Happy birthday to William Shakespeare, born on this day in 1564. This year his birthday corresponds to Tattoo Tuesday – so here goes . . .
Posts Tagged ‘history’
What am I celebrating today?
April 22, 2013
Today is National Jelly Bean Day.
The pictures above are jelly bean art. These creations are an interesting take on the ancient art of mosaics. My research indicates that jelly beans themselves may have an ancient history, having evolved from Turkish delight candy – fruit jells coated with powdered sugar. Advances in manufacturing methods in the late 19th and early 20th centuries enabled candy makers to add a hard sugar shell to soft jell centers and modern jelly beans were created.
Click here for the Mommy Files compilation of the best and worst Jelly Belly flavors.
What am I knitting?
April 10, 2013
Thanks for HMS Defiant for this reference about Romano-Egyptian socks. He watches me knitting and sent this delightful story along.
I am a sock knitter and one of the nice things about knitting your own is that you can tailor them to the recipient – color, length in all dimensions, weight.
However, I have never had to adjust my knitting to accommodate the apparently stork-footed (see there are storks again) individual for whom these socks were made.
Another note is that the story talks about single-needle knitting. I always thought that was crochet – ?
What is tattoo Tuesday about?
April 2, 2013In honor of Charlemagne’s birthday, here is a series of fleur de lis tattoos.
The fleur de lis is a stylized lily. It figures prominently in heraldry, particularly in European royal coats of arms, such as on this flag of the Kingdom of France.
Whose birthday am I celebrating?
April 2, 2013
Charlemagne, born this day in 742. He became King of the Franks, King of the Germans and the first Holy Roman Emperor.
Called the “Father of Europe” Charlemagne’s empire united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Roman Empire. His rule spurred the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne encouraged the formation of a common European identity. Both the French and German monarchies considered their kingdoms to be descendants of Charlemagne’s empire.
The Carolingian Renaissance his reign spurred was short-lived, yet influential in that during that time:
Northern Europe embraced classical Mediterranean Roman art forms for the first time, setting the stage for the rise of Romanesque art and eventually Gothic art in the West. Illuminated manuscripts, metalwork, small-scale sculpture, mosaics, and frescos survive from the period.
Source: Wikipedia
Read his biography here on the BBC site.
What am I sappy cat blogging?
March 2, 2013I’m still on vacation, so sappy cat blogging this week is following the vacation theme. I spent some time on Key West this week – a spot I have not visited before and liked quite well!
These are some images of the Hemingway cats on Key West, Florida. There are a number of stories about how the cats, many of which are six-toed, came to the island, and how they came to be associated with Ernest Hemingway.
Click here for the link to the Hemingway museum and foundation on Key West.
What am I celebrating?
February 2, 2013
The Centennial of Grand Central Terminal in New York City, which officially opened on February 2, 1913.
More here in this video of Grand Central’s secrets by the New York Times.
And here at Grand Central Terminal: Guess who’s turning 100?
What kind of a difference does 7 days make?
January 26, 2013In Cleveland, in January, it can be a big difference.
Here are some photos from last week. Sightseeing at home, enjoying the lakefront and the city center.
Here is the Terminal Tower complex from Public Square.
The skylight in Tower City
A chandelier also in Tower City
View up Euclid Avenue from the Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Detail of the monument
Terminal Tower framed by the railroad bridge – taken from Whiskey Island
The beautiful old Coast Guard Station on Whiskey Island
And the weather today – one week later – pretty typical for January in this neck of the woods.
What am I sappy cat blogging?
January 25, 2013Don’t try this at home. No. Don’t. Really.
The illustration above is from this article in the Atlantic. Thanks to HMS Defiant for the reference.
Bonus photo – Cmdr. Vimes in repose.
Whose birthday am I celebrating?
January 7, 2013Happy Birthday to Flash Gordon. This comic strip first appeared on January 7, 1934.
The comic strip follows the adventures of Flash Gordon, a handsome polo player and Yale graduate, and his companions Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov. The story begins with Earth bombarded by fiery meteors. Dr. Zarkov invents a rocket ship to locate their place of origin in outer space. Half mad, he kidnaps Flash and Dale, whose plane has crashed in the area, and the three travel to the planet Mongo, where they discover the meteors are weapons devised by Ming the Merciless, evil ruler of Mongo.
Flash Gordon later appeared in movies and on television, as well as in the comics.
Credit for the comic strip and quote – Wikipedia.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 