Friday, December 25, 2015
Kate Kiekhaefer 9 hrs · MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of the Del Angel Kiekhaefer family and friends! LIFE'S A BEACH...! Casa Maya
MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of the Del Angel Kiekhaefer family and friends! LIFE'S A BEACH...!
Night of the Radishes - Mexico's Oaxaca Celebrates Its Annual Radish Festival THU, DEC 24 Oaxaca farmers and artisans show off their carving skills - and produce - at the city's 118th annual Night of the Radishes festival in Mexico.
Night of the Radishes - Mexico's Oaxaca Celebrates Its Annual Radish Festival
Oaxaca farmers and artisans show off their carving skills - and produce - at the city's 118th annual Night of the Radishes festival in Mexico.
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/night-of-the-radishes-mexicos-oaxaca-celebrates-its-annual-radish-festival-591347779787
Playa Zipolite. Welcome To The Beach Of The Dead!: ♪ Eiqu Miller - AKELA (Official Music Video) prod....
Playa Zipolite. Welcome To The Beach Of The Dead!: ♪ Eiqu Miller - AKELA (Official Music Video) prod....: ♪ Eiqu Miller - AKELA (Official Music Video) prod. Trakz Miller Eiqu Miller
Merry Christmas, and peace. :) ivan
Merry Christmas, and peace. :) ivan
Playa Zipolite. Welcome To The Beach Of The Dead!: ♪ Eiqu Miller - AKELA (Official Music Video) prod....
Playa Zipolite. Welcome To The Beach Of The Dead!: ♪ Eiqu Miller - AKELA (Official Music Video) prod....: ♪ Eiqu Miller - AKELA (Official Music Video) prod. Trakz Miller Eiqu Miller
Happy New Year, and peace. ivan
Happy New Year, and peace. ivan
Thursday, December 24, 2015
A Brief History of People Getting Stuck in Chimneys and Dying Mike Pearl By Mike Pearl Staff Writer
A Brief History of People Getting Stuck in Chimneys and Dying
By Mike Pearl
Staff Writer
Late last month in Central California, an alleged burglar died a grisly, torturous deathwhen he got stuck in a chimney. It was far from the first such case, but the horrific twist in this situation was that the homeowner lit a fire while the would-be burglar was in there. When he heard screaming, the homeowner called the authorities, but the torrent of heat and smoke had already killed the poor guy.
In a rarity for these kinds of stories, there weren't any Santa Claus jokes in most of the news coverage. It's morbid, but it's only natural to think of one of the most famous cultural figures in the world when a story like this comes along.
There's something tantalizingly physical about the image of Santa exiting a fireplace, having just used the chimney as a doorway. Most of the Santa legend is Christmas Magic. Sure, he can shift time, and pilot a flying-reindeer aircraft, and carry 7 billion people's gifts in one bag, and live forever. But he does not teleport into your house, kids. For that Santa uses the filthy old chimney.
But chimneys are death traps. They have been for hundreds of years. This was particularly true in 18th and 19th Century Britain, when it was in fashion to hire a chimney sweep whose "climbing boys" or "apprentices" did most of the actual work. Henry Mayhew's account of the short, horrible lives of pre-Victorian chimney sweeps, Of The Sweepers of Old, and The Climbing Boys, is a compendium of torture and death. In one story from 1813, a boy gets wedged in a chimney, and his master hears him say "I cannot come up, master; I must die here." The ensuing rescue attempt is unsuccessful.
According to Mayhew, "among these hapless lads were indeed many deaths from accidents, cruelty, privation, and exhaustion, but it does not appear that the number was ever ascertained."
"Sometimes these accidents were the [result of] being jammed or fixed, or, as it was called in the trade, 'stuck,'" Mayhew wrote. It might seem weird that "stuck" was a trade term, but according to the Online Etymology Dictionary, this use of the past participle adjective of the word "stick" didn't technically mean "unable to go any further" until 1885. So it's possible that getting jammed in a chimney is where we got the word "stuck" to begin with.
Remember inHow the Grinch Stole Christmas when the Grinch was climbing down that Whoville chimney and his feet started moving slower than his body, and he got bunched up? That's a real way to get "stuck," and it can kill you.
1834 magazine via Google Books
It's hard to see in the diagram above, but while Figure C is a kid in the proper chimney-sweeping posture, Figure E is a kid who is fucked. His knees are up around his abdomen, and he can't move, which makes him vulnerable to what's called "positional asphyxia," a condition in which the contortion of your body prevents the normal in-and-out motions of your diaphragm. In other words: if you don't get out of that position, you're going to die from lack of oxygen. And, in a chimney, there's not enough room to get out of that position.
But the good news is that chimney sweeps seem to be getting better at not dying in chimneys. Until the early 20th century, there were still cases of maintenance peoplegetting stuck, and occasionally dying in chimneys, but there are few reports of that sort of thing more recently.
Designers have been turning chimneys into better conveyances for smoke, if not people, for hundreds of years. That means, if nothing else, they require fewer children to be directly sacrificed in the name of maintenance. Also, typical designs have at least one bend or elbow, and as many as three. This can slow down, or completely halt a person's descent. Secondly, the flue—the hatch right above the part where you put logs—needs to be a little narrow to ensure that smoke moves quickly. Any given flue will be about a tenth the width of the actual fireplace opening. That means unless you're climbing into a castle, you're generally not going to make it through the opening at the bottom, which makes the whole sneak-into-the-house-like-Santa plan a nonstarter.
But people still get stuck, and they still die.
In 1977 in Los Angeles (a seemingly disproportional number of these cases seem to occur in California) a mentally challenged 14-year-old kid named Robert Thompson got lodged in the chimney of a halfway house under circumstances no one will likely ever know. A medical examiner said the cause of death was probably either starvation, or our old friend positional asphyxia.
It's still a mystery what Robert was doing in there. As with many victims of chimneys, Robert Thompson's misadventure, or possible murder, will probably never have all the details filled in. However, last year a guy named Leo Wan wrote about his experience getting stuck in a London chimney. In his case, he was just being a goofball, sitting with his legs dangling into the chimney as if it was a jacuzzi, and he accidentally fell in. His fall was slowed down by a well-placed bend, but he kept slipping and got stuck. He was saved when he managed to call an ambulance on his cell phone.
It's good to have proof that being stupid around a chimney really can be your undoing, because history is full of bizarre missing persons cases in which people go missing, and then much later, bodies turn up in a chimney, and since they're dead, they're unable to explain how they got there. For instance, in 1928, a six-year-old girl and a 19-year-old man in Australia somehow disappeared together, and wound up dead and in a chimney. The story doesn't say why.
Like with any other weird cause of death, people will grasp at straws trying to explain away the mystery. In 1978, a guy in Los Angeles found a dead body in a chimney, and police speculated that "the guy was high on angel dust or something." In 1998 a 12-year-old boy in Sacramento, California wound up dead in a chimney, and the reportmentioned "Tourette's syndrome and attention deficit disorder," as if the poor kid twitched his way into that chimney.
But of course, Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of thieves, and maybe that's why burglars seem to get into more chimney trouble than anyone else.
In Florida in 1986, a burglar tried to get into an empty house via the chimney and got stuck. The neighbors heard screaming on the night of the attempted break-in, but they couldn't tell where it was coming from, and went back to bed. Two days later, workers heard a tapping sound, but just went about their business. Finally two days after that, the owner got home to a house that smelled like rotting flesh.
In 1989 in New York, a burglar tried to break into a Middle Eastern restaurant, and actually almost succeeded. However, he got hung up on some unexpected plumbing inside the chimney. He wound up having his chest constricted by the tight squeeze, and was found dead of asphyxiation the next day, his legs dangling in full view of the morning crew when they came to work. The following year, also in New York, two burglars wound up stuck at the bottom of a chimney in a grocery store. It's not clear whether they were trying to get in or out when they got stuck, but their bodies were found a week later. Yep, someone noticed the smell.
Of course the majority of newspaper reports about burglars in chimneys have happy endings. Burglars get stuck, and then freed, and then they go to jail. If we're lucky, they even repent, promising never to steal again, or they're weird liars who claim they werejust looking for their glasses. Occasionally reporters can resist writing hilarious Santa Claus jokes, and occasionally, they can't.
However, the most tragic chimney-intruders are the ones who do it not for money, but for love. Weird, fucked-up love. Earlier this year, a woman in my home town of Riverside, California was trying to get into her ex-boyfriend's house, possibly to steal her kids back, when she got stuck. "I don't like the way she's acting or what she's doing. That's not good for my kids," her ex-boyfriend told the cops right after part of his wall was removed to dislodge his ex from his chimney. She lived, and was only stuck for a short time. She was lucky.
In 2010, in Bakersfield, California, a doctor named Jacquelyn Kotarac tried to get into her on-again-off-again boyfriend's house while he was home. While the boyfriend was slipping out a backdoor "to avoid confrontation," Kotarac made the fateful decision to try the chimney. Three days later, a house-sitter noticed the telltale smell of another chimney victim.
It should be obvious that using a chimney generally won't get anyone into a house, so it's weird—and obviously tragic—that people try anyway. The Santa myth might be blameless, but it doesn't seem like a stretch to connect those dots. It's a little like if we taught our kids that a magical elf delivers gifts by running across a busy freeway. It's not like every kid would immediately rush off and throw themselves in front of traffic, but one day, maybe after they've grown up, made some mistakes, and found themselves desperate for an escape route, they just might look at the other side of an interstate and think, well, it works for the elf, doesn't it? and then get splattered by a passing motorist.
Follow Mike Pearl on Twitter.
Christmas Tree Becomes MASSIVE- Throwback Thursday Just For Laughs Gags Just For Laughs Gags
Christmas Tree Becomes MASSIVE- Throwback Thursday
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
News Santa helps police polish their reputation Santa Cop spreads Christmas cheer and good vibes in Tijuana 1 1 Mexico News Daily | Tuesday, December 22, 2015 What to do when your police force has a bad rap as a result of past connections with organized crime and drug trafficking? Dress up an officer as Santa Claus and send him out on the street. That’s what the police did in Tijuana, only there they call him Santa Cop and instead of a red suit his is police issue blue. Antonio Medina Cabrera donned the outfit December 12 and went out spreading Christmas cheer in the community, along with good vibes about Tijuana’s finest. Normally, reports El Universal, citizens are fearful when approached by a cop due to the force’s poor reputation. But when Santa Cop appears, out come the smiles and the smartphones; everyone wants a selfie of a friendly hug with Tijuana’s St. Nick. The initiative is a program called Vinculación Social, or Social Connection, designed to bring the police closer to the community, particularly children. At Christmas time, its ambassador heads out into the city’s neighborhoods bearing candies and piñatas. That’s what Santa Cop does best because when he attempts to direct traffic no one pays him any attention: all the drivers want hugs and selfies, too. Source: El Universal (sp) - See more at: http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/santa-helps-police-polish-their-reputation/?utm_source=Mexico+News+Daily&utm_campaign=013ca68cba-December+22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f1536a3787-013ca68cba-348153685#sthash.jCoOQGGm.dpuf
Santa helps police polish their reputation
Santa Cop spreads Christmas cheer and good vibes in Tijuana
1 1
What to do when your police force has a bad rap as a result of past connections with organized crime and drug trafficking?
Dress up an officer as Santa Claus and send him out on the street.
That’s what the police did in Tijuana, only there they call him Santa Cop and instead of a red suit his is police issue blue.
Antonio Medina Cabrera donned the outfit December 12 and went out spreading Christmas cheer in the community, along with good vibes about Tijuana’s finest. Normally, reports El Universal, citizens are fearful when approached by a cop due to the force’s poor reputation.
But when Santa Cop appears, out come the smiles and the smartphones; everyone wants a selfie of a friendly hug with Tijuana’s St. Nick.
The initiative is a program called Vinculación Social, or Social Connection, designed to bring the police closer to the community, particularly children. At Christmas time, its ambassador heads out into the city’s neighborhoods bearing candies and piñatas.
That’s what Santa Cop does best because when he attempts to direct traffic no one pays him any attention: all the drivers want hugs and selfies, too.
Source: El Universal (sp)
News Artisans losing trade to Chinese knock-offs Makers of nativity scene figures are losing market share to China 7 0 Mexico News Daily | Tuesday, December 22, 2015 One of the most iconic Christmas celebrations in Mexico is the setting up of the nacimiento, the nativity scene that represents the birthplace of Jesus Christ. But more and more of the figures used in the scene are coming from China, threatening the livelihood of artisans. A proper nacimiento will include the infant Jesus and his parents, the angel Gabriel, the Three Wise Men, shepherds, farm animals and the Devil. The bucolic scene can fit on the top of a coffee table or under the Christmas tree, or extend over a garage or a home’s front yard, limited only by the creativity of its owners. But the cheap Chinese copies of the nativity figures have had a negative impact on their sales by artisans from Amozoc and Tepeaca in the state of Puebla, who have lost up to 50% of their market share in the last five years. The director of the Amozoc Chamber of Commerce reports that of the town’s 77,000 inhabitants, half are artisans, and that 40% of their yearly production is exclusively Christmas-related. Silvia del Rocío Beltrán stated that the handicrafts have been undervalued by consumers, who prefer buying low-quality Chinese knock-offs for 15 pesos apiece to purchasing the domestic product from markets or studio-workshops, where the price of each figure can range from 20 to 55 pesos. In the last five years, 100 such family workshops have shut down as they were unable to compete, said Beltrán. In an effort to counter the trend, Puebla’s artisans have started to promote their handicrafts by making seasonal trips to neighboring states, such as Veracruz, Hidalgo, Tlaxcala and Oaxaca, hoping to save their businesses from bankruptcy. The state of jalisco had been seeing a similar situation but through a promotional campaign launched three months ago it has managed to turn the tables. Entitled “La artesanía está de moda” (Handicrafts are in fashion), the campaign has “given very good results,” said the director of the Jalisco Handicrafts Institute. “We managed to reverse the trend. Foreign figures are still being bought in Jalisco, but we managed to reappraise the state’s products in the consumer’s eye,” said Camilo Ramírez. According to the last census, of the 400,000 artisans in the state, 25% produce Christmas-related figures, mainly in ceramics, glass, wood, and even piteado, a decorative embroidery on leather. About 430 workshops in Jalisco are dedicated to producing artisanal nacimientos, providing a livelihood for at least 1,100 people. Source: El Economista (sp) - See more at: http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/artisans-losing-trade-to-chinese-knock-offs/?utm_source=Mexico+News+Daily&utm_campaign=013ca68cba-December+22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f1536a3787-013ca68cba-348153685#sthash.aLTRF0Qa.dpuf
Artisans losing trade to Chinese knock-offs
Makers of nativity scene figures are losing market share to China
7 0
One of the most iconic Christmas celebrations in Mexico is the setting up of the nacimiento, the nativity
A proper nacimiento will include the infant Jesus and his parents, the angel Gabriel, the Three Wise Men, shepherds, farm animals and the Devil. The bucolic scene can fit on the top of a coffee table or under the Christmas tree, or extend over a garage or a home’s front yard, limited only by the creativity of its owners.
But the cheap Chinese copies of the nativity figures have had a negative impact on their sales by artisans from Amozoc and Tepeaca in the state of Puebla, who have lost up to 50% of their market share in the last five years.
The director of the Amozoc Chamber of Commerce reports that of the town’s 77,000 inhabitants, half are artisans, and that 40% of their yearly production is exclusively Christmas-related.
Silvia del Rocío Beltrán stated that the handicrafts have been undervalued by consumers, who prefer buying low-quality Chinese knock-offs for 15 pesos apiece to purchasing the domestic product from markets or studio-workshops, where the price of each figure can range from 20 to 55 pesos.
In the last five years, 100 such family workshops have shut down as they were unable to compete, said Beltrán.
In an effort to counter the trend, Puebla’s artisans have started to promote their handicrafts by making seasonal trips to neighboring states, such as Veracruz, Hidalgo, Tlaxcala and Oaxaca, hoping to save their businesses from bankruptcy.
The state of jalisco had been seeing a similar situation but through a promotional campaign launched three months ago it has managed to turn the tables.
Entitled “La artesanía está de moda” (Handicrafts are in fashion), the campaign has “given very good results,” said the director of the Jalisco Handicrafts Institute.
“We managed to reverse the trend. Foreign figures are still being bought in Jalisco, but we managed to reappraise the state’s products in the consumer’s eye,” said Camilo Ramírez.
According to the last census, of the 400,000 artisans in the state, 25% produce Christmas-related figures, mainly in ceramics, glass, wood, and even piteado, a decorative embroidery on leather.
About 430 workshops in Jalisco are dedicated to producing artisanal nacimientos, providing a livelihood for at least 1,100 people.
Source: El Economista (sp)
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