Showing posts with label loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label loss. Show all posts

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Language Lost / Spirits Salvaged

That there is Boa. She was the last surviving member of the Bo, a tribe that lived in the Andaman Islands, a society that dates back to pre-Neolithic times. She died this week, bringing an end to her people, their language and their way of life. That's a bummer. The last people who spoke her language were her parents and they died over 30 years ago. Wonder what it's like to not be able to speak to anyone for 30 years. I wanna know who this lady's been talking to for the past 3 decades?

On a lighter note...

These dudes from New Zealand excavated some whiskey & brandy from the South Pole. They found the crates while they were restoring a hut used by explorer Ernest Shackleton in 1909. He abandoned them there when his team had to make a hasty retreat to avoid getting stuck in the winter ice. That makes this stuff at least 100 years old. Mmmm. They had to chip away at ice for 3 days, which officially makes this the longest booze run in history. The company who manufactured the old brew, Mackinlay's Rare Old Scotch, still exists, and when master blender Richard Paterson was asked what the liquor would taste like, he replied, "Cold."

Monday, January 18, 2010

Burned Can Be Beautiful

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Last Thursday I had a few hours to kill waiting for Laura to get off work. My sense of exploration and my lack of sense of direction somehow landed me in an abandoned snowy field, so I went with it.

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I didn't hike far til I saw what looked like a house through the trees. When I got closer I found out that it was only the remains of one.

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I wandered around once and snapped a few shots and noticed all the Christmas decorations fused to the siding and what was left of a tree in what I'm guessing was the living room.

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I saw a couple of those helium balloons you can buy at the grocery in the kitchen window still fully inflated. They said Happy Birthday. Those things don't stay up for long so I figured this didn't happen all that long ago.

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I saw paw prints of a dog in the backyard that led into the woods. I'm hoping they got out the kennel in time.

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I think I hung out there for awhile. I lost track of time.

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Sunday, October 5, 2008

Bitterness


Chicago Cubs get swept in the first round of the post season for the second year in a row. Now it'll be at least 101 years. Cubs fans are bitter. This may be worse than the Mets. Maybe not. Losing is losing. If the White Sox lose tonight I wouldn't go near Chicago with a bullet-proof vest. Let's pray that the Bears can beat the Lions or we may see another Great Fire like 1871.

I had a grapefruit for breakfast. It was also bitter but delicious.