They make them for women too!

Spats

From Wikipedia:

Spats are a type of shoe accessory worn in the late 19th and early 20th Century.

A left felt spat.

Spats as items of uniform

Spats are still used as a traditional accessory in many marching band uniforms in the United States.

French infantry wore white spats for parade and off duty wear until 1903. Italian soldiers wore a light tan version until 1910 and the Japanese Army wore long white spats or gaiters during the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.

Spats continue as a distinctive feature of the Scottish dress of Highland pipe bands, whether civilian or military. The modern Royal Regiment of Scotland, into which all Scottish line infantry regiments were amalgamated in 2006, retain white spats as part of their uniform. Prior to that date most Scottish infantry units in the British Army wore spats. For Highland regiments in kilts spats reached halfway up the calf. For Lowland regiments in trews spats were visible only over the boots.

Most regiments of the modern Indian and Pakistani Armies wear long white spats into which trousers are tucked, as part of their parade dress. Other full dress uniforms which still include spats are those of the Finnish Army, Portuguese Republican National Guard, the Carabiniers of Monaco and the Italian Military Academy of Modena. In the Finnish Navy, spats are part of the winter uniform. They are colloquially known as Scrooge McDucks. The U.S. Navy Honor Guard and Rifle Guard still wear them while performing ceremonies. .

[edit] Spats for safety

Spats are still used today in certain industries for safety reasons. In foundries molten metal pourers often wear leather spats to keep splashes of molten metal from burning their feet. Even a small splash that lodges in a shoe or between the shoe and ankle could cause a severe burn. Many welders also wear leather spats for protection from sparks and metal splash. Some chainsaw operators wear protective leather spats to prevent injury from accidental chainsaw contact with the foot or ankle.

The Family That Couldn't Sleep: A Medical Mystery

by William Grimes

For more than two centuries, a strange, incurable disease has haunted a family in the Veneto region of Italy. It signals its appearance when the victim, an otherwise healthy adult, begins holding his head stiffly and sweating profusely. His pupils contract to pinpoint size, his pulse races and his blood pressure shoots up. Sleep becomes an impossibility. After about 15 months, the victim slips into a comalike state and dies.

Until quite recently, doctors and medical researchers were simply baffled by this disorder, which affects about 40 families worldwide.

Today, fatal familial insomnia, as it was named in 1986, is believed by many researchers to belong to the same class of disorders as mad cow disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and chronic wasting disease, and its peculiarities may well shed light on neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

"The Family That Couldn't Sleep," D.T. Max's gracefully written medical detective story, explores the mysteries of fatal familial insomnia, their eventual decoding and the strange history of one family...

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/05/features/bookmer.php

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0sTqJE4sdb0

Kleen Machine

hamlet's end

Claudius sends Hamlet to England, accompanied by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, with orders from Claudius that the English kill Hamlet as soon as he arrives. En route to England, Hamlet finds the orders and changes them to order Rosencrantz and Guildenstern killed, as does occur, though Hamlet is kidnapped by pirates one day later. The pirates return Hamlet to Claudius (for a ransom), and Claudius tries one last attempt to eliminate Hamlet: he arranges a sword duel between Laertes and Hamlet. The trick, however, is that the tip of Laertes' sword is poisoned. As a backup precaution, Claudius poisons the victory cup in case Hamlet wins. During the fight, the poisoned drink is offered to Hamlet, he declines, and instead his mother, Gertrude, drinks it (to the objection of Claudius). Laertes, losing to Hamlet, illegally scratches him with the poisoned sword to ensure Hamlet's death. Hamlet (unknowingly), then switches swords with Laertes, and cuts and poisons him. The queen dies, screaming that she has been poisoned and Laertes, dying, admits of Claudius' treachery. Weakening, Hamlet fatally stabs Claudius, Laertes dies, and Hamlet begins his death speech. Though Horatio wants to commit suicide out of sorrow, Hamlet entreats him to tell the story of King Hamlet's death and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's deaths to all. Fortinbras, the prince of Norway, arrives from conquest of England, and Hamlet's last dying wish is that Fortinbras become the new King of Denmark, as happens.

Camp fun

Arrival at the gazebo in the park. Bubbles and chalk and the stupid hello song!
Back at JCP later, fun with big art.

Fly, little birdies

Yesterday when I got home these two little baby birds were on my doorstep.

They were back again today! I got a little too close when I snapped this photo and the birdies tried to fly away. When I crouched down low to get out of their way, one of them landed on my back for a moment, then flew off to land on the neighbor's step.

He stayed there a long time. When I went back out later, he was still there and agreeably let me snap this close-up.

Locked out? Don't let this happen to you!

PSA For the Locked Out: Call a Locksmith

A 30-year-old man lost his life last night after locking himself out of his apartment. Sometime between 8:15 p.m. and 8:40 p.m., Paul Reilly fell five stories, landing on his back in the courtyard behind the building where he lived on 65th St. and 1st Ave. in Manhattan. Reilly, who had apparently gained entrance to the building but was locked out of his apartment, attempted to climb out a hallway window, over to a window in his apartment. "It was just an accident. He fell," a friend told the Daily News.

The New York Post describes a slightly different scenario, with Reilly attempting to scale the back wall, before losing his footing and crashing downwards into the courtyard. A neighbor in the building next door to Reilly told the Post, "I heard a clunk, a huge clunk. Then I heard some guy saying 'Oh, s- - -! Oh, s- - -!' really loud."

Reilly was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell, where he was pronounced dead around midnight.

Di$count Locksmith
866-557-5697 SERVING MANHATTAN, BROOKLYN, QUEENS, BRONX 15 min emergency service 24 hours a day 866-557-5697

Ethan says the mounds at the African Burial Ground aren't real graves...

but someone put flowers on them today.

this blog is about promoting my preferred brand of cigarettes

By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.

Is it Wednesday yet?

Trailer: 'TR Warszawa Macbeth'

The correct record:

The Moral Washington: Construction of a Legend (1800-1920s)

---

John McRae, "Father, I Can Not Tell a Lie; I Cut the Tree," 1867 engraving after a painting by G.G. White

George Washington's reputation as a man of moral fortitude reveals more about America's view of morality than it does about the man himself. Washington was an exceedingly bland heroic leader, embodying an eighteenth-century ideal of republican virtue that emphasized duty, sacrifice and honorable disinterest. Flamboyance and daring were emphatically not required. Washington's virtue was admirable, but not overly interesting.

Perhaps this is why the most famous example of his fortitude of character is, in fact, just fiction. The story of Washington and the Cherry Tree, a tale which still lingers through probably every grammar school in the U.S., was invented by a parson named Mason Locke Weems in a biography of Washington published directly after his death. Saturated with tales of Washington's selflessness and honesty, A History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits, of General George Washington(1800) and The Life of George Washington, with Curious Anecdotes Laudable to Himself and Exemplary to his Countrymen(1806) supplied the American people with flattering (and often rhyming) renditions of the events that shaped their hero. Weems imagined everthing from Washington's childhood transgression and repentence to his apotheosis when "at the sight of him, even those blessed spirits seem[ed] to feel new raptures" (Weems, 60). According to historian Karal Ann Marling, Weems was struggling to "flesh out a believable and interesting figure ... to humanize Washington" who had been painted as "cold and colorless" in an earlier, poorly-selling biography. While it is likely that some readers of the time questioned the authenticity of the tales, Weems' portraits soared in popularity in the early 1800s.
More than a century later, Weems would be vigorously debunked by a new corps of biographers intent on resurrecting the real truth of Washington's life.

---

uh, just for the record...

The story of Washington and the Cherry Tree, a tale which still lingers through probably every grammar school in the U.S., was invented by a parson named Mason Locke Weems in a biography of Washington published directly after his death. Saturated with tales of Washington's selflessness and honesty, A History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits, of General George Washington(1800) and The Life of George Washington, with Curious Anecdotes Laudable to Himself and Exemplary to his Countrymen(1806) supplied the American people with flattering (and often rhyming) renditions of the events that shaped their hero. Weems imagined everything from Washington's childhood cherry tree transgression and repentance to his apotheosis when "at the sight of him, even those blessed spirits seem[ed] to feel new raptures" (Weems, 60).

George Washington: from Virginia and mean to trees

When George was about six years old, he was made the wealthy master of a hatchet of which, like most little boys, he was extremely fond. He went about chopping everything that came his way.

One day, as he wandered about the garden amusing himself by hacking his mother's pea sticks, he found a beautiful, young English cherry tree, of which his father was most proud. He tried the edge of his hatchet on the trunk of the tree and barked it so that it died.

Some time after this, his father discovered what had happened to his favorite tree. He came into the house in great anger, and demanded to know who the mischievous person was who had cut away the bark. Nobody could tell him anything about it.

Just then George, with his little hatchet, came into the room.

"George,'' said his father, "do you know who has killed my beautiful little cherry tree yonder in the garden? I would not have taken five guineas for it!''

This was a hard question to answer, and for a moment George was staggered by it, but quickly recovering himself he cried:

"I cannot tell a lie, father, you know I cannot tell a lie! I did cut it with my little hatchet.''

The anger died out of his father's face, and taking the boy tenderly in his arms, he said:

"My son, that you should not be afraid to tell the truth is more to me than a thousand trees! Yes - though they were blossomed with silver and had leaves of the purest gold!''

[Yeah, George. You're a jerk. No cherries for you! ]

mmm...

Brooklyn is disgusting

No one has a backyard. No one has any place to grill out.
Two bedroom floor-through in a brownstone with eat-in kitchen, $1600. Disgusting! This block is really ghetto.There are no good restaurants here. Gross!The kids can't go anywhere alone because it's such a sketchy 'hood.
And there's nowhere for them to play.No parks, nothing. Sorry, kids.

"curly brackets" or "braces"

There are four main types of brackets:

• round brackets or parentheses: ( )
• square brackets or box brackets: [ ]
• curly brackets or braces: { }
• angle brackets or chevrons: < > or ⟨ ⟩

I was wrong.

Beating the heat at 3rd Street Park

115 degrees? Lordamighty.

Bought tix for Friday @ Bowery Ballroom:

http://www.misrarecords.com/MP3s/Centromatic_Triggers_and_Trash_Heaps.mp3

Thermometers don't lie

... do they?