Look Around You V

Our educational tour of the cutting edge of modern science continues.

Sulphur
Grow into these trousers... >>

I could be shocked, but maybe not

After the dubious medicine of yesterday, here comes the dubious medicine of yesteryear.

My mind boggles at the conversations Victorian gentlemen may have had about this utility belt:


"Go on, try it"
"Egads sir you first"
"Do you keep it on whilst...?"

Go to Cracked.com for The 10 Most Insane Medical Practices in History and don't miss page 2.

Note: there is no 'below the belt' link for this post. I value my family jewels too much! Grow into these trousers... >>

And you think you need medical treatment

It's true that high quality medical treatments have developed over the years, but we all still need to be aware of quackery and pseudoscience. Thus I was transfixed to hear Ben Goldacre on the Today programme on Radio 4 this morning, and I had to sit half dressed on the edge of the bed and listen. The interview was about the benefits of ‘post holiday detoxification’ and could very easily have descended into bullshit, except for Dr Ben.

Go over to Bad Science where Ben has the audio of the interview. Listen first! Then read the rest of the post.

Ben nails them! Grow into these trousers... >>

Lots to do in 2009

Just a reminder that 2009 is The International Year of Astronomy, so pay them a visit and see what events might be in your area.

The daily podcast is up and running and well worth a listen. Just now I'm listening to Who Ordered the Dark Matter and Dark Energy? with Fraser Cain and Pamela Gay from Astronomy Cast.



In addition, 2009 will see the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin on February 12^th and the 150^th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species on November 24^th. Watch out for lots evolution themed things this year like the current exhibition at The Natural History Museum.

Happy science year! Grow into these trousers... >>

A thought for a Sunday - Sun Tzu

If ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, divide them; if equal, be able to fight them; if fewer, be able to evade them; if weaker, be able to avoid them.

Sun Tzu - The Art of War - 6th century BCE Grow into these trousers... >>

Andrés Segovia jams some Mozart

Segovia - variations on Mozart's theme
Grow into these trousers... >>

Monuments of unageing intellect

That line comes from the first verse of a poem by W.B. Yeats:

That is no country for old men. The young
In one another’s arms, birds in the trees -
Those dying generations - at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.

Sailing to Byzantium (1927)

I paraphrase - don't get so caught up in the immediate, in the satisfaction of desire, as to miss the true wonder of the world around you and the achievements of humanity.

Yeats' words, as true today as when first written, were used by Jacob Bronowski in the introduction to his awesome series on mankind's cultural evolution The Ascent Of Man (1973).

Although filmed long ago this still remains one of the best TV documentaries of all time. If you've never seen it, I urge you to set aside the time. If you have seen it you will know it is well worth seeing over and again.

PART ONE - Lower than the Angels [51:17]


Now head over to Online Documentaries 4 U for the next 12 episodes of this 'Monument of unageing intellect'. Grow into these trousers... >>

Let's have another game

HDOS Databank request 01

Here's one of those infuriating, exasperating games which could drive you nuts.

Swap adjacent blocks to line them up in threes or more and they go 'puff'. Clear them all to unlock the next level...

With limited moves. Grow into these trousers... >>

Housekeeping

You can hardly notice but I have changed the page layout a bit. I've made the blog a bit wider to better fit YouTube's new wide-screen format (like John and Danny from yesterday). This may throw out the formatting of some earlier posts but hey it's a New Year, got to keep moving on.

Seriously though, if anyone spots anything really mangled, let me know. Grow into these trousers... >>

Happy New Year

I finally surfaced from the revelry to find some familiar names in this year's honours list.

Terry Pratchett gets a well deserved knighthood for his 'services to literature'. There's an example of Sir Terry's work below the belt.

Jazz musician Courtney Pine, receives a CBE (services to jazz music), actress Liz Smith becomes an MBE (services to drama) and, most surprisingly, guitarist Iain David McGeachy gets an OBE for services to music. So here is the lad at his best. AKA John Martyn:

John Martyn with Danny Thompson - Solid Air


Oh and someone called Plant gets a CBE too.

As promised, dive below for a Pratchett goodie.

Sky One's lavish production of The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic.


Grow into these trousers... >>