A Global Party

In light of President Obama's inauguration, I thought I would post this news link from the New York Times. Apparently Americans aren't the only people celebrating the inauguration of our new president; in fact, the partying starting in Europe hours before the inauguration even began. (click here to read it)

Everything sounds better in Latin.

Or roughly translated, Omnia dicta fortiora si dicta Latina. Why does everyone think Latin is a dead language? There is a google in Latin, a wikipedia in Latin: vicipaedia, and further, it is even the declared language of Vatican City. The NYT even did an article last year noting the growing popularity of Latin classes in middle schools. It has been used in movies far too lame to mention on this blog, (Into the Blue- vomit), as well as some movies that are more than mentionable- Boondock Saints and Tombstone, and even our friend Harry Potter spouts off the occasional Latin here and there.

Happy Birthday Puce! (Yesterday)

Yesterday was my younger sister Abby's birthday. I call her the puce because in French, ma puce is a term of endearment. Its literal translation, however, means, "my little flea". Some other people who share/d her birthday are: Benjamin Franklin, Kid Rock, and Phillip the Bold. Anyway, my little flea is intelligent, beautiful, and obviously insanely photogenic (see above). Visual commentary: Hopefully next time she will tell me not to ever wear a bandana again.

I Want One!

The prevailing Mongolian style of life is pastoral nomadism- and this little baby nomad, holding this little baby goat/lamb/or whatever, is about the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Everyone Knows I Love Graffitti

... but there's a difference between graffitti and tagging. The picture below is a wall mural in LA; however, the random scribbles of spray paint you see in the bottom left corner are considered to be "tagging". Tagging ruins murals and makes me incredibly sad.

Robert Saviano

I apologize about the graphic book cover, but I have long wanted to read Robert Saviano's true story about his experience with one of Italy's largest crime syndicates, Comorra. The book became a worldwide bestseller a little while ago, but Saviano has been living under police protection for the past 2 years. Only a few months ago, a Naples area mafia vowed he would be dead by Christmas. He is still alive, but says "I don`t regret having written this book but I do not love it, because it has taken away my freedom."
How could I not want to read this book? I went to Barnes & Noble to buy Gomorra, but when I asked a worker to help me find it, she looked at me like I was an alien. Am I the only one who has heard of this book? I'm confused.

Alert: Here's What We're Googling

The fourth most searched query on the internet today is a "New Kids on the Block Cruise." I repeat: The fourth most googled topic in America today is a NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK CRUISE. I confess, I'm incredibly curious as to how such a cruise would pan out, and I can't say that I would turn down the opportunity to find out if it ever came my way. In any case, I love seeing what people are googling sometimes. A while ago, the second most searched item was an invisibility cloak. Actually, that one turns up more than one would expect.

It's kind of interesting how google can track trends by what people search for. They can now even predict future hot zones for possible flu break outs. They call it, "Flu Trends", and if you're interested, you can read more about it here, or at least just check out what America is googling- it always makes me laugh.

Unrelated: I like this kitchen, and it kind of reminds me of Keighley.