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"This Just In..."
September brings us country fairs that celebrate life on farms all across Connecticut. However....We are city people. We know nothing about farms and the huge amount of work that life on the farm entails.
Serendipitously, we stumbled onto a fantastic photographer,
Jack McConnell of Wethersfield. Jack has spent the last 7 years photographing CT farmers and
their environments. His work graces our newsletter this month and we heartily recommend you view his work. You can do that by clicking on any of the photos. Also, the next time you see a farmer - try a little tenderness and maybe a quick thank you!
As a reminder, we strive to make this newsletter a respite from work, pressure, boredom, by creating a few minutes of surprise and discovery and, "Oh! I didn't see that coming." Plus a chance to win a Visa card to two each month.
This month we have NO theme. So we are emptying the "Hmmmm" folder and dropping these goodies for your review. So, sit back, grab a coffee and take a few minutes with,
"
This Just In..."
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Just Because We Need Beauty
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19 Old Timey Slang Terms to Bolster Your Vocabulary
Last month we gave you Yiddish expressions. We uncovered these from a different neighborhood.
In the ketchup: Operating at a deficit
John Hollowlegs: A hungry man
[hobo use]
Lobbygow: One who loafs around an opium den in hopes of being offered a free pipe
Happy cabbage: A sizable amount of money to be spent on self-satisfying things
Zib: A nondescript nincompoop
Give someone the wind: To jilt a suitor with great suddenness
The zings: A hangover
Butter and egg man: A wealthy, unsophisticated, small-town businessman who tries to become a playboy, especially when visiting a large city
Cluck and grunt: Eggs and ham
Off the cob: Corny
Dog robber: A baseball umpire
Happies: Arch supporters
[shoe salesman use]
High-wine: A mixture of grain alcohol and Coca-Cola
[hobo use]
Flub the dub: To evade one's duty
Donkey's breakfast: A straw mattress
George Eddy: A customer who does not tip
Wet sock: A limp, flaccid handshake
Gazoozle: To cheat
On a toot: On a drunken spree
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Books that you'll be talking about at book club this year.
Fiction
- In this sequel to
The Handmaid's Tale
, Atwood picks up 15 years after Offred stepped into the unknown
Music
Face It
by Debbie Harry (Dey Street, Nov.)
- The singer of the New Wave band Blondie and star of art-house movies Videodrome and Hairspray looks back on lots of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll in this rough-and-tumble memoir.
History
Current Events
The Big Short
tells the story of four outsiders in the world of high-finance who predict the credit and housing bubble collapse before anyone else. The real crash, the silent crash, had took place in 2007, in the bizarre feeder markets where the sun doesn't shine and the SEC doesn't dare, or bother, to tread. Who understood the risk inherent in the assumption of ever-rising real estate prices, a risk compounded daily by the creation of those arcane, artificial securities loosely based on piles of doubtful mortgages? Michael Lewis answers that question in a narrative brimming with indignation and dark humor.
by Erin Williams (Abrams ComicArts, Oct.
- This "sharp and splendidly drawn memoir will strike a strong chord in the current moment," per
PW
's starred review of Williams's narrative of her daily commute through the gaze of men, with piercing flashbacks.
Short Stories
In 2011, I saw Eisenberg accept the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction at the Folger Library in Washington and realized I'd been missing one of the great short
fiction writers. Her new collection contains six substantial stories, one of which won an O. Henry Award.
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Time to check the batteries in your smoke and your carbon monoxide alarms.
Hint: If your carbon monoxide alarm is "chirping loudly" it means the batteries need to be replaced. We called the fire department only to be told that.
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Time to consider replacing 15+ Year old AC.
Insight: Most 15+ year old systems used R22 refrigerant - which is no longer available. Destroys the Ozone layer. It's been replaced by 410A - but...410A generally can NOT be used in older systems. So now might be the time to consider replacing that AC with a new Trane, Mitsubishi or Bryant system and
Let Daniels Do It!
Time To install That Propane Fireplace Insert
Reminder: It gets cold in the winter. Sitting by a fire makes us feel good. One call to Daniels and we can install a new propane fireplace insert just in time for that first cold snap.
Just One Call Does It All...
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Her show is coming back, but she won't be. Who is this lovely lass?
Tell us here
and you may well win a shiny new Visa gift card.
Last month Ed P. identified "
The Good Fight's"
Delroy Lindo
while Lynne L. and 35 others correctly identified
U.S. Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo
. Well done, folks.
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So...I got sick.
Thought you'd like to see how my insurance paid for my medication. Yours too, probably.
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The C dex Gigas (English: Giant Book) is the largest extant medieval illuminated manuscript in the world, at a length of 92 cm (36 in). It is also known as the Devil's Bible because of a very unusual full-page portrait of the devil, and the legend surrounding its creation.
It was created in the early 13th century in the Benedictine monastery of Podlazice in Bohemia, which is a region in the modern-day Czech Republic. It contains the complete Vulgate Bible as well as other popular works, all written in Latin. Between the Old and New Testaments are a selection of other popular medieval reference works:
Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews and
De bello iudaico, Isidore of Seville's encyclopedia Etymologiae,
The chronicle of Cosmas of Prague, and medical works;
An early version of the Ars medicinae compilation of treatises
And two books by Constantine the African.
Eventually finding its way to the imperial library of Rudolf II in Prague, the entire collection was taken as spoils of war by the Swedes in 1648 during the Thirty Years' War, and the manuscript is now preserved at the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm, where it is on display for the general public.
According to legend, the Codex was created by Herman the Recluse in the Benedictine monastery of Podlazice near in the Czech Republic.. Records in the codex end in the year 1229. The site of its creation is marked by a maquette in the town museum of Chrast.
On Friday, 7 May 1697, a fierce fire broke out at the royal castle in Stockholm, and the Royal Library suffered very badly. The codex was rescued from the flames by being thrown out of a window. This damaged the binding and knocked loose some pages which are still missing. According to the vicar Johann Erichsons, the codex landed on and injured a bystander. So much more here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Gigas
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Hold It...Don't Shoot!
On an otherwise ordinary day in May 1808, two men of rather obscure backgrounds took part in an event that is one of the more bizarre tales of jealousy ever recorded.
Two Frenchmen,
Monsieur de Grandpre and Monsieur de Pique
,
quarreled over one
Mademoiselle Tirevit
, a dancer at the Imperial Opera.
One of the fellows decided he did not wish to share Mademoiselle Tirevit's affections with the other so he challenged his rival to a duel. One of them came up came up with the (absolutely brilliant) idea of dueling in hot air balloons. (Of course, they were French!)
That morning a crowd gathered near the Tuileries to watch Monsieur de Grandpre and Monsieur de Pique conduct the first ever aerial dogfight.
When they reached about 2,000 feet, Monsieur de Pique fired his blunderbuss. Sadly, (at least for de Pique and his unfortunate second), de Pique missed.
Monsieur De Grandpre then took aim and fired.
His bullet ripped through the fragile skin of de Pique's balloon, causing it to collapse. The basket tipped and de Pique and his second fell headfirst to their deaths
.
We considered a snarky comment about the dangers of falling for women for whom others have already fallen, but the "fallen" metaphor seemed to have been played out.
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Daniels Surprise Link of the Month
Hahahahahahahahahaha...Mystery Video for September....Hahahahahahahahaha.
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Just A Reminder - Africa is Big
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Turn on your heating system today. Right...now. Good.
Now, if everything is working fine - wonderful!
If you have a problem - no heat or bad smell or... - call us.
If you haven't had a heating system tune-up in 12months - call now.
September is the last chance for us to schedule a standard tune-up before the heating year kicks in. And remember, if you are in the market for a new boiler or furnace there is a
$250 Summer Bonus available if you replace your system before September 21
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Where On Earth Are We ? - Quiz #2
Think you know?
Tell us here
and you will be one of those lucky winners everyone is always talking about.
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This one is almost painful...
This one is all too true...
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Daniels Energy, 8 High Street, Portland CT 06480
Daniels Energy: CT License S1-385517 HOD#19 /
Daniels Propane. LLC: #846 CT License S1-302857
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