Almanac for May 15th

Erin O'Riordan's Almanac for May 15th: https://ko-fi.com/post/May-15-Welcome-to-the-Jungle-of-Nool-G2G71FPCDW

“On the fifteenth of May, in the Jungle of Nool,
In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool...” - Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who

Today's Observance: St. Dymphna's Day

Bummer May 15

May 15, 1886: Poet Emily Dickinson dies of kidney disease at her home in Amherst, Massachusetts. She’s 55 years old. Dickinson has not left the home since 1865.

May 15, 1953: Chester “Chet” Miller dies in a car crash during practice for the 1953 Indianapolis 500. He is 50 years old. 

May 15, 2016: Jane Little (born Jane Findley) plays with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, as the double bass player has done since 1945, when she made her debut at age 16. Little is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the musician with the longest tenure with a single orchestra. Little, who is being treated for multiple myeloma, collapses on stage as the orchestra plays “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” She dies later in the day.

“I Hope This Email Finds You (‘90s Music Version)”

I hope this email finds you out of office, visiting nirvana.

Finds you desperately pondering.

Finds you in your flowered hat, having struck up the band and watched the fireflies dance, silver moon sparkling.

Finds you having crawled beneath my veins, neither knowing nor caring what your heart is for.

Finds you just like the ocean under the moon.

Finds you turning on the Rolling Stones, having been granted an hour to kiss the hero of your choosing.

Finds you in seedy bars and down darkened woods with silent trees.

Finds you, your power, your pleasure, and your pain.

Finds you sitting at the diner on the corner as you finish up your coffee and it’s time to catch your train.

Finds you crying sometimes while you’re lying in bed.

Finds you in a phone booth, cradling the phone between your ear and your shoulder as you listen to a reading from Dr. Seuss, an icy Nescafe in one hand and a candy bar in the other.

Finds you some kind of verb, some kind of moving thing, some hand motioning to rise, to rise, to rise.

Finds you wanting that honey and letting me out.

Finds you making me over until I’m all I wanna be (a walking study in demonology).

Finds you waiting in the pouring sun.

Finds you like the embers, never fading, in the city by the lake.

Finds you not being a gentleman, so help me Jebus.

Finds you knowing that the cornstalks talk, each to each.

Finds you in your Field of Dreams, the parking lot, with spare time to tend rhymes like botany.

Finds you hanging round enjoying double cherry pie with a frosty glass of disco lemonade, and

Finds you behind the lunch counter with Our Lady of the Jabberwock, so serenely helping her serve the boysenberry punch.

P.S. I hope this email finds you dumping your boyfriend.

(an original poem by Erin O'Riordan, written between January 2nd and January 24th, 2025. Edited January 26th from suggestion by Tit Elingtin.)

If you'd like me to snail mail you a hand-written copy of this poem, go to ko-fi.com/kofisupporter86474 and donate $1 or more. Make sure to leave me the mailing address in the notes. 

More than 30 airmen from Joint Base Charleston - Air Base volunteered their time to read Dr. Seuss books to local children from Kindergarten through fifth grade at St. Andrews Elementary School in Charleston. (U.S. Air Force Graphic by Airman 1st Class Tom Brading). Taken on March 2, 2012.

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Wordless Wednesday: A Writer's Merry Christmas

Whether or not you celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, have a happy and safe December 25th.

Enokson on Pinterest.





















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Scrooge Is Looking For A Taxi In this modern retelling of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," Scrooge is looking for a taxi to get home on Christmas Eve. But he will get the ride of his life, as he is walked through his past, his present and his future to end up a changed man. Set in modern day Athens, this science-fiction version of the classic ghost story is guaranteed to make you smile.

The Hanukkah Hotness, Night 8: Zac Efron

I'm going to be bluntly honest and say that I do not enjoy the music of High School Musical. This does not mean that Zac Efron is not utterly beautiful. Zac is Jewish on his father's side, and his surname is the Hebrew word for the lark.





This Hanukkah hottie is also a young prince of literary adaptations. He was in Charlie St. Cloud (a Ben Sherwood novel), The Lorax (a Dr. Seuss classic) and The Lucky One, the Nicholas Sparks favorite which I read in April.

I saw the movie in November. It's not as good as the book, and  I don't think anyone will accuse Zac Efron of being the greatest actor of his generation. He brings a lot of heart to the role of Logan Thibault, opposite Taylor Schilling as Beth Green. They do their best with these characters, but the book versions are simply more powerful. The ending that works so well in print loses much of its suspense on screen.

Zac Efron is also notorious for dropping a condom onto the red carpet at the Lorax premiere.

[2026 note: The video that was here is no longer available.]

I saw The Lorax in October. It was a pretty good cartoon, although not Despicable Me good. I didn't love the musical numbers, but I did think it managed not to garble Dr. Seuss' message.

The Hebrew word for the lark also belongs to one of 2012's saddest literary losses, the screenwriter, former journalist, essayist and New York Times best-selling author Nora Ephron. She passed away in June after a battle with leukemia. She was best known for writing the films When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle - neither of which I've seen. The Nora Ephron film I did connect with and thoroughly enjoy was her last, Julie and Julia, about Julia Child and the food blogger Julie Powell.

Why Reading the Classics is Still Important for Youth Today (Guest Post)

There is a shared culture when it comes to growing up in America, there is no doubt about that. Our country is a country that has a respect and fondness for the past, even as we keep moving forward and doing things that in the past were unthinkable. 

One of those shared cultural experiences happens in elementary school, in which most kids throughout the country are taught to read the same books. Everyone knows who Dr. Seuss is, who Rudyard Kipling is, who Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are and who Shel Silverstein is. These are all things we become accustomed to as children, and it gives us a shared language. The process continues throughout the rest of schooling as well, as we all get older we begin reading Shakespeare, George Orwell, Frederick Douglass, Kurt Vonnegut, Oscar Wilde, John Steinbeck and dozens of others.

These books, as well as many others that are both newer and older, are considered the classics. They are considered the books that every person should read because it will shape how they look at the world, and how they act and think within that world. But, an unfortunate thing occurs when we get out of school, we stop reading. There are tons of classics out there, but we read only a few in school, and then stop doing it altogether. It is a shame because there is a lot more we can share with each other through our experiences with these classics. Learning does not stop with school, it should continue throughout life, and so should reading the classics. There are more classics out there than you can imagine, and you can spend a lifetime reading them, without reading them all. Here are some reasons why you should read the classics:

Cherish the mind

With the decrease in reading there has been a huge increase in health club memberships. In some way, this is a roundabout argument, in which humans have begun to be more obsessed with their bodies than they are with their minds. After all, when you walk down the street or step into a bar, a potential mate can not see your mind, but they can see your muscles. The mind is the key to living a long, fulfilled life, not the body. That is not to say that you should neglect the body, but rather that you should not do so in sacrifice of cultivating your mind. That is why you should read the classics.

You get a better vocabulary

In today’s text crazy world, in which vocabulary has been slaughtered at the altar, reading the classics can curb those tendencies toward monotony and the destruction of language.

About the Guest Author: William is a freelance writer for numerous publications, both online and in print, in article form and in blog form. He writes on numerous subjects, including pop culture, history and even car insurance. 

Blue Monday #5 ~ Blue Book Value, Part One

These beautiful book covers all have something in common: the color blue. They all come from my Books Worth Reading board on Pinterest.

We start with, quite possibly, my favorite book ever.



Then, one of my favorite books when I was in middle school - and still enjoyable to read when one is an adult.



This is among my favorite works of contemporary literature.



This is a long book, but one I found myself unable to put down. A feminist, Neo-Pagan retelling of Arthurian legend? Yes, please!



Finally, the first blue-covered book that I ever fell in love with.

Blessed Yule! and Welcome, Witches Yuletide Ballers

Rather than a Yule tree, I like to put up a large wreath, wrapped in lights and garlands, then suspended from the ceiling. I have a theme to many of my Yule ornaments. Many of them have to do with my favorite children's books.

First, there's Hedwig. She was a gift from the aunt and uncle who got me started on Harry Potter in the first place.

Did you know that J.K. Rowling chose the name Hedwig for the beautiful white owl because St. Hedwig is the Catholic patron saint of orphans?

Here are a few of my many Alice in Wonderland collectibles. I have many different editions of this book, one of my all-time favorites. I even brought back Alicia en el Pais de las Maravillas from Madrid.

A couple of my ornaments are from Dr. Seuss stories. The little bell has The Grinch and his dog Max on it, and the silver one is either Thing One or Thing Two from The Cat in the Hat. I've also included the adorable Pat the Bunny ornament - this was quite possibly my first favorite book.

I actually don't have a lot of my childhood Dr. Seuss books anymore - I donated them to a school where I used to work. I do have I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today, which wasn't originally mine, but which resided at my grandparents' house, in a book box on the enclosed front porch, for years. I have many pleasant memories of Christmas Eves at that house.

Next, we have Rainbow Brite. Okay, she's really more of a cartoon character than a book character, but as you'll see, I also have a Rainbow Brite book. (The read-along cassette went missing years ago.)

What girl doesn't want a horse with a rainbow mane and tail?

My newest acquisition (thanks, Mom!) is Hallmark's Twilight Eclipse ornament, depicting Bella Swan, Edward Cullen and Jacob Black.

If I could have an ornament from any kids' book in the world, I'd like to have one from Dianna Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle. They could be the anime versions of Howl and Sophie from the Studio Ghibli film, but preferably it would be right after Sophie cleaned up in Howl's bathroom, he tried to dye his hair blonde and it came out slightly pink. He's so vain about his hair!

But Howl and Sophie are the cutest fictional wizard-witch couple this side of Ron and Hermione. I want her power to make things happen to inanimate objects by talking to them. And he saw her once (on May Day) and fell in love with her - so romantic. Cheesy fan video? I think so.



My Yule wreath will look stylish and well-read this year. Thank you to the gracious hosts of the Witches Yuletide Ball!

http://witchofhowlingcreek.wordpress.com/
http://onthebroomstick.blogspot.com/