Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Dracula's Castle & other spooky sights

Woo-woo, we're going to strange and wonderful places today. 

This is one of my favorite cards. It's from Romania and it shows Bran Castle, commonly known as Dracula's Castle, which was built in 1212. The castle attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors because of the legend surrounding Vlad The Impaler, although the historical records indicate that Vlad stopped by the castle only once, on his way to somewhere else. Let's ignore the facts because the legend is much more exciting. In any case, it's a great castle.


Do you suppose we will ever know for certain why Stonehenge was built? Probably not, but considering the possibilities is always interesting. Was it a holy site? A prehistoric observatory? A picnic area for Druids? Over the years visitors have taken pieces of the stones as souvenirs, so to prevent further damage people are no longer allowed to walk right up to the stones; you must view them from a distance. Pooh.

To see the largest concentration of odd people, visit Stonehenge at the summer solstice. Be sure to wear your Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful.

Added later: Reader Sarsen56 pointed me towards what looks to be a very interesting book called "Solving Stonehenge". Take a look if you'd like to read more on the subject.


Sometimes the truth is more frightening than a legend. I wasn't expecting to get any cards from Japan for a while due to the recent devastation over there, so I was surprised to find this one of Mt. Fujiyama in yesterday's mail. It was sent by a woman who was lucky enough to live in a safe part of the country. She wrote that the Japanese had suffered "big damages" but that they will be "able to revive by all means". What a job that is going to be. I thought it was nice that she said "thanks" to the U.S. for its support.


For a beautiful and amazing video of the Northern Lights, play this video. (Make the video full screen by clicking on the little icon that has arrows pointing in four directions.)

Did you know that there are also Southern Lights in the Southern Hemisphere?  Since they are visible primarily in Antarctica, very few people get to see them. Occasionally they are visible in the southern parts of South American, Australia or New Zealand.  Now that would be worth staying up late for.


I've worked up quite an appetite so let's stop for some Chinese food. This fellow obviously got the Chinese Happy Meal. I didn't know it was possible to have this much fun eating rice.


If you are so inclined, relax with a good smoke after your meal. It is not good for your complexion however, as you can see.

See you soon!

1 comment:

Crunchy Sews said...

I think I'd like one of those Chinese happy meals. He sure does look like he's enjoying it.