Figurine displaying traditional Spanish Easter garb in Cartagena, Spain (photo by Tui Cameron)

With Easter just around the corner, I thought I’d post this photo I took at a gift shop in Cartagena, Spain. As you can see from the sign, tourists often mistake these hooded figures for Ku Klux Klan members. In truth, there is no affiliation.

These hooded robes, called capirotes, are worn by devout Catholics during Holy Week in Spain, when large processions march slowly through the streets. (To learn more, check out the article Semana Santa in Spain Holy Week Glossary which does an excellent job of explaining how Catholics celebrate Easter in Spain.)

I visited Spain once during Holy Week and it was fascinating. I’m not Catholic, so it was all new to me. Not only were there hooded folks walking through the streets, but some penitents wore thorny crowns and dragged crosses along the way. I saw one guy staggering along with no less than 12 crosses over his shoulders. Made me wonder what the heck he was atoning for!

Spanish capirote hoods also remind me of conical paper hoods I used to see skinned rabbits wearing in butcher shop windows when I lived in Belgium. Come to think of it, a pointy hood like a capirote would be the easiest hat for the Easter Bunny to wear. I’m just saying…

What about you? Ever seen anything while traveling that gave you the wrong impression at first glance?

Ask people you know what they predict for the upcoming year.

photo by Tui Cameron

Make sure you write their ideas down, especially if you plan to enjoy a cocktail or two. Now all you need to do is tuck the list somewhere safe, and remember to bring it out the following year.

My Friends’ Predictions from Last Year
Last year, I posted some predictions for 2010 that people at my New Year’s party made. Here they are:

• Iran will have a civil war. – LL
• More bad stuff in Israel and Palestine – JS
• Chevy Volt will be a big success – Tex
• After ending her talk show, Oprah will colonize a planet. – Me
• It will be called ‘Planet O.’ – AH
• Sarah Palin will have her own talk show. – Tex

Looks like Tex was the big winner this year at my house, since the Chevy Volt was named Car of the Year by Motor Trend (much to Rush Limbaugh’s chagrin as I mentioned in this post) and Sarah Palin has her own reality show.

As for me, I think the jury is still out on Oprah. She could begin some serious terraforming in 2011. Mark my words!

When my daughter was little, we made predictions like this every year. Kids, of course, come up with some really playful stuff. They aren’t as afraid as adults to let their imaginations go wild. With adults, if you ask your predictions too early in the evening on New Year’s you might get some pretty boring stuff. As the night progresses, however, you start getting predictions that would rival anything the almighty Criswell would have come up with.

Denver turns to Jell-O. Can you believe Criswell got paid to come up with this stuff?

What Would Criswell Predict?
Who is Criswell? I didn’t know either, until the fateful day I stumbled upon his epic tome, “Criswell Predicts: From Now to the Year 2000″ (pictured above) in a freebie book bin. Just look at that hair! Wouldn’t you love to have him over for dinner?

Although Criswell claims 87% accuracy, that man made some wonderfully atrocious, hilariously wrong predictions. Here are a few of my favorites:

“I predict that a large city in Colorado will be the victim of a strange and terrible pressure from outer space, which will cause all solids to turn into a jelly-like mass.”

“I predict that man’s exploration of space and the building of space stations will be the salvation of the human race. By 1999 there will be more than 200 of these space stations in existence. They will house entire colonies – men, women and children. When the earth is destroyed on August 18, 1999, these space colonists will be the only Earth-humans left in the Universe.

“I predict that our own United States will in the future be swept by the popular clouds of an Aphrodesian fragrance. It will be invented by a scientist who is searching for an improved anti-septic spray. Instead, he will invent a spray that is almost odorless, but when breathed it stimulates the most basic sexual erotic areas.”

Criswell predicted a wild Aphrodesian Era filled with wanton sex and bowl haircuts.

Even Pundits Have Trouble Predicting the Future
Stephen Abram, who blogs over at Stephen’s Lighthouse recently assessed some predictions for 2011 which were made back in 1931 by some of the brightest minds of the day. It’s a fascinating post entitled, Friday Fun: 1931 Predictions for 2011.  (I have to agree with him, too, Henry Ford’s prediction was a total cop out!)

What are Your Predictions for 2011?
Care to share? I would love to know what you and your friends think will happen in the coming year. If you feel like it, leave a comment below with your 2011 predictions. I’ll compile a list and bring it out for all of us to enjoy a year from now.

Someone's idea of fun. Photo by Tui Cameron

Speaking of screams, I’ve been musing about zombies lately. Heck- who doesn’t this time of year? The folks who run Zombie Christmas have created a site that’s chock full of the undead, including zombie holiday music.

Another person with zombies on the brain this holiday season is Judie (who I found from the NaBloPoMo December blog roll) In her post, Zombies: Fast or slow? , Judie shares a delightful video called, BTN: Zombies, Fast or Slow, in which the differing creep factor between fast and slow zombies is given the thoughtful academic examination it deserves.

Turns out there are a lot of videos on the subject if you search for this on youtube. This video, for instance, sums up the zombie speed issue in a mere 35 seconds.

Surely, it is only a matter of time before someone produces a Zombie Rom Com musical, something along the lines of, “When Harry Met Zombie.” Anyone want to collaborate on this one?

Today’s photo was taken along the Coney Island boardwalk on a chilly winter day when no one was around. The empty rides and faded signs created a bleak-but-interesting vibe. This Shoot the Freak lot seemed especially creepy.

As for where I stand on the fast or slow zombie debate, I’m leaning towards slow. How about you?

Happy Easter to you! I hope you are having a fun weekend wherever you may be. I’m sure that I am having fun, although I have no idea exactly what I’ll be doing when you read this.

I am not here, you see. Well, I am here now, but I won’t be here when this is published. I set the blog to automatically publish on Easter. So by the time you read this, I will be visiting my family – or at least a big chunk of my family. (We couldn’t all make it, alas.)

The above eggs are some of the first that my nephews’ chickens laid last summer. Aren’t they beautiful? The photo doesn’t truly capture the lovely shades of blue and green in their shells, but I thought it would be nice to see some natural Easter eggs. They were actually laid by hens who were Easter gifts to my nephews for Easter 2009.

It’s been a busy winter/spring transition on my end, and I have neglected my blog, and even worse, have neglected to read all the blogs that I love. I look forward to coming home and getting nesty like a hen, incubating new ideas, and hatching some of the plans that I have been feeling so broody about for so long.

Until then, have fun! See you in the blogosphere… soon!

There are battles being fought in my sister’s kitchen. There’s constant combat,  and heavy weaponry. Military strategy abounds. I never know what to expect when I visit – except some interesting new tableau on her counter.

My sister loves to decorate for holidays. To the insurgents, of course, this merely creates advantageous cover.  Meanwhile, I have become a domestic wartime journalist documenting guerilla attacks in the midst of all this cheery decor.

War is never simple, but there is a mastermind behind all this – my youngest nephew. The photo above is a counter tableau created by me explaining how to turn the coffeemaker on in the morning since he is always the first one up. After all, you know how it is during wartime. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to get your early morning brew.

Happy 2010, everyone! Since I didn’t quite make it through NaBloPoMo in November, I’ve decided to hop into it for this month. So here I am, posting today even though I’m pretty tired from last night’s revelry.

As you can see from the photo above, even the gargoyles caught a chill last week when it surprised us by snowing, not once, but twice. Despite the white sky and the smell of impending snow in the air, I didn’t quite believe that we would get any flakes that would stick.

Tex brought home some bags of wood pellets for us to burn in our wood stove. I call the stuff “fire chow” ‘cuz it looks like the typical Purina-style critter feed.

Although I miss friends and family, I still had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s surrounded by lovely folks, people I didn’t even know this time last year.

Looking back, I find this even more surprising than snow in north Texas.

I expected a lot of nationalism when I moved to Texas, y’know, plenty of flags a-waving, and those culturally myopic “God Bless America” bumper stickers, as though the supreme universal deity cares only for my country. (Hey, I love America, too, but if God plays favorites, I’m gonna tell his mom.) Anyway, patriotism, I understand.

What I did not expect was the Tex-centricness of this particular state. In retrospect, the amount of Texas-shaped things I saw within moments of getting off the plane should have clued me in. On the way to baggage claim, I saw everything from belt buckles, cookies, tattoos, gold pendants, even a dachsund – no, not a Texan-shaped dachsund – but one wearing a sweater with a Texan star proudly stitched on the side.

Yes, it’s pretty hard to forget you are in Texas when you are in Texas; even with a severe head injury, I’ll wager you could figure that one out.

So the other day at Sam’s Club, I came across these Tex-Centric books and laughed. Wait, no, I guffawed (it sounds more Texan to guffaw, doesn’t it?) At any rate, I knew that I must quickly snap some pix to share with those of you who – gasp – live elsewhere.

First off, we have the “Texan Mother Goose,” which features such tales as “Mary Had a White-Faced Calf,” and “There Was an Old Cowgirl Who Lived in a Boot.”

Next, I saw the “Texas Aesop’s Fables,” which features such stories as “The Cowpoke Who Fooled His Friends.”

Next, we have the “Trucker’s Night Before Christmas,” which is written by the same guy who did the Texan Aesop’s fables, so while not all truckers are Texan, there is surely a connection.

Lastly, I came across this little gem, called “Ten Redneck Babies.” What might this be? Why, it’s a a book to teach younguns how to count. Stuff like: “5 redneck babies chomped watermelon. One made tracks – where to? No tellin’!”

Seems that there’s a lot to being Texan. I have much to learn. Wonder where the Texas books for adults are? Hmmm…

Voila! I have, at long last, visual proof that turkey pants, err, trousers, I mean, were actually worn by our London bird. In England, you see, ‘pants’ means ‘underpants.’ I discovered my faux pas after cheerily announcing that I had brought a pair of turkey pants, only to have a dinner guest reply, “I beg your pardon?” in that quintessentially British way, the very tone of which informed me I had – yet again – put my Yankee foot in my Yankee mouth.

My step-daughter, Naomi, created a fantastic Thanksgiving feast, starting with scrumptious bruschetta and ending with a key lime tart. We had all the usual suspects, too: mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, but the cranberry sauce was homemade, and there were some incredible turnips au gratin in the mix, too. She and my son-in-law are foodies extraordinaire, so there were plenty of photos taken of the spread. It was pretty as well as tasty!

There was no need to thaw our trousered Tom since he came from a nearby farm. That’s something I love about London; once you get out of the city center, there’s a surprising amount of countryside and greenspace. There are cows, crops, and sheep a-plenty right by Heathrow, for instance.

Our main London wildlife sighting this time were foxes we’d see darting through the chilly night as we walked home from restaurants and pubs. Naomi told us about one who frequents her backyard. The wily vixen stole a pair of her shoes, returned one nibbled sandal, then made off with a glove. (Did I get that right, Gnome? I was pretty jet-lagged when you told the tale.)

Apparently, fox have a thing for shoes. I typed “shoe stealing fox” into Google and found a bunch of incidents, including an article about a German fox who stole over 120 pairs of shoes for her kits to play with.

I usually visit Naomi and Max during warmer weather, which means that a picnic in Richmond Park is in order, but it was way too cold to ponder that. Still, I love the huge herds of deer roaming there. Plus, the trees and undergrowth remind me of what I’ve seen depicted in children’s book illustrations, which gives me a delightful fairytale feeling. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to hear the Pipes of Pan when I’m there, or to fall into a fairy mound. However, fairy mound or no, our Thanksgiving in London was truly magical and went by way too quickly!

I don’t know if I should even attempt to explain how this photo came about. Last night was Halloween, and the neighbor’s adorable kitten tried to adopt me, but that hardly sums it up. Perhaps I should just say something like, ‘I can haz hornet spray,’ and leave it at that.

In any case, I am posting this photo because it is the first day of November, and this photo could serve as a writing prompt for those of you who are busy with NaBloPoMo, NaNoWriMo, or (like me) both.

This is my 3rd year doing both, and it makes for a fun November. NaBloPoMo gets you into the habit of posting on your blog, since the goal is to post something every day for the month of November. It’s also a fun way to meet other bloggers.

NaNoWriMo is like a word-marathon, in which your goal is to write a 50,000 word novel by November 30th. Speaking of, I haven’t written a word today, so I am going to sign off, open a Word file for NaNoWriMo 2009, and get my fingers in gear!