A slightly soggy update.

There’s not much to tell so far. I’ve had no power since Monday night but no damage or flooding. The roads in my area are mostly clear by now so I have ventured out to find an internet signal.

And that’s all there is to report. All in all, I know I’ve been lucky. Though having no power or water is certainly an inconvenience, it is no more than that. The house is not flooded, there’s no tree in my living room, and no one I know has tragically died. I have wood and a fireplace, food in the pantry and a grill to cook it on. I have warm kittens who like to sleep on my lap while I read a good book and sip at some wine.

Life, for the moment, is fine. A little dimly lit, but just fine.

And so, to celebrate Hallowe’en, I offer what I believe is the finest Hallowe’en film noir I’ve seen in my life thus far. You’ll see at the end how well I can relate to it.

Actually, given that I was also out of power exactly one year ago, it’s even more fitting!

As you can see, I’m making very good use of the limited opportunities for internet access.

Happy Hallowe’en everyone! And to those on the East Coast, I hope you all weathered the storm and are doing well.

Arrrrrrr!

‘Tis International Talk Like a Pirate Day, mateys! Arrrr!

This pirate-honoring “holiday” was created by John Baur and Mark Summers in 1995, and it has since become a major celebration of the Pastafarians (followers of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.) It really gained ground after John Baur and family was featured on an episode of Wife Swap in 2006.

Now, there’s a sentence that I never imagined I would ever write.

Talk Like a Pirate Day is just one of the silliest things I’ve heard of in my life, which is at least one reason why I simply adore it. As usual, however, it snuck up on me and I didn’t have time to give it enough attention for a proper post. But it’s coming, mateys. It’s coming.

Edited to add: Arrr! Republic of Pirates Blog beat me to it!

Until then, go shiver some timbers, or y’know…walk a plank or something. Gosh, that sounds dirty, doesn’t it?

At least be sure to give someone a good ole stink-eyed “Arrrrrr!” today.

And chances are, it will be even more fun if you don’t explain why!

What’s your favorite bit of silliness?

Back to school reading assignments.

Confession time.

I was going to write a post for today entitled “Why I didn’t celebrate Labour Day” but Ben Zimmer not only beat me to the article by three years, but he also beat me to the similar title of “Why Americans Celebrate Labor (and not Labour) Day.”

I snoozed and I lost. This is why I’m not making the big bucks.

Instead, I will share some of the links that I’ve been saving for y’all. Some of these articles were published as far back as 2009, but you know what they say about reruns: if you haven’t seen it, it’s new to you! Continue reading