Email: MyronTRex@gmail.com
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. - Hamlet (1.5.167-8)
Universal Translator
Saturday 22 August 2015
Thursday 20 August 2015
The Odin Star System (Life of Other Worlds, Part 2)
Life of other worlds: drawings and sketches from one space explorer's travel journal is a series focusing on various other star systems in the Milky Way Galaxy.
The Odin Star System (NOTE: Planet and orbits not to scale) |
The Odin System is a yellow star system consisting of six planets. Balder and Njord are the only planets with life forms. Dr. Dag Stassen discovered the system during the exploration mission of the European Space Agency Interplanetary Space Probe in the early 21st century. The ESA gave it names according to mythological Norse gods and goddesses.
Frigg |
The first four planets are rocky. The last two planets are gas giants; Thor
being a super gas giant. Between the
two gas giants there is a large asteroid field called The Valkyries, which
contains some of the largest asteroids ever recorded. The gas giants, Thor and Loki, seem to keep the asteroids in
check and corralled into their orbit around the star Odin. Without Thor and Loki, the asteroids would
cause havoc within the system. However,
it is believed that the gravitational pull of the collective asteroid belt and
Loki prevented Thor from being pulled further into the system, thus keeping the
inner planets safe. (Note: Planets and their orbits are not to scale.)
Frigg
The first planet is Frigg, named after the wife of Odin and goddess of married love. It is geologically inactive with a high surface temperature.
Hel |
Hel
The second planet in the Odin System is called Hel, named after the Norse goddess of death. Hel is a turbulent geologically active planet which lives up to its name.
Balder
Balder |
The third planet Balder is an Earth-sized world with a
similar gravity and atmosphere. It is named after the Norse god who was the son of Odin and the favourite of the gods. It has
one moon named Hoder. Balder is a geologically active planet with a continuous
rocky, mountainous terrain. Unlike
Earth, Balder contains most of its water underground. Caves are a common geological form. Water on Balder has a very
high mineral content and is very saline.
Most of the large creatures on Balder exhibit qualities of both reptiles
and mammals on Earth. Plant life
consists mostly of lichen-like and moss-like plants. Vines are the dominant plant, covering rock spires and mountain
ranges, sometimes reaching several meters in diameter.
One of the exobiologists on the team stated that this was not a dinosaur. I beg to differ. |
Njord
The chilly water world of Njord |
The fourth planet Njord is a
chilled water world. It is named after the Norse god of ships and the sea. It has one moon,
Aegir.
Njord is 82% water. Its planetary climate resembles that of the
Northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans on Earth.
Most of the dry land consists of large mountainous archipelagos near its
equator. The equatorial ocean is more
shallow and warmer than the deep, usually frozen, polar ocean.
Aquatic life on Njord is
extremely diverse. The largest numbers
of species resemble the fish of Earth. There are no mammal-like creatures anywhere
on the planet. Most of the scientists
that have explored Njord say that it resembles Earth during its Devonian Era,
though much colder.
One of the surprises of Njord
is the existence of several large shark-like creatures. The largest carnivore creature on the
planet, the Fury Fish After the
death of several explorers, a planet-wide caution is in place to anyone near a
body of water that is connected to the open ocean.
the Fury Fish |
. |
Thor
Thor, named after the Norse god of thunder and the sky, is a gas super
giant. It has two rocky moons, Fjorgynn
and Sif. The moons are warm desert
worlds even though they are in the planetary cold zone. As a gas supergiant, Thor radiates heat,
passing it along to its moons. Due to
the distance from the inner planets and solar winds, Thor’s heat has little
effect upon the smaller planets of the system.
Loki
Loki is the last planet of the system. It is named after the Norse god of mischief.
It is a gas giant, with one moon named Sigyn.
Loki
|
Wednesday 19 August 2015
Introducing Myron T. Rex...
Myron T. Rex is a dinosaur.
He's just trying to get through life like the rest of us.
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Sunday 16 August 2015
The Helios Star System (Life of Other Worlds, Part 1)
Life of other worlds: drawings and sketches from one space explorer's travel journal is a series focusing on various other star systems in the Milky Way Galaxy.
The Helios Star System (Note: Planets and orbits not to scale) |
Dr. Eva Psyhogeos first discovered the Helios System during the exploration mission of the Einstein Deep Space Probe (EDSP). When Dr. Psyhogeos saw that the eight-planet system somewhat resembled our own Solar System, she decided to name it according to the Greek gods and goddesses. The names start out as analogous to our Solar System but change after Zeus and end with Hades. Zeus and Hades are the only gas giants in the system; the other six planets are rocky worlds.
The planet Hera, Hera’s two moons, and Athena probably
started out as moons of Zeus. Dr,
Psyhogeos developed a theory about the system that gave the system seven
planets originally. The theory states
that The Titians, an asteroid field between Ares and Zeus, was originally a
planet called Morpheus. Morpheus was
destroyed most likely by a comet or asteroid.
The devastation of Morpheus knocked Hera, its moons, and Athena from
their orbit around Zeus. They began to
orbit Helios as planets; Hera eventually capturing Hebe and Hephaestus as its
moons. Debris from Morpheus in orbit
around Zeus became the asteroidal moons called The Consorts of Zeus. It is theorized that Morpheus was a
“super-sized” rocky planet with a large amount of water –some believe the water
eventually made its way to watery Poseidon, frozen Ares and the icy planets of
Hera and Athena. Recent archaeological
evidence shows that in the very distant past, Poseidon was a much drier world.
Poseidon (White areas are shallow seas, islands are gray or black) |
Poseidon is a planet of 85% surface water. Most of the dry land consists of landmasses
on the eastern hemisphere of the planet.
Large storms and super-hurricanes are always present on the planet. Poseidon is the only planet with multi-cellular
life. One-celled organisms have been found on Ares and Aphrodite, but it seems
they might have come from Poseidon. (Note: Planet and their orbits not to
scale)
The largest animals on the planet exist in the global
ocean. Land animals of any great size
are absent and they consist of mainly amphibious creatures. Large plants are nonexistent; most
vegetation on land is adapted algae and fungi.
Croak with eggs |
The Croak is one of the few
amphibious animals of the plant Poseidon. They live most of their lives on the
islands of Poseidon, traveling to the sea to lay eggs and mate. Found usually near
the shoreline or swampy regions. Some
Croaks form large colonies on floating Insulanozoa (see below), creating a
symbiotic relationship. Predators are
lured toward the colonies and are consumed by the Insulanozoa. The Croaks keep the shell of the Insulanozoa
clean. The Croaks ooze a chemical that
makes them invisible to the Insulanozoa.
Fish like we know on Earth never developed on Poseidon. . The class Amphish contains
the greatest number of species in the global ocean of Poseidon. The family of Capucauda consists of
tadpole-like creatures and is the largest group of Amphish.
Poseidon also contains a large number of creatures similar to
Earth’s gastropods and cephalopods. One
example is the Banded Squidshell (one of six species of squidshell).
Banded Squidshell |
With no aquatic mammals or sharks, amphibians occupy the top of the food chain on Poseidon. The Greater Sea Dragon is the largest aquatic animal on Poseidon, measuring up to
Next in the series : The Odin Star System
Tuesday 28 July 2015
The Eight Jesus Rules.
When I was in high school, our Baptist church had a speaker,
Pastor Waltrop I believe his name was, came to speak to us during a
revival. In the South, we’d every once
in awhile have what is called a revival –a week of services to help revive and
renew our faith. I will never forget
that night because that was when I began to question my faith –my faith had
been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and it was on the critical list. Pastor Waltrop preached to us about how
Proctor& Gamble, the soap company, was run by the Devil’s minions. He explained to us that the music group
Queen (and others) recorded secret messages on LP records praising Satan (this
was before digital CDs and you had to play the records backwards). He preached against Rock and Roll and
everything in the world that he thought had an agenda to turn you away from
Jesus. The church was packed. I sat there thinking what does this really
have to do with Jesus. I looked around
and saw folks that hadn’t been to church in ages and thought that they weren’t
getting the real story about what Jesus wants us to do. Even in high school, I thought Pastor
Waltrop had his own agenda, and that agenda involved following Pastor Waltrop
and not Jesus. It wasn’t long after that
I un-Baptisted myself and began to follow Jesus differently.
Every day I see another social
media post by someone professing to be a Christian telling others what God or
Jesus wants. Many advocate things I just can’t see relating to anything Jesus
ever wanted. As Susan B. Anthony said, “I
distrust those people who
know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides
with their own desires”. It started me thinking again about
what being a Christian really meant and ultimately what we were supposed to do
in our relationships with other people.
The simplest answer is that a Christian follows the
teachings of Christ –we aren’t Old Testamentarians or New Testamentarians or
Paulians or Augustinians or any other variation of document or early
Christian father. Our ultimate allegiance is with Christ, everything else is a
supporting or bit player and whenever they travel beyond the teachings of
Jesus, in my opinion, they become null and void.
Most of my adult life has been asking this question: “What
was the essence of what Jesus was teaching us?”. What did Jesus focus on in his teachings? Huston Smith, author of
The World’s Religions, said most succinctly that “everything that came
from [Jesus’] lips…focus[ed] human awareness on the two most important facts
about life: God’s overwhelming love for humanity, and the need for people to
accept that love and let it flow through them to others.” That quote summed it
up for me. I later came across eight points
in the book entitled The World’s Wisdom. I call them The Eight Jesus Rules. I hate to call them “rules”.
It sounds like draconian demands when I use that word. I always hear my
mind saying “Rules are meant to be broken.” –that’s from my arts education in
college. The rebel in me hates rules. I had thought about calling them
“commandments”, but there are already ten of those people don’t follow. The rebel in me hates rules and commands,
but I think I could follow these rules pretty easily.
Jesus Christ’s teachings can be summarized into eight points
(The Eight Jesus Rules):
1) Love one another.
2) Turn the other cheek.
3) Love your enemies.
4) The Golden Rule (In everything do to others as you would have them do to you.)
5) I was hungry and you gave me food.
6) Before all else, be reconciled (be at peace with others i.e. settle your quarrels with people).
7) Forgive seventy-seven times.
8) Let the sinless cast the first stone.
It’s really that simple.
NOTE: These eight points could serve as a litmus test for
any post or person telling you what Jesus would or would not approve. A senator
saying that cutting food benefits for the poor is a Christian thing (NO, see
numbers 1, 4, and 5). A pastor calling for intolerance and hate (NO, numbers 1,
4, 6, and 9) A Christian demanding violence for something he doesn’t like (NO,
numbers 1,2,3,4…you get the picture). Use that list, hang it near your
computer, and, as Jesus also said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you
in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by
their fruits.”
Saturday 20 June 2015
Petunia the Donkey (Television Personality)
"One of the most important jackasses in American television history...a definite cultural icon." -American Institute of Television
Life with Petunia (1956-1960)
A pet donkey named Petunia follows two muleskinners, Pork
and Beanz, around the Wild West.
Petunia could talk to the audience by using subtitles, but Pork and
Beanz could only hear her bray. The two
would get themselves into all sorts of wacky adventures resulting in
catastrophes from which Petunia would save them. Petunia was famous for her line “Pork and Beanz is going to get
canned!”
The show generated lots of merchandise during its initial
run –from lunch boxes to Petunia dolls.
The best selling item among girls was a straw hat like the one Petunia
wore with a yellow sunflower and donkey ears; boys preferred the gray or blue
muleskinner hats like the ones Pork and Beanz wore.
The show most people remember is the last episode in which
Petunia drags Pork and Beanz into the wagon after they knock themselves out
trying to get away from lit sticks of dynamite they thought were candles. Petunia then jumps into the back of the
wagon, grabs the reins of the workhorse Theodore, and drives the buggy to the
doctor’s office in Gold Nugget City. Memorable line from the episode: Doc: “I seen a horsefly, but by tarnation,
Sheriff, I’ve never seen a donkey drive.”
Petunia as herself
Rock Boylan as Pork
Kenny Smith as Beanz
Theodore as himself
Winston Smith as Doc Johnson
Petunia’s Wagon Train (1960-1965)
Everyone’s favorite donkey is back –in Full Color! In this series, Petunia is a member of a
wagon train going further west. She is
accompanied by a cowgirl named Bessie and an Indian named Bumblin’ Bee. Bessie is the only person that can
understand Petunia and together every week they save the wagon train and
Bumblin’ Bee whenever trouble occurs.
Hilarity always ensues!
According to television legend, the actor that played
Bumblin’ Bee, the British actor Harrington Cross III, hated animals, especially
donkeys, making it easy to play his character which had a love/hate
relationship with Petunia. Bumblin’ Bee
is famous for the line, “If I a choice, you’d be a pair of moccasins (or teepee
or saddlebag or leather belt or whatever –it was changed every week)
Petunia as herself
Mary Alexander as Bessie
Harrington Cross III as Bumblin’ Bee
Mack Kennedy as Colonel Frederick Beauregard
When the series was cancelled in 1965, four movies were made
to continue the franchise:
Son of Petunia, 1965
Bessie (played by Mary Alexander) must find a way to get
Petunia to St. Louis to give birth to her colt; however, somebody wants to
stuff her and put her in an Old West museum.
Brewster Kicks It Home, 1967
Petunia’s son, Brewster, must find his way home after
accidentally getting off a train in Los Angeles. While traveling he meets Freddy (played by Mack Kennedy), a down
on his luck veteran. During their
adventures, Brewster and Freddy are hired to play for a local baseball team.
Brewster helps the team to victory and becomes a star. He finds his way home traveling along with
the baseball team.
(NOTE: This movie is set in the 1960s instead of the
Wild West. The movies that follow after
this will also be set in more modern times)
Brewster Kicks Across Europe, 1970
Brewster the donkey travels to Europe to play in baseball
game and discovers relatives destined for the glue factory. He defeats, with the help of his friend
Freddy (played by Jack Farnsworth*), the evil glue factory millionaire Sir
Alfred Stickibunns (played by veteran Shakespearean actor Sir Charles
Fenwick). He and Freddy help the
donkeys find a home in a petting zoo in London. Cheerio!
*Mack Kennedy died in 1966 and was
replaced by the younger Jack Farnsworth
Brewster Kicks Again!, 1973
Brewster meets a circus donkey named Lovey, and he and
Freddy (Jack Farnsworth) must help her save the big top from a scheming
corporation bent on closing down the Algernon Brother’s Family Circus.
Later in the seventies, a movie was made to try to bring the
famous franchise back to television:
Son of Brewster (made for TV movie), 1976
Brewster the Donkey’s son, Algernon, saves a little town
from being demolished and ultimate finds a quiet pasture for his entire family.
The reboot movie:
Three Donkeys (animated) 2016
Three donkeys (Petunia, Brewster, and Algernon) must save
the world from the archvillian Zazu and her evil henchmen. Zazu wants to poison all the farms with a
monster plant she has created in order to force everyone to buy food from her
factories. It is up to the three
donkeys with an orphan named Bess and a bumblebee sidekick named Bebe to stop
the evil Zazu.
Tuesday 16 June 2015
"Ethan" (Updated)
It had all started with the Chinese. The scientific community in China had become the “Wild West” of the science world. Chinese scientists didn’t have the same limits that many other nations imposed upon research, such as the outlawing genetic engineering of human DNA or the banning of the use of human embryos in scientific research. Chinese scientists had begun to experiment with the genetic engineering of human embryos – something that had been outlawed in most other industrialized nations decades earlier as the fear that people would begin to design their own babies’ intelligence and looks. The Chinese reported that they had tried to manipulate the genes that were responsible for various genetic diseases in the human body. They insisted that the embryos would have never survived and that the data gathered was never planned on being used to create “designer” babies. The Chinese government, after discussions with the United Nations and other nations, closed down the facilities engaged in the research and the world thought that that was the end of it. As time passed, genetic engineering of plants, animals, bacteria, and viruses became a common technology that eventually settled into academia and failed to get the attention of the news media. Laws became more relaxed and often quietly discarded. Some nations began to actively seek out those Chinese scientists that had experimented with genetically modifying human DNA. Biotechnology companies sought out the brightest of those scientists. For years, despite rumors and protest campaigns, companies remained quiet concerning any research involving the modification of human DNA, until that day Ethan was presented to the world.
The world at large didn’t know about Ethan until he
was six years old. When he was presented at the international news
conference, people immediately fell in love with the adorable child. He
amazed everyone with his intellectual abilities and physical skills. Of
course, many thought that he was just an ordinary child – until it was proven
that he really was the first genetically modified human. A DNA test was
done live at the press conference under the skeptic eyes of several noted
scientists from various international universities. The scientists who presented him to the world talked about the
various genetic changes and genetic protein coding. They merely glanced
over the topic of “insertion of other taxonomic genetic material”, but
the world was more enchanted with the sweetness of the child they saw online
singing “Jesus Loves Me”. Some questioned the phrase “insertion of other
taxonomic genetic material”, but the scientists would state that it was merely inconsequential biological material and
unimportant to the discussion. The procedure, according to the
scientists employed by the American Bio-Tech Consortium (ABTC) was completely
safe - Ethan was as human as anyone else. The procedure, they explained, took
DNA from a human egg and a human sperm and merely modified them to bring out
the best qualities possible. It was no different, they assured, than buying a
car and then adding the best options available to it. Ethan was a child with the best options that could be found in
DNA.
ABTC said that there had been extraordinary testing of the procedures involved
in producing Ethan. They admitted that there had been four other children
before Ethan who had not survived but that finally all the problems of
viability had been solved. The ABTC scientists gave lectures at every
major university on the development and future of genetically engineered
children. They asserted that Ethan would have a normal, if not extended,
lifespan and that he was as healthy, if not healthier, as any child his
age. Doctors across the globe backed up the claims of the ABTC, signing
letters supporting the work, which were published in newspapers around the
world. Governments quickly approved the procedures and gave ABTC a wide
leeway. Many thought it would be a new golden age for Mankind.The year after Ethan turned eleven, couples from across the world had embraced the new technology to create their own baby. It was estimated that well over 1,000 couples had initially signed up when the technology was first offered. Many people wondered if it could solve their infertility. Some just wanted the best child money could buy. Some just wanted a bright healthy child like Ethan. ABTC reported that by the first anniversary of the procedure, fifty thousand couples had CNM children.
Genetic engineering wasn’t a foreign thing to people at the time. It had become an accepted part of life. Genetic engineering was to this time, as chemistry was to the 20th Century – the way to a better life. There were still non-GMO fundamentalists that would complain or protest, but no one took them seriously. It had been many years since genetically modified organisms had lost their patents and they were now everywhere. You couldn’t avoid them since practically all life now contained bits of altered DNA –“genetic pollution”, as some radicals called it. “Organic” came to mean merely anything grown stationary in soil since the locomotive vegetable barrier had been broken. Cross-taxonomic organisms, locomotive or not, had become a fact of life. Before Ethan the greatest genetic engineering feat had been the creation of the avocado steak, the first non-locomotive meat, from a “tree”.
By the time Ethan had turned 20, he had been joined by over 4,020,730 other “Children of the New Mother”, or CNM. They had been given that name by a journalist who coined the term to differentiate them from unmodified children, or “Children of the Old Mother” – “Old Mother” referring to the mythological Mother Earth. The “New Mother” was science. The ABTC preferred to call them “non-CNM” children –it made them to be seen as lacking something important.
Most of the major hospitals of the world had CNM franchises. The franchises were so popular because of the huge profits that could be made by selling CNM products and services. After the biological mother had been implanted with the CNM egg, she could be sold a multitude of prenatal packages; after the birth, there were the various other products based on the age of the child. Of course no one wanted their CNM child to be the one lacking the best. The financial floodgates really opened when the CNM franchises began to offer products and services to parents of non-CNM children. The best-selling product for non-CNM children was CNM cellular injections. Hospitals were also urged to consider CNM services for certain illnesses and conditions in adults.
Anyone visiting a CNM franchise couldn’t get away from Ethan’s image. Cardboard cutouts of Ethan would direct you to various areas. Posters of the cute little boy staring out at you asking, “How important is your child? If they aren’t Children of the New Mother, then try CNM CogniTherapy today!” Videos played in every hospital waiting room and lobby showing Ethan solving intricate math problems and laughing. The ubiquitous t-shirts with his drawings or watercolours were usually sold-out. The Adventures of Ethan comic books were on every shelf.
People had not seen much of Ethan himself since his 16th birthday; anyway, the world was busy with its new prodigies. The ABTC stated that Ethan was living a regular life and that they did not want him to be under the scrutiny of the press every day. Of course, you would hear a rumor or see a photo, but there really wasn’t too much press about Ethan. The tabloids would report that he was supposedly dating some young film star or a royal, but not much else.
The children born after Ethan, however, were constantly in the news. Many were the focus of human-interest stories. The stories focusing on their rights and conditions always made the top news stories. The American Bio-tech Consortium had made the claim that genetically modified children had to attend the ABTC School of Science and the Arts (available at most franchises), and many parents complained; the court ruled that the parents had signed a waiver upon implantation of the modified embryo and had to comply or give their child up to the guardianship of the ABTC. In the ruling the court stated that the children were too mentally advanced for regular public or private school and only the ABTC could effectively and completely educate them. One couple had been imprisoned for endangering a minor and child abuse when they went to live in the mountains with their CNM child. There was a big media blitz when one couple won a lawsuit against a church that had refused to allow their young boy to enter the cathedral during a vacation, the priest saying, “that the child was an abomination unto the Lord”.
The biggest scandal on record occurred after a journalist attempted to interview Ethan on his 25th birthday. The ABTC had issued an official birthday packet, covering what Ethan had been doing since his 16th birthday. According to the packet, he had attended a major university and had started a job at ABTC as a genetic engineer/advisor. The journalist, Laura Hopkins, had wanted more information as well as a personal interview with Ethan but ABTC refused again and again. She finally went undercover as an ABTC franchise employee, ultimately making it to ABTC central headquarters. She published a story on the eve of Ethan’s 33rd birthday that totally blew Ethan’s life open to the world. The world was shocked. Many refused to believe it, however, Miss Hopkins had documented everything perfectly.
According to the Hopkins Report, there was a reason Ethan disappeared from the public when he was 16 and it didn’t follow the story released to the public. When Ethan started to experience puberty, some hidden genes had begun to exert themselves; Ethan began to develop physical changes beyond those of a normal puberty, including but not limited to extremely excessive hair growth, bony growth projections on his jaw, and rough hard epithelial cells on his skin. Besides the physical changes, Ethan had begun to experience intense moments of rage so bad he had to be restrained and sedated. Hopkins also reported that Ethan could now only consume raw meat, becoming very ill and violent if he did not. Ethan had also begun to fail many mental skill tests, although he had maintained his excellence in physical skills. ABTC commented to say only that the report was a lie and they were talking to their lawyers. ABTC did admit that certain treatments had been given free to CNM children after Ethan to correct certain irregularities. However, they refused to admit that Ethan wasn’t the accomplished young man that he was portrayed as being. A judge asked to meet with Ethan face-to-face, and ultimately the ABTC had to admit that that was impossible, due to Ethan’s violent nature. For the next two years, there was a torrent of legal battles, suits and counter suits.
Parents of CNM children began to give up their
children to ABTC guardianship or to the appropriate authorities, although some
parents refused to even consider it.
One couple came out and publicly said that they were well aware that
they had made a mistake genetically engineering their child, but that they were
ready to accept the responsibility of their actions. The couple was killed by their CNM son who himself was shot by
the police who answered the emergency call.
When pictures of the boy were leaked online, many considered it a
joke. The pictures of the dead boy were
considered by many to be photographs of an animal that had been altered. When it was proven it was indeed the boy,
people became outraged and frightened.
ABTC
franchise hospitals began to report that the parents of CNM children were
overwhelming them. Many of the children had started to become ill and
many of the hospitals were unprepared for the onslaught. Governments
didn’t get involved until one of the children went on a rampage and killed four
nurses. The death of the nurses started people openly talking about what would
actually happen when the children grew up.
Riots around the world damaged and sometimes destroyed ABTC facilities. Doctors, scientists and others connected
with ABTC were attacked.
At the last count there were 220,267,000 CNM
children worldwide. An estimated third of all non-CNM children worldwide had
received at least one CNM cellular treatment, designed to enhance their
DNA. People began asking the question
–who was really truly human?
Thursday 11 June 2015
“Do wizards need money?”
I should be working on my
writing. Procrastination has set in. This is merely done for the fun of
it. I enjoy Ms. Rowling's imaginitive writing, but I get these questions
in my head and want to answer them (writing practice and mental exercise is my
excuse). So to get the formalities out of the way: Disclaimer: All
Harry Potter names, characters, places, incidents et al. herein are the
property of J.K. Rowling and her legal licensees, including but not limited to
Bloomsbury/Scholastic, etc. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended
and no money is being made.
Muggle-born
Orientation Lecture (MOLe) #22,
presented by Prof. Amelia Tillywig, answering
the question,
“Do wizards need money?”
Professor Tillywig: “Most wizards have a large stockpile of
gold, silver, and bronze metals in the bank.
Some of the most powerful wizards and witches in history are said to
have had the powers of alchemic transmutation –the ability to turn base metals
into precious metals. All magical folk
have the power to feed, to clothe, and to shelter themselves without the need
of money. Magical folk can exist
without money or an economic system, yet we choose to use the gold Galleon, the
silver Sickle, and the bronze Knut everyday. Why do we bother with a system of
money?
It happens that gold, silver, and bronze have the unique
characteristics of being incredibly powerful conductors and intensifiers of
magic. Rarely are wands made using
gold, silver, or bronze due to their power potential; when one of the precious
metals is used in creation of a wand it must be used in small amounts by a
powerful wizard using other substances able to subtlety balance the effects of
the potent metal. Any spell using these metals should be considered very
forceful and extremely effective (and should only be attempted by accomplished
magic folk). Charms, amulets, and other magical items made of one of the
precious metals has the magic of the item amplified many, many times over. A
witch and wizard can successfully use magic without ever using the precious
metals; however, the metals remain an extremely strong cultural symbol of
increased magical power and potential.
The symbolism of the metals is actually the basis of the
wizard ‘monetary system’. Magic folk
could easily swap needed items or use a simple barter system, yet they prefer
to use a system of ‘power exchange’.
When a magic person offers the owner of The Three
Broomsticks Pub two sickles for a pint of butterbeer, he isn’t offering money
–he’s offering power. He’s saying, in
effect, ‘Take this small representation of potential magical strength in
exchange for the butterbeer’. It is an
exchange of power having nothing to do with economics.
Old wizarding families that sit upon outrageous uncountable
fortunes would look wealthy by Muggle standards but to magic folk they are
powerful –powerful enough to give away bits of potential magical power in
exchange for grand finery without worry.
Magic people with more limited stashes of the precious metals must be a
bit more conservative.
Why not just make more precious metals using magic? The alchemic transmutation of base metals
into precious metals is difficult for even the most experienced and powerful
wizards using huge amounts of magic; and even then, it has its
limitations. Most available precious
metals have been secured into family vaults and are passed on to following
generations.”
“Why do some magical spaces seem so dusty, dirty and full of cobwebs?”
I should be working on my writing. Procrastination has set in. This is merely done for the fun of it. I enjoy Ms. Rowling's imaginitive writing, but I get these questions in my head and want to answer them (writing practice and mental exercise is my excuse). So to get the formalities out of the way: Disclaimer: All
Harry Potter names, characters, places, incidents et al. herein are the
property of J.K. Rowling and her legal licensees, including but not
limited to Bloomsbury/Scholastic, etc. No copyright or trademark
infringement is intended and no money is being made.
Muggle-born Orientation Lecture (MOLe) #13,
presented by
Prof. Amelia Tillywig, answering the question,
“Why do some magical spaces seem
so dusty, dirty and full of cobwebs?”
Professor Tillywig: “One of the first things that many of
you will notice is that the world of magical folk is a bit dusty. It isn’t because magical folk are
particularly dirty or unclean; we’re just all very careful. The wizarding world has dangers never seen
in the other world –the most mundane object can be imbued with a magic spell or
charm and become dangerous if treated without caution or respect. Well what does this have to do with the dust
and cobwebs found in many places in the magical world, you may ask? I can easily answer that for you.
As I was wizard-born, I can tell you that we are told from a
very early age to keep our hands in our pockets when we went to the house of a
wizard or witch. To go around touching
strange objects in a strange magical environment can get you hurt very badly or
even kill you. My cousin Bartimelous
was killed when he picked up a charmed pair of secateurs in the shed of an old
witch – it cut him up like he was an old hedge. He had neither the ability to control it nor the power. As they say in the Muggle world, ‘let
sleeping dogs lie’. Because we have
been trained not to touch or interact with things we don’t know, you’d never
see a magical being going into the house of a dead magical person to have a
clear out. We’ll just let the dust
collect and leave most of the objects alone.
No one wants to be the victim of contagious magic.
That is one of the biggest problems in the magical world
–contagious magic. Contagious magic is when objects are still linked to a witch
or wizard or still imbued with a charm with the potential to suddenly become
magically active. This is a problem
especially if a spell or charm has not been carried out to fruition. A needle can be charmed to, say, repair a
tear in a robe, but the magical person might walk away before the act is
accomplished. That needle might retain
the charm and end up poking someone in the eye or sewing up his or her mouth.
[The professor makes a sewing motion across her mouth, and then pretends to try
to speak. She throws her hands into the
air with feigned exasperation, then continues.] Always be sure to carry your spells and charms to fruition or
nullify them. As the saying goes, ‘if you can’t carry it out, then put it out.
Nullify, nullify, nullify.’
Even when things are not purposely imbued with magic,
natural objects can still have magical effects. For example, feathers are powerful objects used in the magical
world for many purposes. The quill
itself that you are holding is an important magical tool. Feathers have been used in magic for
thousands of years because of their magical potential. To rub a feather duster across an assortment
of objects could be a very dangerous act.
Let me demonstrate; [The professor walks to her desk and positions a
small clay pot of ivy near the edge.
She picks up her wand and turns the pot of ivy into a pot of ‘poison
ivy’. The spines on the tip of the
leaves strike against the pot making tiny pinging sounds. The enchanted vine twists and turns,
occasionally striking at nearby objects like an angry serpent. The professor picks up a quill and moves the
tip toward the ‘poison ivy’ which strikes at it.] As you see the charmed ivy is very dangerous as this simple quill
can be. [She reaches into a nearby drawer and pulls out a polished ball of
quartz] As you may or may not know,
quartz is also a powerful natural object often used in charms, spells and
rituals. The combination of feather and
quartz can produce an intriguing elementary charm. Watch. [She sets the orb
onto the desk and rolls it toward the potted plant. It hits the clay pot, with a sharp tap. The ‘poison ivy’ coils then strikes out at the quartz. The professor reaches in with the quill and
rubs it across the polished surface of the quartz. Immediately, the ‘poison ivy’ reverts back to a pot of ordinary
harmless ivy. The professor stops rubbing the quill against the quartz and the
charmed ivy then returns to its venomous state. The professor rests against the edge of her desk and crosses her
arms. The tip of the quill brushes
against her nose and she lets out a small sneeze. She regains her composure.]
Rubbing a feather, quill or not, over a polished quartz can temporarily
create a nullifying magical effect – it, of course, only lasts seconds and can
only be done once with each feather.
Imagine the effect if that is done near a binding spell keeping a
dangerous enchanted object at bay.
Imagine if it was done near a magical lock keeping something dangerous
imprisoned. It is a very weak piece of
magic but the potential is there.
What I’m saying is that it is the magical potential of objects
that prevent magical folks to approach unknown objects with caution and
respect. You wouldn’t find many witches
or witches that would randomly pick up an object and wipe it with a cleaning
cloth or polish it with a chamois. No
magical folk would walk into an unknown room and begin to dust everything with
a feather duster. I hope you will
conduct yourself accordingly.
It must also be noted, however, that some magical spaces are
kept very clean for security reasons.
Magical powders and dustings can easily be disguised as ordinary house
dust. Spiders, as well as other small
creatures, might be employed as ‘bugging devices’. Cleanliness is simply a security measure. Aurors will go into a space that needs to be
secured and they will inventory every object.
They will also disintegrate every dust particle and cobweb. They will use enchantments to repel small
creatures and dirt. It is a long and
intense charm session that most magical folk wouldn’t want to conduct.
Tuesday 3 February 2015
Russia’s and Empress Catherine II’s Reaction to the American Declaration of Independence
This post is a further exploration about how other countries
(and their leaders) reacted to the American Declaration of Independence.
Late 18th century English cartoon on Catherine
the Great's territorial ambitions in Turkey. (The Granger Collection, New York)
|
Although the Russian diplomat in his
dispatch to the tsarist court was prudent not to mention high principles and
the natural rights of man, it is to his credit that he evaluated the
declaration and the courage of its creators very positively. ‘The publication
of this document,’ Lizakevich concludes, ‘as well as the proclamation of a
formal declaration of war against Great Britain offer evidence of the courage
of the leadership there.’
The Russian diplomat clearly
emphasized that the document was a declaration of war on Britain. The reports
of Russian diplomats from London, in particular the dispatch of Lizakevich,
served as an important source of information for the head of the College of
Foreign Affairs, Panin, and Catherine II (Catherine the Great) herself on the
situation in America and contributed to the formation, within the tsarist
government, of an opinion critical of Britain's policy toward her former
colonies. It is significant that the empress repeatedly observed that
separation of the American colonies from Britain was practically unavoidable
and that Panin and his close colleagues found the reasons for the rebellion in
North America in the "personal fault" of the British cabinet and
believed that the separation of the colonies from their mother country did not
conflict with the interests of Russia and might even be advantageous to her.”
The
American revolutionary government sent Francis Dana as the official
representative to the Court of St. Petersburg.
During his time in Russia, Empress Catherine the Great refused to meet
with him or to officially recognize the United States. However, the Empress did institute The First
League of Armed Neutrality. This union
consisted of Russia, France, and Spain against Great Britain. Members of the League all agreed to protect
the right of neutral powers to trade with warring powers, meaning they could
continue to trade with the United States without concern for British blockades
or attacks. Americans continued to
receive vital supplies from Europe throughout the war, allowing them to defeat
Great Britain. Catherine wasn’t exactly
on the side of the Americans; it was more of a case of disliking the British
and King George III. She had already
refused British use of the Russian army and navy. She had thought that King George had allowed the rebellion to
occur and that he should be taught a lesson.
The Russian reaction was more about the Empress gaining power over King
George than American independence. (see http://www.quora.com/What-was-Russias-reaction-when-America-declared-its-independence)
For a Russian translation of the
American Declaration of Independence and further reading: http://chnm.gmu.edu/declaration/russian.html
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