Things and Such

A NOTE FROM TIBBET:
Tibbet was very interested in watching the CNN coverage about the vote on the health care reform. She told me that even though it doesn't affect her, she likes to keep up with current events and that Buddy should really take more interest in these things. She had me make a sign for her to pose with so she could look back on this historic day and remember sitting on the folding chair. She would also like everyone to know that despite popular belief, Siamese cats are very into politics.

A RANDOM COLLECTION OF THINGS

Here's the story of this group of items. The monster with his arms out and the praying mantis are toys I used to play with in the tub when I was little. There are 2 large pieces of mica (check out that basal cleavage!) that they seem to be fighting over. I think I found the mica in a driveway somewhere. They are standing on a rock my aunt Carole gave me that has a hole in the middle, so I inserted a passover candle that I got for 15 cents. Now that's art!

THE MIGHTY PINE

These are pine trees. Can you believe it? I don't know what I'll do when they get bigger, but I think I have some time. I love a conifer. Conifers are gymnosperms which is a funny word. I don't know what type of pine they are because I bought this little pot and seeds for $1 and it just said "Christmas tree". I wonder if they figured no one would actually try and grow it.

TABASCO AND "THE BOZ"
Two new things have appeared on my bookshelf since Monday. They are a bottle of Tabasco sauce and an action figure of Brian "The Boz" Bosworth. Mike brought him home from his dads house on Sunday. "The Boz", who was known for his radical hairstyles, apparently wasn't much of a player. He got thrown off teams for steroid use, bad conduct, and general douchbaggery. So we like to display him in our living room, tackling a bottle of hotsauce.

These are just a few things around my house that I get a kick out of. I hope they entertained you for a while. Next time I'll write something with more of a purpose. My brain is fuzzy today.

Bear the Dint

If you ever find yourself in a dollar store, go to the toy section and look at the names of the toys. They're usually translated from another language and it's almost impossible to figure out what they were trying to say. My dad and I first noticed this at a store in Tucson, where they had the same fishing set I found the other day and a "pugilism gun" which was a boxing glove on a "gun" that juts outward when you pull the trigger. That one makes sense if you know what pugilism means, but "The Bear The Dint Fishing Challenge" is beyond me. Bear the Dint? How do I bear the dint? The Oxford English Dictionary defines dint as such, "n. a dent. By dint of = by means of." So the bear the dint would be to carry, support, or endure a dent, or to endure by means of. So we are possibly enduring the fish by means of the fishing pole.

If you look behind the pole, you will see three points these advertisers have made, possibly trying to show the things you will learn while using the bear the dint fishing challenge. They are,

• Patience
  
• Wait For
  
• Fast

These are basic things any fisher person should know. Not that I would word them that way. And I really don't think these fish are going to be difficult to catch.

After so much confusing language, it is comforting to know that even if we have no idea how to bear the dint, at least we know this is a lovely fishing set.