Latest
I Found Jon Corzine’s Missing $1.2 Billion
December 9, 2011 · Comments Off
Really! After shopping half-heartedly at Pamida (a privately held chain of miniature K-Marts located in small towns, primarily in the Midwest) for a new office chair for Wrinkled Randy, getting a prescription filled and wandering around looking at Christmas decorations, we emerged with the chair, the prescription, and a couple of sweaters for me. Once home, as we removed our purchases from the back of the SUV, we saw a suitcase. An attached sticky note read: “Private! Do not touch. Jon Corzine.” Visions... [Read the full story]
Animals
Giant Panda Baby Born in China
August 8, 2010 · Comments Off
A giant panda “baby boom” is underway in China for the endangered species, with two sets of twins arriving: one set in late July and the other set this past week. First-time mother Shuixiu — or Ju Xiao — gave birth to twins in late July at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in the Sichuan province of southwest China. Here, she gently carries one of the panda twins. This cub’s weight and gender were unknown when the images were taken, as giant pandas are fiercely... [Read the full story]
Burned Dog Faces Torturers in Court over Animal Cruelty Charges
August 23, 2009 · 9 Comments
A horribly burned and disfigured young dog, Mambo, will have a rare opportunity to face his alleged tormentors in open court in December. Set on fire and left for dead on August 10 in the small French Pyrenees village of Espira-de-l’Agly in southern France, the dog suffered third-degree burns to 50 percent of his body. A local police spokesman said: “Mambo was clearly looking for help when he went missing. He approached the pair because he is extremely friendly, but they showed him nothing but cruelty. ... [Read the full story]
Entertainment
Amy Winehouse Dead from Suspected Drug Overdose
July 23, 2011 · Comments Off
Troubled blues singer Amy Winehouse, 27, was found dead this afternoon at 3:54 p.m. local time in her North London home, of a suspected drug overdose. Winehouse battled addiction to alcohol and drugs and was in rehab several times in recent years. A planned European tour was canceled in June, after a disastrous performance in Serbia on 16 June, when she was incoherent. The angry audience booed her, and the concert was widely regarded as the worst ever in Belgrade. She subsequently canceled appearances in Istanbul and... [Read the full story]
Singer Jackie Evancho Stuns America’s Got Talent
August 11, 2010 · Comments Off
Jackie Evancho was the most-searched person on Google this morning. Who? This 10-year-old Pittsburgh, PA native stunned the audience and floored judges on NBC’s America’s Got Talent TV show last night. She got two standing ovations. She’s being called “the next Susan Boyle.” The Wall Street Journal called her “a tiny angel with a mature voice.” An unsigned artist, her self-produced debut album, Prelude to a Dream, was released in November 2009. It’s climbing Amazon’s... [Read the full story]
Environment
I Thought I Wanted to Move to Austin, Texas
August 13, 2011 · 1 Comment
Austin, land of cool, hip people, with plenty of organic and natural food stores, a bleeding edge music scene (Timbuk3 and Stevie Ray Vaughan, among others) and no state income tax. It sounded (sort of) like Shangri-La. What other town do you know of which loved ax-man Stevie Ray Vaughan enough to erect a statue of him? This one’s along Lady Bird Lake in Austin (Texas Governor Ann Richards proclaimed October 3 — Stevie’s birthday — as “Stevie Ray Vaughan Day,” in 1991. An annual... [Read the full story]
The Gulf Oil Spill, and One Lone Dragonfly
April 20, 2011 · Comments Off
On a lovely April evening a year ago today and at 9:45 p.m., as I listened to the mating call of frogs in a nearby creek and drank in the scent of grape hyacinth in bloom, the Gulf oil spill began. Soon, we’d be watching “spillcam” with a sort of sick fascination, as thick, dark goo gushed forth from deep below the water’s surface. This iconographic photograph of a dragonfly stuck to marsh grass and smeared in oil such that it couldn’t fly has stuck in my mind for the year. It seems to... [Read the full story]
Health
She Would Have Preferred Pink
March 29, 2011 · 3 Comments
My mother died recently. after an at least 7-year battle with dementia. Actually, she bought master gardener Tom DiBaggio’s book, Losing My Mind : An Intimate Look at Life with Alzheimer’s, shortly after its 2003 publication, in which he chronicled his thoughts at the start of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. So I suspect that my mother knew before we did, that something was terribly, irretrievably amiss. I was the last family member to see her alive. I’m good with it. She’s free of... [Read the full story]
Pajamadeen Finally Gets Stuck
November 25, 2009 · Comments Off
No, not with a bill, or in a pothole or in a traffic jam. I’ve found the Holy Grail an H1N1 flu shot. It took seven weeks. As someone who’s had bronchitis since age 12 and who’s had pneumonia several times, I don’t mess around with respiratory illnesses. I thought both the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 shot might be hard to find this year. But when I set out on October 1 to get a seasonal flu shot at an Elizabethtown, KY clinic, signs were up everywhere offering the flu shot. One was at... [Read the full story]
Holidays
Easter Bunny Appears in Hodgenville, KY
April 24, 2011 · Comments Off
We’d like to thank the Easter Bunny for putting in an appearance today in Hodgenville, Ky. How did he know that we are fond of Dove bars? How did he know that we have some difficulty consuming figural chocolates shaped like…oh, the Easter bunny? The Easter bunny must have taken lessons from Wrinkled Randy. Mrs. Easter Bunny appears to have stayed home, in this delightful and fanciful c. 1907 Easter holiday postcard, embossed and gilded, with a mother rabbit in a red dress and her child rabbit holding up... [Read the full story]
A Thanksgiving Football Postcard with Uncle Sam
November 26, 2009 · Comments Off
Happy Thanksgiving from a turn-of-the-century c. 1907-1915 Uncle Sam! Our readers know of our penchant for unusual vintage postcards, and this one is a winner with its patriotic red, white and blue motif, combined with Uncle Sam ready for the kick-off, football in hand. The artist signed antique post card (Percy, last name illegible) says “World’s 20th Century Champion.” Sports and imperialism are an unusual combination, but here you have it. So finish up the turkey and enjoy the big day’s triple... [Read the full story]
Internet
False Economy, or How to Fall Out of a Chair
March 31, 2011 · Comments Off
Anyone who knows me well knows I’m a night owl. Imagine my surprise when, after finally gathering all of my tax return information for an accountant, I felt suddenly sleepy at 10 p.m. Yes, I felt relaxed. But I was tired, really tired. Off to sleep I went. Awaking at 3 a.m., further sleep eluded me. I decided that I might as well get up. Then, I got ambitious. “I can put in a full day’s work by noon!” I thought. I felt so…efficient. Two hours later, I found myself on the floor.... [Read the full story]
Beware Michael Jackson Internet Scams
July 6, 2009 · Comments Off
Since the day Michael Jackson died, the public’s thirst for Michael Jackson news has been increasingly exploited by Internet hackers intent primarily on identity theft. Sophos, a highly regarded computer security company, detected the first scam — which was an email promising readers a “breaking news video” — on the same day that the “King of Pop” died. Readers were sent to a bogus Web site. Sophos warns in particular against one Internet virus that arrives in an email with a... [Read the full story]
Americana
A Kentucky White Christmas
It’s the first white Christmas I can ever recall seeing in Kentucky. There have only been a handful since 1872. The flakes began swirling gently around 6:00 p.m.; ever the wuss, Penelope Puppy went out, walked about eight feet on the brick patio, looked to her left, looked to her right, turned tail and ran back in. She’s a fair-weather puppy; on cloudy days, she’ll sleep in most of the day. For a 15-lb. dog, she has an amazing bladder. She’s waiting for Santa to bring her some toys. There’s no such thing as too many toys. With some... [Read more]
Sports
Politics
Sarah Palin: Dismantle Canadian Health Care
At a Columbus, OH book signing last week where she appeared to promote her best-selling Going Rogue: An American Life book, Sarah Palin told Canadian comic Mary Walsh that “Canada needs to dismantle its public health-care system and allow private enterprise to get involved and turn a profit.” In her role as Marg Delahunty for her This Hour Has 22 Minutes TV show, Walsh initially had remarked: “We’re from Canada, and we’re just looking for a few words of encouragement for the Canadian conservatives who have worked so tirelessly to destroy... [Read more]
Environment
Health News
She Would Have Preferred Pink
My mother died recently. after an at least 7-year battle with dementia. Actually, she bought master gardener Tom DiBaggio’s book, Losing My Mind : An Intimate Look at Life with Alzheimer’s, shortly after its 2003 publication, in which he chronicled his thoughts at the start of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. So I suspect that my mother knew before we did, that something was terribly, irretrievably amiss. I was the last family member to see her alive. I’m good with it. She’s free of pain and in a better place (I hope). She hadn’t... [Read more]
Road Trips
World News
Replace User and Reboot
Ironically, that was the title of one of my friend Paul’s last posts before he died. Somewhere, Paul is laughing over the irony. Like many people, I only knew Paul Jones (dba “Yabba”) online. No matter. He was a brilliant, witty writer — reading his emails was a joy. I looked forward to them. We were sympatico. And how could you not love this smile? Look at the size of that dahlia! Among other things, Paul won at least three national awards for his dahlias. To tell the truth, I’d never paid that much attention to dahlias, until... [Read more]
Animals
Entertainment
Amy Winehouse Dead from Suspected Drug Overdose
Troubled blues singer Amy Winehouse, 27, was found dead this afternoon at 3:54 p.m. local time in her North London home, of a suspected drug overdose. Winehouse battled addiction to alcohol and drugs and was in rehab several times in recent years. A planned European tour was canceled in June, after a disastrous performance in Serbia on 16 June, when she was incoherent. The angry audience booed her, and the concert was widely regarded as the worst ever in Belgrade. She subsequently canceled appearances in Istanbul and Athens. In a 2008 interview, Amy Winehouse’s... [Read more]
Internet
Business News
I Found Jon Corzine’s Missing $1.2 Billion
Really! After shopping half-heartedly at Pamida (a privately held chain of miniature K-Marts located in small towns, primarily in the Midwest) for a new office chair for Wrinkled Randy, getting a prescription filled and wandering around looking at Christmas decorations, we emerged with the chair, the prescription, and a couple of sweaters for me. Once home, as we removed our purchases from the back of the SUV, we saw a suitcase. An attached sticky note read: “Private! Do not touch. Jon Corzine.” Visions of sugarplums danced through our heads. Naturally,... [Read more]
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