Want to know what my favorite Dr. Seuss book is? For some reason, I was never a fan growing up, except for my favorite book: The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. It makes absolutely no sense because I hate hats. Every time I put one on, my head just wants to shiver it back off. But I've lived in two climates in which there are times where hats are necessary in order to sustain life. I've endured cold winters, and I mean cold like -50°F. I had to wear a hat or my ears would've snapped off in that sort of temperature. And now I live here in the Sonoran Desert where it's not a good idea to be out in the sun for prolonged periods without wearing a hat. If you do, you risk cooking your brains, and I'm rather fond of mine.
Recently, I decided that I needed a new hat. The one I've been wearing for several years now does a good job of protecting my tender brains, but it does absolutely nothing about the back of my neck, and I'm tired of it getting sunburned whenever I forget to slather on sunscreen back there.
This is the new hat I bought. Nice wide brim to shade my face and ears. My precious brains are protected, and the back of my neck is protected, too. I even look halfway human in it (which is a miracle). There were only three things wrong with it.
One, the chin strap had to go. That was an easy fix. Two, there's a slit in the back of the hat for a ponytail. I've never had a ponytail in my life, so I sewed that shut. Three, that tan bow at the back had to go. It just looked sorry for itself. Instead, I removed it and purchased two different rolls of wide, grosgrain ribbon to make my own bows. Now I can't make up my mind which one I want to make first: the paint splatter or the butterflies.
What do you think?
I'd better be careful when I mosey out to the corral. Those links might not recognize me in my new headgear-- but at least I'm protected from the noonday sun! Head 'em up! Moooove 'em out!
►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄
- From Baba Yaga to Hermione Granger: why we're spellbound by "witcherature."
- Iconic New York Public Library lions Patience and Fortitude will get a $250,000 laser bath.
- Discover Emily Dickinson's Herbarium: a beautiful digital edition of the poet's collection of pressed plants and flowers is now online.
- Dream Job: get paid to be a bookseller in the Maldives.
- For Sale: A 1699 treatise on the best ways to make salad.
- The Middle East as old Hollywood saw it.
- The pay disparity is alive and well. When their book deal blew up after sexual misconduct allegations against Glenn Thrush, Thrush kept his advance. Maggie Haberman had to pay hers back.
- Social media is helping keep a hilarious and brilliant Scottish language alive.
►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄
- An archaeological dig in Jerusalem has unearthed evidence of a biblical Babylonian conquest.
- The Codex Argentus-- a beautiful and mysterious bible from the sixth century-- is now safely stowed in Sweden.
- Indigenous women are publishing the first Maya works in over 400 years.
- An ancient Celtic woman in fancy clothes was buried in a hollow tree trunk.
- A surprising twist in the hunt for Amelia Earhart's lost plane.
- A sorceress's kit was discovered in the ashes of Pompeii.
- The face of a female Druid from the Hebrides has been brought to life 2,000 years after her death.
- The Aztec death whistle makes one of the scariest sounds you'll ever hear.
►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄
- How did the world's largest frog get so big? Possibly by building its own ponds.
- The U.S. loses a football field-sized patch of nature every thirty seconds.
- Researchers think they know why cats eat grass.
- A human-sized penguin once waddled through New Zealand.
- Florida police found a raccoon burglar inside a high school's vending machine.
- Interspecies breeding is responsible for some squirrels' black coloring.
- Two male penguins in Berlin join a long line of same-sex pairs to adopt an egg.
- Scientists decry the ignorance of rolling back species protections in the midst of a mass extinction.
►Fascinating Folk◄
- Pauline Cushman, the actress who left the stage to become a Civil War spy.
- Steve Cavanagh on writing legal thrillers for the little guy-- and serial con artists.
- How Marian Anderson became an iconic symbol of equality.
- How Tana French inhabits the minds of her detectives.
- Authors Steve Cavanagh and Adrian McKinty: how growing up in Northern Ireland's Troubles shaped them.
- Yashoda D. Shenoy, the 12-year-old girl who runs a free library in India.
- Ten great boundary-breaking women of fiction.
►The Happy Wanderer◄
- Kuala Lumpur noir.
- This historic Michigan library looks like something out of Hogwarts.
- Do not eat, touch, or even inhale the air around the manchineel tree.
►I ♥ Lists & Quizzes◄
- 38 Americanisms the British can't bloody stand.
- Can you match the lock of hair with its author?
- Five great memoirs about mixed-race families.
- The 25 most important characters of the past 25 years.
- Five psychopaths we pity, root for, and identify with.
- The best books about running.
- Eighteen obscure sports that are well worth rooting for.
- Six books by Texan writers you need to read.
- Six novels featuring psychologists and psychiatrists in key roles.
That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday while I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.
Have a great weekend, and read something fabulous!
That is a terrific hat, Cathy. It looks as though it does the job, which is the most important thing. But it also looks comfortable - even better. I may get one like it to go visit that dig in Jerusalem...
ReplyDeleteIt is comfortable, Margot. AND cheap. Now... you can't beat all that with a stick (as we say out on the farm).
DeleteI like the hat! I think the paint spatter, but butterflies are good too. I hate hats as well, but I do have a few. It's a must after skin cancer on my scalp. So, I took a look at the six books by Texas writers (of course I did). Never heard of the books. Never heard of the writers. What fun to check them out!
ReplyDeleteSix new authors? Definitely fun to check them out! (And I think I'm leaning toward the paint splatter, too.)
DeleteThat's the kind of hat I'll look for when my current one wears out!
ReplyDeleteI spent a summer as an English teacher in KL, so I'm going to take a closer look at some of those titles ...
Found the hat on Amazon for under $15.
DeleteThat must've been a very interesting summer, Kate!
Great hat. I try to stay out of the midday sun in the summer, so have little need of a hat But if I did, that's a good one.
ReplyDeleteTexas writers: Well, Attica Locke grew up in Texas and lives in LA, but she writes about Texas -- and her last two books are amazing.
Locke is another author I need to make time for. So little time, so many...yada yada yada.
DeleteI am glad you kept the bow with modifications! Looks like it is very lightweight too.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is-- another plus.
DeleteBy the way, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins was one of my favorite childhood books, too. Then there is the book Hats for Sale which I loved, too.
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of Scottish, I learned of Scottish-Yiddish from reading a mystery set in Glasgow. I would love to hear this spoken, as I grew up hearing Yiddish from relatives.
I wouldn't mind hearing it spoken either.
Delete