Image by Claximoli from Pixabay December is here, so in keeping with Rowland family tradition, I’m going to start celebrating the season early. To be honest, I’m far from the first of my brothers and sisters to do this; my eldest sister started decorating before Halloween. But don’t worry, I have no plans to get sentimental right out of the gate. Instead, I came across an AI joke generator that I decided to try out. While the results aren’t side-splitting, with a few…
As Colin mentioned in his last post, it’s time for Merry Mischief! For anyone who has read the blog since it began, you may recollect that we wrote a Christmas story to celebrate the launch of this very site. It’s short, only six chapters long, and tells the story of an obtuse (isn’t he always?) and determined Mr. Collins, Elizabeth’s attempts to fend him off, and Mr. Darcy’s scheming to take Mr. Collins’s supposed place as Elizabeth’s suitors. After a…
Image by Vilius Kukanauskas from Pixabay As my 68th birthday looms on the horizon like a cake topped with far too many candles (seriously, do fire extinguishers come as standard with those things now?), I’ve found myself reflecting on the curious passage of time. At least, I assume that’s what we’re supposed to do as a milestone birthday approaches, right? Reflect? Contemplate? Ponder the mysteries of life? I’ll get right on that… after I’ve spent an hour or two feeling sorry for myself,…
Image by Francesca M from Pixabay In my struggles to complete this post last night, I came across and article about Londoners’ obsession with pig-faced ladies. I kid you not, in 1815, it seems the entire city was caught up in the rumors of people catching glimpses of a woman, either wealthy or not, depending on who was relating the story, whose face bore a striking resemblance to that of a common pig! Now, rather than try and paraphrase the entire article, I…
Image by Raphael Silva from Pixabay I don’t spend much time on YouTube, but short amusing videos can be found on the site. Here are a few that you might enjoy. None are side-splitting, but they are amusing. And to wrap this up, a classic from Ronald Reagan: I hope you enjoyed seeing these. Have a good Friday!
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/TimConway I was a big fan of Tim Conway and remember him from Disney films like The Apple Dumpling Gang, among others. What I remember his most for, though, was as a regular on The Carol Burnett Show, where he portrayed numerous characters. It seemed that no matter which role he was cast in, from a depressed and angry vacuum cleaner salesman to a confused plumber, he was funny. He was teamed with Harvey Korman on a regular basis, and…
Image by Jackie Ramirez from Pixabay I don’t recall how it happened, but I inadvertently opted into a daily email from Inspiring Quotes, a website with a collection of quotes on various subjects. My initial reaction was to unsubscribe and delete the post, because I get enough unwanted garbage in my inbox now, so why would I want to add to the mess cluttering it now? For one reason or another, I didn’t get around to doing that and I am glad I…
Recently I came across an article with a list of the origins behind common sayings, which sparked my interest in such things. I went and did some further research and came up with a number of such sayings that I thought I would share. This list is (of course) in no way comprehensive but I hope you enjoy them! Ever wonder why poor people are called “piss poor?” The saying originates from the practice of using urine to tan animal…
Image by M J from Pixabay The picture above is a reasonable likeness of Daisy, my family’s newest addition. As you probably know by now, I treasure my canine companions. My border collie, Haley, is a two year old delight, while our German Shepherd pup is, to be charitable, very amusing. That’s not to say she is dumb. Not at all; in fact, the animal is a genius at finding new and original ways of breaking the rules. To tell the truth, I…
Image by Frauke Riether from Pixabay In planning for this post, I started thinking of proverbs and adages. Are they different? According to Wikipedia, they are the same. They are similar, in that both are sayings that impart wisdom of one sort or another, but there is a difference. While proverbs find their roots in tradition and culture, adages are more varied in both their origins and their applications. Ten of the most common proverbs, which are common to numerous languages, are: “Actions…