swine flu

Sorry for being quiet, I have been laid low by the dreaded H1N1 swine flu virus. Its not been fun. Involves a lot of coughing and various other phlegmy activities.

Amazing tool!

Incredibly this attitude may still be more commonplace than we think!

I saw an old advertisement for some kind of flavoured tobacco in which a pipe smoking "gentleman" was blowing smoke into the face of a pretty woman who was staring adoringly into his eyes. The copy ran something to the effect that women find that specific smell of smoke irresistible, implying assured success later in the date! The concept of the ad is just so strange to our current ways of thinking and I couldn't resist something that paralleled  it in spirit.

I recently finished reading Thomas Pakenham's book on the Boer War and the outdated (to our modern thinking) methods of warfare and the arrogant attitude of the British officers, planted a seed  in my mind and was probably the source of this image.

I love the concept of mail order gadgets, especially those that are patently false and useless. Remember the "X-Ray glasses" that were advertised in comic books? This image is somewhere between a mail order bride and the "Incredible X-Ray vision glasses". I'm pretty sure I would have received a great many orders for this handy tool if I had added a web address. I wouldn't be surprised!