Author: thebookblog

Jinze Rainbow Bridge, Shanghai

Rainbow bridge, Jinze, Shanghai

Countless items that we take for granted in modern life originated in ancient China, from paper and printing, silk to gunpowder, kites, and sophisticated medicine and surgery. However, the Chinese exhibited their greatest skill and ingenuity in the creation of tens of thousands of bridges that were vital in unifying their diverse land. Two thousand years ago, their architects developed iron suspension bridges and daring arch designs that had no rivals in the West until the coming of the industrial age. Whether spanning a yawning gorge or crossing a placid canal, they were masters at integrating function and aesthetics in their bridge construction… Continue reading Jinze Rainbow Bridge, Shanghai

The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty- 2013 Movie

Rating: ★★★★★

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a fantastical action-comedy about an ordinary man with an extremely active imagination.

"Living the Dream"
“Living the Dream”

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This well-known and beloved tale, published in 1939, has launched its famous protagonist into the cultural lexicon, warranting his inclusion in English-language dictionaries and countless anthologies…

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The Church wishes to apologize: Part one

Part One: The Inquisition – Hell on Earth

Giordano_Bruno Giordano Bruno, burnt alive at the Campo di Fiora, Rome, February 17th 1600

First the case of Galileo, the well-known astronomer noted for using the telescope to systematically observe the stars and planets. By writing the book entitled Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, in effect advocating Heliocentrism– Copernicus’ theory the earth revolves around the sun– Galileo took one step too far for the Roman Catholic Inquisition.  The author was ordered to present himself to the court in 1632, but Galileo delayed, being ill and almost 70 years old. He made the trip to Rome the following year, after being threatened with bonds and forced transportation. By order of the pope, he was interrogated and threatened with torture. (Galileo Galilei 1564– 1642)

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Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) linked to gluten disorders

GM Wheat

In recent years, GM companies, trade bodies and associated scientists have issued a deluge of propaganda suggesting biotech crops are the key to feeding the Third World.
Now evidence is building that genetically modified foods such as soy and corn may be responsible for a number of gluten-related maladies such as the intestinal disorders now plaguing 18 million Americans, according to a new report released on 25th November.

The report, “Genetically Modified Foods Proposed as Trigger for Gluten Sensitivity” was released by the Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT), and cites authoritative data from the US Department of Agriculture, US Environmental Protection Agency records, medical journal reviews as well as  international research.

“Gluten sensitivity can range in severity from mild discomfort, such as gas and bloating, to coeliac disease, a serious autoimmune condition that can, if undiagnosed, result in a 4-fold (likelihood of) death,” said  Jeffrey M. Smith, executive director of IRT in a statement released on their website (www.responsibletechnology.org/).

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The Meteor Threat from Space

A meteor with estimated mass of 10,000 tons by NASA (on entry to Earth’s atmosphere) exploded Friday morning over Russia’s Ural region and its shock-wave caused injuries to over 1,000 people. It took out windows and walls in the city of Chelyabinsk.

Some years ago, I personally witnessed a much smaller fireball, and I was convinced I was seeing an airplane crash.

On the same day, Friday 15th February 2013, skimming closer to the earth than any other asteroid of its size,  Asteroid 2012 DA14 missed us by 17,100 miles, a margin closer than some satellites.

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Courage and Peril

Courage and Peril by Herbert Havens et.al. (1909) Hardbound, 252 pages 10″ x 7.5″

The British public school education of 100 years ago is often remembered for the production of a puritanical breed of adventurers, with a taste for a challenge, whatever the hardships, or risk to life, out in the wildest and loneliest places on the planet. Most especially those under the sway of the British Empire, then nearing its own imperial peak. We may assume that this taste for spartan endurance was enjoyed by the officers as opposed to the troops and servants..

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The Gowrie Conspiracy

The Gowrie Conspiracy and Its Official Narrative (1902) by Samuel Cowan

There are two accounts of the Gowrie Conspiracy, the events of the fifth of August 1600 that resulted in the deaths of the third Earl Gowrie, John Ruthven, and his brother, Alexander Ruthven. The ‘orthodox’ version, essentially as presented here first of all, is written by Robert Chambers (1802-1871), and based primarily on the testimony of King James VI of Scotland, whose life was allegedly threatened, and the alternative, here summarized by Rev. Alexander Duff of Tibbermore, in Memorabilia of the City of Perth (1802) , and presented in Samuel Cowan’s book, along with three other papers,  believed by many, especially in Perth,  that the king himself conceived the circumstances of the plot for his own ends. To hold such a view at the time was to invite an accusation of treason, punishable by death, hence all the more remarkable that the alternative accounts persisted from the start. Compare these accounts for yourself..

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Black Beauty

Black Beauty The Autobiography of a Horse (1877) by Anna Sewell

“We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words”.  

Black Beauty

We have all heard of this classic novel, but how familiar are you with the book’s impact on animal welfare?

A century after first publication, in 1977, it was rated the favourite book read by ten year olds. Although its popularity is waning, its classic status remains unshaken. The strength of the novel lies in the sincerity and passion with which Anna wrote it, with its good hearted, hard-working hero who makes it against all odds, and incidentally, is a horse..

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Gone With The Wind

Gone With The Wind (1936 novel) by Margaret Mitchell

Atlanta born Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel, Gone With The Wind, occupies an important place in American literature. After breaking publishing records with one million copies sold within six months, the novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, has been translated into over forty languages, and remains one of the best-selling novels of all time…

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