A Year-End Bundle of Nostalgia

    It is another rainy day and you have likely had enough of the holiday season, so I will attempt to offer something for you to do. Although shopping is involved, it is not the kind of shopping you just did in an awful, crowded mall. There used to be better places in which to shop and you can visit a few below.
   One of them is in La Ronge, Saskatchewan, but it will not be there next year. The story about its impending closure was told twice by the CBC and you can read and watch or listen to those stories here. Robertson's Trading Post is worth visiting one last time. (Content Warning: Although I don't usually provide one, I will note that anti-fur, animal lovers might be traumatized by some of the photographs provided. Others may be 'harmed' by learning that for some people, a typical work week was 12 hours per day, 7 days a week. )
   Almost by accident, Mulcahy's Miscellany contains other stories about the general stores of our past. Anyone interested in such ancient emporiums who stumbles upon this post, will find information about the old relics that once were -- village stores, department stores, ranging from Robertson's in La Ronge to Kingsmill's in London.

Meet the Robertsons
   On Dec. 3, 2023, the CBC offered this story: “The Trading Post: An Iconic Northern Store is Shutting Down After 56 Years,” by Kenneth Latimer. Apart from the excellent photographs, you will also see a video of the Robertsons (7 min.) Here is a bit from the piece: 
   Alex and Phyllis Robertson moved to a small community in northern Saskatchewan with little more than dust in their pockets, big dreams and dedication.
   They started up a tiny general store and fur trading post, not knowing that Robertson Trading would still be running strong 56 years later in La Ronge, Sask., or that it would come to be regarded as a gem of the north. 
   Their son Scott Robertson has worked at the store since he was a child and has been managing the iconic shop for decades. He’s tormented by his decision to shut the store down.
   The store, known locally as the Trading Post, is technically a general store, but it’s also an Indigenous art gallery, a genuine Canadian antiques show, a bucket-list destination for tourists, and an outfitter for camps and people heading into the bush.
   The unofficial museum operates on the town’s main street across from Lac La Ronge, which is on the edge of the Canadian Shield.

   On December 6, the CBC presented this story which contains an audio account (50 min.) of "Blue Sky" with Leisha Grebinksi: "People Reflect on Legacy of Robertson Trading As Store Winds Down After 56 Years: It's the End of an Era for Iconic Trading Post in Northern Saskatchewan."   Additional information about La Ronge and Robertsons is found on the website of Tourism Saskatchewan. 

General Stores in General
   In the post mysteriously hidden under the title "Dorfläden,” you will learn that the Germans are favouring village stores over "Big-box" ones. As well, it contains descriptions of some that are left in Ontario and books about them. In the usual "Post Script" it is noted that those in London years ago, used to sell booze and soon "convenience" stores here may be able to do so again. 

    During the pandemic I did a post called "Detour" which showed how one could go out and about by using Google maps and Google Street View. As an illustration I chose Kingsmill's, a "Department" store, and indicated that the Google people had even gone inside it. Unfortunately, I could no longer find the interior image by using Google maps and the Kingsmill's link no longer exits. But, if you do google "Kingsmill's" on Google maps, links are offered to two articles about that store. The picture above is from one of them: "The End of a Department Store, and a Way of Life: Kingsmill's - as Art Deco Heritage Building and One of Canada's Few Remaining Family Owned Department Stores, Is Closing," Francine Kopun, Toronto Star, July 2, 2014.

   More recently I discussed the leaving of Nordstrom from Canada and the return of Zellers in, "Nostalgia Isn't What It Used to Be." I also mentioned Shnurr's which has been in Linwood, Ontario for 165 years. Fortunately I also provided the image of the interior of Kingsmill's which I captured earlier from Google Maps. 

What About the Windows?
   The larger department stores often featured elaborate Christmas displays and older Londoners will remember the ones at Simpson's. Recently, the Canadian correspondent for the New York Times offered some suggestions about where to see them - not new real ones, but old displays: "In Search of Vintage Window Displays: The Mechanically Powered Holiday Scenes That Once Filled Department-store Windows in Canada Are Still Humming. Here's Where to Find Them," Ian Austen, Dec. 16, 2023. Here are some examples.
 Some of these are done for Christmas and will disappear next month, but keep the sites in mind for your grandkids for next year. 
I hope you have a good one.

"Eaton's Once Upon a Christmas Exhibit" by the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon. 
Since 1987, the Eaton’s Once Upon A Christmas exhibit has delighted visitors, young and old. The exhibit continues to be a major attraction for those who visit the WDM during the holiday season. It offers an opportunity for parents to share with their children memories of their childhood and it allows children to enter a world of make-believe and magic.
We encourage you to visit the WDM Saskatoon from November 2, 2023 through January 7, 2024 with your family and enjoy this wonderful Saskatchewan tradition.

The Manitoba Children's Museum - Eaton's Fairy Tale Vignettes
The Children’s Museum is pleased to be the home of the last original Eaton’s Fairytale Vignettes Display from the ninth floor annex of the Eaton’s downtown store – fully restored and open to the public for a limited time only.

OGILVY'S CHRISTMAS MECHANICAL WINDOW DISPLAYS, McCord Stewart Museum - Montreal.
Montrealers have been spellbound by the mechanical displays in Ogilvy’s department store window for over 70 years — a Holiday tradition that began in 1947. The Bavarian scenes, custom made by the German toy manufacturer Steiff, feature dozens of handcrafted animals working and playing.In 1911, the firm began producing mechanical windows featuring moving animals, which stores could rent or purchase – an effective way of entertaining children while promoting their merchandise. James Aird Nesbitt, who owned Ogilvy’s department store from 1927 to 1985, bought two – The Enchanted Village and The Mill in the Forest.Similar to those of department stores in other parts of the world, such as Macy’s in New York or Galeries Lafayette in Paris, these window displays are among the last of their kind in North America. They were donated to the McCord Stewart Museum in March 2018 by Holt Renfrew with the goal of preserving and ensuring the continuation of the iconic Montreal displays.

Hudson's Holidays - Detroit Historical Society.
   Founded as a humble clothier for men and boys in 1881, J.L. Hudson Company reportedly racked up an average of 100,000 sales per day by the 1950s, and its 25-story building was the world’s tallest department store until 1961. Visitors will learn what made Hudson’s so popular, like its huge selection of merchandise and full-service approach, which went beyond with in-store restaurants, salons and alterations departments to offer amenities like a circulating library, a writing lounge and an in-house dry cleaner.
   The exhibition features a selection of must-see items from the Detroit Historical Society collection, including the toys and decor that made the holidays at Hudson’s so magical, the fashions and accessories that made the store a year-round shopping destination, and some artifacts from the downtown store that evoke the massive building’s distinctive features. Revisit traditions enjoyed by generations of Detroiters, like seeing the World’s Largest Flag, visiting Santa in Toy Town and shopping for deals in the Basement Store>
Also see this from the Encyclopedia of Detroit.

Post Script:
   We now have "dollar stores" among the tattoo parlours and payday loan shops and about them, I don't think we will ever feel nostalgic. Here is a paragraph about Dollar General from a book review I did of, The National Road: Dispatches From a Changing America by Tom Zoellner:
   The next essay is the titular one, but it is more about the "little-box" chain, Dollar General, than it is about the 'National Road'.  There are now more of them than there are McDonalds and that is not a good thing. For the reasons why, read this essay and these more recent ones: "The True Cost of Dollar Stores: Discount Chains Are Thriving. But, What Do They Do To Poor Communities," by Alec MacGillis, The New Yorker, June 29, 2020, or "How Dollar Stores Became Magnets for Crime and Killing," Alec MacGillis, ProPublica, June 29, 2020. 

Update: More Horrible News

Breaking News: Awful Things Also Happened in Ancient Times
   No matter how old the news, the newscasters always begin their broadcasts with "Breaking News", so I thought I would as well. In an attempt to prove that Canada in 2023 is not the worse place that ever existed, I posted, "Horrible Things Have Happened" for which this is an update. 

    From the New York Times, Dec. 8, 2023 by Elizabeth Povoledo:
   "Life for the Lowest Class in Ancient Pompeii? It Was Awful: Excavations in the Ancient Ruins Have Unearthed a Cramped Space Where Enslaved Workers and Donkeys Performed their Grueling Tasks."

  "Archaeologists excavating parts of the ancient city of Pompeii made public new discoveries on Friday that provide a grim glimpse into the bleak existence of enslaved people two millenniums ago, including the existence of a “bakery-prison.” 

  The newly excavated area consists of a cramped space where donkeys and enslaved people lived, slept and worked together, milling flour to make bread. The single window that was found there provided dim light: it opened not to the outside world but to another room in the house, and was crossed with iron bars...
    With their feet chained, and dressed in rags, Apuleius describes the workers as having “eyes so bleary from the scorching heat of that smoke-filled darkness they could barely see, and like wrestlers sprinkled with dust before a fight, they were coarsely whitened with floury ash.”
   The donkeys were no better off: “Their flanks were cut to the bone from relentless whipping, their hoofs distorted to strange dimensions from the repetitive circling, and their whole hide blotched by mange and hollowed by starvation."

   There is more, but that should be enough. Now it is those Italians who will have to apologize for the horrible things they have done. You may recall that we not only apologized to the Italians, we also provided compensation. See: "Apologizing Again."

GOLD AT COSTCO !!

 Feeling Bearish?
   My initial thought was, "This Can't Be Good!" Not wishing to present bad news at this time of year and not qualified to offer investment advice, I was reluctant to post this. It is, however, my fiduciary duty to do so and I call to your attention two CBC articles you may have missed.
   It is also the case that this post can be interpreted  as "good news", since the price of gold is going up. And, you can buy it at COSTCO! Relax and enjoy the new year celebration.
   About a matter such as this, it is better to go directly to the sources and not rely on MM. Here they are: 
   I just read this one today: "The Gold Rush Is Back --- And Now at a Big-Box Store Near You: Amid Global Instability, Gold Prices Are Soaring and Some Retailers Are Cashing In," Anis Heydari, CBC News, Dec. 30, 2023.
   "Warehouse stores in Canada aren't just selling large quantities of toilet paper these days — gold bars and coins and other precious metals are moving out of the realm of banking and jewellers and into their aisles....
   According to Costco's chief financial officer, Richard Galanti, the company "sold over $100 million [US] of gold" during a recent 12-week period. Walmart has also started selling gold, silver and platinum bars online to U.S. consumers.Costco didn't respond to requests for comment from CBC News, but officials had previously told investors their gold bars would sell out within hours of being listed online."

  I had missed this earlier one, which is linked in the article above:  "Costco Now Sells Gold Bars. Are They a Good Investment?" Padraig Moran, CBC News, Oct. 3, 2023.

   "Canadians can now buy gold bars at Costco, but one financial expert warns it might be an investment with limited return — unless you're planning to flee the country.

   "Part of [gold's] mystique comes from the ability that it's easy to carry around … you can carry a lot of money in a suitcase if you've got gold," said Will Huggins, an associate professor of finance and economics at McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business....

     The 1 oz., 24-carat gold bars are on sale at Costco in Canada for $2,679.99 a piece, with member customers limited to buying a maximum of two bars every seven days. CBS reported last week that Richard Galanti, chief financial officer at Costco, said the bars were selling out within hours every time inventory was added to the company's website."

Finding Gold at Costco
   I googled the Costco website for "gold", for which there were 647 'hits'. One of them is for the gold bar and here are the data about it:

1 oz Gold Bar PAMP Suisse Lady Fortuna Veriscan (New In Assay)

Features:

24-kt yellow gold

1 troy oz (31.1 g)

Item cannot be returned or refunded

This item is not eligible for price adjustments and/or any promotions

Limit of 1 transaction per 7 days (168 hours) per Membership, with a maximum of 2 units

Bar Highlights:

Contains 1 troy oz (31.1 g) of .9999 fine gold.

Tamper-evident assay card makes it easy to determine if the bar has been handled while guaranteeing the gold weight and purity. PAMP Mint places a thin plastic sheeting that safeguards your assay card during shipping.

They will deliver the gold bar, but are sold out right now. To find the current price I had to check into my Costco account, but it would be easier to get into Fort Knox. I assume it is around $2700, but remember, you can only buy two at a time. 

"Going to Hell in a Handbasket"
   As you can see, that expression was used in the article and I wondered about it, although I knew it did not generally imply that things are going well. Here are the introductory words from the very interesting Wikiwand entry. "To Hell in a Handbasket": 
"Going to hell in a handbasket", "going to hell in a handcart", "going to hell in a handbag", "go to hell in a bucket", "sending something to hell in a handbasket" and "something being like hell in a handbasket" are variations on an allegorical locution of unclear origin, which describes a situation headed for disaster inescapably or precipitately.

The Bonus:
   At the end of the wiki essay there is a list of items showing how the term is used in popular culture. The last one is: In the American television sitcom Friends (1994-2004), Helena Handbasket is the drag name of Charles Bing, the gay father of main character Chandler Bing.
   The late Mr. Bing was mentioned recently in MM, in "Schott's and Friends." 

Book Weeding

 

    My plan, one of many for the new year, is to begin the discarding of things. I may start with clothes which are now too small, since my plan to grow smaller may not be implemented. Tchotchkes, trinkets and knick-knacks will be boxed and cleverly concealed so as to avoid embarrassment at the Goodwill drop off depot. At some point I will then take a look at the books. 
   This project is the difficult one. Should I start with novels I have not read or the non-fiction which it is my intention to read again? What about the impressive titles that visitors assume I have read? 
    After the long culling process ends, the even longer vetting one begins. Is anyone in London likely to be interested in all the books that Patrick Leigh Fermor wrote or all of those by Richard Russo? The collected works of Reynolds Price? Does anybody even read any books not written by James Patterson or Colleen Hoover? 
   Maybe I should buy a few of those decluttering books, or perhaps it makes more sense to just borrow The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning from the library. 
   There is some consolation in knowing that others have wrestled with the weeding process and that the questions which need to be asked (and answered) as one moves along the shelves can become quite involved. Here is a sample from a chap who had (and probably still has) a very interesting library indeed.

Marmaduke Pickthall?

   "I kneel on the floor of my book room with a large cardboard box at my side. Do I really need all those George Meredith novels? Edgar Saltus is harder, but will I miss those duplicates of Purple and Fine Women and The Pace That Kills with the variant dust-wrapper and the misprint on page 43? My shelf of the works of Philip Thicknesse, that querulous 18th-century gentleman, contains nearly all of his 24 books, and if I were forced to sell them I could never sacrifice The Valetudinarians Bath Guide, which contains valuable information on the exorcism of gallstones, and an account of Mrs Mary Toft of Godalming who claimed that she gave birth to 15 rabbits; an assertion Thicknesse plausibly supports. Whatever the demands for space in my book room, I cannot banish my Marmaduke Pickthall, or a single one of my 15 copies of the first edition of The Wooings of Jezebel Pettyfer, which Meredith praised with the mysterious disclaimer: ‘It ought never to have been written.’ Not seldom, when I surrender a book to a rascally dealer, I return to his shop and buy it back."

Unintended Consequences

    Once one starts pulling books from the shelves and reading the jackets of those pulled, one is reminded of other books by the author that one does not have and when reading a paragraph, such as the one above, one realizes that there are many other books that need to be looked at and perhaps purchased.

Edward Saltus - "Dean of Decadence"

    Who the hell is Edward Saltus? It seems he was an American who also wrote using the names "Myndart Verelst" and "Archibald Wilberforce" and translated works by Balzac. In addition to Purple and Fine Women, he also authored, The Pomps of Satan, The Imperial Orgy and Parnassians Personally Encountered and I doubt if they are contained in The Philosophical Writings of Edward Saltus: The Philosophy of Disenchantment & The Anatomy of Negation. I am also curious about The Facts in the Curious Case of Hugh Hyrtl Esq.

Thicknesse - "Libertine Turned Ornamental Hermit"

   One now has to have a look at The Valetudinarians Bath Guide and a purchase of it could be justified because the subtitle indicates it provides the Means of Obtaining Long Life and Health. I confess to obtaining one of Thicknesse's other works from the university library close by, simply because of its subtitle:  Memoirs and Anecdotes of Philip Thicknesse, Late Lieutenant-Governor of Land Guard Fort, and unfortunately Father to George Touchet, Baron Audley.

   Marmaduke Pickthall's first name turns out to be Muhammad and he was an Islamic scholar, but his novel Sir Limpidus about an eccentric and reclusive English aristocrat is probably worth a look. 

   And although the author of the paragraph above has 15 copies of The Wooings of Jezebel Pettyfer, I did find the one pictured, available for only 875 euros.

Source: 
   The quoted paragraph was written by Barry Humphries, "Why Does No One Dress For Dinner at Claridge's Any More?", The Spectator, Dec. 17, 2022.

mea culpa

   I discovered too late that I have already told you about Marmaduke. Just a few months ago! Obviously this blogging is not improving my memory. Since the material mentioned before is found at the bottom of a long post, I will assume you didn't read it. If you did, and appreciate such odd information, you will likely have enjoyed it again and perhaps didn't remember it either. 

Bowl Games Primer

   This is another rainy day effort created for those who want an excuse to not go Christmas shopping and who are not interested in watching all of those football games on TV, many of which are played in bowls. Here is a convenient list of them, only in that I have alphabetized it. It may be useful if you want to pretend to know something about what others are watching. It is not so useful if you do want to watch them since (spoiler alert) some of them have already been played. 

   Fifty are listed below, forty-four in the 'major' category and six lesser ones. There are many more. You can easily find information about them, but here are a few remarks for the perplexed. The first two numbered ones are a gas company and an investment firm from Daphne, Alabama. Food is often related and you will notice first the Avocados and then find that you can have Cheez-It with citrus or Chick-Fil-A with peaches, and also enjoy Potatoes and Mayo. Pop-Tarts, perhaps for dessert. The Wasabi one, however, is not about eating. Arranging the bowl names alphabetically leads one to recognize that two have military connections - Lockheed followed by the Military one, which encourages bowling. The Isleta one probably promotes gambling since it is the name of a New Mexico resort and casino.  Since we are nearing year's end, it is useful that two of the bowls are sponsored by companies that will help you with your taxes. Two of the bowls are "Famous." Glancing back up the list I noticed Bad Boy Mowers which allows one to "mow with an attitude." I will put some "local" information at the end, but will note here that London recently lost its "Bad Boy" store, but got its first Chick-Fil-A.

68 VENTURES BOWL 

76 BIRMINGHAM BOWL

ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL

​​AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL  

AVOCADOS FROM MEXICO CURE BOWL

BAD BOY MOWERS PINSTRIPE BOWL 

BARSTOOL SPORTS ARIZONA BOWL 

CAMELLIA BOWL

CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL 

CHEEZ-IT CITRUS BOWL     

CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL 

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BY AT&T

CRICKET CELEBRATION BOWL

DIRECTV HOLIDAY BOWL 

DUKE'S MAYO BOWL

EAST-WEST SHRINE BOWL

EASYPOST HAWAI'I BOWL

FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL

FAMOUS TOASTERY BOWL

GOODYEAR COTTON BOWL CLASSIC  

GUARANTEED RATE BOWL  ISLETA NEW MEXICO BOWL

LOCKHEED MARTIN ARMED FORCES BOWL MILITARY BOWL PRESENTED BY GOBOWLING.COM MYRTLE BEACH BOWL POP-TARTS BOWL QUICK LANE BOWL RADIANCE TECHNOLOGIES INDEPENDENCE BOWL RELIAQUEST BOWL ROOFCLAIM.COM BOCA RATON BOWL ROSE BOWL GAME PRESENTED BY PRUDENTIAL R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL SCOOTER'S COFFEE FRISCO BOWL SERVPRO FIRST RESPONDER BOWL SRS DISTRIBUTION LAS VEGAS BOWL STARCO BRANDS LA BOWL HOSTED BY GRONK TAXACT TEXAS BOWL

TAXSLAYER GATOR BOWL TONY THE TIGER SUN BOWL TRANSPERFECT MUSIC CITY BOWL UNION HOME MORTGAGE GASPARILLA BOWL VALERO ALAMO BOWL VRBO FIESTA BOW WASABI FENWAY BOWL

OTHER BOWLS

BAHAMAS BOWL

BIRMINGHAM BOWL

THE COUSINS SUBS LAKEFRONT BOWL

FLORIDA BEACH BOWL

HAWAII BOWL

TEXAS BOWL

Canadian Content:

Football is not so popular up here. Western University is a large one with a football stadium that would be considered small by many Texas football high school coaches. Still it is usually less than half full. Or, perhaps half empty.

Simon Fraser University out on the West Coast used to play some football down south in NCAA Division II, but last year it dropped its football program and plays not at all.

Source: The graph is from: "A Perfect Day For Football," Miles Bolton, The Gazette, Sept. 11, 2023.

Beyond the Palewall (6)

[Beyond the palewall is the title of this series because beyond the paywall is taken. Information for which you are not willing to pay, along with information you may not wish to know, is presented in abbreviated form without charge. What has caught my eye may sometimes feel like a poke in yours and, in that sense, be beyond the pale. Items will appear weekly, or perhaps monthly, or maybe semi-annually, if I can get started and the weather is bleak.]

Atmospheric Rivers
   Two years ago we experienced one in British Columbia and I had considered them a west coast phenomena. That is not the case:
"How a Category 5 Atmospheric River Supercharged Deadly East Coast Storm: Every State From Florida to Maine Saw at Least 4 Inches of Rain: Here is What Was Behind the Storm," Matthew Cappucci, Washington Post, Dec. 21, 2023.

   Atmospheric rivers — jets of intense precipitation that curl around powerful ocean storms — are generally considered a West Coast phenomenon. But it turns out a top tier atmospheric river — rated Category 5 on scale of 1 to 5 — was part of the East Coast storm that killed at least five people and cut power to more than 800,000 customers this week.

The storm unleashed at least 4 inches of rain and wind gusts over 50 mph in every Eastern Seaboard state from Florida to Maine. Along the coast, the storm’s wind shoved ashore an ocean surge of at least 2 to 4 feet, inundating low-lying roads.

   Boosted by the atmospheric river, the storm generated exceptional rainfall that caused creeks, streams and rivers to overflow. The river in the sky drew record-setting warmth from the tropics northward, melting snow in the mountains of the Northeast, which made the flooding even worse.

…..

Are atmospheric rivers normal on the East Coast?

An atmospheric river is a long, narrow ribbon of deep, tropical moisture that is pulled into the mid-latitudes by a storm. In the Northern Hemisphere, storms can tug these narrow moisture plumes and stretch them over thousands of miles to the north and east. An atmospheric river that hits California sometimes has extended from as far west Hawaii, and the phenomenon has thus earned the moniker the “Pineapple Express.”

Atmospheric rivers affect the East Coast just as much as the West Coast, if not more frequently. But they’re seldom talked about.

Serious Betting
   I recently posted about the increase in gambling. This piece shows what is required:
"The Over-the-Top Home Offices of Full-time Sports Bettors," Danny Funt, Washington Post, Dec. 21, 2023.

   It was a gamble in its own right for Kenneth Huber to try to mount a 165-inch TV in his basement office. It’s actually a three-by-three grid of 55-inch 4k computer monitors, and the first time Huber tried to install them on a $1,500 stand in his suburban Philadelphia home, all nine of the heavy screens cracked. Fortunately, the retailer sent him replacements, and this time he hedged his bet by supplementing the stand with large spacer brackets.....
   A specialist in “live” betting during games — bets on the next play, drive or score of games that have already started — Huber depends on following the action with as little delay as possible. All nine screens on his monitor grid have hard-wired connections, and next to the grid is a curved 65-inch Samsung TV that receives broadcasts through an HD antenna on Huber’s roof. Over-the-air broadcasts often have lower latency than cable or satellite, he explained, and are far quicker than YouTube TV’s sluggish Sunday Ticket feed.

Tall Tales From High Above and Long Ago
   Don't try this at home. This fantastic flying feat is from the obituary of Bob Pardo who invented the "Pardo Push." 
"Bob Pardo, Pilot in Daring Rescue in Vietnam War, Dies at 89: In An Extraordinary Act of Ariel Ballet, He Helped a Fellow Pilot Whose Plane Had Become Compromised Until They Could Be Safely Rescued," Trip Gabriel, New York Times, Dec. 21, 2023.

   Bob Pardo, a fighter pilot who during the Vietnam War kept a wingman’s damaged plane aloft in a daring feat of aviation that became known as the Pardo Push, died on Dec. 5 in a hospital near his home in College Station, Texas. He was 89.

   In March 1967, Captain Pardo was on a mission over North Vietnam in an F-4 Phantom when antiaircraft fire hit his plane, inflicting damage, while more badly ripping into the fuel tank of another fighter in the strike force. Both jets pulled away to head home. But the second plane had lost too much fuel to make it to safety. Captain Pardo realized that its two-man crew would be forced to eject over enemy territory and face capture or worse.

   Flying beneath the compromised plane, Captain Pardo told its pilot, Capt. Earl Aman, to lower his tailhook — a metal pole at the rear of a fighter used to arrest its landing. At 300 miles per hour, Captain Pardo nudged his plane’s glass windshield against the tip of the pole. For almost 90 miles, he pushed the other plane as both jets hemorrhaged fuel, until they crossed the border with Laos. Both crews ejected by parachute and all four men were rescued.

….Captain Pardo knew Captain Aman’s plane would not be able to make it out of North Vietnam to rendezvous with a flying refueling tanker. At first, he tried to push Captain Aman’s plane by sticking the nose of his own jet into a rear port, but there was too much turbulence. Next he tried to maneuver directly under the other jet and give it a piggyback ride, which also failed.

   Then he conceived of pushing Captain Aman’s tail hook. A tail hook pole was used by the Navy’s version of the F-4 Phantom to land on aircraft carriers. The Air Force used it for emergency runway landings, when the hook snags a cable stretched across tarmac.

   Captain Pardo told his wingman to shut down his engines and carefully made contact with the tail hook using his own plane’s windshield.

   “If he so much as bumped the windshield, he would have had that tail hook in his face,” Mr. Houghton, who was in the rear seat of the injured plane, recalled in a 1996 interview. “We’re talking about glass here. It was phenomenal flying, nothing less.”

   Mr. Pardo recalled, “I can’t remember how many times the tailhook slipped off the windshield, and I had to fight to get it back in place.”

   After one of Captain Pardo’s own engines caught fire and he shut it down, the two planes began rapidly losing altitude, sinking 2,000 feet per minute. They crossed the border with Laos at an altitude of only 6,000 feet, leaving them just two more minutes of flying time. Both crews bailed out soon after, floating down to the jungle by parachute. They were rescued by U.S. helicopters.

For this he was almost punished! (for putting his plane at risk.)
The Bonus:
   For additional aviation derring-do, see this post about "Senator John McCain" and others who flew off carriers during the Viet Nam war. 

  For a Canadian example of fine flying see: "James Francis Edwards - Canadian Fighter Pilot."

Books for Christmas

 

Who Is Colleen Hoover?

   Apparently she is a very popular writer of fiction. Her name appears often on the lists provided. Most of the lists below relate to books that are the most borrowed from libraries. If you are looking for a popular book and, like me, did not know who Ms. Hoover is, this list could be useful for shopping purposes. Like the "New York Times Best Sellers List", the measure used is quantity, not necessarily quality. 

Top 10 Canadian Fiction

1. It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover

2. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

3. The Maid by Nita Prose

4. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

5. The Boys from Biloxi by John Grisham

6. It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

7. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

8. Sparring Partners by John Grisham

9. Long Shadows by David Baldacci

10. Desert Star by Michael Connelly

Top 10 Canadian Non-Fiction

1. Spare by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

2. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

3. The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama

4. The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté; Daniel Maté

5. Ducks by Kate Beaton

6. Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

7. Atomic Habits by James Clear

8. Run Towards the Danger by Sarah Polley

9. Freezing Order by Bill Browder

10. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Top Circulating E- Books - U.S.

Fiction: “Verity,” by Colleen Hoover.

Nonfiction: “Spare,” by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.

Romance: “Verity,” by Colleen Hoover.

Mystery & Thriller: “Verity,” by Colleen Hoover.

Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Fourth Wing,” by Rebecca Yarros.

Historical Fiction: “Cloud Cuckoo Land,” by Anthony Doerr.

Biography & Memoir: “Spare,” by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.

History: “Spare,” by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.

Most borrowed magazine: The New Yorker.

Most Popular Books - New York Public Library

“Lessons in Chemistry,” by Bonnie Garmus. “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow,” by Gabrielle Zevin. “Spare,” by Prince Harry. “Book Lovers,” by Emily Henry. “Verity,” by Colleen Hoover. “Yellowface,” by R.F. Kuang. “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store,” by James McBride. “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,” by Taylor Jenkins Reid. “It Ends with Us,” by Colleen Hoover. “Daisy Jones & the Six,” by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Most Popular Children's Books - NYPL

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Big Shot,” by Jeff Kinney.
2. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal,” by Jeff Kinney.
3. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw,” by Jeff Kinney.
4. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days,” by Jeff Kinney.
5. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball,” by Jeff Kinney.
6. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End,” by Jeff Kinney.
7. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down,” by Jeff Kinney.
8. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway,” by Jeff Kinney.
9. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth,” by Jeff Kinney.
10. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever,” by Jeff Kinney.

History Books - Sticker Shock

A few years ago I did a post, "Christmas Shopping For Historians" and in it you will still find some useful suggestions and links. You might want to stay away from academic works, for a couple of reasons, one being price. Here are some examples:

W. E. Vaughan, Ireland Under the Union, I: 1801–1870, $480.00
N. G. L. Hammond and F. W. Walbank, A History of Macedonia, v. 3,
$440.00
W. Bernard Carlson, Technology in World History, $400.00
Edward M. Spiers and Jeremy A. Crang, A Military History of Scotland,
$250.00
Stuart Carroll, Blood and Violence in Early Modern France, $213.00

The "Awards and Prizes" page of the American Historical Association provides links to history book prize winners in a variety of categories, for example: "The Albert J. Beveridge Award in American History for a distinguished book on the history of the United States, Latin America, or Canada, from 1492 to the present." 

The Bonus:
   This listing from last year could be useful and the books cheaper: "Christmas Book Shopping."

   If you are more interested in Nature than History see: "Nature Writing (2) - British Version," or "Nature Writing."

ON Betting

 

Wanna Bet?
   Even if you don't gamble, you have certainly seen signs that others are, and probably agree that it is highly likely that there is a great deal of wagering going on even as I write. I can't understand the discussions between the convenience store clerk and the buyers of lottery tickets, nor can I grasp the math and symbols appearing in the betting lines. I am willing to bet, however, that the growth in legalized gambling is not going to end up being a good thing. Given that I don't have the ability to analyze the numbers, I can at least call your attention to some of the more spectacular ones.

  Let's begin with Aubrey Graham, who is better known as "Drake". Apparently he is a well-known Canadian rapper. He also gambles a bit and is probably preparing for the Super Bowl which, last year, he placed a number of bets on, such as:
$700,000 on the Chiefs to win and $50,000 on Mahones scoring the first touchdown and another $30,000 on Travis Kelce being the Super Bowl MVP. There were more bets - during just this one game.
   He also bets on other events. For example:

$275,000 on Jorge Masvidal to Beat Colby Covington at UFC 272 (Lost)
$159,000 on Golden State to Win NBA Western Conference in 2022 (Lost)
$80,000 on Duke to Beat UNC in 2022 Final Four (Lost)
$309,000 on Dallas Mavericks, New York Rangers & Calgary Flames 2022 parlay (Won)
$427,000 on Justin Gaethje to Beat Charles Oliveria at UFC 274 (Lost)
$136,000 on Israel Adesanya to Beat Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 (Won)

   The golfer, Phil Mickelson, appears to have gambled more than $ 1 BILLION. Among the over 7,000 bets placed are these:

"Betting $110,000 to win $100,000 on 1,115 occasions, and betting $220,000 to win $200,000 on 858 occasions. That alone comes out to just over $311 million.
Mickelson in 2011 made 3,154 bets for the year and on one day (June 22) he placed 43 bets on Major League Baseball games that resulted in $143,500 in losses.
He placed 7,065 bets on football, basketball and baseball.
He did have some limits; $400,000 on college and NFL games."   
"Based on our relationship and what I've since learned from others, Phil's gambling losses approached not $40 million as has been previously reported, but much closer to $100 million. In all, he wagered a total of more than $1 billion during the past three decades," Walters wrote. [ Walters contends that Mickelson lost nearly $100 million - Billy Waters, Gambler: Secrets From a Life at Risk.]

   I admit that one cannot extrapolate or explain anything from these two examples, but at least the small sample is diverse; one guy is white, the other Black. Without any additional evidence at all, I am willing to place another bet -- that there are large numbers of gamblers out there with a lot less money to lose, who are losing a lot of it. The small print disclaimers at the bottom of big gambling ads hint at the problems, but will likely not help much. I would suggest that those in MADD, form a MAGA branch (Mothers Against Gambling Addiction), but I gather that acronym is taken. 

Sources:
   "Biggest Super Bowl LVII Bets: Drake Wagers Nearly $1 Million," Brian Pempus, Forbes, Feb. 13, 2023.
   "Phil Mickelson Wagered More Than $1B US, Wanted to Bet on Ryder Cup," Doug Ferguson, AP, Aug. 10, 2023.

Post Script:
   My analysis is less than rigorous, so I will admit I did find some good news:
"1st Year of Ontario Sports Betting Generated Over $1.48B, IGo Report Shows: Report Says the Regulated Market Currently Shows More Than 12,000 Jobs," Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press, June 15, 2023.
  I don't know if the report indicates whether any of the 12,000 employees gambled away their pay cheques. 

The Bonus:
  One wonders if the advertisements for gambling will disappear, as did those for cigarettes. One British newspaper announced on June 19 that it was banning gambling ads:
"All bets are off. The Guardian has banned ads for gambling firms across its platforms, recognising that the rise in betting apps and websites has left millions in financial ruin. By refusing to take their marketing money, we are in a stronger position to scrutinise the industry’s practices."

Beyond the Palewall (5)

 

[Beyond the palewall is the title of this series because beyond the paywall is taken. Information for which you are not willing to pay, along with information you may not wish to know, is presented in abbreviated form without charge. What has caught my eye may sometimes feel like a poke in yours and, in that sense, be beyond the pale. Items will appear weekly, or perhaps monthly, or maybe semi-annually, if I can get started and the weather is bleak.]

Something Else to Worry About

   One would think that it would be good news that fish are able to survive in Hamilton Harbour, but that is not the case. Very large goldfish have been spotted there and elsewhere in the Great Lakes (and elsewhere around the globe.) The point to be made in this post is simply that you should not take your goldfish out of the bowl and put it in the Thames.

   "Over the past several years, Ms. Boston and her colleagues have been tracking invasive goldfish in Hamilton Harbour, which is on the western tip of Lake Ontario, about 35 miles southwest of Toronto. The bay has been decimated by industrial and urban development as well as by invasive species — making it among the most environmentally degraded areas of the Great Lakes.

Their study, published last month in the Journal of Great Lakes Research, could help pinpoint goldfish populations for culling, said Ms. Boston, who is the lead author. “We found out where they are before they start spawning,” she said. “That’s a good opportunity to get rid of them.”

   The fast-growing female goldfish, Ms. Boston noted, can also reproduce several times in one season. “They have the resources,” she added, “and they can take advantage of them.”

   Goldfish were first spotted in Hamilton Harbour in the 1960s, but largely died off in the 1970s because of industrial contamination. In the early 2000s, their population appeared to recover. Goldfish can tolerate a wide range of water temperatures, reach sexual maturation quickly, and can eat nearly anything, including algae, aquatic plants, eggs and invertebrates, Ms. Boston said.

   Their football-shaped bodies can swell to a size that makes them too large a meal for predators — up to about 16 inches long. “A fish would have to have a really big mouth to eat it,” she said....

   Nicholas Mandrak, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough, said that while goldfish were introduced to North America in the late 1800s, the wild population had begun to “dramatically increase” in the past two decades. Their spawning explosion, he said, resulted partly from people in densely-populated areas releasing pets in urban ponds.

   Climate change may play a role, because of the goldfish’s capacity to adapt to warming and poorly oxygenated waters, he added.

   “There are literally millions of goldfish in the Great Lakes, if not tens of millions,” Dr. Mandrak said.

Sources:

 "Once They Were Pets. Now Giant Goldfish Are Menacing the Great Lakes.

Released into the Wild, the Humble Goldfish Can Grow to a Monstrous Size and Destroy Habitats for Native Species. Canadian Researchers are Tracking the Fish, so That They Might be Culled," Livia Albeck-Ripka, New York Times, Dec. 8, 2023.

  That the problem is a global one is clear from the picture, which portrays a goldfish caught in Europe. "Behold Carrot, The 67-pound Goldfish Caught in France," Jennifer Hassan, The Washington Post, Nov. 22, 2022.

 

Magazines Are Disappearing Along With Newspapers

   In Mulcahy's Miscellany there is a series titled "Periodical Ramblings" and the last post in it was about, Liberty magazine which stopped publishing in Canada long ago. The Last Post has now been sounded for Readers Digest Canada which has been around over 75 years. Although one commentator called it the "Barry Manilow of magazines," another noted: “It’s going to be missed by a lot of readers,” said Mark Pupo, who was editor-in-chief of Reader’s Digest Canada from 2019-2022. “It was a great space for Canadian storytelling. We’re losing a lot.” The following brief bits are from: "Reader's Digest Canada, Once A Household Staple, Will End its Run After 76 Years," Jana G. Pruden, Globe and Mail, Dec. 5, 2023.

   Employees were told Reader’s Digest Magazines Ltd. will continue to publish its five Canadian magazines until March 31, 2024, and that the websites will remain in operation “for a certain period” with “basic support” from employees in the United States.

   A spokesperson from American parent company Trusted Media Brands – identified in the presentation to staff as the person to handle all media inquiries – did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

It was an unceremonious announcement for a digest that has been a venerable part of the Canadian magazine market since it began publishing in the country in 1947. It was declared the most influential magazine in Canadian publishing history in 2008.

   As recently as April, a press release described Reader’s Digest as Canada’s most-read monthly magazine, boasting more than three million readers every month. Reader’s Digest Magazines Ltd. also publishes a French edition, Sélection, as well as Best Health Canada, Our Canada and More Our Canada....

   Founded in the U.S. in 1922, Reader’s Digest grew to be a dominant global brand with dozens of editions published all over the world in multiple languages, including braille, and sold in over 60 countries.

The magazine became known for its mix of upbeat and informative stories, health and wellness news and dramatic storytelling, often condensed and updated versions of other magazine pieces. Issues were also peppered with vocabulary quizzes, facts, jokes, comics, puzzles and lighthearted anecdotes in features such as Laughter, the Best Medicine, and Life’s Like That.

Post Script: 

   It is worth noting that the owner of the magazine is Trusted Media Brands. 

   Unfortunately, those of you who are saddened by this loss will no longer be able to reach for a Kleenex. See: "What Kleenex's Canadian Exit Reveals About Our  Grocery Sector's Lack of Competition," David Soberman, Globe and Mail, Sept. 11, 2023.

City Living

   I am not a big fan of big cities, nor do I put much faith in rankings. I did, however, call your attention to "The 100 Most Livable Cities in Canada", and particularly to the fact that London does not appear in that ranking. Another one has just been completed and London does not show up in it either. Ranked, this time, is the "Quality of Living", which must be related, one would think, to being "Livable." Given that I have provided you with the Globe and Mail and Economist rankings, I will now point you to the one by Mercer: "Quality of Living City Ranking 2023." You can go through the rankings by clicking on that link. If you don't want to take the time, I will suggest that you move to Vancouver if you wish to stay in this country or Vienna if you want to live abroad. 

Sources:

  "Vancouver Beats Out Toronto For Cities With the Best Quality of Living For Expats," The Toronto Star, Dec. 14, 2023

  Five Canadian cities made it on to the list ranking quality of life for newcomers and expatriates, but only one made it into the top ten.

   Vancouver - at eighth - beat out Toronto (17th), Ottawa (tied for 18th), Montreal (tied for 20th) and Calgary (tied for 23rd).

   "Move to One of These 10 Global Cities in 2024 If You Want to Work Somewhere    With a Great Quality of Life," Michael Grothaus, Fast Company, Dec. 15, 2023.

   "If you’ve ever wondered which of the world’s cities might be the best to live and work in, you’ll want to check out Mercer’s 2023 Quality of Living rankings, which look at the quality of life that workers and their families who work outside their home countries have.  

   This year, the consulting firm ranked more than 200 cities on five continents. The top city in the world, according to Mercer’s rankings, is Vienna, Austria. Mercer says the central European capital is “known for its rich history, stunning architecture, and vibrant cultural scene, Vienna offers its residents a high standard of living in various aspects.”

   The remainder of the top 10 list is dominated by European cities, which take seven of the 10 spots. Germany alone takes three of the top 10 spots with Frankfurt in 6th place, Munich in 7th, and Dusseldorf in 10th. The only North American city to make the top 10 list is Vancouver, Canada, which came in 8th place."