THE SAGA OF HOW PRINCESS CAKES WERE INVENTED

The Legend of why Princess Cakes were developed goes back many years, when Sweden had a Catholic Monarch, Queen Christina. This became one of the most famous roles for Greta Garbo, Sweden’s greatest export since the Vikings.

Once upon a time, when Queen Christina (1626-1689) was the last Catholic Monarch of Sweden, a little girl named Berta, was excited because it had been announced that Her Majesty would come by & visit her family. During the time all this was happening, there was much confusion for Sweden’s Catholic minority. They had to hide from the rest of the country & had Mass secretly in barns, or in taverns, or in kitchens–any place that they could come together & keep their practises secret from the Lutherans. Sometimes they had Masses in brothels. For some reason, they ended up with more converts that way.

Make no mistake about it! The truth of the matter is that there is a Royal history behind every Princess Cake!

As it turned out, Queen Christina had forgotten to bring any tiara or crown. Berta & the whole village of Marsta (near the ancient Ecclesiastical centre of Uppsala) were very excited to host a visit from the Queen. But they were also sad because word had got out that the Queen, who was just as excited to see them, had, in her haste, left her crown back in Stockholm. Little Berta, only 12 years old, was an expert in creating wonderful baked goods for all sorts of special occasions. There was hardly a Baptism, First Communion, or Wedding, in her community that was not graced by one of her miraculous baked items. Little Berta (as did most of her peers) kept her Catholic religious ways a secret, but they had developed a way of speaking Latin backwards that made the Lutherans think that they were speaking in tongues. This was how they avoided persecution & kept in touch with each other. They would attend Lutheran Church, but had to do time & a half to secretly go to their own Church. It got to the point that some of the Lutheran parsons were secretly Catholic priests, and got married just to pretend that they were Lutherans. This created a sort of under the counter-culture where no one really knew for sure what was going on. Well, as I was saying Little Berta decided to bake a very small cake in the shape of a crown that Queen Christina would be able to wear. The frosting needed to have a hard outer crust, but not so hard as to crack. Berta thought & thought, then experimented till she came up with a recipe that has been handed down for many generations (since Xmas 1660) and now is in the cookbooks curated by Princess Melita Bonaparte.

#TheMostBeautifulWomanintheWorld, Her Imperial Highness, Princess Melita Bonaparte, was honoured to pay tribute to Her Most Catholic Majesty, the late Queen Christina of Sweden, by wearing a duplicate of the renowned Princess Cake designed by Little Berta of Marsta, Sweden, back in 1660.

The cake crown was an instant success, making Queen Christina the first Monarch in historic times to wear such a contrivance. It is now very seldom worn, but considered a pastry & sold as such at bakeries across the world.

Queen Christina, though long gone, still influences the world in ways that go beyond anything that she could have imagined during her lifetime. Princess Melita Bonaparte prays that there will once again be a Catholic Queen in Scandinavia, and that she will wear this Princess Crown, still preserved in a hidden location, during her coronation ceremony.
You can get these wonderful Princess Cakes even today. They sell them at #MollyStone’sMarket, right here in San Francisco. Just, remember, they original was intended to be worn as a crown. So, if you feel daring enough to relive history, you are paying tribute to Her Majesty Queen Christina of Sweden & her hopes of Eternal Salvation!
Even if you are not Catholic, you may touch the hem of Eternal Salvation & Swedish history by going to #MollieStone- a delightful store that sells Princess Cakes. Do be fearless in your newly found devotion to both Princess Melita Bonaparte & to the Memory of Queen Christina of Sweden! Be daring, wear your Princess Cake with pride, with authority. Your life will be forever changed by the experience!

Be a part of real history that was celebrated by folklore, and made into a film starring Greta Garbo. #MollieStone’sMarket is waiting for you, yes YOU to get your very own piece of history now! Hurry!

You Tube of Greta Garbo in the Film Queen Christina

Published on 10 Oct 2012

– “What are you doing?”

– “I’ve been memorizing this room. In the future, in my memory, I shall live a great deal in this room.”

This story, as told to me by Her Imperial Highness, #TheMostBeautifulWomanintheWorld is (as they say in #Washington, D.C.) a true fact. Every word has been verified as true by the #BonaparteFamilyAssociation.
#QueenChristinaofSweden
#MarstaSweden

INSTAGRAM FAILS TO DELIVER & SO DOES CHRONICLE!

Instead of a newspaper vending machine, we have a casino & the house always wins. INSTAGRAM seems to take exception to public service announcements. So, here is yet another attempt to warn people not to lose their money with a rigged machine.

YESTERDAY, I TRIED TO USE THIS ‘VENDING’ MACHINE TO BUY AN EXTRA COPY OF THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE. MY INTENTION WAS TO OBTAIN AN EXTRA COPY TO SEND TO MY BROTHER & HIS WIFE IN PHOENIX. I THOUGHT THEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THIS. THE MACHINE ATE FOUR QUARTERS, BUT THE DOOR TO IT WOULD NOT OPEN, IT YIELDED NAUGHT.

I CALLED THE MAIN SWITCHBOARD NUMBER OF THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, AND LEFT A MESSAGE. THE NUMBER THAT I CALLED, 415-777-1111.

I TRIED TO POST A COPY OF THIS MACHINE WITH A DESCRIPTION OF WHAT HAPPENED ON INSTAGRAM, AFTER GIVING THE NEWSPAPER A FAIR AMOUNT OF TIME TO RESPOND. IT SEEMS THAT INSTAGRAM CENSORED MY PHOTOGRAPH & COMMENTS. THE COMMENTS WERE FACTUAL, NOT A WORD OF IMPROPER OR ABUSIVE LANGUAGE. IT SEEMS THAT IT’S TOO WEIRD OF AN EVENT TO BE MERE CHANCE, BUT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

THE MACHINE TO AVOID IS LOCATED NEAR THE CORNER OF HOWARD & 9th STREETS. THE SIMPLEST SOLUTION FOR THOSE WHO FREQUENT THAT AREA IS TO BUY THEIR COPY OF THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE IN A CONVENIENCE STORE. IT IS CLEAR THAT THE MACHINES ARE NOT HONESTLY OPERATED.

I DO REMEMBER A FEW YEARS AGO SEEING SOMEONE TAKE A SMALL METAL OBJECT & EMPTY THE MACHINE THAT WAS IN THAT SAME LOCATION OF IT’S MONEY. ‘TIS A SHAME, BUT THEY DON’T RETURN CALLS, SO CUSTOMER SERVICE IS CLEARLY NOT A VALUE.

AND THE FAILURE OF INSTAGRAM IS JUST PLAIN BEWILDERING. I THOUGHT IT WAS FOR INSTANT SHARING OF IDEAS, NEWS, ETC.

The Ambiguity of not using punctuation? Like, I’m just saying…

PET PEEVES/ANNOYANCES SPEECH PATHOLOGY DEPARTMENT

1–Saying “like” every third word. Bankrupt vocabulary.

2–Ending what would seem to be a factual statement, with a vocally placed question mark. This is a subtle way to express avoidance of responsibility. It happens in the business world quite frequently & is usually done by people born after 1970. This is usually done by people born after 1970?

3–Making a controversial statement & ending with it with the words, “I’m just saying.” This, too, is a form of a speech style indicative of avoiding responsibility. This speech habit invalidates the speaker’s credibility.

The photograph of the stenciled artwork, illustrates speech & language gone array. That may not have been the artist’s intention, but it seemed to, like, fit well in what I just wrote? I’m just saying.

If it is Doctor Who, who cares? If it is not Doctor Who, then Who may care, or not? I’m just saying. Anonymous, sidewalk, stencil artist. Taken 2013.

It’s not always what we say that communicates, but just as often how we say it that makes the difference between honesty or vocal noise.

Hope you aren’t, like, totally barfed out by the gnarly YOU TUBE of Valley Girl–it’s sooo lame what we say when we don’t talk, like, for real!

Do you know when you are supposed to fasten your seatbelt?

Has anyone ever told you that you can’t sneeze with your eyes open? It’s not true. I felt a sneeze coming on once, and was utterly DETERMINED to sneeze with my eyes opened. I proved this idea about you HAVE to close your eyes when sneezing wrong. It felt weird, but you can do it. It just takes a little concentration. That was a quantum leap. My goodness! I keep waiting to hear from Stockholm. But there is no photographic proof. All I can do is write it down and publish it, and say, this is a true fact. You can sneeze with your eyes open. If only other challenges in life were this simple to resolve.

Now, have you ever tried to fasten your Pan Am seat belt while standing? Well, you get the prize if you were able to do that in recent years. There is no more Pan Am, only Pam Ann. Say that really, really fast, and people will start thinking you’ve had one too many adult beverages.

It’s not a good idea to try to stand when fastening your seat belt on any aircraft, defunct or still in business.

Even the rebel in me thinks it’s a good idea to do this while sitting down. It hurts to be a conformist, but sometimes it just beats the alternative.

CODA: The Biggest Challenge OF ALL—

Try to sneeze with your eyes open whilst standing up & fastening your seat belt in an aircraft that is malfunctioning. Those pesky, drop-down oxygen devices may spoil your concentration.

And do you know why they even have those masks? You know, the drop-down ones. Concentrate. You get the recorded advice to put them on young children & others who need assistance. It’s almost like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for murder. The masks make it harder to hear people scream. Should the flight (with the able assistance of the pilots, or a hijacker who gets a last-minute change of heart) right itself, what do you say about the recently murdered, badly behaved children you just lopped off. You might have some explaining to do once the flight problems are over, and the pilot is being cheered on the tarmac. “I was only trying to help…” might work. You will still need to concentrate and be very convincing in the telling before becoming the basis of a thriller genre film about how you survived an airline crash, knowing all along that you became a serial killer due to this odd set of circumstances beyond your control.

BUCKLE UP FOR SAFETY & REMEMBER, YOUR SEAT CAN BE USED AS A FLOTATION DEVICE!

It’s not a good idea to try to do this while standing. It could just ruin your whole day. It’s just not worth the effort. Sit this one out.

The BEST WAY TO SIT IT OUT:
You Tube: Peter, Paul, and Mary, Featuring John Denver: Leaving On a Jet Plane

And should you need more education–please review these important Public Service
Announcements: http://aviationhumor.net/pam-ann-cabin-services/#

Litte Fish In A Bowl

Artist “Finch” captured a likeness of lonely fish in a bowl @ Market & Church Street MUNI Station.

Little fish in a bowl
Forever swimming a glassed-in hole.
Life can’t much fun for you,
Not enough water to even be blue.

Will freedom ever come your way?
A stream with others might you play
And life your life as meant to be
With friends like you for company.

BRICK MANSIONS–SITTING EMPTY

The death of actor Paul Walker was tragic & heart rending. He seemed to have evoke the quality of being “nice.” This is a trait that is often abandoned when a certain level of success is reached. Fame & fortune can mess things us up–both for those who have it, and for those who don’t. It can be an oil & water combination, one that might work on salad, but makes the streets of life way too slick for safe travel.

BRICK MANSIONS is an action film. I went understanding that this was not going to be any great competition for either William Shakespeare or Tennessee Williams. But I did have some hope that it might have some of the James Bond or Arnold Schwarzenegger deadpan one liners, or some irony that would serve a purpose. It did not. I can’t quite keep up with the linguistic eloquence of San Francisco Chronicle film critic Mick La Salle, but he got it right. It was one pointless fight scene after another. The man who played ‘the con’ (David Belle) came closest to being an interesting human. He had terrific looks, but, more importantly, he had a motivation, protecting his wife from harm. He was convincing, and that small touch of human interest was about the only thing I carried away with me once the closing credits started rolling. To nod off during an action film? Sure did. It was a sad way to say ‘Goodbye’ to one who had potential to expand to other areas. Being sealed into chase/fight scenes may be lucrative, but not memorable.

It was very decent & kind that the film editors did offer a visual Requiem for Paul Walker at the film’s end.

A symbol of hope for BRICK MANSIONS–both in Detroit, Michigan & Galena, Kansas.

You Tube Trailer For BRICK MANSIONS

The Piet Mondrian of San Francisco MUNI

Somewhere in the process of avoiding eCigarettes, this gem of art made an appearance before me! It was a lucky find. The comparison to the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian was immediately obvious. Have no idea what the intention was for the various tapes, but it was one of those opportunities to snap & save. Maybe it will fare better than the standee art I have so recently discovered!

Piet Mondrian’s (Dutch, 1872-1944/original spelling Mondriaan) spirit was here in the subway system, not in an art museum. March 2014.

It’s all good, some just simpler than others, and some lasts longer.

Here’s to Piet Mondrian!

ARIZONA GOVERNOR: NEW HOPE FOR THE DEAD!!!! -A Thanks For Jan Brewer

She did it, the right thing. But the only reason she did the right thing is because far too many private sector businesses were resolved to take their convention money elsewhere. At least, for now, Arizona is not part of Greater Uganda. But there are a lot of Tea Party members, those who do not quite understand that the earth spins around the sun, and is not flat.

It will take time. But international withholding of support should crack the insane government of Uganda. Till then, we still have our work cut out for us. Fear-based thinking on a national level, unfortunately, defines much of human history.

Thank you Jan Brewer, For getting it right, for once!

The simple, hand-made sign says almost everything. Arizona is not yet a part of Greater Uganda, but needs to keep in mind that what happens in Uganda will not stay in Las Vegas–cancer cells, like nature, abhor a vacuum.

The sign was posted @ Hibernia Beach, Castro & 18th Streets, San Francisco–the ground-zero target for Uganda’s bombs!

Big Lou–Accordion Artiste @ Noir Film Festival 2014

This year, international showings of Noir Films were reflected by ‘theme’ entertainment from accordion artist, BIG LOU! She played a variety of music to clinch the background of German & French cultures being represented prior to the screenings & during the intermissions. It was a refreshing treat, adding a nice zest for audience enjoyment.

Big Lou, Accordion Princess–more Royalty @ Noir Film Festival than in Buckingham Palace this year! http://www.accordionprincess.com/id68.html

When NOIR is War, Noir is Hell-Post World War II Japan Noir Film Festival 2014

This is the year of Noir International. Eddie Muller, the producer & curator of this increasingly successful genre film festival, featured two films from Post World War II Japan. Both of them were directed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa. There was no clean-up, no tidying of the Post War mess, no candy-coating. The background of black marketing, dysfunctional public heath issues, and lack of basic supplies to support ordinary day-to-day functions are reflected in a pool of stagnant water that becomes a constant & silent reference point in the film DRUNKEN ANGEL.

Eddie Muller, writer, film curator, producer, lecturer, visionary: the man who put Noir on the preservationists/restorationist map, and now has taken the concept to higher & international levels each year since the Noir Festival started 12 years ago. Castro Theatre, San Francisco, January 2014

Takashi Shimura plays an alcoholic physician, who needs to abide by the ancient Western proverb of “Physician heal thyself.” His bedside manner is as atrocious as the background in which he must do his best to patch together the broken people of his broken country. Despite his appearance & mannerisms, he is the Angel of Life, trying to bring life to those who are pretty, but in worse physical & emotional condition than he is. Toshiro Mifune, is caught up in a chaotic world of crime & avarice, soon to be doomed by his inability to follow doctors orders & treat his tuberculosis appropriately. Instead, he drinks, smokes, and slugs his way through an underground culture in order to ‘save face’ and prove his worth. It was a struggle from which he could not emerge victorious–and we see the loss of potential, the potential that Japan so much-needed, go to waste, as he throws his life way in the sludge that had, at that time, become the world of a defeated nation.

YOU TUBE DOUBLE OF DRUNKEN ANGEL:Film 1948 & Song by Lucinda Williams from Car Wheels On A Gravel Road 1998

Stray Dog, 1949-also directed by Akira Kurosawa & Starring Toshiro Mifune.

This film is more closely associated with & influenced by the American Noir experience. The emphasis is less upon the Post War infrastructure, and more upon a rookie cop who has had his gun pickpocketed while on public transit. In that respect, those from New York & San Francisco can more easily relate to the overcrowded conditions & the ‘cell mates’ with which we must endure in close quarters on a daily basis. In keeping with Noir, the rookie cop goes on a search for the person who lifted his heater, only to unintentionally go deeper & deeper into an underground cesspool of crime, vice, passion, and vengeance. The gun in question has recently begged re-examination of the issue/question of do guns kill people or do people use guns to kill people? It’s clear that our love affair with Noir embraces guns, but do we want guns to embrace us? (Remember: “It’s a bitter, little world.”)!
Let’s ask the National Rifle Association to embrace Columbine & ask the perennial question: “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

Depart from the Film & Listen to Petula Clark, then continue…

YOU TUBE MONTAGE FROM STRAY DOG-edited for horror mode-1949