Of Ganesh and Sagacity

One of my good friends recently returned from a trip through India and Nepal. We got together for lunch so she could fill me in with all the details. And of course, she brought me some souvenirs.

Among the stack of goodies she had accumulated for me was a postcard of the elephant-headed god, Ganesh.

I knew that Ganesh was "the remover of obstacles," which made him a common symbol of good luck.

Beyond that, however, according to the back of my Ganesh postcard: "His elephant head is believed to be an emblem of wisdom and his mouth am emblem of sagacity."

Sagacity?

This was a word I had never seen or heard before, but I was suddenly very curious as to its meaning. I suspected it was a spin on wisdom, but couldn't be sure.

Upon looking it up in Merriam-Webster online, I found this frustrating definition:

"the quality of being sagacious"

With flashbacks of seventh grade English class in my mind, I searched next for "sagacious" and found my suspicion confirmed with this definition: "of keen and farsighted penetration and judgment: discerning"

I also discovered sagaciously and sagaciousness. What a wonderful grouping of words I must now figure out how to use!

And another thing I must now figure out is what to do with my Ganesh postcard because besides my search for the meaning of sagacity, I also did a Google search of Ganesh.

As it says on Wikipedia (and who knows if this is correct):

"He is honoured at the beginning of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as Patron of Letters during writing sessions."

Hmmmm. If Ganesh is the remover of obstacles and the Patron of Letters, does that mean he can demolish writer's bloc?

And if so, perhaps I should be tacking his photo next to my keyboard.

SugarMade Toilet Paper

Let me just say straight up that I realize the subject of toilet paper makes for a strange blog post, but I am pursuing the topic nevertheless.

After all, this won't be the first time I venture into the bathroom realm. I did write two posts about contraptions that let women pee standing up and another about World Toilet Day.

So anyway...a couple of months ago, a friend and I went to a craft fair. All of the products at this fair were supposed to be made from recycled or repurposed goods. It was a "green" craft fair.

There were a couple of booths supporting local stores that sell only "green" household goods. It was at such a booth that we found SugarMade toilet paper.

I was immediately interested in the stuff. This toilet paper was made from crushed sugar cane, and as it says right on the label, is 83% tree free and 100% biodegradeable.

I guess I had sugar on the brain. See, I'd recently written an article about fair trade sugar, so the idea that crushed sugar cane fibers could be used to make toilet paper was intriguing. It seemed an extension of the article I'd just finished researching.

Instead of buying a roll for myself, however, I somehow convinced my friend that she needed to buy it. There were only two rolls left and she scooped them both up.

And wouldn't you know it? I got one of those rolls back as a Christmas present from her!

A couple of days ago, the regular TP ran out so I reached for the sugar cane roll. It's definitely just a 1-ply roll. There's nothing cushy about it. But it's not scratchy either, so all in all, it's not bad. I've definitely used worse.

Call me crazy, but there's just something about the idea of using sugar cane toilet paper that makes me happy. It's important to appreciate the little everyday things, right? Wait. Does that make my appreciation of the sugar cane toilet paper an example of wabi sabi?

Maybe not. But regardless, one of my favorite things about the SugarMade toilet paper is the bar code. Look, it's made out of sugar cane!

Kelly's Revenge Redux

In August 2008 I took a trip to San Diego. There, in a neighborhood liquor store, I came across a bottle of wine called Kelly's Revenge.

On that trip, I never got to taste Kelly's Revenge. When I got home, though, I searched online for information about the wine. I didn't find much. Except a slick corporate web site with little info.

I was hoping to learn where Kelly's Revenge was made. I'd never been to Australia and it seemed to me (and still does) that a trip to the Kelly's Revenge vineyard would be a great reason to go.

I also tried to find the wine in local liquor stores but nobody had even heard of it. All my attempts at finding revenge turned up dry. Sigh.

Recently, though, something happened that put me back on the trail. A friend went to San Diego, was in a liquor store, happened across a bottle of Kelly's Revenge, bought the bottle, and brought it back home for me.

Once again, I went online trying to find info. From a press release I learned that the wine is named after a notorious, 19th-century, Australian outlaw named Ned Kelly. After a stressful day, a glass of Kelly's Revenge is supposed to help you unwind. After all, the best revenge is living well.

And I also found an inappropriate web site. I guess, with a name like Kelly's Revenge, that's to be expected.

Oh well. Some things, I guess, are meant to remain a mystery. I may never know exactly where Kelly's Revenge comes from, but at least I now have a whole bottle to myself.

I think it's time to sign off and find my corkscrew.

Yellow Underwear Rings in New Year

So I'm flipping through the paper on a lazy morning in this new year when I run across a tiny little article about yellow underwear.

All across Latin America, says the story, people believe they can influence their luck for the coming year depending on the color of underwear they are wearing.

Red underwear brings love. Yellow underwear brings wealth. Apparently, this year, the yellow underwear has been most popular, especially in Mexico City.

The whole idea behind this short little article sent me to Google. I just had to check this out, see if I could find any blogs or travel pictures to back this up. I found tons.

This blog, Year in Bolivia, posted a great photo of a market stall full of yellow underwear.

As 2010 kicks off, I couldn't help but think that all this yellow underwear business is at least bringing wealth to one segment of the population: the vendors!

Photo (c) Joe Boxer

Two for One is Like One for Free

Two for One is One for Free or Almost One for Free?

New Hobby -- Label Spotting!

Here's a new spin on sign spotting ... label spotting.

I spotted this label on a make-up bag for sale in a mall in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico.

I think that it's sensational indeed!

Puerto Vallarta Sign Spotting

It's always fun when you come across a sign or menu in a foreign country that has a problem with its English grammar.

While this slip up (spotted in the Puerto Vallarta airport) isn't all that bad, it gave me a smile and I couldn't help but take a picture.

Perhaps I'll send it along to the Sign Spotting web site.

Worst Airport Souvenir Ever

That pesky rule requiring I arrive at the airport two hours prior to my international flight when I flew from Puerto Vallarta back to Minneapolis the other week assured that I had plenty of time to browse every single gift shop in the place.

In my browsing, I came across this -- a little ceramic toilet with the words Puerto Vallarta, Mexico painted on it. And a marlin. And a sunshine. What's up with that?

Who would want such a thing? A spring breaker? Maybe?

It seems more of a gag gift than anything else, but it did give me a chuckle.

Japanese Kit Kats

A friend of mine recently returned from a trip to Asia. In a layover in a Japanese airport, she picked up a bag of fruity Kit Kats.

The bag included peach, berry and green tea Kit Kats.

Hmmmm. Not too sure these will catch on here in the U.S.

My Best Feature? Sexy Brain

I snapped this shot at the Humane Society Walk for the Animals over the weekend.

Where can I get one of these shirts?

Bring the 2016 Olympics to Ely, Minnesota!

Ely, Minnesota has applied to host the summer Olympics in 2016.

The town's Olympic committee announced its plans two days ago, on April 1, 2009.

When asked how Ely compares with Madrid, another city that is also in the running for the 2016 summer Olympics, an Ely committee spokesperson said:

"Do you know how much it costs to fly to Madrid? A lot more than it costs to drive to Ely."

Take a gander at their press conference below:



April Fool's Day joke or no -- it's quite a brilliant marketing scheme for the city.

Besides, they're actually gaining support, so who knows?

You can join the Ely 2016 Facebook page.

Or you can visit the Ely 2016 web site.

Dicky Coupling and Monkey Butt

Speaking of pictures from the auction of my grandfather's junk yard business ...

I found this one sent to me by my uncle, Michael Westhoff, who is a freelance photographer.

I remember when we found this can, buried beneath a heap o' junk. We giggled and giggled and giggled some more.

What in the world was Dickey Lubricant Compound for Dickey Coupling?

This picture reminded me straight away of another one shot by yet another freelance photographer, Mark Trockman, a man that I work with to cover assignments for a local newspaper.

The other week, while touring a newly-opened tool store in my neck of the woods, Mark snapped this picture of a product called Anti Monkey Butt with me in the background laughing.

You've got appreciate the wonders of modern marketing. Still though, I'm not really sure I know what Dicky Lubricant or Anti Monkey Butt do ...



Photos (c) Michael Westhoff and Mark Trockman

Please Pack my Box With ...

My grandfather owned a junk yard. He didn't like to call it that. To him, it was a "salvage operation."

To everyone else though, the words "junk yard" sufficed.

He passed away a year and a half go. As a result, his business was auctioned off. Most of it went to scrappers who came in and bought up the metal.

I was there, not buying, but taking pictures. Those pictures have been languishing on a memory card since then. I hadn't addressed them. The auction had been too sad.

But I dug them out the other day. Among them was this shot, a close up of a piece of paper that had been threaded through an old-fashioned typewriter. The typewriter was outside in a pile of scrap metal. The piece of paper had been there for who knows how long.

It reads:

Please pack my box with seven dozen lacquer jugs.

What? What kind of a sentence was that?

I promptly emailed it to my uncle, a man with a deep love for all things odd, who wrote back with an answer.

The sentence, according to him, should have read:

Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs.

It's similar, he said, to:

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

I was lost and confused. I had no idea what either one of these sentences meant. But now I know. Each one contains every letter of the alphabet.

Apparently, back in the day, typing teachers used to make their students practice their keyboarding skills by typing these sentences over and over.

Hmmm. I don't remember that. Have I just dated myself?

Happy Holidays 2008!

It's been a busy holiday season for me this year. Going here, going there. Hosting this, hosting that.

All the hustling about has been paid off by numerous laughs and fun.

Although I'm not too sure my dog Aries would agree.

While we got quite a few laughs from his Christmas getup, he wasn't pleased to be playing the role of Santa.

Happy Che-lloween

This year, for Halloween, I decided to go as Che.

Isn't this hilarious?

And the best part is, you can dress up like Che, too. Just follow the link at the bottom of the image!

Che Guevarize ! powered by Fluctuat.net

Next Season's Dancing with the Stars

This photograph arrived in my inbox courtesy of a friend. It was a piece of forwarded junk email I actually enjoyed.

Whoever altered this picture did a damn fine job. Kudos to him or her!

Can You Trust a Maverick?

One of my college roommates sent me this picture of her truck.

Right or left or somewhere in between, you've got to appreciate the creativity.

Blah-Blah

You know you get too much junk mail when you start getting credit card solicitations that look like this...

I wonder how much the authoring copywriter got paid for this campaign.

Seeking Revenge

I don't spend my days hanging out in liquor stores.

Even though this now marks my second blog posting in one month's time about a funny find in a liquor store, I really don't spend a lot of time frequenting these fine establishments. Really. I don't.

Anyway...here goes.

While in San Diego for a wedding, I ended up in a liquor store. I was there with some others. Our mission was to pick up some bottles of wine for a family gathering. We were instructed to purchase red wine, preferably Merlot and definitely not Shiraz.

But I tend to stray from the rules. Once the Merlot was in hand, I began perusing the other bottles.

That's when I came across an Australian wine called "Kelly's Revenge." I had to have it!

Plus, it was a forbidden Shiraz, which meant I double had to have it!

Kelly's Revenge was purchased and taken to the family get-together. However, it quickly got pushed aside and pushed to the back in lieu of the favored and requested Merlot and somehow the evening passed and I never got to have my revenge.

And now I'm back home in Minnesota wondering what will become of that bottle. It will sit, no doubt, in the host's cabinet, as nobody in that home had wanted a Shiraz.

Maybe it will wait for me until my return trip to San Diego; although I don't know when that will be.

And so today, while running errands, I decided to pop into an area liquor store known for it's vast and global selection. Alas, they carry no Kelly's Revenge.

Never even heard of it, the clerk said.

I guess this means I'm still seeking revenge.

Minne Soda

Hey Kelly.

Yeah?

What's your favorite kind of soda?

Fanta. What's yours?

Minne Soda.

And so goes the joke.

Over and over again.

It's pretty clever, really. Especially when you learn that the play on words is attributed to a four year-old.

The joke would never fly with a four year-old in Minnesota, a place where "soda" is faithfully called "pop." But I had to hand it to this East Coast kid. His Minne Soda joke was smart.

The four year-old in question is the son of my dear friend Michelle, who I've been staying with for a few days in her suburban New York home. For weeks she had been telling her son that I was coming to visit all the way from Minnesota. Unacquainted with U.S. geography, he heard something entirely different.