Museum – Bleubug

July 27, 2021July 27, 2021

Crawling to Normal

Well, I’m fully vaccinated and an increasing amount of people in Sweden have joined me. There’s the specter of the Delta variant in the world now and it’s tweaked infections up a bit here, but we’re lucky that it’s not so much. So far this Spring and Summer I’ve been able to venture out and here’s a range of pictures. I guess the theme is transport, but there’s also some sunny scenes of other things as well. Pictures here include those taken at the Vasa and Ship history museums in Stockholm as well as our local historic railway called Lennakatten.

August 14, 2020August 14, 2020

Summer of Covid

It takes a long time for me to put a new post up, this time it seems a century. Last post I said we were looking into a pandemic but at the time of this writing we’ve been living in it for quite a period. I needn’t say it has changed so much about life, even in Sweden where we’ve had “mild” response to the virus. Most of all it limited travel so when my vacation came up we took a drive to areas of Sweden I’ve never seen. I’m rather happy about this since the country of my residence is still a bit of a mystery to me and has many surprises to impart.

The first surprise I had on the trip was that my camera succumbed, not to a virus but a rather small fall onto a carpet. The last image it took is the header to this post. After that I had to use a backup camera which didn’t allow me as much latitude in capturing images. Such is life.

I’ll not make comments right now about where these photos were taken, but most were in Skåne , Hallands, and Blekinge. A few were on the Göta Canal which is most lovely.

November 28, 2018August 14, 2020

Tallinn In The Cold

Estonia has a long and turbulent history. There’s a hackneyed phrase for you but pretty accurate here. Bouncing between empires and occupations it hasn’t been until the fall of the Iron Curtain that they could rise up as a nation. It also means that a city like Tallinn has not been scarred by modernism too badly…until recently. New building is evident all over but the old city is still untouched. I had a ferry ride there and spend a brief day exploring this impressive place.

November 5, 2018November 5, 2018

Machine Head

I know I’ve cluttered this blog up with a lot of train and car images but why stop now? Having a small son means I often get to ride steam trains and visit transportation museums. I do love old machinery and the many elegant elements that make up the whole.

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February 4, 2013January 30, 2014

Go Bathe Yourself In Fire

You fought hard and you saved and learned,
but all of it’s going to burn.
And your mind, your tiny mind,
you know you’ve really been so blind.
Now’s your time burn your mind.
You’re falling far too far behind.
Oh no, oh no, oh no, you gonna burn!
Fire, to destroy all you’ve done.
Fire, to end all you’ve become.

-Arthur Brown, Fire

Ignore the reference to an obscure psychedelic musician, this has nothing to do with music. I just like the song and, well, the theme of this post is fire.

Back in my youth when TR was president, that newfangled internal combustion engine would never make an impact, and women wore corsets I actually was a volunteer fireman. Thus I have a little firsthand knowledge of what people who fight what nature wants to ignite risk. To this day dim feelings of how combustible so much around us can be in the right circumstances flickers over my awareness. I make sure to keep all levels of alcohol in my home low even if I have to imbibe it myself.

Ypsilanti, Michigan has a lovely firehouse museum full of restored rolling stock, historic equipment, and a Victorian fire hall you can get a glimpse of the past in. It’s a lot of fun for the meager $5 entry fee. Well, fun for an odd man with a camera and monopod at least. As usual here’s some pictures of what I hovered around.

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January 22, 2013November 6, 2013

Of Muskets and Manned Flight

I’ve accumulated some more photos from disparate sources. Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario, Canada has its share of hyphens. Despite that it is a rather large tourist attraction hosting some of the best vineyards in the Great White North. Besides the trodden grapes the area has a great deal of history including action during the war of 1812 (when it was the capital of Upper Canada) and before. If you want to see Niagara Falls do yourself a favor and take a day trip there while making this quaint town your home base.

Closer to home (mine, at least) is the Yankee Air museum. It’s a non-profit organization that restores and flies vintage WWII aircraft. When you take into consideration the vast, and I mean vast, quantity of military aircraft made under the stars and stripes for the great war (part deux) it is mind boggling how few survive. It’s a good thing that some groups preserve this heritage.

So, here are some pictures captured at the above.

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October 17, 2011October 1, 2012

Eye Candy

Hershey, PA is the land of chocolate or something. Well, not really since nothing seemed to be built with cocoa anywhere within the city limits. I expected something a bit more like this. Still, it was founded on and continues to subsist on the tasty, tasty slopes of chocolate kisses (among other diversified products).

As you can see I’m trying to hide that this post involves more pictures of automobiles by first tempting you with sweets. In fact I attended the very, very large AACA Eastern Division auto show in Hershey. It’s probably the biggest show I’ve ever been to with a dizzying array of autos displayed, for sale, and vendors of automobilia, Of course I got there just late enough to see the procession of cars driving past me on their way home. Still, my tardiness at least allowed me to buck the crowds as I ran about trying to see it all before it vaporized in a plume of blue exhaust.

From brass era to the mediocre cars of the 80s it was all there. You will not be surprised I took some pictures.

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October 17, 2011November 6, 2013

Baltanical

When I think of Baltimore television shows like Homicide: Life On The Street and Hot L Baltimore or the movies of John Waters mold my vision of that coastal city. All stellar works that stick in my mind but not a rounded representation of the place. Now I find myself living about an hour from there and occasionally I visit that area of Maryland.

With a long history and varied social landscape there is a lot to see and experience in Baltimore. I went a few weeks ago there to see some roller derby semi-finals near the inner harbor. The visit I just completed isn’t quite as colorful sounding but was more colorful in actuality. The Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens has a very long name and a rather modest size. I’m not complaining since seeing the whole deal in one short trip is a lot better then my usual fractional intake of a big institution’s treasures after the same amount of time. So here’s a vote for modesty in scope and time suck.

The first thing you notice is the lovely 1888 Palm House in front. Like an overgrown doll house it has a small footprint that enhances the sense of verticality. Sprinkled about it is just the right amount of Victorian ornament to finish it off like a finely done pastry. Inside are varied plants with variations on tall, leafy, smooth, and spiny. I especially loved the orchid house which nicely displays the dazzling range of that largest family of flowering plants.

So, take a look at a few snaps I did. I hope you enjoy this rather random tour.

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September 28, 2011November 6, 2013

Simone Says

A few weeks ago I took my first trip to Philadelphia which isn’t that far from my new digs in Pennsylvania. I went ostensibly for an NAWCC chapter mart where I could look over watches and such for sale. Afterwards I had planned to go to the Simone Foundation Automotive Museum with a fellow horological student. Some of the world’s most famous sports cars are in this facility on display. There are not an overwhelming number of cars (which is good) but they make up for that in beauty. Pre-war Italian, British, French, and American vehicles are in tableaux to show the era they raced. The sensuous curves and touches that are form without function are as lovely as any sculpture.

As I usually do I took some pictures of the details of many cars. Also as usual the endeavor of photographing in available light meant that some images did not turn our even though I take a vast number of exposures. I’m happy the ones below were acceptable to me.

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September 16, 2011October 2, 2012

Herr And Back Again

When the temperature is hovering around 100 most people do the sensible thing and stay indoors or at least in the shade with an iced glass of planters’ punch. However, during the heat wave we had this summer I showed my contrarian nature and went out. Possibly the reason for this was just to gather gist for my whine mill as I do love to complain. But the major reason I think was that I get stir crazy in the house and like to wander. Not surprisingly I brought my camera along and managed to keep my sweaty fingers from sliding off the shutter button too often.

I planned to have lunch at a microbrewery housed in a building that has been used as such since the early 19th century. It is located in the town of Mount Joy which neither was elevated nor particularly rapturous but was quaint enough. Upon arrival I found that the main street was cordoned off for an auto show. Since I love anything having to do with autos I wandered up and down the street for a bit under the sun becoming a human puddle with a camera.

After that is was off to Bube’s Brewery (if you think of “boobs” or “pubes” when you see this name keep it to yourself) which is housed in a fascinating old building. Its long history as a brewery means a dark industrial atmosphere with catacombs and a dining/bar area which feels like a cave. Very low and reddish mood lighting doesn’t dissuade that impression of stifling antiquity but that’s part of the charm. Good atmosphere, food, and drink made it a happy respite from the heat.

Lastly I traveled to the Hans Herr House in the Amish country of Lancaster County, PA. Built in 1719 it’s now a nice way so see how those who founded the Amish community first set up shop (or farm).

I went to that farm actually to hear an acquaintance (Oliver Craven) play in the lovely duo The Stray Birds. It was nice to sit in an apple orchard and hear music until a summer thunderstorm came to finally lower the temperature a touch. It was almost worth fleeing for shelter.

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