I posted my Thursday Thirteen on my other blog, which was about MP3s that are currently on my desktop, and somebody commented something that caught my attention. It was about the song I Don’t Like Mondays by The Boomtown Rats being inspired by a school killing which happened on January 29, 1979, a Monday.

Brenda Ann Spencer, who was 16 years old then, wounded 8 children and one police officer and killed 2 school officials at Cleveland Elementary School, which was just across the street from her house in San Diego, California. When she was asked why she committed the crime, she replied “I don’t like Mondays.” She pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and was sentenced to prison for 25 years to life.

The lyrics of the song is below and you read more about it on The Boomtown Rats official site.

The silicon chip inside her head
Gets switched to overload.
And nobody’s gonna go to school today,
She’s going to make them stay at home.
And daddy doesn’t understand it,
He always said she was as good as gold.
And he can see no reason
‘Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need to be shown?

Tell me why?
I don’t like Mondays.
Tell me why?
I don’t like Mondays.
Tell me why?
I don’t like Mondays.
I want to shoot
The whole day down.

The telex machine is kept so clean
As it types to a waiting world.
And mother feels so shocked,
Father’s world is rocked,
And their thoughts turn to
Their own little girl.
Sweet 16 ain’t so peachy keen,
No, it ain’t so neat to admit defeat.
They can see no reasons
‘Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need to be shown?

Tell me why?
I don’t like Mondays.
Tell me why?
I don’t like Mondays.
Tell me why?
I don’t like Mondays.
I want to shoot
The whole day down.

All the playing’s stopped in the playground now
She wants to play with her toys a while.
And school’s out early and soon we’ll be learning
And the lesson today is how to die.
And then the bullhorn crackles,
And the captain crackles,
With the problems and the how’s and why’s.
And he can see no reasons
‘Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need to die?

Tell me why?
I don’t like Mondays.
Tell me why?
I don’t like Mondays.
Tell me why?
I don’t like Mondays.
I want to shoot
The whole day down.

I love pesto! I love it on pasta, cheese sticks, sandwiches, anything! We keep a bottle of pesto in the fridge and when I get hungry I just whip up a pesto sandwich. Just put cream cheese or cottage on bread then add a spread of pesto, toast it and voila!

Interesting facts:
Did you know that pesto is a sauce that originates in the city of Genoa in the Liguria region of northern Italy. Pesto comes in various forms and the one that we’re familiar with, the one made with basil and pine nuts, is its classic basic form and is actually called pesto alla genovese. Another interesting fact is that basil has been used as a treatment for coughs, skin diseases, and intestinal problems.

Here’s a recipe that I got from Wanda. Two of my favorites together, garlic and pesto! Try it!

Garlic-Pesto Sauce

Ingredients:
3 medium garlic cloves
1 cup fresh basil, washed and patted dry
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon cashew nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Chop garlic, basil leaves, parsley and nuts into small pieces and combine in the bowl of food processor. Continue processing until the mixture becomes fine (according to your liking). Add oil in slow, steady stream. Stop the machine and add cheese, salt and pepper. Turn on machine and process a few seconds to combine.

Did you know that the word “photography” comes from the French word photographie which is based on the Greek words φως phos (”light”), and γραφίς graphis (”stylus”, “paintbrush”) or γραφή graphê (”representation by means of lines” or “drawing”), together meaning “drawing with light.”

I was reading a blog entry about cow facts and one thing that was mentioned was that cow’s gelatin is used in making photographic films. I got curious of course and I did a little searching and reading and here’s what I found out: Photographic film is a sheet of plastic (polyester, nitrocellulose or cellulose acetate) coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts (bonded by gelatin) with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and resolution of the film. Most of the gelatin in photographic film, which I assume is the one used to bond the silver halide salts, is from cattle bones. And here’s another interesting fact, some layers in color films use gel made from pig skins.