Downeast Schoolhouse

The Shape We’re In

admin — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:36:42 +0000

Not only is the future problematic, but the present is a hell of a mess!

Peace in the valley? Indeed!

Out of nine lives, I spent seven Now, how in the world do you get to Heaven? Oh, you don’t know the shape I’m in

I just spent sixty days [...]

What is this “World Wide Web”?

admin — Wed, 01 May 2013 11:31:48 +0000

Here.

And here.

(Thanks again MeFi!)

FFSUWHE* #47

admin — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:57:13 +0000

The proportion of the nation’s children identified with autism disorders has been on a remarkable climb: from one in 5,000 in 1975 to one in 50 in 2013.

“A Newborn’s Placenta May Reveal Autism Risk.” Karen Weintraub, USA Today, April 25, 2013

(Let’s expand the scope of these here definitions a bit more, eh? Let’s [...]

Hot Mess!

admin — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 18:31:00 +0000

No…not that!

Not that either!

From the Urban Dictionary:

a derogatory term describing a situation, behavior, appearance, etc. that is disastrously bad. Think “faux pas” but times ten. Possible origin is literal (think, steaming dogpile).

“She got up on stage and tried to sing Beyonce’s “Dangerously In Love” but her performance was a hot mess.”

[...]

Possum’s 9 Lives All Used Up

admin — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:57:56 +0000

George Jones is dead; the unquenchable is quenched.

An amazing distinctive expressive voice.

Lots of great songs. Follow the links here (great job MeFi!). Yes, He Stopped Loving Her Today.

If we had to choose just one song, we’d choose Bartender’s Blues.

And if we were choosing just one story, we’d choose this one.

(This [...]

Prospective Citizens Thwarted!

admin — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:52:40 +0000

Source

Rough ideas, Rough talk

admin — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:29:08 +0000

But far-out freaking brilliant!

(Late, but in horror of Earth Day — also the b-day of ???????? ????? ???????)

The Flower of England

admin — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 00:15:44 +0000

You’ve heard the good news (& wrinkle), no doubt.

Windsor knows to be watchful!

The royal family keeps its eye on the main chance, even as the light goes out in the West:

The retreat from child rearing is, at some level, a symptom of late-modern exhaustion — a decadence that first arose [...]

Biscuits, circa 2012

admin — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:04:35 +0000

(Click, then click again, for bigger biscuits!)

The modern version: fluffy, rich, embiggening!

Question: Did we just have an election between…

admin — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:53:28 +0000

two grandsons of polygamists?

(Greil Marcus, I’ll put this here New Weird presently-strange America up against your Old Weird America any day!)

Biscuits Have Changed

admin — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 11:00:42 +0000

We were talking about biscuits and their function in a meal. I related my Tennessee-born friend’s remark: “My mother made biscuits every day of her life.”

We talked then of biscuits as bread — as a stand-in for yeast-raised bread. Yeast bread most often has a kind of neutrality, mostly noticed if poor, but also [...]

To be Determined…

admin — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 11:00:28 +0000

The President gained re-election having receiving nine million fewer votes than in 2008.

Hypotheses to be tested (all, some, or none may prove true):

all types of voters stayed home women stayed home evangelicals stayed home

For damn sure, someone stayed home.

Aphorism follows Aphorism

admin — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 21:48:58 +0000

Reunited under one roof with a child (yea, grown) not seen for a long time, the restless parent will not sleep until the child (finally) does.

Aphorism for a Dark Night of the Soul

admin — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 13:40:33 +0000

Much of the first night away from home is often given over to wondering whether one should have left home at all.

In This Room, the Onions Weep

admin — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 17:24:13 +0000

The Stuttgarter Copra Spa & Tanning Parlor