#Maritime Monday

[marryat92]

The discipline of public schools, bad and demoralizing as it is, was light, compared to the tyranny of a midshipman's berth in 1803.

— Frederick Marryat, The Naval Officer (Frank Mildmay)

Thomas Luny, A British frigate backing her sails as she heaves-to approaching Torbay with other ships of the fleet beyond, 1803. (Wikimedia Commons)

#frederick marryat #captain marryat #age of sail #frank mildmay #midshipman monday #thomas luny #frigate #royal navy #midshipman #1803 #naval history #maritime art #marine art #seascapes

[clove-pinks]

Quadrilles - practising at home: 1817 print (British Museum)

A passage from S.A. Cavell's Midshipman and Quarterdeck Boys in the British Navy, 1771-1831 on the importance of social dancing for young officers in the 19th century Royal Navy:

Many young gentlemen also began to ascribe greater importance to their participation in good society. Peter Cullen noted the anxiety of the Squirrel’s midshipmen when their captain refused an invitation to a ball given by the Earl of Kinsdale. Some of the more enterprising (and disobedient) among them found a way ashore and ‘had the honour of dancing with the Ladies de Courcy’. In 1807 able seaman Robert Wilson noted the elegance of several parties on board the Unité in which the officers and young gentlemen decorated the quarterdeck, arranged bands and entertainments, and organized refreshments in an effort to entertain local ladies and gentlemen with country dances. A bitter Charles Shaw chastised his parents for failing to send him a new uniform which caused him to miss an important social opportunity: ‘We have all been invited to a Ball at the British Consul’s at this place [Lisbon] but I was obliged to refused as I had no clothes to go in’. 

Young gentlemen who paid excessive attention to the pursuits of genteel society risked the ire of more seasoned officers. Later in his career, Admiral Sir Thomas Byam Martin was peeved enough to comment: ‘The rivalry with midshipmen is no longer [over] smartness or professional duties, but in frivolous effeminacy, incompatible with what we wish and expect in the character of seamen.’ For most young gentlemen, however, the cultivation of an elegant manner in the company of polite society was essential to their personal and professional credit.  

An 1837 illustration by Robert William Buss for Captain Frederick Marryat’s novel Peter Simple, showing Royal Navy officers and midshipmen dancing at a ball in Barbados in the early 19th century.

#midshipman monday #age of sail #naval history #social dancing #regency #royal navy #midshipmen #country dance #midshipmen and quarterdeck boys #samantha a cavell #robert william buss #frederick marryat #maritime history #dancing

[araiz-zaria]

The Fantastic Union Navy Four as Midshipmen

.

Obviously this is all just my imagining 👀🙈 — they were never midshipmen concurrently (in fact, by the time Dolph joined in 1826, Glasgow was already a Lieutenant (and married for 2 years already(!))). How they looked is also my imagining, though I tried to base it on their younger selves' looks.

The number on top of them (in the fifth picture) is the age when they were first commissioned midshipman¹, while the number below is the year of their commission¹. Farragut was commissioned in 1810 (aged 9), Lee was commissioned in 1825 (aged 13), Dahlgren was commissioned in 1826 (aged 17).

(1— except for Deedee — the year 1823 was more the year when he first sailed with his father in the Navy (he was probably rated boy seaman at this point). Porter was properly commissioned midshipman in the US Navy only in 1829, aged 16)

#interesting when you put them all together like this #dolph was the second oldest but joined the last among the four #as for deedee's year it's kinda fuzzy actually... #1823 was the year he joined his father in the navy #but he was only properly comissioned midshipman in 1829 #(it was a long story honestly lmao) #drawing #original art #manga #pen and ink #traditional art #fountain pen #fan art #david farragut #david glasgow farragut #john a dahlgren #john dahlgren #samuel phillips lee #david dixon porter #midshipman monday #american history #american civil war #maritime history

[ltwilliammowett]

Midshipman fish

A nice little thing I found, just smile and don't take it too seriously but did you know that there is a Midshipman fish?

A midshipman fish is a type of toadfish, they are distinguished by their photophores (organs on the skin that attract prey and for which they are named as they are said to resemble the buttons on a midshipman uniform) and four lateral lines.

Plainfin midshipman collected in a beach seine by USGS Western Fisheries Research Center scientists - here with the photophores on the skin, which looks like buttons (x)

They are nocturnal and bury themselves in sand or mud during the day. At night, they hover just above the seabed in search of nearby food. Some species have poisonous dorsal spines and can cause serious injuries if touched.

#maritime life #midshipman fish #midshipman monday ;)

[solentmarineconsultant]

At Solent Marine Consultants, we are committed to become the world's leading marine consultants, surveyors and inspection providers. In an industry that is constantly undergoing changes, we work diligently alongside our partners to tackle the most pressing regulatory, technical and operational challenges to streamline processes for the maritime industry. 

#Maritime surveyors and consultants in Philippians #Charter on/off Hire Bunker and Condition Survey in Philippines #Dry & Reefer Container Surveyors in Philippines #solent marine consultants #pre purchase inspection in uk #charter party claims #draft marine surveyors in uk/southampton #maritime consultants in uk #draft surveyors in uk/southampton #Monday feeling

[zvaigzdelasas]

Celebrity chef José Andrés' World Central Kitchen, among the largest providers of desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, is pausing its operations following the deaths of 7 workers in an Israeli airstrike, the organization said Tuesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an investigation into "a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people" was underway.

Despite coordinating movements with the Israeli military, the convoy was hit Monday as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, WCK said. The team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route.

The workers killed include a Palestinian and citizens from Australia, Poland, United Kingdom and a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada. [...]

Haaretz reported that Israelis fired three missiles in quick succession at three vehicles[...]

Netanyahu vowed Tuesday to probe the deaths of the World Central Kitchen workers.

"It happens in war," he said [sic]. "We are conducting a thorough inquiry and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent a recurrence."[...]

Hamas condemned the "heinous act" and demanded the U.N. Security Council put an end to Israel's "crimes of the occupation and its aggression" against Palestinians and their supporters.

"This crime reaffirms that the occupation still insists on the policy of systematic killing against defenseless civilians and against international relief teams and humanitarian organizations, within the framework of efforts to terrorize their employees, to prevent them from continuing their humanitarian duties," the militant group said in a statement.[...]

“I am heartbroken and appalled that we, World Central Kitchen, and the world lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the Israeli military," CEO Erin Gore said.[...]

The United Nations agency charged with leading the humanitarian aid effort in Gaza has complained for months about obstacles created by Israeli officials. In a report issued Monday, prior to the WCK tragedy, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said that "access impediments continue to severely compromise the ability of humanitarian actors to reach people in the Gaza Strip." Since March 1, 30% of humanitarian aid missions to northern Gaza were denied by Israeli authorities, the agency said.[...]

The obstacles prompted other efforts, including sea shipment such as the one World Central Kitchen was using Monday. The U.S., partnering with Jordan and other regional nations, has also used airdrops. But trucking aid in from Egypt is viewed as the best method for meeting the tremendous demand.

2 Apr 24

[hunterrrs]

photos from here, I NEED FOOTAGE OF THIS. also this article is a great read. he’s invited some families who lost their homes in the halifax fires to practice:

By the time you read this, Pittsburgh Penguins players will have munched on the pudding known as haggis, made from the livers, hearts and lungs of sheep. And learned how to shuck oysters, in all their slimy, gooey glory.

All courtesy of Sidney Crosby, the Pittsburgh captain, who brought team building to an entirely new level on Saturday. From the moment months ago that he learned the Penguins would be playing here, Crosby was stoked. A proud native of Cole Harbour, 10 miles from Halifax, the 36-year-old began planning out his transformation from NHL star to tour guide.

“I think just the feel of it, the people, and to see the excitement for the game,” Crosby said Friday. “And just to get around the city a little bit, those types of things.

“It’s somewhere that I’m really proud of, and I hope everyone enjoys themselves there.”

In order to do that, he set something up with a unique Maritime flavor. Welcome to “The Amazing Race: Crosby Edition.”

“When Sidney found out the team was coming here, he wanted to find a fun way to celebrate his hometown with his teammates and educate them on why it’s such a special place,” his father, Troy, said.

He seems to have done exactly that.

After a morning of golf Saturday, the unsuspecting Penguins set out on an “Amazing Race”-like scavenger-hunt competition that would take them through the streets of Cole Harbour, Dartmouth and downtown Halifax, and across Halifax Harbour on a ferry.

Under the format, the players were divided into teams. They were given instructions of where to go, what venues to visit and what tasks they were to do (e.g., eating haggis, shucking oysters), all while going up against the clock.

The instructions came on laminated cards featuring the Penguins logo and a “Welcome to Cole Harbour” greeting.

The message on one of the cards read, “Every player has to shuck two oysters and eat them or have a teammate eat them on their behalf. Careful with that knife, and don’t break any shells!”

Crosby enlisted the help of Paul Mason, one of his baseball and minor hockey coaches, to help plan the event. Mason was paramount in setting up the three Cole Harbour Stanley Cup celebrations in Crosby’s honor, and No. 87 didn’t hesitate when it came to the perfect person to set up this event.

“In organizing this, when he talked to me about it, he wants this entire weekend to be pretty special for the community, for his teammates, for everyone around him,” Mason said. “You can sense how much these few days mean to him. You could sense his anticipation for months.”

Mason said that even though Crosby is the host for his teammates this weekend, he’s going to try to win everything: golf, the scavenger hunt, the preseason game Monday, you name it.

“He’s competitive at everything, even as a little kid when I was coaching him,” Mason said. “And that hasn’t changed.

“When the NHL was shut down during COVID, his dad Troy and I played Sidney and one of his friends in a golf match. They should have won, but somehow we did. He didn’t accept that. He said it was two out of three. When we won the second one he said it was three out of five. We ended up playing seven of them. The seventh one was in December with snow on the ground. They won that one to take the series 4-3. Suddenly that was acceptable because they’d won.

“Once they’d finally won, it was over,” Mason said with a laugh.

During some of those summers, Greenwood has helped organize some of the offseason skates featuring Crosby, MacKinnon and Marchand at a local arena. The competitiveness gets intense at times, something Greenwood said helps all three drive each other.

“Yeah, they’re friends,” he said. “But when they start playing against each other at times, you’d never know it. They want to beat one another at any and all costs.

“You can see how that drive, that determination, that win-at-all-costs attitude rubs off on some of the younger guys.”

Count Drake Batherson as one of them. The 25-year-old Senators forward grew up in New Minas, 50 miles northwest of Halifax, and has been training during the offseason with Crosby, Marchand and MacKinnon since 2019. He calls those workouts “one of my favorite times of the year.”

As such, he’s looking forward to facing Crosby and the Penguins in Halifax on Monday.

“I've still got posters of the Penguins and Sid on my wall at my parents' house, so it's pretty fun now that me and Sid have built a relationship and we're buddies," Batherson said. "It's pretty cool looking back on it.”

It was a tough spring and summer for Nova Scotia.

In late May and early June, wildfires raged through the outskirts of Halifax and throughout the province. More than 16,000 people were forced to evacuate as a result, many eventually returning to find their homes were nothing more than heaps of smoldering ashes.

Less than two months later, the area was hit with record rainfall that caused historic flooding. Water did seep into Crosby’s home, though to nowhere near the extent of some others where people pretty much lost everything.

“The area has been through a lot,” he said. “But the great thing about some of these communities, and the area in general, is that everyone sticks together and everyone’s willing to help each other.

“I think when you’ve seen adverse times here over the years, you’ve seen people come together more and more. And I think we take a lot of pride in that here. The fact that people know they can depend on each other is huge. I think we’ve shown that time and time again, and there’s pride that comes with that.”

Crosby is doing his part to teach local kids exactly that.

On Sunday, the Penguins will hold a practice at Cole Harbour Place. Hundreds of children from the local minor hockey systems have been invited to attend and take part in a Q&A session with some Pittsburgh players and, with a select few kids getting to go on the ice with them.

Part of that group will be kids from minor hockey whose families lost their homes in the fires. Crosby specifically wanted them to attend, with Mason helping to make it happen. Given the trauma they and their families have gone through, it is Crosby’s way of trying to brighten up their lives, even if it’s just for one afternoon.

“That’s Sid, right?” Greenwood said. “He’s going to have an impact on these kids, both on the ice and off.”

He already has.

In 2009, Crosby established the Sidney Crosby Foundation, an organization that improves the lives of children who are sick or struggling. More recently, Crosby and several foundation board members created Nova Scotia Showdown T-shirts heading into the game Monday, with proceeds going to his foundation.

“He’s helping young kids who are going through hard times, and he’s being a role model for young hockey players in the province,” Mason said. “He’s going out of his way to show his Penguins a good time here, and he’s being a great ambassador for the community.”

Greenwood agrees.

“It’s a privilege,” he said, “to say you live in the same place as someone like that.”

#he is soooooooo #sidney crosby #pittsburgh penguins #nathan mackinnon #colorado avalanche #drake batherson #ottawa senators #ryan graves #po joseph #kris letang

[steveyockey]

this is the most comprehensive piece on the ongoing #BlocktheBoat protest (first in Oakland, now in Tacoma where the boat has stopped to load cargo) I have come across,

The Cape Orlando is part of the US Maritime Administration’s Ready Reserve Force [RRF], auxiliary supply and service ships kept mothballed until needed to supply US strategic needs. Ships like the Cape Orlando are quasi-civilian, crewed by a civilian company and used only by the US government, usually for military purposes. The Orlando is one of two RRF ships currently lay-berthed at the Port of Oakland and was actively used during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Organizers told this reporter that they had reliable information that the ship was likely being mobilized in the US’s military aid for the government of Israel during its current decimation of Gaza. The Oakland Observer has confirmed with relative certainty that the Orlando’s ultimate destination was Israel as of Friday through another confidential source.

The Cape Orlando finally arrived at port in Tacoma on Monday morning, and as of this writing, protesters are using Block the Boat picketing tactics to block the loading of cargo on to the boat—that includes forming a picket with the goal of prompting local union workers to decline to cross for any number of reasons in ILWU policy. As of this writing, it's unclear whether the tactic is working, but it does seem as if workers have not been able to load the ship.

If you are in Tacoma, Washington, the Block the Boat protest organizers are asking you to show up so the blockade can continue for as long as possible and protestors can rest in shifts

#Palestine #I need to be in Tacoma so bad #the one thing this piece doesn’t have is that apparently one crew member is being reported as walking off

[danjaley]

One of my random book posts:

My long history with Anne of Green Gables

(and that series' unfortunate publishing history in Germany)

My first encounter with Anne of Green Gables was when the girl who bullied me in elementary school held her presentation "My favourite book" about it. The gist of her summary was: "This is a funny book about a girl who likes to pull pranks on everybody". Safe to say, she was not a kindred spirit.

This was in the late nineties, where the only way to buy books was to go to a bookshop and browse the shelves. Somehow, the only place in Germany where L.M. Montgomery seemed to sell were North-Sea holiday resorts. Probably because of the maritime setting. You can even tell by the covers that these books were supposed to be bought by seaside-tourists. Anyway, my mother bought three volumes on a holiday at the North Sea, containing everything up to Anne of Ingleside.

Until around 2000, the "whole series" in Germany consisted of three volumes containing two novels each. Some time in the 80s, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island and Anne of Ingleside also had covers of their own, but they've become rarities. In only own Anne of Avonlea as a single volume. For some odd reason this is yet another cover than the "official" one.

It took me years to really grow fond of the books. The first one I associated with my enemy from school. But at least I could relate to imagining things with your friend (yes, I had friends too). The others scared and confused me. I didn't want to leave home as a teenager to go to college and be a teacher before I was twenty! And I wasn't used to books in which people died. 😥

I think it was an airing of the Animé adaptation on television that made me read the series again at around 16. It became one of my favourite works of fiction. I love books which depict everyday life, making it interesting without overdramatizing. It's something I also try to do in my stories. In this context: Matthew McCarric is partly named after Matthew Cuthbert.

Until I was around 18 I thought Anne of Ingleside was the end of the series. Then, in another bookshop (this time in Munich), I stumbled upon the one called "Anne&Rilla", which is Rilla of Ingleside. It's a very rare experience to find that an author who's known to have died decades ago just publishes a sequel! And since Anne of Ingleside was actually written after Rilla of Ingleside, it was amazing to see that all the hints in it actually led somewhere! I'd never have thought I'd actually meet Monday the Dog! Also it was the first book I read that emotionalized World War I. I only knew books about World War II, usually written long afterwards with a didactic intention. Nothing wrong with that of course, but it sparked my interest in contemporary literature about the World Wars.

The German subtitle "Zum ersten Mal verliebt" ("In love for the first time") is of course one of the worst title translations I've ever seen, surpassing even the other two. Yes, they had already used the classic "Fateful Years", but couldn't they at least have put something with "hard times"? Also note that the sub-subtitle promises two novels in one volume.

Then I wanted to read the Emily books. They had also been published as North-Sea holiday-books, but were even rarer to find. I had bought and read the third on another North-Sea-holiday, but I couldn't warm up to characters who had a history I didn't know. The first one has been out of print for so long that it's quite expensive as a collectible. So I used this new thing, The Internet, and bought it in English. It was a mind-blowing experience and I was like "Never ever will I go back to those dated sentimental translations!" In fact I only keep the German editions because of their covers. They may sometimes forget it's set in the 1900s, but I still think they're pretty.

So I went online again and ordered the Anne and Emily books in English. It was then that I discovered, there was another book of the Anne-Series, I hadn't known about. This was in 2010, and Rainbow Valley was never translated into German until 2013. It's rare to find a sequel written by a dead author, but this is the only case where it happened to me twice.

Now, remember the German Paperbacks always contained two volumes. To disguise the fact that Rainbow Valley was missing, Rilla of Ingleside had been chopped in half, and has actually been sold as two separate novels in the past. I later bought one of these in a library jumble-sale, just as a curiosity. I've also come to appreciate that English publishers don't waste our space in the shelves. The blue book has half the content of the purple and is nearly twice its size!

By the way, the Emily series did not get chopped apart, but you can see the red label on the back of "Emily in Blair Water", which passes it off as a double volume.

I had already noticed that the German translations were strongly sentimental, but what's worse, they're also incomplete. Anne of Green Gables and of Avonlea are all right, but the lady who took over then (some time in the 1980s) had her own ideas. There were several scenes cut, for what I can only guess was considered inappropriate content. Among other things, all references to men wearing female hats or other female clothing were removed (of which there are surprisingly many). What's worse, the translator even added some dialogues of her own, usually in romantic scenes, to make them more kitschy.

There have been some signs of improvement in recent years. Rainbow Valley was finally translated in 2013. There are also new translations of the first two books, which I'm reading at the moment as a e-books. I like that it's fun and modern, but sometimes so eager to write something new, that it's not exactly the meaning of the English text any more. But I'm sure readers who happen not to have studied History and English won't mind. I guess it will be some more decades until the copyright expires for the volumes which really need a retranslation.

Well, and then I became an art historian, specializing in ceiling painting and book history. If you really want to know a book, read it in several editions. You'll be surprised about the things you'll find!

#book blog intermission #nonsims

[beyondthisdarkhouse]

It's fun sometimes to try to explain the Commonwealth to my American friends. One of them talked about her plans for Memorial Day and asked if I had any, before remembering that right, we don't do Memorial Day up here.

I got to tell her that instead, I shit you not, the second-last Monday in May is the day Canada pretends is the monarch's birthday so people can get a long weekend in May. Charles III is a Scorpio? Not in Canada he ain't!

(In double-checking my facts just now, I discovered the caveats that this is only patchily observed as a holiday in the Maritimes, and is not at all Québec, not because they hate fun, but because it's more important to celebrate... rebellion against the Anglos? I love it. Very chic, très cool.)

#canadiana

[allthecanadianpolitics]

People gathered at two Halifax rallies on Thanksgiving Monday to support Israelis and Palestinians amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Hundreds of people, holding signs and Israeli flags, were at Victoria Park Monday afternoon, for a rally organized by the Atlantic Jewish Council.

"A lot of people have family and friends who live in Israel, there's a large expatriate Israeli community here and the events that took place on our Sabbath and the last major Jewish holiday of the fall [was] just so horrific," said council president Mark David.

"One of the ways that we can show some support to our fellow Jews and others in Israel is by coming out and publicly affirming our solidarity with them." [...]

Continue Reading.

Note from the poster @el-shab-hussein: this article is a spotlight on an example of zionist astroturfing. the Atlantic Jewish Council, the organizers of this rally for Israel, are an Israeli lobby that targets Canadian Jews in the Maritimes and tries to obfuscate the definitions of antizionism and antisemitism. They have an annual revenue of 8.9 million $. The Palestinian grassroots protest still managed to outnumber them in attendance by 200 attendees.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

#cdnpoli #Halifax #Nova Scotia #zionist occupation of Palestine

[clove-pinks]

Detail from 'The Interior of a Midshipman's birth', 1821 print by George Humphry after Captain Frederick Marryat (British Museum).

The midshipmen ate in their own berth. Depending on the makeup of the group (age-range, family background, etc), conditions varied from civilised to the squalid. Where there was a responsible older midshipman he would be the most obvious mess caterer. The very young 'young gentlemen' (also known as 'squeakers') were put under the charge of the gunner, although the captain usually took responsibility for their money and expenses, doling out pocket-money as appropriate and writing to their fathers for more when necessary. Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood wrote to his friend Walter Spencer-Stanhope of his son, William, 'Your son's debts are not enormous yet—you cannot think how cheap salt water is, and there is nothing else to buy'. No-one seems to have reported what happened with older midshipmen, at the age between squeaking and financial responsibility; perhaps the captain delegated the task of mess caterer for these boys to one of the other officers.

— Janet Macdonald, Feeding Nelson’s Navy: The True Story of Food at Sea in the Georgian Era

Numerous sources speak of young midshipmen being in the care of the ship's gunner, for example Brian Lavery's book Nelson's Navy: The Ships, Men and Organisation, 1793 - 1815:

Traditionally these 'youngsters' were placed in the care of the gunner, and lived in the gunroom on a ship-of-the-line. 'In the Irresistible I again messed with the gunner, Mr Gallant, who took great care of me.' [Captain Boteler's Recollections] In 1805 the gunner was moved out of the gunroom, but it seems that the 'young gentleman' stayed there. On frigates, they probably berthed among the older midshipmen.

It seems paradoxical that the man responsible for the use and maintenance of deadly artillery was also expected to help care for young children, but he was. In his semi-autobiographical novels, Frederick Marryat's midshipmen can always be found in the gunroom, although they are mentored by various officers and older midshipmen.

'Mr B Mast-headed': an 1820 graphite and watercolour drawing of a mastheaded midshipman by Frederick Marryat (British Museum).

#age of sail #midshipman monday #royal navy #naval history #midshipmen #military history #frederick marryat #maritime history #feeding nelson's navy #janet macdonald #gunner #warrant officers

[copperbadge]

Having an entertaining, low-key Shivadh Saturday around here today. One of the subplots of Royals/Ramblers involves some light underwater archaeology, but Monday doesn't want to dive while she's pregnant, so Michaelis volunteers to let her train and direct him, diving in her place. He's just come up from his last practice dive in the harbor, and it's time to break for lunch...

"The gossip about these lessons is very funny," he added, nodding subtly at a man with his phone out, clearly trying not to seem like he was taking their picture. "Your brother sends me regular reports of my fame, you know. Lately it's half wild speculation about why you and I are spending so much time together and half amusement that I've decided to take up extreme sports late in life."

"Nothing salacious, is there?"

"Well, salacious, yes. Malicious, I don't think so," he said. "Nobody takes that kind of thing seriously, or if they do, the palace finds a way to deal with them. I've found that, once you cross fifty, you are assumed to be in a mid-life crisis until you die, so someone's always imagining that I've lost my senses. Currently, the question is whether the mid-life crisis is the scuba diving or the imagined affair."

"What a soap opera that would be," Monday said. "In this scenario are you also secretly the father of my child?"

"Naturally. The whole surrogacy is just a ruse to cover it up." 

"Scandalous. I guess it speaks to your character that a lot of people think your idea of a mid-life crisis is diving, though," she said. 

"Well, most of them have met me," he said. "Aside from driving too fast and always thinking I know best, my sins are few and mild. And I would put up with a great deal more aspersions on my character," he added, "for both the pleasure of your company here and the eventual grandchild. Although if it bothers you, you should tell Theophile, he'll put Comms on it."

"Nah. I never really hear much about it," she said, as they reached land. There was a little bank of outdoor storage chests, mainly for the few boaters who used the pier; he began packing the equipment into one of them, slipping some sandals on while she continued. "And I'm used to it from my surf days. Not exactly this, obviously, but when you reach a certain level in any sport, as a woman, people start to insinuate things."

"Unconscionable," Michaelis said, locking the trunk closed. "Unfortunately also a reality of life -- every few years, when the news cycle was slow, there'd be some ass who'd dig out a photograph of me with a random woman at a party and claim I was running around on my wife. It used to bother Gregory. Miranda found it uproariously funny." 

"What about you?" she asked, and he was quiet for a moment as they continued walking.

"It never really registered, I think. Some things did, some things I took very personally, but that always felt so childish. I couldn't take it seriously. May we all be so blessed, eh? Given the lives we lead." 

"Before you guys came to visit, our dad said to me that Ed doesn't look super far forward into the future," Monday said. "Dad wasn't sure Ed understood how huge a commitment he was making. Not like a two-year Eat Network contract, was how he put it. Ramblers do tend to live in the moment, but when he said that I thought, well, that won't be me. I might not have a life plan or anything but I know the proportions of the promises I make. Now...maybe I should have taken a long look at myself, too."

They'd reached the curve of footpath that would lead them around the Maritime Academy's building, to the little grassy area with tables and benches; he paused, glancing out at the harbor and then back at her. 

"You know, you're well liked here," he said. "Not just by us, the family I mean, but by the town. It seems like you've made friends, too. I don't know that it needs to be said, but in case you weren't aware, you'd be welcome if you wanted to stay. You'd have a place here. Not as the..." he gestured dismissively, "queen mother, or royal surrogate, or whatnot, but purely as Theophile's sister. If you wanted. No pressure," he added with a smile. 

"I knew, but it's nice to hear," she agreed, leading him down to the tables, setting the bag on one of them. "It's not...in the plan for me, I think, but if I did want to stay, I'll keep it in mind."

"Do. And now, let's see what Simon has sent us for lunch -- ah, excellent," he said, fishing a pair of plastic containers out of the bag. "Cold curried chicken or roast beef sandwich?" 

"Split 'em?" Monday suggested.

"Won't help the rumors," he said, smiling, but he took half the sandwich when she offered, scooping half the chicken into her container with a suspiciously sporklike object from the bag. 

A picture of them having lunch together did make the gossip blogs the next day. Monday, lying in bed next to a still-sleeping Georgie, took a screenshot of the photo and clickbaity headline and sent it to him without comment. 

His response came back a few minutes later. Our union can never be. A fish and a bird might fall in love, but where would they build a home?

#shivadhverse

[solentmarineconsultant]

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[zvaigzdelasas]

China and the United States will discuss nuclear arms control next week, the first such talks since the Obama administration, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday after a visit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Washington that the two countries would hold "consultations on arms control and non-proliferation" in the coming days, as well as separate talks on maritime affairs and other issues.

1 Nov 23

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[luc3]

Nails. (French Folks Tradition.) part 1

Cutting your nails :

This is not a trivial act, and several Roman authors from the 1st century mention prohibitions linked to this gesture.

Plutarch explains that nails come from an impure secretion of the body and that one should not get rid of them during sacred periods. (Treatise of Isis and Osiris.)

In the Satyricon, Petronius has one of his characters say: "I have heard that it is not permitted for anyone to cut their nails or hair on a ship, except when the sea becomes stormy".

Pliny indicates that it is a very bad omen to cut one's nails, without saying a word and starting with the index finger, during the markets of Rome. (Book 28)

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19th century' superstitions still current :

You should avoid cutting them on days of the week that contain “r”. In the Vosges it is explained that this allows us to protect ourselves from toothache. In Normandy it brings bad luck, and in Maine, it is every month in "r" that attracts bad luck.

The Vosges prescribe to avoid Fridays at all costs, because they lengthen the devil's horns, and recommend Mondays, for those who want to permanently protect themselves from toothache.

Nor should one cut one's nails during the waning of the moon, lest they never grow back.

In the Pyrenees, if you cut your nails after sunset, the clippings mysteriously go into the eyes of horned animals and cause blindness.

According to another widespread superstition, you should not cut the nails of small children. This would give them hooked fingers, they would become thieves or they might even die.

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Omens / Divinations :

They say in Provence that people who have curled nails die young. In the 19th century, the small white spots that sometimes appeared on the nails often meant lies that had been told. In certain other places, they predict a happy life (Poitou, Brittany); a gift or inheritance (Corsica.)

It is also said that these spots reveal a person's jealous character, or the number of their sins. (Maine et Loire) To make them disappear, simply blow on them in the morning on an empty stomach (Seine - Maritime.)

In Corsica, a black sign on the nails announces a death in the family (if it is noticed in the house); or that of a close relative (if we see it on the stairs.) If we see this stain outside, it will be the death of a distant relative or friend.

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[Excerpts freely reproduced from M.C Delmas.]

#Nails #French Folks Traditions #Delmas #Thiers #part 1