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| As Popeye always said, "I yam what I yam." |
Does somebody out there hate me? Really?
Even good friends sometimes forget that I moderate comments on my blog, and they can be frustrated when what they wrote does not appear immediately. I remind them that their comment will show as soon as I hit that little ‘publish’ command.
What does not get my thumbs up is spam in comment disguise, such as, “Gee, this content is really interesting,” with a link to whatever business the spammer (probably a bot rather than a person most of the time) is trying to promote, which can be anything from crypto-“currency” to Caribbean vacations to—well, you get the point.
The other day, though, something really weird showed up. It came from “Anonymous,” who is a frequent commenter, but this time the comment consisted of a single repeated word, in full caps—“DIE DIE DIE,” etc., repeated over two dozen times per line for twenty lines. Such is the strangeness of our world today that I wasn’t even shocked or upset. Way too many scarier things to worry about these days. I am, however, mildly curious.
Did a real person leave this message? If so, was it someone who knows me? A stranger? A regular reader of Books in Northport? Someone who has been in my shop? Or was it not a person at all?
Long story shortened here: I marked it as spam and deleted it, and unless I get a confession from a verified human being, I'm going to believe that it was spam—from a IA bot!
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| "Don't chew on it, Mom." "I won't, Sunny." |
Happier stuff
But Wednesday was a happy day for me at Dog Ears Books. Although the weather had turned cold again, my heart was warmed by the arrival of the first half of my latest new book order, which included a stack of Lynne Rae Perkins’s latest title. Hooray!!! The publisher (Greenwillow) says At Home in a Faraway Place is for ages 8 to 12, or children in grades 4 through 6, but my personal opinion, as a reader and a bookseller, is that this book, as is true of all books from LRP, is for all ages. I would certainly not want to miss the story myself, though I passed my 12th birthday—let's just say, a while ago.
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| "O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!” I chortle in my joy. |
The box delivered on Wednesday by Ted the UPS man also contained a happy assortment for little ones just being introduced to the wonderful world of books, and the sun even broke through as I was arranging them for a group photo.
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| And with MICHIGAN THEMES!!! |
Other than that—
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| Sunny takes a little break now and then. |
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| So does the dog mom. |
My life has been the usual round of bookshop, reading, and dog play, with unaccustomed bits of housework (floor scrubbing) and seasonal yard tasks (raking and moving plants to make way for a hardscape renovation, i.e., new boardwalk entrance path to house.
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| No, I am not doing this work myself! |
We had a few days that felt like spring, a short power outage (see previous post), and now the forecast holds the probability of snow again for the first day of spring. But it is, I repeat, a spring snow, not the return of winter, as we transition from snow and ice to mud, mudlicious mud!
And now, spring break
Northport School will be on spring break next week, March 24 to 28; however, after 48 hours spent considering a cross-country trip, I decided there is too much that needs doing at home and in my shop, so Dog Ears Books will be open next week. I may adjust my hours, say, from noon to 4 p.m., but I will be here Wednesday through Saturday, as usual.
P.S. I LOVE Lynne Rae's new book!!!
And HAPPY SPRING, everyone!!!
11 comments:
Happy spring, even if it does snow! I think that weird comment was a bot.
Sunny looks tuckered out with her tongue lolling. Happy Spring! Stay safe.
I'm always in awe at the list of books you have read. I sometimes get through three in a week and am always reading two or three at the same time, but you are amazing and I follow your recommendations . Let me recommend an author to you, the British/Turkish novelist, Elif Shafak. I hope you will love her work as I do.
Happy Spring!😃
Some sources like PEW, see a shrinkage in blogs - people going to the 'social' sites like twitter, facebook etc. Even a few that I used to comment on. The political ones are very rude, which makes sense, considering the state of the states. We have daffodils in full bloom here. A cross-country trip? With all the bookstores starred on the map?
Thanks, Dawn and Karen and Anonymous, and happy spring to you both! Emita, I may have read one of Shafak's books but would have to look at old lists to be sure. You will not be "in awe" when you see my March list, as I binged on a mystery series for seven volumes! BB, blogging is very old-fashioned in the year 2025, and there is no way it can compete with the 24/7 stream of social media, but I am an old-fashioned person and an old-fashioned writer, as well as an OLD person and writer, so I'm sticking to this form. It suits me. As for a cross-country trip with bookstores all along the way, that would be a good project for retirement (ha! what a concept!) or any other unimaginable time when time would not be a constraint. I look forward to daffodils here, but many inches of heavy, wet snow has slowed them down today on the first official day of spring.
Dogs are noble pets, puppies are divine and the species deserving of being 'Mans Best Friend.' I, at advanced age, remember the two big Lutheran churches in town, (Grace and First) circa 1950 where half the kids went to one and the other to the other (We were Episcopalian, a weird fraction, sort of suspicious). The Great Dog/Kid problem began, when the Grace Pastor decided dogs went to Heaven and the First Pastor announced that only humans (only good Lutherans) get by the Golden Gate. Over the next year, the 50/50 devolved into a 10/90 as kids and their dogs voted for Grace Lutheran. Little girls cried as their parents made the choice and Catholics were bemused (because dogs WERE in purgatory, at least). Not sure if this is a theological or Winchester Dog Show situation. Can you ask Sunny for me? :)
Bob, is that a true story? It sounds like really good fiction. My Lutheran parents subscribed to the "dog heaven" view, and that's where I wanted to go myself -- to the dogs, not to the angels! And the horses had better be there, too!
Happy Spring, you in Michigan with your Spring Snow! Love the “mudlicious” word - H
HaHa! Well, concerning your four-letter-h-word, I would have been a bit scared, but you are a fearless person, dear friend, so Óut Damn H-word’ sounds like a healthy way to deal with rotten bots! 🤖! Love the BB story! When our old dog Susie died, my parents said that she went to Doggie Heaven and that there was a Kitty Heaven for all the cats that sashayed through our household. I was happy for them to have a place, being a happy Catholic at that early time! Your walkway is going to be just so….elegant! Send pix when it’s all done! Love! 💕
Hi, you two Anonymice! I was going to admit stealing 'mudlicious' from e.e. cummings, but his word was (I had to look it up) 'mud-luscious.' Somehow, still, the idea of multiple heavens segregated by species doesn't sit well with me. I want to be WITH the horses and dogs and cats --- and snails and moles and coyotes -- and, and, and. Don't. you?
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