Even Vader has Trouble with the Ladies
Category: random
My Name in Print on a Book!
It isn’t exactly how I want to see my name on a book. The goal here is to be the name that comes after the title, you know, the author? But, I’ll take what I can get for now. You can’t ever be the author if you don’t ever sit down and write. That’s a problem I have, I don’t write nearly enough.
The new edition of California’s Legislature just came out (you can see the old edition here.) I was interning in the Chief Clerk’s office at the time it was being revised and such and helped do research for the book. I don’t quite recall what the research was. It was looking up various dates or verifying said dates. Anyway, that isn’t important; what’s important is that my name is in the acknowledgments section of the book:
Shock of all shocks they spelled my name wrong. Doesn’t matter that I had it verified twice with the editors. I’m sure some “helpful” person at the Printer’s decided I didn’t know how to spell my own name. To you “helpful” printer I say, “die in a fire, please.”
Ira Glass on Getting Good
Words to inspire, words to remember, words to live be. Don’t give up. Get better.
Oddtoberfest 2011
My Oddfellows Lodge holds an Octoberfest dinner every year, cleverly titled, Oddtoberfest. As a Lodge we do a lot of fundraising and community outreach projects, but not Oddtoberfest. For Oddtoberfest we just sit back eat a big meal, drink a lot of beer (which the Lodge brews itself) and eat cakes. It’s pretty great. Oh, we also learn what Octoberfest is all about. Want to give it a guess? Don’t cheat! Just guess… Done? If you guessed it had something to do with the bored, pampered, royalty of Europe you are correct. Give yourself a gold star.
The Oktoberfest tradition started in 1810 to celebrate the October 12th marriage of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to the Saxon-Hildburghausen Princess Therese. The citizens of Munich were invited to join in the festivities which were held over five days on the fields in front of the city gates. The main event of the original Oktoberfest was a horse race. Anniversary celebrations were held annually thereafter that eventually became larger and more elaborate.
Now you know that you and every dumb frat boy in this country celebrating Oktoberfest is a disgusting Royalist pig. Learning is fun!
Anyway, what I really wanted to talk you about today was Dusseldorf mustard. Which until Oddtoberfest 2011 I did not know existed. I don’t know anything about how mustards are made but this was some spicy, tart stuff. Like no mustard I’d ever had before. All I know was that it was delicious and now I have to find some, you should too.