“Spittoons are containers made for spitting into, especially for those chewing tobacco. They were often placed in the home or in public places such as inns and taverns. This pewter spittoon has a removable lid so it can be emptied – a particularly unpleasant job.”
The pewter spittoon was a container to spit your tobacco into. You could find them in British homes, hotels, and bars during the 18th and 19th century.
“Spitting was a socially acceptable habit in the United Kingdom until the late 1880s…”
How many times have you needed a place to spit your chewing tobacco? If you’re like me, the answer is none…but that’s beside the point. Tobacco saliva needs a home, and the pewter spittoon is the perfect domicile. A welcome home. The perfect landing spot for projectile spit.
Having British sailors over for dinner? If so, I recommend that you purchase a pewter spittoon. You won’t be disappointed.
W.H Auden’s poem “August 1968” captures the spirit of its time:
“The Ogre does what ogres can,
Deeds quite impossible for Man,
But one prize is beyond his reach:
The Ogre cannot master Speech.
About a subjugated plain,
Among the desperate and slain,
The Ogre stalks with hands on hips,
While drivel gushes from his lips.”
The poem is a critique of war. The Ogre is a representation of the militaristic: the rockets and the tanks. And the title of “August 1968” is a reference to the Vietnam War.
But Auden is wrong. The Ogre is not some physically, vile creature. He’s not an ugly monster, a la Shrek. He’s not a deformed soldier, running through the jungles with a rifle in his hand. He’s not strong.
The Ogre is a broken person. He (or she) is debased and jealous. He despises the happiness of others – he wants to destroy the beautiful. He want to soil the healthy marriage, or the profitable business.
Recently, I watched an excellent Dominican comedy entitled “Tuberculo Presidente.” It’s only available in Spanish to my knowledge, so if you are interested in watching it, you’ll have to adjust your closed captioning. But I feel that it is worth it. It’s a foreign film that’s low on budget, but high on laughs.
The Plot
Two poor Dominicans become the President and Vice-President of their country. They’re placed in this position to do the bidding of corrupt politicians that are trying to insert a controversial pipeline in the national forest. The poor Dominicans arrive at the Presidential Palace and bring their backward habits with them: they hang laundry from the rails, bring a goat into the facility, etc. It’s funny stuff.
Two poor countrymen become leaders of the DR…humor ensues.
Some of these gags are inside jokes, relating to Dominican culture. However, the humor is still broad enough to relate to a wider audience. It’s the haughty politician vs. the humble plebian – a scenario that has been seen many times, but it works well in this context.
Positives
There’s a lot of food humor in the movie. It reminded of Jim Gaffigan, with many jokes relating to eating, portion size, etc. The President believes that if everybody is well fed, the country will be a better place. So he gives food to the local gangsters, poor villagers, etc. The Dominican Republic becomes a magical place, all due to the perfect simplicity of his logic.
The new president: If everybody eats well, the world will be a better place!
What’s great about the movie is what’s missing – the subversive agenda of Hollywood. For example, we don’t have the standard display of feminism (i.e. a scene where a 100 lb. woman beats up 20 men). Also, we don’t have racial division; even though the cast is black and white, the producers are not obsessed with the topic. We see people of different races behaving like they do everyday – without hatred for one another.
It’s refreshing to see a movie like this. It shows that when directors try to tell a story – instead of promoting Cultural Marxism – that magical things can happen.
Major Styles 