Iron Jon

There’s nothing so bad that it couldn’t be worse.

~ Irish Proverb

Matrix

"If you don't stand for anything, you don't stand for anything! If you don't stand for something, you don't stand for anything!"

--George W. Bush, Nov. 2, 2000

Fair winds and following seas

Yep, Kelly's Heroes is it... You're up next

OK, I was watching this old movie for the hundredth time earlier today, this should be an easy one...

"Where you from Sargeant"

"Jersey City"

"Well don't you feel bad about it Son. You're a hell of a soldier and I just wanna shake your hand. All America is real proud of you today. I got a medal here in the jeep for ya..."

One of Clint Eastwood's lines in 'Play Misty for Me'

Nosferatu - Eine Symphonie des Grauens

I looked through the Museum of Londons digital images of stoneware and ceramics and the best I could come up with is a similar piece with a possible range of 1701 - 1800. Too large of a margin of error to use for documentation. Museum Of London

The other stoneware bottles of this type are from mainly 1850 and up, with a few dated from 1801-1900 (again, a very large range).

I guess I should have stuck with the original estimate on my first post...

Rocky Raccoon

Now somewhere in the black mountain hills of Dakota

There lived a young boy named Rocky Raccoon

And one day his woman ran off with another guy

Hit young Rocky in the eye, Rocky didn't like that

He said I'm gonna get that boy

More on stoneware jugs, from - Bols Distillery

The first time the Bols name shows up is in 1634 Amsterdam town papers, the distiller Pieter Jacobszoon Bols is mentioned as being established at the Rozengracht.

Up until the early 1850's Bols didn't bottle their liqueurs in their own jugs or bottles. Local customers were bringing their containers to the factory, mainly German mine­ral water jugs.

For selling outside Amsterdam Bols purchased German stoneware jugs from German traders, which were travelling through Holland with horse wagons stored with empty jugs.

In the mid of the 19th century water-companies were started in the Netherlands. This cased a sharp decline in the consumption of German mineral waters. And the need to stoneware jugs diminished strongly.

So from 1854 Bols ordered his own stoneware jugs directly from Germany. And till today they still ordering their stoneware jugs from the same pottery.

from - Archaeology Antwerp

Mineral Water Jugs

Period : 18th Century

Provenance : Germany

Material : Stoneware

The mineral water jug in stoneware was developed in the 18th century. Various German regions bottled and traded in mineral water, and also produced water jugs. They remind us a great deal of the 19th century gin bottle.

THIS WOULD PUT YOUR TYPE OF BOTTLE IN THE RIGHT TIME PERIOD ! (As long as you ignore the printing on it...)

Skoal Bandits

Antique Bottles

It looks like it's an old gin bottle, used from from the 1850's and up...

For anybody interested, on Wednesday at 8am and 2pm there will be a 2 hour show on the History Channel titled "The True Pirates of the Caribbean". I don't know if it's new or not but I've already set my Tivo to record it...

- from their website-

"Blackbeard. Anne Bonny. Henry Jennings. Calico Jack. Henry Morgan. Black Bart Roberts. During the mid to late 17th and early 18th centuries, they were feared criminals. The Caribbean was their domain, the parade of treasure and cargo to Europe their target. The origins of Caribbean piracy began when Columbus made landfall in the Bahamas. Two years later, the Pope granted Spain the exclusive right to the Caribbean and most of the New World. The Spanish reaped an immense fortune in gold and silver, but with a price. England, France, and Holland all desired a portion of this wealth and each established Caribbean bases and used privateers--private sailors fighting for profit--to protect their interests and steal Spanish treasure. The line between privateering and piracy became blurred. We'll examine this Golden Age of Piracy and the true stories of the infamous pirates, how they operated, and their successes and failures in this dark and deadly profession."

Slot Machines

It's the Whydah pirate museum in P-town.

I also stand about 6'2 more or less... (I think I'm shrinkin' as I get older !)

Jimmy Buffett

What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

In my opinion, I think that if you were to compare pirates from the GAOP to earlier American gangs, such as those depicted in Scorsese's 'Gangs of New York' there wouldn't be a real big difference (other than the "on the water" issue). If the movie has any real historical accuracy there are actually a few similarities.

Like pirates, the gangs in the movie stole from whoever they could, and they used their strength in numbers and notoriety to terrorize the local inhabitants and carry on their trade with immunity.

The gangs paid a tribute, a portion of their take, to the leader of the gang, and they paid off the authorities to more or less look the other way. Pirates and privateers paid a greater share of their plunder to the Captain and some even paid a portion back to their sponsoring countries and Kings.

The gangs were waging a territorial war between the Native faction (those born in America who were mostly Protestant) and the predominantly Irish immigrants (who were Catholic). This is somewhat similar to the situation in the New World of the 1600's where the English, Dutch, French, and others were trying to gain a foothold in the Spanish (Catholic) controlled areas and would fight and steal from them whenever possible.

just a random photo - but does anybody know what building this is?

The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog

"It has a vicious streak a mile wide!.. and nasty, big, pointy teeth!"

Tikal

For the last 6 weeks I've been living in the last house on Southard St, which is just a short walk to the Fort. On Fridays and Saturdays I can still hear the bands from the Green Parrot just outside my front door up until midnight at least. I think the noise ordinances might be a little more lax on the weekends...

Hong Kong, China