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The Blogmanac: "On This Day" ... and much more
Think universally. Act terrestrially.
For in a hard-working society, it is rare and even subversive to celebrate too much, to revel and keep on reveling: to stop whatever you're doing and rave, pray, throw things, go into trances, jump over bonfires, drape yourself in flowers, stay up all night, and scoop the froth from the sea.
Anneli Rufus*
Former Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam (pictured at left), while he and Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen were both in office, called Joh (pictured at right) "that Bible-bashing bastard". Now Joh is dead, at 94, and the bastard who presided over one of Australia's most corrupt State governments, will be given a State funeral.
For almost two decades Joh's regime was notorious for unbridled environmental destruction, for union bashing and the persecution of free-thinkers and protesters. Joh was a great one for using the legal processes for his weird ends, and Australia has archaic defamation laws that help people like Joh get away with their activities, so today is the first chance I've had to call him a bastard too.
Columnist Phillip Adams, compared Sir Joh with Peter Sellers' character, the moronic Chance, in the movie, Being There: "Both (Joh and Ronald Reagan) have visions as limited as their vocabularies, yet both these grotesque garden gnomes are seen as colossi by their deluded followers. The louder we laughed at them, the more powerful they became. The more improbable their careers, the more certain their ascendancy."
Bye-bye, Joh. We get the last laugh, because we know how much you wanted to see Jesus.
* Ø * Ø * Ø *
"During his 19 years in power, Sir Joh was renowned for his 'can-do' attitude towards development, and his uncompromising approach to unionists, protesters and political opponents.
"In the late 1980s, the Fitzgerald Inquiry into corruption became increasingly embarrassing for his government.
"As the situation came to a head, Sir Joh tried unsuccessfully to sack five ministers for disloyalty, but instead he was dumped by his party and ultimately resigned as premier on December 1, 1987.
"In 1991 he fought a perjury charge arising from the Fitzgerald Inquiry, but a district court jury could not reach a verdict." Source: ABC News
Feast day of St George, 'The Great Martyr', patron of England (Harebell, Hyacinthus non scriptus, was designated today’s plant by medieval monks. It is dedicated to St George, whose feast day this is.)
King Edward III (1312 - 1377) adopted St George as the patron of England, and today is the National Day of that nation. Ever since this saint supposedly came to the aid of English crusaders during their campaign at Antioch in 1098, he has been popular in England.
He was probably a Roman officer, a martyr who died at Diospolis, ie Lydda, in Palestine before the time of Constantine during the Diocletian persecution of Christians, according to hagiographer Alban Butler. The Greeks called him The Great Martyr. Pope Benedict XIV recognised him as Protector of the Kingdom of England and Edward III instituted the Order of the Garter under his name and ensign.
His legendary slaying of the dragon is an allegory for the triumph of good over evil. One day in Libya, St George came upon a swamp-dwelling dragon. The locals offered it two sheep each day in appeasement, but, having run out of sheep, had begun sacrificing humans selected by lot. When the lot fell on the daughter of the king, no one would take her place but St George saved the princess by slaying the creature.
St George may well be a version of the Greek chimera-slayer, Bellerophon, and the northern European hero, Sigurd the Dragonslayer, who is Siegfried in the Wagnerian opera. Possibly, too, the legend of St Michael and the slaying of his dragon might have been conflated with the story of St George ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with many more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date (or your birthday) when you're there.
"Hyderabad, April 20. (UNI): Top Indian designers Hemant Trevedi, Wendell Rodericks, Rohit Bal, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Ashley Rebello, Jatin Kochar and animal rights campaigner, Anita Dongre, have pledged 'not to use Australian merino wool until live exports and mulesing (lamb mutilations) end', the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India announced on Tuesday.
"In a signed statement to PETA India, the designers have said they would not use leather or wool, out of concern for animals. India is the third-largest importer of Australian wool. During 2002-2003, Australia supplied around 60 per cent of India's raw wool imports and almost all its apparel-grade wool.
"PETA's international campaign against the live flaying of the rump of the lamb - as a cheap way to prevent maggot infestation - and the cruel export of live sheep abroad in open-deck ships in extreme weather conditions, has led to protests spanning three continents.
"There has been a fast-growing international boycott of Australian wool, the NGO said in a statement here on Tuesday." Source: The Hindu
This bloody disgrace is called Mulesing "Can you imagine the public outcry if someone grabbed a dog and sliced away skin and flesh the size of a dinner plate from around its anus and tail with a pair of shears and without anaesthetic.
"Well Australian protection laws, whilst prohibiting such cruelty on companion animals, allow this gory primitive act to be carried out on millions of sheep each year." Source
What a great song, and I just found out what it meant ... I mean the original 'Minnie the Moocher' by Cab Calloway. He recorded it in 1930, just on 50 years before it was used in The Blues Brothers. I was wondering what 'kick the gong' meant, and found it here. It means to smoke opium, and when Minnie did it, she had opium dreams of all kinds. And I guess we all know what a 'coker' is. That Minnie was quite a bad gal (but she had a heart as big as a whale).
But even more interesting, maybe, is the use of the word 'bloke', which I thought was English and Aussie, but not American. Hmmm ...
Hey folks here’s the story ’bout minnie the moocher She was a lowdown hoocie coocher She was the roughest toughest frail But minnie had a heart as big as a whale
She messed around with a bloke named smokie She loved him though he was cokey He took her down to chinatown And showed her how to kick the gong around
Hidehidehidehi (hidehidehidehi) Whoah (whoah) Hedehedehedehe (hedehedehedehe) A hidehidehideho (hidehidehideho)
She had a dream about the king of sweden He gave her things that she was needin’ He gave her a home built of gold and steel A diamond car with platinum wheels
A hidehidehidehidehidehidehi (hidehidehidehidehidehidehi) Hodehodehodehodehodehodeho (hodehodehodehodehodehodeho) ... (...) ... (...)
He gave her his townhouse and his racing horses Each meal she ate was a dozen courses Had a million dollars worth of nickels and dimes She sat around and counted them all a million times
"[Australia] A civil libertarian wants the Federal Government to clarify its position on the death penalty after nine Australians were arrested in Bali for heroin smuggling.
"Australian Council for Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman says it appears they were about to board a plane to Australia when they were arrested.
"Mr O'Gorman says he cannot understand why the Australian Federal Police (AFP) passed information to Indonesian authorities rather than waiting to make the arrest themselves.
"He says then they could have faced the Australian justice system ...
"'They have been arrested in Indonesia where they will be executed,' he said.
"'If we're in effect exporting the death penalty of Australians to other countries and if there has in effect, been a change in Government policy, then let's hear about it.'" Source: ABC News
[I am flabbergasted that the Australian government has allowed this to happen and that the Leader of the Opposition, Labor leader Kim 'Bomber' Beazley, is going along with it. Once we had a Labor Party that strenuously opposed the death penalty. In fact, once we had a Labor Party.]
"NEW DELHI, HYDERABAD, APRIL 17: Farmers' groups and civil society organisations across the country have expressed deep concerns over the country's regulatory authority approving new biotech (Bt) cotton hybrids for cultivation in new areas when the case for extension of the approval period for three such varieties under cultivation has become controversial.
"As part of the Global Week of Action (GWA) being celebrated worldwide, several civil society and farmers' groups have stepped up the campaign against 'unwarranted approval of new Bt cotton hybrids, when the case for old varieties remains undecided.' ...
"Some civil society groups have conducted scientific studies, which show the failure of Bt cotton in south India. The Secunderabad-based Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) conducted a study under the leadership of Dr GV Ramanjaneyulu and entomologist Dr SMA Ali, which showed the failure of Bt cotton in Warangal and Medak districts of Andhra Pradesh. A similar study conducted by Dr Abdul Qayum and Kiran Sakkhari on behalf of the Deccan Development Society (DDS), Andhra Pradesh Coalition in Defence of Diversity and Permaculture Association of India bared farmers suffering from heavy losses on account of Bt cotton cultivation. The district authority of Warangal has asked Mahyco Monsanto to compensate the farmers for the losses.
"Also, studies conducted by the Gene Campaign, Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology and Greenpeace India have shown the failure of Bt cotton in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil nadu. Eminent scientist and Padma Bhushan awardee Dr Pushpa M Bhargava has gone on record saying that Bt cotton has failed to live up to expectations. So far, only one survey which was conducted by an advertising and market research agency, IMRB on behalf on Monsanto India has attested to the success of Bt cotton cultivation. However, the CSA has refuted point-by-point the survey conducted by IMRB." Source: financialexpress.com
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Joh goes
Feast day of St George, 'The Great Martyr', patron of England
Top Indian designers to boycott Australian wool
