Way Back in Fall 2004, Kit and I went to London for a meeting, and she said she wanted to go to Jersey afterward for a quick vacation to celebrate her birthday. Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands off the coast of France, a self-governing nation that’s a (British) Crown Dependency, yet not part of the United Kingdom. It’s what the U.S. state of New Jersey is named for.
Holidays
Memorial Day Story
Some years ago I saw this meme posted on social media on Memorial Day weekend. I didn’t make it, but I wanted to know the story behind it. No one who posted it ever said who James was, or who the woman is, so I researched it.
The Best of April Fools:
Earlier Generations Did It Better
A lot of sites and publications will be running crazy stories as true to try to trick you today. Not me.
The Spammer (A Christmas Tale)
It’s absolutely possible to fight back against spammers …if you think about what would actually work. Pull up a chair by the fire and I’ll tell a story about how I did it this Christmas week, and turned The Grinch into a reformed marketer.
Christmas Blues
Today I’m working while listening to my collection of “weird Christmas music,” which I’ve compiled over the years. Things like the “Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth” mashup duet — by Bing Crosby and David Bowie in 1977. Yeah, really.
Watching Out For My Peeps
As with every Sunday, I “had to” work on Easter — it’s when I write the stories for True (and edit the ones that come in from the writers). I pull together 10 or more stories each Sunday (11 yesterday, as it happens, plus one that I’ll be adding to the blog later since it must include a photo).
A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Laughs
With a title like that, I certainly couldn’t run the story without providing the photo! As usual, the story first, from True’s 14 November 2010 issue:
Independence Day
It’s Independence Day weekend in the U.S., and I thought I’d share a couple of photos I took yesterday in the “real” Rural America.
Weird News Video #28 — Christmas Traditions
Episode #28: “You Think Your State is Weird?”, from True’s 14 December 2008 issue.
Weird News Video #26 — Black Friday
Episode #26: “Black Friday”, from True’s 30 November 2008 issue.
Zero Tolerance Trick, No Treat
Zero Tolerance is insidious. An abdication of common sense and professional ethics, in schools it seeks to apply one punishment — suspension, usually leading to expulsion — to any level of “crime.”
Valentine’s Greetings from Mars
When This is True brings you greetings, we don’t think small, we bring you the world! In this case, the planet Mars. (Yes, I know Venus is the goddess of love, but this is more up the Current Events alley, OK?)