Acknowledging Receipt of Australopithicus Spiff-arinoThe story behind the letter below is that there is a man in Newport, RI named Scott Williams who digs things out of his backyard and sends the stuff he finds to the Smithsonian Institutio ... read more
If you buy underwear at Walmart, they will be able to track wherever you go. If their sales are not hurt by this announcement, they will institute it in more products, probably eventually all products. According to ... read more
This (below) is why we hate Walmart. Its explosive growth has gutted two key pillars of the American middle class: small businesses and well-paid manufacturing jobs. Too many people just want low prices no matter the overall, long-run ... read more
Just ordered a $10 item on eBay. They offered Local Pick Up in Las Vegas, Nevada versus delivering it. I live in Nashville. I need to decide if it's worth driving out there. Suggestions? ... read more
Bill's Salsa Chicken RiceI've been making this for years, and thought I'd share it, finally. Here's my recipe and the quantity I usually make:Six chicken breasts with skin, baked in plastic cooking bags at 400176F for about an hour (depen ... read more
How I Spent My Summer Vacations (Portugal to Hungary) from 1992Portugal/AzoresOn Sunday, July 12th, I woke up... but while getting ready for the flight to Portugal the next morning, I never went back to sleep. In Lisboa, my 2nd cousin and ... read more
If you're not a conspiracy theorist these days, you're just not paying attention. Sure, some scoff at the mere thought of conspiracy, but ask any detective, lawyer or judge -- if you can find an honest one -- and they'll tell you conspi ... read more
The Lazy Pug Café was a dilapidated old farmhouse abandoned years ago. A massive, ancient oak tree, Ol' Lightnin', lurked out back while the house itself served as a sad but charming reminder of days gone by. Locals were grateful someone was finally bringing the old girl back to life. Come meet pugs Daisy, Chandler and Joey! There are cats and humans, too, but it's all about the pugs! Pugs rule!
first few lines
As recently as a few months ago, the Lazy Pug Café was nothing but a dilapidated old two-story farmhouse. Set back forty yards from the road, there was a beautiful old weeping willow in front and massive ancient oak tree out back. Abandoned years ago, the estate's only purpose lately was to serve as a sad but charming reminder of days gone by. Locals witnessing its resurrection were grateful someone was finally bringing the old girl back to life.
Publishers and writing gurus preach that writers need followers. The problem is that emotionally-stable people don't want followers. They want friends, compatriots, people who listen, not followers. Especially zombie followers. They'r ... read more
Slovak art by JanaIn the Slovak language, this textile art is called palickovanie (Pronounced: PALL-eech-ko-vah-nyeh)See also /sk-gift. html ... read more
It was Cinco De Mayo, so we tried Moe's Southwest Grill. After ten minutes with very little movement (the line was so long), we left. Next ... read more
Just now I perused some of the family newsletters Bill wrote about 35 years ago. So funny!! They are a real family treasure now. Of course, these were all kept in a folder by Dad. Included there was something I remem ... read more
We're in a different hotel, the Holiday Inn -- Moscow Sokolniki, for the rest of our stay. This is the one that was originally reserved for our return from Astrakhan. It has ... read more
Time flies when you lose nine hours. We fly to Astrakhan this afternoon. This morning, we'll be having the free breakfast that the hotel offers. Then we'll exchange our dollars for rubles (before the dollar devalues even more). I could' ... read more
We've received our court date. We're haggling with the airlines now. One round-trip ticket for one adult costs a little over $800. One one-way ticket for our daughter's flight home with us costs $1,600!! I suggested just buying our daugh ... read more
Genetically-modified cotton is poisoning people in India. In this country, non-organic soybeans, corn and canola (most non-organic of these are GMO) are poisoning people. It's in corn chips and other products. They are making soybeans an ... read more
The headline is purposely misleading (a la my old newsletter), just because I can. My brother and his wife just returned from their 16-day trip to Dubai, Egypt and Jordan. It was a great trip and at no ... read more
Things You Need To Know Vol. 2, No. 10, July 16, 1990 Pioneer Portuguese now availableWorld famous Portuguese historian Lionel Holmes's latest work is now available at a store near you. Don't be surprised if they're sold out. Sales ... read more
The Happy Hairball(something we keep coughing up) Volume 5, Number 8 December 20, 1993 Publisher: This guy -gtgt Editor: Same guy Distributor: Brave little delivery boys and girls worldwide Address: Nashville, TN 37215 ... read more
Once in a Blue MoonVol. 8 No. 1, February 1997A lot has happened since our last newsletter, so let's just jump right in with the news... Mike and Evelyn get married Almost two years ago now (June 21, 1995, actually), Mike married his l ... read more
The Obtuse Moose Vol. 6, No. 3, April 21, 1994 Jeannie finds dog Jeannie and John have a ranch in Tracy, California. To help pay the bills, they board a few horses. One of those horses, a fat old gray Arabian mare, had been particularly ... read more