Ambrose Bierce

A little while ago I used a quote from Ambrose Bierce for my Quotable Thursday feature. I usually try to link the quoted person to their wikipedia page so that you can go and learn more about them if you so please. In the process of doing that this time however, I saw that this person had an interesting story – he disappeared.
Ambrose Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist. He was born in 1842 and earned himself the nickname “Bitter Bierce” primarily because of his motto ‘nothing matters’.
In 1913 the then elderly writer traveled to Mexico to gain a firsthand perspective of the country’s ongoing revolution. According to Wikipedia:

“In October 1913 Bierce, then in his seventies, departed Washington, D.C., for a tour of his old Civil War battlefields. By December he had proceeded through Louisiana and Texas, crossing by way of El Paso into Mexico, which was in the throes of revolution. In Ciudad Juárez he joined Pancho Villa's army as an observer, and in that role he witnessed the Battle of Tierra Blanca.

Bierce is known to have accompanied Villa's army as far as the city of Chihuahua. His last known communication with the world was a letter he wrote there to Blanche Partington, a close friend, dated December 26, 1913. After closing this letter by saying, "As to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination," he vanished without a trace, becoming one of the most famous disappearances in American literary history.

Oral tradition in Sierra Mojada, Coahuila, documented by the priest James Lienert, states that Bierce was executed by a firing squad in the town cemetery there. However, all investigations into his fate have proven fruitless, and despite an abundance of theories his end remains shrouded in mystery.”

I don’t know much more than what is in the Wikipedia link, but thought it was rather interesting and wanted to share it with you.

10/10/10 10:10

Make a grand wish!

A few interesting 10/10/10 events and facts:
- 101010 is 42 in binary code;
- Slang for a person who spends too much time on the computer;
- Global Day of Doing;
- Global Work Party;
- A Family Celebration for Women & Babies Hospital;
- lots of weddings will be occurring today;
- many bloggers and photographers are encouraging people to commemorate this day with a photo;
- Hooha Fun Run; and the final fact/event is:
- Nothing significant appears to have happened during the year 1010 or 10.

To celebrate I will be having Thanksgiving lunch/dinner with Dave's extended family. You?

Wish Come True Festival

A couple weekends ago Dave and I were in Toronto for a conference but the point of this post is not our conference but rather the Wish Come True Festival that was going on in Queens Park.
We were walking around Downtown Toronto on the Saturday night when we came across the festival. We weren’t quite sure what was going on at first as there were all these balloon creations and funny characters around the park. It took us a little while but we eventually found a sign full of information. Apparently the festival is part of the Luminato Festival and according to the website I cam across, “This year’s Luminato presents colourful totems, bounce houses and inflatable friends. Presented by FriendsWithYou, Queen’s Park transformed into an artistic wonderland. Characters led by the Rainbow King will be spread out around the park with messages of happiness. People of all-ages are invited to check out the spinning creatures, lounge areas and 12-metre high inflatable characters.”We enjoyed the scenery and watched children play with the inflatable objects. there was also a band playing on a main stage that we listened to for a while. And I of course took photos of the odd decorations.
(cartoon image from Luminato website. Other image from me.)

Moose in a Can

While searching through the archives that are my photos, I found this series of photos taken in Moosonee in 2001 (during a road trip).

That’s right – I have been oddly documenting the most mundane things for a very long time now.

Strange House in Safety Harbour

Near Clearwater, Florida is Safety Harbour. Inside this area is not only a lot of cute shops and cafes and a really great pier from which one could see manatees (we didn't see any when we went unfortunately) but also a really interesting house.On the corner of 12th and 3rd Avenue there is a really neat, but weird looking house I am affectionately calling the Strange House. The Konings had been here before with some friends who winter in Florida as well and knew that Dave and I would love it. We arrived early in the day and got a ton of really great shots that I am just starting to go through. I have included a couple in this post, but I am sure many more will be posted on my Photography blog (as well as my Flickr account).Around the perimeter of the property were painted bowling balls, which were incredibly photogenic. There was so many things to see here that one could make a million trips here and still see something new. There were creatures and objects in every nook and cranny. The following two guys were my favourite (that I saw while I was there) quite possibly because of the frog-like creature on top with his little camera.It doesn't take too long to get to the house, nor does it take very long to take a few shots here. The hard part is leaving because as you walk out you are bound to see something you want to shoot and then something else immediately after that. The Konings must have been sitting in their car for nearly 15 minutes waiting for me to walk out of the yard. Definitely a must see if you are in the area.

Transparent Fish

This 'weird fish with transparent head' was first discovered in 1939, but has only recently been found alive. The image was taken in 2004 but was just released in February, 2009 and published on the National Geographic website. It was taken by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in the deep waters off California's central coast. Its name is barreleye (Macropinna microstoma) and as you can see, its forehead is similar to a cockpit. It is completely transparent enabling you to see its inner workings. What you would think were eyes at the front of its head are actually smell sensors. The eyes are tubes (or barrels - hence barreleye) that lie under the green domes in its head. The domes themselves are used to filter out the small amounts of light that reaches down into the deep, dark waters it calls home.
(information and image found at National Geographic)

Force Trainer

I saw this the other day while I was shopping on the Zellers website. I think it is weird and yet I want to figure out how it works.

Distant Relatives - Hostess and Just for Laughs

I know Hostess chips aren't really that big anymore - at least not with anyone I know, but as Dave and I were filling the car up with gas this past weekend, I saw an advertisement for them on the pit stop store window. I sat there looking at the little Munchies (the cartoon characters used for their ads) and thought that they looked a little like the Just for Laughs cartoon character. And now that I am writing this post and have their images here on the same screen, I realize that the Hostess Munchies are red, yellow and orange - there is no green Munchie. Perhaps these four guys are related somehow in cartoon-world! The Hostess Munchies are probably brothers and as the Just For Laughs guy has a pointy nose rather than a bulbous one, he is likely a cousin or something along those lines, but related nonetheless.
I know I am crazy - but you have to admit they look pretty similar.
(images found through Google)

Looking for a Home

So, it's not quite official yet as there is an inspection tomorrow, but the house is pretty much sold. The new landlords put an offer in yesterday (before ever seeing the house) and it was accepted today. They came and looked at the place just now and it seems like they wrote a cheque out to Royal LePage (probably the downpayment or holding fee until the inspection). I am not quite sure how I feel about getting new landlords - I knew the house was selling obviously but I didn't know the closing date would be while we were still in the house. It is soon too. We are fine - protected by the tenants act and all, but still the whole situation makes me uneasy.
I suppose I should start looking for a place for Dave and I to live in come August. Anyone have a 2 bedroom available come August??

Bubbles

On the way into work I noticed there weer bubbles all over the grass behind my work - along the path between the baseline station and the neighbourhood beside the City of Ottawa building. They look like bath bubbles - it's weird. Probably the result of some kids or something since there is a skate park nearby - or maybe due to the Sens losing the hockey game last night (which should have been foreseen as though the Sens aren't a bad team they always end up choking in the playoffs). But yeah so there are weird bubbles all over the grass by my work and its weird.