A new Joke

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Owls go.
Owls go who?
That's right. Owls go "Whoooo."

Get it?
Bell

Twelfth Night, Act 1, sns. 4-5

Viola disguised herself as a man, and took service with the Duke, Orsino. He commissioned her to take his message to Olivia. She did so, and was able to make contact with Olivia. Viola praised her beauty, and Olivia was not displeased with the supposed man, Cesario. That was Viola's assumed name, because she was disguised as a man. Viola delivers her message, and then departs. She informs the audience that she loves the Duke.

More soon!
Bell 

The Answer to the last Joke

What do you get if you cross a rooster with an alarm clock?
A wakeup at the crack of dawn!

Bell

Ivanhoe--Chapters 3-4

Cedric, the Saxon thane, or franklin, was worried. Gurth had not turned up, which meant that the herd might have fallen prey to marauders. Also, Wamba, his fool, had gone with Gurth, and Cedric wanted his favorite fool. He wore a gold collar around his neck, with gold clasps on his sandals and bracelets of the same on his wrists. His robe was trimmed with fur, and he sat in the chair reserved for him as the master of the house. His ward would occupy the other chair when she came down to supper. The Lady Rowena was by no means to be called plain. In fact, she was quite the opposite. She was not so tall as to call attention to it, but not short enough as to be called so.
But now to the chain of events. There was a knock at the gate, and when Cedric asked who it was, he found that the Prior Aymer was at the gate, in the company of one of the Knights Templar, Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert. Cedric was under a vow not to take more than three steps from his dais in meeting other than people of Saxon blood. The Prior made a rather foolish speech, and then they had supper. The Prior did not obey the rules of his order, but rather acted as if they were made to be broken. He partook in no temperance of the wine, pledging his host in a full cup. The chapters close with a Jew asking and getting admittance.

More soon!
Bell

A Joke

What do you do get if you cross a rooster and an alarm clock?

See if you can figure it out!
Bell

Whaterver Happened to Penny Candy Chapters 5-6

Next election, take a good look at what the politicians are doing. They promise people a lot of new, "better" things, and then when they get elected, they print a lot more money to pay for all that. But here is something important: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. TANSTAAFL.  They can promise all they want, but they give out a big lie. The person who says it most convincingly gets elected. The Big Lie is that they will give you all you want, and you don't have to pay for it. TANSTAAFL. They can't do that. Instead of raising the taxes, because that would get them thrown out of office, they print more money. The wage/price spiral is caused by that. The workers want more money, so the employers give it to them when they go on strike. Then the employers raise their prices, the workers want more money, and it repeats itself. They can't raise prices a ton, like up to 10,000,000 dollars, because there is not that much money in circulation yet.
Hope that explains things a bit.

Bell

Sorry!

Sorry about that! I've got it fixed now.
Bell

Brendan Voyage, Chapter 2, Part 2

He asked some leather scientists about ways to make leather water-resistant, and they ran some tests on the leather. Oak-bark leather was the best, coated with wool grease. Everyone was putting leather in water, and saying that the boat would not last for more than 5 days. But Tim was lucky and found several men that would help him: John Waterer, Harold Birkmin, Dr. Sykes, and Colin Mudie. Dr. Sykes ran the leather tests, John Waterer and Colin Mudie helped with leather tips and drafts of the boat, and Harold Birkmin helped in the construction. The Croggon brothers, leather tanners, supplied all the oxhides for Brendan, and worked painstakingly with them to make sure they were of the finest quality.

More later,
Bell

Note on Brendan Voyage

Sorry! I did not see that I had split Chapter 2 in half as well. I'll get that fixed.
Bell

Brendan Voyage Ch. 3 1/2

Only in Ireland is it possible to walk into a boatyard and say, "I'm building a medieval boat, and I want you to build the frame. I'll cover it with ox hides myself." Tim Severin went to the Crosshaven boatyard, were it was said that they preferred never to build two boats in the same style, because it was "too dull." This was the place where the Irish lifeboats were sent for rehauling. This was also the place where Sir Francis Chichester build his record-breaking Gypsy Moth V. Pat Lake was the head shipwright, and he helped build it himself. They used ash for the boat frame and stringers, and heart of oak for the double gunwales. Pat Lake didn't like the choice of ash, because it rots if you keep wetting it and it keeps drying. But Tim was certain that it needed to be ash. He was lucky and found Glennon's timber yard, a family business. Paddy Glennon ran the yard, supported by the Glennon family. He found the right trees for Brendan, and gave them to the project.  The boat was built gunwales first, finishing with the keel. He experimented with different knots, and managed to find one that worked. He and his friend, George, with a little help at times from other people, tied the whole frame together with leather thongs. No metal was used in fastening the frame.

Next part soon!
Bell

Another Joke

Here is another good joke to play on people:
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Boo.
Boo who?
Sheesh, why are you crying? What did I do?

Bell 

Twelfth Night - Act 1 sn. 3

Sir Toby Belch has brought a friend of his, Andrew Aguecheek, to woo Olivia. She will see no one, and this man is a coward and a fool. He is a heavy drinker, they both are, and is thought by the more prudent in the town to be destined for an early grave. He wants to back out of wooing Olivia, but Sir Toby gets him to stay. She will not marry the duke, because he is above her station, so Sir Toby counters Andrew's argument that the duke loves her with fact that she will not marry him.
Hear more about this odd story in a bit!
Bell

Answer to the last Joke

Here is the answer to this joke: What international catastrophe would happen if the waiter dropped the platter on Thanksgiving?
The downfall of Turkey, the overthrow of Greece, and the destruction of China!
(Get it? The countries and the things on the platter!)

Bell

Ivanhoe

Gurth and Wamba, the jester, are overtaken on the road by the horsemen.  They are the Prior Aymer, his retinue, and a Knight Templar, Brian by name. The Prior was a monk, but he did not behave as one. He was dressed richly, and was known for a fondness for the chase, and for staying longer at banquets than might be expected from a monk or a priest. The monks at this time had fallen from the standard of simple living that they had at one time followed, and now they lived better than most common people. They had liven simply so that they might devote themselves to prayer, but had become like the Pharisees, loving to pray aloud in public places, and getting the best seats, and so forth.  He wore the robe of a monk, but it was made of fine Flanders cloth, and the sleeves were turned up and lined with rich furs. It was fastened at the throat with a golden clasp, in defiance of the rules of the order. In short, the monks did not follow the standard that had been set for them. His companion also wore a monk's habit, but he was clad in chain mail.

So much for the dress of the men, for we must continue with the story. Wamba gave them directions that were correct, but for the fact that he said left instead of right at the fork. When the company had departed, Gurth asked Wamba why he had misguided them. Wamba replied that he had set them on the path to Sherwood, which was a better place for them than Cedric's castle. Note: From this I gather that Robin Hood, or Robin of Locksley, was in operation.
But when the Prior got to the fork, he and the knight disagreed as to the right road. They woke a man sleeping there, and he guided them to the castle.

So ends this part of the tale.
Bell

A new Joke

What international catastrophe would happen if the waiter dropped the platter on Thanksgiving?
See if you can guess! Tell me your guess in the comments.

Bell 

Whatever Happened to Penny Candy

Inflation happens when the government prints a lot of money. There is a lot of money, so the value of money is going down, and the prices are rising. This is inflation. It's not happening only to the American dollar, but also to the British pound, the franc, you name it. All over the world, politicians are printing a lot of money so they can buy every thing they want. This means that there is also inflation all over the world. Those pieces of paper called dollars are not dollars. They are just pieces of paper that are not backed up by any precious metal. They are Federal Reserve Notes, not dollars. Back in the colonial days, they were backed by silver. One dollar meant one ounce of silver. The dollar was a kind of IOU. But now, there are too many dollars and not enough silver for this to be true. Bell

Brendan Voyage Chapter 2 First Half

There was just one major problem: Leather rots in water, so it is not possible to make a leather boat. But it was tested, and the scientist found that leather tanned in oak bark would float! All the other kinds absorbed water and sank, but this leather was two to three times more resistant. So it was true that the boat was leather! But the problem was, how did you get a boat that would be sturdy enough? Tim Severin went out on a walk one day, and found four curraghs, small canvas boats with a wooden frame and tarred to make them water-resistant. He was able to get some men to take him for a sail in this remarkable boat, and found that it was just the same as a skin boat but with canvas instead of leather. It was very maneuverable. He went to see the curragh maker, and learned all he could about this type of boat. He was told that once, when a steamer was in danger on the coast. The lifeboat was not able to do anything because of the heavy sea, and then two of the curragh men took their boat out and helped. That frail-looking little boat made it where the lifeboat could not! Some of the legends sounded impossible, but when you looked at them carefully, they made sense. The monks landed on a whale's back, thinking it was a rock, and lit a fire. That woke the whale, and it dove back into the sea, giving the monks just enough time to get in the boat! They saw a floating pillar of crystal, and at one island, were pelted with burning rocks! These are just a few of their adventures. More soon! Bell

A note on Brendan Voyage

For a while, I am going to split the chapters in half, because they are rather lengthy. Bell

A note on Shakespeare

When I read Shakespeare's works, I like to get the Folger Library books. They have notes on the text on the left-hand page, and the text on the right. They are useful for understanding the text, and you don't have to go looking through the whole book for the notes. I really recommend these for studying Shakespeare. Bell

Twelfth Night by Shakespeare, Act 1 sns. 1-2

Twelfth Night is a play about a girl who has a twin brother that looks just like her. They are shipwrecked, and the girl does not know where her brother is. She has been saved, and the captain of the ship helps her to get boy's clothes so she can take service under the duke of that country. The duke, Orsino, is madly in love with the widow Olivia, and she is in mourning for her brother, and vows she will stay veiled for seven years. So this is the first part, and the rest has to wait! Bell

Ivanhoe

King Richard is in prison, and the Saxons were mightily oppressed. Here we met with two people, Gurth, a born thrall, or slave, and a jester, both Saxons. Neither of them is happy with the state of things, and Gurth speaks angrily of the Normans. The jester reminds him to be cautious in speaking of their overlords. They do not like to have their servants speak ill of them. The jester wore a purple tunic, with a short cloak that was very wide, of yellow. The tunic at one time had been splotched in an attempt to paint grotesque figures on it. He wore red and yellow hosen, to complete his appearance. The swineherd, Gurth, wore a tunic of skin, with the fur left on, but it had fallen off in many places. He wore sandals, as did his companion, and had bark wrapped around his calves for leggings. They collected the swine, and headed back to the castle, because guests were coming, and the jester would be wanted. More later Bell

Ivanhoe

This is a new book. It is by Sir Walter Scott, and is set at the time King Richard the Lion Heart has been made a prisoner of the Duke of Austria. Bell

Whatever Happened to Penny Candy

We don't have really bad inflation right now, but in the 1970's and 1980's there was double-digit inflation. This is where inflation is rising at the rate of 10% or more. But history repeats itself. The Romans tried to secretly clip the edges of the coins and make new ones with the clippings. The people caught on, and decreased the value of the clipped coins. So the government tried a new thing. They added more medals of lesser value than silver. So the people hoarded the good coins, and used the bad ones. That is the natural reaction to bad coins. They drive the good coins out of the market. This has happened with American money, too. Now we have clad coins, but not the real silver ones. Those were hoarded by the people who have them. Now coins are really tokens, because real coins are made of precious medals. Bell

Whatever Happened to Penny Candy

This is a new book. It is about Economics. Bell

Brendan Voyage, Ch. 1

Tim Severin and 4 companions, Peter, Arthur, George, and Rolf, set out to cross the Atlantic in a leather boat. Why? Some old manuscripts had been found, dating back to at least A.D.800. They told of how Saint Brendan and some monks sailed across the Atlantic in a leather boat. People doubted that these authentic, well researched Latin texts were true, and the idea of a leather boat settled it. Leather rots in water, so that was not even possible! To prove that it could be done, these five men set out in a boat made of of ox hides, made very much like the boat that Saint Brendan was supposed to have sailed in. The Latin texts told how the boat was made, and they were certain the boat was made of leather. So Tim Severin and his crew set out on May 17th, from Brendan Creek on the Dingle Peninsula, in one of the strangest craft ever seen. Not more than two weeks later, here they were, caught in a bad storm. After a long and frightening time, the gale let up. They were not more that 35 miles off the coast of Ireland, and all navigators gave that coast a wide berth. Many ships, with better steering than Brendan(she lacked a keel)had been wrecked on this coast. If the wind had blown towards the coast, Brendan would have been smashed on the rocks. Brendan flexed with the sea, almost as if she were breathing. This storm was the first one of the voyage, and it had been especially fierce. After they made it through the storm, they were almost run over by a trawler. Brendan, as they were to find out, was invisible to radar. The leather did not reflect the beams, and the metal reflector was drowned out by the waves. More later, Bell

New Book

I am starting several new book narrations. Brendan Voyage is the first. Bell

I'm Back!

I'm back! I'll have some new books to write about, starting Monday. Bell

A short work on the state of the present Government

The government of the Founding Fathers was a republic, for all to have a voice in, and one with a constitution that allowed for human weakness. The present government does not think we should follow this same constitution that has been our successful guide for many years. This government has deteriorated into something not unlike Communism, though it is not that bad yet.

The crime Edward Snowden is charged with is treason. Show me basis for that! He revealed nothing that would hurt us, but let Americans know what was going on. He is to be praised, in my opinion, for letting us know of the illegal activities carried on by the government.  We need to use that warning he has given us, and hold the government accountable for this.

The government is not formed up of elite people, the only ones eligible to hold an office! They are men and women of the same cut we are. They all came from our ranks, and depend on us to keep them in office. If we don’t like them, they do not get to stay. We decide. We send them up to Washington D.C. to do a good job of representing us and/or running the country.

 America, at the next election, read up about each candidate and find out what they believe in. Don’t believe 75% of what they say they are going to do, because they just want you to elect them. Politicians make promises that they don’t mean to keep, so you will think they will do what you want. Look at their voting history, what they have supported. If what they say goes against it, they probably are just saying they will do this or that. People don’t change their habits often, so what they have done is a good way to determine what they will do. Statistics are out there, and we use them for other things, like what to use against pests, for instance. People try things, and keep using them if they are successful. The stock market is predicted by statistics, too. People’s actions can be predicted, too. If the shoe fits, wear it!    

A good way, sadly, right now to determine which candidates to vote for is to look for the people called crazy, nutty, those things!? Our nation has come to a sad state when this is the way to tell that a certain person gets things done, does things right and according to the rules!

David Simpson is a State Representative in Texas, and people call him all sorts of things. But he gets the job done! He looks for reasons to do things, instead of just doing them! He is the kind of man we need, the kind that follows the rules as things that have a reason for being there, that hold others to do the same! Ted Cruz is another example. He is the junior Senator for Texas, and he makes them all mad up there in Washington D.C! He is getting things done, changing things that need it, making this country better!!

America, I want to challenge you. At the next election, take some time to look at the candidates’ backgrounds, what they have voted for and what they have not, and decide which ones are the best for America. Yes, it takes time, but time spent making a better country, to give your children a better life! Surely time well spent is worth it! You will not regret it. I challenge you, America! Show you care about your future and your children’s’!

Bell