Summer of George!!

So... this summer finds me at the offices of City of St. Catharines. In the cultural services department. where I will be a Curatorial Assistant.
This is my fifth day. So far so good... I find myself cataloguing carousel horses. I love carousels. I hope I still love them when this is over.
This summer I plan to read more books, see more movies, get more sun, get more exercise and watch all the episodes of How I Met Your Mother.

Let's see how much of this actually gets done.

Merry Christmas, you've been boned!

So, this guy in Chicago gave a friend of his a key to his apartment. Normal, right? A key to a friend's apartment is something most of us would just accept and never use. That is why we are not as brilliant as Adal Rifai. He took this key exchange to new heights. While his friend Louie Saunders was out, he and several accomplices entered Saunders' apartment and gift wrapped everything in sight. That's right, couch cushions, beer in the fridge you name it. Awesome gift Adal!

Happy Christmas

So it's been forever. but I'm back to the blogosphere.
It's a Christmas Eve tradition to watch A Muppet Christmas Carol. It's all the wonder of A Christmas Carol with the glory that is the Muppets. Also, Michael Caine as Scrooge? wondrous! Did I mention it's a musical? There are lovely songs sung mainly by Muppets. I highly recommend it for holiday viewing.
Here's my favourite song.

Cool Word of the Day

Fletcher: maker of seller of arrows.
I don't know this for sure, but I'm guessing this word has gone by the by because of a lack of need for arrows nowadays. So if you've been fletched, you've been supplied with arrows. It reminds me of fleeced, which means you've been ripped off.

Their Mom Must be so Proud

So I was reading the news this morning and I came across this item about twin porn star/burglars. You read that correctly, porn star/burglars. So these twins, who have occasionally acted together (ew!) were arrested in Philly after breaking into shops through their roofs. The only thing that comes to mind is the question, 'what, porn doesn't pay enough?'

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090716/koddities/us_porn_actors_burglaries

Feeling Cross?

Crosswords are a wonder and I love them. To show my love, I will write about the history of the crossword. Here goes...
In 1913, Arthur Wynne, a journalist created a new puzzle he called the "word-cross" and it was published in New York World newspaper. The new puzzle gained popularity, its name was changed to crossword and it began to appear in other American newspapers.
By 1924, crosswords had become a fad, and many thought it belittled the newspaper industry. By the time the word 'crossword' appeared in the dictionary in 1930, the crossword puzzle trend was here to stay.
Crossword Fact: some cryptographers who worked for the Allies in WWII, were selected after winning or placing in crossword competitions.

"Nothing Beside Remains. Round The Decay of That Colossal Wreak..."

I've been thinking, why is it that people feel a need to be a 'legend' instead of being memorialized in a regular way? Marilyn Monroe is a legend and I'm not saying that she set out to be, but people are intent on emulating her legendary status. I'm curious about why one would want to be like someone who is basically remembered for a hot bod and a ditsy demeanor. Lindsay Lohan, for example, longs to be like Marilyn, even going as far as recreating her famous photoshoots, getting a Marilyn quote tattoo and having a train wreak of a personal life. I long to be remembered as me, not as a legend, as who I was not who I have been built up as. I am often reminded of a quote by a lesser known person, Damon Runyon, who wrote 'Guys and Dolls' and other New York set stories. As he was dying of cancer, he said, "you can keep the things of bronze and stone and give me one man to remember me just once a year." I remember Damon Runyon, and not for getting naked in Playboy magazine.