Churchill's view of Italian Cruise Ships

Thanks to Rafal Heydel-Mankoo at http://bloggingyoungfogey.blogspot.com/ for this post:

Churchill's view of Italian Cruise Ships:

From "The Wit and Wisdom of Winston Churchill" by James C. Humes:

"Late in his life, Sir Winston took a cruise on an Italian ship. A journalist from a New York newspaper approached the former prime minister to ask him why he chose to travel on an Italian line when the Queen Elizabeth under the British flag was available.

Churchill gave the question his consideration and then gravely replied.

'There are three things I like about Italian ships. First, their cuisine, which is unsurpassed. Second, their service, which is quite superb. And then - in time of emergency - there is none of this nonsense about women and children first.'

Modern mill becomes wind powered

Modern mill becomes wind powered: An Aberdeenshire cereal factory becomes windmill driven in a scheme which takes it back to its roots.

To revive a post

To revive a post:

The story of Bennett-Wells Post 1780 in Buffalo, N.Y., is not uncommon for many American Legion posts across the country. A post is formed by newly returned and enthusiastic veterans, prospers for a time and then starts to decline as its founding generation retires or passes on, and attracting a new cohort of veterans proves difficult. Sometimes, the post is able to replenish itself and goes on to a continued period of vitality. Other times, however, such efforts just don’t come together, and the post either disappears or becomes a shell of its past.

Post 1780 First Vice Commander Sandi Williams is determined to not let her post become a statistic. An eight-year member of the Legion, Williams is in charge of recruiting new members; she conceived and headed a membership drive that began in February 2011.

The choice of February – Black History Month – was by design. Although Post 1780 has and welcomes white members, the majority of its membership is black, and its history is intimately linked to the black community in Buffalo. The post was formed in 1954 by World War II and Korean War veterans, and was named for two black soldiers who died in World War II: Pvt. James Bennett and 2nd Lt. Johnson Wells. Its home is on the city’s east side, where black residents have lived since the 1820s, but in much larger numbers after World War I.

The black community there formed cultural and civic organs of its own, in response to segregation. By 1954, the area boasted a history of its own hotels and nightclubs, a theater, a cab company and several newspapers, as well as thriving chapters of the Negro Businessmen’s League, the American Colored Workmen League and others. Post 1780 fit well into this tradition of a community active in its own behalf.

The post still does so today, through benefits assistance for veterans, sponsoring a Boy Scout troop and more. But it has had to make do with fewer and fewer members. Time has taken its toll – according to Williams, “the majority of Post 1780 members are elderly, and many are no longer able to participate in events.” New members have trickled in over the years, but not at the needed replacement rate for the continued growth. So Williams drew up plans for a concerted membership drive, choosing Black History Month because “there were a lot of community events going on, so I thought that it would be a good time to recruit for members.”

A kickoff event was held in late February at a local library branch. Just prior to the event, Williams convinced The Buffalo News to run an article on the post and its plans. Post leadership was on hand to answer questions, and a nurse practitioner was brought in to give health advice.

Over the next several months, the drive continued with post members going out into the community, but in August, no appreciable increase could be seen.
Undeterred, Williams pressed forward with the drive, and at the end of October announced that a few new members had signed up, one of them a transfer from New York’s department headquarters post.

Her next idea involved Buffalo’s Veterans Day celebration. Post 1780 marched in the city parade on Nov. 12, and Williams printed flyers with the post’s contact information and meeting times to hand out to veterans attending the parade.

She also invited nonmember veterans to march with them; and recruited at Auxiliary Unit 1780’s Veterans Day free spaghetti dinner for veterans and their families.
So while there has been some success with the membership drive, Williams isn’t satisfied yet.

“I’m not giving up.” she said. “I continue recruiting on a daily basis,” she said.

Williams credits Erie County Commander Bill Miskell for providing much in the way of both membership materials and encouragement. It may be that it will take a while for Post 1780 to re-cement itself in the next-generation-community’s consciousness as a veterans – and community – service organization.
But Williams is willing to work to make that happen.

Laura Edwards is assistant editor of The American Legion Magazine.

Several membership materials are available through National Headquarters or online, from membership team training materials to the Legion’s “Why You Should Belong Booklet.” For more information, email ia@legion.org or go online to www.legion.org/membership or www.legion.org/publications.

UPTOWN Gentleman: Guide To The Pocket Square

UPTOWN Gentleman: Guide To The Pocket Square: A gentleman’s studied approach to dressing well could be considered by some to be a form of elegant art. And if so considered, the presumed dapper gentleman should fancy himself an artist. And as an artist, it is crucial he utilize every tool at his disposal to render a visual that is both impeccable and stunning. Men’s suits, shoes and shirts are always granted favorable attention, but minute sartorial details are sometimes sorely missed. One of those details often left behind is the gentleman’s pocket square. That changes today. Here are the only pocket squares you will ever need in your arsenal. Read on at UPTOWN Magazine for the rest!

Stop-Motion the Press: “The Joy of Books”

Stop-Motion the Press: “The Joy of Books”:
If you wondered what books do when everyone else is asleep then consider this your video your enlightenment. If, however, you’re afraid of poltergeists, then I’m afraid this is your nightmare fuel. “The Joy of Books” is a a stop-motion video created by husband-and-wife team, Sean Ohlenkamp and Lisa Ohlenkamp. The couple spent their evenings at the Type bookstore in Toronto, Canada filming this lovely video with a swag of helpers.

If you’re a book nut like us, well you’re going to enjoy this like nothing else. Don’t worry, we’ll look away when you pull your climax face.

(via BOOOOOOOM!)

Kodak Failing, But Camera Phones Not To Blame

Referencing the Slashdot story below regarding Kodak's impending demise, I think there is a greater tragedy at play here. If I want to see photos of relatives, many of whom are no longer living, all I have to do is dig out photo albums and shoeboxes full of photos. I can get a glimpse of their lives with relative ease. I don't have to have a piece of equipment to view them, they are readily available on a more-or-less permanent media. Fast forward to, say, fifty years from now. Will anyone be able to view any of the hundreds or thousands of photos that my family will take digitally and store electronically? I fear not. Unless someone actively moves the files to whatever the current storage formats and media are at any given time, then the effort to take the photos was in vain (when viewed from a long-term perspective).

Kodak Failing, But Camera Phones Not To Blame: An anonymous reader writes with this snippet from The Conversation: "According to the Wall Street Journal, camera manufacturer Kodak is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, following a long struggle to maintain any sort of viable business. The announcement has prompted some commentators to claim that Kodak's near-demise has been brought on by: a failure to innovate, or a failure to anticipate the shift from analogue to digital cameras, or a failure to compete with the rise of cameras in mobile phones. Actually, none of these claims are true. Where Kodak did fail is in not understanding what people take photographs for, and what they do with photos once they have taken them."

Continues the reader: "Looking at camera data from Flickr, of images uploaded in 2011, camera phones only make up 3% of the total. Dedicated cameras from Canon, Nikon and yes, Kodak were used to take 97% of the images. What Kodak failed to understand is that people have switched from taking photos for remembering and commemorative reasons to using photos for identity and communication. The shift changes the emphasis away from print to social media platforms and dedicated apps."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

I think of people who invested in 8 tracks in the 70's. How do they listen to that music now? They re-buy it as MP3s or whatnot. We cannot repurchase lost memories. And unfortunately, we might not be able to take analog photos and have them printed for many more years. Taking photos on film already is, from my layman's perspective, been relegated to niche status. Once the means to easily develop film goes away, then the ability to retain those memories for generations will be as elusive as a family photograph in the 1860s (Hyperbole? I don't mean it to be.). The difference being that back then, there was limited means of taking a photograph at all. Now there is ample means of taking a photograph, but limited medium on which to permanently record it.

So it's sad to see what is happening to Kodak when viewed in a different light than just seeing a business who can't change it's model to stay competitive. We've overlooked the thing that so many generations now have enjoyed about photos: longevity.

Why you can't travel like a road warrior and shave like your grampa

I do a fair amount of travel, and for several years now I have shaved with a safety razor. There are numerous benefits to this: it breaks the shaving consumerism trap, there's something nostalgic about it (my razor is at least 80 years old...), you generate  much less waste, and you save a bucketload of money buying double-edged razor blades versus cartridges. My problem in combining the travel with my preferred means of shaving is that it is a no-go at airport security. So what is the aspiring chap to do, invest in disposable razors (and blades) as well? NO! I still take my puck of soap and badger brush in my carry on and get a cheapie disposable razor gratis from the front desk at the hotel. Everybody is happy.

An apologetic for Standard Measures

Back in January I read in article in the Daily Mail by Peter Hitchens defending the value of standard measures. I've been wanting to comment on it, but haven't had the time, but I'll take time to do so now.

When I went through elementary school in the eighties, I had to learn standard forms of measurement: inches, feet, miles, ounces, pounds, gallons and so forth. I also had to learn later on how to convert those into their metric equivalents. I have to say, that at first glance, those base 10 units of the metric system sound really easy to use, but I have to agree with the sentiment of Mr. Hitchen's article. Metric is arbitrary and neat, which does not align with the human experience. I don't remember in school ever having been presented with the history of standard measures and how they came to be over the course of time based on a man's ability to measure that which lied within his environment using things readily available to him. After I learned why an inch is an inch, I have gained a new appreciation for all of the antiquated and "useless" measurements we use in the "Non-Metric" world today.

Lets take a look at a few measures and appreciate their overt simplicity.

• Inch: According to Wikipedia, the inch traces its origin to being a twelfth of a foot. Reference is also made there to an inch being the width of an average thumb at the base of the fingernail, and the word inch several languages translates to thumb.  Hmm... an 8½ x 11 inch piece of writing paper measures about 9½ thumbs for me, but close enough for mediæval farming.
• Foot: Back to Wikipedia, a foot was measured with just that, a foot. That works for me.
• Pound: A commenter on Mr. Hitchens blog stated that a pound was about the weight of a handful of apples, I'll just have to take him at his word on that. Going back to Wikipedia, a pound has for some time been a number of so many grains, grains being how much a single grain of cereal weighed.
• Mile: Using my favorite vilified source again, a mile represented a thousand paces (a Roman pace being two steps). Looking at the Latin origin of the word, that's a pretty simple way to measure distance. 

Now, lets look at a few that I never understood, because I didn't grow up in an agrarian society:

• Furlong: This one goes back to the Saxon farming practice and represented the length of one furrow plowed into a field. 
• Chain: A chain is a measure of length that consisted of 100 links.  Again, simple measures using simple tools.
• Acre: An acre was laid out one furlong long by one chain wide. It was considered the amount of land that one man with one ox could plow in a day.

So why on earth would we want to maintain such an antiquated system that doesn't work well in increments of ten? Because it works, maybe? Because it reminds us of our humanity? I don't know, maybe I just like it because I'm anachronistic by nature and I don't want things to work out neatly. We don't use metric time. We have 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in a hour and 24 hours in a day. Why? Because that's how long a day is. And what is a day but the time it takes for the earth to circle the sun. Nature doesn't operate on our nice and tidy metric inclinations. Why do we have 7 days in a week instead of 10? Does it have anything to do with the lunar cycle? There are many amazing things in this life that don't work out in increments of ten.

Origin legend of the name "Blevins"

As far as things go, Blevins, is a recent (a few hundred years old) variation on ancient Welsh word, Bleiddwn, which can be translated as Wolf-man, from the Welsh word for Wolf, "Bleidd". Other variations on the name include Bleddyn, Blethyn, Blethin, Blethen, and Blevin. I've also heard that the -yn at the end of Bleddyn refers to the diminutive, and could be rendered as "Wolf-cub", but for the sake of this story, we'll stick with the former interpretation.

There is a story in the Mabonogion called "Math the Son Of Mathonwy" that tells of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy, who raped Goewin, the daughter of Pebin. Gwydion and Gilfaethwy were the maternal nephews of Math ab Mathonwy, who was lord over Gwynedd. Goewin was under the protection of Math, and Gilfaethwy had become greatly enamored of her.

The two concocted an adventure to acquire swine, which were unheard of in that time, from Pryderi, king of Dyfed. Gwydion, being a magician (trained by Math in those arts), conjured illusions to trick Pryderi into trading him the swine for apparitions of fine horses and greyhounds. The trick would only last a day and the brothers and their retinue quickly fled back to Gwynedd. They reached Caer Dathyl, Math's residence.

That night, after Math and his men had left to secure the swine, Gilvaethwy stayed in Math's chambers, and he and Gwydion rudely chased out all of the women from the chamber, except for Goewin, who they forced to remain.

On the next day a battle ensued between Math's and Pryderi's men over the trickery of Gwydion. Pryderi suffered major losses and negotiated terms of peace. Pryderi made his case against Gwydion, whom he called out for battle. With Gwydion's magical advantage, he slew Pryderi.

After Math and his men returned home triumphant, he went back to his couch and placed his feet on Goewin's lap, as was tradition at that time for a lord with his maiden. She informed him she could no longer fill that role, as she had been defiled. She told Math how Gwydion and Gilfaethwy had raped her. Math declared to avenger her honor and took her as his wife, bestowing upon her dominion of his lands.

Gwydion and Gilfaethwy avoided Court in a form of self exile, until it was forbidden for others to provision them. After a while, they returned to Math's Court. They made kind speech to the kings, but he was set on punishing them for the needless deaths of many of his warriors, with the death of Pryderi being the only worthy action they had done. He then commenced to inflict punishment upon them.

Being a very strong magician himself, Math took out his wand and turned the two into deer. He commanded them to mate and return to him in a year. After the year, they returned, with a fawn. He then struck them with Magic to turn them into wild hogs. He took the fawn and turned him human, having him baptized and naming him Hyddwn, meaning "Stag-man".

A year later the brothers in the form of wild hogs returned to him with a young hog with them. He then turned the brothers into a pair of wolves. He took the young hog, turned him human, had him baptized, and named him Hychddwn Hir, or ""Sow-man the Long", for the long auburn hair that he had.

After the third year, the brothers returned with a wolf cub. He took the cub, turned him human, had him baptized, and named him Bleiddwn, or "Wolf-man". He then told the brothers that his punishment of them was complete and turned them back into humans. They were washed and restored to their noble state.

So take it for what it's worth. Let not facts get in the way of romantic legends.

Assumption of Arms

Over the past several years, I've become quite a fan of Heraldry. I remember stories and seeing pictures growing up of the "family crest". I was even duped by a kiosk at a local mall into paying money for a copy of my family's crest, which, by the way, didn't look anything like the one I had seen growing up. It was only much later that I actually started studying heraldry as a hobby that I learned that family's don't have crests, but individuals can be armigerous and can have a distinct coat of arms associated with them, that they can pass down to their descendants(with marks of cadency as necessary) , following the rules of heraldry in their particular country.

I've also learned that as an American, there is no official body that regulates coats of arms. Unless I pursue the services of a heraldic body that is a part of another nation, I cannot obtain a grant of arms. This leads me to assume arms, as I am free to do as an American. There are many sites with great information on the processes of being granted or assuming arms. I'll link to them later.

This post will serve as public record of my intention to assume the following arms. They are blazoned as follows:

Argent, a saltire between three wolf's heads erased and a Phrygian cap gules.

I chose the elements present for very specific reasons. First is the red St. Andrew's cross on a while field. This represents Alabama, the state that has been home to my family for longer than it has been a state. All of my Blevins ancestors from John Blevins, who moved there in the 18-teens are all buried within a 75-mile radius of my home. I think its fair in that case to make use of the Alabama flag as a part of my arms.

Next are the three wolf's heads. My surname is derived from a Welsh word that roughly meant wolf cub, or son of Wolf (Blaidd-yn). The wolf's heads are a cant of that name, and represent both my two siblings and myself, and my own three children.

Finally is the Phrygian, or Liberty cap. It represents both the freedom I hold so dearly as an American, and my service in the military. It is a prominent component of the seal of the Department of the Army.

Several things might be noticeably missing to the astute observer well versed in heraldry. First, there is no helmet, mantling, torse, nor crest. Since I am assuming arms and providing no proof of gentility to an heraldic body, I do not feel it is proper for me to do so. Second, I have not employed the use of supporters. My reasoning is the same as for the crest, plus, supporters in English heraldry are (or were, please correct me if I am wrong) tied to peers. As highly as I think of myself, I am not, to the best of my knowledge a first son of a first son of... a peer.

Also, if you're interested what software I used to create the arms, I started with SVGs from various Wikipedia articles to get the elements I wanted and imported them into Inkscape, and then did the finishing touches in the GIMP.

What does it feel like to fly over planet Earth?

'Rocket City Rednecks' ready to make TV debut

'Rocket City Rednecks' ready to make TV debut: After retiring, Charles and Mary Ann Taylor planned to travel, entertain grandchildren and sit on the patio of the home in rural Morgan County where they've lived for 27 years, just watching the world go by.

But they definitely aren't watching the world go by - the world has come to them, compliments of their rocket scientist son, Dr. Travis Taylor, who works with the U.S. Army on Redstone Arsenal by day and as a "mad scientist" nights and weekends.