Monthly Archives: May 2011

The Watering Hole: May 21 – Epimenides’ Paradox

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Epimenides was a philosopher and religious prophet who, against the general sentiment of Crete, proposed that Zeus was immortal, as in the following poem:

They fashioned a tomb for thee, O holy and high one
The Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies!
But thou art not dead: thou livest and abidest forever,
For in thee we live and move and have our being.

This short stanza is the basis of what is called the Cretan paradox - “I always lie”. Since Epimenides was a Cretan, how could the words he penned be true when he said that Cretans always lied?

Mr. Spock once demonstrated that this can be a UsefulLie. He used it to incapacitate Norman the android by overloading the android’s limited logic circuitry. Smoke issues from Norman’s head as he breaks down (“I, Mudd” episode in the second season of the original Star Trek series ).

Food for thought.

This is our Open Thread. Please feel free to present your thoughts on any topic that comes to mind.

Just in case… Friday, May 20, 2011 music night

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While I seriously doubt that tomorrow really will be Judgment Day, it might be helpful to hedge my bets. Tonight’s lead-off music video is posted to remind Jesus that some of us think he had some great ideas and know he’s not responsible for the crackpots and bigots that claim to speak for him. On the other hand, if he actually does have a little extra clout upstairs, I’m more than happy if he decides to yank those hypocrites off the planet. And it’s a live performance by one of the best American bands ever and there’s even a light show! And then a cautionary note or celebration, not sure which.

As usual, this is a Musical Open Thread. Feel free to ignore me (as usual).

The Watering Hole: May 20 – Global Warming

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On May 20th, 1845, two ships under the command of Sir John Franklin in search of a passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific through waters north of the Canadian Shield. The richly provisioned Royal expedition was never heard from again.

Later Arctic expeditions revealed that the entire crews of both ships perished during that effort. 20th century forensics of the remains of some expedition members revealed that there were heavy concentrations of lead in their systems. These came from the lead-tin alloy used to seal the tin containers used at the time. The lack of fresh fruit led to scurvy as well in expedition members.

The expedition was ice-locked in 1846 and things when from bad to worse from then on. The last surviving members perished about 1850. From native reports, cannibalism was used as a final resort for survival.

Today, several Northwest Passages are open year-round due to the effects of shrinkage of the Northern ice-cap (Map above). This is due to non-existent Global Warming. One would think that the members of the Franklin Expedition would have been grateful if such an effect had occurred prior to 1845.

This is our Open Thread. Please feel free to present your thoughts on any topic that comes to mind.

The Watering Hole: May 19 – Dark Day

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Dark Day in New England occurred on May 19, 1780, when an unusual darkening of the day sky was observed over the New England states and parts of Canada. The cause of the event is believed to have been a combination of smoke from forest fires, a thick fog and cloud cover. It was so dark that candles were required from noon on. It dispersed the following night. The darkness was seen from Portland, Maine in the north through New Jersey in the south. Pennsylvania to the west was not affected.

No complete explanation of this phenomenon has been put forward but charing of trees seems to correspond to that year when rings are counted and collated.

This is our Open Thread. Please feel free to present your thoughts on any topic that comes to mind.

The Watering Hole: Wednesday, May 18, 2011: Hump Day

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Who will sound the warning
When there’s no one left to hear?

(while the breakers on the rocky shore,
the rocky shore,
the barren heaven Nevermore
growing ever near)

Tell the Captain!
Tell the Captain!
(the ship must have its Captain)

Call the Captain!
In his Cabin,

(with his mistress and his cabin boy,
just a toy)

That the Ship will run aground
On the Sound
(with the sound
of a whimpered joy)

And the Helmsman waited
but the order never came.

He stayed the course
(the deadly course)
his heading ever true.

And dashed upon the rocks,
While the crowds upon the docks
Watched in silent rapture horrified
And saw the Captain glorified.

For the ship was made of glass,
And the Captain in his cabin
(with his mistress and his cabin boy,
the cabin boy,
the Captain’s joy)

Felt the shattered shards of his ship
Tear the flesh from his soul,
As he slowly lost his grip.

And the glassy sea

Claimed its own.

(© 2011 Briseadh na Faire)

This is our Open Thread. Some Christians claim The Rapture will occur this Saturnday. Your thoughts?

The Watering Hole: May 17 – I’ve got the Power!!!!

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What is it with powerful men? From “ius primae noctis” to the likes of Silvio Berlusconi, Moshe Katzav, Vladimir Putin to (allegedly) Dominique Strauss Kahn, women are just another commodity, they can take advantage of. Like everything else. Just to think, they think they’ll get away with it.

And now the DSK case is sending shockwaves through the financial markets, because all those powerful people have messed up things really bad. This, however, they will get away with.

This is our open thread. Feel free to comment on this and anyhing else that’s on your mind and have a wonderful day!

Watering Hole – Monday, May 16, 2011 – Let Them Speak English

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Making English the official language and banning the use of other languages in school is nothing new to this nation.  Pennsylvania Dutch was spoken freely in the schools in southeastern Pennsylvania until the early 1900′s when the Pennsylvania legislators decided that children should not be speaking both English and German.  They wanted to kill the use of languages other than English and by doing so, they hoped to suppress the Swiss/German culture in the state.  Despite their efforts, Pennsylvania Dutch can still be heard, spoken by many of the farmers living in southeastern PA.  A similar thing happened in Louisiana where the use of French was prohibited.  Banning French failed as the language lives on in music.

In the early 1900s, Louisiana authorities tried to suppress Cajun culture, banning the use of French in schools. But in recent decades, the Cajuns have repossessed their heritage and display an obvious pride. One major unifying force is Cajun music and dance, which is something of a family affair.

From one of the best… The Balfa Brothers

Today, it’s about banning Spanish and the Hispanic culture.  Si?  You can only speak English at Gino’s Steaks in Philadelphia.

Kill a language and kill a culture.

The English only crowd… en dummkopp iss and they deserve a swift kick in the dupa.

This is our Open Thread.  Feel free to Speak Up in any language.

Sunday Toast May 15th, 2011

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I’m guessing everyone is a  little crispy around the edges following Zooey’s virtual (or not so imaginary) graduation party.

I’ll make this brief, as I’m out of coffee and have to settle for Lipton’s and am going on 4 weeks now without having been paid at work. Hrrmmmph.

This constitutes The Daily Open Thread. Spread a little marmalade, soak another scone and let us know what you think!