Flowers to make you merry. Image by ForestGladesiWander, used under Creative Commons
When I was little, my mother would sing a song about the “Merry, Merry Month of May“, and we would all join in on the chorus. I always thought it came from a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, but it turns out that it’s a Stephen Foster song, written in 1862. But like a lot of refrains written by “the father of American music,” the concept of May as merry hung in there, and was again used in the tune The Fountain In The Park, published in 1884. This song was used as the background for many early cartoons, which is where I was first exposed to strolling in the park.
I bought these speakers so long ago the promo photo is in B & W!
I’m a big speaker guy. After much searching, I bought a pair of Klipsch Chorus IIs, and they are easily 4′ tall, and probably 18″ square. They are big, really big, and they sound great. And when I say great, I mean better than amazing. One of my proudest speaker moments: I rattled a pan off its wall storage in my house in New Hampshire (Five Long Years, from David Bowie‘s Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars for those who need the sonic details). Countless are the times I have sat in front of the speakers and let the sound wash over, sometimes revelling in the imaging and the details, and sometimes just getting my ears pinned back by Roy Buchanan or Led Zep. (Like you need a link to Led Zepellin!)
208 years ago, on May 18th, Lewis and Clark began their expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase. There were commercial applications for the trek, with the hope of finding a practical route to the Pacific, but the expedition was meant to be a primarily scientific exploration. It was a chance to map the Western United States. It was an opportunity to discover new river junctions, mountain passes, and other wonders. The charting the west was no easy order. After all, Lewis and Clark didn’t have a GPS device. They used an assortment of now dated navigational equipment. →
Limericks were named after their place of origin — Limerick, Ireland. Originally made as nursery rhymes, they became more humorous, if lewd, as they spread through the taverns and pubs of the Emerald Isle. In 1846, Edward Lear memorialized the lyrical style with his “Book of Nonsense.” May 12th honors the limerick, and, here at Vann’s we endeavored to create a few of our own. →
There’s an app for everything, but if only there was an app to help you be a better mom. Oh wait, there is! Actually, there are lots of them– at least, lots of apps to help make your job as mom a little easier. Here is a list of some of the top apps for moms out there.
This Sunday is Mother’s Day (so you still have time to find her the perfect digital camera or other gift), and in order to get into the holiday spirit, we’ve complied a playlist of the best songs about moms. So make her a mix-tape, karaoke the heck out of ‘em, and set the soundtrack to your Mother’s Day brunch. Because if that’s not love, what is?
Hoisting the Stanley Cup. Image by michaelrighi, used under Creative Commons
As far as I’m concerned, there are no better playoffs than hockey. Intensity, duration, speed, skill, it’s all there. Here are the 10 best reasons why hockey play-offs are the best (there’s many more) →
