It wasn’t easy – but we’ve finally put our world together. It took two more marathon sessions, but we finished our puzzleball globe. When you last checked in, we had completed Antarctica and the surrounding waters, and we’d managed to hook up with South America.
Next, Will managed to connect Australia and some of south east Asia to the main section.
It’s time for another survey of the week’s news in Luxembourg. As usual, we owe the good folks at ARA City Radio in Luxembourg for the news reports, which we hear in the dulcet voice of Mark Weedon almost every morning during Phoebe Winter’s breakfast show.
HELICOPTER NAILS SHOPLIFTER
The police helicopter was in action in Ingeldorf on Saturday afternoon. It was hunting down a man who’d stolen a shell suit from a local shop. He had run off after staff noticed him trying to smuggle the stolen gear out of the shop in a black bag. He was eventually tracked down hiding behind a hedge in a barnyard, and is facing charges of shoplifting.
WE WILL NEVER KNOW
The Police say their helicopter was not called to track down a man who stole a shell suit in Ingeldorf at the week-end. (more…)
For Americans, today may be Groundhog Day. Here in Luxembourg, it’s Liichtmëssdag!
Here’s the best description we can find, courtesy ARA City Radio here in Luxembourg and prepared by the ever-entertaining and informative Mark Weedon:
It’s the feast of St Blaise today or Candelmas. There’s a local tradition that children go out with lanterns this evening and sing songs on doorsteps. The point is that they are wishing you good health for the rest of the year and you are supposed to reciprocate with sweets or money. Modern children are likely to be rather disappointed if you hand out bacon and peas, which is actually what their asking for in the song.
I remember celebrating the Feast of St Blaise in my Catholic grammar school: (more…)
I pray your indulgence as I attempt to articulate my present stage in learning French.
I came to Luxembourg with a dim memory of taking advanced French in high-school, and a few hours of practice during trips to Paris and Nice. It wasn’t long before I was reading signs and speaking easily with shopkeepers. (Lest I forget: There were a few incidents where I asked Anita to ask a question in English due to my fear of stumbling through a conversation in French.)
Now, when I want to express myself in French, I can find most of the words I need without effort. (more…)
To Whom It May Concern:
At several social functions during our recent visit to the US, my spouse Will told a somewhat humorous story involving the shooting of a movie in the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland. I would like to address my remarks on those occasions. (more…)
The work of building our world continues apace.
I thought you might enjoy seeing the progress after the first evening of solid puzzleball work.
Antarctica came together pretty quickly. (Truth in puzzling – the half-dozen bottom-most pieces came attached to the black circle.)
(more…)
Was your New Year’s Resolution to become familiar with European history? If so, you’re going to love our recommendation for an entertaining way to survey European history from the French Revolution to the present day. If you have a long commute, you’ll especially like the medium: hour-long audio tracks, produced by a history professor. But it is certainly not a dry lecture series.
At Bethel University, history professor Chris Gehrz produced a podcast called Radio Modern Europe for his course, HIS354 Modern Europe. The format is clever, using multiple means of presenting the material: short lectures, of course, but also breaking news bits, simulated interviews with historical figures, and even recipes. (more…)
Two years ago, one of my Christmas presents from Will was a globe. After spending more than a decade with me, he knew better than to actually buy the globe. (I tend to be a bit fussy.) Instead, he gave me an awesome paper globe he hand-constructed to stand in for my real globe. In the next month, I was to shop in Ireland to find the perfect globe.
As it often happens with these things, the actual purchase of the globe was constantly delayed. The globe store had limited hours; I didn’t like the colors that I saw; and so on. Globes are expensive so I wanted my globe to be perfect.
Christmas 2009 arrived and I had not yet gotten around to buying a globe. Will was fed up with my antics and decided to take matters into his own hands. He reached into the interweb and, once again, found something to hold me until I find that perfect globe.
So I am now the proud owner of a Ravensburger Puzzleball. (more…)
Happy New Year from Bugle Enterprises! Our executive staff celebrated the arrival of the new year in a 767, high above the Atlantic Ocean. To be honest, we slept through the whole thing, waking to a smooth landing in a slightly snowy northern Europe.
After much thought, we decided to try a new policy regarding comments. (more…)
Substance Trial Survey, Preparation Phase (Page 1)
Test Series: T-0438 (Bovril)
Subject Name: Will Bakker
Date and Time: 6 Dec 2009, 13:08
(more…)
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