loving my new journals and so looking forward to filling them
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“language allows us to reach out to people, to touch them with our innermost fears, hopes, disappointments, victories.
to reach out to people we’ll never meet.
it’s the greatest legacy you could ever leave your children or your loved ones:
the history of how you felt.”
-simon van booy
i have exactly one blog follower
in the micro country of liectenstein
with so many interesting things about this amazing tiny place
here are just a couple of examples:
in 1886 liectenstein had an army of 80 men who fought during the austro-prussian war
they suffered no injuries or deaths
and returned with 81 men because they made a new italian friend from the opposition army.
the army was disbanded soon after and they haven’t had an army since.
—
and then there was the accidental invasion which didn’t cause much of a stir:
i really love their approach to life
and i’m guessing my one reader is a pretty laid-back person
and with such a tiny country
perhaps a descendent of that new italian friend they brought back from the war?
here’s to liectenstien!
—
“be so good they can’t ignore you.”
-steve martin
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image credit: expat.com
on president’s day
remembering those placemats that taught us about our country
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“justice is conscience, not a personal conscience but the conscience of the whole of humanity,
those who clearly recognize the voice of their own conscience usually recognize also the voice of justice.”
-aleksandr solzhenitsyn
one of these folks has been around for awhile and has always been ahead of his time.
—
“ideas shape the course of history.”
-john maynard keynes
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image credit: british medieval history
The NYT has traced the first nachos back to Piedras Negras, Mexico, in 1940, with just three ingredients. As the story goes, a group of women walked into the Victory Club in Piedras outside business hours. Aiming to please, Ignacio Anaya, the maître d’hôtel known as Nacho, ran to the kitchen and made a quick appetizer with ingredients he found. Today’s nachos know no end to their variations: They can have a number of seasoned layers or simply be topped with cheese sauce, like those sold at concession stands. But the simplicity of its original, with its barely salted chips, nutty melted cheese and briny pickled jalapenos, is sure to charm true nacho fans.
“we’ve all invested emotionally in nachos.”
-conan o’brien
—
credits: Christoper Simpson(NYT) and Simon Andrews- food stylist (NYT)
herbert smith lived in hawaii in the 1890s
120+ years ago he took pictures of this bay surrounded by palm trees and small shipping huts
here is the bay many years later
–
on this date in 1959, hawaii became a state
i have yet to visit
but plan to spend time
in a hut
under a palm tree
in hawaii
on a bay
one day.
—
“coming to Hawaii is like going from black and white to color.”
-john richard stephens
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Image credits: Bonhams/BNPS, IPTCDaily Mail, Matt Hunter, Herbert Smith
kamala harris, in the beginning
“A patriot is not someone who condones the conduct of our country whatever it does.
It is someone who fights every day for the ideals of the country, whatever it takes.”
– Kamala Harris – The Truths We Hold: An American Journey/2019
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photo credit: la times, courtesy of kamala harris
50th anniversary of the week of the Apollo 11 moon landing
I was 11
on the cusp of everything
we went over
to my parents’ friends’ house
everyone was transfixed
air was electric
all gathered around the tv
watching
silent and awestruck
gobsmacked
as the first man walked on the moon
spoke his first words on the moon
lots of emotion in the house
I ran to the window to look at the moon
hoping I would see him up there
right in the middle of all of this
the hostess
left to go to the hospital
to have her baby
she named him neil
after that man on the moon.
—
“we ran as if to meet the moon.”
― robert frost
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image credit: Ann Arbor district library archives
whenever I’ve visited my friends’ lake house in the irish hills of michigan, there has never been a shortage of lakes and trees to be enjoyed. on one recent visit they took me on a walk through a very special place that I’d been wanting to see since hearing about it. at first impression it appears to be a beautiful, rolling, wide open natural space, but there is much more to it than first meets the eye.
once known as aiden lair, and now known as mccourtie park, it was formerly the 42-acre estate of herb mccourtie, a cement magnate. its trademark is its concrete bridges artistically handcrafted to resemble wooden structures. a visionary who loved architecture for art’s sake, mccourtie showed the versatility and beauty of the product he manufactured in 17 bridges that he commissioned to be created on his property using the 19th-century lost art of “el trabajo rustico” (the rustic work) in faux bois (imitation wood).
for more than 10 years, two mexican artists, george cardoso and ralph corona, created the bridges that span the creek on the property, as well as two concrete trees that cleverly hide the chimneys to his rathskeller. the bridges were individually created from wet mortar to resemble ropes and logs simulating native trees, such as oak, walnut, cherry, birch and beech. the intricate details include knots, insect holes, saw cuts, wood grain and even moss, lichen and beetle holes. an elaborate system of underground wires provided lights on and under some of the bridges. in addition, he created two huge pools, one for use as a swimming pool and the other as a fishing pond for his guests’ enjoyment.
(stills hidden in the cement ‘trees’ mixed among the natural trees)
known for giving lavish parties, he hosted a homecoming celebration every year that drew thousands of people to aiden lair to witness stunt flyers and enjoy baseball, local musicians, dancing and free refreshments. in the underground garage and rathskeller he created, he threw all-night poker parties that were attended by the likes of detroit auto baron henry ford.
throughout its history, the park has been the subject of rumors and legends. mccourtie’s rathskeller, which features a large bar, fieldstone fireplace, and vault, is rumored to have been a speakeasy during prohibition and a stopping point for al capone and other gangsters who bootlegged whiskey from chicago to detroit on U.S. 12.
it’s also been rumored that there are tunnels under the park property that served as stations for runaway southern slaves on the underground railroad. some people have reported sightings of a ghostly “lady in blue” strolling the grounds in old-fashioned clothing.
(a peek into the window of what used to be the ‘rathskeller’ – a bit creepy now)
in 1991, mccourtie park was named to the state register of historic sites by the michigan historical commission. the next year, it was added to the national register of historic places by the national park service.
—
“prohibition has made nothing but trouble.”
-al capone
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source: mlive
Happy Birthday, Smithsonian!
The Smithsonian was officially created on August 10, 1846,
and one of the first things on the to-do list was constructing a building.
The 1850 glass lantern slide above
is the earliest-known photo of the Smithsonian Institution Building,
known as the Castle, and the only image of it under construction.
Smithsonian Explorers, c. 1862-63, Smithsonian Institution Archives
From the enchanting to the eccentric, the Smithsonian has an extremely rich past. There was even a group of rowdy scientists who used to live in the Smithsonian Castle. In 1857, a zoologist named William Stimpson formed a club of young naturalists aiming to build the Smithsonian’s collection. Their meetings were held in the Smithsonian Castle, and many of the members lived there.
Stimpson named the group the Megatherium Club, after the giant extinct sloth that once roamed South America. Over the years, the club developed somewhat of a rambunctious reputation among neighbors (they were known to drink beer late at night, and had sack races down the Castle halls). They called themselves “great beasts,” much like the sloth that they named themselves after.
Despite their mischief, these men were a dedicated group of naturalists, and we owe them a great deal for contribution their descriptions, classifications and specimens to American science, the Smithsonian, and many other institutions in the U.S.
—
“science doesn’t have all the answers,
but it is good at spotting the important questions
when they are camouflaged against a background of common sense.”
-richard dawkins
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credits: smithsonian museums, smithsonian institution archives, smithsonian magazine
I didn't have my glasses on.... 