Who Were the Sea Peoples?

Well, it seems the Yankee ground crew picked up on our suggestion to apply Gary-B-Gone to the brown spot in rightfield -- on the news today I heard that the Yankees are trying to trade Sheffield. But a second application of the spray may be needed -- Gary is refusing to go. Well, that's understandable -- it takes a whole lot of pacing to create a nice brown spot like that in well-tended outfield grass, and he is clearly reluctant to have to start over in a new ballpark.

TT Tom and I saw the Yankees play the Mets a few days ago. We noticed that in rightfield, and only in right, there is a brown patch about ten feet in diameter. We watched Gary Sheffield, the Yankees rightfielder, pace the area nervously between pitches, and decided that he was responsible. I remarked that the ground crew must wish the team would trade him. Tom said, "What they need to do is to spray the affected area with Gary-B-Gone."

I'm back in the US, where I'll be spending the bulk of the summer in Milford, Pennsylvania . Small town living has its nice aspects -- strangers talk to you, cars stop to let you cross the street -- and its downsides. The local paper yesterday published an interview with someone who was accused of doing drugs in his house! Can you imagine a reporter from the NY Times showing up on your doorstep, asking, "We've heard you occasionally smoke pot: Anything to say for yourself?"

Reader Rob Dodson sends in a link to an English-to-American dictionary.

On a day when 10 separate attacks killed 47 people in Iraq, Donald Rumsfeld declared that the insurgency -- which, you remember, was to disappear after Saddam was captured, or when sovereignty was turned over, or when the elections were held, or when the new government was formed -- is likely to increase until the constitution referendum and the elections are held in December. He also mentioned that the insurgency may continue for a decade or more. So when Rummy told Fox News Sunday that the insurgency "ebbs and flows", he really meant to say that it "flows and flows".

I refer to Ben Sikma and myself.

While doing legitimate research, I came across this hilarious Callahan article. This was when Gene was still really funny and didn't consider himself a serious historian.