The capital of Burkina Faso is...

Ugh, you guys, unemployment has made me dumb.  If any of you have had a conversation with me in the last few months, you've no doubt noticed this.  My brain is just sluggish. I spend most of Jeopardy! saying, "Oh, it's...um...I know this...it's...GAH!!!!" because I know the answer but because I spend my days talking to myself my ability to be coherent has evaporated. I blame the lack of problem solving opportunities.  You know when you're at work and some guy comes in screaming about how he was over charged by one million dollars or you have to spend 3 hours on the phone because the coffee cups you ordered all have holes in them?  I don't have these problems, which isn't a bad thing.  It just means that I don't use my brain in those ways very often which means that I've become a little stupid. 

And so I have decided that I need to fix this and have started doing things I don't normally do, like math problems.  And logic problems.  And memorizing poems.  And learning new piano pieces.  I've also started memorizing all the world capitals. (Which really doesn't make me any smarter, just a bigger nerd and truly insufferable at parties) Two weeks ago I started with Africa, then last week was Europe.  Yesterday I dug into Asia, which has fewer countries but also has the -stans. You know, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, etc.  So I've had to come up with creative ways to remember them all.  Like, "Bishop Kek of the Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 1st Ward."  Or, "There's a cash tent under Tashkent, Uzbekistan."  Or my favorite, for Turkmenistan, "Turks in Ashgabat wear Oshkosh B'Gosh."

Next week is South America, which should be pretty simple ("Life is more simple in Thimphu, Bhutan"). I hope that by the time I get around to the Caribbean and all those little island nations in the south Pacific my brain will be back to fighting shape ("Go back to Baku, Azerbaijan").

(The answer to the title is Ouagadougou (pronounced wah-gah-doo-goo).  "Do the watusi in your bikini in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso)

Wizard vs. Jedi

There is a healthy debate going on in my family right now that we need your help with:

Wizard vs. Jedi. 

Who would win?

Let's say Voldemort and Obi Wan were going at it.  Voldemort is handy with a wand but Obi Wan has that whole mind control thing.

I have a feeling we're really late to this debate so I expect all of you to have a firm argument already prepared. 

And I'll just save you all the trouble and stuff myself in a locker.

Signs of Extreme Nerdery

1.) Last night I was riveted to a show on the National Geographic Channel about how the Great Lakes were formed (glaciers, volcanoes, prehistoric rivers!) I mean, I actually gasped a few times, that's how excited I was by the whole thing. Did you know the reason why the water level is lowering in the Great Lakes isn't because of global warming but because the earth underneath is rebounding from the weight of the glaciers that formed them? Fascinating!!! The show was proceeded by a show about how the state lines were formed, which I not only watched but recorded and will probably check the book out from the library.

2.) I'm teaching myself how to play the ukulele. But in order to do that I had to first teach myself how to repair and restring a ukulele. That was yesterday. Today I learned the A and F chords.

3.) I'm going to watch a Civil War reenactment on Saturday if anyone would like to join me. We can be nerds together!