No. 120 - Stockholm Syndrome

I learned that Stockholm syndrome is a psychological phenomenon in which hostages exhibit positive feelings towards their captors that would normally appear irrational in light of the dangers experienced by those victims.

It got its name from a bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden in 1973 in which the robbers held employees hostage for six days. During the ordeal, the victims became emotionally attached to their captors, and even defended them after they were freed.

Some conditions necessary for Stockholm syndrome to occur include:

1. The captor becomes the person in control of the captive’s basic needs for survival and the victim’s life itself.
2. Perpetrators routinely keep information about the outside world’s response to their actions from captives to keep them totally dependent.
3. The captive judges it safer to align with the perpetrator, endure the hardship of captivity, and comply with the captor than to resist.
4. The captive sees the perpetrator as showing some degree of kindness.

I heard this syndrome being described on the Quinn & Rose show on XM Radio this morning. A letter from a listener was being read on the air, which alluded that many Americans could be experiencing a type of Stockholm syndrome as a result of their captor (their government) providing so many programs which enable them to live off the system that it created.

Go back and read the list over in this context, thinking about the many social benefit programs (unemployment compensation, welfare, food stamps, health insurance, social security, etc.), coupled with the mainstream media's spin on information pertaining to the economy, politics, war, etc., which is all done under the guise of kindness to make the world a better place.

I thought it was an interesting analogy.

No. 119 - Beltane

Last night a friend who I have not seen in 20+ years invited us to an "Early Cinco de Mayo/Beltane Fest" this Saturday. I've known L since grade school. In fact, L may have been the first girl I ever kissed. Granted, it was in the second grade, it was on the cheek, and the teacher seriously reprimanded me. But, hey, it still counts.

I immediately replied "yes" and then wondered what this "Beltane" part was all about. I'm like a chameleon at a party. I blend in. When in Rome. Yada, yada, yada. But still, perhaps I should know what I'm getting myself, or ourselves, into.

Beltane means "Bel's fire." In Celtic mythology, Belenus was one of the most ancient gods. His name meant "bright one," suggesting that he was a fire or sun god. The Romans equated Belenus to the Greek/Roman god Apollo, who was the god of a lot of things, including light and the sun.

I learned that in its simplest "family-friendly" definition, Beltane is a fire festival marking the beginning of summer. It is the celebration of life and love. Some refer to it as May Day, with rituals such as dancing around a maypole, crowning a May Queen or giving flower baskets. Others use it as a day to stop and observe the world, to appreciate the life that we are given, and to reflect on our place in the world.

I look forward to Beltane, celebrating life and catching up with an old friend.

No. 118 - Malbec

A Facebook friend posted last evening that she "would really enjoy a glass of Malbec right now."

I guessed that it was probably some sort of adult beverage. I sanity check some of the things I don't know with my wife. Should I know this? Did she? She didn't either.

I learned that Malbec is a type of purple grape used in making wine, which is why I - and she - didn't know it. We are not big wine drinkers. We are not even little wine drinkers. We're more like teeny tiny wine drinkers. Wine is fine. It's quite good on occasion. But I prefer beer. And she prefers iced tea. Or vodka :)

If you play that game what's the first thing that comes to mind with the word "Malbec" a wine lover might say "Argentina" since that country produces over 70% of the world's Malbec.

This wine is supposed to go great with red meat, Mexican, Cajun, Indian, Italian (especially with tomato-based sauces) as well as barbecue and chili. So, in other words, it goes great with a lot of food that I like.

Honey, I think we should give this Malbec a try.

No. 117 - Angola

I was listening to an NPR Now segment on XM Radio this morning about a man who spent much of his life in the Angola prison. His name was Wilbert Rideau and he wrote a memoir called In the Place of Justice about his experiences there. The book was released today.

I learned that Angola is another name for the Louisiana State Penitentiary. It is also referred to as "The Farm" because the prison is still run as a working farm. Angola is the largest maximum security prison in the United States. It is surrounded on three sides by the Mississippi River.

The prison was formerly the Angola plantation, which was named after the area in Africa where the former slaves who worked the land came from. In Stephen King's book, The Green Mile, the fictional setting of the Louisiana Cold Mountain Penitentiary was loosely based on life on death row at Angola in the 1930s. Angola is the only penitentiary in the U.S. with its own radio station, KLSP (Louisiana State Penitentiary). It is referred to inside the prison as "Incarceration Station" and "The Station that Kicks Behind the Bricks."

No. 116 - Power Balance Bracelet

Today I read about a bracelet being marketed to athletes by a company named Power Balance. The blurb in the sports section of the newspaper used words like energy-balancing power, holograms and beneficial frequencies. I was curious.

I went to their website which said: "Power Balance is performance technology that uses holograms embedded with frequencies that react positively with your body’s natural energy field."

It went on to say: "Most everything has a frequency inherent to it.  Some frequencies react positively with your body and others negatively. When the hologram comes in contact with your body’s energy field, it allows your body to interact with the natural, beneficial frequency stored within the hologram. This results in improved energy flow throughout your body."

This bracelet that supposedly works on "frequencies" reminded me of Royal Raymond Rife. How could you ever forget a great name like that?

It was more than 10 years ago that someone told me about Rife. The message was that if I ever knew anyone with cancer to go find a Rife machine. He said that they would not be easy to find and I'd have to buy one on the black market. The machine supposedly transmitted a frequency that killed cancer cells. I thought it was an interesting story. 

Was Rife a genius who was silenced and ostracized by the medical community like Dr. Peter Duesburg? I don't know. However, the epidemic of cancer increased from 1 in 24 Americans in 1905 to 1 in 3 in 1971 when Rife died. Cancer is big business. Ask any pharmaceutical company.

No. 115 - The Secret Service

The front page of the WSJ's Weekend Journal caught my eye this morning. An article titled, Outfoxing the Counterfeiters, took up the entire page. There were pictures of old paper money including a 1760 Colony of Pennsylvania note with the words "To Counterfeit is DEATH" printed on it.

The article included a brief history of U.S. paper money and counterfeiting. It even included a reference to the supernote, or superdollar, which was the subject of Post No. 112.

I did not know that the Secret Service was originally created to prevent and investigate counterfeiting of the U.S. currency. The Service was created in 1865 just after the Civil War ended. At that time, it was estimated that one-third of the currency in circulation was counterfeit.

After the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901 the Secret Service began to provide presidential protection.

Until March 1, 2003, the Secret Service was part of the U.S. Department of Treasury. On that date they officially became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

No. 114 - Rook

I am unable to share all the context behind what I learned today. I am working on a surprise for a very special person. If you are an avid reader of this blog, I am sure you will discover what it is in a couple of weeks.

I learned that a rook is a type of bird similar to a crow, and a group of rooks is called a building.

I learned this while researching a Russian landscape artist by the name of Alexei Savrasov (1830-1897). His most famous painting is called The Rooks Have Come Back. It depicts birds returning home while emotionally showing the transition of nature from winter to spring.

No. 113 - Men Who Hate Women

I love book recommendations from friends. So I was intrigued when my wife told me about a recommendation from the guy who cuts our hair. By the way, what does a guy call the guy who cuts their hair. He's not really a barber. A hair dresser? A stylist? None of them sound right to me coming off my tongue so he ends up being "the guy who cuts our hair." I know, it's original.

He recommended to my wife yesterday that I might like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson. It was previously recommended to me by a Facebook friend. It sits unread in my library. I seem to say that a lot. I really do read. I promise. Here's a link to the books I read last year. The problem is that I have so many books I want to read that I am at least 3 to 4 years backlogged at this point and the list only grows longer each day.

Today I found it interesting to see that the movie is showing in my local theatre next weekend coupled with a book discussion following the Sunday screening.

I learned today that this book is part of a trilogy, as compared to a tetralogy from Post No. 108, and that the book's original title in Sweden was called Men Who Hate Women. I wonder if the title was changed for the English version for marketing purposes? And finally I did not know that Stieg Larrson died in 2004 and that the trilogy was released after his death starting in 2005 and will end with the last book coming out next month.

No. 112 - Superdollar

A Facebook friend posted a link to "an animated tutorial of the advanced security and design features in the redesigned $100 note." The heading on the page read: The New $100 Note. Know Its Features. Know It's Real.

I replied to him: "It's interesting how the government spends time and money trying to stop citizens from counterfeiting when they are the world's greatest counterfeiters, printing as much paper money as they wish which is backed by nothing."

The French writer and philosopher, Voltaire, once wrote: "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value -- zero." 

Congressman Ron Paul has a bumper sticker on his desk that says, “Don’t steal, the government hates competition”. 

Once upon a time, the dollar used to be tied to gold, a tangible physical element. You could not print more money unless you had gold to back it. That all changed in 1971 when the U.S. abolished the gold standard. We commonly accept that inflation of 2-3% each year is normal. Yet most people fail to understand that inflating the money supply just means that each existing dollar is worth less.

I learned today about the superdollar, or supernote, which is a very high quality counterfeit U.S. one hundred-dollar bill, alleged by the U.S. government to have been created by an unknown organization or government. The name derives from the fact that the technology incorporated to create the note exceeds that of the original.

I think the superdollar is quite amusing. The government does not like competition when it comes to counterfeiting. Not one little bit.

No. 111 - Kindergarten

My kids asked me yesterday what "kindergarten" meant and why, if it's the first year of school, it isn't called 1st grade. That is, what they were asking was why aren't all the grade levels re-numbered so that school starts with "1" instead of something less than "1".

I learned that the word kindergarten in German literally means "children's garden."

Webster's 1913 Dictionary defined kindergarten as:

A school for young children, conducted on the theory that education should be begun by gratifying and cultivating the normal aptitude for exercise, play, observation, imitation, and construction; -- a name given by Friedrich Froebel, a German educator, who introduced this method of training, in rooms opening on a garden.

Wikipedia says that kindergarten "serves as a transition from home to the commencement of more formal schooling." I have heard some people say that "preschool" helps a child transition from home to kindergarten. I don't buy either assertion. Who needs a whole year to transition? From what I've seen children adapt to new things fairly rapidly and are quite resilient. I believe that learning is a lifelong process. It doesn't begin with kindergarten and it doesn't end with high school or college. It begins when you are born and it ends when you die.

Perhaps the grade levels are numbered similar to how we count how old we are. Are we technically zero for the first twelve months of our lives until we turn one? Perhaps kindergarten is grade zero until we move on to the 1st grade.

No. 110 - Connect Four

It's Tuesday, which means Lost is on tonight. In looking back over last week's episode at Lostpedia.com, I was reminded that the game, Connect Four, appeared in the episode. It's not the first time it has shown up and is part of a recurring theme - pertaining to games - throughout the series. In fact, the whole show might end up being a game. We shall learn soon enough as the series comes to an end in May.

Carlton Cuse, a writer and executive producer on Lost, has said, "I like to use the baseball metaphor which is, you can go to a baseball game and if you don't know a lot about baseball, I think you can enjoy it on one level as a casual viewer and you can enjoy it on a much deeper level as a regular viewer."

I don't know if Carlton was referring to the TV viewers of Lost but he very well could have been.

Connect Four has 42 possible positions to put pieces in. 42 is one of the recurring numbers in Lost: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42.

I had not played it in many years until my kids received it as a gift in the last year or two.

I did not know that someone solved the game mathematically in 1988. That is, with perfect play, the first player can force a win by starting in the middle column. In game theory, "perfect play" is the behavior or strategy of a player which leads to the best possible outcome for that player regardless of the response by the opponent.

In other words, if you never make a mistake and play each turn perfectly, you can win if you go first and start in the middle column.

I suppose I must now share this information with my kids, although it seems that each day they become exponentially smarter. I might soon need any edge I can get :)

No. 109 - Chao and Bao

I made stir fry for dinner last night. Well, I didn't make it myself entirely. My son helped me get the vegetables ready. And it didn't take long to prepare since my wife found some fresh prepackaged stir fry vegetables at Wegmans. That store has everything!

It was pretty tasty but I was a bit disappointed that I didn't season it more. I thought for sure that the soy sauce, garlic and ginger would give it enough flavor without adding anything extra. Not so. But now I know for next time.

I learned today that there are two techniques for stir frying food: chao and bao.

The chao technique is the one I used and would be compared to sauteing. It's the one where you heat the wok to a very high temperature and then cook the meat first, set it aside, cook the vegetables, then toss it all together at the end. In this technique the food can be stirred or tossed and a lid may be added for a short time to steam the food at the end.

I'm not even sure I could do the bao technique if I tried. It might at least require a different wok than the one I use. In this technique the wok is super-heated to a temperature of 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. You supposedly know when it hits this temperature because the wok glows a dull red color. The idea here is that the oil, the seasonings, and the vegetables are added in rapid succession and cooked very quickly. The food is tossed continuously stopping only briefly to add the ingredients.

No. 108 - Tetralogy

This morning I began reading Rabbit, Run by John Updike. In the beginning of this edition, there's an introduction written by the author in 1993 in which he describes a bit of the background in writing the novel as well as the three sequels to it. While he was providing perspective on each of these four books, I kept thinking "what is a series of four books called?" I knew that three books were called a trilogy but couldn't remember what four were called. No sooner than I thought it, Updike described his works as a "tetralogy." It was almost as if he knew I was thinking it. Then instead of just stopping there, he mentioned it two more times over the course of the next few paragraphs, like he was trying to make sure I don't forget the word. I'll try not to, John.

John Updike was born in Reading, Pennsylvania and grew up in the nearby small town of Shillington. The main character in Rabbit, Run is Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom who lives with his wife and 2-year old son in Mount Judge, a suburb of Brewer, Pennsylvania, which was modeled after the city of Reading.

John Updike died in 2009.

No. 107 - Doc Holliday

I'm currently reading The Homeplace by Gilbert Morris. It was available for a short period of time as a free Kindle download so I thought I would give it a try. It interested me because it takes place in Arkansas during the Great Depression. This morning while I was reading it, the character of Aunt Kezia Freeman said, "Well, I knowed a dentist once. His name was Doc Holliday. Cold-blooded killer, that one."

It caught my attention because the Philadelphia Phillies acquired a pitcher this year from the Toronto Blue Jays by the name of Roy Halladay, whose nickname is "Doc," a reference to Doc Holliday.

Later in the morning, while catching up on the Phillies game from last night, I read that during his first three starts with the Phillies, Roy Halladay went 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA. Last year another ace pitcher the Phillies acquired named Cliff Lee, during his first three starts, went 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA. I thought that was an amazing statistic.

I learned that Doc Holliday was a dentist, gambler, and gunfighter from the American Old West, who is often remembered for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and his involvement in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881.

No. 106 - Bookmarks Magazine

Each Friday in the WSJ's Personal Journal section there is a question to Dear Book Lover (kinda like Dear Abby). Today the question was about where to go to get multiple reviews of a book. I learned about Bookmarks Magazine and its associated website called bookmarksmagazine.com. It was hit or miss on a number of books I searched on. It appears that the site covers more recently issued books, such as The Big Short by Michael Lewis, which I just finished, and House Rules by Jodi Picoult, which I haven't yet read but will. The site seemed a bit slow but finally produced about a dozen reviews from various newspapers (e.g. Washington Post, New York Times, Boston Globe) for the former and about a half dozen for the latter. Overall it could be a decent site to visit to get some opinions on books you've read or would like to read.

No. 105 - Krispy Kreme

What is better for you for breakfast than a couple of Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts and a cup of Krispy Kreme coffee? O.K. Don't answer that. But how yummy is that?!?

I learned today that Krispy Kreme will be coming back to the Philadelphia area with 21 new stores opening in the next 7 years. The first new doughnut shop is expected to open this year.

No. 104 - Notes from Underground

During last night's episode of Lost, one of the characters (Hurley, if you are a Lostie like me) picked up a copy of a book which the camera took an extra second to focus on. I replayed the scene to try and read the title of the book. I could not and concluded that it must be written in a foreign language, of which I am fluent in none.

Indeed it was. This morning I learned that the Russian book, Zapiski iz podpol’ya, is translated in English as Notes from Underground. It is a short novel written in 1864 by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I recall that another novel by Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, was also referenced in Lost. I recall this because that book is still sitting unread in my library. It taunts me every now and then as I walk by. I stop, pick it up, read a passage, and then put it back on the shelf.

I learned that Notes from Underground is considered by many to be the world's first existentialist novel.

Allaboutphilosophy.com had this to say about Existentialism:

Existentialism is a 20th century philosophy concerned with human existence, finding self, and the meaning of life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility. The belief that people are searching to find out who and what they are throughout life as they make choices based on their experiences, beliefs, and outlook without the help of laws, ethnic rules, or traditions.

Notes from Underground is available as a free Kindle book at Amazon so I downloaded it. Will it taunt me to read it? Sure it will. Along with dozens and dozens of other books that regularly try to persuade me to read them too.

No. 103 - Hummer

I learned today that the previously announced sale of GM's Hummer brand to a Chinese company fell through and now GM plans to wind-down the operations. Unless someone comes along to buy it, the Hummer trucks will no longer be made.

The first civilian version of the military's Hum-Vee, called the H1, was sold in 1992. It lasted until 2006 when it was discontinued. The H2 came out in 2003 followed by the H3 in 2005. The H3 was certainly the most successful of the vehicles outselling the H2 by more than 3 to 1 over the last four years. However sales of the H3 have dropped every year since its debut model year. More than 54,000 vehicles were sold in 2006, decreasing in the subsequent years to 43,000 (2007), 21,000 (2008) and 5,500 (2009). The H2 sold only 1,500 units in 2009.

I have always thought that the Hummer and Jeep brands should be reunited. These brands were born, or raised, in AM General Corporation, which is why both use the 7 slotted grill on the front. Jeep could shed a few of its not-so-Jeep-like models, add the Hummer brand, and focus exclusively on the adventurous, outdoor-loving, freedom-minded segment. I suppose one could argue that Jeep already does that successfully and they don't need Hummer. And perhaps they'd be right.

My daughter wants a Jeep Wrangler when she grows up so, for the time being, she still might be able to get one.

No. 102 - Scotch Bonnet

It's becoming apparent to me that my wife either has a hidden fascination with peppers or is trying to display my lack of knowledge of them. Start with Post No. 25 on pimentos. Then revisit Post No. 99 on the ghost pepper.

I had not picked up on this trend until after incorrectly answering the following question from her this morning: What is a Scotch Bonnet? I even knew the context. She told me she had just watched a travel show on Jamaica where we are anticipating returning to hopefully this year for a relaxing week in the sun. I guessed it was a flower. Do I get partial credit because it starts off as a flower, before growing into something that is not-at-all a flower?

A Scotch Bonnet is a variety of chili pepper similar to the habanero. This is the pepper used to give jerk chicken its unique flavor.

So the next time my wife asks me "Do I know what such and such is," the probability seems pretty good that the answer will be "pepper."

No. 101 - Banana Beer

Wait for it. Wait for it. That's what I say to myself some days when I don't learn something early in the day. Wait for it. It will come to you. Well I waited for it. And nothing came today. So I had to go looking for it.

This morning we made banana pancakes for breakfast. The kids requested the pancakes and we added cut-up banana pieces to the batter to give them a little extra something. So I figured there must be something I don't know about bananas.

I learned that you can use bananas to make beer. One of the more popular brands is called Wells Banana Bread Beer. From various reviews of the beverage, it appears to be a novelty beer in the U.S., but one that I am now interested in trying.

No. 100 - Philadelphia

Wow! This is the 100th post! And what a great day for it to land on. On this day seventeen years ago, I had a first date with a truly amazing girl. I knew on that day that I had met my soul mate. She is my best friend. I consider this day to be our true anniversary. The marriage was just a legal formality. This was the day I fell in love with her.

On our first date, we went to see the movie Philadelphia starring Tom Hanks. We had popcorn and cherry coke. Afterward I made her ribs and string beans. Every year since then, to commemorate this special day, we watch the movie and eat ribs and string beans. We usually make them ourselves but tonight we are going to a place that makes really, really good ribs.

I did not know that Philadelphia was inspired by the story of Geoffrey Bowers, an attorney who in 1987 sued the law firm Baker & McKenzie for unfair dismissal in one of the first AIDS discrimination cases.

No. 99 - 10,000 Ghosts

I'm a huge fan of hot wings. I don't go for the really hot ones anymore. Primarily because years ago I ate a wickedly hot one and almost passed out. The pain was incredible. But I'll get back to that in a moment.

My wife sent me this article. It's about a local restaurant that makes wings they've dubbed "10,000 ghosts."

I learned that "ghost" is a reference to the bhut jolokia pepper, the hottest pepper in the world, which is also known as the ghost pepper.

So how hot is hot?

The heat of a pepper is measured in Scoville units. Tabasco is about 2,500 units. Jalapeno is about 10,000 units. Habanero is about 150,000 units. The hottest wing sauce that I ever had was called Da Bomb. It contained 119,700 Scoville units. When I ate it, I knew immediately that something was very wrong. My hearing began to fade in and out. I broke out in a sweat. I thought for sure that I'd pass out. Eventually - 30 minutes later - the heat dissipated. I haven't since attempted to eat anything that hot.

OK. Are you ready for this?

The bhut jolokia pepper comes in at more than 1 million Scoville units.

I would gladly join you for some wings and a few beers. Just don't ask me if I want 10,000 ghosts. The answer is a resounding: No thank you!

No. 98 - Smart?

This morning as I was driving to work I saw a Smart car coming in the opposite direction. Or at least I thought it was a Smart car. If you've seen them on the road, they are unique looking and, for me, definitely a head-turner. As the vehicle passed by, I noticed it had a prominent Mercedes badge on the front. I thought to myself: Since when did Mercedes come out with one of these little cars? Three minutes later along comes another Smart car with another Mercedes badge! I thought that was really strange.

I did not realize that Smart is an automotive brand of Diamler AG (formerly DiamlerChrysler). Daimler produces cars and trucks under the brands of Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, Smart and others.

So how did the Mercedes badge get on the Smart car? From various forums it appears that some owners of Smart cars re-badge the vehicle by taking off the Smart logos and putting on the Mercedes logos. I've heard of taking badges off cars to remove the brand image from it entirely. I've even done that in the past. But I've never heard of re-badging a car with another company's logo. And why would you want a pretentious Mercedes badge of all things on a cool little car like that? Perhaps some Mercedes owners are re-badging their vehicles with Smart logos. But I doubt it.

No. 97 - R.I.P. Gary Quarles

I was deeply saddened today when I saw this picture on the front page of the WSJ. His name is Gary Quarles. He was 33 years old. He had a wife and two young children. And he died in the mine accident in West Virginia. Yes, I am aware that there are thousands of ways to die. And eventually we must all go. But today I am saddened that Gary's children won't have their father to tuck them into bed tonight and I am thankful for my good fortunes.

I found the following written about Gary Quarles in this article:

Gary Quarles' life was consumed by his wife and two children.
The 33-year-old from Naoma, W.Va., took trips every summer to Myrtle Beach, S.C., with the kids, ages 9 and 11, as well as his wife. The family often went fishing along the New River there.
"He liked to hunt and spend time with his kids," Janice Quarles said. "That was about it. That's all he did."
He liked to hunt everything from raccoons and deer to wild boar, and he had wanted to stay home from work Monday because his children were still on Easter break, she said.
Janice Quarles said her husband was a quiet, laid-back man nicknamed "Spanky." She was told of his death by a Massey official.
Gary Quarles started coal mining when he was 18. He was among those finishing a 10.5-hour shift when the explosion happened, his wife said.

I learned that more than 90 percent of the coal mined in the U.S. each year is used by the U.S. electrical power industry. I learned that coal accounts for about half of electricity production in the U.S. I learned that the top coal mining state is Wyoming, followed by West Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

No. 96 - Eye of the Tiger

I heard Eye of the Tiger by Survivor on the radio this morning. Although most people associate the song with Rocky - it was the theme song in Rocky III - it holds a special meaning for me.

It was the song that my wife and I chose to be played as we were announced to the guests at our wedding reception. The song rocks as much today as it did then and as it did back in 1982 when it was released and became one of the top songs of the year.

When we were on our honeymoon we found a copy of the original vinyl album in a used record store.

In the movie, Apollo Creed tells Rocky he must regain the "eye of the tiger," his fighting spirit. However, today I learned that the term also refers to an anatomical feature of the tiger.

I did not know that there are white spots on the back of tigers' ears that are used to confuse predators and reduce the risk of attack from behind. They are called "eye spots." In the wild, seeing the "eyes" of the tiger means death is imminent, because right before a tiger attacks, it turns its ears forward so that the spot on the back of each ear faces nearer its prey.

No. 95 - Ed Hardy Sangria

I learned from a Facebook friend's status update that there is an Ed Hardy line of wines. Don Ed Hardy is a famous American tattoo artist. His work appears on some of the most famous people in the world and has been reproduced in many books and magazines. He is retired from tattooing but his work can be seen on a line of clothing, which is based on Hardy's imagery. Now it seems that his work can also be seen on wine labels.

The FB post mentioned Ed Hardy Sangria. At edhardyclass.com it is described as "a red wine that has been infused with citrus fruit flavors and spices. All that is missing is some fresh fruit to add to the flavor experience and some good friends to enjoy it with." That sounds like a party in a bottle. I may have to get me a few.

No. 94 - Gnarly

My brother-in-law and nephew invited me to go mountain biking with them this morning. Of course I agreed. What a great way to start off Easter -- becoming one with nature.

However, there was not much time to reflect on the beautiful weather and the very pretty surroundings. This trail required a bit of focus and concentration or I would have become one with nature in a way I had not imagined, like becoming one with a tree. The terrain was quite challenging and, as I was bumping along trying to avoid this tree and that exposed root, the word that kept coming to mind was "gnarly," a word which I hadn't said or heard in many years. Encarta Dictionary defines gnarly as "extremely difficult, risky, and challenging" as well as "extraordinarily good or pleasurable." That actually describes the ride perfectly. No wonder the word kept coming to mind!

We biked in Pittsburgh's North Park. I learned that North Park is a 3,000-acre park that was completed in 1931. At that time, its swimming pool was considered to be the largest in the world, holding 2,000,000 gallons of water.

No. 93 - Fahrenheit 451

While traveling to visit family today, I was excited to hear Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 being read by the author on XM's Book Radio channel. What a timeless classic!

Bradbury has said that the novel's theme is not one of censorship as it has been frequently interpreted to be. Rather he has stated that the book explored the effects of television and mass media on the reading of literature. I am frequently quite critical of television especially the propaganda spewed by the mass media. Several years ago I pretty much gave up on television. With so little time and so many great books to read, the garbage on television just doesn't really justify my time. There are exceptions, most notably LOST, which in my opinion may be one of the best shows ever created. By the way, there are numerous book references in LOST and yes, you guessed it, a copy of Fahrenheit 451 is shown on a bookshelf in Season 5, Episode 12, Dead is Dead.

I learned that when the book was first published in 1953, in addition to a standard hardcover printing of 4,500 copies, there were just over 200 copies that were signed and numbered and then bound in "Johns-Manville Quinterra", a fire resistant asbestos material. How cool is that?!? And how much would a copy of that edition go for today?

No. 92 - Thirty Pieces of Silver

Today is Good Friday. It is a holiday observed by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The gospels say that on the day before Jesus was crucified, he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, one of his closest friends, while praying in a garden. Judas kissed Jesus on the cheek, a signal to the guards as to which person to arrest.

I learned that Judas received 30 "pieces of the silver" for his role. If you suppose that each "piece" of silver was equal to one ounce, and today's price of silver is about $18 per ounce, then 30 pieces of silver would be worth about $540 today.

No. 91 - Cheese Dream

I heard on the news this morning that April is National Grilled Cheese Month. I looked it up. It's not an April Fools' joke. But I do suppose the cheese lobby is alive and well in Washington.

Who doesn't love a grilled cheese especially with a bowl of warm tomato soup on a cold rainy day? Then again who doesn't love a cheese dream? A cheese what?

I learned that before the grilled cheese became popular in the 1950s there was an open-faced version called the "cheese dream." It is said to have originated during our country's First Great Depression as an "inexpensive supper dish." Recall that the peanut butter sandwich, which was mentioned in Post No. 63, also originated around the same time.

The basic version included bread, butter and cheese. Just like with today's grilled cheese, sliced tomato, ham and bacon were often added to the cheese dream when those ingredients were available.