The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia, a word that is derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Friday, thirteen, and phobia.
Some guys, however, don’t have any fear whatsoever . . .
Culture
Old Guys Rule
When we visit Catalina Island (once or twice a year) we always shop along the main drag (Crescent Avenue) and some of the side streets and mini-malls. I like to get “Old Guys Rule” merchandise, since I pretty much identify with that thought process. OGR stuff is sold throughout Southern California, but is especially abundant on the island. 
There are Old Guys Rule t-shirts, license plates, coffee mugs, beer mugs, picture frames, towels, boxer shorts, hats and more.
Once in a while, an “Old Guys Rule” article will shrink (a lot of my stuff seems to shrink in the closet these days) and Damsel will appropriate it ’cause she likes the stuff too. It makes me feel good when she wears it since she lets me rule sometimes and I think it looks cute on her.
Ink Monkey
Yesterday, I had a dental appointment (two actually – cleaning and some restoration work) in the People’s Republic of Santa Monica. Since I got in the area early, I had some time on my hands so I took a little tour around the downtown area. I ran across this interesting store front. Now I know where the guy with this Satanic paint job gets his tattoos.
Just What Is A Blue Moon?
Tomorrow night, when the full moon rises over North America, it is believed that this will be a “blue moon.” The modern definition for “blue moon” is the second full moon to occur within a calendar month and tomorrow’s full moon will indeed be the second to occur in the month of May, 2007.
Cartoon Image courtesy of NASA.
But hold on – Sky and Telescope magazine retracted it’s 1946 second-in-a-month definition in favor of stating that the “blue moon” is actually based on the four seasons and is the fourth full moon to occur within a season (Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn). Using this definition, a “blue moon” may or may not occur within a calendar month.
It gets even more confusing.
Memorial Day BBQ
This is part of the meal we prepared to celebrate Memorial Day. We started cooking this morning with baby back pork ribs in a special barbecue sauce in the crock pot. The ribs cooked all day until we took them out to the grill and browned them up for about 10 minutes over some smoking hickory chips. The corn was roasting on the grill in their husks before shucking them and browning them a little with butter and pepper brushed on. We also had Cole slaw and baked beans. This meal was every bit as good if not better than your favorite commercial BBQ restaurant.
We took the time last week to send a donation to The Wounded Warrior Project knowing that some of our soldiers would be facing this holiday with serious injuries and we hoped that we could make it a little better holiday for those recovering from their injuries. We hope that you might consider donating to one of our fine Military Charities. Look in our sidebar for a few links to some organizations that make a difference for our troops. God bless our Military Men and Women.
Shimpaku Juniper Bonsai
One of our stops today was to briefly visit the Bonsai Show sponsored by the South Coast Bonsai Association at the South Coast Botanic Garden. This is a picture of a Shimpaku Juniper, one of many beautiful exhibits on display.
USPS Jedi Master Mailbox
While taking my after-lunch walk today, I saw this mailbox painted up to resemble R2D2. Apparently, there is a contest underway to select which Star Wars character gets depicted on a stamp. Yoda is ahead. Click the image for a full-sized view.
From the Washington Post:
Under cover of night, officials at the USPS stealthily deposited 400 of the costumed letterboxes on high-traffic street corners nationwide — about a dozen in the Washington area — to promote a new line of postage stamps. They unbolted mailboxes from sidewalks and replaced them with ones decked in decorative adhesive panels.
The switcheroo, carried out March 16, was intended as a teaser until the new postage design was announced.
The 41-cent stamps — the rate is going up May 14 — were unveiled Wednesday in Hollywood to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars phenomenon. You know the one. And if you don’t, well, that sort of admission will find you subject to all sorts of derision.