As well as everything else, each month I offer you something to think about and get the brain working. This month …
Actors pretend to work.
Tag Archives: zenmischief
September Quiz Questions
Each month we’re posing six pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. As always, they’re designed to be difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers – so have a bit of fun.
Literature
- Which Tolstoy novel begins “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”?
- Who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016?
- Who wrote A Child’s History of England?
- Who succeeded Wordsworth as Poet Laureate in Nov 1850?
- Apart from his novels, what is Anthony Trollope remembered for?
- Which two-word term was popularised by a 1948 Robert Heinlein novel of the same name, which inspired a science fiction franchise centring on a character named Tom Corbett?
Answers will be posted in 2 weeks time.
September 1925
Our look at some of the significant happenings 100 years ago this month.
3. The Second International Conference on the Standardization of Medicine was held in Geneva, with the goal of standardizing drug formulae worldwide.
7. Born. Laura Ashley, Welsh designer (d.1985)
13. Born. Mel Tormé, jazz singer, in Chicago (d.1999)
16. Born. Charles Haughey, Taoiseach of Ireland; in Castlebar (d.2006)
Unblogged August
My usual round up of things I didn’t otherwise write about this month.
Saturday 2
Everything is so early this year. Today I noticed the first yellow leaves on the Gleditsia in the street outside our house. Now I know it’s the last to come into leaf and the first to turn in the autumn, but this is ridiculously early (like maybe 4 weeks) even for Gleditsia.
Monday 4
So I was sitting on the loo first thing this morning, and felt a tickling on my right leg. Looking there’s a wasp crawling up my shin. It’s fairly dopey, so probably not long for this world. Anyway, I caught it, identified it as a worker Vespula vulgaris (no surprise there) and released it outside into Nature’s care.
Tuesday 5
An interesting, and useful 45 minutes with N’s (new, young) renal consultant today. He says he’s going to be attached to N’s renal centre for 6 months, so maybe we’ll get some stability. If he is as good as he came over then we might make some progress, as he seems happy to try to push things along. Even better he was communicative and took the time to stop and explain things as well as asking some fairly searching questions of N. He was also quite willing to admit that the NHS is very good at finding ways of kicking the can further down the road! I’m hopeful, but I won’t hold my breath.
But why are hospitals such dreadful gloomy places? They try with the main public areas, but once you get off the main thoroughfare you’d have more ambiance in an old submarine. They’re dreadful! They need to be bright and cheerful everywhere; it would help both staff and patients.
Sunday 10
I’m struggling with which radio station to have on the alarm clock. Currently the alarm is BBC Radio 3, so classical music, but I’m getting fed up with them advertising other Radio 3 programmes (and always the same few) between every piece of music – and most of the music they play is boring mainstream classical. I chose Radio 3 because I can’t take loads of adverts, but want music, and not mindless pop. But there seems to be no alternative; every other station is either awash with adverts or mindless music. The clock/radio doesn’t have a CD player, or any connectivity; and music through the Google assistant things sounds dreadful. Where does one go without spending unnecessary cash?
Monday 11
So today comes news that we’ve lost one of the very first literary society members. Well he was 103! An American and a real gentleman, who was part of the American administration in Japan after WW2, and then a Fulbright Scholar in London in the late 1940s/early 1950s. He became a Professor of Public Administration at Syracuse, and was a book collector who had wide-ranging interests across almost all the arts and beyond. Although I didn’t meet him many times, I shall certainly remember him with great affection as a real and erudite gentleman.
Wednesday 13
Blimey, it’s still hot and humid. Although at 27°C it’s several degrees cooler than yesterday. But 79% humidity is on the high side – and it’s going to be worse overnight with the forecast for 89% humidity at dawn tomorrow. Today has been uncomfortable; yesterday was unbearable.
Thursday 14
Yet again a day of getting nothing I wanted done. The get-up-and-go had gone off somewhere else. I did however manage to spend a load of money – but I resisted spending even more, which I guess is a result.
Friday 15
Today is the first ever Home Nudist Day – a low=pressure day dedicated to people who choose to live clothes-free in the privacy of their own space. Whether you’re just lounging around, tending the garden, or working from home in the nude, this lifestyle fosters body acceptance, mental peace, and emotional freedom. For me home nudity is all about being comfortable, liberal, eccentric (which is how I was brought up) and not giving a fuck. After all many, like me, practice their nudism at home because they have no easily accessible social nudist opportunities (eg. clubs, swimming sessions). There’s an article on Home Nudist Day at https://www.planetnude.co/p/a-new-day-for-home-nudists; and I’ve written here about nudism many times, notably at https://zenmischief.com/on-nudity-and-naturism/ (or do a search on “nudism”).
Saturday 16
Now here’s a curiosity. I was eating some cherries for breakfast, and you know how sometimes you find a pair of cherries, and very, very occasionally three, conjoined. Well today I had four joined at the stem. I’ve never seen this before, and even N – who grew up with the fruit trade – said she’d never seen it either.
And, yes, I know it’s all to do with where the stems join and how they’re picked, so it’s not entirely natural.
Tuesday 19
What an awful day. One of those where the mood is very depressed and there’s no get up and go. A real struggle to do anything other than fall asleep. Why do I always feel worse when N isn’t here? – something always drags me down.
Wednesday 20
The gardener was here and as it was dry and not cold I spent the afternoon sitting outside repotting some of the larger houseplants. Sent the gardener away with a clutch of Sansevieria to pot on or propagate. A shower was required afterwards!
Thursday 21
Why is it always just before a bank holiday? Today I have a UTI. Luckily I got a phone call with my GP and have some antibiotics on the way. But it doesn’t do anything good for the depression.
Sunday 24
Cannot shift this UTI and its effects. Actual UTI seems better, not best. But still discomfort round bladder; temperature up & down; etc. I see a trip to the GP coming on again.
Wednesday 27
I don’t know. I can’t cope. I’m deeply fed up with it all. Still haven’t fully shifted this UTI and it’s associated crap. Call placed to doctors yesterday, but they’ll not be too interested until I finish the antibiotics tomorrow. Not enough sleep last night isn’t helping. So N has had to go interview her specialist on her own which was not intended. Bugger!
Thursday 28
Early this evening there was some fairly heavy rain together with bright late sunshine. Surprise, surprise, a good rainbow; always easily visible from the study window. I can never remember the suggested exposure settings for rainbows, so inevitably end up grabbing shots on “auto everything”; not ideal but I’d rather capture the moment than lose it looking stuff up, especially knowing I can tweak up the settings digitally. Note the very faint second rainbow on the right.
At the same time the hips on the rose which has grown to the top of our silver birch tree were bathed in golden sunlight, looking like strings of red fairy lights. I had to try, although I’ve never been very successful before as the hips are too small. I think this is about the best shot I’ve ever managed.
[As usual larger photos by clicking the image.]
Friday 29
Processed the rest of my resent photos, but I’m keeping the best under wraps for now! 😊
Sunday 31
Well I suppose it serves me right for leaving them by an open window … but bugger! My chilli plants are covered in whitefly. They’ve been relegated to the shower and sprayed (one of the few times I will use an insect spray); surroundings in study also given a good spray. I picked the ripe chillies before spraying, so they’re edible; but the 3 or so decent sized ones left on the plants really aren’t so I’ll let them ripen and keep them for seed. After that I think I’ll retire the plants as they’re already in their third summer and not being as productive. Then we can start over next Spring. Not that we need to grow more chillies as we already have a freezer full!
Links for August
Here’s our August collection of links to interesting items you may (or may not) have missed.
Science, Technology, Natural World
Good scientists update their theories and change their minds. What happens when the do? [££££]
Or to look at it another way, there is much weirdness, and the best we can do is to try to understand the underlying rules.
Because, for example, the Universe is static. No, it’s expanding. Or slowing? Or accelerating. Depending on who and when you are. [££££]
Meanwhile they’ve discovered a new moon orbiting Uranus – assuming you can call a piece of rock 10km in diameter a moon. [££££]
And it seems that Betelgeuse may have a small stellar companion.
After which we shouldn’t be surprised that Earth gets bombarded by meteorites from outside our solar system [££££], or that some manage to crash land here.
Continuing to look up, we’re still trying to understand what triggers lightning; and it seems to be all down to exploding stars!
From above our heads to under our feet … Earth’s core is leaking out.
Now lets turn to the animal kingdom … a small ancient whale with razor-sharp teeth an huge eyes has been unearthed in Australia.
Antarctic Leopard Seals sing to attract a mate, and their songs are very similar to nursery rhymes!
There’s a new theory that our primate ancestors evolved in colder regions and not in the tropics.
Research has confirmed that cats develop dementia in a very similar way to humans developing Alzheimer’s.
All hail the Rat King – maybe.
A new study has found that “sex reversal” is surprisingly common in birds.
They keep telling me that wasp numbers in UK have been unusually high this summer after a warm and dry Spring. All I can say is “Not here”; wasps are almost absent.
Now finally in this section, a complete change of subject … a sports scientist has looked at how strip colour impacts performance particularly in Premier League football.
Health, Medicine
Do we visualize dreams in colour or black and white?
While different diseases spread via different methods, there’s a scale of contagion.
Is it actually possible to break your penis? Spoiler: yes, and it needs emergency action.
On which note … why some penises are curved?
Environment & Ecology
Scientists have used existing air pollution monitors to assess environmental DNA (eDNA) to discover what lives nearby.
Natural England is reporting the recovery of 150 struggling species of plants and animals.
Southern Small White butterfly has been seen in the UK for first time.
A study is suggesting that reintroduced lynx could thrive in Northumberland.
Social Sciences, Business, Law, Politics
We know that the Mercator projection used for most maps of the world distorts the relative sizes of continents, and now the African Union has joined calls for and end to the projection’s use.
Art, Literature, Language, Music
There’s a Christian principle of “hate the sin but not the sinner” which we seem to have totally lost – artist Eric Gill is, again, a current target – as it’s now a case of “hate the sin, and the sinner, and their works; and airbrush the whole from existence”.
History, Archaeology, Anthropology
A previously unknown species of Australopithecus (our ancestors) has been identified from some teeth. [££££]
Still with teeth, an ancient cow’s tooth may help unlock some of the mysteries of Stonehenge.
Slowly coming up to date … a 2,500-year-old Siberian “ice mummy” had intricate tattoos
A new analysis reveals that the Vikings were addicted to silver and just how far they would travel to obtain it.
Archaeologists have happened upon the tomb of an ancient Mayan city’s first ruler.
Meanwhile all classes of ancient Incan used coded strings of hair for record keeping.
DNA analysis of some early medieval English skeletons has revealed some surprising West African ancestry. [££££]
On the return of the equestrian statue of Charles I to Charing Cross.
Still with the Restoration, their women were much more creative than has been perceived.
HMS Northumberland – built 1679 as part of Samuel Pepys’s modernisation of the Navy – sank in the Great Storm of 1703, but is only now revealing its secrets.
London
And finally for this month … Three articles on transport for London …
* London’s First Bus
* The colourful history of London’s Traffic Lights
* An old Underground train breaks a world record.
What Happened in 1525
Here’s our next instalment of things that happened in ..25 years of yore.
Some Notable Events in 1525
21 January. The Anabaptist Movement is Born.when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in the home of Manz’s mother on Neustadt-Gasse, Zürich.
24 February. Died. Richard de la Pole, last Yorkist claimant to the English throne.
28 February. The last Aztec Emperor, Cuauhtémoc, is killed by Hernan Cortés.
20 March. In the German town of Memmingen, the pamphlet The Twelve Articles: The Just and Fundamental Articles of All the Peasantry and Tenants of Spiritual and Temporal Powers by Whom They Think Themselves Oppressed is published, the first human rights related document written in Europe.
25 March. Born. Richard Edwardes, English choral musician, playwright and poet (d.1566).
13 June. Martin Luther marries ex-nun Katharina von Bora. The painter Lucas Cranach the Elder is one of the witnesses.
18 June. Henry VIII of England appoints his six-year old illegitimate son Henry FitzRoy Duke of Richmond and Somerset.
29 July. Santa Marta, the first city in Colombia, is founded by Spanish conquistador Rodrigo de Bastidas.
30 August. The French ambassador to England and King Henry VIII sign the Treaty of the More at a castle, “The More”, in Hertfordshire.
14 September. In Switzerland, the burning of most of the book collection of the Stiftsbibliothek of the Grossmünster Abbey in Zurich begins, by order of Huldrych Zwingli, as part of the Swiss Reformation. After 20 days of destruction of a collection built over 250 years, only 470 volumes are left.
10 October. The Earl of Angus, Scotland’s Lord Warden of the March.s in charge of border security on the boundary with England, is able to work out a three-year peace treaty with the Kingdom of England and signs the initial agreement at the English border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
25 November. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor acting in his capacity as the King of Spain, issues an edict ordering the expulsion or conversion of the remaining Muslims in the Crown of Aragon, similar to that issued for the Crown of Castile by Queen Isabella in 1502. The order applies to the Kingdom of Valencia and the Principality of Catalonia.
8 December. A second edict is issued in Spain directing Spanish Muslims to show proof of baptism as Christians or to leave by the deadline of 31 December (for Valencia) or 26 January (for Aragon and Catalonia).
Unknown Date. Born. Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Flemish painter (d.1569).
Unknown Date. European-brought diseases sweep through the Andes, killing thousands, including the Inca.
Unknown Date. Bubonic plague spreads in southern France.
Unknown Date. Printing of the first edition of William Tyndale’s New Testament Bible translation into English in Cologne is interrupted by anti-Lutheran forces and Tyndale flees to Worms (finished copies reach England in l526).
Unknown Date. Printing of Huldrych Zwingli’s New Testament “Zürich Bible” translation into German by Christoph Froschauer begins.
This Month’s Two Tiny Changes
Each month during 2025 we’re offering two tiny changes which may help improve your life. This month …
- Focus on doing what you enjoy. If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. Find the exercise regime, hobbies, recipes, even work that you enjoy and you’ll do them more, and more happily
- Daily meditation. Find a meditation practice that works for you, and commit to doing it at least once a day.
Monthly Quotes for August
As befits this slow news season, here’s this month’s smaller than usual collection of quotes.
Dire dealings with the fiendish race
Had mark’d strange lines upon his face;
Vigil and fast had worn him grim,
His eyesight dazzled seem’d and dim …
[Walter Scott, Marmion]
Life is strange. You arrive with nothing, spend your whole life chasing everything and still leave with nothing. Make sure your soul gains more than your hands.
[unknown]
Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations.
[George Orwell]
There’s a funny thing in fiction, where it’s important that the motivations of the characters are clear to the reader. But in real life, the motivations that any of us have are often not even clear to ourselves!
[Reo Eveleth]
So many people from your past know a version of you that no longer exists anymore.
[Eric Partaker]
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then
I contradict myself
I am large,
I contain mult1tudes
[Walt Whitman]
“Why should we wish to ruminate on your most secret orgies?” said Dr Trelawney. “What profit for us to muse on your nights in the lupanar, your diabolical couplings with the brides of debauch, more culpable than those phantasms of the incubi that rack the dreams of young girls, or the libidinous gymnastics of the goat-god whose ice-cold sperm fathers monsters on writhing witches in coven?”
[Anthony Powell, The Kindly Ones]
#MeFirst
I’ve been thinking recently about personal attitudes and the state of society. There has been a marked shift in the willingness of people to be active in the community, for the greater good of the community.
It’s been happening for quite a while, but has got worse since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. We now live in a world which has shifted away from community spirit to an almost ubiquitous focus on personal gain: “what’s in it for me?”.
People get angry about being inconvenienced. Their plans matter more than public safety, or the community. It’s selfish and ultimately destructive.
We’ve lost the civilising philosophy of “Do unto others as you would wish them to do unto you”.
As I say, this was happening before COVID; however the isolation of lockdown, the fear, and in many countries the indifference (or worse) of government have multiplied this “me first” attitude. Everything has become focussed on “how does this affect me?” rather than the broader picture of “how does this protect us?”, “how does this benefit the community?” or even “do I really need this?”.
Freedom has shifted from living peacefully with others in society, within the law, to “I can (and will) be allowed do whatever I want, regardless of anyone else”. That’s not to say that we should all be mindless, conforming drones. There is still, and always must be, a place for free speech, a variety of opinion, demonstration, and challenging the status quo. Nor am I saying that self-care doesn’t matter. But we’ve been brainwashed into a view that everything is a service we pay for (especially when it’s free!) and is therefore a right which must be provided here and now, or else.
This has not been helped by the political modus operandi which has become so polarised that there is no thought of compromise and common ground. Worse, what are people supposed to think when they see the politicians avoid any consequences for their lies, malfeasance and broken promises. The USA is demonstrating this in spades; and they aren’t the only ones. What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
We’ve gone from “we, we, me” to “ME, ME, maybe we”.
We’re seeing this in so many areas. One place I see it is as Chairman of my doctor’s patient group: patients are demanding to always have a face-to-face appointment with their GP – today! – rather than trusting the GP to make a decision based on the clinical need. Because if a phone call is sufficient (as it is in a majority of cases) it benefits everyone: it is less disruptive, quicker, and thus better for everyone as the GP can get to treat more patients (who may be at greater need). But no, I must come first; my desires are paramount.
How many these days voluntarily put themselves forward for community roles? For example: as school governors; as charity workers; as interest group newsletter editors. Judging by the number of organisations advertising (internally or externally) for people, the answer is “very few”. I don’t recall this being an issue when I was younger; there was almost always a volunteer willing to step up. And it is all levels of society, top to bottom, regardless of which method you use to slice the “society cake”.
The idea of contributing, even sacrificing, something for the community has pretty much disappeared. When enough people are putting themselves above the group’s wellbeing, things shift, trust turns to suspicion, every obstruction engenders anger; and the community starts to fracture. When “we” becomes “me” the community dies. Just as we’re currently seeing in society – worldwide.
It’s not so much #metoo as #MeFirst.
There’s a fuller exposition of this in the article When “What’s In It for Me?” Kills Community … . Ignore the naturist foundations to the article; it’s just as appropriate for any community, of any size.
August Quiz Answers
Here are the answers to this month’s six quiz questions. If in doubt, all should be able to be easily verified online.
General History
- How long, in days, was the year 46BC? 445 days; the longest year in human history. It had three extra leap months inserted by Julius Caesar as preparation to make his new Julian Calendar match up with the seasonal year.
- According to the 1516 Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, what are the only ingredients allowed in beer? Water, barley & hops, although yeast was also used but not stated.
- Who was the first woman to die in an aviation-related incident? Sophie Blanchard (a balloonist who died in 1812)
- In what year was the Battle of Lepanto? 1571
- In 1800, the capital of the USA was transferred to Washington DC from which city? Philadelphia
- The War of Jenkins’ Ear (a term coined by British historian Thomas Carlyle), 1739-1748, between Britain and Spain, was fought where? Caribbean
Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2024.