Aucun tire-bouchon? Caught without a corkscrew?
Sacré bleu!

Brad was kind enough to send along this educational video. Has this been on Food Channel or DIY? No translation is necessary.

http://www.wimp.com/wineshoe
 
 
Everyone in our family sings, plays an instrument or two, and is an avid music listener. Even the youngest among us seem to have the gene.

Of course, it's one thing to have talent and quite another to use it. 

Consider our two-year-old grandson -- clearly a budding musical genius -- seen here (out)performing  Papa and Grandpa, while Mama and Nana enjoy the show:  

 
 

While shooting this, I couldn't help but think of another percussion trio from an earlier lifetime. Maybe you remember these musical orangutans, a/k/a Ernie Kovacs, Edie Adams and either Jack Lemmon or Frank Sinatra:  

 
 
 
From The Writer’s Almanac for today, March 31, 2010:

On this day in 1889, the Eiffel Tower was inaugurated in Paris. It was built for the Paris Exposition as part of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, and also as a demonstration of the structural capabilities of iron. The tower elicited strong reactions after its opening. A petition of 300 names, including writers Guy de Maupassant, Émile Zola, and Alexandre Dumas the younger, was sent to the city government protesting its construction, declaring it 'useless' and a 'monstrosity.'

De Maupassant hated the tower so much that he started eating in its restaurant every day, because, he said, 'It is the only place in Paris where I don't have to see it.'
 
 
A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinarian's office. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest.

After a moment or two, the vet shook his head and sadly said, "I'm sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away."

The distressed woman wailed, "Are you sure?" 

"Yes, I am sure. Your duck is dead," replied the vet.

"How can you be so sure?" she protested. "I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room.  He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head.

The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room. A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.

The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck."

The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman.

The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$150!" she cried, "$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!"

The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20, but with the lab report and the cat scan, it's now $150."
~~~~~~
Thanks for this, Brad!
 
 
Here’s a little sherbet between courses, to clear the palate. Enjoy!
 
 
Picture
Sounding off at the Sacramento Zoo, May 7, 2009 

 

 
 

Here is a T Mobile public art event, produced for a series of commercials. Whatever. It made my day, and probably will do the same for you. This was shot at Liverpool Street Station, London.

 
Party Time! 03/03/2009
 

Hey, did you hear, today is Square Root Day! This holiday should appeal to the mathophiles among us, as well as the math-challenged, like myself. Cut your veggies in thirds, and do other wild and crazy things in honor of this unusual event. 

Go to this site for details:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10186121-76.html?tag=mncol;txt#comment

 
 

Were you at the Inauguration ceremony? Do you know someone who was?

You probably can find yourself or your friend in this photo of about a million people taken by a photographer on the Capitol steps.

Click here

Give your computer a chance to adjust, then click on an area, and keep zooming in until you find the face you are looking for. You'll have to be patient while your computer makes the appropriate adjustments. But, the clarity is worth the wait! Since this is a composite, and people tend to move around a bit, a few people look a bit screwy, but not many.