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This Week in Books, December 10, 2017
Continuing the gift book theme:Poor Richard's Almanack Benjamin Franklin Peter Pauper Press, 1981 Link is to Amazon This book is the essential collection of Mr. Franklin's famous sayings. In fact, only the wisdoms are included, which makes this seventy seven page book a classic coffee table or water closet item. Something I found myself enjoying is how language was used in Mr. Franklin's time. A few examples: Thou hadst better eat salt with the philosophers of Greece, than sugar with the courtiers of Italy. A fun read, and can be picked up and put down at will. A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens illustrated by Stephen Vossos Link goes to Mr. Vossos’ site I am sure everyone is familiar with A Christmas Carol is one form or another. This medium really stood out for me. I have always scoffed at the term 'graphic novel'; no, that is a comic book. This, however, has changed my mind. Mr. Vossos does a fantastic pen and ink depiction of the classic story, and in a very emotional way. Having dabbled in every aspect it takes to put something like this together, I am impressed and stunned at the quality of work. The pictures are crisp, the paper is quality, and the binding just fantastic. I gave some as gifts, donated a copy to the library. Highly recommended. Scroll down at the Link, and you will come across Mr. Vossos' recent project: The Pilgrim's Progress John Bunyan Looking at the samples, this is a no-brainer. Thing is, Mr. Vossos, as I understand, is running a small business and is located in Canada, so time is running out for either of these books to be a present. Also, Mr. Vossos has a facebook page: Boo Ink. This Week in Emergency Preparedness There are plenty of videos out there of 'Dry Christmas Tree Catches Fire'. I swear, some of those trees must be kiln dried and sprayed with some sort of accelerant. Not that trees don't go up like crazy, and the dramatic footage does get the point across, its just, well, here is the demonstration video I'd recommend (not going to link, don't want to eat bandwidth): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np2ghHdLdNI Couple things I noticed right off the bat. First, how smoky it gets. Second, that there is no carpet/flooring which would add to the smoke. Remember, it is the smoke which is the killer. The video also does a decent job showing a smoke-filled room and the thermal layering which occurs. Note, that is not a totally enclosed room like a house would have, so the smoke does not fill as quickly as a real room would. Keep your tree watered. Do not forget that artificial trees can catch fire, too, and are very nasty if they do on account of the chemical soup they will put out. Keep those smoke detector batteries in, even if the chef burns water*. *This can actually happen. I might tell one day why I know this. For those with cats, children, and spirited adults... mind the candles. And with that, I set down my Johnny Depp Mother Hen Hat, grab a glass, and head to the Parlay Room. Posted by: swksvolFF 2017-12-10 |
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