Héctor Beas

Héctor Beas is an Argentinian artist and cartoonist, with extensive experience publishing in the national and Santa Fe province media. His graphic art is displayed in a variety of formats, including daily strips, cartoons, cartoons and drawings specific to the arts.

 Born in Rosario, 1943, at the age three, he settled with his parents in the outskirts of Villa Cañaz, on the "La Dolores" ranch, where his father was a butler. He lived there until he was 15 years old and later he moved with his family to the city of Perez, province of Santa Fe where he currently lives.

He began to draw since he has a memory and began in 1966 to exhibit gaucho illustrations.

GAUCHO

"GAUCHO" is an evocation of a dying way of life and a portrait of a true original, Heraldo Rial, an eighty-year-old cattle rancher who embodies the traditional ranching culture of his Patagonian ancestors. ‘Gauchos’ are proud, self-reliant cowboys living on the edge of the known world in an immense land virtually untouched by man. Grazing their herds in glacial valleys under mountain peaks and along trout-filled rivers and lakes, it is a way of life virtually unchanged in centuries: hard, beautiful and dangerous.  

French Boxing (Savate) by Chasseurs Alpins - 1897

Savate, also known as boxe française, is a French combat sport that uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of English boxing with graceful kicking techniques.

Only foot kicks are allowed, unlike some systems such as Muay Thai, which allow the use of the knees or shins. Savate is a French word for "old shoe or boot". Savate fighters wear specially designed boots. A male practitioner of savate is called a tireur while a female is called a tireuse.

Thanks, Sebastian

Free Béret Casquette Aotearoa

On SPECIAL this week, a free Béret Casquette Aotearoa with any Boneteria Aotearoa foulard.

A very different SPECIAL this week: with the purchase of any top quality foulard Aotearoa, choose a Béret Casquette Aotearoa for free (or at $0.01, to keep the PayPal system working...).

On SPECIAL this week (or as long as stock lasts). 

The Béret Casquette Aotearoa is valued at $46.50.

Fernando Aramburu

Fernando Aramburu Irigoyen (Donostia/San Sebastián, 1959) is a poet, novelist and essayist from Gipuzkoa (Basque Country) who writes in Spanish .

Aramburu obtained a BA in Hispanic Philology from the University of Zaragoza in 1982. In San Sebastián, his hometown, he participated in the founding of Grupo CLOC de Arte y Desarte, which published a magazine between 1978 and 1981.

Since 1985 he lives in Germany where he teaches Spanish. In 2009, he gave up his professorship to devote himself entirely to literary creation.

In September 2016, he published the novel Patria which won a great critical and public success (more than 500 000 copies sold). This novel, which deals with the influence of ETA terrorists in a small town in the Basque Country

 has won numerous awards including the National Narrative Prize in October 2017.

He writes regularly in the Spanish press and his novels have been translated into several languages. Aramburu typically wears a Pirineos.

Lebanese Traffic Cops

If this Lebanese mayor's thoughts on women and uniforms are anything to go by, I dread to think of his ethics on other matters.

Young, attractive policewomen in black mini-shorts and red berets are patrolling the streets in the Lebanese town of Broummana as part of its mayor’s plan to attract more tourists and improve the country’s image.

“Ninety-nine percent of the tourists in the Mediterranean region wear shorts,” explained Broummana Mayor Pierre Achkar. He hopes that the new squad of attractive female traffic cops will help the town to attract more tourists and make the country look better. “We in Lebanon want to change the bleak picture of Lebanon in the West,” Achkar said.

Not everyone in Lebanon shares the mayor’s vision, however, with some complaining on social media that it is wrong to lure tourists using attractive women. Others noted that their male colleagues’ uniform remains unchanged.

Seun Kuti

Oluseun Anikulapo Kuti (1983), commonly known as Seun Kuti, is a Nigerian musician and the youngest son of legendary afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. Seun leads his father's former band Egypt 80.

After Fela had died in 1997, Seun, then only 14 years old, became the lead singer of Egypt 80. While in school Seun had to choose between a career in music and one in African Football. His 2008 debut album, Many Things, was produced by Martin Meissonnier, who had already produced two albums for his father.

About three quarters of the current Egypt 80 line-up consists of musicians that not only played with Fela Kuti, but often were arrested and harassed alongside the founder of the Afrobeat movement. Live sets consist of both new material and originals from Seun’s father. Since during his lifetime, Fela Kuti had never performed any songs live on stage which he had recorded in the studio, this is the first chance for many long-time fans to enjoy classics like Shuffering and Shmiling.

NYC Street Photography by Reuben Radding

Reuben Radding is a Brooklyn based musician and street photographer. He roams  NYC streets on foot, guided by the scent of great human character and fragility, poetic physical gestures of emotions or energy, explosions of life force and human interactions which imply uncertain stories when stopped in time.

The resulting black/white pictures intentionally leave unanswered questions in the mind.

His stream0f-consciousnous approach embraces both street photography and personal documentary.

Follow Reuben at his Flickr page.

Lúcio Lara

Lúcio Lara (1929 –2016) served as General Secretary of the MPLA during the Angolan War of Independence and Angolan Civil War.

Lara, a founding member of the MPLA, led the first MPLA members into Luanda on November 8, 1974. He swore in Agostinho Neto as the first president of the country.

Lara taught math and physics before he was elected Secretary for Organization and Cadres at the MPLA's first national conference in December 1962.

On the date of Agostinho Neto's death, Lara was the highest member of the political bureau and vice-president of the MPLA. With this, he assumed, on an interim basis, the functions of president of the party, and, by extension, president of the People's Republic of Angola. He urgently convened the 2nd MPLA Congress on September 11, 1979, working hard for the election of José Eduardo dos Santos, which occurred on September 20 of that same year. 

He rejected all proposals made to him to effectively take over the leadership of the country.

Paul de Groot

Saul (Paul) de Groot (1899 - 1986) was a Dutch politician and long-time party leader of the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN). He was also a member of the House of Representatives for the CPN and editor-in-chief of the party newspaper De Waarheid (“Truth”).

After a purge of the political leadership by Moscow, De Groot joined the CPN party management in February 1930. Because of his activist past, intelligence, journalistic qualities and tactical insight he stood out head and shoulders above his co-directors. This and his servile fidelity to Stalin led to De Groot becoming the political secretary of the party in 1938. He also became editor-in-chief of the party newspaper Het Volksdagblad. He turned out to be a headstrong, often capricious and suspicious leader.

In October 1942, the Germans invaded the house where De Groot, who was Jewish, and his family went into hiding. De Groot managed to escape through the back door, but wife and daughter were taken to Auschwitz and killed there. It gave him a sense of guilt for the rest of his life.

Tiki mugs

Tiki mugs are large ceramic cocktail mugs that originated in tiki bars and tropical-themed restaurants. The term "tiki mugs" is a generic blanket term for sculptural drinkware that depict Polynesian, mock-Polynesian, or tropical themes. Tiki mugs are not commonly seen outside tiki bars and restaurants but are also a kitsch collector’s item.

Originally created as both signature and marketing tools to hold the exotic libations, the 1960s also saw the ceramic craft market following suit by releasing ceramic tiki mug molds for the hobbyist to customize. These original mugs, whether related to a location or made by the hobbyist, also known as the vintage mugs, once found in abundance on the dusty shelves of junk shops in the 1980s and 90s, became a sought-after item for those who were responsible for the revival of interest in the heyday of places like Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic's.

Though hobbyists and ceramic artists, in a small capacity, have continued to make these mugs at home, and larger manufacturers have mass-produced restaurant and bar promotional souvenirs since the 1960s the "tiki revival" of the 1990s and then 2008 onwards produced new variations.

Ooga-Mooga was started in 2005 and is a subscription-based website that allows mug collectors to store information about their collections, trade and sell mugs, and share their collections with others. New mugs are being added to Ooga-Mooga continually.

Charles Howie

At 65, many of us are looking forward to retirement, but at that age, Charles Howie decided to study for a PhD. Charles undertook his PhD in political ecology in the Geography Department at Royal Holloway, University of London between 2002 and 2010, investigating farmer decision-making in a developing country.

Charles proves that working towards a PhD is not just a young person's game; waiting until later in life to start this learning experience can bring its own benefits.

"Reflecting on what benefit older people might get from tackling a PhD there is a prominent point. If you are in your 60s you may well have grown-up family of your own and grandchildren, but there are generation gaps there. However, when you work and relax each day alongside bright and enthusiastic folk in their mid-20s this gap becomes irrelevant."

Jim Iyke

James Ikechukwu Esomugha, popularly known as Jim Iyke, is a Nigerian actor in Nigeria's movie industry (popularly called Nollywood) and one of the stars of the movie Last Flight to Abuja.

Jim Iyke studied at the University of Jos, Plateau State where he got a diploma in Banking and Finance and then a B.Sc. in Philosophy.

Jim Iyke began acting in 2001. He's one of the highest paid actors in Nollywood and has appeared in over 150 films. He started a movie production company, Untamed Productions in 2007. Jim Iyke began his own music label, Untamed Records. He produced a first album, titled “Who Am I?” featuring some of Nigeria’s top musicians such as TuFace Idibia, and Sound Sultan.

Jim lyke is the founder of Jim lyke Foundation for Children with Special Disabilities. He visited Kenya in December 2012 in support of the Make a Change Campaign, a charity project founded by Christopher Grey, and Jamaican dancehall artist Cécile.

Belle & Sebastian, Friends for Life

Last night I watched the 3rd film in the cycle of Belle & Sebastian films (or better said, the remake of the original 1960's version in black&white that I watched during my childhood).
 
The 3rd sequence is, as so typical for sequences, a bit dragged out and predictable, but the stunning scenery of the French Alps Maritime (and a great number of berets!) easily make up for that.

César, Sebastian's foster grandfather, is a great role-model for "tartes Chasseurs Alpins", donning what I believe to be an Auloronesa in brown (as per the screenshots above and below).

The Belle & Sebastian adventure began in 2013 when six-year-old Sebastian and his dog Belle (a Great Pyrenean Shepherd) sought to foil a Nazi attempt to capture French resistance fighters. As the name suggests, such an incredible friendship between boy and beast continues in this third installment of the film series, Belle & Sebastian, Friends for Life.

Picking up where its predecessor left off, Sebastian (Félix Bossuet) is now aged 12, and has decided not to follow his father and Angelina to Canada, choosing instead to remain in the French Alps with César (Tchéky Karyo) to watch over Belle who’s now become mother to three beautiful pups.
 
When a stranger arrives claiming to be Belle’s rightful owner, Sebastian finds himself in a position where he must protect his best friend and her little ones.

One detail in the film I really enjoyed seeing, was the shot of the village school's corridor. Not just the typical hooks for coats against the wall, but double hooks, so that the beret can hang on top over the coat!

And to "celebrate" children's berets (one can't start young enough, especially in these times), this week on Special the Le Petit QuiOui berets; 11 colours and only $27.50 (as long as stock lasts).
Mind, these berets suit and fit any adult with a liking of small diameter berets too!

CT Vigil for the Pittsburgh Shooting

This screenshot of a news bulletin was sent to me by a Connecticut friend of mine (thanks, Wayne). 

It shows a vigil being held for the victims of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, PA earlier this week. The synagogue and city where Mr Trump was asked not to come, for obvious reasons - which he ignored. What's new..?

Nice to see one black beret in a sea of kippahs (yarmulkes). 

Mules (2)

Following yesterday's post on mules, today two beautiful historic photographs from the Sicily Campaign in 1943:

The Drive for Messina 10 July - 17 August 1943: Men of the Highland Division use mules captured from Germans to carry equipment up the slopes of Mount Etna. The rugged terrain of most of the island restricted vehicles to the inadequate road system. Pack animals therefore played a vital transport role.

Private Stanley Davis of 5th Seaforth Highlanders rides a pack mule with a swastika emblem branded on the animal's neck, 16 August 1943. The animals were now being employed by 51st Highland Division in the hilly terrain near Mt Etna.

Mules

A mule is the offspring of a male donkey (jack) and a female horse (mare). Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids (first generation hybrids) between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny, which is the offspring of a female donkey (jenny) and a male horse (stallion).

The size of a mule and work to which it is put depend largely on the breeding of the mule's female parent (dam). Mules can be lightweight, medium weight, or when produced from draft horse mares, of moderately heavy weight. Mules are reputed to be more patient, hardy and long-lived than horses, and are described as less obstinate and more intelligent than donkeys.

In the second half of the 20th century, widespread usage of mules declined in industrialized countries. The use of mules for farming and transportation of agricultural products largely gave way to modern tractors and trucks.

In the US, Amish farmers, who reject tractors and most other modern technology for religious reasons, commonly use teams of six or eight mules to pull plows, disk harrows, and other farm equipment, though they use horses for pulling buggies on the road.

During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the United States used large numbers of mules to carry weapons and supplies over Afghanistan's rugged terrain to the mujahideen. Use of mules by U.S. forces has continued during the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014), and the United States Marine Corps has conducted an 11-day Animal Packers Course since the 1960s at its Mountain Warfare Training Center located in the Sierra Nevada near Bridgeport, California.