Spitball Army

Card is titled: “Greetings from Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, California.”

Printed on back of post card:

WINCHESTER MYSTERY HOUSE
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
SARAH WINCHESTER’S unique architectural talent is reflected in this strange “lucky” 7/11 staircase, as well as her numerous carved doors and walls, and convertible sky light balconies.

B5053
Guided Tours Daily

Publishing information:

The Continental Card.
The Winchester House, A Registered California Historical Landmark No. 868.
Mike Roberts, Berkeley 94710.

from the Wikipedia page for Roosevelt Arch:

The Roosevelt Arch is a rusticated triumphal arch at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Gardiner, Montana, USA. Constructed under the supervision of the U.S. Army at Fort Yellowstone, its cornerstone was laid down by President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt in 1903. The top of the arch is inscribed with a quote from the Organic Act of 1872, the legislation which created Yellowstone, which reads “For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People.”

Earlier this year, Werner Herzog dropped a bracing, eye-opening commercial/PSA that addressed the dangers of texting while driving. It was much more powerful than these kinds of projects usually are, and rather remarkably, he’s upped his game one notch further. The director has unveiled “From One Second to the Next,” a 35-minute look at the tragic results that can come from trying to multitask with your mobile while driving. Not only does the documentary profile victims, but also those who have caused the accidents as well, showing two very different kinds of potent pain. And it’s all shot with Herzog’s perceptive visual eye and minimal approach that lets the words of his subjects say all they need to. It’s frankly much more fascinating, involving and heartbreaking than you might expect. And needless to say, it’s a must watch.

– Kevin Jagernauth, for IMDb

In one of the recent Top Chef Masters episodes, a chef added what seemed like, basically, a garnish to her dish. She called them “scallion biscuits,” and the judges went ape-shit for them.

Biscuits with scallions in them, I thought. Hell, I can do that.

So here’s my take, totally NOT from scratch, therefore quick and ridiculously easy to make:

[Read more →]

Which came first: the Black Private Dick or Dirty Harry? They seem to be parallel genres, both with trademark one-liners, etc.

Exhausted, so working my way through the @nytimes “1,000 Best Films Ever” list. So far today, two real duds: Lust for Life and Silk Stockings.

Lust is so comically overwrought, I expected Kirk Douglas’ Van Gogh to morph into one of Lon Chaney Jr’s monsters. Just bad.

The theme music for Lust for Life sounds as if it were lifted from a biblical epic such as Ben-Hur, or a sword & sandals pic like Spartacus.