Lately, I have been keen on sending out handwritten letters to loved ones after relocating to Coral del Cabo. It is a way to make correspondence personal and meaningful. I enjoy it.
Well, to my surprise, I received a postcard from Cuba sent from my significant other three months ago to the day that she visited and sent the card.
International mail is the best
In the past I have received post from my friends in the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands. They were full of love and encouragement. Sadly, and to my shame, I have not kept it up over the years.
This gets rectified immediately, because I would be thrilled to have long-term pen pals to reach out to and share life with again. Eventually I will re-acquire personalized stationary.
Electronic mail is rare to receive but no less welcome. If interested in either digital or analog correspondence, you can first reach out via e-mail by clicking here: hello@
Frequency illusion pops up like…rabbits everywhere. While enjoying the 1927 film Metropolis, I saw a reference to Yoshiwara district in the huge fictional megacity. Now, why was a um, ahem, red light district from ancient Japan featured in a German film?
Scene from Metropolis. The club was an allegory for the sins of Babylon in the book of Revelations.
A few months ago, before watching the new series on Hulu, I re-read the novel Shogun, about feudal Japan where there was a reference to Yoshiwara. To this day, Yoshiwara red light district is in the city of Edo, the exact location that Toranaga-san had allowed to be built (next to the despised Catholic church.)
Revelations, Babylon, the Tower of Babel and the seven deadly sins were the pillars of the Metropolis movie. As it happens, I’ve been doing some background research on the Babel Tower so of course I would find it referenced elsewhere. I swear I don’t go looking for coincidences but they do happen in unsuspecting places.
Side note: Isn’t it interesting that we in America can speak and listen in the same language as our neighbors but no one understands each other? Babel indeed.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The beta version of the newest iPhone operating system has been installed on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. There is a lot of new features to unpack but for now, the custom icon tinting is my favorite. I love a uniform screen.
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.
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.
I’ve been experimenting with digital crossword puzzles and newsprint lately. With crosswords, I’ll solve the puzzle (entertaining in its own right) and then bonus(!) I will take a screenshot of it when complete. Then, in Apple Photos, use my Apple Pencil to markup the image to find words that stand out. After those are mapped out I will then cross out the rest to come up with some poetry. Although, that is limited to the words on the puzzle so they are more statement than poetry.
After reading an interesting article with Apple News, I will take a screenshot and do the same for the article- try to connect words and to form a new phrase or sentence.
The whole premise is ridiculous but it is mentally challenging and time consuming. I’ll see how long the fun lasts but for now, I am enjoying it.
