On August 16, the third annual BACON Festival takes place in Reykjavik Iceland.
This year’s event marks the third annual Reykjavik Bacon Festival, an exciting day in Reykjavik that bacon-lovers cannot resist. People from all over the world flock to the streets of Reykjavik to enjoy country music and the greasy, delectable taste of anything and everything bacon. At the festival, an array of chefs cook up a feast of bacon-inspired treats for everyone to try, including bacon sushi and bacon-flavored popcorn. At this family-friendly event, anyone can participate in various bacon-themed events and collect any recipes that entice them. This day is one for the books and one you should not miss. If you needed an excuse to get away to Reykjavik this summer, the Bacon Festival is certainly a worthwhile reason!
This little spider puts his heart into his dancing – all for the benefit of the little brown female seen at the end of the video. The colorful fellow is M. personatus, or Blueface peacock spider. Jurgen Otto is a spider and mite biologist from Australia who is interested in creatures such as the peacock spider, from a scientific perspective as well as for its entertaining dancing.
John Travolta, eat your heart out. “Unh, unh, unh, unh . . . ”
We drove by Stan Hewett Hall a couple of weeks ago and saw this amazing reconstruction of the 2200 linear foot long dry stone wall surrounding the property.
Stan Hewett Hall and Gardens is the former home of industrialist, Frank Seiberling, who founded Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. Finished in 1915, the estate, now a museum and garden, is celebrating its 100th year.
The stone wall reconstruction is just one of the restoration projects going on at the mansion.
Japanese Sailor Embraces US Culture With Traditional American Tattoos
“… Asked on what aspect of American culture he finds most fascinating, [Seaman 2nd Class, Hikiro]Tamagotchi seems to have trouble knowing where to even begin.
“I can’t quite put my finger on it,” he muses while methodically chewing on a hot dog. “I just feel like there’s a lot of ancient wisdom to be gleaned from Western culture. I especially respect the teachings of the martyrs Tupac and Biggie, even though they each represent conflicting schools.”
He then gestures to two fresh tattoos on his biceps: one reading “Water,” and the other, “Spam.”
“Spam is customary fare indigenous to the American island of Hawaii,” Tamagotchi explains. “And water is the essence of life, and I just think the way Americans write it is so beautifully intricate.”
“The English alphabet is really amazing when you think about it. Twenty-six letters, each with an upper and lowercase form – very yin-yang,” he continues. “I had my tattoos done in an ancient technique known as cursive. It hasn’t been taught in decades, and very few Americans still possess the knowledge to read and write it.”
The stereotypical knitter is a granny with a cat at her feet who sits by the fire knitting mittens for her grandchildren. Throughout history, however, men dominated the craft and it is only recently that knitting has been thought of as the province of women.
Here is a (totally factual) story from Huffington Post that talks about the history of men and knitting:
“About 200 A.D., Arabian men were fishing for food but they had no way to catch several fish at once. They caught one fish. Then a second fish. And it was like, Geeze, this is slow as a camel. Then one day, perhaps down by the dock, one of the guys was messing with yarn, forming loops in it, and bam! Fishing net. (Other cultures likely invented knitting elsewhere around the world.)
They stuck the net it in the water and caught a boatload of fish. And someone said, “We just invented the fishing net.” And someone else said, “Let’s invent sweaters.”
Then the Middle Ages came and knitting spread like the plague. There were knitting guilds, which were labor unions–and again this is men we’re talking about. The guild’s head honcho would say, “Join us. We’ll protect your income. We’ll give you insurance. We’ll give you benefits. If your wife dies, we’ll help you with the funeral ceremony.” Nice stuff like that.”
Fast forward to 1972 when Dave Fougner thought it was time to bring men back to knitting and The Manly Art of Knittingwas published. This book has been revived by Ginko Press. You too can follow along with the book’s directions for knitting saddle blankets and dog beds. Good stuff.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 