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May Day celebrations in Europe
Today, let's talk about how May Day is celebrated in some parts of Europe. For many, it is a traditional workers' holiday.
In Greece, one of the more popular activities on May Day is fire jumping. This is done after the sun sets. Women dance around the lit fire. The children wet their clothes and hair, before jumping over the fire. It is a symbolic act, to keep away winter and disease. Another popular tradition is picking flowers, and creating a May Day wreath, to hang on their doors. It is meant to bring people closer to nature.
In France, May Day is really a day off for its workers. French people like to give family and friends little sprigs, bouquets, or even whole plants of lily of the valley, for good luck. The more bell-like the flower, the better the luck.

subset: commoncrawl


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Company establishment
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We selected CEE Attorneys from nine reputable law firms based on their capability not only to serve as legal counsel of the company, but also to manage regular mandatory publication of investor information for the stock exchange. The law office have demonstrated exceptional accuracy and timeliness in managing investor information and handling regulatory issues with the Hungarian National Bank.


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Forward: The Blood-Shed is a horror news & entertainment site, not a music site. Occasionally, we do discuss bands that rock a horror-inspired mantra and/or aesthetic; we also discuss musicians who have made inroads in the horror arena, like Rob Zombie, Slash, and Gene Simmons. But if I wanted to write an op-ed about, oh, let's say a rapper with an inflated ego, there wouldn't really be a place for it here. Late last week, however, I caught wind of an item that combined my love of horror with my disdain for a certain self-proclaimed genius. Finally! An appropriate opening to slam my least favorite megalomaniac: Kanye West!
Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator (1985), based on the story by H.P. Lovecraft, is a horror classic and essential viewing.
Last week, fans celebrated what would have been H.P. Lovecraft's 125th birthday with a plethora of articles including: Biographical insights, discussions on his continued influence in horror, and artistic compositions inspired by the late author's work. But there was one bit of news that made me to a double take: Apparently, writer Joshua Chaplinsky has rewritten and remolded Lovecraft's seminal Frankenstonia saga Herbert West – Reanimator with a new mad protagonist. It's called Kanye West – Reanimator.
[Lovecraft does a somersault in his grave.]
Chaplinsky explains the inspirations and motivations behind his, er, creation:
"It started out as an experiment, where every time the name Herbert and/or West came up, I replaced it with Kanye. Then, I went through and changed certain details of the story to reflect Kanye's biography. Finally, I discovered what the piece was really about, and began turning it into a bizarre mix of Lovecraftian horror and hip-hop history. It puts a whole new spin on both the Kanye persona and Lovecraft's original story.
In it, Kanye attempts to reanimate a moribund hip-hop scene, only to come to the conclusion that his music is so powerful, it should be used to reanimate the dead. And who better to reanimate than those two legendary titans gone before their time—Biggie and Tupac? Hilarity and carnage ensue."
Okay, I can't deny it sounds like some funny shit, and as a fan of horror and classic hip-hop, I can imagine a potentially delightful mash-up. Will I read it? If someone gifted me a copy I probably would. The only thing that irks me (and causes Lovecraft's ghost to moan) is that I oppose anything that adds to the unwarranted glorification of Kanye—or pretty much anything that acknowledges that fool's existence (beyond this particular article, or course). Without descending into a rant, I will say that I can't stand that boob, and the sooner he fades into obscurity, the better. While I understand that Chaplinsky has created a work of parody and satire, I just know Kanye will use its creation as proof of his relevance.
On the other hand… If Yeezy is a man of his word, he probably won't even read it. Remember this infamous Kanye quote:
"Sometimes people write novels and they just be so wordy and so self-absorbed. I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book's autograph. I am a proud non-reader of books."
While I love this missive for revealing what a horse's ass Mr. Kim Kardashian really is, it just reinforces my belief that the man doesn't deserve to be immortalized in literature—even funny, light-hearted literature. Does this mean I oppose the release of Kanye West – Reanimator? Of course not! I'm still just reeling for the absurdity of it all—and it doesn't take much to send me into an anti-Kanye tirade. (More power to you, Joshua!)
Hopefully, in the story, Pac & Biggie will bust a cap in his ass, thereby bringing hip-hop back to its glory days. I'd definitely buy that!
Kanye West – Reanimator is being published by Yolo House and will be released on September 1st. The undeniably awesome retro cover art was designed by Matthew Revert and features the work of Dyer Wilk.
Top 10 "Krazy Kanye" Quotes
In order to take full advantage of this rare opportunity to rail against Yeezy, and as proof that his statement about reading isn't a rare example of stupidity, I've scoured the internet for Kanye quotes that best exemplify what an idiot this self-proclaimed "voice of a generation" really is. Enjoy!
"Taylor Swift beat Beyoncé at the Grammys? Beyoncé be dancing in heels and shit." Yeah, because that's what the Grammys is all about: Dancing.
"I have to dress Kim everyday so she doesn't embarrass me." Because she embarrasses him? Okay, Kim isn't exactly known for wise decision making, but Kanye is, by far, the bigger media disaster.
"I'm doing pretty good as far as geniuses go … I'm like a machine. I'm a robot. You cannot offend a robot … I'm going down as a legend, whether or not you like me or not. I am the new Jim Morrison. I am the new Kurt Cobain." You, Mr. West, are no Jim Morrison. You are no Kurt Cobain. If you're a robot, does that mean you have an "Off" switch, because, if so…
"[AIDS is] a man-made disease. [It was] placed in Africa just like crack was placed in the black community to break-up the Black Panthers." Kanye West: Pseudo-scientist, history revisionist, and paranoid conspiracy theorist. It's hard to be that much stupid in two short sentences.
"I walk through the hotel and I walk down the street and people look at me like I'm fucking insane, like I'm Hitler. One day the light will shine through, and one day people will understand everything I ever did." Okay, Kanye certainly isn't Hitler, but he certainly is fucking crazy! On that "day" when the 'light" shines through, I just won't get out of bed—ever.
"My greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live." Not the death of his mother or the abandonment of his father, but never being able to see himself perform as a member of the audience. Wow.
"I'm like a tree. I feed the branches of the people." I'm just going to let that one speak for itself.
"You may be talented, but you're not Kanye West." Thank God!
"I am Warhol. I am the No. 1 most impactful artist of our generation. I am Shakespeare in the flesh." So much "Nope!"
"I liberate minds with my music. That's more important than liberating a few people from apartheid or whatever." That's right Kanye, you're way more of a hero than some slacker like Nelson Mandela. Where's your statue?
I could go on. Believe me there's no shortage of quotes that prove Kanye is a fool of monumental proportions. I hardly need to rip into the guy—he shows what an idiot he is every time he opens his mouth! I'm sure he'll have to plenty say when Chaplinsky's book is released; I imagine something like:
"I'm so famous, people be re-writing books about me. It's like, they wish I was part of the past, because the world was so empty before I arrived. They know that stories be boring if they don't feature a strong, passionate genius. Soon, they'll be re-writing the Bible to put me in there. I'll be kickin' with Jesus. I'll be helping God create the Universe; with my help, it won't take no seven days!"
Sources: Entertainment Weekly, Kanye West Quotes
What do you think about Kanye West – Reanimator? Doers it sound like something you'd actually read? Sound off in the Comments section!
Follow me on Twitter @josh_millican for quality horror articles worthy of your attention!
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It's time to zone out in the ether once again, and gracefully gliding us into the realm of textural sound this month is former Cabaret Voltaire man turned award winning nature sound recordist Chris Watson. His latest record, In St Cuthbert's Time, celebrates the current displaying of the Lindisfarne Gospels on Durham's Palace Green by attempting to create an authentic sonic document of the Holy Island as it was when St Cuthbert arrived in 700AD. Of course we shall never be able to know quite how accurate Watson's attempt is but there's something about what is on offer here that manages to transport the listener to a world without the constant hum of modern technology. As impressively seamless as all his field recording works, the chatter of birds makes for the most memorable array of sounds present, but the whole mix is crucial to becoming fully encased by the album. Full immersion is like lying on the beach in the early hours with the wet sand stuck to your back and the sky breaking slowly into light, just as St Cuthbert himself might once have done.
Residing in a rather different part of the spectrum is Frenchman Cyril M. Heavily inspired by the experimental psych-drenched sounds that have been emanating from Japan for decades now, his lo-fi guitar drones are charmingly rough around the edges. Vertiges, which is available for free download, veers between the pleasantly laidback and the deliriously noisy. Most appealing about this record, perhaps, is that you can almost picture it being made. Here the hum of technology is the ever present, and it should make anyone with more pedals than spare change want to sit down with their guitar and try some droning themselves. There's nothing revolutionary on display, but all the same it's enjoyable and more than worth a listen.
Illuha, the duo of Tokyo residents Tomoyoshi Date and Corey Fuller, present Interstices as being a stopgap between 2011's Shizuku and a forthcoming release but that would seem to be an unnecessary belittling of what's on offer here. The three lengthy tracks here are delicate, fragile pieces that are perhaps mightier than they sound. Apparently conceived through improvisation, which is fairly hard to believe given how well everything sits together, Interstices is a steadily developing collation of sounds and textures that occasionally builds into something surprisingly cathartic given its subtleties, as on the closing moments of opener 'Interstices II', but predominantly sticks to fairly peaceful domains. It's a wonderful soundtrack for the everyday, containing just enough sonic highs to remain genuinely engaging throughout.
In a not dissimilar vein, and on the same label (the prolifically excellent 12k), is Wood, Winter, Hollow, a collaboration between Australian Cameron Webb (Seaworthy) and New York sound artist and 12k head Taylor Deupree. The resulting record is a highly atmospheric journey through snow covered forests (as pictured on the cover). Highly dextrous, yet still well defined, soundscapes provide the crisp white covering on the ground and touches of instrumentation provide the rustling of the wind in the trees and the soft crunch of footsteps on the snowy paths. It's evocative ambient music at its most sparsely beautiful, especially in the opening stages, with delicately tweaked field recordings and perfectly judged additions melding into a delightfully seamless whole.
Last up is Dust, the third release by elusive Dunedin drone act Rotor Plus (real name Leyton Glen). It's a hard record to track down in many a way but it's extremely worthwhile doing so, as much for the wonderful limited packaging as for the three magnificent pieces contained within. Dust is an appropriate title. Each track begins in a cloudy mood until, gently if slightly ominously, all the tiny particles are cleared away and we're left with a clearer, if still somewhat enigmatic, picture. Dark, but also strangely uplifting, this is fairly essential stuff for any aficionado of ambient genres.
Pop back in a couple of months for a round-up of the best autumnal drones...


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Get some of the best wholesale Laptop and computer deals. We compile all the information that we receive and post it on this Blog. You might have to sift through a bunch of offers but you can find some great deals here.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Dell 23" ULTRASHARP U2311H LCD MONITORS!
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Like all the great producers, we'll be talking about him and admiring his work decades from now, shaking our heads and trying to get younger listeners to believe us when we tell them that giants once walked the earth . . .
Legendary British record producer James Mallinson, whose close to five decades of work with Decca/London, Telarc, and the labels of the major orchestras in London, Chicago and St. Petersburg, died unexpectedly on Friday night, August 24. He leaves behind, in addition to his beloved wife and son, an estimable recorded legacy that earned him no less than 16 Grammy Awards and 49 Grammy nominations.
John Atkinson remembers attending Decca sessions in the late 1970s and early 1980s where James held forth as producer. Telarc's famed producer/engineering team of Elaine Martone and Bob Woods, who hired Mallinson as a consultant from the mid-1980s to early 1990s, counted him as a great and dear friend. Everyone from Georg Solti and Daniel Barenboim to Valery Gergiev and Bernard Haitink had stories to tell.
As Martone explained by phone, just one week after she and Bob had last spoken with Mallinson, "He took a stand for what he believed in. He would go toe-to-toe with a conductor, and he worked with the bestin his estimation, all the superstars except for Pierre Boulezand tell him exactly what he thought. He'd be tactful and diplomatic about it, but he would have a distinct point of view about interpretation, and he was interested in the best possible performance."
Honing his craft with Decca during the period when its artists included Benjamin Britten, Joan Sutherland, and Luciano Pavarotti, Mallinson recorded all 104 Haydn Symphonies with Antal Dorati, and a major series of 20th century works by Messiaen, Ligeti, Cage, Maxwell Davies, Birtwistle, and Glass. After he went freelance in 1984, he worked with all the major labels. As the record industry changed, Mallinson was central to the establishment of orchestra-owned labels LSO Live, CSO Resound, and Marinski Live. He also pioneered the use of SACD and high-resolution surround in orchestral recording, as exemplified by the ongoing issues from those labels. His most recent project was the Britten Sinfonia's ongoing Beethoven Symphony cycle, conducted by composer/pianist Thomas Adès.
According to Martone, "I occasionally referred to him as Sir James, because he was extremely knowledgeable musically. He was impeccably prepared, and had no room for nonsense. If you had your act together, James could not have been a more wonderful collaborator. Musically, he knew exactly what worked.
"Bob and I stayed with him when we were recording Mahler, and he'd always have an opinion about the way to it should be done. It was always fun to spar with him. He had a very brilliant mind, and would love to engage in dialog about music and politics. You liked to be around him because he was interesting and full of life, brilliant, fun, quirky, and super progressive."
The oft-controversial critic Norman Lebrecht was characteristically more explicit in the short tribute on his website, Slipped Disc. "I have seen him stand up to the most fearsome conductors and face them down," he wrote. "He worked with Solti, Barenboim, Itzhak Perlman, Colin Davis, Prince Charles, you name it, he never backed down. He would rather lose a lucrative client than approve an unsatisfactory performance.
"I first watched him at Gil Kaplan's original Mahler Second in Cardiff, shepherding an avowedly amateur conductor through one of the biggest, toughest symphonies and doing it with such tact and precision that they remained friends ever after."
After some prodding, Martone shared a similar story. "In the latter part of his career, he worked with Gergiev. He would not let him get away with things that were off the wall, and would explain to him why something wasn't okay. They got into some real knockdown fights. But he kept going all out and got Gergiev to make some really great recordings, because Gergiev would listen. He brought out the best that anyone could do."
Woods and Martone first hired Mallinson to help them expand Telarc into a worldwide label whose repertoire and artists reflected that stature. Wood recalled with fondness that, thanks to Mallinson, Telarc was able to work with André Previn and the Vienna Philharmonic to pair Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra and the Four Last Songs (with Arleen Auger) on a single disc. ("It was a thrill to hear from the musicians that it was most accurate representation of their orchestra they had ever heard.") Mallinson also paved the way for Telarc's best-selling Wagner disc with Lorin Maazel, The Ring Without Words, and Charles Mackerras's recordings of all 41 Mozart symphonies.
Pull out your Grammy-winning recording of Haitink's CSO recording of Shostakovich's Fourth Symphony, or the Decca issues of Solti conducting Mahler, or Del Tredici's Final Alice or a host of others, and raise your platter in tribute to one of the great recording producers of our time.
James Mallinson was responsible for some wonderful natural sounding recordings. I fear that we are not far the from day when there are only a handful of producers/engineers that really know how to make a recording of acoustic instruments. Most of today's recordings have a closer resemblance to Frankenstein's monster that an actual musical event. A tragic loss.
All the record producers I knew and worked with would make for some mighty fine poker players. Getting through a session without giving a clue as to what you're really thinking is the most important tool in a fine record producer's toolbox. Mr Mallinson must have developed some high-level negotiating skills in order to be that open with his clients. RIP.
Note to Axiom05, I wouldn't worry nearly as much about good sound, that will take care of itself. My worry is that musically literate folk like James Mallinson are/will be fewer and further between and will be increasingly rare as music creation becomes increasingly computerized and automated.
thanks to him we now have https://somethingrottenshowtickets.com/, which is the greatest band of 21st century. you can't argue that he produced some great music throughout his career


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Getting poster data...
Sean O'Donoghue and James Procter (EMBL Heidelberg, Germany)The 3rd EMBO Conference on Visualizing Biological Data (VIZBI 2016) - also the 7th international meeting on this topic - will be held 9–11 March 2016 at EMBL Heidelberg in Germany. VIZBI brings together scientists, illustrators, and designers actively using or developing computational visualization to study a diverse range of biological data. The conference features 21 invited talks that will review the state-of-the-art and challenges in visualizing data from genomes, transcripts, proteins, cells, organisms, and populations.


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Msg 3702, Level 16, State 3, Line 2
Cannot drop database "DataBaseName" because it is currently in use.
This is a very generic error when DROP Database is command is executed and the database is not dropped. The common mistake user is kept the connection open with this database and trying to drop the database.
The following commands will raise above error:
USE AdventureWorks; GO DROP DATABASE AdventureWorks; GO
The following commands will not raise an error and successfully drop the database:
USE Master; GO DROP DATABASE AdventureWorks; GO
If you want to drop the database use master database first and then drop the database.
Reference : Pinal Dave (https://blog.sqlauthority.com)


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Gates Soccer Park at the Spring Valley Campus
Five fields provide a spectacular setting for soccer in Colorado
CMC soccer home "field" is actually five impeccable collegiate-sized fields — neatly cut and lined, a premier playing surface of blended bluegrass and fescue. The view from Gates Soccer Park has been called the "Best view from a center circle in Colorado."
Spectacular Mt. Sopris at 12,978 feet, towers over the Gates Soccer Park fields. On match day, teams kick off at center circle and competition takes place in the crisp Colorado air. You won't find a more spectacular setting to develop your soccer skills.
Gates Soccer Park also serves as the site for youth soccer training camps and youth and adult tournaments. Top-level club, high school, college and professional teams use the park for high-altitude training retreats.
With residence halls available for summer housing and a full-service cafeteria, Gates Soccer Park is ideal for soccer camps or similar events!
Directions to the Spring Valley Campus/Gates Soccer Park
Thank You Gates Family Foundation!
Outstanding community support influenced the Gates Family Foundation to award a grant to the club to fund the construction of four additional fields at the Gates Soccer Park.
Field Closure Phone Line
Call in to get current field closure information including weather closures.


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Taco Bell's Disgusting New Tacos Are Saving the U.S. Economy
Sort of. The company reportedly added 15,000 jobs in the U.S. last year, outpacing their brethren-in-saturated-fat at KFC, Pizza Hut, and McDonald's, according to Greg Creed, the company's CEO. But how were they able to accomplish such an economy-saving feat? By creating and then patenting the revolutionary Doritos Locos Taco, that's how.
The neon-orange, meat-filled miracle taco, wrapped in a Nacho Cheese Dorito shell, was Taco Bell's biggest hit of 2012, with 375 million sold, or roughly one million a day.
"It has been the biggest launch in Taco Bell history," said Greg Creed, chief executive officer of Taco Bell, which saw same-store sales rise 8 percent in 2012.
And the health-killing, job-creating trend looks to continue, now that the restaurant has officially released another Dorito-based product, the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco.
"We believe we can add 2,000 new restaurants in the next 10 years, because what we have is proprietary and exclusive. Nobody else can make a Cool Ranch Doritos taco. And that's just in the U.S.," says Creed.
Creed also reports the company's plan to go "upscale" in order to compete with "upscale" dining establishments like Chipotle is working, at least in terms of expanding sales beyond the company's typical demographic of young men.
"We've seen more women come in, and more people over 35," Creed said.
Great! But what about those horse meat rumors? Not Creed or America's problem. "It's a Europe issue," Creed told the Huffington Post.
Taco Bell is up. Obesity rates are up. Horse meat rumors are down. It's a good time to be an American.


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This is a website displaying the art
of sculptor/artist, Martin Ardito.
Click on one of the links for an online
art show of epoxy sculptures including
squids, whales, sharks, giant insects,
and of course, monsters and aliens.
Click on the white shark below
for some creature replication
Click on the alien below
for some creative creatures
Updated May 2019
Click here for discounted items.
Click here for discounted items.
Picture above is provided by the Palm Beach Post.
Monster Modeling at Artigras Fine Arts Festival 2015 Jupiter,Fl.
Best in Show - emerging artist category
*Click here for alien diorama video*
Click on pic below and check out some cool
scale model construction replicas.
Updated November 2016
Click pic below and learn to build monster and/or
character models and put them into incredible scenes
using digital imaging and computer editing.
e-mail me at:


text: The delicate filtering network in your kidneys can be damaged over time by uncontrolled blood sugar, making it more difficult for your body to remove waste materials. This video explains why it's important to have your urine tested for protein if you have diabetes. It also offers other recommendations to help prevent kidney damage.


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G.M.B.Akash a student from Pathshala's first batch wins first prize for his photo titled "Passengers without Ticket" in the prestigious Gordon Parks Photography Competition 2007. More work by Akash can be seen at www.majorityworld.com and www.gmb-akash.com.
Other winners include "A woman standing by her paraplegic husband" by Lisa Wiltse (2nd place)
"Touch of protection" by Olivier Asselin (3rd place)
"Loss" by Chris Zuppa (honorable mention)
Mom and me by Kenny Felt (honorable mention)
and "New Citizen" by Jim Gehrz (honorable mention)
More news on the contest available soon from www.gordonparkscenter.org The video of Chobi Mela IV can be seen at: http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1213900621 The video "In Search of the Shade of the Banyan Tree" can be seen at: http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1237905984 Thanks to Oliver and Angilee and UCLA International Institute for uploading the video, Asfia for the Banyan Tree song and to the large number of people who helped in the production of the videos.
Bangladeshi photographers have consistently shone internationally. Yet photography remains neglected by the Bangladeshi government. A bill passed in parliament in 1989, to open a department of photography in "Shilpakala Academy" the academy of fine and performing arts, has yet not been implemented. Even "Charukala Institute" the department of fine arts, lacks a photography course. Yet Dhaka is rapidly becoming one of the major capitals of photography and Chobi Mela, the festival of photography held in Dhaka is one of the major events in the Asian media calendar. It has often been the case that artists have only been recognised in our own soil once they have received international acclaim. Sadly, even outstanding international perfomance in the field of photography, does not appear to have woken up the fossils in the Bangladesh secretariat.
4 thoughts on "Bangladeshi photographers win yet again!"
This is such a wonderful blog– the photos are beautiful, touching, and often heart-wrenching. I'm glad I came upon it. Thanks.
excellent post and thanks to share with us
Yupp, really nice!!! Thanx 🙂
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Description of Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia
Buy Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia for Ubisoft Connect at Gamesplanet.com
Join Nikolaï Orelov in his search for redemption as you journey through an iconic, propaganda art style Russia in 2.5D gameplay.
Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia Features
Survive the aftermath of October Revolution.
Dive into the middle of a major historical event served by iconic propaganda art style and its revolutionary symbolism. Jump on the famous trans-Siberian train, infiltrate the Kremlin and escape from Moscow!
Experience the thrill of being a stealthy Assassin in a modern setting.
Explore a new contemporary setting in the 20th century and its modern stealth systems, such as elevators, radios & trip wires. Interact with new vehicles like trucks, trains & tanks.
Switch between two playable characters.
Embody Nikolaï, snipe targets with his silenced rifle, detonate mines from a distance or get up close with its bayonet. Discover Nikolaï's Mechanical Winch, a versatile tool that sends electric shocks. Play Anastasia, infiltrate narrow channels and discover her exclusive Helix Blade.


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|Passengers 248
Injuries (non-fatal) 0
Date 24 June 1982
Operator British Airways
Crew count 15
|Fatalities 0
Survivors 263 (all)
Number of deaths 0
Passenger count 248
Location West Java
|Summary Quadruple engine flameout due to blockage by volcanic ash
Site near Mount GalunggungWest Java, Indonesia
Similar British Airways Flight 5390, United Airlines Flight 811, Air France Flight 358, American Airlines Flight 1420, China Airlines Flight 006
British Airways Flight 9, sometimes referred to by its callsign Speedbird 9 or as the Jakarta incident, was a scheduled British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Auckland, with stops in Bombay, Madras, Kuala Lumpur, Perth, and Melbourne.
- Air crash investigations mayday 04x02 falling from the sky british airways flight 9
- Accident
- Investigation
- Aftermath
- Similar incident
- References
On 24 June 1982, the route was flown by the City of Edinburgh, a 747-236B. The aircraft flew into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung (approximately 180 kilometres (110 mi) south-east of Jakarta, Indonesia), resulting in the failure of all four engines. The reason for the failure was not immediately apparent to the crew or air traffic control. The aircraft was diverted to Jakarta in the hope that enough engines could be restarted to allow it to land there. The aircraft glided out of the ash cloud, and all engines were restarted (although one failed again soon after), allowing the aircraft to land safely at the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta.
The crew members of the accident segment had boarded the aircraft in Kuala Lumpur, while many of the passengers had been aboard since the flight began in London.
Air crash investigations mayday 04x02 falling from the sky british airways flight 9
Shortly after 13:40 UTC (20:40 Jakarta time) above the Indian Ocean, south of Java, the flight crew (consisting of 32-year-old Senior First Officer Roger Greaves and 40-year-old Senior Engineer Officer Barry Townley-Freeman while 41-year-old Captain Eric Moody was in the lavatory) first noted an effect on the windscreen similar to St. Elmo's fire. The phenomenon persisted after Moody returned from the lavatory. Despite the weather radar showing clear skies, the crew switched on engine anti-ice and the passenger seat belt signs as a precaution.
As the flight progressed, smoke began to accumulate in the passenger cabin of the aircraft; it was first assumed to be cigarette smoke. However, it soon began to grow thicker and had an ominous odour of sulfur. Passengers who had a view of the aircraft's engines through the window noted that they were unusually bright blue, with light shining forward through the fan blades and producing a stroboscopic effect.
At approximately 13:42 UTC (20:42 Jakarta time), the number four Rolls-Royce RB211 engine began surging and soon flamed out. The flight crew immediately performed the engine shutdown drill, quickly cutting off fuel supply and arming the fire extinguishers. Less than a minute later, at 13:43 UTC (20:43 Jakarta time), engine two surged and flamed out. Within seconds, and almost simultaneously, engines one and three flamed out, prompting the flight engineer to exclaim, "I don't believe it—all four engines have failed!"
Without engine thrust, a 747-200 has a glide ratio of approximately 15:1, meaning it can glide forward 15 kilometres for every kilometre it drops. The flight crew quickly determined that the aircraft was capable of gliding for 23 minutes and covering 91 nautical miles (169 km) from its flight level of 37,000 feet (11,000 m). At 13:44 UTC (20:44 Jakarta time), Greaves declared an emergency to the local air traffic control authority, stating that all four engines had failed. However, Jakarta Area Control misunderstood the message, interpreting the call as meaning that only engine number four had shut down. After a nearby Garuda Indonesia flight relayed the message to them, air traffic control correctly understood the urgent message. Despite the crew "squawking" the emergency transponder setting of 7700, air traffic control could not locate the 747 on their radar screens.
Many passengers, fearing for their lives, wrote notes to relatives. One such passenger was Charles Capewell, who scrawled "Ma. In trouble. Plane going down. Will do best for boys. We love you. Sorry. Pa XXX" on the cover of his ticket wallet.
Owing to the high Indonesian mountains on the south coast of the island of Java, an altitude of at least 11,500 feet (3,500 m) was required to cross the coast safely. The crew decided that if the aircraft was unable to maintain altitude by the time they reached 12,000 feet (3,700 m) they would turn back out to sea and attempt to ditch into the Indian Ocean. The crew began engine restart drills, despite being well outside the recommended maximum engine in-flight start envelope altitude of 28,000 feet (8,500 m). The restart attempts failed.
Despite the lack of time, Moody made an announcement to the passengers that has been described as "a masterpiece of understatement":
Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress.
As pressure within the cabin fell, oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling – an automatic emergency measure to make up for the lack of air. On the flight deck, however, Greaves's mask was broken; the delivery tube had detached from the rest of the mask. Moody swiftly decided to descend at 1,800 m per minute to an altitude where there was enough pressure in the outside atmosphere to breathe almost normally.
At 13,500 feet (4,100 m), the crew was approaching the altitude at which they would have to turn over the ocean and attempt a risky ditching. Although there were guidelines for the water landing procedure, no one had ever tried it in a Boeing 747. As they performed the engine restart procedure, engine number four finally started, and at 13:56 UTC (20:56 Jakarta time), Moody used its power to reduce the rate of descent. Shortly thereafter, engine three restarted, allowing him to climb slowly. Shortly after that, engines one and two successfully restarted as well. The crew subsequently requested and expedited an increase in altitude to clear the high mountains of Indonesia.
As the aircraft approached its target altitude, the St. Elmo's fire effect on the windscreen returned. Moody throttled back; however, engine number two surged again and was shut down. The crew immediately descended and held 12,000 feet (3,700 m).
As Flight 9 approached Jakarta, the crew found it difficult to see anything through the windscreen, and made the approach almost entirely on instruments, despite reports of good visibility. The crew decided to fly the instrument landing system (ILS); however, the vertical guidance system was inoperative, so they were forced to fly with only the lateral guidance as the first officer monitored the airport's distance measuring equipment (DME). He then called out how high they should be at each DME step along the final approach to the runway, creating a virtual glide slope for them to follow. It was, in Moody's words, "a bit like negotiating one's way up a badger's arse." Although the runway lights could be made out through a small strip of the windscreen, the landing lights on the aircraft seemed to be inoperable. After landing, the flight crew found it impossible to taxi, due to glare from apron floodlights which made the already sandblasted windscreen opaque.
Post-flight investigation revealed that City of Edinburgh's problems had been caused by flying through a cloud of volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Galunggung. Because the ash cloud was dry, it did not appear on the weather radar, which was designed to detect the moisture in clouds. The cloud sandblasted the windscreen and landing light covers and clogged the engines. As the ash entered the engines, it melted in the combustion chambers and adhered to the inside of the power-plant. As the engine cooled from inactivity, and as the aircraft descended out of the ash cloud, the molten ash solidified and enough of it broke off for air to again flow smoothly through the engine, allowing a successful restart. The engines had enough electrical power to restart because one generator and the on-board batteries were still operating; electrical power was required for ignition of the engines.
Engines one, two and three were replaced at Jakarta, as well as the windscreen, and the fuel tanks were cleared of the ash that had entered them through the pressurisation ducts, contaminating the fuel and requiring that it be disposed of. After the aircraft was ferried back to London, engine number four was replaced and major work was undertaken to return the 747 to service.
Although the airspace around Mount Galunggung was closed temporarily after the accident, it was reopened days later. It was only after a Singapore Airlines 747 was forced to shut down three of its engines while flying through the same area nineteen days later (13 July) that Indonesian authorities closed the airspace permanently and rerouted airways to avoid the area; a watch was set up to monitor clouds of ash. Flight 9 was not the first encounter with this eruption – a Garuda DC-9 had encountered ash on 5 April 1982.
The crew received various awards, including the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air and medals from the British Airline Pilots' Association. Following the accident, the crew and passengers formed the Galunggung Gliding Club as a means to keep in contact. G-BDXH's engineless flight entered the Guinness Book of Records as the longest glide in a non-purpose-built aircraft (this record was later broken by Air Canada Flight 143 and Air Transat Flight 236).
One of the passengers, Betty Tootell, wrote a book about the accident, All Four Engines Have Failed, having managed to trace some 200 of the 247 passengers on the flight. In 1993 Tootell married fellow passenger James Ferguson, who had been seated in the row in front of her. She later noted: "The 28th December 2006 marks the start of our 14th year of honeymoon, and on the 24th June 2007 many passengers and crew will no doubt gather to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our mid-air adventure."
British Airways continued to operate the Flight 9 route from London Heathrow to Sydney; in March 2012 the route was curtailed to Bangkok. City of Edinburgh, later renamed City of Elgin, continued to fly for British Airways after the accident, before being sold to European Aviation Air Charter. The aircraft was taken out of service in February 2004 and in 2009 the then 30-year-old aircraft was scrapped. In September 2009 the environmental group 10:10 bought the fuselage of City of Edinburgh to be made into tags. The tags, bearing the campaign's logo, were worn as necklaces or bracelets and used to raise awareness of 10:10's work: the organisation aimed to persuade individuals, organisations and businesses to reduce their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.
The accident featured in an episode of the Mayday documentary TV series Air Crash Investigation titled "Falling From the Sky".
Captain Eric Moody gave an interview to the July 2010 edition of Flaps Podcast, where he recounted his experience.
Similar incident
A nearly identical incident occurred on 15 December 1989 when KLM Flight 867, a Boeing 747-400 from Amsterdam to Anchorage, Alaska, flew into the plume of the erupting Mount Redoubt, causing all four engines to fail due to compressor stall. Once the flight cleared the ash cloud, the crew restarted each engine and made a safe landing at Anchorage.


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Tuesday, December 6, 2011
The Articles of Dragon: "Seven Swords"
What "Seven Swords" does is present seven different magical weapons, none of which is more potent than a sword +3. Each of these swords gets an extensive description of both its physical and magical properties. Amusingly, it's often the physical description that really sets these swords apart from the pack. Whether it's the huge cabochon-cut black sapphire in the grip of Adjatha, the six matched bloodstones set in the bronze blade of Ilbratha, or the rearing serpents who make the guard of Shazzellim, Greenwood makes each of these weapons unique in appearance as well as abilities. This is a small detail that many referees overlook, concentrating instead on game mechanical effects. Greenwood doesn't skimp on these either, but they're only one facet of what makes the titular swords special.
Each weapon also includes a "lore" section, detailing the history of the blade, from its forging to the present day. It's this section that I really ate up as a younger man. Re-reading them in preparation for this post, I can completely understand why that was the case. The lore Greenwood presents isn't extensive -- no more than four or five short paragraphs in most cases -- but it's evocative. It's suggestive of adventures and, better still, it gives even a lowly sword +1 an air of antiquity and individuality that makes it a weapon worth holding on to even when better weapons come along. That was probably the biggest lesson "Seven Swords" taught me: game mechanics aren't always what make a magic item special. It's a lesson I've kept with me all these years and one I'd like to see adopted more broadly.
21 comments:
One of the swords in that article, Susk, was bestowed upon the elven Ftr/MU in our old AD&D Greyhawk campaign back in 1986. Like you mentioned, he treasured that relatively low-powered blade even when better weapons were offered.ReplyDelete
One of the best articles old Ed ever penned. He always shared the ability with EGG and few others of being able to stoke the imagination with only a few sentences. One or more of the swords in this article have appeared in every campaign I've ever run.ReplyDelete
You mean, issue #74ReplyDelete
What Greenwood got that so many writers missed is that magic should be magical. Mysterious, ominous, and yes, evocative.ReplyDelete
One thing I always hated about the average D&D setting was just how common magic weapons and armor were. longswords +1 were the Saturday Night Special of the lands, cheap and easily available. The old joke about a high-level fighter needing a golf bag and a caddy to handle all his magical weapons wasn't far from the truth.
If you read the source material, the medieval epic poems like El Cid and Das Nibelungenlied, you'll see that magical weapons and items are treasured, horded, and passed down from generation to generation.
No amount of flavor text is going to make a +1 sword any more fun to use in play if there are no mechanics to back it up. 4e is a great example of this in practice.ReplyDelete
When Gandalf draws Glamdring to fight to goblins in "The Hobbit", half of what's cool is that the goblins recognize the blade and start cowering. You need to implement that sort of impact within the game, e.g., "This sword forces goblinoids to make a morale check."
Or maybe the DM simply role-plays them cowering...
Nice retrospective, Chevski.
No mechanic required IMHO. +1 Aaron. How 'magical' the item is, is wholly dependent on the social interaction of the device between the owner and the DM. If they make it 'magical', then the mechanical bonus is mostly moot, or at least in my experience.ReplyDelete
I enjoyed Ed's writing, his game writing, far more than I ever did his fictional writing. HOWEVER, there does come a point when description becomes the enemy. When doing Ravenloft, they often tell you to 'hide' the mosnter by being descriptive and pointing out examples in terms of what's more effective at evoking the unknown. If you're game time is tight, you don't have ten minutes to describe the brilliant shine radiating with a pulse from the ruby mounsted on the hilt of the worn sword that appears as if.... or to describe the hulking figure that still has chunks of ragged and broken bone in its teeth... Description and unique elements can be great adds to a game but they are not appropriate for every item ,monster or session.ReplyDelete
The goblins don't fear the sword because it has a magical "Turn Goblins" effect. They fear it because they have heard stories about this sword that usually revolve around slaughtered goblins.
And didn't 4E completely threw anything "magic" about weapons out of the window by introducing "tiers"?
I liked this article an awful lot, as it meshed with my own beliefs that magical items should have a history, not just be a container for one or more "kewl powerz."ReplyDelete
Hm, I find 4-5 paras *way* too much. 2-3 lines of background can be really good to jump-start the imagination, but when it gets to several paras that replaces my imagination with his. Which is why I never got any use out of this kind of article, nor the 'Ecology' ones. Too much detail.ReplyDelete
Hm, I find 4-5 paras *way* too much.ReplyDelete
To reiterate, these paragraphs are all very short -- maybe a couple or three sentences generally, so it's not as if each entry uses a lot of verbiage. It's more than 2-3 lines, granted, but it's still very little.
There was a guy in my campaign group who weilded Susk the Silent Sword.ReplyDelete
Good times. Good times.
One thing I always hated about the average D&D setting was just how common magic weapons and armor were. longswords +1 were the Saturday Night Special of the lands, cheap and easily available.ReplyDelete
I hated that as well. It was like there was some mass-producing magic-item factory churning the stuff out. Making magic items rare, and each one having its own special history and lore, was the best way I could think of to make them meaningful in a campaign.
I've actually just come across a story that makes a great story for a magic sword. It concerns the Bonaparte family and the Austerlitz Sword.ReplyDelete
Austerlitz was of course Napoleon I's greatest triumph. The sword he was carrying that day became an icon to France, and after that battle Napoleon rarely carried it. Until the Hundred Days. Napoleon, feeling the sword was a powerful symbol, carried it into battle at Waterloo.
Fast forward to Napoleon III and the Second Empire. Again, the Austerlitz Sword was mostly a museum piece, until the flagging Emperor decided to carry it in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. Which ended with the Empire dead and the Emperor in exile.
His son, the Prince-Imperial Eugene-Louis, attended military academy in England and served as an artillery officer. He demanded service in the Zulu War and was sent as a staff officer. Despite orders to keep the politically sensitive young noble far from danger, Lieutenant Bonaparte wrangled his way onto a mapping party which was ambushed. The young prince, unable to mount his horse, faced 40 Zulu impi with a revolver and.. the Austerlitz Sword. Fade to black.
So here we have a sword that might be quite powerful, but is really hard on royalty! You'd have to determine if it is cursed for only a specific bloodline or if anyone with a claim to a throne is threatened. Best thing is this is exactly the sort of thing you would find in a forgotten tomb. No one sane would want to hold the thing unless they knew with absolute certainty that the sword wouldn't affect them and their homes. But tomb robbing soldiers of fortune? It's shiny and magical. Mine!
What could be more fun is if some sage recognizes the thing, and warns the current dynasty that That Bloody Sword is back in town.
Just something that hit me. Enjoy.
Not only 4e made magic common like air; it also made it totally available to players by putting the items descriptions in the PHB like they were normal items, with the players allowed to formulate "wish lists." Lame. Really lame.ReplyDelete
Unfortunately this article came out after my AD&D group broke up after we all left for college. If I ever run a fantasy campaign I will definitely use this as a basis for magical weapons.ReplyDelete
A balance of fluff and crunch text is good but for my money Greenwood used too much fluff.ReplyDelete
Yeah, this article was in the first issue of Dragon I read, and it completely changed how I ran the game.ReplyDelete
Even my +5 swords are really just munition quality swords - just ones made by the very finest sword smiths (of which there may only be one or two capable of such work in a generation).ReplyDelete
[My magic swords and armour were never enchanted by a mage - they were simply made by very skilled weaponsmiths and armourers - even to the extent that they gained magic powers. For example a skilled smith could work with any material to create magical effects, such as beating the flames of his forge into the sword to make a flaming sword (or even forge the very flames itself into a flame sword).]
True magical weapons of any kind were always artifacts in my game, although they could be created as artifacts through play (gaining experience if they were named as if they were a character's henchmen [and yes, it took up one of the henchman spots.] They always had powers that went beyond the standard. And plot consequences and history.
In the most recent game I played my Paladin of Pelor and his party encountered a Deva of Pelor trapped in ward in the ruins of a city of Asmodeus worshippers. The Deva had been stuck for thousands of years and become insane and no amount of talking by my character could help and at 3rd lvl we had no magical means to cure it. We freed the poor thing but it attacked us and we just barely beat it. The blade it bore was a flaming bastard sword +2 and my Paladin of course considered it a blessed weapon of Pelor and ended up using a feat(4th ed) to learn how to use it properly. If we'd simply found a +2 bastard sword then there's no way I would have spent a feat on proficiency but because of the background to the blade how could my character NOT spend precious time and effort on mastering this Pelor-given gift?ReplyDelete


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The Red Sox lost a baseball game last night, dropping their record to three games below .500, and you know what that means, don't you? It's time for some dumb columnist to turn into Carrie Nation and throw some shit at the wall. CSN New England's Joe Haggerty did just that when he published this article, which might as well be titled, "Chicken and Beer II: The Double Fistening."
According to Haggerty, the Red Sox issues come down to "... a few rotten apples that are ruining the bunch as they continue to infect a team that's trying to shake its past reputation" (That reputation being derived from the fact that a couple of dudes on the team drank some beer and ate some chicken one time).
And who is the rottenest of these rotten apples? Who is the mastermind whose beer-swilling ways are infecting the team and bringing loss after loss? John God Damn Lackey, that's who:
There were others that just don't seem to care about wins or losses anymore.
Like John Lackey, who apparently needs to travel with the team and work with trainer Mike Reinold while recovering from Tommy John surgery – a fairly standard rehab that literally thousands of pitchers have come back from stronger-than-ever over the last 30 years.
But for whatever reason, the underachieving righty needs to travel with the team even though he won't be throwing even one measly pitch for them.
Lackey was so busted up after the latest defeat that he was strutting around the clubhouse with a can of Bud Light in each hand, or what is known as "double-fisting" on every college campus in the history of mankind.
So much for the Bobby Valentine ban on alcohol in the Sox clubhouse that was implemented during spring training. (It should be noted that beer is in fact allowed in the road clubhouses after the game, but perhaps it shouldn't be given what's gone on with this team after the last year.)
Holy shit, you guys. A pitcher who hasn't even played for the team this year was walking—sorry, strutting—around the clubhouse with two beers in his hand. How's a gritty-scrapping spit-fire like Dustin Pedroia supposed to will his team to victory under such heinous conditions? How could John Lackey be so heartless?
In the end, let's all just be thankful that guys like Joe Haggerty are here to call out clowns like Lackey with a series of one-sentence paragraphs.
Haggerty: Signs are there that Sox are giving up on the season [CSNN]


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1970 Ford Mustang Sportsroof Drag Pack Ready
Super Cobra Jet And 4:30 Gears In A Plain White Wrapper
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Even in a Carlisle show field packed with 2,400 Mustangs and Fords, John Touthoushian's '70 Mustang SportsRoof stood out in the crowd. Stark vanilla white with Ford "corporate" hubcaps and white sidewall tires, the fastback had the look of a plain-Jane muscle car in the midst of brightly colored Mach 1s and Bosses. The Shaker scoop poking through the hood told us that this was more than a six-banger with slats and a spoiler.
When the 428 Cobra Jet Registry website post led John to an eBay listing for a white '70 CJ fastback, he was attracted to the car's plain appearance. But what really tripped his trigger was the Drag Pack option with 4.30 gears in a Detroit Locker differential. "I have a special interest in 4.30-gear cars," John told us, "because most people ordered them to drag race."
That's what the original purchaser, Jimmy Jones, had in mind for the fastback when he ordered it in January 1970. According to the window sticker, Jones checked off the R-code 428 Cobra Jet, four-speed, Drag Pack with 4.30 gears and Detroit Locker differential, and F70 x 14 white sidewall tires-undoubtedly he planned to add slicks and front skinnies so why pay extra for Polyglas Goodyears? Interestingly, Jones avoided the added weight of power steering and power brakes but ordered the rear spoiler and sport slats. Total cost for a ready-made drag racer: $4,018.
Bob Brisbois, a previous owner, had already tracked down Jimmy Jones to learn more about the car's history. A champion at several Northeast dragstrips, Jones had been racing Fords since 1957 in everything from Fairlanes to Thunderbolts. When his '681/2 Shelby GT500KR was stolen, he ordered the white SCJ Mustang fastback from his employer, Bloomfield Ford in Mount Clair, New Jersey. He took delivery on a Friday and was racing that night, beating a '67 GTO to take the $1,000 prize.
With modifications that provided 410hp at the rear wheels, Jones and his Mustang raced every weekend at tracks like Englishtown, Island Dragway, and Yorktown. He established a miles-per-hour record of 115.32 at Yorktown and later set the Englishtown ET mark at 11.91, then 11.79. When Brisbois asked about his sweetest victory, Jones replied, "On the street against a Camaro for $10,000."
With a growing family and increased responsibilities at work, Jones sold the Mustang in 1973 after 300 races. He claimed to have lost only three.
Today, with 70,000 miles on the odometer, John describes the condition as "a freshened up survivor." He bought the SCJ fastback about two years ago from that eBay listing, which turned out to be a Ford dealer in Illinois. The car had been passed around among collectors for several years, selling at one time at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction. For the first year of ownership, John performed basic cleaning and repainted the body in fresh Wimbledon White. Someone had replaced the 4.30 gears with highway-friendly 3.50s; John quickly recovered the car's drag-race characteristics by swapping in set of 4.30s. It's got the original carpet, seats, front drum brakes, and other items, but the original R-code engine was replaced many years ago, perhaps by Jones during the car's active drag racing days. A date-correct SCJ sits between the fenders today.
John's white SCJ Drag Pack SportsRoof made its first major show appearance at the Carlisle Ford Nationals in June, where it took the Mustang Monthly "Celebrity Choice" award for its combination of plain-Jane looks and drag-race demeanor.
Factory Drag Pack
By 1969, Ford was ramping up Mustang performance with engines like the 428 Cobra Jet big-block and options like the 3.91 and 4.30 gear ratios for quicker off-the-line acceleration. In testing, Ford engineers discovered that the higher rpm at highway speeds resulted in dangerously high engine oil temperatures, so the decision was made to add an oil cooler to Cobra Jets equipped with 3.91 and 4.30 gearing. The cooler mounted in front of the radiator core support on the driver's side, forcing relocation of the driver's side horn to the other side and adjacent to the passenger side horn. A special oil filter adaptor routed oil through the cooler and back to the engine.
There were also concerns about 428 CJ durability during severe racing conditions. To address that situation on cars with 3.91 or 4.30 gears, Ford engine engineers beefed up the reciprocating assembly (crank, pistons, rods, along with rebalanced flywheel/flexplate and harmonic balancer). For example, the rods were "427 LeMans" versions with cap screws instead of the standard CJ's press-fit bolt and nut. These engines, either Q-code or Shaker-scooped R-code, became known as Super Cobra Jets.
Ford's marketing department, under the gun to create a more youthful image, came up with a unique name for the optional "high ratio" axle package with oil cooler: Drag Pack.
According to Ford literature dated April 17, 1969, the $155.45 Drag Pack option for 1969 included 3.91 or 4.30 gears in a Traction-Lok differential and special engine modifications, including the oil cooler. In a 1970 "Armchair Estimator" option list dated December 19, 1969, the description was revised to Traction-Lok for the 3.91 ($155) or Detroit Locker No-Spin for the 4.30 ($207).
Confusion reigns when it comes to the Drag Pack for other performance Mustangs. An Armchair Estimator from September 23, 1969, states that the Drag Pack was "not available with Boss 302, optional only with 428." However, some Boss 302s with the optional 3.91 or 4.30 gears came with the oil cooler, although it was not listed as a Drag Pack option on the invoices. Interestingly, a Drag Pack option was available for Boss 302 Cougar Eliminators. For Boss 429s, the Drag Pack is listed on some invoices, as they came with 3.91 Traction-Lok gears and oil cooler.