Turtle Thursday, Last Weekend was VD

Got this from Stacey.

Turtle Thursday: Go Flying Turtle! (From 2008)

I'm sorry, but I HAD to steal the name of Steve's blog to go with this pic. Here's Randall gliding through water, but it almost looks like he's suspended in air.

 

Fly turtle! 

Go flying turtle!

Fly to heaven! 

Randall is a red belly cooter which is part of the slider family. This particular breed is a Florida native. 

Pic taken with an Olympus FE-180 at low rez, no filters, no macro.

 

Addendum:  

Randall was a wonderful, gentle, giant in my tank. By far the largest male in the tank. But he wasn't mean or cruel. He was teh most friendly turtle you'd come across. He died last weekend. After I cleaned the tanks he went into an unexpected and sudden brumation and drowned in his sleep. He was 26 or 27 years old. ALL his his brood brothers and sisters died in the Flushing pet shop we got him at. The shop owner told us so. He got 20-27 pleasant additional years before he died due to my negligence. DOD 2/7/2026. I am so sorry, Randall. It wasn't intentional, but sorry won't bring you back. You deserved better.      

Thursday, February 12, 2026

squib \skwib\, noun: 

1. a short and witty or sarcastic saying or writing.
2. Journalism. a short news story, often used as a filler. 

verb:

1. to write squibs.
2. to shoot a squib.

Squib is of unknown origin, though it entered English in the 1500s.

Some-sex marriage

• A marriage where a couple participates in minimal sexual activity.

Bill and Wanda's sex life was almost non-existent. They had a some-sex marriage.

Trivia

How many bodyguards were assigned to protect President Abraham Lincoln on the night he was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.?

• Only one—and he wasn’t at his post when assassin John Wilkes Booth attacked.

 
 

Holiday

• Lincoln's Birthday (USA)

History

• Chile: Santiago, the capital city, was founded (1541); country declared independence from Spain (1818)
• Lady Jane Grey: was beheaded for treason, after a nine-day reign as queen of England (1554)
• NAACP: early civil rights organization was founded (1909)
• the Last Emperor: the Republic of China banished 7-year-old Qing emperor Puyi to the Forbidden City (1912)
• Dracula: the horror film starring Bela Lugosi premiered at the Roxy Theater in NYC (1931)
• Vietnam War: the first the conflict's American POWs were released (1973)
• Bill Clinton: impeachment trial ended in Senate acquittal (1999)
• NEAR Shoemaker: space probe touched down on Eros, becoming the first craft to land upon an asteroid (2001)
• Mattel: announced the breakup of Barbie and Ken after 43 years (2004)

Birthdays

• John Winthrop 1588
• Charles Darwin 1809
• Abraham Lincoln (U.S.) 1809 - Sixteenth President of the United States
• Ted Mack (William Maguiness) 1904
• Tex (Gordon) Beneke 1914
• Lorne Green 1915
• Dom DiMaggio 1917 - Baseball player
• Forrest Tucker 1919
• Mel Powell 1923
• Franco Zeffirelli 1923 - Movie director
• Joe Garagiola 1926 - Baseball broadcaster
• Bill Russell 1934 - Basketball player
• Gene McDaniels 1935
• Joe Don Baker 1936 - Actor
• Judy Blume 1938 - Author of books for children and young adults.
• Raymond Manzarek 1939 - Musician (The Doors)
• Moe Bandy 1944
• Charles Pasarell 1944
• Maud Adams 1945
• Cliff DeYoung 1945 - Actor, musician

  
• Joe Schermie 1948 - Musician (Three Dog Night)
• Michael Ironside 1950
• Steve Hackett 1950 - Musician (Genesis)
• Michael McDonald 1952 - Musician (Doobie Brothers)
• Simon MacCorkindale 1952
• Joanna Kerns 1953 - Actress ("Growing Pains")
• Arsenio Hall 1955 - Actor, comedian, talk show host
• Christine Elise 1965 - Actress ("Beverly Hills 90210")
• Josh Brolin 1968 - Actor ("No Country for Old Men")
• Chynna Phillips 1968 - Musician (Wilson Phillips)
• Jim Creeggan (Barenaked Ladies)1970
• Keri Lewis 1971 - Musician (Mint Condition)
• Jesse Spencer 1979 - Actor ("House")
• Juan Carlos 1980
• Christina Ricci 1980 - Actress
  Joanie Brosas 1992 - model / cosplay
  Valorie Curry 1986 Actress (The Tick, Blair Witch)
   

 

 

  

 

  

  

 

  

Hasselhoff VD

The Hoff would like to wish all the lovely ladies a Hoffy Valentine's Day this weekend.

 

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

boîte \bwaht; Fr. bwat\, noun: 

• a nightclub; cabaret.

Boîte entered English in the early 1900s from the French word of the same spelling, which literally means "box" but is also used to refer to a nightclub, from the phrase boîte de nuit which means "box of the night."

carcolepsy

• a condition affecting buddies on a trip who fall asleep as soon as the car starts moving, providing no company or driving help

Joe slept the whole way here, I think he suffers from carcolepsy.

History

• gerrymandering: Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting law that favored his party, the Democratic-Republicans (known now as the Democrat party that still uses this cheating tactic to steal elections) (1812)
• Bernadette Soubirous: as a teenager, St. Bernadette saw her first vision of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes (1858)
• Lateran Treaty: pact between Italy and the Vatican was signed, in which Roman Catholicism was declared the state religion of Italy and Italy recognized Vatican City as independent and sovereign (1929)
• Yalta Agreement: plan signed by FDR, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin, dealing with attacks on Germany and the establishment of the UN (1945)
• Natan Sharansky: Soviet dissident was released after 10 years in prison (1986)
• Nelson Mandela: political prisoner was freed after 27 years in detention; he went on to dismantle apartheid and become South Africa's first black president (1990)

Birthdays

• Lydia Child 1802
• Thomas Alva Edison 1847 - Inventor and businessman. His inventions included the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb
• John Mills (The Mills Brothers) 1889
• Josh White 1908
• Joseph Mankiewicz 1909
• Matt Dennis 1914
• Sidney Sheldon 1917
• Eva Gabor 1921 - Actress
• Lloyd Bentsen 1921
• Kim Stanley 1925
• Dr. Virginia Johnson 1925
• Leslie Nielson 1926 - Actor
• Conrad Janis 1928 - Actor ("Mork and Mindy")
• Larry Merchant 1931
• Mary Quant 1934
• Tina Louise 1934 - Actress ("Gilligan's Island")
• Gerry Goffin 1935 - Songwriter
• Gene Vincent 1935
• Sergio Mendes 1935 - Band leader
• Burt Reynolds 1936 - Actor ("Smokey and the Bandit")
• Bobby "Boris" Pickett 1938
• Otis Clay 1942
• Jeb Bush 1953 - Governor of Florida, brother of U.S. President George W. Bush
• Phillip Anglim 1953
• Catherin Hickland 1956
• Carey Lowell 1961 - Actress ("Law and Order")
• Sheryl Crow 1962 - Singer, musician
• Sarah Palin 1964 - Governor of Alaska
• Jennifer Aniston 1969 - Actress ("Friends")
• Damian Lewis 1971 - Actor ("Band of Brothers")
• D'Angelo 1974
• Brice Beckham 1976
• Michael Kenji "Mike" Shinoda 1977 - Musician (Linkin Park)
• Brandy (Norwood) 1979 - Singer
• Matthew Lawrence 1980 - Actor
• Kelendria "Kelly" Rowland 1981 - Singer (Destiny's Child)
• Taylor Lautner 1992 - Actor ("Twilight", "New Moon")

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

 

  

 

  

Review Tuesday: Complete World of Howl Collection: Howl's Moving Castle, House of Many Ways, Castle in the Air ( 1- 3 ) by Diana Wynne Jones

 

 

Complete World of Howl Collection ( 1- 3 )

by Diana Wynne Jones

 

A friend of mine sent me this trilogy of books as a gift.  These are the three in the World of  Howl Collection as well as introducing another character named of Chrestomanci. 

 

 

Howl's Moving Castle

After being cursed by an evil witch, a young woman seeks help.   

Sophie joins up with the magician Howl and his team to defeat the evil witch who has been terrorizing the countryside. It's a simple and effective story, yet it has plenty of plot twists to keep it entertaining. I found this to be my favorite of the three books in this series. The story is so much fun that Studio Ghibli even made it into an animated film (which I haven't yet seen by the time I am writing this.)

 

 

House of Many Ways

A sheltered young woman is sent to learn the ways of the world and ends up on quite an adventure.

Charmaine Baker has lived a sheltered life never having to take care of herself in any way. Her aunt feels it's high time for her to learns some things about the world by assisting her Great-Uncle William, the Royal Wizard Norland, during his illness. Mayhem ensues. Howl and Sophie show up to solve the mystery. A delightful and charming tale! This books is a close second place in the trilogy.  

 

 

Castle in the Air

Children deal with magic in their own universes.

Of three books in this series, this was my least favorite. It's really two short stories about children in very different universes that treat magic in very different ways. The common theme is that the magician Chrestomanci shows up to save the day. It really has nothing to do with the other two books. There ARE something like ten books in the complete Chrestomanci series, I just don't see the connection, exactly. Howl and Chrestomanci are known to NOT be the same man, so why is this part of the trilogy?   

 

***

IN SUMMARY, these books are meant for young adults and easy to read. There are no heavy philosophical or political concepts to juggle. Just easy reading.  

 

   

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

pettifogging \PET-ee-fog-ing, -faw-ging\, adjective: 

1. insignificant; petty: pettifogging details.
2. dishonest or unethical in insignificant matters; meanly petty.

Pettifogging comes from a combination of the word petty and the Middle Dutch word voger meaning "one who arranges things." The verb pettifog is a backformation of this term. 

idgaf

• An acronym for 'I don't give a fuck'. Indifference. Used when you don't care about something, or have no opinion on a matter. Sometimes used without the 'i', ie "I dgaf about her".

Person 1: Hey hey you you I don't like your girlfriend

Person 2: idgaf

History

 

• Canada: was ceded by France to Britain when the Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War (1763)
• Queen Victoria: wed Prince Albert; when Albert died in 1861, Victoria went into a period of mourning that only ended 50 years later, when she died

  
• "All the News That's Fit to Print": first appeared on page 1 of The New York Times; the slogan was coined by owner Adolph S. Ochs (1897)
• 1934 - The first imperforated, ungummed sheets of postage stamps were issued by the U.S. Postal Service in New York City. "Chattanooga Choo Choo": earned bandleader Glenn Miller the first gold record for sales of over 1 million (1942)
• 1962 - The Soviet Union exchanged captured American U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers for the Soviet spy Rudolph Ivanovich Abel being held by the U.S.
  ZZ Top played their first show together (1970)
• Deep Blue: computer won its first game against world chess champ Garry Kasparov (1996)

Birthdays 

• Charles Lamb 1775

  
• William Allen White 1868
• Boris Pasternak 1890
• Jimmy Durante 1893
• Maurice Harold Macmillan 1894 - British Prime Minister from 1957-1963
• Bertolt Brecht 1898 - Dramatist, poet
• Dame Judith Anderson 1898
• Lon Chaney, Jr. 1905
• Larry Adler 1914
• Allie Reynolds 1919
• Neva Patterson 1922
• Leontyne Price 1927
• Jerry Goldsmith 1929
• Robert Wagner 1930
• James E. West 1931
• Don Wilson (The Ventures) 1937
• Roberta Flack 1939
• Jimmy Merchant (Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers) 1940
• Ral Donner 1943
• Frances Moore Lapp 1944
• Mark Spitz 1950
• Greg Norman 1955
• Kathleen Beller 1955
• Lionel Cartwright 1960
• George Stephanopoulos 1961
• Cliff Burton 1962 - Musician (Metallica)
• Laura Dern 1967
• Dude Mowrey 1972
• Elizabeth Banks (Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell) 1974 - Actress
• Chloë Grace Moretz 1997