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Capsule
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Artist's depiction of the Great Fire of New York on September 19, 1776.
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Lead Picture (Thumbnail Story below in Thumbnail section)
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Text in French and German describing the event. French caption reads: Français : Representation du Feu terrible a Nouvelle Yorck (Representation of the great fire at New York). German caption (with similar translation) reads: Deutsch: Schreckenvolle Feuersbrunst welche zu Neu Yorck von denen Americanern in der Nacht vom 19. Herbst Monath 1776 angelegt worden, wodurch alle Gebäude auf der West Seite der neuen Börse längst der Brook Strant biss an das Königl[iche] Kollegii mehr als 1600 Häuser, die Dreifaltigkeits Kirche, die Lutherische Kappelle u[nd] die Armen Schule in Asche verwandelt worden.
Franz Xaver Habermann - New York Public Library Digital Collection: Image ID=psnypl_prn_972 URL: http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?psnypl_prn_972
Read more on the blog www.existentialautotrip.com
The blog? A daily three to four-minute excursion into photos and short texts to regale the curious with an ever-changing and diverting view of a world rich in gastronomy, visual art, ideas, chuckles, stories, people, diversions, science, homespun, and enlightenment.
Observing with wit and wisdom, Dom Capossela, an experienced leader, guides his team of contributors and followers through that world, an amusing and edifying conversation to join.
Note that the blog is also the first place that posts the "Hey, Dom!" videos.
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Commentary
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Where should we be looking when we drink a glass of water?
It’s a weird moment.
Should we look at the person talking?
We look disinterested.
Look at people coming and going?
At what’s going on around us?
We look furtive.
Or stare down at the glass?
We look cross-eyed.
Should we close our eyes?
Does the pleasure of the gulp demand such attention?
Wherever we look while drinking, the ‘look’ we project is not flattering.
Monk Testing Wine by Antonio Casanova y Estorach (c.1886)
Antonio Salvador Casanova y Estorach - Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum; Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 06.336.1.jpg
As opposed to sipping, as in a glass of wine.
Holding the stem of the glass.
Elegantly.
Stylishly.
Sipping is a short moment at which we’re taking a near-sighted look at the liquid in the bowl.
Admiring the color, likely.
Sipping raises us to a human level.
No animals sip.
Sipping is not eating or drinking which are elemental acts we share with animals, along with relieving ourselves and sex.
Sipping a Chateau Margaux, 1961, is godlike.
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Friday’s Dinner posted on
Sunday, September 22, 2019
This night Lauren and I celebrated her birthday at Ma Maison, a small, local French restaurant.
The menu was loaded with French classics.
The food, service, and ambience were all terrific.
The prices were market, $100.00 per person to order well.
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Chuckle of the day:
Sunday, September 22, 2019
A man and his friend meet at the club house and decide to play a round of golf together. The man has a little dog with him and on the first green, when the man holes out a 20 foot putt, the little dog starts to yip and stands up on its hind legs.
The friend is quite amazed at this clever trick and says, "That dog is really talented! What does he do if you miss a putt?"
"Somersaults," says the man.
"That's incredible. How many does he do?"
"That depends on how hard I kick him in the ass."
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A “Hey, Dom!” video.
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Pirate feels great
But he doesn’t look so good.
Length: 2.18
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We love getting mail.
Contact me at domcapossela@hotmail.com
Sunday, September 22, 2019
This from Sally C:
Dear Dom,
A lot of your friends are appreciating the voice you are providing, the broad spectrum you illustrate with your posts and with the comments you post from others. It's a wonderful exchange.
(Kali's work is exquisite! Often painful, but always from the heart. As it should be ...)
Thank you!
Sally
Web Meister’s Response: I like it, too. Don’t know what I did before this.
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Today’s Thumbnail
Sunday, September 22, 2019
The Great Fire of New York was a devastating fire that burned through the night of September 20, 1776, and into the morning of September 21, on the West Side of what then constituted New York City at the southern end of the island of Manhattan.
It broke out in the early days of the military occupation of the city by British forces during the American Revolutionary War.
The fire destroyed about one third of the city, while some unaffected parts of the city were plundered.
The Spirit of '76 (originally entitled Yankee Doodle), painted by Archibald Willard in the late nineteenth century, an iconic image relating to the patriotic sentiment surrounding the American Revolutionary War
Many people believed or assumed that one or more people deliberately started the fire, for a variety of different reasons.
British leaders accused revolutionaries acting within the city and state, and many residents assumed that one side or the other had started it.
The fire had long-term effects on the British occupation of the city, which did not end until 1783.
A tip o' the hat (U.S. President Calvin Coolidge, 1924
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Acknowledgements
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Thanks to Sally C for her letter.
And to the Jokes Warehouse for the chuckle today.
Thanks to the Microsoft team at the Prudential Center for their unflagging availability to help with a constant flow of technological problems.
Always thanks to Wikipedia, the Lead and the Thumbnail sections of the Blog very often shaped from stories taken from that amazing website. They are truly worthy of public support.
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Good Morning on this Sunday, September 22, 2019
Fires frighten me.
So randomly destructive.
Mindless.
My worry beads are close at hand.
And now? Gotta go.
Che vuoi? Le pocketbook?
See you soon.
Your Taeyeon