Stanislav Saves the world!

On this day in 1983, Stanislav_Petrov saved the world.
Hard to believe?, Well, it appears that by refusing to believe his early warning system's report that the U.S.A. had launched a Nuclear Missile, followed by 4 more, he stopped the U.S.S.R from launcing a counter strike. Thus, he singlehandedly averted a global Nuclear war.

Nice one Stan!

Dave Brubeck Time Signatures

Not a lot of people know this, but brubeck was a little bugger when it came to time signatures for his songs. He wrote:-

"Take 5" in 5/4 time.,
"eleven four" in 11/4 (funnily enough)
"Unsquare Dance" in 7/4,
"Blue rondo a la turk" in 9/8 time, (which can also be expressed as 2+2+2+3/8).

He must have been fun to work with!

Take five intro:-

4 seasons?

Today is the Autumn equinox in the Northern hemisphere and an auspicious time to make this post.

I have been wondering, recently, why is "midsummer's day" not in the middle of the summer.

June 21st, is often referred to as the first day of summer, and March 21st as the first day of spring.

This would mean that:-
Summer runs from 21st June to 21st September,
Autumn runs from 21st September to 21st December,
Winter runs from 21st December to 21st March,
Spring runs from 21st March to 21st June.

However, these dates are the solstices, and the equinoxes. To me, this would indicate the middle of the seasons, with, for example, the longest day being in the middle of the summer.

This would mean that:-
Summer runs from 1st May to 31st July,
Autumn runs from 1st August to 31st October,
Winter runs from 1st November to 31st January,
Spring runs from 1st February to 31st April.
(approximately)

Well, thank heavens for Wikipedia, again. In the article on The Seasons , All is revealed. There are several conventions for defining the Seasons, and, it seems that the British Traditional reckoning holds closest to my version, above, as does the Celtic Calendar:-

"In the United Kingdom, the seasons are traditionally considered to begin about seven weeks earlier: spring begins on Candlemas, summer on May Day, autumn on Lammas, and winter on All Hallows. The Irish calendar (celtic) uses almost the same reckoning; Spring begins on February 1 / Imbolc, Summer on May 1 / Beltane, Autumn on August 1 / Lughnasadh and Winter on November 1 / Samhain. "

Old wisdom proves its worth again?

Glodie Lookin' chain review thier own new album

What more can I add? And I quote directly from the Amazon Page :-

"Reviews From the Label

After the phenomenal success of their debut album Greatest Hits, which spawned several classics of our time, such as "Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do", "You Knows I Loves You" and "Your Mother’s Got A Penis", Welsh rap golden boys Goldie Lookin Chain are proud to announce the release of their new album Safe As Fuck

With new tracks such as "Your Missus Is A Nutter", "Bad Boy Limp", "Hit Song" and "HRT", the Newport based 8-piece are back once again like the renegade master. Like En Vogue said: and now, it’s time for breakdown:

"Missus is A Nutter"--once again the chain accurately portray the social evils of 21st century living, with this guitar based slammer, guaranteed to get alcoholics of both sexes waving their arms in the air at closing time. The song, like the majority of others from the album, is brand spanking new and unheard of by the public. So far, test plays on chosen members of the UK media have resulted in an urge to date an overweight alcoholic... bring forth the tyranny.

"Bad Boy Limp"--Had an accident in the past six months? Then turn up the stereo and weep as GLC bring all the fun and excitement of the small claims court directly to your sound system, the tune that doubles as instruction manual for anyone looking to claim damages after wetting themselves or slipping on vomit in a nightclub, Bad Boy Limp is quintessential listening for anyone who’s been on, or is planning to be on, the sick for the next six months.

"Hit Song"--If Eric Prydz can make a smash hit from a sample lifted from his dead grandmothers sickeningly bad 1980s record collection, then GLC can sure as fuck rip it to pieces. Hit song will destroy the very foundations of popular culture or alternately justify your hatred of the American/Eurotrance invasion that has been clogging up the UK charts since soccer thugs first discovered ecstacy in the early nineties. Hideously catchy with an underlying cynicism, there’s every possibility that this will be the audio fodder of every drinker in every nightclub for the next twelve months.

"R&B"--Let GLC take you to the places that legendary boy bands such as Nsync, Westlife and Blue can only dream of. The Raw emotion that is R&B is a tribute to most sexually exhilarating form of electronic communication known to man, and each beat is individually soaked in the perspiration of romance. If the world were to end tomorrow, then this song would be responsible for global repopulation without a doubt. For Real!

"HRT"--Hormone Replacement Therapy, The horrific fact that smoking Cannabis can reduce testosterone levels has driven GLC to release this scientifically accurate, fact filled beat frenzy. The tune sets out to both entertain and educate... Maggot’s horrific recollection of his recent experiences is enough to give the hardest of smokers second thoughts.

"Short Term"--Adam Hussain’s ode to memory damage, this tune is guaranteed to run through your conscience to the point of insanity. Highlighting the often forgotten but highly annoying temporary senility that occurs during abuse of popular relaxants "Short Term" will keep on rocking for a long time. It also features a slide guitar that sounds fucking wicked."

What's the best sword?

If, like me, you suffer torments at night, lying there thinking "what is the best sword", then fear not. the answer is at hand. thanks to the wonder of t'internet, I now have the answer. It is, of course (& well done for those of you that knew already) that there IS NO BEST SWORD!

as Hank Reinhardt, ARMA Senior Advisor so succinctly puts it,:-

"Most well-made swords did their jobs well, but there never was an all-around sword. Judge them that way, each in its own context -- there is no best"

so, that said, which one to buy for my birthday?

looks like the answer.

And I quote:-

"Our Practical Single-Hand sword is tailored to the needs of the re-enactor and very affordable. Featuring authentic hilt styling, with fully tempered un-edged and un-pointed blades, these swords are made to withstand rugged use while providing the level of safety required by many of today's re-enactment societies. It features a classically simple hilt, with a permanently-mounted grip and riveted tang for safety. The blade is fullered for balance and features 1/16" edges and a rounded tip. The steel-mounted wooden scabbard is left unfinished for owner customisation"

Let's see what the birthday fairy brings.........

The Murder of Robert McCartney

I have just read Nick Browne's excellent piece on The Murder of Robert Mc Cartney and I feel physically sick. It seems that I am doomed to be forever amazed at the depths to which people can sink. I feel ashamed to be part of the same race. I think I shall apply to be a dolphin......

kim has just pointed out that i'd have to loose some blubber to join the dolphins, so I suggested a seal...
In the bacground, Hari was heard to emit a loud cough, which upon greater scrutiny, sounded more like wwwwwwwwwwwwwhale. thanks guys.

the ransom of Visby

the ransom of Visby

Carl_Gustaf_Hellqvist : the brandskattar of Visby

http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=1xs2xyjbjs4nl?tname=valdemar-atterdag-holding-visby-to-ransom-1361&curtab=2222_1&hl=visby&sbid=lc05a

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visby#History

http://www.thearma.org/essays/nobest.htm

The subtleties of toryism

There is a great article today on the BBC News website, about the tory MP for Monmouth, David Davies's comments on a lottery fund grant to travellers, to enable them to make a film about thier heritage. He has published his thoughts via His Blog , which makes an interesting read.

His clumsy attempt to highlight what he thinks is unfairness by the Heritage Lottery Fund, just serves to show his biased and predujiced views against the travelling community.

He states in his defence :-

"Most travellers lead law-abiding lives, but a small minority abuse the system and give the whole travelling community a bad name,"

This is a ridiculous statement. If you substitute "settled folk" (his term) for "travellers", you can see how silly this idea is. He doesn't seem to think that the small minority of "settled folk" who abuse the system give "settled folk" a bad name.

Following on from this, I noted that he has 18 comments on his article on his blog. Intersting? no, actually there were only three genuine posts, one of which had been deleted by DD, all the rest being a new kind of spam (at least, in my experience), where comments posted are thinly veiled adverts to other people's sites. It's amazing how ingeneous spammers can be!

Blogger's meet!