A year in movies

 

 

1 Jan    New Year's Day        About A Boy

12 Jan    HAL 9000 B'day      2001: A Space Odyssey

26 Jan    Australia Day         The Castle

27 Jan    Mozart B'day          Amadeus

 2 Feb    Groundhog Day      Groundhog Day

14 Feb   Valentine's Day       Strictly Ballroom / Down with Love

15 Mar   Ides of March         Gladiator

19 Mar   Bruce Willis Day      Fifth Element

25 Apr   ANZAC Day             Gallipoli

            Easter Sunday         Life of Brian

 4 May   Star Wars Day         Star Wars

 7 May   Tchaikovsky B'day    Anna Karenina

19 May  Beloved's B'day        Breakfast at Tiffanys

25 May  Towel Day               Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

 3 Jun   Son B'day                Kingdom of Heaven

 6 Jun   D-Day                     Saving Private Ryan

21 Jun  Winter Solstice         Dark City

22 Jul   My B'day                 Casablanca

21 Aug  Son B'day                A.I.

11 Sep   Disaster Day           Troy

19 Sep  Talk like a Pirate Day  Pirates of the Caribbean

31 Oct   Halloween                Sleepy Hollow

 5 Nov   Guy Fawkes Day       V for Vendetta

11 Nov  Remembrance Day    All Quiet at the Western Front

19 Nov                                 Blade Runner

25 Nov  Son B'day                 Napoleon Dynamite

21 Dec  Summer Solstice        Lawrence of Arabia

24 Dec  Xmas Eve                  Die Hard

25 Dec  Xmas                        Love Actually

31 Dec  New Year's Eve          Passengers

Strawberries in tubs

 

Growing strawberries off the ground keeps them out of the dirt, and away from pests.

The Great Curse

In 1525 Gavin Dunbar, Archbishop of Glasgow, cursed the reivers of the borders between England and Scotland.

"I curse their head and all the hairs of their head; I curse their face, their brain, their mouth, their nose, their tongue, their teeth, their forehead, their shoulders, their breast, their heart, their stomach, their back, their womb, their arms, their legs, their hands, their feet, and every part of their body, from the top of their head to the soles of their feet, before and behind, within and without.

"I curse them going and I curse them riding; I curse them standing and I curse them sitting; I curse them eating and I curse them drinking; I curse them rising, and I curse them lying; I curse them at home, I curse them away from home; I curse them within the house, I curse them outside of the house; I curse their wives, their children, and their servants who participate in their deeds. I wary their crops, their cattle, their wool, their sheep, their horses, their swine, their geese, their hens, and all their livestock. I wary their halls, their chambers, their kitchens, their stanchions, their barns, their cowsheds, their barnyards, their cabbage patches, their plows, their harrows, and the goods and houses that are necessary for their sustenance and welfare."

And then he got very religious and anti-semitic so I won't repeat it.

I stumbled across the polished boulder in Carlisle.

Cities in Disgrace

I recently re-read the Cities in Flight series of novels by James Blish.

The stories have not aged well they are particularly misogynistic and colonial.

Blish also worked for the Tobacco institute and died of lung cancer - poetic justice.

 

Harlequin

 

The cotton harlequin bug is fascinating in close-up.

Strawberry Flowers

 

In spring the flowers bloom and the the insects visit them.

Great Radio

 

My favourite radio. 

Accurate digital tuning.

Sensitive reception - from Brisbane I can receive all the Australian 50kW AM transmitters. Some I have to wait till late at night.

Good sound - from the 100mm speaker.

Extended battery life - from 4x D cells.

I used this radio when travelling as I can remove it from the RF interference in the caravan power systems.