Under the spreading chestnut tree, the village smithy stands

 

A poor picture of one of my favorite coins. The Italians do have a flair for art featuring the male image. 50 Lire, from days gone by. These days, the image remains favored by the Italian euro coin, although… it’s just not quite the same.

And America has ugly busts of George Washington and that psychotic war criminal, Abraham Lincoln. Oh well.

Make the Radical Right crazy, kids, and tell your Congressman that you want THIS on your quarter. The Mint is feeling creative, right now… vote for a thing of beauty. “A thing of beauty is a boy forever.”

Addendum: y’all might be looking for ol’ Wadsworth Longfellow, he of the perverted name and insistent sense of rhythm.

“On the shores of Gitche-gumee,
on the shining big-sea-water
stood the wigwam of Nokomis
Daughter of the moon, Nokomis”

Beating around the bush

Tonight, I wish to discuss topiary. Yes, topiary… the fine art of painting things taupe. I… umm… I… hell, you’re not going to go for that one, are you? Wise of you. What color is taupe, anyway? I can never remember. Brownish? Purplish? Greenish? It’s bound to be some “ish” or other, I’m pretty sure of that.

Come to think of it, I need a haircut. Do you suppose I could get it done in the shape of a horse? Who does Dennis Rodman go to when he has these questions?

The sharply-dropping point

Hmm. I just lost a… good gravy. Quite a few watchers. So, you’re not all attracted to those horny stories of butt-pirates, eh? The men and their… booty? Ok. I won’t plan to specialize in it. Oddly enough, I do have other interests. If you’re offended by my tastes, though, you’ll probably be unhappy about where I tell you to stick it.

We all live in a mellow subroutine

“In the town
where I was born…”

The what, now?

I’m afraid that doesn’t make much sense to me. As the son of a military man, I haven’t seen the town where I was born since I was about… oh… one. (One what? One year old, wise guy.)

First boy

Do you know the word, “salacious”? I gather that a lot of people drop by, hoping for a little extra… salt… in their diet. Who am I to interfere with your nutrition? Yes, we’re going to dip into a bit warmer water. You did bring your trunks, right? No? Well, that’s ok. I’m sure no one will object if you don’t wear them.

Today, my territory ends here

We wish to start with some whining about Windows Vista… because we hates it, and because we can. Do you know that they’ve replaced the sandglass icon, which represented the passing of time? I think anyone could understand that it meant, “wait, I’m busy.”

The new icon is a circle, with a bright spot going around and around. As near I can guess, this represents “I’m confused, and I’m trying to do something, but I’m not getting anywhere.” Vista is incredibly slow, impossibly so. Maybe it means well, but it’s a bumbler. The circle icon is, really, just right for it.

More lusts …

And, I publish this just because I’m a webwhore, and the post “Lusts of Youth” seems to be getting a lot of interest. Oh, still not family-friendly, at least, not unless you’re Family. And, if you don’t even get that reference, you probably don’t want to play. Due warning, this is going to be utterly shameless. Game on!

The dues of the Muse

A blog is a job. Make no mistake. You can’t really play “here today, gone tomorrow”– though, so many do, and… some you miss, and some you don’t. But, if you want to play with the big boys, you’d best write, day in, day out. Doesn’t really matter if the Muse has brought down the lightning, though you hope she’ll be back, tomorrow.

Hmm. Could talk about that stunning man, at the local store. I expect he doesn’t own the shop, though he ought to. Always a smile, always a story, and always a delight to see. Got to check for a wedding ring… although it’s never in good taste to prey on the merchants. They are there to sell but, not to sell themselves. Such a rare treat, he is. King Solomon knew nothing, nothing. Negra sum sed formosa. Beautiful man, what wouldn’t I do for you?

Bloviation on Oblivionation

Is it the priests of the Moon Moths who say, “May you always wear soft silks?” Hee hee. Three monks, two beds. Yes, the boys do sleep together. Given their little saying, I have my doubts that it’s just “sleep” that’s involved.

Serrano peppers

I recently acquired a can of serrano peppers. They look like dwarf jalapeños. I figured they’d be about as hot.