The Dunkin' I found in a square in the medieval sector of Palma, Majorca. More Majorca photos tomorrow -

An evening departure from Monte Carlo harbor, headed to Barcelona:

h/t Reader and Theo:

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Congress said, "someone may steal from it at night.." So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job at $18,000 per year..

Then Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job without instruction?" So they created a planning department and hired two people: one person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies.

Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?" So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people: one to do the studies and one to write the reports.

Then Congress said, "How are these people going to get paid?" So they created the following positions: a time keeper, and a payroll officer, then hired two people.

Then Congress said, "Who will be accountable for all of these people?" So they created an administrative section and hired three people: an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.

Then Congress said, "We have had this command in operation for a year and we are $18,000 over budget, we must cutback overall cost."

So they laid off the night watchman.

James 5:13-20

5:13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.

5:14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.

5:15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.

5:16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

5:17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.

5:18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.

5:19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another,

5:20 you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Candied mint leaves. I made a bunch of these old-fashioned treats last weekend.

Since my mint patch (Kentucky Mint, of course) has grown like crazy, it's fun to thin it out while making a fine treat. If you like mint flavor, these are great to decorate ice cream, fruit cup, a bowl of berries, melon, or whatever. In the old days, they were passed around as an after-dinner mint: the original "mint".

All you do is cut off some mint leaves (or tips of stems -even better), brush them with well-beaten egg white, press them into granulated sugar, and let them dry for 6-24 hours on wax or parchment paper. They will last a couple of days. When they dry enough, they are a bit crunchy.

Delicious. You can do the same thing with violet flowers in the springtime.

Some Enchanted Place, by Sippican. He is up to his third installment, and we hope he continues.

Makes good furniture, too. As good as his writings.

A Drink With Something In it

There is something about a Martini,
A tingle remarkably pleasant;
A yellow, a mellow Martini;
I wish I had one at present.
There is something about a Martini,
Ere the dining and dancing begin,
And to tell you the truth,
It is not the vermouth--
I think that perhaps it's the gin.

Harvard drop-out Nash was a master of the fine art of doggerel, aka light verse. It is a much-underappreciated art form. Thanks, reader MM. Always enjoyed him.

As a guy who loves history, I always thought of Spain as a backwater and it was never on top of my list. Darn nice country to visit, though.

Got some tapas when we got lost, before we figured out where the heck we were in the old medieval part of town. We ordered mostly seafood tapas - all sorts, including Cuttlefish of course. The Spanish love their seafood. A nice Spanish rosso, too.

Yes, you can smoke in the restaurants:

A few more photos below -

All profits from this record will go to charity. While I understand Dylan's respect for Christmas - and for the Great American Songbook in general, I'm not sure about this (h/t, Right Wing Bob, who has posted a bit about this record):

"The problem with having the Americans as your allies is that you never know when they'll turn around and stab themselves in the back."

Bernard Lewis, as quoted in a David Warren piece on Honduras

From Iowahawk's Earn Big $$$ The NEA Way!

Herman's Hermits made a big hit out of this song, but here's the original excellent version by Frankie Ford:

and here's John Fogerty:

I will post some more on board ship pictures in a few days. I am always up for taking somebody on a sea cruise.

Huge treasure trove of 1400 year-old Anglo-Saxon gold found in Staffordshire. Looks like things a king would have owned.

h/t, Synthstuff

Obama's Speeches-- Obama Mentions Self Nearly 1,200 Times!

I do not care for ad hominens, but often with the O you do get the feeling that he manages to make himself the main topic when he talks.

It depends on your precise definition of crash blossoms, (presumably from the old headline "Violinist linked to JAL crash blossoms") but I did like some of these headlines offered in the comments:

Obama’s ad buys dwarf TV presence of McCain

British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands

Prostitutes appeal to Pope

Marines beat off 500 Viet Cong

Reagan Nose Pimple Skin Cancer

Mrs. BD was determined to help me put Antoni Gaudi in perspective and to appreciate his work. That was her goal for our visit to Barcelona (my goal was some good tapas). She pretty much succeeded in hers, as did I in mine.

Her point is that Gaudi was very much in a Spanish tradition, and especially in a Spanish/Moorish Beaux Arts, Art Nouveau tradition. Just exaggerated in what I term a hallucinogenic manner. Barcelona has tons of unusual and exotic-looking architecture. My arm was twisted to take the tour of Gaudi's Casa Batllo (below) - but just check out the oddness of the townhouse next door which pre-existed the Gaudi house:

I guess Gaudi was a sort of half-crazy genius. He certainly got his math and engineering right. His Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) church, far from completion, is already - and rightly - one of the wonders of the world in its material evocation of the grandeur of God:

We did our exploring of Barcelona by buying a bus pass and a map. We probably walked 5 miles, which is fine with me. Love walking around places. Mrs. BD temperamentally doesn't mind getting lost at all, and we did. It's fun for her. I hate it. I have been lost in the Maine woods and other woods too, and it just does not agree with me. It's just one more of my numerous weaknesses.

More of my photos of Barcelona architecture, etc., below the fold -

Eze is a tiny medieval village perched on top of a 1400' rock overlooking the Med, between Nice and Monaco. The old castle on top that protected the town from invading Moors - not always successfully - was knocked down by the French in 1706 during the War of Spanish Succession. A shame that they did that, but it was a military decision and those guys were not thinking about my tourist interests.

From the small modern town of Eze, you have to walk up the old donkey roads to the village, which mostly consists of miniature shops tucked into the medieval houses. There is also the famous 5-Star 10-room hotel, Chateau Eza. I am told one must make reservations 1-2 years in advance.

Go for that reservation, readers! Carpe diem!

Nietszche and George Sand were big fans of Eze. Nothing not to like, except the prices: the fine-looking olive wood cutting boards and bread baskets were 200 E. I passed.

 More of my photos of Eze below -

Prehistoric sat-nav in England.

Gwynnie tells me that our western Indians did the same with petroglyphs, but I do not have the links.

Amost everybody likes to go places without getting lost. I got lost in Barcelona, but it's not like really being lost when there's a cafe and tapas joint nearby.

h/t, Bits and Pieces:

The pleasant village of Eze (tomorrow's photos) lies right between Nice and the strange, elegant, tax-dodging and mega-yacht haven of Monaco which, as I understand it, is supported by gambling. No taxes. I never went to the Casino. Not my cuppa tea. Not a Yankee sort of thing - except as a rare goof.

A few of my random shots of Monaco and Monte Carlo below -

I was fortunate to attend a private party at which New Orleans' Sonny Landreth played this weekend. A few guys wore their Rock and Bowl bowling shirts: you don't see those too often up here. Mr. Landreth performs at Rock and Bowl regularly.

I guess slide-guitarist Landreth can play anything, but he does like to rock the blues with a Louisiana twist. He's the kind of guy who is in the music, not the audience. Here's a Youtube, with the band he plays with now. He writes songs and sings too, but not on this piece in which he sings through his guitar. Turn your volume to max:

"Ask yourself as you start your day, "Are you incorporating God into your plan?".
And if you are, then why are you not incorporating yourself into God's plan?"

via Slower Pace