I just got finished clearing up after the Derecho, now I will have to start again.
The Royalist with all his talk of Westcentricity has caused Sandy to take an unprecedented turn to the left. There she was heading harmlessly out to sea and now look, that last blue dot is ten miles from my house
A few moments ago while writing a comment on Mrs. Osbornes Antidote post I was struck by how much my words sounded like something I had read some time in the far past. Digging back in my various messy archives I found the source, I take no credit for the writing, or the spelling.
Fantasticks
by Nicholas Breton
(c1554-1626)
Milton elsewhere used fantastic as a noun too, meaning “someone given to showy dress”. But as a noun it could also mean “a fanciful composition”, and Fantasticks was the title chosen by Nicholas Breton (c1554-1626) for his curiously pleasing series of sketches, of hours, season and months.
It is long out of print, and several years ago Chistopher Howse of the Telegraph took the trouble to transcribe it over the period of a year. I thought it delightful and still do. Here is October, complete with its fanciful spelling.
OCTOBER
It is now October, and the lofty windes make bare the trees of their leaves, while the hogs in the Woods grow fat with the falne Acorns: the forward Deere begin to goe to rut, and the barren Doe groweth good meat: the Basket-makers now gather their rods, and the fishers lay their leapes in the deepe: the loade horses goe apace to the Mill, and the Meal-market is seldome without people: the Hare on the hill makes the Grey-hound a faire course, & the Foxe in the wood cals the Hounds to full cry: the multitude of people raiseth the price of wares, and the smoothe tongue will sell much: the Sayler now bestirreth his stumps, while the Merchant liveth in feare of the weather: the great feasts are now at hand for the City, but the poore must not beg for feare of the stockes: a fire and a paire of Cards keepe the ghests in the Ordinary, and Tobacco is held very precious for the Rhewme: The Coaches now begin to rattle in the street but the cry of the poore is unpleasing to the rich: Muffes and Cuffes are now in request, and the shuttle-Cocke with the Battel-Doore is a pretty house-exercise: Tennis and Baloune are sports of some charge, and a quicke bandy is Court-keepers commodity: dancing and fencing are now in some use, and kind hearts and true Lovers lye close, to keepe off cold: the Titmouse now keepes in the hollow tree, and the black bird sits close in the bottom of a hedge: In briefe, for the little pleasure I find in it I thus conclude of it: I hold it a Messenger of ill newes, and a second service to a cold dinner.
Farewell.
But I am not.
Representative Paul Broun (R) Georgia came out recently with this gem “All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and Big Bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of Hell” he is running UNOPPOSED for re-election. Better yet he is a medical doctor and to cap it all he sits on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.
Believe it or not Broun is joined on that committee by Todd Akin (R) Missouri, his most recent claim to fame is that he is telling people that doctors are performing abortions on women who are NOT pregnant.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/02/todd-akin-abortion-providers_n_1934305.html
Where do we find these people?
Why do others vote for them?
But most of all why are THEY put in positions of authority over science and technology?
Sorry I am late, it has been a bit hectic around here the last few days, more about that later perhaps.
Anyway Photos, a good selection of entries from many of the usual suspects, I thought they were all good but there can only be one prize.
It came down to being between Soutie and John Mackie in the end. Both captured the theme perfectly and both are good shots taken in difficult circumstances. John’s cephalopod is of course a champion at camouflage and can render itself almost invisible on any background. Soutie’s ‘bok ( I’m not smart enough to distinguish the difference between a Springbok and an Impala except that an Impala here would have four wheels and a big engine) has headgear so obvious that one wonders how it could become inconspicuous, but the thorny bush provided a perfect hiding place. It was a revelation to me (no pun intended) that so distinctive a set of horns could become part of the background. A well deserved win for Soutie and a very honorable second for Mr. M. Thank you to all who entered and over to Soutie for the next.
In case you missed it here it is.
I was sitting here minding my own business when something slowly moving through the sky attracted my attention. Bird? Plane? No, a blimp, an airship, a Zeppelin, heaven forbid a barrage balloon. What IS the hidden nature of this object?
Cherished fellow charioteers are not required to read the post, the title says it all.
But I do have a light at the end of my long driveway, it’s a “low wattage” light of course (sorry could not let that pass). Continue reading “Photo Competition #32 – Hidden Nature”
Voyager 1 was launched. About the size of a small car it carries some cameras and scientific instruments. It has been for some years the most distant man made object from the Earth (Currently it is more than eleven billion miles distant from the Sun and receding rapidly). It may already be the first man made object to leave the Solar System.
Before leaving it did the Grand Tour of the known planets and sent back pictures of Jupiter’s Red Spot, erupting volcanoes on Io, traces of water under the ice of Europa and methane rain on Titan, all unexpected discoveries.
It flies on, with sufficient fuel for instruments and communications until at least 2020, it is, of course, nuclear powered.
A fine turn out from the usual suspects plus a few.
A lightning fast entry from Janus 1 in the style of that music hall favorite “Albert and the Lion”
Followed by modern pieces by Araminta
and Pseudonym
Then a sparse and thoughtful piece by Janus 2.
Then on the final day, two Caledonian entries.
Another “Albert” from John Mackie
And with barely hours to spare a visit to France by The Royalist
All really good reads, clearly a lot of well remembered holiday times and subsequently awfully tough to choose just one winner. However, I do like my pomes to rhyme so let’s start with focusing on the two “Alberts “ and “When in France”. I really also do like “Albert” so lets limit ourselves to those two entries.
Both rocked along and were perfectly constructed and rhymed, but I will award the prize to Janus 1 and “Holiday Pome” winner by the barest nose of the ‘orses ‘ead ‘andle.
For the avoidance of doubt the decision was not determined by the double (bash)ing of Mr. Mackie.
A good one Janus, I liked it very well.
Totally non contentious post. No other mention of Norway, Roma or cricket.
I did watch some of the Republican National Convention last night, I thought for a moment I had stumbled on “America’s got talent” by mistake. The last man to think that the Presidential election is NOT a popularity contest was Richard Nixon and look what happened to him.
We have four entries for the poetry comp. (from three regular contributors) nothing yet from the Dream Team, but there are a full twelve hours left to enter (even allowing a full thirty minutes for uploading and formatting).
All aboard!
By the time August draws to a close the holiday season will almost be over, London streets may be returned to the overtaxed residents and even the French will be back at what passes for work.
Our subject will be “My Summer Holiday”. It does not have to be this year’s event, just something memorable to the participant. Some of my most remembered are the annual Sunday school day trips to Porthcawl via GWR in the fifties. (It always rained).
If you really did spend your hard earned at the Olympics, (or watching cricket) that’s OK but your offering will be judged accordingly, as will entries submitted on currency or negotiable instruments.
Any form or scheme. Closing at midnight EDST on August 31.
Boadicea's Chariot 
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