Happy birthday, roosterbear

...and many happy returns of the day.

Today's The Criminal Mind URL

If you've just robbed a bank, and decided to destroy the clothing you were wearing at the time so as to put the police off the scent, where do you stash the loot? This criminal had an answer to that burning question, but seems to have gotten it wrong...

The weekend...and Monday

We had a very stress-free Saturday, mostly. We decided to go out and sit in the park, as the weather was so good. So, we collected two Subway sandwiches (a BMT and tuna, as it happened) and sat in the park and read and listened to our iPods, as well as watching the cute men walk by. Lots of very casually-clothed guys, as it was the first really nice day of the year.

After that, went to the White Cube at Mason's Yard to see the Gregory Crewdson photo exhibition. His photos remind me of stills from The Twilight Zone, except they're photographed someplace in Massachusetts (I couldn't tell where, exactly). Whoever wrote the exhibition notes was NOT from Massachusetts as he referred to "upstate" Massachusetts. There is no such place. Massachusetts has some areas: North Shore, South Shore, Boston, the Cape, the Berkshires, but no "upstate" unless they've added something since I lived there. Perhaps he was referring to New Hampshire?

Edit: I did a Google on one of the businesses shown in one of the photographs, and it's in Pittsfield, so the note should have said "Western" Massachusetts, or perhaps "The Berkshires"..

Then, we walked to Old Compton Street and had dinner at the old Pollo Restaurant, across the streed from Ed's. I can't remember what they call it now but it's some combination of pig and cock...HWMBO had cuttlefish risotto (black with ink...his mouth was starting to look very Goth by the time he was finished) and I had a calzone, which was absolutely huge. I didn't remember it being that big the last time we were there. I ate the middle but left the ends. I had an Italian beer (Messina, it's forgettable [could be its advertising slogan]) and when that was finished I asked for a Diet Coke, but she brought another beer. When I protested that I'd ordered a Diet Coke, she just said, "Really?" Then off to the Number 1 bus and home--they're grubbing up New Oxford Street so it's pretty well impassable, in case anyone is around there.

Sunday we had Pentecost at St. Matthew's, and the Rector decided to put everything but the kitchen sink into the liturgy. There was more there than there was at Easter. This is pretty annoying, really. It's as if the more stuff he puts in (there was an anointing, a kind of rededication liturgy at the end, and various other bits in the middle) the better the liturgy is. That's not what liturgy is about.

Lazed around in the afternoon until Mark Ch. called--we should meet at the gym as early as we could, so I trotted off there, had a good workout, then we walked back to the Elephant and had Chinese food at the Well with HWMBO before Mark went off up North.

Today is pretty nerve-wracking: HWMBO has to have a wisdom tooth extracted, and I have to accompany him as he'll be pretty heavily sedated and anesthetised. Hopefully it will go well but I foresee a couple of soft-boiled eggs in his dining future tonight. I shall bring the newspaper and a good book.

We're back from the hospital dental clinic...

...and HWMBO has one less wisdom tooth. We arrived around 1 pm and waited in a very small waiting room until 1:35 or so, when they called out his name and he disappeared into the examining room. By 2:20 pm they were calling me to join him in the recovery room. He was the first one to be able to get up and go, but we had a hard time finding a taxicab (it took them 20 minutes to send one) and the cabbie was one of those who WOULD NOT SHUT UP. Neither would his satnav, which was quietly giving him the wrong directions.

Kudos to the hospital, which was very efficient: HWMBO said that when he had a wisdom tooth out in Singapore it was much more difficult. No kudos to the cab company, which might have sent a less verbose taxi.

HWMBO is now resting on the sofa and watching BBC News 24.

Today's SPAM[tm] Email

...comes from Mrs. Jennifer Edwards, to wit:

Apostolic Greetings !!!,

God will grant you the willingness and interest to digest this humble narrations though it might be so surprise and strange to believe my story but i knew by the reason of the almighty you will humbly understood and accept to proceed with my proposal though we have not met or seen each other before.

My name is Mrs. Jennifer Edward a widow to Mr.Edward G. Robinson who was a competent business man here in Abidjan Cote d'ivoire , we were married for many yrs without any child till his death in October 2005 after a brief illness. Due to the promise which i revered to him on the alter at the day of our church wedding i decided not to remarry or get a child outside my matrimonial home which is against the holy bible.

My happiness is that my late husband lived a life of a true & worthy Christian and he has this plan before his death which he pleaded with me to appropriate it to accomplishment. He took this decision with me to use this fund in building an orphanage in his name that will accommodate thousand's of children, and also to use part of this fund in helping the less fortunate and to spread the gospel of the lord to the remote places of the world.

He made this deposit of $(3.9Million)USD Three Million nine hundred thousand U.S. Dollars in a Finance Security Company here in Abidjan . Recently, my Doctor told me that i would not last for the next 5 months due to cancer & stroke illness.

Having known my condition i decided to seek for a competent and reliable God fearing person or church to entrust this fund to utilize this fund the way i narrated above as my late husband desired.

The Bible made us to understand that "Blessed is the hand that giveth". I took this decision because i don't have any child that will inherit this money and my late husband's relatives are not Christians and I don't want my late husband's efforts to be used by unbelievers.

I don't want a situation where this money will be used in an ungodly way. This is why I am taking this decision. I am not afraid of death hence i know where i am going. I don't need any telephone communication in this regard because of my health hence the presence of my husband's relatives are around me always. i don't want them to know about this development.

As soon as i receive your reply i shall give you the relevant documents that will legalize you to have access over this fund. I will also issue you an affidavit that will proove you the present beneficiary of this fund in the Finance Security Company. I want you and the church to always pray for me because the lord is my shepherd.

My happiness is that i and my late husband lived a life of a worthy Christian. Whoever that Wants to serve the Lord must serve him in spirit and Truth.

Please always be prayerful all through your life and pray to God to forgive me my sins. Contact me on my private email bellow, any delay in your reply will give me room in sourcing for another church or a God fearing person for this same purpose.

Please assure me that you will act accordingly as i stated herein. Hoping to receive your reply.

Your's Sister In Christ,
Mrs Jennifer Edward

I thought that Edward G. Robinson died in 1973 after having made that immortal movie, Soylent Green. I guess that he survived to live to that great age of 111 and died in the Ivory Coast. AND, he was a competent business man? Who knew?