Personal Blogs

The Neanderthals fascinate us; they were close enough to interbreed, but we know so little of them. Could they talk, for example? No-one can say.

The name is from the Neanderthal, a German valley (thal, tal in modern German, the same word as English dale or dell). I always imagined it was named for a river: 'the valley of the Neander'.

But not so; the valley is called after a local 17c pastor. His family name was Neumann, but being a scholar he translated it into Greek, Neander.

So in a wry twist, the valley where the bones of our old relatives were first found is literally 'New man's dale'.

I'm reading The Unfolding of Language by Guy Deutscher and he quotes this German proverb

"Keeping order is a crutch for those who are too lazy to search for things …" ("Wer Ordnung hält ist nur zu faul zu suchen").

I couldn't help feeling a lot better about my desktop when I read this (similar to the feeling I get when I see a photograph of Francis Bacon's studio).

Relationship guidance. Stick to Sudoku. That way you'll have fewer cross words.

Swans bittern twite shrike

Doctor Blunder went down under
On a tourist plane;
He died in combat,
With a hairy-nosed wombat,
And never returned home again.

Nikos Katzantzakis was a controversial Cretan writer, most famous for the book and film "Zorba the Greek'. His epitaph is famous.

It's often translated in a literal way, but how the capture the spirit? Here's my attempt.

Photo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kazantzakis_Grab.jpg

I've heard eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Thanks, but I can do without electronic seabirds watching me.

Why?
Bye!

The Hicks Basin exists and we don't need a Large Hadron Collider to see it!

http://www.hicksandhicks.com/antiques/antique-basins/

Sire Lancelot was late atte the lists. Butte Sire Gawain was joust in time.