Monday Stuff on the Way to Other Stuff: Hot Hot Hot

      Did I say it's been hot?

      Add humidity and just a bit of rain to the mix, and you've got general weirdness. We're still getting smoke in the air, too, which means itching, irritated eyes. We keep the fans going, drink a lot of iced tea and take naps whenever needed. Thankfully, the fresh evening air cools things off. We sit out on the deck, watch the sun go down...and look for the bats. (Our pair comes out every night at dusk.)

      What a July.

Meanwhile:

Spain beat Argentina for the World Cup! England and France came in 3rd and 4th. Whoa.

The Atocha is still letting its treasure go.  A big silver bar was just found: 22 1/2 pounds.

And if you feel like punching a politician -- any politician -- try Steve Goodman's Election Year Rag. It works!

Scottish runner Josh Kerr broke the 27-year-old men's mile world record -- and did it nearly a second faster than his 1999 predecessor. Eric Liddell would be proud.

A cache of 130-year-old wine is found under a medieval chapel floor!  It was discovered in 1985, but only recently has been made public. More here, as well.

Lottery winners that just pretended to be poor. And saved themselves from a boatload of pestering and begging, in the process. Smart.

And... lottery winners that took the sensible approach.

An interesting interview with Burt Reynolds: "If you met me in 1978, I'm really sorry."

A closer look at the life of Charlton Heston. 

A cool watermelon trick.

Plus a reader tip from Amy C on the Nonconsumer Advocate blog:

Got the large Starbucks lite latte and caramel macchiato drinks in the refrigerated section-one of those is the price of one drink at Starbucks, and I can get four out of one bottle by adding a little milk and ice. Still just doing that weekly, which is saving me the money for the drink AND the tip.

If you really want a Starbucks drink, this is definitely the way to go!

Have a good week.

Great Art?

 

New York City's Hotel Chelsea, a swanky 'beatnik' spot, is trying to evict one of its longtime residents, artist Gerald Decock. He argues that he should have gotten a rent-controlled rate...and anyways, the hotel bought a bunch of his paintings. How could they evict someone whose paintings hang on their walls?

    (I -- and you -- already know the answer to the second question.)

What caught my eye about this unusual subject wasn't Decock -- it was the studio he lived in. Every wall is jammed with color and movement. Turns out that other well-known people lived there before he did... though I suspect Decock has added to it.

A bit reminiscent of Gloria Vanderbilt's infamous 'quilt room,' isn't it?

I honestly don't know who's right or wrong on this. Decock has lost several court actions about it, but Might doesn't always equal Right.

But I love the effect... even if it doesn't contribute to peaceful sleep at night.

P.S. For those Gentle Readers who have been wondering -- our dear friend is out of the hospital, and staying in a transitional therapy facility while she recovers. 

Your prayers would be wonderful for her, as well as her husband.

How About A Nap, Instead? Plus Updates

 

"Yeah, Mom!"

It has been a discombobulated week so far -- and we've done little of what we'd planned. 

Yesterday we got a phone call at 8:00 a.m. A dear friend suddenly went to the hospital. We spent the day there, watching her sleep while she recovered, and talking to her husband. Then we sped home, 2 1/2 hours drive each way...because the kids were headed to their next rock show. They were watching Freya, Bo and Tiger, and we needed to take over for them. I'd put off some work earlier in the week -- well, now THAT needs to get finished up. 

We're thinking the Brick will head back up to the Springs -- and our friends -- while I hold the fort. 

It continues to be hot and sticky. Thankfully, things tend to cool down before bedtime. 

Sigh...the fun never ends around the House of Brick.

AI and Me... #3

 

Yet another reason I don't trust this form of communication...

Serves the Brat Right...

 

Speechless... Sort Of

 Yes, this is rude. But I'll bet it gets people's attention!  (No ifs, ands or... well, you know what I mean.)

Monday Stuff on the Way to Other Stuff: Just Routine

     I'm here. How 'bout dat. 

     It's been hot hot HOT. The ground is so dry and powdery that the winds kick up regular duststorms. Gratefully, we have had a little rain...but we need more. A lot more. Daughter #2 and I keep watering the 'planties,' and hoping for the best. We're also grateful that the fires in our area have died down some.

     Otherwise, not much is happening around here. Which is actually kinda nice.

     I have a number of new appraisal reports to work on, and was thinking about what Rose Wilder Lane did while writing in the heat -- soaking a slip, then wearing it while it dried on her. (Rinse and repeat.) I'll stick to occasionally using the luxury pool, instead.

Ummm... not exactly.

P.S. England beat Norway in the World Cup -- but there are questions whether they deserved it or not. You can watch the highlights on Youtube via this link.

Meanwhile:

The 2026 iphone photography contest winners. 

Overlooked women in history.  Some VERY interesting examples here, including their backstories. (Megan Markle is not included, poor thing.)

Recession-proofing your pantry.  (From My Tireless Retirement)

The last-known polio survivor using an iron lung has died - because her old machine broke, and no one could fix it.

One of the ultimate horrors for a caterer -- dropping the wedding cake.  Been there, fortunately didn't do that. (Mine just sagged.)

ANOTHER English king found buried under a parking lot???  This time, it's Alfred the Great, instead of Richard. 

The Marco Rubio couch memes out there.  Hopefully he's got a sense of humor about this.

Marvin Gaye's songwriting partner's family is suing Ed Sheeran -- and Gaye's family is thinking about doing it, too. The only problem: the song they're using as "proof" of plagiarism sounds nothing like it! I really, really hope Sheeran fights this, instead of settling out of court.

'When the rest of the yard sale story is even better...'  from Thistlewood Farms.

A Viking grave -- with Christian overtones!

Animal stories around the world.

A brown Wilt Chamberlain Lakers jacket turns up in the Goodwill bins in Oregon.   A VERY RARE Wilt Chamberlain jacket!

Ilhan Omar's magically changing financial worth -- it's gone from 30 million to 100 thousand.

    That's weird enough. But no one seems to have a problem with her incredible amounts of student loan and credit card debt, also listed on the filing. Really?!?

Terrifying scuba diving stories.

A 'psychic spy' for the CIA is absolutely sure there are alien bases on earth.  After all, he's seen them!

Have a great week. Stay cool.