Monday Meanderings - Aug 30

I just finished reading Stieg Larrson's Millennium trilogy - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. It's a formidable task - the three books total more than 1,830 pages; the setting is Sweden and keeping up with the hundreds of strangely-named characters and places is challenging. The books wander through dozens of sub-plots and you learn far, far more about Swedish political parties and governments than you ever wished to, but when it's over, you regret that that you have reached the end. There likely will be no more because Larrson died suddenly at age 50 before any of three books were published (he submitted all of them at the same time). However, they found an unfinished 4th novel and outlines for 6 more, so...

Larrson was well known as a science fiction writer and fan, and a political activist for the Communist Worker's League. He was a crusader in documenting and exposing Swedish extreme right and racist organizations and reportedly lived for years under death threats from his political enemies. An un-filed will left his estate to the Communist Worker's League, but it was ruled invalid and his estate passed to his father and brother, from whom he was estranged. Let that be a lesson - be sure you have an up-to-date will before you write three block-buster best sellers!

I saw someone panhandling the other day with a cardboard sign that read "ART SUPPLIES - Anything Helps." Couldn't help but wonder if this was a teacher.

Saw a chart on the wall at the RFTB&D studios that listed August anniversaries; I have completed 3 years of volunteering.

More Shirt Saga - 
She said: "Did you go through your closet and gather up the shirts that you don't wear?"
He said: "Yes, I did."
She said: "There's still a lot of shirts there."
He said: "I even gathered up two of my most favorite blue shirts."
She said: "Yes, but you just ordered two new blue shirts."
He said: "I'm going to wear those shirts in the closet."
She said: "Okay, but I'm going to watch and if you just wear the same shirts I'm going to get the others out of your closet."
He said: "Puts a whole new slant on the phrase 'Shirt Fairy' doesn't it?"

Quote from Texas coach Mack Brown, on trying to decide who was going to start and who was not. "One thing that I've learned is that every mother likes her child better than any other child."

I mentioned the bald-headed Red Bird at the feeder. It seems that this more common than I thought. By chance I came across others who were inquiring about their bald-headed Red Birds and it seems there are three common causes:

1.  Most likely molting
2.  Parasites or infections
3.  Plucking (another bird plucking the feathers off this one’s head) 

I stand by my domestic issues choice ("snatched him bald-headed") statement.

And here's a picture of our latest addition to the orchid collection: