Quickly, Fingers - To The Keyboard

For We Have But 30 Minutes -
Until the BBC's flagship premier dramatic reconstruction 'Doctor Who' begins, since the Beeb, those treacherous swines, have not only moved the day of broadcast, they've changed the broadcast time as well.

I could really do with one of these.  I wonder - E-Bay?

     What impertinent effrontery!  If I didn't have a blog to write, then a stern letter to "The Times" would be in order.  Frankly <Mister Hand intervenes to redact 1,500 words of seething bile> when I take over, O yes indeed!
     But first - 

A kangaroo in socks!

     Must be emigrating to the Pond Of Eden, poor thing.
     There's just time to deal with the Sensible Circuits,* and then we can begin.

"The 56th Division 1914 - 1918" By Major C.H. Dudley Ward
I finished reading this today, so of course I shall inflict some of the detail and my thoughts upon you, for I know you thirst to hear accounts of military history from 100 years ago.

My edition

     Here an aside.  Yes, I did watch "They Shall Not Grow Old" and thought it a stunning technical achievement, really bringing the past to life in an eerie way.  I took notes and might go over the whole thing in a series, so as not to - ah - divert you too much.  Of course, since this is Real Life and we have Hom. Sap. to contend with, there were moaning pedants going "This was out of sequence" or "That was the incorrect colour banding for an 18-pounder chemical shell of March 1917" and other such drivel.  A pox on you dotards!  See the film for what it is.** Art?

Give that man another medal!

     Where was I - oh, excuse me - Party In My Head?  Hello?  Can you keep it down a bit, I'm trying to think.  Yes, ta very much - 
     The 56th Division were a Territorial Division in 1914, which means they had agreed only to serve on the holy hallowed wet lands of Perfidious Albion and could not be forced to go and fight in France and Flanders; however, as with most Territorial divisions, about 90% volunteered, and they ended up in France by 1916 -
     Which is a convenient punctuation point to move on to other matters.

The London Scottish marching in - er - March

"The Last Ship"
You know Conrad, he likes to have a lonnnnnnnnnng television series to watch, and after doing his usual wild perturbations on Google (a map of my search logic would look like a pretzeled pretzel) he ended up reading a series precis on "The Last Ship".  Then it was a hop, skip and jump to watch the first series.  Art?

That crack about the virus - that's true.  The "Last" - not quite correct.

     Entertaining enough, if a bit "Rah-rah 'Murika" at times, which is fair enough since the South Canadians made it in the first place.  Plus, they have a second lead from Perfidious Albion (Rhona Mitra) who is notably easy on the eyes a talented actress.  
     The premise is that a virus has knocked off 80% of the world's population, and that only Doctor Roberts aboard the "USN Nathan James" can develop the cure.  That's the start - it gets a lot more complicated from there on.
     I shall keep you informed!

"Do I look heroic enough?"

The Wheelbarrow
Conrad likes to poke a little non-malicious fun at the -

 - hey!  They just quoted "Clarke's Law" on 'Doctor Who' and I was able to finish it for them!

     - where were we?   Oh yes, - at the Ruffians, and one - sorry?  What is "Clarke's Law"?
     We're not going to get to poke fun at the Ruffians tonight, are we?  There's always tomorrow, I suppose.
     Okay.  "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic".  There you go, and indeed it's true.  Take Art for example.  Art - selfie!

Art, immaculately groomed and coiffed.***

      Our resident pictorial expert is a Neanderthal, to whom a pointy stick was the height of technology.  Despite initially cowering in fear at the toaster and toilet paper, with training (and a healthy dose of Tazer motivation) he can now perform semi-skilled labour.  Don't show him a Moebius Strip, though: that gives him migraines.
     There you go: Clarke's Law defined and in practice.

     Time for tea!  The meal, not the drink, I've already consumed about 3 pints of Cardamom and Jasmine today.  My kidneys have limits.



*  "Deal" as in "Smash 'em with a hammer."
**  For anyone reading this who is stuck over what to get Conrad at Christmas, you have just read the answer.
***  For him.