Pictures from Pennsic

A couple weeks back I spent a few days at the Pennsic Wars in western Pennsylvania, an annual gathering of folks associated with the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). Over ten thousand people transformed the Cooper's Lake campsite into a temporary medieval village, complete with castles, knights, merchants, and a whole bunch of classes related to the crafts, history, and lore of the Middle Ages.

I was there as the guest of Dan and Theresa, who are veterans of the annual event. I was able to wander around and get a lot of pictures-- these few just scratch the surface. I believe the guy above was some kind of royal personage, preparing to participate in the opening ceremony.

There were also wandering musicians like the guy above. In addition there were stage plays, concerts, dances, and some pretty nice parties in the evening after the battles earlier in the day (matching armies of a thousand or so apiece against one another).

At one such party there was a troupe of fire eaters, fire jugglers, and fire dancers. The guy above did all of that stuff.

Everybody seemed to get into the spirit of the event, some moreso than others. I think the entertainers were the highlight for me, though the fighters were pretty good too.

And then you'd also just see people in interesting get-ups wandering around the campsite. I'll post more pictures as I get a chance to review all those I took.

Saturday Morning Cartoon

Here's the cartoon that introduced the notorious Yosemite Sam to the world. I always felt he was a more fitting adversary for Bugs Bunny than Elmer Fudd (who, let's face it, was kind of a pushover for the "wascally wabbit"). Sam didn't fare any better, but at least it seemed like an even fight:

Saturday's Quote

This comes from the noted Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (1875-1961), and is worth a few moments' consideration:

"Even a happy life cannot be without a measure
of darkness, and the word happy would lose its
meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It
is far better take things as they come along
with patience and equanimity."

Cool Song

Actually two songs, from Blondie's late seventies heyday. These are from an appearance on Top of the Pops in England, where the lip-synching standards were evidently quite low-- but Debby Harry pulls it off with her usual aplomb:

Friday Family Blogging Quiz

Okay, I'm going easy on you this week, providing not just eyes but also nosed and mouth. Wh os this baby? Put your answers in the comments section.

Last week, I asked what Emma was eating, and no one got the right answer (a pretzel stick!). So better luck this time.

Soup Diary 110819

I think I forgot to write about one of the better cups I enjoyed over the past couple of months: the Vegetable Beef with Bow-Tie Pasta at a place called the Lake Effect Diner in Buffalo. Normally I would not order vegetable beef, especially if there's another option. This is primarily due to the fact that until just a few years ago, it seems like I had vegetable beef soup about once a week. That probably isn't literally true, but I'd guess that after chicken noodle, this was the kind of soup I'd eaten the most over the course of a lifetime. But on this occasion, it was all that was available, and the reference to bow-tie pasta made it just different enough to give a shot. It turned out to have a rich and beefy broth, with tender chunks of beef and a nice array of veggies. In fact, the pasta was kind of an unnecessary addition, though I guess it made the whole concoction a bit more hearty. A good soup, and worthy of mention here. I'm glad I stumbled across the photo seen above, reminding me to post some comments.

More Friday Family Blogging

It's pretty well-established that I'm really bad at identifying where old pictures were taken, so maybe Catie or Theresa will remember this shot with Dad? I don't recognize the couch at all, but I think Gramma had a lamp like the one at left.

Friday Family Blogging

Don't worry-- Nik's not in jail, just having some fun at the playground at Ellicott Creek Park.

Friday Philosophy

Today's lines come from the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831):

"Not curiosity, not vanity, not the consideration
of expediency, not duty and conscientiousness,
but an unquenchable, unhappy thirst that
brooks no compromise leads us to truth."

Classic Rock

Here's one of those things that I never expected to see, until I stumbled on it on YouTube: a live performance of the song "Tonight" by the MC5. The song originally appeared on their great album Back in the USA:

Toonerville Thursday

Here's another of the great characters created by Fontaine Fox to populate his little town of Toonerville. I'm guessing the poor guy spent a lot of time ducking.

Happy Birthday Maria!

As is becoming all too common, I'm a day late on this (see previous post), but I can't let the occasion of my niece Maria's birthday pass without sending out my best wishes. I should mention that I have lots of sharper photos than the one seen above, but I'm not sure I have another one that so nicely captures her personality. Maria, I hope you had a great day, with plenty more to come!

A Thought for Thursday

As I seem to grow ever more absent-minded, I'd really like to believe true the words of American man-of-letters Malcolm Cowley (1898-1989):

"They tell you that you'll lose your mind
when you grow older. What they don't tell
you is that you won't miss it very much."

Some Silly Stuff

This must go back to the mod or late seventies, back when Steve Martin was about the biggest thing in comedy. It starts a little slow, but gets better as it goes along, so stick with it. Sure made me laugh:

New Hal Crowther Column

Many years ago, I undertook to read Atlas Shrugged and lasted about fifty or so pages before giving up. The main reason was that I found Ayn Rand's style just too turgid, and her characters vastly unappealing. I can't say that at that time I was turned off by her philosophy, since I don't recall picking up on her message based on the portion I read. But over the years I've encountered her ideas in other contexts and mostly find them simplistically obnoxious. Anyway, it's gratifying to know that I'm not alone in drawing that conclusion, and here's Hal Crowther's latest column pretty much making the same point (and drawing some conclusions that have some bearing on contemporary politics). Check it out.

The Last Book I Read

Before reading this book I actually thought I was pretty savvy about the history of baseball. I knew, for example, that Albert Spaulding was responsible for foisting the story of Abner Doubleday's act of creation on the American public; and that likewise, Alexander Cartwright had a minimal role in the origins of the game as we know it. But John Thorn has taken those two bits of contrived information (and each man continues to receive considerable credit from those who prefer to keep the myths alive) and used them as the framework for constructing his so-called secret history-- but one that has the ring of truth, and is based on copious research. So reading his book revealed any number of nuggets about the early days of the game, including its relationship to predecessors like cricket, rounders and town ball. Among the revelations are the class dimensions of early competition (where working class participants were written out of the narrative by early chroniclers), and the significant role played by gambling in bringing about some order to the emerging professional game after the Civil War. In addition to laying out an alternative to the lingering mythology, Thorn also explores the motives and processes that led to the formulation of that mythology, and uncovers links (not conclusive, but he acknowledges as much) with Gilded Age spiritualism and capitalism (Spaulding, of course, was to sporting goods what the Rockefellers were to oil). Thorn's style is a bit idiosyncratic, but it doesn't take long to get into the rhythm of his narrative; in an odd way it seems to fit the time frame of the tale he tells. Definitely worth a look if you are interested in the history of baseball-- or sports generally-- in the age just before they moved definitively into the forefront of our culture.

Quote of the Day

Dalton Trumbo (1905-1976) was one of the notorious "Hollywood Ten," persecuted for holding ideas like the one below, though I'm at a loss to understand why:

"Everybody now seems to be talking about
democracy. I don't understand this. As I think
of it, democracy isn't like a Sunday suit to be
brought out and worn only for parades. It's
the kind of a life a decent man leads, it's
something to live for and to die for."

A Favorite Summer Song

I think this may very well be my all-time favorite surf tune. It's "Surfer Joe" by the Surfaris (they of "Wipeout" fame). With summer seemingly winding down, this has an almost bittersweet edge to it. Special bonus: you youngsters can see what it was like to play a real 45 rpm record!

Friday Family Blogging Quiz

This may look a bit like a "whose eyes" quiz, but no. I think everyone will recognize Emma. The question is, what was she eating when this picture was snapped (this is a cropped picture-- in the original, the food is visible)? Put your guesses in the comments section.

Last week, I asked who was cut out of a photo of Catie, and once again Lil Sis takes the prize by naming Theresa as the missing couch-mate. Good luck to all this week!

Soup Diary 110812

I had my last cup of soup at Fables for at least a few months, and it more or less continued their recent resurgence. It was Curried Cauliflower with Mango, and tasted pretty good. My only complaint-- and it really effected my enjoyment of the soup, though I'm not sure why-- was the consistency. It was very runny, even watery in texture. I'm not sure if that's a fair criteria, since it tasted quite good, but it really seemed like it should have been thicker, with bigger chunks of cauliflower or mango or something. I expect this particular mix of ingredients meant that the sweetness of the mango counteracted the spiciness of the curry, but what purpose would the cauliflower serve if not to add some heft? Unfortunately, it was blended down to nothingness. I'm probably being overly nit-picky, and as I go through the next few weeks of withdrawal I'll likely come to miss even this flawed level of quality in my soup choices. But that's the way I see it right now, for good or ill.

More Friday Family Blogging

This maple tree has stood in the front yard of the Hajduk family homestead for over fifty years. Joseph is the first person I've ever seen successfully climb it (with no low branches to use as toeholds).

Friday Family Blogging

Here's another cool picture of my Gramma out in Seattle circa 1975. Amazing that she's only giving up what looks like four or five feet in relation to the Space Needle-- I don't remember her being so tall!

Friday Philosophy

I like the way this guy thinks-- he's the French thinker Michel Foucault (1926-1984):

"What strikes me is the fact that in our society, art has become something which is related only to objects and not to individuals, or to life. That art is something which is specialized or which is done by experts who are artists. But couldn't everyone's life become a work of art? Why should the lamp or the house be an art object, but not our life?"

Good Song

Here's a live version of "Zirconium Gun" by Visqueen (Rachel Flotard is their frontwoman). Enjoy:

Toonerville Thursday

Today we meet yet another of the offbeat characters who populate Toonerville-- "Suitcase" Simpson, he of the enormous feet.

Quote of the Day

Something to think about courtesy of that renowned thinker Jackie Gleason (1916-1987):

"If you have it and you know you have it,
then you have it. If you have it and don't
know you have it, you don't have it. If you
don't have it but you think you have it,
then you have it."

Cool Song

Here's one of those forgotten classics from the eighties that I'd pretty much forgotten all about until I stumbled on it on YouTube. I don't know whatever happened to the Bluebells from Scotland, but the whole album which included "Cath" was really good. Check it out:

The Last Book I Read

Over the past couple of years I've become a huge fan of the novels of Roberto Bolano, the Chilean poet who was very prolific before dying rather young. I recently completed another of his works entitled Monsieur Pain, which I found a bit less compelling than his other short novels (I'm working my way up to the longer Savage Detectives and 2666). I think part of that was because the other books I've read (including Nazi Literature in the Americas, Amulet, and By Night in Chile) had in common a powerful commentary on the subversive and redemptive powers of poetry, while Monsieur Pain's plot seems grounded in the far more mystical realms of hypnosis and surrealism. I think Bolano's idea was to demonstrate that the gap between those subjects is actually pretty narrow (that is, trying to tie this exploration of the subconscious to it's role in shaping the best poetry), but the story fails to bring the point clearly home. Stylistically, his prose style is just as compelling here as in the other books mentioned, and that was sufficient to keep me going-- the man truly had a gift for expression. But the story left me cold and unsatisfied, one of those cases where the sum falls short of the individual parts, many of which are fascinating in themselves. It's the first of Bolano's books that I didn't love, but I'm not holding that against him, as it's at least further proof of the kind of lively mind necessary to produce truly classic literature, even if he sometimes falls short of that standard.

Soup Diary 110810

I'm not entirely sure that jambalaya qualifies exactly as soup, but it's close enough for me to comment on the excellent bowl I enjoyed a couple days ago at the Pennsic Wars in western Pennsylvania (more on that later). It was a group effort with several campers contributing to the final mix, and they were good enough to separate out a batch without any shellfish for those of us who don't eat the stuff. I certainly didn't miss the shrimp, given the rich blend of sausage, chicken, and vegetables that was left. Eaten out of doors amongst some new friends made it even better. It was probably the best meal of my two day visit, and one of the factors that may compel me to go down there again when I get the chance.

Wednesday's Quote

I recently learned a bit about the French philosopher and theologian Peter Abelard (1079-1142), so here's something he wrote that makes him worth remembering:

"The key to wisdom is this - constant and
frequent questioning, for by doubting we
are led to question and by questioning
we arrive at the truth."

Great Song

I don't know if the Mekons' Rock'n'Roll is my all-time favorite album, but it's in the top ten. Here's one of the songs off that album for your listening pleasure:

On the Road Again

I'll be roughing it for the next couple of days, traveling with no computer access. So look for new posts here maybe Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.

Saturday Morning Cartoon

Here's a classic episode of Pixie and Dixie which I remember seeing when I was a youngster (there was a real shock of recognition when I called it up on YouTube). Something that I didn't notice back then is that Dixie exhibits some of the characteristics (certainly vocally) of the character Doc Long from I Love a Mystery, Carlton Morse's wonderful golden age radio drama. I wonder if that was intentional? When I was a kid I had never heard of that program, but if you like old time radio you should definitely check it out. In the meantime, here's Pixie and Dixie:

Saturday's Quote

I have nothing but respect for the mind of Mark Twain (1835-1910), mainly because he often said smart (and funny) things like this:

"Every time you stop a school, you will have

to build a jail. What you gain at one end you
lose at the other. It's like feeding a dog on
his own tail. It won't fatten the dog."

Classic Rock

I know some thought the Clash had kind of sold out by this point, but I disagree. This is solid rock and roll, and just as exciting as the earlier stuff, even if a bit more polished. Anyway, I like it:

Friday Family Blogging Quiz

Okay, here's a pretty straightforward question: who was sitting next to Catie on the couch in the above, cropped, photo? Hint: this was taken at Gramma's house. Put your guesses in the comments section.

Two weeks ago, I asked if anyone could identify who a set of eyes belonged to. Although there were a lot of guesses, there were no correct answers. Below is the original picture-- anyone recognize them now?

Soup Diary 110805

The problem with not posting everyday (which has been the case for much of the last month) is that I miss the immediate opportunity to comment on the soups I enjoy quite regularly (usually for lunch) as I go about my daily business. So this is kind of a catch-up post. First I should mention that I have not had a truly outstanding cup of soup in quite awhile, aside from the Chicken Escarole mentioned in the last diary entry. But by the same token, I haven't had anything terribly disappointing either. I've had a couple of different broccoli cheddars, which is hard to mess up (in one case, the chef did go a little overboard on the cheese; but it was white cheddar , which was enough of a twist that I think he deserves a pass). I've also had a couple of different potato soups, and the loaded potato at the Olympic really did kind of match the appeal of a stuffed baked potato, with bacon, cheese, onion, chives, and probably one or two other ingredients. I enjoyed a nice tomato, cucumber and dill cold soup in Middlebury Vermont-- it was like gazpacho, but without the Mexican tang. Fables has been on a nice run, though with varieties that they've previously established as worthwhile: Brazilian black bean, creamy tomato basil, and chicken black bean poblano. But they also had something called Pulled Pork Cheddar which was new and surprisingly good (mainly because the cheesey broth was not overwhelming). Last, today I had a cup of Cheddar Ale at Fables, which was pretty cheesey, but how could you expect anything else? It was okay, maybe half a notch below the others mentioned, but that may be more due to my particular tastes than the actual quality of the soup. I think that catches me up. Overall, I'd have to say it's been a pretty good couple of weeks, soup-wise.

More Friday Family Blogging

Here's my brother Nick along with good ol' Scottie in the family back yard. Hard to believe the willow tree was ever that small!

Friday Family Blogging

Back in the mid-seventies, Gramma visited the Seattle side of the family. This picture was taken somewhere downtown, though I suspect the landscape has changed somewhat since then.

Friday Philosophy

I don't know if this statement by the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is true or not, but it's worth thinking about:

"The more a man can forget, the greater
the number of metamorphoses which his
life can undergo; the more he can remember,
the more divine his life becomes."

An Old Favorite

Back when I was in grad school, this Toronto-based band used to play Buffalo quite a bit and I saw them live several times. This song is of slightly more recent vintage than that, but it still kind of reminds me of those good old days...

Toonerville Thursday

You know, I don't think I enjoy the antics of any of Toonerville's citizens more than those of the aptly named Terrible Tempered Mr. Bang!

A Thought for Thursday

To this statement by the noted progressive reformer Jane Addams (1860-1935), I can only add "Hear, hear!":

"We have learned to say that the good must
be extended to all of society before it can be
held secure by any one person or class; but
we have not yet learned to add to that state-
ment, that unless all [people] and all classes
contribute to a good, we cannot even be sure
that it is worth having."

Cool Video

Here's a classic cutting contest pitting two of the greatest drummers of the swing era against each other: Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. Looks to me like this is from the late fifties or early sixties. Who do you think won the battle?

More Trip Pictures

Here are a few more pictures taken on my recent road trip to Vermont and the Adirondacks, starting with a view of Chittenango Falls in Central New York.

Next is a view of Lake George from the shore at Ticonderoga. We missed the ferry that evening but came back the next day to cross over to Vermont (see yesterday's post).

We spent the first night in Lake George Village which is a very touristy place-- lots of souvenir shops, arcades, and restaurants-- most of which, much to our surprise, shut down by nine o'clock, even though there were mobs of people still strolling along the main drag. Moose, as you can see, are a big theme for the gift shops.

There are several steam boat that ferry tourists around the lake, including the Mohican above. We didn't take a ride, but I bet it's a nice relaxing way to spend a nice summer morning.

Speaking of Mohicans, a replica of Fort William Henry also stands in Lake Geiorge Village. If you read or saw the movie version of James Fenimore Cooper's Last of the Mohicans, you'll recognize that name as the site of much of the story's action.

The Last Movie I Saw

I kind of rag on comic-book based movies a lot here on the blog. Even when I enjoy them, it's only as a kind of guilty pleasure, with plenty of reservations. Often such criticisms involve the filmmakers taking themselves much too seriously (this was a feature of the recent Thor, for example, or further back, Daredevil), or concocting over-the-top stories built on special effects to the point where any human dimension is completely lost (the Wolverine movie). Often, they are just too silly to bear remembering, even if they do deliver an evening's worth of kicks (Fantastic Four). The new Captain America: The First Avenger pretty much avoids all these traps, and does so by approaching its story with both humor and some respect for the fans who made the character a hit in the first place, by which I mean comic readers of the 1940s. I think most of the credit for this goes to the director Joe Johnston, who has displayed a knack for this kind of material in earlier films like The Rocketeer (itself based on the period comics character created by Dave Stevens) and October Sky, which was different kind of historical drama but one that also required a deft hand to keep the story's melodramatic aspects from overwhelming its otherwise inspiring plot. I'm also impressed with the job done by Chris Evans as Captain America-- I'm told he was in other movies I've seen (including the aforementioned Fantastic Four), but I don't think I would've been able to pick him out on a lobby card based on that previous work. In this film, he too strikes a great balance between the character's bouts of self-doubt and the qualities that eventually mark him as a hero. There were a lot of touches in this film that also played to the fan-boy in me, especially the very natural introduction of the Howlin' Commandos from another classic Marvel comic book, albeit one that didn't appear until the 1960s. The USO scenes were also great, signaling perhaps a subtle nod to Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers. Clearly Captain America does not share the serious intent of that earlier film, but I can't help but think that a double feature of the pair would reveal as many similarities as differences in defining something of the World War II era's zeitgeist. That's way more than you can say for most of the other comic book movies that have become so ubiquitous lately.

Tuesday's Quote

I think this statement by filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard applies to all the arts, in addition of course to the natural world...

"Beauty is composed of an eternal, invariable
element whose quantity is extremely difficult
to determine, and a relative element which
might be, either by turns or all at once,
period, fashion, moral, passion."

Cool Song

Cornershop has been making good music for some time now (remember "Brimful of Asher"?). Anyway, here's one of their tunes put to some appropriately odd film footage:

What I Did This Past Weekend

My friend Rick and I took a little road trip to watch the Vermont Lake Monsters play a baseball game in lovely Burlington. Both coming and going we made sure to catch some of the other sights of the beautiful Adirondack country in northern New York. Here are a few quick shots from my pocket camera to share (more to come when I download from my SLR), starting with a corner of Mirror Lake Beach near Lake Placid above.

Adjacent to Fort Ticonderoga is a place called King's Garden which replicates an eighteenth century yard with numerous flower beds. Above is the gate at the entrance (I have pictures of the garden itself on the other camera card).

Here's the view of the Vermont shore from the ferry that carried us across Lake George from Ticonderoga, NY.

Last is a shot of the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, site of a couple of Winter Olympics. The Center combines architecture from the thirties (the first time the Winter Games were held here) with modern additions from the more recent Olympics hosted by the town. Note the flags of the world lining the street in front of the Center. More pictures in the next few days.

Soup Diary 110801

I've actually had quite a lot of soup over the past week or so, but haven't been posting often enough to critique all the various bowls I've encountered. I'll try to catch up, but today, let me just mention the best soup I've had, possibly all summer. At a place called Teddy's in Rome New York (the place is decorated to celebrate the life of Teddy Roosevelt) I tried the Chicken Escarole and was mightily impressed. I never would have expected a soup made partly from lettuce (which is what I associate escarole with, though I guess it's just as close to spinach) could be so good, but this was close to a classic. In addition to the chicken and leafy stuff, there was also orzo (which I use in my own chicken soup a lot), onion, carrot and celery. But it was the broth that was especially memorable-- slightly buttery, but also savory without being overly salty or spicy. Just an all around nice combination of flavors and textures. This might be a one-off, as I can't imagine when I might be passing through Rome again; but if you're in the neighborhood, definitely give it a try (I have it on good authority that their Broccoli Cheddar is also first rate).

Monday's Quote

I like this line from the writer and critic Stanley Crouch:

"Our democratic richness arrives when
we're able to comprehend our collective
humanity accurately."