In Case You Missed It . . .

 

“Vocally, his balls have dropped.”

Comment last week by the marvellously named Scooter Braun, manager of pop star Justin Bieber, referring to Bieber’s recent vocal performance on a new record.

Bieber was born on 1 March 1994 and is now aged 17.  He was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun who came across Bieber’s videos on YouTube.  Braun became Bieber’s manager and secured him a recording contract.

Bieber became so popular with teen and adolescent girls (his fans are collectively named “Beliebers”) that he was the first artist to have seven songs from a debut album chart on the Billboard Hot 100.  He has had a number of No 1 singles and platinum albums, with his music video of “Baby” being the most viewed and most discussed YouTube video.

Bieber has recently been working on a new Christmas album, “Underneath the Mistletoe” (why not, even Bob Dylan made a Christmas album, a shocker, a couple of years ago).  One track consists of a cover with Mariah Carey of her hit “All I Want for Christmas is You”, which she agreed to do only if Bieber sang it in her original high key.  Scooter advised the media that “That was the hardest song to do.  A year ago that would have been no problem.  Vocally, his balls have dropped.”  Class will out every time.

See and hear Justin Bieber singing “All I Want For Christmas is You” (I am reminded of Love Actually every time I hear that song), a pre-ball drop performance, at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjrU8OvWa4k&feature=related

 Justin Bieber then . .

. . . and now

The Monster Study

 

Think of a scientific study that uses orphans to investigate stuttering.  The children are divided into 2 groups, with one group receiving positive therapy by means of encouragement and praise, the other group being told they were stutterers and belittled for stuttering.

Sounds like something that Dr Mengele would have done, right?

It was actually a study carried out in 1939 by American psychologist and speech therapist Wendell Johnson (1906 – 1965), pictured below.

The study was so horrific that Johnson’s peers referred to it as The Monster Study, the name by which it remains known to this day.

Funny Friday

 
In honour of Charles Darwin, who was featured a couple of days ago . . .

and some email humour . . .

Last Words: Leonardo da Vinci

 

"I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have."

-  Leonardo da Vinci

According to Wikipedia:

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian Renaissance polymath:  painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomised the Renaissance humanist ideal. Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man, a man of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination".  He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived.  According to art historian Helen Gardner, the scope and depth of his interests were without precedent and "his mind and personality seem to us superhuman, the man himself mysterious and remote".

Trivia:

Leonardo had no family name in the modern sense.    Da Vinci means “from Vinci”, so that he was “Leonardo from Vinci”.  He was the out of wedlock son of the wealthy Messer Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci, a Florentine legal notary, and Caterina, a peasant.

Quote: Charles Darwin

 

"Whenever I have found that I have blundered, or that my work has been imperfect, and when I have been contemptuously criticised, and even when I have been overpraised, so that I have felt mortified, it has been my greatest comfort to say hundreds of times to myself that ‘I have worked as hard and as well as I could, and no man can do more than this.’ ”

-      Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) proposed the scientific theory that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection. At a time when many believed that the world had been created in the Biblical seven days, Darwin’s 1859 book On the Origin of Species was met with considerable controversy.  In 1871 he examined human evolution and sexual selection in The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, followed by The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.  For Darwin, humans were just another form of animal in the process of natural selection.  In the public mind, Darwin maintained that humans had evolved from apes, contrary to the prevailing orthodox religious explanation of creation.  In time Darwin’s theories came to be accepted and became the new orthodoxy.

1871 newspaper caricature following publication of The Descent of Man, showing Darwin with an ape’s body

The Melbourne Cup and Mark Twain

 

"Nowhere in the world have I encountered a festival of people that has such a magnificent appeal to the whole nation. The Cup astonishes me."

-           Mark Twain

In 1895, at the age of 60, Mark Twain (1835 – 1910)  embarked on a world wide lecture tour to raise funds to pay creditors.  His tour took in Africa, India and Australia, where he lectured at the Athenaeum, visited the Victorian goldfields and attended the Melbourne Cup.  The latter event prompted him to make the above comment at a public lecture.

It should be remembered that the Melbourne Cup was first held in 1861, so that the exuberance he described had developed in a relatively brief period.

Unfortunately, whilst in Melbourne he also developed a painful carbuncle.

Twain described Melbourne and the Cup in a chapter in his 1897 book Following the Equator:

Some Halloween Trivia

 

·         Halloween has its origins in the Celtic festival of Samhain, a word meaning “summer’s end”.  The festival marked the end of the harvest, the end of the “lighter half” of the year and the beginning of the “darker half”.  Celebrated over several days, it had elements of the Festival of the Dead, a festival to honour or recognise deceased members of the community.  Bonfires were a large part of the festivities and people and their livestock often walked between two fires as a cleansing ritual. 

·         The word Halloween is a Scottish variant of All Hallows Even (“evening”), the night before All Hallows Day.  For those younger readers who think that the origin is associated with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the word “hallows” comes from the Gothic word “hailag” meaning holy. All Hallows Day, also known as All Saints Day, honours the saints, both known and unknown.

·         In 601AD Pope Gregory instructed his priests to incorporate local practices and celebrations into Christian practice and belief when seeking to convert pagans to Christianity, rather than seek to remove them entirely. Smart man.  Accordingly All Saints Day was listed for 1 November, the day following Samhain, as a means of countering the influence of that pagan festival.

Whereas Samhrain had recognised both good and evil spirits in its rituals, the missionaries preached that the spirits of Samhain were all evil and that those who worshipped tem were devil worshippers.  As a result Halloween became associated with evil spirits and the following day, the Christian celebratory day, was associated with the Saints.

Although the old beliefs continued, the nature of the celebrations changed.  The worshippers now used the day to ward off evil spirits. The day became associated with witches, demons and fairies.

Some personal moments . . .

 

 

Although I post reminiscences and personal observations about the past, I have tried to avoid this blog becoming the equivalent of a face book or twitter page setting out what I did each day.  Today I am departing from that policy and presenting a few anecdotes about some recent personal items.  Again there is a cuation that there is ome risque content.

Yesterday I was in conference with a client when my mobile telephone rang. Usually someone else in the office will take my mobile and answer the call but no one was available on this occasion.  I said to my client “I’ll just get rid of this call.”  Still looking at my client’s documents and turning over the pages, I answered.  The caller was my wife, Kate, who asked “Are you with someone?”  I intended to say “Yes, can I call you back?” My mind on the documents, it unfortunately came out as “Yes, can I get rid of you?”  “Yes, but you’re in deep excrement when you get home.”

Bogans

 

The newspapers reported this week that Sydney’s Liam Warriner, 22, had mooned the Queen in Brisbane by displaying his bare bottom with an Australian flag wedged between his cheeks. 

The comments sections of the various online newspapers were swamped, either by those who thought him wonderful and those who thought he needed public flogging.  I particularly liked the comment sympathising with Her Maj for having another Anus Horribilis. 

What was of interest in the comments section was the number of times Herr Warriner was described as a “bogan”.

The funny thing is that everyone knows what a bogan is, but no one knows how the term originated. 

A bogan is a rude and coarse person, uneducated, from a lower class background, typified by speech, clothing and attitude. 

Similar slang terms and concepts exist in other countries, including:

-       chav, scally and pikey in England;

-       ned in Scotland;

-       scanger, scobe, knacker and spide in Ireland;

-       zed in South Africa;

-       tokkie in the Netherlands;

-       proll in Germany;

-       white trash or redneck in North America;

-       ars in Israel;

-       lumpen or lumpenproletariat in Russia.

Funny Friday

At a revival meeting the preacher is promoting faith healing.  “If you believe, you will be healed. All it takes is faith.  Believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will cure you and His love will make you whole. Is there anyone here who wants to be healed?”

A little old lady in the front row raises her hand and he calls her on stage. She makes her way slowly on her crutches.  He asks her name and she says “Mrs Smith.”  He asks whether she has faith and she replies “Yes”.  The preacher says “Then go behind the curtain, Mrs Smith, and you will be healed.”

He asks again if anyone else wants healing.  Bily Bloggs raises his hand and says “Neth.”  He too is called onstage and asked his name/  It is obvious that he has a speech defect resulting from a cleft palate when he says “Nilly Noggs.”  Again the preacher asks “Do you have faith?” and receives an answer from Billy Bloggs, “Neth.”  “Then go behind the curtain and you too will be healed.”

“Mrs Smith, throw out your left crutch.”

A crutch is thrown over the curtain.

“Mrs Smith, throw out your right crutch.”

As the congregation chants and praises the Lord, with many Hallelujahs, the other crutch came over the curtain.

“Now, Billy Bloggs, have faith, speak to me.”

From behind the curtain comes Billy Bloggs' voice, “Mithith Nith juth fallen on ner narth.”

Caution: the following item is risqué.

I was hesitant about including the following item as being possibly too risqué but was encouraged to do so by my older son, who said that I was too sensitive.  On reflecting about a risqué content warning, I realised that any such warnings had never caused me to avoid something, in fact it made me want to watch or read it even more.  I have a sneaking suspicion that some TV shows carry such a warning, especially on the promos, to attract viewers.  I once knew a newsagent who said that he had second rate adult magazines that weren’t selling.  He sealed them in plastic and they sold out quickly.

Here is the Friday Funny I was talking about . . .

A Confederate soldier was given the job of supplying his regiment with food. To help him, he hired an Indian scout. The two of them set off on their journey to find some buffalo.

After riding for hours, the Indian gets off his horse, puts his ear to the ground and says, "Buffalo come."

The soldier looks all around but sees nothing.  He says to the Indian, "I don’t see anything, how do you know buffalo come?”

The Indian replies “Ear sticky.”

Some images and drawings . . .

 

(I am partial to the above pic in that it is also a tattoo on the inside of my arm.)

Quote: Edward Everett

 

“The admission to Harvard College depends upon examinations; and if this boy passes the examinations, he will be admitted; and if the white students choose to withdraw, all the income of the college will be devoted to his education.”

-Edward Everett, on admission of the first black student to Harvard University,1847.

Edward Everett  (1794-1865) was an American politician and orator, who served as a US Congressman, US Senator, Governor of Massachusetts, US Secretary of State, and as President of Harvard University. On 19 November 1863 he was the main speaker at Gettysburg, whose two-hour oration has been eclipsed in history by President Abraham Lincoln’s's brief Gettysburg Address.  Everett wrote to Lincoln the following day “I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I cam as near the central idea of the occasion in two hours, as you did in two minutes.”

The words spoken on the admission of the first black student to Harvard University were in respect of Beverly Williams, who had been in the same preparatory school as Everett’s son.  Williams died of tuberculosis before his 18^th birthday and never took his place at Harvard.  The first black pupil to study at Harvard was Richard Greener (1844-1922) in 1865.  Greener graduated in 1870.

Quote: Lady Caroline Lamb

 

“Mad, bad and dangerous to know.”

-       Lady Caroline Lamb’s description in her diary of Lord Byron.

Portrait of Lady Caroline Lamb above by Sir Thomas Lawrence.

Lady Caroline Lamb (1785-1828) was a British aristocrat and novelist best known for her affair with Lord Byron in 1812.  She was the wife of the 2^nd Viscount Melbourne who was Prime Minister in 1834 and 1835-1841. 

Although the marriage was originally based on love, the stress of having an autistic child who was cared for at home, a premature daughter who did not survive, long recovery periods and the absences through work of Viscount Melbourne drove a wedge between them.

It was also a period when women having lovers after they had provided an heir was common.

Moskito and Marco

 

(Click on image to enlarge).

The current controversy about Japan’s resumption of whale hunting in the Southern oceans in the guise of scientific research brings to mind an incident which took place in December 2005 off the coast of san Francisco.

A female humpback whale, the type of whale commonly slaughtered in the Southern oceans, had become trapped in ropes securing crab pots.  The whale was about 18m in length, female, and so badly entangled that it was determined that only divers cutting the ropes would be able to free her, a risky proposal in dealing with a creature weighing an estimated 50 tons.  It was believed that the whale had become tangled while travelling her usual migration route.

One of the first divers on the scene was one James Moskito (true, that is his name).

The following is an account from the time, verified by snopes.com as a truthful account:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/whalethanks.asp

Reader Comment

 

Byter Maz writes:

In reading my Bytes this morning I find that the baseball is referred to as being “A World Series”, i.e. a world championship.

You could do a lot for baseball tragic such as I by explaining the end of year series is NOT a world championship.

It is the final series sponsored by “The World” newspaper.

Now I know the Yanks say they have the biggest of everything – biggest state (try Western Australia for size) – but in this instance it is ignorance by the rest of the world. Who knows one day “Harvey Norman State of Origin” might achieve the same status.

Back to game 2 today. Go the Rangers! Don’t care even if the Cardinals win!

Maureen

3D Printing

 

Remember those scenes in cartoons and in sci fi movies where some scientist makes perfect copies of things with a machine?  It was a bit like making copies of documents using a photocopier, only with three dimensional objects, even people.  Well, three dimensional copying is now a reality, although it is not yet possible to invest the objects with life.

The following links show the process and the results, be amazed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ-aWFYT_SU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlq5R84TlVw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6Px6RSL9Ac&feature=related

Some comments:

·         The process is known as 3D printing.  Standard and high-res 3D printers produce intricate plastic models from 3D designs, with the moving parts visible on the surface moving similarly on the copy.  It therefore produce working mechanical devices with moving parts.  It obviously cannot produce internal components.  It will therefore produce a copy of a toy car with the wheels moving, for example, but cannot include the engine under the bonnet.

Funny Friday

 

In recognition of Her Maj visiting Australia, I was going to post the horse joke for Funny Friday.  I then decided that I would post some longer humorous items.  Then I decided to do both. . .

The Queen of England was showing the Archbishop of Canterbury around the Royal Stables when one of the stallions close by broke wind so loudly it couldn't be ignored.

'Oh dear,' said the Queen,' How embarrassing. I'm frightfully sorry about that.'

'It's quite understandable,' said the Archbishop, and after a moment added,' as a matter of fact I thought it was the horse.'

The first of the following items originated in the year 2000.  Over the years various expanded versions have been distributed.  The American response which follows has also been changed from time to time.  There are therefore numerous and various versions of both.  Anyone wishing to read about the items and see variants can do so by going to:

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/government/a/revocation_a.htm

http://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/revocation.asp

NOTICE OF REVOCATION OF INDEPENDENCE

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth I

In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.

Prince Philip

 

With Her Maj and hubby visiting Oz, it is opportune to post a reminiscence by Gareth Evans, former Attorney General and Foreign Minister, of his meeting with Prince Philip. Gareth’s comments are quoted in Barry Cohen’s Whitlam to Winston:

Gareth Evans remembers well the moment he cast off any lingering doubts he had about the monarchy and became a confirmed republican. It was December 1985 and Her Majesty was at Yarralumla with her consort to sign into law the Australia Act, the legislation that allowed Australia to finally sever all those remaining linkages with the United Kingdom that we were constitutionally capable of severing, short of a referendum.

It was, he recalls, a great occasion.

The entire Ministry gathered in a semicicrcle as the Queen and Prince Philip came around, shook our hands one by one and engaged in a little conversation with each of us.

After I had a polite but brief exchange with Her Majesty, she settled into a rather more prolonged discussion with Senator Susan Ryan, standing beside me, leaving me face to face with Prince Philip with a conversation gap to fill. My gambit wasn’t, on reflection, the most adventurous or stylish but I still think it was serviceable enough for the occasion. My opening line – ‘This is really a marvellous occasion and it’s wonderful that you are here for it’ – did not evince any discernible reaction at all. So I plunged on with something like this: ‘I feel particularly pleased personally that this has come to fruition. When I was Attorney-General I spent a fair bit of time rushing backwards and forwards to Whitehall, the Parliament and in fact the Palace as well, putting all this together, and it’s great that we’ve now made it.’

Prince Philip paused, looked at me and uttered just two words in reply: ‘Big deal.’

Prams, Trams and Automobiles

(I was going to call this post "Frankly m'dear, I don't give a tram" but decided against it.)

From 1879 to 1961, Sydney was served by an extensive tram network, one so large that it was the second largest in the Commonwealth after London and one of the largest in the world.  In 1997 a privately owned single line, light rail system, Metro Light Rail, opened and is planned to be extended, proving the old adage that if you hang onto something long enough it will eventaully come back into fashion. 

Trams were not without their risks, one of the most common being collisions with motor vehicles, as the following pics illustrate:

(Click on the images to enlarge)

Collision between a tram and a coal truck, Botany Road, Mascot, 1940’s.

Some points to note:

·         The numbers of spectators that attended motor vehicle accident scenes.

·         The open style tram.

·         Most men wore suits and hats in those days.

·         Barefoot children.

·         Plume petrol, which has been the subject of an earlier post:

 http://bytesdaily.blogspot.com/search?q=plume

Some Prime Ministerial responses and miscellaneous items . . .

 

 

George Reid (1845-1919), Premier of NSW and Prime Minister of Australia, to a heckler who had pointed to his ample paunch and exclaimed "What are you going to call it, George?"

"If it's a boy, I'll call it after myself. If it's a girl I'll call it Victoria. But if, as I strongly suspect, it's nothing but piss and wind, I'll name it after you.”

"I went to the zoo the other day, there was only one dog in it, it was a shitzu."

Gough Whitlam, Prime Minister of Australia, to a heckler who had shouted "What are you going to do about abortion?":

"In your case, I'd like to make it retrospective."

 

From the Daily Mail 16.10.2011, reporting on Tamara Ecclestone, 26, daughter of Bernie Ecclestone, 82, Formula One supremo, selecting a name for her proposed line of hair care products: 

‘I originally wanted to call it Formula One or One Formula, because obviously there is quite a link between me and F1 and a formula is something you can put in your hair. I thought my father would be proud of me when he called to ask how the business was coming along.

‘He asked me if I had come up with a name and I told him my idea. Next thing I know my dad is saying he’s going to sue me.

‘He said to me, “Tamara, are you fucking mad? I don’t think you quite understand. People pay me a lot of money to use the F1 name and that logo. It has taken years of work to build up that brand. Did you really think I was just going to give you that name and let you use it?”

‘I said “Err, yes”. I realise now people pay him millions of pounds and have to write him letters asking to use the Formula  1 brand name. So I kind of lost that one, so now it’s going to be called Uno.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2049526/Tamara-Ecclestone-The-day-father-Bernie-threatened-sue-me.htm