CaliforniaPeggy
CaliforniaPeggy's Journal***It's December, and that means time for the Seasonal Contest: Autumn***
I've worked up a timeline, which is posted below. Christmas is coming, and I want to have the contest done well before that.
So, here's the timeline:
December 1--Dec. 6th: Take your photos, or search your archives!
December 7--Dec. 14th: Submission thread
December 15 -- Dec. 18th: Preliminary threads up.
December 18th -- Dec. 21st: Finals thread up.
The theme is Autumn. That's a big subject and I think you all know what works: anything related to the fall season.
Any questions or ideas, please ask! I'll be here.
This is a very ordinary moon. So, why am I posting it? Well...
Because lately I've had a fair amount of trouble getting good moon photos. Thanks to the expert advice of AndyS, I was able to catch this early morning moon. It made me happy to get it. I wanted you to know that all photographers struggle to get the photos they want.
A few things you may not have known:
Great Trivia
'A SHOT OF WHISKEY' - In the old west a .45 cartridge for a six-gun cost 12 cents, so did a glass of whiskey. If a cowhand was low on cash, he would often give the bartender a cartridge in exchange for a drink. This became known as a "shot" of whiskey.
BUYING THE FARM - This is synonymous with dying. During WW1 soldiers were given life insurance policies worth $5,000. This was about the price of an average farm so if you died you "bought the farm" for your survivors.
IRON CLAD CONTRACT - This came about from the ironclad ships of the Civil War. It meant something so strong it could not be broken.
RIFF RAFF - The Mississippi River was the main way of traveling from north to south. Riverboats carried passengers and freight but they were expensive so most people used rafts. Everything had the right of way over rafts which were considered cheap. The steering oar on the rafts was called a "riff" and this transposed into riff-raft, meaning low class.
COBWEB - The Old English word for “spider" was "cob".
SHIP STATE ROOMS - Traveling by steamboat was considered the height of comfort. Passenger cabins on the boats were not numbered. Instead they were named after states. To this day cabins on ships are called staterooms.
SLEEP TIGHT- Early beds were made with a wooden frame. Ropes were tied across the frame in a crisscross pattern. A straw mattress was then put on top of the ropes. Over time the ropes stretched, causing the bed to sag. The owner would then tighten the ropes to get a better night’s sleep.
SHOWBOAT - These were floating theatres built on a barge that was pushed by a steamboat. These played small towns along the Mississippi River. Unlike the boat shown in the movie "Showboat", these did not have an engine. They were gaudy and attention grabbing which is why we say someone who is being the life of the party is “showboating".
OVER A BARREL - In the days before CPR, a drowning victim would be placed face down over a barrel and the barrel would be rolled back and forth in an effort to empty the lungs of water. It was rarely effective. If you are over a barrel, you are in deep trouble.
BARGE IN - Heavy freight was moved along the Mississippi in large barges pushed by steamboats. These were hard to control and would sometimes swing into piers or other boats. People would say they "barged in".
HOGWASH - Steamboats carried both people and animals. Since pigs smelled so bad they would be washed before being put on board. The mud and other filth that was washed off were considered useless “hog wash".
CURFEW - The word "curfew" comes from the French phrase "couvre-feu", which means "cover the fire". It was used to describe the time of blowing out all lamps and candles. It was later adopted into Middle English as “curfeu" which later became the modern "curfew". In the early American colonies homes had no real fireplaces so a fire was built in the center of the room. In order to make sure a fire did not get out of control during the night it was required that, by an agreed upon time, all fires would be covered with a clay pot called-a “curfew".
BARRELS OF OIL - When the first oil wells were drilled, there was no provision for storing the liquid so they used water barrels. That is why, to this day, we speak of barrels of oil rather than gallons.
HOT OFF THE PRESS - As the paper goes through the rotary printing press friction causes it to heat up Therefore, if you grab the paper right off the press, it’s hot. The expression means to get immediate information.
I did not know any of these!
Hope you enjoy.
Some random Thanksgiving photos.
My glass of sparkling cider and my hors d'oeuvres plate!
Beautiful glass sculpture in our host's home:
The sea and sky yesterday; Channel Islands offshore:
All taken with my new Olympus E-M10 Mark IV camera
Hold U.S. gun makers accountable for the reign of terror in Mexico
https://news.yahoo.com/guerrero-dont-shield-u-gun-111535848.html?fr=yhssrp_catchallBy Jean Guerrero
If it weren’t for U.S. gun companies supplying a steady stream of weapons for Mexico’s criminal organizations, my then-16-year-old cousin Diego might not have been kidnapped in 2015. His mother, Veronica Rosas Valenzuela, might not be sifting through sewage searching for him this month in El Gran Canal de Ecatepec.
Tens of thousands of people killed by American guns in Mexico could still be alive. Most of the kidnapped and missing could still be with their families. Mexico would be a radically different country, without the grief and rampant terror of gun violence.
With only one gun store in the country and fewer than 50 gun permits granted a year, Mexico has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. Between 70% and 90% of guns found at crime scenes in Mexico come from the U.S., including guns designed to appeal to the Mexican market such as a Colt .38-caliber pistol featuring an image of the Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata and the phrase: “It is better to die standing than to live on your knees.”
Earlier this year, the Mexican government filed a lawsuit against several U.S. gun companies, accusing them of knowingly flooding the country with illicit firearms, which have brought horrific levels of bloodshed.
The entire article at the link.
Ken Burns discusses how our history intertwines violence with positive happenings.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/22/ken-burns-sand-creek-massacre-america-violent-history/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3559723%2F619bd3629d2fdab56b999bae%2F5be88d8dade4e2323ef2d753%2F52%2F70%2F619bd3629d2fdab56b999baeKen Burns is a filmmaker whose digital history project UNUM connects scenes from his documentaries to current events.
I’ve been making films about American history for more than 40 years. In all of those years, there’s something central that I’ve learned about being an American: Veneration and shame often go hand-in-hand.
Today, however, I fear patriotism is presented as a false choice. It seems that for many, to be patriotic is to remember and celebrate only our nation’s triumphs. To choose otherwise, to choose to remember our failings, is thus somehow anti-American.
But it is not so simple.
All of it at the link above.
Profile Information
Name: PeggyGender: Female
Hometown: Manhattan Beach, CA
Home country: USA
Current location: At home
Member since: Thu Feb 3, 2005, 02:41 PM
Number of posts: 149,588
