The Not So Good Shepherd

Lambs on the lam:

"A flock of over 1,000 sheep was spotted roaming through the city centre of Huesca, northeastern Spain on Tuesday after escaping from their shepherd when he fell asleep."

Yes, cute video at the link.

You snooze,
you sleep,
you lose
your sheep.

Running to Gain Weight

After a long hard run, a day or two after, I find my weight goes up, by a few pounds. This is not what I expect, except that I have come to expect it. I think it has to do with my leg muscles being sore - inflammation or something, extra water retained in my quads and hams.

I don't know why, but without fail
my weight goes high on the scale.

Ok, I googled it, and my hypotheses are proposed by others as well. I didn't see a scientific study on the topic, but it's widely reported as an effect.

It isn't just me.
I have company.

Link Seen

"Celebs react"... to something Trump said.

Of course, he's a celeb too.

I resisted the urge to click on the bait.
I think it's wiser to sit and wait.
In about a week we'll no longer care
What they felt was so important to share.

The Eviller Twin

I went to see The Eviller Twin today, a play, by Sue Cargill, about identical twins, one of whom was indeed, it turned out, rather evil. It was a comedy, of the dark variety. I found it quite enjoyable.

The identical twins were played by two women of only passing resemblance, and matching wigs, but that worked out fine. In effect, you were just asked to imagine that they were identical. I think as a writer I would have hesitated to do something like that, but as an audience member I accepted it right away.

The other question in my mind was whether the word was "eviler" or "eviller". It turns out they're both acceptable, somewhere or other, though I would always be inclined toward saying "more evil" for the comparative.

I think it's better with the double L,
since that gives eviller something in common with Hell.

The Producers

We saw a very funny production of The Producers this afternoon. I meant to buy tickets for the evening show, but somehow bought tickets for the matinee. Good thing I doublechecked the time this morning! 

Anyway, we had great seats, which maybe we wouldn't have had for the evening show. The show says it has something to offend everybody and I think that's right. 

Being offended is not the end of living.

And laughter is a gift that keeps on giving.

Backlash

I think this is true:

"Americans admire protest movements and civil disobedience, but they draw the line at violence, so harassing and beating up Trump supporters could do him a lot of good."

Somehow, while it's right wing violence that the pundits mostly fear,
it's left wing violence that more often decides to appear.

Fake But Effective

"Medical mystery: Why are placebos becoming more effective?"

Improvement is most pronounced in the USA.
Placebos are getting better - hip, hip, hooray!
Or are we getting more trusting? No one can say.

Rat Fink Kid

Son drops a dime on dear old dad:

Massachusetts boy, 5, calls 911 to report 'Daddy went through a red light'

Putting him up for adoption
may be the best option.

Kangaroo vs. Cyclists

Great headline from Australia:

Cyclist says she and friend injured when jumped by kangaroo

The two women were hurt, but not too badly:

Heinrich said she broke three ribs and will undergo surgery on Thursday to replace ruptured breast implants. "They worked as air bags and have been ruptured by the ordeal," Heinrich joked.

Giant jumpers with pouches
can cause big ouches.

Steer clear. If you get in their way,
you'll roo the day.

Memorial

I've noticed a drift on Memorial Day to people speaking as if it were Veterans Day. But it's not a day for people who served in uniform. It's not even a day for people who took terrible risks or suffered injuries. It's a day for remembering a subset of those groups, namely the people who actually died.

One of the costs of every war
is brave men who are no more.

All Mixed Up Ahead

I had a good meeting today with an experienced theater guy about lining up a theater space for our upcoming production. When I say "our", I've got Denise Smolarek in mind, since she has signed on to direct. She did a great job directing my 10-minute "lesbian expecting a baby" play, in Theatre of Women 8. So I expect she'll be perfect for my full-length "lesbian expecting a baby" play.



That's just a placeholder cartoon, from here. We don't have a cast yet, after all, although both of us have some potential people in mind. It's way early at this point. We're scheduling for an October opening, with auditions maybe in July.

The clock is ticking. The play is expected.
Still, a cast must be selected.

In English: Re-run

Déjà vu: 

The sense that you

Are living again

What you did back then.

Superdog in Doghouse

There's a long-running story here, in Chicagoland, about financial shenanigans at the south suburban Lincoln-Way high school district.

One of the oddest features of the story has to do with Superdog!

'Superdog is a dog training school housed in a barn at Lincoln-Way North. [A former superintendent], who retired from the district in 2013, created Superdog without board knowledge or approval and it had "no student benefit"...'

Apparently it may have had some benefit for the former superintendent, who seems to have spent official money on this private project.

Local Chicago Tribune reporter, Gregory Pratt, has been all over the many-splendored story of Lincoln-Way, which includes wonders besides Superdog. But Superdog is my favorite.

And now the Feds have decided to take a sniff at it too, issuing subpoenas for records relating to the school district's dealings with Superdog.

A dogged reporter's exposé,
of strange goings on at Lincoln-Way,
has left poor Superdog
facing a federal slog.

Community Service

A friend has a son in a Chicago public high school where the students are all required to put in some hours of "community service." So what was he doing this week for community service? He was marching for a 15 dollar minimum wage, which of course somebody at the school had organized.

At this stage,
couldn't we use a one thousand dollar minimum wage?

Its absence fills me with insane rage.

Lack of Authority

Sports Authority is having a big going-out-of-business sale. 

I think I'll buy a kayak, 

and paddle my way to Nyack.

Dino Appearance

Some researchers are claiming that dinosaurs had lips which covered their teeth.

It's good they had lips on their faces

To cover their teeth

But I fear they still they needed braces

Underneath. 

The Moon and Mars

The Moon and Mars
outshine the stars,
but they only look bright
by bouncing the light
of what's out of sight
at night:

a star, the nearest one,
also known as the Sun.

Failure to Prove

“It seems that people have this warped idea of vegans being malnourished and weak,” she said. “By climbing the seven summits we want to prove that vegans can do anything and more.”

Dead on Everest.

I'm not saying veganism caused her death. But it seems safe to say that veganism is not a universal antidote to severe altitude sickness.

I've done some triathlons and marathons where someone died, but those events are amazingly safe when you compare them to the death toll on Everest.

Items can only be crossed
while you still exist,
so maybe put this last
on your bucket list.

Snakes on a Postal Route

Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat... but snakes are too scary!

Yes, they are harmless garter snakes in a Chicago neighborhood, and there aren't even that many of them, but a snake-phobic carrier was refusing to deliver the mail, and she was being allowed, at least for a while, to get away with that, without having a substitute appointed either.

You can bet that wouldn't fly at FedEx. Or UPS. But at the postal service, it's causing a lack of service.

Great quote from a boss:

"It is irrelevant if the snakes are dangerous or not. Our employees' safety is the utmost priority."

All the reality the post office can readily find,
is that the snakes are deadly in the carrier's mind.

Placard for Seussical the Musical

My little verse, up on the wall: a contribution's a contribution, no matter how small.