Month: August 2016

Wibbly Wobbly (tie me) Why me?

Stuff IT…

My friend Cade popped by yesterday to post a spider in comets on my Venus Flytrap post…

*I’ve always been scared of spiders, Clicky. It’s a phobia that I’m working hard to dispel… it’s the legs…*

Spending time with Legs

*Not that Legs, Clicky… /rolls eyes*

Funnily enough on the same day I’d made my Venus post, Cade was describing his flies…

Clicky Lovin'

*Oh FFS! I can see why you like spending your time over there, Clicky, but do you have to be quite so graphic?*

Today is the birthday of the World Wide Web. This news was brought to me by the Sky Dick, Suck IT…

Sky Dick Suck It www birthday

Four years ago, Tim Berners-Lee featured in the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. Last night, the 2016 Games Opening Ceremony took place in Rio, Brazil…

*A humongous flop, Clicky, you wouldn’t like that at all… Will and Ken battling it out… actually Kenneth Branagh also featured in the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony*

smoking IKB

The musical directors for that one were Underworld…

*No shit, Clicky! /slaps head… Two years ago, when the World Cup was on in Brazil, Merovee Ken and I explored Luis Suarez and the ‘Ritual of Chomp‘…*

Chöd (Tibetan: གཅོད, Wylie: gcod lit. ‘to sever’[1]), is a spiritual practice found primarily in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism (where it is classed asAnuttarayoga Tantra).[2] Also known as “Cutting Through the Ego,”,[3] the practices are based on the Prajñāpāramitā or “Perfection of Wisdom” sutras, which expound the “emptiness” concept of Buddhist philosophy.

According to Mahayana Buddhists, emptiness is the ultimate wisdom of understanding that all things lack inherent existence. Chöd combines prajñāpāramitā philosophy with specific meditation methods and tantric ritual. The chod practitioner seeks to tap the power of fear through activities such as rituals set in graveyards, and visualisation of offering their bodies in a tantric feast in order to put their understanding of emptiness to the ultimate test.[4]

*That’s enough for now, Clicky. Would you furnish Dear Reader with a Song?*

And Venus was her name…

Today, my friend Hugo sent me an interesting ‘Knowledge Nugget’ about tobacco…

Clara

*Thank you, Clicky. I have no idea if it’s true… I should pop over to the Blue Universe and ask Harley or Rose…*

Rose

*Er, that’s a moped, Clicky*

Venus late Old English, from Latin Venus (plural veneres), in ancient Roman mythology, the goddess of beauty and love, especially sensual love, from venus “love, sexual desire; loveliness, beauty, charm; a beloved object,” from PIE root *wen- (1) “to strive after, wish, desire.”

This root is the source of Sanskrit veti “follows after,” vanas- “desire,” vanati “desires, loves, wins;” Avestan vanaiti “he wishes, is victorious;” Latinvenerari “to worship;” Old English wynn “joy,” wunian “to dwell,” wenian “to accustom, train, wean,” wyscan “to wish.”

Applied by the Romans to Greek Aphrodite, Egyptian Hathor, etc. Applied in English to any beautiful, attractive woman by 1570s. As the name of the most brilliant planet from late 13c., from this sense in Latin (Old English called it morgensteorra and æfensteorra). The venus fly-trap (Dionæa muscipula) was discovered 1760 by Gov. Arthur Dobbs in North Carolina and description sent to Collinson in England. The Central Atlantic Coast Algonquian name for the plant, /titipiwitshik/, yielded regional American English tippity wichity.

martha

*Yep, that bit’s true…*

Donna

*No, Clicky, wichity… sounds like witchy…*

Amy

*/rolls eyes… Hey, that reminds me… The Professor has been awfully quiet of late…*

Romulus Crowe

*I wonder if he’s been working on a case…*

River

*Yeah, like you know, Clicky…*

*Have a Song?*

River 2

*Good call, Clickity Wichity!*

https://youtu.be/NkcU2_Vs7Xw

 

Dis’ney Dali on Wednesday…

“I’ve got something for you,” Thoughtful Man greeted me as I shuffled into the Library, carrying a still dozing Poppy in my arms. “And good morning.”

squint 2

*I’ll admit he was surprisingly cheery, Click. Not like him at all*

He was sat at his PC, so I handed the dog off to him and kissed the top of his head, on his Cadfael spot. Thoughtful Man hates that. “Oh yeah, what’s that?”

I went and made a coffee whilst waiting for him to answer: Poppy’s frenetic face washing impedes talking when there’s a better than outside chance you’ll be slipped some tongue.

“What have you got for me then?” I asked, plonking my coffee cup on my desk and my arse on my sofa. “Got a rollie?”

Thoughtful Man smiled, lent over and handed me the fag tin. “Did you know Disney made a cartoon with Salvador Dali?”

The six-minute short follows the love story of Chronos and the ill-fated love he has for a mortal woman named Dahlia. The story continues as Dahlia dances through surreal scenery inspired by Dalí’s paintings. There is no dialogue, but the soundtrack includes music by the Mexican composer Armando Dominguez.

The 17 second original footage that is included in the finished product is the segment with the two tortoises (this original footage is referred to in Bette Midler’s host sequence for The Steadfast Tin Soldier in Fantasia 2000, as an “idea that featured baseball as a metaphor for life”).

“Your sister posted it on Facebook this morning. I thought you could write a post about it.”

Squint

*Oh, you wanna believe I squinted at that one, Clicky*

“Write a post? You’re suggesting I write a post?”

Thoughtful Man sighed, “Yes. I am your enabler. I thought you’d find it interesting.” He stopped and gave me his devilish grin. The one with the glint. “And in return, you enable me.”

I knew it

*Yes, your squinting was about to be confirmed, Clicky. And ‘Oww!’*

“I thought I’d go back to bed for a couple of hours.” Thoughtful Man handed Poppy back to me. “She needs to go out for a wee, last night’s washing up is in the sink and downstairs could do with a hoovering.”

He sashayed away, halting only when he reached the Library doorway “Oh and the boys’ll be up soon. They’ll want feeding. Just a couple of hours. Love you.”

I knew it 2

*Clicky… Have a Song*

Top Trump! Stop, wait…

I made my first posting at Sync Miss For Him in quite a while this morning…

Yes, it’s the US Presidential election and Trump’s in Putin pocket, if Hillarity is to believed…

Yikes

*Yeah, she is somewhat scary, Click*

After posting I sat on the old box in the conservatory, whilst Mistress Ploppy went outside for a pee. I looked down and stared at the upside down writing between my legs…

Shoe Box

CLICKY: Witch way up?

*No, that’s a terrible reconstruction, Clicky. You’d never get a job on Crimewatch… /squints …let me set it out…*

Although I’ve owned the box more than 20 years, it was the first time I’d noticed what is printed on it since… /thinks… well, since I bought it from the Stationery Dept at John Lewis, Oxford Street.

TRUMPERTON’S

AMAZING

TOY

EMPORIUM

MECHANICAL NOVELTIES

MUSICAL CONTRAPTIONS

TIN & CAST TOYS

BOOKS

PORCELAIN DOLLS

MAGICAL APPARATUS

GAMES & PUZZLES

WE LEAD

OTHERS FOLLOW

It reminded me that there was a card game from my youth that all the boys used to play…

Top Trumps was a card game popular with adults and children in the United Kingdom in the 1970s and 1980s, especially amongst boys, for whom it was a popular playground pastime. The topics tended to reflect this, and included military hardware, modes of transport and racing cars. The packs tended to be priced so that children could collect new packs by saving pocket money for a few weeks.

The original Top Trumps were launched in early 1976, with eleven different packs selling at 50p each, published by a company named Dubreq. Dubreq was also known for the Stylophone. Dubreq was taken over by Waddingtons in 1982, and they continued manufacturing packs until the early 1990s. The packs from this period are now collectible.

*/nods… Yes, that’s certainly a musical contraption, Clicky… And a bit of mechanical novelty*

Clinton’s got her cards… /sigh… I’m a sucker for an underdog… /rolls eyes…

Ruthenian (adj.) 1850, of or pertaining to the Ukrainian people (earlier Ruthene, 1540s), from Medieval Latin Rutheni “the Little Russians,” a derivative of Russi (see Russia). For consonant change, compare Medieval Latin Prut(h)eni, from Prussi “Prussians.” Another word in the same sense was Russniak.

Russian dolls

Rubedo
CLICKY: Are you sure?

*Yeah, have a Song*