Hubble’s 23rd Birthday!!
And we get the present!
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has snapped a spectacular new image of an iconic nebula to celebrate its 23 years of peering deep into the heavens.
The Hubble observatory, which launched on April 24, 1990, captured the Horsehead Nebula in infrared light, peering through obscuring veils of dust to reveal the object’s hidden features.
I don’t know….doesn’t look like a horse’s head to me. Looks like a man with his back turned towards me, his arms out, and head looking down. Like a Calvin Klein astronomy ad.
Hope y’all have a great Sunday!!
Today Will Suck for Someone
Because it’s Friday the 13th!!
I’m not a superstitious person by any stretch. I do have my *ahem* cautions, though. But they have more to do with common sense than with superstition. For example, I won’t go into an abandoned building, not because of the fear of Jason wanting to try out his new Henkels™ knife, but because I don’t want the place falling down on me. I like black cats, I have no problem walking under a ladder, I have broken my share of mirrors, and I do believe I have opened umbrellas inside the house. On top of that, I have stepped on cracks and my mother’s back is as strong as ever.
I do wonder if my kids have stepped on cracks, though, because my back sure is screwed up.
Are there any superstitions that y’all observe out of habit? Or perhaps out of fear?? 
Because I’m a Very Nosey Parker
It’s Sunday, I’m bored, and y’all need entertainment.
The first time I read this my four words were “Happy”, Genuine”, “Patient”, and “Elegant”.
Yes, I think it’s full of shit, too 
The Language of Flowers
When I was very young, my grandmother taught me one of the languages of flowers. I say one, because she taught me the Catalán version and apparently there is an English version as well as a French one. She always enjoyed flowers, and had a huge garden full of geraniums out from, vivid red ones, because it meant “Folly”.
She was a very sarcastic woman.
She also never allowed Dahlias to be near her, for they meant “Death”. When she passed away, my uncle brought a wreath of Dahlias to her wake, and loudly told her as she laid in her casket that now was the perfect time for Dahlias, at which point everyone laughed and cheered. My grandmother would have appreciated that, I’m sure.
When I married, my mother made pretty much all of the arrangements. The only thing I requested, aside from the flavor of the cake, was the flowers.
I love Callas. The simple curve of the petal is hypnotic to me. My grandmother never taught me the meaning of it, probably because she didn’t think I would appreciate it, but they represent “Magnificent Beauty”. She probably thought my demeanor was more suited to a Pansy.
Pansy means “Happy”, you know!!!
What do your favorite flowers say about you?
Ultimate Venn
It’s almost Zen in its fluidity…
Play that music all night long, baby!!
This….Cannot End Well….
Age has an advantage, but then again, gingers have no souls.
Seriously, don’t y’all think that would be epic???
Inkspell
Yesterday, I posted at Sithy about how close I came to getting a tattoo, but how I won’t because basically I’m chicken. Hubby has a very nice one, and Draco has a plethora, which officially classifies him as psychotic by the Army, but I’m sure the tattoos had nothing to do with that. I like to look at tattoos as an art form. I love to hear the stories behind them. Sometimes though, the stories begin with, “I was at a bar…” and end with, “Next thing I know, I had this tattoo and my wallet was missing.”
Those stories are not as fun.
For the most part, tattoos are beautiful. Some can go beyond ornate to downright ridiculous. Others can be downright scary. And of course, there are those that will be so very bitterly regretted.
So if money and detail were no objects, what would you have as a tattoo? And if you already have one, what’s your story??
Breakfast of Champions
I ♥ a good breakfast. It is my favorite meal of the day. I tend to adapt to the customs of the area, state, or country in which I find myself. When we used to go upstate to visit my grandmother-in-law, it was eggs and grits.
I’m already salivating, people!! All it needs is a bit of butter, and MORE BACONZ!!
When I visited Fwance, it was a bit different. They enjoy breakfast, but it’s of a more relaxed variety. It’s almost like they are just too tired to try making a good, hearty breakfast.
Pretty, isn’t it? I asked the waiter if there was any breakfast meat (SHUT IT!!), and he gave me a blank stare. They have no concept of the BACONZ!!
Germany, however, had a better concept of breakfast. After all, they are the Abe Froman* of the world.
I tell you, that is one thing I miss about Germany. Probably the only thing, along with the beer.
So, what is the quintessential breakfast for y’all? What’s the worst breakfast you’ve ever had? I know there are a few of you who have travelled extensively, so share some of the culinary masterpieces and horrors of the most important meal of the day that you have experienced.
And yes, beer counts
*You know, “The Sausage King of Chicago”.
Obviously Not Two Front Teeth
I love Christmas. I love Hanukkah. I even love the paganism of Winter Solstice. I love giving at this time of year, in charity, to friends and neighbors, to family, and even to some I’ve never met before, but consider friends all the same. I love walking into a store and perusing for the one thing that screams a recipient’s name, or making my own gift for a special person.
I just do not get the overblown, overpriced, one-of-a-kind useless gift that some people with money to burn will buy.
One year, the Neiman Marcus catalog had a (I’m not kidding here) Longhorn Steer Portable Desk. The desk was the average size of a Longhorn steer, and had wheels hidden under the “hooves” so you, the wealthy rancher, could roll it out to the pasture and do business while being cleverly disguised from your herd. The price on that tomfoolery was $65,000.
That was the price in 1984.
Of course, we are all familiar with the Victoria’s Secret Fantasy Bra™. The 2010 edition was worth only $2 million:
That bra wasn’t all that spectacular. What’s in it sure is, but the bra, not so much. I much prefer this year’s entry into the Fantasy Bra That Will Never Sell™ category:
Why?? Because PEARLS!!! And Miranda Kerr looks happy compared to Adriana Lima, who always looks so damn angry, probably because her bra is too tight.
Any other ostentatious gifts that boggle the mind? If you know of any, leave links in your comments so we all can laugh and laugh
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