"Lac" is French for lake.  If you're asking about the origin of names like "Fond du Lac," they generally hearken back to French activities, particularly fur-trapping, in the region predating settlement by US citizens.  As Jean-Luc Lemur noted, the Scandinavians tended to arrive during the Civil War era, and when they…

Historically, the eastern half of the Midwest was founded by several different waves of people.  The first settlers tended to come from the South and they brought with them southern ways of agriculture (along with, later, sympathy for the Confederacy and virulent racism, even though many of them also did not want to…

Historically, the eastern half of the Midwest was founded by several different waves of people.  The first settlers tended to come from the South and they brought with them southern ways of agriculture (along with, later, sympathy for the Confederacy and virulent racism, even though many of them also did not want to…

Ayn Randers, on the other hand, might make the 2012 campaign an interesting one indeed, now that they've got one of their own lined up for the vice-presidency.

Ayn Randers, on the other hand, might make the 2012 campaign an interesting one indeed, now that they've got one of their own lined up for the vice-presidency.

I imagine O'Neal carefully worded the post as "more money than most of us will ever see" so as to mean "more money than any of us will possess at any given time in our lives" versus "more than we will make over the course of our lifetimes."  Most people who earn $41,000 a year don't have $246,000 in their bank…

I imagine O'Neal carefully worded the post as "more money than most of us will ever see" so as to mean "more money than any of us will possess at any given time in our lives" versus "more than we will make over the course of our lifetimes."  Most people who earn $41,000 a year don't have $246,000 in their bank…

Depressing news.  Those needing something to cheer them up might take a look at this video, which Simon linked to on his site: 
http://tinyurl.com/8yk7qc4

Depressing news.  Those needing something to cheer them up might take a look at this video, which Simon linked to on his site: 
http://tinyurl.com/8yk7qc4

The Corner is a pretty depressing piece of work—think Bubs and Johnny from the The Wire with none of the humor and several times the tragedy and despair.  It's well worth watching, but it's terribly harrowing.

The Corner is a pretty depressing piece of work—think Bubs and Johnny from the The Wire with none of the humor and several times the tragedy and despair.  It's well worth watching, but it's terribly harrowing.

Dupree's Diamond Blues should be mentioned, if only for these lyrics:

Dupree's Diamond Blues should be mentioned, if only for these lyrics:

The Washington Post has an interesting article about the controversy: 
http://tinyurl.com/8ptuneg

The Washington Post has an interesting article about the controversy: 
http://tinyurl.com/8ptuneg

Japan's women's team would make a perfect team of assassins—if they were caught standing with bloody hatchets over a dismembered corpse, the cops would just say, "Well, looks like the victim hanged himself."  Counting the World Cup, Japan has beaten Germany, Sweden, the US, Brazil, and France in important matches.…

Japan's women's team would make a perfect team of assassins—if they were caught standing with bloody hatchets over a dismembered corpse, the cops would just say, "Well, looks like the victim hanged himself."  Counting the World Cup, Japan has beaten Germany, Sweden, the US, Brazil, and France in important matches.…

In terms of overall play, I might agree, but last year's USA-Brazil game had a greater narrative arc, so to speak, with the questionable red card on Buehler leading to a blocked penalty kick which was mysteriously retaken.  Along with the heated rivalry between the two sides, that (from an American fan's perspective)…

In terms of overall play, I might agree, but last year's USA-Brazil game had a greater narrative arc, so to speak, with the questionable red card on Buehler leading to a blocked penalty kick which was mysteriously retaken.  Along with the heated rivalry between the two sides, that (from an American fan's perspective)…

When she scored against Japan in the championship last year, I made a comment on Facebook about having an Alex Morgasm.  Those were simpler times, before she was discovered by the folks over on the ESPN comment boards.