The mark of a great song is that it can be recorded by...

...a variety of artists and sound great every time...be it by the composer, by the singer who introduced it, or by the singer whose version I first heard!

No, I'm not a Tea Partier...

...I'm not even anything close to a tea guy.

I only drink Harney and Sons' Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea and only because it tastes like that hard candy called Atomic Fireballs (which, FYI, visitors to the office of the Dean of the CCSU School of Arts and Sciences can grab from her candy dish!) -- just as sweet and cinnamony but without the sugar.

So, understand that the following criticism comes from a tea tyro, who doesn't understand anything about steeping tea and would never even consider using a loose tea:

I HATE the sachet.

It's bigger and bulkier and more expensive than the tea bag, and, as a result, less convenient and a bit less tasty -- since even in the cute tin, it's exposed to air more than the individually wrapped tea bag.

(It does hold more tea since, I'm told, more and more Americans prefer MUGS of tea as opposed to cups. But, unless you're a mug person, it's more than you need for a cup but not really enough for two -- unless you're my remarkably efficient tea-loving mother-in-law who could probably squeeze three or four cups out of one. I'm not that patient. I want a cup of Fireballs now, and I don't want a lot of fussing about...especially at the office.)

Now true tea lovers will probably be appalled by my pedestrian tea-ness, and I fully recognize my limited tastes...but I do love what I love. Ever since tasting my first H&S Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea at The Herbery, I've cut drastically back on my former fave hot beverage, Hot Chocolate!

That must give me some maturity points, no?

"Of her day," sir?! "Of her DAY"? Nay, sir, of all time!

"Mini Biography" of Gene Tierney from IMDB

With prominent cheekbones and the most appealing overbite of her day, her striking good looks helped propel her to stardom. Her best known role is the enigmatic murder victim in Laura (1944). She was also Oscar-nominated for Leave Her to Heaven (1945). Her acting performances were few in the 1950s as she battled a troubled emotional life that included hospitalization and shock treatment for depression.

Not that you can tell by any of her pictures, BTW!

Most recently discovered non-Sinatra Sinatra item that I'd like to hear

The name of the band is Sinatra 65. This was released in 1994.

Dead on funny!

From the Onion

Two thoughts on the death of J.D. Salinger

...would it be perverse to suggest that they have a public viewing so that the public that has longed so much to see him for the past however many years could get a good, long look at him?

In junior year of high school, we read The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Catcher in the Rye by Salinger. I believe I was the only one in the class who preferred Hawthorne. I'm still right.

"Diagnosing Tablet Fever in Higher Education"

The last two tablets that I can remember being excited about were (in reverse chronological order):

Percodan

The Rosetta Stone