from the department of the Seriously Weird...

Been doing research for the sequel again. Or should that be still? Anyway.

It's about been decided that the first part of said sequel is going to take place during the building of the Old Faithful Inn during the fall and winter of 1903-04. So I've been researching the construction of the building. Which has been fascinating. Until I ran across the following:

So. If you were to go to http://tinyurl.com/yrqak6 and take a gander at page five of the .pdf (page 9 as marked on the pages themselves), and look about 1/2-2/3 of the way down on the righthand side, you will see that one of the few records of the workmen's names that survived belonged to a fellow named McManis. Not the common spelling, which is McManus (like Patrick McManus, the humorist), but McManis, which, according to Reference USA (a national white pages) is roughly 20 times less common a spelling than McManus (440 versus 9232 occurrences nationwide in the current edition).

It was a spelling I had never run across in real life. When I named my family of characters McManis (changing the spelling of McManus the humorist just to make it different). Eight years ago.

And I swear I have never laid eyes on that article before today...

IOW, I am rather freaked out at the moment.

I like this idea

But please don't stomp on it like what happened with the last meme I posted?

Gacked from fairestcat and windtear:

Wow- what is it in the air lately? Post after filtered post about how everyone is feeling alone, disconnected, unwanted. It's not like this is one or two people - it's like a rash all over my friends list the past few days. Male, female, betwixt, undecided, unconcerned...it seems to be an equal opportunity Brain Weasel Invasion.

Clearly, something needs to be done.

I think we need to have a Brain Weasel Stomping Day.

The problem, as I've noted before, is "it's easier to see the Weasels when they're eating someone else's brain."

So. This is my call to my friends list, and to your friends list, and beyond. This Friday, make an effort to squish someone's Brain Weasel.

Have a crush on someone? Post a flirty comment in their journal. Admire someone's skills? Post a comment about it. Just think a person is nifty? This Friday is the time to tell them.

Doesn't matter if the post you're commenting to doesn't have much to do with your comment. Just post those good thoughts. Trust me. People will appreciate it.

Do this for everyone - not just those you suspect are feeling down (After all, you might not be on their Brain Weasel filter). Take a few minutes and help launch people into the weekend with a smile.

And...who knows? Maybe sharing how others make you happy will make you a bit more cheerful in return.

It's worth a try.