dual personalities

Well, here we are on Tuesday night again. Sadly, I have no product testing to regale you with, dear readers. I did survive a terrible drive through pouring rain to get back to Jefferson City on Sunday afternoon. I have never seen so much rain. The roads were absolute rivers, well maybe creeks, and it is good to know that my car has highly effective wipers.

With the day off yesterday, I spent a significant portion of the day reading David McCullough’s John Adams. It was a dreary, grey day and my little ladies chair in the sun room was perfect for reading.

As you’ll recall, I recently finished 1776 and was quite taken with McCullough’s writing. Despite being at least three times as long and far more dense, John Adams really holds my interest. It is very much approachable and I am able to keep everything straight without feeling like I need a cheat sheet of names and roles next to me at all times.

Here’s a good review of the book.

Anyway, I’m sure the video below is exactly what the Founders had in mind when they fought so hard to create our great country. Lol. No really, lol at that idea and at the video.

Well, I made it through the first week of class without anything remarkable happening, although I did make an interesting discovery. Did you know that the ancients not only fly-fished but tied flies in order to do it? I did not. Here’s what Aelian, a Roman author and teacher of rhetoric who lived in the 2^nd century AD,  had to say about it:

I have heard and can tell of a way of catching fish in Macedonia, and it is this. Between Beroea and Thessalonica there flows a river called the Astraeus. Now there are in it fishes of a speckled hue…(and) these fish feed upon the flies of the country which flit about the river and which are quite unlike flies elsewhere… These flies settle on the stream and seek the food that they like; they cannot however escape the observation of the fishes that swim below. So, when a fish observes a Hippurus (fly) on the surface it swims up noiselessly under water for fear of disturbing the surface and to avoid scaring its prey. Then when close at hand in the fly’s shadow it opens its jaws and swallows the fly, just as a wolf snatches a sheep from the flock, or as an eagle seizes a goose from the farmyard. Having done this, it plunges beneath the ripple. Now although fishermen know of these happenings, they do not in fact make any use of these flies as baits for fish, because if the human hand touches them it destroys the natural bloom; their wings wither and the fish refuse to eat them, and for that reason will not go near them, because by some mysterious instinct they detest flies that have been caught. And so, with the skill of anglers the men circumvent the fish by the following artful contrivance. They wrap the hook in scarlet wool, and to the wool they attach two feathers that grow beneath a cock’s wattles and are the color of wax. The fishing-rod is six feet long, and so is the line. So, they let down this lure, and the fish attracted and excited by the color, comes to meet it, and fancying from the beauty of the sight that he is going to have a wonderful banquet, opens wide his mouth, is entangled with the hook, and gains a bitter feast, for he is caught.

Aelian, On the Nature of Animals 15.1

Though not an angler myself, I was pleased to make this discovery, and it got me thinking about fishing in the ancient world. And, of course, that got me thinking about fishing art. There’s actually quite a lot of it.

Wall paintings in various Egyptian tombs depict fishing scenes. Here’s a relief from the tomb of Kigemi, the vizier of Djoser who reigned during the Old Kingdom’s 3^rd Dynasty, c. 2686 BC.

The Nile was full of scary looking fish! I like everything about that relief: the frog sitting on the branch to the left of the boat; the basket/net? the front man is using to lift the fish from the water and the multi-hooked line the man in squatting in the center of the boat is using.

They fished in ancient Assyria as well. Here’s a relief from the 7^th century BC showing a man fishing at a pool teeming with fish.

Notice the creel on the man’s shoulders to carry the day’s catch. (And, yes, the perspective is a little odd, but that’s ancient art for you.)

Here’s a Roman mosaic depicting a couple of guys fishing. I like the sun hat that one on the left wears and the net he uses to scoop the fish out of the water. The man sitting on the bank seems to be attaching a fly to the line.

We may live in a crazy world but not everything has changed. People still enjoy activities like fishing. Why not unplug this weekend, and if you don’t like to fish, try painting or making a mosaic instead!

Finally — a shout out to Chris and Nicole who are beginning the long, heavy task of moving into a new house this weekend. Good luck and take care of your backs!

*Ezekiel 47:10

It is true. Daughter #1 is finally back on blog post duty. The past several weeks have been full of crazy mishaps and scheduling situations, but never fear, I am here with a mish mosh of a post. Seriously, last week, I got home from work, settled in to watch a little Brooklyn-99 before writing my blog post and found the internet was not working. As I struggled to reach the modem in the top of the closet and then to navigate the CenturyLink website from my phone to determine if there was an outage in my area, I kid you not, “Helpless” by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young was stuck in my head. The nasally tone of Neil Young repeating “Helpless, helpless, he-el-pless” would not stop. Because when the internet is out in your town, you really are pretty helpless.

Anyway, to begin, I feel that I need to tell you that my secret shame is that I love Flaming Hot Cheetos. I deserve your judgment. Well, I also need to tell you that the devil tempted me to purchase this product while at the grocery store recently. I thought I would it try as a blog content.

You can all thank me for telling you what should already be obvious from the packaging and product itself. It is gross. It doesn’t really have a flavor. But the sheer amount of Red Dye #40 is what really made me want to gag. I did not eat more than three bites. Just call me a content creator.

From one cheetah to another, I present what is sure to be darling Katie’s favorite dress.

Isn’t this Rifle Paper Company fabric just the loveliest? I love everything they create. I will be sure to provide updated pictures when we see if it fits.

This hit a little too close to home given that I know my mother’s password.

And this made me laugh. Snoopy is so sophisticated. But, I’d feel the same way.

As I frequently say on the blog, you’ve got to find some small joys in life as it really does feel as if everything is broken all around us.

Don’t think I’m crazy for writing today’s post. I had an all-day department retreat yesterday and afterward went looking for a good laugh. I ended up perusing bad soccer-player hairdos. (Don’t ask how. It just happened). I can’t say I’ve made a lot of haircut mistakes myself, and most people seem to manage their hair without too much difficulty, but many soccer players are an exception to this rule. I don’t want to make anyone feel bad… but I challenge you to see these without laughing or shaking your head. Which is your favorite?

A. The basic mullet, c. 1985

B. Good grief! What were they thinking? c. 1970s.

C.  All the rage in Brazil c. 2014.

D. Not to be outdone by the Brazilians.

E. How does one play soccer with hair like this?

F. Finally, a fan’s homage to Lionel Messi via a very talented barber.

Well, that brightened my mood considerably. I hope it brightened yours. I think I liked the “What were they thinking?” group best. Those people weren’t trying to be outrageous. The others obviously wanted to shock and elicit comment, but those dudes, well, they thought they were being stylish. Please do give me your reactions in the comments and be sure to let me know if you plan to copy any of these when you get your next haircut!

Have a wonderful weekend but stay away from the scissors!

All photos via Google Image

*Jim Morrison