Blue Tea Halloween Roundup – art and ephemera Mad scientist alphabet blocks Haunted libraries – For some reason I like the idea of a haunted library. (via Neatorama) Pumpkin carving stencils Monster mazes – vintage kid stuff

“Life is easy if you live it the hard way and hard if you live it the easy way.” — here In, up, up, out – what a peculiar language ours is. — there (I also love the title of that post. I almost made that the quote.) …it’s only a short step from there [...]

This is good. I wish I had written it. They only look as if they inhabit our galaxy. In truth, the men who would be President have been running for months in a parallel universe, a place where a Chief Executive changes laws by waving a hand and reorders society at the stroke of a [...]

There’s nothing like looking at other people’s quilting projects to get one inspired to start working on stuff. (Or at least planning stuff.) I want to make a quilt for our bed but I can’t decide what pattern or what colors I want to use. I want to make one for Number One Son also [...]

20 of the Weirdest Endangered Species – It always amazes me to discover species that I hadn’t heard of before. The world is so full of different kinds of animals. I did already know about most of these but there are a few that are new to me. The monito del monte is almost cute [...]

Alien sunrise – (via Dark Roasted Blend) An anniversary and a surreal painting by Remedios Varo Jerald Rough – interesting still lifes and a few lovely seascapes Joe Vaux – weird art; appropriate for Halloween week. Fire Lily – a beautiful digital artwork

This is possibly the best political post that I’ve read this year. (I was trying to find something besides politics to post about but it’s everywhere.)

Rage over a missing comma. Well, not exactly rage but I couldn’t resist. Seriously, I’m never sure where to put a comma and where not to put one but if you’re writing for a newspaper, or editing one, it’s your job to make sure what ends up being published is correct and not confusing.

Will Rogers: “I don’t tell jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.” * * * “I’m not a member of any organized political party; I’m a Democrat.” * * * “I was born on election day. That’s why I’ve always had it in for politicians.” Will Rogers was born on November 4, [...]

One week from now we will know who our next president will be unless it’s another too-close-to-call election. I’m ready for all the campaigning to be over but at the same time I’m not sure I’m ready to see how it turns out. As long as the election is still in the future I can [...]

A cave of crystals has been discovered deep below ground in Mexico. Wow, look at the size of those crystals! It must be amazing to be inside that. Via The Drawn Cutlass

HA! I’m not wasting time, I’m exercising my brain. A University of California Los Angeles team found searching the web stimulated centres in the brain that controlled decision-making and complex reasoning. [...] Lead researcher Professor Gary Small said: “The study results are encouraging, that emerging computerised technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits for [...]

Dr. Weevil: If Obama is elected, at least one million of those who voted for him will deeply regret having done so before he is inaugurated, just three months from today. I think I disagree with that but I am certain that no matter who is elected many (probably at least one million) of the [...]

Did that title get your attention? Sorry to disappoint but it’s only a silly pet post. Question: Do pets seem to prefer humans of the opposite sex? As I’ve mentioned before, Dax is often very demanding of my attention but lately that’s only when I’m the only one here. When my husband is home she [...]

Epsilon Eridani, Mr. Spock’s home star in Star Trek, might have Earth-like planets in the habitable zone. Personally, I’m prepared to be disappointed. Scientists used to think Mars could have higher life forms and that Venus was a tropical paradise and look how those turned out. Thanks, Scott. Also found by Scott: some unrelated space [...]

Charles linked to my Cheesiest Songs of the 70′s posts and a nice little discussion has started in the comments over there.

Skateboarding Budgies – feathered cuteness (via AMCGLTD) Monster anatomy – anatomical drawings of Japanese movie monsters 10 Fun Facts About Picasso Black cats – cute photo Weird town names – (first spotted at Found By Pat) Custom Big Rigs

A list of music lists – lots of lists, even classical! There’s a 100 Greatest Composers list. My top three would be in a slightly different order but all three are so great, so iconic, that you might as well say they’re tied for first place. Dvorak would be in my top 10, Wagner would [...]

Giving money and power to Congress is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. P. J. O’Rourke

The Defibrillator – a new blog I bookmarked a while back because it looked like it had potential but, sadly, the author doesn’t seem to have much time to devote to it. And We Heard Nothing While the World Changed – science fiction, fantasy and, occasionally, other stuff

Like most apocalypses, history’s stubborn refusal to end as scheduled simply causes our prophets to move the goal posts and start ringing their bells again. — here “I just don’t know who Obama is!” some white folks bleat. What a crock. Can you tell me where McCain went to elementary school? Where his father was [...]

I literally laughed out loud as I read this article. I just love the way some people are falling all over themselves to say they didn’t really mean what everyone heard them say. Can this election get any more hilarious?

No, it’s not a cat but my first thought when I saw the picture was, “That looks like something a cat would do.”

Huge cricket – (via AMCGLTD) Night of the Treeple – interesting art; reminds me of an old t-shirt that I have. I should take a picture of that sometime. Five Awesome Substances That Never Existed – (via Dark Roasted Blend) DRB Steampunk Art Store – Awesome. Especially the “Da Vinci’s Code for Fun” stuff. Cookie [...]

One of the most amusing things to come up in this presidential campaign is the surprise over “racists” supporting Obama. (another article) Listen all you prissy, pin-headed, granola munching, patchouli sniffing, blue state pinkos, we’ve been telling you for years that just because someone has a rebel flag in the back window of his pickup [...]