I was sorting through old files the other day when I came across some pictures from last year’s trip to Norway. I took this shot on the beach of Moskenesøya (part of the Lofoten Islands) on an excursion to see the Refsvikhula caves; our guide said the logs had come all the way from Russia, where they slipped into the sea as they were being loaded onto commercial boats.

Of course, the Russian logging industry doesn’t have the best reputation, but I thought it was an interesting story, all the same.

The Lewis Chessmen were discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s chilly Outer Hebrides. There are a bunch of stories about them: they were buried by a shipwrecked sailor, who was murdered by a herdsman, or they were stolen by a boy who jumped ship who buried them and meant to come back but never did.  Carved mostly from walrus tusk, they were found in a sand dune in a small stone carrying case. Some were stained red, indicating the colors of the sides were red and white, not black and white.

How they got to that sand dune is a mystery.  Some think they arrived from Iceland, but conventional wisdom  has it that they somehow came off a merchant ship traveling a regular trade route between Norway and Ireland and that they were produced in Trondheim, a Norwegian town, between 1150 and 1200. The faces are generally stylized, but each is different enough that some scholars have speculated they might portray real people.  Some of the expressions are certainly comic.

The archbishop of Trondheim, who along with the king of Norway had jurisdiction over the Hebrides, may have been the wealthy patron behind the chessmen.  He may have had them made as gifts, based on the cost of the ivory and the quality of the carving.

But two chess aficionados from Iceland, Gudmundur G. Thorarinsson and Einar S. Einarsson, are pushing Iceland as the birthplace of the chessmen. Mr. Thorarinsson createded a website to explain his theory –http://leit.is

Here it is:  Icelandic is the first language to describe “Bishop” as a chess piece. The use of bishops in chess is mentioned as far back as the Icelandic sagas from the 10th and 11th centuries–predating the chessmen. The sagas even include descriptions of checkmates using bishops.

Mr. Thorarinsson says historic writings refer to Bishop Pall Jonsson (1155 – 1211) in Iceland sending carved gifts made from tusks. These were made by Margret the Adroit, his wife, so called because of her prodigious skill at carving walrus tusks.

He added: “One might even entertain the notion that the Lewis Chessmen were made at the request of Bishop Pll of Sklholt and carved by Margrt the Adroit whose carving skills were the stuff of legend.”The pieces were then sent abroad for sale or as a gift, but the ship was then lost”.

Chess fans and mystery buffs – what’s your theory?

But the end of an era came in August, when I read that Joey Vento, the founder of Geno’s Steaks, died at 71.  The announcement was made by his son, Geno, who was named after the food stand.

Geno’s was founded in 1966.  It’s open 24-7.  Patron’s inch up to the windows usually saying, “Whiz, with,” indicating they want the paper-thin strips of sizzled beef on a hero topped with Cheese Whiz and grilled onions. “Without” means hold the onions.

A New York Times review in 2003 described a Geno’s cheese-steak: “Geno’s steaks are almost self-effacing. The cheese dissolves into a runny sauce; the strips of beef are laid precisely on the roll, rather than in a tangle; and the onions are sparsely applied.”

While Pat’s King of Steaks opened in the 1930s, both Geno’s and Pat’s fought about who was the first to slather cheese atop the beef.

The rivalry between Geno’s and Pat’s never waned. In a 2003 interview with Fortune magazine, Frank Olivieri, the owner of Pat’s, was asked what he would do if Geno’s ever closed. “I’d feel a void–that would be hard,” he said. Then he added, “I’d buy the place and open it up again. And call it Geno’s. And fight with myself.”

Click here for a link to Geno’s Steaks.

It’s a bit late in the year in North America to be talking about beaches, but my post last week about coffee shops turned up a wonderfully salty name in the comments, and I had to share: BeBeached. Located on the harbor in Margate, Kent, BeBeached offers food, coffee, and views of the Old Town across the bay.

You can learn more about BeBeached on this website; Col was also kind enough to send pictures. According to his email, BeBeached “is the first building on the breakwater after the red telephone box”:

D’Espresso got me thinking about coffee shops… Some are comfortable places to work; others just a convenient place to refuel. Some are social spaces. Others transition into evening with food, wine, and music.

We’ve got a great cafe, Baked, here in Red Hook with all sorts of tempting sweets. My favorite cafe for reading and writing, though, is in Greenpoint: the roomy, unpretentious, and admirably named Cafe Grumpy. The Hungarian Pastry Shop, which has mediocre coffee and fair to middling sweets, but has a storied history, is also on the list, probably because I spent so much time there as an undergraduate. And then there’s Cafe Kandinsky, a favorite from my time in Vienna…

Where are your favorite coffee shops, either in the US or elsewhere?

I’ve been meaning to get to D’Espresso, a midtown espresso joint, ever since it caught the eye of my French counterpart, Murielle. Thanks to the high-concept interior — designed to look like the skewed interior of a library — it garnered a lot of attention when it launched. The coffee got good reviews, too.

I was expecting it to feel claustrophobic when I stopped by the other day, but because the “books” are black and white, they sort of recede into the background. My latte was very tasty; it was also quite expensive. On the other hand, almost all good coffee in New York is these days. It might have been more fun if even some of the books had been real, but that would encourage lingering, and lingering is not very midtown.

Here are three places to shop online:

- Barnes & Noble

- Alko Office Supply

- Classic Office Supply

Quo Vadis makes the 17-month version primarily for sale at Barnes & Noble, but a few other retailers also stock them.

I volunteer for East End Seaport Museum in Greenport, NY. We’re located way out on the far tip of Long Island. Because of the storm a lighthouse cruise we had planned for Saturday was rescheduled for September 10th. Otherwise, we might have ended up a new version of “Gilligan’s Island”!

I am headed out to Long Beach Bar (“Bug”) Light today with some other volunteers to do an inspection and safety plan before we begin to land people on the lighthouse next month.  I expect it to be a little choppy even though the hurricane is not expected to be felt until early Saturday evening.  My neighbor in Greenport went through the famous “Hurricane of ’38″ which is also known locally as the “Long Island Express.” At 78 – she gives us courage.  She also has a good sense of storms – and when to batten down, and when the weatherman is being dramatic. 

What’s your call on Hurricane Irene – a monster, or will it go east out to sea?

Again, I hope everyone comes through safely.

If you’re in New York and you’re free this morning, check us out at the NY International Gift Fair at the Javits Center! We’re sharing the booth with a company called l’Agenda Moderne; above, you’ll see a picture of it courtesy of Cecilia and her iPhone. The event ends today at noon, and we are offering free shipping to all retailers who place orders of $150 or more at the show.

Not a retailer? Though it might be hard to arrange on such short notice, bloggers have long been given press passes to trade shows, and I’ve had great luck on the last days of the National Stationery Show going around and asking exhibitors if their samples are for sale. Usually, the answer is yes, and you can score some great deals, too.

But summer is a tough one, because so many things taste like summer.  This past weekend I tried to decide if fresh corn on the cob, raspberries or watermelon was the “one.” I couldn’t do it–they are all summer to me.   But the fresh hand-picked corn from Wesnofske’s Farm on Rt. 48 has the edge!

What tastes like summer to you?