How many miles to Babylon?

How many miles to Babylon?
Threescore miles and ten.
Can I get there by candle-light?
Yes, and back again.
If your heels are nimble and light,
You may get there by candle-light.


I leapt out of my seat, waved the book of nursery rhymes at Jonathan, and shrieked, "Look at this! It's a Babylon candle! I found Babylon candles! It's like in Stardust!"

Jonathan is used to my reading habits. He put down his book that he was reading, accepted the tome of nursery rhymes, and agreed, yes, it was definitely where Neil Gaiman got the idea for Babylon candles. I have tracked down a reference in its native habitat!

 If you don't remember, Stardust is a fantasy film from about ten years ago with Claire Danes and Robert de Niro and a bunch of people. The hero and the star do, indeed, travel by Babylon candle. The movie makes a joke of it -- the star knows what they're called, but as the hero had never heard of them, he refers to them as "bubbling" candles and she corrects him. I hadn't realized they were a thing outside that story.

The wiki page on "How many miles to Babylon" mentions that it used to be a game like sharks and minnows, where the kids stand in two lines, sing the song, and the "shark" tries to catch them when they run back and  forth. I'm thinking we need to start playing this game again.

Because traveling by candle-light is definitely the coolest.

Classical music

My writing elsewhere: I've got another post up over at HSLDA. This one is about classical music, and I was really proud of how those pictures came out. I even found a sunny day to take them. :-)

Bonus exclusive picture of Kate for my blog readers. She liked the maracas better.

MY apple tree, all mine

We were listening to the Andrews Sisters' "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree," when Meg commented. "What a selfish singer she is!"

The lyrics, for those of you not familiar with this WWII classic, go "Don't sit under the apple tree/With anyone else but me, anyone else but me, anyone else but me/ Don't sit under the apple tree/ Till I come marching home." I usually consider this a fairly reasonable request, but then I mentally file this song under "Love Songs," or possibly "Soldier Love Songs," which have a different standard of selfishness than "Toddler Life." Apparently. The recipient may or may not cooperate, but it's more about whether they're waiting for the soldier to come home in a romantic sort of way, and less about possession of the apple tree. Per se.

Anyway, I asked Meg why it sounded selfish. "Because she won't let anyone sit there but her."

There you go.

My Darling Clementine

"If I were lost and gone forever, that would be dreadful." Meg

Song of the Day: Da Doo Ron Ron

"Young lady, you will have your time-out, and you're not supposed to like it!" Jonathan

"Dad, will you please play Minecraft? It gets dark and all the monsters come out." Meg

In other news, Meg has a new favorite song. She sings it, "Did you run run run, did you run run?" --which makes a lot more sense than the original, actually.

Song of the day

Meg just said, "Do you know the muffin man? Do you know the muffin man, guys?"

I said, "He lives on Drury Lane," and she just lit up.

"Yeah!"

Sitting up with the dead

I bring you this childhood comedic classic in honor of Ash Wednesday. Or something.

Hymns

I was over at the Semicolon blog, skimming through her hymns project. I don't usually watch the embedded videos, but I did these, and couldn't resist sharing. They're just that awesome. (Also very different.)





The first bit of this might be a little slow, but stick with it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah

see more Funny Graphs

Song of the day

Today we introduced Susie to "Dragostea Din Tei," also known as the "Numa Numa Song." We showed her the fat guy and the Lego guys, and it was a beautiful thing. But does anyone know if that video of David got posted publicly? :-)

Alo, Salut, sunt eu, un haiduc,
Si te rog, iubirea mea, primeste fericirea.
Alo, alo, sunt eu Picasso,
Ti-am dat beep, si sunt voinic,
Dar sa stii nu-ti cer nimic.

Vrei sa pleci dar nu ma, nu ma iei,
Nu ma, nu ma iei, nu ma, nu ma, nu ma iei.
Chipul tau si dragostea din tei,
Mi-amintesc de ochii tai.

Te sun, sa-ti spun, ce simt acum,
Alo, iubirea mea, sunt eu, fericirea.

Alo, alo, sunt iarasi eu, Picasso,
Ti-am dat beep, si sunt voinic,
Dar sa stii nu-ti cer nimic.

Song of the day

Bye, bye, lunch
Bye, bye, sandwiches
Hello hungriness
Think I'm gonna cry.

(Additional lyrics courtesy of Amelia and yours truly. They do not reflect reality--at least we hope not--we just thought they were funny because today's schedule says "Goodbye lunch.")

Song of the day

Frogs at School

Twenty froggies went to school, down beside a rushy pool,
Twenty little coats of green, twenty vests all white and clean.
"We must be on time", said they; "First we study, then we play;
That is how we keep the rule, when we froggies go to school."

Master Bullfrog, grave and stern, called the classes in their turn,
Taught them how to nobly strive; likewise how to leap and dive;
From his seat upon a log, showed them how to say "Kerchog!"
Also how to dodge a blow from the sticks which bad boys throw.

Twenty froggies grew up fast, big frogs they became at last;
Not one dunce among the lot; not one lesson they forgot;
Polished to a high degree, as each froggy ought to be,
Now they sit on other logs, teaching other little frogs.

Song of the day

"Sixteen Tons"
Tennessee Ernie Ford
cowboylyrics.com

Disclaimer: this song has nothing whatever to do with my office. It rated "song of the day" because I was humming it yesterday, and then as I drove up the radio played it. Life is good. :-)

Some people say a man is made outta mud
A poor man's made outta muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong.

You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store.

I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the straw boss said "Well, a-bless my soul."

You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store.

I was born one mornin', it was drizzlin' rain
Fightin' and trouble are my middle name
I was raised in the canebrake by an ol' mama lion
Cain't no-a high-toned woman make me walk the line.

You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store.

If you see me comin', better step aside
A lotta men didn't, a lotta men died
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one don't get you then the left one will.

You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store.

Song of the day

This morning, as I was driving up, the air was full of a mist coming up from the ground, and the sun coming over the Sangres turned it all golden. It was so like that scene in Fellowship of the Rings when Galadriel gives gifts to the travelers, as they float down the river to Rauros, golden Rauros-falls.

Anyway, the song of the day is Leaving on Jet Plane, which is apparently by John Denver.

"But he didn't originally record it; it might have been Peter Paul and Mary." The good doctor
"I thought they were dead." Amelia
"It was strongly suggested to me I go to their concert in Wolf Trap last weekend." Me
"They must not be very dead." Amelia
"Not if they're giving a concert." Me

All my bags are packed
I'm ready to go
I'm standin' here outside your door.
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin.
It's early morn.
The taxis waitin'.
He's blowin his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could die.

So kiss me and smile for me.
Tell me that you'll wait for me.
Hold me like you'll never let me go, 'cause
I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when Ill be back again.
Oh babe, I hate to go.

There's so many times I've let you down
So many times I've played around
I tell you now, they don't mean a thing.
Ev'ry place I go, I'll think of you.
Ev'ry song I sing, I'll sing for you.
When I come back, I'll bring your wedding ring.

So kiss me and smile for me.
Tell me that you'll wait for me.
Hold me like you'll never let me go, 'cause
Im leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go.

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time.
Let me kiss you
Then close your eyes.
I'll be on my way
Dream about the days to come
When I won't have to leave alone
About the times, I won't have to say

Oh, kiss me and smile for me.
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
'cause I'm leavin on a jet plane
Don't know when Ill be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go.

But, I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when Ill be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go.

Song of the Day

We of the office declared today's song to be "Drill, Ye, Tarriers, Drill." Not, actually, because of the drilling, but because I wanted sugar in my tay.

Every morning about seven o'clock
There were twenty tarriers drilling at the rock
The boss comes along and he says, "Keep still
And bear down heavy on the cast iron drill."

And drill, ye tarriers, drill
Drill, ye tarriers, drill
For it's work all day for the sugar in your tay
Down beyond the railway
And drill, ye tarriers, drill
And blast, and fire.

The boss was a fine man down to the ground
And he married a lady six feet 'round
She baked good bread and she baked it well
But she baked it harder than the hobs of Hell.

The foreman's name was John McCann
He cert'ly was a blamed mean man.
Last week a premature blast went off
And a mile in the air went big Jim Goff.

And when next payday came around
Jim Goff a dollar short was found
When he asked, "What for?" came this reply
"You were docked for the time you were up in the sky."