I noticed this upon Adam Yauch’s death. Worth sharing. The band recorded Licensed to Ill in 1986 and released the album at the end of the year. The album was well-received, and was favorably reviewed by Rolling Stone magazine with the now-famous headline, “Three Idiots Create a Masterpiece.” via Beastie Boys – Wikipedia, the free […]
Tag Archives: history
Shibboleths
Drawn from my Band of Brothers viewing. Shibboleths appeal both to the history nerd and the word nerd in me. During the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War, the American forces used the challenge-response codes “Flash” – “Thunder” – “Welcome”. The last response was used to identify the challenger as a native English […]
Raven Banners
Did some research on corvids and their roles as symbols for a project I’m mulling over, and came across the Norse Raven Banner tradition. Odin was also closely linked to ravens because in Norse myths he received the fallen warriors at Valhalla, and ravens were linked with death and war due to their predilection for […]
William IV – Old King Cool
With the recent lavish Jubilee celebrations during a time when Britons are being cramped by economic woes, it’s nice to remember that the Royals haven’t always been money-sucking figureheads: Some of them have been thrifty figureheads. William IV sounds like a better fit for Austerity Britain than HRH Liz. The King immediately proved himself a […]
Band Of Brothers Revisited
I revisited Band of Brothers this week – an unwitting tribute to the D-Day anniversary, as I’ve watched the series many times and tend to throw it on when I need something to watch. I’m always struck not only by the drama, but the off-set camaraderie the actors developed. This web archive provides a series […]
Days of Days
CBC Digital Archives – D-Day: Canadians Target Juno Beach – 1944: Canadians storm Juno Beach on D-Day.
Modern Antiques
Church Key Many a barbecue and tailgate party was ruined in the pre-pop top days when it was discovered that no one had remembered to bring a church key to the proceedings. The pointy end punctured beer (and soda pop) cans open – one hole for pouring, one for a vent. The rounded end was […]
No Titanic Panic
This is an interesting article about, essentially, herd mentality and social mores. Well worth a read. As the Titanic was sinking and women and children climbed into lifeboats, the cellist and violinist from the ship's band stood and played. They died when the ship went down. Men stood on the deck and smoked cigars. They […]
Bean Duped
Favomancy is a form of divination that used to be practised by seers in Russia, in particular, among the Ubykh. The practice involves throwing beans on the ground and interpreting the patterns in which the beans fall; it is therefore a type of cleromancy. Russian methods of favomancy may still exist; however, since the departure […]
Eight Hours a Night
I used to aim for 8 hours of sleep a night, as I was always told I should. I remember the revelation of being in Europe and feeling so much healthier, happier and enthusiastic after only 6 hours of broken sleep in hostel rooms. Sleep is something misunderstood and overly regimented in our North American, […]