[ceramics quiz] queen charlotte might approve

1. A composite material of ceramic and metal is known as _____.

2. Ceramics are inorganic and are formed by the action of _____.

3. Can ceramics be made from metallic materials?

4. The third major innovation for which Wedgwood is remembered was _____ Ware.

5. _____ (23 March 1733 – 1797) was an English potter born in a village that is now part of Stoke-on-Trent.

More on Wedgwood here.

Answers - highlight to see:

cermet, heat, no, Jasper, Josiah Spode

[hillary] and the firm grasp of reality

So every speech she gave in Indiana on Friday and Saturday had the same topic sentence. “My campaign is about jobs, jobs, jobs and jobs,” she said, always to thunderous applause.

In Bloomington, she promised to bring nothing less than economic revolution to the decaying Rust Belt. “You’ve heard of white-collar jobs and blue-collar jobs,” she told her Fort Wayne audience, setting up a line about how efforts to address global warming and other environmental problems could spawn new industries. “We’re going to create green-collar jobs.”

Virginia: Mummy, are the people in 2008 actually taken in by cynical, desperate promises like these?

Mummy: Well, Virginia - many are and she's good at playing on the short term memory.

Virginia: Can she win?

Mummy: Anything's possible in Cloud Cuckoo Land, dear. Absolutely anything.

Virginia: But if she's an apparent criminal opportunist, surely no one will vote for her?

Mummy: Anything's possible in Cloud Cuckoo Land, dear. Absolutely anything.

Virginia: I see. The world's a strange place, Mummy.

[harriet] and the firm grasp of reality

Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman said Lord Levy was wrong. "It's been Labour's great fortune that we have had not one but two world class leaders in one generation. These are serious times and it's time for a very serious leader and that is exactly what Gordon Brown is."

Yeah right.

[consumer debt] people falling apart

The Telegraph is running an article on debt causing people to stress out and quotes a psychologist, Linda Blair, who:

... sees an increasing number of people emotionally incapacitated by financial worries. "When you have a problem with debt, you feel out of control of your life - what we call 'learned helplessness'," she says ...

Well yes, Linda, you call it 'learned helplessness' eh? To put it in layman's terms - you were OK before, you let yourself fall into debt, you now learn to be helpless and want the fairy godmother to bail you out.

This debt crisis is a wicked cocktail of people's aspirations, the dislocation of the income-cost nexus in the last four decades and the deliberate policies of the banks, from glamourizing credit and concealing its woes through to the unjustifiable sub-prime lending.

Are people acting like children to suddenly cry 'helpless' when they see their debts? Yes they are. But one sympathizes with the plight of any child. Are we angry that the lending institutions have been playing this game on unsuspecting punters? We should be because universal suffering in any nation is an indicator that there is something fundamentally wrong with the paradigm.

What's the solution?

* Firstly, to get the head together and understand that descent into stress-related illness is only going to hinder your chances of getting out of trouble. It's the hardest thing many will face - that the fairy godmother ain't coming and no one's interested in your descent into illness.

Do I sound like a callous bstd here?

I'm only saying to you what I am currently having to say to myself. I'm in this position too, just as you are and no one's coming to the rescue. Friends and contacts can do so much but only that much and no more. The rest is up to us. We must, must, face up to reality.

* Second thing is to put together a strategic plan - not by rushing here and there, handwringing but realizing we've been less than wise, mapping out a strategy and then putting in the legwork - looking up directories of agencies, seeking advice, going there, making agreements. After all, they can't get blood from a stone but any sign of your fiscal maturity will be welcome to them.

There's guilt and shame and general unpleasantness in all of this - it's time to put them to one side and concentrate only on the plan and stick to it without despairing.

I am not in the least interested in someone saying: "Well you should have done this ... you should have done that ..." Don't you think we already know that? How does it help to dwell on what has happened except as a mental note for the future?

Don't let anyone lay a guilt-trip on you or expect you to wallow in it. Just acknowledge your fault then move on. If someone won't let you do that, then cut that connection. You have bigger issues than guilt trips right now.

* Thirdly - change your whole mental set about what you buy. We're not going to alter spiralling prices so we'd best get used to the fact that we simply cannot afford this lifestyle anymore. It's pretend-life, it's a dream we thought the bit of plastic could realize for us. It can't realize it. Change your life and for a start - stop spending on all but regular bills for some time.

Today is just such a day for me and the pressure is intense. It's not connected with debt, thank the Lord but it is still difficult and there's guilt in it. I'm not going to dwell on it, I'll take it one step at a time and see what can be done, expecting one step backwards for every two forwards.

Prayer is no joke - that's why I ran that "thought of the day" yesterday. If we can allow this of ourselves, I believe it does help, if only to face what is coming up during the day.

But inertia, putting off, depression - the pull is very strong to descend into this. We might be chronically depressive anyway - I think I might be - but it's not going to get me out of trouble and fewer and fewer people are going to come to my rescue as I go along.

In the end, I have to do it by myself and the time to start is today - now.

[james bond] history in the lens

In London, the Imperial War Museum is mounting: For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond. At the Fleming Collection gallery is Bond Bound: Ian Fleming and the Art of Cover Design, a look at the literary trajectory of James Bond, paperback hero.

An AP article says:

Honor Blackman glam and Bond innuendo - Pussy Galore

The covers are a great survey of taste, and of what was permissible. The US is much happier with guns, while the Europeans are much more relaxed about nudity.

The earliest cover, from the 1955 paperback edition of Bond's debut, Casino Royale, shows a strangely bland Bond, bow-tied and with a carnation in his buttonhole, seated at a poker table.

Later covers are slicker and racier - near-naked women, gleaming guns and glimmering diamonds are popular motifs.

Once you get into the late 60s, the covers get more and more glamorous. Then with the rise of feminism, the glamorous ladies disappear.

But only for a time. The newest covers in the show - Michael Gillette's designs for an upcoming Penguin reissue of the series - feature naked female forms, stylised and given a deliberately retro feel.

One could look at the clothing fashions of the time as well. I could never get over the 1969 George Lazenby, in his tan coloured cardigan and straight cut trousers or the 2007 Daniel Craig slickness.

The change in the women seems even more pronounced. From the the Honor Blackman glam, through the Maryam d'Abo helpless damsel in distress to the kick-butt Eva Green, the Bond franchise is a microcosm of modern western history.

[thought for the day] sunday evening

And lips say, "God be pitiful," who ne'er said "God be praised."

[Elizabeth Barrett Browning - 1844]

[stóra planid] almost a gangster film

This blog has long been a fan of Iceland Review not just for classic stories such as Salmon Fishing is Better compared to an Average Year but for the uniquely quaint style of English in their reports.

This film review by the soon to be acclaimed Egill M. Arnarsson is no exception to this fine tradition, being arguably one of the finest film reviews this blogger has read in years - it will almost certainly reward your close attention [and good English].

Catch the Icelandic subtitled trailer here, courtesy of Poppoli.



Stóra Planid [almost a gangster film]

Award-winning director Ólafur Jóhannesson moved back to Iceland to make an Icelandic feature that is almost a kung-fu film and almost a gangster film. The film features debt-collectors, a well-known and mocked profession in Iceland, as weak thugs on the quest for a higher status in a questionable gang.

Considering that the Icelandic film scene is blossoming at the same time that organized crime in Iceland is on the rise, Stóra Planid’s timing is perfect. Pétur Jóhann Sigfússon, whose star is shining brightly these days, plays the lead as Davíd in Stóra Planid. He won the stand-up competition “Iceland’s Funniest Person” and got a spot in a silly TV show on a small network.

However, his roles have always been similar, and in fact, some might say that he plays the same character over and over again. His role as Davíd is no different. But even though Sigfússon did a great job, the Icelandic nation yearns to know if awkward and repressed characters are the only thing he is capable of acting.



Other roles and aspects

Thorleifsson delivers his role with great professionalism while Imperioli’s well-known face and accent-free English did not cast a shadow on the others’ performances. Benedikt Erlingsson (Fóstbraedur) and Stefan C. Schaefer’s characters were surprisingly well-written and added hilarious details (i.e. Erlingsson’s horse whip and boat-modeling interest) to a number of scenes.

The screenplay by director Jóhannesson and Ómar Örn Hauksson was mostly well-written, but a bit vague on key plots in the storyline. Also, it was missing a climax and highlights causing it to be a bit flat. An example of that is an awkward, unexpected sex scene without the traditional raw nudity and passionate moans, never before seen in an Icelandic film.

Rune Kippervik’s cinematography overdosed on heavy depth-of-field usage, which was a huge discomfort to the eye. A few shots seemed experimental and some lower-lit scenes were a bit grainy. The editing, however, often had good timing which compensated a little for some of the most annoying shots.



And in conclusion

The film breaks a huge chunk of the barrier between international and Icelandic filmmaking and pushes the limit of domestic film standards and creativity.

Catch the Icelandic subtitled trailer here, courtesy of Poppoli.

Perfect [almost]

[playboy] why a rabbit?

If you were to pull off a train robbery, would you only make off with a load of Playboy cushions?

The attack happened in the northern suburbs of Marseille, the regional newspaper La Provence reports. [T]he thieves blocked the track with sleepers, causing the 700m (760-yard) train to screech to a halt, and forced open a number of containers.

Apart from the Playboy cushions, police said it was not clear what else was taken. The train driver was not harmed.

Right. Playboy cushions.

Which brings us to the next question - why a bunny? Why not a kitten or a lamb or a chicken? Wiki doesn't help:

They wore a costume called a bunny suit inspired by the tuxedo-wearing Playboy rabbit mascot, consisting of a corset, bunny ears, a collar, cuffs, and a fluffy cottontail.

Finally I think I have it: Hugh Hefner, the creator of the 'Playboy' magazine, once explained:

'I selected a rabbit as the symbol for the magazine because of the humorous sexual connotation, and because he offered an image that was frisky and playful. I put him in a tuxedo to add the idea of sophistication. there was another editorial consideration, too. since both 'the New Yorker' and 'Esquire' use men as their symbols, I felt the rabbit would be distinctive; and the notion of a rabbit dressed up in formal evening attire struck me as charming, amusing and right.'

The first sketch of the bunny

Added Art Paul, the magazine's first art director:

'If I'd had any idea how important that little rabbit was going to be, I probably would have redrawn him a dozen times to make certain I was doing him justice, and I suppose none of those versions would have turned out as well as the original. as it was, I did one drawing and that was it. I probably spent all of half an hour on it.'

Well, if it's good enough for Gloria Steinem, it must be OK.

Next week we'll look at the time I went undercover to a brewery to expose the shenanigans going on in the brewing industry and how I sampled twenty bordellos to expose the vice and corruption endemic in that industry.

Hands on, primary source reporting always carries more authority, don't you feel?

[shark attack] what did he expect

The KNBC-TV story, as reported, is pretty rambling and i have no link as it was e-mailed to me:

Dr. Dave Martin, a 66-year-old retired veterinarian, [was one of a] group of nine swimmers [who] entered the water near Fletcher Cove, off San Diego, in an area known as Table Tops, at about 7 a.m. for a morning ocean swim, according to Lt. Mike Cea of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. They swam northward, and while they were swimming, Martin was attacked by a shark.

Because of the form of the attack and Martin's wounds, the shark was almost certainly a white shark, according to Prof. Richard Rosenblatt, a shark expert at Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla. He estimated the fish to be 12 to 17 feet long.

Witness said that Martin was lifted from the water by the shark. White sharks normally feed on seals, attacking from below with a powerful bite. The white shark ranges from north of San Francisco to the Gulf of California, so it is not unusual for them to be in the San Diego area.

Piecing it together, it seems the shark might have mistaken him for a seal and the fact that it bit him, harried him then let him go suggests it realized its mistake and then went off for seals. I should have thought the unusual presence of sea-lions in the area would have given them pause before they swam out but no - they were part of a triathlon club and seemed to know the ropes.

Here is an article on "Shark Dives" in the San Diego area which shows that the possibility of sharks in the area is at least substantial. Another thing which puzzles me is the board riders who went out the next day after the attack. Here is a list of sharks indigenous to the waters off California - another reason it didn't seem too bright an idea to venture out unprotected.

Finally is the nonchalant [or was it tongue in cheek] comment by one blogger:

San Diego beaches will probably be not-so-popular for a while.

For a while.

Yes.

[dating easter] why the discrepancy

The interestingly [and today fittingly] named, newly 23 year old Oestrebunny asked about the Western and Eastern discrepancies in the dating of Easter, as we know it, known as Computus.

Phew - where to begin researching? I came up with this:

The Christian Easter is tied in with the Jewish Pesach or Passover.

The Passover itself is complicated and ties in with the Metonic cycle of years, which involve the Golden Numbers 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19.

From this come calculations for the Jewish calendar year - the Hebrew Pesach is determined in the Old Testament to begin on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nisan.

Almost from the very beginning of the existence of the Christian Church, the issue presented variations. Although the New Testament relates these events to the Jewish Passover, the details of this relationship are not clear.

On the one hand, the tradition of the synoptic gospels identifies the Lord's last supper as a passover meal, placing the death of the Lord on the day after Passover. On the other hand, the tradition of the Gospel of St. John situates the death of the Lord at the very hour the paschal lambs were sacrificed on the day of Passover itself.

In practice, one group were celebrating it on any day of the week [wherever the Jewish mid-Nisan fell] and they became known as the Quartodecimanists. The other was putting it on the Sunday after Passover.

The First Ecumenical Council convened at Nicaea in 325 took up the issue. It determined that Pascha should be celebrated on the Sunday which follows the first full moon after the vernal equinox-the actual beginning of spring.

There was a strong feeling in some quarters that the Christian tradition should not tie in with the Jewish calendar.

Also, there was the question of determining the calendar. In the East, the 19-year cycle was eventually adopted, whereas in the West an 84-year cycle. The use of two different paschal cycles inevitably gave way to differences between the Eastern and Western Churches regarding the observance of Pascha.

An event I'm proud to relate concerns the Synod of Whitby - held at Whitby Abbey which I have visited many, many times [it being close to my home], in which Northumbria determined the date of Easter eventually adopted by the English [despite the ridiculous assertion in the Wiki article that Bede's account is an exaggeration].

A further cause for these differences was the adoption by the Western Church of the Gregorian Calendar in the 16th century. This took place in order to adjust the discrepancy by then observed between the paschal cycle approach to calculating Pascha and the available astronomical data.

Therefore, in practical terms, the invariable date of the vernal equinox is taken by the Orthodox church to be April 3 in our current calendar (but March 21 on the Julian Calendar).

To this blogger, except that it is celebrated vaguely round the spring equinox, it hardly matters, as long as it is celebrated. The act of excommunicating someone for having the incorrect day:

Bishop Victor I of Rome, excommunicated the Quartodecimans (then apparently led by Polycrates of Ephesus) for not adhering to the Paschal practices of the majority of Christians.

... is one of the major reasons I'm not Roman Catholic though I deeply respect them for keeping the light of Christianity alive under its current assault these days. Sisu's series of posts on the Pope, preceding this one, was informative and moving.

Personally I like the two Easters plus the [actual] Oestrebunny angle with the rabbits and eggs but I also like the kulich and all that tradition, as well as the midnight vigil.

It all seems to give a nice balance of gravitas and fun. After all, the Resurrection is joyful by definition, not gloomy. Now I'm off for some tea and kulich.

Have a joyful day - already the sun has burst out.