Cap'n Henry Every
A fascinating character from Pirate history, the uncaught Henry Every, who made off with one of (if not THE) largest Pirate Hauls in history. One of the largest world-wide manhunts turned up nothing, and he was variously rumored to have died destitute in England or have set up a Pirate Utopia in Madagascar, where coins were supposedly minted with his image. His treasure remains undiscovered.
A curious fact: That even the Captain of a Pirate Ship only took double the portion of his Crew. By that I mean - if 99 crew members survived an act of piracy (eg: taking a galleon) - that treasure would be split 100 ways, each crew member getting a single portion, the Captain getting double.
Compare that to the wages sailors were paid and piracy becomes a perfectly reasonable career (they were often paid a pittance to do the same on behalf of the crown, why not then do it for themselves?).
And compare, again, how well most CEO's pay themselves vs what they pay their employees and you'll soon conclude the golden days of fair play are long past...
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Every
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Puffer-Nuffer
Halloween, and nothing going on, which was sad because I'd made big plans to go to a rave or club and in the end did nothing.
Almost nothing. A friend invites me to a school Halloween do, outdoors. It's one of those "alternative" schools, and with no reasonable excuses as to why I can't go I'm in.
Now it's cold out, unseasonably, and dark, and the "tour" begins in the parking lot, from which you walk through the forest along lighted paths to various stations at which you're given (or more the children are given) "quests". There is nothing in the least scary about this Halloween, it goes against the schools teachings. This Halloween we're on a quest to find "Puffer-Nuffer", a magical leprechaun that on Halloween can be enticed to give away his gold...
So the parents walk with their kids to see first the Fairies, then various other woodland creatures, all done in lighted tents, ...
... and I'm laughing, because this, this quest to find the fairies, the.... the lights, the woods, it's grooming the kids into rave culture, and this "Puffer-Nuffer", I'm thinking that's a reference to the most socially accepted vice out here, and I'm not sure they did this on purpose or simply because it's so woven into the culture it all just came to them without thinking...
Anyways, that was as close as I got to a rave this Halloween, and you don't need to tell me, I'm disappointed as well...
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Free Mattress
Without a doubt the least tempting "Free Thing" I've seen in the Kootenays. Which goes to show the lengths people will (and will not) go to to get rid of their trash.
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Guillermo del Toro - Cabinet of Curiosities
3 episodes in. The first, so far, the best - recognizing "Buster Scruggs" - all of the actors in every episode confer a familiarity - you know them, and rack your brain for half the show trying to figure out from where.
Anyways - the first episode, perfectly attuned to my aesthetic, my tastes. The props, cinematography, the underlying ideas, great - were I 12 years old...The plot - a little too predictable, a little too "Hollywood", polished, without that added layer of nuance or deeper thought. But - for what it was, what I expected, perfect.
By the end of the episode 3 I've resigned myself to enjoying the sets, characters, there will be no big - I don't know, insights, curveballs, twists. But I'm pretty sure I'll watch the rest...
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