Guanajuato, Mexico celebrates the city’s artistic and literary heritage during its yearly International Cervantes Festival. Beginning in 1972, this year it will be held Fri, Oct 11, 2024 – Sun, Oct 27, 2024.
Last year I showed up during the festival, unprepared. I had no idea it was going on. As I wandered around the winding cobblestone streets and passageways of the central area, I continually spotted references to Don Quixote. I wondered about his connection to the city.
The festival itself grew from the activities of Professor Espinosa at the University of Guanajuato in 1953. He put together a show and later a symposium devoted to Cervantes and his famous character Don Quixote. This caught the attention of the Mexican President which led the government to create the festival “to promote cultural, artistic and humanistic communication with other countries.”
Last year, there were events ongoing for 2 weeks at over a dozen different venues. Wandering characters dressed in period costumes welcomed visitors from around the world, passing out flyers and selling tickets.
Along with the usual roving mariachi bands to be found in any Mexican city of any size, there were musical ensembles playing classical, martial, and popular numbers for the free enjoyment of the citizens.
The festival seems to grow every year, with a good diversity of activities around the city. For example, in 2017 “2,367 artists from 35 different countries were invited to carry out more than 180 activities, of which 120 were scenic, 29 exhibitions and 37 academic activities in 51 forums.” Many of these activities are free in various parks and squares around town.
The Museo Iconográfico del Quijote is another example of the tie to Cervantes and Don Quixote in Guanajuato. It’s full of paintings, ceramics, sculptures, books, anything depicting Don Quixote- over 1000 items! The story goes that the founder Eulalio Ferrer Rodríguez traded a pack of cigarettes for a copy of Don Quixote de la Mancha while he was held prisoner in Spain during the civil war. The book was of such value to Eulalio that he later began collecting anything to do with Don Quixote and/or Cervantes.
After the war, Eulalio moved to Mexico and eventually- with the blessings of the Presidents of both Mexico and Spain- his collection became the museum which was gifted to the people of Guanajuato and Mexico. I spent a couple hours there, enjoying the serenity of the space and the evocative and expressive art. Some of the paintings were just amazing. If you are at all interested in art, Cervantes or Don Quixote I highly recommend a visit. It’s free on Tuesdays and only a couple of dollars otherwise.
The city itself is worth spending some time. Guanajuato is a World Heritage Site, with beautiful well preserved colonial architecture, unusual design features and interesting history. All that in addition to its compelling artistic and literary traditions. This post is specific for the Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Festival. Check out their site for this and other challenges. 🙂
Hey. It’s been a loooong time since I’ve been around. Sorry. It just got to the point where I was just ranting all the time. I felt I was turning people off. Yes, it was helpful to me to be able to get what I was feeling out into the open. Write it down. I probably should’ve started my journal again instead of putting it all out for the entire world to see.
Anyway. I’m back. I HOPE things are getting better now. For sure they are in the short term. I don’t know if I will be able to stop with the ranting since I’m pretty sure all the bad sh*t that we’ve all had to deal with the last couple of years is not over yet- in fact I think we’re going to have to put up with a lot worse. In the meantime, I’ll try to write about more positive stuff. As always, I will post about whatever I find interesting and hope somebody else out there will too. Maybe we can all learn something new together?
So. What have I been doing since my last post? Wow- November 2020! Well, not a lot of the usual stuff I do. Since the covid shots came out, I have basically been locked out of almost all of my usual job prospects. NO job is worth ruining my health for and that is what has already happened to millions of people who took those shots (including my watch partner- who WAS a healthy young man and now has his health ruined by Bells Palsy for the rest of his life). So, I’ve had VERY little work. Consequently, very little money. So very little ability to travel or do anything else.
I’ve mostly been hanging around the house. VERY frustrated, angry and kind-of depressed. Feeling like I’m at the stage of my life where I should have been able to stop working and really start enjoying everything the world has to offer. I had saved up a good bit of money, bought rental properties so I would have a steady income. Planned to work a couple months straight and then spend the rest of the year traveling the world.
I’d signed up as a house/pet sitter, got certified to teach English as a second language and was using Duolingo app to learn Spanish. But then- COVID. The entire world ground to a halt. Not for the 2 weeks they scammed us into agreeing to, but MORE THAN TWO YEARS! For what we now know (and DID know from the start- the information WAS out there for anyone who bothered to look) is that NONE of the tactics they used to “fight it”, to “flatten the curve”, would do or did a damn bit of good- but did do a hell of a lot of harm!
I’m sure some will call me selfish. To think that my freedoms are so important. OK. Yes. Hell yes, I DO think that! You think I’m selfish for wanting to be able to live my life the way I choose? Too bad! I think you’re selfish for wanting to protect yourself at the expense of everyone else on the planet! And stupid to top it off!!! NO ONE is guaranteed to live for even 1 day in this life! NO ONE is guaranteed their health. Or to never get sick. NO ONE is guaranteed any kind of safety in this world- and to trade away freedom for that false sense of security is an idea only fools would go along with. (Am I pissing you off yet?)
YES! I DO think freedom is more important than “safety”. There is only ONE legitimate function of the US government according to our founding documents and that is to preserve and protect our FREEDOMS! NOT our safety! We, as individuals are responsible for our own safety, and especially our own health. I can’t speak for the governments of the rest of the world, but personally I think if they are NOT doing the job of protecting the FREEDOMS of their people, then they are NOT legitimate- but only robber barons in disguise.
PS- our rights do NOT come from the government (any government), they are inherent to the fact that we are all human beings!
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am more than ready for the return to “normal”. It was nowhere near perfect, but a hell of a lot better than what we’re looking at now.
Are any of you keeping up with the WEF (World Economic Forum)? Their plans for 15 minute cities, 70% reduction in personal automobiles, our future diet of “bugs” (none of which applies to any of them of course)? Or the WHO’s (World Health Organization) plans to completely take over your life/health? How about the EU/WHO digital passport thing? No passport- no travel, no work, no food, no housing- or just go straight to the lock-up! Or the worldwide rush to CBDC’s (Central Bank Digital Currency)- where they will know everything about every single dollar you spend, where you spent it, what you spent it on. They will take their taxes out of every dime and if they don’t like what you want to do with YOUR money, they will shut you out of the system. Exactly like they did to the Canadian truckers (who were 100% legally protesting their tyrannical government). Just like in China, the social credit system will restrict your ability to work, to travel, to educate yourself or your children- pretty much everything. Bow down and enslave yourself to “your” government or pay the price!
Yes. This IS coming. The US is planning to bring out what they’re calling FedNow in July. That is the beginning of the CBDC here in the USA. The WHO is in (mostly secret) discussions with countries around the world re:amendments to the “Pandemic Treaty” which will severely limit your access to any kind of freedom re: YOUR life and YOUR health.
All it takes to stop this evil from once again dragging us down is to stand together and just say NO! Keep on saying it. DO NOT COMPLY!
Yes, it’s been hard the last couple of years without work. Running through my savings (thank god I had some!). Selling whatever I could get rid of to bring in a few extra bucks. Constantly being told I’m just a “crazy conspiracy theorist”. Not allowed to work, travel or even shop freely. Favorite bars, restaurants and businesses shut down, most never will recover. Being insulted constantly and banned from social media for sharing FACTS. TRUTH. BUT, I’m RIGHT. The masks don’t work for a virus (never have, never will), covid is nothing to worry about for MOST people (fatality rate less than 1% for everyone under 80 yo- so 99% (MOST) survived it just fine)(those Chinese videos of people dropping dead in the streets were as obviously fake as all the zombie movies I used to watch), the shots don’t help, there are other things that DO help, quarantines are for SICK people- NOT healthy people, etc!
Now, even the mainstream news is admitting all of those things are true. Wondering if people will finally open their eyes? Now that the people they trusted are finally telling the truth, instead of their constant parroting of the flat out LIES of the so called ‘elites’? I still see WAY too many people wearing masks- driving around in their cars by themselves. Sad.
Here’s a cool video, thanks to my friend Jack at Everything Voluntary. Hope it makes people THINK!
Here’s something a little different. It’s a song about the British Navy’s battle of Trafalgar with France and Spain off the coast of Spain. I’ve been reading some of my Sea History magazines and they sometimes write about stuff like this.
I wonder how many Brits will know this song? Spaniards? Any readers out there heard this one before? I’m not that much into military history, but even I remember hearing about that battle, cool that they wrote a song about it. 😉
Farewell Shanty On the twenty-first of October, before the rising sun We formed a line for action, boys, at twelve o’clock begun. Brave Nelson to his men did say “The Lord will prosper us this day. Give them the broadside; fire away, on board a man-of-war.”
Chorus: Let him die in Peace, God bless you all, On board a man-of-war. Let him die in Peace, God bless you all, On board a man-of-war.
From broadside to broadside our cannonballs did fly. Like hailstones, the small shot, around the deck did lie. Our masts and rigging were shot away, besides some thousands on that day Were killed and wounded in the fray, on board a man-of-war. Chorus
May heaven reward Lord Nelson, likewise protect his men. Nineteen sails of the combined fleet were sunk and taken in. The Achille blew up amongst them all, which made the French for mercy call. Nelson was slain by a musket ball, on board a man-of-war. Chorus
There’s many a brave commander, with grief he shook his head But yet their grief had no relief, for Nelson he lay dead. It was a fatal musket ball that caused our hero for to fall. He cried `Fight on. God bless you all’, on board a man of war. Chorus
Let’s hope this glorious battle will surely bring a peace, And that our trade in England may flourish and increase. Our ships from port to port go free and turn the hearts of our enemy. To Nelson’s death and victory, on board a man-of-war. Chorus Let him die in Peace.
I don’t watch TV much anymore (and get increasingly upset about paying over $140/month for cable), but one of the only things I’ll turn the TV on for is Saturday Night Live.
I used to watch it every Saturday night when I was growing up and loved the old cast: Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray and all the rest. I don’t think the show is anywhere near as good as it used to be, but they still come up with some great stuff.
Enough worth watching, there’s usually at least one great sketch every time. I saw this one a week or so ago and it just cracked me up. I still laugh every time I see it. James McAvoy is fantastic with his Scottish accent and the situation is so goofy.
Actually, it resonates with me since ships also sometimes need to deal with traffic control. Sometimes we have to pass through “traffic separation schemes“, especially where there is a lot of ship traffic. They help keep some order and make it easier for us to follow the ‘Rules of the Road” (COLREGS).
English is the international language of the sea (as well as the air), and like in the SNL skit sometimes it’s almost impossible to understand what people are trying to say over the radio. I’m sure at least some accidents are caused by mis-communication. It’s hard enough to understand people when you do speak the same language.
This is such a beautiful song. I love it! I’ve been listening to a lot of Mark Knopfler’s music lately. I’ve bought a couple of his CDs to listen to in my truck. I can’t say there’s been even one song that I’d say I really didn’t like. That’s rare.
Check out the video. I’m not sure about those dancers that keep showing up, but I love the ending! That sky! I recognize Bali, I’ve been to those places and go back every chance I get. The scenery is so gorgeous and the people there are so sweet.
“In The Sky”
Are you home from the sea, my soul balladeer
You’ve been away roaming far away from here
Weathered a storm, your heart unafraid
Crossed every ocean in the boat that you made
Been blowing your horn, scaring the spooks
No crotchets or quavers in your books
Gone sailing all night, straight in the vein
Like a bird on his own flight in his domain in the sky
Running in on the tide with the first of the stars
The moon on the water and the sound of guitars
Glide into the homing as the night falls
To tie up in the haven by the old harbour wall
And the hard-bitten stranger as deaf as a post
Who stands at the fire where a poet’s dreams roast
He can’t know the story, he can’t feel the pain
And all of the glory falls around him like rain in the sky
You’re a light in the dark, a beacon of hope
And strong as a sea boat, strong as a rope
And the vagabond wind, whispers over the bay
And the songs and the laughter, are carried away in the sky
I’m not really a surfer like the girl in this video, but I do love the ocean. I grew up on the west coast of Florida where there was never much surf to play in. I’ve tried a few times, and had a good time, but was never able to stay upright for more than a few seconds.
I love the water. I spend so much of my time out on the ocean. I work out there (as much as possible), I sail for fun, I love to snorkel and SCUBA dive. I would love to move somewhere close to the beach again.
Closer than I live now. Somewhere like where I grew up. Where I didn’t need a car to go anywhere I needed or wanted to go. One day I’d love to find a funky little beach town full of fishermen and sailors. Someplace they don’t care how long your grass grows, or what color you paint your house. I’d love to have a little beach bar/restaurant where people can just be themselves.
Someplace people could hang out and have a good time. A place to listen to good music, have a drink, eat something cheap and tasty, meet old friends and make new ones.
“Only The Ocean” by Jack Johnson
After all this time
After all of these season
After your own decision to go to the water for a reason
It’s only the ocean and you
And all of this lines
Will all be erased soon
They go out with the tide
And come back with the waves
It’s only the ocean and you
You don’t want
You don’t wait
You don’t love but you don’t hate
You just roll over me
And you pull me in
And this work is done
And this cold is dry
When this world’s too much
It will be only the ocean and me
When these sails go up
Mountanis fade away
Stars come back
I’m finally free
It’s only the ocean and me
You don’t want
You don’t wait
You don’t love but you don’t hate
You just roll over me
And you pull me in
And you pull me in
You don’t want
You don’t wait
You don’t love but you don’t hate
You just roll right over me
And you pull me in
I haven’t been out much, so haven’t been listening to much new music on my favorite radio station (KPFT). It only comes in good in the car. I did stay up late last night to watch Saturday Night Live and the Texas Music Scene. Got me in the mood to look into some music today. Here’s one I think I already mentioned, but it’s worth another play. 😉
Big Blue Sea- Bob Schneider
Woke up in a stupor Guess it’s time to face the pooper Sometimes I feel like superman Sometimes I’m just recuperating, yeah
My head is twisting in it’s cage My mind feels like a twenty gage I hope it’s just a passing stage My heart’s not red, it’s Beige
And it’s days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me Not to tell you anything I think I know But I think I’ll tell you all that I know
Try to tell you all about it Thought you might’ve, Lord, I doubt it Everyday’s a waste, I know And everyday’s a funeral
Cutting out I’m feeling lost Lost my mind I’m Mr. Frost Collected all the evidence I’m off the edge, I’m on the fence
And it’s days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me Not to tell you anything I think I know Well, I think I’ll tell you all that I know
I don’t want to be alone, I want to be a stone I wanna sink to the bottom of the ocean And lie there with you ’til I’m gone
At the bottom of the big blue sea, just you and me At the bottom of the big blue sea The bottom of the big blue sea, just you and me At the bottom of the big blue sea
I know I’ll never know nobody Better than I know myself But I can’t even figure out Just what the fuck I’m all about
I’m sinking, I’m swimming, no wait a minute I’m drowning, no I ain’t kidding around Sometimes I think I’m gonna make it Sometimes I fake it
And it’s days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me Not to tell you anything I think I know Well, I think I’ll tell you all that I know
Anywhere and everywhere Made up my mind it’s getting weird It’s queer to think it might not Get much better than today I fear
Won’t know true happiness I tried so hard, I did my best My best wasn’t good enough Oh God, I hate this stuff
And it’s days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me Not to tell you anything I think I know Well, I think I’ll tell you all that I know
I don’t want to be alone, I want to be a stone I wanna sink to the bottom of the ocean And lie there, laugh there with you Laugh there with you till I’m gone
At the bottom of the big blue sea, just you and me At the bottom of the big blue sea The bottom of the big blue sea, just you and me At the bottom of the big blue sea
And it’s days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me I said, it’s days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me
And it’s days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me And not to tell you anything I think I know
I finally got my CD player in my truck the other day. For months now, I could only listen to cassette tapes and one decent radio station (KPFT) since the radio dial didn’t work anymore and neither did my 6-CD player. I bought a new radio the other day. had to wait a few days for the installation. Sad to learn they don’t make cassette players or 6-CD players anymore. I had to settle for just a radio and 1-CD player 🙁
I was listening to some new CD’s I’ve had for a while but haven’t been able to listen to. I really loved this song by Mark Knopfler. It’s called “Sailing to Philadelphia”. The album has the same name and the whole thing is really nice.
Check it out. It’s pretty mellow. There’s another song on it I loved, called the Last Laugh. Mark had Van Morrison join in on this song and it was fantastic. Van Morrison is another of my all time favorite musicians. You can find out more about the music at the links. Enjoy. 🙂
I am Jeremiah Dixon I am a Geordie boy A glass of wine with you, sir And the ladies I’ll enjoy All Durham and Northumberland Is measured up by my own hand It was my fate from birth To make my mark upon the earth
He calls me Charlie Mason A stargazer am I It seems that I was born To chart the evening sky They’d cut me out for baking bread But I had other dreams instead This baker’s boy from the west country Would join the Royal Society
We are sailing to Philadelphia A world away from the coaly Tyne Sailing to Philadelphia To draw the line A Mason-Dixon Line
Now you’re a good surveyor, Dixon But I swear you’ll make me mad The West will kill us both You gullible Geordie lad You talk of liberty How can America be free A Geordie and a baker’s boy In the forests of the Iroquois
Now hold your head up, Mason See America lies there The morning tide has raised The capes of Delaware Come up and feel the sun A new morning has begun Another day will make it clear Why your stars should guide us here
We are sailing to Philadelphia A world away from the coaly Tyne Sailing to Philadelphia To draw the line A Mason-Dixon Line
Todays Just Jot It January prompt is: words that start with “oc”. I always found octopi to be extremely interesting creatures. I like to watch them at the zoo. They’re super smart and curious. There is a large variety around the world (about 300 species), from tiny little ones the size of your thumb to the giant pacific octopus, where one was measured at 30 ft across it’s arms!
Check out the video for a quick introduction to the octopi. 😉
I listened to Jimmy Buffett all the time when I was growing up. He used to come around and play at some of the little dive bars I used to hang out in and I loved his music and his happy go lucky style.
I was never a real ‘parrot-head’, even then, but I did totally relate to his music. He’s still one of the best songwriters for this kind of beach-centric, boat loving, party hardy, sailing lifestyle I grew up living.
I’ve been reading a lot of travel books lately. They’re making me remember all the great times I’ve had growing up in Florida and all over the world. I miss it so much! This song fits perfectly with what I’ve been feeling.
God, I wish I was sailing again! 🙂
“Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes”
I took off for a weekend last month Just to try and recall the whole year. All of the faces and all of the places, wonderin’ where they all disappeared. I didn’t ponder the question too long; I was hungry and went out for a bite. Ran into a chum with a bottle of rum, and we wound up drinkin’ all night.
It’s those changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes nothing remains quite the same. With all of our running and all of our cunning, If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.
[Chorus:] These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, Nothing remains quite the same. Through all of the islands and all of the highlands, If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane
Reading departure signs in some big airport Reminds me of the places I’ve been. Visions of good times that brought so much pleasure Makes me want to go back again. If it suddenly ended tomorrow, I could somehow adjust to the fall. Good times and riches and son of a bitches, I’ve seen more than I can recall
[Chorus]
I think about Paris when I’m high on red wine, I wish I could jump on a plane. And so many nights I just dream of the ocean. God, I wish I was sailin’ again. Oh, yesterdays are over my shoulder, So I can’t look back for too long. There’s just too much to see waiting in front of me, and I know that I just can’t go wrong with these…
I just ordered the album from this band. I saw them last week on the Texas Music Scene and really liked this song. I find a lot of great new music from watching that show (the other place I like is KPFT radio). That show is one of the very few things I watch on TV anymore.
It comes on right after Saturday Night Live (which I still like to watch- even tho they’re not nearly as funny as they used to be). They still come out with some really good stuff occasionally. I make it a point to watch it.
The Bluewater Highway is also a favorite place for me. It runs up the beach from Surfside to Galveston. I’ve had a lot of good times along that road. 🙂
I wonder if thats where they got their name? Just checked, I guess it is. Turns out they’re from right here in Lake Jackson, TX. 🙂
Well honey, here I come, I got a wagonload A million different words I’m putting on for show I’m peddling my heart
It sees your careful walk hiding a gypsy stare And I know just the thing, woman if you dare Step right on through
And I’ll do it all for you I’ll do it all for you I am the Medicine Man
I traveled all the land in a depression line I bought and sold my love one too many times But now those days are done
‘Cause under the things I own, I am the one you need And in your snake oil smile, the cure for my disease I’d break my heart in two
And I would do it all for you (c’mon girl, c’mon girl) I’d do it all for you (c’mon girl, c’mon girl)
‘Cause I can see your fever rising And I got all you need inside You’re out on a ledge with your head in your hands You got a bleeding heart honey, I am the Medicine Man
You (c’mon girl, c’mon girl) I’d do it all for you (c’mon girl, c’mon girl) I’d do it all for you (c’mon girl, c’mon girl) I’d do it all for you (c’mon girl, ohh)
I can see your fever rising And I got all you need inside You’re out on a ledge with your head in your hands You got a bleeding heart honey, I am the Medicine Man
Yeah, I know it’s a little late. Thanksgiving is over already, but I was looking at youtube tonight to get some info about teaching in Ukraine. I watched the weekly TEFL webinar and they got me curious about how it is over there and they recommended I watch this youtube video. These SNL videos were posted all along the side of the page.
I hope your holidays don’t go like this, but mine were fairly similar when I was growing up. Anyone today would say I had a very dysfunctional family life when I was a kid. I’m glad now I have good friends with ‘normal’ families I can hang out with. 🙂
Do you remember Vincent Price? I do. He was a favorite of mine in those old Saturday morning Creature Features and assorted horror movies.
I can’t say I remember Gloria Swanson. She was before my time and I never have seen Sunset Boulevard. I’m not up on James Mason either, tho I do remember seeing him in quite a few films. Seems kindof out of character from what I remember, but maybe I’m thinking of the wrong guy.
I love how Vincent (Bill Hader) tries to keep the show ‘PG’, safe for the kids. Liberace gets in a few good ones too. It’s hilarious.
I stayed up late last night to watch Saturday Night Live and the Texas Music Scene. Those are 2 of the only shows I’ll turn on the TV to watch anymore. The Texas Music Scene always has really wonderful musicians on there and it’s a great way to learn about new music (the other way is to listen to KPFT on the radio).
I saw this band on the show last night and really enjoyed listening to their song. They played one called “Lint Head Gal”. Phoebe was fantastic on the violin/fiddle (I’ve been wanting to learn how to play lately). She explained how the song came to be written, about a friend’s grandmother who used to work in the textile mills back in the day.
This song is a little more mellow, but it still shows off her beautiful voice and nice work on the fiddle. The rest of the band is great too. I definitely plan to find more of their music.
PINK & BLUE- LYRICS
I like to pick at my wounds until the bleed Take in the moon on a bended knee Stare at the sky in the morning light Pink and Blue are the color of God’s eyes
There’s a bell that rings when the school day ends That’s not the bell that rings for me Sitting here till I make amends Sitting here till I am free Only then will it ring for me
The morning air so damp the dew I know you can feel it to Burning off this childish pain Help me see the endless change Running again and again I stray From what do I run away Searching for what is underneath Knowing here I am complete
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays (the other is St Patricks Day). I love all the costumes, parties, and candy! I don’t bother to decorate my house, it looks like it’s a Halloween House year round anyway, but I do buy some extra candy now for the trick or treaters who might come by. I’m too paranoid to go out to any of the parties anymore. 🙁
I thought this video was kind of cute. I do like to read horror stories and I get a kick out of those campy old movies with the zombies and werewolves. I’ve seen a couple of the Saw movies, a few of the Elm Street movies, a bunch of zombie movies too. I remember Michael Jackson and the Thriller video when it first came out. I loved his dancing. Sad that he died so young.
Poor Freddie, his jokes weren’t going over too well. The werewolf has his own take. He’s cute. 😉
Sadly, I forgot all about this until this afternoon. Usually I get reminders in my email from the people who started the whole thing. For some reason this year I didn’t get any notice.
Anyway. I hope my crew of scurvy dogs will grab a pot of grog and have some fun with this. 🙂
As Chumbucket reminds us…
This is the day to let your inner pirate out to play. Swagger, growl and let the world see the buccaneer inside.
Have a peek at a few videos (hopefully you can get them to show up- I can’t do videos from out here).
The Five As – a quick and dirty Pirate Talk Lesson
Cap’n Slappy’s Random Phrases
Dress Like a Pirate (On the Cheap)
And, Wooing Wenches, Ol’ Chumbucket and Mad Sally give a lesson in love.
I cracked up the first time I saw this on Saturday Night Live. I mentioned it in some comments to my friend Penny (check out her great blog, where she writes about traveling the world with her dog). I thought some of the rest of you might get a laugh out of it too. Enjoy…
It’s been a while since I’ve shared one of these Songs of the Sea. I’ve just been busy and haven’t had the time to go poking around the internet (or my music library). Here’s a song from the Lumineers, a band I really like. Have you heard them before? Let me know how you like the music…
I stood alone, upon the platform in vain The puerto ricans they were playing me salsa in the rain With open doors and manual locks In fast food parking lots
I headed west, I was a man on the move New york had lied to me, I needed the truth Oh, I need somebody, needed someone I could trust I don’t gamble, but if I did I would bet on us
Like the dead sea You told me I was like the dead sea You’ll never sink when you are with me Oh, lord, like the dead sea
Whoa, I’m like the dead sea The finest words you ever said to me Honey can’t you see, I was born to be, be your dead sea
You told me you were good at running away Domestic life, it never suited you like a suitcase You left with just the clothes on your back You took the rest when you took the map
I made the mistake of looking at Facebook earlier today. I probably shouldn’t have. I saw way too many posts and videos of the LACK of freedom here in the USA. This country that we say is the “land of the free and the home of the brave”.
Where are they? All those free and brave people? Why aren’t they standing up against the horrible abuses of our constitutional rights that happen every day? Abuses we’ve ALL suffered since 9-11 gave the powers that be the excuse they needed to trick us into giving up our most valuable resources. We gave up our freedom. For tricks and LIES.
All I see is a bunch of thugs in uniform, running around like they own the place. They work for US, not the other way around! They’ve been harassing the hell out of people who are NOT doing any harm to anyone. These thugs spend all their time and energy on this sort of shit and then expect us to show respect and be grateful to them. It honestly makes me want to puke.
Seriously. Last week, while I was driving to work up at SanJac, KPFT was reading George Orwell’s 1984 on the radio. I don’t know how many of you have read it. I have read it a couple of times now. It would hope it is still required reading in school (but if it is, no one has paid a lick of attention to it).
I was crying. I felt shriveled up inside. I was hurting. Sad and angry and frustrated and humongously pissed off!
ALL of the things Orwell wrote about in that book ARE happening. Right here! Right now!
In fact, the real truth is that things are already much, much worse than George Orwell ever dreamed when he wrote that book. Yeah, really! Orwell’s Big Brother only watched you through the TV screen. You could find ways around it.
OUR big brothers (NSA, TSA, etc, etc), are watching your every move! They may not watch you through the TV screen (but then again, they may), but they keep track of every phone call, every email, every dollar you earn, every dollar you spend, your complete medical history, everywhere you go, and on and on and on and on.
And just like in the book, the vast majority of the people around me just go on with their lives. They continue to ignore the reality. They ALLOW the sick, power-hungry, vicious bastards to get away with it! Many of them are cheering it on. 🙁
WTF is wrong with these people?
Just like in the book, we are at continuous war. Who are we fighting this year? Does it matter? Nope. They’ll manipulate the news and the truth until nothing really matters any more. Nobody cares. And it goes on.
https://youtu.be/C_htjwpVlBE
People ask, how can you argue about loss of freedom when our national security is at stake? It’s not, but it doesn’t really matter, does it? The powers that be have convinced enough of us to trade away our freedom for their promises of security. Shame on us for falling for it!
WOW! I never, ever, thought it would actually come to this the first time I read that book.
Like Winston, all I can do is cry, and try my very best to find some small hidey hole to keep a tiny bit of freedom for myself.
Saturday Night Live is one of the very few shows I’ll turn on the TV to watch. It’s not as good as it was a couple of decades ago, but it’s still pretty good. Sometimes they’ll still crack me up laughing.
I’m not a big fan of Trump, but I liked Hillary and Bernie even less. I preferred Gary Johnson (the Libertarian Party candidate) and regardless of his brain fart re: Aleppo, I still think he would have been worlds better as President than any of the other candidates. Too bad he never had a chance to get into the debates to show the rest of the voters that they DID have a real choice.
In this skit President Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) discusses firing FBI director James Comey in an interview with Lester Holt (Michael Che). I love how the SNL cast has been doing politics lately. Alec Baldwin really has Trump down pat.
I try not to take politics too seriously. In reality, it’s too just depressing to deal with. I really have to struggle to ignore it or by stress levels go through the roof.
This song is an old favorite. It was a #1 song in 1971. Three Dog Night had a lot of good songs we listened to a lot. Joy to the World, Just an Old Fashioned Love Song, Never Been to Spain, etc. I remember a lot of really good times with good music growing up back then. I remember belting out the lyrics to this song with my friends.
Good old days for sure. 🙂 I thought since I was posting about fish recently, this would be a good follow up. 😉
Hope you have some fun with it like I did. 🙂
“Joy To The World”
Jeremiah was a bull frog Was a good friend of mine I never understood a single word he said But I helped him drink his wine And he always had some mighty fine wine
Singin’ Joy to the world All the boys and girls, now Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea Joy to you and me
If I were the king of the world Tell you what I’d do I’d throw away the cars and the bars and the wars Make sweet love to you
Singin’ now Joy to the world All the boys and girls Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea Joy to you and me
You know I love the ladies Love to have my fun I’m a high night flier and a rainbow rider A straight-shootin’ son of a gun I said a straight shootin’ son of a gun
Joy to the world All the boys and girls Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea Joy to you and me
Joy to the world All the boys and girls Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea Joy to you and me
Joy to the world All the boys and girls Joy to the world Joy to you and me
Joy to the world All the boys and girls, now Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea Joy to you and me
Joy to the world All the boys and girls Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea Joy to you and me
I had meant to create a series of posts for “Wild Wednesday” since I first started my blog. I’m not sure why, but I never have managed to make very many posts. There are so many interesting sea creatures out there, and so much we don’t know about them. I’d like to make this a regular feature and share more about them. 🙂
Let me know how you like the idea.
This is the first time researchers caught the creatures locked in a vicious fight in the wild
“O” is for the Oceanics. That was such a fantastic experience! I’m so thankful I had that opportunity at such a young age. It really did change my life.
The Oceanics was a really special school. It was run by Chick and Stephanie Gallagher out of their apartment in New York City. They somehow managed to round up small groups of students and a few teachers and send them off on round the world adventures aboard various chartered square-rigged sailing ships.
I see a few organizations today trying to do something similar. Not the same tho, not gone long enough, not the right kind of ships, not the same atmosphere. I’m sure they’re still great experiences for anyone who is able to attend. I don’t think there’s any better way to create a confident, competent, creative, cooperative human being than the way they did it at the Oceanics.
Spending months at sea working together to sail the ship from point A to point B. Learning every aspect of how to do the job properly, we earned a sense of a job well done and self esteem. It takes a lot of teamwork and trust in each other to sail a square-rigged ship. Running up the ratlines to furl the sails in a squall with the wind howling and the ship rolling needs to be an immediate response with all hands on deck. Ask the worlds navies why they still use sailing ships as training vessels, they understand.
The ship was just one aspect of the Oceanics. Captain Jespersen was our sail training master. We spent time with him every day learning the names and functions of all the rigging and sails aboard. We sailed the ship from Pireaus, Greece across the Atlantic to Martinique. We spent our time aboard in school, taking regular classes in math, science (oceanology), world history, cultural studies, local languages (Greek, Spanish, Russian), literature, etc. We also learned seamanship, navigation, and how to take care of the ship.
We all stood watch when we weren’t in class. The traditional 4 hours on, 8 hours off. Standing lookout and tending the helm. In between, we kept busy sanding, varnishing, washing the decks, painting, tending to the rigging, splicing line, even helping the cook peel potatoes.
My favorite time aboard was standing lookout on the bow. Watching the dolphins play in the bow waves on a bright sunny day. Seeing flying fish popping out of a wave, to spread their ‘wings’ to fly across the waves before dropping back into the water. Picking out the constellations in a starry, starry night sky. 🙂
I can’t express how truly awesome it was.
And then, when we got to port we could go ashore once we were off watch. Or we might all go ashore together for an adventure. We spent a few days on the Greek island of Agistri hunting octopus for dinner and playing soccer on the beach. I spent a few days with a family in La Gomera (Canary Islands) improving my Spanish and learning more about the locals.
We sailed the schooner Ariadne across the Atlantic to Martinique. On arrival we had a well deserved break on the beach. A few of us hitched our way up the island to hike up Mt Pele. I still remember the deliciously sweet pineapples we had to snack on.
Ariadne
We left the Ariadne in Martinique to fly into Caracas and our South American adventure began. We had been studying Spanish since we left Italy. Now was the time to put it to use. Our plan was to travel from Venezuela to Bolivia, we would figure out the details along the way. We got into some really cool, out of the way places. 🙂
Plenty of the places we wound up had never seen anyone like us before. My red hair stood out like a torch, the locals would surround me and ask to feel it. Young Joe with his bright blond hair was extremely popular with the ladies. People didn’t know what to make of us.
We might show up in a group of 6-10 students (ages 14-21) and 1-2 teachers trying to keep us focused on our studies but also allowing us to get out on our own. We had lots of independent projects. I did one on comparing fairy tales in different cultures and another one identifying plankton I caught in a net on the way over to the Caribbean while we were still on the ship.
We made our way from Caracas through Venezuela to Cucuta, Columbia. From Bogata we headed to Ecuador. Quito, Otavalos, and Guyaquil. We took a boat out to the Galapagos to check out the wildlife and swim with the sea lions and iguanas. We made our way to the jungle and the rivers feeding the Amazon. We traveled down the Rio Napo to visit the indigenous shamans and learn about the plants and animals, (I had to try the ayuhuasca).
In Peru we made our way from Lima to Cuzco (fantastic) and took the train to Macchu Picchu. That was back before it was overrun by tourists. We stayed at the Banos (hot springs) alongside the river and soaked in the hot springs at night after hiking back down the mountain. Another experience I’ll never forget. That place was magical, I could feel it.
We made our way across Lake Titicaca to La Paz, Bolivia to finish up the semester. We were all sad to leave. I didn’t want to go home.
I returned to meet the Ariadne in Martinique a month later. I had another semester to finish high school. We sailed the Ariadne from Martinique to her home port in Hamburg, Germany. Our crossing was fine sailing. We even stopped for a swim in the mid-Atlantic ocean. 🙂
I was sent ahead with a small group to prepare our next vessel in Denmark. The Irish brigantine “Phoenix” was our home for the rest of our voyage. We spent months sailing around the Baltic, around the top of Denmark, to Sweden, Finland, and even spent a couple of weeks exploring the USSR from Leningrad (St Petersburg).
Our graduation ceremony was on the pier side in Copenhagen. After another semester of overseas adventures at sea and ashore. It got in my blood and I’m sure I’ll never get over it.
I sure wish I had a better camera back then. Take a look here for some photos collected by Brian who was along for the trip with me and Tom. (who met me in Nicaragua). You can see me in a couple of the photos (in the yellow foul weather jacket by the cannon). 😉
“L” is for Lion. I was lucky to be able to see some of these amazing animals in the wild. I went on a photography safari with Great Escape Publishing (GEP) in November. We spent a week exploring Northwest Tanzania. We saw lots of lions and their cubs. I could have spent hours watching them, but we had to move on. So much more to see.
“H” is for the ‘Hadzabe’, an African tribe of friendly people who have chosen to retain their traditional lifestyle. On a photography safari with Great Escape Publishing (GEP) last November, I was able to spend the day learning about how they managed to survive in today’s world.
A very early morning wakeup brought our group of photographers to spend the day with a couple of the traditional tribes of the area. First the Hadzabe, the hunters, next the Datogas, the blacksmiths. We had to meet the Hadzabe very early for a special treat, we would go on a hunt with their men!
We left the beautiful Lake Eyasi Safari Lodge at 0545 and drove about 45 minutes to the Hadzabe camp. They still live a nomadic life, so we met them at one of their temporary camps. They had built scattered domed huts out of thin, flexible branches tied together in addition to their ‘rooms’ in a rocky outcrop atop a high hill.
When we arrived, we met the chief and through our interpreter, Joseph, we got an explanation of the basics of their lifestyle. The men brought us up to a large overhang of the rock where they had a fire going. They explained the different types of arrows they used for hunting (some were poisonous).
A couple of them showed us how they started a fire (no, not with a Bic lighter), the old fashioned way of twisting a stick until it gets hot enough to light the tinder. The Hadzabe men used the spark to light their pipes for a good long toke. A few of our troop tried it too- (lighting the fire, not smoking the weed)- but only one succeeded (just barely). It looked a lot harder when our group tried to do it. The Hadzabe made it look so easy.
Similar to the Maasai, they were nomadic. But the Hadzabe were hunters, not herders. The chief also had more than 1 wife. The men spent their days hunting and preparing to hunt. They made their bows and arrows, sharpened their knives, kept the fire going, and smoked a lot of weed while they were at it. They offered some to us, but nobody was brave enough to accept.
After the demonstration, we left with the men on their daily hunt. I followed along for about 20 minutes, up and down the rocky hillsides, surrounded by thorny plants in the hot sun. The hunters were already so far ahead of me I couldn’t see what good it was doing to try to keep up with them. I was rushing- huffing and puffing- and not able to really pay attention to my surroundings and thought better about continuing on.
I turned around and went back to camp. Joseph escorted me and a couple of others who also wanted to return, just to make sure we made it back safely.
Joseph brought us back to camp, introduced us to the women and then returned to the hunt.
Like the Maasai women, the Hadzabe women stay in camp and tend to the household chores. They take care of the children, do whatever needs doing around the camp, and make items for trade. I watched as all the women and children sat together creating beautiful beadwork items (which they later showed our group- just in case anyone wanted to buy).
It took a couple of hours for the men to return to camp- along with our group who stuck it out with them. Sorry to say, they didn’t catch anything. They’ll have to try again later. In preparation for heading out again, they practiced with their bow and arrows and a target stump a couple hundred feet down the slope. We watched as all the men (even the young boys) took their shots at the stump. They even offered to teach us how to do it.
A couple of our group decided to take them up on it and took a couple of shots at the stump. No one managed to hit the target. I tried to pull the string of one of the small boys’ bow. No, I couldn’t pull it even halfway back. We all had fun, the Hadzabe had a good laugh at how awful we were.
Before we left, the tribe got together and gave us a farewell present. They put on a dance show for us and even invited us into the dance. It was a fun ending to our visit.
“F” is for FREEDOM! A particular passion of mine. I could go on and on about it (like this), but no one ever wants to listen. Here, on my blog, I can express myself. I can try to make a point and then remove myself from the ‘conversation’.
Maybe then, others will take a minute or two to think about what I am trying to communicate? Instead of talking to each other in person. Where each person almost always has a rebuttal in mind before the first person even gets finished speaking?
Maybe by just putting some of these thoughts out there, into the ether, someone might think ‘hey, that actually makes sense’, or ‘wow, what a thought’, or ‘maybe those nut job libertarian freaks really do have some good points’, or best of all they might start to think for themselves about why we are NOT allowed to live our lives with all the freedoms we OUGHT to have!
Here are a few of my favorite quotes (taken from google)…
I truly believe that with all my heart. I only wish others felt the same.
And again, you can’t value freedom for yourself without granting the same to others.
Why do so many people value ‘fitting in’, falsifying their own true selves to be ‘accepted’ by others? Be yourself! I decided a long time ago, I will not let others opinions affect the things I choose to do with my life! If people don’t like me the way I am, then the hell with them! There are over 7 BILLION people in this world, I’m sure to find at least a few who accept me and value me just the way I am. Those are the only ones for me to care about.
Sad, but true. For some reason, we have an overabundance of greedy, power-hungry bastards that ALWAYS manage to steal the power away from the people. We, the people managed to wrestle it away for a short time here in the US, but they’ve come back with a vengeance and stolen away almost ALL of our liberty again! Unless and until the populace starts caring again and demands their freedom, and takes it back- we will just keep on losing more and more each year until we’re basically just a slave state (again) and only ‘our leaders’ are free.
Believe it or not, but we’re pretty damn close to that state right now, today (and no, it’s not just because Trump got elected). The “deep state”, the powers behind the powers have been working behind the scenes for decades and they are sooooo close, so close they can taste it! Total control is within their grasp. We’re so far past Orwell’s 1984, it’s not even funny.
While we all just keep on ignoring the whole thing, telling ourselves we still live in the ‘land of the free and the home of the brave’. Repeat it enough and we’ll make ourselves really believe it’s true. Nope, that place is long gone!
Snowden tried his best to wake us up, even his revelations did nothing to wake up the majority of the people. They just don’t seem to care. Have they all been brainwashed? 12 years of government indoctrination has done the job the public schools were created to do? Dumb us down and turn us all into ‘cogs in the great machine‘, just indistinguishable tools to create the wealth so that others can siphon off most of it before we ever even see it?
EXACTLY! What’s the big deal? Why do so many people freak out when the idea of real freedom is brought up? They’ll bring up every imaginable excuse (no matter how ridiculous) to argue against it. Regardless of the fact that the most free societies in the history of mankind have been the most prosperous and gave the best possible lives to the most possible (considering the reality of the times they lived in).
This idea perfectly expresses the reason why the founders rebelled against Great Britain and formed the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence says it all:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.-Preamble to the Declaration of Independence
That basic principle is the foundation of our country. ALL people should be free to live their lives in whatever way they choose (as long as they don’t hurt anyone else). (No matter how hypocritical they were back then re: blacks, women, native americans). Why don’t even Americans hold to these principles anymore?
We are still living now on the proceeds of the freedom we used to have. I wonder how much longer can we last before our creeping statism (fascism, totalitarianism, globalism, corporatism, crony capitalism, socialism, etc) destroys whats left?
I agree (tho a clipper ship under full sail I’d count as a close second)! Take a quick look at some beautiful ships…
I’ve always been into science fiction. Not like a huge geek or anything, but I love the way the stories make you think. About all the different possibilities. What would people do under these circumstances? Or those? The genre allows so much freedom to explore.
LIFE starts out on the International Space Station (ISS). They retrieve a returning Mars probe and find a single celled organism onboard. It grows. Rapidly. Proof of ‘life beyond Earth’. The world is fascinated. They name it “Calvin”.
Too bad, but all the wishful thinking in the world doesn’t make Calvin a nice guy.
This is the kind of ship I’ve been working on most recently. This video was taken on the DS-4. I used to work on the DS-3 and DS-5 and a couple of other sister ships. Sisters, meaning they’re all built to the same basic plan.
These drill ships are technological wonders. They’re very capable and fairly comfortable ships to work on. I would go back in a NY second! I keep hoping the price of oil will go back up. There will be no work for me or anybody else out there until it does. According to reports, there are around a half million people out of work due to the low price of oil.
I read the news every day to see the price of a barrel and how many rigs are working. So far, the price has recovered from around $26/bbl to around $50/bbl (just dropped back down to $47 last few days). The ON SHORE drillers have been taking advantage of the situation and are drilling like crazy!
They have already returned a couple hundred rigs to work. Every time they do, they put downward pressure on the price of a barrel of oil. That only delays offshore drilling from starting up again.
At this point, I’m wondering if we’ll EVER be able to go back to work. it is not cheap to drill for oil offshore. They’re not going to do it at a price of only $50/bbl. The companies that work offshore can’t work without making a profit. That means oil must be over $60/bbl and it has to stabilize there before any of us see steady work again. (IMHO).
I know, most people are happy to get cheap gas, I would be too if I was actually getting it as cheap as it should be with price/bbl so low. And if so many people weren’t out of work because of it.
If I could find some other type of work that was in any way comparable, I would be doing it. There’s nothing like offshore. There’s nothing I’d rather do than be a mariner. I’ll just keep hoping things get better before I’m forced out for good.
This past Saturday Night Live was the best I’ve seen in quite a while. SNL is actually one of the very few shows I’ll turn on the TV to watch, but it’s been disappointing lately.
This week it was really pretty funny. I liked the opener (about Trump and an alien invasion), the Olive Garden commercial was pretty good, and the mermaid sketch featuring Kate McKinnon as ‘Shud’ (who is part blobfish) and Scarlett Johansson as her best friend the anglerfish was hilarious.
I hope they keep going with this skit. Maybe they can even add Leslie Jones in there somewhere. I think she might add even more to it. 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdMYEKwxTyo Here’s a new upload from maritime Youtuber …
He really makes a lot of good points. I have to agree with him on pretty much everything he says. Yes, things are much, much better for sailors than in the days of Richard Henry Dana’s “Two Years Before the Mast“, but they’ve sure as hell been going downhill since the 1960’s!
Yes, the ships are built with all the latest technology, but the crews have been cut in half and more! Our workload has been constantly increasing, with less and less personnel to do it all!
Yes, our pay has gone up- but not nearly as much as it would take to keep up with inflation. Considering all the expenses we now have added on in order to be allowed to work offshore, we’re actually earning much less than we were in the past.
Yes, communications have improved- for the ship. Not necessarily for the crew. There are still so many ship owners/operators who think of their crews as nothing more than another tool to use and abuse, not human beings like themselves. People who also have a life off the ship (if they have people who choose to stick around and wait for the sailor who may not be able to contact them for months at a time- which is not very likely now a days when everyone expects instant gratification).
I said I would never again work for someone who treated me like that, but I never in my life thought things would get this bad out there! Even with the advent of the STCW, which I immediately saw for what it was (an easy way for shipowners to rid themselves of ‘expensive’ first world crews), I still never imagined how small the box I’ve been shoved into has become!
I always figured that when it got slow offshore, I could ship out on a tugboat, or a tanker, or some other kind of vessel. Well, due to the US Coast Guard constantly changing the rules (and not always putting out the notifications they are required to by law), it is no longer possible to switch sectors like we could before.
Now, if you work on a tanker, you must stay on a tanker or you will lose your ability to ever go back to that kind of work without paying enormous fees to be ‘trained’, (ex: $1,100 for course, $500+ for lodging, $300+ for transport, $300+ for food). To do the same thing you’ve been doing for 5, 10, 15 years in the past ! Same goes for almost every type of vessel now. Passenger vessels only want people with that specific type of experience and paperwork. Towing vessels can only take people with towing endorsements. DP vessels will only take people with DP certificates. Etc.
I’m lucky I’m not a sailor from the Philippines, or China, or any of the other ‘third world’ (meaning low wage) countries where the overwhelming majority of seafarers come from now a days. For an American, working for MSC (Military Sealift Command) is probably the longest hitch out there. It’s supposedly 4 months long. I hear from friends it’s more like 6. Those poor crews from the Philippines are working for 2 years at a time before they can go home!
Most American ships are in pretty decent shape. They’re in great condition compared to a lot of the crap I’ve seen sailing around the world from other countries. Ships with ‘flags of convenience‘. Owners flag their ships outside of their own countries for financial reasons. They can get cheaper crews, bother with less rules and regulations, pay less taxes and fees, etc. Some of them are decent, but many of them are not. Check out this report by the ITF, they do a pretty good job of keeping track of this stuff. Or this, which makes the ITF report look tame.
Watch the video for a pretty good run down of what to expect shipping out. He doesn’t really get into the good parts. But then again, there aren’t too many good parts left anymore. 🙁
Any of you sailors out there, I’d be very interested to get your take on both the video and my comments on it.
