An Assortment of Interesting Items

One of the more charming stories to hit the news this week was that the stick (That's not a fancy toy that happens to be named "The Stick". It is a stick--from a tree!) was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame this past Thursday. The cardboard box was inducted in 2005. These two items, along with others such as the bicycle and the baby doll, were chosen by the following criteria: "Each toy must not only be widely recognized and foster learning, creativity or discovery through play, but also endure in popularity over generations."

When I was growing up, we always lived out in the country rather than in town, so my brother and I had many opportunities to invent our own toys and games, as well as play with the store-bought variety. When I was ten, we moved to a new home and lo and behold! There in the creek bed was an old car body! It was filled with sand so we set to work digging out seats and had a grand time "driving" our car. Ah, the good ole days!

Do you enjoy classical music? Do you have a hard time finding radio stations that play such music? I have two such stations to recommend, both of which you can listen to online. Their websites also have links to the various programs they present so you can read background information or listen to a show you missed. The first station is KCSC/KBCW in Oklahoma. The second provides the overnight (11pm to 6am) content for the first--it is WCPE in North Carolina. For news, reviews, and other information about classical music, try Music & Vision or Andante. For the arts in general, try ArtsJournal.

Next Tuesday, 11 November, is Veterans Day. Read a brief history of the day here. May we always remember and honor our veterans.

Today's Geographical Location: The Isle of Man, located in the Irish Sea, chosen by me for no reason except that it looks interesting. See the website Isle of Man for all sorts of information about this island. This page has the general information that is the most interesting. Use the links on the left to learn about different aspects of the island. There is also a page at the CIA World Factbook. Background from the CIA's page:

Part of the Norwegian Kingdom of the Hebrides until the 13th century when it was ceded to Scotland, the isle came under the British crown in 1765. Current concerns include reviving the almost extinct Manx Gaelic language. Isle of Man is a British crown dependency but is not part of the UK. However, the UK Government remains constitutionally responsible for its defense and international representation.

I was surprised to learn that it is not part of the UK.