tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2574633411160155132024-03-14T03:56:02.766-07:00Ian Hall (Author)Ian Hall, Jamie Leith, Opportunities, Caledonii, Vampire High School, Vampires Don't Cry, Zombie Bible,Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-78856296001178188612020-10-14T07:38:00.001-07:002020-10-14T07:38:32.320-07:00Has the Covid-19 Shutdown Effected CO2 Rise?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgELvCaF9_61ezPOH-C54pD-kzRt16kD8q-OPCM4SnsFNKUaDnuUDDtEA6u2Xcd2xVgj5emTn4qEcNYJbt3ipB9tcWGu1W328dTLHyvterwtQCVdsOhHi3WtuEwISEp4bGdd6xRf1Ulw/s1800/covid.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgELvCaF9_61ezPOH-C54pD-kzRt16kD8q-OPCM4SnsFNKUaDnuUDDtEA6u2Xcd2xVgj5emTn4qEcNYJbt3ipB9tcWGu1W328dTLHyvterwtQCVdsOhHi3WtuEwISEp4bGdd6xRf1Ulw/w552-h300/covid.png" width="552" /></a></div><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">As we all know, Covid-19 spread across the globe in the
early months of 2020.</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">One by one almost every country began some sort of
shutdown/quarantine system, and the world economy was thrown into meltdown.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Businesses closed, public transport ground to a minimum, air
travel ceased almost completely, and millions of the public worked from home or
not at all. Manufacturing has plummeted as customers for products tighten their
budgets to cope.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">In 2019, there were 102,465 commercial air flights. In 2020
after February, there are less than 40,000. That’s 60,000 flights LESS. Now, a
Boeing 747 uses 1 gallon of fuel per second, 36,000 gallons for a 10 hour
flight. Even if we took a basic average, that’s a shade over ONE BILLION
GALLONS of jet fuel we haven’t burned this year… and that’s just commercial air
travel.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">By October, when most of us expected the virus to ease,
second waves crashed upon our shores; further more draconian lockdowns were
initiated… the world stopped.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">By some perverse parlor trick, the world’s economies plunged
to the levels looked for by climate alarmists who had demanded such shutdowns
to curb manmade Global Warming. They had demanded such for many years, citing
just 12 years to ‘save the planet’.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">“Mankind,” they said, “was responsible for ALL of the CO2
rise in recent years.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">And because some lab technician somewhere in China slipped, those
same Climate Change Activists got their birthday and Christmas all at once.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">So… being the intrepid reporter, I went to the Mauna Loa
Baseline Observatory website, to look at the VERY latest CO2 figures.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Below is the graph.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxnNYolXni8iKjt_GGl0tY-RZ-0QsIiXzzqh16OPQO2L7MgSiPs3_IX6kbCKu2Mn6zkcDkJBkXF5QJXLE5yEPBqimg4YcJ46pPpRTIWj2puVtGr0UL1Yp7-bJz2p1WBghKxvawQURkVFc/s680/co2_trend_mlo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="680" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxnNYolXni8iKjt_GGl0tY-RZ-0QsIiXzzqh16OPQO2L7MgSiPs3_IX6kbCKu2Mn6zkcDkJBkXF5QJXLE5yEPBqimg4YcJ46pPpRTIWj2puVtGr0UL1Yp7-bJz2p1WBghKxvawQURkVFc/w589-h361/co2_trend_mlo.png" width="589" /></span></b></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Now, CO2 levels vary by time of day and season, with a peak
about June, and a lowest point around October.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">I had to look twice. I looked at the shape of each year, and
then at 2020’s figures.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Now, I didn’t expect it to have fallen dramatically, that
would ALREADY have been news all over the world… BUT I did expect a discernable
change for 2020, considering the huge decrease in air travel, and the
significant decrease of our daily drives.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Nada, nothing, nowt, zero, duck eggs… whatever euphemism you
use, there was NO CHANGE.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Yup… mankind had shut down the economy in almost every major
developed country in the world, and we had made NOT ONE NOTICEABLE DENT in the
rise of carbon dioxide.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">I have one thing to say about this.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">In my opinion, mankind is NOT responsible for ALL modern CO2
rise, in fact, I’m not even sure we’re responsible for ANY workable fraction of
it!</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-10307288363399295022018-08-05T09:16:00.000-07:002018-08-05T09:16:07.762-07:00Cockney Rhyming Slang Challenge 001: "Sinbad the Sailor" <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwACLerMEL8ARdDBPTjc5GQwx_uJSlC04bEkWSV5IQQ1oTQN2lBNdHhDToBzN90_gz-2QiXrWIIXACZC8CcSIJgr07kMNRTrEVP_Yp6EhMTCGPoUhaTX00ArDbbU26qUscEMpN6aOVGZA/s1600/crsc12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwACLerMEL8ARdDBPTjc5GQwx_uJSlC04bEkWSV5IQQ1oTQN2lBNdHhDToBzN90_gz-2QiXrWIIXACZC8CcSIJgr07kMNRTrEVP_Yp6EhMTCGPoUhaTX00ArDbbU26qUscEMpN6aOVGZA/s640/crsc12.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #edeff0; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="background-color: #edeff0; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Cockney Rhyming Slang Challenge</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #edeff0; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #edeff0; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">PUZZLE 001: Sinbad the Sailor</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #edeff0; color: #333333;">Level 1 Puzzle (Novice)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #edeff0; color: #333333;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #edeff0;">Join in the fun! Put on your best Cockney thinking cap and try to decipher the phrase below without keeking at the answer. For some extra fun, leave your guesses in the comments below (the guesses are sometimes just as entertaining ;-).</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />CHALLENGE SENTENCE...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br style="background-color: #edeff0;" /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i style="color: #333333;">"I was at the sinbad the sailor, getting measured for me new whistle an' flute when I noticed the local bag of yeast standing in the jack horner. I hadn't been to the chipped apple for weeks, so I had it away on me edgar allen poes before he got a good captain cook."</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i style="color: #333333;"><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i style="color: #333333;">The solution is below the photo...(and you can read all about these and more in my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ian-Hall/e/B005HR6CXK" target="_blank">Dictionary of British Slang</a>)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #edeff0; color: #333333;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ian-Hall/e/B005HR6CXK" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrIaY87B5tDnNzzCyx3KNEWQeyrxEkrqO88nOlbL5SQ_62zn2msy23OZNo5F_ScTUMuRvI0bqybIL5-203PfSNE9w73ZBkb4tnRvZiHYndo6uo_hBQXs2p2C9bsJGJRToeq6uPvZkpGJs/s400/dobsFINAL.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #edeff0; color: #333333;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #edeff0; color: #333333;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #edeff0;">SOLUTION...</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #edeff0;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="background-color: #edeff0; color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>"I was at the sinbad the sailor (THE TAILOR), getting measured for me new whistle an' flute (THREE PIECE SUIT) when I noticed the local bag of yeast (PRIEST) standing in the jack horner (CORNER). I hadn't been to the chipped apple (CHAPEL) for weeks, so I had it away on me edgar allen poes (TOES) before he got a good captain cook (LOOK)."</i></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #edeff0; color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #edeff0; color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Dictionary is available in eBook and paperback.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ridiculously-Comprehensive-Dictionary-British-Slang/dp/1532949553/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1528216024&sr=8-2&keywords=british+slang" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ridiculously-Comprehensive-Dictionary-British-Slang/dp/1532949553" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Get your British Slang book here...</span></a></div>
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Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-63734618600281097112017-09-18T09:58:00.000-07:002017-09-18T09:58:22.694-07:00Music Trivia... 1000 One Hit Wonders from the 1970's and 1980's; A Decade at a Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZihegkQZcG98TquOezdmy1aFTIYPnnYCITuGm9lkLpLlo-di_V53Uhz940FEDMYe8mMan2K12T3o-SglY31oZ2dLfSvUuHQkrRFDYgMNVCnkXic3lAZWeTQyOEZLkHPTXm-KmLJ2cznk/s1600/ohwblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="961" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZihegkQZcG98TquOezdmy1aFTIYPnnYCITuGm9lkLpLlo-di_V53Uhz940FEDMYe8mMan2K12T3o-SglY31oZ2dLfSvUuHQkrRFDYgMNVCnkXic3lAZWeTQyOEZLkHPTXm-KmLJ2cznk/s400/ohwblog.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075PHG5T3/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1505742601&sr=8-2&keywords=one+hit+wonders+kindle" target="_blank">Available in one bumper book, or in individual decades.</a></h4>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Everyone who likes music, likes music trivia; the two go together like melted cheese on a porcupine!
But there's one facet of the music business which has more than its fair share of our interest; the One Hit Wonder.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Love them or hate them, One Hit Wonders stick in our brains; you just can’t get the tune out of your head!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3hq8E402u6IQH08K4s54X87GmrMTIohvfdmODLMe18ZVLHo8C_qKgLD7u53JLOQxlONgQoejKnlbhKX-2fe-KcLc8MunrwRR6krlBE4LlTRNHVyYIGDrIHTC4vrY3wBZC8od7v4ioTjE/s1600/40fafbb16218d42318d9e4dc200d088b--s-theme-red-balloon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUGOGAQnPxIUd81dXeXEa-y8-NmDJqKCAGR96WEJxFRtIGgODkR4ywWaRsDGFAD9U4iX5Md56mjTR4J3QZlwcqCqt_eCWfiKzneKABplH3YXwSBZtjNjRBk8Q3CqNd2l6DfL9S3eLXew/s1600/40fafbb16218d42318d9e4dc200d088b--s-theme-red-balloon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="610" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUGOGAQnPxIUd81dXeXEa-y8-NmDJqKCAGR96WEJxFRtIGgODkR4ywWaRsDGFAD9U4iX5Md56mjTR4J3QZlwcqCqt_eCWfiKzneKABplH3YXwSBZtjNjRBk8Q3CqNd2l6DfL9S3eLXew/s320/40fafbb16218d42318d9e4dc200d088b--s-theme-red-balloon.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That said, most of the One Hit Wonder books out there stick to the top 100 or so, you know, "The Usual Suspects". Heck, we all know about Nena's <i>99 Red Balloons</i>. We've been through Carl Douglas and his '<i>Kung Fu Fighting</i>' stage. We've probably all injured ourselves working out to Men Without Hats <i>Safety Dance</i>!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We felt it was time for a re-boot to the subject. We researched for months and when we came up for air, we were amazed at our findings. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We've dug up nearly 500 One Hit Wonders from the 1970's.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And followed that with nearly 500 One Hit Wonders from the 1980's.
(And we're working on the 50's and 60's too!)</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_f66IUXlykvUGyevefpZrjVMRvERp8RBwi0Iiuc6ZV6NrcGbI9PIY1ck9NmMbZot2N_8_2ycO80eJMslWOgK0v9BOCi0DqXcuYFta0vGG56xhli6PZAYH6By3v5m9zZsDb5CpszYibDA/s1600/AMPfr4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_f66IUXlykvUGyevefpZrjVMRvERp8RBwi0Iiuc6ZV6NrcGbI9PIY1ck9NmMbZot2N_8_2ycO80eJMslWOgK0v9BOCi0DqXcuYFta0vGG56xhli6PZAYH6By3v5m9zZsDb5CpszYibDA/s320/AMPfr4.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">G<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Amplified-Encyclopedia-Music-Trivia-Wonders-ebook/dp/B073WLQHHJ/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1505742939&sr=1-2&keywords=one+hit+wonders+kindle" target="_blank">et the 70's Kindle here for just $1.99</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We know you have your favorite decade of music (because the rest is just boring rubbish, right?) and if your decade is the 70's, then you don't want a book filled with 50's doo-wop or Nirvana's grunge. If your decade is 1980's Flock of Seagulls, you don't want to wade through glam rock, punk and skiffle!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">You want <i>your</i> decade. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So we've made it easy for you to do just that.You pick your decade, and ignore the rest!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We've already done the 70's and 80's and we're hard at work on the 50's and 60's!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Available in single decades or in bumper bundles, we've catered to you... the music lover.
We've packed the book full of ALL the one hit wonders we could find... the popular ones, the rare, off the wall ones. We've got facts, chart positions, and crazy trivia of the songs we all have come to love and hate.
Every one holds its own unique story, some sad, some inspiring, and some include as much drama as a Hollywood adventure movie. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The complete trivia for the One Hit Wonders from the 70's & 80's (nearly 500 of them from each decade!) will make you listen to your favorite songs in a whole new light.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutupYOXPkh6w5UEeLMzx6CCpcRAviRMg6wmvWsumFxne5nxWbmNXpiNWAIqBTXxx1qAXPXMeFap8cgKOIZ3q5GzoLzwsi7QfNKk6l2uxytsh1WQAMfehyphenhyphenNQ7dphKUZitmcq_tiYaIxBI/s1600/2521c85319aeec905fddc7ef14437617--dave-edmunds-cardiff-wales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutupYOXPkh6w5UEeLMzx6CCpcRAviRMg6wmvWsumFxne5nxWbmNXpiNWAIqBTXxx1qAXPXMeFap8cgKOIZ3q5GzoLzwsi7QfNKk6l2uxytsh1WQAMfehyphenhyphenNQ7dphKUZitmcq_tiYaIxBI/s1600/2521c85319aeec905fddc7ef14437617--dave-edmunds-cardiff-wales.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">For instance... </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Did you know that Dave Edmunds’ hit “<i>Cruel to be Kind</i>”, stalled at number 12 of every major chart? All SIX of them!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Did you know that rock legends Led Zeppelin are a One Hit Wonder in the UK? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> Did you know that Minnie Ripperton and Van McCoy (both one Hit Wonders in 1975) both died in the same month… in July 1979? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Why accept lesser volumes that just offer you the top 100 songs of all time?
With information taken from Official Music Charts all over the world, we give a global overview of the one hit wonders of these special decades. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghLxS8aKvNfZqWFMQo9pdEi2-4smxJP6WuObJpBYFlLeYK7Ke1sRaJJJFj_Ul838Wo9j-lfOK6g4677fXgcc9DzEyLnNf-OaSpmN2qmBWJhgb8D2E-hC962phi8pcPbuWS7fRyyBk8gVc/s1600/ok38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghLxS8aKvNfZqWFMQo9pdEi2-4smxJP6WuObJpBYFlLeYK7Ke1sRaJJJFj_Ul838Wo9j-lfOK6g4677fXgcc9DzEyLnNf-OaSpmN2qmBWJhgb8D2E-hC962phi8pcPbuWS7fRyyBk8gVc/s320/ok38.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075NLVYXC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1505742939&sr=1-1&keywords=one+hit+wonders+kindle" target="_blank">Get the 80's Kindle here for just $1.99</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">With details from the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canada, the UK Charts, hits from Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and many European charts, we think this is the most detailed list ever researched.
Indexed and cross-referenced for ease of use, whether you are a music buff or just want the answers for your local pub trivia night, these books are for you!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The bumper 70's <i>and</i> 80's book, with close to 1000 songs, nearly 300 pages of information, chart positions, sales figures, trivia facts and much more will provide you with hours of fun and nostalgia. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Available in Amazon kindle or on Paperback...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sit with the book as your reference and crank up YouTube!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A must for any music lover of that magical age, the 70's and 80's!
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Amplified-Encyclopedia-Music-Trivia-Wonders-ebook/dp/B073WLQHHJ/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1505742939&sr=1-2&keywords=one+hit+wonders+kindle" target="_blank">Amplified Encyclopedia of Music Trivia; One Hit Wonders of the 70's</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075NLVYXC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1505742939&sr=1-1&keywords=one+hit+wonders+kindle" target="_blank">Amplified Encyclopedia of Music Trivia: One Hit Wonders of the 80's</a></span><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075PHG5T3/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1505742939&sr=1-4&keywords=one+hit+wonders+kindle" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Amplified Encyclopedia of Music Trivia: One Hit Wonders of the 70's and 80's</span></a>Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-45074082103737102532017-04-19T08:58:00.000-07:002017-04-19T08:58:35.438-07:00The Mind Drive... If Ender's Game and Divergent had a baby...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxZi7Hwpv-ZvFsi3Zch-UVrDC17NgMFuA-d86GK4fveYDZgLICpACEF1MBpATpDCG6HqyfqhLr5uI9WFTv0q1oiPF_X-_HXauBJZ1TWERvXtWRCisBfUzZHbb59-EOxtqaE74Cg2vOwg/s1600/MDsquare3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxZi7Hwpv-ZvFsi3Zch-UVrDC17NgMFuA-d86GK4fveYDZgLICpACEF1MBpATpDCG6HqyfqhLr5uI9WFTv0q1oiPF_X-_HXauBJZ1TWERvXtWRCisBfUzZHbb59-EOxtqaE74Cg2vOwg/s400/MDsquare3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Sci-Fi from Ian Hall; available as an eBook or Paperback at all good e-stores.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The year is 2617, and Stacey Pencrom is on her way to Space Academy!</b><br />
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<br />
Every year <b>MacCollies</b>, the corporate entity who control space travel, scour the Human planets for the best young minds; kids who will one day crew their vast space fleet.<br />
But this year is different...</div>
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The members of the class have a far higher paranormal ability than ever before... it's literally off the chart!<br />
As the young students struggle through their first year, they discover secrets about the MacCollies Corporation that would rock Humanity; it seems their conglomerate benefactor is not as squeaky-clean as they'd like to make out. Secrets have been hidden from Humanity for many years.</div>
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Eventually the students decide to act, knowing full-well that their lives will never be the same again.</div>
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<br />
But they would never have guessed they would change the path of Humanity.<br />
<br />
Start reading <i><b>The Mind Drive</b></i> today, and enjoy a wonderful adventure of tomorrow... </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
<br />
If you like <i><b>Ender's Game</b></i> and <i><b>Divergent</b></i>, you'll love <i><b>The Mind Drive</b></i>.<br />
Jump aboard for a great adventure tale...</div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
<i><b>The Mind Drive</b></i> is set in 2617, just after the end of the Star-Eater Chronicles, by Sci Fi combo Ian Hall and Dennis Smirl.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
<i><b>The Mind Drive</b></i> is a stand-alone novel in the tradition of E.E.Doc Smith and Robert Heinlein, but with the freshness of Orson Scott Card and Veronica Roth.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
You can check it out below... (a link to Amazon)</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="550" src="https://read.amazon.com/kp/card?asin=B06XXLWF9F&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_VK29ybJ45SB4V" style="max-width: 100%;" type="text/html" width="336"></iframe><br />
<br />
Come and see the whole range at;<br />
<a href="http://www.ianhallauthor.com/" target="_blank">www.ianhallauthor.com</a><br />
<br />
<br />Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-11182284942115716442016-12-16T10:32:00.000-08:002016-12-16T10:32:15.311-08:00Traditional Scottish ‘Loaded’ Sausage (Meat) Stuffing Recipe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkATqkbPNA8J_rxZPQeVes9ovv34O3G_2M94LPiOVgqWg4f6JwurMxLNH_5sAf722PacnlHQqAycf8zxfvziSd9twCHuVfsYmsB6LuGpleU-Xyd5ewyyL_v3wJyWzgA58OlPeb8LcxaU/s1600/Stuffing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkATqkbPNA8J_rxZPQeVes9ovv34O3G_2M94LPiOVgqWg4f6JwurMxLNH_5sAf722PacnlHQqAycf8zxfvziSd9twCHuVfsYmsB6LuGpleU-Xyd5ewyyL_v3wJyWzgA58OlPeb8LcxaU/s400/Stuffing.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready to put in the over... perfect every time.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Whether it be for the traditional Christmas dinner, or for the American Thanksgiving, there's no doubt that the choice of stuffing is high on the agenda.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">For me, who's been a voracious meat-eater since a wee boy, I've always leaned towards the "it simply has to be a meat stuffing" camp.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This recipe is based on my own mum’s meat stuffing recipe, which I took, re-vamped slightly and in-doing-so hopefully improved.
Containing some fruit, it tastes mildly sweet, juicy, yet still retains the solid ‘meaty’ consistency of traditional sausage meat stuffing.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Obviously your own tastes will not be absolutely in step with mine, so if you want to drop an ingredient, or add one, feel free to do so. As long as you don’t alter the consistency too much, it’ll cook fine. I’ve heard of people adding or substituting cranberries, crushed pineapple, or even walnuts.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Beware though, the eggs are kinda essential to bind/hold it all together while cooking, and the breadcrumbs both soak in flavor from the other ingredients, and dry out the main mix, important for the final product. Without the breadcrumbs, it’s rather goopy.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here’s my ingredients…</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">1 lb Pork sausage</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 lb Turkey sausage</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 Large onion</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 Large apple</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 Large pear</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">½ lb Brown bread breadcrumbs</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2 eggs</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2 Teaspoons of chopped garlic</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Large pinches of salt and pepper</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Kitchen items; Large casserole dish, mixing spoon.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Method; Chop the onion, apple, and pear into small pieces, (I use a food processor) and mix ALL ingredients together. There’s no real correct order. I even shred my breadcrumbs in the processor; by far the best way to get them uniform.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">(TIP: do the breadcrumbs first, when the food processor is dry... that way they won't stick to the sides)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I then mix the whole mixture by hand, there’s nothing like getting your hands dirty for the process... it's a kind of ritual.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">When evenly mixed, I usually build a ring of mix around the edge of the casserole dish (see pic above); this not only ensures even cooking, but also makes it easy to run off any fat given off from the sausages.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">You will probably have to drain the fat halfway through cooking. For best results, I’ve even turned the mix upside down about halfway through. (Tricky operation, but the all-round crispy edge is worth the effort)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Stick in the oven, gas at 350F, and cook for a good 90 mins.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Good luck, and I hope you enjoy...</span>Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-8427035013711444032016-09-24T14:15:00.005-07:002017-11-26T06:24:00.268-08:00Avenging Steel... Scotland's Own "Man in the High Castle".<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5hJwFk89Uzp_szX7F9beJQPs1VH_VNgQbj_2npE8NFK0UlE-z7K_uhWaCMPBUcmiy1cftkBZCggQPXHZZcVxTmGlZCB7GJCwOsO0s8y570oABa8fK8CJd71mVCKqV2NxM1g9gazsMg4E/s1600/AS21a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5hJwFk89Uzp_szX7F9beJQPs1VH_VNgQbj_2npE8NFK0UlE-z7K_uhWaCMPBUcmiy1cftkBZCggQPXHZZcVxTmGlZCB7GJCwOsO0s8y570oABa8fK8CJd71mVCKqV2NxM1g9gazsMg4E/s400/AS21a.jpg" width="266" /></a><b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Steel-1-Fall-Edinburgh-ebook/dp/B01GAKK63E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1474751126&sr=1-1&keywords=avenging+steel" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Avenging Steel 1</span></a></b></div>
<b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Scotland under Nazi rule! October 1940... </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When German troops march triumphantly along the streets of Edinburgh, James Baird feels drawn to watch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At 20 years old, James is a student at Edinburgh University, and is ashamed he has done nothing in the defense of his country.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Behind him the high ramparts of iconic Edinburgh Castle are festooned with garish red swastika banners. Sickened by the music and swaggering Nazis, James takes refuge in the Edinburgh University Union bar, determined to drown his sorrows before returning home. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As his new role in German-controlled Edinburgh is revealed, he is determined to fight the new oppressors in any way he can... but how much can one man do<span style="font-size: small;">?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HHQZG4Y/ref=series_rw_dp_sw" target="_blank">Avenging Steel 2</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Alternative History.
April 1941... </b></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKgKjQ_Gz_sCA5xHrNfNg5WCJ0eJFcU_GTC62P3YeomTAvG_TJL51V5UG0SnfAtpNiZ8t4Vyb3mdGjDIBzxLY8z1QkE5WCkbLy5kPlVTd2Izj9TQBaUJudM7ETi2jv2jIms1qHayi1Pg/s1600/AS21final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKgKjQ_Gz_sCA5xHrNfNg5WCJ0eJFcU_GTC62P3YeomTAvG_TJL51V5UG0SnfAtpNiZ8t4Vyb3mdGjDIBzxLY8z1QkE5WCkbLy5kPlVTd2Izj9TQBaUJudM7ETi2jv2jIms1qHayi1Pg/s400/AS21final.jpg" width="266" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">German troops have conquered Britain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Royal Family, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and most of Britain's troops have retreated to Canada; the only front the 'Allies' are fighting is in the deserts of North Africa.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Edinburgh native, James Baird, is determined to fight the battle the only way he knows how. He is drawn into the depths of the British Resistance, his fate molded by the organization called the S.O.E..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But the Nazi’s have a list; a file containing the names of men for immediate arrest… scientists working in Edinburgh University’s Engineering Department, men vital to the allies war effort.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">James and his girlfriend, Alice are drawn into the web of intrigue as a game of nuclear cat and mouse begins…</span><br />
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidSIYPzusbIrqqAWm-Y_eo0mVxJgAaV4FJ6sMyX9pAzjY6g3oWk_rHk5oZ6VC3isQX5W8TJv_qqELSttG2T93JdtwsJ6pUu0NNh9FlWaLlPdlKyIYdFMFaAZY1aOeu2fJAOfjxOm3RV8c/s400/AS31.jpg" width="266" /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ITVF2HW/ref=series_rw_dp_sw" target="_blank">Avenging Steel 3</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>In our world of Alternative History, it is now May 1941...</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">German troops have been Britain's conquerors for over nine months.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">James Baird and girlfriend Alice, are drawn deep into the depths of the British Resistance, their footfalls decided by the still infant MI-6. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In this latest chapter, James discovers that men in Edinburgh University are vanishing without trace. He investigates, only to find that men 'eager to fight' </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">are disappearing from the streets in large numbers </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">all over Scotland.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Are they leaving to join the war effort? Or is reality far more complex and sinister than he could ever have imagined?</span><br />
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<span style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRnUMYBmSQnwfCqkQJPQQFVFLlmTD1wuEt-f5gEfVIWgEPmZ8Pe3oKvKiqO4GhuLe2XShwomZ7nDnoGnq9RLConT-5cfeuOIA9vPhy0qEQFJz7_xM1pbcULh1znCmRF_zhipzRrrhet14/s400/AS4a.jpg" width="266" /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KMMAFBO/ref=series_rw_dp_sw" target="_blank">Avenging Steel 4</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Nazi-controlled Edinburgh, Summer 1941... </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">James Baird and his girlfriend Alice are newspaper editors by day and SOE agents by night.
James has a vision; he will create an underground newspaper (<i>The Tree of Liberty</i>) published all over Britain, bolstering morale and supporting British resistance against the Nazi regime.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">He pushes the idea ‘upstairs’, and begins to organize its launch, only to find himself drawn into a larger political theatre.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As the reins of his pet project slip from his hands, James and Alice’s lives change forever in one lightening trip to London.
On their return, events in Edinburgh drive the SOE cells to desperate lengths… lives are on the line, their very existence threatened.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The sound of bullets and grenades rip through the dark night.
Another great adventure set in the swastika-strewn streets of Edinburgh.</span><br />
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnne69S8tMqVJoylBMK98Pagm4QEA-EbGu3cTww6G79D1dssmB6YkxNc48JwEv19M-Akxh6wSa1YYYkmXDmKVFZQL4q59ofnanSk1QN767-adJiAREd_NQlVHa1kqUtgo4RugGCX4Tz5E/s400/AS5d.jpg" width="266" /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Steel-Man-Camp-X-ebook/dp/B01M0JNRVO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1474750900&sr=1-1&keywords=avenging+steel+5" target="_blank">Avenging Steel 5</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>It is October 1941... </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">German troops have held Britain for over a year.
James Baird, a 21 year old student has joined the SOE and has proven his worth in the resistance against the Germans in Edinburgh.
Unknown to James, his superiors have plans for him. It is time to expand his training; the SOE are sending him to Canada's Camp X.
For the first time in his life; James is going overseas. He has the vain notion he's going for a medal ceremony, to meet Churchill or something equally glorious...
What he doesn't know is... he's about to enter the most rigorous six weeks of his life... and that's just the beginning of his adventure.
James soon finds out that getting out of the country is the easy part…
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8rnBtQd3JO2YskrA6ndnUXZDIXDt9Pa4Q0wNUz5kC9pmNd-FRxVYvcMBhfpdDOhxtQMCv53NHSf1bVp67pUZA6X5zha4GgXeqixVgbTfEbr6W2WO3dWygajzOaIgWYQGbuKqGK4kc14/s1600/AS6final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE8rnBtQd3JO2YskrA6ndnUXZDIXDt9Pa4Q0wNUz5kC9pmNd-FRxVYvcMBhfpdDOhxtQMCv53NHSf1bVp67pUZA6X5zha4GgXeqixVgbTfEbr6W2WO3dWygajzOaIgWYQGbuKqGK4kc14/s400/AS6final.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Steel-Long-Way-Home-ebook/dp/B01N6N6SB2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1511705253&sr=8-5&keywords=kindle+avenging+steel" target="_blank">Avenging Steel 6</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Stranded thousands of miles from home, James Baird has a lot of walking to do, and all of it through enemy-territory. From North Africa through Nazi Europe, he weaves a trail of personal vengeance.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">His life has never been more threatened, but his discoveries have never been more monumental. His returning home no longer is just a personal necessity, it has become a matter of national urgency... the fate of the world lays in his hands.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Reviews;</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">"This is wonderful stuff... Old-fashioned adventure written in a delightful style..." Sean Cafferty</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">"Scotland's own 'Man in the High Castle'... great escape from the hum-drum..." Geo. Bingham </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333;" /></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">AVENGING STEEL is available as a bumper eBook , paperback, or in individual volumes...</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Steel-1-Fall-Edinburgh-ebook/dp/B01GAKK63E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474750127&sr=8-1&keywords=avenging+steel" target="_blank">Avenging Steel 1: The Fall of Edinburgh</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HHQZG4Y/ref=series_rw_dp_sw" target="_blank">Avenging Steel 2: The Nuclear Option</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ITVF2HW/ref=series_rw_dp_sw" target="_blank">Avenging Steel 3: The Final Solution </a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Steel-First-Collection-Book-ebook/dp/B01IU5LD0C/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1511705253&sr=8-8&keywords=kindle+avenging+steel" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Avenging Steel; The First Collection</span></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: large;">(Available in budget paperback and eBook... contains all first three novellas.)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KMMAFBO/ref=series_rw_dp_sw" target="_blank">Avenging Steel 4: The Tree of Liberty </a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Steel-Man-Camp-X-ebook/dp/B01M0JNRVO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1474750900&sr=1-1&keywords=avenging+steel+5" target="_blank">Avenging Steel 5: The Man From Camp X</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Steel-Long-Way-Home-ebook/dp/B01N6N6SB2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1511705253&sr=8-5&keywords=kindle+avenging+steel" target="_blank">Avenging Steel: 6 The Long Way Home</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Steel-Second-Collection-Book-ebook/dp/B01NBR0XOC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1511705253&sr=8-4&keywords=kindle+avenging+steel" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Avenging Steel: The Second Collection</span></a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">(Available in budget paperback and eBook... contains the second three novellas.)</span><br />
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<br />Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-3624149392124093222016-07-18T10:22:00.003-07:002016-07-18T10:41:59.055-07:00A Hibernian Fan's Footsteps to Easter Road...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrsjQ6v7xwJVfej-xBdKZoy_ykdU5AtekS6c4sNhGzCvaHJpKBi0kmqzrD4VJ2kNysfTqyeQzk0AsOPIdAvm7TRjHT-8euoObfXDVty_7mniW6JnJTLWw50X0iPRHPpftcXtpczsEuqQo/s1600/FF1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrsjQ6v7xwJVfej-xBdKZoy_ykdU5AtekS6c4sNhGzCvaHJpKBi0kmqzrD4VJ2kNysfTqyeQzk0AsOPIdAvm7TRjHT-8euoObfXDVty_7mniW6JnJTLWw50X0iPRHPpftcXtpczsEuqQo/s400/FF1.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hibernian's Famous Five, champions of the world in the 1950's</td></tr>
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<h3>
The Fan's Footsteps...</h3>
(This is a section of my new book, Avenging Steel 3: The Final Solution, Alternative WW2 History, so some references may seem odd... read on regardless!)<br />
The fan’s journey to the ground begins with him decking himself in his team’s colors.<br />
I had a Hibernian scarf of my own, but I dug in the walk-in closet for grandad’s old green and white woolen one; grandma had knitted it herself. It was the first game for a while, and I wanted to wallow in my own memories. Wrapping it round my neck over my jacket, I could swear I smelled his old tobacco oozing from the worn green wool.<br />
I almost cried.<br />
I opened the door onto the street, the noonday sun hitting me, and making me shield my eyes and squint. Turning left, I soon got onto Bruntsfield Place and took off down the hill.
I remembered grandad’s words as I walked, my scarf the only green I could see on the street. “You’re the rain on the moor, the first water that oozes out of the ground, looking for a stream to take you down to the sea. You’re alone, but you know there’s more. The ground is oozing green, son; Hibernian green.”<br />
He was a wordsmith, my Grandad Baird. Maybe that’s where I take it from. We’d played the game many times, walking to the ground, looking around for the next drop of water.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnLUXaILgjp1MJyEkB6YU1nvg7M_IptNOfgEtf_sPtMSmZL7F9U5i_5EU154V4MxAXYrjhletoqlfpUWOyaokSg31ogYgB9ZkrCBnzTtGcZCJtEOdqTCjExnxXKAdFaZm9KNxKAvCUig/s1600/murr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnLUXaILgjp1MJyEkB6YU1nvg7M_IptNOfgEtf_sPtMSmZL7F9U5i_5EU154V4MxAXYrjhletoqlfpUWOyaokSg31ogYgB9ZkrCBnzTtGcZCJtEOdqTCjExnxXKAdFaZm9KNxKAvCUig/s320/murr.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NAKED TRUTH; Andy Murray with Hibs' Scottish Cup</td></tr>
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<br />
At Tollcross, I spied my first green scarf. At the same time, he spied me, and we shared a common wave across the street; two water droplets heading in tandem for the sea.
On Lauriston Place I found myself catching up with two more, a father and son. The father carried his scarf in his hand, the boy, no older than ten, wore a green and white woolen hat, green pom-pom bouncing as he walked.
I slowed my pace to walk behind them, wallowing in my secret companionship.<br />
At Forest Road, two men stumbled out of the Doctor’s Bar, both proudly twirling their own scarfs round their necks. Seeing us they waved at their new companions, and set off, leading us past Sandy Bell’s, where we’d abducted poor Leutnant Derwall, just months ago.<br />
As the two men turned down into Chamber’s Street, I realized the ‘burn’ had begun, the old Scot’s word for a small stream.
On the Bridges, we picked up a few more ribbons of green, and a few disappeared into the open arms of the many pubs lining the route. Regardless of the charms of the eager ‘boozers’, by Leith Street, the stream had grown.<br />
I caught my breath; it was time for my first stop.<br />
The Black Bull was the pub that grandad met up with his friend; one-o’clock, every Saturday. I checked the time as I walked down the small steps to the door. Always crowded on Hibs home game day, the small ‘snug’ was a magical childhood reminiscence of smells and sounds. I fought my way to the bar and ordered a pint of mild. Turning, I lifted the glass to my lips. “Here’s to you, old man,” I said fondly before downing the beer as only a thirsty man can; three large tasty deluges into a parched throat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFmNGPoZe8sKAKx7ErNIJ61DJF3qtzAjanqrmjhokRmKCHcG-Vpz4mwUXYreRhohnT98wnvUExO5giaNu5dclfKqo6QPZieqPTGE6vESyY45shz0PI0w4Wk09rgaaGFnEoycSwrAxMKGA/s1600/murr2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFmNGPoZe8sKAKx7ErNIJ61DJF3qtzAjanqrmjhokRmKCHcG-Vpz4mwUXYreRhohnT98wnvUExO5giaNu5dclfKqo6QPZieqPTGE6vESyY45shz0PI0w4Wk09rgaaGFnEoycSwrAxMKGA/s320/murr2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Proclaimers hit "Sunshine on Leith" is sung every game</td></tr>
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Back out onto Leith Street, I walked down the hill, rounded the corner, and ploughed straight into the second stop; The Conan Doyle. This was a bar of large open rooms, lots of men, drinking, looking at Saturday newspapers, checking horse results, looking at the greyhound races planned for that night at Powderhall.
With a tear in my eye, I toasted a different Baird. “Here’s to you, Dad. Wherever the heck you are. Scots Greys!”
A couple nearby caught the end of my toast. “Seaforths!” they cheered proudly. “K.O.S.B.’s shouted an old-timer, white haired enough to have fought in the last war. He grinned toothlessly and waved his pint glass at me. Many more took up the proud call. I took a drink at the mention of every regiment, and there were many. My glass was empty in no time, and still the toasts rang round the room. I bought a second and wallowed with my new temporary comrades.<br />
Once done, I crossed the busy intersection and walked along Picardy Place, passed the statue to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, green and oxidized from the winter’s attentions. I almost laughed at the warm beautiful sunshine hitting the back of my neck.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuDIcKli6Pr8M4SK46TjgVoO4iA9SLAn8u8ClPpActFDKn_WMpDue4Eea0HTlOF2Dat-3qCVdz8dzjw0Qxbqt8nLJTxZFAM9c_0Z9d-FGc-rA1XFI2HrikYfWE3P3NqoELxtpoH4A2XTY/s1600/murr3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuDIcKli6Pr8M4SK46TjgVoO4iA9SLAn8u8ClPpActFDKn_WMpDue4Eea0HTlOF2Dat-3qCVdz8dzjw0Qxbqt8nLJTxZFAM9c_0Z9d-FGc-rA1XFI2HrikYfWE3P3NqoELxtpoH4A2XTY/s320/murr3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fish, solo and lead singer for Marillion is a huge Hibs fan</td></tr>
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<br />
With The Playhouse on the opposite side, I got onto Leith Walk proper. Hibs green was now on every fifth person, all walking in the same direction, flowing downhill. “It’s the river, son. Feel it around you.” The old man’s words made me cry openly, enjoying every second of the experience. I was a raindrop, now mingling with many others, heading downstream in a youthful torrent. I wished my grandad were here to share the memory, or even dad.
I crossed the road at the top of Elm Row, just up from the German radio station, and onto London Road. Now the river of green was there for all to see. Bobbing heads on the arrow-straight street as far as your eyes could see.<br />
“It’s the river son,” I remember his pipe clenched tightly in his false teeth as he spoke. “As wide as the Amazon, son, as straight as a die.”<br />
I never ever found out what a ‘die’ was.<br />
<br />
And the river had slowed. With so many people, there was neither the room nor the need to pass. I slowed to the pace of the masses, and let myself flow to the top of Easter Road, savouring every minute of being part of the swell.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJELICtNEqYV1gnXUSOSzNPkNPF6kjSGHsadR5KM6FkkVyI0yp4BePQDv7ZuqrUQwBwhWKtwLjLWUIiUCDus1xhWiEw588WGuArZR3hTs6hHbTYMpJU3kIQ290s-9WBtAoeDzQRcM4pQ/s1600/12063231-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJELICtNEqYV1gnXUSOSzNPkNPF6kjSGHsadR5KM6FkkVyI0yp4BePQDv7ZuqrUQwBwhWKtwLjLWUIiUCDus1xhWiEw588WGuArZR3hTs6hHbTYMpJU3kIQ290s-9WBtAoeDzQRcM4pQ/s320/12063231-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hibs fans, maybe famous now because of their message...</td></tr>
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The last stop. The Claymore.<br />
Grandad’s last stop. A wee dram ‘for the road’.
I copied his actions to the last, sipping the expensive draft, loving every minute of it.
If I’d thought London Road was slow, the narrow street of Easter Road was worse. Almost every head faced north, we were in a queue for the turnstiles hundreds of yards away. The sluggish river had reached the sea.<br />
Considering the Germans had organized the competition, the gates were incredibly busy, the terraces packed. Inside the stadium, I didn’t see one single German uniform, and for a whole ninety minutes I completely forgot the war. For a few seconds in the second half, it began to drizzle, but I don’t think anyone cared much.<br />
When the referee blew the final whistle, the cheer and release of tension was palpable. I jumped up and down on my spot for many minutes, cheering the teams for their efforts in such times.<br />
In my mind I could see the headlines on Monday’s back page; Hibernian Two, Brave Alloa Nil.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="550" src="https://read.amazon.com/kp/card?asin=B01GAKK63E&asin=B01GAKK63E&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_zarJxbWTX8WYQ" style="max-width: 100%;" type="text/html" width="336"></iframe>Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-52535332326320343442016-07-13T10:33:00.000-07:002018-06-03T17:50:25.895-07:00U-234, Hitler's Last U-Boat... The Hail-Mary Pass to Japan<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4tAeuuIXvYdtsm-BbL1qd59NF8Z7d3AA_Sbyffkc3S_PDZvfqpxi8CMP8nAXT-elXomnlR_qI_jx3mHvK6J1nJoOo8NI1cZRMIcyaoXo0vwp_D15qMhAFGuFZFsPIUK3CotTe0wlg-zs/s1600/2343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4tAeuuIXvYdtsm-BbL1qd59NF8Z7d3AA_Sbyffkc3S_PDZvfqpxi8CMP8nAXT-elXomnlR_qI_jx3mHvK6J1nJoOo8NI1cZRMIcyaoXo0vwp_D15qMhAFGuFZFsPIUK3CotTe0wlg-zs/s400/2343.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Crew from the USS Sutton board the U-234 in May, 1945</span></td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">On April 30th, 1945, the bodies of Adolf Hitler and his new wife, Eva Braun, were placed in a bomb crater and doused with petrol. Trusted guards were stationed to ensure their bodies were burned beyond all recognition.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In the wake of Hitler’s suicide, Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz assumed the position of head of state. Among his first orders was a radio broadcast for all submarines to surface and surrender.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>“My U-boat men, six years of war lie behind us… you have fought like lions… U-boat men, unbroken and immaculate, lay down your arms after a heroic fight…”</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Few knew the impact his simple statement made in the war against Japan.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLv-s79G61JD3V7_iEUV2Z0AEIo7_9jjfLG9ZQtCAPGNm4udUmjgnkBG_Ko9pbWSMTrnXZ9NQoG-cTfJrhHsCqvNA-tuWDBhHqYyK32tfxRqm8QJXUvDtQTqA6Mvybyy4Iq2Rp9EUDPA/s1600/tumblr_mrmd13bBQP1reh0fqo1_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLv-s79G61JD3V7_iEUV2Z0AEIo7_9jjfLG9ZQtCAPGNm4udUmjgnkBG_Ko9pbWSMTrnXZ9NQoG-cTfJrhHsCqvNA-tuWDBhHqYyK32tfxRqm8QJXUvDtQTqA6Mvybyy4Iq2Rp9EUDPA/s400/tumblr_mrmd13bBQP1reh0fqo1_400.jpg" width="325" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">U-234 being 'tugged' into Portsmouth, USA</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In the middle of the Atlantic, on May 4th, German submarine U-234 first received a garbled version of Dönitz’s message. After much deliberation, six days later, they surfaced to affirm the news. Captain Johann-Heinrich Fehler assembled his crew and passengers, telling them of his intention to surrender to the Americans in Portsmouth.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The only objection to their surrender came from two Japanese Naval officers, Lieutenant Commanders Hideo Tomonaga and Shoji Genzo, who re-stated the U-boats mission; to sail to Japan and deliver essential cargo and weapons. To the Japanese officers, surrender was not an option. Once the decision was made to surrender the submarine, German guards found the two officers on their bunks in full uniform; they had taken poison.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAm1tIw3d6_UumHTK4EBT6ug0zk-756NOzcqHVuEpiTHwwREMYeDfY9JN834OVrXPsAcLwKL336Jj-EvrwPkKoMs3xbTwi5BogRgEMm4LqvAA6WH3EcxJ0MMcFu6peTm4ftgmhR-bW7w/s1600/Rocket_Henschel_Hs_293_A_front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAm1tIw3d6_UumHTK4EBT6ug0zk-756NOzcqHVuEpiTHwwREMYeDfY9JN834OVrXPsAcLwKL336Jj-EvrwPkKoMs3xbTwi5BogRgEMm4LqvAA6WH3EcxJ0MMcFu6peTm4ftgmhR-bW7w/s1600/Rocket_Henschel_Hs_293_A_front.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A Henschel HS 262, 'cruise' missile</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">U-Boat U-234 was a modified mine layer, and the largest German submarine still in service, but for her last mission she had been turned into a cargo vessel. Packed into every section of the hull were goods destined for the defense of Japan…</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">A fully functional ME 262; the world’s first jet fighter.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">A Henschel HS 293 guided missile; the world’s first cruise missile.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Parts for building a V-2; the world’s first intercontinental missile.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Several tons of blueprints for every weapon built, designed and considered by Germany.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">1200lbs of Uranium 235 (about 20% of the amount required for an atomic bomb).</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;">(Sailors laughed when the Uranium was taken aboard, labeled U-235, they thought they had got the number of the submarine wrong)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOR7UIOj6mSB6w3-EyAD6FVg_f6UV3vszF0M_-_QhL96I45QMpe0a-pRuVYrB9zd6PUStrsngsMLkDyxmXvwzdJ1rOvgAEIIUz4ubiPi0o8DTopzRdFFjs_QPPF5SRiMfihFF8r_YhHE/s1600/Messerschmitt_Me_262_060912-F-1234S-012_zpsxmtjwzff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOR7UIOj6mSB6w3-EyAD6FVg_f6UV3vszF0M_-_QhL96I45QMpe0a-pRuVYrB9zd6PUStrsngsMLkDyxmXvwzdJ1rOvgAEIIUz4ubiPi0o8DTopzRdFFjs_QPPF5SRiMfihFF8r_YhHE/s320/Messerschmitt_Me_262_060912-F-1234S-012_zpsxmtjwzff.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">ME-262, the fastest plane in the world</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Unknown to most of the world, the war had taken a sharp and decisive turn.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As far back as July 1943, the Japanese had one stumbling block to their own Nuclear-bomb project; they could not get enough U-235 to provide them with ‘critical mass’ (the phrase used to denote the amount of Uranium needed to create the chain reaction powering the explosion). Three Japanese submarines had almost got back to Japan with their crucial U-235 cargo, but all were sunk in the attempt.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">After the surrender of the U-234, and hearing of its strangely-labeled cargo, Robert Oppenheimer himself searched the Submarine.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The US Uranium enriching plant was situated at</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Oak Ridge, Tennessee</span><span style="font-size: large;">. Here, the German uranium was processed, and included in the Manhattan Project’s critical mass.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Three months later, in August 1945, the Americans bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In a material so rare on the earth, it is inconceivable that German Uranium, once destined for Japan's own nuclear program, was not used in the American bombs.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">History…. You just can’t make this stuff up.
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">A couple of my related books... browse or buy at your leisure.</span><br />
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Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-55379022811657014542016-07-01T06:53:00.002-07:002016-07-01T10:37:04.085-07:00Dunkirk 2: The Untold Story. Operation Cycle & Operation Ariel <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXRTE0wIm2Prgeep_V1zdQRu3yKOE7jfZr6IPu7NUK6dumcCnCdJlvBCOl1aLEDeKGSnrlnEqBgwqUWsyT5lbJ4cO99FihU_7LOtngt7jXD6p5ajK_QNcdx7RdNHLjJ2id-iLuJugQu4/s1600/cycle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihXRTE0wIm2Prgeep_V1zdQRu3yKOE7jfZr6IPu7NUK6dumcCnCdJlvBCOl1aLEDeKGSnrlnEqBgwqUWsyT5lbJ4cO99FihU_7LOtngt7jXD6p5ajK_QNcdx7RdNHLjJ2id-iLuJugQu4/s400/cycle.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">British and French troops, rescued, on their way to Blighty... 13th June, 1940</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">How many of you readers have heard of the Dunkirk evacuation (Operation Dynamo)?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The black-and-white movies, Churchill’s plea to the nation, the flotilla of little boats, the miracle of rescuing a third of a million men from certain Nazi capture.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The fact remains that from May 28th to June 4th, 338,000 helpless British and French troops were rescued from appalling conditions as the Dunkirk beaches and port were strafed by Messerschmitt’s and dive-bombed by Stukas.
It truly was a terrible experience, and the ‘miracle of Dunkirk’ will continue to be one of the reasons that Britain could continue fighting the war.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But its miraculous tale does overshadow the second stage of the troop embarkation.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">From the silence which usually follows the word, Dunkirk, many assume the Battle of France was over, the guns silent, Hitler’s triumphant march into Paris heralded by the noise of crickets in the cool summer morning.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But this image is far from the truth.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Millions of men were still fighting.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">When the Germans renewed the fighting on the 5th June, they met staunch resistance from French and British troops, including General De Gaule’s Tank Division. The RAF flew from bases south of Paris, the French Air Force, also rejuvenated, took to the air against the Luftwaffe.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But it was a rearguard action.
Soon British, French, Polish and Czech forces retreated to the Normandy ports.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13g0EkJ0ngW5NCBxq4IUe4bioDVyi4YVqQNphYW9AysnC5p03H2WjFn5o1E9CXYa056ezXBGawoU32uYSzUtDsGBjwWPhLGbCgQhG6hzNpEFYDqzAX0BuvP52o0SGf9jTns-MoQtv6TQ/s1600/SS_Guinean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13g0EkJ0ngW5NCBxq4IUe4bioDVyi4YVqQNphYW9AysnC5p03H2WjFn5o1E9CXYa056ezXBGawoU32uYSzUtDsGBjwWPhLGbCgQhG6hzNpEFYDqzAX0BuvP52o0SGf9jTns-MoQtv6TQ/s400/SS_Guinean.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">SS Guinean. conditions aboard were extremely cramped</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Operation Cycle (10th – 13th June, 1940) was immediately put into action.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">British forces cut off from escape at Dunkirk, terribly disorganized and ill equipped, fled westwards along the coast, making for Le Havre. The 51st Highland Division, assisted by General De Gaule’s tanks fought a bloody rearguard against Rommel's 7th Panzer Division. With the port of Le Havre suddenly cut off, the allies fled to St Valery-En-Caux where Operation Cycle was ready to embark them.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There would be no flotilla of little boats this time. Under air cover from the RAF, the troops were transferred at the port onto destroyers, and civilian ships, commandeered for the purpose, and ferried off the beaches. From 10th-11th June, 2137 British, and 1184 French were rescued from St Valery before the 51st Highland Division finally surrendered.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The men who had managed to reach Le Havre fared better.
From the 10th – 13th June, over 11,000 British troops were rescued.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And the relentless Germans pushed onward, rolling British and French troops further westward.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDs0Dlb54sCnYviRwc6muHhu60-LLEL2ecXhXlsVT7GHCShSdP0BEGVzNysQchQP4x8Q8JaqGKTNyULg0BHoR9XsRJEiYdx-CEZqjgI4h45E6eyKRWXZhlDwRAY798cJ18l2GZBUrEZS0/s1600/PRINS+ALBERT+1940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDs0Dlb54sCnYviRwc6muHhu60-LLEL2ecXhXlsVT7GHCShSdP0BEGVzNysQchQP4x8Q8JaqGKTNyULg0BHoR9XsRJEiYdx-CEZqjgI4h45E6eyKRWXZhlDwRAY798cJ18l2GZBUrEZS0/s320/PRINS+ALBERT+1940.jpg" width="281" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Operation Ariel (15th – 25th June, 1940) commenced.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Despite the lessons learned at Dunkirk, Operation Cycle had shown that large-scale troop embarkation onto large ships could be accomplished. On June 15th, a flotilla of Royal Navy and Merchant Marine ships converged on the ports of Western France. The ships were supported from southern French bases by five Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter squadrons which were further assisted by squadrons from England.
The task was to enter the major sea-ports of St Nazaire, and Nantes and rescue British, Polish and Czech troops who had been directed there.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Under Luftwaffe attack, the ships loaded troops and equipment, but disorganization made figures inaccurate.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">On June 17th the Luftwaffe sank the Cunard liner HMT Lancastria in the Loire estuary. The troopship had just embarked thousands of troops, RAF personnel and civilians. It is estimated that at least 3500 died in the sinking.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">To conform to the terms of the Armistice on June 22nd, the evacuation of Operation Ariel officially ended on June 25th.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Over 191,000 troops were rescued in Operation Ariel, mainly British, Polish and Czech personnel, although accurate figures of nationalities are not known.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In all, Operations Ariel and Cycle rescued over 200,000 troops, including RAF ground crew, ancillary staff, and tons of equipment.
Not quite the dramatic rescue of Dinkirk’s flotilla of little boats, but not a drop in a bucket either.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Considering the amount of men deployed, and the amount of men rescued, British deaths in the battle France were only 10,000, and that figure includes the 3500 from the HMT Lancastria.</span>Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-17011003547349639372016-06-26T12:59:00.000-07:002016-06-27T09:57:48.169-07:00Atomic Bomb Makers on Scotland’s Streets <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7FjI8r70-xv0RI1cdMNfUS4jUEgR3wwp8Jqq4LBfpSyHKsf1qcdaa0BMkL3ryH2LfyOYJUqMXPIiTn48vjK1rz3L5hfezULaxIW79SXRanMPqpb20fZe_yimTshbRw4OUm6tKiozaV8/s1600/AS21final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7FjI8r70-xv0RI1cdMNfUS4jUEgR3wwp8Jqq4LBfpSyHKsf1qcdaa0BMkL3ryH2LfyOYJUqMXPIiTn48vjK1rz3L5hfezULaxIW79SXRanMPqpb20fZe_yimTshbRw4OUm6tKiozaV8/s400/AS21final.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">German troops gather on the Esplanade at Edinburgh Castle</td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical Fact; in 1939-1940, there were a significant number of Scientists, including German Jews in self-exile, working in Edinburgh University; Physicists and Mathematicians who were investigating sub-atomic particle physics at the Kings Buildings campus on the southern edge of Edinburgh.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical Fact; in 1939, it was realized in British Universities that a nuclear bomb would win the war. A Committee (M.A.U.D. Committee) was set up to investigate both the direction of research, and the materials and time required to complete the bomb.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical Fact; from the two reports given to him by the M.A.U.D. Committee, on 30th August, 1941, Winston Churchill officially authorized further research, and became the first world leader to authorize and approve a nuclear weapons program.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Historical Fact; in 1940, as Adolf Hitler contemplated the invasion of Britain (Operation Sea-Lion), he had a ‘hit list’ of British scientists, miscreants, and political figures who were to be rounded up and incarcerated in the first few months of Nazi occupation.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">These are the historical facts behind the second volume of the Avenging Steel WW2 Alternative History series.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Our hero James Baird, a Philosophy student at Edinburgh University, is secretly a member of the S.O.E. (Special Operations Executive), the forerunner to both MI6 and the CIA. He is ordered to infiltrate the Physics students and help spirit them away to safety. With his girlfriend Alice at his side, James begins the most dangerous mission of his short ‘master-spy’ career.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The action is fast and furious as they try to stay one step ahead of the Germans as they whisk the crucial scientists away from the Nazis.
Avenging Steel 2: the Nuclear Option, is the second in a growing series set in 1940’s Edinburgh; the city streets and buildings are vividly cast almost as characters themselves. Reading the book places you in the action, running the streets, riding the trams, dodging bullets and counter espionage agents.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Volume three ‘The Final Solution’ is hoped to be completed in the summer of 2016.
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Take a look inside the book, courtesy of Amazon Kindle.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="550" src="https://read.amazon.com/kp/card?asin=B01HHQZG4Y&asin=B01HHQZG4Y&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_nmdCxbXQN3X0M" style="max-width: 100%;" type="text/html" width="336"></iframe>Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-60168615247283111802016-06-09T09:55:00.000-07:002016-06-22T10:29:30.754-07:00Edinburgh News! George Heriot's School Captured by German Troops!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0MJ84-Bt3IKe7KoQAgXmcCgI_9UIq_U5DQ4Ot_Hz8cZRwk2YfZp2OulwAbWF5DAJ0ff_fMFI3Hc2t-6ANn9-kSK8EPn5d56SZGssMdfQF_aRjzh5tu7VVlRVZNyCof_HO21eGikRpYA/s1600/GH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0MJ84-Bt3IKe7KoQAgXmcCgI_9UIq_U5DQ4Ot_Hz8cZRwk2YfZp2OulwAbWF5DAJ0ff_fMFI3Hc2t-6ANn9-kSK8EPn5d56SZGssMdfQF_aRjzh5tu7VVlRVZNyCof_HO21eGikRpYA/s400/GH.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gateway... draped with the conquering symbols.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The German staff car drove through the arched entrance, its Mercedes engine purring, its occupants three high-ranking German officers. Few witnessed the invasion; the schoolchildren of George Heriot’s School were at morning lessons. The scattered boys out on the playing fields gave no notice, engrossed in their games.
When four grey trucks followed suit, their attention was guaranteed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The short approach road to the main building was walled on either side, not meant for large vehicles.
The staff car in front, swept through the archway of the imposing building, and on into the ancient cobbles of the inner courtyard. Following suit, the trucks behind fanned out, braking loudly, their engines roaring in grizzly echoes between the four high walls.
Suddenly a thousand faces were at windows, looking down as the trucks disgorged their human cargo; a hundred of Germany’s finest, jackbooted and coal-scuttle helmeted. As they spread out, their machine guns held at the ready, they looked cold and imposing.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9IE4AKdoKj6umf3WAcTmMtjBEmT7bc0jzSYLXkdUDHcbU8iFDH-pPvQ8fFrXaPafaxTwwYtxFWqQ2BGOBTBfr2LBal0k13efe266T0kkaK0u_YOU-M9qGs_t83TD2MM6BUEgHGW810-Y/s1600/NIECavenging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9IE4AKdoKj6umf3WAcTmMtjBEmT7bc0jzSYLXkdUDHcbU8iFDH-pPvQ8fFrXaPafaxTwwYtxFWqQ2BGOBTBfr2LBal0k13efe266T0kkaK0u_YOU-M9qGs_t83TD2MM6BUEgHGW810-Y/s400/NIECavenging.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The iconic image of Edinburgh Castle, </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The officers filed into the main entrance, their grim-faced soldiers behind.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“I am Captain Schoenberg. You have an hour to empty the building.” His expression did not expect protest. The generals behind him smiled in anonymity, looking smugly around. The soldiers were already filing into corridors on either side, and up wide staircases.
The headmaster, roused by the commotion, soon made his way to the entrance, only to be buffeted outside into the courtyard. “What do you think you’re doing?” he protested, only to be nudged heartily in the ribs by a machine gun butt.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The haloed halls echoed with men’s guttural orders, their stereotypical brevity made no less forceful by the pupil’s and teacher’s understanding. “Raus! Raus! Schnell!”
The boys had been brought up to Capt. W. E. Johns’ Biggles adventures, but now the cries were here, in their classrooms and hallways, forcing them out of classes and out into the courtyard.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Schoolboy cries soon joined the German ones, protests, screams, the plaintive cries of the younger boys.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It made no difference… just a thousand yards from the battlements of Edinburgh Castle, the infamous George Heriot’s School building had suddenly become the German headquarters in Edinburgh.
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Steel-1-Fall-Edinburgh-ebook/dp/B01GAKK63E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465390999&sr=8-1&keywords=avenging+steel" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" Avenging Steel 1: The Fall of Edinburgh" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlID_jeRG1R88V4Os1bD0goFxBAtCco0ssENCuBIJilrNGJZFlzSUx6PLUOv2vDG35nrlT8lPfDMIRnc1diWTFv3RUvvHeMTIhQBuouBmeqbQLrHnf6pR9gLlvr0GrHfmcgSM8V5Y3d5s/s320/AS21.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Steel-1-Fall-Edinburgh-ebook/dp/B01GAKK63E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465390999&sr=8-1&keywords=avenging+steel" target="_blank">Avenging Steel</a></span></h3>
<span style="font-size: large;">As a writer, it's quite strange when a story takes over your imagination and writes itself. The above was one such case.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In my new Avenging Steel Alternative History series, I had decided that my character was going to George Heriot's School to a clandestine meeting. He walked past Greyfriar's Bobby on Forrest Road, and turned the corner onto Lauriston Place. I was remembering the imposing entrance to the school, thinking of its tall railings, the school grounds, the playing fields, the wonderful square baronial building with its interior courtyard... then the words just appeared on my page... the German trucks rolling through the archways, the noise in the courtyard, the jackbooted terrors kicking the pupils out onto the street... it made perfect sense... George Heriot's building would make the perfect Headquarters building in Edinburgh...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">My character would have to make his clandestine meeting somewhere else.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Steel-1-Fall-Edinburgh-ebook/dp/B01GAKK63E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465390999&sr=8-1&keywords=avenging+steel" target="_blank">Avenging Steel</a>; available as an eBook and paperback, everywhere good books are sold.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<iframe type="text/html" width="336" height="550" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen style="max-width:100%" src="https://read.amazon.com/kp/card?asin=B01GAKK63E&asin=B01GAKK63E&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_PQSAxbKNNVMGB" ></iframe>Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-87872431863705224282016-05-30T10:35:00.001-07:002016-07-28T11:00:18.089-07:00Avenging Steel: The Fall of Edinburgh... "Scotland's own 'Man in the High Castle'."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Steel-1-Fall-Edinburgh-ebook/dp/B01GAKK63E?ie=UTF8&keywords=avenging%20steel&qid=1464624452&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmPrt2Qr4LIEuxmynxe-cK0kzC3rJmxqYGBwLig742AXXRCC_0XQpBmLt1cpTzHjQ5VVYBVfi_xNKGzUJJh8ns4Z2DlH-_fNIX52wmSrZbegjpQIfErG7Vs2uO5EgfmrDmMP4hU8eup0/s400/AVsquare.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Steel-1-Fall-Edinburgh-ebook/dp/B01GAKK63E?ie=UTF8&keywords=avenging%20steel&qid=1464624452&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Avenging Steel 1: The Fall of Edinburgh... the finest in Alternative History.</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is October 1940... </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In the last seven weeks, the German invasion of Britain, begun by a few thousand paratroopers, has swept the British Army to another 'Dunkirk'. Snatched from Oban, Ullapool, and a hundred islands, a quarter of a million of Britain's finest now rest in Canada.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">For the moment, Britain is lost.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Churchill makes one valiant speech from the combined houses of the Irish Parliament, then he too is spirited away.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">… let us not consider this a retreat,
not a farewell to our homeland, but as a gathering for a new offensive. And let
me make this promise to Herr Hitler; we will prepare, we will return, and we will never surrender…</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Winston Churchill, October 7th, 1940, Dublin, Ireland<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.3in;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">When German troops march triumphantly along the streets of Edinburgh, James Baird, a young philosophy student, feels drawn to watch. He is a student at Edinburgh university, and is ashamed he has done nothing in the defense of his country; watching the parade is his self-inflicted punishment.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7j000PTEBEsWH5IWYZOHVj574dUCYjEhIF31OZXOXnqVorY04uZ2THa8xwoXmDiCISJAokKZyYEIm1D3lqbPysG1csAzsqsLtHuwVhr8Hdgv8n4NC-ThMRwety2Zclhx7gyaPizlEY1k/s1600/919321322_459dc22377_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7j000PTEBEsWH5IWYZOHVj574dUCYjEhIF31OZXOXnqVorY04uZ2THa8xwoXmDiCISJAokKZyYEIm1D3lqbPysG1csAzsqsLtHuwVhr8Hdgv8n4NC-ThMRwety2Zclhx7gyaPizlEY1k/s400/919321322_459dc22377_z.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1940, Princes Street, Edinburgh. People await the Nazi parade.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As he stands on Princes Street, looking down the deserted tram lines, he waits for the conquering heroes to arrive. Behind him the high ramparts of Edinburgh Castle are festooned with garish red swastika banners. Sickened by the music and swaggering Nazis, James can soon stand no more. he flees the scene and takes refuge in the Edinburgh University Union bar, determined to drown his sorrows before returning home.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtygVV4RnT-AXq9Xh_h_4w5n05DRFp4VTfiHK6T6vm6BrCp8TADAUxh1BhuRrmGdqK5J_aarO8xAjQVRFBuKL885pAhav035v6eD_yWRFZXmwJatQ4k8unu2cyV2bzhCHVujuaH0B9nd0/s1600/b5c708f4a1b05469bdf29da4a64e6d64.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtygVV4RnT-AXq9Xh_h_4w5n05DRFp4VTfiHK6T6vm6BrCp8TADAUxh1BhuRrmGdqK5J_aarO8xAjQVRFBuKL885pAhav035v6eD_yWRFZXmwJatQ4k8unu2cyV2bzhCHVujuaH0B9nd0/s400/b5c708f4a1b05469bdf29da4a64e6d64.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Like Paris, three months before, troops march in Edinburgh. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The new oppressors bring changes to his life that he cannot foresee. As his new role in German-controlled Edinburgh is revealed, he is determined to fight the new oppressors.
In long novella parts, we follow James's story as a proud nation begins to rebel against the pressure of Nazi jackboots.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Thus begins, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Steel-1-Fall-Edinburgh-ebook/dp/B01GAKK63E?ie=UTF8&keywords=avenging%20steel&qid=1464624452&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Avenging Steel</a>, a new Alternative History series.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The title is taken from a verse in The Tree of Liberty, by Robert Burns, Scotland's famous national bard.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>By her inspired the new born race</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Soon grew the A<b>venging Steel</b>, man;</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The hirelings ran — her foes gied chase</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>And banged the despot weel, man.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Robert Burns
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Described as "Scotland's own 'Man in the High Castle'."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Steel-1-Fall-Edinburgh-ebook/dp/B01GAKK63E?ie=UTF8&keywords=avenging%20steel&qid=1464624452&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Avenging Steel 1:The Fall of Edinburgh</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Now available as an eBook series; parts two and three completed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">To be honest, it felt kinda good... I've never been compared to Philip K. Dick before...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-8514071143646511122016-05-16T13:04:00.000-07:002016-06-23T05:03:52.280-07:00Cockney Rhyming Slang... Sneaking into Modern Colloquial English<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ridiculously-Comprehensive-Dictionary-British-Slang-ebook/dp/B01EQOKTYW?ie=UTF8&keywords=ridiculously%20slang&qid=1463428978&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><img alt=" Dictionary of British Slang" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zKDhymzVAXmaoR9zz6VJq2nlrDjHDGeBUMsFbfq2CeBEKeXrwwIN_0oJnEUGdOuzJu99Y98_oPtcnPrYJWCvp4Fg4igm2CGV3jdSGSkZ2-OVwmtei8eeK_-sVGCNxALLjoOZuBnQVKk/s400/slangsquare.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cockney Rhyming Slang is a form of English slang which began in the East End of London; a true 'Cockney', is a person born within earshot of the Bow bells.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To create a 'secret' language, Cockney Rhyming Slang replaces normal words with rhyming phrases.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">eg; "<b>I'm going out with the trouble and Strife tonight</b>." (I'm going out with the wife tonight.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>"I'm looking smart tonight, got my Kylie Minogues on." </b>(I'm looking smart tonight, I've got my brogues on)</span><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The idea soon spread over the English-speaking world, and since those ancient days many non-Cockney phrases have been added.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cockney Rhyming Slang has three distinct variations, each rarer
than the other…<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;">1<sup>st</sup> degree
Cockney Rhyming Slang…</span></b><span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"> By far the most commonly
heard and used (when the rhyme is essential).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Example; “<b>He went up the Apples and Pears</b>.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meaning… He went up the stairs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(Cockney Rhyming Slang for ‘stairs’, is ‘Apples and Pears’)<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;">2nd degree Cockney Rhyming
Slang…</span></b><span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"> Less common, but thought to be more true to the 'secret' original form (when the rhyming
part has been dropped)…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Example; “<b>He kicked me in the Alberts</b>!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meaning… He kicked me in the testicles (balls).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(Cockney Rhyming Slang for testicles (balls) is ‘Albert Halls’,
but in this case the rhyming part (‘Halls’) is dropped, leaving the user with a
brand new slang term)<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;">3rd degree Cockney Rhyming
Slang…</span></b><span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"> Very rare. When the original rhyme has
been dropped, and the other part of the original phrase has also been dropped, to
be replaced by another word associated with it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Example; “<b>Calm down, mate, keep your Elvis</b>.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #141823; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meaning… "keep your hair on".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 150%;">(Cockney Rhyming Slang for ‘hair-on’ is Aaron. But the original
Aaron has been dropped being replaced by Elvis, an obvious associated word,
although ‘Elvis’ was never in the original rhyming slang.)</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1st degree Cockney Rhyming Slang is pretty easy stuff; let's face it.... it rhymes!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, when the rhyme is dropped, and you don't know the original phrase, you might be lost on the actual meaning. Even I was surprised how many of these phrases I used, never knowing or thinking they were originally Cockney Rhyming Slang!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">See how many you recognize, some more complex than others… (I’ll use the abbreviation CRS for Cockney Rhyming Slang, and {r/w} for “rhymes with”).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most are 2nd degree CRS.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>He’s a bit Haigs</b>… (CRS- <b>Haigs Dimple</b>, {r/w} simple, ie; not that clever, dim.)
(Haigs Whisky bottled a brand of their brew in a dimpled bottle, and the name stuck)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>He just blew a raspberry at you</b>... . (CRS- <b>Raspberry Tart</b>; {r/w} fart.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Let’s have a butchers then</b>… (CRS- <b>Butcher's Hook</b> {r/w} look.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Look at him, he hasn't got a Scooby.</b>.. (CRS- <b>Scooby Doo</b>; {r/w} Clue.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I don't like them, I'm a bit Listerine</b>... 3rd degree... (maybe even 4th...) (<b>Septic Tank</b>; {r/w} Yank. Anti-Septic means anti-Yank (anti-American). Listerine is an anti-septic.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Look at him, he’s Brahms</b>… (CRS- <b>Brahms & Liszt</b>; {r/w} pissed, drunk)
Brahms and Liszt were classical music composers.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ridiculously-Comprehensive-Dictionary-British-Slang-ebook/dp/B01EQOKTYW?ie=UTF8&keywords=british%20slang%20cockney&qid=1463411948&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt=" Available in eBooks and paperback" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7c0JSsOtRqMtJ1XUQZqQpHpyhmOLe844D79CKlXldXUg8vjfQxh17EfL-obl9VPq8qlTXw7-ojttzpR9P90GSEUC2BH2_aHFknSpx14vpysQNpudBfaoRYqQYboBwCUphZUqCM0iHZc/s400/dobscover.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Available in paperback or eBook</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>He talks funny; he’s a bubble</b>… (CRS- <b>Bubble and Squeak</b>; {r/w} Greek.)
Bubble and Squeak is a fried dish made with potato and vegetable leftovers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>That fellow’s a bit ginger</b>… (CRS- <b>Ginger Beer</b>; {r/w} Queer, Gay)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I’m all on my Jack today</b>... (CRS- <b>Jack Jones</b>; {r/w} alone’s, on your own.) Jack Jones was a singer in the 60's.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I’m off round the corner for a Jimmy</b>... (CRS- <b>Jimmy Riddle</b>; {r/w} widdle, pee)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>He can't hear you, he's mutton</b>... Technically 3rd degree... (CRS- <b>Mutt & Jeff</b>; {r/w} deaf.)
Mutt & Jeff were cartoon characters from the 1940’s.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I’m off down the High Street for a Ruby</b>... (CRS- <b>Ruby Murray</b>; {r/w} curry)
Ruby Murray was a Belfast singer from the 1950’s.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Cops are coming, we’d better scarper</b>... (CRS- <b>Scapa Flow</b>; {r/w} go.)
Scapa Flow is a harbor in the Shetland Islands where the WW1 German fleet was scuppered.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I’m on my Tod today</b>... (CRS- <b>Todd Sloane</b>; {r/w} alone, lone.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>He’s wearing his Lionels</b>… (CRS- <b>Lionel Blair</b>; {r/w} flare, flared trousers)
Lionel Blair was an actor/singer/dancer in the 60’s 70’s in the UK)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Don't be stupid, use your loaf</b>... (CRS- <b>Loaf of Bread</b>; {r/w} head)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I’m a bit Boracic (Borrassic) this week</b>... (CRS- <b>Boracic Lint</b>; {r/w} skint, broke, penniless)
Borassic Lint was a gauze substance put on wounds in the old days.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>How’s it going, me old China?</b>... (CRS- <b>China Plate</b>; {r/w} mate, friend)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What a fine pair of Bristols</b>... (CRS- <b>Bristol City</b>; {r/w} titties, breasts)
Bristol City is one football team in the English seaside town of Bristol.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Listen to him spin that Porky</b>... (CRS-<b>Pork Pies</b>; {r/w} lies)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Oh, now that’s a nice whistle.</b>... (CRS- <b>Whistle and Flute</b>: {r/w} suit, three piece suit)
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ridiculously-Comprehensive-Dictionary-British-Slang-ebook/dp/B01EQOKTYW?ie=UTF8&keywords=british%20slang%20cockney&qid=1463411948&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2" target="_blank"><b>The Ridiculously Comprehensive Dictionary of British Slang</b></a> has over 200 pages of slang definitions, available in paperback or eBook.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="550" src="https://read.amazon.com/kp/card?asin=B01EQOKTYW&asin=B01EQOKTYW&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_h.8AxbW60H5GZ" style="max-width: 100%;" type="text/html" width="336"></iframe></div>
Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-46563431260115589992016-05-09T10:05:00.000-07:002016-06-23T05:05:13.304-07:00SOE: Churchill's Spy School that Spawned All Others<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrtkboKV0qXLaIqO14CmMTVBwJB_Y1qpbMMyVAWpllt5KBM6uGli4JHmQqEiR545MLputQusQ2TfM6E-8CJMLqY3NdWLNx00_jj_INMAONLQuD-gUg7u6qnHvGvTVd2lIIBiky4u1jws/s1600/B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrtkboKV0qXLaIqO14CmMTVBwJB_Y1qpbMMyVAWpllt5KBM6uGli4JHmQqEiR545MLputQusQ2TfM6E-8CJMLqY3NdWLNx00_jj_INMAONLQuD-gUg7u6qnHvGvTVd2lIIBiky4u1jws/s400/B2.jpg" width="397" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SOE camps in Britain and abroad were the model of all spy-craft for years</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Many books have been written regarding this one department, that it almost does not need repeating, and yet, although its influence cannot be calculated, the SOE manages to remain relatively obscure in the minds of most of the world’s population.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The SOE alone did not win the war, but its organization, training camps, instructors, training methods and gadgetry were used in every single theater of the war. Many of Churchill’s ‘Secret Armies’ were trained under SOE jurisdiction, and most of the world’s spy networks modeled on their mold.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Without doubt, the SOE was Churchill’s greatest creation.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Churchills-Secret-Armies-Ministry-Ungentlemanly-ebook/dp/B01EEY9F2G?ie=UTF8&keywords=churchill%27s%20secret%20armies&qid=1462813227&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheUbbathXL_z0H3eTAPPACTHypFfWcoDAbJA6H1By4eZ34QlxP1vNGUUCXmaBSEhXCNmyCDdIw30vlvzG2E8iOahZOSSsCTxXQcMogZcl2VBkibLT5o1h1nvrbFPp8VXoM7xc8nawFIqg/s320/CSA1kindle.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Churchills-Secret-Armies-Ministry-Ungentlemanly-ebook/dp/B01EEY9F2G?ie=UTF8&keywords=churchill%27s%20secret%20armies&qid=1462813227&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">An examination of all of Churchill's 'Secret Armies'.</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Initially formed to combine all of Britain's fractured Military Intelligence Services, it did far more; it provided a training regime that served not only the allied spies and counter-espionage agents, but all Special Forces too.
From its early days in July 1940 until the end of the war in 1945, the SOE schools in Britain and the training techniques they had developed were used on a massive scale.
The Commandoes, the SAS, the Paratroopers, SBS, Cichociemni (Polish S.F.), US Rangers, Canadian Devil’s Brigade, Jedburgh’s and many others were trained in the SOE’s 50 plus locations in Britain.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Later coined as "<i>the school for mayhem and murder</i>", the deep-background preparation, the variety of subjects, the attention to detail, and the hardy regime were used as the blueprint of every single spy organization in the modern world today.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">When Churchill came to power, at least four different intelligence agencies vied for power, and did not share techniques, information or personnel. It was Churchill alone on his first days in charge who set up the ambiguously titled Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.), and detailed their mission; ‘to set Europe ablaze’. You can see Churchill's footprint from the inception of Britain's structured military intelligence; had been in the cabinet when Britain’s first Military Intelligence agency was set up in 1909. In the landings at Gallipoli in 1915, he had personally witnessed the disaster that could strike the largest of military operations if the intelligence was not accurate or up to date.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">When he took charge in 1940, he was determined not to make the same mistake twice; to beat the Nazi menace, Britain’s military intelligence service would have to be the best in the world, and would train and operate to standards far exceeding the expectation of both its founding members and the enemy.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/WORLD-WAR-SPY-SCHOOL-Counter-Espionage-ebook/dp/B019H2JGL0?ie=UTF8&qid=1462813329&ref_=tmm_kin_swatch_0&sr=8-6" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVg6PVy0RHRSCut3FDbrCVnmGiDHOSzEwK1lG38ZpTQJ8fYBg60ZRkyRIleLgSiFmAF8AQtTGVGt8wfHXFZUSb2JFJ14BXegBo5rKJojwmnT9kbc9I8_qlU0qVEdDJTS_YcHsO55BqeVk/s320/SOE4.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/WORLD-WAR-SPY-SCHOOL-Counter-Espionage-ebook/dp/B019H2JGL0?ie=UTF8&qid=1462813329&ref_=tmm_kin_swatch_0&sr=8-6" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">"If you have to search a prisoner, kill him first..."</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Of all the allied forces, the USA followed SOE guidelines more than any other. The Office of Strategic Studies (O.S.S.) continued Churchill’s penchant for ambiguous titles, and from its inception, the OSS trained their operatives in the SOE camps in Canada. Within months of entering the war in December 1941 they had begun construction of their own camps in Maryland and Virginia. The largest were at Prince William Forest, near Quantico (near the Marine base and FBI Headquarters) and Catoctin Mountain Park, (now the location of Camp David).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">At the close of the war, the OSS went on to become the CIA, and is still active today.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Churchill's Special Operations Executive may not have won the war on its own, but it shortened it by many years, and saved millions of lives.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Take a look inside <i>Churchill's Secret Armies...</i></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="550" src="https://read.amazon.com/kp/card?asin=B01EEY9F2G&asin=B01EEY9F2G&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_fCSAxb8ZPFFC9" style="max-width: 100%;" type="text/html" width="336"></iframe>Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-41544712152712109332016-04-17T22:11:00.003-07:002016-06-23T05:09:14.095-07:00Winston Churchill's Ungentlemanly Side <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Was principled gentleman Winston Churchill also the master of dirty tactics?<br />
<br />
You bet he was!<br />
<br />
With his back to the wall in 1940 and invasion from the Nazis imminent, not only did he use every trick in the book… it turns out he "wrote the book"! I've covered it all in my latest release:<br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Churchills-Secret-Armies-Ministry-Ungentlemanly-ebook/dp/B01EEY9F2G" target="_blank">Churchill's Secret Armies War Without Rules: The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare</a></i> by Ian HallUnsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-43672041071141986022016-01-11T08:29:00.001-08:002016-06-23T05:32:14.230-07:00Two Old Farts Writing Science Fiction: Dennis E. Smirl & Ian Hall<div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeMo9hELDzRaFgeXRUvpCb_DQ7nBn3YhzodqDM7sTHJlw63MhjF1n9KK9AeT-NEsmXzWNtX8WwEqRAXhW_y_Gpa2wbwz5GymVgoDuA3PeJP6O81ghXUclWPnL8DeEYvKS7yyxsb7cDRNE/s1600/SECsquare1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeMo9hELDzRaFgeXRUvpCb_DQ7nBn3YhzodqDM7sTHJlw63MhjF1n9KK9AeT-NEsmXzWNtX8WwEqRAXhW_y_Gpa2wbwz5GymVgoDuA3PeJP6O81ghXUclWPnL8DeEYvKS7yyxsb7cDRNE/s400/SECsquare1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two Old farts writing Science Fiction.... what could possibly go wrong?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Can you remember when real Science Fiction was Asimov’s <i>Foundation</i>, or Herbert’s <i>Dune</i>? When Heinlein wrote <i>Starship Troopers</i>, and Clarke did <i>2001: A Space Odessy</i>?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Yeah, so can we.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So, fed up with the dark matter of today's SF market, Dennis and I got together to write some of our own. We didn't want to wallow in depression, though, we decided to write some old-fashioned Science Fiction, you know, the stuff with blasters and aliens, rockets and ray-guns, the type of SF from a more buoyant age, stuff that we’d like to read. No more cruel, dark, Dystopia, no more end-of-the-world scenarios, each dimmer and more depressing than the last, and no Zombie apocalypse.</span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="550" src="https://read.amazon.com/kp/card?asin=B019SCS1RO&asin=B019SCS1RO&preview=inline&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_3j9AxbB62HBRX" style="max-width: 100%;" type="text/html" width="336"></iframe>
<span style="font-size: large;">We decided go go back to the good old days of optimism, the eager look to the stars that once kindled longing in our childhood.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It wasn’t quite the dip into the age of <i>Dan Dare</i>, or <i>Flash Gordon</i>, but it was a definite vision into a time where the whole of mankind would rally together in the face of an alien foe, rather than wallow in fear in an age of terrorists and bomb-plots. It was a trip back to the day when the phrase ‘dirty bomb’, just meant one that had been rolled into a muddy puddle. It was a time of rockets to the Moon, then Mars, times when NASA actually launched rockets, not lectured about it.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Book 2... Things are heating up for poor Seth</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Dennis and I began with a universe containing a small human federation of planets; the Fellowship. Then we gave everybody a corporate entity to universally hate; BIG SPACE.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The MacCollie Company owned space travel, having invented both drives to take us to the stars. They allotted franchises, they literally controlled the very nuts and bolts of getting out to the stars. It gave us a good feeling to give the humans an enemy of sorts, but then again, things change bloody quick up there.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3... Seth has a new crew mate... a woman!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, to our story… the <i>STAR-EATER CHRONICLES</i>.
MacCollie (with their new FTL drive) have sent 1000 Survey-Scouts to the edges of the galaxy to map it for mankind… well for MacCollie to collate the findings and sell it to mankind.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Seth Gingko is one of those Scouts. When he reaches the edge of the galaxy, his contract is over, as payment for his five year mission (yes, it was a five year mission, Star Trek fans, an homage, we did it on purpose) he takes ownership of his one man Scout ship.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But being an owner-operator was never going to be easy.
Seth discovers an invading fleet, and must warn Earth of the impending doom.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4. More aliens than you could count!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thus begins volume one in the <i>STAR-EATER CHRONICLES, A Galaxy Too Fa</i>r; Seth’s first solo adventure. We’ve worked so hard, we've finished book 9!, And we’ve raced right into book ten. We’ve put them on Amazon kindle, on Nook, iTunes, Kobo and in paperback.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It proves to be a great ride, but you better hold on to the safety bars, ‘cos it’s about to get real bumpy out there… real quick… and don't expect us to be "Politically Correct" about it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And that's on of the good things about being... just Two Old Farts....</span>Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-18041217488833707922015-12-17T10:30:00.001-08:002016-01-16T20:09:27.682-08:00The SOE Counter Espionage Manual... How it Won World War 2<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/WORLD-WAR-SPY-SCHOOL-Counter-Espionage-ebook/dp/B019H2JGL0" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PJHfJSjouBVv3ETq9VTHce-Pjy1acB66XtOQ22pWfMkF8rDKOZH3KNx-sbAdFV5pqGp7rnjwwmQcHeOzhdrhCCRZlLlsVqtYA-RpD-9criSeqcG3Xcknk5c7A9cO4u_x_IpNnnLHakw/s640/SOE4.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/WORLD-WAR-SPY-SCHOOL-Counter-Espionage-ebook/dp/B019H2JGL0" target="_blank">The 1943 SOE Manual; Available in Kindle and Paperback format</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When we think of spies, we conjure images of Ian Fleming's James Bond, the suave 007, the ladies-man, licensed to kill.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But truth is always darker than fiction.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Around the town of Dunkirk in May 1940, the British Army had abandoned most of its tanks and artillery. As the men were transported home, Britain was truly at the‘darkest hour’ of World War 2. </span><span style="font-size: large;">The newly appointed Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, had a lot to do, and very little time or money to do it with.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Churchill poured every resource into the RAF, for if Hitler wanted to invade Britain, he would need control of the skies.
But Churchill had many other plans, hatched in those ‘dark hours’… plans for small units that would survive Britain's defeat; the Commandoes, Long Range Desert Group, British Resistance (GHQ), and the cream of the crop; the Special Operations Executive (SOE).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Formed from three separate military intelligence entities, the SOE would be solely responsible for counter-espionage, and behind-the-lines projects. Back then, many thought Britain itself would soon be under German control, and Churchill prepared against it.
By the end of 1941, the SOE had a program of Special Training Schools, both in the Home Counties (near London) and in the depth of darkest Scotland, training agents for covert operations.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A manual was written, over 400 pages of studiously crafted courses in espionage, propaganda, cell making, demolition, and many more. Wrap those up with in-depth instruction on close combat, arms training, parachuting, fitness, and Morse code, and you have a ready supply of agents ready for action.
But this was no Geneva Convention led syllabus.
Agents were taught to shoot first, and ask questions later. One section in the manual, on searching prisoners, has the following advice… </span><br />
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<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">“Searching a Prisoner, if you are armed.... Kill him first. If that is inconvenient, make him lie face to the ground, hands out in front of him. Knock him out, with rifle butt, side or butt of the pistol or with your boot. Then search him."</span></i></blockquote>
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i>
<span style="font-size: large;">That’s not exactly like the instruction at boot camp in the regular army. This was preparation for a dirty war, one run by knives in the throat and jackbooted Gestapo interrogations. The gloves were off, and both sides knew it.
Nearly 7000 men and women graduated from the ‘schools’ in Britain, but the manual did not stop there.
In the event of Britain falling to the Nazis, camps were set up in Palestine, Singapore and Canada. The newly formed OSS (soon to be the CIA) took the British manual and trained their own agents. Soon the SOE-trained agents were operating all over the world.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">There are many stories of bravery in the SOE annals, and many thousands of men and women did not come back from their missions abroad.
Their biggest day was D-Day, May, 1944. On the night before the invasion, over 1000 different operations were put into place behind enemy lines in occupied France; roads blocked, officers assassinated, railway bridges blown up, communication lines fouled, locomotives put out of action; of the 1000 operations, over 950 were successful, meaning the invasion of France could continue.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In 1940, Churchill told the SOE to “set Europe ablaze”, and they didn’t do a bad job of it.
</span>Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-39855040803448563722015-11-06T08:00:00.001-08:002015-11-08T08:12:07.422-08:00Your Book Title Doesn't Have To Suck!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1MvEdDsqAGxbi3mZS5_m6msKmeSqGtNH-tVt3SL2GHBJhh1CCH7v8wm7ney87Zydk7a2iqSRstXjePBoSofgDX4r8HYjzevrMO_G8bactrm9mbydZ1odrfa9-exTEnVG-OaXaHq7FpNo/s1600/REC2filmbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1MvEdDsqAGxbi3mZS5_m6msKmeSqGtNH-tVt3SL2GHBJhh1CCH7v8wm7ney87Zydk7a2iqSRstXjePBoSofgDX4r8HYjzevrMO_G8bactrm9mbydZ1odrfa9-exTEnVG-OaXaHq7FpNo/s400/REC2filmbook.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Would these titles have caught your imagination? can you name the films?</td></tr>
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<h3>
Let's Face It; Book Titles Don't Need to Suck!</h3>
Who gets paid the most money on the planet to write the fewest words?<br />
Copy writers? Good guess, but the people who get paid most… are the people who find the ‘perfect’ name for a movie, when the book’s name just sucks. If movies had been named like their books, we’d have a host of different movies…<br />
Here’s a list of books, that got their name changed for the movie. (Thank Goodness)<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>We can Remember it for You Wholesale... Total Recall</li>
<li>Lost Moon... Apollo 13</li>
<li>Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?... Blade Runner</li>
<li>Heart of Darkness... Apocalypse Now</li>
<li>Nothing Lasts Forever... Die Hard</li>
<li>Q & A... Slumdog Millionaire</li>
<li>Rope Burns... Million Dollar Baby</li>
<li>The Short-Timers... Full Metal Jacket</li>
</ul>
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<h3>
Getting a Great Title for Your Book.</h3>
For some writers the title of their book is a foregone conclusion; the words on the book’s spine come from a phrase, passage or action inside the book,.. and there’s little to no point in changing it. I'm quite sure when George Orwell penned <i>Animal Farm</i>, he had the catchy title in his mind from day one.<br />
But if this isn’t the case why rack your brain trying to find the perfect title, when others have already done the research for you.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcm0vI4s0iSoLkfQA3uQJwy6ex03JLxTL4HA3Fh1NYBFWpDD4CBy5mhoFNz0IjNg4l56Ke_zomWMU0fQNo8x7ZckViIvlb_cqlIu8Lta-c21M43QfymwdOjYCHrK45EU3lo_FtNUOLEBI/s1600/piano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcm0vI4s0iSoLkfQA3uQJwy6ex03JLxTL4HA3Fh1NYBFWpDD4CBy5mhoFNz0IjNg4l56Ke_zomWMU0fQNo8x7ZckViIvlb_cqlIu8Lta-c21M43QfymwdOjYCHrK45EU3lo_FtNUOLEBI/s320/piano.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whether you know the lyric or not, it tells a story</td></tr>
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<h3>
A Book Title from a Song Lyric</h3>
Getting your book title from song title or lyrics is always a good one, although if you make it too obvious, people may think you're shallow or that the book is fan based. <i>Feels Like Teen Spirit</i>, may sound good in your head, but perhaps just <i>Teen Spirit</i> may be better. <i>Where Have All the Flowers Gone?</i> might seem ideal for your romantic drama, but perhaps a simple <i>All the Flowers</i>, or <i>Flowers Gone?</i> will allude the whole quotation to some, while still finding a good title. You can also use a lyric, maybe with a twist... <i>Davy's on the Road Again</i>, is a good book title for a road novel, but how about <i>Maybe's... On the Road Again</i>. A twist to the original title, then made special. How about a line from Billy Joel's hit, Piano Man;<i> Better Than Drinking Alone</i>. Now, isn't that a good book title... doesn't it just draw you in?<br />
<h3>
Novel Titles from The Bible?</h3>
You could get ideas from other books. One superb source is Bible quotations.
Here’s a very short list of book titles taken from the bible, and trust me, there are many hundreds…
<i>A Time to Kill</i> (Grisham), <i>East of Eden</i> (Steinbeck), <i>Number the Stars</i> (Lowry), <i>The Wings of the Dove</i> (James), <i>Behold the Man</i> (Moorcock).
How about taking words from other great works? With so many well-read poets, so many Victorian novelists, how could you not find something that fits your story like a glove? R.L. Stevenson's Treasure Island is a treasure trove indeed... how about <i>Take This Black Spot... </i>or<i> Shivering My Timbers</i><br />
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From Shakespeare quotations?</h3>
Here’s a short list of both books and films, the titles inspired by the great bard…
<i>The Mousetrap</i> (Christie), <i>The Dogs of War, Where Eagles Dare, Journey’s End</i> (Sherriff), <i>Band of Brothers</i>. The book opposite doesn't need the first part of the Shakespeare quotation... <i>Alas Poor Yorick.</i>.., it's implied enough already. Sometime subtlety is the best method of making a splash.<br />
<h3>
How About Stealing From Other writers?</h3>
Stealing from other literary sources seems to be quite a pastime with writers, here’s a few that have robbed titles from the lines of their predecessors…
<i>All the King’s Men, Cabbages and Kings, From Here to Eternity, The Grapes of Wrath, A Passage to India.</i><br />
<br />
Let's face it, all these above methods are quite acceptable, but there is a wealth of book titles in one easily-accessed basket, in fact it lurks so close to your nose it’s a wonder you haven’t smelled the roses already…<br />
Television.<br />
<h3>
Ten Billion Titles at Your Fingertips</h3>
One step down from the Film-naming job...? Television episodes. Yes, I said television episodes.
Are you writing a thriller? So go look at a thrilling TV series. Wikipedia is chock full of episode lists for almost every television show ever aired. Whether you write Romance or Urban Adventure, there's a billion title variations just waiting for your novel's spine.<br />
Below, just a few examples…<br />
Blindspot… Episodes include; A Stray Howl, Eight Slim Grins, Bone May Rot, Split the Law, Cede your Soul.
Let’s face it, not every title will fit your thriller book…. but these are catchy titles, and at the time of writing this blog, none show up in Amazon.com as a book title.<br />
Sons of Anarchy… Episodes include; Old Bones, The Sleep of Babies, Orca Shrugged, Playing With Monsters.<br />
If you’re writing horror, vampire, werewolf, you could do a lot worse than take a look at the numerous television offerings. Even The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural, with most titles a terrible cliché or a song title, is worth a look…<br />
The Vampire Diaries… Episodes include; Fade Into You, Best Served Cold, My Brother’s Keeper.<br />
Supernatural… Episodes include; Dead Man’s Blood, Red Sky at Morning, On the Head of a Pin.<br />
<br />
And it’s not just a matter of trawling your own genre… try mixing it up. For instance, no one would think of looking at The Waltons for literary titles, but even there you’d be wrong. Each Waltons episode has a ‘the’ beginning, and although that stymies some titles, it also gives rein to a series…<br />
The Waltons… Episodes include; The Last Mustang, The Hiding Place, The Changeling, The Last Ten days.<br />
<h3>
The Fun in the Litter; Mix 'n' Match</h3>
Then there’s the mix and match… just going from the titles above, we can switch the words around, we can shift one word, either obviously, or with an allusion to what’s between our book covers.
Here’s my mix of the above;
Red Sky at Mourning, Not My Mother’s Keeper, The Wings of Stars, The Last Changeling, The Stars… Shrugged, A Fade Into War, Wings of the Dive, Howls of Eagles.<br />
You have no limit to the titles you can forge, new, stolen, mixed. But what you can be is original, while still being pithy and catchy.<br />
Best of luck, and I hope I’ve fired your imagination.
Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-70031808222895313452015-10-23T15:34:00.001-07:002016-04-16T21:48:14.183-07:00Varney the Vampyre: A New Take on an Old Classic<i style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">Varney the Vampyre</i><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: large;">,
first published as a Penny Dreadful in 1845, lives in vampire folklore as the
pivotal moment in the creation of the genre. Its writers, James Rymer and
Thomas Prest wrote over 200 weekly chapters spanning over four years. In 1847,
it was published as a novel, and has been read by millions of aficionados.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large;">The influences of
this work are enormous; Dracula would never have been written without it, and
most of the vampire fiction that followed in its wake owes much to the
Victorian original.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large;">I first came across
Varney in my research into other vampires, and was immediately captured.
Although the language is dated from modern terms, it retains an aura of
Victorian melodrama imitative of Dickens and Thackeray.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large;">In my new novel
series, The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Penny-Dreadful-Adventures-Vampyre-Creation-ebook/dp/B00WRLKOL0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445639458&sr=8-1&keywords=penny+dreadful+adventures" target="_blank">Penny Dreadful Adventures</a>, I find documents in my grandfather's
will that present a history to me of his own grandfather, Alexander Mair
MacNeill, the nephew of James Rymer, the author of these Penny Dreadfuls in
London in 1845. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large;">In my story, Varney was actually a creation of three men;
Rymer, Prest and MacNeill. Rymer and Prest churned the chapters out, and
MacNeill edited them into a readable fashion. They made a formidable team. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">But all was not
well in the partnership. As the chapters are written, Alexander begins to
question the storyline itself, wondering if the vampire legend has a basis in
fact.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoc4TZZgzezscx9YZ202OD_UaNKUVP4BA5RlwVX5gS9Tri5kMpWqvPPOMU8r2b03e8V5XVT804IJzUk8r7ciyZW_T04h88-l0poK0pdUOjPRPOwU139-5HZx9QjOE-5ttZZKgdxgDKr5c/s1600/mysteries-of-london.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoc4TZZgzezscx9YZ202OD_UaNKUVP4BA5RlwVX5gS9Tri5kMpWqvPPOMU8r2b03e8V5XVT804IJzUk8r7ciyZW_T04h88-l0poK0pdUOjPRPOwU139-5HZx9QjOE-5ttZZKgdxgDKr5c/s400/mysteries-of-london.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="265" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
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This Penny Dreadful series is far more than a re-hashing of an old genre, it is a new, energized vignette into the lives of the times... bold, exciting, yet full of
darkness and intrigue.<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I included p</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">ages from the original texts of Victorian writings such as </span><i style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">Varney the Vampyre</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> by James M. Rymer, </span><i style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">The Mysteries of London</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">, by
George Reynolds, and </span><i style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">Burke & Hare</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> by Alexander M. Mair himself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large;">There are two novels currently available in eBooks;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Penny-Dreadful-Adventures-Vampyre-Creation-ebook/dp/B00WRLKOL0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445639458&sr=8-1&keywords=penny+dreadful+adventures" target="_blank">1. Varney the Vampyre (My Part in His Creation)</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Penny-Dreadful-Adventures-Mysteries-Exposing-ebook/dp/B01718P3WI/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1445639615&sr=8-12&keywords=penny+dreadful+adventures" target="_blank">2. The Mysteries of London (Exposing the Truth)</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">We hope you enjoy.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-20357477889105111612015-09-29T07:24:00.001-07:002015-09-29T07:27:59.477-07:00How to name Your Characters Like a Professional<h4>
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<h4>
Bad Character Names Can Spoil Your Book</h4>
Have you ever been intrigued by a good storyline or hooked by a good book description, only to be knocked out of the story by badly named characters? I know I have. Esmeralda, Troy, Sebastian, Anastasia, Dirk and Xavier may sound good to you in your warm writing room, but if your story is set in backwoods America, you’ve missed the mark completely. Before your readers begin to feel empathy towards your characters, the names have to fit properly.
They have to <i>feel</i> right.<br />
Let’s look at a few examples…
I walked into his office, shiny surfaces everywhere. behind the glass desk sat a suit costing ten grand. the name on the door said ‘Dudley Penbright III’. I knew I was in for a heck of a meeting.
“Sit down, Constantine,” he said, “your father, Troy,warned me you were coming.” he pressed a button on the desk. “Esmerelda? Bring me two coffees… strong, black.”<br />
What kind of people do those names conjure? What do they look like in your imagination?<br />
Character names are about the most important items in your arsenal, and if you don’t use them properly, you could weaken or destroy your story.<br />
<h4>
The Influencing Criteria</h4>
There are four different conditions which influence your character’s names… Period, Geography, Genre, and Author’s Choice. If you do not adhere to these four tenets, whatever your skill level, you will fail as a writer.<br />
<h3>
Periodicity</h3>
Before you name a character, you need to consider the time period in which your story is set. Unless you’re involving time-travel, there’s no point in calling someone Debby, Brian, Brittany or Winston in the 1500’s. Back in those days, in the English speaking world, most names were taken from the bible, and even the most obscure of prophets were invoked; Ezekiel, Jedidiah, Malachi, etc, etc. If in doubt, look on Google for “most popular names in 1500’s”. You’ll get plenty there to satisfy any novel.<br />
<h3>
Geography</h3>
The geographical setting also plays a huge part in defining a character’s name. There are few David’s born in China, and as far as I know, an Eskimo has never been called Puff Daddy. Your characters must have names that fit them like a glove, almost becoming part of their persona. A Romanian thief would never sound convincing if you had named him Charlie Babbit.<br />
<h3>
Genre</h3>
Writing in any particular genre will obviously influence your choice of names. Detective stories have very solid character names, names that conjure an image instantly. Science Fiction is another genre that begs for some form of deviation from the norm… BUT NOT TOO MUCH! Don’t forget the first time you read Zaphod Beeblebrox from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy!<br />
<h3>
Author’s Choice</h3>
This is a special one; the choice of a name can be a conscious move by a writer to impart special features, either physical or emotional to their character. By their name the reader is coerced into regarding the character in a specific way, designed and directed by the writer. Arthur Dent (Hitchhikers again) is a classic example. He’s portrayed as a dithering Englishman… look at how Douglas Adams manipulates the name; Arthur (old-fashioned English name) Dent (simple single syllable, then dent, referring to being inherently flawed). Classic.<br />
<h3>
Flying by the Seat of Your Pants... NOT advised</h3>
One gem of advice; unless you’re in a different planet or universe, never make names up from scratch. An American Indian called Chakata, may sound okay to most ears, but if it means Crappy-Pants in Cherokee, you may find some bad reviews coming your way.<br />
<h4>
The SIX Keys to Success in Naming Your Characters</h4>
I have six methods I use for character’s names, all are equally legitimate, all have excellent qualities, and all will fit your characters perfectly, or add to the story. All these methods have merit when faced with doubt regarding naming a character.<br />
<h3>
Use Familiar Names; Names From Family or Friends</h3>
I’m Scottish/British, so it makes sense that when I’m writing either Scots characters or English/Welsh/Irish ones, that I dredge my memory for names from my childhood or family. In Opportunities, (a Scottish mission to Panama in 1698), I used some Christian names or surnames from my school; Hugh Wales, David Muirhead, some from my direct family, Henry Alisdair Harrison, Mungo Mair, James Ross, and a couple from my adult friends too, Andrew Rankine. I mix them up a bit, and get a nice selection of names.<br />
<h3>
Use Names From History</h3>
Using the names of accepted historical figures is an acceptable way of imparting some gravitas to a character, without actually making it obvious; king’s names, dukes, and famous people ie, John Stuart, James Baptist, Rupert Wheeler, Howard Weeks, Henry Haliburton. They just sound more important than the average character.<br />
<h3>
Use Names from the Media; Movies, Television, Music</h3>
Not one I go to frequently, but it does bring interesting names to the fore. Once I was looking for something just a little off the wall for a character… frustrated, I tried actors/pop groups, and came up with Maximillian Schenk. (Actor Maximillian Schell, add rock band Michael Schenker) He never was a major character, but I wanted something out of the ordinary. It worked. There’s also nothing wrong with ‘borrowing’ a name or two from the professionals… If you’re looking for cowboy names, flick through a Louis L’Amour novel.<br />
<h3>
Use Names of Towns, Cities, Counties, Rivers, Countries</h3>
Again, this is one to use sparingly, maybe just one character per book is enough, but if used correctly it does work well. Here’s a few to let you get the idea; Devon Standish, Jeremy London, Jason Glasgow , Walter Cheshire. And here’s a few real ones used already; Josey Wales, Jack London , Douglas Fairbanks, Rock Hudson, etc etc. Just look in Google maps, you’ll find a planet literally full of names.<br />
<h3>
Use Nicknames for Male Characters</h3>
Again, not one to use frequently, but if you have a cast of six or more men sitting at a bar, most groups will have at least one nicknamed character in the group, especially men! These can be rude- ‘PussySniffer’, gross- ‘ShitForBrains’, geographically orientated- ‘Flanders’, or cute- ‘TeddyBear’. Men love nicknames, women, not so much. Adding a nickname to a surname is also allowed; example, take Anthony Bunter, but he hates the name Anthony, so is quite happy with his friends calling him Fatty Bunter. What image does that name conjure? You've given Anthony a whole backstory, just with a nickname.<br />
<h3>
Need Authentic Foreign Names? Look No Further… Help is at Hand!</h3>
Thanks to this article, foreign names, such a huge bugbear of many writers, are now easy as pie!
Every country in the world has an official soccer team. Most now have women’s teams too. These teams are all based on players having been BORN in that country. It’s a veritable GOLDMINE of perfect foreign names, endemic to that country!
To find these, go to Wikipedia, the newspaper or the TV, and look at foreign soccer teams… YES, FOREIGN SOCCER TEAMS, (male or female) for the nationality of the character in your story. Mix the names, you get huge great results, and no clichéd ones either… these are the real heroes of a particular country, let’s take some examples, derived from this method; (Russian)- Ivan Vyhovski, (Romanian)- Tomas Lucescu, (Scottish)- Ally McLeish, (Italian)- Roberto Schilachi. All great names, all very solid characters, perhaps the names already inspire your mind to make a physical description.<br />
<h4>
MIXING IT ALL UP
NOW!</h4>
Mix and Match All of the Above to Find Your Dream Team.
Take the six categories above and let it be a guide. Find your own personal route to good character names. Mix and match, have nicknames and real ones. There’s no right way to do it, but perhaps you’ve now got more ideas to whet your appetite.
You are now armed with all you need to successfully name your characters…<br />
Let’s wrap this up with a list of six fictional hit-men, all sitting in a bar, (one Scot, one German, one American, one Russian, one Romanian, and an Englishman, quite a mix) discussing their next job. Getting the six names believable, and have them easy on the tongue is difficult. The first list is the names you may have chosen BEFORE reading this article…
Hamish MacDougal, Franz Muller, Brad Dangerman, Vladimir Adamov, Conrad Petersen, and Johnny Beckham.
A good bunch of characters, but clichéd as hell, and boring; no backstories there.<br />
Now AFTER reading this blog we can do much better…
Mousey Fairbairn, Ernst Baumann, Sheepdip, Dmitri Dulayev, Alexandru Gunesch, and Billy Nile.
Man, I can see them in my mind already. they have names begging for a story; each one!<br />
Try the above method; write a list of characters from various countries. See how easy it is now, with no more agonizing! What would your list of hitmen be? Pick another six countries, and change the hitmen into hit-girls!Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-7641638713092873122015-06-27T10:07:00.000-07:002015-07-07T14:31:00.879-07:00Penny Dreadfuls; the 99c Kindle eBook of the Victorian Era<h3>
Penny Dreadfuls; the 99c Kindle eBook of the Victorian Era</h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Penny-Dreadful-Adventures-Vampyre-Creation-ebook/dp/B00WRLKOL0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1435427294&sr=8-2&keywords=penny+dreadful+adventures" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdx9WNMr6NOtXr79zM2gdh5iRbVKptIVBd5o60HS5WNpv-hA6jF9pG4Yn3rPP-QuhtUoLjzNNhCrg5EJGLclGE5Twaq4c-DJiD-537cZQYJwCLigJqkDHiB_kRfX0RsEVU77VjKz3bns/s320/penny-dreadful-cover-1.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My own homage to the genre, Kindle version</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It’s easy for a generation to think they’re innovators, let’s face it, most generations are. A new age ushers in new inventions, and the world advances. But there’s one phrase that keeps rearing its ugly head; ‘there’s nothing new under the sun’.<br />
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<h3>
The Arrival of 99c eBooks</h3>
In the early 2000's the arrival of the eBook turned the world of publishing on its head. Suddenly anyone could publish, authors had control of their own works and destinies, free and 99c eBooks were the norm and flooded through the ether into devices of all kinds and sizes. Self-publishing shed some of its past stigma, and the indie writer now considered by many to be mainstream.<br />
Yup, such a publishing revolution has never happened before… or has it?<br />
Answer? It did.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQAGjx9ooPcrIfFupgXb5t9VZVKbFNWL6Crs6_gyMpVtILmYihYh9LNUNCQadliHDzK8F7Y1-2gkZtPaRHpZys-gA4FX0kK69o9rohb8W_kBQpArg_gGhIawVEQFGzDbDJfEUQg7o_v3g/s1600/Louis_Fran%25C3%25A7ais-Dant%25C3%25A8s_sur_son_rocher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQAGjx9ooPcrIfFupgXb5t9VZVKbFNWL6Crs6_gyMpVtILmYihYh9LNUNCQadliHDzK8F7Y1-2gkZtPaRHpZys-gA4FX0kK69o9rohb8W_kBQpArg_gGhIawVEQFGzDbDJfEUQg7o_v3g/s320/Louis_Fran%25C3%25A7ais-Dant%25C3%25A8s_sur_son_rocher.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dumas's Count of Monte Cristo, 1845</td></tr>
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<h3>
The Adventure Novel, but not for the Common Man</h3>
Almost 200 years previously in the early 1800’s, the modern adventure/romantic novel had broken through as a genre, but the books were expensive to buy, sometimes costing as much as 10 shillings (when the average workhouse worker earned 5 shillings per week). Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley (1814), and Ivanhoe (1819), were paving the way for the likes of James Fenimore Cooper’s Last of the Mohicans (1826), Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo (1840) and a host of others in every major language.<br />
The novels sold well enough to make the author a fair profit from his work, but even second-hand copies were out of the reach of the working man.<br />
But wait no more, things were about to change; a publishing revolution was about to break out; an innovation in publishing as big as eBooks.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuP3mC4fmZSNMs_OrebK-9FD0_IEWoPtiVrbqGN7xDQ3jkz1wSmmzP6Cxkjt8un4sllWv-qoZT7qIfYdpcRzqVge7hFIRgUW8F633HW8pHrZXBZWaYBkMZqOMkJov3i2WKobf79YStc3Y/s1600/Dickens_Gurney_1867.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuP3mC4fmZSNMs_OrebK-9FD0_IEWoPtiVrbqGN7xDQ3jkz1wSmmzP6Cxkjt8un4sllWv-qoZT7qIfYdpcRzqVge7hFIRgUW8F633HW8pHrZXBZWaYBkMZqOMkJov3i2WKobf79YStc3Y/s320/Dickens_Gurney_1867.jpg" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charles Dickens, 1867</td></tr>
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<h3>
Book Chapter Serialization</h3>
Instead of waiting a year to write a book, writers like Charles Dickens began to publish their novels a chapter at a time. Priced at a shilling (twelve pennies), this allowed Dickens to have a more regular income, but also he could change a novel’s direction, mood or character development depending on public feedback. Does this writing approach sound remotely familiar?<br />
In similar fashion, Alexandre Dumas released the Count of Monte Cristo in 18 parts before finally binding it into a full novel.<br />
Times had changed, but they were about to get real ugly, and fast. In 1830’s Britain, thanks to the Industrial Revolution, a major element of the working class could now read and write, and had a thirst for fiction; a need to explore the world outside their own parochial existence. The demand for cheap material was in no doubt, and the authors who would fill that demand were about to get real dirty.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgWIeef8U1Z428lrpsyLsGymo3vBxYCSj7MhHu60Z5oF5ORz4BAiFqfCxIs117jF_Gs2DC9p227z7OPNkuqOPmRFm1TYVZVRx3OTqG7wYGJUCOEAYF33hieIf6lGDnCaw2NFEDSD_ZNY/s1600/Pennydreadful.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgWIeef8U1Z428lrpsyLsGymo3vBxYCSj7MhHu60Z5oF5ORz4BAiFqfCxIs117jF_Gs2DC9p227z7OPNkuqOPmRFm1TYVZVRx3OTqG7wYGJUCOEAYF33hieIf6lGDnCaw2NFEDSD_ZNY/s320/Pennydreadful.png" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Bess, ran weekly for 2 years</td></tr>
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<h3>
The Ugly Side; Plagiarists, Thieves, and Copiers</h3>
Driven by this ready audience, and the fact that publishing rights were in their infancy and rarely enforced, a host of copycat writers took to pen and paper. These plagiarists took popular works, re-wrote them in shorter versions, selling them for one penny… nicknamed Penny Dreadful’s; not because of the plagiarism or bad standard of content, but because of the predominantly macabre subject matter; murders, kidnappings, highwaymen, etc, etc.
Titles such as The Penny Pickwick (a lampoon of the Pickwick Papers), Nickelas Nickelbery and David Copperful became commonplace. The stories were not technically copies, they were re-written, shorter, and usually made fun of the original.
Writers made their fortunes selling a folded sheet, two columns on each of the four pages, usually containing about 2500 words and a couple of lined illustrations. The 99c Kindle for the age had arrived. Foreign writers fared no better. French tales were translated, and American dime novels were re-written for a British audience, with the original author receiving no remuneration for his work.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNNvd9hN_X9kpW-rsIeyXi5BYnRoR7HB8mbI9m8vlfQ78GBktdHgiI34R9o2Udpmdk5jrTAWXKsXoHpk2q8vIe9OIlGPYdOWEGY5nNhlSWJ4j9GBP3n0mOG2BOqdq36pnfI3gdCKWF58I/s1600/Reynolds_Miscellany_v1_n1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNNvd9hN_X9kpW-rsIeyXi5BYnRoR7HB8mbI9m8vlfQ78GBktdHgiI34R9o2Udpmdk5jrTAWXKsXoHpk2q8vIe9OIlGPYdOWEGY5nNhlSWJ4j9GBP3n0mOG2BOqdq36pnfI3gdCKWF58I/s320/Reynolds_Miscellany_v1_n1.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Reynolds, sold a million copies</td></tr>
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<h3>
The Penny Dreadful; the Victorian 99c eBook</h3>
Despite the initial surge of such shenanigans, the writers in the penny dreadful industry soon began to write their own stories, with serialization becoming the norm.<br />
Series such as Varney the Vampyre (230 weekly episodes), The Mysteries of London, (240 weeks) Dick Turpin (254 episodes) had readers queuing outside publishers every week. The Mysteries of the Court of London ran every week for an incredible Eight Years!<br />
Working class Brits who could or would not afford the penny, joined reading clubs to share episodes, almost like a subscription library system.<br />
Over the next sixty years, these single page publications expanded into magazines of note, newspapers still around today, and newsletters. These new, bound publications still included many pages of serialized and single story fiction, but non-fiction articles and news items were added, and by the 1890’s the Penny Dreadful had gone from the publishers bookshelves.<br />
But the revolution of the cheaper novel lived on; they were mass produced, cost far less, and paved the way for the next revolution in publishing; the paperback.<br />
<br />
If you would like to read my own "Penny Dreadful", it is available on eBooks everywhere.<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Penny-Dreadful-Adventures-Vampyre-Creation-ebook/dp/B00WRLKOL0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1435427294&sr=8-2&keywords=penny+dreadful+adventures" target="_blank">Penny Dreadful Adventures on Kindle.</a><br />
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-penny-dreadful-adventures-ian-hall/1121869668?ean=2940151903271" target="_blank">Penny Dreadful Adventures on Nook</a><br />
<a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-penny-dreadful-adventures" target="_blank">Penny Dreadful Adventures on Kobo</a><br />
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<br />Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-29094375565385096882015-06-04T13:07:00.000-07:002015-06-04T13:07:46.302-07:00What Are The Top 10 Sean Connery Movies Of All Time?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEHHd09a7LVplT4eMUi9GWPqs1r5F8YnecmqNml2zG63c1QHTNjkketSlBJQwzAZWtxXMZeZGjNvmYJ45QdjqTB6Q7hvXfpL55BcS_LbOKQd7xQ-RnDwsUwYCOY6amaYTuFIK-Agphe8/s1600/connerymain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEHHd09a7LVplT4eMUi9GWPqs1r5F8YnecmqNml2zG63c1QHTNjkketSlBJQwzAZWtxXMZeZGjNvmYJ45QdjqTB6Q7hvXfpL55BcS_LbOKQd7xQ-RnDwsUwYCOY6amaYTuFIK-Agphe8/s400/connerymain.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you name ten? is your favorite on the list? Do we even come close?</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8ECATJhNv8al9UiTKPNw62Nu4smpUxfJOdOd23Qqhu88iQDnXxBpy1RTNTVAZHIfY5uPUoQfANcE3nv7y62NiQDT6WoHXlk4SUZLFcvmqD4oCcTJuoXxhNOqO44-z0ehGvvI3wgHjRM/s1600/conn1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8ECATJhNv8al9UiTKPNw62Nu4smpUxfJOdOd23Qqhu88iQDnXxBpy1RTNTVAZHIfY5uPUoQfANcE3nv7y62NiQDT6WoHXlk4SUZLFcvmqD4oCcTJuoXxhNOqO44-z0ehGvvI3wgHjRM/s400/conn1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Top Three... Sorry, personal opinion, creative licence, whatever!</td></tr>
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<h3>
<i>Outland</i> (1981)</h3>
With <i>Capricorn One</i> (1978) under his belt, and <i>Alien</i> a smash hit for Ridley Scott in 1979, when director Peter Hyams wanted to film a western, it was bound to turn to Science Fiction for a setting. Io, the moon of Jupiter is the backdrop and Connery gives a gritty, no-nonsense performance, winning him the Saturn Award for Best Actor, unbelievably, Connery’s first ever award. (Sorry, Untouchables fans, I’m a SF geek, <i>Outland</i> gets my nod.)<br />
<h3>
<i>Medicine Man</i> (1992)</h3>
Few can forget the images of pony-tailed Connery pulling himself with pulleys into the Amazon canopy with Lorraine Bracco. Sent into the rainforest to find Connery (researching ‘indigenous medicines’), Lorraine finds Connery has gone ‘native’ and forgotten his initial quest. Then, they think they’ve found the cure for cancer.<br />
<h3>
<i>The Hunt for Red October</i> (1990)</h3>
This was Tom Clancy’s debut novel, and led to one of the strangest wigs ever worn by Connery (he began wearing hairpieces from the first James Bond). Also starring Scott Glen, James Earl Jones, Sam Neill and Alec Baldwin as world-saving Jack Ryan. It’s the classic high-noon standoff once again, this time underwater. Good solid performances throughout. It netted $200 million worldwide.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYjug3vuMnMUNavm2d7OwnHQDXPeoeYCJ-wNmWCoYeTDTSIJHbk8c0l9Z-9PdAF7qwSFf6_HOwN9lx0ET3RZ4nOufWIxO6kDd8Pm32PJuUIwNO7q3cZeQAmkeU3dovMff7rDB6mjHYd1A/s1600/conn4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYjug3vuMnMUNavm2d7OwnHQDXPeoeYCJ-wNmWCoYeTDTSIJHbk8c0l9Z-9PdAF7qwSFf6_HOwN9lx0ET3RZ4nOufWIxO6kDd8Pm32PJuUIwNO7q3cZeQAmkeU3dovMff7rDB6mjHYd1A/s400/conn4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Movie Icon and a Movie Gem... one huge seller, one obscure western</td></tr>
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<h3>
<i>The Untouchables</i> (1987)</h3>
Winning Connery an Oscar for his performance opposite Kevin Costner and Robert De Niro. Directed by Brian De Palma (who had filmed Scarface 4 years before) Connery plays an Irish American cop (in a Scottish accent) bringing Al Capone to justice. (<i>The Untouchables</i> was nominated for another 3 Oscars)<br />
<h3>
<i>Shalako</i> (1968)</h3>
Based on a Louis L’Amour novel, it’s one of the best westerns I’ve seen, co-starring Brigit Bardot, Harry Andrews, and Honor Blackman. Filmed to compete with the spaghetti westerns of the day, it’s well acted with Sean walking through, tough and gritty as always. You may not even have heard of it, but Shalako was the 18th most popular movie of the year.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1HTflPna25kZr9GCx5icNhCm0csOEuJTIv3rAk9r3kpg26Nff39cPcm5hXDnFjqHetPRicS2dlFXlqlg5ll7q_9XsbU7UoKUWWROCjkqlbi6SbVg4zxNP8qFHZonpFxvzuAhuiU2Z9o/s1600/conn2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1HTflPna25kZr9GCx5icNhCm0csOEuJTIv3rAk9r3kpg26Nff39cPcm5hXDnFjqHetPRicS2dlFXlqlg5ll7q_9XsbU7UoKUWWROCjkqlbi6SbVg4zxNP8qFHZonpFxvzuAhuiU2Z9o/s400/conn2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Movies, but how many of the list have you seen?</td></tr>
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<h3>
<i>The Man Who Would Be King</i> (1975)</h3>
A Rudyard Kipling novel, directed by John Huston. How can a film starring Connery, Michael Caine and Christopher Plummer not make the list? Huston had wanted Humphrey Bogart and Clarke Gable, but they died before plans could be made. Connery and Caine as British NCO’s in India become kings of a small country. Wonderful stuff.<br />
<h3>
<i>Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade</i> (1989)</h3>
Playing Harrison Ford’s dad, Connery manages to be wise-cracking, witty, cute, and bad-ass, all wrapped up in one cuddly bundle. It’s a great romp with Stephen Spielberg directing, and who can forget the chase scenes. This grossed $447 million, making it Connery’s biggest box-office hit.<br />
<h3>
<i>The Hill</i> (1965)</h3>
Directed by Sidney Lumet (12 Angry men, Network, The Verdict), <i>The Hill</i> is a gritty army/prison movie with the iconic ‘hill’ as a punishment. Set in the midst of his James Bond years, Connery acts this out of the park, showing skills never allowed in the Bond films. The result is dark, explosive and angry. It’s a great film on so many levels.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyB1l9F4XHeMwkAqAKRN7C8961xJfqBTRk6ss0OKYcbx4AamJcXiH2ASRoFRokryjo3qPdtPBYSltuizllEwBkhZ3IzzjKvwAUbVxRxGy-gWAit4sp656chjnU_-fPpnddwn8k0o1uVL8/s1600/c10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyB1l9F4XHeMwkAqAKRN7C8961xJfqBTRk6ss0OKYcbx4AamJcXiH2ASRoFRokryjo3qPdtPBYSltuizllEwBkhZ3IzzjKvwAUbVxRxGy-gWAit4sp656chjnU_-fPpnddwn8k0o1uVL8/s400/c10.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Don't lose your head"... music by Queen, a mixed up mess of wonderful...</td></tr>
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<i>Highlander</i> (1986)</h3>
This film is so all-over-the-place, it works! With music by Queen, a Scot played by a Frenchman (Christopher Lambert), a Spaniard played by a Scot (Connery), and a Russian baddie; Kurgan (Clancy Brown) played by an American… and historical scenes 1000 years apart, what can go wrong? Fantastic movie in many parts, superbly put together. And one of the best cameos ever; Spaniard Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez, played by a very Sh-cottish Sh-ean (emphasis added). But despite its parts 2,3,4 etc and the TV spin off, the initial movie lost money.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAKIs4yBkVAFTXuT5JRuoIzQlyQ69KBkPBA9q25hPW62XxEKltfmCxPfrUPmO1UhN2MMOVYB3nOOYQTuP53HYkH0Y4MMDSRII2pMeiEU2Hi2moCEegmOFYOQKNhsBZ_J8Lq18R1LU9tB4/s1600/conn3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAKIs4yBkVAFTXuT5JRuoIzQlyQ69KBkPBA9q25hPW62XxEKltfmCxPfrUPmO1UhN2MMOVYB3nOOYQTuP53HYkH0Y4MMDSRII2pMeiEU2Hi2moCEegmOFYOQKNhsBZ_J8Lq18R1LU9tB4/s400/conn3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Which of these movies did you see? Did I hit any memories?</td></tr>
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<h3>
<i>Robin and Marion</i> (1976)</h3>
Co-starring Audrey Hepburn, Robert Shaw, Richard Harris, and Ronnie Barker as Friar Tuck. An aging Robin Hood is finding life difficult, and Maid Marion (among others) tries to persuade him to retire. Great fighting scenes, great cameos, and comedic lines galore as Robin Hood fights the Sherriff of Nottingham one more time.<br />
<h3>
<i>Rising Sun</i> (1993)</h3>
Wonderful smart-ass oriental guru Connery and sidekick Wesley Snipes investigate a murder in Michael Crichton’s novel with the aid of Harvey Keitel. Fast-paced, original and witty; it’s everything a police procedural should be. Connery is at his best striding through this like a Sh-cottish Sh-amurai. (Okay, I'll stop the Connery Sh's now)<br />
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<h3>
Honourable mention; James Bond (1962-1983)</h3>
Over 21 years Connery played James Bond in seven films, and it would be jolly indecent if I’d left the list without mentioning at least one, but they’re all so good in parts, in their own way. But in my heart I know they’re not all in the top ten list, so I mention them all here as a genre… <i>Dr No</i> (1962), <i>From Russia With Love</i> (1963), <i>Goldfinger</i> (1964),<i> Thunderball</i> (1965), <i>You Only Live Twice</i> (1967), <i>Diamonds Are Forever</i> (1971) and <i>Never Say Never Again</i> (1983). Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’re iconic Sean Connery.<br />
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<h3>
Close But No Cigar</h3>
<i>A Bridge Too Far </i>(1977) <i>The Name of the Rose</i> (1986)
<i>Entrapment</i> (1999)
<i>Finding Forrester</i> (2000)
<i>First Knight</i> (1995)
<i>The Rock</i> (1996)
<i>The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Dragonheart</i><br />
<h3>
Your List?</h3>
Did I hit the mark? Or fall disastrously short?<br />
What are your favorite Connery films?<br />
Write and tell me... sign up for the newsletter... tell me who to review next!Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-16970112867261525072015-05-27T08:54:00.004-07:002015-05-27T15:28:41.572-07:00Top 16 Most Famous Ians; Who's Your Favorite?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">16 Famous Ians: How Many Do You recognize? (Answers; bottom)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Many Americans have a problem recognizing the Christian name Ian.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I'm a Scot, living in Kansas, USA, an<span style="widows: 1;">d when I introduce myself, I’ve often met with quite mystified stares… Americans, it seems, have problems with the name, Ian. They either don't get it right away, and I've got to repeat it a few times, or they just can't get the pronunciation correct.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Christian name, Ian or Iain, is Scottish in origin, and is Scotland’s version of John. Ian has variations in many languages such as Irish (Eoin), Welsh (Ioan), Breton (Yann) and Romanian (Ioan).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Most people pronounce the name EE-AN, although the numpty Ian Zeiring of <i>Beverly Hills 90210</i> mistakenly pronounces his name EYE-AN… (what a wanker).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Anyway, it seems that even after having many famous ‘Ians’ a fair section of the American populace have problems with its recognition. So… I though I’d compile my own list of the top 16 famous Ians… (My criteria for the list; nothing but my own imagination… how many do you recognize?)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Famous Ians</span></h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">1. Ian McShane - English actor; Lovejoy, Dallas and Deadwood</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2. Ian McKellen - English actor; X-Men, Lord of the Rings</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">3. Ian Fleming - English commando, spy and novelist, creator of James Bond and Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">4. Ian Gillan - Lead singer of hard rock band, Deep Purple</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">5. Ioan Gruffud – Welsh actor; Hornblower, Fantastic Four and TV series Forever</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">6. Ian Holm - English actor; Alien, Time Bandits, Lord of the Rings</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">7. Ian Dury - Singer and songwriter with the band, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick, Reasons to be Cheerful</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">8. Ian (Lemmy) Kilminster - Vocalist/bass player in Hawkwind and Motorhead</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">9. Ian Paice - Drummer with Deep Purple, Whitesnake and the Gary Moore band</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">10. Ian Bannen - Scottish actor; Too Late the Hero, Gandhi, Braveheart, Waking Ned Devine</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">11. Ian Rankin - Scottish novelist. Author of the Inspector Rebus series</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">12. Ian Somerhalder - American Actor, in Lost, and the Vampire Diaries</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">13. Ian Matthews - A member of Fairport Convention and Matthews Southern Comfort</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">14. Ian Anderson - Lead singer and flautist of rock band Jethro Tull</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">15. Ian Lavender – English actor; played private pike in Dad’s Army, and Eastenders</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">16. Ian Ogilvy - English actor, novelist and playwright; The Return of the Saint</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">(And the next 4 just to round it up to a tidy 20)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">17. Ian Woosnam - Welsh golfer, Masters winner in 1991</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">18. Ian Carmichael - English actor; The Colditz Story, Lucky Jim</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">19. Ian Hunter - Lead singer and guitarist of Mott the Hoople</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">20. Sir Ian Botham - English cricketer, commentator and sports personality</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Other notable Ians, who didn’t make my 16/20 list are;</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ian McDonald - British musician, a member of both King Crimson and Foreigner</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ian Wright - English footballer, for Arsenal, Crystal Palace, and more</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ian Curtis - Singer with Joy Division</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ian Brady – Moors murderer</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ian Baker-Finch - Australian golfer, the winner of the 1991 British Open</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ian Hislop - Satirist, TV personality, and editor of Private Eye, panelist on Have I Got News For You</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ian Poulter - English golfer.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Oh, and the answers?: from top left;</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Hunter, Henry (Ian) Cusack, Rankin, Rush, Wright, Kilminster, Anderson, Sommerhalder, McShane, Poulter, Brady, Holm, Botham, Mckellen, Zeiring (wanker), and Fleming.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Check out this other Ian... writer Ian Hall</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">www.ianhallauthor.com</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">LOL!</span>Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-75340658492656843402015-05-21T10:49:00.001-07:002015-05-26T12:27:09.334-07:00Top 10 Dumbest Things on Facebook This Month<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5Jl3ezSWbi6Arm6Jfg5bcT8EkzgqhUO_1HskWRIjP62W2CyYzWKDjr5GxdPYpSZlSyX1zEFpWwLS7EcfWzTrGJlAyS_7VYFeJuYMXIbAjbDtyCiVW2WLBj0bYwyYBwQoQ2PGWdcFEnQ/s1600/bloggy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5Jl3ezSWbi6Arm6Jfg5bcT8EkzgqhUO_1HskWRIjP62W2CyYzWKDjr5GxdPYpSZlSyX1zEFpWwLS7EcfWzTrGJlAyS_7VYFeJuYMXIbAjbDtyCiVW2WLBj0bYwyYBwQoQ2PGWdcFEnQ/s400/bloggy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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There is some element among Facebook users that seems to want to dumb the rest of us down, and for the life of me I can’t identify the reason why. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Facebook, I already spend too much time there, but I keep running into these obvious time-wasting traps that just piss me off. It’s not the cat pics… let's face it, they’re just people looking for someone else to affirm their cat is as cute as they think it is. And it’s not the endless Selfie Brigade with their bathroom poses, or their latest cosplay outfit or coiffed hairdo.<br />
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What gets my goat is the dumb memes and questions that waste our time, yet tease us to answer... trying to dumb us down to the lowest denominator. I’ve picked my top ten for the month, If you come across any better, let me know, I'll post them next time, and give you credit!… we'll have a great laugh.<br />
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Number One<br />Describe Your Last Fart Using a Movie Title</h3>
Yeah, just how second-grade is this? Gone With the Wind… Wind in the Willows… A Mighty Wind… Clash of the Titans… Please kill me now. If you have the time to scan your mind for your favorite movies for something ‘cute’ or ‘edgy’ to post here, then you need to find a hobby. Yeah, okay, I answered the first time… a few YEARS back! ("Clash of the Titans” was mine, you know, being clever, referring to my buttocks making the action rather than the actual fart/smell bit. Whatever!) I now ignore such posts yet resist the temptation to ‘unfriend’ the person, just in case he posts something equally stupid next month for inclusion in this category.<br />
<h3>
<span style="text-align: center;">Number Two</span>Find Four Words to Say to You in the Back of a Police Car</h3>
Honestly? Okay, I’m to ‘imagine’ I’m in the back of a police car… with you, my Facebook buddy (most of whom I’ve never met personally) and I have to think of something to say… pithy, yes, but concise… funny, yet hopefully sounding intelligent too… basically a four word tweet. Yes, I did this one too… once. I even puzzled over it, because a REAL friend had posted it. So I took some time, posted, then considered the futility of the whole process. I almost went back and deleted it, but someone had already ‘liked’ it, so I was screwed… my answer in the ether forever. Blah.<br />
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Number Three<br />Find the 5 in Under a Minute</h3>
Come on! I don’t care how inane you are, but when someone posts a pic/meme of 5000 ‘2’s and one number ‘5’, hidden in the middle, don’t even give it the time of day. Yes, you found it in 5 seconds, because your vision is super acute at doing stuff like that, but don’t stoop so low as to reply to the post; “I found it in two seconds!” thinking you’ve just qualified for a Pulitzer or something. Do you really want your brain tested? Try Sudoku, or a good crossword! Or go write a blog!<br />
<h3>
Number Four<br />Find Out Which English Monarch I Would Be</h3>
Wait! Number one, I’m Scottish, so obviously superior to our southern compatriots already! Why would I pretend to want to be English? Okay, so for the sake of scientific research, I went through with the laborious stupid ten questions. I could even see by the questions where I was headed. Elizabeth I. Yeah. Now, I see the virtue of some of these quizzes, but at least make them have a point; “What country best suits your palate?” “Which car is best for you?”… Don’t make them inanely stupid. And please make the questions slightly less see-through.<br />
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Number Five<br />Describe You in One Word Using the First letter of MY Name</h3>
Okay, my name’s Ian, that makes it easy… because you posted this crap, you’re Inane, probably Insane, quite Inept, rather Insipid, totally Insecure,… I could go on forever. Why do people post such crap? Because it looks cute, and they ‘share’ it. It gets them hits, friends, whatever. Look, if you want friends to talk to you, try posting a decent question… “What is your opinion of Anthropomorphic Global Warming?” Or if you want to describe something, then describe the best part of your last vacation… wow us with your wit and word power!<br />
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Number Six<br />Continue The Story By Adding Just Two Words</h3>
Now, this first appealed to me, as a writer/novelist, and I posted on a couple. Then I noticed that few were taking it as seriously as I was, or even caring what came before. A TOTAL waste of my time, and worthless to the N’th degree. And yet every day, as I scroll the lists, hypnotizing myself with this crap, I see more people, wasting their time. If you can’t write? Don’t waste my time. If you can write? Go somewhere and write something worth reading.<br />
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Number Seven<br />My Boss Jared Doesn’t Think We Can get This Post To All 50 States</h3>
It’s the same scenario a million times over… it’s either the three “employees” (who insist on doing that weird finger sign thing) who want to prove to their boss, or the cute kid who wants to prove to his teacher, just how quickly they/he can get shared in all 50 states. What a lot of crap. I have 3000 Facebook friends, they live all over the world, I average 20 friends birthdays a day! Who CARES how quick you can get 50 people in 50 states to share your post, and give a nice reply! Stop wasting my time scrolling past your crap!<br />
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Number Eight<br />The Last Thing You Ate + The Color of Your Pants to get your “Band” Name…</h3>
Yeah… ONE THING is more infuriating than the post itself… it’s the fact that before you know it, your brain already gone through the thought process and come up with the answer. It’s a fait accompli, your own brain outwits you, and you curse it. Let’s try and get Facebook out of the gutter, shall we… delete any friend who posts stuff like this. I've been in LOTS of bands, and we all made up great names without resorting to this formula. Okay, I’m done. Oh, my band? “Cinnamon Crumpet Battleship Grey”. We’re playing a gig in a bar near you on Saturday.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfoYvL7b7VFKwEUj3JIL0bHXc1z1HKf4urF5UpnoypDsK6yuN4RT1My4RU4bfoMg3gaiUpnGnBF65fTSO7_VCb2URvpyu0m1iouSMQa7-5eGwtZ3XqaN6BikbiVUqBbs65nP64fWaOngk/s1600/PercentageTexan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfoYvL7b7VFKwEUj3JIL0bHXc1z1HKf4urF5UpnoypDsK6yuN4RT1My4RU4bfoMg3gaiUpnGnBF65fTSO7_VCb2URvpyu0m1iouSMQa7-5eGwtZ3XqaN6BikbiVUqBbs65nP64fWaOngk/s320/PercentageTexan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Number Nine<br />Find What Percentage “Texan” You Are</h3>
Oh, dear me. Only 0.1625% of the world’s population are Texan by birth. Only 3.9% of American’s are Texan. So who is this question aimed at? Oh, it’s the rest of us! Duh. (I can't honestly understand why I had to go calculate those figures...?) Anyway! Why, as a Scot, born in Edinburgh, therefore a Midlothian(er) by birth, would I want to know how much Texan I am? See? Totally pointless… but I did it anyway (scientific research, remember) and the questions involved cornbread, grits, colt 45’s and John Wayne. I got 12 out of 14 questions correct… again, so pointless, questions FAR too easy, made to make you feel good... unless you see through the scam and get angry.<br />
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Number Ten<br />Replace One Word in a Movie title with “bac<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">on</span>”</h3>
What is America’s fascination with bacon? They don’t even know what bacon is! They eat the fatty rind stuff that us Brits and Canadians throw away! Okay, bacon rant over, back to topic. “The Bacon of the Titans”. That’s as far as my head got on this one (see above). I know some of the answers would be interesting, few might be amusing, but I don’t have the patience or time to wait for Craig Ferguson to post on my timeline.<br />
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To recap, there must be some interesting people out there that can come up with a more uplifting Facebook than the one that currently exists. Something inspiring. Something out of the gutter. But then, at this point, I’m exhausted, maybe I’ll just go onto Facebook and veg for a while… Scroll it past my eyes until I get into a state of utter blah.<br />
Or maybe I’ll go read a book or something… did I mention I wrote books?<br />
LOL.<br />
<h3>
So... Your Job...</h3>
When you're going through Facebook, and you get crap like the above in your feed, send them to me. I'll update the list, we;ll have a laugh.Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-257463341116015513.post-49394124173852628002015-02-14T11:59:00.002-08:002015-02-14T12:15:52.892-08:00Vinegar Valentines ~The Card No One Wanted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit of Vinegar for a sousing spouse<br />
in this Vinegar Valetine from 1907</td></tr>
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Did you think Valentine’s Day was always a red-hearted, lovey-dovey mush of chocolates, overpriced flowers, and overbooked restaurants?<br />
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Think again.<br />
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In the 1840’s a new fad began to appear during the second week of February; Vinegar Valentines.<br />
Basically these were just insult cards, decorated with a vile caricature, and an offensive poem. These cards insulted the person’s looks, job, intelligence, race, body shape or any combination.<br />
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Despite (or perhaps because of) the mean-spirited slant, the fad grew.
By the mid-Victorian era, they were quite popular among senders. For recipients they were less so- as if the sentiment weren't punishment enough, if a letter was unstamped, the hapless soul had to pay a penny for the delivery and the privilege of being insulted. Millions of these cards were sold and sent, as recently as the 1940’s but very few of these cynical cards exist today- most were probably torn to shreds by the poor victim.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Political topics for vinegar valentines through the years included Secession and Suffrage</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sousing spouse found his<br />
revenge in this Vinegar Valentine<br />
from the 1940s</td></tr>
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Although it is certain none of these missives could be considered "politically correct", through the years vinegar valentines with a very specific political slant were also produced, As early as the pre civil war era where Secessionists were the target, through the suffrage movement and beyond politicos took advantage of the hearty holiday to add their own brand of vinegar. <br />
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These bitter pills even found their way into modern pop culture. In Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, Calvin often gives Susie Derkin vinegar valentines hiding his true affections for her under their cruel veil of immature distaste.<br />
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In these days of Facebook drama and Twitter trauma we may think that trolling is a foul by-product of the internet age...the long and storied history of vinegar valentines prove yet again that there is nothing new under the sun.<br />
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<i>Many thanks to the quite excellent "QI" quiz show for the introduction to this topic! You can also visit <a href="http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/happy-valentines-day-i-hate-you/" target="_blank">Collector's Weekly</a> for more in depth information on vinegar valentines. </i>Unsettled Sciencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06353081010412040638noreply@blogger.com0