BlAugust

TIL 30

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Things I Learned In 2024 Week 30:

Hoopla– want to stream audiobooks, or movies? Read books and magazines? A perfect companion courtesy of your local library. I was able to find obscure movie titles to stream when everywhere else failed or charged $$ for such as: Metropolis (finally!), Hundreds of Beavers, Nosferatu (finally!) so far. All were silent movies and in the public domain but other streamers wanted a minimum of $6 to rent. Nope!

More frequency illusion, or Rabbits, was a re-occurring theme from the Metropolis movie:

Kleon had the same theme in one of his newsletters last week but it was regarding art. In that if you want to create good art, you need a combination of head, heart and hands.

Rosetta Stone– another service courtesy of the local library. The renowned language learning program is available. I need to polish up my Spanish and maybe take up Italian. They are similar so it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch.

Hemingway– As if I didn’t have enough to consume lately, I’ve rented a 3-disc video series on E.H. By Ken Burns, as well as downloaded a few of E.H.’s novels courtesy of Gutenberg Press. Thank goodness I opted to get the larger memory chip for my Kindle.

Classical music– Masses, litanies, vespers, psalms, oratorios, cantatas, requiems, operas, concertos, sonata, symphony, string quartets, chamber music, Masonic, divertimentos, serenade, dances, marches, etc etc. Why do the composers have “k” or “v” in their music titles? 173dA? Okay, sure. I’ve always enjoyed classical but never understood the details. Too much to learn and I regret never have taken a class on music theory or appreciation. I am rectifying this now, slowly.

Reading– Adding to my infinite tower of books to devour will be a study of Dante’s Inferno. That’ll take a year, easily. Throw in some Don Quixote, mix it with Hunter S. Thompson as well as C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. Then, read up on how well those last two worked and inspired each other for their fantasies from Middle Earth and Narnia.

Drinks Are On Me

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I’d like to experiment with a new, unique cocktail as soon as possible. We have a nice bar area in the dining room that needs to be filled. Okay, let’s try this:

Blue Dolphin Cocktail

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 oz Blue Curacao
  • 1 oz Vodka
  • 1 oz Coconut Cream
  • 2 oz Pineapple Juice
  • Ice
  • Pineapple slice or a cherry for garnish

If vodka doesn’t work out, maybe substitute with clear rum.

Cutty Shark

Ingredients:

  • Cutty Sark scotch whiskey
  • amaretto
  • ice

Cutty Shark Highball

Ingredients:

  • Cutty Sark scotch whiskey
  • sparkling water
  • lemon juice
  • Ice
  • Lemon wedge for garnish

Palm Tree Cocktail

Ingredients:

  • White Rum
  • Coconut Rum
  • Pineapple Juice
  • Orange Juice
  • Blue Curacao
  • Splash of Grenadine
  • Ice
  • Lime wedges around rim for the palms

Three P’s

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For digital documents you want to keep for a long time, I suggest the Three P’s:

  • Plain text
  • PDFs
  • Printouts

While in college in the mid 1990’s, and prior to purchasing my first computer, I utilized a word processor. Think manual typewriter but with a 3.5″ floppy disk for storage. I wish I had known enough to preserve all of my writings. The floppy disks were formatted for the word processor but not the computer. It wiped everything off the disk to make room for the Windows formatting. The lesson here is to preserve your work and prepare by future-proofing formats. It was a hard learned lesson. All of my personal writing, studies and papers gone.

I was reminded of all of this when I read about how Hemingway’s early notes and the beginning of a novel disappeared. His wife had gathered his works and left Paris by train to Switzerland to meet him and a publisher and somehow, the suitcase went missing from the train platform and they were devastated.

My loss was due to ignorance and in no way as significant as Hemingway’s loss. But the pain was there.

My revamped workflow process is:

  • Write and edit drafts in Ulysses (saved to cloud, backed up onto my file server)
  • Publish from Ulysses to my website (saved to cloud)
  • Copy/Paste to my own database in plain text format (cloud, file server)
  • Migrate all of my work into the database in plain text, organize.
  • Print to .pdf by year (saved to cloud and file server)
  • Print to paper by year (saved to a dedicated yearly file folder or binder)

Interesting enough, while walking through the library’s “read and return” section, the word “Hemingway” ended up in my peripheral vision.

Rabbits and Frequency Illusion!

I usually don’t give them a glance but the paper spine was attractive. The fiction novel title is “The Hemingway Thief” and how the aforementioned luggage was lost. I haven’t read it yet, but it seems to be a good yarn with a few secrets and twists. Looking forward to reading it as soon as possible.

Bookmarked

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I’ve found a palm frond that fell after some heavy winds today and plan to clean it up then whittle it down into a palm tree bookmark with an engraving.

Sure, I can buy a bookmark or stick a note in between the pages, but this will palm will stay with me longer.

On Hemingway

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When I was in college, I had an opportunity to take a break from the stress of a new marriage and my studies. My step-father swung by my home on the way up to his lake cabin for the weekend and asked me to come along. I was hesitant at first, but my wife insisted. I am grateful for the invitation and the encouragement on both their parts.

It was a literal breath of fresh air, in that I could escape my stresses and enjoy a relaxing, distraction-free weekend. While there, I perused the bookshelf and came across a vintage copy of “For Whom The Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway. After a few hours of reading, I think I was ready to finally go to sleep. But I didn’t sleep on the instant appreciation for where I was and what I had just read. Until the weekend was up and it was back to reality. And burrowed, in the back of my brain, was the spirit of Hemingway.

Not too many people can experience what he had experienced or live his lifestyle, but that doesn’t stop me from aspiring to. Years after that weekend at the lake cabin, I picked up a copy of “The Sun Also Rises” and that long forgotten spirit of Hemingway was renewed and inspired me again after it was read.

So, I’ve decided to do a deep study into the man and his influence when I set myself up to my digital typewriter. Hell, I want my old mechanical typewriter back just for the romance and nostalgia.

While living and working in Cuba, he set himself up in a fine home that was called Finca Vigia, or “Lookout Farm.” While doing research, I came across the letterhead of his stationary and thought to myself, I will have the same for myself as soon as possible. I used to have personalized stationary, complete with a custom seal press that read “From the Library of Chris Denbow.” Damn, why did I lose that? Why did I sell or trade off my entire library?

Letter by E.H. From Finca Vigia

So, from henceforth until I leave this place, I am designating my new home in Florida as Coral del Cabo (Spanish). Eventually, the stationary will be printed and used. I have decided that while text and FaceTime are beneficial, nothing beats a handwritten or typed letter in the mail.

I could go on all night about the details and influences that Hemingway offers, but, as I finish my three fingers of Cutty Sark, I realize it is late. Perhaps I will dream about those short stories and unwritten novels and once again call on E.H. For inspiration.

— CJD from Coral del Cabo

BLAugust

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I like to take on writing challenges for myself. Stop me if you’ve read this about me before, but every now and then I’ll finish a challenge. It’s rare. So why have I committed the month of August to writing a blog post for every day of the month?

For the hell of it of course. I have various interests and a lot to say about even more various topics. Thirty-one days- maybe I should be committed, so to speak.

How will I be able to publish something daily? No idea but it will be fun.

Anyway, welcome to August Blaugust, and check back daily for something new and hopefully interesting.