Clancy Tucker's Blog, page 113
July 2, 2019
3 July 2019 - PHOTOGRAPHS OF KIDS BEFORE MOBILE PHONES WERE INVENTED
PHOTOGRAPHS OF KIDS BEFORE MOBILE PHONES WERE INVENTED
G'day folks,
Welcome to some very old photographs of kids doing what they did when there were no mobile phones.
Clancy's comment: Yep, not a mobile or iPad to be seen. Technology is wonderful, but sadly, it will one day bite society on its ass. These kids are entertaining themselves, breathing fresh air, and learning to communicate with others. How the world has changed, eh?
I'm ...
July 1, 2019
2 July 2019 - NEVADA GOLD MINE NOW A TOURIST SPOT
NEVADA GOLD MINE NOW A TOURIST SPOT
G'day folks,
Located in the arid Nevada hills, the Techatticup Mine once spat out enough gold and silver to inspire murder, treachery, and claim-jumping. Now it has been restored and is partially open to visitors looking to take a tour through the rocky but, luckily, bloodless tunnels.
While the thick veins of precious metals were discovered in the hills of what is now Nelson, Nevada by Spanish explorers in the 1700s, digging did not begin in earnest until around a hundred years later in one of the largest mining booms in the state history.
Hungry prospectors began to swarm the area around the mid-1800s, digging a warren of tunnels and shafts deep into the hills, following seemingly endless mineral veins into the ground. The area soon became a popular refuge for Civil War deserters who hid from battle in the remote and inhospitable desert climate.
Ownership of the mines soon became a hotly contested issue with groups of miners claim-jumping one another or simply murdering their competition. Soon the area became infamous as a lawless free-for-all where murder could be a nightly occurrence. At the peak of the criminal activity, local law enforcement refused to even enter the area.
Eventually the boom subsided and the Techatticup Mine was abandoned leaving behind miles of tunnels and countless rickety sheds and houses. After decades of neglect the land was purchased by the Werly family who set to work restoring the historic buildings and even excavating and exploring the many tunnels. Today the Werlys themselves now offer historic tours through portions of the mines walking visitors some 500 feet into the hills over pits hundreds of feet deep, showing veins of gold and silver that still sit unmined in the rock.
The area has also been the setting of a number of films including 3000 Miles to Graceland, from which the remains of a fake exploded plane can still be seen.
Clancy's comment: I'd like to visit this mine. The gold era in Australia has always enchanted me.I'm ...
June 30, 2019
1 July 2019 - CLANCY TUCKER PHOTOGRAPHY
CLANCY TUCKERPHOTOGRAPHY
G'day folks,
Although my recent holiday to South East Asia turned out to be the holiday from hell, I did manage to take some photographs, but a mere 500 compared to the normal 5,000. Here is a sample. Sadly, due to an erupted appendix, I had to cancel many planned trips to swamplands, and a special whale watching trip. Such is life, eh? Anyway, enjoy ...
Clancy's comment: As you probably noticed, I look for something out of the box. The squirrels are one of my favourite creatures to snap, but they are so quick. Fortunately, I managed to go to three big festivals. All of them were sensational, especially the music festival on the beach.
I'm ...
June 29, 2019
30 June 2019 - A HEAP OF INSPIRING QUOTES
A HEAP OF INSPIRING QUOTES
G'day folks,
Yep, it's time to be inspired by the wisdom of others.
Clancy's comment: All good, eh? Pass them on.
I'm ...
June 28, 2019
29 June 2019 - BALANCING ROCK GARDEN IN COSTA RICA
BALANCING ROCK GARDEN IN COSTA RICA
G'day folks,
Here is a great memorial dedicated to a murdered conservationist and his pioneer wife.
Years ago, a man named Jake made a daily pilgrimage to the Piedra Colorada area of the Southern Nicoya Peninsula to build balanced rock statues along the shore. He would rebuild the sculptures that were knocked over by the tide and create new statues to add to the remaining collection every day.
When he moved away, travelers continued the tradition to ensure the beach would be continually marked with the delicate and often perplexing balanced rock statues called cairns. The quietude of the cairns surrounds the final resting place for Nicolas Wessberg. With his wife, Karen Mogensen, Wessberg convinced the Costa Rican government to create its first protected nature reserve. They established the nearby Cabo Blanco in the early 1970s, and today, the two trails that travel through the preserve are called the Swede’s path and Dane’s trail, after their respective home countries.
Many environmentalists from around the world followed their lead, buying acres of Costa Rican land to ensure that no development would mar the complex ecosystem that is Costa Rica. Today, its the home of two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Conservation was not a popular idea just a few decades, ago, though. In 1975, Mogensen found her husband’s bones near Corcovado, where he was focusing his last protective efforts. While never proven, the commonly held belief is that he was assassinated by those that wished to exploit that land. A plaque honoring the duo’s efforts, perseverance, and vision now stands amidst the fitting tribute of the cairns.
Clancy's comment: Well, good for them. I love these balancing rocks.
I'm ...
June 27, 2019
28 June 2019 - PONDEROSA SALOON IN NEVADA
PONDEROSA SALOON IN NEVADA
G'day folks,
Here is a bar with a difference. Beneath a Virginia City bar is the entrance to an abandoned gold mine.
A fully-functional saloon in Virginia City, Nevada contains an 1860’s bank vault and underground mine. The beloved watering hole has been offering tours of the mine shaft since the 1900s.
Virginia City, Nevada used to be a heavy mining town, and was pocked with tunnels dug by voracious miners hunting for silver and gold. The Best & Belcher mine was not profitable in the gold rush of the 1800s, but became profitable 100 years later in an entirely different way. The owners of the Ponderosa Saloon realized that the mine shaft of the Best & Belcher mine was only a short way away from their bar, so they dug a tunnel to the abandoned mine shaft and began offering tours.
The saloon also features an old walk-in bank vault, and the now 150-year-old establishment offers up tours of both the vault and the mine. The 25-minute tour of the mine guides you through the shaft and the more than 300 pieces of vintage mining equipment on display.
After the tour, you can grab a cold drink and a hot dog from the restaurant above.
Clancy's comment: Sounds interesting.
I'm ...
June 26, 2019
27 June 2019 - NDOLA SLAVE TREE IN ZAMBIA
NDOLA SLAVE TREE IN ZAMBIA
G'day folks,Once a meeting point for Swahili slave traders, this ancient tree is now a monument to those killed by the slave trade. Ndola is one of the most prominent towns in Zambia’s Copperbelt province. Today, the numerous copper mines in the region provide the region’s wealth. But in the past, a darker industry spurred the settlement.
Still standing near the center of town, the Slave Tree was the central location where Swahili slave traders met to discuss their gruesome transactions. Under its shade, Swahili traders such as Chipembere, Mwalabu, and Chiwala held councils of war and sold slaves to the Mambundu from Angola.
Much of central and southern Africa, including modern-day Zambia, was crisscrossed by slave traders transporting slaves ultimately to the Swahili coast to be sold to Arab slave traders. These traders would capture slaves themselves or buy slaves captured by warring local tribes.
Slave trading in Zambia was abolished early in the 1900s with the establishment of the British Colonial Administration. The town of Ndola itself was founded in 1904 after the discovery of copper at the Bwana Mkubwa mine at the site of the slave trading post. The Slave Tree was left standing as a monument to the lives lost to the slave trade.
Clancy's comment: One can only imagine what life was like for a slave.
I'm ...
June 25, 2019
26 June 2019 - PRISON GRAFFITI ON SAN LUCAS ISLAND
PRISON GRAFFITI ON SAN LUCAS ISLAND
G'day folks,
Welcome to another infamous prison, but this disused penal colony features prisoner artwork, some sketched in human blood.
For 120 years, San Lucas Island Prison was home to the most vicious criminals in Costa Rica. Since it was shut down in 1991 the former prison has only housed the remnants of inmate graffiti scrawled across cell walls and even sketched in human blood.
Given that all the artists on the island were prisoners and were provided no proper artistic tools, anything they could find that would leave a mark was used to tag the walls of the prison. Words and pictures expressed their anger and depression, along with their horniness and faith in something outside of the tropical prison.
Although the vast majority of drawings in San Lucas Prison depict naked women, these explicit portraits often share wall space with haloed depictions of Jesus and other symbols of religion.
Besides the content of the pictures, most visitors are also fascinated by the “ink” used by prisoners, and certain blood-splattered sketches always catch the eye of unprepared tourists and hold the memories of the brutality carried out inside the prison walls.
Clancy's comment: Mm ... Another gruesome hellhole.I'm ...
June 24, 2019
25 June 2019 - AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHY
AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHY
G'day folks,
It's time to check out some brilliant work by talented photographers.
Clancy's comment: Many thanks to the photographers. Well done.
I'm ...
June 23, 2019
24 June 2019 - SHERRY BRISCOE - GUEST AUTHOR
SHERRY BRISCOE - GUEST AUTHOR -
G'day folks,
Today, I interview an exciting author from Idaho, USA.
Welcome, Sherry ...
1. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR WRITING JOURNEY.
I grew up on Edgar Allen Poe and Alfred Hitchcock, so to me, episodes of The Twilight Zone made perfectly fine bedtime stories. I love suspense, but not horror.
My writing career started after one year of college when I decided I wanted to travel to Europe instead of study. But I didn’t have any money. So I joined the Army because they were giving guarantees of station. I signed on the dotted line and 30 days later I was on a plane. After a short training stint is South Carolina, I landed in Germany. It was like walking into one of the fairy tale books read to me as a child.
I went to Europe with a blank journal. For two years I travelled all over and wrote about everything. When I came home I had a stack of journals and decided to borrow a typewriter and transcribe them all into one book. And a book it was! Not just about travel, people, castles, and the Austrian Alps. It was the story of a shy insecure girl who found her way in life. And I was hooked! Writing was fun and I never stopped after that.
2. WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?
I’m currently writing the first book in my new Moonshadows Mysteries series. The title of the first book is The Dividing Lineabout a small town journalist and a big city cop, and Native American legends coming to life.
3. WHAT GENRE DO YOU WRITE?
I write suspense with a touch of the paranormal. I also have some new books plotted out, a drama/romance series (Desert Rose Romances), again, with a touch of the supernatural.
4. WRITERS ARE SOMETIMES INFLUENCED BY THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THEIR OWN LIVES. ARE YOU?
My latest book, The Man In Number 7, takes a lot of my childhood, and the people and places from my early years, and weaves them into a suspense novel. The picture on the cover is one I even took of the house I grew up in, which is the setting for the book. I’m totally in this one!
There are also echoes of me in the main character of Zoey in my first book Mists of Garibaldi ~ Tales Of The Supernatural. It’s hard not to let a little bit of ourselves rub off onto the page.
5. WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR BOOKS MADE INTO MOVIES? EVER WRITTEN A SCREENPLAY?
I founded and ran the Idaho Screenwriters Association for 13 years. I would love to see any of my books made into a movie. And I can write the script!
6. ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO ADD?
I’m on the board of the Idaho Writers Guild and teach writing workshops in the community. I love helping other writers find their way.
WEBSITE
AMAZON
Clancy's comment: Well done. Thank you, Sherry. Sell heaps of books, and keep helping your writing community.I'm ...
