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The Neuroanatomical Basis of Understanding Sarcasm

Some of us must have larger areas in our brains than others.  Hee!

Gleefully stolen from

ithiliana

Fridays are supposed to be days that you look forward to with anticipation, but not yesterday's... 
(Go ahead and laugh - it didn't happen to you!  lol)

I was still in bed at around 5:30 am when husb let the dogs out for their morning pee.  Svet (aka "Little Dark Dog") ran back into the house, snuck into my bedroom past the baby gate, launched herself onto the high antique bed, and snuck under the covers with me. (She's not allowed into the bedroom so she's learned to hide herself from husb's disapproving gaze.)  Meanwhile, half asleep, I reach down to pet the dog and realize that she feels....weird.  Lift the covers up to see and am immediately hit with a scent that can only be described as "Big Foot in heat after having slept in a swamp".  Yes, in a matter of minutes, the dog has managed to find a big pile of DEER SHIT in the back yard, rolled in it, and she is IN MY BED.  

The entire scene unfurls with much leaping out of bed, cursing, grabbing the dog and throwing her directly into the shower with me (where kudos to her, she was quite well behaved if a bit baffled over why Mommy wasn't thrilled that she smelled like Bigfoot), then completely stripping the bed.

Oh, and the rest of the day?  A dental cleaning at 10:00 am, then back to the home office to find the internet down the entire day until 5:30 pm, so not a drop of work accomplished all day that wasn't by luck on my laptop to begin with.

P.S.  L'Oreal Kids Beach Berry Shampoo is quite effective in removing deer crap from your dog and leaving her smelling like a blueberry.

As pointed out by my husband, the title of an article in the sports section of The Hartford Courant:

Yanks Wave Magic Wang

Heh.

(Alas, they didn't use the same title in the identical online version, else I'd give you the link.)

...or maybe not.   Here's the Yahoo Ad that popped up when I logged in this afternoon:




Oh yes, indeed, please show us, Frodo and Gandalf.

Here's the link to the cute ad. 

So I'm sitting down here in the home office working away when I hear a tap-tap-tap.  It goes away and then returns every few minutes.  The cat has jumped up into the window well and is chattering at the unseen, but she loses interest and hops off.  I finally see what the cause f the ruckus is - a big male cardinal tapping away at the glass with his beak. He probably sees his reflection and is annoyed with the intruder for the local female cardinals' attentions.  He gets himself so worked up, he's even using that sharp "chip!" that cardinals make.  He can't see me, so if he returns tomorrow,  I'll try and snap a picture.

And....poor thing (the hedgehog, I mean)!.....Man Uses Hedgehog as Weapon.

I seem to have caught a bug - fever and stomach nastiness - quite suddenly this afternoon.  Drats.

I can't do justice and write a proper obituary (but will link to it when it's published), but I have to try and write a few words about the world losing someone who epitomized goodness despite surviving the deepest evil.

Charlie Feld was an amazing, giving, selfless man.  I knew him growing up as my synagogue's Cantor and Hebrew School Director.  He worked for free.  He was my teacher for many years.  I don't recall him ever raising his voice or saying a word in anger to what was a very rambunctious group of kids.  His patience in helping me learn Hebrew and how to chant Torah and Haftorah is something that will stay with me forever.  His beautiful voice carried people through the beauty of the weekly Shabbat and the long hours of Yom Kippur services.

Charlie Feld lived a number of miracles while surviving the Holocaust:  On one occasion, the truck he was on bound for the gas chambers broke down before it could reach its destination.  On another, he managed to escape and stay hidden (helped by others, whom I also embrace as miracles) until the end of the war.  He lost his entire family to the Nazis and made his way to Connecticut where he enriched the lives of many many people.

What a loss.

Heavy rains have done a number on the Hill of Bull's internet connection, so once again I've been offline for over a day now.
Who knows how long the current connection will hold, so if you've emailed me, I'll try and get back to you as soon as I can.

In typical New England fashion, everyone is wandering around calculating how much snow this would have been, instead of rain. 


And sad news...Gary Gygax dies at 69.

The fans have started a letter-writing campaign, posted an online petition and even have a Web site that counts the days, hours, minutes and seconds since Luke and Noah last locked lips.

Whoopsie:  Snake Eats Family Dog As Kids Watch


On the stupid human/wildlife news front, I had an unintentionally hilarious incident which I think will at least make bird lover

mrkinch

I usually don't do these, but it's February, the days are still too short, it's cold, and I'm still feeling the lingering aftereffects of my crabby parenting rant from the other day (lol).  What more excuses do I need?  

Comment if you want to do this and I'll give you a letter. Then you go and list ten things you like starting with that letter.

That's Not What's Meant by Extra Credit

By Associated Press

10:27 AM EST, February 20, 2008

HAH!

In overtime!

Last second game!