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I'm a sucker for Shakespeare.

Particularly the histories, and particularly Henry V, especially with Kenneth Branagh in the lead.

We few. We happy few. We band of brothers



We are but warriors for the working day

Unlike the French knights, the English had no professional standing army. Farmers and labourers fought alongside the nobility. I don't know if you know the story, but most schoolboys...
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secretary:
I miss your reasoned tones around here. x
sherrillee:
I hope all is well with you. Miss you!
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ferkixlll:
Ahhhhh the ego chase of one upmanship:
He did garden shears + a sword, I'll do a meat cleever
+ a lawn mower blades. Toooooo surrealsurreal
grayb got me to look back for the Innocents Blog.
It is documented that the Pickpockets did great bussiness at Hangings
as attention was being focused elsewhere. No deterant, but
that one won't do it again.
It is a failure of Education and the inability to instill a code to
"not violate the society in which one lives". Keep in mind Police
need Criminals and Prisons need occupants to justify their existance.puke
Some of Stalins excess's are examples "preventive" measures.
It is a flawed system and until jerks that feel Macho'd up by raming
through a Death Sentance [ how 'w' got elected Gov in Texas ] are out
of the Loop, Hard to ensure Blind Justice.
grayb:
Oh, c'mon... you can say "Fall"...
I enjoyed some Spotted Dick a couple of weeks agoeeekwink

(I'm hoping any of your American friends who see this comment take the time to research what it actually is)
tongue
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grayb:
Laundry - a bit of a sore point around here lately. It took nearly two months and over $1100 to get my LG Washer/Dryer Combo back to fully operational status. I'm waiting for reimbursement from the warranty company. Wish me luck...

My parents lived in two different communities on the west coast of Florida which prohibited residents from hanging laundry in their yards. My mother made certain that the garages were kept spotlessly clean and hung her laundry there. They were very well ventilated and well exposed to sunlight (unlike garages around here) so it worked quite well.

I don't have a clothesline, the landlord (is a pain in the arse) and doesn't want one so I don't hand everything outside but you'd be amazed how much stuff can be hung on the ropes and ends of a hammock! Yes, I love the smell - every season brings a different sort of "fresh" to the air.

The photos last time brought back many memories, some strong emotions and a pause for reflection. Good choices. Thanks.

All the best...

wsoxfan:
When I was growing up in the 50s, everyone hung their clothes on a clothes line. I don't know exactly when that stopped for the most part, at least in urban areas. Come to think of it, people still do it on the roof in poorer neighborhoods where having a dryer or spending money at the laudromat is a luxury for many.

There are still uses for clothespins, especially the ones with the springs. I know that for a fasct, LOL.
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Over the past week or so, the Guardian and the Observer have been running a series, called 100 Years of Great Press Photographs. I thought, rather than me rattling on about this and that, you'd like to see some of them. It's hard to pick a selection, because they are all brilliant. I am leaving out obvious choices, like Dorothea Lange's wonderful photo of Florence...
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wsoxfan:
These photos are poigant and thought provoking. The one of the Sudan was the most visually gut-wrenching. However, for me, the one depicting the rounding up of the Jews hits home the most.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but my mother was a holocaust survivor. While her parents and brother were exterminated, she survived and went on to live to age 91. Obviously she brought me into the world, which in turn produced my children and grandchildren. I'd like to think that all of us have contributed something positive to the world and will continue to do so.

That's quite a legacy.
wsoxfan:
Thanks for the kind thoughts. It goes without saying that my mother's life was changed dramatically forever. As I was growing up, It was obvious to me that it was her faith that sustained her throughout her horrible experiences and during her years afterwards.

While I became less and less religious, I realized that she's a prime example of someone who was greatly helped by her belief in God. I doubt that I could have sustained those beliefs considering what happened in her life. On the contrary, I'd probably curse God and abandon any faith I may have had in Him after these tragedies. As it is, when someone brings up their belief in a higher power, I bring up the question of how a higher power could allow something like the Holocaust to happen. That goes for things like Aids, Katrina, The Sudan, etc.

What urks me to no end is when people use the all encompassing catch phraise of, "God works in mysterious ways". To me hearing that is like fingernails scraping a chalk board.
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Stats of the day!

Wii Fit age: 34
Brain Training age: 21

So. Just like a cross between Brad Pitt and Noam Chomsky! Or maybe not smile

But I am enjoying getting a lot fitter. I've been doing Wii Fit routines for a while now. Yoga, muscles, but I've substituted a 3 mile run for the aerobics session. And it is soooo good to be out...
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grayb:
I was out all day long and didn't take time to catch back up when I came home last evening. I hadn't heard the news. I've paused for a few minutes - I never saw him perform live, but I enjoyed and respected his work in film and television. RIP.

There are many local examples of the types of carvings you mention that come to mind - including on the steps and walls of the Croton Dam. It has also been tagged (hugely) in some places, including on the large historic dedication plaques and on several informational displays that were put in place to educate and enlighten interested current visitors. In more than one case, all the information they contained has been nearly obliterated. The historic attempts to immortalize the person or a loved one are often, as you mentioned, quite beautiful and obviously took quite some time to create. You must search to find them. As opposed to the modern markings, some of which can be seen from hundreds of feet away and were produced in a few furtive moments.

Different times...
grayb:
I'm a little dense. I finally "got" the joke.

Cheers!
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Well, you know what they say. Blog in haste, repent at leisure. So this morning's introspective, brooding blog has been left to simmer for a few hours in Notepad, before being discarded, despite containing strong evidence of my ability to displace angst with cookery!

Let me tell you a story from my teen years instead. When I was 16, two friends of mine and I...
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secretary:
www.simoncornwell.co.uk/urbex
www.28dayslater.co.uk

Warning, it's addictive. smile x
wsoxfan:
That was beautiful story. Thank goodness the powers that be are more enlightened now. That doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement.
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leighalta:
What kind of dog is Merlin? You look wonderful by the way in your pics. I'm fine...just finishing out the semester and trying to get through my internship without killing anyone.smile
peck:
Thanx for your comment dear. Cies Islans is an incredible place to vitis (specially in summer wink)

Puppies are yooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute. I remember the first time I saw them and.... biggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrinbiggrin
Hope everything is gonna be ok for you
kiss

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

Do you know you look soooooooooooooooooooooooo hot on that pics????
mmmmm.......eeek


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Two blogs in one day is not good. But I get so bored reading back me writing about work. Feel free to read it if you want, but I wanted to put something joyful up today.

I love contemporary dance, and the first act I ever went to see was DV8 performing Enter Achilles. Have just a minute of joy in your day by watching...
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grayb:
Yep, that vid hit the spot, and it very nearly dislodged my mental image of Merlin from your previous entrysmile That must have been... really, um, interesting.

I'm still annoyed and upset about my last corporate work experience (you heard about it already) - good luck to you and your team. I would love for it all to work out as it should.

I'm embarrassed to admit that my first real knowledge of Guy Fawkes (and the poem) came about as a result of my watching the film V for Vendetta. What a sad reflection on me (and my childhood education.) I enjoyed your entry and attachments!

Take care...
wsoxfan:
Despite your humbleness, your opinion does carry a lot of weight with me.

I'm feeling better. I was able to get more sleep than usual. I'm increasingly frustrated about my housing search. I'm limited by what I can afford. Also, my credit has gotten bad over the past year because of my financial problems, so it's difficult to find something through otherwise "normal" channels.

I'm starting to feel the pressure, since I have about a month to find something. I've been able to stay where I am for a long time despite eviction proceedings that were instituted by my landlord. This time, there will be no more delays or postponements.
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So. My daughter and I went to the Remembrance Day service at our village's war memorial yesterday morning.

As usual, being England in November, it was wet, cold and windy. And we could barely hear the vicar mumbling, although the old soldier who accompanied him in reading the names of the village's war dead was loud and clear. And the scouts and guides, and the...
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Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys,...
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wyoh:
Actually, I was reminded by my roommate yesterday about Guy Fawkes Day. It's been brought back into the public eye (at least more so) by the movie V for Vendetta. Actually, my friend watched the movie yesterday due to that.... That's so fabulous. I've never heard too much about other holidays the the USA holidays, (never been out of the country either...)

It sounds like a fabulous holiday. And having a holiday based on people standing up for what they feel is right. Ok, there is the whole blowing up a building thing... lol

Strip Trivial Pursuit??? I'd be naked in no time! I'm horrible at Trivial Pursuit. lol And I think you're pretty wonderful too, love.
secretary:
You have good perspective. I do too sometimes, but right now I'm too busy loathing that boy to care.

That hotel is in Horsley. And it was Ada Lovelace's old home once.

I love fireworks night. It's a shame it's tipping it down right now. Good old England! x
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...and kiss me. I've quit smoking...


I'm glad you liked the Hallowe'en pics.

I should apologise actually. I do tend to blog at a helluva rate. I don't give half of you the chance to keep up with me! But I just seem to find something I want to write about each day, and can't help myself.

------------------------

So. What's got me today? Well, any...
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wsoxfan:
I'm glad I was able to stir up a pleasant memory.
wyoh:
I'm actually glad you blog as much as you do... I don't get to read them all, but it provides a way to share with us the good and the bad in you life. I think that's really the beauty of SG... that we've got this wonderful community.

XOXOXO
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I'm reading Sister Helen Prejean's The Death of Innocents at present. Every page of this book shocks you to the core. How innocent men can be executed, trapped in a legal maze of pro-death rhetoric and political opportunism, that at times resembles Kafka's The Trial. Appeals turned down because of one wrongly typed word. DNA evidence rejected without examination. Witnesses disappeared, snitches recruited, juries manipulated....
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wsoxfan:
I'm very pleased to be a part of this discussion with such intelligent and eloquent people.
kmk:
now, where is that dinning room table and dishes for me to do, hee hee! kiss. kmk!