If it hadn’t been for the Pope…

5 Historical Attempts to Ban Coffee

Mecca: Banned!

Constantinople: Banned!

Sweden: Banned! (Death by coffee?! Speaking as an expat Minnesotan, this has me scratching my head.)

Prussia: Discouraged. (Think about that for a minute.)

Italy: But for Pope Clement VIII, Italy might have banned coffee. (Yes, his record on matters concerning the Jews wasn’t enlightened, thereby proving he was a man of his time.)

(via Mental Floss)

Ironic illustration…

In Good Spirit

Courtesy of Sharkia on bandcamp.

A little Oud goes a long way and this is really wonderful stuff. Enjoy.

(via @YoavSegal on twitter.)

In case you didn’t notice…

I’m on a bit of a blogging hiatus until further notice (hopefully nearing the end of it).

Welcome to all the new subscribers. Feel free to check out my archives or read a random post until a new one arrives. We’ll have lots to catch up on.

Amit Erez

It was a pleasant surprise to discover this week that bandcamp includes a shortcode for use on WordPress.com. (hat tip to the always musical @HarryR)