Rather creepy photo just in time for Halloween

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My Favorite Picture Book When Young

My favorite was The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Something eerie about it, kind of a horror tale for kids. I had up to three copies of it, all with different covers. One was harmless and showed only the silly goats on the cover. Another showed the goats plus a rather comic, definitely non-threatening troll 'neath the bridge. The last was more menacing, showing only a black space under the bridge and just the lethal eyes of the troll.

I liked being creeped out by such books and covers!

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Interesting Obituary Seen

Saw an interesting obit on a 97-year-old widow woman. Here it is in full, though brief:

obit

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Obituaries can be funny

Seen in obituaries:
. . . She loved gravy. . . She chewed each bite of food multiple times, just like her loving father taught her to do.

ALSO SEE: "Sexiest LPGA babes"

How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life

How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness

“An earnest, accessible introduction to Smith’s ideas on the nature of virtue and happiness.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Roberts skillfully blends modern examples with Smith’s original.” —Financial Times

Get your copy and see dozens of reviews

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Why I do not own a cell phone

We no longer lead lives of quiet desperation--sorry, Henry David Thoreau, but your old saw is no longer so.

These days, the sum total of existence for most of us is having a cell phone pressed up to our nose or ear at all times. Oh, and aren't they beautifully formed and colored; so much so, many of us will replace our current one with another, later model, even more current and fashionable, long before it has used up its usefulness,or uselessness, depending on your viewpoint. Life is sweet, getting another one of these must-haves; so, off to the electronics store we go . . . but not to Radio Shack, of course.

That's what we've come to, being obsessed with these gadgets. So why do I not own a cell phone? That's easy: someone might call.

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Economics - the User's Guide

Author Ha-Joon Chang

explains how the global economy actually works—in real-world terms. Writing with irreverent wit, a deep knowledge of history, and a disregard for conventional economic pieties, Chang offers insights that will never be found in the textbooks. (amazon.com)

Never pedagogic or condescending to the reader, Chang discusses in everyday language what is found by many people to be a most perplexing subject. You are sure to find the topic of economics less daunting after this rather easy read. Reserve your discounted copy and see dozens of reviews before purchasing.

Everyone's Favorite Halloween Treat

It's never too early to save money on holidays, like Halloween. At some discount store I snagged some of those generic little candies in the nondescript orange or black wrappers--everybody's favorite to receive in their candy bag! (See image above.) I tried to squeeze one, and it felt pretty hard and didn't give to my fingers' pressing at all, but they should be all right; maybe if the kids soak them in water for a while, then the wrappers might come off completely, too.

I also got some of those lovely candy orange slices that are glazed in sugar. (See image above.) Who doesn't love getting a sackful of those?! These must be kind of old, because they're not individually wrapped, the way they wrap them nowadays, but instead are all stuck together in one big -- but tasty! -- amorphous blob. Still, they should be okay . . .

I know that the children reading this are probably thinking, "I can't wait to go by this guy's house for some of these treats!," but man, this is some real cheap sh_t I got for less than a buck.

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The Smartest Kids in the World

Why aren't the smartest kids in the world American? Time journalist Amanda Ripley tries to answer that question in her important work The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way.

Discover how certain countries which used to produce functional dunces are now outperforming the USA when it comes to educating their young.

Get your discounted copy & hundreds of reviews

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7 Benefits of Turmeric

First of all, do no harm

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Health Benefits of Turmeric and its Key Component, Curcumin

May delay aging

As effective as Prozac in easing depression

Increases bile to break down fats, which may help you lose weight

A natural anti-inflammatory that can help arthritis and pesky wounds that just won't seem to heal, all without the toxicity possible from using prescription drugs

Combats degenerative processes in the brain and may help with such conditions as Alzheimer’s disease

Positive antioxidant effects

Maybe most important of all . . . the ability to prevent cancer, the possible cessation of it or preventing its spreading

Reserve your discounted bottle & see over 2,500 reviews

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I am not a doctor. Consult with your doctor before beginning a regimen of Turmeric and its key component, Curcumin.
Author cannnot be held responsible for loss of life or limb under any circumstances due to this information.

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Neuro Entrepreneurs

Neuro entrepreneurs are people who have learned to make a buck off Neuroscience, whether that be just so much quackery or true hard science.

Get inspired. Find a niche of your own to fill:

Click just once

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Knuckle-headed Butterflies

Knuckle-headed butterflies are visiting, one at a time, the little orange flags set out to mark the heads for the sprinkler system I'm having put in. They must think they are orange flowers full of nectar with which they might make some more butter.

Art by Andy Warhol

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Mindless Neuroscience

Can neuroscience really tell us if John Doe is fated to become a wife-beater? How about his wife Jane, is she really more susceptible to getting Alzheimer's when she gets older? Can these things really be predicted by studying scans of our brains? Not so fast! say Satel & Lilienfeld, authors of Brainwashed: The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience, a finalist for the LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE IN SCIENCE and was recently featured on CSPAN's Book TV.

"The narrow focus on the brain's physical processes also assumes that our subjective experiences can be explained away by biology alone. . . . Brainwashed brilliantly illuminates what contemporary neuroscience and brain imaging can and cannot tell us about ourselves." (amazon.com)

It seems we still have far to go as to gleaning such information from brain scans. 40+ reviews & your discounted copy

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Marie Osmond at 50+

It's not remarkable that Cindy Crawford looks like that at forty something. What's remarkable is that Marie Osmond, at fifty something, looks better than Cindy Crawford did at any age. Sorry, Cindy.

Top Secret

To keep things short and sweet, today I am only giving you the link to my personal, top secret, hush-hush bookmarks. The collection of assorted vintage bookmarks shown were found on Ebay.

Okay, now here's the link to my bookmarks (and remember, mum's the word):

Bookmarks
Favorite Sports Cards

Favorite Sports Cards

RIP

I knew this girl who was so annoying, textually, that she literally drowned in sappy emoticoms.

I'm not saying you should stop using emoticoms entirely, I'm just begging you to tone it down a little; your life may depend on it :-(

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My favorite book as a child?

What was my favorite book as a child and do I have a copy of it?

This is question #14 from the webpage Can't think of a blog post: Here's 100 suggestions.

It was this old red Daniel Boone book I found in the local library; can't recall the title. It's not the example shown above; after all, it was just a red book with no cover graphic, so there's nothing to show.

What was cool was what was inside. There were all these wonderful line drawings of Dan doing his thing, from youth to manhood, much of it probably far-fetched. One I recall was of his having "kilt a bar on this tree," corny stuff like that. The main thing is the darn thing smelled so good! You know that smell . . .

It turned me on to reading all the Boone books they had at our library, and then on to Davy Crockett. This and reading the backs of baseball & football cards made me a devouring reader all my life. Thanks, Dan'l. No, I don't have a copy of it; wish I did.

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Picasso quote

That great artist, that great Spaniard, Picasso, said, "There are only two kinds of women: goddesses and doormats." And I would add to that, that each one gets to choose which she is.

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Artwork by a Pablo P.

The last time I laughed?

This is question #2 from the webpage Can't think of a blog post: Here's 100 suggestions.

The last time I laughed was over breakfast, at one of my usual morning places, over the obituaries in the morning paper.

My whole family have always been obit readers; probably because my parents always read them as we kids were growing up. We're always asking one another, Did you see that he or she died? and what have you. The main reason I read them, is that you can often find something funny in them, believe it or not.

For instance, whoever wrote this lady who shall go unnamed's obituary, probably some close family member, mentioned that, among the handful of things she "absolutely loved" in life were Elvis impersonators & cream gravy. That struck me as funny & I laughed. You see, an obituary is no inexpensive thing, and to list these two things among the dearly departed's few great loves in life cost a pretty penny, no doubt. Now I think Elvis mimics & gravy are great things, and that this dead lady was probably great too, but I just wish she had gotten out more.

Another part of the question was what laughter means to me. I think it means that I'm still alive & still have a reason to go on; after all, they say fifteen minutes of laughter equal one night's sleep, so I think it's good for what ails me. Hardyharhar!

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HLN exploiting murder victims?

Is it just me, or does HLN exploit the dead? I'm talking about their prime time shows in which the hosts & panelists go on and on about the alleged perp, leaving the victim pretty much anonymous, if they're even shown at all. Meanwhile, the same few tedious frames of the alleged perp are shown again and again, making a celebrity out of him or her.

And how these fools talk over & interrupt each other, all the while trying to show how morally superior they are by head nodding or shaking or tut-tutting in just the spots that will make them seem oh-so sensitive & politically or psychologically correct.

The only people lower than these alleged murderers (if they are indeed found guilty) are these people who try to celebrate & exploit their every facial expression, nervous tic, throat clearance, guttural aside & verbal ejaculation; all, sadly, just to get some more Twitter followers, I'm afraid, or to have you want to read some book they have regurgitated.

Just my opinion. Pardon me now as I go out and vomit up my socks.