The Seven Dwarfs

Disney's Seven Dwarfs

Quick! Can you name the original seven dwarfs in the Grimm fairy tale, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”?

If you said, with the utmost confidence, “Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, Dopey and Doc” you’d be so wrong. I don’t blame you; that’s how I would have answered too ... at least before a few days ago.

In a response to a Facebook friend’s post, I wanted to say I was as “dumb as Dopey.” Except that with my flagging memory, I couldn’t think of his name. So I Googled “seven dwarfs” and was referred to a Wikipedia page. Got my answer quickly, but not before I waded through a list of productions and their dwarfs’ names.

Did you know that the Brothers Grimm did not name their dwarfs in their 1812 story, “Snow White”? True fact.

The First Seven Dwarfs

Also, did you know the dwarfs were first named in a 1912 Broadway play. It was also the first time the dwarfs were featured in the title (“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”). You’d never guess what their names were: Blick, Flick, Glick, Plick, Quee, Snick and Whick. I was flabbergasted when I read that.

The only times the dwarfs were named Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, Dopey and Doc, were in the (1) famous 1937 Walt Disney animated musical fantasy feature, (2) the 2012-2018 ABC Television fantasy series, “Once Upon a Time” (plus an eighth dwarf, Stealthy), and (3) the Disney/ABC Television’s 2014-2016 animated kiddie series, “The 7D.”

Wikipedia lists a total of 15 other films and productions, with some pretty incredible dwarf names, like:

• Bertram, Bubba, Barnaby, Bernard, Boniface, Bruno and Baldwin
• Biddy, Diddy, Fiddy, Giddy, Iddy, Kiddy and Liddy
• Gorm, Knirps, Niffel, Quarx, Querx, Schrat and Wichtel
• Butcher, Will Grimm, Half Pint, Napoleon, Grub, Chuck/Chuckles and Wolf

Okay, that’s enough. If you want to know more about them dwarfs, go here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Dwarfs

Expensive (EXPENSIVE!) Meat

A few days after last Thanksgiving, the wife and I spent a night at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf.

Our key activity there (besides walking and eating) was spending a Tuesday half-day at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market.

It's great checking out all the fresh produce, and then strolling around in the Ferry Building marveling at all the grocery and specialized food offerings on display and for sale.

I always like to check out the meat market (sorry, I forget the name). This time around, they had this magnificent, exquisitely marbled hunk of genuine Wagyu beef strip steak that was imported from Miyazaki, Japan.

They'll cut you a slab to order and charge you $145.00 a pound, Yep, one-hundred and forty-five dollars. So an eight-ounce steak will set you back $72.50, plus $14.66 sales tax.

I thought about buying one ... seriously. But then I thought, what if I overcook it? What if I messed it up? Hmmmm. Better leave the preparation to the professionals.

Is $145.00 a pound unreasonable? I don't think so, because I've seen other direct-from-Japan Wagyu beef at a Japanese import food market in Honolulu. They had a similarly appearing standing rib roast for about $650.00.

Wow! I kid you not.

I Lost My What?

It was either my 2017 Hyundai Accent rental car ... or my mind.

Thank God it was my rental car.

It happened at the Primm Valley Outlet Mall, about 45 minutes north of Las Vegas.

You know how malls have several entrances that look similar? That messed me up. I parked in a convenient spot next to an entrance where a guy had flag barriers up and was painting the exterior.

After spending an hour inside, I went back out to find my car. Nowhere to be seen. Damn, did someone swipe the car? Did I even lock it? Rental car, y’know, so I wasn’t sure.

I walked around for 20 minutes searching. I was sure I was near the right entrance because I saw “Wet Paint” signs on the wall. Made another round of the area, then gave up and went inside to sit down because my aging legs and back were aching.

I called the police and they told me to check with mall security. So I called security and the nice guy said to come to the office, just about 100 feet from where I was.

When I got there, he directed me back outside to a security car and a nice mall security officer who drove me around for 15 minutes looking for my car (“just to make sure”). Then, he decided to try around the entrance I’d come out of to join him.

And … there it was. I simultaneously felt overjoyed and stupid. He refused a tip, saying it happened all the time.

All the way back on the long drive into Las Vegas, all I could do was shake my head and mumble: “Craig, you’re so stupid. So stupid.”

I kid you not.

A Hilarious Time Share Sales Call

The other day, I got a call from a woman offering me a free vacation in Waikiki, compliments of Hilton Grand Vacations Time Share.

She said it was a reward for being a "longtime member of Hilton HHonors."

That's true; I've been a member for about 30 years. I politely declined, but she was persistent and asked where I lived, obviously about to offer me airfare.

For some reason, I felt like going along. "Hawaii," I responded.

"Ah, how far are you from Waikiki?" she asked.

"About two miles," I replied, stifling a giggle.

... (Silence)

"O-o-o-KAY!" she finally blurted out, breaking out into laughter, "Never mind! Thank you for your time," she said between giggles.

"You're welcome!" I fell off the chair laughing, and could barely keep my wits about me as I hung up the phone.

Sometimes it pays to play along. I kid you not. We made each other's day.

No Water Required … Really?

The first and last time I encountered a waterless, no-flush urinal was in late 2009. I even wrote about it in a Left Field Wander post, but for the life of me, I can’t remember where I saw and photographed it.

Well, no matter. What goes around comes around, and I saw my second waterless, no-flush urinal during our Pacific Grove excursion to the Pacific Grove Museum.

No water required. Just pee and see. Felt kind of strange, though, just walking away without flushing. Oh well, I guess they know what they’re doing.

If you want to see my previous post of Dec. 30, 2009, go HERE. There’s an explanation of how it works.

Emus 1, Australian Army 0

Esmeralda the Emu, Kentucky Down Under (Photo by Craig)

When I visited Kentucky Down Under in Cave, Kentucky, ‘way back in 2011, I had a jolly interface with a real, live emu. Y’know, it was one of the ugliest birds I’ve ever seen. Big too, about 6-feet tall when its head was held high.

I dubbed it Esmeralda because … well, just because.

Anyway, at the time, I had no idea what historical influence the emu had in its native Australia. Only recently did I find out about Australia’s Great Emu War of 1932.

See, during one of the annual migrations of emu from inlands to the coast, the birds discovered ample cleared lands and water in Western Australia’s farmlands. They ate the farmer’s crops, ruining the marginal farmland.

The farmers, many of whom were Australian and British veterans of World War I, were furious and demanded that the government do something about the problem. The Australian government capitulated and in October sent Maj. GPW Meredith and two soldiers to eliminate the problem.

Emu "Solder"
(Rbrn.com)

Unfortunately, heavy rainfall delayed the actual operation until November. But the tactics they used failed. Ambushing 1,000 emus, their guns jammed and the birds fled. They stalked the herd, killing 50 birds by Nov. 8 before withdrawing.

The emus persisted and four days later, military action resumed, eliminating a total of about 980 emus.

But gangs of emu are persistent if nothing else, and the farmers requested more military involvement in 1934, 1943 and 1938. But the Australian government had enough and turned a blind eye to the requests.

Winner: The emus.

I kid you not.

Stop the Presses!

Extra! Extra! This just in ... The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported yesterday that the Foo Fighters and their front man Dave Grohl can't finish their current tour.

Why? Well according to the newspaper, he braked his ankle. Yep, you read that right. "Grohl brakes his ankle," the story read. You can see the actual clipping to the left.

All I can say is ... here we go again. Whoever's in charge of headline writing, and whoever's in charge of news editing at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser is/are living up to his/her/their reputation of inaccuracy and unprofessionalism.

I can just hear it in the newsroom: "Whoa, Ankle! WHOA!"

A Bump in the Route

As my Hawaiian Airlines flight was nearing Las Vegas early in the morning on Monday the 9th, I happened to look at the map on the video monitor on the seat in front of me, and lo and behold, this is what I saw:

Somewhere, sometime, in mid-flight, in mid-Pacific, my plane jogged left, then returned to its original course soon afterwards. I say "soon afterwards," but for all I know it could have taken an hour or so to complete the bump.

Did we enter the Twilight Zone? Was there something in our way? Did we have to avoid a rising of the ocean? Or maybe (and most likely), the pilot altered course to avoid a rough pocket of turbulence.

I sure hope that was the case. Good thing I wasn't awake at the time; I might have looked out the window and seen something I wouldn't want to see.

I kid you not.

Sen. Inouye's Teeny Library?

If you live in Hawaii, and if you subscribe to the local rag, The Star-Advertiser, you may have missed this. I almost did. See, I didn't actually read the story (I'm a headline reader, as you probably know by now).

But for some reason, egregious errors just pop out at me. Like this huge one in Tuesday's morning newspaper.

According to the article, U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye's papers are to be stored in a $27.5 Inouye library. I think a word might be missing - like "million"? Gotta be. Otherwise, the newspaper is saying Sen. Inouye costs only $27.50. Either that, or his library is going to cost only $27.50.

That's a pretty small library.

Convincing Email Scam

The day before yesterday, I received a rather disturbing email from a friend of mine (or so I thought). His email address seemed legitimate (it was an AOL account), and the message was quite convincing:

Subject ..... (friend’s name)

I really hope you get this fast. I could not inform anyone about our trip, because it was impromptu. We had to be in Philippines for a Tour..the program was successful, but our journey has turned sour. We misplaced our wallets and cell phones on our way back to the hotel after we went for sight seeing. The wallet contains all the valuables we have. Now, our luggage is in custody of the hotel management pending when we make payment.

I am sorry if i am inconveniencing you, but I have only very few people to turn to now. I will be very grateful if I can get a short term loan of ($2,450) from you. This will enable me sort our hotel bills and get my sorry self back home. I will really appreciate whatever you can afford at this moment. I promise to refund it in full as soon as I return. Please let me know if you can be of any assistance.

Thanks, (name)

It was quite tempting to at least email my friend and ask if this really was true. But the request for money is always a red flag.

Then, the clincher … I got another email a few minutes later, with the identical message, from a person I didn’t know.

You gotta be really careful these days! I kid you not.

JFK Experience

... As in "Just Fuhgeddaboudit, Kiddo."

While driving along the Las Vegas Strip, heading back downtown from a buying expedition at Fry's Electronics, I saw this mock-up of President John F. Kennedy's Air Force One. I tried to take a photo from the car, but that didn't work out.

When I got back to my hotel room, I Googled it on my iPad and discovered there was an exhibition of JFK stuff at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino.

The memorabilia, which includes two Presidential limos, a number of Jacqueline Kennedy's formal gowns, and oodles and oodles of JFK's campaign ribbons and buttons. Is a small portion of presidential enthusiast Jim Warlick's collection.

The next day, I went to the Tropicana, took a picture of Air Force One, then headed inside to find the exhibit. I figured it was in the same place where I had seen "The Human Body" and "Titanic" exhibitions several years ago. Without thinking much of it, I began my long trudge.

Now, the day before, and earlier that same day, I'd done a lot of walking, and by the time I found the place, I must have walked at least a quarter mile in my search. My feet hurt, and my legs, hips and lower back were killing me. Not only that, there's a long stairway to negotiate before you get to the entrance.

So I get there, and the guy sitting at the entrance table tells me I have to buy my ticket at the "Show Tickets" booth 'way back where I'd started from. I ask the price. It's $24.95, or $19.95 for local residents (whom we call "kamaaina" in Hawaii) and seniors (like me).

What if, I offer, I just give him $25 (forget the senior price). Would he let me in? He just smiled faintly. I told him if I have to walk back to get a ticket, I'm not coming back. Didn't faze him in the least. I took a peek inside and saw how sparse the exhibit looked, turned on my sore heels, and went back the way I came.

Then I played a deuces-wild poker slot at the Tropicana casino and won $50. Poetic justice, no?

I kid you not.

Did You Know? (List #2)

Here are a few more facts I bet you didn't know:

According to Albert Einstein, if honey bees were to disappear from earth, humans would be dead within four years.

There are so many kind of apples that if you ate a new one every day, it would take more than 20 years to try them all.

You can survive without eating for weeks, but you will only live 11 days without sleeping.

People who laugh a lot are healthier than those who don’t.

Laziness and inactivity kills just as many people as smoking.

A human brain has a capacity to store five times the information as Wikipedia.

Our brain uses the same amount power as a 10-watt light bulb.

Our body gives enough heat in 30 minutes to boil 1.5 litres of water.

The ovum egg is the largest cell in the human body, and the sperm is the smallest.

I kid you not.

A Random Conversation

(Let me tell you about a conversation I overheard at Honolulu International Airport in the Vacations Hawaii boarding area between an old [say, 80s] local Hawaii Chinese man, hereafter referred to as "Husband," and his travel companion, an equally old Chinese woman we'll call "Wife.")

Wife: You baddah put on one jacket, (name indecipherable) w'en call and said was cold in Vegas. Like sixtay. You w'en bring um, o' what?

Husband: You t'ink me stupedd, o' what? A-course I w'en bring one jacket. Stay in my carray-on bag. I know stay cold in Vegas.

Wife: She said stay inna sixtays so you baddah wear um, 'kay? (Louder) SIXTAYS!

Husband: I know dat! Stay inna sixtays. I know dat! I get my jacket and shoes in my carray-on, okay?

Wife: Well, you baddah, 'cause she said was inna sixtays.

(I couldn't stand it. I looked up the current temperature on my iPad – it was 51° going down to a low of 39° in Las Vegas – and showed the screen to them. They gasped at how cold it was, and continued their conversation.)

Wife: You baddah put on one jacket, da guy said stay cold in Vegas. Like feeftay.

Husband: Lee-me 'lone. I know stay cold! I get my jacket and shoes!

Wife: You baddah! Going down to turday.

(I went back to my seat, shaking my head and vowing to mind my own business from then on. Old Hawaii locals crack me up.)

Did You Know?

Here are a few facts I bet you didn't know:

• Your shoes are the first thing people subconsciously notice about you. Wear nice shoes. 
• If you sit for more than 11 hours a day, there's a 50% chance you'll die within the next three years. 
• There are at least six people in the world who look exactly like you. There's a 9% chance that you'll meet one of them in your lifetime. 
• Sleeping without a pillow reduces back pain and keeps your spine stronger. 
• A person’s height is determined by the father, and his or her weight is determined by the mother. 
• If a part of your body "falls asleep," you can almost always "wake it up" by shaking your head.
• There are three things the human brain cannot resist noticing: Food, attractive people and danger. 
• Right-handed people tend to chew food on their right side. 
• Putting dry tea bags in gym bags or smelly shoes will absorb the unpleasant odor.

I kid you not.

Expensive Fajita

Er ... Tell Me the Price Again?

Last April, when the wife and I visited our grandson in Fremont, CA, I wanted to try out more restaurants that we'd never gone to before. One of them was Mil's Diner in Milpitas, a short freeway drive from where we were staying.

I checked out their menu online. Everything looked fine, until I came to their omelette section and saw their posted price for a Fajita Omelette. It was pretty steep, even if they had to bring in the ingredients from Mexico.

Well, of course, it was an error by whoever typed up their website menu for them, but it was a shocker, none-the-less. The thing is, they know about it, but still haven't fixed it.

My breakfast was good, by the way, and no, I didn't order the fajitas.

Questionable Fixes 2

Okay then ... here are a few more pictures that I found on news.distractify.com (poster credit: Matt Buco). This time, it's bathroom fixes. It's amazing what some tape will do. And, how 'bout that multi-tasking drain thingy.

More to come later on.

Funny, Tennessee Doesn't Look Like That

I was watching the Travel Channel recently and hung around to watch a program about barbecue. Can't remember exactly what the show was called, unfortunately.

Anyway, one of the featured BBQ restaurants was Central BBQ in Memphis, Tennessee. That's the owner (or maybe it was the show's host) outside with the restaurant's sign.

But that's not what I wanted to show you.

Look at this graphic. It shows the host (hey, he's got a hat like the guy in the other picture, so that guy must be the host) driving toward Memphis, Tennessee. The problem is, he's in Kentucky and Kentucky is labeled "Tennessee."

That's Tennessee below Kentucky (the colored area). Methinks the show's producers, graphic artists, editors and whoever must have all flunked U.S. Geography 101.

Questionable Fixes 1

I found these pictures on news.distractify.com posted by someone named Matt Buco of actual repairs that people made to things that were broken. Some are quite ingenious, I think. Others ... well, what can I say.

No descriptions are necessary. The pictures just make you laugh and laugh and shake your head.

I kid you not!

More to come in the weeks ahead.

Don’t Breathe Swimming Pool Air

As if I don’t have enough to worry about these days, I learned about another one recently. 

Swimming pool gas. 

No, I don’t mean the bubbles kids create when they fart in the pool. As disgusting (or funny, depending on your point of view) as that is, it’s really not harmful. Unless you smell it and faint and drown, but that’s another story. 

I’m talking about peeing in the pool. China Agricultural University and Purdue University scholars studied the effect that uric acid has on the chlorine used to disinfect the water in swimming pools. 

As it turns out, they’re nasty partners. 

For one thing, they combine to form cyanogen chloride. This nasty gas can hard your central nervous system, your heart, and your lungs if you inhale it. 

For another thing, uric acid also is instrumental in the formation of poisonous nitrogen tricholramine gas, responsible for acute lung infection. And it builds up fast. In fact, the researchers studied a national swimming competition and found the trichloramine levels doubled after one day. 

Which begs the question … Do racing swimmers pee that much in the pool during competition? 

Additional info: This may gross you out, but more than half of the public pools tested in a study had bacterial evidence that somebody pooped (yep, I said pooped, not peed) in the pool. 

I kid you not!

Questionable Book Titles/Subjects 2

This is especially for cat lovers. It's a short post, and there are only three of them, so you can probably tolerate the books.

Hey, don't blame me. I didn't write the books.