Category Archives: amusements

amusements, books

Oddity of the Week: Cromwell's Head

Marc Hartzman has a new book out: The Embalmed Head of Oliver Cromwell — A Memoir. According to Hartzman:
This historical fiction book follows the real history of Cromwell’s head through 300 years of posthumous journeys across England (1661-1960), all told from the head’s perspective. Imagined anecdotes complement the true historical notes, which include many real historical characters and events, such as the rise of Spiritualism, phrenology, the Elephant Man, surgeon John Hunter, and a lot more.
Not only is it the first memoir of an embalmed head, but it is also, I believe, the first book to come with a theme song. It was written and performed by singer/songwriter/pianist Stephie Coplan, whose song, “Hey Oliver Cromwell!” is now available on iTunes and Spotify.
From Weird Universe.
There’s more on the publisher’s site: CuriousPublications.com.
And the book is available via Amazon (Kindle version only in the UK).

amusements, personal

Another A-Z

Just for fun, and because I boringly can’t summon the energy to write something erudite, I thought we’d have another A-Z. So here are your 26 starters …
A: Amusement – People watching
B: Birthday Gift – Gin
C: Cat’s Name – Tuna
D: Dislike – Egg custard
E: Elementary – Chemistry
F: Flowers – Daffodils and old roses
G: Goat or Sheep – Neither except to eat
H: Headache Remedy – Sleep
I: Intelligence – Should easily beat stupidity but seldom does
J: Jam – Apricot
K: King or Queen – The larger the bed the better
L: Luxury – Anything I can’t (or won’t) afford
M: Meat – More pork
N: Night or Day – Quite like both
O: Ornament – Dust-gatherer
P: Primary School – King’s Road
Q: Quirky Possession – Pigeon skull
R: Rock Group – Caravan
S: Sport – Cricket
T: Toffee – Yes, as long as it’s covered in dark chocolate and doesn’t pull my fillings out
U: Umbrella – Work of the Devil
V: Venial Sin – Always
W: Weblog – That’s So Zen
X: XXL – The best size for eggs
Y: Yuck – Being sticky
Z: Zero – Revolutionised mathematics
No I’m not going to tag anyone — join in if you feel inclined.

amusements, medical

Ten Things #19

This month’s “Ten Things” is a bit more unusual. There are many strange diseases out in the wild and some are weirdly named, so I bring you …
Ten Oddly Named Diseases (with the animal/plant affected in parenthesis)

  1. Astrakhan Spotted Fever (humans)
  2. Flaccid Trunk Disease (elephants)
  3. O’nyong-nyong fever (humans)
  4. Whirling Disease (trout)
  5. Lime Witches’ Broom Phytoplasma (citrus trees)
  6. Wobbly Possum Disease (possums)
  7. Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (humans)
  8. Huanglongbing (citrus trees)
  9. Motley Dwarf Disease (carrots)
  10. Corridor Disease (bovines)
amusements, history, ramblings, topographical

Oddity of the Week: Monorail

According to the Monorail Society website, the first ever passenger carrying monorail was in my home town, at Cheshunt:

1825 — Cheshunt Railway
The first passenger carrying monorail celebrated a grand opening June 25th, 1825. It had a one-horse power engine … literally. Based on a 1821 patent by Henry Robinson Palmer, the Cheshunt Railway was actually built to carry bricks, but made monorail history by carrying passengers at its opening.


And I’m pleased to have been on the world’s oldest monorail which is still in operation: the Wuppertal Schwebebahn (above) which is also the only public passenger carrying dangling railway. It is certainly an interesting ride.

amusements, beliefs

Oddity of the Week: Approved Reincarnation

China is notorious for its efforts to control things in Tibet but the law that the Chinese government passed in 2007 was beyond absurd. According to the law it’s illegal for Tibetan Buddhist monks to reincarnate without the government´s permission.


On 3 August 2007 China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs issued a decree that all reincarnations of Tibetan Buddhist monks must have government approval, otherwise they are “illegal or invalid”. The decree states

It is an important move to institutionalize management on reincarnation of living Buddhas. The selection of reincarnates must preserve national unity and solidarity of all ethnic groups and the selection process cannot be influenced by any group or individual from outside the country.

It also requires that temples which apply for reincarnation of a living Buddha must be

legally-registered venues for Tibetan Buddhism activities and are capable of fostering and offering proper means of support for the living Buddha.

Reincarnation applications have to be submitted to four governmental bodies for approval: the religious affairs department of the provincial-level government; the provincial-level government; State Administration for Religious Affairs; and the State Council.
All of which is sadly part of China’s efforts to sideline the current Dalai Lama and take control of the selection (when the time comes) of both the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama.
For more see http://humansarefree.com/2011/02/china-bans-reincarnation-without.html and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Religious_Affairs_Bureau_Order_No._5.