Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Colossus of Rhodes stood for the shortest period of time — roughly 55 years. Sources vary as to the exact number, but what’s certain is that the statue existed for a mere blip in the annals of history. (By comparison, the Great Pyramid of Giza has stood for more than 4,500 years.) The Colossus’ creation dates back to the siege of the Greek island of Rhodes in 305 BCE, when the Macedonian ruler Demetrius I led an ultimately futile attempt to capture the city and harbor. As his army abandoned its efforts the following year, they left behind their supplies and equipment, which the city later sold off for profit. With this unexpected windfall, Rhodian officials commissioned a celebratory statue of the Greek sun god Helios, the patron god of Rhodes.
Greek sculptor Chares of Lindos was tasked with building the colossal 108-foot-tall statue; he began around 292 BCE, and the work lasted for 12 years. Though the sculpture’s exact location is unknown, it’s believed to have stood on the harbor’s eastern side, and was likely made of iron and stone coated with bronze. The Colossus stood triumphantly for five decades, but it fell around 226 BCE when an earthquake struck the region and toppled the great wonder. Its remnants were scattered around until 654 CE, when invading Arabian forces gathered and sold what remained of the statue. There was so much debris that it’s said to have taken more than 900 camel loads to transport.
Punxsutawney Phil — the star of Groundhog Day — has a big job. Every February 2, the furry critter is responsible for encouraging (or dashing) our dreams of an early end to winter. However, it seems that basing our meteorological forecasts on a den-dwelling mammal’s shadow may not be the wisest bet. By some estimates, Phil’s forecasts have had a mere 39% accuracy rate since they began in 1887 (although data from some early years is missing). In recent years, the groundhog’s predictions have been about as accurate as a coin toss; according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Phil was spot-on 50% of the time between 2011 and 2020.
The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club — the group responsible for Phil’s care and the official Groundhog Day ceremony — has said in the past that Phil is always correct, and that Phil’s handlers are to blame for any inaccuracies, suggesting that in those instances they likely misinterpreted the “groundhogese” he speaks and inaccurately relayed his message.
The tradition of watching groundhogs search for their shadow as a means of winter forecasting came to the U.S. from German immigrants, who brought with them celebrations of Candlemas Day. Observed on February 2, the holiday commemorates when the Virgin Mary went to Jerusalem’s holy temple to be purified 40 days after Jesus’ birth. Celebrants of old noted that a sunny holiday likely indicated snow to come in late spring. The original Germanic tradition required observing a badger or hedgehog, but immigrants found that groundhogs (native to North America) were a good enough substitute, saddling the rotund rodents with the job of predicting spring’s arrival — a tradition that’s drawn thousands of onlookers to Punxsutawney each February for more than 130 years.
At the moment it is hard to imagine that a worse choice could have been made to be President of the United States. This person is a felon, convicted 34 times over. He is a rapist by conviction of the courts. He is a bully and with what is presently happening it is safe to say that he is mentally sick. Suffering from delugens of grandeur and a belief that he rules everything and everyone, not only in the US but the world as he challenges nations about the legitamacy of the space they occupy. Green Land and the Panama Canal and how those should rightfully belong under the control of Trump.
Crazy leaders have been around for a long time, but most do not stay in charge for very long. Before all of the republican party members roll over and play dead and confirm the nominations of equally as insane people as Trump the sane people need to put a stop to it. What will it take? Do we look forward to another Jan 6 episode? Will there be attempts of the leathal variety or is there a clause in our Constitution that can be implemented to end this madness without spilling blood?
The issue to remove him for mental problems is that we are facing a stacked deck. With majorities of unwilling Representatives and Senators as well as a bias Supreme Court getting support to move forward does not look positive. This should be a no brainer even for the GOP as Trump is not going to be around for much longer. He is hoping to get a third term and he is betting that he makes through this one, should choke on a french fry.
The remodeling of our government is long overdue. We have had very little impact on the system since the 60's and that is a damn shame. Getting Congress back in our control for our benefit is primary and needs to happen. If we must start at the state level to control elections and the way they are run, then somehow the group or groups that should be most involved need to get on the ball and take charge.
The tragedy and unnecessary airline, helicopter crash is another example of the incompetence of this administration, especially the man with the pen and assumed powers to do as he pleases. Everyone that lost a loved one in that crash should sue Trump for wrongful death, and just to add more money to the pot, go after all the donors that put in a million or more for his reelection. This idea that getting rid of people for the sake of lining your own pockets will come home to rest. Air Force 1 depends on those air traffic controllers just like every other aircraft. Put that plane in a holding pattern, or delay the takeoff because of any old thing you can think of and I would bet there will be a complete shit show of temper and self importance.
The temper tantrum and purges that Trump is pulling screem mental illness. Why has no one started the procedure to get him confined and out of the oval office? People in the military that exibited this type of problems were not given clearances or had them taken away, and this yoyo is supposed to be the President. If it were possible for pictures to cry it is a sure bet that the ones hung in the rotuna would have cried on Jan 6, both in 2020 and 2024. Our founding fathers did not risk everything to have it taken away by someone that has truly come of the rails of sanity. It is possible someone is working on this and keeping it quiet until ready, but it must be done or our entire way of life will go down the tubes.
When we take back the government we need to take back some other things as well. Get rid of "Coorparations are People too" and the clause that gave Congress the ability to vote their own pay and benefits without asking "We The People". Taking the ability of the wealthy out of politics and putting them back among the normal concept of one person one vote will improve We the People ability to make our government work for us. This would also take away the idea that speaking out against party lines is a sure end to a career. Individuals run for office either for good reasons, to serve those that sent them there, or for self serving reasons and they are soon idenitfied and should be eliminated, but without a huge compensations package.
The FBI is being hit with firing anyone that anything to do with investigations of Trump. More petty bull shit from a man that should be arrested and put in a padded cell for his personal protection. The Secret Service, if doing their job, would look at the oath they took to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC. He is trying to destory the Constitution, what bigger threat could there be? Lock Him Up.
Beer is as old as history — and by some counts, even older. Many experts assert that the emergence of Sumerian cuneiform in the fourth millennium BCE marks the beginning of recorded history. Similarly, the first hard evidence of beer brewing also comes from the Sumerians of Mesopotamia, in a town called Godin Tepe (now part of Iran). In 1992, archaeologists there discovered traces of beer in jar fragments dated around 3500 BCE. However, some scholars suggest that beer is as old as grain agriculture itself — which would put the boozy beverage’s invention at around 10,000 BCE, somewhere in the Fertile Crescent.
Strangely (or not), thousands of Sumerian tablets make mention of beer. In fact, it even makes an appearance in the Epic of Gilgamesh, often regarded as the oldest surviving piece of literature. But among all these references, no recipes for this ancient brew were ever recorded. The closest thing to step-by-step instructions is a text known as the Hymn to Ninkasi (aka the goddess of beer). Written around 1800 BCE, this hymn describes the malts, cooked mash, and vats used in the beer-making process. It seems that Sumerian beer had mostly two ingredients: malted barley and beer bread, or bappir, which introduced yeast for fermentation. The beer was then drunk from communal jars, and its sediments were largely filtered out by drinking the concoction from reed straws. In 1989, the Anchor Brewing Company of San Francisco worked with anthropologists to recreate this Sumerian concoction; they deemed their results “drinkable.” Thankfully, beer has undergone significant innovations since its invention thousands of years ago.
The reedy hum of bagpipes calls to mind tartan attire and the loch-filled lands of Scotland, which is why it might be surprising to learn that the wind-powered instruments weren’t created there. Music historians believe bagpipes likely originated in the Middle East, where they were first played by pipers thousands of years ago. The earliest bagpipe-like instruments have been linked to the Egyptians around 400 BCE, though a sculpture from the ancient Hittites — a former empire set in present-day Turkey — from around 1000 BCE may also resemble bagpipes.
Bagpipes slowly made their way throughout Europe, occasionally played by notable names in history like Roman Emperor Nero, and becoming widespread enough to be depicted in medieval art and literature. By the 15th century they had made their way to Scotland, where Highland musicians added their own influence. By some accounts, they modified the pipesto their modern appearance, by adding more drones, which emit harmonized sounds. Highland musicians also began the practice of hereditary pipers, aka passing the knowledge and skill of bagpiping through families, along with the duty of playing for Scottish clan leaders. All pipers of the time learned music by ear and memorization, a necessity considering the first written music for the pipes may not have appeared until the 18th century. One family — the MacCrimmons of the Scottish island of Skye — was particularly known for its influence in bagpiping, with six generations continuing the art, composing music, and teaching through their own piping college in the 17th and 18th centuries.
It’s been 10 days since the national nightmare started but it feels like a hell of a lot longer.
Promising to be a dictator, the malignant tumor has been true to his threat, he has started ICE raids even rounding up citizens because they happen to be brown. Now he is going to expand Guantánamo for his personal concentration camp for those he deems threats to his authoritarian rule. Military flights to Columbia that he said were full of dangerous Illegals were in fact comprised of women and children, several of the women pregnant… I guess that is one way of avoiding birth right citizenship for those children.
If that weren’t enough his newly anointed Secretary of Defense is waging his own war on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) immediately banning Transgender troops, I am sure homosexuality will be banned next, then women… and for those women that remain if they happen to be victims of sexual violence that will be their own fault. (Kinda like Saudi Arabia) Now they have announced that the military will not observe MLK day, Black History Month, Pride Month, Hispanic Heritage… and they are changing all the bases that were renamed for Confederate Generals back to recognize the Confederacy. I guess the moto is make ‘White Right Again’.
As a nation we have been ignoring the way we started, the original sin of the United States, but this administration wants to celebrate it. The rounding up of anyone they determine not legitimately here, I am afraid, will turn into 21 century American slavery. The mega rich will get richer and everyone else will struggle to survive… thank you MAGA.
As with Santa Claus, the legend of Robin Hood has spread across many cultures through the centuries as an emblem of merriment, generosity, and other lovable aspects of human nature. Whether he’s robbing the rich to give to the poor, outwitting the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham, or laughing it up with his Merry Men in Sherwood Forest, the heroic outlaw has been immortalized through song, in print, and on the big screen by way of dashing A-listers from Douglas Fairbanks to Russell Crowe.
But unlike with Santa, there’s something inherently realistic about this English folk hero. There are no flying reindeer in his tales — only flying arrows that highlight his skill as a marksman. And while he embodies such noble values as friendship, loyalty, and devotion to justice, he achieves his goals without the kind of extra-worldly powers that prominently feature in a superhero movie. As a result, it’s not surprising that many historians over the years have sought to pinpoint whether there was an actual Robin Hood — or at least a real-life inspiration for the legend.
Part of the problem with taking on that task is sorting through Robin’s shifting identity in the various historical works that mention him. Depending on where you look, Robin Hood was either a yeoman or a fallen noble; a native of Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, or Barnsdale; a veteran of the Crusades or territorial battles against the Normans; and a contemporary of King John, Henry III, or Edward III.
So perhaps it’s best to start by digging into the original material. The first ballads devoted to his exploits — A Gest of Robyn Hode, Robin Hood and the Monk, and Robin Hood and the Potter — are all dated to the 15th century. Familiar elements of Robin emerge from these narratives, including his camaraderie with Little John and his clashes with the Sheriff of Nottingham. On the other hand, there’s no specific mention of redistributing wealth between the rich and the poor, and these early versions of Robin possess a pious devotion to the Virgin Mary instead of a yearning for Maid Marian.
But these tales aren’t the earliest surviving mentions of the famed forest bandit. That distinction goes to the allegorical poem Piers Plowman, penned by William Langland circa 1377, which references a chaplain’s fluency with the “rymes of Robyn Hood.” In other words, Robin was already an established character in late-14th-century England.
Going back even further, we find what seems to be an important clue: The records of numerous 13th-century English towns list crimes perpetrated by a “Robehod,” “Rabunhod,” or other similarly named individuals. Thanks to careful cross-checking by researchers, which revealed that some of these monikers had been changed from their original form, we know that these variations of “Robin Hood” were commonly given to criminals of the time period.
Perhaps these names were derived from one particularly famous outlaw? That’s the theory of longtime U.K. National Archives employee David Crook, who points to a criminal named Robert of Wetherby, aka Robert Hod, as ground zero of the legend. According to Crook’s research, a manhunt spearheaded by the sheriff of the town of Nottingham led to the high-profile capture and execution of Wetherby in 1225. As the heavy taxes of the era were understandably unpopular throughout Henry III’s kingdom, it’s certainly possible that an authority-defying figure like Wetherby became a folk hero among his fellow disgruntled subjects.
Following a different trail of clues, retired lecturer and author David Baldwin is among those who suggest that Robin’s real-life inspiration was drawn from another royal antagonist named Roger Godberd. A fugitive after participating in Simon De Montfort’s failed rebellion in the 1260s, Godberd was known to terrorize wealthy travelers from his hideout in Sherwood Forest, and even once managed to escape imprisonment following his capture by the Nottingham sheriff.
Other historians have noted the similarities between Robin Hood and even earlier English outlaws. Both Fulk FitzWarren, a temperamental lord who clashed with King John, and Eustace the Monk, a man of the cloth turned pirate, were early-13th-century figures who saw their lives embellished in verse. According to the texts, both men camped out in the woods and managed to capture a local sheriff or count through deceptive means; specific lines from A Gest of Robin Hoodare seemingly lifted from these predecessors’ stories.
Or maybe the real Robin was a proponent of law and order as opposed to a thorn in the side of the English crown? To some, that presents a strong case for William of Kensham, a loyalist who rose from obscurity to help stop Louis VIII’s takeover of Britain from 1216 to 1217. Known for his skill with the longbow, and for ambushing French troops in the forests of southeast England, William was widely celebrated for his successes and may well have inspired subsequent generations with his record of gallantry.
Ultimately, given the lack of concrete information about his origins and the plausibility of several candidates, we’ll likely never know for sure whether this merriest of outlaws was inspired by one particular person. What we can say with more certainty is that the Robin Hood we know today is a composite of both real-life figures and the ruminations of numerous storytellers, his legend having been constantly reshaped, broken down, and reimagined into one that has endured for the ages.
We have got a DICKtator in the White House. He is pulling out all the stops with the executive orders and firing people and even going so far as to tell other countries what they will and won’t do, on his authority. He has never been sane as in normal, with even the slightest sense of humanity or compassion. If that isn’t a sign of mental illness, what is? He was calling for Biden to be removed because of “declining mental problems” so why is no one calling for removal on the basis of outright insanity?
It would seem that some of the mental problems must be catching when Senators say they are unconcerned about the actions taken by the King. The Supreme Court did give him the power to do as he likes without consequence which would indicate that the disease has spread to multiple people. How many more are sporting the illness and where is the vaccine? Our Constitution is written with the “We the People” determine the way things should be done, not we sit on our hands and let power hungry idiots determine our fate.
The order to comfirm all of the people Trump named for cabinet positions is another reason to not comfirm them. The school yard bully is back at the gate trying to steal everyones lunch money. This is serious, we are looking at who is setting in the chairs of investigations, intelligence, and medical issues and he wants to put unqualified, beliegerent and loyal only to him people in charge. The nation is at risk with this type of damned foolishness. He managed to get the defense dept head in and that will mean Pete is going to attempt to put together a loyalist military unit that will go and do whatever is asked of them without question.
Esoteric Meandering Shouting Into the Void 
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