talltales

Bhishma was the eighth son born of the goddess Ganga. After his birth the goddess prepared to drown him, as she had his seven brothers. King Santanu saw this and pleaded that she stop. It was then she revealed her godhood to Santanu. The eight, she explained, were immortals condemned to be born in the world of men.   She drowned the first seven sons in the river which bears her name. They had begged her for brief lives. But the eighth son was fated to endure a long life among mortals... Read Full Story

The Virgin Diaries Kimberley A. Johnson (Author), Ann Werner (Contributor) Nonfiction 228 pages CreateSpace. 2010 Suppose you had never visited a place but wanted to go there? You’d probably look at a map before you set out on your journey. You might also try to learn about the landmarks you’ll see on the way. This book is like a map, except that it shows you a variety of routes and landmarks. If you wonder what it’s like to lose your virginity, such a map can be useful. However, this... Read Full Story

I got a call from Google today. I made the first page of search results for my keyword phrase. What happened? I was creating tags for my graphics handbook for small organizations and I hit upon a three word phrase that worked. Which one? You’ll have to find out for yourself by looking at my A mazon listing . The downside? Google doesn’t have any statistics on my phrase. Oh, well. Read Full Story

According to the BBC , web host, EveryDNS.Net, has removed access to Wikileaks.Org due to massive Distributed Denial of Service attacks (DDOS). However, Wikileaks isn’t dead; it’s merely harder to find. Every domain name has an associated numerical IP address and Wikileaks can still be found if you know its number. Supporters of Wikileaks believe in freedom of information and think people deserve to know the truth. I can think of several talk radio hosts who could stand to be more truthful... Read Full Story

I tried to access Wikileaks but wasn’t able to. So, I Googled it. I soon learned that according to Peter Svensson’s AP article , Wikileaks claims to be inaccessible due to massive denial of service attacks. I also learned that the website was a dot.org instead of a dot.com. Armed with this knowledge, I had no trouble accessing its website. However, I can’t access all of it, or its more recent pages. Perhaps Wikileaks is under cyberattack, or perhaps there’s another reason why it can’t be... Read Full Story

Whenever I visit Granny, she always asks me a certain question. Once I told her I didn’t know the answer. She wasn’t satisfied, so I promised to find out. I looked in several sociology journals, but I couldn’t find the answer. So, I told her what I thought sociologists would say. She didn’t buy it. I made up a few answers hoping that one will satisfy her curiosity. Here’s the question: “Why do young people wear those peculiar beards these days?” Here are a few answers. If you have better... Read Full Story

Grandma Charlotte used to tell about her two uncles during Prohibition. Each closely guarded the whereabouts of his still on the mountain behind the farm. One day they chanced to meet as they came down the mountain. Each carried a jug. “Brother,” said the elder, “I’m mighty glad to see you. Have a taste of my moonshine.” “Thanks all the same, Brother,” said the younger, “but as you see, I’ve brought my own.” “I invited you to take a taste,” said the first, drawing his pistol and... Read Full Story

  Dogs did tricks for treats at Pets N’ Stuff in Lakewood today. Surfing Findley took home a gift basket and bag of treats. Meanwhile, a pair of potted pups arrived in bucket seats. Although the event was generally casual, a few of the participants “put on the dog.” Visit True Gifts for cool accessories. Content copyright SciTrans, 2009 Read Full Story

While vacationing this summer in Keelung, Taiwan, I learned that dogs could be taught new tricks. For example, dogs can ride scooters. I saw one such rider on the pier at Bisha Fishing Port during the Dragon Boat races. The dog showed no inclination to steer, merely to ride. Another cool trick is to let five dogs out on the hot roof of an industrial strength metal building. The dogs walk the roof’s periphery, barking at everything in sight, until they weary of the sport and one-by-one... Read Full Story

An opinion article titled, “Good intentions, bad location” appeared recently in the Lakewood Sentinel . It begins by implying that associating certain words together triggers people’s hot buttons. The article then states the intentions of a group involved with one of those words. It concludes that if this group acts on its intentions, other people will be offended. Therefore, the group should maintain goodwill by changing its plans. The words are “mosque” and “Ground Zero.” The article... Read Full Story