Blogcation begins today for about two weeks

A simple April Fools' prank

Works with reasonably-intelligent primates only. 

You were warned.

Here's something to try tomorrow

Post this sign above the photocopier at your place of work. 

"So many people falling for it - every few minutes I can hear loud yelling coming from the print room."

The Reddit thread had links for other brands of photocopiers (and for a Coke machine and various other pranks) fourteen years ago, but those have undergone linkrot.  This is the only one I saved.

Clever rebus

"The “Hi Neighbor” is just a tagline for the Narragansett beer company, so you can ignore that on the coaster."

Found at the rebus subreddit, where there are many may more.  I've put the solution in the first comment.

"Sometimes I Think About Dying"

I watched this movie last night and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The title is a bit misleading in that the lead character (Daisy Ridley) is not suicidal or morose. Her thoughts about dying probably arise as a result of her rather boring routine life as a young woman with limited social skills; these thoughts are interspersed in the movie as several surreal but not morbid moments.  

This is not your typical "rom-com."  There is tentative romance, but only awkward moments of comedy.  The overall experience of watching the movie is to spend an hour and a half experiencing the life of an intelligent attractive young woman lacking in standard social graces.  As what I would call a "slice-of-life" movie, it reminded me of the equally quiet and introspective movie "Perfect Days." 

Readers are invited to leave their own reviews in the comments.

"Bye and Bye" (Punch Baldwin, with the Georgia Mass Choir)

 

Hard to sit still while listening to this music.  Here are the lyrics:

(Bye and bye) Bye and bye

(Bye and bye) Bye and bye

(When I reach) When I reach

(That home) That home

(Beyond) Beyond the sky

(Where the) Wicked will cease from troubling

(And the) Weary will be at rest

(Every day) Every day will be Sunday

Bye and bye

When I reach that city (oh yes)

City so bright and fair (oh yes)

When all my friends and loved ones (oh yes)

Are gonna welcome me up there (oh yes)

Put on my long white robe

Lay down my heavy load

(Everyday) Everyday will be Sunday, bye and bye

Chorus

Verse

When I reach that city (oh yes)

City so bright and fair (oh yes)

Well all my friends and loved ones (oh yes)

Are gonna welcome me up there (oh yes)

Gonna look up Job, John, and Elijah

God told them to prophesy

(Everyday) Everyday will be Sunday, bye and bye

Chorus

When I reach that city (oh yes)

City so bright and fair (oh yes)

Well all my friends and loved ones (oh yes)

Are gonna welcome me up there (oh yes)

Gonna look up Job, John, and Elijah

God sent them to prophesy

(Every day) Every day will be Sunday, bye and bye

Chorus

(Every day) Every day will be Sunday (4 times)

(Oh Everyday ) Every day- (Will be Sunday) Every day

(Every day) Every day- (Will be Sunday) Every day (3 times)

(No more crying) Every day- (Over yonder) Every day

(No more dying) Every day- (Over yonder) Every day

(No more sickness) Every day- (Over there) Every day

(No more pain) Every day- (Over there) Every day

(Nothing but Joy) Every day

(Joy) Every day (7 times)

(Joy Joy) Every day-(Joy Joy) Every day-(Joy Joy) Every day-(Joy Joy) Every day

(Will you) Every day - (Be There) Every day (2 times)

(Wave your hands) Every day- (If you?re going) Every day (2 times)

(Will you) Every day- (Be There) Every day (2 times)

(Over Yonder) Every day (4 times)

( I feel like Praising) Every day ( I feel like dancing) Every day( I feel like Dancing) Every day

(When I get to Heaven) Every day- (Gonna shout) Every day (2 times)

(Nobody there) Every day- (Nobody) Every day- (Nobody there) Every day- (Will put me out) Every day

(Every day) Every day- (will be Sunday) Every day

(Every day) Every day will be Sunday bye and bye

bye and bye

"The Georgia Mass Choir is an American Gospel music choir from Macon, Georgia.  The ensemble, which numbers 150 members, was founded in 1983 by Rev. Milton Biggham, the lead vocalist and songwriter for the group. He put together the group from over 600 applicants, and recorded with them on his label Savoy Records in the middle of the decade.  In 1996 the ensemble appeared in the Whitney Houston movie The Preacher's Wife and performed at the 1996 Olympic Games."

This gospel song is different from the Christian hymn (and country western favorite) In The Sweet By and By that has been covered by Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley et al, but I wonder if there might be some relationship between the two.

Reposted from 2021 to share with a Zoom group in which I'm currently participating.

From The Onion...

Source.  Another news story is ‘I Messed Up At Work Again,’ Crestfallen Michael Waltz Texts Wife, National Geographic Editorial Staff."

Hiking the Iditarod

"A Minnesotan following a famous sled dog path was the first woman to arrive on foot Saturday night in the human-powered version of the race across interior Alaska.

Pulling a sled packed with 55 pounds of gear, Kari Gibbons hiked into Nome after a little more than 27 days navigating the Alaska wilderness to win the Iditarod Trail Invitational 1000." [1000 miles]

The story continues at the StarTribune [gift link].

Addendum:  Found an artile about bicycling the Iditarod (in winter).  Hot tip:

"The day before the race was spent cutting all the food into bite sizes (you can’t bite into a frozen candy bar and have a pleasant experience), assigning pockets for spare batteries, inhaler, toilet paper, chamois cream, eye drops, and everything that needs to be kept close to your body so it won’t freeze solid, and keeping an eye on the forecast..."

Pallets of American alcohol returned from Canada

There are multiple reports confirming this activity.  This image via a Boycott USA -UK Facebook thread.  It previously was posted in a BuyCanadian subreddit thread, where the long discussion makes note of the fact that these products are shipped to retailers in Canada on consignment, and the costs of return shipment have to be eaten by the manufacturer.

Here's my protest:

When I moved from Texas to Kentucky, I switched my favorite recreational beverage from tequila to bourbon.  Now, 40+ years later, I'm switching to Canadian whiskey.  Turns out I like the taste better, so it's a win-win for me.

Posting this to ask readers' advice as to whether there are any low-priced Canadian wines that are readily available in the U.S.  

"The Beaverton" is Canada's "The Onion"

Homepage.

These demons are all possessive

Via.

Ocean currents visualized

Very cool five-minute animation if you can view fullscreen on desktop rather than phone.  Interesting how the Pacific equatorial current smashes into the Galapagos.  Wish they had shown the Southern Ocean in some detail.  Via Miss Cellania, where there is also a humorous photo of Riley and Albert.

Scalpers selling appointments for drivers' licenses

"Scalpers have been known to buy and resell hot tickets for big-name music acts or sporting events, like Taylor Swift concerts and the Super Bowl. In Florida, some were using the same tactics for a less glamorous pass: a driver’s license appointment in Miami-Dade County.

The county tax collector’s office announced on Monday that it had “uncovered a network of appointment scalpers” benefiting from access to motor vehicles offices by “hoarding free appointments and reselling them for a profit.”

The scalpers found so far have not been punished, because the practice was not illegal, but there is already an effort to change that and make it a civil offense...

The scalpers booked the appointments by using bots and fake accounts, and then resold the appointments for $25 to $250, the office said...

Residents have been forced to book their appointments online weeks or months away, only to stand in lines that often wind out the office doors when they arrive."

More information at The New York Times [gift link].

Try to guess the purpose of this table design

Described at the WhatIsThisThing subreddit as "A table with a slightly recessed top with a depressed surface near one end. Found at a thrift store, the table is about 25” tall, 3’ long and 18” wide.  The table appears to be made of painted beechwood while the surface is stained wood. The depressed area makes me think the table is made for sorting or is intended for some sort of game."  

Image cropped to highlight the object, which many of us have seen without knowing so.

Stories from a used book store owner

A very nice, well-appointed lady spends about an hour browsing the stock, including the locked cases. After building a rather formidable stack of unrelated books worth over $3,500 (including some very scarce Mark Twain first editions), I couldn't resist asking:
What do you collect?
Oh nothing, but I will purchase these.
(My curiosity getting the better of me) A gift?
No. I am going to use them to decorate my daughter's bathroom.
(Silly me! I failed to notice that the books were all various shades of green. This is a good thing, since the books will soon be color-coordinated with the mold).
Let me help you carry these out to your car.

(phone call - grownup)
I have a book I want to sell.
What is it?
It's by John Stainback. It's called "The Wayword Bus"
Who's the publisher?
I just said, John Stainback
He's the author, sort of. Let's try again, what does the copyright page say?
Where's that?
Sorry, I can't use it. Thanks for calling.

phone call...
I have a bunch of old books I want to sell on e-bay. Can you tell me what they are worth?
Why would I want to do that?
My friend said to call you and that you know a lot about books.
You are missing my point. Why should I waste my time helping you?
So I can know what reserve to put on my books.
I charge for appraisals.
Well this isn't an appraisal. I just want to know what they are worth.
Sorry, you will have to call someone else. Good luck!

(Woman mid-thirties, pondering a purchase)
I have never read a book this long. It would really have to be good for me to read this one (149 pps.).

(Woman, in her mid 30s)
Do you have the "Titanic" book?
No.
I'd like to read it.
Uh huh.
Did you know it's a true story, except for the romantic part?
(this is worse than I thought!)

You have a book I want, but it's $30. Would you take less? I just want to look at the pictures.

It's too hot in here! Why don't you turn on the air conditioning or something?
You could take off your sweater.

Have you read all these books?
Of course! I never sell a book without reading it first.
(Real long pause)
When do you watch TV?

Hi, are you hiring?
No. Not at this time.
I like books.
So do I.
I promise not to get in the way. I could just read or something.

Have you ever seen the Guggenheim Bible?
Yes.
Wow!

phone call...
Are you hiring?
No.
Good! Can I have your company's name?
Why?
I have to tell the Unemployment Department that I am looking for a job.
This is the Unemployment Department. Can I get your name?
(click)

phone call...
I have a rare book.
What do you have?
It's called Sea Wolf.
By London.
Yea.
What makes you think it's rare?
It's signed by him.
Is it a first edition?
Yea.
Who is the publisher?
Dell.
It's a paperback?
Yea.
What year was it published?
1976.
He must have been pretty old when he signed it.
Yea, he was.
I have to go now.
Do you want to buy it?
No.

(Customer fills out search card: 16 Chapels)
(me) Oh, you're after books on European Churches?
No, just books about the 16 Chapels.
16 Chapels?
Yea, you know the one with the big painting on the ceiling.
We will let you know what we find (once we stop convulsing).

There are more at the BookMine, which also has this interesting column.

Reposted from 2016 in order to end my blogging morning on a cheerful note.