industrial disease?

This is why using robots on the battlefield is not as good an idea as it might seem.
I think that story pretty much speaks for itself.

* * *

Innocent until proven guilty. Say it with me: 'I am presumed innocent until proven guilty.' That is, unless you're accused of being too smart. Er, I mean, knowing something you're not supposed to know. Erm, I mean, "having information about a potential terror threat."

I have such trouble with torture, because it seems like punishment before the crime. Hell, it's more than that: it's trial, conviction, and punishment, even before any actual crime was committed. Thoughtcrime is still in the future.

Having information...Potential (not actual) ...Threat (not action). Seriously? We're still prosecuting people for this?

Let's say it again: Innocent until proven guilty. You'd want that for yourself, wouldn't you?

**************************

We're approaching a tipping point. I think we're approaching a point at which a significant number of Americans will realize -personally and viscerally-- that they (we) just can't go on living in economic conditions like this. Imagine: you and your partner own a house and two cars. You lose your job, and can't find a new one because unemployment is over 10%. You can still make ends meet, thanks to unemployment benefits, but eventually they run out. You still don't have a job, so making ends meet is a bit harder, though not yet impossible. Then, one of your cars breaks down. Clearly, you can't afford to fix it, and this puts serious limits on your ability to not only find work, but take care of daily business like grocery shopping and the various other errands we get in to. Never mind entertainment, or buying new clothes: that will have to wait til you can somehow get a new job. That is, if you can still get a new job in those old clothes.

Fast-forward a month or two. You're not starving yet, but you're hungry: you haven't had a good meal since the car broke down. You're paying more for gas because you're having to drive the spouse to work and pick them up, so you can use the car during the day to look for work, etc. And now the extra wear-and-tear on the second car begins to show. You're both stressed because you can't pay all of your bills at once, every month. Creditors are calling. Your mortgage payment is late. The bank is upset. The tension mounts.

Our society is this situation, writ large. Right now, it's like a pot of water waiting to boil. The water is getting hot- individuals have been reacting to this socio-economic 'heat' for years (in the form of post-office shootings, road rage, Columbine, Waco, 911, Ted Kaszinski, John Allen Muhammad, the Anthrax incidents, ), but at this point, most of us -individually- are OK. But the water is getting hotter all the time, and at some point a tipping point will be reached: the pot will boil. What happens when we start to realize -collectively- that it's not all OK? I wish I knew.

The election of President Obama seems to have been the equivalent of dropping an ice cube into the pot: it cooled part of society down considerably, allowing them to believe that the pot might actually be cooling again. But like adding cold water to a near-boiling pot, it also served to exacerbate the situation just a little. Now, many of those who looked to Obama to lead us out of the wilderness, are doubly angry because they feel duped.

What's a guy to do, when he thinks he's out of options? Apparently, make a mess on his way out.

In possibly unrelated news: this very morning, as I was walking through a nearby park, I saw a man dressed in a leopard-spotted teddy, playing disc golf. I kid you not. I was returning from the bank. It was just around dawn, very foggy. It was 30 degrees. And he was in a teddy. Full-figured guy, too. Not surprisingly, he tried to hide from me. Don't worry man, I wanted to say, I understand: We all deal with pressure differently.

I was just happy he wasn't using explosives or a gun.

goin crazy over here!

I'm goin crazy over here! So much to do. It's times like these that really make me feel like I have Multiple Personality Disorder, and that my personalities don't share information very well: I am working my way through several different 'To-Do' lists, each with different tasks, but all on the same deadlines. And here's the rub: when I'm thinking about something on one of these lists, I can't even think about -or remember- what's on the others. Ugh! Ack!

I'm goin crazy over here! Everybody's talking about Afghanistan, and the consensus seems to be that we invaded Afghanistan "to capture Osama Bin Laden." This could not be further from the truth.

Our invasion of Afghanistan was announced in June of 2001. Read that again: June. Not October. Three months before 911, not a month after. Tempting as it might be, I won't here try to pretend to know why we invaded Afghanistan, and why we continue to bomb the poop out of them, but the fact remains: we were staging our invasion three months before 911. It is sufficiently safe to say that our invasion of Afghanistan was not a reaction to the events of 911. Stop it already. Just- stop.

Originally, I wrote this:

Our invasion of Afghanistan had nothing to do with Bin Laden, our argument was with the Taliban. Our argument, in fact, was that we wanted one of 'our' oil companies to put a pipeline through their country, and they were becoming reluctant. We said, essentially, "This will make you rich! Let us do it, or we'll do it by force. We'll give you a carpet of gold, or a carpet of bombs." Being the fundamentalists that they are, they chose their fundamentals over our money. We said, "your religious beliefs are more important than money?!?! That's unacceptable!" And we bombed them to pieces. Because, of course, our religious beliefs are not more important than money.

but then, while I was vetting the 'carpet' quote, I found good evidence that no one actually ever said that. And further, basically, that our relations with Afghanistan and the Taliban are very very murky (meaning, we're doing things there that we don't even want to admit to ourselves), and have been for a while. While we do seem to be very interested in Central Asian fossil fuel resources, I keep thinking about all the other world powers who have tried to capture and hold Afghanistan.

Was Alexander the Great interested in natural gas? Were the British (in the age of cheap, abundant whale oil)? If Afghanistan is just the cheapest way for us to put a pipeline through the region without having to go through Russia, then why would the Soviets have been so interested? There's something I'm missing, here. (yes, the spoils -or in more contemporary terms, the profits).

But anyway- we were already invading Afghanistan when the two towers came down on 911. It takes months to stage an invasion. I just think it's important that we remember the correct order of events. It's important. It's important because it shows the 'war on terror' to be the lie that it always was: it was not a response to anything but the defense industry clamoring for more money. Of course Tony Blair was lying. I just hope Dick and George get brought up in trial, too. And Condi, and Alberto, and John, and Don, and Paul, and...

Oh yes, the truth will out. The truth will out.

You wouldn't believe me if I told you

I have a new motto: "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

This is the last week before production week of Our Town. I'm working on the program: editing photos, setting 'type,' writing ...stuff. And waiting til the cash flow turns around so I can get some work done again. I'm on the 'volunteer plan' on this planet, apparently: I get to work as much as I want! I just don't get paid for it. Or maybe I should call it the Soviet plan, coz so many Soviets worked without paychecks so frequently, and for so long. Yeah, I hear you: you don't believe me. Ok. I know already.

So while you're disbelieving, enjoy a little story:

On this day in 1943, the Philadelphia experiment may or may not have happened. Seems the U.S.S. Eldridge was fitted with equipment that was believed to confer invisibility. Reports from the Naval Yard in Philadelphia suggest that the hypothesis was found to be generally correct, but with unexpected consequences: some sailors did not reappear, some others reappeared partially embedded in the ship. All reported severe nausea and later, psychological disturbance. At the same time as the disappearance from Philadelphia, the Eldridge was seen for a few minutes offshore of the Naval Yards at Norfolk, VA, over 600km away. More here and here ...if you're inclined to believe things you read on the internet, anyway.

What a difference etsy makes

OK, geez. After an embarrassingly long time of trying to have a website of my own, not-doing-so-well, trying again, still not doing so well, trying yet again but this time a different approach, and still not doing so well... I think I have found It. The Way. The Way that I can A) maintain an online shop, B) keep new goods coming, and C) have a life, all at the same time, and without having to 1) learn HTML and keep up on all of its constant revisions and updates and new doohickeys, 2) rent and keep a domain name, 3) rent web-hosting, 4) rent and maintain a checkout/payment system, or 5) develop a brand and independent marketing strategy (!). The answer? Etsy.com. Although I guess I still have to do #5.

Many thanks to my friend Steph for pushing me in that direction for so long, and thanks also to my old buddy Tracy for the final push. Here I am: www.tedfleming.etsy.com ...check it out!

So let's get up to speed. I like to work in a variety of media- I'm an artist, after all, not some single-minded specialist. Some Muse or other will tug at my ear or knock on my head with an idea, and pretty soon something is taking shape, it just can't be helped. Just two weeks ago, an old (old!) 1x12 that had been half-buried in the yard when we bought this place, told me it was actually a shaker-style bench (no screws, nails, or glue) waiting to happen. It just needed a little help, it said, so I grabbed my saws and chisels, and now it's serving as a prop on stage for Skyview High School's production of Our Town. It'll be back on our front porch again after that. I must say, I'm a real novice at woodworking, but my first mortise-and-tenon joints work just fine. Aya.

Right now, I'm doing a lot of sketching and drawing- card designs, t-shirt designs, set design ideas (for Bye Bye, Birdie), and ruminating on a couple of design problems, one in terms of shoemaking, the other in terms of block printing: how can I evoke [this particular texture]. Among other things. I juggle design problems while I drive, ride my bike, hike, garden, clean, wait in line at the grocery store, ...whatever, and the pieces eventually fall into place. Oh sure, sometimes I have to apply a little force, or spend some time concentrating on a particular problem, but usually, I'm juggling. Not everything I try, works, but that's why I juggle.

Today is the 25th of October, St Crispin's Day (patron saint of shoemakers). Thanks for reading.

On this day in 1415, sorely outnumbered English troops defeated the French at Agincourt.
In 1825, Johann Strauss ("Blue Danube Waltz," etc) was born.
In 1838, Georges Bizet (Carmen, etc) was born.
In 1881, Pablo Picasso was born.
In 1917, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky seized power in Moscow, from the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky, who had assumed power in July, indirectly following the abdication of Nicholas II in March. Yes, it was a mess. Nicholas had turned power over to his brother Michael, but all hope was already lost for the Romanovs, even by the earlier 1905 uprising. Michael hoped to hold an election, with “universal suffrage,” in which of course he would be elected leader of Russia, of course, but the dice had been rolled long ago. Historians differ as to whether Michael was ever actually Tsar. If he was, it would have been for only a day.
In 1972, Eddie Merckx rides 30 miles in an hour on his bike.
In 2002, Senator Paul Wellstone (D) was killed in a light-aircraft accident under mysterious circumstances in the midst of a hotly contested election.

And of course, in 2005, then-Vice President Dick Cheney was revealed to have been the leak of Top Secret information regarding the identity of a deep-cover CIA operative.

How American

Let's talk about cell phones.

I'll start: I hate them. They are bad for us, and I'm not talking about ear cancer.

They make us increasingly insensitive to the needs of those around us, as you can see here in a particularly egregious and disgusting example. She is not only oblivious to her child, she is oblivious to everyone else in the store: no one else matters. Other examples are everywhere, and hardly newsworthy anymore- people text while driving (!!!), talk on the phone in movies, libraries, and restaurants, as well as intentionally social situations like at the mall or in line at the grocery store, where we could more easily be connecting with the other humans around us. We are social animals: we need multi-dimensional (verbal and visual at the same time, maybe even to include tactile) social contact in order to maintain our internal balance. Hermits and recluses have never been known for their likability. Cell phones are -at best- one dimensional social contact.

This flat one-dimensionality contributes to, and encourages, our feelings of alienation and rejection, while feeding our own egos with the notion that 'I am the center of the universe!' Those feelings are what led this guy to do what he did, and I assure you, he wasn't alone in feeling that way. Those feelings are also squarely to blame for most high school massacres, "post-office" shoot-ups (though they're not in post offices so much anymore), and road rage. When you don't think of the people around you as 'real' people, they're that much easier to dispense with. Life becomes a video game. Shoot 'em up.

Frankly, I think that heightened insensitivity has also led us to this:

5 facts about the anti-reform mobs

1. These disruptions are being funded and organized by out-of-district special-interest groups and insurance companies who fear that health insurance reform could help Americans, but hurt their bottom line. A group run by the same folks who made the "Swiftboat" ads against John Kerry is compiling a list of congressional events in August to disrupt. An insurance company coalition has stationed employees in 30 states to track where local lawmakers hold town-hall meetings.

2. People are scared because they are being fed frightening lies. These crowds are being riled up by anti-reform lies being spread by industry front groups that invent smears to tarnish the President's plan and scare voters. But as the President has repeatedly said, health insurance reform will create more health care choices for the American people, not reduce them. If you like your insurance or your doctor, you can keep them, and there is no "government takeover" in any part of any plan supported by the President or Congress.

3. Their actions are getting more extreme.Texas protesters brought signs displaying a tombstone for Rep. Lloyd Doggett and using the "SS" symbol to compare President Obama's policies to Nazism. Maryland Rep. Frank Kratovil was hanged in effigy outside his district office.Rep. Tim Bishop of New York had to be escorted to his car by police after an angry few disrupted his town hall meeting -- and more examples like this come in every day. And they have gone beyond just trying to derail the President's health insurance reform plans, they are trying to "break" the President himself and ruin his Presidency.

4. Their goal is to disrupt and shut down legitimate conversation. Protesters have routinely shouted down representatives trying to engage in constructive dialogue with voters, and done everything they can to intimidate and silence regular people who just want more information. One attack group has even published a manual instructing protesters to "stand up and shout" and try to "rattle" lawmakers to prevent them from talking peacefully with their constituents.

5. Republican leadership is irresponsibly cheering on the thuggish crowds. Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner issued a statement applauding and promoting a video of the disruptions and looking forward to "a long, hot August for Democrats in Congress."



Cell phones aside, I see two realistic ways to interpret these events:
1) Lobbyists for the insurance industry and Big Pharma have ginned up the propaganda machine in order to instill fear and agitate low-information voters and conservative conspiracy theorists (you know the ones- John Birch society members, Glenn Beck/Michael Savage/Sean Hannity/FOX 'news' fans, people who see "black" helicopters and attribute them to an armed UN presence, etc), or

2) the people involved are really scared- of African Americans, of low-cost easy access to health care, of losing Whitey's place at the top of the socio-economic ladder.

It may be a little of both.

It seems that our opponents -the Old Guard-- now know that their time has come; that they're now outnumbered; that they're boxed in to a corner. Force your opponent into a corner, and he will come out fighting, and that's what we're seeing. It is a last-ditch effort, and as such will almost certainly fail. But, then again, it's their last gasp, so they're going to try their hardest to make us feel it. American politics are about to get uglier than they have ever been. And I mean ever. I'm not looking forward to it. Violence will ensue; 'conservative' talking heads are already advocating for it in their broadcasts.

This is not a revolution. This is not grassroots organizing. This is top-down, centrally-planned (Soviet-style) demonstration. The exact opposite of grassroots. The exact opposite of Democracy.

They are the organized ones, but their side is a weak coalition of unethical moneyed interests, and moralistic evangelicals and church-goers. We simply need to pit the inherent religious/moral objections to wealth and greed, against the wealthy, greedy insurance industry.

Almost no one disputes that the American health-care delivery system is broken. Almost no one disputes that it is not the hospitals, or doctors, or nurses that are broken- no, we all agree that the problem is insurance: affordability, coverage, dependability, timeliness, and yes, bureaucrats putting profit margins before quality of life.

So why are we talking about 'fixing health care' and not 'fixing insurance'? Because the same people who own the news sources, also own the insurance companies. In other words, insurance reform is about as likely as media reform: ain't gonna happen.

Our only recourse against the insurance industry appears to be, to ignore it. Starve the beast. But, can you afford to drop your coverage and depend on the charity of hospitals? I don't know about you, but I can't afford not to: I simply can't pay what they're asking.

Are you aware that we've been trying to get public health care in the U.S. for a hundred years? A hundred f*cking years! Teddy Roosevelt first proposed this. A Republican! What is so wrong with trying to make sure that your neighbor, or your grandma's neighbor, can go to the doctor to see about that nasty cough (which might actually be communicable tuberculosis)?

Why are we being so resolutely, selfishly cruel to each other? Someone is going to come between you and your doctor- would you prefer a greedy insurance rep, eager for that christmas bonus based on how many claims he turns down, or a salaried civil servant who won't profit from your pain? Your choice.

Finally, how "American" is it, to try to make the country fail? Is that really patriotic? Is that really what you want, Republicans? Really?? Just because you didn't win an election?

If one of us is sick, none of us are well.

Kansas, you are embarrassing your country. Seriously: do you care so little for your neighbors? Stop being heartless. This is inhumane.

Did Jesus sell insurance during his 'lost years,' or something? I must be missing something. I just can't understand why any Christian would support the current 'pay or die' system. Didn't He say 'care for the least among you as you care for me' or something like that?

In an age in which a single disease-carrying agent can potentially infect a new person on every continent in a day (diseases including Bird Flu (H1N1), communicable TB, Ebola, West Nile, etc, ad nauseum, no pun intended), if one of us is sick, none of us are well.

Get the facts about the issue already. Inform yourself. And call your congresspeople, Senators included. Now is the time.

If we hadn't implemented the Marshall Plan after WWII, we would never have experienced the phenomenal growth spurt of the 1950s and '60s. We prospered, because our neighbors prospered with our help. Think of affordable health care as a Marshall Plan for America. Without it, we -collectively, as a nation-- will suffer a slow death from a billion cuts.

Mark my words. Unless we all have guaranteed basic health care, I give us twenty years, at best, before the slow death begins.

And in the meantime, we'll have a war in our hemisphere to worry about. With no health care for civilians caught in the crossfire.

Just for fun, imagine a nation of Kansas, in which only the employed or wealthy could receive health care. Small businesses not large enough to afford health care plans for their owners' families would simply have to shut their doors. No entrepreneurship would be possible; no new businesses could be started by individuals, unless they were wealthy to begin with. Citizens not fortunate enough to get a good job would simply be out of luck, when their health went sour. In all my years in Kansas, only one employer ever offered me health care coverage.

First, I suspect we'd see life expectancy drop a decade or so, on the average. Infant mortality would almost certainly rise as well. But things would really get ugly in an epidemic. Those homeless people on the corner? They'd be disease vectors, on every major corner, as would every job-seeker, at every lively business. How long before children are exposed? And retirees, and other elderly people?

Pardon my French, but

Don't give me this "health care rationing" bullshit. That's right: it's bullshit.

Health care is already rationed in the United States. We call it "billing." It works like this: If you can't afford to pay for the care, you don't get your ration.

It's rationing by virtue of wealth, as opposed to rationing by virtue of need. In other words, the system says "if you can pay for it, then you deserve it. If you can't pay; suffer."

Is that humane? Is that Christian? Is that American? Is that what Jesus would do??


And then there's this. It's not really news, but do you really come here for news?
Unidentified flying objects photographed from the Apollo capsule in orbit and from the surface of the Moon.
and this:
140 years of UFOs in photographs. Thought-provoking stuff!

Manipulation Monday

Watch this. Note how the "scientist" insists that, while he can't identify the object, it is not a "UFO," or in other words, NOT an UNIDENTIFIED flying object.

Wow. The stupidity of that statement just blows me away: do you have no capacity for reflection, sir?

Also interesting is how the Vacant Smiles demean the witnesses ...until they mention that a cop saw it too.

Don't you just love how you're being manipulated?

It's in his kiss (that's where it is!)

Today is the Fourteenth of July. True story: on this day in 1990 the small uninhabited island of Eynhallow off Rousay in the Orkneys played host to 88 tourists. According to the ferry crew, only 86 returned. A thorough search by police, coastguards and helicopter failed to find the missing people. The island was long regarded as a spooky 'vanishing isle', a sort of marine Brigadoon. Alternatively, superstitious locals speculated the couple were actually mermen or mermaids, returning to their ancestral home; it was easy to mistake the Fin Folk for ordinary humans.

Happy Bastille Day, France!

Some recent UFO activity has really caught my attention:
http://www.ufocasebook.com/2009c/yellowufoorbs.html Watch this video. It gets pretty eye-popping at about 4:30 or so. I went from mildly-interested to riveted in the blink of an eye. Pretty damn weird.

http://www.examiner.com/x-2363-UFO-Examiner%7Ey2009m7d6-20-baseballsize Scroll down just a little, to read the report from the Indiana witness. Multiple, unrelated witnesses report a close encounter.

And this short video from the archives is pretty interesting, too.

No one is above the law

I'm sensing a really fundamental problem here, in the way President Obama is handling the Bush administration's admission of having tortured prisoners.

"Looking forward" is not justice.

Are we to just "look forward" every time a crime is committed? If not, why not? Is this some new kind of "American exceptionalism"?

Crimes were committed. War crimes. Crimes against humanity. Crimes for which others before had been hanged to death (by us! not even 50 years ago) because of their severity.

A clear admission has been issued: "We did it," it said. Torture was committed by American personnel under orders from Americans. In legal circles, this is called a Confession.

And now... we're looking forward?? Looking forward to what? A world in which the likes of Karl Rove and Harriet Miers can simply ignore Congressional subpoenas; a world in which crimes against humanity -if committed by the right people, apparently-- can be just overlooked?

Is this the world you want your children to inherit?

Write or call your congressperson, Senators, and the President, now please: Torture is illegal and unAmerican, and no one is above the law.

Serfs up!

Because things haven't been quite weird enough lately...
One weirdness!
Two weirdnesses! Ah, hahaha!
Three weirdnesses! Ahahahahaha!
And more to come tomorrow, too. Hang on to your hat.

Now the news.
Oh, wait- that's not news, that's Dick Cheney, the EX-vice president. And he's not dead! In other words, he's not news. Also not news: Tom DeLay, Lynn Cheney, and Newt Gingrich. Gingrich hasn't been news in ten years; DeLay in five, and Lynn Cheney has never been newsworthy! Why are they still on TV?

I'll tell you: because their buddies run the networks.

And those buddies decide what you see, and therefore what you end up believing to be newsworthy and entertainment-worthy. And not only that- they decide how you should spend your money (on their subsidiaries of course, which advertise profusely on their networks, of course, so all the money spent on advertising is actually recirculated through the networks' vast system of accounts until it makes its way to the top and gets spent overseas or on stock options. None for you!).

We're headed for a cultural landscape that would look more familiar to Catherine the Great than Catherine Zeta Jones: severe, extreme disparities of wealth, crowned by an upper-class with all the power. None for you!

These may be the darkest hours America has ever faced, and there may be no democratic dawn to follow. If we lose independent newspapers, and thus independent reporting, we will have lost all hope of reform in government, short of armed revolt. And since we all know that the USGovt's firing power is significantly greater than that of any individual, or any other group for that matter, things are looking a little bleak.

Yes, newspapers are so old-fashioned. Embarrassing to even be seen reading one, I know.

But get this: Democracy is engagement. Democracy is simply The People Being Their Own Government: the people being engaged with each other, and with the issues.

What we have, on the other hand, is Mediacracy (say "mee-dee-AH-cruh-see"). Media outlets shape and inform our opinions by running certain stories, and ignoring certain others. What's that you say? You don't have strong feelings about the unrest in Urumqi? That would be because your news producers and editors don't want you to think that 150 or so people killed in riots is newsworthy. They would rather you think about something else. Like, their products! Or yourself. Or better still: how their products! might enhance your life. Just- don't think about rioting. Or organizing, for that matter. Just spend your way to happiness. It's at the bottom of your bank account- just keep looking, spend that money out of the way and you'll see it!

We have become everything we've ever despised. As in Mussolini's Italy, industry rules the roost. Just like King George's Britain, we colonize and pillage. And now we're headed the way of Stalin's USSR, in which all the 'news' came directly from the State.

'Coz we're not calling the shots anymore. Notice how responsive the Senate has been, to recent polls indicating >70% support of a public health care option in the reform bill? Oh, you didn't notice? Ahh, that would be for two reasons: 1) primarily because the Senate is beholden to Big Pharma and the industrial Medical-Insurance-complex, and 2) because the Media doesn't want you to know. They don't want you to know, because their insurance-exec buddies reap huge profits, and then spend lavishly on advertising to support friendly senators' campaigns (to ensure that their companies can still reap those huge profits).

That's right: over 70% of Americans polled believe that some sort of public option should be included in any health care reform bill. And yet, we have nothing, because public health care would be bad for the economy. No wait, I mean it would be bad for The Industry. Erm, wait- I mean, it would be bad for Management. Oh, no, hang on-- I meant, it would be bad for The Wealthy.

And we can't have that. Oh no.

Saint Bernard's Day

Expanding Consciousness... is this consciousness? In a sense, I'd have to say: yeah. Looks like a bad day to be a vegetarian -for moral reasons, anyway.

News from the Southern Front: the Global War on the Poor (no, 'class warfare isn't just a domestic thing anymore).

Saint Bernard? Yeah, you're going to think I'm crazy for saying this, but listen: Bernard Madoff is being martyred, as a sort of metonym or symbol of our collective greed. He will be forever sainted as a result, and this is part of the plan. Yes, The Establishment -specifically, the future existence of The Establishment As We Know It-- requires and demands a sacrifice, in order that the greater whole may continue. If Madoff was not sacrificed, the whole system -The Establishment- would have to take the blame instead. And of course, as anyone in charge will be happy to tell you, we simply can't have that.

It seems that all complex systems evolve to protect themselves.

Friday the 13th begins the martyrdom of St. Bernard. Is this supposed to be funny? Is this irony?

Why? Why now?

You've probably heard by now that some guys locked up in Gitmo have claimed credit for 9/11. From the very instant I heard the 'news,' I smelled a rat. "Why now?" I wondered at first, and that remained the most solid question I could muster for a while, because my head was just spinning with all the unlikelihoods and impossibilities of the situation: unlikely, because we've been giving credit to so many others for The Deed -and persecuting them for the past seven years with a fervor unmatched since the Inquisition; unlikely because they've been in custody for years already and had apparently said nothing of the sort, before; impossible because they're in Gitmo, so they wouldn't have been allowed to confer with each other; impossible because they were not allowed to communicate with the press.

Larisa Alexandrovna offers a very well-informed analysis, far better than mine. As she writes, the real question here is not of their guilt or innocence, but: why are we being fed this story?

I want to know

Today is the Third of March. On this day in 1972, police officer Ray Schoke was on his way to Loveland, Ohio, when he spotted a three-foot-tall upright creature with leathery skin like a lizard and the face of a frog near the Little Miami River. It was later spotted by fellow officer Mark Matthews and a local farmer. Both officers have since changed their names because of the ridicule, and Matthews moved to Florida. Then in July 1985 two boys saw a 'frog' in the river. 'I thought it was a boulder at first', said an 11-year-old who didn't wish to be identified. He described it as being about the size of a big dog. Ohio is weird.

I'm not about to say that frog critter was an alien, but Phil said something about 'all the UFOs and abductions in the news' the other day, and it made me think. The way he asked the question implied a direct connection between the two phenomena (naturally, you might think). But no such connection appears to exist, outside of the popular media.

Reliable statistics are hard to come by in the field of UFO- and abduction research. This is for a lot of reasons of course, not least of which is the number of what I affectionately call kooks collecting the data, but another very significant reason is that so few of the reports agree in enough details to be reliably linked or grouped together. In the same way that we can't compare apples and oranges in order to speculate about the Nature of Fruit, we just don't have enough case reports which are similar enough, in enough ways, to make comparison study -well, fruitful. That being said, the abduction reports I've read only occasionally include descriptions of the insides of rooms (which may or may not be aboard a 'spaceship' or 'UFO'), and even more rarely were either preceded or followed by a sighting of a Unidentified Flying Object.

In other words, people see UFOs, and people report being abducted by non-human-appearing creatures, but few if any report both as part of the same event.

It's a subtle distinction, I'll admit, but I think it's very significant. For one thing, it suggests that the two phenomena may not be related after all. We see things in the air that we can't identify (UFOs), and we see what we call 'aliens' (in many different forms, but incidentally never -not once in the literature- 'little green men'), but we only see them together perhaps 1% of the time. Linking them inextricably is akin to defending spontaneous generation.

It seems that we link them together in our heads, only because we heard it that way from someone else. I've gone looking for that person, some original source, for years now with no good answers. "Little green men" seems to have appeared out of nowhere in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, in a farcical newspaper story. UFOs have been reported since we started writing. Abductions seem to have started in the 1960s (unless you count the apocryphal reports of villagers disappearing under 'fairie mounds,' which go back almost as long as UFO reports).

The more I read, the more questions I have. Something is happening, whether it's happening in conventional (shared) reality or not. People are seeing UFOs: hoax-detecting technology is improving, the reports are remaining unexplained, and the frequency of multiple unrelated witnesses of single events is increasing. At the same time, other people seem to be honestly debilitated by encounters with intelligent non-human entities in a startling variety of forms, so varied as to suggest that we are under surveillance by at least a dozen different cultures and/or species, but sometimes similar enough to suggest that those reporting the encounters simply focused on different aspects of the creatures, or were confused by their surroundings.

I'm not ready to offer any theories or hypotheses, yet. For the record, I'm more interested in UFO reports than abduction studies, but if you feel you've been abducted and you'd like to talk about it, I'd love to hear about it and I'm a good listener. I won't pass judgment; I won't try to tell you it didn't happen, or didn't happen the way you say it did. I'm really, genuinely curious.

Even if it's not happening in our conventional, shared reality, then something interesting is happening in those abductees' and witnesses' heads. I want to know.

Happy Quirinalia!

Today is the Seventeenth of February. Happy Quirinalia! In ancient Rome, a celebration of Quirinus, the deified form of Romulus, one of the founders of Rome. The name derives from co-viri, meaning “men together.” We don't know how they celebrated it, no records survive, but hey, they were Romans; use your imagination. Go ahead, get carried away. They did.

In 1598, Boris Godunov was chosen to be Tsar, following the death of Ivan Grozny’s invalid son Fyodor. He would ascend to the position a few days hence. Is that a verb tense problem?

In 1600, Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for having the gall to suggest, among other things, that God might have also created life on other planets.

Rings and roses

In 1923, Howard Carter unsealed the burial chamber of Tutankhamun.

In 1943, students belonging to the White Rose Society posted a sign in Munich reading “Out with Hitler! Long Live Freedom!” (They were caught two days later in the midst of another subversive act, and beheaded on the 22nd).

So... I was digging around this morning, looking up some Pope Gregory or other, because I had it in my notes that today was the anniversary of his commandment that his people say "God bless you," after a sneeze, to protect themselves and each other from the oncoming Black Plague.

Not so. We've apparently been blessing each other after sneezing, for longer than that.

But I found something more interesting as I read along. Apparently, everyone's favorite Plague-inspired nursery-rhyme, "Ring Around The Rosey," is not so, either. The Wikipedia entry I've linked to there is fascinating. Amaze your friends! Bore your co-workers!

In the news:
International law was undermined? Hell, if you ask me, the very Rule Of Law was raped, beaten, and left for dead like a -well, like nothing I can say politely. Many authorities believe that crimes were committed on a global scale by governments and private operators alike. It's time for investigation and prosecution.

In fact, we know crimes were committed, because they broadcast them on the news, bragged about them in press conferences, blabbed about them in OpEd columns and from the podiums in our halls of Congress.

The wheel turns

Last day of Lupercalia (ancient Rome).

In 1564, Galileo Galilei was born.

In 1571, Michael Praetorius was born.

In 1764, the city of St. Louis was established as a trading post where Pierre LaClede and his stepson Auguste Chouteau had notched a couple of trees to mark their landing on the bank of the Mississippi.

In 1898, the U.S.S. Maine was blown up in Havana Harbor, now widely believed to have been a false-flag operation intended to start a war with Spain.

In 1905, composer/songwriter Harold Arlen was born (“Paper Moon,” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Stormy Weather,” among some 400 others).

In 1954, Matt Groening was born.

In 2002, over 300 corpses were found in buildings and woods on the property of Tri-State Crematory, in Georgia. Only four years later, Tri-State was implicated in the mis-handling of bodies recovered from Hurricane Katrina by Service Corporation International. The lawsuit accused SCI-owned funeral homes of sending bodies to the unlicensed, unregulated crematorium. Ahh, gotta love that unregulated capitalism, eh?

Happy Sts Cyril and Methodius day!

Today is the Fourteenth of February. Why do we spell 14 "fourteen," but 40 "forty"? It's not a joke, it's a legitimate question. Anyone want to offer an answer?

The number 4o is different from the number 4 in Russian, too, but even more so than in English: for 4, they say "ch-tir'-ee," while for 40 the word is simply "sor'-ok." No apparent semantic relationship: no roots in common, not even any letters in common. I don't speak any other languages- if you speak any aside from English, I'm interested in how they deal with 4 and 40. Ask your friends! Is this just a European thing? Is it just a Romance thing, which happened to somehow also get reflected in a Slavic language? I'm genuinely curious! Also, if you speak Russian and happen to have some insight into the 4/40 thing, I'd love to hear about it.

Support Senator Leahey's Bush Truth Commission! We need to at least air that dirty laundry.

I Hate Banks news: Microbusiness on the rise! This in particular is very exciting news for anyone who's ever disliked banks. Go, Zopa!

Bang the drum

Today is the Eleventh of February. On this day in 1355, the St. Scholastica’s Day Riot continued in Oxford, England, after a dispute between students and locals over a beer escalated into armed conflict. The riot raged for two days in all, leaving 63 scholars and as many as 30 locals dead. The dispute was settled in favour of the university with a special charter, according to which, on February 10, the town mayor and councillors had to march bareheaded through the streets and pay to the university a fine of one penny for every scholar killed. The penance ended in 1825 when the mayor refused to take part.

In 1858, Bernadette Soubirous saw the figure of a woman in white, whom she later identified as the virgin Mary, near Lourdes, France. The two girls who were with her, saw nothing.

Bang the drum-make some noise! It's good for you! ...I wonder if it matters if the rhythm isn't musical? I mean, does it count if you're just drumming your fingers on the steering wheel? Would it help as much if you were using a wooden spoon on a frying pan? How about a metal spoon on a cymbal? Don't laugh- this is someone's doctoral thesis waiting to happen! Alas, I'm only curious enough to generate the questions; nowhere near motivated enough to go through with the research. Music therapy isn't exactly my field.

Instead, I'm thinking about picking up my work on -yes, you guessed it-- Moche nose ornaments again. Actually, new findings re: the Nazca have given my old theory new life. Remember, Ted: don't get it right; get it written.

Feast of St. Carmen

Today is the Ninth of February. On this day in 1825, John Quincy Adams was elected President, in the first election to be decided by the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 1895, Wm. G. Morgan invented a game called Mintonette, for those who thought basketball would be too strenuous. This game involved hitting the basketball over a rope; it would later be known as Volleyball.

In 1909, Carmen Miranda was born.

In 1913, a group of three or four luminous bodies with tails moved across the sky with a 'peculiar majestic deliberation', according to the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Another one followed, and another. There were 30 or 32 in all, according to one observer, in strict formation. Some compared them to a fleet of battleships in the air. They were seen in Canada, USA, Bermuda and from the sea. There was another procession over Toronto the next day, only this time there were seven or eight dark non-luminous bodies, which moved across the sky and back.

Sardines

Waitangi Day (New Zealand- marking the 1840 signing of a Maori-Britain treaty).

In 1564, Christopher Marlowe was (probably) born.

In 1895, George Herman “Babe” Ruth was born.

In 1945, Bob Marley was born.

In 1989, thousands of tiny dead sardines came down in a heavy rainstorm about lunchtime in Rosewood, near Ipswich in Queensland. 'It was quite frightening. We didn't know what was happening. All I heard was a noise I though was hail,' said Debra Degen. When her husband Harold called her to go out onto the veranda, she saw the fishy carpet stretching for 50 yards between the house and their mailbox. There were more coming down, some bouncing off Harold's head. They gathered a bowlful for their cat and to keep as a souvenir; the rest were 'gobbled by kookaburras.'


Sage advice from Paul Krugman.

The world of tomorrow

Got milk?

Today is the Fourth of February. Scott Palmer, 26, Californian author and golfer, hit a hole-in-one 18 times between June 1983 and the following January. Besides that, his drives hit the pin on 50 other occasions. He collected affidavits to this from 65 witnesses. Four of his holes-in-one came on consecutive days in October, seven were par-4 holes and the average length of all 18 was 209 yards. He hit all but one of his aces with the same ball - a Spalding Top Flite XL No. 2, for which he turned down a £7,000 offer. At the moment of his charmed strokes, he got the image of a faceless woman pouring a glass of milk.

Weird.

Buddy Holly-day

Today is the Third of February. On this day in 1943, four US Army chaplains aboard the then-sinking USAT Dorchester gave up their lifevests, and their lives, to save the lives of other soldiers and sailors aboard. In 1948, Congress recognized their heroism and designated today as Four Chaplains Day.

In 1809, Felix Mendelssohn was born.

In 1959, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson were killed in an airplane accident.

Endings

Today is the Thirtieth of January. Big day in history, though you might not know it: to begin with, in 1661, Oliver Cromwell was officially, formally executed. He had been dead for over two years. Just in case, ya know. He was a bit of a rascal.

In 1835, Richard Lawrence attempted to assassinate President Andrew Jackson, but both his pistols misfired. President Jackson instead beat him with his cane. This was the first known assassination attempt on a U.S. President.

In 1882, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born.

In 1948, Mohandas K. (Mahatma) Gandhi was shot and killed.

In 1969, The Beatles performed together for the last time, in an impromptu concert on the roof of Apple Studios, London, at No. 3 Saville Row. It was broken up by police, because of the traffic problems it caused on the streets below (go figure!).

In more current news, the Danish Air Force has opened its UFO archives to the public.

And a UFO was documented by Germany's air traffic safety office.

And Israeli Prime Minister Olmert was taken to task at Davos by Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey, before he left the building in disgust. (Good video).

Owls for breakfast, hippos for lunch

Today is the Twenty-eighth of January. On this day in 1887, snowflakes measuring 15” across x 8” thick fell on Fort Keough, Montana.

Someone's come up with a very interesting answer to the honeybee problem. I hereby promise to leave the hornets' nest in the eaves of my shop, alone. Pollinate away, little critters! Fly! Be free!

And here's an interesting answer to our energy troubles, at least to some degree. Go, Norway!

Alberto Gonzales is a worm. Watch him squirm. Disgusting.

Bring on the shackles, indeed: let's watch these guys squirm too. Jail is too good for the likes of these folks, 'cos I don't think there's much doubt about their guilt anymore.

Future pink

Today is the Twenty-seventh of January. On this day in 1757, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born.

In 1832, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) was born.

In 1947, the Los Angeles Times (and later, Time magazine) reported that the crew of the oiler USS Caliente weighed anchor from nine fathoms and discovered that an overhand or lover's knot had been tied in the chain twenty feet from the anchor.

In 1984, filming for a Pepsi commercial went terribly awry when Michael Jackson’s hair product caught on fire.

Computers serve two basic purposes, in terms of economy: they create demand for more disposable goods (computers, programs, accessories), and they reduce the need for new employees by facilitating paperwork and book-keeping. More jobs are lost to computers, than created by building them or programming for them (and that's to say nothing of work lost to computer-controlled robots, eliminating jobs at twice that rate, or higher). Different kinds of work, to be sure, but employment all the same. The net effect is a loss of jobs. Computers just aren't helping.

Teaching kids to use computers in school is early job-training. Worse- it's free job training for industry, because business taxes rarely (if ever) go to schools. Ask yourself: why should you pay for your kid to be trained to do data entry? Even if they're learning to code: don't fool yourself- the days of madly-wealthy computer programmers are gone-daddy-gone. Ahh, the roaring dot-com Nineties! They're as gone as the roaring Twenties.

We should not give them computers in school- we should give them classes that teach them to use tools that make things and fix things: wood shop, metal shop, plastics, even electronics shop; cooking, accounting, home economics, sewing, design ferchrissake. They should be using their abundant imaginations to be making new things and developing skills that will be usable "across multiple platforms"- what we used to call being handy. It's a good thing to be, useful. Java, flash, and C++ are not usable across multiple platforms: they are skills related to a very, very limited range of jobs. They will not help your kid when the power goes out and he still needs to eat, or when the alternator goes out in her car when she's between jobs, or when the kitchen table, the toaster, or the TV goes down.

Bottom line: teaching kids to use computers will not help them do anything except find a job as a desk jockey or a 10-key operator. Is that really what you want for your children? A career as a Customer Service Specialist at a call center? That's what's coming, if we stay on this track. Mark my words.

This much is certain: there is no going back to our consumption-driven way of life. We simply have to change: economy will demand it. Businesses can not think of themselves first as profit-making machines- they must reconsider their places within their communities (of whatever size). A business is inseparable from its community, in the same way that your hand is inseparable from your body.

That's a better metaphor than you might think, actually. If the body represents a community, then the blood is its money, the brain its government, the heart its industry. Wait a sec, you might say- where is the service sector? We here in the US are all about service sector jobs, after all. In terms of the body, the service sector would be things like the immune system, the glandular organs, the skeletal system. In other words, a very significant -but very small (in terms of volume) segment.

Now, in terms of this metaphor, what the hell has happened with our economy? Think of it this way: growing population means a growing body. When the body grows but the blood supply doesn't match its growth, then blood becomes more precious (prices go up). The credit crisis? Something in the body (the banks; our veins and arteries I suppose) decided that the flow of blood wasn't fast enough (because, of course, population has grown while manufacturing capability has dwindled- the body grew but the skeleton hasn't produced the blood to fill it), so they demanded more than they were giving. Organs couldn't keep up with the demand- they can't pump more blood out than they get in, and they can't make it themselves-- so they atrophied as a result (homeowners defaulted on mortgages, businesses defaulted on payrolls, millions of jobs lost).

The problem is that money is pooling, not flowing. Blood clots in the brain and heart are threatening the health of our national community (execs are pulling in oversized salaries and not spending the money locally, ultimately leaving banks in the lurch). We need manufacturing jobs- jobs that produce real goods and real wealth. In a short time, this will stimulate spending and buying- and saving! --because there will be things worth buying, and people earning paychecks to buy the stuff with. Blood will fill our veins; savings rates will start to rise again, banks will be happy, and credit will loosen up again.

Now let's get back to the new economy -the one that will work for your kids and grandkids, the one we need to build. Disposability is simply no longer an option. Our landfills are -well, filled. Most of the stuff we use today can't even be safely disposed of in a landfill anyway, yet frankly was made to be thrown away. Raw materials are dwindling, and rising in cost. Disposability is not a sustainable way of life, and we're coming up against the final wall.

We need to demand reliable appliances, fixable appliances, and to settle for nothing less. Industry, instead of preparing to meet those demands, is running in the opposite direction: making goods that are cheaper to buy at first but more expensive in the long run because you're buying three disposable items for every one fixable item you might have bought instead. This amounts to a race to the bottom, as GE, Sony, Philips, etc, run themselves into the ground. In ten years, these industries will be hemmoraging, as consumers revolt by buying from more local, more accessible companies whose products are more reliable and ultimately repairable. Pink slips will flow by the thousands as these huge manufacturers of crappy 'goods' have to cut back. This is the economic crisis to come, and there's no stopping it: the only thing we can do is change course, now.

Bright new day

Today is the Twenty-first of January. It's National Hugging Day.

In 1824, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was born.

In 1924, Vladimir I. Lenin died. Almost immediately, Josef Stalin began to purge his rivals, to clear his way to Premiership.

On the home front, this is encouraging news from the Obama administration. I can't think of a better way to start. Realistically, anyway.

Don't stop: just keep running.

Today is the Nineteenth of January. On this day in 1808, Lysander Spooner was born.
In 1809, Edgar Allen Poe was born.
In 1839, Paul Cezanne was born.

In 1935, the first brief was displayed in a Marshal-Fields department store window in Chicago, during a blizzard. The display was ordered to be taken down because it was silly to show such skimpy underwear on such a cold day, but before the display could even be taken down, six hundred pairs were sold. Thirty thousand would be sold in the next three months. The world would never be the same.

In 1977, snow fell in Miami, Florida, and the Bahamas. First time ever.

You know, I am optimistic about Obama's presidency, but I'm no fool. In spite of my rhetoric here, I am realistic about the future.

I'm not expecting single-payer, universal coverage health care. No, the homeless and poor are still going to suffer and die of ultimately-curable illnesses.

I'm not expecting gay marriages. I'm not expecting a roll-back of Bush's abuses of the environment, or of the Endangered Species Act, or marked improvements in air quality, or water quality, or even gender equality in the workplace.

I'm not expecting him to handle Afghanistan any better either: he has, after all, promised to "win" there, whatever that means (hint to President Obama: ask Alexander the Great about central Asia).

I'm just excited because -for the first time ever-- we have a visible, tangible reason to believe that anyone can make it here.

When you hear the dogs behind you, just keep running.


That being said about my beliefs, I remain fascinated by, but agnostic about UFOs, especially in light of the recent flap of sightings. I'm so intrigued by them: if they are from space, then that's interesting in and of itself. And if they're not from space, then that's more interesting still: what the hell are they? If they're illusionary or hallucinations, then what is it in the human makeup that makes us see them? And then makes us interpret those visions as Visitors from Space? And if they're not hallucinations or visions or visitors from space, then what the hell are they? Honestly people, I can't see how anyone could not be interested.

Here's another.

"Playing into each other's noses" he said.

No, I can't keep my mouth shut: news happens, and I feel compelled to talk about it, even though I said I was ignoring it until Tuesday. First and foremost: North Korea is actively threatening South Korea. It's not a conflict I follow closely, but hey, nuclear weapons are everybody's business. We all need to know.

Today is the Eighteenth of January. On this day in 1671, Captain Morgan captured Panama from the Spanish.

In 1843, a report appeared in The Times (London) that two young girls were out picking leaves at Livet in France when stones of different colors showered down on them, slowly and harmlessly. They called their parents, and stones fell on them too. Respectable witnesses were called, priests, doctors, and all were gently and colorfully stoned (sic). It only happened in one spot, and only when the girls were there. After a few days it stopped.

In 1892, Oliver Hardy was born.
In 1904, Cary Grant was born.
In 1913, Danny Kaye was born.
In 1932, Robert Anton Wilson was born.

In 1943, Soviet officials announced that they had broken the Nazi-led siege of Leningrad (started Sept. 8, 1941- some 900 days!).

In 1964, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” entered the Billboard pop chart at #45, marking the entrance of The Beatles to the U.S. market. It would be at #1 by the end of the month.

A letter to Obama that I wish I could co-sign (a bit long, but worth it). I'm optimistic, but not foolish.

Just keep swimming

Today is the Sixteenth of January. On this day in 1547, Ivan Grozny ('the Terrible;' the IVth Ivan) proclaimed himself first Tsar of Russia.

In 1605, the first edition of Book One of Don Quixote was published.

It's been a long eight years. I still get apoplectic when I think about the 2000 selection, ferchrissake. It's been a long eight years, and that's all I'm going to say about it, right now.

I'll breathe more easily after the inauguration. I've felt like I was in limbo since the first of the month. Sure, you're thinking "whoaa, he's taking this all way too seriously," and maybe you're right, but I've just got a lot of (metaphorical) balls in the air right now (juggling balls -get your head out of the bed, sheesh), and I'm waiting to see which ones come down first. Of course I'm optimistic about the new administration and the new congress, but I'm also optimistic about the projects I've got going, and their prospects in the new year and the phoenix of our economy.

News is on hold.

Today is the Fifteenth of January. As far as I'm concerned, the news is on hold until some time next week. Citibank breaking up to better face the crumbling economy, you say? My retort, complete with my fingers in my ears:

"LA LA LA LA LA! I CAN'T HEAR YOU...."

I know that a new administration won't turn the economy around overnight. I know that a President Obama won't instantly restore bankers' faith in borrowers, and that even with a Democratic-controlled Congress, real legislative change will not be coming in a hurry...

but...

I do know that the mere presence of a good leader can do a lot for morale. And further, I know that morale is very closely related to faith, and to confidence. Faith (that cash will once again flow) and confidence (on the part of banks, regarding their clients' ability to pay them back in a timely manner, as well as confidence in our leadership) are at the core of our economic difficulties right now.

More importantly in the short term, though, is the sense of optimism and possibility that Obama seems to signify to so many. That hope and optimism will start to show, almost immediately. It will be the first sign of the Big Thaw.

It will start out subliminal: maybe a little more courtesy between strangers, a little more patience on the roads. Maybe tithing will go up. I suspect that bars, restaurants and grocery stores will feel it first, as the most-common-denominators of our culture. That money- a significant amount of it in the form of cash tips-- will spread out into the wider mercantile culture and stimulate other businesses. Bigger changes will have to be helped along from above: banks will need to free up credit for businesses so those businesses can expand their payrolls again, but that will happen as sales go up again. Good, healthy changes are on the way. I can feel it.

And- oh this is the best part-- the Rule of Law might just prevail again. I say "might," because I'm almost afraid to hope, for fear of disappointment. It is the government, after all.

And yeah, I know I said the news is on hold, but this caught my attention, and it seems like it could develop into something important. It always seems just a bit strange when a denial precedes the accusation.

Whatever else happens, we still have to cope with our national shame: a legacy of torture.


On this day in 1919, a "tidal wave" of two-and-a-half million gallons of molasses killed 21 people in Boston.


Recent British UFO flap, condensed version

Remarkably similar events reported in Indonesia and Argentina

V-shaped craft low flying over Chicago

Sit right back and you'll hear a tale...

Oh geez, it's already the Ninth of January. On this day in 1683, Charles II set aside the day for the ceremony of Touching for the King's Evil (a sort of scrofula, or suppurating tumour), so called from a notion prevailing from the reign of Edward the Confessor that it could be cured by the royal touch.

In 1905, some 200,000 Russians rallied behind Father Georgiy Gapon to present their grievances to Tsar Nikolas II. Troops on the scene panicked and fired into the crowd, igniting the 1905 revolution which broke the Tsar’s hold on power. He consented to the adoption of a constitution, and election of a Duma to advise him. (Julian calendar date).

In 1935, Bob Denver was born. I had a strange and unflagging fascination with Gilligan's Island as a kid. I had more than one dream in which I was Gilligan on the show. And I never dreamed about any other TV show. Can you say, "fixation"? Maybe the island setting reminded me of Montserrat (we didn't live in grass huts or sleep in hammocks though). Maybe it just appealed to my radical jungle hippie, back-to-nature, almost-anarcho-primitivist freaky style, I don't know. I still sing snippets of their "Hamlet," as set to "Carmen." To myself, of course. ...Neither a borrower nor a lender be/ Do not forget- stay out of debt...

Sign of the times?
More on it here, and a more prosaic explanation offered here. I notice there's no reportage on the condition of the blades; whether or not they show evidence of impact. Watch the video though, and tell me what you think. Also, my knowledge of geography of the UK is somewhat limited- but is this related?

...There's just one other thing/
You ought to do-/
To thine own self be true!

Distaff day

Today is 7 January (already!?). It's Distaff day: Get back to work, woman! Traditional day in many European cultures on which women get back to “women’s work” after the Yule festivities.

In 1598, Fyodor I of Russia died. Fyodor was the only surviving son of Ivan IV ('the Terrible'), and was -well-- an imbecile. It's an interesting date because Boris Godunov, who had been acting as Regent since Ivan's death, took this opportunity to fully assume the throne. Fyodor’s only son Dmitri had died under somewhat mysterious circumstances in 1591; when Fyodor himself died, Boris took the throne until his death in 1605. Godunov's 16-year old son then assumed the throne as Fyodor II, but was imprisoned and murdered six months later by representatives of someone who fashioned himself Dmitri Fyodorovich (son of Fyodor I). He lasted six months before the Boyars killed him too. Welcome to the Time of Troubles. Maybe the W years weren't so bad....

In 1899, Francis Poulenc was born.

In 1904, the distress signal “CQD” was established. Two years later, it would be replaced by “SOS.”

Put out the light.

Today is 6 January. Rastas celebrate Haille Sellasie’s birthday today, though it's not actually his birthday (reminds one a bit of Christmas, no?).

In 1883, Khalil Gibran was born.

In 1915, Alan Watts was born.

In 1919, Teddy Roosevelt died. His last words: “Put out the light.”

In more current news:
The truth about snowmen
The truth about pirates

White knot?

As my friend Kevin would say, it's a meaningless gesture, but hey- can't hurt, right?
Go ahead, tie one on.

Insert pun here

Dead Soles? Of course I had to say something. Forget the rains of frogs and fish and corn and what-not: this is the best Fortean event, ever. No one knows where they came from. Apparently no one saw them fall? Who would load a truck up with used shoes, anyway? I wonder if they were in pairs. I wonder if any of them belong to any of those feet that keep washing up on the shores of British Columbia? Wrong ocean, I know, but when you're dealing with events like this, can you really rule anything out?