One of the recurring themes of this journal is my tendency to occasionally buy new Queen-size bedsheets. This is another of those occasions. I found what I thought would be a fun set, labelled ``Retro'' but in fact more of a modernist design, something you might make a formica countertop out of in 1958. How could I resist? But getting home I was surprised to find the package included a mattress cover, pillow cases, a bolster case in case I get a bolster in need of casing -- and that's all. No sheet to fit on top, to serve as blanket. (Very light blankets are all that's appropriate here.) I've got some sheets and light blankets that can serve, but -- man. I want something that matches this, and where am I ever going to find something that matches this theme? (The picture is from the label; my actual bed is a lot less photogenic.)
Some more Lantern Safari pictures, these from Noah's Ark at night. There's a pair of long-nosed, long-tailed mammals I don't mind pretending are coati lanterns. Separate from them, but more identifiable, are the foxes. There's a shot of the kissing bunnies at night which is not the name of a band. Two purple squirrels trade large glowing acorns in front of giraffes and the horn-lipped kangaroos, which sounds like something from the third verse of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. And I got a good shot of what I could plausibly believe are otters or pangolins. From the paws I think they're probably otters.
Trivia: James Dewar was appointed in 1875 as Jacksonian Professor at Cambridge University, where he taught for forty years, despite never satisfying one of the requirements of the post -- to find a cure for gout. Source: Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold, Tom Shachtman.
Currently Reading: 1831: Year of Eclipse, Louis P Masur.