No. 243 - Los Sarapes

If I called you on the phone and you answered hola, then my response might be quesadilla. This started many years ago when I called my wife and she said hola. I responded with the first Spanish word that came to mind. It's been a running inside joke since.

My Spanish vocabulary is limited to a handful of words. Others include chimichanga and taco.

So today I was excited to learn a new one.

I received an e-mail notification from Groupon, the subject of Post No. 83, informing me that Los Sarapes, my favorite Mexican restaurant was offering a 50% discount on their fine Mexican cuisine. Their food is fresh, tasty, authentic Mexican. Their tequila bar is plentiful. Service is delivered with a smile. The owners can even recommend a special dish without you ever picking up the menu. And, in the spirit of full disclosure, the owner is one of my best friends. Regardless, this restaurant is a hidden gem.

The Groupon e-mail included the definition of los sarapes, which is also stated on their website as:

Los Sarapes means something that covers you and makes you feel warm such as a blanket, shawl, poncho, etc. We believe the name symbolizes us inviting you into our house (restaurant) and making you feel as warm and comfortable as you do in your own home.

So with my newly expanded Spanish vocabulary, I can now ask my wife to pass me a los sarapes and a quesadilla, because my feet are cold and I'm hungry.

No. 242 - Violin Versus Viola

My daughter's homework today consisted of answering twelve questions about things she learned on her first day and things she would like to learn during the school year. She listed "learn to play a violin" as one of her goals that she would like to accomplish this year. She told me that I should learn about the differences between a violin and a viola because they are very similar. She thought the differences were that one was darker (in color) and the other was lighter, one was bigger and the other was smaller, and one played higher notes and the other lower notes.

I learned that size does matter and it is certainly the main difference. The viola is the bigger one, but not by much. It is usually 16-17 inches in body length compared to the violin at 13-14 inches.

The violin and viola also have different strings. They both have an A, D, and G string but the viola has a lower C string and the violin has a higher E string. The sound of the strings will also be deeper on the viola since it is bigger and has a lower range of notes than the violin.

It does not appear that the choice of wood grain/color is one of the differences.

But as Meatloaf once said, "Two out of three ain't bad."

No. 241 - Eight Elvises

I was talking to a friend I've known since first grade today about various financial, economic and business-related things and the name Andy Warhol was mentioned by my friend, who is an artist. I know little-to-nothing about Warhol. She apparently does. I thought it would be fitting to learn something new about him today.

I learned that the highest price ever paid for a Warhol painting is $100 million for a 1963 canvas titled Eight Elvises. The private transaction was reported in a 2009 article in The Economist, which described Warhol as the "bellwether of the art market." The $100 million benchmark price has been achieved by just a handful of artists, including Pablo Picasso.

This particular painting apparently merges the most popular aspects of Andy Warhol and his fascinations.  It has fame - the subject is Elvis Presley, one of the most famous American icons. It demonstrates the repetition of imagery. The painting is done in silver, his favorite color. The threat of death is implied through the pointing of the gun at the viewer. Finally, it is from 1963, a vintage Warhol year. The 12-ft high paiting has not been seen in public since it was displayed in Los Angeles in 1963.

No. 240 - Fire Tornado

Today a Facebook friend posted this TV footage showing how strong winds can create a fire tornado. I am a fan of extreme weather. It can be quite awe-inspiring to witness the things the Earth can do on its own. But I had never seen, or heard of, this before. At least not in real life.

In the world of Pokemon there is a move used by the Fire-types, such as Charizard, Ninetales, and Arcanine, called Fire Spin. The character opens its mouth and a spiraling flame is released at the opponent, trapping and burning it in a fiery tornado. Such are the things I learn from my kids.

I learned that a fire tornado, also called a fire whirl or a fire devil, is a rare phenomenon in which a fire, under certain conditions (depending on air temperature and currents), acquires a vertical vorticity and forms a whirl, or a tornado-like vertically oriented rotating column of air.

Most fire whirls are between 30 and 200 feet tall and under 10 feet wide. They generally last no more than a few minutes, but some have lasted as long as 20 minutes. These whirls are extraordinarily dangerous. In the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake in Japan, a fire whirl was created in a massive firestorm. The whirl alone killed 38,000 people who were packed into an open space in the Former Army Clothing Depot during the earthquake.

No. 239 - Kitchen Pass

My wife and kids went to visit her family for the weekend and I was not able to join them. In considering what to do tonight, I recalled a Facebook post from yesterday from one of my favorite local brewpubs:

Our Grisette, a Belgian farmhouse style which was originally brewed to be the beer of the miners (Saison was the beer for the farmers), is back on tap at both pubs! Its name is derived from the French word for gray, referring to the young women (the grisettes) who doled out pints as the men exited from the mines while still dressed in their gray factory frocks. Whatever. It's a great summer beer!

I thought that ending the week (and soon the summer) with a hot roast beef sandwich and a couple of Grisettes sounded mighty nice. Then I thought of a friend that I haven't seen in many years and sent him this note: Are you interested in grabbing a beer and sandwich at Sly Fox tonight? They have a new Grisette on tap that sounds tasty.

He replied: I am very interested, but I need to apply for a kitchen pass. Let me check with [wife's name] this afternoon.

A kitchen pass? I found the below definition in an article titled The Art of the Kitchen Pass, which is well worth the full read.

Kitchen Pass (def.) - 1. Authorization for leave of the household in order to pursue purely manly interests. 2. Official sanctioning of any activity performed outside of the household by the recognized governing body of the kitchen. 3. Permission from your wife or significant other.

I asked about a half dozen people and no one had ever heard of a kitchen pass. But that's why I want to grab a beer with this guy. It's bound to be a rewarding learning experience. And the Grisettes won't hurt either.

No. 238 - Law of Reversed Effort

While reading Fifth Business today I came across the following dialogue between two of the main characters:

"You're just not trying, Leo," he said one night when I was dining with them. "You've simply got to try harder."

"Perhaps she's trying too hard," I said.

"Don't be absurd, Dunny. There's no such thing as trying too hard, whatever you're doing."

"Yes there is. Have you never heard of the Law of Reversed Effort? The harder you try, the more likely you are to miss the mark."

"I never heard such nonsense. Who says that?"

I learned that Aldous Huxely, the English author of Brave New World, said that. The actual quote was:

There is a Law of Reversed Effort. The harder we try with the conscious will to do something, the less we shall succeed. Proficiency and the results of proficiency come only to those who have learned the paradoxical art of doing and not doing, or combining relaxation with activity, of letting go as a person in order that the immanent and transcendent Unknown Quantity may take hold. We cannot make ourselves understand; the most we can do is to foster a state of mind, in which understanding may come to us.

While I never heard it called this before, I've seen this law in action. Most notably, on nights before I need to wake early to catch a flight, I just cannot sleep. I go to bed early, and even set three alarms so there's no way I can over-sleep and miss my flight. Inevitably, I always end up with a restless and sleepless night.

No. 237 - E-Cigarette

On occasion, when I stumble upon an incredibly attractive woman, my eyes linger a bit longer than normal. But then, without warning, her hand moves toward her mouth and she takes a drag on a cigarette. At that moment, the image in my mind changes dramatically, as if someone just dumped a bucket of bloody fish guts over her head. She morphs from a hero to a zero in half a second.

"So what?" you might be saying. "You're married, so what does it matter?" I agree, but I'm just sayin. Everyone has an opinion, even us married folk. And bloody fish guts is not an appealing look.

This morning I read an article in the WSJ titled E-Cigarettes Spark New Smoking War, and thought to myself, "E-Cigarette? What the heck is that?"

I learned that an e-cigarette is a battery-powered device that provides inhaled doses of nicotine by way of a vaporized solution. It is an alternative to smoked tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. In addition to delivering nicotine, this vapor also provides a flavor and physical sensation similar to that of inhaled tobacco smoke, while no smoke or combustion is actually involved in its operation.

An electronic cigarette typically looks like an elongated tube, though many are designed to resemble real smoking products, like cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. Another common design is the "pen-style" because it resembles a ballpoint pen.  Most electronic cigarettes are reusable devices with replaceable and refillable parts. A number of disposable electronic cigarettes have also been developed.

No. 236 - Khan Academy

I enjoy following a blog called Be the Hero, which is written by Noah Blumenthal, who is a friend of a friend. Today Noah's post was titled New Education and he referenced a learning website called Khan Academy.

I am a huge proponent of lifelong learning, if this blog didn't already give you that impression. I also believe we are in a higher education bubble, and when it bursts it is going to be more devastating on society that the bursting of the dot-com bubble and the housing bubble, combined. I replied to Noah's post with the following:

The benefits [of higher education] no longer justify the costs for society as a whole. Advice often given to those entering their college years are (1) assess whether your field of interest requires a college degree and (2) don’t go into debt to obtain the degree. College today is used as an initial screening mechanism, a very expensive one at that. Many jobs require no degree, and others would be just fine with an apprenticeship program or other highly focused training. It will be interesting to see how things play out over the next decade.

I learned that the Khan Academy is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) with the mission of providing a world-class education to anyone, anywhere. It was founded by Salman Khan who has recorded over 1,600 videos on math, science, finance, and economics.

I reviewed a Basic Addition video to get a feel for his teaching ability. It was simple, logical, and well explained. I can see myself and my kids spending a lot of time on this website. Thanks, Noah!

No. 235 - Winter's Bone

I was scanning status updates on Facebook today and noticed that a movie called Winter's Bone is playing at our local historic theatre. The movie's official website describes it as: 

Seventeen-year-old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) sets out to track down her father, who put their house up for his bail bond and then disappeared. If she fails, Ree and her family will be turned out into the Ozark woods. Challenging her outlaw kin's code of silence and risking her life, Ree hacks through the lies, evasions and threats offered up by her relatives and begins to piece together the truth.

I watched the trailer and it looks like a very good movie, and one that I may see. I learned that the movie is based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell. I checked out the reviews on Amazon (about 85% rated it either 4-stars or 5-stars) and it looks like a very good book, and one that I may read as well.

No. 234 - Pogopalooza

I read an article today about an extreme sports competition called Pogopalooza.

I learned that Pogopalooza is the annual gathering of the best stunt pogo athletes in the world and the largest exposition of the newest extreme sport. A number of disciplines of the sport are tested, including the highest jump, most jumps per minute and the fewest jumps per minute. The key to achieving the fewest jumps per minute is to jump high. Competitors also perform high-flying acrobatic stunts with nicknames such as the one-foot soul grab and the ice-pick stall, as well as back flips.

The event's website said that "Pogopalooza is a visually arresting display of talent and guts, featuring athletes riding pogo sticks that have been reinvented for a new generation of jumpers." The first event was held in 2004 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Pogopalooza 7 ended yesterday in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Legend has it that the pogo stick was created when George Hansburg, while traveling in Burma, came across a poor farmer and his daughter, Pogo. The farmer couldn’t afford to buy shoes for his daughter, and therefore the daughter couldn’t walk to the temple to pray every day. So the poor farmer made a jumping stick for her. Hansburg was so impressed he went home and created one his own with a spring attached to the wooden stick contraption that the farmer had introduced him to. Hansburg patented the design in 1919.

Palooza was the subject of Post No. 72. Perhaps my daughter would have enjoyed selling paper fortune tellers at Pogopalooza 7.

No. 233 - Breadfruit

While ordering food at a grill on a beach in Jamaica yesterday, I watched the cook slice something that I thought might have been a banana and then she threw it into a deep fryer. Later while relaxing in the pool, we watched a guy use a pole to knock something the size of a cantaloupe from a tree. We were told that it was called breadfruit, and they were indeed cooking it at the grill.

Today I learned that breadfruit is a staple food in many tropical regions. They are very rich in starch, and before being eaten they are roasted, baked, fried or boiled. When cooked the taste is described as potato-like, or similar to fresh-baked bread (hence the name).

Breadfruit trees grow to a height of 85 feet. They are one of the highest-yielding food plants, with a single tree producing up to 200 or more fruits per season. In the Caribbean, a conservative estimate is 25 fruits per tree.

It is closely related to the jackfruit, which was mentioned in Post No. 30.

No. 232 - Euchre

I'm reading Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, the subject of Post No. 197. It is an exceptionally well written book, and one which will be added to my list of books which must be read again.

Today I read the following:

It was card tricks now. I had no trouble getting a pack of cards, for my parents were great players of euchre, and of the several packs in the house I could spirit away the oldest for a couple of hours any afternoon, if I replaced it at the back of the drawer where it was kept, as being too good to throw away but too slick and supple to use.

I learned that euchre (prounouced yoo-ker) is a trick-taking card game most commonly played with four people in two partnerships with a deck of 25 standard playing cards, consisting of an ace, king, queen, jack, ten and nine in each of the four suits: hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades, plus a joker.

Euchre reached the United States in the early nineteenth century and was the original game for which the joker was introduced into the playing-card pack. It appears to have been first played by the early German settlers of Pennsylvania, and from that state was gradually disseminated throughout the United States.

It became very popular and was widely regarded as the national card game, but has since declined in popularity. In recent years, it has regained some popularity in the Eastern United States in the form of Bacon. In Canada, the game is still very popular in Ontario, and the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand all have large followings of the game.

No. 231 - Cajun

I had never eaten bammy, the subject of yesterday's post. Ten minutes after writing the post my wife and I walked into a reception, which included a nice spread of food. I scanned looking for something good to eat and there it was -- bammy. Granted, we were in Jamaica so the probability was greater that it might be served there, but in my several trips to the country I had never seen, or eaten, it. It was very good with grilled chicken wings.

Today my wife told me I had to talk to a certain guy she met earlier, because she thought he was a wealth of knowledge and might provide me something interesting for my blog.

I met him and he described for me the origin of the word Cajun.

The word Cajun is usually used to describe the French people from south Louisiana. The people however originally came from Acadia in Canada. The word "Cajun" comes from the word "Acadian", just as "Injun" is a variant of the word "Indian."

The Acadians were French settlers who settled the area (now known as Nova Scotia) in the 1600's. In the mid 18th century, they were exiled by the British. Over the following 30 years, several thousand of the exiled Acadians made their way to south Louisiana.

Over the next 100+ years, the Acadians became the dominant culture in certain areas of south Louisiana. They retained much of their culture, and absorbed some of the other cultural influences. The German, Spanish, French, English, Indian and other cultures added to the Acadian culture to produce the Cajun culture.

No. 230 - Bammy

I have been eating a lot of jerk chicken this week. I thought I would learn something about jerk spice, but didn't. However, I did learn that jerked meat, usually chicken or pork, is often purchased along with a bread called bammy.

Bammy or bami is a traditional Jamaican deep-fried cassava flat bread. The round cakes are prepared by soaking the dough in coconut milk or water and frying. Travelers to Jamaica have described it as "fried cassava cakes dripping in butter."

No. 229 - Guru

My wife was reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert while sitting poolside today. She turned to me and asked me if I knew what the word Guru means. I knew that it was someone who was knowledgeable in a particular area. I did not know that Guru is composed of the syllables gu and ru, the former signifying 'darkness', and the latter signifying 'the destroyer of that darkness', hence a guru is one characterized as someone who dispels spiritual ignorance (darkness), with spiritual illumination (light).

From the book:

A great Yogi is anyone who has achieved the permanent state of enlightened bliss. A Guru is a great Yogi who can actually pass that state on to others. The word Guru is composed of two Sanskit syllables. The first means "darkness," the second means "light." Out of the darkness and into the light. What passes from the master into the disciple is something called mantravirya: "The potency of the enlightened consciousness." You come to your Guru, then, not only to receive lessons, as from any teacher, but to actually receive the Guru's state of grace.

No. 228 - Song of the South

This morning someone sang: "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah." Another person continued with: "Zip-A-Dee-A." Then I chimed in with: "My oh my, what a wonderful day."

I learned that the song came a 1946 Walt Disney filmed called Song of the South. The film is based on the Uncle Remus cycle of stories. The live actors provide a sentimental frame story, in which Uncle Remus relates the folk tales of the adventures of Brer Rabbit and his friends. These anthropomorphic animal characters appear in animation. The film inspired the Disney theme park attraction Splash Mountain.

The film has never been released in its entirety on home video in the U.S., because of content which Disney executives believe would be construed by some as racist toward black people.

No. 227 - Spaghetti Western

I met a guy named Juan today who is from Almería, Spain. He told us some interesting things about his hometown, and said that many films were shot in the area.

The wikipedia entry for Almería said that "due to its arid landscape, numerous spaghetti westerns were filmed in Almería."

I learned that spaghetti western, also known as Italo-western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western film that emerged in the mid-1960s, so named because most were produced and directed by Italians, usually in co-production with a Spanish partner. The partners would insist some of their stars be cast in the film.

The films were typically shot in inexpensive locales resembling the American Southwest, primarily the Andalusia region of Spain, Almería, Sardinia, and Abruzzo.

Because of the desert setting and the readily available low-cost southern Spanish or southern Italian extras, typical themes in spaghetti westerns include the Mexican Revolution, Mexican bandits, and the border region shared by Mexico and the United States.

No. 226 - Arctic Char

Last night I went to dinner with a girl that makes my heart skip a beat. She has been doing that for over 16 years now. I ordered meat. She ordered fish -- it was called Arctic char. The waitress described it as similar in texture to salmon cooked with a crispy skin. I had a bite. It was tasty.

Today I looked it up and learned that arctic char is both a freshwater and saltwater fish, native to Arctic, sub-Arctic and alpine lakes and coastal waters. No other freshwater fish is found as far north.

The Arctic char is closely related to both salmon and trout and has many characteristics of both. Individual char fish can weigh 20 pounds or more with record sized fish having been taken by angling in northern Canada.

No. 225 - Friday the 13th

Happy Friday the 13th! I don't understand many superstitions, this one included.

But I did learn that in in numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve signs of the zodiac, twelve hours of the clock, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, twelve gods of Olympus, etc., whereas the number thirteen is considered irregular, transgressing this completeness.

There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper, that having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners. It has also been suggested that Friday has been considered an unlucky day because, according to Christian scripture and tradition, Jesus was crucified on a Friday.

No. 224 - Penrith

I checked the weather on my gPhone today and it gave me the current forecast for a town called Penrith. I refreshed the screen and it still showed Penrith, 51 degrees, party cloudy in a night sky.

I googled it and found two Penriths: one in England and one in Australia. Since it was day-time in England and night-time in Australia, I suppose my phone thinks I'm in Australia.

I learned that Penrith in Australia was named after the town of Penrith in England. Go figure. How it got the name is unclear. One theory is that in the early days, development in Penrith was entirely on one road, like the English Penrith, and someone familiar with both spotted the similarity and suggested the name. The earliest known written reference to the name Penrith dates back to 1819. Penrith is a suburb in western Sydney.

No. 223 - Coral Castle

After learning about Majic Men yesterday, I tuned back into Coast to Coast AM again this morning. I used to listen to the program regularly, but haven't found the time in recent years.

I heard a physicist explain his theory on how pyramids all around the world were created. He explained gravity as a byproduct from the time when the planet was created. He said that gravity exerts a strong downward pressure against an energy force that exerts a strong upward pressure. He suggested that if there was a way to remove the gravitational force in just a certain small area, allowing the upward pressure to be released, then lifting or moving heavy objects would be a trivial task. He suggested googling "Tibetan Acoustic Levitation" and told a fantastical story about Tibetan monks that were able to move very heavy stone blocks using just musical instruments. The acoustic resonance supposedly unlocked the gravitational force exerted on the blocks.

Anyway, after googling the above story, I discovered a mysterious, pyramid-like accomplishment in south Florida.

I learned that Coral Castle is a stone structure located in Homestead, Florida. It was built by one man, Edward Leedskalnin, a Latvian immigrant who mysteriously excavated, carved, and erected over 2.2 million pounds of coral rock, even though he stood only five feet tall and weighed a mere 100 pounds. To this day, no one knows how Ed created the Coral Castle. Built under the cover of night and in secret, at a time when there were no modern construction conveniences, Ed would only say that he knew "the secret of the pyramids."

No. 222 - Majic Men

I heard on Coast to Coast AM this morning that a new movie called Majic Men is in the works. It's objective will be to tell the greatest story never told. It will highlight the careers of Ufologists Stanton Friedman and Don Schmitt as well as the July 1947 UFO crash near Roswell, New Mexico.

I once visited Roswell while traveling across the U.S. with my brother. We saw no aliens. I remember touring the International UFO Museum and having a tasty breakfast in the little downtown.

The guy writing the screenplay for Majic Men, says he will tell the story of "two down to Earth guys that are chasing a story that is out of this world."

No. 221 - 100 Thing Challenge

A Facebook friend posted a link to an article which mentions a website that challenges consumers to live with just 100 personal items. The website is called the 100 Thing Challenge. There's also a Facebook page with the same name which describes the proposition as follows:

The 100 Thing Challenge is a grassroots movement that thousands of average people all over the world are making. It is a way to stop participating in irresponsible consumerism and start living a more meaningful lifestyle that is economically secure and that blesses people.

I found this to be quite thought-provoking. I like to think of myself as a minimalist. Notice I said "think." In reality I know I have way too much "stuff."

Do I think I could do this challenge? In a word -- no. In two words -- no way. Maybe in another time, in another place.

I might start a list of the top 100 things I would like keep just to see which things make the list. I know there are many things that are not essential to living a happy life. I don't think owning them necessarily makes me more, or less, happy. Some are comforting, some make thinks work better, and some are certainly just luxury items.

No. 220 - Dinosaur Train

My daughter asked me this morning if she could print out some dinosaur pictures on the computer. When she was finished she showed me the roughly dozen "fact sheets" on each of them and then sorted the dinosaurs that belonged to either the Jurassic Period or the Cretaceous Period.

She apparently became interested in dinosaurs from a show on PBS Kids called Dinosaur Train.

I learned that Dinosaur Train is an animated series produced by the Jim Henson Company for PBS Kids. The series features a curious young T.Rex named Buddy who, together with his adopted Pteranodon family, takes a Dinosaur Train to meet, explore, and have adventures with all kinds of dinosaurs.

It premiered on Labor Day 2009. Forty half-hour episodes have been ordered by PBS Kids so far. Each episode is followed by a live-action segment featuring Dinosaur Train educational consultant and world-renowned paleontologist Dr. Scott D. Sampson, who appears onscreen to explain the show’s dinosaur curriculum in greater detail.

No. 219 - Silver Surfer

My son asked me today what the toy in his McDonald's Happy Meal was. The package said Silver Surfer and it was a silver superhero figure on a silver surf board.

I was never into comics so I couldn't tell him anything about this Silver Surfer. So I looked it up.

I learned that Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero that first appeared in an issue (#44) of Fantastic Four in March 1966.

Silver Surfer has superhuman strength, stamina, durability, senses and the ability to absorb and manipulate the universe's ambient energy for a variety of effects. The Surfer sustains himself by converting matter into energy. He does not require food, water, air, or sleep and can survive within nearly any known natural environment, including deep space, hyperspace, and even within black holes and stars.

The Surfer's board is composed of a nearly impervious, cosmically powered silvery material that is similar to his own skin. The board is mentally linked to the Surfer and moves in response to his mental commands even when he is not in physical contact with it. The board is nearly indestructible, but on those rare occasions when it is damaged or destroyed, the Surfer is able to repair or even recreate it with little effort.

No. 218 - Three-Ten to Yuma

This morning I stopped at the post office to mail some packages. As I placed the first one on the counter - destination Yuma, Arizona - the postal lady asked if I ever saw the movie "3:10 to Yuma." I told her I did not. She proceeded to tell me that "3:10 to Yuma" - she said the name again - was a great old western movie that was re-made recently.

If you ever want someone to remember something, say it twice. Or three times. I can't be sure if the postal lady said it a third time, but I left the post office thinking "3:10 to Yuma."

I learned that Three-Ten to Yuma is a short story written by Elmore Leonard. The story was first published in Dime Western Magazine in March 1953. The story focuses on two men, one of whom is a deputy sheriff, another a ruthless outlaw. The outlaw is to be taken to the Yuma Territorial Prison in Yuma, Arizona by train. The deputy overcomes the odds to get the outlaw to the train (a 3:10 departure to Yuma, thus the name).

Indeed, just as the postal lady said, the story has since been adapted to film twice, in 1957 and fifty years later in 2007.

No. 217 - INCHworm

A Facebook friend posted a link today to this site with the caption "These kids shoes actually grow with your child."

I learned that INCHworm is a Boston-based company that makes kids sneakers ranging in sizes from toddler size 10 to child size 5. Each sneaker is made to accommodate three shoe sizes. So a size three can become a three and a half and then eventually a four. It works through what they call “iFit Technology.” This accordion-like mechanism in the middle of the shoe allows you to change the size of the shoe through the push of a button.

One word. Neat.

No. 216 - Andrea Doria

I read the following sentence on page 218 of The Passage this morning:

Eva had been the name of Lila's grandmother, a fiery character who, according to family lore, had both sailed on the Andrea Doria and dated a nephew of Al Capone's.

I wondered what was so special about the Andrea Doria and initially thought the name sounded much like the fishing boat that was lost at sea after leaving Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1991, as depicted in the book, The Perfect Storm. But that didn't seem to fit the sentence, since all those passengers were never seen again. I also later found out that boat was called Andrea Gail.

My wife thought it sounded like something that George Costanza was yelling about on an episode of Seinfeld. Sure enough, in Episode #144 called "The Andrea Doria," George finds out he can't get a new apartment because the tenant association is going to give it to an Andrea Doria survivor.

I learned that SS Andrea Doria was an Italian ocean liner most famous for its sinking in 1956. The ship's home port was Genoa, Italy, which produced two famous sea captains: Christopher Columbus and Andrea Doria. Of all Italy's ships at the time, Andrea Doria was the largest, fastest and supposedly safest.

On July 25, 1956, while approaching the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, on its way to New York City, Andrea Doria collided with the east-bound MS Stockholm in what became one of history's most infamous maritime disasters. The evacuated luxury liner capsized and sank eleven hours after the collision. 1,660 passengers and crew were rescued and survived, while 46 people died. 

Andrea Doria was the last major transatlantic passenger vessel to sink before aircraft became the preferred method of travel.

No. 215 - 33 A.D.

The Kindle 3 was recently announced with a starting price of $139 for a WiFi version. I thought that was a terribly compelling price for a fantastic e-reader. I still think the price of new e-books are much too high. Currently fourteen of the top twenty Kindle books - or 70% - are priced at $10 or higher. This is for a book with little-to-no cost to produce. Unlike a physical book that must be printed on paper, bound, and shipped, this book is created once and copied practically free of charge to an unlimited number of people.

I think the price point which would be most attractive to sell a lot of e-books is $3 to $5. And there are plenty of authors pricing their books in this range, or less. In addition, many new authors, or existing authors trying to attract a new audience, will give their books out free for a limited time.

I subscribe to a weekly email newsletter called The Kindle Nation. It discusses new happenings in the Kindle world and includes links to free and low-priced e-books. It recently began to highlight one exceptional book each week. Today's book caught my attention. I learned about a new vampire book called 33 A.D. by David McAfee. I'm not a huge fan of the vampire genre but the premise of the novel seemed unique. The Amazon description said:

Jerusalem, 33 A.D. The vampires of the era have long sought to gain a foothold into Israel, but the faith of the local Jewish population has held them in check for centuries.

When one of their own betrays them to follow a strange young rabbi from Galilee, the elders of the vampire race dispatch Theron, a nine hundred year old assassin, to kill them both.

The rabbi's name is Jesus. Killing him should be easy.

You can buy the paperback version today at Amazon for $12.81 or download the Kindle version for $2.84. Now that's an attractive price.

No. 214 - Oktoberfest

Fall is my favorite season of the year, followed very closely by Winter. So I was very excited when an e-mail arrived today informing me:

When Sly Fox Oktoberfest Lager hits retail shelves in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York later this month, it will mark the first time this popular seasonal style has ever been released in cans by a craft brewery.

I learned that the original "Oktoberfest" occurred in Munich on October 18, 1810 when Prince Ludwig of Bavaria invited the general public to join in to celebrate his marriage. Today Oktoberfest is a 16-day festival still held in Munich, running from late September to early October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year.

No. 213 - Okapi

I'm reading The Passage by Justin Cronin mentioned in Post No. 159. It's over 750 pages long and I'm fairly certain that it's going to be enjoyable to read, and will likely teach me lots of new things.

Over the last year I've come to realize that I really enjoy reading books with more than 700 pages. The last two that come to mind are The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, the subject of Post No. 47, and Under the Dome by Stephen King, which was alluded to in Post No. 16.

I think the difference comes down to commitment. Take the short story as an example. My mom and I are still reading a story a week from If I Loved You, I Would Tell You This by Robin Black, mentioned in Post No. 142. Neither of us like the stories very much. Maybe you get out of it what you put in to it? There's not much commitment to a short story, usually under an hour of reading. Books that average 300-400 pages commit you more -- perhaps they take a few days or weeks depending on your reading habits.

Books over 700 pages long are a whole different animal. I don't just pick up a book like that and start nonchalantly reading it. The physical size and weight of it demands that you give it a different kind of respect. I have to get myself ready, like preparing for a big game. This isn't a sprint. This is a marathon. The commitment is different. I think you are forced to become more involved in the story and in the characters.

Speaking of animals, it brings me to what I learned today.

On page 102 of The Passage it was written:

It had started with the bears, whose movements had grown more and more frantic until Lacey had pulled Amy away from the glass, and then, behind them, the sea lions, who began to hurl themselves in and out of the water with manic fury; and as they turned and dashed back toward the zoo's center, the grassland animals, the gazelles and zebras and okapis and giraffes, who broke into wild circles, running and charging the fences.

I learned that the okapi (pronounced oh-COP-ee) is an animal that looks sort of like a zebra, but is more closely related to, and is the only living relative of, the giraffe. The okapi has a body resembling that of a horse. It's chocolate-brown in color, with creamy white horizontal stripes on the legs and hindquarters and white stockings on the ankles. The most giraffe-like feature of the okapi is the long black tongue which is used for plucking buds, leaves, and branches from trees and shrubs as well as for grooming. In addition, the walking gait of the okapi closely resembles that of a giraffe. The okapi's natural habitat is the rain forests of the Congo region of central Africa.