01/14/04’s illustrious band:

Haunted Hairpiece

Brought to you by USA Today columnist Wendy Matheson in today’s column, which you can find at http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/popcandy/2004-01-13-pop-candy_x.htm.

It’s a story on the history of toupees. Boy, and you thought I wrote about silly stuff! The photo of Donald Trump is worth the click.

My second great find of the day, discovered while I was searching for pictures of French things for a Francophile friend’s birthday (happy birthday, Jen!), is the Star Spangled Ice Cream Company at www.starspangledicecream.com. First, they bill their wares as “ice cream with a conservative flavor;” some of the offerings include Gun Nut, Smaller GovernMint, I Hate the French Vanilla, Nutty Environmentalist and Iraqi Road.

Second, they’ll personalize an ice cream container if you send them a photo, and you get to name the flavor. So I could send in a portrait of moi and christen a quart of mint chocolate chip ice cream Media Sensation. Or whatever. The promo says this is “perfect for group events, corporate gifts and special occasions with family and friends!” I’d like to test the theory. Anybody hungry?

My third great find actually arrived first, and I didn’t find it, Sister-san did. Actually, her friend Giovanna did. Gio (“Jo”), a native of Italy, spent her senior year of high school in our hometown and became good friends with Sister-san, hosting her for a post-graduation visit in Italy and serving as a bridesmaid in her wedding.

Being European, Gio knows a lot more Swiss people than I do. So when Sister-san asked her about that Swiss holiday Silversterchläuse, she was able to get some actual information. Gio writes:

“Well, I asked to the Swiss people who work with me about this holiday, but nobody knows it. I found that it is a holiday celebrated only in Appenzellen, that is one of the internal regions of Switzerland. My friend Lorenzo heard on Swiss German TV that that celebration is about winter, and it's a very very old and traditional holiday, very important in Appenzellen, but he told me he did not listen with too much attention, and he does not know anything else...
Here in Tessin (that is the Italian Switzerland) we worked as usual...”

Well, that’s more than we knew before. And the messages made it halfway around the world and back in about 12 hours. I still think that’s pretty cool.

Today around the world: January 14 is Ratification Day in the U.S.A. I’m not sure exactly what got ratified -- possibly the Constitution and Bill of Rights -- but here in the Thriving Metropolis, we worked as usual…

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