Our Weird Family Forum Hi all!

hi folks!

Gin anyone?

cheers ... uncle

hi all!

I never did any hunting myself ... but there's a place near here that sells boar meat fresh from the hunt ... and I used to shop there from time to time. Its the great Indic pastime ... wild boar ... stir fried with ground chilies ... spice ... and cinnamon. And then to snack on that with that cold bottle of beer. Whew! That was something ...

regards ... Uncle

hi folks!

I was sitting in this restaurant and the guy from another table walks over to ask what brand I'm smoking. So I showed him the hand-rolled tobacco brand ... Domingo. Its flavored with a variety of fruit flavors. The guy told me how he was simply charmed by the scent of the tobacco at his table and had to come over to ask. And that is probably a great ad pitch for Domingo!

regards ... Uncle

hi all!

Was just wandering about the attitude of looking for attention. These days a person might do that by setting up a blog ... put up their photos ... and eventually come around to displaying their personality. I figure its an important part of what we are as individuals ... and sometimes by doing that ... it helps to encourage others ... to try a little. Let's see now ... nope ... can't think of anyone who might be doing that ... can you?

regards ... Uncle

hi folks!

Was just rummaging through the school days ... and remembered this badge ... in the school I attended. That's the old gate ... of the Fort in Malacca ... on the right ... and the national flower of Malaysia ... on the lower left ... the bunga raya. Can't get over the symbol of the torch though ... as a sign of learning. Just absolutely perfect. Some great memories ...

regards ... Uncle

hi all!

Came across this item at live auctioneers ...  with starting bid at $75. Estimated value ... as a collector's item today is about $150 - 200. Was certainly popular in the 60s ... with the wind up and go key ... that makes it go round in circles. I had another wind up that was a horse ... and it'll gallop a bit ... like a real horse. How time flies ...

The horse below:

regards ... Uncle

hi all!

From Charles Dicken's ... A Tale of Two Cities ... the opening lines of the book ...

' It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.'

regards ... Uncle

A cigarette brand from the 60s ... the famous Rough Riders ... obviously an early take on the male image thing. My father used to smoke ... but it was ' Freeman's ' something.' I can't remember the name and  I couldn't get much help on the web. We kids used to play with the cigarette box package ... and it became a bit of a collector's thing ... among kids ... like Baseball cards. Every new cigarette brand was like a novel experience. I roll my own these days.

regards ... Uncle

hi all!

It is the Hindu ' holy thread ' ceremony ... where two boys ( not natural born brothers ) undergo a ceremony ... to tie a yellow thread on the wrist of the other. It is the joining of the souls ... in the life they are coming to live ... and it represents the experience of duality ... in the world ... where we experience life as me and the other. In a sense ... the other ... is viewed as representations of the wishes of the other brother ... which is translated as the world.

The practice has a significance ... with regards to same sex relations ... but it emphasizes the ' union of souls ' ... not an indiscriminate ... sexual relation. It may be equal to Western practices ... of ' the godfather and godson.'

 

The practice continues to this day. The pic above is from a ceremony ... by the Indic community ... in Anaheim, California

regards ... Uncle

hi folks!

I think I'll go now ... and climb a mountain ... ride a horse and shoot a gun. Hunt for my food ... cook it over an open flame ... and drink some home brewed beer. And then I think I'll built a log cabin ... with a fireplace ... and there I'll sit smoking my tobacco and drinking black coffee.

And I'll make friends with the natives ... share some jokes ... and talk about life. And on lonely days ... I'll talk with the stars.

( Adapted from the poem :   The Isle of Innisfree by William Butler Yeats )

( pic is from the movie Jeremiah Johnson 1972 )

regards ... Uncle

hi all!

Its a pair of yellow mynahs ... and they are nesting near my house. Its nest building time ... so they peel off the dry banana stems ... and leaves ... and carry it off in their beaks. I keep a binoculars ... to watch the birds outside the window ... and get quite a treat ... of their bright yellow and black plumes. Lovely!

regards ... Uncle

hi folks!

Everybody remembers the Virginian from the TV series in the 60s. I was over at Youtube ... and caught the 50th Anniversary of the cast meeting ... at the Gene Autry Museum in Los Angeles. They spoke about being a part of the show ... and the way it depicted the West. There was also talk of values ... and what we remember of the experience in these times. 

My own memories ... were as a kid ... catching the show ... and being thrilled by the way of life ... the gun fights ... and the strong sense of fortitude ... among the characters depicted on the show. Good memories.

regards ... Uncle

hi all!

Had my first visit to a strip club ... when I visited Amsterdam ... some years back. It was in the red light area ... and it featured a male female sexual act. In Los Angeles ... there was a place on La Cienega and Sunset ... that featured some good pole acts. I used to go there ... every time we got a visitor from home ... who wanted some action. They got a belly full ... thats for sure.

But the mother of all shows ... for me ... will always be the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Wow! ... pretty girls all in a row.

regards ... Uncle

hi all!

I have almost forgotten how fun it used to be in the playground in school. It was the basic equipment ... the swings ... see saw ... slides ... but these days ... they've put more thinking into playground equipment. Check out this one below ... goodness ... there's so much to do ... and the different ways to do it ... and get some fun.

It reminds me of the Clint Holmes hit ... in the 70s ... ' Playground in my Mind '

hi folks!

Its the Chinese New Year 2015 ...and the forecast says that world banking and financial markets will not fair too well. Hong Kong's Feng Shui and destiny consultant ... master Joseph Wong ... gave some advice for Obama in the year of the goat.

' Born in 1961, the year of the ox, President Obama is going to have "big changes this year," Wong said. "He may face many problems. Wong said Obama's luck could improve if he puts a snake or rooster in his office.'

 

Happy New Year Folks ... regards ... Uncle

hi folks!

You all got to hear this. It makes sounds like any musical instrument but no sound that is in some way familiar. And yet ... it appeals to the passions ... like as if its a sound from long ago ... that we might have heard while living in the wilds. A case of making contact again with our wild side. Try it ... its fun!

regards ... Uncle

hi all!

Was just remembering the days of my youth ... living near the padi fields ... of the times when I used to walk past them ... and taking in the scent of the ripe padi ... mixed with the earth. It was a powerful sensation as the wind picked up the scent and followed you around everywhere.

And around the fields were the irrigation canals teeming with catfish and carp ... and sometimes fighting fish. A lovely pastoral scene in rural Malaysia.

regards ... Uncle

A popular exhibit at the museum ... this one the New York City Rubin Museum of Art is featuring the collection from Jung's Red Book. Its a collection of his dreams ... visions ... Gnostic experiences ... and faith. Pic below is the painting by Jung of his spiritual guide he named a s Philemon ... featured as father ... in the institutionalized practice of faith ... and then there's the python. 

A curious experience that many relate to in these times. regards ... Uncle

hi folks!

Check this out!

( from Wikipedia )
Hobo is an art and culture magazine based in New York City and Paris and founded in Vancouver in 2002.Through collections of interviews, photo essays, and commentaries, Hobo incites a romantic conception of a bohemian and nonconformist spirit and is as a matter of course also ultimately a portrait of the personal interests, sentiments, lives, and aesthetics of its founders and editors.It is mostly known for in-depth interviews of well-known actors and artists, and is often associated with the west and a reportage style of photography that expresses the beauty of natural, rural landscapes.
regards ... Uncle

hi Folks!

Its the Park of all parks. Its planned for people to walk among its branches ... from tree to tree ... above the forest floor of leaves and stones. A great breath taking experience ... fresh as they come ... and a new perspective on the living ... as if its taking you away from it all. 

I had a vision of this one time ... when lying down on bed ... and boy ... did it change my view of things.

regards ... Uncle