Ephemeris of Miscellany

Henry Miller was born on this day in 1891. I looked in my copy of The Air-Conditioned Nightmare and saw this excerpt marked.  "As I was undressing I got the idea of going up to the roof and having a last look at Jupiter. It was a warm night and I had on nothing but my carpet slippers. To get up to the roof I had to climb a vertical iron ladder to the balcony of the studio. Well, to make it short, I had my fill of Jupiter. I was ready to hit the hay. The lights were out but the moonlight came through the long window above the balcony. I walked in a trance to the iron ladder, put my foot out instinctively, missed it and fell through the glass door below. In falling I remember distinctly how delicious it felt to fall backwards into space. I picked myself up and began hopping around like a bird to see if any bones had been broken. I could hop all right but I was gasping, as though some one had stuck a knife in my back. I reached around with one hand and felt a big piece of glass stick...

Many Reasons For the Season ... Christmas tip: if someone asks for cha-cha heels for Christmas, get them the cha-cha heels. https://youtu.be/6cYZXyh7y6I ... Christmas 2022 ... I can't stand the anticipation, I'm going to go wake up my kids! December 25, 2021 ... Ghosts of Christmas's past... New Holland in the 40's. ... ... This guy Trump is all mixed up. He's spoken to hundreds of crowds over the last several years, never once using a word that anyone learned after second grade. Then on Christmas Eve he asks a seven-year-old if he still believes in Santa, because it's "marginal" at his age. When he talks to babies I bet he recites Shakespeare and quotes Socrates. December 25, 2018 ... Well I got something interesting from Emma. It's the picture from the Shining, but with something extraordinary in it. I don't think I ever noticed that before. December 25, 2018 ... Rob Sheradon ... A Christmas Classic- a toy pixie flying into the fireplace. htt...

Ava Gardner joined us on this day in 1922. She would have been a hundred today. Some people think that her beauty was only rivaled by Elizabeth Taylor. Deborah Kerr- "Her beauty was something she called dumb luck, biology and North Carolina mud, but her heart, so big, was her creation." ... Did you hear that Hulk Hogan was recently baptized? I was just watching a documentary on Rowdy Roddy Piper a couple weeks ago and Hogan told a pretty interesting story. He said that there was some problem with his phone, and several days after Piper died, a message finally came through from him. Piper sang Hank Williams, “I saw the li-i-ight," then continued, "I’m walking with Jesus my brother, walking with Jesus. Loving you and praying for you.” Hogan said it was a pretty weird message to get after someone had died, and that it "spooked" him, haha. I love that he framed it that way, that it spooked him. Apparently, it spooked him into the arms Jesus. I guess it'...

Ayn Rand Christmas cards! https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2014/12/22/1353470/-21-Ayn-Rand-Christmas-Cards ... I think the reason people kill themselves around the holidays has nothing to do with depression and everything to do with those Salvation Army bell ringers. December 23, 2023 ... I just ran out to my car to bring in some Christmas presents. I needed to get in the front to unlatch the trunk but my driver's door wouldn't budge. I got in through the passenger door, but then I couldn't get back out. Both front doors weren't frozen shut the way you would expect, it seemed like the internal mechanisms were frozen. No amount of pushing could open them.  Not sure if you heard, but the wind chill right now is -14°. I tried one of the back doors, same thing. I tried the other back door, my last chance, and it worked! Whew! I would have needed to bust out the windows if it didn't work. I tried to get the presents out of the trunk, but... you guessed it, frozen solid. I ...

Greatest trick shot of all time? I saw this yesterday and can't get it out of my head. This guy is rolling a donut on an umbrella, and throws some old, weird Nicolas Cage pillow over his head like 50 ft into a basket, then gives a look like he's never seen anything more beautiful. It's the look that the Buddha must have given when he found enlightenment. https://fb.watch/hzvmalYXfU/?mibextid=6aamW6 December 22, 2022 ... Some people are seeing religious overtones to Jupiter and Saturn appearing to be next to each other from the perspective of Earth. Instead, I'm reminded of Ben Kenobi- "You're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view." December 22, 2020 ... Buttigieg is a genius debater in my opinion. He boils down complicated issues to a basic yet non-dumbed down outline. He's pithy. He's sharp. He's clear, concise and precise. But why doesn't he quit flaunting his smart privilege??? December...