Walking in Nuuk

Well, the U.S. has signed a new treaty with Greenland, so it's off to Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. With only 20,000 inhabitants it is the smallest capital city of any country. There are no road connections from Nuuk to any other city, you can only get there by plane or boat. It has Greenland's largest port. It is surrounded by spectacular scenery. 

It is a very pleasant looking city, well maintained. While the buildings are nice and modern looking, the city's layout appears to be a bit haphazard at times, with streets running off on odd angles and even buildings not always lines up square to their neighbors. I noticed rocky outcroppings in it, so I think the city just follows the lay of the land. There is also a lot of space between the buildings.

The above video is a walk in September. He starts it in his apartment and then winds his way through the downtown until he reaches the shore of the fjord it is located on. Below, since it strikes me that Greenland needs snow, we have a walk through the same area during some winter snow flurries.

Paintings by Edwin Lord Weeks

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Edwin Lord Weeks (1849–1903) was an American painter who was an Orientalist. He was the son of New England spice and tea merchants, and he had a comfortable upbringing. In this adult life he travelled extensively, primarily through North Africa, the near East, Persia, and India. The areas he visited were the subjects of his paintings. He frequently juxtaposed elaborate architectural in the background with mundane daily life in the foreground.   

Edwin Lord Weeks

Happy Halloween

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For as long as I could remember, the person in E23 pasted the same Halloween decoration, a witch with a giant wart on her crone's nose, but whenever kids rang, the tenant wouldn't answer. At first, kids figured they'd just missed the guy: bad timing. But it seemed impossible that all of us missed him every year. - Victor LaValle

  

To Have, or Not to Have

Get ready for a nothingized weekend with Sheng-Xiang & Band.

 

Every breath you take

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Strange Couple - Ravinder Kumar Soni

‘Anxious I am
To know
To whom do I belong? '
Asked the exhaled breath
Damp, warm and smelly,
‘I am always thrown out.'
‘Not to me.'
Said the inhaled breath
Cool, fresh and fragrant,
As the two crossed path
A little distance away from the nose.
‘I do not notice any difference
Between you two and therefore,
You must belong to me, '
Said the meddling nose.
Upon hearing these words
The two breaths collided
As only pockets of air can
The difference was quite obvious
They did not lean towards each other
Because only one of the two
Could feed and fan the fire,
The inhaled breath,
Soon to be exhaled.

 

Paintings of mountain men

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Mountain men were fur trappers who worked in the Rocky Mountains from 1820 to 1880 with the peak in 1840. After the Lewis and Clark Expedition the mountain men moved west into the newly revealed wilderness. Their main occupation was the then lucrative beaver fur trade. Fur trapping was a difficult occupation. They worked, frequently alone although there were trapping companies, in the wilderness. 

They hunted for their food, and if injured had to provide their own medical self-care. The weather, particularly in the winters, could be severe. The wildlife, from the bears down to biting insects with their diseases, were dangerous. They also had to deal with the Indians, who weren't always happy to see the mountain men in their hunting grounds.  

They performed an important part in opening up the American west. Along with exploring the Rocky Mountains, they created trails for their mule trains to haul out furs. These trails were to become the routes for the migration from the east to the west.

Once the fur trade dried up a lot of mountain men settled down (they generally only lasted 2 or 3 years in the trade anyway), became guides for the wagon trains, or served as army scouts. To say they were manly men is to put it mildly, to this day they capture our imagination because of their toughness and self-sufficiency.

Shine On, Harvest Moon

Get ready for a coruscating weekend with Whitaker and Me.