Friend o' the Day, M-J!

For my bud who doesn't do email but who does surf all day just to keep his lap warm! :-)

• For the bachelor: On the Edibility of Very Old Food
• For the Simpsons' fan & philatelist, new pork flavored stamp
• For his crappy cellphone ringers: The kakophone - the FREE music-composition machine for mobile phones
• For the philosophe: Rodin's Thinker shrunk to blood-cell size and Are students ( and teachers ) of ethics - more or less ethical ? Possibly the latter...
• And, last but never least, Trusting your instincts leads you to the right answer!

Newsflash: The March of History Jaywalks Instead!

Good friend PlanetTom pointed out the following news items for me!

• Offbeat: British historian arrested for jaywalking in Atlanta

Looks like it's a good thing I didn't go to the AHA this year!! But wait... maybe the story's already revisionist?

• Officer says he used discretion before arresting prof

I sort of suspect - like the good historian I am - that the truth lies somewhere in between these two original accounts! (Thanks for sharing 'em both, Tom!)

Still, I think it would make a great episode of "Cops", don't you?

Next time on "Cops," the valiant officers of the Atlanta PD take down Simon Schama, Jared Diamond and David McCullough for LOITERING!

("Bad boys, bad boys! Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?!")

Lazy Day Links for Friends

• QUOTE OF THE DAY: "George Orwell once said: '[Political] prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated hen-house.'" (via The Presurfer for Unca Bill)

• "A fantastic article over at "The Neurophilosopher's Blog" on augmented cognition - technology that integrates with our cognitive abilities to extend our capabilities (via Mind Hacks). Plus, at right, a t-shirt for Beatles and Darwin fan and philosophe Marky-J (via Boing Boing).

• The Sushi FAQ (for Tony-Cannoli)

At left, family dog Bella enjoys a little lounging on my sister's bed over Christmas... They don't call the bed (and the dog) queens for nothing!

Newsflash: Venice Actually Ancient Roman?!

For devotees of Venetian history, this news is rather earth-shattering... (or, at least, myth-shattering!)

"A coin, accidentally dropped nineteen centuries ago, may rewrite the history of Venice. The small yet refined bronze piece was found a few steps from the Basilica della Salute, and it was unearthed during excavation of the court of Palazzo Genovese, which is situated on the Grand Canal between the Guggenheim Collection and the Abbazia of S. Gregorio. The coin's face depicts Antinous, the favourite lover of the emperor Hadrian, and it is the most ancient Smyrna-minted coin found in Northern Italy. It dates back to 130 A.D. and, thus, gives practical support to the theories of Wladimiro Dorigo, the great historian of Venice who, unfortunately, died a few months ago. In his studies about the origins of Venice, Dorigo believed that the first Venetians settled the area in the second century after Christ."

(via BUONGIORNO VENEZIA newsletter)

Retired Quotes from Facebook

Time to retire these latest Facebook quotes... but to commemorate them one last time before I do! (Some could seem familiar, since they have already appeared on "MMC"...)

• "Things ain't what they used to be and never were." -Will Rogers
  "Isn't it strange that we talk least about the things we think about most?" -Charles Lindbergh
• "Two weaknesses leaning together create a strength. Therefore the half of the world leaning against the other becomes firm." -Leonardo da Vinci
• 'Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.' - Chinese proverb
• "Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. the sleeper must awaken." -Frank Herbert
• "The world is not respectable; it is mortal, tormented, confused, deluded forever; but it is shot through with beauty, with love, with glints of courage and laughter; and in these, the spirit blooms." -George Santayana
• "Look to this day for it is life. In its brief course lie all the realities and truths of existence, the joy of growth, the glory of action, the splendor of beauty... Today, well lived, makes every yesterday a memory of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day..." - Ancient Sanskrit Proverb
• "May the sun bring you new energy by day, may the moon softly restore you by night, may the rain wash away your worries, may the breeze blow new strength into your being. May you walk through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life." - Apache Blessing
• "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate." --Stephen Wright

Happy Epiphany! (Plus Links for Friends)

Happy Epiphany, Everybody!!

Today's the day that tradition commemorates the arrival of the Three Wise Men to venerate newborn baby Jesus...

In celebration, January 6th was always the day Italians traditionally exchanged presents in the spirit of the ones given by the Magi. Nothing so fancy, though... This morning you would awake to find your stocking filled by the Befana, or the good winter witch. As you can see, apparently she works in a union and has to employ unusual delivery methods in Venice! (Actually, the photo at left is taken from the annual "Regatta della Befana," or Venetian rowing contest with old gondoliers dressed up like the good witches...)

• Pictured at right... Ming the Merciless's next hair cut? (via Boing Boing)


• For Ming, Andri, Vippy Zippy: New Book - "Off the Books: The Underground Economy of the Urban Poor" (via Boing Boing)

• For Ms. Kate & Dr. Beth: "i heart guts! makes tee shirts and other stuff featuring seriously cute internal organs... Other organ themed tee shirts." (Like "Smells Link Spleen Spirit," pictured at left via Metafilter)


• Ground Control to PlanetTom: "Universe Today is a news site for astronomy geeks. Don't miss its sibling, the Bad Astronomy Forum, which not only features examples of bad astronomy, but also discussions of space exploration and astrophotography. (If you like astrophotography, you're probably already aware of NASA's astronomy photo of the day.) But my favorite part of the whole site is the free astronomy eBook, What's Up 2007: 365 Days of Skywatching..." (via Metafilter)


• And don't miss the big link o' the day for everyone! "This was bound to happen: Simplistic Video Links collects pieces of YouTube video and aggregates them into complete movies and tv shows. For instance, here's Borat in its entirety." (via Fimiculous)

Newsflash: Climate Change Brings Tropical Disease back to Venice!

Disturbing news! In the wake of global warming, "at the southern edge of the globe's temperate area... Italy is being particularly hit by the collapse of the climatic equilibrium."

Not only has malaria returned to Italy, but also "tick-borne encephalitis, a virus which attacks the nerve system, is also on the way back. While only 18 cases had been reported before 1993, 100 have been since, mostly around Venice..." [more at The Guardian Unlimited]

Frank Lloyd Wright in Venice?

By now, Venice's Grand Canal is iconic. From Italian restaurant murals (like at our local "Rose's Old World Restaurant & Pizzeria" in Windham, Maine) to dime-store art (more on that forthcoming!), nearly everybody seems to have an image of the Canal Grande in their minds' eye. And that image doesn't exactly jive with modern architecture!

But things were nearly different... Back in the 1950s, famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (creator of innumerable, breathtakingly innovative structures, of which I've seen Fallingwater & Taliesin West, just for starters!) nearly built a dormitory for IUAV, Venice's architectural university. It was planned to be right on the Grand Canal on the site of the rather unassuming "Palazzetto Masieri" there now, next to the modern-day Venetian fire station and near the splendid Ca' Foscari, the 15th-century seat of today's UNIVE, the University of Venice. As chronicled in the Time Magazine article of the day, "Wright or Wrong," however, international outcry put the kabash on the provocative project almost immediately.

I can't help but wish that things might have gone differently... I find the mere idea of its design (pictured at right) of a "four-story structure of dark-veined marble with colored glass from the famed factories of nearby Murano," keeping "the balconies for which Venice is famous, but separated... with sheer, vertical protrusions which would give the building definitely modern lines" and toying with its own reflections in the waters below (not unlike Fallingwater) tantilizes my imagination with such a daring, alternative vision of Venice's Grand Canal!

UPDATE: I couldn't find any picture of the current Palazzetto Masieri available online, so here's one from the absolutely splendid book by Daniele Resini called Venice. The Grand Canal (which is actually an amazing continuous photo of both sides of the Canal Grande that runs over 27 yards long!) Palazzetto Masieri is the brown little palace that's the second on the right.

I have to admit though that the model I just found that's a liberal interpretation of Wright's plans for the Masieri Hostel doesn't quite inspire me to such flights of fancy as much as does the original architectural drawing above. Nor really does the slide show for the redesigned interior of the old Palazzetto Masieri, which would later be created by an Italian architect influenced by Wright, Paolo (erratum: please see the comments below) Carlo Scarpa. So much for innovation for innovation's sake...

Artistic Coffee and Other Links for Friends

• Of particular interest to the usual Coffee Crew... considering all the novelties this new year brings, I believe we should insist that henceforth our espresso must be this artistic! (via Hot Links)
  
  
• "The idea behind Prosper is a bit unusual today, but, as the site reminds readers, person-to-person lending—loans without a financial intermediary—has been around since 300 A.D. For those more used to the Internet age, think of it as eBay meets your neighborhood bank. Prosper is an online marketplace that allows lenders and borrowers to bid for loans—with fees and rates than can be much lower than those of a lending institution. Prosper uses credit scores to help its users gauge the risks of their deals, and easy-to-follow instructions on the site help clarify the details. (via Time.com Top 10 Websites of 2006, for Tony-Cannoli, Andri & Vippy Zippy!)
• "Tattoos: The Ancient and Mysterious History" (via Linkfilter, for tattooed Ming the Merciless)
• "NEWSVINE: This social news site comes with the tagline 'Get Smarter Here.' A bit blunt, but that's Newsvine's style: the site provides users with quick, undiluted and unedited access to news from all over the Web. Users can comment on stories and vote on stories' importance, add news articles they find elsewhere to the site and write their own blogs. Bloggers can even keep a share of the revenue ads on their columns produce, and make more money by referring friends to the site. Newsvine was founded by members of ESPN, Disney and other media organizations." (via Time.com Top 10 Websites of 2006) & 10 Kick-Ass Opening Credit Sequences (via Linkfilter, for Unca Bill & the Huf!)
• "Credit Where Credit is Due": "2006 Federal Excise Tax Credit - Wow, finally a reason to save all those old phone bills!" (via Hot Links, for legendary packrat Marky-J, tax expert Vippy Zippy & any other taxpaying Americans!)
• For the Scififridayers: Good news! "Number 6 is going to be in Playboy next month" (via Fimoculous)
• Free Will: Now You Have It, Now You Don’t - New York Times about "all the varieties of free will worth having..." (via Hot Links) and The Language of The Simpsons (via Kottke's Best Links 2006) and Bank the Nine (via Yahoo's Link of the Day) and also the "Phobialist" (via Really Magazine, for pool-playing, fellow "medical dictionary syndrome" sufferer and philosopher Marky-J)
• "Update your urban myths: someone actually stole a kidney from the 'Bodies' exhibit in Seattle" (via Fimoculous) and Scientists may have found Medici murder - Yahoo! News (for lil' ol' me & criminologist Ming)

Venice in Recent News

Just a few of the "Michellaneous" tidbits about Venice in this week's news...

• Cross-Dressing Venetian Cop Sacked


• Ancient Italian Craft May Be A Dying Art, Murano Glass Blowers Face Chinese Competition; Sons Not Taking Up The Business - CBS News


• Venice to Build World's First Hydrogen-Fired Power Plant

(For more, you can search "Venice" at the top of the page to get a rundown of MMC's Venetian news for 2005 & 2006!)

"You know you live in New England when..."

Along the lines of the classic "You Know You're From Maine When..." comes the equally true and even funnier meme, "You Know You're From New England When..." passed along to me by JAM. Enjoy!!

• Your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May.
• Someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there.
• You've worn shorts and a parka at the same time.
• You've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number.
• When "vacation" means going anywhere south of New York City for the weekend.
• You measure distance in hours.
• You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.
• You have switched from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again.
• You can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching.
• You install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked.
• You carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them.
• You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
• The speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and everybody is passing you!
• Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
• You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.
• You find 10 degrees "a little chilly."
• You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.
• You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from New England!
  
  

Free Software Giveaway of the Day!

As they say in Italy, "I know my chickens!" (That is, in English, "I know somebody like the back of my own hand"...)

In the land where, according to Uncle Henry's, it's often free for the taking if you can haul it away (lots of stuff, but usually manure and - I swear I am not making this up - "special needs cats"), my Mainer chickens - as well as some friends farther afield - just love "free"!

That's why you can't beat the Free Software Giveway of the Day! Each and every day (for 24 hours and for 24 hours only!) you can download and install (the only catch... You must install the software during the stated giveaway period!) FREE, FULL versions of programs you'd otherwise have to pay as much as $100 for! And they give away all kinds of different programs, but it's particularly good for various multimedia applications!! (Plus games at game.givewayoftheday.com...)

What's the giveaway for today? (And check back... It'll automatically update every day!)

Don't miss it and wind up having to pay for something like it later!

How Italians Tell Time?

Not exactly a common method, but of course that's where the punchline lies... (Which you can pretty much get even if you don't know Italian!) Enjoy!!

(via grow-a-brain)

Funny Photos of Art

(from Bits & Pieces, via Geisha Asobi Blog)

Plus, don't miss the Souvenirs photo slideshow at Flickr...

Photos of kitsch souvenirs at the locations they were made to commemorate. Pure genius!

(via In4mador!)

Exam Bloopers

A couple of these were just so priceless that it's a shame to let them languish forever alone in never-again-read blue books, so I'm sharing one of the "joys" of the profession. Enjoy!

About comparing and contrasting Alexander the Great, Augustus and Charlemagne:

• "The only differences between them were that they lived in different eras. They all had different causes of deaths either from poison or a virus. They all also were from different regions of the world."
• "Augustus was sort of the same, the only difference was I really don't know. I hope I pass [illegible]."

On the persecutions of Christians in Ancient Rome:

• "Despite the size of Christianity as a religion in today's world it was not always accepted. Think about it. Christ was hung on a cross. Yes, it was he did suffer for our sins but that seems a pretty clear picture to me that his religion was not accepted."
• "Christianity also played a role in [ancient] Roman art and architecture with the development of the Sistine Chapel and the Parthenon."