Odds and Ends

THE BOWIE KNIFE THAT KILLED DRACULA

/ The Coastal Crone / 20 Comments

“Bram Stoker’s Dracula was killed by a bowie knife?  And by a Texan?  No way!  It was done by a stake in his heart –  right?”

” Wrong!”

In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, first published in 1897, he is indeed killed by a Texan welding a bowie knife.  Obviously, I had not read the book even though I have a copy of it along with Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein that I did read recently.

I subscribe to print and digital versions of Texas Monthly, a magazine that covers all things Texas – politics, art, dance halls, food, music, tourist spots, trends, rodeos, history, tequila,  glamour and grit.  The magazine upholds the pride of a currently red state with a weird blue capitol of Austin without being pompous while poking fun of a state that was once a country and has threatened to secede in recent years.

In the October 2025 issue the first installment of The Bowie Knife That Killed Dracula, a novel by William Broyles and Stephen Harrigan, was published.  It is described this way.

“The character who kills Dracula at the end of Bram Stoker’s classic novel is Quincey Morris, a Texan who does the job with a bowie knife.  Our serialized novel tells his story – and that of his famous  blade.”

I anticipate each new chapter that comes out every Saturday and I have started reading Bram Stoker’s novel.  It is rather like reading parallel novels.  Here is a link to the first installment.

Now Texans have something else to brag about!  And the bowie knife has a worthy history of its own.

 

SAMHAIN BLESSING

/ The Coastal Crone / 14 Comments

 

Light your fires and make a toast,
Welcome in the Samhain ghosts.
Give your thanks for the passing year,
As the darkness has drawn near.
We offer a blessing this Samhain night.
That your flames will be shining bright.
May you and your loved ones gather round,
And enjoy the season’s magickal delights.

– author unknown

AVOIDING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)

/ The Coastal Crone / 28 Comments

Artificial Intelligence seems to be everywhere.   When I Goggle AI, even an “AI Overview” informs me that it  “… refers to the simulation of human intelligence processes in machines, enabling them to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence like learning, reasoning and problem-solving.”  The AI Overview comes up first and I must scroll down to view other definitions.

I acknowledge that AI is transforming the world and that I don’t really understand how it

AI chip artificial intelligence, future technology innovation

works.  Hopefully, it will be used in a manner to make life and our world better.  Or as some predict, it will destroy humanity, the economy, art – take your pick.  The effects are probably all around me without my even being aware of it. This week it surfaced in an unexpected way.

I went to see an orthopedist for a minor issue with my hand.  The next day I was able to view the physician’s notes on the patient portal.  At the end of his notes was this statement:  “Parts of this encounter note have been generated by AI based on audio conversation. Patient consent was required prior to utilizing this technology. Content review was required prior to finalizing the note.”

While I will not be a Luddite railing against this new “machine” and the displacement of jobs, I will be cautious of its use and misuse.  Perhaps I will still light a candle to summon my muse for creative assistance.

MINCEMEAT PIE, CIGARS AND CIGARETTES

/ The Coastal Crone / 37 Comments

The officers and crew on the USS Lexington celebrated Thanksgiving 1945 somewhere in the Pacific after months of fighting; but WWII was finally over and they had much to be thankful for.

MENU COURTESY OF THE LEXINGTON’S HISTORIAN, MELANIE TEMPLIN

Along with the usual turkey, dressing and cranberries to remind them of home, sailors were offered mincemeat pie, cigars and cigarettes.

Today I doubt that cigars and cigarettes would be listed on the menu and there might not be mincemeat pie for dessert.  Mincemeat pie seems to have fallen out of favor as a Thanksgiving and Christmas tradition.

Today’s mincemeat (mainly raisins, apples and spices) does not contain meat.  In Victorian times it sometimes  would.  Mincemeat comes in a jar or condensed in a box and can be made into a variety of desserts:  cookies, pies, fruitcake, etc.  One of the oldest brands is None Such Mincemeat and is the one I use to make pies and cookies at Christmas.

For the past few years I have had trouble finding it in local grocery stores, especially the condensed in a box that I use for cookies.  This year I could only find it in jars and had to drive to Corpus Christi for it; I bought two jars even though the price has almost doubled from last year.  It is even higher on Amazon.  The None Such website promises to have condensed by the 2025 holiday season – we will see!  For the first time None Such Mincemeat is available online with a limit of two per order.  The link is shared here for those who may be fans of the old-fashioned.

Growing up, I remember that for Christmas we always had fruitcake and mincemeat pie.  I have already made a mincemeat pie and fruitcake.   Cheers and Happy Holidays!

What would Scarlett O’Hara say?

/ The Coastal Crone / 34 Comments

PROPERTY TAXES AND THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE

Husband and I thought our property taxes for Briar Cottage (our name for our modest home for almost 46 years) were paid in full for another year and paid early.   Husband dropped the check at the local post office on December 1.

In early June we received a letter informing us that  on July 1  our taxes would be delinquent and penalties  would go to the highest rate.

What! The check cleared our bank December 2. Just an accounting error, I said.
No, the check was apparently stolen at the post office and cashed the next day.  San Patricio County never received the check.  Our taxes were delinquent!

To keep this brief, we had to file a report with the police; get a form completed, signed  by the tax assessor/collector, then notorized; take it to our bank and fill out another form for the bank and contact the USPS.  Our bank was able to tell us that it had been cashed the next day at a local credit union. The police hinted that there may have been other mail thefts around that time.

Thankfully, all late and delinquent penalties were dropped by the tax assessor/collector. Husband wrote another check and took it in person to the county office and got a receipt. The bank told us we should get our money back, but it is not clear how we will be reimbursed or when. We are just grateful that we had money to pay our taxes twice.

We seldom write checks and pay most bills online. If we do have a check to mail, we take it to the post office instead of leaving it in our mailbox for the postman to pick up. Now we will be even more careful.

Carpetbaggers come in different forms!

SAND POUNDERS

/ The Coastal Crone / 38 Comments


Sand pounders? What are they?  Tools for creating a sand sculpture? Some new social media? I had come across the phrase while doing some research for something I was writing that involved World War II.

The Coast Guard Beach Patrol, eventually known as Sand Pounders, began in June 1942 in response to the threat of a German coastal invasion. The three main purposes were to “detect, observe and report offshore enemy vessels; to report enemy landing attempts; and to prevent people on land from communicating with the enemy at sea.” The threat of a coastal invasion by Germany was real to American citizens. German U-boats were a threat to ships crossing the Atlantic and were detected off the Eastern Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. There was also the fear of invasion on the West Coast by the Japanese.

Coast guards would often be mounted on horses or on foot and were armed with radios and weapons. Those on horseback could cover ground more quickly and efficiently and usually work in pairs. Those on foot were often accompanied by dogs who could aid in detecting and protecting. German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers and Airedales were used, with the German Shepherd the preferred breed.

At its height, the Beach Patrol consisted of around 24,000 men who protected 2,700 miles of coastline from potential enemy invasion; the patrols ended in 1944 when preparations for the Normandy invasion began. While the Coast Guard is not often given as much mention in World War II as perhaps the other military branches, the Beach Patrol played a vital part in protecting the United States coast from enemy attack.

BOOKS AND BIBELOTS

/ The Coastal Crone / 40 Comments

BEDSIDE READING

Fascism, a Warning,  Madeleine Albright
A Restless Wave, John McCain
Under the Volcano, Malcolm Lowry
A Higher Loyalty, James Comey

WRITERS I HAVE DISCOVERED VIA THEIR BLOGS:
The Contract, John W. Howell & Gwen M. Plano
Plover Landing, Marie Zhuikov
Dancing with the Sandman, L.T. Garvin
A Cry From the Deep, Diana Stevan
Wish You Were Here, Adventures in Cemetery Travel, Loren Rhoads

********************************

From Wikipedia

From wikipedia

BIBELOTS OF THOUGHTS
About a week after the city of Portland announced Stage I of water restrictions based on the lake levels and where we get our water from, our rain gauge measured almost eleven inches in two days.  We did not get that much rain from Hurricane Harvey!  Perhaps we toasted Chac, the Rain God, one too many times.  My rain barrels and jugs are full but the effects of the rain won’t last long with the summer heat.

Husband ordered a portable solar generator, Goal Zero, and a couple of solar lights.  The generator will power a few things to keep us going  and it is not noisy like a gas generator.  We may have not another hurricane for several years, but we are prepared this time and it will help if we lose power in an electrical storm also.

“Courtesy is contagious.”  That statement (in red letters) was taped inside a cabinet door in our kitchen by my father as I was growing up.  Whether it was meant for his three daughters or my mother, I never knew nor questioned it.  Today it seems that discourtesy has become an epidemic in the United States.  It appears to have its source at the top with a president that began setting the tone as he campaigned.  Winning the highest office in the land did not change that attitude.

Surely we can disagree  strongly, passionately, loudly and truthfully; protest and speak out, yet
display respect and civility!

 

Let us be thankful this Independence Day 2018 for all that we have as Americans.  May we never take for granted the freedoms and rights that we have.

ODDS AND ENDS AND CHECKING IN

/ The Coastal Crone / 52 Comments

EXCUSE #1 FOR NOT POSTING:  I am volunteering again for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program through United Way of the Coastal Bend.  Volunteers are trained and certified through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to prepare  tax returns for lower levels of income for free.  In past years I acted as a greeter/screener but did not do tax returns.  This year we have fewer volunteers so I have been doing returns (simple!) as needed.   I find that I enjoy it (not as hard as I thought it would be!) and feel that I am helping in the community.  We get questions about Hurricane Harvey damage but that is out of our scope. The site opened January 17 and will close April 17.  I am there Monday through Thursday, nine am to 1 pm.

SPRING EQUINOX:  In January we reluctantly had our veterinarian put our cat, Wiccan, down.  She was our last cat and would have been eighteen years old in May; we will not seek another cat.  Our other cats have been buried in the back yard, but we chose to have her cremated and saved her ashes to be scattered on a warm sunny day.  April 20 was the perfect day.  Near the back fence there was a small patch of dirt where the grass has not grown back yet and near where other cats are buried.  We toasted her with wine as she joined the other angel cats.  We will miss her.

VISIT TO HOUSTON:  On St. Patrick’s Day weekend Husband and I visited Son in Houston to celebrate their birthdays early.  We chose to have dinner at a restaurant called Tango and Malbec where Argentinian style food is featured.  We had been there before but this time we were delighted to find that we would be entertained by tango dancers during dinner.  They were excellent and each wore a bit of green.  I don’t know the style of tango but blogger A Frank Angle would surely have known; go to his blog but a video of a sultry Argentine tango.  We also visited the Rothko Chapel and the Cy Twombly Gallery.

READING AND WRITING: There does not seem to be enough time to read blogs, books, news and write.   Perhaps when tax season is over I will have time for all of them.  Cheers!

MABON AND THE AUTUMN EQINOX

/ The Coastal Crone / 29 Comments

 

Mabon is a harvest festival, the second of three, that encourages pagans to “reap what they sow,” both literally and figuratively. It is the time when night and day stand equal in duration; thus is it a time to express gratitude, complete projects and honor a moment of balance.