Devil at the Crossroads

This is a statue (or "saint") of the Devil at the Cross Roads.  As a Christmas gift from New Orleans, "Dr. Zombies House of Voodoo" to be specific, it's a rather touching memento.

Cross roads outside of towns did not belong to anyone and were therefore a no-man's land.  Great place for spells, right?  Many cultures have significance tied to crossroads, even gods protecting them.  An interesting cover of the can be found at: http://www.luckymojo.com/crossroads.html

Another interesting read is: http://mmstudio.gannon.edu/~gabriel/parker.html

This suggests that selling one's soul to the devil at the crossroads begets musical talents.

My own thoughts on how stories of meeting a devil at the crossroads stem from everyday happenings.  Perhaps stories leading to precarious circumstances at the crossroads is simply where robbers used to hide to rob people.  Also, if there were no signs giving direction, a traveler might choose the incorrect direction to take.  After traveling the wrong way until figuring out that it was not the way they had wanted to go, they had to turn around and go all the way back.  This could be blamed on bad luck, or a devil leading the person astray.  As for the music side of the issue, religious groups who thought/think that music is evil, and therefore from the devil,  would also stand to reason that any person with musical talents must be associated with the devil in some manner.  Well, if this is true, maybe my saint will assist my learning to play the ukulele. 

Adventure Mining Company

The Adventure Mining Company is a tour of an old copper mine near Greenland, MI.  They have guided tours (real people!) ranging from 45 minutes, to 80 minutes, to a +2 hour rappelling tour.  The guides are knowledgeable, fun, and being in the mine is very cool.  There are no lights underground: instead, they give you a hardhat with a light on it.  Tours cover how the copper formed in the region, the mining methods used, lives of the miners, mining terms, and information about copper.  There are also bats in the mine!  This tour is highly recommended.  Feel free to visit their website for more information in planning your trip:
http://www.adventureminetours.com/

Pet Rats: Stan, Snowball, and Fredrick

These are my guys.  Stan is the brown one on the platform in the back.  Snowball is the white one on the floor.  Fredrick is the tan one on the platform in the front.  I recently got these guys from another person (they didn't have the time for them and another housemate did not like them).  Stan and Snowball were already named, while I picked out "Fredrick" for the tan guy.  Stan is the most outgoing, followed by Snowball, and Fredrick is shy.  Currently trying to litter train them.  It might be too late in their live to teach them that, because they are already about a year old.  The attempt can always be made.  Hopefully they get to know and like me.  We are getting along okay (no biting), but I can not wait to spend more time playing with them!

Website Review: theChive.com

http://thechive.com/

The Chive is a highly interesting (addicting) and amusing site.  Their posts consist of mostly photographs of silly, crazy, and odd things, people, and animals.  The site is geared towards the male population.  This is obvious due to all the "hot chick" posts.  Skimming over the parts that are of no interest to one's personal tastes is easy enough, though.  They get their pictures from emails and a variety of other sites (for example, a personal favorite, http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/).  Just a note: they only post a "best pictures of the week" on Saturdays and there are no new posts on Sundays.

This site is most certainly worth taking a look at.  Just be warned: it can be a big time waster!