Read on

-
Had a fabulous journey reading The Course of Irish History. It did not go into much depth in places but presented a comprehensive view of Hiberno-History. I never knew that the constitution of the Republic stated that the whole of the island is Ireland thereby claim Ulster as part of the Republic. That's where a lot of debate and violence ensues in the past 80 odd years. I am still unsure an united Ireland will ever exist. At least the hostilities have diminished.
What books am I now hoping to conquer. Well I am reading Joyce's The Dubliners. A much easier read than Ulysses. The stories are auto biographical slices of existance in Dublin. So far I have read about dead and skipping school. I had been looking for the book for a while and finally got it at a thrift store for 30 cents!
Another book which I just picked up for a deal at Boys Ranch (more on that later) was The Unforgettable Fire an older U2 biography. I got it more more the information about Dublin than for the group although Haugen would be proud.

Comments

Post a Comment

Notable Posts

So there was this zombie party

-
Image
It was a quiet weekend up here. Well, maybe. Depends on how you appreciated the sound of moaning zombies all over. They can be rather noisome. Fortunately there are guys like McGjervold who can take out a dozen or so of the troublesome undead minions. Went to a party and sure enough, there they were- zombies. Real crazy looking zombies.  And there was the food too. I sampled the fare before I called in McGjervold to clear out the joint with his array of weapons and zombie whooping devices. McGjervold doesn't back down to zombies or their ilk. Afterword we played pool.
Read more

Back to 50s photos: Pontiac Chieftain

-
Image
I n its earlier days, Pontiac featured a Native American on its logo. It may have just been a representation of the famous chief himself, Pontiac although no authentic images of him are known to exist. In the center background you may be able to see a Pontiac Chieftain under a large tree. Pontiac ceased production of the car sometime in the late 1950s. In 1956 they also changed their trademark from the Indian head dress to something more akin to an arrowhead.
Read more

Gumby, Google, Clokey and Hastings. Oh My!

-
Image
This title sounds like a band from the 70s. However, Google has a great interactive doodle today in honor of Art Clokey , creator of green guy Gumby. Clokey would have been 90 today, but he passed away last year. But did you know that the Gumby came from my hometown of Hastings, MN! Indeed I thought this odd too when I saw this fact on a map of Hastings that has hung in the family home for years. Clokey was Californian and seemed to have no connections wtih the North Star State, so I thought this incredulous. I did a little digging and then found my answer in an article in the Star Tribune from October 20th, 2003.  Dick Parker and Heron Marquez Estrada did a the hard work and re-discovered that Echo Plastics of Hastings manufactured millions of Gumby and Pokey toys up to about 1971. So I guess Minnesota can claim the green guy and his red pony after all. Perhaps the state quarter would have been more collectible if it had Gumby and Pokey on it. [I did find a possible Minnesota
Read more