Via Con Me

Get ready for a flirtatious weekend with Paolo Conte.

 

A ferry in Bangladesh

This is a video of the daily operations of a ferry boat in Bangladesh. It is newer than most ferries in the region, but it is still rather Spartan looking. The river traffic looks insane, 

 

Léon Lhermitte

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These some of the works of Léon Lhermitte (18844-1925) a French artist who worked in pastels. He primarily created rural scenes. He was well known in his day and Vincent van Gogh was an admirer of his artwork.

Léon Lhermitte

Samba de Toriko!!!

Get ready for a gormandizing weekend with Hyadain.

 

A firetruck

This video shows a pumper truck commonly used by firefighters. It explains the layout of its pumps, water tank, equipment, hoses, ladders and the cab. From the comments to the video a lot of firefighters seemed impressed by how well he described the truck and its loadout.

 

Paintings of the Statue of Liberty

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On this 4th of July weekend, we have a small sampling of paintings of the Statue of Liberty. It was a gift from the people of France and is a monument to freedom and democracy. It is also a symbol of the promise of American opportunity to the immigrants entering via New York harbor.

My grandparents all immigrated to the U.S. at the beginning of the 20th century. They must have seen it, and I'm sure it moved them, but they never mentioned it. They did mention Ellis Island, but to them it was all just a transition from the Old World they had left behind for their new home in the States. The future called.

America the Beautiful

Happy 4th of July

 

Famous hotdogs

With July 4th closing in hotdogs, one of the holiday's staples, can't be far off. The above video tours America to find famous regional hotdogs. They are, as long as you don't spend too much time pondering how hotdogs are made, a delicious looking group.

Below is a video showing how to grill hotdogs. From the viewpoint of the cooking complexity scale grilling a hotdog is basically one step away from boiling water, but I suppose to some it is a new culinary adventure, So, in case you need a tutorial, here it is below.

All-Story Weekly covers

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All-Story Weekly was an early 20th century pulp magazine. It was eventually bought by Argosy and published under the name Argosy All-Story Weekly. It featured serialized adventure and science-fiction stories that were aimed at men. Its most famous authors were Edgar Rice Burroughs, Max Brand, Rex Stout and Johnston McCulley, the creator of Zorro.

Hit the Road Jack

Get ready for a jilted weekend with the Khreschatyk Choir.

 

Stand Watie's life

The idea for this post came from Never Yet Melted's  post Stand Watie was the last Confederate General to Surrender, 160 Years Ago Today. Watie was a Cherokee who supported the Confederacy and raised to the rank of Brigadier General.  

Prior to the war he had been active in Cherokee political affairs. He was one of the signers of the contested treaty that relocated the Cherokee from Georgia to the Indian Territories. This led to a lot of conflict within the Cherokee Nation, with several of his brothers and friends being assassinated in the fighting.

Watie was a slave holder, and when the Civil War broke out, he raised a regiment of troops to support the Confederacy. He fought well at the battle of Pea Ridge, although the Union troops prevailed. He also later captured supplies which led him to eventually be promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. When Lee surrendered, he held out as long as possible before he laid down his arms.

After the war he increasingly stepped away from Cherokee Tribal politics and retired to his destroyed plantation to farm for the rest of his life.  

  

Carl Randall

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Carl Randall is a contemporary English figurative painter. He lived in Japan for 10 years where his first main body of work, Japan Portraits, was created. Later he was to return to London, England where he continued where he created his London Portraits series.

The images are taken from his website Carl Randall where there are many more examples of his work. You can also buy signed, limited editions of his works at that site.

Carl Randall

Rivers of Babylon

Get ready for a diasporic weekend with Barefoot Truth and Naia Kete.

 

Dress for success

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For anyone of a rational disposition, fashion is often nearly impossible to fathom. Throughout many periods of history – perhaps most – it can seem as if the whole impulse of fashion has been to look maximally ridiculous. If one could be maximally uncomfortable as well,
the triumph was all the greater.
― Bill Bryson ―

And, after all, what is a fashion? From the artistic point of view, it is usually a form of ugliness so intolerable that we
have to alter it every six months.
― Oscar Wilde ―

Once upon a time You dressed so fine
― Bob Dylan ―

  

Noodles in art and Father's Day

Happy Father's Day
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On this Father's Day our thoughts naturally turn to noodles. Well, actually they don't, but I need to segway into this post so that claim will have to suffice. Thus, noodles it is. Spaghetti, ramen, udon... noodles, noodles, noodles. And, since I'm trying to pawn this off as a Father's Day post, here is a quote for you to seal the deal:

I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom. ― Umberto Eco

Lada

Get ready for a clunkerized weekend with Ozoda.

 

Nigerian dishes

These videos are from Kitwanda "Kiki" Cyrus' YouTube channel. She's originally from Nigeria but has immigrated to Texas. Many of her recipes are fusion dishes mixing Nigerian and American influences. It is all very tasty looking. She is also a photographer, so her videos are nicely presented. 

Sir David Young Cameron

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Sir David Young Cameron (1865–1945) was a Scottish artist. While first gaining his reputation as a printmaker, he also drew and painted. He was primarily a landscape artist. His work can sometimes be minimalistic, without a lot of the flourishes and details you see in other works. His simplicity works well to bring the landscapes forward. 

Sir David Young Cameron
by Alfred Kingsley Lawrence.

D-Day

Pinned Down by Enemy Fire by Keith Rocco

Suddenly, all hell let loose. The beach was under fire from shells, mortars and machine guns, we dived for cover. The sea was covered in blood and vomit and flies began to arrive by the thousands, which created another nightmare. We continued all night and the following day without a break. Slowly, slowly we overcame all the nightmares. There was no lack of humor. A soldier coming ashore asked, 'Is this a private beach? I was promised a private beach. If not, I am not staying.' And we heard, 'My mother told me not to travel by air, she thought it was much safer by sea.' — David Teacher

  

Louie Louie

Get ready for an innumerate weekend with Rachel Dudt and the Million Dollar Quartet.

  

The assassin's teapot

The above video demonstrates the workings of an assassin's teapot. It has multiple chambers and can be used to covertly pour different liquids, one of which is presumably poison so's you can eliminate your rivals in a civilized manner. He built a transparent model of one to demonstrate its functioning.

I did like his verbal disclaimer, 'Don't try to poison people', added for legal reasons. That got me thinking... I should add some declaimers to this post to assist my regular readers as they go about their daily business. Take heed, following them will lead to a more prosperous and happy life. 

Ice cream

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Summer is upon us and so many people's thoughts turn to ice cream. Here are some paintings of ice cream still lifes, ice cream shops, and people eating ice cream. As you enjoy your summer be sure to give yourself some ice cream headaches along the way.