The Spark of Yahoo!

The Spark: Wilde About Art

By Chris Larrew — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:01 PST

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills
Wilde: "The only thing worse
than being talked about is not
being talked about"

It’s fun to imagine Oscar Wilde at a university today. Dandified in a lavender jacket with a green carnation in the buttonhole, he might hang out with the Art History or English majors. He would surely be disdainful of any on-campus PC movements which emphasized political art over beauty, and he would certainly dismiss as ugly the confessional poetry with which such poets as Sylvia Plath garnered fame.

Oscar Wilde believed in the supremacy of aesthetics in art, in concealing the artist, and in art free from heavy-handed morality. After all, he declared that "a little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal." Wilde wrote "The Importance of Being Earnest," "A Woman of No Importance," and "The Picture of Dorian Gray," in which he deployed a refined (and at times savage) wit to expose the contradictions and behavior of modern manners. He considered himself a living representation of beauty in art: "I put all my genius into my life; I put only my talent into my works." In the spirit of sensuality and outrageousness, he played the provocateur to society's so-called moral watchdogs.

Stuffy Victorian England put up with him for a time, until he pissed off the wrong person in power. He had a scandalous affair with Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, whose father, the Marquis of Queensbury, made sure that Wilde was brought to trial, defamed, and convicted on charges of "gross indecency."

Oscar Wilde spent two years at hard labor in prison in Reading. After he was released, he spent the last three years of his life in Paris, where he tried to recapture his former decadent lifestyle, but incarceration had snuffed his artistic spirit. Despite a deathbed burst of wit ("My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go"), he died penniless on November 30, 1900, and was interred at Pere-Lachaise Cemetery.

Suggested Sites...

Oscar Wilde - official site of a genius of brevity and wit.
Aesthetic Movement - an overview of the history and philosophy of a influential movement.
Oscar Wilde Quotes - quotes from the master.
An Introduction to Victorian England - what Wilde was up against.
The Ballad of Reading Gaol - Wilde's poem about the effect prison had upon him.

Directory categories: Oscar Wilde, 19th Century People, British Artists, Aesthetics, Literary Fiction

Archived under: 19th Century, Anniversaries, Authors, Biographies, Celebrities, Dead Celebrities, England, Gay History, LGBT, Legal Cases, Men, Oscar Wilde, Prison, United Kingdom, Writers

The Spark: The Lord Wants You to Buy Nothing!

By Dave Sikula and Kelsey Parker — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:01 PST

Shoppers following their own advice. (And
, no, we didn't have to pay to use this image.)
(Photo by Brave New Films)

When getting or giving a gift, we often hear, "It's the thought that counts," implying that it doesn't matter what we buy, as long as we buy something. So, every year on the day after Thanksgiving, American shoppers hurl themselves into malls in a frenzy, desperately hunting for Black Friday bargains. After the shelves been picked clean and the registers closed out, economists anxiously await the day's totals, hoping to forecast a strong economy for the upcoming holiday season.

But there are some who believe that the only forecast this consumerism points to is damage to ourselves and our planet. And if folks like the Reverend Billy have anything to say about it, we won't be buying anything. The good Reverend is one of those critics of rampant consumerism who urge you to participate in the holiday madness by not participating in it.

"Reverend Billy" is the nom du theatre of performance artist Bill Talen, who founded the Church of Stop Shopping. His mock gospel of anti-consumerism became deadly serious when he attacked a certain mouse-headed corporation for its "Disneyfication" of New York's Times Square, and Starbucks for driving out small local businesses in the name of creating a "fake Bohemia." It's not that Billy is anti-capitalist; rather, he stands for a "real human experience" and against corporations that seek to homogenize or erase the uniqueness of small mom 'n' pop stores in the name of efficiency and profit.

But it's not just Reverend Billy. On this day of all days, there's a whole movement that asks you to buy nothing at all -- not even gas, bread, or coffee! Proponents of "Buy Nothing Day" claim that it serves as a brake on the rampant consumerism that has spoiled society. If you do decide you must shop this weekend, remember that wise spending -- such as understanding where purchases come from and what kind of an impact they'll have on our environment -- may make all the difference between wasteful overconsumption and practical resource conservation on our planet.

So before you make that rush to the mall over the next few weeks, ask yourself if you're doing all that shopping just for shopping's sake. And pause to think if your purchase will be the one that brings on the Shopocalypse.

Suggested Sites...

Adbusters: Buy Nothing Day - information on observations worldwide.
Reverend Billy and the Church of Life After Shopping - stop the insanity.
Buy Nothing Day.org - sit around the house and get to know your family.
What Would Jesus Buy? - official site for the documentary about Reverend Billy's work. But would it be a sin to buy it?
Money Can't Buy Happiness, Er, Can It? - Nobel Prize-winning economist asks whether America's consumption boom is really a good thing.

Directory categories: Buy Nothing Day, Reverend Billy, Black Friday Sales, Anti-Consumerism, Consumer Advocacy

Archived under: Business, Consumer Advocacy, Counterculture, Culture Jamming, Economics, Environment, Events, Issues and Causes, Shopping, Society and Culture

The Spark: A Little Thanksgiving Thanks

By Heather Poyhonen — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:01 PST

(Photo by Scott Liddell)

(Editor's note: We originally ran this piece in 2006, and Heather has since left Yahoo!, but we felt its message about the holiday was as relevant now as it was then. Please enjoy it and thank you.)

In anticipation of this year's commotion, we had planned to focus our Thanksgiving edition of The Spark on ways to beat holiday stress. But as I sat down to write, I couldn't stop thinking about what's missing this holiday. This will be my 14th Thanksgiving without my mother, who died of cancer when I was 14 years old. The loss caught up with me this year, and I joined a local grief group.

Today, I'm thankful for the strong strangers I met there: a homeless woman mourning the loss of her son while trying to remain together with her husband in a transitional home; a woman who lost her stepfather only three weeks before is finally beginning to grieve for the little brother she'd lost nearly a decade ago; a man who shyly admitted that he sprays his wife's perfume in the bedroom every so often after recently losing her.

Most of us will experience holidays of missing at some point in our lives. While I thank my group for sharing their stories and their strength, I have some colleagues to thank as well. One editor cherishes her Yahoo! Messenger conversations with her husband in Iraq. They turn on their web cams so they can see each other. And their daughter leaves palmprints on the monitor after touching the image of her dad's face. Another editor is afraid he can't carve the turkey like his dad used to. But as he shares his father's Thanksgiving traditions with his young daughters, he is sure they will learn all the great things about Grandpa... Through our memories and the stories we share, our loved ones can live on, during the holidays and beyond them.

Thank you for reading. Happy Thanksgiving.

Suggested Sites...

How to Remember a Loved One at the Holidays - listen to their favorite music. Light a candle. Plant a tree, or establish a scholarship.
How to Cope With Grief During the Holidays - ways to cope with loss of a loved one the holiday season.
With the Holidays Can Come Renewed Grieving - article from the American Cancer Society gives suggestions on how to begin or continue your process of grieving and healing.

Directory categories: Bereavement, Grief Groups, Thanksgiving Graces and Blessings, Thanksgiving, Holiday Stress

Archived under: Bereavement, Death, Health, Holidays, Mental Health, Thanksgiving

The Spark: Does My Bounty Look Big in This?

By Michelle Heimburger — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:01 PST

Krispy Kreme-bacon-cheeseburgers
(Photo by Clay Caviness)

Thanksgiving: Time to give thanks for and celebrate our bounty... but have you seen our bounty lately? It's ... well, it's bountiful. Bountylicious. America is having something of an epidemic of, er, bounty. And what was once a celebration of oh-thank-heavens-we-have-enough-food-to-survive-the-winter has become more of a gluttonous culinary dare to see who can eat a winter's worth of calories in a single day.

But wait -- we're not saying that's necessarily a bad thing. Those of us with plenty on our plates should be thankful (and we should also remember -- and help -- those in need), and honestly, most of us could probably be a little more mindful of just how bountiful our everyday meals are, for the sake of our hearts and waistlines. But it's awfully hard to resist the urge to celebrate a harvest festival by eating everything in sight.

We think the occasional celebration of gluttony is a wonderful thing, and Thanksgiving seems like an appropriate day for it. If there's ever a time for deep-fried turkeys, fowl stuffed inside one another, obscene quantities of carbs, and several dessert courses in one meal, this is it. But why stop with the traditional Thanksgiving fixings? Why not get all of the indecent cravings for food obscenities you want to try but know you shouldn't out of the way at once? Load that Thanksgiving table with bacon-crusted bacon with bacon dipping sauce, deep-fried pancakes, sandwiches with fried chicken breasts instead of buns, and deep-fried butter. And don't forget to save room for the deep-fried Twinkies, supersized creme eggs, and Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding.

We can have salads Friday -- and not the kind served in bowls made of bacon.

Suggested Sites...

This Is Why You're Fat - mostly meaty food obscenities that will either make you hungry or make you never want to eat again.
The Bacon Show - one bacon recipe posted per day. Don't worry -- you can cook as many as you want.
Super Sized Meals - the bigger, the better, according to these folks. Their doctors may disagree.
Fancy Fast Food - turning fast food items into gourmet (looking) meals.
Pimp That Snack - junk food writ large.

Directory categories: Thanksgiving Recipes, Holiday Side Dishes, Deep Frying Recipes, Turducken, Thanksgiving Desserts

Archived under: Cooking, Eating, Fanatics, Food and Drink, Holidays, Recipes, Society and Culture, Thanksgiving

The Spark: No-Knead to Buy Thanksgiving Dinner Rolls

By Eugenia Chien — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:01 PST

Ree Drummond's dinner roll, a la Eugenia
(Photo by Eugenia Chien)

If you'd lived where I've lived, you might think there's really no reason to learn how to bake bread at home. I grew up in Taipei, where you'll find at least two bakeries on every block. Here in San Francisco, I head to Tartine Bakery when I need a buttery fix, and for a good, crusty loaf, there's always the Acme Bread Company.

So why bake my own bread?

If only for reasons explained only by nostalgia, the idea of homemade bread, hot from the oven, makes me and my dinner guests go absolutely crazy. When I announced that I would be making bread, a handful of Yahoo! editors readily volunteered themselves to be the taste-testers.

Bread baking could seem like a daunting undertaking, but a few no-knead, foolproof recipes have recently emerged to ease the novice baker into making bread. Food bloggers have talked endlessly about Mark Bittman's no-knead bread recipe, which uses a super-slow rising period and calls for baking the dough in a heavy, enclosed pot.

For this Thanksgiving, I tested another no-knead recipe from Ree Drummond's fantastic website, The Pioneer Woman. Her cult-like following is easy to understand when you try this recipe. These sweet dinner rolls achieve their volume with the help of some yeast, a little baking powder, and baking soda mixed in at the end. I cheated a little by kneading the dough a few times before rolling it into little balls and baking them in a liberally-buttered muffin tin.

These rolls baked quickly, and only 15 minutes later, my fellow Yahoo! editors were buttering the hot rolls and drizzling honey over them.

I had plenty of dough left over to make a big braided loaf, which I sliced up for French toast the next morning, using the French toast recipe from "The Joy of Cooking."

If you're looking to impress your Turkey Day guests, check out the Yahoo! Directory for even more bread recipes.

Suggested Sites...

Mark Bittman's No-Knead Bread Recipe - watch Bittman make this beautiful loaf.
Eight Tips for Less Intimidating Bread - tips from Smitten Kitchen on how to bake beaming, bewitching breads.
Broiche des Rois - Tartelette bakes a festive broiche and reaches epiphany. Warning: contains photography that will make you hungry immediately.

Directory categories: Bread Recipes, Baking, French Toast Recipes, Thanksgiving Recipes, Recipes

Archived under: Bread, Cooking, Eating, Food and Drink, Holidays, In Character, Recipes, Thanksgiving

The Spark: The Master of Horror

By Dave Sikula — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:01 PST

Jack Pierce makes up Karloff
as the Frankenstein monster
(Photo by Jhayne)

When I was growing up, I loved horror movies -- especially monster movies. I don't mean the gorefests that populate the screen today; the ones that substitute shock for real psychological terror. No, I loved the Universal monster movies that featured the Wolf Man, the Invisible Man, Dracula, and, most of all, Frankenstein’s monster (or just "Frankenstein," as we called him in those days).

Most of the reason for that love was Boris Karloff. In spite of how many people he murdered, tortured, or terrorized on camera, it was obvious that, behind the character, there was a decent and funny man who projected a real humanity.

Karloff was born on November 23, 1887, as William Henry Pratt. As a child, it was expected he'd follow his brother into the British Foreign Service, but he developed a love of acting that took him first to Canada, then finally to Hollywood, where between gigs acting in silent films, he worked as a ditch digger and truck driver to pay the bills.

When sound films came along in the late 1920s, his stage training (and British accent) helped him make the transition to talkies, but he was still mired in supporting roles like "Rev. T. Vernon Isopod" or "Sport Williams." Finally, in 1931, the role of a lifetime -- the Frankenstein monster -- came along, and even though he was unbilled at the time (the credits showed the Monster as being played by "?"), he had achieved screen immortality, becoming one of the few actors to be so well known as to be billed with just one name: "Karloff."

It took Universal a bit of time to realize what an asset they had in Karloff. They lent him out to Warner Bros. for a memorable turn as a cadaverous gangster in the original "Scarface" and to MGM to star in the insidious Dr. Fu Manchu. But once the box-office returns came in ($12,000,000 -- nearly $200 million today... that's before adjusting for the 25 cents audiences paid in 1931!), they took full advantage of him in such classics as "The Old Dark House," "The Mummy," "The Black Cat," and (best of all) "The Bride of Frankenstein" -- some 42 features over the next ten years.

In 1941, Karloff left Hollywood to appear on Broadway in the comedy "Arsenic and Old Lace," playing another homicidal maniac -- one who’d had plastic surgery and now looked like -- Boris Karloff. Over the next three decades, Karloff alternated between stage, screen, radio, and television, shifting easily between comedy and drama. His integrity and talent were such that, even after the many times he had kidded his "horror star" image, he was still utterly believable when he did a straight role that would scare the pants off audiences.

When he died at the age of 81 in 1967, his name was still the gold standard for the genre, (an accomplishment that no one else -- in any film genre -- has ever matched) and for some of us, it still is.

Suggested Sites...

Karloff.com - official site of the Karloff family, dedicated to the memory of the Master of Horror.
"How the Grinch Stole Christmas" - excerpt from one of Karloff's last great roles, narrating and playing the Grinch.
Celebrating Boris Karloff, the Monster and the Man - introduction to a retrospective of Karloff's film career.
Universal Studios Monster Movies - overview of the studio's horror films of the 1930s.
Frankenstein Films: The Universal Pictures Series - reviews and synopses of the series that rocketed Karloff to stardom.

Directory categories: Boris Karloff, Horror Movies, Classi Hollywood Actors, Frankenstein, Actors

Archived under: 1930s, 1940s, Actors, Biographies, Birthdays, Boris Karloff, Celebrities, Entertainment, Horror, Horror Films, In Character, Monsters and Creatures, Movies

The Spark: What Makes a King a Legend?

By Heather Sevrens — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:01 PST

Famous for all eternity;
Donald Trump only wishes
he had this much bling
Photo by v.williams46

Few historical figures are mired in as much mystery as the young boy king, Tutankhamun. Had he died in the 21st century, it's likely his face would have been plastered across celebrity gossip blogs (alongside pictures of his enormous treasure trove of wealth) and Internet forums endlessly circulating rumors regarding his cause of death. To this day, historians are still uncertain how Tutankhamun died so suddenly at age 19. However, had it not been for his untimely death, he might have been lost in historical obscurity; just another Egyptian pharaoh with a lot of pretty baubles. Sure, Qin Shi Huang's Terracotta Army is one of the greatest archeological discoveries of modern times, but did Steve Martin perform a song about him?

British Egyptologist Howard Carter first discovered the steps to Tutankhamun's tomb under the remains of workers' huts in November of 1922, more than 3,000 years after it had first been sealed. A few weeks later on November 26, Carter and Lord Carnarvon entered the antechamber of the tomb, uncovering one of the most extensive and well-preserved burial sites of a pharaoh to date. Their discovery vaulted Tutankhamun out of royal anonymity and into the same sphere of other tragic historical figures such as Pocahontas, the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna, and Princess Diana. Within a short period of time, Tutankhamun had gone from a blip in an ancient line of rulers, to a mysterious young king frozen inside a gilded fairytale.

People love a good story, but there's something unique about that combination of wealth, privilege, and a life cut down at its prime that continues to pique our curiosity.

Suggested Sites...

Tutankhamen and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs - official website of the touring exhibition.
Tutankhamun at the Griffith Institute - pictures of the original excavation, excerpts from Howard Carter's diary, and maps of the site.
Global Egyptian Museum - a virtual museum that gathers artifacts and pictures from all over the world.
The Mysteries of King Tut - National Geographic's exploration on the boy king, with photos, stories, and more.
Theban Mapping Project - a project to catalog tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the Theban Necropolis.

Directory categories: Tutankhamun, The Curse of King Tut, Howard Carter, Egyptian History, Egyptology

Archived under: 1920s, Ancient History, Archaeology, Curses, Egypt, History, Museums, Royalty, Tutankhamun

The Spark: Ceci N‘est Pas Rene Magritte

By Richard Stauffacher — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:01 PST

This is not a painting of a pipe.

Born on November 21, 1898, Belgian painter René Magritte remains one of the most enigmatic and beloved artists of the 20th century. His most popular images place ordinary objects in extraordinary environments, and his paintings helped define the mid-century Surrealist movement led by André Breton. His pieces are now on display in some of the world's most renowned museums and institutions, and his work has had a marked influence on masters such as Ed Ruscha, Jasper Johns, and Andy Warhol, not to mention popular culture, music, and fashion.

Though not much is known of Magritte's early life, one event seems to lend insight into his future life as an artist. At the age of 13, Magritte's mother succeeded in taking her own life after a number of failed attempts. The story goes that the young René was watching as his mother's lifeless body was pulled from the river in which she had drowned, her skirts twisted and wrapped around her head. Undoubtedly, this image would have had a profound effect on the artist, and many of his earlier works feature figures whose faces are cloaked in cloth, including the famous painting "Les Amants." Apocryphal or not, we can at least be certain that his mother's death had a formative effect on the young Magritte and influenced his fascination with the tension between reality and fantasy that marks his most well-known paintings.

As is the case with many artists, Magritte wasn't able to subsist by merely selling his artwork. To make ends meet at various times in his life, he worked as a draughtsman in a wallpaper factory, created posters and slogans for advertising, and even served in the Belgian infantry. Later in his career, Magritte found some success as a forger of other artists' works, namely Picasso, Braque, and De Chirico, and even resorted to printing counterfeit money. But it's his vast oeuvre of paintings, drawings, and sculptural work that has made him a legend.

In June of this year, a second museum bearing his name opened in Brussels, displaying over 250 of the artist's original works. The first, housed in his former Brussels residence, was recently robbed and the one stolen painting, known as "Olympia," is currently at large.

Suggested Sites...

Magritte Foundation - promotes research of the life and work of René Magritte and authenticates his artwork.
The René Magritte Museum - occupies the house in which the Belgian surrealist painter worked nearly 24 years of his life.
Musée Magritte Museum - the second Brussels-based museum honoring René Magritte.
Wikipedia: René Magritte - overview of the life, career, and style of the painter known for his witty surrealist paintings.
FamousPainter.com: René Magritte - features a biography of the artist, as well as selected images and bibliography.

Directory categories: René Magritte, Dada and Surrealism, Artists, Belgium, Art Prints

Archived under: Art Museums, Artists, Arts, Biographies, Rene Magritte, Surrealism

The Spark: Tower of Terror

By Sarah Latoza — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01 PST

The Tower as seen from the Thames -- the
last view more than a few people had.
(Photo by Les Hutchins)

People tend to think of the Tower of London as a place of violence and bloodshed. It's understandable; after all, the Tower was the site of numerous murders and executions (including those of King Henry VI and Anne Boleyn), not to mention imprisonments (famous residents include Thomas More, Walter Raleigh, and Guy Fawkes). And it was also the setting of one of history's most infamous unsolved mysteries, the disappearance of King Edward V and his brother, Richard, the Duke of York, otherwise known as "the Princes in the Tower." Combine all of that, and it's obvious why the saying "sent to the Tower" evokes such fear.

But the Tower's main purpose throughout history has been as a royal residence, rather than a prison (though criminals were imprisoned there as recently as 1952, when the mobster brothers the Kray twins called the Tower home). It was originally established as a fortress during the reign of William the Conqueror, and was later turned into a castle and home by Henry III. It also housed the royal menagerie, which included lions, leopards, camels, and even a polar bear! While that zoo no longer exists, the Tower is still home to an "unkindness" of ravens. Legend has it that if the ravens should ever leave the Tower, the entire structure -- and indeed Britain itself -- will collapse. Today, there are ten ravens in residence, whose care is paid for by the British government.

Mostly a tourist attraction today, the Tower and its treasures, such as the Crown Jewels and the Royal Armoury, are protected by 35 Yeoman Warders, more popularly known as "Beefeaters." (The exact origin of this name is debated, but it may stem from the Middle Ages, when the guards were paid in rations of beef.) These retired military officers (traditionally all men until in 2007, when the first female guard was hired) live in the Tower proper with their families. One guard is given the title "Ravenmaster," and is responsible for the care of the Tower's avian tenants.

But perhaps even more famous than its ravens and its Beefeaters are the Tower's other residents: its ghosts. Anne Boleyn (who carries "her head tucked underneath her arm"), the aforementioned princes, and Catherine Howard are all among the figures believed to haunt the Tower and its grounds. It's said to be the most haunted place in England, outranking even Stonehenge and Whitechapel (where the Jack the Ripper murders took place).

If you visit the Tower today, you're seeing more than just some old buildings -- you're witnessing more than one thousand years of British history. Just watch out for bird droppings and headless ghosts!

Suggested Sites...

The Tower of London - official site for the Tower of London.
Tower of London: Virtual Tour - take a look inside the Tower and learn more about its history and architecture.
Camelot International: The Tower of London - site devoted to the Tower, run by its Yeoman Warders.
CastleXplorer - explore Britain's many castles and discover more about their place in U.K. history.
The British Monarchy - official site of the British Royal Family.

Directory categories: Tower of London, Castles, Middle Ages, London, UK Royalty

Archived under: Buildings, England, Hauntings, History, London, Museums, Prison, Royalty, Tourist Attractions, U.K. History, United Kingdom

The Spark: Sparkaphobia

By Dave Sikula — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:01 PST

We're hoping we
can avoid a jinx.
(Photo by Pete)

Over the past couple of days, we've asked our fellow Yahoo!s about some of their fears and phobias. Today, we'd like to deal with their superstitions -- and ways to ward off bad luck. Some of us have superstitions, rather than outright fears.

Personally, I’m not superstitious, but my wife won't let me put shoes on the bed, and I won't walk under ladders, and will throw spilled salt over my shoulder and knock on wood to ward off anything untoward happening.

Corinne: My mum always says that we shouldn't open an umbrella in the house, and never celebrate your birthday before the day. But, being French, we always have baguettes on the table -- though you should never place them upside down….

Adam: As a sailor, I have quite a few superstitions: never leave for a voyage on a Friday, never talk about lack of wind, and don't bring bananas on a boat.

Randall: I obsessively knock on wood. When it came time to buy a wedding ring, I bought one that was made out of wood so that I could "knock on wood" wherever I am.

Michelle: I'm not generally a superstitious person, but I do believe in jinxing things, especially traffic and baseball. When the Indians are winning or traffic is surprisingly light, any positive comment must be prefaced with, "I'm sure they're about to blow it, but..." or "I know we'll hit a traffic jam soon, but..." Failing to do this guarantees sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic while listening to the Yankees win the World Series.

Liz: I fear that if I mention the possibility of something bad happening, it's more likely to happen. Wait -- forget I said that!

We leave you with a pair of examples of arachnophobia that are frighteningly similar:

Helene: I am afraid to death of spiders, small or large, hairy or not, and all the more since a "good" friend told me that we swallow three spiders while sleeping each year.

Adrianna: I'm not scared of rats or snakes but I am deathly afraid of spiders. Even the tiniest spiders scare me, and I make sure when I'm walking to watch out for those sticky spider webs. But from a recent fact I read, I'm never more than ten feet away from a spider. Now that's a frightening thought.

A frightening thought, indeed. Good luck to you all -- knock wood!

Suggested Sites...

All Recipes: French Baguettes - keep one in the house for good luck.
Traditional Nautical Superstitions - no women, no whistling.
Insecta-Inspecta: Arachnophobia - sorry, they're still creepy.
Wikipedia: Baseball Superstitions - if the team is doing well, I can't change position.
World Series.com - watch the horror for yourself.

Directory categories: Superstitions, Umbrellas, Traffic and Road Conditions, Major League Baseball, Spiders

Archived under: Bananas, Baseball, Curses, Phobias, Psychology, Sailing, Spiders, Superstition