Thursday 13

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. 

Again, I'm stealing a graphic from another participant, this time from Blue Country Magic. I liked this one.

Some things this month so far:

1. A lot of appointments this coming week, including this afternoon by phone. At least I can be home for that one. But I am a little nervous about getting a mammogram next week. Glad to have someone going with me. And speaking of appointments...
2. Yet another change in doctors, for both mental and physical health. I'm now seeing an in-person psychiatrist for the first time in years. The previous Zoom-meeting one left. And my primary care doctor retired in May, so I have a new one of those as well. 
3. In recent years, I had not listened to the radio while driving, and just learned the one station I'd enjoyed would be moving exclusively to HD2 Radio (did so yesterday at noon), no longer on the FM dial. No HD radio in my car, and I can't afford it. So it must have been a good I've rarely listened in recent years. 
4. A "No Beach Beach Day" at work last week, but so few people participated. It was hard to find summer items in stores this late in the season.
5. And I think you all know what stores are trying to emphasize now. The Dollar tree just began getting and setting out Halloween, though back-to-school items remain in the front window. 
6. I learned that Spirit Halloween will be opening once again in the empty Kmart. I'm hoping the opening won't be delayed until after the first of October this year. 
7. A field trip next Wednesday to San Juan Bautista, near where I live. I haven't been to that town for a long time now and am looking forward to going. Which brings mew to this...
8. I had a friend who lived in San Juan, who passed a little over a year ago. A celebration was life was held a year later at his family home. It was great day, remembering him and seeing people I had not seen in some time. We did our best not to make it a sad day.
9. Weather has been weird. It was supposed to be in the 90s on Tuesday, but didn't quite reach that. Just the same, it was muggy.
10. Pickleball next Monday at work. It's been a month or so since we last played. I haven't participated much recently, but it's fun to watch. I now hope it's not too hot then.
11. As I often seem to, I've been getting exhausted in the hot weather.
12. Still having trouble finding writing ideas.
13. I've escaped this so far. And have been seeing things like this:

Some have said it's because we aren't being locked down.

Book Discussion: Confusing Similar Author Names or Similar Titles

 

Lisa wrote a blog post asking if people ever confuse authors with similar names. This gave me an idea for a discussion post. At one time, I could not remember if it was Elizabeth Gilbert or Elizabeth Berg who wrote Eat, Pray, Love. It was Elizabeth Gilbert. I've read books by both, the most recent book from Elizabeth Berg being A Year of Pleasures  in April this year. 

I don't recall if I ever confused any other authors with similar names, but I am aware that there is an author named Steve Martini (I've never read any of his stuff) and know not to confuse him with Steve Martin (Yes, that Steve Martin. He has written some books). 

Lisa's post reminded me of a post I'd done on the blog years ago (I wasn't participating in the Book Discussion at that time, BTW). I've seen others confuse similar titles more often than similarly named authors. Linked in that post is how people confused a book called Girl on a Train with The Girl on the Train. The second book is better known, but the first one received little to no attention when it was first published. Here is the original article. 

Also in my original post, I pointed out how my now-defunct book club had chosen a book called The Silent Wife. They did not say the author's name, and when a member looked for the book on Amazon, she found two different books with that title. When we met to discuss the book, some members realized that they had read the "wrong" book. Many had found this one, but the one selected was this. A search on Amazon produced even more books with this title, including one from the Will Trent series. And as you may have seen one the books titled The Silent Wife was written by a Kerry Fisher, whose name is similar to that of Carrie Fisher, who though primarily an actress, also wrote books. The spelling of each one's first name, however, is different. I did not know about Kerry Fisher until this book.

Some of you may have heard how the YA novel Between Shades of Gray was  mistaken for a certain popular erotic romance. Do I even have to say what the erotic novel is? 

Which do you find more confusing--similar Author names or similar titles?

Thursday 13 for World Emoji Day

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. The blog host doesn't have any official graphics to display on the Thursday 13 posts, so I decided to whip one up myself. 🙂  

Tomorrow is World Emoji Day. 

 

Now I'm Starting to Think About It More!

After saying last week, I didn't want to think about Halloween yet, now I want to even more.  Just this morning I drove past our empty Kmart building and while stalled at the traffic light before turning left to get into the parking lot, I saw an orange sign in the Kmart window. I knew what that had to be! And I had already getting emails about the stores hiring and one saying that the first store will be opening in New Jersey in August. I'm now hoping that the opening of the store in my town won't be delayed again this year. 

Halloween items still haven't appeared in most stores, but there were some fall pumpkins and candles at the Dollar Tree. As I've said, the summer stuff is now slim pickings, and that we're having a "No Beach Beach Day" at work on Wednesday next week. My friend couldn't find a lot of beach stuff there or at Dollar General last Saturday. I'm glad I still have some stuff I can wear. (More on "No Beach Beach Day" to come.) 

And just this morning I began searching for ideas fo alway decorations for Halloween using solar-powered light stakes. One I've seen is to cut a hole in the bottom of a plastic jack-o-lantern bucket (used for candy collecting) and screw the stake light into the hole. That sounds like a great idea. I'm almost certain I will do it. Such buckets often turn up at Goodwill, but not yet as far as I have seen. But I know I'll need to snag some as quickly as I can, once the starting pouring into the stores. I knew the light stales would be sold out before summer was half over. That is why I've bought those already. And glad I did, as I have not seen any left at either Dollar Tree or Dollar General (I got some from both stores). 

Trying Not to Think About It Yet

 

Not me, though. I haven't given much thought to Halloween yet, though I have been wondering if the Spirit Store is going to open in my town again this year. Especially after the delayed opening last season. And now the former Kmart is said to be the new building for a local charter school, though it will be some time before the building is remodeled for the school. Then again, the Rite Aid building is still empty, if they can get that one. Though the hiring page for Spirit gives  the address for Kmart.

While going to both Dollar General and Dollar Tree over the weekend, I noticed summer merchandise displays starting to die down, with back-to-school displays starting to be set up.  My friend was looking for summer stuff at Dollar General for a "No Beach Beach Day" theme day we have coming up at work later this month. Not much was left except for a few beach towels and I'm not sure what else. I still have some stuff I can use for that day.

Halloween seems to start popping up as early as August, so I expect that is when Dollar Tree and Dollar General will begin their displays. Before the summer season began, I bought some solar stake lights for holiday lawn decorating. I had to get these early or else they would be gone before summer even started! Sometimes you do need to think ahead. The lights are still in the package.

July Bookish Bingo

 The emoji-themed bingo card for July is here.

My Books:

1. The Gringo Champion--Aura Xilonen (6 squares): DNF Last Month, Physical Book, Library Book, Not in a Series, Shock/Surprise, Eye Roll
2. Star Spangled Murder--Leslie Meier (8 squares): E-Book, In a Series, Red & White & Blue on Cover, Fireworks, LOL, Free Space, Snazzy Dresser, Sarcasm
3. Taiwan Travelogue--Yang Shaung-Zi (1 square): Not a Normal Home
4. A Cat Was Involved--Spencer Quinn (2 squares): Audiobook, Animal is MC
5. Distant Shores--Kristin Hannah (3 squares): Book Club Read, A Favorite Author, Doctor or Nurse
6. Little Pieces of Hope--Todd Doughty & Josie Portillo (3 squares): Free Book, 2 or More Authors, Food on the Cover
7. The Acorn People--Ron Jones (1 square): Re-Read

13 Things About the Number 250 and Some Notes on the 250th

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. 

Last week, one fellow participant borrowed the graphic I created for my posts, so I decided to use one of the ones she's used on her posts. The colors go well with my topic for today.

In honor of the US 250th birthday, I chose the number 250 as the topic for today. 

1. The Roman numeral for 250 is CCL.
2. The Ferrari 250 GTO is a sports racing car dating back to the 1960s.
3. In space Bettina is asteroid number 250. It was discovered by the Vienna Observatory in 1885.
4. The numerology energy represented by the number 250 resonates with intuition and introspection.
5. 250 is a 5-smooth number, meaning that its divisors are all less than or equal to 5.
6. In terms of telephone codes, in North America 250 is the area code for the Canadian Province of British Columbia, and it is the international dialing code for the African nation of Rwanda.
7. The food additive E-250 is Sodium Nitrite, which is classified as a preservative. According to some sources, the E-250 additive is considered dangerous.
8. Beware of the number 250 in China as it is often used as an insult to describe someone as being stupid, slow-witted or inappropriate. (See here).
9. The British Parliament celebrated its 250th in 1957, and the Taj Mahal reached its 250th milestone in 1898.
10. Harvard's 250 anniversary was in 1886. Yale's was in 1951, and Princeton's in 1996.
11. In biblical contexts, the number 250 appears in several significant passages, often associated with events of rebellion, judgment, and divine authority. 
12. Angel number 250 is a combination of the vibrations of the numbers two, five, and zero. These digits carry different energies and offer a deeper understanding of the meaning behind angel number 250.
13. Semiquincentennial is just one word used to mean 250th anniversary. See below.

Some side notes:

Semiquincentennial is derived from the following Latin roots:

• Semi: Half
• Quin: Five (specifically derived from quinque)
• Centennial: A hundred years
• Essentially, it means half (0.5) of a quincentennial (500 years), equaling 250.

Alternate names for "250th anniversary" include "Sestercentennial." The etymology for this one is:

• Sestertius: Meaning "two and a half" (from semis, meaning "half," and tertius, meaning "third"). The Romans used this to count units; literally "halfway to the third".
• Centennial: Derived from centum, the Latin word for "hundred".

"Quarter-Millennial" is also used, as 250 years is one-fourth of 1,000 years (millennium).

"Bisesquicentennial" has also been used. This is derived from:

• Bi- (two) + sesqui- (and a half) x centennial (100 years) = 250 years.
• This term was used by Princeton University in 1996, Reading, Pennsylvania in 1998, and Washington and Lee University in 1999.