LEVIATHAN
Jamestown was established about 400 years ago. The folks in Virginia just had a lovely party for the occasion and invited Queen Elizabeth. One of the key characters from the Jamestown story was captain John Smith, he was the guy who hooked up with Pocahontas and eventually got asked to never come back to Virginia. He never did, but he did convince some financial backers that there was gold in New England and that he could bring it out of the new world for them.
We know there isn't any gold in New England, (unless you count some of the current residents' bathroom fixtures) but there was one thing in the New World that was worth more than gold. Whales. Massive, 65 foot long whales that just swam near the surface and ate little copopods. They posed a huge threat to the copopods, so brave men took to wooden boats armed with ropes and sharp sticks to liberate the tiny organisms. Once the first massive beast was dispatched the brave men in boats discovered all these cool things that could be done with the leftover bits.
Fences could be made out of the huge rib bones. The crazy oil that came out of the head burned long and clean. The meat was tasty and the skin made good leather when it was tanned. The 14 foot long strips of baleen could be made into great corsets and hoop skirts. Even the digestive tract came in handy, a chemical in the intestines made a great red dye. Nothing was wasted.
The big fishy things were so useful and so plentiful that an entire industry sprung up around rescuing the copopods. In time, the worlds lamps were being fueled by American Whale Oil. The finest Parisian clothiers bought whale bone from American retailers for skirts and corsets. America was a 17th century superpower. There is more to this tale, more steps, more stories, more letters to home from young men trying to make their fortune by working on a whale boat and eventually, a huge work of literature will be born from the industry of whaling.
I can't say I know all the stories, but I know a man who does. That man is Eric Jay Dolin and he will be giving a slide assisted presentation at out Alexandria store on July 19th at 7pm. Eric wrote a great book that I am reading called "Leviathan" and if my clumsy telling has interested you at all please swing by and hear Eric tell us how it really went. It looks to be a good night for anyone interested in the history of America and its exploits. July 19th, 7 pm be there or be the poor sap who has to tell his grand kids that he doesn't know why they don't have whales anymore. Get the full scoop, only in Old Town!
On a more personal note, I have come up with a couple of names for my internet police force. I like Click-a-cop or maybe something a little Copazom.com. I am leaning toward Copazom.com, but I have to check the lawsuit status of it.
Countdown to Chuck Begins! It is only 12 days away! Best stock up on my hair metal trivia.
(If you missed it last week. Chuck Klosterman at The Wonderland Ballroom July 10, 7pm. The entire backlist will be available at the event along with the newest book in Paperback "Klosterman IV". All Signatures will be $15 at the event, the books will be free. (Maybe I have that backwards.)
We know there isn't any gold in New England, (unless you count some of the current residents' bathroom fixtures) but there was one thing in the New World that was worth more than gold. Whales. Massive, 65 foot long whales that just swam near the surface and ate little copopods. They posed a huge threat to the copopods, so brave men took to wooden boats armed with ropes and sharp sticks to liberate the tiny organisms. Once the first massive beast was dispatched the brave men in boats discovered all these cool things that could be done with the leftover bits.
Fences could be made out of the huge rib bones. The crazy oil that came out of the head burned long and clean. The meat was tasty and the skin made good leather when it was tanned. The 14 foot long strips of baleen could be made into great corsets and hoop skirts. Even the digestive tract came in handy, a chemical in the intestines made a great red dye. Nothing was wasted.
The big fishy things were so useful and so plentiful that an entire industry sprung up around rescuing the copopods. In time, the worlds lamps were being fueled by American Whale Oil. The finest Parisian clothiers bought whale bone from American retailers for skirts and corsets. America was a 17th century superpower. There is more to this tale, more steps, more stories, more letters to home from young men trying to make their fortune by working on a whale boat and eventually, a huge work of literature will be born from the industry of whaling.
I can't say I know all the stories, but I know a man who does. That man is Eric Jay Dolin and he will be giving a slide assisted presentation at out Alexandria store on July 19th at 7pm. Eric wrote a great book that I am reading called "Leviathan" and if my clumsy telling has interested you at all please swing by and hear Eric tell us how it really went. It looks to be a good night for anyone interested in the history of America and its exploits. July 19th, 7 pm be there or be the poor sap who has to tell his grand kids that he doesn't know why they don't have whales anymore. Get the full scoop, only in Old Town! On a more personal note, I have come up with a couple of names for my internet police force. I like Click-a-cop or maybe something a little Copazom.com. I am leaning toward Copazom.com, but I have to check the lawsuit status of it.
Countdown to Chuck Begins! It is only 12 days away! Best stock up on my hair metal trivia.
(If you missed it last week. Chuck Klosterman at The Wonderland Ballroom July 10, 7pm. The entire backlist will be available at the event along with the newest book in Paperback "Klosterman IV". All Signatures will be $15 at the event, the books will be free. (Maybe I have that backwards.)
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