What is there to drink with just minimal risk of blindness or death?

[sovay]

spatch and I went for a walk in the rain this evening just to get out of the house. I approve of the daffodils sprouting through the chain-link and the hyacinths I saw growing in various yards along with the small blue star-bells that seem to be Siberian squills. The cherry trees on our street are just starting to blossom; I'll have to go back for them tomorrow even if it's raining again. They have such a short season. It turned out to be a day for links, so have some more.

1. skygiants, an actual archivist, has weighed in on the Internet Archive's National Emergency Library and the Author's Guild. It is useful information.

2. Courtesy of phi: ancient Egyptian bread baked yesterday. Literally, by the guy who last year was culturing ancient Egyptian yeast. It looks great.

3. Thanks to this extremely impressive bassoon cover of "Toxic," I wound up seeing the original music video by Britney Spears for the first time in my life. It's like La Femme Nikita by John Woo. The thing that interests me about the song is how well it works as an instrumental. My actual favorite version is by the Surfrajettes.

4. I agree with all of the meta, but I also just enjoy the original appreciation of Roger from Disney's 101 Dalmatians (1961). Anyone who can throw a sweater around their shoulders in such debonair, wicked impersonation is worth hanging on to.

5. Sally Wiener Grotta tells her family story of the 1918 flu, the neighborhood sprecher, and her aunt Rose. I had never heard of the Jewish tradition of the sprecher, who talks back the dying. I like it a lot. I like the idea of all of us being the lifeline of words, talking one another back, holding on.

Comments

[gwynnega]

That is a beautiful story about the sprecher. I had never heard of that tradition either.

[sovay]

That is a beautiful story about the sprecher. I had never heard of that tradition either.

If you find out any more, please let me know. My preliminary research so far has just turned up a lot of people named Sprecher, which I see how we got here, but no.

[cynthia1960]

+10000

[jjhunter]

^42

[cynthia1960]

I also liked the bits about Roger and the meta about Gaston.

[sovay]

I also liked the bits about Roger and the meta about Gaston.

I think that if you watch Beauty and the Beast and are confused for even a nanosecond about the romantic plausibility of Gaston, you need to reevaluate your life.

[cynthia1960]

I definitely saw Gaston as a threat and menace.

[thistleingrey]

3. That cover is great. Thanks for linking it!

[sovay]

3. That cover is great. Thanks for linking it!

You're welcome! It may be somewhat on repeat lately.

[dramaticirony]

I was unaware of the Surfrajettes, so you've immeasurably improved my day! And the bassoon cover is a delight, and visually interesting.

Thanks!

And for reminding me of Richard Thompson's cover of Oops... I Did it Again, and the awful pun of introducing Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt as a Breton tune.

[sovay]

Thanks!

You're welcome!

And for reminding me of Richard Thompson's cover of Oops... I Did it Again, and the awful pun of introducing Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt as a Breton tune.

Hah. I don't have the entire concert, so I never heard that! Richard Thompson was the second person I ever heard cover "Oops! . . . I Did It Again." The first was Max Raabe.

[asakiyume]

I loved skygiants' piece. Thanks so much for linking to it.

And I wish everyone could have a sprecher with them during serious illness.

[sovay]

I loved skygiants' piece. Thanks so much for linking to it.

You're welcome. I'm really glad she wrote it.

And I wish everyone could have a sprecher with them during serious illness.

When we can be around other people again, maybe we should revive the tradition.