Rattlebag

The new series of QI begins tonight on the moving television. Tally-ho.

Invaluable info on Plum's oeuvre.

People who work for a living (!) and what they did.

That most aristocratic of games at cards - Piquet. Happy memories.

What a treat. Pliny the Elder's Natural History. Pop round to the index too - Crumbs.

A stinky bird. Make up your own jokes....

And speaking of jokes, fancy a chuckle? How about Darwinism Refuted. Well, it made me laugh all right. Which reminds me - spiffing to see that nice Mr. Dawkins chatting to Mr. Paxman the other night.

Florilegium

I'm coming to the conclusion that the flame-haired temptress must have been a tennis player at some time or other - love means nothing to her.

That said, only the other night we were expecting rain together, when she gave me a wry smile and pointed to this on her difference engine. Two glasses of the green fairy followed in swift order.

The Sherlockian stamps earlier made me think about Beekeeping

How can you not love a web-site called Head-smashed-in Buffalo Jump ?

Here's a novelty - A Weather Map - in Latin

Plenty to see at EXPO

Cut the Medieval mustard here.

A lovely planetarium which impressed the be-jaysus out of me.

A page of Pre-Raphaelite links, where red-headed women abound.

The most captivating place on Earth - Mont Saint Michel. Build your own.

And so to bed ... with Ruffian Dick's Arabian Nights.

Today's collectanea

Hmmm....

Sherlock Holmes stamps

Followed by

Mindpicnic

Then, the excellent OUP blog's Oddest English Spellings : Parts One, Two, Three and Four.

And a couple of illusions here and here (but have a peep at the rest of the riches on offer too).

Methinks we need to be more careful ...

Stupid people

Charlie's a wee bit miffed today, so for the first time in ages I am pointing this thing at you (and you know who you are...).

Any blog that has "Annoying Stupid People one woo at a time" as a tag-line is bound to get Charlie's approval, (although I don't approve of the language used by these young shavers, which would be better left in the tap-room, where it belongs). Wickedly funny however, bless 'em.

Beware of the God. Lots of bullets here to fire at annoyed stupid people.

Or turn their own guns against them.

And if we're bashing the bishops, let's not forget the delicious Landover Baptists. (May not be altogether safe for your wife or servants).

It would be oxymoronic to claim him as a saint, but on the moving television last night, Mr Steel's smashing lecture on Tom Paine. More here too.

'How much is that doggy in the window?'
'Sorry Sir, it's not for sale'. Crikey.

But seriously, more stupid people and the lunacy they espouse. Unconvinced?

Are you getting the idea yet? Then start here.

Eke

I've been reading Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog for a while now (and jolly good it is too) but this post is especially fine - It's Serpentes on a Shippe!

Defense of Poesy

What the Dickens was going through the addled mind of top-rhymster William Wordsworth when he settled himself down in a comfy armchair, took up his trusty pen and decided that what the world needed most was a poem entitled "To the Spade of a Friend"? I can fully understand William Topaz McGonagall wanting to extol the virtues of Beecham's Pills. I can forgive the well-intentioned sentiments that resulted in A Tragedy by Theophilus Marzials. Julia A Moore (The Sweet Singer of Michigan) probably, at one time or another, had second thoughts, one of them being, "Hmmm, not quite up to snuff this time, Julia." Samuel Pepys thought the poetry of Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, was "the most ridiculous thing that ever was wrote", and she doubtless had niggling doubts about some of her latest lines once in a while. But a poem to a shovel? And what was on Mr Burns' mind here?

Salmagundi

Here be more chimeras.

The scientific term for the common tomato is lycopersicon lycopersicum, which means "wolf peach."

I have great sympathy for another chap with a penchant for flame-haired temptresses...

There is no cure for curiosity (see number 4). I would add, "Wear your learning like your watch, in a private pocket; do not pull it out and strike it merely to show you have one." For more of Lord Chesterfield's sayings, go here.

Returning to the Scopes 'Monkey Trial' (See July 25th's posting), here's Clarence Darrow on Voltaire. Splendid.

Omnium gatherum

Just a few morsels today to whet your appetites.

The Garret - take the tour.

The Solar System true to scale - try something similar yourself in Celestia.

Lenticular clouds, anyone?

Make your own kumiss - "...take extreme care lest the bottle explode...".

The life of Charlie Patton by Robert Crumb!

Gaullimaufry

I was having a wee read about Timocharis and one thing led to another, so here are a few bits for your edification.

The Astronomy Corner has a grand games page with some cracking essays.

The Ancient Library has scans of works regarding, oddly enough, ancient history (including Hazlitt's 1851 Classical Gazeteer)

Inconstant Moon is simply wonderful - if lunar astronomy sharpens your pencil.

The Galileo Project also does what it says it will and is good at it too.

The ornithology of Anglo-Saxon England. Jolly D.

A site about sausages which has a recipe for red onion marmalade.

I didn't know that Gauloises weren't made in France anymore. If you do smoke them, try rolling your own in liquorice papers. Delish.

Take plenty of time to examine the riches on offer at the Victorian Times Project. And in a similar vein, Deb's Historical Research Page is equally fine.





And here's a picture of a flower.







Tuscany Superb, as you ask.