This is what I always say about oaked wines: "it has a bouquet of clarinet reeds."

Very evocative! 

Unfortunately, it's rare to find lilacs in the south except for some special hybrids and even they don't thrive (my mother tried!).  If they did, they would bloom in late March or early April with the dogwoods and azaleas and they wouldn't be as special as they are in the north.

To enjoy lilacs here, I have to do with scented candles!  My aunt in Vermont has a couple beautiful old bushes in her yard and I've enjoyed them when I've visited around Memorial Day.

Sure looks like it in that Cheney thread. So I stopped reading it.

BIC Cristal for Her. 

I could say something cleverer than this might be the 106 post, but I can't be bothered.  Yawn. Good night. 

Time for a pressure cooker buy back program.

Here's a taste of Preston's book in an article he wrote in The Atlantic. If I remember correctly, the book was published in Italian first and then later with revisions (and in English, of course) in the US. The Atlantic article was published after the Italian version. After I read the article, I decided I was buying the book the minute it came out.

Edited  to add a pretty hyperlink after I moved from the iPad to a computer.

Having read the Monster of Florence, I'm with Preston on this one.

Will there be giant puppets?

Duane: your third paragraph is worth an entire post by itself.

I'm sorry.

You should get a reservation to visit the Western Wall excavations. I would hire a guide for an orientation of Jersusalem inside the walls. It's very easy to get turned around when you are trying to get from one point to another. Also, there's a ton to see around the Sea of Galilee if you are interested in New Testament events.

Yes, but the NRCC is giving me a little hope. Check out a few of the blog entries: http://www.nrcc.org/category/blog/.

The National Republican Congressional Committee is making a start:

House Republicans are the Last Line of Defense- in 11 Gifs. Here's the full URL because I'm getting a #fail message in the linking feature: http://www.nrcc.org/2013/03/04/were-the-last-line-of-defense-in-gifs/

Why Obama is Wrong About the Debt in 5 Gifs. http://www.nrcc.org/2013/03/12/the-path-to-prosperity-in-5-chifs-which-is-a-chart-made-of-gifs/

The NRCC blog is built so that it is "mobile responsive." In other words, it looks good on a smartphone, too. 

I want young knees.

Beautiful.