Halloween treats

Hopefully the hard cider is for an adult Halloween party, because I doubt it would be well received as a Halloween treat for the little tykes. Getting your house TPed would be the least of your worries when the neighborhood moms and dads found out. 

 

Walking in Santa Tecla

Santa Tecla is a provincial capital in El Salvadore. This is a dusk walk through its downtown area. The neighborhood is full of shops, restaurants, stalls and bars. It is a lively looking place.

Occasionally he places music in the soundtrack. I'm not sure if this is to prevent a copyright strike from music playing in the bars, or to drown out an inappropriate conversation, or just eccentricity by the YouTuber. Regardless, the music is nice, so it isn't too annoying.

 

Film Fun magazine covers

Click any image to enlarge

In the early half of the 20th century there were two Film Fun magazines, one British and one American. These are from the American Film Fun magazine. It was mainly a comic book with the strips featuring movie stars and other celebrities. From the pulp cheesecake covers, all of them done by the artist Enoch Bolles, it appears it was aimed at men. 

Edited to add: after posting I realized that one of the covers, the one of Charlie Chaplin, is actually from the British Film Fun.

À l'affût

Get ready for a roistering weekend with Monterosso.

 

Living the sweet life in ancient Rome

These videos are from the YouTube channel todlinstone. Rather than Emperors and grand, sweeping wars I chose ones that focused on everyday life. There are sponsor ads embedded in a few of them. 

 

Stranded in Costa Rica and needing help

Charlie Martin was a very early author and one of the founders of this blog. He moved on. Among his moves was a retirement to Costa Rica after some health issues. That didn't quite work out and he needs some financial help returning to the States. If you want to help you can contribute at: Rescue me from Costa Rica.

 

Doing laundry

Click any image to enlarge

These are paintings of people doing laundry. Either washing or hanging the clothes out to dry. It was hard to find images of men doing laundry, which says something, I guess. I did like the image (below) of the pipe smoking guy in his suit and tie at the laundromat as the amused women looked on. I think it was an ad from the 'men are silly chuckleheads' school of advertising.  

Something in the Way

Get ready for a stalled weekend with Ashutosh Kale.

 

Breakfast carburetor recipe

It has come to my attention that manly-men eat carburetors for breakfast. To my horror I realized my macho cred was lacking because I didn't have a recipe to prepare a breakfast carburetor. So, YouTube to the rescue. 

I found this video. He claims he just cleaning carburetors but come on, he's using a fish frier so who does he think he's fooling? Well, I guess it would fool a non-carburetor for breakfast soy boy, but it ain't fooling me. I assume he barbeques it after parboiling it, but he doesn't show that part. It looks delicious.

 

Columbus and Hudson

The Inspiration of Christopher Columbus by Jose Obregon

This is a reposting of an earlier Columbus Day post

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When talking about Columbus Day, and Christopher Columbus in general, many people try to deride his accomplishments with the rejoinder, which they think is clever, that Columbus didn't discover the Americas because the Amer-Indians had found it long ago. That's all good, well and mundanely obvious, but Columbus' feat was never that he was the first man to step foot on the soil of the Americas. 

In fact, Columbus was looking for a trading route to the Spice Islands (the Moluccas of Indonesia). He was to fail at that, the Portuguese pushing down Africa to round the Cape were the winners in that race. However his explorations were ultimately far more important than rounding the Cape because his voyages led to the connection of the two hemispheres. The world changed from an academic's sphere to a physical globe on which the oceans were routes to all its lands.

Consider this short passage from the Bill of Rights' article Henry Hudson and Exploration:  

In early July, the Halve Maen reached Newfoundland, where Hudson and his crew encountered a French fishing fleet hauling in cod. The sailors aboard the Dutch ship caught and salted dozens of cod for their journey, and Hudson eventually plied the officers of another French vessel for information about the coast. The Halve Maen also made contact with Native Americans in or near Nova Scotia; Hudson traded knives, kettles, clothing, and beads for beaver skins and other furs. He heard tales of gold and silver, and possibly the Northwest Passage. However, because his men feared the Native Americans had stolen items from the ship, they went ashore and raided the native village. It was an ominous start to Hudson’s relationship with the indigenous people of North America. 

Hudson's voyage was in 1609, or just a little over 100 years after Columbus first set out to sail to Asia and already even French fisherman were making the journey. The Old and New Worlds were becoming entangled through commerce, trade and colonization. The process was to be a difficult one -- with errors and cruelty on both sides as well as winners and losers. 

Still the World is a richer place because of Columbus' accidental discovery of a wider world as he searched for a quicker trade route to the Spice Islands. That is the legacy of his travels, and it is of such consequence that it is well worth remembering.  

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Edited to add: The educated of Columbus's day knew the circumference of the Earth and so Columbus should have known China was too far away to reach sailing west. It's a common belief that he considerably miscalculated the actual size of the Earth and so China was in reach.

However, an idea gaining currency is that Columbus expected to find land to the west. In attempting to work their way down Africa there was a spot where ships had to sail far to the west before heading south and then east to continue down the coast. It is quite possible that some of those ships went west enough to encounter Brazil. The Portuguese cod fishermen Hudson discovered may also have been working the shoals off of Newfoundland even prior to Columbus's journey. 

If there was any dockside scuttlebutt about those lands Columbus would have heard it and been aware of the fact that there was reachable land in the west. Regardless, he did think he had landed on islands off the coast of the Asian mainland.    

 

Waiting for electricity

What I'm dreaming of

Well, I more or less survived a direct hit from Hurricane Milton. The leading edge of the storm had torrential rain, then the wind came. The wind was loud and ferocious.

During the worse of the wind small branches were raining down on our roof. Unfortunately a large section of oak fell and poked a small hole in it. The next day we removed the wood and put a tarp over the hole until we can patch it properly.

The eye was amazing, very still and quiet as it passed.  The winds on the trailing side of the storm were much less rambunctious, which was a relief.

I have no power or internet. Some trees fell and took out the lines on my street. I have a full house generator, but my supply of propane is not infinite. I figure that I have 6-7 days if rationed properly. I have an order in for more, but who knows how chaotic that business is in the storm's aftermath.

So, all things considered, everything is fine.

 

Getting a visit from Milton

Hurricane, Bahamas by Winslow Homer

Right now, Milton is tracking to pass right over my house. Hopefully, although I'm not entirely optimistic, my humble abode doesn't get demolished. Regardless, I'm guessing my posting will be light, if at all, until it all gets sorted out.

 

Oct 7

Oct 7 hostages

the collector - Thomas P Owens Sr

Surprised to find me in your lair
lucifer?
that look is unbecoming
yes
I am well aware of your wickedness
as are the Gods
they only shake their heads in despair
and send me to do their bidding
unlike yourself
I do not crave to bestow suffering
your death shall be brief
come now
did you really believe that your empire
built on the blood and corpses of the innocent
would come without retribution?
Sin
lucifer
is never overlooked
or eclipsed by power
power you will now relinquish for eternity
say goodbye to your precious hell
and hello to a new one
for your soul shall reside in the company of those you took
a rather fitting punishment don't you think?
is that fear I detect in the eyes of the great lucifer?
your presence is awaited with great anticipation
and I shall give them their prize

 

Philip Wilson Steer's paintings

Click any image to enlarge

Philip Wilson Steer (1860-1942) was an English artist. He primarily painted landscapes and figure studies. His early work was heavily influenced by French impressionism. Later he evolved into a more naturalistic style, although the play of light was still a feature of his paintings. In his later years he became more minimal in his work, at times so simple they almost seemed abstract.   

Philip Wilson Steer

Beautiful Dreamer

Get ready for a bestirring weekend with Richie Branco.

 

Manufacturing tea strainers

Once again, we visit a small factory on the sub-continent, this time one in Pakistan. As I've said before, I like these videos because, while Western industrial videos annoy you with a soundtrack of elevator music and chipper marketing blather, these just show the factories and their processes with no comments. 

These strainers are used when using loose tea to make the drink. I couldn't find the M Naseem brand on-line, so I have no idea what they cost, but I'm guessing not much. I did find the site Magic Hour that sells some rather expensive tea strainers. I guess they're needed if you are having a fancy tea party.