It is impossible for anyone to look at anything with a completely unbiased eye. No matter how much we try to adjust for personal and cultural bias, none of us can completely escape what we think of as obvious. In 1871 Hjalmar Stolpe, a trained entomologist, went to the Swedish town of Birka looking for
Articles Categorized Uncategorized
Meet Hoku, My Diabetic Cat
I’m not sure if we adopted Hoku or he adopted us. He showed up on our back lanai (patio) one evening as a small kitten. He looked like a minature version of one of our cats. (At the time we had two cats, two dogs, and two daughters at home.) The girls dubbed him Son
Female Voices on Digital Devices
Electronic assistants scatter across my desk. There’s the cordless telephone, the iPhone which I use more frequently because I don’t have to put in the numbers, and my Echo Show from Amazon, which I mostly use as a very upscale music device. Siri lives on my Apple devices, but I seldom call for her services.
Qixi – Chinese Festival for Lovers
Today, August 28, 2017, marks the Qixi Festival, a tribute to love often called Chinese Valentine’s Day. The Festival originated during the Han Dynasty to commemorate the Tale of the Cowherd and the Weaver. There are several versions of the story which goes like this. The Queen of Heaven had seven daughters who were bored
Coffee: Stimulant or Hindrance?
Considering our craze for gourmet coffee, you probably know coffee is more than a flavored beverage made by adding ground, roasted coffee beans to boiling water. Coffee is part of western culture and has been since Pasqua Rosee opened The Turks Head in 1652. Rosee, originally from Smyrna in the Ottoman Empire, advertised coffee’s many
“Should I Kill Myself, or Have a Cup of Coffee?” – Albert Camus
Calliope, Muse of Eloquence and Epic Poetry just highjacked my blog for the second time. Last time she led me to scandal when I wanted to write about washing machines. This morning I expected to write about the social ritual known as “Morning Coffee.” “No, No,” Calliope said wagging her finger and pointing at my
Farewell to Summer
I sometimes think, if fact I pretty much know, that though I may hold a summer ideal analogous to a surfer at sunset after a hard day in the sea, it’s not the norm for most people. In my mind’s nostalgia for “the good old days,” summer was a time noted for a complete lack
TALES OF AUGUST: Dogs, Lammas, Gems & Flowers
THE DOG DAYS OF AUGUST ARE UPON US More correctly the Dog Days of Summer since they date from about the July 3 through August 11th when summer weather is sultry and Sirus, the Dog Star, rises at the same time as the sun. The Ancient Greeks thought of the constellation Canis Major as a
Wash Day Miracle
We don’t think much about washing clothes. Which is to say most of us don’t think it’s an enjoyable occupation. This is true whether we take our washing to the laundromat, or have the luxury of a home machine. For some bizarre reason, every time I use the washing machine, I think it’s some kind
Washing Machine Leads to 1920s Scandal
This started out to be a blog about early labor saving devices, so I started researching washing “machines.” The machine on the left has a tub, agitator, and wringer. All improved the washing experience. As a term, “Washing Machines” wasn’t getting me what I wanted, so I entered “Wash Day,” which led me to a 1915
Whacking Moles
One of the great things about vacations is that while you’re away, Life’s game of Whack-A-Mole is suspended. This doesn’t happen on a staycation, because you’re still at home with the dishes, cooking, and whatever else you need to do on a daily basis. But vacation — aahhh! For days or perhaps weeks, there’s nothing
Hong Kong – Last Stop on My China Tour
Hong Kong could be said to be a spoil of war, the First Opium War to be specific. In the eighteenth century the British discovered Chinese trade goods, particularly silk, porcelain, and tea. So the Chinese looked over British items for sale and found little to their taste. Gold was always welcome, but the
KARST FORMATIONS AT GUILIN & YANGSHUO
The view approaching Guilin Liangjiang International Airport revealed a landscape of rice paddies, karst, and the Li River. [Karst is a term describing the limestone cylinders pushing up from the ocean floor.] Guilin sits on the west bank of the Li River and is part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. About a fourth of
ZHUJIAJIAO – THE VENICE OF SHANGHAI
Zhujiajiao is slightly less than thirty miles from Shanghai, but it feels worlds away. The village is a typical water town established under the Ming Dynasty. Once a mercantile center for textiles and rice, Zhujiajiao now welcomes tourists to its canals and traditional shopping area. Typical activities are strolling along the half mile Great
From Ancient Han to Bustling Shanghai
Before leaving Shaanxi Province for Shanghai, our tour group stopped at the Yangling Museum, also known as the Yang Mausoleum of Han. The occupants are Emperor Jing, the fourth emperor of the western Han, and his Empress Wang. The Han Dynasty followed Qin Shih Huang. This museum is unusual, because in order to protect the
Terra-Cotta Warriors at Xi’an
In March 1974 peasants from Xiyang Village were sinking a well in an area south of their village. At the depth of 4.5 meters they encountered shards of pottery, bronze triggers and arrowheads, and a brick-paved floor. They reported their discovery to the Cultural Centre of Lintong County. The archeological team identified the pottery as