How an 18th Century Sailing Battleship Worked

Video by Animagraffes:

Merry Christmas, Baby!

From Colt Clark and the Quarantine Kids:

A London Accent from the 14th to the 21st Centuries

Simon Roper is an archeologist, an Old English expert, and a compelling filmmaker. This is his most popular video, but he also made some fascinating movies, at least one of which is in Old English. He may look on the autistic side, but he's an outstanding actor. Check out his channel on youtube.

Esoteric Sky on the Coming Year

A Christmas Carol (audiobook)

This was really well done. The narrator is light hearted and good natured, which I think is the perfect tone for my favorite story of all time.

5 Days Riding the Greyhound

All told, I've probably suffered an entire month of my life riding the Hellhound. So I've been there. I don't ever remember there *not* being a problem.

Insulation Camping with Steve

The Krocks have a new baby!

What a heartwarming story. This time last year, Jessica was fighting for her life. Amazing story below:

Who Am I This Time? (short film w/Christopher Walken, Susan Sarandon)

This looks like a made for TV movie with powerhouse talent. Sweet story by Kurt Vonnegut.

Colt Clark & the Quarantine Kids play "White Wedding"

Little sister is such a star! :)

Tam o' Shanter (spooky poem for Halloween)

I love Robert Burns, and this is my favorite poem by him. It has rightly been called one of the best narrative poems ever. It was written in Auld Scots ... which, while not *readily* understood by most without a glossary, is far more intelligible than Old English! From Scots Hoose youtube channel:

Building a Homestead

Justine and Ron from the Early American cooking channel and the Frontier Patriot youtube channel build their first home together.

Star of the County Down

New song from Bard Michael Kelly's youtube channel:

1984 by George Orwell

Read by Stephen ("Red Fox") Garnett:

The Gift Economy | Daniel Suelo | TEDxGrandJunction

I've posted about this guy before. The more I learn about him, the more I admire him.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1958)

Just in time for Halloween!

Make Sure You Have these 15 Items

Video by DIY Prepper TV:

The Monkey Cage (by Jody Paulson)

[I originally posted this college poem on my political blog.]

There's thousands of monkeys who live in a cage
Filled with anxiety, hunger and rage
The cage sits on top of a shelf in a lab
Where monkeys are fed all the food they can grab
Some monkeys, however, grab more than the rest
They've fought over food and proven the best
The weak monkeys starve, which then makes them weaker
The meek monkeys beg, which then makes them meeker
The big monkeys fight and they scratch and they kill
All over assurance that they get their fill

But things aren't as dim as on first glance they look:
At the edge of the cage there is a light nook
Where bright, daring monkeys imagine a way
To exit the prison which locks them away
It seems that this side of the cage might come loose --
But pushing with just these few monkey's no use!
Everybody must push! They must make them see!
If all monkeys push hard, then all monkeys are free!

They cried to the others, but they were drown out
By the yammering, clammoring and thrashing about
Of monkeys who jockey for status and mates
All caught up in jealousies, hungers and hates
And none of them heard what the bright monkeys said
It's hard to think free when you need to be fed

There were some, however, old ones in the back
Whose interest in life had begun to go slack
Who listened to all that the bright monkeys said
To which they replied: "Pooh-pooh, use your head!
"We're 'locked in a cage?' Well, that could be quite true,
"But if so, generations of us and you, too
"Were born here, lived here and died in the crowds
"So all of you take out your heads from the clouds!
"Things are as they must be, and always have been."
And with that things resumed at the back of the pen

The bright ones, however, did not lose their scope
And turned to the big monkey leaders in hope
"ALL monkeys must push? Not a chance in the world!"
Said a white monkey, pained as his saga unfurled,
"The browns are at war with the black monkeys now
"And for US to help THEM our new pact won't allow ..."

"Do you honestly ask that we all push for free?
"Some slacker might push much less harder than me!
"Or worse, they'd be robbers who'd steal all our lunch
"That we'd all leave behind to go push with the bunch
"-- And further, I must say I don't think it's sage
"To be telling our monkeys they're 'locked in a cage'
"I don't see it as such -- monkeys have what they please!
"(As long as they're strong and can keep what they seize)"

"You're attacking our system! I'll bet its a plot!
"Call out the guards and start purging this lot!"
So the guard monkeys charged, adding more to the fray
Between black monkeys, white monkeys, brown monkeys, gray

The cage shook with violence, right close to the ledge
Of the high top shelf ... then over the edge
Those monkeys were silly, don't you agree?
Except when those monkeys
Are you
And are me

The Point (narrated by Alan Thicke)

This movie is *slightly* before my time, but I clearly remember the song "Me and My Arrow" and much of the animation style. I'm a big fan of the 90's adult cartoon "Dr. Katz" and it's obvious this movie had a huge influence on him. I've been reading a lot of the Tao Te Ching lately, and IMHO this (as well as Winnie-the-Pooh) is a very spiritual film. What do you think?

Beautiful carved tiny home in a cargo trailer!

From the youtube "Tiny House Giant Journey" channel:

Donation Bin Stealth Camping with Steve

Survival Rations (Inspired by History)

Video from Fandabi Dozi:

The Man With No Legal Identity

Video by Peter Santenello:

Luxury Tiny Home

It really does look like a 5-star hotel inside. Amazing. From Tiny House Giant Journey on youtube.

Tour a Japanese Village with Samurai Matcha

I love this guy. He's so positive and friendly! :)

Kim Peek: The Real Rain Man

Today is Dustin Hoffman's birthday (as well as Lion's Gate, when the Sun and the dog star Sirius align ... great time for manifesting!). My favorite Dustin Hoffman movie is Rain Man, about an autistic savant. It was inspired by a real person, the amazing Kim Peek:

How to make a carrot taste like a hot dog

Video from My Vegan Kitchen:

Beau Knows Football

Cute little clip from Scott Creighton's youtube channel (Beau is his dog):

HIGHLANDER 4 Day Adventure

Video from Fandabi Dozi:

Wow! Krocks in the Kitchen are expecting!

Jessica, as you might know, had cancer not long ago. What a heartwarming story!

Early American hits 1 million subs

This is one of my favorite cooking channels, even though it isn't vegan. These guys are so much fun!

I love High Carb Hannah!

I could watch her channel all day. This is the kind of diet that helped me lose over 100 lb, BTW.

Fake Billboard Stealth Camping

Video by Steve Wallis ("Camping With Steve"):

Early American Dough Nuts

Fluffy, Delicious Donuts Real Historic Recipe from the Early American cooking channel on youtube (I'm sure this can be easily made vegan by using vegan butter and milk):

Highlander Survival Equipment (17th Century)

Video by Fandabi Dozi:

Access to tools to help craft your self reliance (by kirstendirksen)

Visiting my Vietnamese Grandma (she wouldn't stop feeding me)

I just watched a couple charming videos of an American guy and his buddy tooling around Saigon on their scooter, trying the best street food and chatting with the vendors. The friendliness of his street vending "Grandma" was so down-to-earth and caring!

What we eat in a day (mostly raw vegan)

So cute! :D

Solar Eclipse in Aries 19-20 (square Pluto)

I've studied enough history and astrology to know this is a really big deal. If you look at recent (and even not so recent) events, the 19th and 20th of April are critical days for America. There's the shot heard 'round the world (beginning the American revolution), Columbine shooting, Waco fire, OK City bombing, Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Boston locked down as "Marathon bombers" Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev are "apprehended and killed" respectively, etc ...

Buddy Mercury, the singing mutt

Exploring the Piano

I first saw ELEW (Eric Lewis) on America's Got Talent. He dropped out after a successful audition. The second video, which I found at SandraKC's youtube channel, only has around 60K views after 11 years. People don't appreciate true genius anymore.

Bea Caruso's Life Reset

Video by Bea Caruso:

Boeing DIY inventor shows new ultra-cheap houses to nomad shepherd

Video from Kirsten Dirksen:

Father & Son Jam Session: Wilson World

"Situation Grim" (This is actually a feel-good jazz piece!)

Bus Ride

 [Here's a short story I wrote last spring. I held onto it thinking I might want to try selling it someday, but now I realize I'm probably never going to do that, so I might as well post it here.]

Bus Ride (by Jody Paulson)

The clouds made everything look gray. Kelly never liked the spring. It’s better than winter, but not much. You expect flowers to bloom and bunnies to frolic. All you get is mud and a runny nose.

She was on the bus riding back to her motel room. She lived there, paying monthly rent. She used to wonder about people like that. When she was little she knew a teacher (who she now realized was totally gay) who lived in the one motel in her crappy little town. She always felt kind of sorry for him. He must have been very poor. He also drove a lame car. At least he had a car, thought Kelly, frowning.

Suddenly, the bus lurched to a stop.  The less sturdy passengers flew forward in their seat.

“What the hell?!!” bellowed the driver, a 300-pound woman with a teeny weeny afro.  Kelly craned her neck with the other passengers to see what the driver was staring at.

“Holy fuck! It’s an elephant!” shouted a young man in shredded jeans.

Everyone excitedly put out their cell phones to get a picture, as if they were on safari.  A few made calls: “Girl…! You won’t believe what I’m seein' on the bus right now!” The driver radioed dispatch: “There’s an elephant in the middle of the street!”

“April Fool’s was yesterday, Tiana.”

“This ain’t no joke! This ain’t no joke! Listen to all these people up in here!” Everyone crowded to the front window assured dispatch that there was in fact an elephant on the street sauntering casually, almost curiously, their way.

It’s an African elephant, thought Kelly. Not the tame, Indian kind you’d find at a circus, giving kids a ride. She remembered how to tell the difference: Africans had big ears that looked like Africa, and Indians had smaller ears that look like India. This was a wild elephant! “It must have escaped from the zoo!” she said.

“No way!” said a disheveled man with a straggly gray beard.  “The zoo is half way across town!”

Well, I don’t think it swam over the Atlantic, thought Kelly, giving him a sharp look.  “That’s not a tame elephant. It’s a wild animal, and he might be extremely dangerous. Everyone needs to stay in the bus.”

“No shit!” laughed the guy in shredded jeans.

The elephant was ambling closer to the bus. It approached the driver’s side window.  Kelly saw it’s ancient-looking eye peering in. The driver drew back sharply, as if she’d seen a spider.  “Lord Jesus, help me!” She got out of her chair and stepped backward.

HONK! Went a car behind them. HONK, HONK-HONKA-HONK HONK! Kelly whipped her head around to see who the idiot was.  Some dumbass in a dirty gray Honda.  He actually stuck his head out the window.  “I’ve got places to go!  I don’t have TIME for a some goddam circus show!”  He laid in on his horn.

This clearly upset the bull elephant, who significantly outweighed his rival behind the bus. “Waa-aa!”  He trumpeted, swinging his massive head, trunk THWACKING the side of the bus. Oh, no! thought Kelly.  He’s about to charge!

But a car coming toward them from the other side of the street distracted him.  A girl got out of the back seat.  She looked about seven years old. She pointed at the elephant in awe, mouth wide open. The driver opened her door and grabbed at the girl’s arm, desperately trying to pull her back in.  Kelly wasted no time.  She stepped up to the wheel and honked the horn.

“What are you doing?!” shouted the driver.

“I’m distracting it from the girl!”

“You’re going to make it mad!”

“We’re bigger than he is!” said Kelly.

“Not if he breaks a window!” said the driver.

The driver grabbed Kelly’s arm and pulled her off the platform.  “I’m gettin’ out of here!”  The driver slid her massive butt back in the seat and grabbed the wheel, checking her mirror.

But the elephant had other plans. He stepped in front of the windshield and lifted his trunk, trumpeting, and whapped at the driver, striking the window.  He looked mad.

The girl was back in the car and the door slammed shut, the Honda backed away and made a U turn to get the hell out of there.  The street was relatively quiet but another car was coming, saw the elephant, and did the same thing.  Now, up the street there was honking everywhere as everyone panicked and tried to warn everyone else.  Accordingly, there was pandemonium in the bus.

“He’s gonna break the window!”

“We’re bigger than he is! Drive! Drive!”

“No! Back away!”

Many people rushed to the back of the bus. The driver, with newfound courage, stood her ground. “Move!” she snarled, and put the bus in gear. The elephant backed away and whapped the windshield with its trunk. He somehow knew this massive vehicle before him was being operated by the relatively puny human being behind the wheel, and if he could just break the window he’d show her who’s boss.

Kelly jerked her head back as people stepped out of their houses with cell phones, hoping to get a shot of the elephant battling the city bus.  As if their porches made them safe! Everyone outside made a ruckus (Kelly was sure they all called each other) as if they were at the circus and the lion suddenly went apeshit and started to attack his trainer. They just had to get this on youtube.

“Get back!” yelled Kelly, trying to shoo them indoors. But her voice was lost in the din of the other passengers, some of which had taken heart from the outside spectators and resumed their own filming from the front of the bus, as if they were safe and secure behind a plexiglass screen at the zoo.

At this point, the elephant lowered its trunk under the corner of the bus. To Kelly’s amazement, it actually lifted the left front part of the bus off the ground.  “Ah-ahh!!!” went the crowd inside, rushing to the back of the bus, grabbing the bars and straps to stay upright. The power of such an act would never have occurred to Kelly. She would have been surprised to see any animal pick up the bus driver, frankly. And yet this creature might actually topple the entire bus on its side.

“Wee-oh! WEE-OH! WEE-OH! WEE-OH!” It was a siren. Apparently someone called the cops, and the cops somehow believed them. Thank goodness, thought Kelly.

But this wasn’t good. Because just as the squad car pulled up to the scene, the men inside treated it like a shootout in progress. The younger partner actually ran out of the car and crouched behind it, bracing his pistol, aiming directly at the massive beast. His partner stayed in the car and radioed for backup.

Kelly shoved her way to the window. “NO!” She gesticulated wildly with her arms, making the “X” sign as if she were in the audience of America’s Got Talent. She signed for him to holster his gun. If there was one thing that would really, really piss that elephant off, it would be shooting it with a regular gun. Even Kelly knew you couldn’t kill an elephant with a pistol. You could empty the whole cartridge and all you’d do is make it mad. Didn’t the rookie cop realize this? Kelly guessed not. You don’t get much experience dealing with elephants in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

“Open the door!” shouted Kelly.

“Are you stupid?!”

“No. That cop is. If he tries to shoot that elephant he’ll kill us all.”

The driver looked at the cop, looked at Kelly, and shook her head. “It’s your funeral,” she said, and quickly opened the door. Kelly ran out and waved her arms. “Stop! You can’t kill it with that thing! You’ll just make it mad!”

“Get back in the bus, lady!” yelled the rookie.

But the door was already closed behind her, and the driver was honking her horn, trying to back away while “Jumbo” was distracted.

“Did you call the zoo? They’ll know what to do. You can’t kill an elephant with a pistol. First of all, from what I’ve seen, he hasn’t even hurt anybody!”

Jumbo trumpeted again. He didn’t seem interested in Kelly, who was on the other side of the bus. His beef was with the bus driver, who was controlling the one thing that was bigger than he was. Except … if he succeeded in toppling the bus on its side, it would land on Kelly. So she stepped out in front of the bus and waved her arms.

There was a sudden outcry on the bus. “Aww, man! She’s gonna get us all killed!” As if trying to save the elephant and anyone it might attack from certain death if that cop started shooting was an act of violence.

“Get out of the street, lady!” yelled the rookie. His partner in the car was on the radio going apeshit, eyes bulging like he was choking on a donut.

“Don’t you dare shoot him!” yelled Kelly. “He hasn’t hurt anyone!”

“He just tried to pick up that bus you were on!”

But now Jumbo had lost interest in the bus. He wandered around the front to see what the irksome lady was yelling about.

At this point, Kelly really, really wished she had some peanuts. Then it occurred to her she actually did have potato chips. They were in her backpack. The elephant, who was more curious than anything, sniffled at Kelly’s head and tussled her hair as she bent down to retrieve the family-sized bag.

The rookie was stymied. He no longer had a clear shot of the beast’s head as he turned his rear toward the patrol car. Shooting the elephant now would clearly endanger the lady especially if what she said about their supposed invulnerability were true.

“Sully!” radioed his partner in the patrol car. “The guys at animal control say don’t shoot. We need to secure the area and get everyone inside!”

Kelly pulled a bag from her backpack. She pulled it apart with a desperate tug and chips went flying. The elephant knew the bag had food and dipped his trunk in it, sniffing and snorting. He somehow grabbed it and dumped the contents on the street so he could root around for the bright yellow chips.

“Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” A swarthy foreign guy shouted from his truck pulling a special trailer that looked like something you could put an elephant in. He opened the door and rushed out to defend his charge.

The rookie tilted his head and looked at the swarthy man incredulously. “Are you responsible for this?!” he said, lowering his gun slightly.

“I have raised this elephant from a baby!” said the man, who Kelly supposed was East Indian. “His mother was killed by poachers. I am taking him to the zoo.”

“He tried to flip over that bus!” yelled the cop. Everyone on the bus concurred. They were apoplectic with rage. They wanted that elephant’s brains splattered on the windshield. Never mind how dangerous such an act would be.

“Everyone evacuate the area!” boomed the other cop through a loudspeaker. “This animal is extremely dangerous!” Jumbo was busy picking up potato chips and stuffing them in his mouth. He obviously recognized his handler and wanted to scoop as many chips as possible before he was prodded back in the trailer.

A few people who were filming the affair lowered their phone and reluctantly went back inside, but it was clear they weren’t rushing for the back door. Many just went to their front window and continued documenting the drama playing out before them. A few held their ground. This was gonna go viral, man!

The swarthy man tried to coax the elephant into behaving, speaking in a foreign tongue. The elephant trumpeted softly, shaking its massive head, trying to scoop up more potato chips. Kelly stepped away so she was clearly visible to the rookie. Again she signed for him to holster his pistol, and yelled, “See? He’s tame! He’s not going to hurt anybody!”

Just then another siren could be heard and squad cars were rushing their way. Jumbo shifted his feet and trumpeted. Everyone on the bus could be heard groaning again, and general mayhem resumed.

Oh, no … thought Kelly. They’re gonna shoot him!

Again, the cops treated the situation like a shootout, rushing behind their cars with helmets and flak jackets, as if the elephant were going to fire back. But this time they were armed with rifles. The intent was clear. They meant to take Jumbo out. Permanently.

Kelly knew all these guns would kill an elephant. But he didn’t do anything wrong! Why would you endanger … No, no! She wouldn’t have it! “Stop!” she yelled, waving her arms. “Don’t shoot!” With no thought for her safety, she strode out and put herself in front of the great beast who had stopped munching on potato chips and faced the patrol cars with a menacing look.

“Get out of the way!” yelled a rifleman.

“What are you going to do? Shoot me?!”

Jumbo put his trunk on Kelly’s shoulder, almost if he were trying to push her to safety. Kelly supposed he must have remembered his mother being shot with a rifle. They say an elephant never forgets …

But Kelly knew they wouldn’t shoot the beast if he could fall on her – it would kill her. And it was plain he wasn’t attacking her. After all, she just gave him potato chips.

“Stop! Stop!” yelled the swarthy man, rushing ahead to stand with Kelly. “This animal belongs to the zoo! I was transporting him there when he escaped his trailer. I tell you he has caused no mischief!”

“No mischief!?” yelled the rookie, incredulous.

During this exchange, Kelly crouched down and refilled the torn bag of potato chips. Jumbo took notice and started mussing her hair. I’m going to get that elephant back in his trailer, she thought. They can’t shoot him there!

“I tell you he only just got out five minutes ago! I tell you I raised this elephant from a baby and he has never attacked a single human being! You must not shoot him!”

More sirens. More policemen rushing to get all the people on their porches away from the area.

“Let’s get him in the trailer,” said Kelly, trying to keep her bag of potato chips from spilling back on the pavement. Jumbo obviously loved them. “How did he get out?”

“This elephant is very clever!” said the swarthy man. “He lifted the bar on his enclosure while I was at a traffic stop!”

“Well, I know how to fix that --!” said Kelly, beaming. “I have duct tape in my backpack!”

“Yes, but can we get him back in? I am not sure it can be done!”

“Sure it can!” said Kelly, shaking her potato chip bag, top clamped shut with her left hand. This caught Jumbo’s attention. Somehow, he knew Kelly wasn’t frightened of these “poachers” at all.

“Come on, buddy!” Kelly said, waving the bright yellow bag. “Follow me!”

Jumbo trailed after Kelly, but he knew what she was up to when she headed for the back of the trailer.

“Wah!” he said, shaking his massive head, as if to say no. His trainer quickly pulled out a ramp. Kelly sprinkled a few chips on the ground, keeping the bag close to her chest. Jumbo started to pick them up with his trunk, while his trainer discreetly got out a tool to gently prod him back into his trailer. To Kelly’s great surprise, Jumbo willingly stepped up the ramp, snagging the whole bag of potato chips as he went. He dumped the entire contents on the floor, as if to say, I’ve had enough of this nonsense for today. Let’s go, driver!

The swarthy man quickly and expertly “secured” the enclosure, and Kelly made it extra secure with a few wraps of duct tape.

Outside, the police were all on their radios, evacuating the area, milling around with their sunglasses, in a big commotion over – nothing.

Kelly waited for the swarthy man to get into his truck. “Thank you!” he said gratefully. “You will never know what good you have done! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” He said, and couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Amazingly, the police let him go. Everyone turned their attention on Kelly, left standing in the middle of the street. Maybe she was about to go viral on youtube. Frankly she didn’t care. She just wanted to go …

Home? The bus was gone.

“Can I give you a ride somewhere?” said a young, good-looking police officer.

“Yes,” said Kelly. “Yes, you can.”