As Hurricane Rita passed to the south today, we got a day off from school. Yesterday there was a rumor that school would also be closed tomorrow, but it doesn't seem that that will be the case. It's already passed without much trouble. The winds picked up and the characteristic gray cloud cover appeared, but I think they're retreating now. So I've tried to enjoy this holiday in the middle of the week without worrying about losing electricity.

What a hurricane season this has been; and although the peak of the season (mid-September) has passed, it's far from over. There are only four more names left on this year's list of 21 names to be used: Stan, Tammy, Vince, and Wilma. Should there be more hurricanes, the letters of the Greek alphabet would be used to name them, starting with alpha. I don't know when this idea was devised, but I only found out about it. Since the naming of hurricanes began, there have never been more than 21 storms.

Pictured here is an undated drawing by my sister, found by her today. I don't know what the speech balloon (crossed out) said. I could make out "Thank you..." but not much else. In any case, I dig the lip thing. And those sideburns.

Here's a list of national mottos for the countries of the world. To my surprise, only English-speaking countries seem to use Latin mottos (for the most part); other countries make more use the vernacular (or, often, a minority language if it is a former colony).

Have a look at this gallery of various covers of The Catcher in the Rye from around the world. It's interesting how the book has been treated over the years, and how the covers reflect that.