Events
23 April, 2008
Loaded gift
H. was kind enough to send me a book token to celebrate La Diada de Sant Jordi today. Unfortunately, I think (it's in Polish) it's only redeemable in one bookshop, in Ul. Wołoska, Warszawa. I wonder where H. wants us to spend my next holiday....
It may seem odd that people who don't celebrate christmas (together, anyway) or Valentine's Day, and who would find the suggestion of celebrating an English national day laughable, do participate in the Catalan dia del llibre. I don't see a contradiction – it's the social ubiquity that's so objectionable about the other festivals (and I don't give a **** about England), and I think it's fine for people to acknowledge an arbitrary event of their own choosing, with personal rather than cultural associations.
[False(ish) alarm: the address is simply that of H's local bookshop, and the token is valid in other shops.
In Poland.]
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1 January, 2008
New Year's resolution
This feels like a 1280x720 year.
Posted by Ministry at 08:53
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24 October, 2007
First frost
I don't remember whether that's early, late or normal. Having made this note, I'll know for next year.
17 August, 2007
Happy birthday, CD
It feels like an urban myth, but the BBC reports that the reason a standard audio CD has a running time of 74 minutes is that the technology was deliberately designed to accommodate a complete performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
Twenty-five years old today. That's based on the production of the first discs, then of extreme minority-interest, rather than being the anniversary of CDs being more widespread, but still, it doesn't feel as if they've existed for anything like as long. Then again, I clearly remember a time before Walkmans and VHS recorders, too.
I don't recall buying my first CD, but it would have been well into the Nineties; I think it'd have been somewhere around 1994, as I know I have cassette tapes released in 1993.
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Posted by Ministry at 11:08
| 127 words
27 June, 2007
Rejoice from the rooftops
"Hand on heart, I did what I believed was right"
Not. Good. Enough.
I really can't be bothered to rant. The important thing is that Blair has gone.
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24 April, 2007
Land of hope and... **** that.
I'll simply link to Jack's carefully measured comments on the subject of English patriotism and reverence for a deceased Turkish soldier, and let you read them for yourself.
Posted by Ministry at 10:33
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7 March, 2007
Baudrillard's gone
If that's conceptually possible....
Obituary.
Posted by Ministry at 16:31
| 6 words
2 March, 2007
Blood on t'moon
Here's a reminder, or for those who didn't already know about it, advance warning, that there'll be a full lunar eclipse tomorrow.
In the UK the penumbral stage will begin at 20:00, entering the the umbral stage at 21:00. Totality will begin at 22:45, lasting until 23:58. It'll all be over by 02:30. Let's hope it's colourful – the last one I made an effort to see was impressive in itself but a dingy brown.
NASA reports that colonials will be able to see it too, though it'll already be in progress when the moon rises over N.America and Australians will see the eclipsed moon set.
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Posted by Ministry at 10:05
| 105 words
12 February, 2007
Happy Darwin Day, Mrs. McKeith
Today, the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of 'On The Origin of Species' (Oops; not yet! My mistake.), is an apt occasion for 'international recognition of science and humanity'.
That's science, not pseudo-science like intelligent design or media nutrition; in related news, Dr. Ben Goldacre explains (at length) why Not-Dr. Gillian McKeith has been obliged to stop using the non-accredited title.
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4 January, 2007
Make history
Forty years ago today, presumably to within a couple of hours, Bluebird K7 flipped over at 320mph on Coniston Water, killing Donald Campbell on what seemed likely to have been a successful attempt at the world water speed record.
An appropriate moment to play Marillion's 'Out Of This World' again, I think.
Bluebird K7 was recovered from the lake bed almost six years ago, but endless debates about whether to restore the craft to a pristine condition or preserve the wreck as-is have only recently been resolved. The Heritage Lottery Fund twice refused to fund the former alternative, but as the BBC reports*, the restoration project is proceeding well at last, funded privately and without HLF involvement.
See Fish-lookalike Bill Smith's wonderfully opinionated diary of the whole process for details of the engineering project and his side of the 'restore or preserve' argument.
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it myself.
My instinctive preference would be to stabilise the remains of Bluebird K7 in her damaged state, with the crushed cockpit and outriggers. A pristine replica would be a valid project, but a different one. I still stand by the comments I made in 2005, though I have to acknowledge I may have been reacting to Gina Campbell's reportedly petulant attitude.
However, I can understand the desire to restore the original, and I have little doubt that Smith's team are conducting the project with the greatest respect for conservation of the wreck as a historical artefact. The craft is being painstakingly dismantled and an astonishing number of seemingly ruined parts are being reused rather than replaced. Even the failed faces of the original welds are being preserved, just in case future analytical techniques enable researchers to determine something of interest from them.
*: Somewhat misleadingly. The BBC's opening paragraph implies Smith just happened to find the wreck accidentally, but he had actually been searching for it!
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Posted by Ministry at 12:00
| 322 words
3 January, 2007
In beta
Belatedly, may you have a happy New Year.
Welcome to 2006 2.0. Isn't it shiny?
[Okay; I 'borrowed' that deeply witty and incisive satire from User Friendly.]
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6 November, 2006
Dum-di-dum(b)
I haven't listened to BBC Radio 4 for years, but J. tells me that tonight's is the 15,000th episode of 'The Archers'. Wow. That's quite an achievement. Over 55 years of a radio soap ostensibly about farming.
I can summarise the reason for my dislike of Radio 4 in one word: smug.
It's all so middle-class and complacent; awful things happen to other people, but that's external to Radio 4's cosy Little England, where all's well. If 'The Sun' sublimates the concerns of the proletariat into trivia ('bingo and tits', as Billy Bragg said), it's Radio 4 which distracts the bourgeoisie from questioning the real issues.
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Posted by Ministry at 11:09
| 112 words
1 November, 2006
Happy Samhain
<sigh>
Samhain is today, 1 November, okay? It's not merely a different name for Hallowe'en (31 October), the christian attempt to demonise the pre-existing festival.
Happy New Celtic Year, anyway.
Posted by Ministry at 13:38
| 31 words
9 July, 2006
An arbitrary moment (3)
If I'd remembered in time, I could have posted this yesterday morning at precisely ten minutes and nine seconds after eleven o'clock in the morning on the eighth of July, 2006, or 11:10:09 08/07/06.
Other moments of no genuine significance: 1, 2.
Posted by Ministry at 08:50
| 44 words
6 June, 2006
An arbitrary moment (2)
Just pointing out that, as close to the moment as the server permits, I'm publishing this at six minutes and six seconds after six o'clock in the morning on the sixth of June, 2006, or 06:06:06 06/06/06.
Yes, I was awake anyway – I didn't make a special effort!
Here's another moment of no genuine significance.
[Update 15:30: As requested, another sentence to extend the contrived coincidence.]
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4 May, 2006
An arbitrary moment (1)
If anyone's interested: as close to the moment as the server permits, I'm publishing this at two minutes and three seconds after one o'clock in the morning on the fourth of May, 2006, or 01:02:03, 04/05/06.
Posted by Ministry at 01:02
| 36 words
6 February, 2006
You shouldn't have. No, really.
This year, I remembered to write this entry well in advance, so that those so inclined can follow the link and send anti-valentine e-cards.
Beyond that, I don't think I need to elaborate on my earlier comments.
Nothing says "I love you" quite like saturated fat and slutty lingerie.
Posted by Ministry at 18:39
| 51 words
5 September, 2005
Save me! ME! Or else...
Sal has published a characteristically good post about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans: in short, the disaster wasn't the hurricane itself, or even the flooding, but the way some people have responded, not least their selfishness.
As Hannah said:
When
Boscastle was destroyed by floods, the residents weren't looting the Post Office and
shooting at the rescue workers, were they?
30 July, 2005
Hands off those students
An Alternative Freshers' Fair is to be held in Manchester this year as a response to the commercialism which has overwhelmed 'official' Freshers' Fairs in recent years.
I remember mine, in 1990, as the traditional type: a large room occupied by students' societies attempting to recruit members. Nowadays, the societies are still there, but to a lesser extent, and the focus of such events is on banks, insurance companies, mobile phone providers, national newspapers and other commercial organisations attempting to secure new students' as-yet unallocated money and tie them into the lifestyles they peddle. It's downright depressing, and I tend to recommend that my tutees don't even bother attending.
Manchester's alternative, as described by Indymedia, sounds sickeningly 'right-on' and community-orientated (ugh), but in principle it's an excellent idea. A better one would be for the original events to be reclaimed, with Universities and Student Unions specifically excluding commercial organisations, or at least splitting them off into a separate building/event.
[Via Spinneyhead]
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23 April, 2005
Saint's Day
Happy Sant Jordi's Day to everyone in Catalunya.
[What d'you mean, "what about the English?" What about them?]
Posted by Ministry at 10:45
| 19 words
6 March, 2005
A mother isn't just for christmas
I suppose everyone's done his or her bit to support starving greetings card manufacturers, florists and confectioners today. Needless to say, I haven't.
A piece of plasticised cardboard conveying someone else's contrived sentiment isn't my idea of meaningful, and I don't regard it as sufficient to merely send a card, thereby ticking the 'acknowledge mother' box for another year.
If you haven't already done so, ring your mother and speak to her - invest a little time and genuine emotion in a proper conversation, rather than relying on Hallmark to do an inadequate job of it.
Posted by Ministry at 16:34
| 96 words
13 January, 2005
Goth festival rumour
I don't know what Morecambe hoteliers have heard that no-one else has, but it seems hotels are contacting people to see if they'd be interested in rooms for the Morecambe Goth Festival on the weekend of 4-6 March.
I've heard nothing else whatsoever about this, even whether there will be a festival, but some might like to keep that weekend free, just in case.
Posted by Ministry at 11:50
| 64 words
14 December, 2004
Goodbye Moscow
We tended to regard one another with mutual wariness, as Moscow was a huge, ex-Animal Rescue cat with a bad attitude arising from rough early treatment and later pampering, and I'm not prepared to put a cat's whims ahead of mine, nor to uncomplainingly accept swipes from an impatient claw. At 16+, he wasn't the most active or lovable cat; his long black & white fur was usually a bit grubby.
Still, I knew him for 4-5 years, and was his usual feeder when J & Fi were away, so we were more than casual acquaintances.
Recently, he developed an astonishingly loud purr and a snore, which were diagnosed as the results of an inoperable growth in his throat. It was delayed for a couple of weeks by steroids, but at the exact time of writing, he's visiting the vet for the last time.
Posted by Ministry at 15:45
| 144 words
26 October, 2004
RIP John Peel
The news broke about an hour ago: John Peel has died at the age of 65, while on holiday in Peru.
One of the very few 'celebs' who ever really mattered to me, he'll be greatly missed. It's like a highly-respected family member has gone. I don't think I've ever been so personally affected by the death of someone I didn't know myself.
This is also a loss to the nation. I've just done a quick search, and this is the lead story on the websites of all UK national newspapers (even the Financial Times) at present.
In championing new music since the Sixties, he personally introduced punk, reggae and hip-hop, amongst other styles, to the UK, well before they entered the mainstream. Now what do we do?
19 June, 2004
Happy Badger Day
Today is National Badger Day.
It's interesting that if it hadn't been for this meme, I doubt I or other blog authors would have thought to mention the event.
Posted by Ministry at 14:11
| 30 words
17 May, 2004
Gratulerer med dagen, Norge
Happy Grunlovsdagen, Norway!
I wish I was there today; I really enjoyed Stavanger's syttende mai in 2002.
Posted by Ministry at 13:10
| 18 words
23 March, 2004
Rare event for armchair astronomers
Between 22 and 31 March, five planets will be visible to the naked eye just after dusk; an opportunity which won't be so easily repeated until 2036.
Viewing from the northern hemisphere:
Mercury will be visible above the setting sun until 45 mins after sunset when it will drop below the horizon.
Venus will be higher in the sky and the brightest object in view.
Mars, though dimmer than last summer, will be high in the southwestern sky.
Saturn will be nearly overhead at dusk, slightly to the south. Because of this position in the sky, there is less atmospheric distortion than usual, so views with a telescope will be particularly good, showing the rings and major moons.
Jupiter will also be particularly bright, rising in the east at sunset.
For a sixth planet: look down.
Further detail from the BBC (unlikely to be permanently archived).
Posted by Ministry at 11:43
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16 March, 2004
Erm....
Today is National Ideas Day.
I can't think of anything else to say.
Posted by Ministry at 14:20
| 14 words
6 February, 2004
Tides kill 19
Maybe somewhere like New York it's common to hear a helicopter pass over one's house then hear that same helicopter a minute later on a live national news report, but here in Lancaster it hadn't happened to me before today.
Lancaster is within walking distance of the coast, more precisely the vast sand flats of Morecambe Bay. When the tide is out, it's out as far as the horizon, but returns at terrifying speed. The flats are also an extremely complex environment, with a shifting network of gullies and quicksand.
Furthermore, they are home to some £6 million ($11 million, currently) worth of cockles and a traditional industry harvesting them. In recent years, the area has been opened as a public fishery, and once permits are obtained, anyone can go onto the sands to harvest. This has caused predictable ill-feeling amongst the locals, but putting protectionism to one side, there are genuine safety implications of inexperienced people entering such a treacherous environment.
It's bad enough when harvesters from other areas of the UK visit (as is their right; I'm certainly not saying they shouldn't), thinking they know the conditions because they've previously worked in North Wales or the Bristol Channel; somewhat different situations, and Morecambe Bay can still surprise those fishermen. However, once permits are obtained, there's no way to prevent multiple people sharing them, and to prevent sub-contracting or the employing of totally unskilled labour. There have been numerous cases of illegal immigrants and 'unemployed' benefits-claimants being caught working on the sands. Harvesters can earn £500 per day, but the illegal labourers are unlikely to see much of that.
It's unproductive to say "I told you so", but anyone who has read a local paper within the last couple of months has been repeatedly told about a tragedy waiting to happen. Now it has.
Yesterday afternoon, a group of over 30 went out, and were caught by the tide. The alarm was raised at 21:20. Fourteen people escaped or were rescued, and at the time of writing, eighteen bodies (16 male) have been recovered. Those rescued seem to be Chinese nationals, with little command of English, so it's not really known how many were in their party.
[Update, 22:15: the final death toll seems to be nineteen.]
[Update, 16/2/04: another body has been found, taking the total to 20. One source claims there may be four more as yet undiscovered.]
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Posted by Ministry at 11:28
| 401 words
30 November, 2003
More competition?
Many congratulations to Jakob R. Nielsen (multiple Golden Demon Sword winner & unfailingly nice guy) and family, on the birth of his daughter.
Posted by Ministry at 10:55
| 23 words
27 November, 2003
Ee, a grand Lancashire Day t'you
Apparently today was 'Lancashire Day', celebrating over 700 years of my adopted county being represented in Parliament. On 27 November, 1295, the first elected representatives from Lancashire were called to Westminster by Edward I, to attend what later became known as 'The Model Parliament'.
Having just done a Google search to find that exact date, I read a mildly interesting (alleged) fact at the website of the Friends of Real Lancashire. It seems that when, in 1974, government reorganisation created new administrative counties, the prior geographical counties weren't abolished and replaced, and officially they still exist. This means that 'real Lancashire' i.e the County Palatine of Lancashire, still extends from a significant part of what is now known as Cumbria all the way south to encompass both Liverpool and Manchester, an area drastically larger than now known as Lancashire.
[Definition from dictionary.com; I couldn't hotlink directly to the point I wanted to:
County Palatine: a county distinguished by particular privileges; so called a palatio (from the palace), because the owner had originally royal powers, or the same powers, in the administration of justice, as the king had in his palace; but these powers are now abridged. The counties palatine, in England, are Lancaster, Chester, and Durham.]
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Posted by Ministry at 18:12
| 208 words
1 November, 2003
Happy New Celtic Year!
I hope everyone enjoyed Samhain - not Hallowe'en, that's the christian attempt to hide and suppress the earlier celebration with the contrived All Hallows Day. In fact, the BBC reports that even mainstream christian groups now go out of their way to force bogus christian meaning into the traditional, secular version of Hallowe'en - pumpkins carved with bible messages, 'Saints and Sausages' or 'Saints and Superheroes' (something of a mixed message there, too) parties.
To quote from the article:
"There is a tendency to paranoia among some Christians," explains Professor Christopher Partridge of University College, Chester. "They have a dualistic world view - if something is not of God then it's of Satan. And Hallowe'en is invested with a lot of negative imagery for Christians - witches and demons etcetera. It just looks evil."
The fact that Halloween has been embraced by modern pagans particularly gives them the creeps.
"The veil between this world and the spirit world is supposed to be very thin at Halloween," says Mr Partridge, "which is a very positive thing in paganism. It's a time for reflection. But to some sections of the church this can look as if they're communicating with dead spirits."
Even if that wasn't paranoia, so what? Why can't Wiccans celebrate their festival in their way, and christians celebrate their contrived version in their way? It's not as if Wiccans evangelise or try to invade situations where they're not wanted - that's the christians.
As I said in another forum yesterday, it's not a belief system I share myself, but for many people, Samhain is a religious celebration; it's just plain rude to cheapen it with plastic bats, and deeply offensive to try to suppress it.
Clarification: Samhain begins at 00:00 on 1 November. It's not 31 October, and 'Hallowe'en' is not synonymous with Samhain.
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Posted by Ministry at 09:42
| 303 words
10 October, 2003
Poet wins top award
Congratulations to A.B. Jackson, recipient on Wednesday of the award for best first collection at the Forward Prize, the UK's biggest annual poetry award.
Here's hoping it prompts better distribution of the collection, 'Fire Stations'.
Well done, Andy!
NP: Opeth, 'Damnation'
Posted by Ministry at 13:13
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