Harmonic Convergence

No!  Nothing To Do With Crystals Or Chakras Or Feng Shui
I admit, it does sound like the kind of thing a dodgy stall at a festival might proudly display, as well as a ton of signs that all mention "Quantum" despite not knowing what it means.  
     You ought to know that about the title already, for whom amongst us is more cynical and skeptical than Your Humble Scribe?  

Isaac Asimov and his Sideburns Of Magnificence

     Hmmm, perhaps, perhaps.  I do remember an extremely caustic review Ol' Izzy wrote about a musical - perhaps "Hair"? - which he skewered within a few words thanks to a song about "The Age Of A Queer Horse" or somesuch.  He was not impressed, and neither am I.
     Here an aside.  Having finished "Where Eagles Dare" I am now about to start back on Ol' Izzy's "Foundation"trilogy, which I first encountered in the early Seventies as a BBC radio adaptation.  

Space Opera, writ large

     Having missed the first couple of episodes, it was a tad difficult to follow.
     Anyway, I have strayed from today's title, which has absolutely 0% to do with peace, love or understanding, and rather more about perforating planes and people with high-speed pieces of projectile.
     For I have also finished watching "Hurricane", which got mixed reviews.  Some good, some bad, some meh.  Overall 5.9 on IMDB.  The thing is, at one point it accurately refers to an aircraft fitter saying he's adjusted Our Hero's aircraft guns to converge at a distance of 150 yards.  Convergence as it referred to guns was also known as "Harmonisation", from whence today's title comes.  Art?

Convergence example

     Not wishing to get too technical here - for you could have a week's worth of blogs on this topic - with fighter aircraft mounting guns in their wings, it's not simply a matter of having them point straight ahead, for that means 8 streams of widely-spaced bullets.  Instead you jink the guns about to converge at a set distance ahead, where they all intersect to cause maximum damage.  The RAF's standard distance was 250 yards, which several aces (and the Poles) ignored, preferring to get a lot closer in order to do much more damage.

The grisly result

     So the film gets that right.  As the inevitable end credit scene informs, 303 Squadron were the highest-scoring squadron in the Battle of Britain, despite coming late to it.  Although the Poles and Teutons and British are all best chums now (harmonisation, you see!), it is generally perceived as good practice to have the Poles beside you rather than versus you.
     Now, motley, here's a very small shield, a cleaver and we're going to pitch you into the arena against the dreaded Spitting Devil's Cabbage!

(As featured in)

"Pride And Prejudice And Zombies" By Some Bloke
Only joking!  By <checks hurriedly> Seth Grahame-Smith.  I suppose the joke would be funnier if I had read the original, which is probably available via Project Gutenberg for free.  Conrad shall have to check - the word "Free" always has that effect on him.  Art?

Exactly so

     I mention this work because, although set in the Allotment of Eden, the author is plainly from South Canada and consequently has NO IDEA about our wildlife.  This is jarringly proven when the Bennett sisters proceed through a countryside blighted with zombies, where they encounter animals fleeing the forest, including chipmunks and skunks.

These probably crop up later on

     The thing is, neither chipmunks nor skunks occur in the UK.  We are entirely free of what the Teutons call the "stink weisel" and always have been.
     I am minded of nothing more than that scene from the 1996 live-action version of "101 Dalmatians".  Art?

 - where raccoons -

     - drop Cruella into - 

- a vat of molasses
(Note the sign)

     Once again, there are no raccoons in the UK.  Nor do we have "Molasses" since this is, again, a South Canadian thing.  Over here the stuff goes by the name of "Treacle".  It's very awkward to bake with, since it's extremely viscous and sticks to everything it touches.
     Right, I feel I have ranted and tanted sufficiently that my blood pressure has gone down a modicum.  Let us move on!

Goya At The National Gallery Of Scotland
You have been warned/threatened/graced (delete where applicable) already with a warning that I was going to pontificate somewhat about artworks held by the NGS thanks to a bequest by a dog-lover.  Have this one by Senor Goya - 

"The Doctor"

     Or, "El Medico" in Spanish.  That's not a bowl of soup, it's a brazier containing hot coals at which the titular doctor is warming his hands, meaning it's probably a balmy summer's day by UK standards.  This painting is a design study for a tapestry, rather than being a painting in it's own right.
     Again, this colourful and bucolic scene is in utter contrast to the etchings by Goya that Conrad was familiar with, titled "The Disasters of War": these depict, in stark and horrid detail, the atrocities waged by both sides after the French invasion of Spain in Napoleonic times.  Art?

About the only SFW one I have found

Finally -
Were I to pronounce, aloud, "The Grand Pooh-bah", you would probably think - well, apart from edging away to a safe distance first - that Conrad was mispronouncing something to do with that Disney stalwart, the Bear of Very Little Brain.
     Not a bit of it!  No, this is a term that popped into my head whilst walking Edna this morning (her first stroll of the day for those eager to know these things).  It refers to a character from a light opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, "The Mikado".  Art?

The cove in question

     He is a satire upon the Jack-in-office who bethinks himself enormously important, when in reality he is a minion of very minor proportions.  And also possessor of a name that is not one, but two exclamations of disgust.

     Better go feed the rascals.  Later!