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Humans
Their rules are pedantic,Their feet are gigantic.Among their many epic fails,They’ve somehow gone and lost their tails. For all their talk of giant brainsIt’s hard to teach them woofs or yelpsIt’s a wonder how they still remain;That’s why they really need my help. In spite of what I once intendedI found some I’ve close-befriended;We like… Continue reading
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November 29
Today is the anniversary of the day that Enos, the only chimpanzee to orbit the earth, was launched aboard Mercury-Atlas 5 in 1961. It was the final rehearsal of the Mercury program before John Glenn’s orbital flight. Enos completed two orbits, then his capsule reentered the atmosphere and splashed down in the Atlantic. Enos was… Continue reading
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Habitual Habiliments
The habitual habiliments of nuns are habits. “Habit”, meaning the uniform of a Catholic nun, is not related to the word “habiliment” (which means clothing), even though it sounds like it might be. Instead, a nun’s “habit” is short for “habitual” because they wear the same outfit all the time. You might wonder why the… Continue reading
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November 28
It seems like an unusual date to pick — November 28, 1895 — if only because November in Chicago isn’t known for having the most hospitable weather of the year. If you’re going to schedule an event that’s entirely outside, you might be tempted to lean toward, say, July or August. But no, that was… Continue reading
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Street photography
It all started in…well, it’s pretty difficult to pin down a specific point where it all started. It could have been in 1800, when Thomas Wedgewood was the first to produce an image by exposing paper treated with silver nitrate to light. Or maybe it was George Eastman, who patented the the “roll of film”… Continue reading
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November 27
It all started the morning of November 27, 1809. At five AM sharp, a chimney sweep arrived at 54 Berners Street, the home of Mrs. Tottenham, who was known to be a lady of fortune — that is, she was rich. A maid answered his knock, and informed him that there must be some mistake;… Continue reading
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Loudly voustering about
For an old North American colloquial word that started showing up in the 1800s, “foofaraw” has a surprisingly robust entry in the Oxford English Dictionary. “Foofaraw” originated in the western US, and at first meant fussy, vain, or gaudy. It was carried back to England and appeared in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine in 1848: “Them white… Continue reading
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Many happy absurdities of the day
It’s November 26, and there have been some interesting events today. I said it’s November 26, and there have been some interesting events today. One of them, all though not the most interesting, is that Tony Verna was born on this date in 1933. For a closer look, that’s this date in 1933. Why am… Continue reading
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November 26
In some years (not this one), today is Thanksgiving in the US. This isn’t going to be about Thanksgiving, though. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if Thanksgiving isn’t mentioned even once. On a later edit, I guess that should say “I wouldn’t be surprised if Thanksgiving isn’t mentioned more than three times.” Oh, one… Continue reading
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Not my problem
“Patience,” my humans will tell me,But I find that I do not agree.If you ever collect your own humans,Their slowness is what you will see. They insist they must put their big coats on —It’s their fault they have no fur at all.Those humans can’t keep track of their items;They just throw away tennis balls!… Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
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Now Read This
This list includes only “artisanal” sites, by which I mean they’re all authored by individuals. While there are some worthwhile sites created by organizations, this is the kind I prefer to support.
[citation needed] by Molly White
Bedlam Farm Journal by Jon Katz
Full Moon Fiber Art by Maria Wulf
Daring Fireball by John Gruber
Garbagetown by Catherynne M. Valente