...you might wish to check out this long YouTube video on the background history of England at the time, called "The Anarchy." It's a fun telling with some good animation of battles and skirmishes. To summarize it, Henry I, son of William the Conqueror, was predeceased by his legitimate son (Henry had numerous bastards, but they couldn't inherit). So Henry secured promises from his vassals to acknowledge his daughter Matilda as queen of England after he died. One of them, Stephen of Blois, usurped the throne after Henry's death, and a civil war ensued that lasted over ten years, with the issue only being settled when Stephen agreed to adopt Henry's grandson Henry Plantagenet as his heir (Stephen's own son Eustace had predeceased him). This was acceptable to all parties, and when Stephen died, Henry Plantagenet became Henry II.
Showing posts with label UK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UK. Show all posts
Monday, October 25, 2021
Tuesday, June 06, 2017
The Return of Count Spirochete*
"Syphilis cases in England reach highest level since 1949."
*bonus points for getting the reference in the blog post title.
*bonus points for getting the reference in the blog post title.
Friday, May 26, 2017
Roman Sling Bullets With .44 Magnum Levels of Power
via Stars & Stripes.
But research published Wednesday in National Geographic showed a slingshot used by the Romans some 1,900 years ago had nearly the same stopping power as a .44 magnum.
They used it in the opening attack of a war with the restive tribes living among the hills of Burnswark, Scotland. That war dragged on for nearly two decades. Eventually, the Romans retreated to a fortified barrier they had built known as Hadrian's Wall.
The lead bullets were about 50 grams each. Strangely, about 10 percent of them contained small holes.
The confused researchers made replicas of several bullets, both holed and solid, and gave it to a trained slinger.
The solid ones flew at up to 100 miles per hour and could hit objects smaller than a human 130 yards away. Furthermore, they contained the stopping power of a .44 magnum, that gun Dirty Harry carried around specifically because it was so powerful.
"The biggest sling stones are very powerful — they could literally take off the top of your head," Reid told the Scientific American.
They also solved the mystery of why some had holes. Those weren't as effective as a weapon, but they produced "a weird banshee-like wail" as the wind whipped through and over the holes, Nicholson told National Geographic. The idea, he hypothesized, was to terrify the enemy with the noise during an attack, as a means of distracting them.
"So you are getting these unworldly, unnatural sounds that you have never heard before, and people are falling over on either side of you," Nicholson said.
The location and number of the bullets found suggested a long, pounding siege on a hillside. It's a tremendous thing to imagine, bullets raining down for hours while alien screams fill the air.
But research published Wednesday in National Geographic showed a slingshot used by the Romans some 1,900 years ago had nearly the same stopping power as a .44 magnum.
They used it in the opening attack of a war with the restive tribes living among the hills of Burnswark, Scotland. That war dragged on for nearly two decades. Eventually, the Romans retreated to a fortified barrier they had built known as Hadrian's Wall.
The lead bullets were about 50 grams each. Strangely, about 10 percent of them contained small holes.
The confused researchers made replicas of several bullets, both holed and solid, and gave it to a trained slinger.
The solid ones flew at up to 100 miles per hour and could hit objects smaller than a human 130 yards away. Furthermore, they contained the stopping power of a .44 magnum, that gun Dirty Harry carried around specifically because it was so powerful.
"The biggest sling stones are very powerful — they could literally take off the top of your head," Reid told the Scientific American.
They also solved the mystery of why some had holes. Those weren't as effective as a weapon, but they produced "a weird banshee-like wail" as the wind whipped through and over the holes, Nicholson told National Geographic. The idea, he hypothesized, was to terrify the enemy with the noise during an attack, as a means of distracting them.
"So you are getting these unworldly, unnatural sounds that you have never heard before, and people are falling over on either side of you," Nicholson said.
The location and number of the bullets found suggested a long, pounding siege on a hillside. It's a tremendous thing to imagine, bullets raining down for hours while alien screams fill the air.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
It Lends An Air of Authenticity
"Police Apologise After Fake Suicide Bomber Shouts ‘Allahu Akbar’ During Training Exercise."
It'd be sort of like yelling "Yoiks, Tally Ho!" at a faux fox hunt, or "Timber!" at a faux tree felling, or "Fore!" at a faux golf game.
It'd be sort of like yelling "Yoiks, Tally Ho!" at a faux fox hunt, or "Timber!" at a faux tree felling, or "Fore!" at a faux golf game.
Thursday, July 09, 2015
Friday, January 02, 2015
Treasure Blog: Saxon Pennies
5000+ of them, dating back to the reigns of Ethelred the Unready and Canute.
Aylesbury, 42 miles west of London.
Aylesbury, 42 miles west of London.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Saturday, November 01, 2014
Meanwhile, In U.K....
...schoolchildren were threatened with a black mark on their permanent records if they failed to attend a "mandatory" field trip on Islam.
Dear Parent/Carer,
As part of the National Religious Education Curriculum together with the multicultural community in which we live, it is a statutory requirement for Primary School aged children to experience and learn about different cultures.
The workshop is at Staffordshire University and will give your child the opportunity to explore other religions.
Children will be looking at religious artefacts similar to those that would be on display in a museum. they will not be partaking in any religious practices.
Refusal to allow your child to attend this trip will result in a Racial Discrimination note being attached to your child’s education record, which will remain on this file throughout their school career.
As such our expectations are that all children in years 4 and 6 attend school on Wednesday 27th November to take part in this trip. All absences on this day will be investigated for their credibility and will only be sanctioned with a GP sick note.
If you would like to discuss this further please contact our RE Coordinator, Mrs Edmonds.
After "discussing it further" with the local Member of Parliament and the town council, the school walked it back.
Dear Parent/Carer,
As part of the National Religious Education Curriculum together with the multicultural community in which we live, it is a statutory requirement for Primary School aged children to experience and learn about different cultures.
The workshop is at Staffordshire University and will give your child the opportunity to explore other religions.
Children will be looking at religious artefacts similar to those that would be on display in a museum. they will not be partaking in any religious practices.
Refusal to allow your child to attend this trip will result in a Racial Discrimination note being attached to your child’s education record, which will remain on this file throughout their school career.
As such our expectations are that all children in years 4 and 6 attend school on Wednesday 27th November to take part in this trip. All absences on this day will be investigated for their credibility and will only be sanctioned with a GP sick note.
If you would like to discuss this further please contact our RE Coordinator, Mrs Edmonds.
After "discussing it further" with the local Member of Parliament and the town council, the school walked it back.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Update: Jack the Ripper Identified By DNA Evidence?
An update to this post from September 6th.
Looks like I was write to qualify my post with a question mark, because the DNA evidence is being challenged as incorrect.
Looks like the scientist involved in the DNA work got some calculations wrong, and is being called out on it. He's standing by his work at the moment, but if he's an ethical scientist he'll be willing to admit a mistake, if mistake it is.
Looks like I was write to qualify my post with a question mark, because the DNA evidence is being challenged as incorrect.
Looks like the scientist involved in the DNA work got some calculations wrong, and is being called out on it. He's standing by his work at the moment, but if he's an ethical scientist he'll be willing to admit a mistake, if mistake it is.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
You Keep On Using That Word...
...I do not think it means what you think it means.
That word would be castle.
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines castle thusly:
castle: a large building usually with high, thick walls and towers that was built in the past to protect against attack.
You will see, then, that the building that this Englishman took refuge in - - his home - - wasn't also his castle, because it offered him no defense when he was attacked.
Of course, even in feudal days, a castle by itself wasn't secure; it had to have armed defenders. And that is where UK has failed itscitizens subjects: it made self-defense improbable by banning firearms. So this Englishman was beaten nearly to death because his government didn't believe he should be allowed to defend himself.
That word would be castle.
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines castle thusly:
castle: a large building usually with high, thick walls and towers that was built in the past to protect against attack.
You will see, then, that the building that this Englishman took refuge in - - his home - - wasn't also his castle, because it offered him no defense when he was attacked.
Of course, even in feudal days, a castle by itself wasn't secure; it had to have armed defenders. And that is where UK has failed its
Saturday, September 06, 2014
Jack the Ripper Identified By DNA Evidence?
Appears so.
It is the greatest murder mystery of all time, a puzzle that has perplexed criminologists for more than a century and spawned books, films and myriad theories ranging from the plausible to the utterly bizarre.
But now, thanks to modern forensic science, The Mail on Sunday can exclusively reveal the true identity of Jack the Ripper, the serial killer responsible for at least five grisly murders in Whitechapel in East London during the autumn of 1888.
DNA evidence has now shown beyond reasonable doubt which one of six key suspects commonly cited in connection with the Ripper’s reign of terror was the actual killer – and we reveal his identity.
Aaron Kosminski.
Click the link to read the rest. This will probably piss off a lot of Ripperologists, including novelist Patricia Cornwell, who picked another man for the role in a book she published on the Ripper.
h/t Vox Day.
It is the greatest murder mystery of all time, a puzzle that has perplexed criminologists for more than a century and spawned books, films and myriad theories ranging from the plausible to the utterly bizarre.
But now, thanks to modern forensic science, The Mail on Sunday can exclusively reveal the true identity of Jack the Ripper, the serial killer responsible for at least five grisly murders in Whitechapel in East London during the autumn of 1888.
DNA evidence has now shown beyond reasonable doubt which one of six key suspects commonly cited in connection with the Ripper’s reign of terror was the actual killer – and we reveal his identity.
Aaron Kosminski.
Click the link to read the rest. This will probably piss off a lot of Ripperologists, including novelist Patricia Cornwell, who picked another man for the role in a book she published on the Ripper.
h/t Vox Day.
Treasure Blog: Colonial-Era US Threepence
Found in Nottinghamshire, UK, by a treasure hunter using a metal detector.
Who knows how it found its way to UK? Taken in trade? A piece of pocket change that was lost?
Pics:
Could bring up to $1.7M at auction.
Who knows how it found its way to UK? Taken in trade? A piece of pocket change that was lost?
Pics:
Could bring up to $1.7M at auction.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Monday, August 04, 2014
Cottage In Cadfael Country
Over on the Welsh side of the border.
A cottage on the borderland of Wales and England, in the Shropshire countryside made famous by Ellis Peters in her mysteries featuring a 12th-century Benedictine monk, Cadfael:
For those of you who have never read the Cadfael books, the BBC filmed a bunch of them, featuring Derek Jacobi as Cadfael; here is a scene from the best of the films, and the very best of the books, The Leper of St. Giles:
That scene has me in tears every time I watch it.
A cottage on the borderland of Wales and England, in the Shropshire countryside made famous by Ellis Peters in her mysteries featuring a 12th-century Benedictine monk, Cadfael:
For those of you who have never read the Cadfael books, the BBC filmed a bunch of them, featuring Derek Jacobi as Cadfael; here is a scene from the best of the films, and the very best of the books, The Leper of St. Giles:
That scene has me in tears every time I watch it.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Headline of the Day
"Drunk Royal Marine bit off pigeon's HEAD... and was caught because police found his DNA on the bird's body."
Some hilarious photos at the link. The pic of him smoking makes me think he's James Bond's crazy colleague, 005150:
Oh, that's Karmali. He went swimming with the sharks...and ate one.
Some hilarious photos at the link. The pic of him smoking makes me think he's James Bond's crazy colleague, 005150:
Oh, that's Karmali. He went swimming with the sharks...and ate one.
Tuesday, May 06, 2014
Meanwhile, In Aberdeen, Scotland...
...the local Gypsies are going at each other with scythes.
Yes, I said scythes.
I'm sure some member of Parliament will propose a scythe ban in 3...2...1...
Yes, I said scythes.
I'm sure some member of Parliament will propose a scythe ban in 3...2...1...
Sunday, May 04, 2014
Monday, March 31, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
Headline of the Day
"Aborted babies incinerated to heat UK hospitals."
Fuck, even Adolf Eichmann didn't come up with a final solution that ingenious. /sarc
We're doomed. How can God contemplate the human race at this point with anything but loathing?
Fuck, even Adolf Eichmann didn't come up with a final solution that ingenious. /sarc
We're doomed. How can God contemplate the human race at this point with anything but loathing?
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Meanwhile, In UK...
...having effectively banned guns and working on banning knives, some set their sights (oops, gun metaphor. Bad Bob!) on...wait for it...spoons.
Liam Whelan was sent by his stepmother to their local Tesco in Haslingden to buy replacements for the spoons he keeps losing.
But staff refused to sell the 57p pack of teaspoons to Liam, from Deardengate, because he was not 18.
Here's the little thug with his weapon of choice:
h/t Robb at Sharp as a Marble.
Liam Whelan was sent by his stepmother to their local Tesco in Haslingden to buy replacements for the spoons he keeps losing.
But staff refused to sell the 57p pack of teaspoons to Liam, from Deardengate, because he was not 18.
Here's the little thug with his weapon of choice:
h/t Robb at Sharp as a Marble.
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