And then a wet, brown hell broke loose, flooding downtown Boston.

Go see Eric Postpischil's Molasses Disaster Pages and read all about the explosion of a two million gallon tank of molasses.

And while your there, enjoy a glass of sweet, sticky, fermented irony:

As the rescue workers and clean-up crews tackled the incredible mess the night of January 16, they paused in puzzlement at the sudden ringing of church bells all over downtown Boston. Nebraska had voted on the 18th Amendment and ratified it. Prohibition was law, and churches which had campaigned for it in their pulpits now celebrated. Men up to their ankles in the makings of rum listened for a moment and went back to work.

Frankly, I'm shocked I've never heard of this before. It seems like this event should be common knowledge.

Bluebird

South Knox Bubba gets a funny picture of a bluebird couple. Add your own hen-pecked husband joke in the comments, I did.

I, Toilet

Wait, he's reading the book I'm reading?

I just discovered that Jeff VanderMeer, one of my favorite authors, and the only author who has ever made me stop reading, drop the book, and say "Holy shit. I can't believe how good this guy is.", out loud, has a blog: http://vanderworld.blogspot.com/.

In my own postmodern fantasy world, where Spoon is on top of the Top-40 and ketchup and mustard cost extra, everybody has read and loves VanderMeer's City of Saints and Madmen.

Low shoulder

That's no moon...

...that's a space station!... or maybe a navel orange, or a stuffed olive.

Power of the pen

Alas, a Blog remarks on something remarkable:

For years, many concerned about human rights and disability rights have been trying to get countries like The Czech Republic (along with Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary) to stop the use of 'caged beds,' often used to control those with mental illness and/or disabilities.

And now they've changed their minds about those beds. But why? Did someone threaten to bomb them? Sanctions? No, it was...

A letter. Not just any letter, but a letter from a very influential person, calling for the elimination of these beds. So, who could this incredibly powerful and influential person be? Kofi Anan? Nelson Mandela? Madeline Albright?

Who?? Go find out.