In Scandinavia, singing together is part of civic life. A choir is an interestingly democratic activity: nobody has to be a virtuoso, but everybody has to listen to everybody else. Elder G:In places like Iceland, Sweden, and Norway, choral singing isn’t just a hobby; it’s a cornerstone of civic life and cultural identity. The long, […]
Category: Destinations
“You say Tomato, I say Tomato” – Elder JimZim Two items of interest to our WLBOTT agricultural committee occurred recently. First… Elder JimZim and Grønk I had a good time gleaning. There were eight volunteers, 250 lbs in 1.5 hours. Many varieties of small tomatoes- different colors, etc. The farmer worked along side us. It […]
So at WLBOTT, we value politeness, but we also value the randomness that comes with creativity. A polite WLBOTT person may wish to change the subject by saying, “This is a non-sequitur,” but we’ve found that this doesn’t give us enough granularity when we want to slightly, politely, and firmly change the subject. So at […]
Peanut Brittle, Part 2: The Poetry of Brittle Did Emily Dickinson ever eat peanut brittle? Our interest in Emily Dickinson and her relationship to peanut brittle was inspired when Sally the Intern gifted the WLBOTT Literary Society with the complete works of Dickinson. We have great respect for Emily Dickinson, the way she played with […]
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Grønk
[ed. note: Big thanks to Elder JimZim for introducing us to Grønk. Elder JimZim (on the advice of his attorneys) is interested in establishing plausible deniability, but his fingerprints are all over Grønk (figuratively). WLBOTT stands on the shoulders of giants, and Elder JimZim has asked up, politely but firmly, to not wear spiked heels […]
Why Do We Put Up With This? (part 1 of 999) I first heard the term “Savior Syndrome” from Gaslit Nation, a podcast by Andrea Chulupa and Sarah Kendzior. Gaslit Nation a no-nonsense discussion of the nightmare we’ve descended into since peoDolf took office in 2016. It was first used in the context of the […]
WLBOTT Visits Ouarzazate Our youngest Elder, Elder DZ, is in a predicament. His student housing lease ends on the 15th of August, and the next lease, in a different apartment, doesn’t begin until September 1st. So he has to lug out all his stuff and find a place to stay for two weeks. But he’s […]
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The Moroccan Sun
Morocco is investing in solar power in a big way. Ouarzazate Just a few miles southwest of the Noor/ Ouarzazate solar power station sits the city of Ouarzazate. Interestingly, Ouarazazate lies north of Austin, with a latitude that places it between Austin and Waco. It’s about as toasty-warm as Austin, but much drier. Morocco Salt […]
Every great city keeps its bones in the basement.Madrid keeps some of them in a horse.– Elder KM [ed. note: Big thanks to Elder KM for today’s BLOTT! As Elder G says: “This is vintage Elder KM. It starts with a curious observation, wanders into history, and then quietly opens a trapdoor beneath the reader.”] […]
Elder KM’s First-Person Field Guide to theMacabre, the Impossible, and the Ornithologically Tragic We travel not to escape life, but so that life does not escape us. Also, for the jamon. – Elder Claude [ed. note: Big thanks to Elder KM for today’s BLOTT!] I love Ukraine with all my heart; but there’s a close […]