Tag Archives: blogging

Colonia San Antonio, photography, San Miguel de Allende

Life on the ledge

Everybody is experiencing varying degrees of winter, some harsher than others this year. In northern climes there is a touch of schadenfreude in the air as southern spots like New Orleans try to figure out how to move snow off their streets and sidewalks and in Washington DC, the presidential inauguration was moved inside because it was too cold.

Right now I’m sitting in front of a fireplace shivering but in another hour or so I’ll be down to shorts and T-shirt. That’s just the way winter goes in San Miguel de Allende. Temperatures sink and soar on a whim.

In another week we’ll begin the celebration of Candelaria, which sort of pushes Spring to the forefront. The celebration is part religious and part commercial. Candelaria marks Candlemas, the 40th day after the birth of Christ.

Continue reading →
Standard
Reviews, San Miguel de Allende, Writings

i3 talk: Dr. Nancy Hayden gives a glimpse into the very crowded future of space

On Tuesday, A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched, “the company’s 12th rideshare mission to a sun-synchronous orbit. Onboard are a variety of customer satellites, including 35 satellites integrated by Exolaunch along with 36 SuperDoves and Pelican-2 from Planet Labs PBC.”

On Wednesday, SpaceX launches its “sixth, suborbital flight test of its fully integrated Starship rocket, a combination of the Ship upper stage (S33) and the Super Heavy booster (B14). SpaceX plans to catch the Super Heavy booster using the chopsticks on the launch tower, but will make a final determination on the catch following liftoff and stage separation.”

On Thursday, a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket will launch the company’s previously delayed Blue Ring spacecraft, which is capable of both hosting and deploying multiple payloads.

(Source: spaceflightnow.com See update at bottom of this page.)

Also on Tuesday, space and security expert Dr. Nancy K. Hayden discussed the future of outer space and the increasingly heavy and chaotic traffic that is shooting out of planet Earth like hair plugs out of Elon Musk’s head.

Her talk for the i3: ideas that inform and inspire‘s Conversations with Big Thinkers lecture series at La Casona Event Center was first promoted as “Space: Brave New World or Wild Wild West?”  Somewhere along the line, out of respect for the growing congestion on the extraterrestrial freeways surrounding Earth, she added a third possibility — “Close Encounters” — to that title.

Continue reading →
Standard
Colonia San Antonio, San Miguel de Allende, The Week in SMA, Writings

Talk of the town: Lecturers, speakers, teachers, and authors all want a word with you

Update: Change of venue for San Miguel PEN Presents! Talks and times are the same, only the location has changed: Nectar at Camino Silvestre, Correo #43, Centro.

Talk is not cheap but it sure is plentiful in San Miguel de Allende during the first couple of months of 2025.

Intelligent, knowledgeable and often-times brilliant speakers will be stepping before podiums all over the city to offer enlightenment on topics like explaining the last U.S. election, explaining the current Mexico president, explaining the media, poetry, Artificial Intelligence, outer space, talking about their latest novels, the history of San Miguel, and so much more.

If you are looking for a modern-day Chautauqua Movement, look no further than San Miguel.

Continue reading →
Standard
photography, San Miguel de Allende, Writings

San Juan de Dios market is transformed into a holiday wonderland

Once more, the Mercado de San Juan de Dios is transformed into a wonderland as the Christmas marketplace is open for business.

Extra booths have been erected around the market and they are filled with ornaments, Nativity figures and accessories, decorations, Baby Jesus figurines of many hues and sizes (and gorgeous gowns of swaddling clothes), garlands, pines, sparklers, elf costumes, devil’s pitchforks, cuetlaxochitls, Santa caps, treats, and holiday fantasies.

Continue reading →
Standard
fiction, Rants and raves, San Miguel de Allende, Writings

Atlas once, Atlas twice — but is he tougher than Jesus Christ?

“The Mini – Solve in seconds”

That’s the promise, or more probably, the challenge of the daily five-by-five crossword puzzle on the New York Times games page.

Monday’s second row, down, challenge was “Rockefeller Center statue depicting a Greek Titan.” Five letters.

Obviously not Prometheus – the golden, cast-bronze statue in the lower end of Rockefeller Plaza – since it busts the five-letter wall. But that’s the one everyone knows, even if they have never been to New York, because it is always in the frame with the Rockefeller Christmas tree.

Continue reading →
Standard
San Miguel de Allende, Writings

Luring touring musicians to San Miguel, one Pehuenche at a time.

His name is Pehuenche and he will be in concert this Sunday, Nov. 17 at the Tres Fuentes hotel and as exciting a singer as the Veracruz native may be, there is an equally exciting story behind the concert.

San Miguel de Allende isn’t exactly on anyone’s music circuit – those well-traveled paths that bands and other performers follow from town to town – or at least it hasn’t been.

At least until now.

Continue reading →
Standard
Rants and raves, San Miguel de Allende, Writings

Did you hear the one about the cannibals and the breakdown of society …

There is an old joke about two explorers who are captured by cannibals. One is a Californian and the other is a New Yorker.

The explorers sit at the bottom of a large vat filled with water. Natives run around collecting firewood and depositing it at the base. It is going to be a big fire. It is going to be a big feast.

The chief of the cannibals stands over the two explorers and admires their pale skins. 

Continue reading →
Standard
photography, San Miguel de Allende

Just another Friday in San Miguel de Allende? Far from it (Updated with Saturday morning walkabout pics)

The Day of the Dead has begun, in the most beautiful ways imaginable.

This morning dozens of people, young and old, arrived at the Jardin Principal to build large public oftendas, the altars that pay tribute to family, friends, classmates, motorcycle and Rotary club members — our loved ones who have passed away.

It is a beautiful and heartwarming thing to watch.

Continue reading →
Standard
Memoirs -- fact and fiction, photography, Scotland - West Highland Way, Writings

Q: What’s a Highlands hike like? A: It’s a Longfellow

Sorry for the Dad Joke. It just came to me in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Turns out, the Cosmos is as corny as I am.

“Hey, shiny new Artificial Intelligence program: Write me a poem about walking through the Scottish Highlands and do it in the style of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.”

OK, I didn’t do this. I may still do this — but I didn’t.

Not yet.

Recently, I re-read Longfellow’s “Song of Hiawatha” for the first time since my childhood.

Continue reading →
Standard
fiction, Rants and raves, San Miguel de Allende, Writings

Trump in exile: To the dacha we go, over wide and drifting snow

He awoke with a sharp grunt. Like someone had kicked him in the balls.

Come to think of it, it hurt down there, too. And he had to pee. Again.

“Driver,” he called to the front of the black town car. “Pull over. I have to piss again.”

“Can you hold it for about 10 minutes, Mr. Trump? This is a pretty bad place to pull over.”

“President. I told you to refer to me as President Trump. I don’t want to say it again.”

Continue reading →
Standard