If you’ve ever wondered how Santa Claus operates, here’s the answer. This illustration is taken from Flying Saucers Close Up, by John W. Dean, published in 1969 by Saucerian Books. Please click on it to see it better. Happy Holidays! (Posted by Doug Skinner)

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Casanova gives us a glimpse into etiquette in 18th century London, as only he can. Here it is, in my translation, from Volume 9, Chapter 10 of his memoirs. Going toward Buckingham House, I see in the bushes, some twelve or fifteen steps to my left, an indecency which surprises me. Four or five men […]

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The holidays are upon us.  Be careful. (Posted by Doug Skinner)

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I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. Stuffing oneself on dead bird to gloat over the genocide of the Indians, while muttering to an Imaginary Gaseous Vertebrate, doesn’t appeal to me. I don’t enjoy overeating, and dinners in my family were not happy gatherings: mostly my father would become drunk and belligerent, while I wanted to be elsewhere. […]

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Well, Happy Halloween.  If, that is, Halloween is supposed to be happy.  It’s a mysterious holiday.  At any rate, here’s an old Galician proverb to contemplate: I don’t believe in witches, but they still exist. (Posted by Doug Skinner)

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(Posted by Doug Skinner.  Picture by Ray Gleason.)

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The “New Testament Game,” published in 1899 by The Fireside Game Company, was a variation on the popular game of “Quartets.”  The deck contained 52 scenes from the life of Jesus, divided into groups of four, which the player then collected. (Posted by Doug Skinner)

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Théophile Gautier’s 1865 novel, La Belle-Jenny, is a boisterous, Romantic tale of conspiracy and intrigue, all of which fails.  Couples are parted; lives are ruined.  Near the end, Arthur Sidney, the character most to blame for all of this, sums up what he’s learned: Aimez quelqu’un ou quelque chose, un homme, un enfant, un chien, […]

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The title of this stereoscopic card is “The Spot an Angel Deigned to Grace.”  It’s part of the Keystone Eye-Skill Training Series, and shows Loch Katrine, in Scotland.  Please click on it to see it full-size. (Posted by Doug Skinner)

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Cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper) is the simplest of dishes: boil and drain pasta; mix in grated cheese, ground pepper, and a bit of the cooking water; and serve.  It’s a standard dish in Rome; traditionally, it’s made with pasta secca (usually spaghetti) and pecorino romano. It’s not the most nutritious supper (I suggest […]

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