The full moon does it, too.

Today I was speaking with the principal of a local elementary school. The kids were having "sea sticks" for lunch, some concoction of seafood pressed into a stick-like form.

I'm thinking somebody lost the legal battle on the term "fish sticks."

Anyway, she wasn't looking forward to it. Her quote: "When we have sea sticks, all hell breaks loose."

Behavior problems? Food fights?

"Bizarre things happen."

I may make a trip back there later today just to see the aftermath.

Fish story

(Official cutline) This strange sight greeted visitors to Lake Ruby beside Georgia Southern University's Lakeside Cafe Friday afternoon. According to witnesses, the two fish washed up Friday, apparently after one of the similarly-sized bass (perhaps celebrating Lent) decided to eat the other - and failed. According to a university official, neither fish was enrolled at GSU.

(Non-official cutline) There's been a debate at the office as to whether this is real. We heard about the fish from a phone call, and it's not beyond the realm of possibility that some prankster stuck the fish together and called us. I think it's authentic, though, and Eddie agrees with me, so that makes it right.

The "GSU official" listed in the cutline is an incredulous Mike Sullivan, who also assured me that the fish in question weren't students because they couldn't pass GSU's stringent SAT requirements.
Copyright Jake Hallman/all rights reserved

More on the ribbons.

To extrapolate on a previous post (two or three back), here's what I mean with the ribbons. I took some pictures while driving today, and I think only one person reported me as being a member of Al Qaeda.

Right way to display a ribbon (click to see the full-size version of the pics):


Wrong way to display ribbons:


Right way to display a ribbon:


The really wrong way to display a ribbon:

Moderate to severe brain damage.

Weird thing about me: I can't talk while playing piano. This leads to no small bit of frustration when playing the postlude at church on Sunday and someone comes up to speak to me.

However, I have no problem singing and playing. This morning, I hit upon the solution - I'll just sing whatever I want to say to whomever I'm talking to. Kind of a real life operatic recitative.

I can't wait to see sweet little Mrs. Inge's face when she comes to say hi and I belt out "Fiiii-iiiine, and how are yoooo-ooou doing todaaaaaaay?"

Maybe I'll go more with sprechstimme.

Only one side of the van was painted.

Self-portrait, with trees and strangely-painted van, after removing polarizer from lens and before taking pictures of cute little puppies.
Copyright Jake Hallman/all rights reserved

Fish heads, fish heads...

On the way home, I saw yet another car with the magnetic ribbon-shaped signs on the back. Like practically all of the ones I've seen lately, it had a red, white and blue "pray for America" (or something close) sign and yellow "support our troops" sign.

Noble sentiments, both, but here's what gets me about them: y'know how the lettering is on one leg of the ribbon? So if the ribbon were worn, it'd have the letters at about a 45-degree angle on one leg?

Bad description. Take a look here to see what I'm talking about.

Anyway, on more and more cars I see around here, the whole ribbon has been canted at 45 degrees so the lettering runs straight across, and the round part at the top is pointing off somewhere in the upper left.

I can read in all kinds of directions. Heck, I've even learned to read upside-down (all the better for sneakily seeing what's on an interview subject's desk).

Apparently, the good folks of my fair city believe that few people can do that. But then, a lot of thinking about the war around here is pretty simple-minded.

On another subject, I don't have one of those ribbons, even though I support our troops. Here's how I do it:

I want them to come back home.

Here are some hard realizations: the stated rationale for the war, WMDs, didn't pan out. Our "liberation" is being pretty selective, seeing as one of our largest trading partners just happens to be the biggest (by population) repressive regime on earth. The elections in Iraq come because a Shiite cleric, Sistani, called for them. There's a civil war going on in Iraq, as well as a war against we Americans.

I'll say our troops need the best equipment they can get, they need the best leadership they can get, and they need a plan to get out of Iraq post-haste. That's how I support them.

Besides, it looks like I'm never going to get embedded over there. What's the use of a war if I can't do some journalism from it?

Also, I took one of the weirdest pictures today at work that I've ever taken. I'll post one of 'em after they run in the paper, so be patient.

This little girl was all about her some Georgia Southern Eagles at Monday night's game. Mom and Dad might dress her up like a cheerleader, but she wanted to be down on the court throwin' some elbows.
Copyright Jake Hallman/all rights reserved

Self-motivation.

One of these is mine. There are many others like it, but this one is mine. And two are Kate's. Good to have aspirations.
Copyright Jake Hallman/all rights reserved

First frickin' post.

Okay, this is how it's going to work. I've got a blog of my own over at The Stouthouse, but this place is a bit better-traveled. Thusly, they're going to mirror each other.

After all, Scott makes it look so easy...

Maybe I'll even get a column out of it.

However, since I take a whole lot of pictures, I'll at least have a place to show 'em off now. Picasa is the bomb.