Irreference » Lost States

Lost States


Buy this book...seriously, click the link and go buy this book.

Quirk Books sent me this book by Michael J. Trinklein to review. It is fabulous! I truly feel if all education were this entertaining then no one would ever quit school. Mr. Trinklein is not only full of tidbits of trivia, he's a funny guy and a great writer. Every single page had me laughing and it's all fascinating too.

Not all the items in this book are actually states that didn't make it, sometimes it's something he found fascinating and had to share. The best one was "Howland" a very small island in the Pacific Ocean. It's only 300 acres in size and no one lives on it. It was used as a landing a refueling station for planes heading for America. Amelia Earhart was supposed to land there, and later on the Japanese bombed the hell out of it during the war. The true irony is for all the work that went into it, and the work in destroying it, no plane ever actually used it.

There are some that did make it, but not in the way some people wanted. Dakota on page 37, talks about 4 different proposals for the Dakotas and none of them really made it. One of them is very close, but North Dakota would really rather just be called "Dakota" and lose the "North" for good.

There are even countries that have been considered as states. Greenland, Iceland, even Great Britain are all in here, along with others from around the globe.

Being from Michigan, I love the part about the upper peninsula breaking away and becoming "Superior." We all learned how no one wanted that land, Michigan was after a tract of Ohio, but was handed the UP as a parting gift. Yeah! - not. Please don't write the hate mail, I love the UP. But this happened before (way before) there was ever a bridge. Imagine having to travel through Wisconsin any time you wanted to go up there. I have done it and it kind of makes you want to roll over and die from boredom, imagine doing it by horse? But it probably won't ever happen since even now not a lot of people live up there.

So, if you enjoy light-hearted humor, interesting factoids and good writing, go buy this book. You'll even find a large map by unfolding the book jacket.

Irreference.com - to buy Lost States
NPR review and interview with Michael J. Trinklein
Find Quirk Books on FaceBook

(I was not paid for this review, although after reading the book I'm super grateful for Quirk Books sending me a copy just for my opinion.)

The Monday Melee « fracas

The Monday Melee « fracas:
1. The Magnificent: Name someone you absolutely adore, and tell us why.
I adore my son Ivan. He is adventurous, fearless and sometimes wreckless. He climbs on everything, wants to explore anything, he wants it all. I adore him because of all these traits. Even if I get frustrated sometimes because he gets boo-boos and awful lot...because of those traits. But it never stops him, doesn't even slow him down. And he eats it all, too. All day long "eat! eat! eat!"

2. The Muddy: Tell us something about life you just don’t “get”.
I don't get why a person would give any time to a man who won't pay child support. My neighbor has 2 kids with this deadbeat, yet she still goes to pick his sorry ass up in a differnt town and bring him to her house for a visit. Never mind he never shares money, not even the court ordered minimum. Never mind he would rather spend time in jail than pay that money...for the children you have TOGETHER!!! But yeah, spend gas money you don't have, drive back roads because he can't make the trip without an open beer, and let him mooch for the weekend. Nope - don't get it.

3. The Magnetic: Name something or someone good (or bad) you’re drawn to and you just can’t help it. Tell us if you want to change this or not.
Weight Watchers. I sometimes get frustrated with all the tracking and measuring, but I get back on track and start it over again everytime. I don't want change it, except to be more consistent with it. I've lost 40 pounds, 3 dress sizes and gained some confidence. I want to stop messing that up.

4. The Mainstay: Who or what is something you just can’t live without? Why?
I can't live without my bathtub. Yup, a bathtub. I love to take a hot bubble bath with a good book. It's the only "me" time I usually get. And granted the kids still join me for that so it's not always alone time. Plus now that CW is getting older I have to wear clothes...and that just makes getting out more awkward. lol But I love my bathtime. Sometimes I'll get up early or stay up late just to be alone. Then again, maybe it's the water because I can stay in any water for a crazy amount of time, swimming pools or lakes or tubs. Just give me water.

5. The Masquerade: Tell us something about yourself we wouldn’t already know.
This one gets harder and harder. Ok, Peeps are my most favorite food in the entire world. Gooey, sugary heaven. And they are WW friendly, to a point. Granted I can't eat the whole package now, but 5 peeps are 3 points, 4 bunny peeps are 2 points, and if I have 2 bunnies it's only 1 point. It's hard to limit myself, but it means I enjoy it more.

6. The Mettle: Tell us about a time you showed courage in yourself, or tell us what you wish you had the courage to do.
I wish I had the courage to stand up to people. To vent my anger to the person causing it rather than choking on it. And I want to do it in an appropriate way. Not just yell at certain people, but to really explain to them what the problem is and what I plan on doing about it. Confrontation completely freezes me up, though.
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I had a great Easter. I missed my husband's family, but did not miss the massive driving involved. We got the kids up early, gave them their Easter baskets and headed to church. After breakfast, a quick easter egg hunt and service we joined the Anderson's for dinner. It was good, and it let me make good plans (WW). After dinner, I saw Clash of the Titans with my free passes and Cathy - Anderson's granddaughter. That was the weirdest part of the day. But Chris and Ivan got a nap, we all hiked in the woods and didn't rush anything. It was a fantastic day off.

Now it's Monday and we are back to work. Chris will start teaching me his trade this week. So I'm off to find soldering info on the web. Wish me luck, everyone!