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Heros - NOT Work-Life Balance

National Hairball Awareness Day and Malaria Trump’s Birthday

WLBOTT has an Embarrassment of Riches. We are truly blessed. We have so many ideas for today’s BLOTT, thanks to our highly eccentric creative team. But today is a special day. It is both National Hairball Awareness Day and Malaria Trump‘s Birthday. National Hairball Awareness Day Details can be found at the National Day Calendar. […]

Categories
ENGin Life Hacks Meaning of Life Scholarship/Erudition The land, the people, the culture

Idioms, Ducks, Chickens, and the Impossibility of the English Language

Idioms are a colorful way of getting a point across. Often they reflect the culture, geography, folk lore, values, and sense of humor of the people who speak the language. A little background…. An idiom is a phrase or expression that usually presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase. Some phrases which become […]

Categories
Erudition Food Syria

Aqueduct Tunnels

A few days ago we were talking about aqueducts and the very cool engineering associated with them. There are also some incredible aqueduct tunnels. Tunnels Aqueducts sometimes run for some or all of their path through tunnels constructed underground. A version of this common in North Africa and Central Asia that has vertical wells at […]

Categories
England Existential Angst Heros Heros - NOT

Humble Orthodontia

Today we explore the State of British Orthodontia, as seen through the teeth of Paula Vennells.[Thanks to Sally T. Intern for today’s topic!] But first…. A Little Background Vennells was the CEO of Post Office Ltd during the final three years of the British Post Office scandal, which occurred between 1999 and 2015 and involved […]

Categories
Adventures of the Elders Animal Kingdom North America

WLBOTT’s Peaceable Kingdom

Good morning, esteemed Gentleblotters, I hope all are well on this beautiful Saturday morning! Since the Elders of WLBOTT cover a wide geographic range, I thought it might be interesting if we list our suburban wildlife sightings. Here’s a partial list for me (Austin): frequent: Armadillo, possum, squirrel, deer, hawks, buzzards/vultures, a variety of beautiful […]

Categories
Food Heros The Lowcountry

Gullah Geechee

This morning’s Guardian features a story about Sunn m’Cheaux and Akua Page, who advocate for the Gullah language and culture. On January 5th, 2024, WLBOTT had an opportunity to introduce our viewers to the Gullah culture through its culinary creation of Hoppin’ John. Let’s explore a little more…. The Guardian Article Today’s Guardian article describes […]

Categories
Current Events Heros - NOT Oh, Grow Up!

Odor in the Court!

Late Breaking News. Breaking like the wind. In order to provide important and comprehensive coverage to our visitor, sometimes we must touch on indelicate topics. Luckily, we are all grown ups here, and we will cover this subject with the dignity and good taste you’ve come to expect. WLBOTT: Fair and Balanced Zapruder II: The […]

Categories
Curated Absurdity Random Acts of WLBOTTness TechnoBLOTT

The Plumb Bob Challenge

UC#3 has asked the near-impossible of WLBOTT. He wants us to make “plumb bobs” interesting. UC#2 might want to pivot on his research to fully investigate the origins and use of plumb bobs in ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman construction. Full Fulbright guaranteed UC#3 Challenge Accepted! Etymology The plumb in plumb bob derives from Latin […]

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Adventures of the Elders France Scholarship/Erudition TechnoBLOTT

Pont du Gard

Gentle Blotters– another site we need to add to our tour list is Pont du Gard. Magnificent arch structure used as an aqueduct near Nimes France. My spousal unit and I visited circa 1994. At that time, you could park in a lot, walk up a bunch of stairs and then physically walk through the […]

Categories
Adventures of the Elders Egypt Existential Angst Meaning of Life

The Suburban Pyramid

UC#4 has expressed an interest in building a backyard suburban pyramid. He is unable or unwilling to articulate why he wants to do this. Pyramids – The Basics A pyramid (from Ancient Greek πυραμίς (puramís) ‘pyramid’) is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular and converge to a point at the top, making the shape […]