the old fashioned paper variety. You can get lost in a story or teach yourself a whole new skill with the right book. And even the worst books aren't that bad. Reading is definitely your forte, but you're probably a good writer and editor too. You can only read so many words before you are good at crafting them.

Are You a Bookworm?

Grawlix

When you use &%#@$ (or something similar) instead of profanity, it's called a Grawlix.

Nightmare Inducing

Follow the Money

Note:  The following is meant to be a mini-rant and a bit of trivia but is also a semi-snarky review of the new Fox series Minority Report based upon the 2002 hit movie.

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I was torturing myself watching the fourth and latest episode of Minority Report last night when I noticed something strange;  when a man is attempting to buy some fake I.D.,he plops some banded currency on the table, then reluctantly throws down some more on top of it.  The scene went by fairly quickly, but not so quick that I couldn't make out the face on the $500 bill:

(click for larger view)

Yes, that's President Obama on the bill and it proved to me that Hollywood is indeed full of leftist partisan hacks.  Andrew Jackson notwithstanding, I've always thought the portraits on American currency were intended to be of good Presidents or at least of people who made a significant contribution to society.

Why Obama?  If he deserves to be on a bill, then - in all fairness - so does G.W. Bush;  after all, both of them certainly spent enough money, printed more than their fair share out of thin air, too.

Be that as it may...and I certainly didn't mean for this to turn into a political rant...I believe that's the last episode I will watch.  If Minority Report had been anything but a ubiquitous, poorly done police procedural show (albeit set in the future) I would have given it a proper review. 

My recommendation?  If you're watching it now and enjoying it, please be my guest and continue doing so.  I just don't think it's going to last long, that's all.  What's wrong with it?  Oh, if I only had enough time and space to list the things.  I had high hopes for the series, but IMHO (and according to the ratings), it doesn't have much of a future, especially considering how many Obama dollars much money it's got to be losing. The show is visually appealing, the special effects are pretty good and the acting isn't horrible...but not even the gorgeous Meagan Good can save this series.  The potential was there but it was wasted.

On a related note:  I noticed a woman on the hundred dollar bill, so I took a screen shot, rotated it to get a better view but still didn't recognize the face, but did see it was Australian currency. (or maybe American money honoring Australian notables)  Thanks to the world-wide interwebs, I was able to find out the woman was Dame Nellie Melba, a noted opera singer of the late Victorian era and the early 20th century. I had never heard of her.

My only hope is that if the world lasts to the time this TV series takes place, we'll honor folks like her much more than we do those such as President Obama.

Sometimes I Feel So Deserted - The Chemical Brothers

If the female cyborg in the video looks familiar, it's the lovely Hannah John-Kamen currently starring in the sci-fi TV show Killjoys.

Long Time in the Bathroom

The average person will spend 1.5 yrs. of their lifetime in the bathroom.

And when you really need in the bathroom and someone else won't come out, it seems like a year and a half.

Rubik's Cube Trivia

A Rubik's cube has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 (43 quintillion) possible configurations.

jejune

jejune adjective [ji-joon]

1. without interest or significance; dull; insipid: a jejune novel.
2. juvenile; immature; childish: jejune behavior.
3. lacking knowledge or experience; uninformed: jejune attempts to design a house.

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That pretty much describes me OR this blog.

Oct. 14, 2015 EDIT TO ADD:  I was watching the latest The Blacklist last night and Reddington used the word in a sentence.  Cool.

Future Hall of Famer

THE man: Jason Witten

parvenu

parvenu noun [pahr-vuh-noo, pahr-vuh-noo,-nyoo]

a person who has recently or suddenly acquired wealth, importance, position, or the like, but has not yet developed the conventionally appropriate manners, dress, surroundings, etc.

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I wanna be a parvenu; that's why I play the lottery.

Future Teamster

Learning the union way at an early age.

Davis Family Wheat Farm

Great Texas Country Reporter segment about a family and their farm near Perryton, Texas. The kids say "Sir" and seem to have a good work ethic instilled in them.  The adults speak of honor and being caretakers of the land, but....

I did a quick search at the EWG Farm Subsidy Database and found out Davis Farms received payments totaling $2,103,526 from 1995 through 2012. 

Super Fast Butcher

It wouldn't do to be all-thumbs in this job, because if you were, you wouldn't have thumbs for long. (or at the least, very long thumbs)

One thing I'm wondering about, however;  why is he cutting up the meat into such tiny pieces? 

Which Ten Commandment?

Are you?

You Are "Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother"

You may or may not have the most honorable parents, but you try to respect and honor them whenever possible. In general, you think that people should focus on their families more. Charity begins at home. You also believe that younger generations should do a better job taking care of their elders. It saddens you to see how older people are treated in most cultures. You think it's truly a disgrace.

Which of the Ten Commandments Are You?

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While I will admit to not respecting or honoring both my parents as much as I should have when they were alive, I'd say that most of the rest of the results are accurate.

While my own faith has diminished over the last few yrs., I still think the Ten Commandments are - for the most part - good to live by. I could get people arguing with me, but for good or bad, they're the basis for much of the western world's laws. (and no, I do not want to debate it)

One of the better photos I think I've ever taken at the Cross of Our Lord near Groom, Texas, has been this one of the Ten Commandments monument.