Boys, Architecture and Reading

I’m not sure what is the attraction between boys and: fire stations, trains, trucks, fill in the blanks.  Over the years I’ve maintained my interest in gasoline stations and railroad stations among other things.  For those two I think part of the link for me is to the unique architecture of those structures (in my teen years I briefly considered architecture as a career). Those structures can be totally functional, yet quite distinctive in design. You know them when you see them.  Not more than 20 miles from me is a small town wooden train station converted to a private home. That one is easy to spot as the owners purposely kept some features of the building intact – it looks like the train tracks were taken up just recently when in fact that spur line was abandoned many decades ago – a common story in New England. Other former stations and railroad outbuildings can be a little difficult to spot, but not if you train yourself (really, no pun was intended) to look for that distinctive railroad architecture.

Gasoline stations are the same way.  Roadside wooden buildings with an extended roof in the front held up by two pillars?  Probably a combo 1920s gas station and small store, especially if you’re in the South.  A compact art deco stucco building with a steeply slanted roof situated on an urban corner – now a ratty used car lot? Likely a candidate for a once spiffy 1930’s “fillin station.” Maybe ESSO or Sinclair.  I, for one, find it fun to spot and photograph these repurposed buildings.

I have a couple of kids’ picture books on the topic of gasoline stations, all vintage 50s readers, picked up at yard sales and used book stores. Aside from the architecture they display, the storylines make for interesting reading.

This boy doesn't know how to dress when visiting a greasy garage.  He looks like he's headed to a prom.  Must be a rich kid. 

 The Filling Station informs us: "The attendant is the man at the filling station. He puts gas and oil into the cars. He takes the money for the gas and oil. He keeps the money in a safe." Greedy capitalist! Where are the Occupiers when you need them?

Were there no child labor laws in the 1950s??

Classic First Editions, Going Once...

I guess I did find a list of "Tops for 2011" that interested me.  AbeBooks.com is a website for those selling used and rare books. An Amazom.com for that type of thing.  Here are their top 3 most expensive sales in the modern fiction, first edition category.  Interesting literary cross section, wouldn't you say?

1. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee - $25,000
First edition of Lee’s first and only, Pulitzer Prize-winning, novel; signed “with best wishes Harper Lee.”

2. The Hobbit or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien - $20,447
First edition, first impression of Tolkien’s classic with a complete dust jacket featuring the requisite ink correction to the "e" of "Dodgeson" on the rear flap. Published in 1937, this first edition is highly valued because only 1,500 copies were printed.

3. Dr. No by Ian Fleming - $14,500
Published in 1958 by Jonathan Cape, this first edition of the first 007 novel was signed by Fleming.

Santa's Carbon Footprint

Holy Rudolph, did you know the gigantic size of Santa Claus’ carbon footprint? I forgot that you would need to take into account all those lumps of coal going to bad girls and boys (coal is almost pure carbon of course).  And then there’s the baking of those cookies and processing and transporting all that milk that each household leaves out for the old red man to munch on.  Whew!  But thankfully a thoughtful enviro-NGO has made the required calculations and now Santa Nation can sign on to the Kyoto protocols with a clear conscience.

Actually, I applaud the exercise by this NGO.  We need to lighten up a bit, especially during the holidays.  And the carbon footprint hijinx reminds me of silly grad student days sitting around converting random measurements to furlongs-per-fortnight with my fellow punch-drunk-from-studying scientists-in-training.

But it also reminded me that a respected ecological researcher published a straight-forward article in a very respected science journal calculating how many monsters Loch Ness could support knowing what we know (a lot) about the fishery productivity there and making some assumptions about the size and weight of a Loch Ness monster.  I think I recall that by his calculation the famous Loch could only support a monster and a half – not enough for a sustainable population of course. But the most interesting thing was the backlash from a few in the scientific community who thought it improper for a scientific journal to waste its space encouraging such nonsense and wrote scathing letters to the journal editor on this topic.  Of course we irreverent grad students thought this was all great stuff.  Prominent science bigwigs fighting in public.  Science shouldn’t be serious all the time, especially when you realize it is just a means and mechanism for describing this world we all inhabit.

Boxing Day

I get bored by the barrage of Best of the Year stories and features that print and digital media trot out every year between Christmas and New Years.  I guess it could be considered the equivalent of the Christmas Newsletter sent by some friends, family members and former college roommates.  Interesting, but only in moderation.

So I have no Top 10 favorite/earth-shattering/soul-ratting/did-you-miss-this-one? lists of 2011 newsie items to offer.  Just three humble observations on this Boxing Day.

1) Do Americans realize that Santa Claus is a Canadian citizen? (check out his place of residency).   We don’t want to follow the Canadian system of socialized medicine, so why do we reorient all of U.S. society, including 100% of our buying habits, between mid November and December 25th to be lined up with this foreign celebrity and his cultish elves?

2) One of the Back To The Future stainless steel Deloreans just sold for $541,200.  Seems like a bargain since a rebuilt flux capacitor alone goes for that much or more.

3) The menu of a new Asian restaurant in our area offers this tempting umbrella drink: “Virgin Pine Colada.”  I didn’t try it but it sounds tempting.  Better than the old Pine Coladas that had no sap or pitch aroma at all.  Maybe I’ll treat all my friends to one on New Years Eve.

Educational Support for Sudanese Children

Life for Sudan is a 501(c)(3) formed in 2006 for the purpose of helping Sudanese refugees in this country and those trying to rebuild South Sudan after decades of war. Most of our organization’s focus is on one aspect of education or another.

As you might well suspect, facilities for pursuing secondary and higher education opportunities in South Sudan are still few and far between. Many Sudanese families and individual students seek their education in neighboring Uganda and Life for Sudan currently supports a number of children enrolled in schools there. Modest funds go a long way in that tuition (and in some cases board as well) can cost as little as $99.60 per semester (less than $300 a year) for secondary school.  For this modest fee we can help a child obtain the critical education that will make a lasting difference in her or his life and the lives of their family members.  Again as you might expect, we have many more requests from families than we can fill. For instance, here are three children from Magal Village in the Bor area of South Sudan in need of educational support:

Alier Ngang Chuei: 5th grade boy who lost one of his parents
Athiei Magot Riak: 6th grade girl, orphaned
Ayom Nur: 5th grade boy, orphaned

If you would like to help support our efforts, you can read more about our Christmas-time appeal on our website or go directly to the charitable site Network for Good to make a secure credit card donation.

We appreciate your support.  Life for Sudan has no paid staff members which allows us to maximize the benefit of the funds that friends and supporters donate to us.

Half-Priced Lawyers

Judging by the lower sign, I guess this business in North Las Vegas wasn't a good idea - even at half off.

Name It

Not sure what to say...  Maybe it's called a "chool" or possibly a "stair."