I just got an alert from my bank that "You have no alerts this month!". I am confused....

Happy first day of Spring... the old poem WHICH I THOUGH WAS BY (I was wrong!!!!!) Spike Milligan always comes to mind... meanwhile...... while wokery comes to mind... here. Part Two here. Part three here. Part Four here. Part Five here.

Spring is sprung
The grass is riz
I wonder where the birdie is
The birdie is upon the wing
No, that's absurd
The wing is on the little bird.

So... let us have this instead! Here.

Cornucopia Quote: "What happens to you after you die?... A lot of things! They just do not involve you..."

1. What is the meaning of life? 42? It is simple... here.
2. 'A Dietary Guide For Americans' is a website (if you are outside of the US you will need a VPN to allow switching to the US to access the site) and regularly updated (The Dietary Guidelines has been issued every five years since 1980) with a wide range of accurate and up to date information regarding what and why you should be eating based up[on solid evidence. There is a downloadable PDF (31 MB) with 140+ pages of info.
3. The art of urine in the age of fulfillment ... really taking the piss... here.
4. Was there a civilization on Earth before ours? It is entirely possible... here.
5. Smile, it gets better as you get older... here.
6. This here and this here also.
7. This is not going to end well and the questions of liability come to mind... here.
8. Tenement Town - a fascinating look behind the doors and who lived there in Edinburgh, Scotland... here.
9. Where the bears go... here. It answers a question...
10. The truffle industry is a big scam... here.
11. The weird sex lives of Australian wildlife... in cartoon form here.
12. IF you still have to drive around town/s... there are some techniques to note here.
13. The Mediterranean Diet Really Is That Good for You. ... here. NYT link. Let me know if it does not work for you.
14. "Over time, the mere existence of such databases becomes a continued justification for their use, so entrenched are they in everyday governance, in policy and decision-making. They aren’t merely representative of everything that the state already knows about an individual, but what’s possible for the state to know, if and when it becomes ostensibly necessary." - WHAT!!! The obvious of course... here.
15. What a wonderful piece of animation! A true delight... here. Warning! It will suck you into a time warp of other delights to be found on the side bar.
16. Are my bowel movements normal? What it says on the tin... here.
17. The Whatcom Museum Collections... here. Collectively fascinating...
18. Some Of The Best Marketing Ads Of All Time... (warning! The web site will suck you in!) ... here.
19. Ain't it funny how the knight moves ... here. Deceptively simple... not... (NB: I completed it.... after a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time)
20. How to Be 18 Years Old Again for Only $2 Million a Year... here.
21. How Crabs Clean Dead Skin From Toes.. what it says on the tin... here.
22. Binghampton's LUMA Festival... here.
23. The Wonders Of Street View... here. More 'fun' from Neal... here. 'Progress' (how many pixels to the bottom of the page before Mother's Day?) and 'Draw Logos From Memory' are two of my faves... along with 'Absurd Trolley Problems'...
24. As far as security goes, it is an inside job... here.
25. We have multiple locations on Baldy Hill Homestead where Poison Ivy grows - one place is up the side of the main barn door where the main 'stem' is probably thicker than a body-builders bicep. It is nasty stuff but something which (so far) has little effect on me. NOTE: I do not intend to test this hypothesis but I have multiple times inadvertently pulled out stems and leaves while weeding and cutting back brush. Poison ivy gives most people an itchy rash. It's also a tricky plant to identify: it varies in size, shape, and color, and looks different depending on the season and location. It can carpet the ground, form bushes, and climb trees. So how can you avoid an unpleasant encounter? One way to learn to identify this plant is through sheer experience - to see it in its many forms, as well as similar-looking plants. You normally do this by tromping through the woods. This little game will help beef up your knowledge.
    
    For those of you not familiar with the effects of Poison Ivy and/or what it looks like ... here.
26. Wimmelbilderbuch... here.
27. Who is the invasive species... here.
28. Fry pizza, add Marmite to roast potatoes: 27 eye-opening and invaluable tips from top chefs... here.
29. Warning! You can get lost in the Onezoom zoomable Tree of Life... here.
30. How far away is YOUR toothbrush? Really taking the piss... here. Sitzpinklers stand up and be counted!
31. The TikTok AI teen filter... WTF? Here.
32. Of maggots and leeches (Hirudotherapy) ... here. Equally, of garlic and onion or leek), wine and oxgall (bile from a cow’s stomach)... here.
33. If you are a fan of Apple products, these imaginings are likely to bring a smile to your face... here.
34. Safety on Latvian railways... seriously... here.
35. Proof you are what you eat... here.
36. If you had one roll of film... here.
37. Pufflings - that is all - here.

1. Nano-spike catalysts convert carbon dioxide directly into ethanol ... here.
2. Talking of flying... how to fix what is wrong with taking a flight. Here.
3. Banner ads when you change the volume of your TV. One more area where you are constantly being reminded to be a good consumer of things... here.
4. Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome - After years of heavy use, some chronic pot smokers begin to vomit repeatedly and feel nausea and abdominal cramps, and the only source of relief is "stifling hot water... the hottest water I could get. My body was beet blood red afterwards." First described medically in Australia in 2004, the biological mechanism is not known, though the hypothalamus is a prime suspect and compulsive bathing in hot water is a typical symptom. High Times says that the syndrome is very rare, though one Canadian emergency room physician says he personally sees about one case a week.
5. The Nintendo Switch - Maybe it's me being an old fart, but in none of the examples given of the Switch are people truly interacting with people or being aware of their surroundings ("Hey gurl why don't you come down and join the fun..! Oh, oh, you brought your video game to the party... that's nice. We were talking and having fun but I guess we can hunch over you two guys playing a game..."). Something sad about that plus that poor dog. A causality of video game addiction. No love in this world, just the bare minimum. Brought to you by Nintendo.. Cool gaming console though. Here. Perhaps the 'Switch' refers to switching off from the real world... what was most striking to me was the trailer featured no children or families and appeared to be pitched entirely to younger adults.
6. The 30 weirdest Movies of the `970's. I have seen quite a few of these and have tagged the others as 'must see'. Understand that most of these films are so bad that they are good. In a bad sort of way. Vincent Price was one of my childhood heroes. Likewise Christopher Lee. The movie list is Here.
7. There are more than half a million of them. "If they were their own city, it would be bigger than Atlanta or Miami. They are more like their own planet." What makes a New York City Kid? Interesting look into the lives of a few 11 - 15 year old children in New York. Here.
8. "After working on flesh and bone for 30 minutes, the real summit presented itself: the human brain, the most delicate, complex, and beautiful thing the universe." What it feels like to be a brain surgeon... here.
9. Drive By Truckers (WARNING: Autoplay music) are a band you really should get to know. They are perhaps one of those most missed out bands you may [have] heard about and may wonder why you did not know of them before. Similarly, another band, 'Guided By Voices' (WARNING: Autoplay music). I heartily recommend you check them out. DBT are better seen live as their pure rocking energy and joy at playing come to the fore then. There is an interview with Patterson Hood here. My wife and I have seen them perform at the Steelstacks in Bethlehem, PA and their live performance is seriously old school rock band.
10. The reality of 'gentrification' of a neighborhood... here.
11. The definitive map of the world’s extraordinary sights.... here. I love this site for the thoughts it generates. e.g. this here. Wales is a place steeped in myths and legends - Merlin purportedly buried on Bardsea Island, one of the most amazing TV plays I have ever seen, 'Penda's Fen', here (spooked me out as a child), and much more. YouTube version here. Plus another classic 'Children of the Stones'.
12. Kadhja Bonet - an extraordinary voice. Purportedly "(sounds like) Kad-ya was born in 1784 in the backseat of a sea-foam green space pinto. After spending an extraordinarily long time in her mothers plasma, she discovered the joys and gratifications of making noise with her hands and face while traveling at maximum velocity through intergalactic jungle quadrants. She is currently arranging her debut album, and hopes you will join her on a journey". As a judge of her capabilities, try this recording of a live performance here.

1. It's unreal when you think about it... Recently [someone] sent me a link related to 'alternative reality' and comments Elon Musk made regarding 'alternative reality'. Along the way I found this article which also included the Wikipedia link. I would love to have a giant poster of this. It would remind me of how insignificant any thoughts (good or bad) actually are simply due to the fact that they are probably unreal. Incidentally, by juxtaposition, there must also be an 'alternative UNreality'. Several in fact. One could slowly become unhinged were it not for the fact there are probably far too many of me to deal with the problem PLUS, which one of the states of mind is the unhinged one? I need to go and lay down...
2. For those of you with iOS... 'Really Bad Chess'. Almost worthwhile changing computer platforms for...
3. GDoS... just so you know your 'twattling strings' (found at GDos) from your 'wenis' (not found at GDos). Knowing what they mean may still require translation of the expression for some of you.... language is a wonderful thing.
4. For those of you who go diving... a Great White Shark in action... here. NOTE: NOT gory... SFW but disturbing for some perhaps... particularly divers.
5. Want to avoid getting flu? You are probably doing things wrong... Here.
6. Start your week with a map. Every Monday morning. The maps will be unlabeled, uncaptioned thematic maps with no scales or legends.... For each week’s map, your job is simple: figure out what data is being presented by the map. To solve the map, you have to find the clues on it and come up with an explanation that ties them all together. Here. Odd what ideas your brain comes up with...
7. Bohemian Rhapsody Played by 100+ year old fairground organ... here. NOTE: Music...
8. 3SF (Three-sided Football!!!) - From tactics to philosophy. YT video explaining it here. Article detailing it here.
9. What happens when Millennials grow up? Here. Disturbing.
10. Irish people try... American Accents, try Southern Food ('like a liquified Burrito with prawns'), Indian Food... and many more things.

1. What became of the Porn Industry? SFW. Here. Also... What Did We Get Stuck In Our Rectums Last Year?... here. Previous years: 2015; 2014; 2013. And... people streamed an unbelievable amount of porn from Pornhub last year... here. (note: this link is SFW, subsequent links probably not)...
2. Was 2016 especially dangerous for celebrities? An empirical analysis. (Short answer: Yes)... worth reading the article though... here.
3. Wunderkammer. Images from old medical and biology books. Here.
4. Meanwhile... back in Scarfolk... foreigner identification badges... here.
5. I'm not hungry" - A kids menu that keeps it real. Here.
6. The Photographs of Robert Donetta... here.
7. The Incredibly Lucky Woman Who Survived Three Shipwrecks: The Titanic, the Britannic, and the Olympic! ... here.
8. Time for some 'up' music. Diana Krall - As Long As I Live... here.
9. The Rise and Fall of Colin Wilson and the Night he Met Marilyn Monroe... here.
10. Disturbing, given the up-front commitment nations supposedly made. No country on Earth is taking the 2 degree climate target seriously... here.
11. Japanese American Evacuations (and internment)... here.
12. Digging the Low Line. New York's proposed underground park. Here.
13. Macabre/humorous GIFs... here.
14. Kaleo - "Save Yourself" - Rather splendid. Here. NOTE: Music...
15. Penguin and Same. A lovely tale from Australia. Here.
16. And, with 2017 upon us... a Happy New Year to one and all. Time for some SERIOUS reading. Time for some leaps in knowledge and information. Time for... "2016 : WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER THE MOST INTERESTING RECENT [SCIENTIFIC] NEWS? WHAT MAKES IT IMPORTANT?"... set aside some time for this here. Additionally, Longreads Best of 2016: Here Are All of Our No. 1 Story Picks from 2016... here.
17. And... a little late... 52 places to go in 2017... here.

Before I start:

Take control of your data. If you are reading this you are definitely being tracked by one or more pieces of software which is harvesting information about you. What can you do about this? Mozilla and the Tactical Technology Collective have created a popup storefront in lower Manhattan called The Glass Room: Looking Into Your Online Life. Situated somewhere along the education—art spectrum, The Glass Room provides "a place to consider how you use technology and how those behind technology use you". Resources include a variety of workshops about technology and privacy, along with a book of leaked passwords and other art installations. One of the most useful pages on the site covers Tips and Resources to protect your privacy... here. In particular, the five simple steps you can take to increase your privacy... here.

1. The Brussels Business - Who Runs the EU? An interesting documentary that is well worth sticking with. Here.
2. Freedom of speech in the Digital Age. Here.
3. Old news, but it is increasingly apparent (obvious?) that governments are watching and monitoring your every move. Here. As of course does Google... in more ways than you might imagine... using Google Adwords and your mobile phone here.
4. The REAL world economy. Panama's hidden Trillions. Here.
5. Why we are living in a state of fear... here. See also the BBC documentary (region free) 'Hypernormalisation'. Seriously well worth the 2 hours 45 minutes (once you start watching you will not want to stop anyway). Some background info here. Also here.
6. Is satire dead? Relevant to the main topic of this Volume. Here.
7. 'They' will be asking you questions next... a disturbing trend in authority sounding out your views. In this case, if you are a law abiding Muslim. Here.
8. A Wikipedia list of conspiracy theories... here. While Time sticks to Ten... here. Plus... the Psychology of Conspiracy Theories... here. And a current(ish) example of how they spread... here.
9. I have covered this one before, there is more information... Is Google an un-elected superpower? A truly sinister social networking platform could manipulate public opinion even more effectively.
10. The myth of the bullied white outcast loner is helping fuel a fascist resurgence... here.
11. Three big right-wing Facebook pages published false or misleading information 38% of the time during the period analyzed, and three large left-wing pages did so in nearly 20% of posts. Here.
12. Trump's first one hundred days... interesting... here.
13. Bruce Schneier: 'The Internet era of fun and games is over'... here.
14. The Investigatory Powers Bill, also known as the Snooper's Charter, which has passed Parliament and is now set to become law in the UK. Here's a Wired overview. ZDNet: "civil liberties groups have long criticized the bill, with some arguing that the law will let the UK government 'document everything we do online'. It's no wonder, because it basically does". Guardian: Extreme surveillance' becomes UK law with barely a whimper. There may be an IMSI device near to you... here. Nothing untoward going on at Standing Rock either... cough, cough... here.
15. Titanpointe - The NSA’s Spy Hub in New York, Hidden in Plain Sight... here.
16. Despotism - 1946... here.
17. Jon Stewart on President-elect Trump, hypocrisy in America... here.
18. Forget shorter showers! Would any sane person think dumpster diving would have stopped Hitler, or that composting would have ended slavery or brought about the eight-hour workday, or that chopping wood and carrying water would have gotten people out of Tsarist prisons, or that dancing naked around a fire would have helped put in place the Voting Rights Act of 1957 or the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Then why now, with all the world at stake, do so many people retreat into these entirely personal “solutions”? Here.
19. Old but relevant regarding surveillance ... here.
20. This Is Your Life, Brought to You by Private Equity... here.
21. Be Healthy or Else: How Corporations Became Obsessed with Fitness Tracking (and the implications for privacy)... here.
22. And finally... Truther Love... here. Meanwhile... Vice takes a different stance ... here.

For many, myself included, THE most significant science fiction book has to be Dune and the subsequent other five related novels - his son has written other books (many) which quite simply are not even in the same league in my (and others) opinion. There is an official site here. I will not even attempt to summarise / summarize the plot but simply refer you to the Wikipedia entry/ies about Frank Herbert's legacy. All I will say is that it has many real life associations and parallels, is totally absorbing, and is well worth the time needed to read them (I have a khanjali hanging to my left as I type). The main Wikipedia entry is here. Additional and far reaching links are here. In addition to the Dune books, Frank Herbert wrote several other noteworthy stories. My personal favourites being; 'The Dragon In the Sea', 'The Santaroga Barrier', and 'The Green Brain'.

Further, is the book 'The Sabres of Paradise' written by Lesley Blanch covering the history of the 'holy war' fought in the Caucasus region (mainly what is now Georgia and going up into the Western Caucasus into the Sea of Azov). This is strongly believed to be the main source for Frank Herbert's writing. I have traveled to Georgia and it is one of my all time favourite/favorite countries which I plan to revisit soon. Stunningly beautiful with a rich heritage, awesome food - I have been the 'victim' of a 'supra' or Keipi on several occasions and the guest at a Georgian wedding made memorable by sitting at the same table as the Georgian Male Choir (LOUD!) and the family of the bride's family from the Tusheti mountains some of the best wine I have ever drunk (and been drunk from). Conquered by Russia (here) the people are incredibly resilient and truly know how to party and generally have fun...

There is a three part mini-series produced for the Sci-Fi channel which I have not see but which won numerous awards. Info here. Apparently it is worth it and is on DVD / online somewhere but I have not found it (yet).

There was a (bad, truly, truly, bad to the extent of do not waste your precious life on it bad) movie of the novel made in 1984 including Sting among the cast... here. Scheduled for release in December 2020 is a remake here. I am leaving my opinions open on this as I am not sure how well a few hours of cinema can possibly encompass the far reaching concept, depth, and scope of the novels.

Coincidentally the board game has just been re-released... here. Plus there were several computer games directly related here and the early Command and Conquer series was originally based upon this (until the developers got 'tired of sand').

For those of you familiar with the novels and thirsting for more (beyond the seriously crappy follow-up books, cashing in on a franchise, books written by his son and a co-author Anderson) there is also the Dune Encyclopedia (all 708 PDF pages of it) written by Frank Herbert himself... here.

FOOTNOTE: VERY close behind these tales in terms of 'The Best!' have to be the Foundation Series and the Robot Series from Isaac Asimov, along with the Rama books (I have the audio series of this and I continually go back to it despite some of the latter parts being weak and slightly far fetched/stretching things a bit) by Arthur C. Clarke?? who was an incredibly prolific writer here.

1. The Woobie Is The Greatest Military Invention Ever... here.

2. Let's Have A Kiki. Contains sweary words and music... wonderment here. Non-sweary word version here.

3. 2nd November, 2017. Battle for Birthday Mountain (video) A lot of Norwegians want to give Finland a mountain to celebrate 100 years of Finnish independence, moving the national boundary 31 feet. Right now the highest point of Finland is on the side of the mountain-- this would give them the summit as well. Is it legal? Maybe not! But now there's a touching film about it.

4. Eighteen year old Ewan Cunningham covers Pink Floyd's Echoes by playing every instrument. His video pays homage to Pink Floyd's famous Live at Pompeii version of the 25-minute long masterpiece. Link to the Ewan Cunningham YouTube channel.

Meanwhile... here's an acoustic version with David Gilmour. And the 'real' version here.

5. A few reasons why fonts are important... here.

6. 100 recommended books by Arab women contains some interesting reading. Here.

7. Detective Skip Toby in... The Scales Of Justice... here. Wonderful.

8. But is he a 'good' teacher? Here. NOTE: Auto-playing video. And it continues annoyingly onto the next one...

9. Art Deco Marvels of a Lost 1920s Copacabana Magazine. Stunning but a tad racist in parts... here.

10. Pictures of Telescopes by Telescopes... nice... here.

11. Paul Zerdin. THE Best/Funniest Ventriloquist I have ever seen. The Howie dancing piece is wonderful... here.

12. Moon versus Mars... here.

13. You may remember I linked to this here and here previously. Well the organisers/organizers got it together and there was "24-07-16 Rockin'1000 That's Live - Orogel Stadium - Cesena IT". Smells like Teen Spirit here. It is being dubbed the 'Woodstock' of Europe. Incidentally, 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of Woodstock and there are rumours/rumors that there will be an anniversary concert there to mark the occasion...

14. On Love... here. Dark times deserve deep thoughts.

15. The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database. "The Warburg Institute is the premier institute in the world for the study of cultural history and the role of images in culture. It is cross-disciplinary and global. It is concerned with the histories of art and science, and their relationship with superstition, magic, and popular beliefs. Its researches are historical, philological and anthropological. It is dedicated to the study of the survival and transmission of cultural forms – whether in literature, art, music or science – across borders and from the earliest times to the present." Additional article in The New Yorker here.