Sunday, April 01, 2012

Sunday morning stuff...

The dream about escaping from the subterranean Nazi prison camp in the Himalayas with Iman's character from Star Trek VI as a guide was really cool up until the part where the tunnel came to an end at an opening over a precipitous drop that would make Jeb Corliss gulp in discomfort, straight down a cliff face to a rocky river partially hidden by clouds. Apparently we were expected to knot a rope from discarded sandwich baggies, secure it to a rusty bolt in the passage floor, and then lower ourselves about twelve feet to another cave mouth below, which opened onto a finished, florescent-lit tunnel with a tiled floor like on the cover of the Moby album, Destroyed.

Oh, and the sound of approaching guards in the distance meant that an OSHA-approved prison-escape climbing rope was not going to be cobbled together out of materials at hand. I was seriously debating which was worse: Getting caught by the Nazis or lowering myself over the void for twelve feet...

Lying in bed this morning, half-awake, I was suddenly gripped with a nagging concern over how to denote the title of a blog in writing? What does the style guide say? I haven't checked yet, but are we supposed to italicize them, like an album or periodical (Instapundit, National Review,) or do we put them in quotes, like a song or essay ("The Daily Kos", "The Uplifters Try It Again")?

The dream, incidentally, was no doubt triggered by the sighting of a 50 Reichspfennig Lagergeld bill from the Orianenburg concentration camp while at the antique mall. I have no idea how Iman or the Himalayas got in there.

Also while at the mall, I picked up a 500,000 Reichsmark note from 1923, when Germany tried to print their way out of their war debt. It was printed in May of '23 and was still a pretty big bill when it came off the press, but by July of the same year, just two months later, you could use it to make small change if someone gave you a 50,000,000 Reichsmark bill for their bar tab. I figured it was time to get into practice handling bills with lots of zeros, because this stuff tends to come on fast. He that hath ears, let him hear.

These are the thoughts that float through my pre-dawn mind.

18 comments:

Carteach said...

Ya, I too have a few million dollars laying in a drawer here someplace. Zimbabwe Dollars, to be precise. I think they are $500,000 notes....

greg said...

I'm just gonna start picking up games of Monopoly at yard sales...

As for titles, I tend to do the 'quotes' route myself...not saying it's right, just saying it's easier for me than italics.

Josh Kruschke said...

What about, "Tittle written by Schmo."?

Hmmm...

Josh Kruschke said...

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the pawnbroker said...

"He that hath ears, let him hear."

Hear, hear!

Alas...

Mark Alger said...

I've always treated blog titles like they were novels/anthologies/periodicals and italicized them. Individual post titles would be like short stories/songs/poems/articles and get put in quotes. Except I don't usually quote post titles, I just link to them. Am I a bad person for that?

M

Anonymous said...

Your dream made me think of this:
http://youtu.be/S84jt7MX_Es

I had a hand in the filming. I think the screenplay was bought, but I don't think it will ever get made.

Oh, and please disreguard the fat starving nazis.

Jack

Guffaw in AZ said...

...and the Canucks just eliminated their penny.
Guess who's next?

Anonymous said...

Jealous of the Reichsmark. I would love to have one from '23.

Tam said...

SGB,

"Jealous of the Reichsmark. I would love to have one from '23."

That booth at the Antiques Mall had a bunch of 'em, in class-fronted picture frames for $5 apiece. I'm thinking of swinging past there on my way to or from K-town this month and snagging a few more for gifts and such.

Kevin said...

Generally, I italicize the names of blogs, and the post titles I make hotlinks, so they're a different color anyway. YMMV.

I keep thinking I ought to cash in my one remaining 401(k) and buy long-term storage food with it. It will be worth more when hyperinflation hits.

Chas S. Clifton said...

Name of the blog in italics, title of the post in quotation marks, by analogy with a magazine, I would say.

And linkage as desired, if writing online

SGB said...

I can't find any here in SC.

Anonymous said...

Of course, the villains in the original dream were Muslim terrorists.

Whoops, stupid me, I was thinking about a Tom Clancy novel.

Mike James

Stretch said...

You could send one of those Reichsmark bills to your congresscritter but other than R0n Pau! I don't think any of that august body would understand the message.

tweell said...

I have a trillion dollar Zimbabwe note, picked it up off Ebay as a useful prop to explain inflation to my grandkids.

skidmark said...

Back in the 20's grandpa went to Germany on business. He was not allowed to take American money back out of the country - wonder why? He had to convert a $10 bill to Deutschmarks. He then bought a wicker steamer trunk to carry all that paper back to the States. He avoided being beaten about te head and shoulders by grandma only by wallpapering both sons' (my dad & uncle) rooms.

So you see, there is a use for funny money. It's just not esthetically pleasing.

stay safe.

Ross said...

Tam, you have the WEIRDEST dreams. Might want to lay off the anchovy pizza before bedtime...