Many years ago, I found myself alone, driving cross country on an obligatory (and ultimately pointless) journey, when I passed through a city on the interstate. A sign appeared: “This Lane Does Not Exist”. Wow – that was weird – do I merge left? Am I on the shoulder? A short time later, again the […]
Author: Texas Toast
UC#1 Back when I was considerably smaller than I am now, my dad set up an electric train for me and my sibs. Our house had only a partial basement – for the front half of the house it was only partially excavated leaving a space big enough for kids to play in. Dad took […]
Categories
Lent Prep
We’re preparing our 2024 Lenten menu, and the question of corned beef came up. [Michael] O’Leary will enjoy his corned beef on Friday with a clear conscience — thanks to a special dispensation from another Irish-American, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee. Dolan is among dozens of bishops — from Green Bay, Wis., to Arlington, Va., […]
While exploring Calais (Maine), and Calais (France) in a recent BLOTT, we came across the incredible sculpture The Burghers of Calais and it’s amazing backstory. The Story Behind the Famous Calais Sculpture The Burghers of Calais is a sculpture by Auguste Rodin in twelve original castings and numerous copies. It commemorates an event during the […]
Categories
Calais Maine
We had planned to feature two notable people from Calais, Maine (and hope to very soon), but we were detracted by the town itself and it’s sister city and namesake, Calais France. If you want to get a head start on Andrea Gibson‘s incredible poetry, check out their YouTube channel. Roger Lyndon was a mathematician […]
Categories
Big Eyes
First grade – Montgomery, Alabama, no air conditioning but lots of fans. My parents bought us a set of children’s encyclopedias, and one had a picture of a Tarsier on the front. I remember being a little bit terrified, worried I would turn into one, and a little bit “let’s get one!” Each of the […]
Categories
Olga Reporting Live from Pyongyang
I was preparing a BLOTT about reliable, informative news sources that will help you get the big picture on Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. This is a pretty big task, but as I was digging into Jake Broe, he had such an incredible story that I wanted to focus on this rabbit hole. The background […]
Here’s how it all started. Like many of you, I often wake way before sunrise with questions such as “Why do some animals have knees that bend backwards?” Reasonable question. Understandable. This leads us, more or less, to look at flamingos…. Flamingo Fun Facts: perilous predator protection Fun Facts from Wildlife Workshop: And from Folly […]
[recent executive correspondence: UC#1=>The Texas Elders] Fellow WLBOTT’ers, While I have know about the Trans Canada Trail for many years, until recently I never knew how extensive it is. We frequently walk the part of the trail that goes around [UC#1 jurisdiction] but that is a very small part of it. Of course, the trail […]
So this morning I was looking for cover versions of Lady Gaga’s Poker Face (part of the WLBOTT creative process… let’s not get into it too much), and one of the top Spotify suggestions was by Wing (Wing Han Tsang / 曾咏韓 / Zēng Yǒnghán). Through many twists and turns, I learned that that Wing […]