Author Archives: kihm
My Desert Island Library
Updated April 20, 2012 These are the people that I, as a reader, watcher and listener, have come to treasure. I place them here in alphabetical order, because it would be too hard to rank them, and, after all, this is not a race. Plus, the alphabet provides some amusing pairings. Some writers are special […]
Deckoupage
May 27, 2009 Every summer, I have to paint our porch and deck with Olympic Wedgwood Blue. To begin, I need a sunny weekend and a gallon of the paint from Lowe’s, where I have to pass an annual Trial by Sales Clerk. Last summer, the paint man said flatly, “They don’t make that color.” […]
The Horse in Brewing History
Horses have played two important roles in the history of brewing, one very public, and one very private. Publicly, we are all familiar with the beauty and power displayed by a team of draft horses, dazzling our eyes with polished brasses and shaking the ground under our feet as they pass. But behind the scenes, […]
Beer in the Movies
With no lines to memorize or dues to pay, beer occupies an enviable position in the movie industry. When directors want to make a point without troublesome dialogue or narration, they call for beer. Less than a star but more than a prop, beer is a time-honored player on the silver screen. Beer has a […]
Adventures in Genealogy
:: My Father’s Side: Winship Family :: Lyonel (Lyonnel) Winship was born in 1587 in Wilton Hall, England and died in 1637 in Walden, England. Edward Winship (1) (March 13, 1613 – December 2, 1688) was the youngest son of Lyonel’s five children. He was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, and died in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He […]
Talent
March 3, 2009 We had dinner with friends on Saturday and for after-dinner entertainment, their dog Taylor played the piano. I’m sure this kind of thing was common before television, the family in the living room, gathered around the old upright. But this is 2009 and perhaps that explains why I was not expecting Taylor’s […]
Bailey
July 28, 2008 Dogs cannot stay in the Inn at Silver Bay, which may be the one thing that’s wrong with it. So while we vacationed at Lake George this summer, Gus was far away in dog jail and I suffered from pooch-deprivation. But one morning, walking back up from Slim Point, I saw a […]
Polo, Yale and Flash Gordon
Yale graduates who have excelled at polo include J. Watson Webb; Winston Guest; Lewis E. Stoddard, chairman of the U. S. Polo Association (1922-1936); Tom Buchanan of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925); Flash Gordon of Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon comic strip which began in 1934, and the movie serials with Buster Crabbe; William […]
Big Fish
Clair Winship holds a muskellunge he caught in Hadley Bay, Chautauqua Lake, in September of 1955. This will give you an idea of what my grandfather could do with a bamboo fishing pole from a rowboat. The news account noted that the fish was 51 inches long, weighed 32 pounds, and was hooked on a […]
Clues to the Meaning of Beer
To learn who made beer, and what they made, you can open any of a number of histories. But to find out what beer really meant to people, how it fit into a culture, it can be very helpful to turn to other areas. Literature, film and less overtly historical works can offer surprising clues […]
Faithful Readers 