Happy Birthday tommyrot!!

Remember the Icelandic elves?

Elf Detection 101

An article on Iceland's de facto bankruptcy in the April issue of Vanity Fair notes that a "large number of Icelanders" believe in elves or "hidden people." This widespread folklore occasionally disrupts business in the sparsely populated North Atlantic country. Before the aluminum company Alcoa could erect a smelting factory, "it had to defer to a government expert to scour the enclosed plant site and certify that no elves were on or under it." How do you find an elf?

With psychic powers. According to a poll conducted in 2007, 54 percent of Icelanders don't deny the existence of elves and 8 percent believe in them outright, although only 3 percent claim to have encountered one personally. The ability to see the huldufólk, or hidden folk, can't be learned; you're just born with it. To find elves, seers don't really need to do anything—they'll just sense an elfin presence. The Vanity Fair article says that elf detection can take six months, but it's usually a quick process that can last under an hour. And although the magazine claims that a "government expert" had to certify the nonexistence of elves, the Icelandic Embassy insists that these consults are performed by freelancers, not government contractors.

...

Elf-spotting is an intergenerational phenomenon in Iceland, although more children than adults report seeing huldufólk. Indeed, it's thought that many who are born clairvoyant lose the ability after the age of 8 or so. Furthermore, it's not just Icelanders who have this capacity—theoretically, anyone, from any country, can have the power to communicate with elves. Clairvoyants see elves year-round, sometimes in their own backyards, but Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are considered especially good occasions for elf-spotting. That's because according to some legends, these holidays are traditional moving days for the huldufólk. Elves often dress in old-timey, 19th-century outfits like homemade-looking ankle-length skirts, and they come in all sizes. There are thought to be at least 13 types of elves, some of whom are as tall as humans. Others, like the Blómálfar, or flower elves, are just a few inches tall.

Happy birthday, tommyrot!

I'm working from home today. For some reason my cat has decided this means he should fish all the used tissues out of the trash and then shred them. I'm glad he wants my attention, but couldn't he get it by curling up on my lap and purring madly? Or does that just not get enough squirt bottle action to keep him happy?

Vitter, our spy said, gave the airline worker an earful, employing the timeworn "do-you-know-who-I-am" tirade that apparently grew quite heated.

Senator, it's nothing to soil your diapers over.

And, because it doesn't deserve to be in the same post with what I just said:

Happy Birthday, tommyrot!

And, because it doesn't deserve to be in the same post with what I just said:

Hey, one year at my birthday party, my mom hired a senator to soil his diapers.

OK, that wasn't very funny. But it's my birthday, so I don't care.

Happy birthday, tommyrot!!!!

Are you waving your arms up in the air? Like you just don't care?

Are you waving your arms up in the air? Like you just don't care?

Haven't had enough coffee yet....

Happy birthday tommyrot!

After last night's discussion, I am going to have bacon for breakfast. nom nom

Franny's fever seems to have broken finally. She went to bed with a fever of 102.5, but it was down all night. So I have my fingers crossed for a quiet day and no afternoon spikes. I'll stay with her in the morning and then take her to her grandma to watch her in the afternoon while I meet with students.