Sammy & fitbit + M.O.A. Odyssey + Twinkies

whimsical WED

Wednesday Whimsy

From Minneapolis Star Tribune (6/5):  "Here's a competition that hasn't made it to ESPN yet. Digging their way to the top, 18 2-man teams of Hungarian gravediggers displayed their skills FRI for a place in a regional championship to be held in Slovakia later this year. Participants in the contest held in plot 37A of the public cemetery of the eastern Hungarian city of Debrecen being judged on their speed were also getting points for style--the look of the finished grave mounds . . . " [Call me old-fashioned, * but this sounds more appealing to me than watching the X games. ** ]
* Ok . . . "You're old-fashioned!"
** Do they even broadcast the X games anymore? Inquiring minds want to know.

Updates:  Sammy & fitbit

On MON 7/11, I walked around the block w/Lois & Sammy. The significance? It was the first time I've had Sammy on the leash since before my hip replacement on 3/15 . . . & it went well. I also recorded 6,213 steps on my fitbit that day. It's a start.
      I received this email on TUE 7/5:  "Splendiferous! You've earned the Serengeti Badge. You may not have seen wildebeests, giraffes or zebras on this trek, but you have walked 500 miles--the same distance as the Serengeti, one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World."  [I've shared before that these commendations don't particularly move or motivate me. Plus, I stopped wearing my fitbit while on vacation, because it stopped syncing w/my phone app . . . Hence, no daily record of walking, which DOES appeal to my OCD. When we got back to Norfolk, I recharged my fitbit battery & tried again . . . Still no results, so I asked Lois to reset it for me . . . Funny you should ask . . . I had inserted the battery backwards. LOL. * ]
* Looney old Lutheran.

Mall of America Odyssey

M.O.A. is the only Mall I love to visit . . . and I got to spend time there during the Hill Family Summer 2016 Reunion on SUN 7/3.

• I got to use my Starbucks gift card when I made a stop at Starbucks #2. [Ordinarily I boycott Starbucks because of their support for  Planned Parenthood, but, sadly, I do love their coffee, & my mercenary instincts won out.] I enjoyed a Caffe’ Americano.
• I was able to buy a St. Paul Pioneer Press, which I read while enjoying Chinese food at the main Food Court. 
• People watching is one of the things I love about M.O.A. I saw “Steve Urkel” . . . I saw a little boy & young man [millennial?] w/aqua-colored hair. [Sorry, dude . . . I had to stifle a laugh.] I also saw  "Frances McDormand" . . .  And I saw a man wearing t-shirt that read “I refuse to apologize for my faith, my values, my love for our constitution” . . . I complimented him & he beamed & thanked me.

How to Recognize a Store or Eating Establishment w/a Pretentious Name

• It has a name w/reverse letters, especially the letter "E".
• It has letters w/umlauts. [I can't figure out how to reproduce either of these effects.]
• It makes use of accent marks. EXAMPLE:  Lacoste'.

Criminal Minds

From Minneapolis Star Tribune (7/1):  "Dentist who killed lion still being investigated. One year after a beloved lion was killed in an American hunt carried out by a Twin Cities marksman, setting off an international firestorm, federal authorities said THU they are still investigating the death of Cecil the lion . . . "  [He should be thankful that it wasn't a gorilla.]

Food for Thought *

From Omaha World Herald (7/11):  "40-year-old Twinkie still going strong at Maine school. In a glass box in a private school in Maine sits a 40-year-old chemistry experiment still going strong:  a decades-old Twinkie. ABC News reported that the experiment started in 1976 when Roger Bennatti was teaching his high school chemistry class about food additives & shelf life.

      After a student wondered about the shelf life of the snack, Bennatti sent the students to the store. When they returned w/the treat, Bennatti ate one & place the still-surviving Twinkie on the blackboard. Bennett has retired, & the snack now resides in the office of George Stevens Academy's dean of students."  [My uncle used to drive a truck for Hostess. When we visited him on family vacations, he always shared a bounty of Hostess treats, including--one summer--DOUBLE stuffed Twinkies.]
* I haven't sold out! I received no remuneration of any kind for this blatant product placement. **
** That being said, I probably wouldn't have turned down a lifetime supply of this confectionary gem. ***
*** Even a year's supply would have been gladly accepted.

I'm a Secondary English Major . . . Remember?

Tagline from Drudge Report (5/21):  "Naked ladies perform Shakespeare in Central Park" . . . [Inquiring minds want to know . . . Why? * ]
* I didn't bother to read the accompanying article.

Wide, Wacky, Wonderful World of Celebrities

From Norfolk Daily News (5/14):  "Vanessa Hudgens. Actress Vanessa Hudgens paid $1,000 in restitution for carving a heart into a red rock wall during a trip to Sedona. Hudgens posted a photo of the carving bearing the names 'Vanessa' & 'Austin' on her Instagram page around Valentine's Day, along w/other photos of the couple amid towering red rocks that draw throngs of tourists to northern Arizona."  [I can neither confirm nor deny that she plea-bargained her way down to a $1,000 fine by pleading "innocent by reason of dumbness."]