Silflay Hraka

A Halloween song for you, courtesy of the Ngnat.

Halloweenie weenie weenie weenie weenie weenie weenie weenie weenie weenie weenie Halloween!
Halloweenie weenie weenie weenie weenie weenie weenie weenie weenie weenie weenie Halloween!

Halloween! Halloween! Halloween is keen.
Halloween! Halloween! We love Halloween.

Performance notes: You are singing it correctly when the adults around you begin to gibber and shriek at the third or fourth repetition of “weenie weenie weenie weenie.”

lyrics and tune by The Ngnat
Arrangement by B. Wig

From an email just sent out to everyone at UNC, though its subject has already made the news.

…a freshman living in Granville Towers, was diagnosed today (Oct. 28) with meningococcal meningitis, a form of bacterial meningitis. Anyone who has had close contact with Mr. Davis in the past two weeks should seek treatment at the UNC Student Health Service, even if they have previously been vaccinated against meningitis.

The Orange County Health Department particularly wants to get in touch with people who attended a party after 10 p.m. on Oct. 23 at 611 Chamberlain Rd. in Raleigh or who were with Mr. Davis at Top of the Hill on the evening of Oct. 26.

A big, crowded dorm, a college party, and one of the more popular hangouts in Chapel Hill. That’s a ton of possible exposures. Time to update the UNC Fright Song.

Hurry up with that vaccine, people.

Belgium’s beers are unique because, unlike brewers elsewhere in Europe, the Belgians were perfectly happy to put damn near anything into their brew.

Unlike brewers in other counties, however, the Belgians took to hops not as a replacement, but as an addition to their existing brewing ways. While the use of gruit in beer became strictly verboten in Bavaria by the Beer Purity Law of 1516, for instance, the Belgians continued their tradition of flavoring many of their beers with herbs and spices. The benefits of this tradition has come to us in the form of such brews as the Hoegaarden Wit, the incomparable flower-flavored Cantillon Iris Gueuze, the hoppy-spicy crossover Duvel Strong Pale Ale from Moortgat, or the sublime, champagne-like DeuS from Bosteels in Bruggenhout. Likewise, while the Germans declared the use of sugar in beer-making a virtual crime, the Belgians steadfastly continued to put their rock candy sugar into many of their vats.

While the British insisted on fresh hops for their ales, the Belgians were just as happy to flavor theirs with two- or three-year old hops, a custom still practiced today in lambic brewing. Likewise, while most ale brewers started to make beer just from barley – unless they made Hefeweizen – the Belgians have always felt free to mix different grains in the same brew, as evidenced by a decree issued in the town of Halle in the Pajottenland (the lambic-brewing region in the Senne Valley to the south-west of Brussels). This decree dates from 1559, during the Spanish occupation, and stipulates that the local beer “must be made from 16 parts grain: that is, from 6 parts wheat and 10 parts oats and barley, as is the ancient custom.” That 1559 decree is the reason why even today the ratio between wheat and barley in lambics is always 37.5%/67.5%.

Virginia is set to raise its fishing license fees. I found this part interesting, in light of the idea that NC license fees are supposed to go towards supporting fish stocks.

The DGIF isn?t just fishing for new money, but also would like to recoup some of its funds lost during the state?s budget crunch. More than $10 million was diverted from the department and earmarked for expenditures not related to hunting, fishing and boating. The pilfering of boating fees has hit the state?s boating program hard, causing a cutback of ramp construction and warder patrols.

Roger Ebert and Conrad Black, the ousted CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times’s parent company, are trading nasty public letters.

Black, who used to be CEO of Hollinger International, Inc., before a spectacular series of financial misconduct allegations got him heave-hoed, is upset at Ebert’s public support of the union workers as they threaten to strike against the Sun-Times.

Ebert and the union might be in the right. This could be the one time in twenty where a union has legitimate beefs, and they aren’t just running some legalized extortion scam on their employers. I don’t know. I don’t care. Gosh, how I don’t care.

Black used his public letter to disclose Ebert’s $500,000 salary and accused him of ingratitude for the “generous treatment” he had received at the Sun-Times. Said Black:

“your proletarian posturing on behalf of those threatening to strike the Sun-Times and your base ingratitude are very tiresome.”

I’ve got two problems with this. First, revealing someone’s private salary information in order to shame them or make yourself look good is Four Star Sleazy. Second, and more importantly, business transactions don’t require gratitude. They are rarely the result of one side’s sense of charity. What should Ebert do? Genuflect everytime Black generously deigns to sign his check?

Now that it’s public information, I am immediately struck by how low Ebert’s salary is. I know he’s got the TV and syndication money. I’m not concerned for his wellbeing. He’ll be just fine. But like him or not, this is the most famous film reviewer in the country. There’s not even a close second. A salary of 500K seems like a steal. Am I the only one who thinks he can do a hell of a lot better?

Republican Packers fans will face a dilemma on Sunday–as will the Democratic followers of the Redskins.

Since the Redskins became the Redskins in 1933, the result of the team’s final home game before the presidential election has correctly predicted the White House winner. If the Redskins win, the incumbent party wins. If they lose, the incumbent party is ousted.

It’s an odd correlation, but I still think ours is more scientific.

What would appear to be good news for the Bush campaign appears in this WaPo story on the possibilities of an electoral college tie.

A repeat of 2000 — Bush losing the popular vote but winning the electoral count — is considered less likely because the president has been boosting his support in already Republican states and reducing his deficit in some safely Democratic states.

So, in the states where he’s leading, George Bush is widening his lead, and in the states where he’s losing, Bush is narrowing the gap. What does that imply about his performance in the battle ground states, where the results are presumably too close to call?

One would think that the development of a countrywide Bush trend in the waning days of the election would be big news. I wonder why the media is overlooking it?*

*No, I don’t really wonder.

Am I a snob if I look at this lady and think “She’s holding the wrong damn sign?”

Janice King waves a sign in support of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry D-Mass., while demonstrating near one of President Bush’s campaign stops in Canton, Ohio on Friday, Oct. 22, 2004. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

Or is there some other, more descriptive term that should be applied? Does my reaction imply that, deep in my soul and despite my decision to vote Republican this year, I’m still one of those goddam smug and oh-so-superior Democrats?

Appears that it’s time to get out the cat-o-nines and engage in some personal re-education.

The 110th edition of the Carnival of the Vanities is hosted by The Twins Tell the Truth this week.

If you’d like to host the Carnival, drop us a line. Information on how to join the Carnival can be found here. If you would like to be added to the Carnival announcement list, send an email to cotvanities-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

November 3rd – Quibbles & Bits
November 10th – D-42
November 17th – Food Basics
November 24th – blogborigmi
December 1st – Ashish’s Niti
December 8th – The Big Picture
December 15th – The Pryhills
December 22nd – Ravenwood’s Universe
March 30th, 2005 – Eric Berlin

All other dates are currently open for hosting. Also, be sure to check out the Carnival’s offspring:

The Bharteeya Blog Mela
Bonfire of the Vanities
Carnival of the Capitalists
The Kissing Booth
Carnival of the Canucks
The BestOfMe Symphony
The Carnival of the Cats
Carnival of the Dogs
Carnival of The Consumers
The Tangled Bank
The Carnival of The Liberated
The Christian Carnival
The Philosopher’s Carnival
The Early Modern Carnival
Carnival of The Recipes
Sneak’s Wide World of Blogging
Carnival Of the Bush Bloggers
The Storyblogging Carnival – via the King of Fools Carnival of Carnivals
Grand Rounds
Carnival Of The Pajamas

Is there a scion of the Carnival missing? Drop us a line and let us know.

My brother Jeb has some ballots put aside for me….for meeeeee!