“Winter Wonderland,” written by Felix Bernard with lyrics by Richard B. Smith. It’s a seasonal song, not specifically about the holidays, but it has been associated with Christmas since it appeared in 1934. Performed here by Cocteau Twins (Elizabeth Fraser, soprano).
______________
Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-kAG
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
There was a big election in Scotland on September 18th, and the “Ayes” have it. For the first time since its founding in 1754, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews will admit women to its membership.
More:
“A 260-Year-Old Shrine Unlocks Its Doors to Women,” Karen Crouse, New York Times
“Royal and Ancient Golf Club finally allows women to become members,” Holly Watt, Daily Telegraph
“Scotland votes for union at golf’s ancient club as women win membership,” CNN
“Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews welcome women members with 85 per cent voting in favour landmark change,” Michael Gadd, Daily Mail
“The Royal And Ancient Golf Club Finally Admits Women. Where Else Can They Still Not Go?” Allison McCann, FiveThirtyEight
________________
Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-jWx
Image (“Big Scotland Vote, after a St. Andrews poster”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length
Canada has banned imports of Marmite – not because it’s made from British brewery waste, but because it’s artificially fortified with vitamins to back up dubious health claims, and food spreads in Canada aren’t allowed such fortification.
The stuff was imported by Brit Foods, a Canadian retailer specializing in British comestibles. The yeasty brown gunk is an iconic UK product, a cherished symbol of the Empire to which Canada once belonged. We have not been able to determine if the Marmite ban endangers Canada’s membership in the Commonwealth.
To avoid the appearance of favoritism in the upcoming independence referendum, Canada also banned imports of Scotland’s Irn-Bru, a ghastly orange-colored soft drink and symbol of modern Scottish identity. That color is supplied by Ponceau 4R, a pigment derived from coal tar which, unlike clubbing baby seals to death, is prohibited in the Great White North.
“The University of Aberdeen is considering establishing a chair in a form of alternative medicine described by one expert as ‘pure quackery.’
Aberdeen’s governance and nominations committee is considering whether to establish a chair in ‘integrative health care and management,’ to be funded primarily by an anthroposophical clinic.
According to Edzard Ernst, professor of complementary medicine at the University of Exeter, anthroposophy was founded in the early 20th century by Austrian spiritualist Rudolf Steiner. Ernst said that anthroposophical drug treatments were based on the movement’s beliefs about the interplay between physiological and spiritual processes in illness and healing. One example is the use of mistletoe to treat cancer, which is based on the observation that, like cancer, mistletoe is a parasitic growth that eventually kills its host.
Describing anthroposophical medicine as ‘pure quackery,’ Ernst said there was no robust evidence for its effectiveness, with some reports suggesting that mistletoe treatment offered ‘considerable potential for harm.'”
— “‘Holistic’ Research or ‘Quackery’?” Paul Jump, Times Higher Education via Inside Higher Ed
Think it can’t happen here? It has.
“Anthroposophic medicine at the University of Michigan? Say it ain’t so!” Respectful Insolence
___________________
Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-d4M
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
There’s romance in the air at the Edinburgh Zoo, but it’s in the minds of zookeepers, not in the hearts of the pair of pandas they hope to breed. Tian Tian and Yang Guang (“Sunshine” and “Sweetie”) got together on a brief date which included a cuddle, but cupid’s arrow missed its mark. The Sun has video (the swine).
The female panda only goes into heat for 1 day a year, leaving 364 when she’s JUST NOT IN THE MOOD thankyouverymuch. Pass the bamboo, please.
___________________
Short Link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-cVZ
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
Washington friends of Scotland’s National Poet Robert Burns are celebrating his 250th birthay at the Library of Congress Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday, February 24 — 25. The Library’s American Folklife Center has organized a free symposium and concert, Robert Burns at 250: Poetry, Politics & Performance, and a few seats are still available (register here).
Tuesday afternoon’s highlights include an address by The Right Honorable Alex Salmond, MP, MSP, First Minister of Scotland, and a concert and poetry recital with Billy Kay, Margaret Bennett, Ed Miller, Valentina Bold, and others.
Wednesday’s events feature poetry readings and panels on Burns and traditional culture, Burns the celebrity, and the state of poetry and literature today in Scotland and America (see the complete program). Participants include poets Robert Crawford, Patricia Gray, Kay Ryan (Poet Laureate of the United States), and Myra Sklarew.
Robert Burns at 250: Poetry, Politics & Performance Symposium
February 24-25, 2009
Mumford Room, 6th Floor
James Madison Memorial Building
The Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, DC
Image (wee puir thing) by Mike Licht.
NotionsCapital 