Musica Arabe/flamenca
Posted on January 27th, 2012 by JD
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Filed under: JD, Music
Wiggia’s Friday quiz
Posted on January 27th, 2012 by James Higham
Question 1: What was Basilica di San Marco originally [it wasn't always a cathedral]?
Question 2: What did it become in 1807?
Question 3: How did the Venetians supposedly get the relics out past the Muslims?
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Filed under: Diversions, Wiggia
Heard about the southern African flooding?
Posted on January 27th, 2012 by James Higham
People living downstream of dams in Mpumalanga, Swaziland and southern Mozambique have been warned of more floods as dams overflow, the water affairs department said on Thursday. A disaster management team was in Mpumalanga to help local authorities restore basic services to flooded communities.
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Filed under: Earth and cosmos, History & Culture, Society & human issues
Ballad of a Big Woman
Posted on January 27th, 2012 by James Higham
Katarina Witt in hot water again. Stop: 1. apologizing; and 2. for reasons of PCism.
She stunned viewers and fans alike when she called the professional skier a ‘big woman’ live on TV. But today, Dancing On Ice judge Katarina Witt apologised to Chemmy Alcott and said she meant her comment to be complimentary.
Look, if the woman is big, then she’s big. If she’s fat, that’s another matter. In the words of Steve Harley of Cockney Rebel: “She weighed 203 but that was OK by me – it was lots of action.” Witt said she herself was big, so let’s check that:
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport, Politics & economics
What could possibly go wrong?
Posted on January 27th, 2012 by Chuckles
MPs’ EU voting record
Posted on January 26th, 2012 by James Higham
Of note :
The Bruges Group has ranked Members of Parliament according to their voting in the House of Commons since the 2010 General Election You can check how they voted on the key EU related issues that came before them and see who are the genuine Eurosceptics and who are Europhile.
I’ve listed all MPs who scored 50% plus, in percentage order but for the full list, click on the link above. Therefore, in the light of many campaigns currently underway, including our Say No to the Big 3, perhaps we could be a little circumspect and exclude some of those below from our wrathful box filling at the next elections:
100% Conservative - Peter Bone, Wellingborough
96% Conservative – Mark Reckless, Rochester and Strood
88% Conservative - Richard Shepherd, Aldridge-Brownhills
88% Conservative - Douglas Carswell, Clacton
88% Conservative - Philip Davies, Shipley Continue…
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Filed under: Politics & economics
Wrong Shakespeare
Posted on January 26th, 2012 by James Higham
Superstitions at sea
Posted on January 26th, 2012 by James Higham
In the light of the history of the Costa Concordia, two of my favourite stories are: Continue…
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport
Sad result of illogical behaviour
Posted on January 26th, 2012 by James Higham
Sad about that girl who was killed but one reader’s comment is quite apt:
This is very sad. I never in my life went home with a stranger. Not saying she deserved this at all. But it should be a warning for woman to have some virtue and respect for themselves. It would solve a lot of problems for sure ! Continue…
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Filed under: History & Culture, Society & human issues
Smart window
Posted on January 26th, 2012 by James Higham
Technology is awesome, the presenter is not – barely articulate and has to swear for street cred. Ugly.
[H/T Chuckles]
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Filed under: Art, Technology & ideas
Australia Day
Posted on January 26th, 2012 by James Higham
Click to get the big pic:
Here’s last year’s post on Australia Day. Thought I’d just do some snaps today. Happy Birthday, Australia. Hope you soon throw off the yoke of your politicians who’ve sunk the country into the mire. Continue…
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Filed under: History & Culture
Wings – it’s all in the curves
Posted on January 25th, 2012 by James Higham
The Independent presents it as if it’s news. The traditional idea of why air flows faster on the top – that it has longer to travel – is wrong. We knew that, most sailors who’ve studied foil theory [mainly multihullers] have long known it and our guru, Tom Speer, has painstakingly explained it.
That’s why the NACA airfoil series [pdf] was developed with so many different characteristics between foils.
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Filed under: Biography & Obituary, Technology & ideas
Burns night [1]
Posted on January 25th, 2012 by JD
♫had we never loved sae kindly
had we never loved sae blindly
nor never met, nor never parted
we would never have been so broken-hearted♫
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Filed under: Art, JD, Music, Society & human issues
Burns Night [2]
Posted on January 25th, 2012 by James Higham
Just in case you haven’t got your Burn’s Supper organized yet, this will help:
The running order of a Traditional Burns Supper Continue…
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Filed under: History & Culture, JD
Codex Aotearoa
Posted on January 25th, 2012 by James Higham
This sort of thing has been blogged on before. What we have is an activist who talks of his PhDs at the beginning and is given to “absolutely”s and predictions of the direst consequences, a gilding-the-lily style of journalism I can’t abide … and then there is the issue itself. Continue…
3 Comments »
Filed under: Earth and cosmos, Politics & economics
Cheaper funerals
Posted on January 25th, 2012 by James Higham
[H/T Jailhouse Lawyer. Difficult to access the blog now - it redirects to a webring.]
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Filed under: Diversions
Wimpy Mormon, corrupt machine politician or a Marxist?
Posted on January 25th, 2012 by James Higham
Cobbling together some comments from the Telegraph article on the GOP on the other side of the pond:
# Obama is used to being treated kindly while his minions engage in gutter tactics on his behalf to destroy his opponents. If Romney is the candidate, that pattern will continue. If Gingrich is the candidate, Obama will find himself on the receiving end and the teleprompter president will go scurrying off in tears to hide. Continue…
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Filed under: Politics & economics
Lada nostalgia
Posted on January 24th, 2012 by James Higham
In a not unsympathetic article for a British paper, the Telegraph mentions the end of the Lada.
There were a number of factors behind its demise, which the article did not get completely right.
Firstly, increasingly from the 90s, it was seen as de rigeur for a Russian to be in a non-Russian car and if they didn’t have much money, they’d save a little more to buy a Nexia – that’s if they wished to impress a bit.
If the British made jokes about the Lada, the Russians were worse. Soon after I went to Russia, a teacher I knew in Moscow said, quite deadpan one visit: “In the Soviet days, they built the … [and he'd rattle off the names of some heavy machinery] … but the farmers said: ‘Give us a vehicle,’ and the government did – the Lada.” Continue…
2 Comments »
Filed under: History & Culture, Technology & ideas
Gold and bonds
Posted on January 24th, 2012 by James Higham
Here we go again. Someone puts up an idea, supports it with photos, auto-sceptics come in and ‘debunk’ him, anyone even discussing him is lumped in as being in support and mud sticks. Standard pattern.
Question, if he’s a fraud, what’s his motivation? Continue…
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Filed under: Politics & economics
Putting it in perspective
Posted on January 24th, 2012 by Rossa
“……And we wonder what is wrong with society today.
This should help you understand. It’s lawyers and politicians.
Lord’s prayer:……………………………..……………….66 words.
10 Commandments: ………………………………..…. 179 words.
Gettysburg address: ………………………………..….. 286 words.
Declaration of Independence : ………..………..…. .1,300 words.
US Constitution with 27 Amendments : …….……. 7,818 words.
US Government regulations on cabbage sales:…. 26,911 words.”
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Filed under: Rossa, Society & human issues
EU – ideological battleground
Posted on January 24th, 2012 by James Higham
We know this but nice to see Cassandra put it this way:
The history of the EU is the battle ground of two rival, mutually exclusive views on Europe: the Classic Liberal, rooted in individualism is about economic freedom in a voluntary, economic confederation of nation states. The socialist vision is the opposite, and will eventually lead to full integration and central governance from Brussels. That view is laid out in the usual statist-collectivist shibboleths as ‘solidarity’ and ‘social-economic policy’. It pushes for a political union which will inexorably lead to an end of the nation state, without as much as one European citizen ever having cast a vote for it.
The Dutch perspective. She writes of the covert statist agenda. Meanwhile, Luikkerland writes on the mass immigration scandal: Continue…
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Filed under: Politics & economics
An ocean of tranquility in this mad world…
Posted on January 23rd, 2012 by JD
This first song is by a Croatian opera singer but I don’t know her name; no matter, she has a beautiful voice-
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Filed under: JD, Music
Automotive abominations
Posted on January 23rd, 2012 by Chuckles
From Darkroasted, there are some cars and bikes which should never have left the drawing board. Here are four of them:
The Aurora [1957], designed by a priest to be safe:
Mohs Automobile 1968 Ostentatienne Opera Sedan: Continue…
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Filed under: Art, Chuckles, Technology & ideas
Fun and games around the world
Posted on January 23rd, 2012 by James Higham
Toyota cuts 350 jobs
Toyota Australia announces the loss of 350 jobs at its Altona assembly line. [Australia]
FSA Pressures NY Banks To Release Customer Funds [U.S.]
JP Morgan At the Center of the MF Global Failure [U.S.]
United Welfare States of America: In 2011 Nearly Half The Population Received Some Form Of Government Benefit [U.S.]
U.S. economy may never fully recover: Carney [Canada]
We’re living on borrowed money and borrowed time [Canada]
Thousands Turn to Charities in Iceland in December [Iceland]
NZ houses rated ‘highly unaffordable’ [New Zealand]
State’s retirement reforms ‘need to be sustainable’ [South Africa]
Civil servants press on with strike [South Africa]
I’m a 35 year old woman looking to meet men between the ages of 36 and 46.
Find out more about me… [South Africa]
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Filed under: Politics & economics
Blogroll and other matters
Posted on January 23rd, 2012 by James Higham
1. The GV News – check it out. A nice compendium of all things GVish.
2. Harry Hook is dead – at least his blog is and goes into the honour roll. Vale, dear sir.
3. AK Haart writes on the Chaldon Wall Painting.
4. Macheath writes on the Buggrit.
5. Everyone but me probably knows Angry Exile has moved.
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Filed under: Blogging
Yosemite
Posted on January 23rd, 2012 by Chuckles
Click full screen. Tis better:
Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.
2 Comments »
Filed under: Chuckles, Earth and cosmos
Behind the headlines [at OoL]
Posted on January 23rd, 2012 by James Higham
While Julia, Longrider, so many other authors and I bang on ad infinitum about the PCishness gripping society, newspaper headlines are employed to underscore and reinforce the ills:
US overcomes the crisis as UK sinks into the swamp
So we’re all meant to lapse into despondency.
Rule N1 – never believe what they’re trying to put over you – this is psychological warfare and the first step in combatting that is to identify the enemy, his agenda and his weapons. For a start, it’s BS that America has overcome its crisis. A visit to Jesse, Karl or Zero Hedge are sufficient to put that back in its box. In fact, they’re heading for the big one over there.
Secondly, it is true that on the whole, the U.S. … this continues at OoL … [comments off at this end].
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Filed under: Politics & economics, Society & human issues
Alcohol for health and longevity
Posted on January 23rd, 2012 by James Higham
Oh yeah! In case you missed it at El Reg:
Moderate levels of alcohol delivered an increase in longevity among test subjects in a recent study that Steven Clarke, UCLA professor of chemistry and biochemistry and senior author on a study published yesterday in the journal PLoS One, described as “shocking”.
“This finding floored us” he told the UCLA newsletter.
The booze boost was particularly strong for test subjects put under stressful conditions, with the scientists noting that the addition of small amounts of pure alcohol produced significantly more robust looking subjects, compared to a control “teetotal” group.
Stands to reason and you’ll recall: Continue…
2 Comments »
Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport
Etta James RIP
Posted on January 22nd, 2012 by JD
2 Comments »
Filed under: Biography & Obituary, JD, Music
British atheists meet their match
Posted on January 22nd, 2012 by James Higham
I wanted to quote from this post by Vox Day but couldn’t abridge it. So here’s the whole thing:
Unsurprisingly, British atheists are discovering that snark and striking a superior pose happens to be less effective against some religions than others:
“A student Muslim group is demanding the ‘offensive’ image of Jesus and Mo having a drink at the bar, taken from an online satirical sketch, be removed from the social networking site. The president of the Atheist, Secularist and Humanist society at the prestigious University College London (UCL), Robbie Yellon, has stepped down over the controversy….
Secretary for the National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies, Michael Paynter,said: ‘Robbie stepped aside because he signed up as president to organise events and run a student society. Continue…
3 Comments »
Filed under: Religion & Philosophy
United Kingdom Time
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Various sites
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Don't forget these either: Helpforheroes
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