GRABBINGSAND

My Nephews Love Peanut Butter
Originally uploaded by grabbingsand.

They really do.

Old Fire Station Theatre, Oxford
Originally uploaded by grabbingsand.

Since we’re about to head back to the UK (less than 5 days away, now), it only makes sense to put some photos from my last trip up on Flickr. In 2002, I split my time between London and Surrey, with side trips to Oxford and Windsor. Janice was along for the trip, as were our friends Hans and Mr Murphey (currently starring in a one-man show called “Fully Committed” in Marietta). There are a couple of choice photos of Mr Murphey in here, but Hans somehow escaped my lens entirely.

You mean the day before today? Yeah. Suppose it was. And Wednesday means trivia.

Please note this post’s lack of accompanying victorious scoresheet.

That’s right, the winning streak was held at four-in-a-row. Our stumble could be attributed to the unexpected arrival of a substitute for our usual presenter — Kelly had to coach something somewhere else that evening. Or maybe it was our introduction of a new name — Los Diablos — to replace the somewhat over-worn Hispanics [Verbing Some Current Event]. Or it could’ve been the lack of the oh-so-worldly Rusty and the equally oh-so-manly Tony. Of course, it was probably all Jason’s fault …

Just kidding.

Some facts that escaped us –

• The year of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg’s executions for espionage. (1953.)
• The year that damage to the ozone layer was first reported. (1974.)
• The year that the Georgia / Florida game was last played somewhere other than Jacksonville. (1995.)
• The number of World Series Championships that continued into November. (2.)

There’s always next week.

Cousins - A Brief Lesson:

Conventionally, one’s first cousin is one’s parent’s sibling’s child. Or, for the sake of convenience, psc.

While the basic number distance of cousinage – first cousin, second cousin, etc. – is based on generations through your ancestors (the p’s), “removals” are counted on the basis of the cousin’s ancestors (the c’s). “Once removed” means that there’s one generation’s difference between yourself and the other, either forward or backward, except when that would be your aunt or uncle. For example, your first cousin once removed would be your first cousin’s child, or pscc. It would not include your ps, who would be your aunt or uncle. Your second cousin once removed could be either your parent’s cousin (ppsc), or your parent’s cousin’s grandchild (ppsccc). “Twice removed” means that there’s two generation’s difference, etc. Any “cousin” relationship in which the “p’s” and “c’s” aren’t symmetrical is a “removal,” based on the parental generation but “removed” by the difference of c generations from p generations.*

Got it? Good.

All that to say that as of earlier this afternoon, I have a new cousin (once removed). Her name is Charlene … and we’ll call her Charley.

I got a handful of responses to my earlier call for airplane reading material. Thank you. And so, I’ve taken a few of those suggestions and used them as building material for the following list of possible books to fill at least a good portion of approximately 11 hours of flight.

• Blood, Class and Empire: The Enduring Anglo-American Relationship by Christopher Hitchens
• What’s the Matter with Kansas? : How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank
• Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt
• Dream Brother: The Lives and Music of Jeff and Tim Buckley by David Browne
• The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
• King Rat by China Mieville
• Automated Alice by Jeff Noon
• Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
• The Rotters’ Club by Jonathan Coe
• Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

If you made a suggestion and don’t see your book here, don’t fret. For most of the unlisted, I’ve either already read it (as in the case of the incredibly awesome Confederates In The Attic) … or I’m already reading it (Confederacy of Dunces lives in the garage for reading while grilling … not sure why) … or I’ve tried to read it before and it never really held my interest (Tom Robbins, I’m sad to say).

So out of the listed ten, five are fiction and five are not, I need to pick out two. Maybe three. Any help would be appreciated. (Don’t be shy.)

Detective 567 (Cover)
Originally uploaded by grabbingsand.

… give or take a month. I bought this comic either at an Eckerd Drugs next to the Hills Department Store on Battlefield Parkway … or at the Red Food Store closer to Highway 27. One of the two. Both are long closed or replaced by now. Drugstores barely carry drugs now, much less comicbooks.

I’m impressed that I kept it for so long. I’m impressed even more that it is in such decent shape. It’s nowhere near mint condition, but it hasn’t been torn or ruined in some other way. I’ve kept it for so long for the same reason I’ve held on to other books and magazines. The issue — an off-beat, almost quaint one-shot of a tale by a respected, but sometimes ornery sci-fi writer — had quite an effect on me. To this day, I think it is my favorite Batman story …

A least my favorite one that can be read in under five minutes.

Supper is just too regional a word to really do what I want it to do in that title. Actually, it would’ve been helped a whole heck of a lot if Da Vinci had simply called his famous painting something like “The Final Dinner.” Of course, the blame for that Biblical phrase might just belong with the collective of poets and scribes that worked on the King James Version. But that makes no sense, because they were all big-time fanboys for Shakespeare! And let me tell you, Will loved him some dinner. He did! Go read The Taming of The Shrew Much Ado About Nothing (damn) if you don’t believe me. “Against my will I am sent to bid you come into dinner.”

Anyway. The purpose of this post is merely to direct your attention to a certain news item about a popular author and this particular cartoon at Something Positive that goes with it.

Someone mentioned something to me yesterday that deserves a little pondering, but it just might provide inspiration for a nice stack of posts. More on that later.

In the meantime, Nikki & I are heading across the ocean in a little over a week. Trans-Atlantic flights are tests of will even under the best circumstances, but they do provide unusually long stretches of time best suited for little more than sleeping or reading. With that in mind, I’d like anyone who takes time out of their day to drop a book selecting in Ye Olde Comments.

Note: I’ve a couple of stipulations. First, no hardcovers. I love new books as much as the next guy, but hardbacks weigh a ton and take up too much bag-space. Secondly, nothing too classic/academic (for lack of a better word), as I’m going to be reading this book (these books) under whatever conditions the plane provides. Now … recommend like the wind!

Four In A Row
Originally uploaded by grabbingsand.

Well, it might as well be. Once again, the Hispanics did the impossible and landed another first place win at the Mellow Mushroom of Lower Buckhead (Upper Midtown). And this one was close as close can be, since the Olsen Twins were right on our tail all the way down the line. But in the end, we wagered all of our final question points on a calculated risk involving the birth of MTV, the presence of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s guitar riffs and the video-based resurrection of David Bowie’s career. So when did Bowie release Let’s Dance in the United States?

1983. It was a very good year.

More recap later. Brain needs sleep.

Maybelline (May 1950)
Originally uploaded by grabbingsand.

I have a bound collection of New Yorker magazines from the summer of 1950. How I acquired this collection is none of your concern — and I’m sure the attic of Tennessee Wesleyan’s library has never missed it. What’s more interesting than my nefarious past are all of the great print ads for so many companies we still know today. I’ve only scanned five so far, but I’ll keep adding more to this Flickr set.