Hobo Jungle

[v8vega]

I would guess CTT are using Frank 53's photos as he tore down his layout.
It was hot and humid already at 7:00 AM, The humidity should go away soon.
I saw the movie Hud last night on TV. A sort of more modern western. I remember hearing about it, it may have won some awards for what thats worth. Paul Newman was the star.
Since I have total comptempt for anything Hollywood because of their politics a movie has to be really good for me to say much good about it and this didn't make it.

[v8vega]

Doesn't seem to be a lot of activity here so I'll post again.
I have a TV antenna on the roof and when they switched to digital TV I got a digital to analog converter (set top box) The remote for it you use to change channels was acting up and last night quit altogether. I put in new batteries and it still didn't work, I figured I'm in trouble now. I have a brick of AA batteries about half used up and I realised these batteries are really old, I had them when I was still working 8 years ago. I found another pack of batteries also old but the remote works now.
I am reading March 2007 Model Railroader and they have a 1:29 proportion cab forward for $4,995.

[webenda]

The dog vs kangaroo story was on the news today.

Dog tries to chase kangaroo away and almost drowns.
http://youtu.be/mL63ryR_4iU

And now, the rest of the story...

After Roo almost drowns dog, it attacks dogs owner.
http://youtu.be/Y1GxAPXrUCQ

Dennis,

Thank you for the battery post. Should be a lesson for everyone not to stock up on more batteries than you can use in a couple of years. My current stock of AA batteries says,
"MIEUX S'IL EST EST INSTALLÉ PAR 2017"
"SI INGÉRÉ, VOIR UN MÉDECIN SANS TARDER.
"PRÉPARÉ POUR CANADA SAFEWAY LIMITED, CALGARY, ALBERTA, CA."

I bought them here in Tucson. I have been to Calgary and no one spoke French there. So what's with the French? Here in Tucson a lot of people speak Spanish. The warning, "SI INGÉRÉ" almost says, "Yes, eat them," in Spanish (SÍ, INGESTA).

[2railjon]

Abandoned amusement parks:
http://www.fubiz.net/en/2013/08/30/aban ... ent-parks/

[webenda]

Interesting sites for hoboing Jon, thank you.

[rogruth]

Wayne,

You wanna 'splain that [the above photo]?

[2railjon]

Roger:
http://www.fubiz.net/en/2012/07/17/you-are-not-banksy/

[webenda]

Wayne,

You wanna 'splain that [the above photo]?

The web site explains the photo, thank you Jon.

Here is more info on the graffiti:

In 2007 Banksy created stenciled images on the wall of the West Bank in Bethlehem, one of which was Girl and a Soldier, featuring a young girl frisking an armed soldier with his hands against the wall. These images were intended to promote an upcoming exhibition, Santa’s Ghetto, which takes place annually for about a month and features the work of Banksy and other graffiti artists. He selected Bethlehem for the exhibit because it is said to be the birthplace of Jesus and because it is at the center of allegations of human rights abuses.

In the image the girl is wearing ponytails and a pink dress, representing purity and innocence. The soldier, in olive-green clothing and with a rifle laying to his side, is contrasted with the young girl and represents aggression. The wall the soldier is leaning against symbolizes the divide between the Israelis and Palestinians. The frisking of the soldier represents the dehumanization of individuals as they are automatically assumed to be hostile based on their religion or ethnicity. Using irony, Banksy invites observers to contemplate the cultural barriers that prevent people from fully recognizing the humanity of others.

In the photo I posted, Photographer Nick Stern had fun staging Banksy's graffiti with models. Seeing the image I immediately thought of, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." -- Matthew 5:5

[v8vega]

Awhile ago I brought home a old computer desk that was out at the curb because it has a group of 4 drawers 4 1/4" deep, perfect for storing O gauge trains out of the dust. I removed the drawers and discarded the desk part, painted them where needed and put in cardboard dividers to separate the cars. It stores 5 cars per drawer or 20 total. Nice ball bearing drawer slides and it looks nice.

[rogruth]

Jon and Wayne,

Thanks much.The real life stagings of the art work are in my opinion fantastic.

I must admit that due to some of my political naivete I am not sure that I understand all.

Maybe it's best that way.Let me think about these for a while and don't try to explain to me.

I'm afraid more confusion would result.Remember I do get a lot of them.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

.......I am not sure that I understand all.

Maybe it's best that way.Let me think about these for a while and don't try to explain to me.

Sometimes that's the best that you can do with "art".

[healey36]

I recall a poem written by Randall Jarrell we were assigned to read in high-school, titled "The Death of the Ball-Turret Gunner":

"From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose."

The teacher asked me what I thought it was about. I said I thought it was about the occasional horrific loss of young people in a time of war, their death somehow diminshed and impersonalized by the sheer numbers of casualties in a conflict such as the Second World War.

She said no, I had it all wrong...it was about abortion.

I protested, saying it was written in 1945, for God's sake. She just looked at me...

Ever since I've tried not to let anyone explain "art" to me.

[webenda]

A ball turret was a Plexiglas sphere set into the belly of a B-17 or B-24. Your teacher was crazy. [opinion]
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_ ... ret_Gunner

My favorite "not what it seems" is "Jack and Jill" (published 1765) an innocent seeming nursery rhyme. It is actually about booze, weights and measures.

Despite the Magna Carta (15 June 1215) requiring uniform weights and measures (clause 25) the kings of England thought they were immune to the law.

[25] There is to be a single measure for wine throughout our realm, and a single measure for ale, and a single measure for Corn, that is to say the London quarter, and a single breadth for dyed cloth, russets, and haberjects, that is to say two yards within the lists. And it shall be the same for weights as for measures.

For example, King Charles I (1625–1649) tried to reform taxes on liquid measures. He was blocked by Parliament, so subsequently ordered that the volume of a Jack (1/2 pint) be reduced, but the tax remained the same. This meant that he still received more tax, despite Parliament's veto. Hence "Jack fell down and broke his crown" (many pint glasses in the UK still have a line marking the 1/2 pint level with a crown above it) "and Jill came tumbling after". The reference to "Jill", (actually a "gill", or 1/4 pint) reflects the gill dropping in volume as a consequence.

The "broke his crown" refers to how Charles I died, he was beheaded on 30 January 1649 at Whitehall Palace.

Mess with our beer will he? Not anymore.

[rogruth]

I recall similar interpretations of poems that amazed me.
I wondered if the poet knew how his/her work was being interpreted.
My opinion of the teacher is the same as Waynes'.

[2railjon]

V8vega, sounds like an inexpensive storage plan! I use those stackable storage tubs from Walmart. They're pretty affordable.

Wayne, I wonder if that's where the saying "jack of ale" came from? I always thought jack was a name for a beer tankard .