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 […]
Category: Destinations
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 […]
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Wildberries: Where’s My Stuff?
Things are not going well in russia. Multi-kilometer long gas lines. Empty grocery shelves. No diesel to irrigate, harvest or transport the fall harvest. Burning oil refineries. And now – an enormous Wildberries (the russian Amazon) facility has burned to the ground. The facility is listed as 188,000 m2, or about 46.46 acres acres. Wildberries […]
A junior Elder recently brought a topic before the WLBOTT Security Counsel: Guano. She reminded us of the Guano Islands Act of 1856. Back in the 19th century, bird poop (guano) was the world’s premier fertilizer and a vital ingredient for gunpowder. The US government passed a law allowing American citizens to claim any unclaimed, […]