Garabandal: Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary as "Our lady of Mount Carmel"

Garabandal: Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary as "Our lady of Mount Carmel" 1 From beauty to truthfulness. More than 400 pictures testify in favor of a most important prophetic perspective for the good of all mankind as it advances in the Third Millennium by Jacques Serre and Beatrice Caux. Paperback book published in 2001.

Garabandal is a small village in Spain.  So small that it was nearly forgotten, until 4 girls saw something there from 1961 to 1965.  Of course when you see “something”, everyone else wants to see it as well and Garabandal became a bit of a hot spot for the seeing of the girls… seeing.  They saw so much that it kept Kodak in business for many years, which is how a book like this one can be easily compiled after all this time.  The something they saw was not, or could not, be photographed… mmmmm… The photographs were all of the girls and the people watching the girls who were looking at the something.  The idea was/is that we can see that they are seeing something by their actions and the looks on their faces.  Here are a few of the photographs:

 

Except for this last picture they look like they were having fun. 

 

There were messages as well. They didn’t just see stuff they were told stuff. 

“We must make many sacrifices, perform much penance, and visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently. But first, we must lead good lives. If we do not, a chastisement will befall us. The cup is already filling up, and if we do not change, a very great chastisement will come upon us.”

“As my Message of the 18th of October has not been complied with, and as it has not been made known to the world, I am telling you that this is the last one. Previously, the Cup was filling; now, it is brimming over. Many priests are following the road to perdition, and with them they are taking many more souls. Ever less importance is being given to the Holy Eucharist. We should turn the wrath of God away from us by our own efforts. If you ask His forgiveness with a sincere heart. He will pardon you. I, your Mother, through the intercession of St. Michael the Archangel, wish to tell you that you should make amends. You are now being given the last warnings. I love you very much, and I do not want your condemnation. Ask Us sincerely and We shall grant your plea. You must make more sacrifices. Reflect on the Passion of Jesus.”

Wow. There’s some pretty powerful messages in there and there have been many interpretations over the years as to what this all means.  The Catholic Church remains a little ambiguous about the whole thing yet many Catholics (others as well) still flock to Garabandal possibly in the hope of reliving some of the seeing of things and message receiving and this is despite the fact that the Catholic Church doesn’t in this instance, sanction or approve of such behaviour.  I guess reading between the lines they don’t want people’s attention to be brought to Priests “following the road to perdition”…

I like this book, it just all seems so strange and bizarre.  I particularly like the fact that this is an Australian edition of a French book about something that took place in Spain in the 1960s.  People have obviously not forgotten the 4 girls and the people that saw them seeing something… or maybe they have forgotten and that’s where this book comes into the picture. 

Plans for Caravans, Trailers, Boats etc by Keith Winser.

Plans for Caravans, Trailers, Boats etc by Keith Winser.  Paperback book published by Motor Manual 10th edition 1964-5.

Ever wanted to design your own caravan? 

Me neither. But obviously in 1964-5 this sort of activity was taking place and there was a demand for this sort of book.  I do know that people are into vintage caravans, which is why I snapped up this title.  I’ve blogged about one of Keith’s other fine publications here and it seems to me that the guy was obviously into the whole outdoorsy stuff.  I can see a logical progression from one to the other and from what I can gather Keith was THE guy at the time who wrote about the whole outdoor activity thingy.

Now there are some of you out there probably wondering why I’m writing about this book.  Well you can stop wondering… this book is genuinely interesting.  How many caravan design books for 1960s caravans written and published in the 1960s have you seen recently?  Yep that’s right, these sort of publications are as rare as free camp sites and as I mentioned there is a subculture of collectors and DIYers who would be itching for this sort of first hand source of information.  A quick look around the interwebs and I find that there are no copies of this book for sale (other than this one), but what I do find is lots of references to Vintage Caravans… see, I told you it was popular.

The Respiratory Physiology of Animals by James N. Cameron.

The Respiratory Physiology of Animals by James N. Cameron.  Hardcover book published by Oxford University Press 1989.

I don’t want to dwell too much on the subject matter of this title.  This is a very technical book obviously intended for veterinary people and/or those that are interested in the subject matter… which I guess would be mostly veterinary people.  Personally it’s not a subject that I have any interest in at all being more concerned about my own Respiratory Physiology (… it’s a long story, I wont bore you with it now… you can breathe easy). 

So why am I writing about this book?  Well neatly stashed away in a pocket in the back of the book is that extra little something containing bits of information that you can put onto your computer thingy and expand your understanding of the subject.  If it’s on a screen it’s bound to be of more interest and value (?).  I haven’t looked at the information but you never know, there may extra bits or more detailed stuff.  Hang on… the disc indicates that it contains “Computer Programs” so it’s obviously intended to be a bit interactive.  Unfortunately the disc will only work on IBM PC and… the Tandy 2000.  

 The Tandy 2000… with a guy called Bill.

 

 The disc that should fit into the Tandy 2000.

Unfortunately this floppy disc won’t fit into my computer… or anyone elses computer*.  And even if it did, would the programs actually work?  This ancient (1989) technology is obviously problematic.  The publishers have included the disc as it was considered important at the time.  But if there is important extra information on the disc how do we access it now?  This is a much bigger question than just for this copy of this book.  I was recently talking to a friend about this issue in relation to library collections.  Many libraries invested heavily in groundbreaking 1980s technology to find that 20 to 30 years later it is totally worthless… unless you can maintain a vintage computer system that can handle this sort of information.  The question is how relevant is the information on the disc and is it really worthwhile having a Tandy 2000 on hand to access this disc? 

Fortunately this book is also a book and it does have a book full of information.  The disc in the back?  Maybe contact this guy and ask him what to do with it.

*that I know.

Spain Betrayed: The Soviet Union in the Spanish Civil War

Spain Betrayed: The Soviet Union in the Spanish Civil War, edited by Ronald Radosh, Mary R. Habeck and Grigory Sevostianov.  Hardcover book published 2001.

A few years ago I read Antony Beevor’s “Battle for Spain” which is another Spanish Civil War book (not this one).  Antony is a great writer and I have enjoyed (if “enjoyed” is the word) reading his epic military histories.  His books on Stalingrad and Berlin were books that I found incredibly interesting.  Indeed I had trouble putting them down and looking back they have left a powerful impression of these events and the history of the Second World War.  So it was with great excitement that I read his book on the Spanish Civil War.  Oh boy… I found this book, and I guess the subject matter, to be incredibly complicated and involved.  When I finally put the book down I had more questions than answers and to be honest… and it might be just me… I don’t know that I really understood what happened.

What I do remember is that the Soviets were not always doing things in the best interest of the Spanish and that they were mainly concerned with… the Soviets.  The Germans weren’t much better (they were on the other side) and again from memory it appears that they were more concerned with testing equipment and strategies (mmmm… I wonder why). This book is made up of a collection of documents highlighting Soviet policy and action in Spain during the civil war. I haven’t read this title, but from my little knowledge of the subject matter, this is an incredibly complex and interesting subject and should be of interest to anyone interested in the Spanish Civil War.  The big question though is anyone else interested in the Spanish Civil War? 

Children of the North Pole by Ralph Herrmans

Children of the North Pole by Ralph Herrmans.  Hardcover book published 1963.

Another wonderful children's book, filled with strange looking pictures that have somehow grabbed my attention and captured my imagination.  I think it's partly the colours that have been used in the printing that make the book sort of otherworldly.  The landscape is of course a great help in creating this otherworldliness... but i gotta tell ya, the subject matter is pretty strange as well.  Recently i wrote about "Making a Transistor Radio" published by Ladybird and pondered the ability of children to actually make a Transistor Radio.  In this book, set in Greenland, the children are actively hunting.  Yep that's right, the looking for and killing of animals for food.  Sort of makes a Transistor Radio look like childs play.  Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on which side your on, other than sucking a few eggs, they don't succeed. 

Here are some of the images.  I've deliberately not put in any of the text as i think some of the images are text enough... without the text.  The Seal that they are lovingly playing with is dead and was killed by someone else.

 

The Kiwis 1947 – 1948

The Kiwis 1947 – 1948, edited by E.M. Gibson.  Paperback book published in 1948.

“Recounting the doings of The New Zealand Rugby League Kiwis, 1947, on and off the field, during the tour of England, Wales and France September, 1947 to January, 1948.” 

So what do I know about Rugby?

Next to nothing.  I know there’s more than one sort of Rugby and I know that people run very fast and throw a ball… and that sometimes people get hurt.  I’m also aware that off the field some Rugby players have a bad reputation.  More importantly, I do know that people are fanatical about Rugby in all its forms and permutations, not only here in Australia but overseas as well.  Which brings me to this book.

New Zealand is well known in this country for its competitive nature on the Rugby field… and indeed on any playing field where we can possibly compete (Cricket, Soccer… Apples).  In 1947 the New Zealand Rugby team decided it was time to go a little further a field to play some Rugby and decided that Europe was where rugby was really happening at the time.  Which in itself was an interesting choice considering that Europe had just finished one battle (WWII) and I do wonder how prepared they would have been to do battle against New Zealand in 1947. 

The book contains a lot of detail about the games that were played.  This was a time before cable TV… or any TV and a book (this book) was the way one got a blow by blow account of the events.  It contains lots of statistics and information that would appeal to anyone interested in the History of Rugby, particularly the New Zealand variety.

So here’s the problem.  New Zealand is not really that far from where I sit now… a bit far to walk or to run holding a ball, but on a plane it’s fairly close.  So if it is that close why don’t I sell more books to New Zealand?  Well the secret lies in that competitive nature I mentioned above.  New Zealand buyers tend to shop within New Zealand (correct me if I’m wrong).  They have their own version of eBay called trademe which is incredibly popular… just ask someone living in New Zealand if they would rather shop on trademe or eBay.  Unfortunately trademe is only available for New Zealanders or at least for people with New Zealand bank accounts.  They have eBay as well, but from the information I have, trademe is a serious competitor.

So the long and the short of it is that my experience of sales to New Zealand is minimal… that doesn’t mean that I haven’t sold books to New Zealand, it means that the number of books I sell to New Zealand is minimal considering the lower cost of postage to NZ as apposed to elsewhere.  This lack of interest from Australia’s neighbor, makes it hard to sell books about New Zealand rugby in 1947. 

So here’s the deal… I will buy a New Zealand apple when someone in New Zealand buys this book... and not before. 

Vivienne Westwood: Spring Summer 2008 by Juergen Teller.

Vivienne Westwood: Spring Summer 2008 by Juergen Teller.  Hardcover book published 2008.

This book is a collection of photographs of Vivienne Westwood designs/creations from her Spring Summer collection of 2008.  Juergen Teller… well he’s a fashion photographer, which is why he’s photographing Vivienne Westwoods fashions.  Excuse my ignorance, but I didn’t buy this book because of Juergen… I’d never even heard of the guy (…should I have?).  It was Vivienne Westwoods name that jumped out at me whilst perusing through a mountain of books.  Now some of you may be a bit surprised to read that I’m not a fashion conscious sort of guy and therefore I don’t pay much attention to catwalks or fashion photography and I just want to clarify that it’s not that I don’t appreciate fashion, it’s just not my thing.  Vivienne Westwood is someone I know of mainly through her Punk connections and the fact that she was in a long term relationship with Malcolm McLaren… which was all a very long time ago and I’m sure she’s done lots of other things since then, particularly in the fashion world… but as I just wrote, it’s not my thing.

That’s Vivienne in the middle… and that’s not me on the right.

So as I was writing a brief description for an ebay listing of this book, I remembered reading about Malcolm McLarens funeral a few years ago.  At the time of his passing, I had a look around on the interwebs and found no images or video of the event.  So my brain being jolted by Vivienne and her 2008 collection, I figured it was time to have another look for Malcolms funeral and surprise surprise I found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doyFssxPnzs

No, in itself it’s not the best thing I’ve ever seen on you tube, but still it does give an idea of the event.  My favourite bit was the front of the bus having “Nowhere” as it’s destination… that’s a cultural reference… if you don’t get it… well… where were you in 1977? 

Anyway, back to Vivienne.  The photos are great and the fashions look wonderful… at least I think they do.  Personally though, I can’t see a wardrobe change happening here at Huc & Gabet in the near future.