The Fruit Bats – “Seaweed”
Mouthfuls

I love the guitar in this song. So calming. This is a great album, by the way, one of the few albums I have with a distinct twang to it. I’m okay with that.

Oh, this is excellent. The 9/12 rally, but in video form. Haven’t seen any of these yet. Hope there are more.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Good lord. Say what you will about the service, but that’s the ugliest logo Google’s ever made.

Their pieces of brazen ordinance were 1600, and of yron a 1000.

The bullets thereto belonging were 120,000.

Item of gun-poulder, 5600 quintals. Of matche, 1200 quintals. Of muskets and kaleivers, 7000. Of haleberts and partisans, 10,000.

Moreover they had great stores of canons, double-canons, culverings and field-pieces for land services.

ibid.

Norman Borlaug, major defender against world hunger, dies

I remember seeing this guy on the “Genetic Modification” episode of Penn & Teller’s Bullshit. Penn cited him as perhaps the greatest person who ever lived, suggesting that his research had helped feed billions of people who would have otherwise starved (and continues to today). I would agree, though the critics have a point that a result of his techniques was an over-reliance on artificial fertilizers and a hugely raised ceiling for population — the problems following from which we are still dealing with today.

Still, his work was all about getting poor, starving people enough grains to eat and make a living; that’s all he ever wanted, and he succeeded marvelously. From the article: “About half the world’s population goes to bed every night after consuming grain descended from one of the high-yield varieties developed by Dr. Borlaug and his colleagues of the Green Revolution.”

RIP, Norman – would that a tenth of a percent of the people in this world were as dedicated, modest, and selfless as you were.

Great song, freaky video. Must have been fun/difficult to make.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

The galliasses were of such bignesse, that they contained within them chambers, chapels, turrets, pulpits, and other commodities of great houses. The galliasses were rowed with great oares, there being in eche one of them 300 slaves for the same purpose, and were able to do great service with the force of their ordinance. All these, together with the residue aforenamed, were furnished and beautified with trumphets, streamers, banners, warlike ensignes, and other such like ornaments.

ibid.

Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes”

I understand that the popular conception of Sherlock Holmes is mistaken — he’s far from merely an observative gentleman detective. He’s addicted to drugs and can be both manipulative and ruthless. But he’s not a 19th-century Indiana Jones. This movie will be a lot of fun, I’m sure, but did they really have to call it Sherlock Holmes?

The galeons were 64 in number, being of an huge bignesse, and very flately built, being of marvelous force also, and so high that they resembled great castles, most fit to defend themselves and to withstand any assault, but in giving any other ships the encounter farr inferiour unto the English and Dutch ships, which can with great dexteritie wield and turne themselves at all assayes.

The upper worke of the saide galeons was of thicknesse and strength sufficient to beare off musket-shot. The lower worke and the timbers thereof were out of measures strong, being framed of plankes and ribs foure or five foote in thicknesse, insomuch that no bullets could pierce them but such as were discharged hard at hand, which afterward prooved true, for a great number of bullets were founde to sticke fast within the massie substance of those thicke plankes.

Great and well-pitched cables were twined about the masts of their shippes, to strengthen them against the battery of shot.

Edwin Creasy, The 15 Decisive Battles in the History of the World

Stephen Fry goes off eloquently and convincingly on why we do do not need a god to have beauty and awe and love and so on. Very good, in fact I think I’m going to listen to it again.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)