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The story of Montezuma Castle

We’ll start off by saying that neither part of the name Montezuma Castle is actually correct.

When European-Americans first saw the ruins in the 1860s, by then long-abandoned, they named it for the famous Aztec emperor Montezuma in the mistaken belief that he had been connected to its construction.

Having no connections to the Aztecs, Montezuma Castle was given that name due to the fact that the public had this image of the Aztecs creating any archaeological site.

In fact, the dwelling was abandoned more than 40 years before Montezuma was born, and was not a “castle” in the traditional sense, but instead functioned more like a “high rise apartment complex.”

It was built by the Sinagua, a group of people who lived in the dwellings at Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot in the Verde Valley, AZ.

Although people were living in the area much earlier, the Sinagua began building permanent living structures – the dwellings you see at the monument – around 1050 AD.

The name “Sinagua” comes from the Spanish “sin agua,” meaning “without water.” Despite the name, the Sinagua actually had plenty of water.

The group was named by Harold S. Colton in 1939, after the San Francisco Peaks, where Colton first identified the culture. (The peaks were called “sierra sin agua” by early Spanish explorers because they lacked rivers and streams.)

Archeologists divide the Sinagua into two groups: The Northern Sinagua, who lived in the modern-day Flagstaff area, and the Southern Sinagua, who lived in the modern-day Verde Valley. They share much in common, but there are a few cultural differences.

Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot National Monument protect Southern Sinagua dwellings. You can find Northern Sinagua dwellings at Wupatki and Walnut Canyon.

The Sinagua were living in the Verde Valley as early as 650 AD, or maybe even earlier. The earliest houses they built were called pithouses, made by digging partially into the ground, inserting log posts, and covering the structure with plant material. The remains of one pithouse can be seen at Montezuma Well.

Beginning around 1050 AD, the Sinagua began building pueblos and cliff dwellings. They built homes in naturally occurring caves in the cliffs using local materials like wood, stone, and mud mortar.

Cliff dwellings often had multiple levels, and were accessed using wooden ladders.

There are many possible reasons the Sinagua chose to build their homes in the cliffs. At Montezuma Castle, the cliff faces south, so the dwellings are warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The high location also protected them from damage caused by the annual flooding of Beaver Creek. The dwellings may also have been built high up for protection or to help the Sinagua view approaching travelers.

Despite being called a castle, the dwelling at Montezuma Castle is actually a collection of 20 rooms originally belonging to multiple families, similar to a modern-day apartment building. Other apartment-style buildings called pueblos, like those found at Montezuma Well and Tuzigoot also had multiple rooms and were built with local materials. But unlike Montezuma Castle, these pueblos are free-standing and have large common areas for gatherings. The Sinagua lived in pueblos and cliff dwellings until around 1400 AD.

The Sinagua did not disappear, but rather migrated away over time. Montezuma Castle was abandoned around 1400 AD, as were the dwellings at Montezuma Well. Although we do not know the exact reason, possible explanations include environmental change, overpopulation, social conflict, or religious reasons. Unfortunately the Sinagua had no written language, leaving us to piece together why they left.

Although the Sinagua left about 600 years ago, the Verde Valley has been continually occupied by other groups of people. Some Hopi clans believe that the Sinagua were their ancestors. Some Yavapai-Apache say that not all Sinagua left, but instead integrated with the Yavapai and Apache. Today, the monument is affiliated with many tribes, including the Four Southern Tribes of Arizona, Yavapai, Apache, Hopi, and Zuni.

You can learn more about the Montezuma Castle and it’s people by visiting: https://www.history.com/topics/landmarks/montezuma-castle

If you’re sarcastic, you’re probably smarter than most according to science

The Smithsonian Magazine wrote a great article about it back in 2011, actually.

In this study, scientists found that the sort of wordplay involved in sarcasm is not only a sign of intelligence (saying one thing and meaning another), but a means to practice at becoming more intelligent. Identifying sarcasm requires some pretty serious mental gymnastics that the average mind just isn’t prepared to handle.

Sarcasm detection is an essential skill if one is going to function in a modern society dripping with irony. “Our culture in particular is permeated with sarcasm,” says Katherine Rankin, a neuropsychologist at the University of California at San Francisco. “People who don’t understand sarcasm are immediately noticed. They’re not getting it. They’re not socially adept.”

Sarcasm is, essentially, a way of thinking about and verbalizing things which possess more than a simple literal meaning. For one who can understand sarcasm, it’s a puzzle-solving game: What is actually meant by the words, given the tone of voice and facial expression as well?

As we continue the practice of being sarcastic, or mental muscles bulk up. In the same way as physical exercise contributes to a greater ability to perform a task (running more makes you a better runner), exercising your sarcasm on a regular basis expands your brain’s circuitry, making for even more possibilities in your thinking.

Understanding sarcasm requires a two-part process:

Not only understanding the scenario that’s playing out in front of you, but also the aspects of it that might be missing. It’s in the play off of these missing parts that our brain makes more powerful connections.

“Sarcasm is practically the primary language” in modern society, says John Haiman, a linguist at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the author of Talk is Cheap: Sarcasm, Alienation and the Evolution of Language.

sourced –

https://www.elitedaily.com/life/culture/sarcastic-people-proven-smarter/792826
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-science-of-sarcasm-yeah-right-25038/

Meet Eli – The next generation of personal vehicles

The Eli ZERO is touted to be a better alternative to conventional cars in the urban setting.

See video:

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play-sharp-fill

Eli doesn’t boast of it’s range, but instead offers up the advantages of urban use. Short hops if you will. It’s top speeds are around 25-35 mph which makes it perfectly suited for city or interior urban travel.

It’s charging times aren’t off the clock either. Plug it in to 110 or 240 at night and in the morning you can run your errands with 60 miles max range per charge.

Eli also has an optional battery heating system that significantly enhances overall battery performance in the winter time and in cold climates.

Eli also comes with a compact and streamlined design along with glass doors that provides expanded viewing angles. The compact and streamlined design along with glass doors provides expanded viewing angles for maximum visibility.

Eli also comes with Heat and Cool AC.

I know it looks a little odd, but considering it’s size and related abilities, with it’s short charge times, and being promoted for pretty much only city driving, I think this is a pretty cool little rig.

If you’re interested in getting one of your own, you’ll be happy to know that Eli is bringing their pint-sized EV to the United States, and you can reserve yours today for just $200 (fully refundable). At $11,990, the Eli Zero is pretty affordable, too. Deliveries are slated for Q3 2024, so you won’t have to wait too long if you get your order in.

In Europe, they’re called quadricycles, and in the U.S. they fall under the low-speed vehicle (LSV) category.

The Eli Zero has compact dimensions of 88.6 inches in length, 54.3 inches in width and 64.4 inches in height. It rides on 165/65 R13 tires with alloy rims. The wheelbase measures 63 inches, while the track width is 45.67 inches. It has a seating capacity for two occupants and offers 5.65 cubic feet of trunk space for storage.

You can learn more about this tiny EV by visiting the Eli website here: https://www.eli.world/eli-zero

The Haircut

A guy walked into a barbershop and sat in the chair.

The barber asked, “Are you going anywhere on vacation this year?”

The guy replied, “Yes actually, my wife and I are going to Italy.”

The barber said, “Why you going there? It’s rubbish!”

“Well, the weather is supposed to be nice,” answered the guy.

The barber replied, “Well, when me and my wife went to Italy a few years ago it pissed down rain every day we were there.”

The guy said, “Well, I hear the food is nice.”

The barber laughed. “When me and the wife went the stuff they gave us was almost inedible.”

The guy said, “Um, well, we’d really like to see the Roman architecture.”

“You’ll be lucky,” said the barber. “They’re doing the place up. Tarpaulin and scaffolding everywhere. Can’t see a thing!”

Frustrated, the guy turned to him and said, “Okay mate, I’ll square it with you. The wife and I, we’re Catholic. And we’d really like to go to the Vatican and see the Pope.”

The barber quickly answer. “Well, me and the wife are also Catholic. And we wanted to see the Pope too. But when we went to St Peter’s Square, we were crammed in l with a million other Catholics and when he was on the balcony, all you could see was the tip of his hat. Honestly. Don’t go to Italy.”

A month passed and the guy returned to the barbershop and sat in the same chair.

The barber said, “Oh yeah, weren’t you the guy who was going to Italy?”

“Yes I am,” replied the guy. “And I have some issues to raise with you. Firstly, the sun was splitting the trees every day, the weather was amazing.

Secondly, the food, pizza, and pasta was incredible.

Thirdly, you said we wouldn’t be able to see the Roman architecture. In fact, we could touch it. It was astounding to be so close to ancient history.”

“Ah,” said the barber, “but did you see the Pope?”

“Well yes,” said the guy. “We did go to St. Peter’s Square and we were crammed in there with a million other Catholics, and when the Pope came out all we could see was the tip of his hat.

We were disappointed. But then his hands came out over the balcony and pointed to our section of the crowd, and everyone began murmuring and I was like, ‘What’s going on?!’

Then the Pope came out into the square flanked by his Swiss Guard and he began his making way into the crowd, which parted before him like the Red Sea.

The crowd began to grow excited and I could see he was coming in our direction.

Then suddenly the folks in front of us moved and there was the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, standing before us, looking at ME!

Then the Holy Father himself reached out, gently took my hand and gazing at me intently he asked, ‘Who the FUCK cut your hair?’”

RC DeWinter

Everything that might be wrong with this country in one photo

When I logged into the interwebs this morning I was confronted with a dirty grill, raw meat, and a lot of sharp witty commentary about one of our older than dirt national politicians.

Apparently, in an effort to relate to Fathers on Fathers day, Chuck Schumer thought that it might be nice to do a photo op of him grilling some burgers.

Chuck Schumer - Happy Fathers Day
Chuck Schumer – Happy Fathers Day

Long story short, his attempt to relate fell somewhat short of whatever it was he was trying to convey.

It’s okay Chuck, I get it. But I was sort of thinking that maybe next time you could get an intern that really does know how to grill (the cheese atop the raw meat is rather telling). It might save you some embarrassment in the long run.

I don’t care that Chuck has probably never cooked an actual meal on his own his entire life, but what I do care about is just how seemingly out of touch some folks are that do all of the bidding for our politicians. I hardly think that standing in front of a filthy cold grill full of cold uncooked raw meet was Chucks idea. Someone, somewhere, had to have put him up to it, and poor old gullible Chuck obliged.

You can tell a lot about a nation by who it puts into office. The sort of people that voted for Chuck is evident in this failed photo op. Voters will swallow whatever they’re told .. it doesn’t have to be true or make sense because after all, they saw it on TV or the internet.

Usually when I, or anyone else for that matter, attempts to try something new, there’s a bit of research done before hand. I mean, no one want’s to come off looking like a boob in front of all of their buddies … right?

I think this whole business of trying to relate is a noble endeavor. We want to be validated, acknowledged, accepted, and so on and so forth.

Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in our own little bubbles that any semblance of normalcy can become non-existent.

Our politicians seem to depend too much on the electorate being too stupid to know the difference. From setting up the fly rod wrong, to wearing cowboy hats backwards, and yes Chuck, even to your misadventures in grilling.

You guys are really going to have to do better.