Posted in Food, tagged baked beans, bean pot, New England on March 13, 2009| Leave a Comment »
A clay pot is essential to proper New England style baked beans.
My mother made “Boston baked beans” every Saturday night I lived at home. I tried to duplicate her recipe without success until I found this clay pot in an antique store in Lompoc, Ca. I don’t think it was ever used before I bought it for $15.
Posted in People, tagged hot water bottle, hotties, Slavoljub Eduard Penkala on March 12, 2009| 6 Comments »
Slavoljub Eduard Penkala
Slavoljub Eduard Penkala (April 20, 1871 – February 5, 1922) was an engineer and inventor from Croatia. Educated at the University of Vienna and the Technische Universität Dresden, he earned a doctorate in organic chemistry. Among many other things, Penkala developed the mechanical pencil and the first solid-ink fountain pen. He and Edmund Moster founded a pen and pencil factory still in existence and called TOZ-Penkala. Penkala’s first patented invention was the hot water bottle, a personal favorite of mine.
A hot water bottle is a container filled with hot water and sealed with a stopper, used to provide warmth, typically whilst in bed, but also for the application of heat to a specific part of the body.
Called “hotties” in New Zealand, hot water bottles come in many different shapes and sizes and with all kinds of fashionable covers. You can keep all that. On days like today with temperatures in the lower 4os and snow forecast, the old-fashioned rubber hot water bottle is one of life’s little luxuries I wouldn’t want to do without.
Ironically, Penkala died in Zagreb at the age of 51, after catching pneumonia on a business trip. He should have invented a travel version of his hot water bottle.
Posted in Germany, tagged attitude, Barbie, Bild Lilli, doll, Mattel on March 10, 2009| 5 Comments »
The Bild Lilli Doll
Barbie is a fashion doll and American icon who turned 50 this month, but her heritage is German. You could even say Barbie’s mother was German.
In the beginning Lilli was a German cartoon character, created by Reinhard Beuthien for the tabloid Bild-Zeitung in Hamburg, Germany to fill space in the paper. In 1953 the Bild-Zeitung decided to market a Lilli doll and contacted Max Weissbrodt from the toy company O&M Hausser in Neustadt/Coburg, Germany. Following Beuthien’s drawings Weissbrodt designed the prototype of the doll which was on sale from 1955 to 1964.
Ruth Handler’s husband, Elliott Handler, and his business partner, Harold “Matt” Matson, had formed a small company to manufacture picture frames, calling it “Mattel” by combining part of their names (“Matt” and “Elliot”). Ruth was on vacation in Europe, where she saw the “Bild Lilli” on sale in a Swiss store. She had wanted just such a doll for her daughter Babara, and bought three of them. Barbara got one, and the others went back to Mattel. The rest, as they say, is history.
As a cartoon character, Lilly had attitude and was popular with adults. In one cartoon, a policeman told her that the two-piece swimsuit she was wearing was illegal, to which she replied “What piece should I remove?” Can you imagine Barbie saying that?
Posted in People, Photography, Uncategorized, tagged Marion on March 9, 2009| 4 Comments »
This is a picture of my daughter-in-law Marion. I don’t know who took it, or when or even where. It is just one of those pictures that catches my eye and won’t let go. I like the lighting and muted colors, especially in the the painting behind Marion. Her expression is mysterious. I asked permission to use the photo, but couldn’t wait to post this. I hope you forgive me, Marion.
Posted in Flickr, Photography, Uncategorized, tagged 1951, electric vehicles, Studebaker on March 7, 2009| 1 Comment »
This 1951 Commando isn’t stock, but looks restored. I had a 1954 Chevy with the same kind of “rounded” styling, and it wasn’t nearly as cool as this. The grill alone is a work of post-war art. I wonder what a Studebaker today would look like if they had survived.
Studebaker was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Originally, the company was a producer of wagons for farmers, miners and the military, founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company.
Studebaker entered the automotive business in 1902 with electric vehicles and in 1904 with gasoline vehicles, all sold under the name “Studebaker Automobile Company”.
Posted in Bread, Drink, Food, Germany, tagged Bavaria, doppelbock, liquid bread, Salvator on March 5, 2009| 5 Comments »
My first experience with this Bavarian “liquid bread” was in 1973 and involved a late night trip to the Bahnhof with my buddy Reginald, six half-litre bottles of Salvator doppelbock, and a crippling hangover.
Bock is a strong lager which has its origins in the Hanseatic town of Einbeck, Germany. Bocks have a long history of being brewed and consumed by Roman Catholic monks in Germany. During the spring religious season of Lent, monks were required to fast. High-gravity Bock beers are higher in food energy and nutrients than lighter lagers, thus providing sustenance during this period.
Posted in Uncategorized on March 4, 2009| 2 Comments »
There are a lot of dilapidated or abandoned buildings in the neighborhood.
Posted in Uncategorized on March 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Chrysler, Cross Bronx Expressway, Forbes, New Yorker on March 3, 2009| 1 Comment »
Forbes.com published a list of America’s worst intersections. The Cross Bronx Expressway made the top ten on this list three times. Actually, three of the top four worst intersections were off this nightmare road.
Years ago, I would take the Cross Bronx when driving to Maine for the weekend, heading north on Friday afternoons and returning to Philadelphia on Sunday nights. It wasn’t really that bad though, once I learned what lane to be in and when to change lanes. What was bad though was breaking down.
One Friday on my way north, I glimpsed a brand new Chrysler New Yorker stopped in the breakdown land at an underpass. A man in an expensive looking suit had the hood open and was looking at the motor like that was going to help. You should have taken the train, buddy!
On my way back south that Sunday night, I saw this same car. It was on cinder blocks and had been completely stripped. No doors, no wheels. All the glass was gone. The hood and trunk lid were missing. The seats were gone. It looked like the engine and the entire drive train had been pulled out. A crew of three or four young men were stripping out whatever was left of the once beautiful car.
I remember thinking – wouldn’t it have been easier to steal the whole car?
Posted in Germany, People, tagged Brian D. Kilgore, Gerda Hannelore Else Denninger, Germany, married, Schweinfurt on March 1, 2009| 1 Comment »
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March 1: Independence Day in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992); Saint David’s Day in Wales; Mărţişor in Romania and Moldova; Martenitsa inBulgaria
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