I’m writing this down, because if I don’t it will be forgotten.

 This handsome fellow is Joseph Propeck.  My great, great grandfather.  Note the slanty-eyes, the shortened eyebrows and the straight nose.  What a slav!  (“He was Slavish” my grandaunt would say, pronouncing “Slav” to rhyme with “have.”)

He was a veteran of the civil war.  He received a commendation from his superior for designing a drain in the heel of the union soldier’s boots that would let the blood drain out without letting water in.  He was wounded and got an infection, and was expected to die; the government sent notice of his death home to his family.  He didn’t die, but recovered and stayed to receive a medal from the president.  When he returned home, his mother was hanging sheets on the clothesline, and just caught a glimpse of him coming across the meadow in-between the fluttering sheets.  She froze as he came close and said “Is that you Joe, or are you a ghost?”
He was a sawyer and a cabinet-maker, and owned his own sawmill.  He made himself a violin and taught himself to play.  Before radio, people would take their phones off the hook on Sunday evenings and he would play his violin over the local lines and sing.  One of my cousins still has the violin.

In other news, I saw Kung-Fu Hustle the other day.  It was exceedingly amusing, mindless slapstick, physical comedy, bathroom jokes.  Typical east-Asian humor.  Much of the film was rather like a live-action looneytoons cartoon.  I’ll give it 4/5. 

I also saw Steamboy.  It was good, particularly if you’re fond of “steampunk” which is one of the current fads among the hipsters right now.  The animation was somewhat different than what I generally expect, but not tremendously so.  The movie was entertaining if not particularly innovative.  3/5. 

Don't forget to check out the stuff under the "Reviews" tab!

 
I’ve also put a new post on Don’t Forget This Poem. 

Quote of the day:
”Would a man be able to compete with a woman who lives her life to the full?”
          — St. Gregory of Nyssa

Audio Clip of the Day:
Can be found here.  Today’s clip is worth two points.  Grats to Buddahgazelle for recognizing the clip as being from Throw Mama From the Train; one of my favorites.  Scoring is as follows: Buddahgazelle11,  ChrisRusso12, Dankster8, DarkArtAlliance2, Darklao2, EmilyE2, LaLune2, Malenkaya4.

 Picture of the Day: