How to Have Fun in 1896

Every Buffet Needs a Beverage

1915 Coca-Cola ads
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The first Coca-Cola ad appeared in the Atlanta Journal on 29 August 1886, just three weeks after it was introduced at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta. It was touted as a cure for indigestion, morphine addiction, and various other ailments. Read more at Coca-Cola Heritage Timeline.

Tips for Using Your High-Tech Communication Device

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Consider this...

Help Save The Library Of Michigan

Clicking this button will take you to a great website where composing and sending a letter or email to your representatives in the Michigan legislature is made very easy. When you get there, click on the red, white and blue button to access the communication tool.

A Visit to the Open Library

The Book of Live Dolls, by Josephine Scribner Gates, was my introduction to the delights of the public library. I was about eight years old at the time and, of course, had dolls of my own. My imagination went wild.

The Story of Live Dolls was the first of three parts in The Book of Live Dolls. You can read it right here, thanks to Open Library. (By default, the book opens on the title page, but if you page up once with the arrow at the upper right, you'll find the first illustration. If you page up more than that, you'll find several blank pages and the red cover!)

A hundred years ago, apparently, authors did not write "down" for young readers, vocabulary-wise. Children had to read "up." That didn't hurt my enjoyment of the book, and I'm guessing I learned some new words thanks to Ms. Gates. I'm just sayin'.

A Day at the DIA

My daughter, granddaughter, and I would like to thank Target for sponsoring a free day for families at the Detroit Institute of Arts. We had a great time.

DIA permits visitors to photograph items in its permanent collection. My "real" camera is on the fritz, but I took lots of photos with my iPhone and am having a good time playing around with them in Paint Shop Pro.

Above: a few of DIA's resident faces. Below: a painting too big for the iPhone to handle!

I-75 at 9 Mile Road

Associated Press: Flames shot hundreds of feet into the air after a gasoline tanker exploded Wednesday night underneath a highway overpass near Detroit, collapsing part of the overpass onto the interstate below. (July 15)

What's left of the 9 Mile Road overpass is being demolished as I type this, and I-75 will be closed to traffic for at least a week. Luckily, nobody was seriously injured.

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Update: Wow! Kudos to the amazing team of workers who tore down the remains of the bridge and repaved the damaged road surface in an incredibly short timeframe so I-75 could be up and running much sooner than expected. Nice going!

An Armchair Tour of Extreme Landscapes

As a native Michigander, I've certainly heard of Sudbury, Ontario, but until today I knew nothing of it but the name. I found very interesting pictures and information at Manufactured Landscapes, a blog which explores extreme man-made landscapes such as quarries, recycling yards, big factories, mines, dams, military places, and buildings. Treat yourself to an armchair tour. You may end up squirming in your seat, but not from boredom!

A Visit to Kentucky's State Capitol Building

Kentucky State Capitol

Click on the image above for a photo tour of this beautiful building.