“Of Interest To ME”

Simon Schama’s “Landscape and Memory”

Fri, 5 Feb 2010 18:30:21 -0400

Just finished the book that I discussed here.

I enjoyed it, rather quite. Having seen Schama on vid narrating things like “A History of Britain” and “The Power of Art”, it was easy to hear his voice leading me through the rich and interesting narrative of this book. That narrative being, as Schama describes it, how we can see in landscape art and its relation to Western culture the “obstinately rich loam of memory” which is “the sum of our pasts, generation laid over generation, like the slow mold of the seasons, forms the compost of our future. We live off it.”

Not really an art aficionado, I do now feel much better armed when viewing a work of art - landscape-related anyway - and trying to interpret its style and meaning.

US Dollar, remembering the Good Old Days

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 23:31:00 -0400

If set today:

Dr. Evil: “I want ... One-Hundred Beellion Dollars!”

World Leaders: “...<?!>.... That’s it? Bwahahahahahahahahahaaa!! Okay, no problem, you wanna use PayPal? ... ahahahahahahaaa!!”

Now, Voyager

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 11:14:26 -0400

Watched this one last night. Thumbs up; well worth watching.

The title of this 1942 film comes from the Walt Whitman poem, “The Untold Want”: "The untold want by life and land ne'er granted,
Now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find."

It stars Bette Davis and, interestingly, two stars from that other little 1942 film, “Casablanca”, Paul Henreid and Claude Rains. While “Casablanca” is rightfully No.1 on the AFI’s Top 100 ‘Passions’ films, along with “Gone With The Wind”, “West Side Story”, “Roman Holiday” and “An Affair To Remember”, “Now, Voyager” comes in at No.23.

To be honest, while I’ve seen a large number of older films, focusing on film noir whenever possible, I don’t think I’ve really seen that much of Bette Davis’ career. This one’s a love story with a bit of an unexpected ending, the two lovers not asking for the moon, as they already had the stars. Davis, Henreid and Rains are all very good and watchable. And the story is interesting. Davis’ character’s battle to escape from her Boston society dowager bitchy mother is a large part of the story, and Henreid and Rains help her in their own way.

This film is also perhaps the origin of the thing where the guy puts two cigarettes in his mouth, lights them both and hands one to the gal. You know, that thing that guys used to do in films.

Anyway, a pretty good story and well delivered. Now, though, give me more film noir... the more hard-boiled the better.

SAG Awards - In Memoriam

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 10:27:37 -0400

Watched a fair bit of the 2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards last night. We’re not really big awards show watchers, but we were in a bit of a bind on what to watch and this was on, so... The lifetime recognition award to Betty White was nice, as was her acceptance.

I’m always bad at remembering the actors/celebs who have died during the previous year. I’m often quite surprised by who is on the list, having forgotten the news of their passing. There were certainly some big names this past year. For last night’s list, I noted a number of supporting actors who seemed to me to be large in the background of my own entertainment life growing up. Henry Gibson. Robert Ginty (above pic, left). Philip Carey. Carl Ballantine. John Quade. Steven Gilborn. Canadian character actor Lou Jacobi. Paul Burke. Frank Aletter. Not the big names, or even the next-t0-big names. The names of the people that were a part of it but perhaps never really made it as big stars.

Second World War books of the past decade

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 09:39:11 -0400

Instapundit links to some goodly lists by Dave Callanan of the best books on the Second World War here and here; books from the past decade, that is.

Of these lists, I’ve only read Roy Jenkins’ “Churchill” and John Lukacs’ “The Duel”. Note: the latter was first published in 1990.

The one’s that attract me most are “Shattered Sword” and probably Dick Winters’ “Beyond Band of Brothers”. I will hopefully get to them.

To this list, I’d perhaps add “Troublesome Young Men” by Lynne Olson, and Michael Dobbs’ fictional portrayals of the war, eg “Winston’s War”, etc.

Burning peat on South Uist

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 11:09:30 -0400

In doing some research on some of my paternal ancestry and what life was like in the Outer Hebrides, I found one comment particularly interesting. On South Uist, there were no trees. People had low stone houses with thatched roofs and burned peat for fuel. Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter. Peat, over time, will turn to coal.

One source notes that it took a team of six men about two days to dig enough peat to cover a home’s fuel needs for the year. It later had to be hauled and stacked for drying. Two days and the year’s heating was secured! That kind of surprised me. While life for them in western Scotland and the Islands was very different from ours in so many ways, more and more of what I read shows that they (I suppose, obviously) had ample food and fuel.

In Canada, what would an average household earn for a year and have to pay in fuel? Stats Can notes that the median household income in 2006 was $70,400. Would households pay on average about $2,000 on heating? In terms of days work to cover fuel costs, the average Canadian household would spend about 10 days per year. Considering more time/people would be involved in shifting and stacking the peat, maybe we spend about twice as much in terms of our work days on acquiring fuel.

Apples and oranges, I know, but I think it is interesting to see that these people would secure their annual heating requirements in just a few days -- it must have meant a lot to know that once that was done, you were ok for another year, and that there was plenty more in the ground to provide for future years; as autumn turned to winter, there must have been great peace of mind to see such a big part of your family’s survival requirements stacked up next to your little cottage.

Later: Well, since there were 6 men working at once, that’s more like 12 days worth of work. So, we’re better off today on average, I guess. ;-)

The Campblog’s Best Books of the Decade List

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:02:25 -0400

Yes, Dear Reader, here they are, and I’ve even read most of them!!

Best books (non-fiction)

"Austerity Britain" by David Kynaston
One of the best histories I've read. Portrayal of the very interesting, difficult life in Britain in the immediate post-war years.

"Troublesome Young Men" by Lynne Olson
An excellent portrait of the group of young 'outsider' British politicians who helped bring Churchill to power in the spring of 1940, and, therefore, helped save Western civilisation.

"Gulag: A History" by Anne Applebaum
The inhuman horror that was the Soviet Union. I think I’ve mentioned before that reading “The Gulag Archipelago” was just about the darkest, most difficult and disturbing stuff I’ve ever read. Without dragging you through the personal horror as Solzhenitsyn does so effectively, Applebaum still provides a great history of this 20th century evil.

"After the Ice - the return of life to glaciated North America" by E.C. Pielou
I was surprised at how interesting this book was -- describes how the ice retreated and the phases by which plant and animal life began to repopulate the then-barren northern two-thirds of the continent, including just about all of Canada.

"The Little Ice Age - How Climate Made History, 1300-1850" by Brian Fagan
Interesting description of how the shift from the gentle Medieval Warm Period to the harsher Little Ice Age brought about societal changes (including the founding of the New World).

"The Fabric of the Cosmos" by Brian Greene
Quantum physics, string theory and the like. Lots of examples using characters from The Simpsons! My head is still spinning.

"The Chilling Stars" by Henrik Svensmark and Nigel Calder
An interesting theory regarding the possible connection between cosmic radiation (charged particles reaching the Earth from all over the galaxy, produced mostly by star birth and death; an average of two cosmic rays pass through your body every second, although most don't make it to sea level) and cloud formation. The CLOUD experiment taking place this year at the Proton Synchrotron at CERN in Europe may move this theory along (or perhaps bury it).

“Europe Between the Oceans, 9000 BC to 1000 AD” by Barry Cunliffe.
A rich history chronicling the beginnings of Neolithic culture in Europe, and then leading through the major periods of trade and political expansion. I was particularly amazed by the extensive forays by the Scandinavians into eastern Europe as traders.

“To Rule the Waves” by Arthur Herman
A very interesting history of the British navy and its role in shaping British and world history.

“How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe’s Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything In It” by Arthur Herman.
A book to be read by all Scots and non-Scots. Finally, the truth is told.

“Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East” by Michael Oren.
I learned a lot from this well-presented history; the title pretty much captures it.

"Long Way Round/Long Way Down" by Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman
At times a bit tiresome with fairly wealthy actors whinging about money, but, overall, both very interesting adventures of these two and their amazing round-the-world and northern-Britain-to-Cape-Town motorcycle treks.

“DNA: The Secret of Life” by James D. Watson. This is a book that help set me off on an amazing journey of discovery about myself and how I fit into it all. Watson, who along with Francis Crick revealed the double helix structure of DNA, covers many varied aspects of this area of research.

“Why Orwell Matters” by Christopher Hitchens
Because he frakking bloody well does.

“Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist’s Guide to Global Warming” by Bjorn Lomborg.
Well, “The Skeptical Environmentalist” was published in the previous decade. Most of Lomborg’s critics would be surprised that he is not an AGW skeptic, but, rather, is very skeptical of the policy responses with which we’ve been spinning our collective wheels. In this book, he presents some sound alternatives.

"In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War" by David Reynolds
Only for Churchill geeks like me. The tale of how Churchill crafted his classic history of the war, and how he negotiated what was then the largest book deal in history. This book, for me, acts as the 7th volume of Churchill’s war memoir, The Second World War and is placed on my bookshelf as such.

“Winston Churchill: Soldier -- The Military Life of a Gentleman at War” by Douglas S. Russell
More Churchill geekery. If you are researching the life of Winston Churchill, Doug Russell (who I’ve met) does an excellent job detailing this very interesting aspect.

“Churchill: A Biography” by Roy Jenkins
An excellent biography from the late Welsh Labour MP. Very readable and quite an interesting perspective from Jenkins in a very fair-handed biography.

“Sir Winston Churchill: His Life and His Paintings” by David Coombs and Minnie Churchill
A masterful collection of Churchill’s more than 500 oils. Essential Churchilliana.

Later added: I should say that the decade’s publications contained two significant works relating to the most written about figure of the 20th century, Winston Churchill. Both compiled by two eminent Churchillians that I have the pleasure to know, and both following literally decades of painstaking research. These are: Ronald Cohen’s “Bibliography of the Writings of Winston Churchill”; and, Richard Langworth’s “Churchill By Himself: The Definitive Collection of Quotations”.

Best books (fiction)

Sorry, no novels about successful media types who've made it big in T.O. or N.Y. or L.A. and return to the remote Atlantic Canadian fishing outport of their birth and formative years only to discover deep dark secrets about their parents and who their real father is, solve deep dark riddles regarding their seaweed phobia, and, finally, uncover all of the deep dark mysteries at the base of their disheveled, angst-ridden, gin-soaked souls.

Actually, not much here, as I've been busy with older stuff (older sci-fi, history, Aubrey-Maturin series, and lots of sciencey non-fiction stuff relating to climate, genetics, physics, etc. as mentioned above).

"A Deepness in the Sky" by Vernor Vinge (2000)
Amazing mind-bending stuff. Multiple award winner, incl. the Hugo for best sci-fi novel. A great (though largely unrelated) prequel to his 1994 classic "A Fire Upon The Deep".

“Rainbows End” by Vernor Vinge
Set in a rather scary near future, this book is naturally very different from ‘Fire’ and ‘Deepness’ but Vinge is at his technologically speculative best.

“Spin” by Robert Charles Wilson
Another Hugo winner; very interesting scenarios.

'The Baroque Cycle' by Neal Stephenson
Massive, amazing series of novels that frame the birth of the modern world. 'Quicksilver', 'The Confusion', 'The System of the World'.

“Winston’s War”, “Never Surrender” and “Churchill’s Hour” by Michael Dobbs
Great history fiction centering around you-know-who.

'The Grail Quest' novels by Bernard Cornwell
From a master of historical fiction and the author of the Richard Sharpe series, the novels - Harlequin, Vagabond and Heretic - follow the adventures of an English archer during the Hundred Years War.

Landscape and Memory

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:54:15 -0400

I was referred to this Simon Schama book by The Flea, himself. I have a lot of time for Schama, and have thoroughly enjoyed his series “A History of Britain” and “The Power of Art”. I would highly recommend checking out the youtube clips of the latter.

Santa brought Schama’s “Landscape and Memory” in which Schama delves deeply into our own framing of the land and how that framing - the creation of the landscape (as opposed to ‘the land’ itself) - stems from our inner, cultural histories and origins. There is more of ourselves in our favoured landscapes, our prized natural settings, than we tend to think.

Shocking! He doesn’t mention the Group of Seven once! ;-)

Here is the New York Times review.

So what are my own landscapes? Obviously, the storied landscape of a Nova Scotian will differ from that of a Saskatchewanian or an Ontarian or a Yukon ... ian, er, ite? What is My Landscape? And do I have many?

I mention Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven as they would probably be mentioned as among the main interpreters of the Canadian landscape. True, they did the northern lakes, the north. That’s all well and good.

But is all of that ‘my’ landscape? It is in the sense that it includes landscapes from within my own nation. And there’s some ‘identity’ there. But does it cover me, really? I have lived in different parts of the country, so, yeah, it does that. But it doesn’t represent the landscape that means home and identity to me.

Granite rock. Not the exposed Canadian Shield, but big chunks of granite boulder left behind as the glaciers retreated after the last Ice Age between 13,000 and 15,000 years ago.

Atlantic coast. The ocean water itself. Is there really a difference between the Atlantic and the Pacific or any other body of sea water? Well, there’s really just one big ocean on Planet Earth interrupted by the continents. But the Atlantic has a very different history and ‘persona’. It was the way of discovery for the European explorers. It’s the body of water over which many of our ancestors travelled. It’s been a theatre of war, particularly the sea on and under which the Second World War was fought. There is nothing pacific about it. It’s cold, dark, fierce. And, at least on my side, its coastline is heavily forested with the trees running close along the water. Some beaches, including some nice beaches indeed, but mostly rocky and craggy.

That’s the forest that my ancestors had to clear when they arrived and began to farm. That’s the forest that made them say whatever Gaelic is for “what the ...?” when they first cast eyes on it all. But it’s also the forest that helped provide for them, both in terms of food and certainly in terms of building materials and fuel.

The harbour at Halifax is one landscape of great significance and importance to me. The long stream and narrows, the great basin at the end, the arm that ‘runs down to an end’, the small ‘cap’ island, the larger wooded islands, the small channel that runs between the larger islands and the eastern mainland, and the great harbour mouth that leads to everywhere and anywhere. The bridges are a part of it, but not really so much; the skyline, too -- not important in my personal landscape.

Near the harbour stream, at the point of the Halifax peninsula ends and the ocean wraps around it to run along up the northwest arm lies Point Pleasant Park. It’s a place that I’ve visited since I was a child -- I’ve walked through it alone and with my family and friends, I’ve jogged through it, I’ve played in its ruined fortifications. There wouldn’t be many places on Earth that I consider to be “a sacred place” but this is one of them.

When I go back further, my roots take me back to the British Isles and Ireland. For one line, an area northwest of Dublin, near Slane Hill where Patrick was said in one history to have lit the fire in defiance to essentially mark Christianity’s arrival in Ireland, and also the 5,000 year old megalithic passage grave at Newgrange. Sure, I can claim descent from Ireland and its Gaelic culture certainly existed in close form in the Hebrides and in western Scotland, but I don’t think of my own personal cultural heritage as ‘Irish’ nor would my personal landscapes lie there.

Most of my lines, and I would say the brunt of my cultural heritage, bring me back to Scotland. Western Argyll and the Outer Hebrides, South Uist to be precise. In Argyll, farmland, woodland, streams and coastlines. Fealty to one’s laird and clan chieftain. I suppose that was what tied the land to the culture in many ways -- sure, you can live here and work the land, fish all you want, cut down some trees for lumber and firewood, but you’d better bloody well answer my call when it comes. Not if, when. Is that my ‘landscape’? And those highland hills and glens -- the mists, the remoteness, the ruggedness and quietness of that land (and perhaps that is somewhat a caricature). Scattered throughout those lands are the tumulus graves and the standing stones that mark the arrival of the Neolithic and the Celtic from north-central Europe. That’s all part of it -- part of my landscape and part of the culture.

Further out into the Hebrides, on South Uist, there was a different kind of life, and a different landscape. Not many trees to speak of. It was peat that was used for fuel. Field stones were used to build the houses. Thatch roofs, with ropes made of heather to help secure the thatch. The same heather rope was used to bind corn stalks once the corn was scythed by hand. Sheep were also sheared by hand.

Some hills, much coastline. Beaches and rocky shores. Beaches for finding food and gathering marine plants for that market; the beaches and shores from which fishing boats were launched, but also beaches for racing horses. Horse racing was big in the Hebridean culture. And threshing through the tall grass. When I think of South Uist now, I imagine a large Sable Island with some hills and an intertidal coastline line such as the one found along the northern shore of Prince Edward Island. Remote, windswept, the ever-present sea always threatening to crash in upon you, yet also always offering a means of making a living for you and your family.

In “Landscape and Memory”, Schama begins the book looking at the Polish Lithuanian primeval forest, particularly at Białowieża. (Click here on pics of this Mystical Forest.) It sounds like an amazing place, not least for the presence of the wisent or European bison, a beast that sounds much more fierce than its American cousin. I’d never heard of this forest before, but Schama describes its importance to the Polish and Lithuanian people who lived there, including Schama’s Jewish ancestors. Over the centuries, nationhood came and went in the ebb and flow of European powers vying for that area. Whatever liberty and livelihood one ever had was always tenuous in the face of brutal aggressors. But, as nationality came and went, the forest itself remained and came to stand for a kind of personal liberty to those who lived there. For Schama’s ancestors, this deep primeval forest was “the landscape”.

But I go back to my Group of Seven comment. The Winter Olympics are coming up in a few weeks, taking place in the western Rockies -- we’ll be seeing and hearing lots about Whistler and surrounding areas. While I’m a citizen of Canada and the Rockies are a part of my national landscape, does a national landscape really mean anything anyway, being so varied? I’ve visited the Rockies, and loved being there; the mountains are indescribably beautiful and sublime. But they don’t have really anything to do with my own landscapes. They’re here in Nova Scotia, around Halifax and into the eastern Nova Scotian mainland and into Cape Breton. Prince Edward Island has a hold on me, too, I’d say (and I do have some ancestral connection there). But the deep cultural heritage and landscapes are there in the outer Western Isles of the Hebrides, and the highland hills, glens, and shores of western Scotland.

So, what are your landscapes?

Christmas films and specials

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:42:05 -0400

Hope you all had a good one.

Well, here are some ‘best...” lists for Christmas films and tv specials. Pretty good, I would think; covers off the major ones.

For me, the 1951 version of “A Christmas Carol” with Alasdair Sim is my favourite. Patrick Stewart’s is good, as well.

I’ve always been quite partial to “An American Christmas Carol” with Henry Winkler (filmed, of course, in Ontario). Winkler’s performance is very good, and some of the language added in - which I would normally not abide - helps make it work. Something about ‘if’. What if? If - a word found on dried up river beds and paths long overgrown.

These years, Christmases are not complete without: “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” with Denholm Elliott; “A Christmas Carol” (2000) with Ross Kemp as estate loan shark Eddie Scrooge; and, the “Creature Comforts” Christmas special. Yeah, and the Charlie Brown, Grinch, etc. stuff, of course.

The Phantom Menace

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:46:57 -0400

The Flea presents the greatest film review you will ever see. (nsfw/kiddies as it contains language, and, um, other stuff). I may be able to have my son go through his childhood without seeing films I, II and III, but what about the special editions of the original, huh George?! What of that!!!???

Later: I like his Star Trek movies reviews, too.

Samson

Tue, 8 Dec 2009 03:03:08 -0400

The Samson is the oldest surviving locomotive in Canada, one of the oldest surviving locomotives in North America, and the first locomotive in Canada to run on iron rails. An ancestor of mine on my Mother’s side was its first fireman and worked on it for a number of years before he settled down to farm in Antigonish County.

The Samson worked between 1839 and 1867 carrying coal along a six mile line for the Albion Mines Railway. It went “from the mines surrounding Stellarton and New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, to waiting ships at the East River loading pier. It proved a strong and reliable locomotive, considered ‘slow but of great power’ by railway workers of the day.”

Samson is the only known surviving locomotive of English locomotive pioneer Timothy Hackworth. Hackworth provided the engineering on the first steam locomotives, such as Puffing Billy (well known to my 3 year old son).

It appeared at the National Exhibition of Railway Applicances in Chicago in 1883, and at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The Samson now resides at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton, NS.

Pushmi-pullyu monetary policy

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 18:19:11 -0400

What’s the best kind of monetary policy? Why, pushmi-pullyu monetary policy, of course. Using a pushmi-pullyu monetary policy, you can get to where you’re going no matter which direction you want; no one can catch you because one of your monetary policy heads is always awake; in the end, however, no one may ever believe you really exist because no one may ever find your economy.

“Not even a session of pushmi-pullyu monetary policy – a reminder of the Balkanised relative health of the global economy – could damp the fervour of the great “carry trade’s” disciples.”

I do want to see more characters and figures from children’s books used in financial reporting, heck, all reporting. Ewan likes to read ‘The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle’ which is a Dr. Seuss reader book from my childhood ~ after the doctor saves the monkeys from sickness, the monkeys talk the pushmi-pullyu into going back to Puddleby-on-the-Marsh with the good doctor.

If you really really really don’t know what a pushmi-pullyu is, then go here.

St. Kilda

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:18:29 -0400

The UK’s most northwesterly landfall, St. Kilda lies to the northwest of Lewis, North Uist and (yay! let’s hear it for my peeps!) South Uist (here it is on the map). It was inhabited by Gaels (and, likely, others as well, I’d guess) for 3,000 years, and last inhabited in 1930.

Such an isolated existence. It’s quite haunting to look upon the remains of their village and crofts (some restoration has taken place recently). True, it’s certainly a monument to the people who lived there and made it work for so long. Makes the rest of the Outer Hebrides seem downright cozy.

Forlorn Hope

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:45:56 -0400

In Sharpe’s Comany and in Sharpe’s Challenge, we see examples of the bloody terrible business of the Forlorn Hope, the first group of soldiers thrown into the newly opened breach of a defensive wall.

Wiki: A forlorn hope is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the leading part in a military operation, such as an assault on a defended position, where the risk of casualties is high. The term comes from the Dutch verloren hoop, literally "lost heap", and adapted as "lost troop".[1][2][3][4] The Dutch word hoop (in its sense of heap in English) is not cognate with English hope: this is an example of false folk etymology [5][6][7], supported by the word in modern Dutch also bearing the meaning "hope".

Being the first group through a breach in a wall certainly meant a very low survivor rate; still, there was apparently competition for these positions. In the British army context (during the Napoleonic Wars, for example), survivors gained promotion, and young officers saw it as *the* chance to kickstart their army fortunes, gain glory for themselves, etc. In the two examples from Sharpe mentioned above, the young officers leading the Forlorn Hope were young indeed, teenage boys whose families had bought them commissions as officers.

In Sharpe’s Company, the siege in question is Wellington’s siege at Badajoz (Spain) in 1812. Scenes depicted here, here and here. About the Battle of Badajoz.

Julie Fowlis

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:13:41 -0400

A very recent discovery (of mine, that is) is the lovely voice of Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis. She’s from North Uist (just a wee bit north of where many of my Dad’s people would be from). Here’s her Facebook page.

Here’s Ms. Fowlis with a beautiful love song, Bothan Àirigh am Bràigh Raithneach. The translation is here, although I’m not sure the verses sung match what appears here.

As you know, I don’t understand why the youtube links from the main blog page in iWeb never seem to work, so click to enter the post for the link to work. (Later: I guess I take that back, the song link seems to work. ??)

CRU files set free

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:20:37 -0400

Latest: [Nov22’09] In the Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin covers the story. However, she leaves things way too short, focusing on the bunker mentality among this bunch as opposed to if/how their efforts led the IPCC to its conclusions of likelihood in the first place. Keep going, Juliet. Also, Roy Spencer on IPCC elitism, a summary of the emails and a searchable database of the emails. It’s spreading; Friends; Jay Currie on The Dirt (hey, let’s hope, Dan). Related: Revenge of the Climate Laymen (prior to the hack)

[Nov19’09] This is bloody interesting, entertaining, creepy, sad, funny, shocking yet unsurprising. “Oddly cheering”, you might say.

Dog eats homework. Hacker/whistleblower makes dog puke.

More at The Blackboard. Will add more links as this stuff gets reviewed and we get a better picture.

November 19, 2009 may turn out to be an interesting day in the annals of ‘climate science’.

Later: discussion at The Air Vent; on Mike’s Nature Trick; and Andy “Not as predictable as we’d like” Revkin in the NYTimes. Final nail in the coffin? I wouldn’t bet on it, but it’s getting there.

Clanranald and Me

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:40:43 -0400

On my Dad’s side, the recent ancestry all comes from Scottish Highlanders (and Islanders) who had settled around the Bras D’Or Lakes in the early-mid 19th century. A number of Campbell, MacDonald, MacIsaac families, it so happens. I just uncovered some more detailed genealogical information on one MacDonald line, one that comes through Clanranald via South Uist in the Outer Hebrides. I love nailing down a place of origin like that. Other than one place via my dna research, this is the first time I’ve tracked down an Old World location for any of my ancestry.

My Dad’s Mother’s people come from the area outside of Sydney, Cape Breton, in the hills behind Boisdale between two main bodies of the Bras D’Or Lakes, running between Boisdale and East Bay.

It appears that South Uist, in the Outer Hebrides off of Scotland, is a place of origin for many families that settled around there. Boisdale is actually a South Uist placename (see Lochboisdale, the largest population center on South Uist). These were later arrivals in terms of the Highland settlement of Cape Breton (thus, they received the ‘rear’ area grants); a number of others had been Glenaladale settlers to PEI, heading to Cape Breton later on when they decided to opt for their own grant over continuing a tenant existence on PEI.

At least one line of my ancestry hails from there, a MacDonald family who emigrated from Stoneybridge, South Uist in the mid-19th century . It was the family of Ailean (Allan) MacDonald. To be more precise, he was Ailean mac Ailein 'ic Dhomhnuill 'ic Iain 'ic Alasdair 'ic Iain 'ic Iain 'ic Dhu\ghaill, of South Uist. Indeed, the name Ailean looms large in Clanranald lore. (Later: the rent roll indicates Alasdair and Allan “Gardiner” living next to one another in Kilaulay, in NW South Uist near Loch Bee; Stoneybridge probably became a place of residence after the brothers were cleared off of the land - many of Alasdair’s children were born in Stoneybridge.)

In an excellent effort in an area’s family history, AJ MacMillan’s “A West Wind to East Bay” describes the offspring of Ailein MacDonald as they settled in that area (it accompanies his earlier work, “To The Hill of Boisdale”).

In it, he describes the history of Clanranald (if you recall old Usenet newsgroup discussion of things like Gaelic, at all, you’ll recognize how I’ve transcribed the text with the accents following the letter on which they should appear ... maybe I’ll fix it later on):

“All of the MacDonalds trace their descent from Domhnull mac Raonuill 'ic Shomhairle ("Donald, son of Ranald, son of Somerled"). His great-grandson, John of Islay [Aonghas O\g, Aonghas Mo/r, Domhnull]., was Lord of the Isles. John first married Amy MacRury and, by this marriage, acquired great lands in Uist, Benbecula, the Small Isles, Morar, Arisaig and Moidart. By this marriage he had a son, Ranald. He divorced Amy in order to marry Margaret Stewart, daughter of the future King Robert II, and Ranald eventually inherited the lands which his mother had brought to the marriage.

It is from Ranald's son, Allan, that Clanranald descended, and their chiefs are styled "Mac 'ic Ailein" (Son of the son of Allan"). Another of Ranald's sons, Donald, was the progenitor of the Glengarry branch, which later chose to spell their name MacDonell.

As mentioned already, John of Islay's second wife was Margaret Stewart, and it was by this second marriage that Donald, second Lord of the Isles, was born. He was succeeded by his son, Alasdair. Alasdair's son, John, succeeded as Lord of the Isles; another son, Celestine, was the progenitor of the Lochalshe MacDonalds; and another son, Hugh, was the progenitor of the Sleat MacDonalds, in which house the chieftainship of the Clan MacDonald now resides.

... The name in Gaelic is "MacDhomhnuill" and the motto is "Per mare per terras" ("By sea and by land"). ... Clanranald's old motto was "Dh' aindeo\in co\ theireadh e" ("Gainsay who dare"), while the new one is "My hope is constant in thee".”

Ailean MacDonald never left South Uist. He drowned in Loch Bee.

But I am descended from his son, Alasdair, who did come to this country, and whose grand-daughter was my Dad’s grand-mother.

Like I said, I love getting a place of origin. South Uist. Looks lovely.

While I don’t know whether Ailean MacDonald was in the direct line from Ranald MacDonald, there is a good chance. Apparently Alasdair’s brother worked with the Clanranald chief in Edinburgh (as a gardener) before emigrating.

It’s interesting that while the majority of MacDonalds have the R1b y haplotype, the clan chiefs are R1a, indicating Norse origins. While Somerled made his name and forged his lordship by driving out the Vikings, he himself came from Norse ancestry.

So, a modern day male descendant of this MacDonald family would have to be tested in order to verify a direct descent from Somerled and the founding chiefly line -- an R1a result would be an overwhelming indicator. Until then, I may assume it. 8-)

Sharpe

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 13:43:50 -0400

It may be perhaps unbelievable to you, Dear Reader, but I have never seen the Sharpe series nor read the Bernard Cornwell books. Not a one. I have read some Cornwell (his Grail Quest series) but never a Sharpe. So, we’ve started getting the television series out of the library.

Sean Bean does an amazing job with Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe, a soldier’s soldier who rises up from the ranks during the wars against Napoleon.

Excellent. Stuff. After we’ve watched a few of them (Rifles, Eagle and Company), my wife wishes Boromir didn’t die so early in Lord of the Rings.

I must say that Pete Postlethwaite’s Obadiah Hakeswill is just about the vilest villain I’ve ever come across in fiction. He’ll make your skin crawl (spoilers at the link, however).

I suppose once I am finished with Aubrey-Maturin, I will head for Sharpe.

Garrison Hopyard Pale

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 12:55:12 -0400

About the only ale that I pick up these days is the Hopyard Pale from Halifax’s own Garrison Brewery. It’s just yummy and delicious. It pours yummy and delicious, it tastes yummy and delicious and the afters are yummy and delicious.

Reports Garrison: “Deep golden, medium bodied & nicely bitter, Hopyard Pale is exceptional in the West Coast style. Generous hopping in the boil & further dry-hopping produce a fruity/floral aroma & refreshingly bitter finish. A true thirst-quencher!”

What’s interesting is Garrison’s move to have its own hopyard.

So, next time someone goes on about buying local food, I will assure them that I’m all over it and completely down with them.

Minor disclosure: I met Garrison guy Brian Titus at a bar once and impressed him with my local knowledge (I knew the current name of the Halifax city street that gave name for Garrison’s Barrack Street Brown) as he hadn’t talked to any other publicans who had known it at that point. Garrison has a Nut Brown now although I’m not sure how much of Barrack Street is in the Nut Brown. Oh, Barrack Street became Brunswick Street.

Also sampled the Oktoberfest Brau recently and thought it nice. I’d stick with the Hopyard Pale though if you’re out shopping.

Related: Hey, I completely missed the Propeller Pumpkin!

The Jewel In The Crown

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:47:03 -0300

We recently concluded watching “The Jewel In The Crown”, the excellent British (mini) series from 1984 that is based on Paul Scott’s “The Raj Quartet” novels. I had seen parts of it before, but never the whole thing, and it took us two library visits to finish watching it this time (waiting list).

The series takes place in India in the early 1940s and through past the end of the war to the beginnings of modern India and Pakistan. A few threads are followed throughout the story, following a few different characters. Some wonderful settings.

Tim Pigott-Smith’s Ronald Merrick is one of the truly unforgettable villains of television, with his character’s rise in army and class rank throughout the series until near the end.

It’s interesting to see a younger Charles Dance (shown in the above pic), as we’ve seen him recently in things like “Bleak House” where he plays the villainous Tulkinghorn.

Writes reviewer Paul Mavis,

“What's particularly satisfying with the basic structure of The Jewel in the Crown, is that the amorphous nature of the storytelling, still grounded by linear plot progression but altered by swings in time lines and occasional forays into the surreal (Barbie, played by Peggy Ashcroft, and her bizarre death scene, structured to be linked with the first atom bomb explosion), perfectly captures one of the novel's main thematic points: the clash of Western formalism with Eastern philosophy. While the British are often concerned with "keeping a lid" on events that are largely of their own making and yet out of their control, the Hindus follow a different course of eternal acceptance (which is viewed as resistence by the British), one that acknowledges the illusion of the concrete "reality" that the British seem so intent to impose on them. And indeed, as we watch The Jewel in the Crown, and we sometimes struggle against our expectations as to how one of these "exotic period romances" should unfold, our anxiety and diverted expectations perfectly match the message intended for us.”