Connie had better start brushing up.

Conrad Black reports to jail today but, never fear, his demonstrated facility with language should enable him to pick up Prison Slang with very little effort. I'm predicting his next book will be a heartrending tale of bitches and screws. He'll be referencing The Prison Lexicon instead of The Oxford Dictionary.

RIP Jeff Healey

Jeff Healey, 41: Award-winning musician:

Legendary Toronto blues guitarist and old-style jazz aficionado Jeff Healey died yesterday in Toronto's St. Joseph's Hospital after a lifelong battle with a rare form of cancer – retinoblastoma – that blinded him in his first year. He was 41.

His dad worked with Mr. Nag for many years. We loved his CBC radio show, My Kind of Jazz, where he spun old jazz records from his own collection.

I'm taking Spanish lessons from Grow a Brain

This post came along just in time. I'm sure these phrases will come in handy when I'm in Barcelona next month:

Me gusta tu cabeza y tu estamago.
I like your head and your stomach.

No, guardia. No tengo marihuana.
No, officer. I have no marijuana.

Es como matar un toro con una pistola.
It is like killing a bull with a pistol.

Sólo Nixon podía ir a China.
Only Nixon could go to China.

Lavase, y conduce a mi.
Bathe her, and bring her to me

See more invaluable Spanish phrases at growabrain

Les Simpsons achètent une voiture

I think they're much funnier in French.

via Frogsmoke.com

Emily Carr died on this day in 1945

Remembering artist Emily Carr

"Fiercely independent and complex, Emily Carr is a rebel, a recluse and a feminist before her time. And on March 2, 1945, the passionate painter and writer dies at her home in Victoria, B.C. Her distinctive palette is inspired by an insatiable fascination with native culture and the landscape of Carr's cherished British Columbia. And, as this clip illustrates, it was her eccentricity and a friendship with the Group of Seven that brought Carr the prominence and reputation she holds today."

A Bunch of Funny Guys Talking About Politics and Religion

Via 3 Quarks Daily

Salem witch trials began on this day

Today in History: "Salem authorities interview three women—including the Indian slave, Tituba—about accusations of witchcraft, thus beginning the infamous witch trials. More than 150 people would be jailed over the next months. Nineteen were convicted and hanged, and another man pressed to death, before the trials ended."

Commie Propaganda

Click on the image to view old Russian propaganda posters set to the Soviet national anthem.

Via Blort

The internet has something for everyone

A while back I posted a bit about Levy County public library volunteers,most of whom are retirees, being forced to provide urine samples. Since then sites like this have been sending 5 or 6 visitors my way each day. I suspect they're disappointed with what they find here.

Hunger Is the Best Sauce

During the siege of Paris, the city's starving populace ate its horses, dogs, and cats, and eventually even turned to rats and zoo animals.

Futility Closet tells us what was on the menu during those tough times.