News from the Swampland. And other odds and ends.

"News from the Swampland" has recently become a semi-regular feature on this blog, pointing out various oddities in the news from our Southern friends and neighbors. I really can't explain why I would choose this topic. Just for the heck of it I guess. It would have nothing to do with anything. Anything at all, really.

In this edition I would like to mention that, because of this post, the blog Not Very Bright has been added to the blogroll:

8. We like war. A lot. The state song has one verse that goes “Hold up the glories of thy dead; Say how thy elder children bled, And point to Eutaw’s battle-bed. Carolina! Carolina!” Explains a lot, perhaps, not just about our history, but why our current politicians have never seen a war they didn’t like.

9. We have a state insect. It’s the praying mantis. This resulted from actual time spent by the legislature voting on insects. I’m not kidding.

Speaking of praying mantisi, we were in the South recently. Well, it wasn't really "the." "South." The Mason-Dixon line shifts depending on who you talk to: some say the Delaware River demarcates said line, others place it on the southern frontier of Fairfax county, VA, and still others might describe the south as anything "below" Richmond. Since temps didn't dip much below 75 at night, my own personal line was drawn somewhere around the Washington Beltway last weekend. While standing outside the hotel at night we spotted a praying mantis jostling almost playfully with a few roaches on the sidewalk in front of us. Being the curious sort--not of the roaches because we've seen enough of those in our days--we crouched down to investigate further and somehow these beasts seem to want to become pets or something. This one didn't seem to like me very much--it turned it's head to look at me and began walking away--but was magically attracted to Anita. The mantis followed her towards the steps and then up the bannister to get a closer look at her. This was a longing, heartfelt gaze by the mantis as though it (she?) wanted to be petted. Amazing, really, what a few good months of hot sticky humidity can do for insect life.

On another entirely unrelated note: Coeruleus North now has track lighting above the stove so that I can see when I burn my food before the ever-vigilent fire alarm has a chance of reminding me thereof.

Regular posting to resume later this holiday weekend