The entire kitchen is Sandee’s playground, and that includes the chalkboard. I’m not sure what holiday she’ll decide to honor next.

She’s been busy elsewhere at home too.

Jappy Jaladays begets a number of other punny greetings:

• Merry Mojitos!
• Merry Margaritas!
• Tijuana celebrate? Hope you do.
• Party tortilla tired!
• Don’t let the season tequila.
• Salsa nice having you in our lives.
• Let’s go singing Christmas Cuervos!

Perhaps Talk Like A Pirate Day has been too successful when NPR hosts are doing it, but anything that’s so important to our children’s future success is important enough for me. And if you need a brush up on your skills, don’t miss this instructional video.

TLAPD, Talk Like A Pirate Day, arrrr, holiday, pirate, talk

Hop to it, dogs. Peer an eye at thar video and argue not w’the cap’n:

Tuesday September 19th 2006 is Talk Like a Pirate Day! Talk Like a Pirate Day only comes once a year (on September 19th), this year it falls on a Tuesday. If you’re not ready yet, you can learn more about this international holiday on the About TLAPD page or practice some phrases from the PiratePhrases page. After all, you don’t want to be handed the BlackSpot when the holiday is over!

holiday, pirate, talk, Talk Like A Pirate Day, TLAPD, arrrr

There’s no question that the video mentioned this morning is valuable resource for all of us, but our responsibility to our nation’s future demands more. The good folks at Cook Memorial Library in Tamworth NH are an example to us all with their series of instructional sessions in preparation for Talk Like A Pirate Day.

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Extra: start your instruction with this list of phrases:

• “Arrrgh-Bring me a servin’ wench to bid me me pleasures!”
• “Argh-lad, is that Lee Elliott over there – or am I as mad as a salted herring?”
• “Billions of blue blistering barnacles!” – Oh My God!
• “Hop to it, dogs: Thar be leftover catering booty in the break room for plunderin’.”
• “Sixteen men an’ a copier mess — yo, ho, ho and a bottle of toner.”
• “Avast, men! Get a spyglass full of the doubloons on *that* vessel.”
• “I’ll be keelhaulin’ the next one of ye what leaves ye filthy Tupperware in the break room sink!”
• “Arrr, matey, have your parrot call my parrot and we’ll one day partake of noontime grub together.”
• “No, Bob Dess, I will not ’shiver your timbers.’ I will, however, call my attorney.”
• “To arms, me lads! The spoils of the snack machine shall be ours, to each in a fortieth share!”
• “Me cell phone fell deep into Davy Jones’ locker Nobody flush… I’ll go get me hook.”
• “Save that last donut for me, unless ya care to feel the cold steel of my hook hand up yer arse, matey.”
• “Be that a peg leg, or arrr ye just happy to cast yer eyes upon me?”
• “Fax ahoy, mateys!”
• “Avast! A Team Builders meeting off our schedule’s port bow! Scuttle yer productivity, mateys, and prepare to be bored-ed!”
• “No increase in me pay? Arrr, boss, let me tell ye where ye can store that hook!”
• “Hold that elevator, ye whoreson bilge rat!”
• “Ye bent my ear with yer lubberly questions WITHOUT tryin a reboot first? Arrr! It’s the plank for you, ye mangy cur… and thank ye for calling Microsoft Tech Support!”
• “Arrr, load the Canon, wench, and collate me copies!”
• “Avast, ya scurvy knave! Brave be ye, for certain, but arrr ye willin’ ta die fer that parking spot?”
• “Twenty paces past the Magic Fountain of Water… bear ye left past the Chamber of Meetings… and a minute’s voyage down the Great Carpeted Hallway… the unisex bathroom’ll be on yer port side.”
• “Aye, if it’s a large treasure chest and amazin’ booty ye seek, fix yer gaze upon the receptionist.”
• “Boss, I’ll be borrowin’ a coupla doubloons from petty cash fer some Ho Ho’s and a bottle of rum.”
• “Aaaarrrrrghhh! Who among us floated the air mead?”
• “Arrr! I’ve arrr!anged for Arrr!lene in arrr!chives to send up that arrr!ticle on arrr!bitration.”
• “Avast, ye demon copy machine! Taste the wrath of my arse!”
• “Arrr, I have made note of yer demands and I have but one question for ye: Will ye be wantin’ slivers o’ potato fried in the popular French style with that?”

Thanks to an aside in a sad/angering story at Copyfight, I’m now up on Bloomsday. Here it is, as explained by Wikipedia:

Bloomsday is observed annually on June 16 to celebrate the life of Irish writer James Joyce and commemorate the events in his novel Ulysses, all of which took place on the same day in Dublin in 1904. The day is also a secular holiday in Ireland. The name derives from Leopold Bloom, the protagonist in Ulysses, and June 16 was the date of Joyce’s first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle, when they walked to the Dublin village of Ringsend.

The event is commemorated with a range of cultural activities including academic conferences, Ulysses readings and dramatisations, pub crawls and general merriment. Enthusiasts may often dress in Edwardian costume to celebrate the Bloomsday.

Famous Celebrations
The first celebration took place in 1954 and a major five-month-long festival (ReJoyce Dublin 2004) took place in Dublin between April 1 and August 31, 2004. On the Sunday prior to the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday in 2004, 10,000 people in Dublin were treated to a free open air breakfast on O’Connell Street consisting of sausages, rashers, and black and white puddings.

The Rosenbach Museum & Library, in Philadelphia, PA is the home of the handwritten manuscript of Ulysses and celebrates Bloomsday with a street festival including readings, Irish music, and traditional Irish food provided by local Irish-themed pubs.

James Joyce, Ulysses, Leopold Bloom, Bloomsday, June 16, literature, festival, holiday, literary festival, celebration

Ian Chadwick’s In Search of the Blue Agave begins:

“Tequila is Mexico,” said Carmelita Roman, widow of the late tequila producer Jesus Lopez Roman in an interview after her husband’s murder. “It’s the only product that identifies us as a culture.”

No other drink is surrounded by as many stories, myths, legends and lore as tequila and its companion, mezcal. They transcend simple definition by reaching into the heart of Mexico, past and present. The turbulent history of Mexico is paralleled in the stories of tequila and mezcal. One cannot fully appreciate Mexico without some understanding of tequila’s place in its history and culture.

So as we celebrate Cinco de Mayo, that victory of Mexican forces over French invaders, raise a glass of tequila in General Ignacio Zaragoza’s honor.

(More of Michael Calderwood’s delicious photos are online.)

The Bellagio is all done up for the holidays, Vegas-style (which means it’ll give you a headache).

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Snow, thick and heavy because of the thaw these past few days, covers Warren. Our rocket stands tall for all seasons.

happy holidays, warren, new hampshire, warren nh, winter, snow, rocket, postcard, holiday card, holiday cheer, holiday, holidays, 2005

I like Christmas as much as anybody (well, anybody who likes Christmas), but I’m a “happy holidays” guy. Why? because Christmas and the holidays aren’t about me, they’re about the way we spread happiness and joy to others, no matter how they celebrate. So while I quietly hope for my own merry Christmas, I resist the urge to wish everbody else a happy Festivus and opt for “happy holidays.”

That’s why I can watch this video and get quite a chuckle. Yes, Russell Arch and Lisa Kushell are reporting on the war on x-mas and all its bloody gory.

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There is, supposedly, some historical meaning to our Thanksgiving holiday, but all I can figure out is that I wasn’t there and it probably didn’t go as I’ve been told. Thing is, Thanksgiving isn’t so much about what we were, but who we are. Thanksgiving celebrates the two most important things in life: food and family.

Almost unique among US holidays, retailers haven’t yet found a way to commercialize it. International readers may wonder how a US holiday can exist without commercial involvement, but they should know that we make up for it in the way we eat. We will stuff ourselves, then get seconds and perhaps more. We will tell stories or play a game. Then we will have desert; apple and pumpkin pies are the tradition. After that, it’s back to the turkey again.

tags: apple, desert, eat, family, food, holiday, holidays, meal, pumpkin pies, stuffing, thanksgiving, thanksgiving holiday, turkey