Dan Van Oss's Blog, page 6

All About Michelangelo: Part 2 (Pope Orange Julius and Della’s Signature Pizza)

See Part 1 here.

Just to bring you up to date on our first episode about Michelangelo, here are the highlights: spoiled capicola, snowmen and Pope Tag. Now that you’re caught up, we can go to Rome.

Rome in 1496 was, surprisingly, much like it is today, except with less crumbling, run-down 500-year-old buildings, fewer cars, no reality TV shows, etc. It was into this world that Michelangelo, at the age of 21, entered in order to continue his sculpting career, because “Communication Design Mana...

To Tree or Not to Tree (Arbor Day)

Arbor Day, once a fairly forgotten day relegated to the holiday minor leagues along with “Bastille Day“, “National Pharmacists Day” and “Eggs Benedict Day“, has seen a resurgen – what? It’s still obscure? No wonder it was so hard to find info on it. Okay,Arbor Day: the celebration ofthe invention of counterweight-carrying devices found in theaterfly systems… Nope; hang on… vine-supporting structures… Arbor, California… Arbor, Nebraska…the central post of afishing reelto which fishing line is...

To Tree or Not to Tree: It’s Arbor Day

Arbor Day, once a fairly forgotten day relegated to the holiday minor leagues along with “Bastille Day“, “National Pharmacists Day” and “Eggs Benedict Day“, has seen a resurgen – what? It’s still obscure? No wonder it was so hard to find info on it. Okay,Arbor Day: the celebration ofthe invention of counterweight-carrying devices found in theaterfly systems… Nope; hang on… vine-supporting structures… Arbor, California… Arbor, Nebraska…the central post of afishing reelto which fishing line is...

Home Unprovement: How to Hang a Picture

Adding beauty and attractiveness to your home and apartment with new artwork is easy when you know how. Unfortunately, we only know the hard way.First, of course, you will need something to hang on your wall.If you don’t already own a picture, you are probably a guy, in which case I suggest obtaining typical guy art such as “Dogs Playing Poker” or “Albert Einstein Sticking His Tongue Out“.If you are married, the picture hasalready been sitting in the den for three weeks waiting for you to put...

All About Michelangelo: Part 1 (Battle of the Centaurs and Pope Tag)

Michelangelo (full name: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni; nickname: Mickey the Brush), was, much like Mozart in the realm of music, born a long time ago. He was considered one of the greatest artists of anyone’s lifetime, but since he lived primarily in his, it worked out well that he was particularly famous in just it. One of the greatest artists in the western world, his work as a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer and ninja turtle is unsurpassed in its influence, and becomes...

Paper Fish and Huntigowks (April Fool’s Day)

April Fool’s Day, sometimes called “All Fools Day”, sometimes called “If You Post-It Note My Office Again This Year So Help Me I’ll Kill You Day”, is considered one of the most light-hearted, if not most annoying days of the year. The practice involves people or organizations playing practical jokes or hoaxes on each other, in hopes of scoring the most hits on the inevitable Youtube video of their roommate rocketing to the ceiling after sitting on the chair you rigged with an air horn. For ex...

Paper Fish and Huntigowks: it’s April Fool’s

April Fool’s Day, sometimes called “All Fools Day”, sometimes called “If You Post-It Note My Office Again This Year So Help Me I’ll Kill You Day”, is considered one of the most light-hearted, if not most annoying days of the year. The practice involves people or organizations playing practical jokes or hoaxes on each other, in hopes of scoring the most hits on the inevitable Youtube video of their roommate rocketing to the ceiling after sitting on the chair you rigged with an air horn. For ex...

Yeah, baby! It’s March Madness!

“March Madness” primarily refers to the inter-office semi-legalized gambling that takesplace every springright after everyone becomes an instant self-proclaimed expert on whether [insert randombasketball player name here] has the “ups” and “efficiency numbers” to “contribute” the maximum number of “quotation marks” to “complete” this sentence. There are also some basketball games. The tournament is for Division 1 NCAA schools, although occasionally a Central American team, such as Gonzaga, sn...

Wired Goats and Pooping Marsupials: All About Coffee

Coffee is a brewed drink that, as you well know, is best made from the gathered excretions of certain Sumatran marsupials. So, we’re going to – wait, you didn’t know that? Well, here’s some more information for you to now know that you possibly didn’t before. (We’ll tell you more about the marsupial excretions, don’t worry.)

Chuck Taylor high tops and wired goats

Most Americans fall into one of two groups, those who love coffee, and those who’ve worked at a Starbucks.

Most Americans fall intoone...

We’ll Take The Shakes But Hold The Snakes (St. Patrick’s Day)

First, the obligatory St. Patrick’s Day Joke: What’s green and gets made fun of because it involves drinking copious amounts of beer? Answer: Germany! While we admit that that joke was lame and pretty much just made up on the spot, at least it gives us an intro for today’s historically inept treatise on the only holiday named after a saint. Unless you count Saints Valentine, Nicholas, Independence or Arbor. (Mental note: check to see ifPunxsutawney Phil is Catholic.)

Sheila in HR and blendedM...