I’m not a philatelist, but I have a few old stamps lying around, ones that I saved because they pleased me, others which came to me in the files of my parents. Here are a few that I liked. The engraving work on some of these old stamps was elegant.
Yearly Archives: 2012
A Token Effort
Inspired by a post over at Teresa Burritt’s Frog Blog about “token sucking,” I remembered that I had a few of these floating around in my drawers:
Top Row, Left to Right: NYC Small, NYC Large, NYC non-perforate, Salt Lake City Lines Large, Pasadena City Lines
Bottom Row, Left to Right: Philadelphia, Conestoga Transport Co., Toronto Transport Commission, Salt Lake ULATCO token (dug this one up with a metal detector in the 70’s)
The Old Wolf’s Banquet from Hell
A compendium of odd foods eaten around the world. Many I like, others… well, you decide.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Betty Crocker, by Betty Crocker
“Early 1950s era commercial for Betty Crocker Spice Cake Mix….hosted by Betty, in person!! From 1949-64, the fictional Crocker, was played by actress Adelaide Hawley (born Dieta Adelaide Fish), who had studied piano and voice at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester before entering vaudeville. From 1937 to 1950 she hosted THE ADELAIDE HAWLEY PROGRAM, a daily talk and new program that reached an audience of over 3 three million daily. So popular was Ms. Hawley as General Mills’ living trademark, she was was considered one of the “most recognizable women in America”, second only to Eleanor Roosevelt. After being dropped by General Mills, she returned to school and earned a diociorate in speech education from New York University in 1967. She moved to the Pacific Northwest with her second husband, Naval Commander Laurence Gordon Cumming and taught English as a second language until her death in 1998 at age 93.”
Text from the YouTube page. Found at Frog Blog.
Dust Storm on the Move
Image ©2012 Ann Martin, posted by permission
Amazing Arizona valley dust storm moving across a road. Makes me think of “The Mummy”.
The Disclaimer
Pursuant to this recent entry, and even though it may hold no legal water at all, I hereby set forth this disclaimer and apologia.
| This blog claims no copyright for any images posted here unless explicitly mentioned. This blog is a labor of love, and is not meant to be monetized in any way. Its only purpose is to share things of beauty and lasting value with the world at large. If you are the copyright owner of any image found here and object to its being displayed, a simple message will effectuate its immediate removal. |
By the dessicated skull of Mogg’s grandfather, there is no need to get attorneys involved; the world is complicated enough already.
©2008-2012 Fortunata
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Vintage Hamilton, Ontario
Found at hensleyhamilton1.
Vintage Hamilton, circa 1925. Click to enlarge.
Also found this posted on Facebook; the comment by the poster there read, “The info on the photo I believe is incorrect. Where the vehicles are turning would be John St., not James St. The large building in the background on the left was the Bank Of Commerce building at the SW corner of King & James. This was apparently a postcard – the original photo had franking marks on it, which I have removed.
Google maps appears to bear him out:
The current corner of King and John.
From the other side of King, looking toward James Street.
An Unsettling Quandary
I love my blogs. I love sharing interesting things with my friends; there’s so much fascinating stuff out there on the net that I think people would enjoy seeing. I haven’t gone the Pinterest route, and probably never will – it just seems too chaotic. And when I do post something, I usually try to track it back to its original source, which is often several blogs deep.
Now comes Roni Loren, with a sad tale of being set upon by hordes of attorneys bearing pitchforks and torches… well, probably only one, but you get the idea. And she really-o, truly-o got sued by a real-live photographer for violating his copyright, even though she immediately removed the photo after the initial takedown notice. And once the lawyers get involved, you don’t ever get the mushroom cloud back into that pretty little silver sphere.
Here’s what she learned about fair use from the experience (more details at her blog post):
“It DOESN’T MATTER…
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This bothers me. Ms. Loren was neither claiming copyright of someone else;s work nor attempting to monetize it, as in the case of FunnyJunk.com; in fact, she specifically gave copyright to the owners of anything she posted. I stand for intellectual property rights – I contributed to Matt Inman’s campaign to raise money for charity and embarrass supreme douchebag Charles Carreon at the same time (the entire saga is analyzed in delicious detail over at Popehat) – but I don’t stand for being a jerk; there are more human ways of handling things like this.
Case in point: some years ago, a forum I participated in was infested by the most repugnant of subhumans, the cyber-trolls. From their safe chairs of anonymity, they vomited their filth and abomination into what had become a thriving, supportive and civil community, and ultimately resulted in its demise in that venue. They may be happy with the lulz they got, but all they did was cover themselves with more shame. As a response to their actions, I wrote this little piece of nonsense, which served no greater purpose than to help me get some feelings off my chest. Later I found copies elsewhere, with no attribution, specifically here and here; I posted a comment in the first forum requesting either attribution or removal, and was pointedly ignored. My request was even deleted.
I could have gone all Clarence Darrow on these people, but what’s the point? It’s not like I’m going to make a dime off a bit of nonsense rhyme, and parody of a great author at that. Much easier to just let it go. Unfortunately in today’s society, with 47 lawyers per capita looking for billable hours, anyone with half a beef can find an attorney to cheer him one, and I think that’s sad.
So I end up being vulnerable, because if I change the nature of this blog, it simply ceases to exist, and I’m not willing to give it up. I will, however, in future posts link to a disclaimer something like this:
THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.
Despite the fact that Ms. Loren has been terrorized into sharing nuthin’ with nobody without 100% air-tight attribution – and, in light of her experience and given how nasty lawyers can be, I can’t blame her – I’m not ready to go that route. I can only hope and pray that I don’t encounter the one person in ten thousand who is willing to sell their humanity for a mess of pottage.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
The BirdsEye Pea Car
One of my musician acquaintances over on Facebook1 posted this pic with the caption, “I’m going to start attending movies in my Bullet Proof Movie Pod.” In light of the tragedy in Denver, it’s sad that this would have to be my introduction to this adorable little thing, and my heart goes out in its fullness to the victims of this senseless act of barbarism – those injured and those left behind.
But dang, that car is adorable. A little digging revealed that it was constructed for this advert over in the UK:
It may be nothing more than a one-off prop for an ad, but to my way of thinking it’s about 10 times cuter than the Smart Car – no offense intended.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
1He makes darn good music, too.
To my Friends in London
Tonight, the flame will be lit. In a week, the games will begin. And in two short weeks thereafter, the games will be over. In the seven years since the Mother Country was awarded the honor of hosting the Olympic Games, the face of your city has been transformed. And you’ve suffered – how you’ve suffered.
This colonist understands your pain.
This is my city – we have been there, done that, and bought the teeshirt. Granted, Salt Lake is a lot smaller than London, and the Winter Games not quite as big as the summer ones – but the overall impact on the region and its economy could be considered comparable.
Our home, its people and its culture were subject to microscopic scrutiny and ongoing disparagement as a result of the bidding scandal which brought us the games in the first place.
We suffered through partial or complete closure of our main freeway corridor for four years, as every major interchange, numerous bridges, and every foot of the roadbed was rebuilt and expanded. While the freeway was disrupted, our light rail line was also being installed, and countless local roads were being ripped up to allow for increased traffic, and construction around the venue sites guaranteed endless detours and interminable delays. We were not amused.
Since 2005, the home of Francis Bacon, Thomas Beckett and Alec Guinness has seen the construction of the Olympic Stadium, the aquatic center, the Olympic Village, the Olympic Park, the Heron, and the Ministry of Truth uh, sorry, “the Shard.” Other buildings are close to completion, and I’m sure your nightmare has been at the very least equal to, if not greater than ours.
Ten years on, I would welcome the games back in a heartbeat – from where I sit, it was all worth it.
Just this year Salt Lake put forth a case to the USOC requesting consideration for a second bid in 2022. The USOC declined, saying that additional preparation would lend strength to the bid, so we may be looking at 2016 – but I can tell you that many people here were deeply disappointed. It was the experience of a lifetime.
As the games drew closer, there was a palpable feeling of pride and excitement in the air. Olympic fever is catching, and while there were a few diehard naysayers who grumbled through the entire experience, most people were delighted that we had a chance to showcase our city to the world, as well as host the games.
As soon as the call for volunteers went out, I jumped at the chance.
Here’s our gang – a part of International Client Services, working as interpreters in the Main Media Center. As a result of my job there, I wasn’t able to attend a single event in person, but we did get to see the dress rehearsal for the opening ceremony, and then attend an amazing party after the games – but because it was the media center, all the events were broadcast on huge screens all around the building, so I felt like I had missed almost nothing. And, we got to see a lot of athletes close up as they came in for interviews.
Alisa Camplin, gold-medal aerial skier, with two of her fellow Aussies. Oi! Oi! Oi!
Outside the venues and downtown, there was always something going on:
Mimes on the street
Pin Trading
For just a brief moment in time, our city looked like this:
Bright, polished, dressed up in her finest gown for a two-week party.
And when the games commenced, it was all about the athletes; the amazing performances by the likes of Salé and Pelletier, Sarah Hughes, Fritz Strobl, Janica Kostelić, and many, many others – not to forget the UK Curling Team!
Margaret Morton, Janice Rankin, Rhona Martin, Debbie Knox and Fiona Macdonald with their 2002 Olympic gold medals
The scandals, the headaches, the challenges, the bumps along the road – all of it fades in comparison with the astonishing personal and team effort exerted by a handful of the best athletes the world will ever know. Watching them perform was riveting, and to have been the host city which made their performances possible was a splendid honor. And when the games were over, we still had all these wonderful venues which can now be enjoyed by the public and athletes from all over the country and all over the world.
So keep a stiff upper lip, cousins. The logistical nightmare will soon be over, but the memory of the united effort will last for a lifetime. I wish you a safe games, a successful games, and a lasting glow of both endurance and accomplishment.
Let the games begin!
The Old Wolf has spoken.
[Edit: This was written before Mitt Romney went over there and disgraced himself in front of your entire nation. Sod his opinion – he should have known better.]
Playing in the World Game 