A Nails Have Been Spit Weekly Link Round-Up

I have a feeling that one of the absolute last lines of poetry I will ever forget is by the immortal Robbie Burns: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft a-gley." In other words, plans have a tendency to get messed up. Especially if you're really looking forward to the outcome.

I've mentioned the cabin we've rented down in Ramsey Canyon. What I didn't mention is that it's in celebration of Denis's 70th birthday. Well... now he's been subpoenaed to appear in court. Not only is his court appearance scheduled during the time we're supposed to be in that cabin, but it's also on his birthday.

It's so stupid. Five years ago, we were burgled and had an item stolen that was used in the commission of another crime. It's taken this long for everyone to get their ducks in a row so the trial can commence. All Denis can say is, "Yes, that was my property, and yes, it was stolen from me." Arrrrrrgh!

Yes, we're going to work something out. Yes, one way or the other, we'll be in that cabin down in Ramsey Canyon. But what a pain in the neck! Pardon me while I stomp out to the corral. Those link critters can be pretty good about calming me down. Head 'em up! Moooove 'em out!

[UPDATE: Denis got in contact with someone who actually knows what's going on. The trial isn't even scheduled to start until June 25. Why in the world did that subpoena say June 6-- just to see if either of us would go berserk and break out in monkey bites?  (Wow, I must've been upset. I haven't used that phrase about monkey bites in years!) Our trip down to Ramsey Canyon is no longer in jeopardy, and we're even going to stay an extra day. Yippee!]

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Paranoid and madcap, The Manchurian Candidate is our timeliest novel.
• Do "biodegradable" plastic bags actually degrade?
• Here's why it all changed: Pink used to be a boy's color and blue was for girls.
• The real story behind Harper Lee's lost true crime book.
• Rare children's books have been digitized by the Library of Congress.
• The Styrian people who ate arsenic for breakfast. 
• Christopher Walken reading The Three Little Pigs is simply spectacular.
• M.A.S.H. theme tune: the 15-year-old who co-wrote it made $1 million more than the director.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• A brandy flask from the Titanic sold for a huge price.
• A mudlark discovered a giant mammoth tooth on the banks of the River Thames.
• Waves have uncovered an infamous 1919 shipwreck tied to mutiny.
• Divers have found Ice Age megafauna remains in an underwater Mexican cave. 
• Archaeologists have uncovered an ancient Roman game board at Hadrian's Wall.
• Why was this Valley of the Kings tomb undecorated?
• A 1,000-year-old pouch from Bolivia contains traces of five mind-altering drugs.

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• What scallops' many eyes can teach us about the evolution of vision.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Barbara Erni, the Liechtensteinian lady burglar and her mysterious trunk. 
• "The White Devil's Daughters" -- women who waged war against sex trafficking in San Francisco.
• Thérèse Humbert, the Parisian fraudster with complicated tales of imaginary millionaires.

►The Happy Wanderer◄

• The astounding length of seaweed in the Sargasso Sea.
• The Katskhi Pillar-- the most isolated church in the world. 
• Crime fiction has left its mark all over Milwaukee.
• The French Riviera: a sunny place for shady people.
• The Vikings casually left graffiti all over Europe.
• North Carolina bald cypresses are among the world's oldest trees.

►I ♥ Lists & Quizzes◄

• Beautiful images: America's grandest movie theaters turned into gyms and supermarkets.
• Top ten bilingual books.
• Sixteen poet biopics, ranked.
• Seven novels that go down the primrose path of small-town idylls.
• A look at ten all-time great island stories.
• Nineteen amazing books that prove indie presses deserve your attention.
• Fifty-nine dead Game of Thrones TV characters who are still alive in the books.
• Choose your broom and discover what kind of witch you are. (I'm #9.)

That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.

Have a great weekend, and read something fabulous!