Curiosities from all over

Dizzyhead Brent supplies this image of one of the iconic anthropomorphic food/beverage figures. (And vertiginous—dig the pitcher that the pitcher is holding!) Particularly nice is the visualization of "The Thirsties" as grimacing, vine-tongued dwarfish starbursts.

The cover is incontrovertible proof that people were thirsty back in the Revolutionary Era.

UPDATE: Brent sends these brain-scrambling old Kool-Aid commercials. (See video player in next post.)

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"Take what you want!": Dizzyhead Rachel K. directs our attention to this fantastic English/safety lesson from Japan.

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We're a bit late on this—but Dizzyhead David sent our colleagues over at the Ghost this truly bizarre Wikipedia entry on Tió de Nadal, the Catalonian version of the Yule log. It also sounds like the slightly evil version of the Yule log:

Beginning with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8), one gives the tió a little bit to "eat" every night and usually covers him with a little blanket so that he will not be cold at night.

On Christmas day or, depending on the particular household, on Christmas eve, one puts the tió partly into the fireplace and orders it to "shit" (the fire part of this tradition is no longer as widespread as it once was, since many modern homes do not have a fireplace). To make him "shit", one beats him with sticks, while singing various songs of Tió de Nadal.

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Close Light Reading: Dizzyhead Jenny D notes a truly appealing phrase that appeared in the Times recently—"bread carrier"—and notes where the stress falls.

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Want to use the same chair Glenn Gould did?

Whoever has admired Glenn Gould and whoever has understood him and known him deeply through his books and CDs, may have the romantic propensity to buy the chair … to make him relive, to be able to dream, to be able to get even nearer to the legend, to be able to reconstruct, maybe for the first time, maybe forever, the personage of this extraordinary artist with the use of something that is tangible.

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At Restricted View, Dizzyhead Mollie goes to a taping of Good Morning America (featuring the kids'-pop group the Wiggles) and lives to tell the tale:

I surprised myself by knowing all of the songs they played, including "Can You Point Your Fingers and Do the Twist?" (can I!), which is right up there with "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" on my list of favorite song titles.

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And Dizzyhead Jen has brought my attention to the music of Gabriel Kahane, who has put his appealing classical/pop stylings in the service of Craigslist ads! (Click "Music," then check out the four-part "Craigslistlieder.")

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Speaking of music: This Sunday at KGB, Joshua Cohen reads from his terrifically designed new novel, Cadenza for the Schneidermann Violin Concerto.