It Seems Like Years Since It's Been Here

A little sunshine for your Monday morning:

Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles. One of the loveliest songs ever.

Never Thought I'd Be on a Boat!

It's a great, big, watery road! I think they should teach kids this song instead of that "in 1492..." one.

What's It Called?

Titles are hard. Whenever I write anything, I'm always left staring at the top of my first page, wondering what brief phrase could possibly encapsulate the story and grab a reader's attention. Most of the time I just write something and hope it'll work itself out later.

So I think How Books Got Their Titles is a wicked cool blog. Gary looks at the stories behind the titles--lots of fun trivia here.

"But Annie," you say, "what kind of story can there be behind Anna Karenina or To Kill a Mockingbird?"

Fortunately, Gary has some rules:

1) The title should not be explicable simply by reading the book;
2) The titles should be titles of books or plays rather than of poems or short stories;
3) No quotations as titles.

That should filter out the fairly obvious. We get fun stories such as the conversation behind Thomas Wolfe's You Can't Go Home Again:

"At a dinner with a friend, the Communist activist Ella Winter, he told her of the experience, and she commented, ‘But don’t you know you can’t go home again?’ Wolfe asked her: ‘Can I have that? I mean for a title...I’m writing a piece...and I’d like to call it that. It says exactly what I mean.’"

Bring that up at your next party and impress your friends*!

*Or maybe just me.

Frankly, My Dear, I Don't Give a Damn

It's the clash of the titans--Scarlett O'Hara and Rose DeWitt Bukater. They're both kind of selfish and bitchy, but at least Scarlett can take care of herself. So it's no surprise that Gone with the Wind has surpassed Titanic (when adjusted for inflation) to take the spot of #1 domestic-grossing film of all time.

In fact, when adjusted for inflation, Titanic didn't make the top 5 at all.

"Bloomberg reports today that Gone With the Wind is the No. 1 domestic-grossing film of all time when adjusting for inflation, which lifts its 1939 total of $198.7 million to a mindblowing $1.46 billion in 2009 dollars. Star Wars trails it in second place ($1.28bn), followed by The Sound of Music ($1.02bn), E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial ($1.01bn) and even The Ten Freaking Commandments ($940mm). Titanic doesn’t even rank in the top five, with its adjusted $600 million gross ($921.5mm in 2009 dollars) earning it a measly sixth-place finish just ahead of Jaws."

Sorry, Rose. I think you should have held onto Jack's frozen corpsicle a little longer.

My favorite--The Ten Freaking Commandments. What a classic! "Let my freaking people go!"

The Book Thief

I can't embed it here, but check out this video by Markus Zusak, author of the fantastic, The Book Thief. He talks a little about what inspired his book--family stories about being young in Nazi Germany.

Also, definitely read the book. It's extremely powerful.

I like how he says he didn't sit down to write a good YA book; he just wrote down to write someone's favorite book. And I think that's why it's YA--young adults want a good story and good characters, not pretension that's in a lot of adult lit. (Not that I don't enjoy adult lit. But I think a lot of times authors are focused on too many literary 'tricks' and miss the pure enjoyment of storytelling and creating engaging characters that really grab a reader.)

Little Rhody

All you Rhode Islanders out there probably know this bit of trivia: Rhode Island is the littlest state with the longest name--the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. But that may be a bit of historical trivia if lawmakers get their way. There's a push to drop the "Providence Plantations" part due to connotations of slavery. Rep. Joseph Almeida, who sponsored the bill, said:

"It's high time for us to recognize that slavery happened on plantations in Rhode Island and decide that we don't want that chapter of our history to be a proud part of our name."

Should RI ignore its connection with slavery? No way. Slavery happened all over the US, not just in the South. But my opinion lies more with opponents, who say that at the time, the word 'plantations' meant farming settlements, not necessarily connected with slavery. Additionally, one definition Merriam-Webster lists is: "a settlement in a new country or region," which, considering the history of Roger Williams, seems more appropriate for Rhode Island. (Heck yeah religious freedom!) Changing Rhode Island's name seems to be going a little far to touch on the state's history involving slavery.

Of course, as long as the don't touch the Del's, I'll be all right.

1.21 Gigawatts!

I kind of think J.J. Abrams, who puts time travel into any show/movie he can, is behind this one: Celebrities in time! A competition at worth1000.com posed the question: "What if celebrities had lived in different time periods?"Artists came up with a bunch of fun answers. Here are a few of my favorites:



The lesson? No matter what time period these people are in, they're still gorgeous. I especially can't believe how Justin Timberlake looks as a WWII solider! If my grandmother showed me this picture and told me it was my grandfather, I'd probably believe her.

Dinosaur Civilization

I think therefore I am...going to eat you.

The Legend of Old Hitler

Gather 'round on the magic carpet, kids, it's story time! What do you want to hear today? Goldilocks and the Three Bears? Sleeping Beauty?

Please, Lady! Tell us the story of Old Hitler!

You got it, kids:

"Although the exact origins of Old Hitler's legend are likely lost in the annals of bait-shack folklore, as long as their have been sports fishermen seeking tarpon along the Gulf coast, there have been tales of those fishermen losing their trophy-sized silver kings to the dreaded jaws of a mythical creature.

As the Gulf coast of Florida began to become more populated, rumors of a giant hammerhead floated up and down the coast. It was purportedly so big that ship captains and fishermen would call the local coastguard to alert them to a German U-boat invading the harbor.

'Old Hitler happened to be the biggest, baddest hammerhead in the Pass during or shortly after WWII,' said long-time Charlotte tarpon guide Paul DeGaeta.

There have always been large sharks along Florida's coast, but this one stood out. The legend revolved around one gigantic shark that had a large gash in its top fin, an injury it sustained after a rumored run-in with a mullet fisherman sometime in the early sixties. The fisherman struck the shark with a machete after the creature mauled a net full of fish and began bumping the 15-foot vessel with its flat head. The hammerhead swam away with the large knife still embedded in its dorsal fin."

That's probably the most quoted text I've ever posted here. But it was so worth it. I freakin' love a good shark story, and this is one of the most badass sharks of all. He withstood a machete. People thought it was a U-boat. I hear he ate Chuck Norris.

Also, his name is Old Hitler. It makes sense if he was hanging around during WWII, but still--how weird is that?

Unfortunately, all evil dictatorships must come to an end. No, Old Hitler didn't shoot himself in his sea-bunker. He was caught by shark angler Clyde "Bucky" Dennis. Dennis already had the International Game Fish Association's all-tackle record, having caught a hammerhead weighing in at 1,280 pounds, so it was a worthy battle.

And everyone lived happily ever after. Except for Hitler.

Meet Rebecca

Remember how pissed I was about American Girl retiring Samantha? They haven't entirely won be back yet, but I am interested in their new Jewish-American doll, Rebecca Rubin.

One thing I will say about American Girl--they take a lot of care in developing their historical dolls. With Native American Kaya, they did a lot of research with various tribes in order to find one that would have valued girls as members of the community in the 1600s. And it sounds like the same care has been taken with Rebecca.

"The preliminary research that led to Rebecca’s development started in 2000, said Shawn Dennis, the senior vice president for marketing. American Girl had wanted to do a doll focused on the immigrant experience. After work by two in-house historical researchers, and interviews with focus groups, it was decided to make the character Jewish.

'Russian-Jewish immigration, that group has an effect on the labor movement, that group has an effect on the burgeoning Hollywood entertainment business,' Ms. Dennis said. 'We thought it would have the makings of what would be a relatable story to tell.'"

I think this is a good move. When I worked at one of the American Girl stores, a girl came up to me and asked if we had any more menorahs. (Former 'Girl of the Year' doll Lindsey was Jewish.) It made me so sad to say no! As a ten year-old, I loved the holiday books; this little girl didn't get the same experience. Until now.

Of course, it is also weird that Rebecca lives in a New York tenement and the doll is priced around $95. But as long as it teaches girls about lives different than their own, that's the important thing.

Even so, I still want them to bring back Samantha.

My Heart Will Go On

No matter how many Oscars they're nominated for, Kate and Leo will never get away from the megahit Titanic. Especially when survivors are around.

At least, one survivor. Millvina Dean, the last remaining Titanic survivor, who was only nine weeks old at the time of the sinking and is now 98, was having trouble paying her nursing home bills. Photographer Don Mullan, who had taken pictures of Dean, appealed to the Titanic stars and director James Cameron to help with Millvina's bills. Mullan was selling a limited-edition photograph of Millvina's hands in order to raise money for the Titanic survivor. He told the Independent:

"I figured that if the edition sold out, it would secure Millvina for a full year. My plan, however, was to double the impact and thereby secure her for two years. I decided, therefore, at the opening of the exhibition, to publicly challenge James Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, 20th Century Fox and Celine to match me dollar for dollar."

A little pressure-y, but the Titanic stars and director have contributed to the Millvina campaign. And well done to them. After making an insane amount of money and getting super famous off the movie, it's nice that they feel a sense of obligation to the people (er, person) who survived the sinking.

Plus, I freakin' loved that movie in seventh grade.

I've Gotta Get Back in Time

Remember those people who kinda-sorta-maybe lived without some technology? If they want to go a little more hardcore, they could take a tip from these ladies.

Except these ladies scare me, too.

I love stuff from the 20s--50s. Movies, clothes, music, whatever. I wish fedoras would come back in style. I wish people dressed up to get on a plane. I wish I could do my hair like those chic ladies did. I wish I could see Audrey Hepburn or Cary Grant or Bing Crosby in a movie. Lots of fun cultural touchstones there.

But I also like having a college degree, being able to pursue the career of my choice, and having a partner who considers me an equal.

Women like Joanne Massey, Debbie Cleulow, Diane Rowlands might be taking things a bit too far. From their dress to their homes to their cars to their relationships with their husbands, everything is either 30s/40s/50s. It's like they're at a Renn Faire, except they forgot that when you hit the parking lot, you can drop the whole Rennaissance thing.

But it might be a defense mechanism, too. Massey says:

"I admit I am in retreat from the 21st century. When I look at the reality of the world today, with all the violence, greed and materialism, I shudder. I don't want to live in that world...I only recently realised that Tony Blair is no longer Prime Minister as I don't read newspapers - they are just too distressing."

I know life is tough today, but it was also tough in the 50s for a lot of people. (Hello, segregation.) Even though these women think that the 30s/40s/50s were a more pleasant time--and maybe they were--it's also a fantasy version of what these eras were actually like. Especially the 30s and 40s in England. Did they miss the whole Depression/WWII thing?

I think it's fun to take bits and pieces from these eras and apply them to contemporary living. For example, ettiquette really is lost today. So is appropriate dress. But that doesn't mean you have to retreat into an old-timey fantasy world to get at a sense of gentility. An iPod isn't going to mess with your view of the world.

Of course, that doesn't mean I would mind seeing what kind of cool home accessories and outfits these women have collected.

A Dream Realized

They said a dinosaur would never fly.

They were wrong.



From Jeph, who writes Questionable Content, one of my favorite webcomics.

What Killed the Dinosaurs

A giant hand!

One at a time!

No Love For the Dinosaur

Some people like to go to auctions for antique furniture. Some for art. Some go to acquire pieces for museums. But apparently no one goes to get the dryosaurus.

(I mean, it's called a dryosaurus. I think Kenmore tried to market that in the 90s.)

Apparently the dryosaurus is a 9-foot-long, long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur from the Jurassic era. But its skeleton failed to sell for the $500,000 I.M. Chait Gallery was asking for.

A couple of museums are still interested, so it's not like the dinosaur skeleton won't have a home. But honestly, $5000,00 doesn't seem like that much. Instead of buying a home, you could buy a dinosaur. That's way more impressive to your friends!

My favorite part of the article:

"An 18,000-year-old, 7-foot-tall and 15-foot-long skeleton of a teenage woolly mammoth from Siberia took the auction's top price, fetching close to $60,000 [and was] bought by [a] private collection.

'The woolly is so special because it wasn't fully grown and can therefore fit in someone's living room,' says Josh Chait, director of operations at the gallery. 'A collector's dream.'"

The gift for the person who has everything--the woolly mammoth.

Jurassic Water Park

You can see why people thought there were sea monsters. Because basically, there are: giant squid, sharks, etc. But the most terrifying of sea creatures lived along with the dinosaurs. If you time traveled back to those days, you'd be better off fighting the giant land creatures because, frankly, the sea dinosaurs were even more deadly.

Take this recent fossil discovery. It's of a 50 ft long marine reptile from the Jurassic era, with a bite force of 33,000 lbs per square inch. So it could crush anything it wanted.

"'With a skull that's more than 10 feet long you'd expect the bite to be powerful but this is off the scale,' said Joern Hurum, an associate professor of vertebrate paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Oslo University. 'This one is more like it could crush a Hummer.'"

Well that's one way to take out gas-guzzling vehicles.

Plus, the creature's name so far? Predator X. Just wait until this one gets made into its own direct-to-video release. (You've got competition now, Megalodon!)

The fossil was discovered on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. For all the book nerds out there, Svalbard is where the armored bears live. Only an armored bear could take on Predator X!

In Mother Russia, Folk Dances You!

I've got to say, the Soviet Army kicked ass at dance. These guys could have been on a Broadway show! And the Run DMC mash-up is kind of amazing.

Between this and the Obama's elf video, I really don't know which is my favorite.





I would have hated to be the guy in their regiment who couldn't dance. He must have felt like such a loser.

The Land of the Lost Would Have Been Terrifying

Dinosaurs? Okay, sure. I expect that. But snakes that ate crocodiles? That is messed up.

Scientists in Colombia discovered the remains of the biggest snake that ever lived--2,500 pounds, 42.7 feet long.

Know how big the largest python and anacondas are? Not even 20 feet.

With the best quote ever, expedition leader and paleontologist Jonathan Bloch said:

"The snake that tried to eat Jennifer Lopez in the movie 'Anaconda' was not as big as the one we found."

Count your blessings, JLo, that this thing lived a few million years ago.

In Case You Missed It

Here's the full text of Obama's inauguration speech.

As always, he was well-spoken, thoughtful, and asked for a call to action on the part of all Americans. We have to make better choices at every level--from the very top all the way down:

"Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task."

The bold is my doing--he didn't speak funny.

And can I just say how nice it is to have a president who speaks well? I love words.

History of (Inauguration) Dress

Politics are great. But this year, there's another big issue on everyone's minds.

What will Michelle Obama wear?

Before we get to see her ball gown, let's look at some of the first ladies of past administrations. And it's a quiz, so it has a fun game element, too. Pretend you're Tim Gunn and choose your favorites.

(History of Dress kids, I expect this one to be fairly easy for you. Make G West proud!)