Monday, April 30, 2018

Quotes for the Day

“Outside of landing the Hindenburg in a lightning storm, that’s about the shittiest idea I’ve ever heard.” 

- Bob Odenkirk as Ben Bagdikian, Washington Post reporter in the film The Post, responding to the Post’s lawyer’s suggestion that the Post delay publishing The Pentagon Papers. 

Kate and I watched the above film over the weekend, interesting historical perspective on events pre-Watergate. This film is a prequel, in effect, to All The President's Men, finishing with a similar image to how All The President’s Men starts, the Watergate burglary.

Some other quick notes, from IMDB: 
  • In all of the scenes depicting President Nixon on the phone in the Oval Office, Nixon's actual voice is heard from White House tapes. 
  • In his memoir, the real Daniel Ellsberg claimed that walking out of RAND with the Pentagon Papers (and returning them) over the course of months was a calculated risk, since he had never had his bag checked by security, but he did not know for sure if it was not policy to do so. 
  • In scenes involving the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg's original documents were used as props, including the pages that were scattered over the floor of Benjamin C. Bradlee (Tom Hanks') home. 
  • Steven Spielberg wanted to have his film released as quickly as possible given the parallels between its theme and the burgeoning political 'fake news' climate in the U.S. According to Meryl Streep, filming started in May (2017) and finished at the end of July (2017) and Spielberg had it cut two weeks later, an unprecedented feat. The gestation from script to final cut lasted a modest 9 months. 
“News is the first rough draft of history.” 

- Meryl Streep as Katharine Graham, 
owner of The Washington Post newspaper, The Post 


Btw: 

An article about the real Katharine Graham, worth reading . . .

Katharine Graham and Ben Bradlee, editor of the Washington Post


More Public Art and Street Art























Sunday, April 29, 2018

Quote for the Day



Bloody Orkney and bloody more . . .

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Two weeks ago I posted a poem by John O’Grady which featured copious use of the word “bloody”. It’s called Tumba Bloody Rumba and it finishes on the words:
“But as for me, I'm here to say the interesting piece of news 
Was Tumba-bloody-rumba shootin' kanga bloody-roos.” 

Byter Robert T sent me an email (thanks Rob) in response and I have posted it in full below. 

Before reading, you should be aware that Orkney is an archipelago in Scotland and comprises approximately 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, Mainland, is often referred to as "the Mainland". 

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Caution: 

The following item contains swearing, bloody lots of it. Proceed at your own volition.

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Robert’s email: 

Hi Otto, 

Do you know Bloody Orkney ? (British wartime ballad …) 

Bloody Orkney 
By Hamish Blair 

This bloody town's a bloody cuss 
No bloody trains, no bloody bus, 
And no one cares for bloody us 
In bloody Orkney. 

The bloody roads are bloody bad,
The bloody folks are bloody mad, 
They'd make the brightest bloody sad, 
In bloody Orkney. 

All bloody clouds, and bloody rains, 
No bloody kerbs, no bloody drains, 
The Council's got no bloody brains, 
In bloody Orkney. 

Everything's so bloody dear, 
A bloody bob, for bloody beer, 
And is it good? - no bloody fear, 
In bloody Orkney. 

The bloody 'flicks' are bloody old, 
The bloody seats are bloody cold, 
You can't get in for bloody gold 
In bloody Orkney. 

The bloody dances make you smile, 
The bloody band is bloody vile, 
It only cramps your bloody style, 
In bloody Orkney. 

No bloody sport, no bloody games, 
No bloody fun, the bloody dames 
Won't even give their bloody names 
In bloody Orkney. 

Best bloody place is bloody bed, 
With bloody ice on bloody head, 
You might as well be bloody dead, 
In bloody Orkney 

There's nothing greets your bloody eye 
But bloody sea and bloody sky, 
'Roll on demob!' we bloody cry 
In bloody Orkney. 

I seem to remember that the author was a sailor posted at Scarpa Flow. That would explain it. It needs explaining beco's apparently Orcadians are generally friendly. Non-stop party-time: lots of pubs and only one bobby. The trouble is - thanks to oil money and price gouging by airlines - it costs you an arm and a leg to get there - sorry, a bloody arm and leg. 

Actually, the internet has supplied this riposte from the locals: 

Captain Hamish 'Bloody' Blair 
Isnae posted here nae mare 
But no-one seems tae bloody care 
In bloody Orkney. 

This stanza is certainly in the right spirit, but I'm not entirely convinced. It appears to be pretty standard lowland scots, which is not what they speak in the Orkneys. But i don't bloody care. 

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Some comments . . . 

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The typist (who was Orcadian) who typed Hamish Blair's verses sent back a reply with her typed manuscript:

Returned herewith your bloody rot 
And what a bloody nerve you've got 
Get a bloody southerner to type 
Your bloody, bloody awful tripe. 
Remember I'm an Orcadian buddy 
And proud of it too 
Oh bloody, bloody 

-----oOo-----

There is another Orcadian reply to Hamish Blair, author unknown:

HELLS BELLS
(was published in the Orkney Blast) 

The bloody Sassenachs have come 
With bugle call and tuck o drum 
With smell of beer and army rum. 
The cheeky sods 

What right have they to criticise 
Who blow their trumpet to the skies 
But all our folk and homes despise 
The bloody clods. 

We love the wind, we love the rain 
We do have curbs and likewise drains 
We have no trams or railway trains 
But ships and luggers. 

Oh, could we hear the farewell knell 
Of old St. Magnus's church's bell 
To send them all to bloody hell 
The cocky buggers.

(Btw, a Sassenach is an English person). 

-----oOo-----

And another reply:

THE KIRKWALLIAN'S LAMENT 
was an indignant (and anonymous reply) ublished in the Orkney blast 

This bloody war's a bloody cuss 
For what it's bought to bloody us 
Such bloody trouble, bloody fuss 
Oh bloody, bloody 

The navy takes the bloody bun 
With gold braid by the bloody ton 
This bloody town they try to run 
Oh bloody, bloody 

They commandeer each bloody hall 
And at their bloody beck and call 
They want us one and bloody all 
Oh bloody, bloody 

Strutting round like bloody hens 
Supercilious bloody wrens 
Can scarcely push their bloody pens 
Oh bloody, bloody 

Our so called soldiers bloody gay 
With two and bloody six a day 
Their bloody looks keep Huns away 
Oh bloody, bloody 

Brass-hats by the bloody score 
Drink their pay and shout for more 
No wonder Tommy's bloody sore 
Oh bloody, bloody 

Immaculate bloody glamour boys 
In smoky blue, like bloody toys 
Parade with studied bloody poise 
Oh bloody, bloody 

Despite all benefits bestowed 
These bloody forces write an ode 
To ridicule our loved abode 
Oh bloody, bloody 

Wish this bloody war was o'er 
We'll hound them from our bloody shore 
And live in peace for evermore 
Oh bloody, bloody

-----oOo-----

And finally, a similar tribute to Halkirk, also in Scotland: 

This fucking town's a fucking cuss,
No fucking trams, no fucking bus, 
Nobody cares for fucking us, 
In fucking Halkirk. 

The fucking roads are fucking bad, 
The fucking folk are fucking mad, 
It makes the brightest fucking sad, 
In fucking Halkirk 

All fucking clouds,all fucking rain, 
No fucking kerbs, no fucking drains, 
The council's got no fucking brains, 
In fucking Halkirk. 

No fucking sport no fucking games, 
No fucking fun, the fucking dames, 
Won't even give their fucking names, 
In fucking Halkirk. 

Everything's so fucking dear, 
A fucking bob for fucking beer, 
And is it good ? no fucking fear, 
In fucking Halkirk. 

The fucking flicks are fucking cold, 
The fucking seats are always cold, 
You can't get in for fucking gold, 
In fucking Halkirk. 

The fucking dances make you smile, 
The fucking band is fucking vile, 
It only cramps your fucking style, 
In fucking Halkirk. 

Best fucking place is fucking bed, 
With fucking ice on your fucking head, 
You might as well be fucking dead, 
In fucking Halkirk. 

No fucking grub no fucking mail, 
Just fucking snow and fucking hail, 
In anguish deep we fucking wail, 
In fucking Halkirk. 

The fucking pubs are fucking dry, 
The fucking barmaid's fucking fly, 
With fucking grief we fucking cry, 
OH! FUCK HALKIRK,


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Saturday, April 28, 2018

Thought for the Day




Ijnteresting Photographs


Charlie Z sent me an email with the comment “Too good not to pass on”. It came with a comment “Spend some time looking through these photos, and you'll thoroughly enjoy yourself. You probably will not believe what you see.” It was accompanied by a link. 

The photos featured come from a site called Weird World and they are fascinating. See for yourselves in the following pics and captions. Additional comment is by moi and in some instances I have had to use alternate photographs where I coul;d not repost what was sent. 

* * * * * * 

1,500 year old Angel Oak in South Carolina.



















Additional comment: 

It is the oldest living thing in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. 

* * * * * * 

Swedish Naval Base 

Additional comment: 

Muskö Naval Base is a Swedish underground naval facility on the island of Muskö just south of Stockholm. Construction started in 1950 and it was completed in 1969. It has 3 docks, originally designed for destroyers and submarines. In order to connect the base to the mainland, the Muskö road was built at the same time as the base. This crosses several bridges and intermediate islands before finally accessing the island of Muskö through the Muskö Tunnel, a 3 km (1.9 mi) long, dangerously narrow road tunnel running some 70 metres (230 ft) under the sea. In 2004 the Swedish government closed the base. A survey carried out in 2000 concluded that sedimentation in the tunnels leading to docks contained PCBs, organotin compounds and heavy metals, mainly mercury and copper. 


Looks like something out of a James Bond movie, eh what? 

* * * * * * 

A mysterious lake, over 10m deep, appeared overnight in the drought stricken Tunisian desert. 

Additional comment: 

Lac de Gafsa, also called 'Mysterious Lake', appeared unexpectedly in 2014 in Tunisia. Although the origin of the formation of the lake is not clear, the most likely explanation is that a minor earthquake ruptured the rock above the water table sending millions of cubic meters of water up to the surface. Since the lake’s discovery by desert shepherds, it has become a tourist attraction, but aithorities have warned that there should be no swimming, the water is stagnant and it could be radioactive, the area being rich in phospates. 


* * * * * * 

Japan's Okinawa Island has more than 450 people living above the age of 100, and is known as the healthiest place on Earth. 

Additional comment: 

Okinawa had the longest life expectancy in all prefectures of Japan for almost 30 years prior to 2000. The relative life expectancy of Okinawans has since declined, due to may factors including westernization. In fact, in 2000 Okinawa dropped in its ranking for longevity advantage for men to 26th out of 47 within the prefectures of Japan. 

Japan has the highest life expectancy of any country: 90 for women and for men, 84. Compare this to America where the average life expectancy for women is 81 years old, and 76 for men. 

There are more than 400 centenarians in Okinawa. Although there is a myriad of factors for differences in life expectancy, a large factor is the cuisine. People from all around the world have tried to emulate the "Okinawa diet" to reap its health benefits, believed to be because it is nutritionally dense yet low in calories. This is also true of the Mediterranean diet. 

* * * * * * 

There is a school in England where they have beem wearing the same uniform for 460 years. 

Additional comment: 

Christ’s Hospital, also called the Bluecoat School, Housey and CH, is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in West Sussex. It prides itself on maintaining traditions, which includes having the same uniform since 1552. It is possibly the oldest in existence and has hardly altered since Tudor times. It consists of a long blue coat, belted at the waist, worn with matching knee breeches, yellow socks and white neck bands. The girls wear the same coat but with matching skirt. The uniform is provided to all pupils free of charge. Pupils are allwoed to select their own footwear and for many of the pupils at Christ’s Hospital, Dr. Martens have since 1987 been the perfect accompaniment. 




Additional comment:

Christ’s Hospital was and is a charity school. When the School was founded over four and half centuries ago, the City of London gathered up ‘fatherless and poor children’ and cared for them. Through the generosity of the citizens of London smart new clothes were provided for the children of Christ’s Hospital. The uniform was, in accord with Tudor style, very colourful. There has been much speculation as to why blue and yellow was chosen. It was thought that both these colour dyes were not expensive, and blue and yellow could also have been chosen to distinguish the children in the care of Christ’s Hospital from those attending other schools. The linings of the coats were dyed yellow and their ‘stockings’ were always knee length and also dyed yellow. 

In 2010 school chiefs toyed with the idea of updating the uniform and gave students a vote on the issue. Of the the school's 800 pupils, more than 95 per cent voted to keep it. 

* * * * * * 

Sky that looks like a rough sea. 

Additional comment:

Just to prove it . . . 


. . . or more so . . . 


. . . and . . . 


* * * * * * 

1800’s vampire hunting kit 

Additional comment: 

According to Ripley Believe It or Not’s! Vice President of Exhibits and Archives, Edward Meyer, the man responsible for the largest collection of “19th century” vampire killing kits in the world: 

“The kits were acquired by people in preparation of possibly meeting a vampire during their international travels to Eastern Europe and their usage dates back to the mid-1800s. Most were created in the Boston area and were available by mail order. The kits were purchased by wealthy Americans headed to Eastern Europe – Transylvania then, Romania now. Travelers brought back terrifying tales of vampires with them from the region – well before Dracula was brought to life by Bram Stoker.” 

Nonetheless there are doubts about whether such kits really did exist. 



Friday, April 27, 2018

Thought for the Day




Funny Friday

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Another Friday, time for some funnies, time for some fun.

Enjoy, dear readers, but a word of warning, there is some risque content ahead.

o------😊------o

A man stopped at his favourite watering hole after a hard days work to relax. He noticed a man next to him ordered a shot and a beer. The man drank the shot, chased it with the beer and then looked into his shirt pocket. This continued several times before the man's curiousity got the best of him. He leaned over to the guy and said, "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice your little ritual, why in the world do you look into your shirt pocket every time you drink your shot and beer"? The man replied, "There's a picture of my wife in there, and when she starts lookin' good, I'm headin' home!"

o------😊------o

My kids treat me like a god. They ignore my existence until they need something from me.

o------😊------o

Two golfers were approaching the first tee.

The first guy goes into his golf bag to get a ball and says to his friend - "Hey, why don't you try this ball." He draws a green golf ball out of his bag. "Use this one - You can't lose it!" 

His friend replies, "What do you mean you can't lose it?!!" 

The first man replies, "I'm serious, you can't lose it. 

If you hit it into the woods, it makes a beeping sound, if you hit it into the water it produces bubbles, and if you hit it on the fairway, smoke comes up in order for you to find it." 

Obviously, his friend doesn't believe him, but he shows him all the possibilities until he is convinced. The friend says, "Wow! That's incredible! Where did you get that ball?" 

The man replies, "I found it."

o------😊------o

I went to the bathroom at Mcdonalds and the sign said "Employees must wash hands.” I waited for an hour but no-one came, so I washed my own.

o------😊------o

A girl goes into the doctor's office for a checkup. As she takes off her blouse, he notices a red "H" on her chest. "How did you get that mark on your chest?" asks the doctor. "Oh, my boyfriend went to Harvard and he's so proud of it that he never takes off his Harvard sweatshirt, even when we make love," she replies.

A couple of days later, another girl comes in for a checkup. As she takes off her blouse, he notices a blue "Y" on her chest. "How did you get that mark on your chest?" asks the doctor. "Oh, my boyfriend went to Yale and he's so proud of it that he never takes off his Yale sweatshirt, even when we make love," she replies.

A couple of days later, another girl comes in for a checkup. As she takes off her blouse, he notices a red "M" on her chest. "Do you have a boyfriend at Michigan?" asks the doctor. "No, but I have a girlfriend at Wisconsin. Why do you ask?"

o------😊------o

After the war my uncle Jim seduced thousands of Parisian women into bed by playing beautiful tunes on his priceless violin. It was a Straddlevarious.

o------😊------o

A visiting professor at a university in a backwoods area is giving a seminar on the supernatural. To get a feel for his audience, he asks: "How many people here believe in ghosts?" About 90 students raise their hands. "Well that's a good start. Out of those of you who believe in ghosts, do any of you think you've ever seen a ghost?" About 40 students raise their hands. "That's really good. I'm really glad you take this seriously. Has anyone here ever talked to a ghost? 15 students raise their hands. "That's a great response. Has anyone here ever touched a ghost?" Three students raise their hands. "That's fantastic. But let me ask you one question further.....Have any of you ever made love to a ghost?" One student in the back raises his hand. The professor is astonished. He takes off his glasses, takes a step back, and says, "Son, all the years I've been giving this lecture, no one has ever claimed to have slept with a ghost. You've got to come up here and tell us about your experience." The redneck student replies with a nod and a grin, and begins to make his way up to the podium. The professor says, "Well, tell us what it's like to have sex with a ghost." The student replies, "Ghost? Damn..... From back there I thought you said 'Goats'!"

o------😊------o

If Kate Middleton produces a few more heirs she'll be able to make a wig for William.

o------😊------o

Gallery:

Speaking of the Royal bub . . . 




A woman's comment on the net . . . 





o------😊------o



Corn Corner:

Mother: "Why are you home from school so early?" 
Son: "I was the only one who could answer a question."
Mother: "Oh, really? What was the question?"
Son: "Who threw the eraser at the principal?"

Q: What is the difference between a hippo and a Zippo.
A: A hippo is really heavy, and a Zippo is a little lighter.

Knowing how to pick locks has opened a lot of doors for me.

I got a reversible jacket for Christmas. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

No matter how kind you are, German children are kinder.

If life throws you melons, you might be dyslexic.


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