"The Southern-ness Test"

In my family, no antebellum houses, and my grandmother was the cook! :-)

Dixie Royal
You are 88% true Southern!

You are pure belle or gentleman! You know your Jones Soda, Nehi and RC colas, your Moon Pies and sweet potato pie; you'd absolutely die without air conditioners in the summer, and you've seen Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomatoes (or read the book!). Your grandmother lives in an antebellum home and has a cook who makes the best fried chicken and asparagus casserole and summer squash and everything else in the world. And you know the taste of honeysuckle and the feel of grass between your toes. You are blessed.'
Link: The Southern-ness Test (via Dappled Things)

Today's literary moment...

"Clatter" by Marky-J

"The clatter of my shovel was deafening as I dug beside the mysterious river that flowed helter-skelter over the rocks only to disappear into the evening's darkness. Naturally, then, I was ecstatic as the starlit night quickly gave way to dawn's light where the ominous disappearence of the river quickly revealed its continuance downstream. Suddenly, I was startled by a jim-dandy of a monkey exhibiting rowdy behavior until I realized that it was just playing. I felt like an idiot until I realized the butterfly flying before me had interpreted the monkey's behavior as shady."



"Ennui" by Michelle

"At a starlit dawn, an ecstatic, rowdy little jim-dandy of a monkey quickly rode the shovel down the helter skelter to the ominous river where the butterfly had mysteriously disappeared under the shady natural lighting."


(The End.)

Life expectancy test

I doubt this is true, but I'll take it anyway! :-)

(What about you?)

Life expectancy test: "Your life expectancy is 93"

More fun but useless quizzes!

You Are a Red Flower!


A red flower tends to represent power, seduction, and desire.

At times, you are loving like a red tulip.

And at other times, you're very enthusiastic, like a bouvardia.

And more than you wish, your passion is a bit overwhelming, like a red rose.

How Machiavellian are you??

"This survey itself measures only one thing -- whether you subscribe to the ideas of a 16th century Italian political philosopher. But experiments have shown that reactions to Machiavelli act as a kind of litmus test, delineating differences in temperament that can be confirmed with more traditional personality inventories.

High Machs constitute a distinct type: charming, confident and glib, but also arrogant, calculating and cynical, prone to manipulate and exploit. (Think Rupert Murdoch, or if your politics permit it, President Clinton.)

True low Machs, however, can be kind of dependent, submissive and socially inept. So be sure to invite a high Mach or two to your next dinner party."

Well... then I guess it's good that I'm low, but not too low!

"The Machiavelli personality test has a range of 0-100.
Your Machiavelli score is: 57
You are a low Mach, you reject Machiavelli's opinions.

Most people fall somewhere in the middle, but there's a significant minority at either extreme."

What about you? Try the Machiavelli personality test!

(from Salon.com via The Presurfer)

Do *NOT* try this at your hometown!

"On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris. The film was limited for technical reasons to 10 minutes; the course was from Porte Dauphine, through the Louvre, to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur. No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit. The driver completed the course in about 9 minutes, reaching nearly 140 MPH in some stretches. The footage reveals him running real red lights, nearly hitting real pedestrians, and driving the wrong way up real one-way streets. Upon showing the film in public for the first time, Lelouch was arrested. He has never revealed the identity of the driver, and the film went underground until a DVD release a few years ago."

The film is in real time! No tricks were used to simulate high speed... that IS high speed, through tiny, winding ancient Parisian streets clearly meant more for horse-drawn carriages than for Ferraris!! As if you could manage to tear your eyes away, don't miss the ending... True to all things French, after all that bravado, the ending's rather sweet! :-)

Click to watch: Rendezvous! (Be sure to click on the little rectangle on the right bottom side of the viewscreen to see it in all its full-screen glory!!)

Viva lo spritz! Aperol's coming to the States!!

As previously reported here on MMC, the quintessential Venetian cocktail known as the "Spritz" has gotten a fair bit of great press in the last year or so. But until now, you could only have the Campari version of this delightful beverage on this side of the big pond.

However, soon you too will be able to enjoy my own personal favorite version of the Spritz here in the U.S... Apparently, its main ingredient - Aperol - is coming to the States! Yay!! Viva lo spritz!!

Veniceblog: Arriva Aperol

Quote of the Day

"Indifference to the wonder of being is the root of all sin."

-Abraham Heschel,
Rabbi, Professor, Holocaust survivor

"Estimating the Airspeed Velocity of an Unladen Swallow"

Those who know me know that I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Monty Python...

One of their classic scenes is, of course, the question of the origin of King Arthur's coconuts (as I understand it, the true origin was that they didn't have the budget for horses!)

Well, somebody's apparently actually worked out the physics of Estimating the Airspeed Velocity of an Unladen Swallow! Enjoy!!

Quote of the Day

"Either that wallpaper goes or I do."

- Oscar Wilde, last words

WORD SANDWICH !

WORD SANDWICH is a clever little game...

"The object is to guess the mystery five letter word. Your guesses will float to the top if they are too 'high' alphabetically, and they will float to the bottom if they are too 'low' alphabetically."

How good are you at making a WORD SANDWICH?

Blogthings - Are You A Good Cook?

You Are a Creative Cook


Your cooking is unusual, inspired, and definitely one of a kind. People love your unique style, but you've had your share of kitchen flops.

You have the makings of a cult chef. You may not cook at the Four Seasons, but you could have your own little funky cafe in San Francisco!

Election Shennanigans in Italy

Reminds me of the time that I went to an introductory lecture in Italy on the Italian government, and the speaker asked me later why I personally came... and I said, "Well, because I wanted to try to understand Italian politics." He smiled and replied, "When you do, could you please explain it to me?" :-)

ANSA.it - Nuns, dead people and Big Brother

Ah... the power of ham!!

Some news in the Sunday paper is actually good news!

"Satellite tracking, helicopter surveillance and dart gun attempts failed - it was a boiled ham dinner that brought Sam, a golden retriever, in from the cold after two years on the lam. Nicknamed the "Golden Ghost," Sam survived two New Hampshire winters, deer hunting season and being hit by a car - and still no one could catch him..." Until now! (more)

And heartwarning video of this "shaggy dog tale" is here. Enjoy!! :-)