mod swap is back

Next Sunday, Mod Swap is back. Check it out if you are in San Diego from 10am to 1pm on the corner of Kettner and Kalmia.

ghost faces

The Ghosts of the S.S. Watertown

James Courtney and Michael Meehan, crew members of the S.S. Watertown, were cleaning a cargo tank of the oil tanker as it sailed toward the Panama Canal from New York City in December of 1924. Through a freak accident, the two men were overcome by gas fumes and killed. As was the custom of the time, the sailors were buried at sea. But this was not the last the remaining crew members were to see of their unfortunate shipmates. The next day, and for several days thereafter, the phantom-like faces of the sailors were seen in the water following the ship. This tale might be easy to dismiss as maritime legend if it weren't for the photographic evidence. When the ship's captain, Keith Tracy, reported the strange events to his employers, the Cities Service Company, they suggested he try to photograph the eerie faces - which he did. One of those photos is shown here.

the witches spell

The Witches Spell by William Shakespeare from MacBeth.

Witch 1: Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.
Witch 2: Thrice; and once the hedge-pig whin'd.
Witch 3: Harpier cries: 'tis time, 'tis time.

Witch 1: Round about the caldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.
Toad, that under the cold stone,
Days and nights hast thirty-one
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!

All: Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.

Witch 2: Fillet of fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adders' fork, and blind-worms sting,
Lizards's leg, and howlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

All: Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire, burn; and, caldron bubble.

Witch 3: Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches' mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock, digg'd i' the dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse,
Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips,
Finger of birth-strangl'd babe,
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab;
Add thereto a tiger's chauldron,
For the ingredients of our caldron.

All: Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire, burn; and, caldron bubble.

Witch 2: Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

Enter Hecate to the other three Witches:
O, weel done! I commend your pains,
And everyone shall share i' th' gains,
And now about the caudron sing
Like elves and fairies in a ring,
Enchanting all that you put in.

Witch 2: By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.

welcome october

Get ready for Halloween folks.

Haunted House by Jack Prelutsky

There's a house upon the hilltop
We will not go inside
For that is where the witches live,
Where ghosts and goblins hide.

Tonight they have their party,
All the lights are burning bright,
But oh we will not go inside
The haunted house tonight.

The demons there are whirling
And the spirits swirl about.
They sing their songs to Halloween.
"Come join the fun," they shout.

But we do not want to go there
So we run with all our might
And oh we will not go inside
The haunted house tonight

nothing gold can stay

by Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Happy first day of fall America.

You can do it

santa cruz

Reading...

I finished reading Middlesex this week. Finally. I say finally because I started the book some time ago and although I thoroughly enjoyed the book I managed to prolong completing it by reading 4 other books at the same time. I shouldn't do this, I know, because I feel like I don't fully enjoy any of the books I am reading when I pile them up like, this especially since my time for reading is so scarce. But I digress, Middlesex. Have you read it? I liked it. I really liked it. And I recommend it. It's good. But. There is a but. I have to say that the last 50-100 pages were slightly disappointing. Not disappointing enough for me to not recommend it (again, I do recommend it) but I just started to feel that maybe the author, who did such an amazing job throughout the book, did not know quite how to finish it. It felt a bit rushed at the end. I wanted more. At one point early on while reading about Detroit, I thought for a second that it was sorta like watching The Wire and learning about Baltimore and what the city was like and learning about a different life. But in the end it was sort of like if The Wire had been cancelled during the 4th season and you were left feeling like you didn't get to fully know all the characters and how things turned out. So it's not perfect. But hey, 4 seasons of The Wire are a hell of a lot better than most of what is out there and the same goes for Middlesex. And hell, it won the Pulitzer Prize. So you know, what do I know anyway? Read it and tell me what you think. Okay?

Now I am off to finish reading the parenting books and cookbooks that were distracting me during Middlesex. Once they are completed and out of the way and I am the best parent and cook you ever met my next two books are: Once Upon a Time in the North and World War Z. Excited!!!!

What are you reading?

Perfectly Phony

What goes into photoshopping photos of attractive human beings into forms of unattainable perfection? Answer here.

Loving

It's Sunday, which is family day and computer-free for me. But while the family is napping I thought I would sneak away and let you in on two shows that I am currently in love with. I would even go as far as saying, I am obsessed with. Mad Men and Louie. Oh, swoon. Yeah, I know I am a little late to the Mad Men party. But that's okay because it is divine catching up on three seasons worth of radness. If you, like me, were trying to resist, do yourself a favor and stop right now. Give in.

As for Louie, man, it's just good. If you aren't familiar with Louis C.K. then go ahead and netflix his two comedy specials now. They are hilarious. Knee slapping, guffaw inducing. You might even pee your pants a little. And when you are done with those, I think, you will be as eager as I am to hang out with him for the measly 30 minutes we get with his new T.V. show. See, cause the show kinda feels like you are hanging out with him. Which I would love to do. I mean, seriously, can I please have plan a play date with Louis C.K.? That would be a dream come true. Because he is awesome and funny and normal and cool and wouldn't try and talk to me about how the tutu his 2 year old daughter is wearing in dance class "washes her out". (Ugh.)