text:
Bree Corn
Q&A with Fermilab's first artist-in-residence
By Chris Patrick
Symmetry sits down with Lindsay Olson as she wraps up a year of creating art inspired by particle physics.
How did you end up at Fermilab?
LO:
In March 2014 I had an exhibition of my work at North Park College. Several members of the Fermilab art committee attended my talk. Hearing me speak about one of my residencies, Georgia Schwender, curator of Fermilab's art gallery, invited me to help her establish a pilot residency that would continue Fermilab's tradition of nurturing both art and science.
What did you do during your residency?
During a residency, I want to have a full immersion experience. I worked closely with passionate scientists, including Don Lincoln, Sam Zeller and Debbie Harris. I read books and popular science journalism, attended public lectures, and watched videos. This immersive learning is the scaffolding from which I create my art.
What's your artistic process like?
I want to make engaging, accessible art about real, complicated science: art that will connect with the public and inspire them to ask their own questions about the nature of reality and the origin of the cosmos. When I converse with a scientist, I glean the key points and translate them in an artistic way. Many artists use oil paint, watercolor and other traditional materials. But when I work, I want to use media to reinforce the message in the art. Everyone uses textiles in their daily lives, so creating work in them felt like a natural choice.
What inspired you at Fermilab?
The Standard Model was the first piece of physics I learned. This conceptual tool was not only an appropriate beginning for the project, but a door into a fascinating way to understand reality. Passionate scientists of the present and science heroes of the past, especially Ray Davis, Richard Feynman and Robert Wilson, also inspired me.
What is one of your most memorable experiences at Fermilab?
I took several training courses, including radiation safety training. This allowed me to shadow operators into the guts of several experiments during a recent shutdown. It was thrilling. Accelerator science is about riding a bucking bronco of energetic particles. Understanding how the messy beam behaves showed me that nature is not just about forests, creatures and rocks. At the subatomic level, nature is wild, energetic and mysterious. I plan to make large-scale drawings based on what I have learned in the Accelerator Division.
I've been surprised at every turn. As an artist, I've been trained to observe the surface of reality. Everything looks solid and unmoving. But the subatomic realm is far more spacious and energetic than I could have imagined.
How did you become interested in expressing science in your art?
Before I created art about science, I painted landscapes. I created portraits of area waterways. I was editing out all the manmade features and creating idealized images of streams and rivers. One day I was canoeing past an aeration station on the Chicago Canal and became curious about the real story of water in a dense urban area. I approached the District about beginning an art project that would tell this story. I started a residency at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Strange as it may sound, I fell in love with science in the middle of a wastewater treatment plant.
How did your residency at Fermilab differ from past residencies?
The most striking difference is the amount of resources available at Fermilab. It's hard to imagine any other government agency where you will find not only cutting-edge science, but also a buffalo herd, a beautiful art gallery, a concert hall, a restored prairie and a graveyard.
What will you take with you when you leave Fermilab?
One of the most powerful lessons I learned with this residency is that I am not afraid to learn any kind of science. I have limits because I lack the background in math. Despite this, I feel confident about learning enough science to make meaningful art. If I can learn science, others can too.
Once I've finished the art, the project is far from over. Finding places to show the work I made while at Fermilab will be the next challenge. I want to use the work to inspire viewers to take a closer look at science in general and particle physics in particular. I hope the project helps people with no technical training, like me, to appreciate the beauty and elegance of our universe.
I have no set plans for my next residency, but I have a few ideas simmering on the back burner. Perhaps I will be surprised by another opportunity. My residency with Fermilab has changed my view of reality enough for me to know that there are surprises out in the universe for any of us who take the time to discover what science can teach us.
Art by Fermilab artist-in-residence Lindsay Olson.
Olson used three colors of beads in a piece inspired by neutrinos to represent the three flavors of neutrinos.
Olson found extra space to work on a large-scale project on Fermilab's Wilson Hall stage.
Physics & art
These creators intertwine art and science.
'Entangle' exhibit fuels imagination with physics
A Swedish university tapped the founding director of CERN's artist-in-residence program to curate a new art exhibit inspired by physics.
The bubble chamber sand mandala
One sprinkle of sand at a time, two artists recreated the moment a particle passed through a detector 30 years earlier.
A taste of particle physics
For physicists Katy Grimm and Katharine Leney, science is a piece of cake.
'A beautiful gathering of two worlds'
CERN inspired famous Dutch fashion artist Iris van Herpen to create her Magnetic Motion collection.
A CERN engineer sees if she has what it takes to live and work on Mars.
The language of physics
10 more words that mean something different to scientists.
Europe's path forward
Physicists meet this week in Granada, Spain, to update the European Strategy for Particle Physics.
Building a particle physics laboratory requires more than physicists.
Looking to the literature
Fermilab's Inclusivity Journal Club seeks answers to difficult social questions in science.


text:
Brèves – miejscowość i gmina we Francji, w regionie Burgundia-Franche-Comté, w departamencie Nièvre.

Według danych na rok 1990 gminę zamieszkiwało 286 osób, a gęstość zaludnienia wynosiła 17 osób/km² (wśród 2044 gmin Burgundii Brèves plasuje się na 627. miejscu pod względem liczby ludności, natomiast pod względem powierzchni na miejscu 560.).

Bibliografia

Miejscowości w departamencie Nièvre

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The Permaculture Flower, modified from Holmgren.
meet them sustainably on the personal,local, and regional levels.
Permaculture is hard to define, but I think of it as a design approach for realizing a new paradigm.
Humans are a problem-solving species. We uncover challenges — How do we get food? How do we make shelter? How do we stay healthy? — and then we develop tools to solve those problems. We live on a planet that for millennia was large compared to the human population, its needs and impact. We could focus for the last 10,000 years on meeting our needs by expanding agriculture's immense power to convert wild ecosystems into food and habitat for people, and we could ignore ecosystem health. But our industrial civilization of seven billion is chewing up ecosystems relentlessly. Without healthy ecosystems, we now know that humans, along with everything else, suffer. So we cannot focus solely on, "How do we meet human needs?" Now we must add the words, "while preserving ecosystem health." This is a huge paradigm shift that makes us re-evaluate almost everything humans do in light of how it affects the whole web of life.
It changes the tools that we use and changes the mindset required to develop and use new, appropriate tools. It also restores a relationship between people and nature that agriculture, by treating nature like a mere resource to be subjugated and consumed, had severed. That's quite a shift.
Permaculture, then, is not a philosophy or worldview, and it is not a single tool. It is the approach for using the tools — a way of working that is guided by the new paradigm.
The definition of permaculture can be muddled, but the one that must rise to the top is that it is a design approach for arriving at regenerative solutions. In more concrete terms, permaculture tells us how to choose from a dauntingly large toolkit — all the human technologies and strategies for living — to solve the new problem of sustainability. It is an instruction manual for solving the challenges laid out by the new paradigm of meeting human needs while enhancing ecosystem health.
This clarifies the task set by permaculture, and I think it also distinguishes permaculture from the philosophy — the paradigm — required to use it effectively and helps us understand why permaculture is often called a movement. Permaculturists make common cause with all the other millions of people who are shifting to the new paradigm, and it is that shift — not the design approach of permaculture that supports it — that is worthy of being called a movement. Permaculture is not the movement of sustainability and it is not the philosophy behind it; it is the problem-solving approach the movement and the philosophy can use to meet their goals and design a world in which human needs are met while enhancing the health of this miraculous planet that supports us.
Toby Hemenway is author of Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture and instructor for Seattle Tilth's Permaculture Design Course starting on October 12.
Participants meet over six weekends from October 2013-March 2014. Classes are held once a month on Saturdays (8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.) and Sundays (8 a.m.-5 p.m.). Dates are as follows: Oct. 12 &13, Nov. 9 &10, Dec. 14 & 15, Jan. 11 & 12, Feb. 8 & 9, March 1 & 2.
Register online and pay in full by September 12 and save $90 off the full course tuition!


Polruan is a rural site in an elevated position on the opposite side of the river to Fowey and 200 metres from the Coastal Path. There are marvellous sea views. This is a well maintained, delightful little site with just 37 touring pitches and three holiday caravans to let. The holiday homes are arranged in a neat circle, with a central area for seven adults only tourer pitches on gravel hardstanding, all with 16A electricity and one fully serviced. An adjacent meadow has 15 pitches for motorhomes and tents, all with electricity and a third area has 10 tent only pitches (eight with electricity). This park is in a popular tourist area, within walking distance down a steep hill to the village and the passenger ferry to Fowey.
A raised picnic area gives more views across the estuary to Fowey. A member of the Countryside Discovery group.
The fully equipped, heated toilet block has modern, controllable showers large enough for an adult and child. Laundry room. Range of recycling bins. Reception with a small terrace and shop for everyday items. Gas. Microwave. Hot drinks machine and freezer for ice packs. Sloping field area with swings for children. Max. 2 dogs. Free phone charging. WiFi throughout (free).
From main A390 at East Taphouse take B3359 towards Looe. After 5 miles fork right signed Bodinnick and ferry. Watch for signs on left for Polruan and site to left. Follow these carefully along narrow Cornish lanes to site on right just before village.


text:
The Martial View
One of the fastest growing Martial Arts blogs on the web
Nice stuff nice people say about The Martial View
My Amazon Affiliate Store
Affiliate Link!
Close Quarter Combat Craziness with Defence Lab!
23 June, 2015 by admin
Endorsed by Liam Neeson, used in films such as Jack Reacher and Batman Begins and hailed by many top martial artists as the future, Andy Norman's Defence Lab is taking the world by storm and for good reason as I've recently been finding out. Anyone who follows The Martial View on Facebook knows that I fairly regularly post videos and articles sent out by the Defence Lab team. I do this for a number of reasons; I think the material is fantastic, both in terms of the content as well as the production and I think Defence Lab is paving the way for professional martial arts in terms of business, content and image. Last Saturday I attended the Defence Lab `Defence in Action` workshop in Andy Norman's home town Hull, held by Paul `Demolition Man` Strauther which focussed on close quarter combat craziness and my verdict? Absolutely mind blowing…
What makes the workshop and classes I've been attending recently so incredible? The techniques?The instruction?The application? Yes, all of the above, but it's also more than that, it's the family atmosphere Defence Lab have managed to create which I've seen lacking in some schools. Having trained at both the Nottingham school under Charles Hartnett and also the workshop under Paul, from the moment I arrived at the venues I was welcomed by the team and the students who took the time to ask how I was, see my background and generally have a chat. It's a great thing seeing a room full of people decked out in the Defence Lab black and green, laughing and joking but also learning an incredibly practical, dynamic combat system developed from real life situations. Everything that was taught in the classes and the workshop was practical and had an application with a special focus on Defence Lab's speciality, multiple assailants. Techniques were shown and explained by Paul then put into a real life context through drills such as the `Temple of Chaos` which includes working and escaping from a multiple attack situation.
The pure practicality of Defence Lab, combined with the image, branding, endorsements and family feel truly is making Defence Lab the future in martial arts in my opinion. With Andy Norman's Defence Lab being cross-branded with Phil Norman's `Ghost` system and Bob Breen's `4D Combat` as well as Eddie Quinn's `The Approach`, these all combine to form one hell of a lot of martial experience. This also shows a refreshingly collaborative approach in the world of martial arts where many bicker over whose style is best and Defence Lab has the feel of people just wanting to make friends, train in a great environment and learn an incredibly practical form of self-defence. With Defence Lab schools now active around the world, there has never been a better time to join the Defence Lab team and I would highly recommend experiencing training with them both from a martial arts perspective as well as being a part of something that is taking the world by storm and revolutionising the martial arts forever.
Posted in Martial Arts, Reviews!.	Tagged action, defence lab, family, Film, hollywood, jack reacher, liam neeson, martial arts, martial view, self defence, training.
Film Star and Bodyguard – Richard Norton Interview P.3
12 December, 2014 by admin
Film Star and Bodyguard – Interview with Richard Norton p.3!
Here's the third and final part of the awesome interview with Richard Norton! Enjoy, and share the awesomeness!
Let's go back to the martial arts side then. What do you think martial arts, both traditional and reality based can offer to the 21st century? Do they still hold relevance?
Yes and no. I think they do if the style and instructor has the wisdom to integrate it into today's world. You're right; a lot of the traditional kata or weapons work doesn't really have much relevance in today's combat arena, but then it doesn't always have to. I mean you're not going to be walking around the street with a Katana or Sai in your hand, so that side of it, for me, is about the art part of 'martial art'. I think we can often focus too much on the 'Martial' and not enough on the 'Art' side of what we do. The mental and spiritual side of the arts, I think, has a tremendous amount of benefit and relevance in today's world due to the stresses and everything we go through in day to day life, purely just to make a living and have ends meet. To have something in your daily life that's about spiritual balance is, to me, very important. The battlefield of today isn't about samurai style on horseback; it's a couple of guys outside a nightclub with a blade trying to cut you up, or your boss in your day job piling endless files on your desk with a deadline to get done. I love the traditional arts and the way it is just about me and the perfecting of my art with the mind, body and spirit in unison and I truly believe having that togetherness will help you in many a real situation. But I of course also think you need the stress tested reality based techniques as well as the traditional as these are what will really help you in a physical life or death situation. You see, in most traditional dojo's, everything we do is structured; we bow, step up and fight to specific protocols and rules, its what I call, consensual sparring. We know we are going to fight; there are rules and a referee. In the street there are no rules and you have no way of knowing what's going to happen. A lot of traditional clubs will not or cannot teach you what that aspect of combat is really like, and that's where we need to address the balance. As an example, I was once teaching a class of MMA students and I decided to ask them just why they were all there. In this case, the MMA style I was asked to teach was more UFC style; backs against the cage etc. As it turned out, 90% of those in attendance said they were interested primarily in real life self-defence. So I said well then that cuts out about 70% of what I would in a 'sport' MMA class .I mean in the street, if I happen to take you down in a fight with a version of a double or single leg, I absolutely no longer want to go down to the ground with you, as I primarily then have to worry about the possibility of other 'bad' people around kicking my head in whilst I'm tied up with you. How many times in the street will you have your back up against a cage? In street MMA, I would teach a hybrid takedown, then be immediately scanning to see if there are opponents 2, 3 or 4 that I may have to deal with. So you can have the traditional and the reality. The reverse punch comes from the hip which is probably the way I'd launch a pre-emptive strike. In the end a punch is a punch, a kick is a kick, it's the delivery systems that matter and the stimulus for delivery of that punch or kick i.e. getting shoved and screamed at, dealing with the stress factors, then launching into the physical side. This is why I like arts like BJJ as a sport, because for the most part, there is no theory. When we tap out, it's for a good reason; your arm's getting tweaked or you're going to sleep for a bit. It's the same with boxing or kickboxing. You are usually either hitting or getting hit. You can theorise all you like, but it is what it is from a combat point of view. Yes, there are still rules, but even the UFC has strict rules. At least though it's as close as you can get to a real fight, hopefully without sustaining life-threatening injuries.
So, finally your plans for the future? You've alluded to a big project next year that you can't speak too much about but anything you can tell us?
For me really its business as usual. I'm really excited about the project next year, it's huge! I'm 65 in a month and in this business you can get into the mind-set of, 'wow, maybe is this the last job? Then you get a call out of the blue for a gig and off we go again! As I have already said, my passion for the martial arts is what has brought about all the great opportunities like bodyguard work, film work and whatever in my life. Again, I truly believe that the great through line for me to continue to have is to just continue striving to be the best martial artist I can be, and then the universe will look after me with jobs in security, movies, etc. That's certainly how it's been up until now and how I expect it to be for quite some time to come. I love doing what I do. Now how many people can honestly say that? Most get up every morning hating what they do, day in and day out and are just waiting until they can retire and actually start 'living'. Fortunately for me, since 11 years of age, I've been 'living' my passion nonstop. Have there been ups and downs? Of course, but overall, it's been pretty damn great and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Posted in Interviews, Martial Arts.	Tagged chuck norris, Film, fitness, Fleetwood Mac, jackie chan, karate, martial arts, martial view, movie, Richard Norton, rolling stones, self defence, TV, zen do kai.
Film Star and Bodyguard – Richard Norton Interview Part 1!
Film Star and Bodyguard – Richard Norton Interview P.1!
He's worked with names such as Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan, and was the bodyguard to The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, James Taylor and many others! He's also a fantastic martial artist and someone that those interested in the martial arts can hope to aspire to be like in our own training.
Also a really nice guy who took the time out of his massively hectic schedule to give me the interview! Here's part one of my interview with Richard Norton for The Martial View!
Thanks for taking the interview Richard! Your career in the martial arts has been a shining example to those involved in martial arts. You've worked with some famous names such as Jackie Chan and Chuck Norris, and protected the likes of The Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac! Can you remember what initially led you into starting martial arts, and how you felt walking into your first class?
Yeah, I've often been asked this, and looking back it certainly wasn't due to the fact I was being beaten up or that it was a rough neighbourhood that I lived in. I was certainly attracted to martial arts from a young age, but who knows why! I remember seeing ads on the back of comic books talking about Judo, and there was just something quite mystical about it and I was intrigued by this oriental art. Then, as it happened, there was a kid who moved into a house opposite ours where I lived in Croydon, which is a suburb of Melbourne, and as it turned out, he was disappearing 2-3 times a week. So one day I said, "Oh Morris where are you going"? So he told me he was learning Judo and I was like, "Wow I want to come too"! So I went along the next night and was absolutely awe struck and loved the idea of it! Now one initial problem I had was that I was quite skinny and small as an 11 year old and started of being a bit like cannon fodder for the older kids in the class! The Sensei, John Burge, was wonderful and very caring though and kept inspiring me to keep at it. I used to practice in the back yard with my mates as I was always very physical as a kid, wrestling and boxing, as most kids do I'd imagine, and now we added Judo into the mix. Then one day, another school friend, John Rowe, who was also in our Judo class and who was learning Karate out of the book, `This Is Karate` by Masutatsu Oyama, excitedly told me that there was a karate school opening up near where we lived. So off I went for the opening night. The style of Karate was Goju Kai and was being taught by Sensei Tino Ceberano. I remember the class did a demonstration of basic H pattern Kata, or forms and a bit of Jiyu Kumite, which was light contact sparring. Well, I remember that being an incredible light-bulb moment for me and I decided right then and there, that Karate was what I wanted to do with my life. So that was when the whole journey of immersion and passion for the Martial Arts started started. I still think back to those early days and truly believe that martial arts were what I was meant to do with my life, esoteric as it sounds. Pretty much everything good I've experienced in my life, from travelling the world as a personal Body Guard and working on movie sets for over 35 years, has come as a result of just wanting to be the best Martial Artist I could be. My entire life has revolved around the martial arts; I mean where a lot of other people get jobs and set patterns in their life and then discover and try and fit their respective training in, the opposite was true for me; I made my life fit around the dojo and training and that's how it all started and continues to this day.
So from there I presume you just developed your Karate further and then this led to the Zen Do Kai system? Can you talk me through this?
Yes, Zen Do Kai started through an association one of my oldest friends and mentors, Bob Jones, who was also a student of Tino Ceberano and Goju Kai Karate Do. At the time we met, Bob owned a security company and was involved with providing security personnel for most of the clubs and bars of Melbourne was already incredibly skilled in reality based fighting and the ways of 'street' combat. It was Bob who wanted to initiate his own style of 'Combat effective' Martial Arts and wanted me to partner up with him. So that led to the formation of the Zen Do Kai Karate schools which started in 1970. It was still based in the Goju system, but our motto was 'The Best of Everything in Progression', so I would say it was one of the first eclectic type of schools in Australia where aspects of different styles of Martial Arts were incorporated, rather than being purely based on one system. If we thought a technique from another style had some combat effectiveness, we integrated it into our Zen Do Kai system. We had boxing, Judo and wrestling along with the Goju karate, so it was in fact a very early version of MMA. Remember, MMA means 'mixing Martial Arts, not just the sport version we know of as 'The UFC'. A lot of the early students in our school were professional bouncers and incredibly tough and seasoned street fighters, so it suited us to pressure test different MA techniques and try to discover what was real or what was just theoretical. Not taking it away from the esoteric or theoretical aspect of some of our martial arts, but it was important for us and our students to know what combat techniques would work in the real world and not just in the safe confines of the Dojo. So it was obviously through Bob and Zen Do Kai that that I got involved in doing security work on doors, which led to personal bodyguard work.
Obviously self-defence is a tricky concept and lots of school claim to teach self-defence but are criticised for teaching unrealistic techniques that only work in a dojo setting, or criticised for having no real life experience to draw upon. What are your thoughts on the principles of effective self-defence training and the teaching of self-defence?
I understand the dilemma of a martial arts instructor with no reality based experience trying to teach actual reality based street techniques when they've never had a real fight in their lives and I would of course never encourage anyone to go out and involve themselves in street violence, just to get that experience. But having said that, I think that if you are really learning reality based self-defence, it's important to learn from someone that really been on the front lines and has life experience, as it is different from the Dojo environment. In the dojo, you're in a cotton wool sort of environment; there are rules and protocols that protect you, whereas in the street there are no such parameters. The fear that a life or death street encounter brings is obviously quite confronting, and as a result, I think it is essential to learn such street techniques from someone that understands the effects of fear and adrenaline, accelerated pulse rates and how all of those factors affect you physiologically and dramatically change your bodies ability to deliver complex moves learnt in the Dojo. So you need someone that can talk the students through these pre fight feelings, so at the very least, if, God forbid, the student is involved in a street altercation or whatever, he can maybe can maybe recall these lessons from a street experienced instructor and realise what's going on, physiologically in his body, before the actual physical part even kicks off. I mean anyone that's experienced real combat knows that quite often the legs start shaking, the heart rate goes up and you at best lose cognitive ability and fine and complex motor skills and go straight to gross motor skills. All of that is important to understand when you teach as so many of the complex moves we learn in traditional arts are okay in traditional and safe sport environments, but won't necessarily work when you are really confronted with violence and basically scared shitless. You need to get to the fundamentals, the one or two strikes you can use in a pre-emptive situation that will hopefully allow you to survive a street fight. A friend of mine, Sensei Paul Cale, who has incidentally come under Team Norton and who is one of our most decorated military vets, having had multiple tours of Afghanistan etc and developed his own combat system, called Kinetic Combat System, says it drives him nuts seeing the amount of 'Combat Instructors' who advertise themselves as teaching the military, special forces etc. As he says, most of these 'Reality Based Experts' have never ever been in the service, let alone eve a real street fight, and yet they're teaching real world knife and gun weapons defence. So, even for me, if I wanted to further my realistic defence in terms of lethal weapons, I'd go to someone like Paul, as I know he's been there for real. I mean teach knife defence now, but I'm very honest and say that I believe that these techniques will be effective in reality, but it's still theory to a huge extent, as how the hell would I know when I've never been in a real knife fight. Bit different when the blades are real and not made out of rubber. Lol
Posted in Interviews, Martial Arts.	Tagged bob jones, bodyguard, chuck norris, Film, jackie chan, karate, martial arts, martial view, movie, Richard Norton, rolling stones, self defence, star, zen do kai.
GHOST – Interview with Phil Norman
5 December, 2014 by admin
GHOST Fighting – Interview with Phil Norman
Here we are lucky enough to read about the GHOST fighting method developed by Phil Norman that is taking the combat world by storm! Phil talks about the development of GHOST, as well as his plans for the future and his business relationships with Andy Norman of Defence Lab, Bob Breen of 4D Combat, and Eddie Quinn of The Approach! As always, if you enjoyed the article share, like, comment your thoughts, and subscribe to The Martial View!
Thanks for taking the interview Phil! Let's start with how you began your journey in the martial arts.
I started my martial arts journey with Kung fu at a local club before going to a Dan Inosanto seminar in 1989. I was immediately hooked on his teachings and spent the next decade travelling to the USA and Europe for his seminars. I would then come back to the UK and pick up door work in between trips.
I then became a full instructor under Guro Dan Inosanto in 2000 in Jeet Kune Do/Jun Fan and also in Kali and Silat. I had already become an instructor in Thai Boxing under Ajarn Chai, Savate under Professor Salem Assli, Combat Submission Wrestling under Sensei Erik Paulson and I was ranked in Shoot Wrestling under Sensei Yorinaga Nakamura. Back in the UK I was training with Sensei Dave Kavanagh in Judo and I trained for many years with Trevor Ambrose who at that time was 5x world kickboxing champion and also a professional boxer. The latter two would be a big influence in my day to day training when I started competing. I competed in different styles just for kicks and giggles because it helped me focus in my training and I won a World title and 2 British titles. Towards the end of my days competing I was knocked out and took my first loss in an MMA match. My peers said I would grow from this and become a better martial artist.
Can you talk me through the development of the GHOST system and what makes it different to other training styles?
What actually happened was the start of what has now become the Ghost System. The fight I lost was probably my easiest one. It was pretty much one sided but then I got caught by my opponent who pulled out a last ditch strike. To ensure this would never happen again I looked at what I could have possibly done to avoid this. This brought new shapes and structures which then required new striking angles to make these shapes fit for purpose and effective. The problem was to then to convince fighters to do it. Needless to say they didn't! It took a young student (5 years later) who just received his black belt and wanted to know what was next to get Ghost going. His name was Jake Clarke and he helped me develop the system by literally competing and trying it out. It wasn't long before he started beating up the more experienced fighters I was training and the techniques I taught him became an elusive fighting system which needed a name. Initially the system used big evasive movements which are similar to the weapons based system Kali, so thought about calling it competition kali, but when I demonstrated it to some kali instructors they said that it wasn't kali.
I remembered my first sparring session with my boxing coach Trevor Ambrose and how I couldn't hit him and that it was like trying to hit a Ghost and then that was it! I realised that I had created a style which systemised the unorthodox evasive movement that was natural to boxers like Muhammad Ali and Prince Nassem and made it so that anyone can do it.
I see that you have developed partnerships with people such as Bob Breen, Andy Norman and Eddie Quinn, how did these relationships come about?
We started to develop it further through fighting and started to get a lot of interest from people who wanted seminars. It was whilst I was doing a seminar hosted by Eddie Quinn (friends of the Approach) that I managed to catch up with Andy Norman from Defence Lab. We had known each other for years on the JKD seminar circuit; he was originally a private student of Guru Bob Breen. I was really impressed with what I saw when he did his set. I had only really seen actors trying to do it and it was nothing like the real thing. I was about to go and speak to him when he stopped the seminar and congratulated me on what I had done on the set before him. We got chatting and he offered me guidance on developing the business side of Ghost. We have been in communication weekly ever since.
Andy was also helping his old instructor Guro Bob Breen and brought us together and created the cross branding of Defence Lab, Breen 4D and Ghost. This has lead onto us joining forces for many events and more recently our involvement with Defence Labs World Conference with our good friend Eddie Quinn. It was the best martial art event I have been involved in. They (DL) are light years ahead as a professional martial art organisation.
So what's next for you and the future of GHOST?
For training I want to develop the instructor program into the USA (this year we trained instructors in Germany and Spain). I will be working hard to get the online program up next year and my fighters are still making waves so my long term goals are to break into UFC. The other is to get Jake boxing in the Olympics and also to raise the profile of Ghost via Hollywood! I have already been in front of a second director and stunt coordinator courtesy of Andy Norman and it looks like we are going to be involved in a project next year!
Posted in Fitness and Training, Interviews, Martial Arts.	Tagged andy norman, Bob Breen, Boxing, Eddie Quinn, fighting, Film, ghost, judo, Kickboxing, MMA, Phil Norman, Shoot, sport, Strike, UFC.
Subscribe to The Martial View!
We send out our lovely email newsletters with news about what's been going on with The Martial View. You also get a look at the posts before everyone else! And if that wasn't enough we give you access to my first eBook. Free for subscribers!
Recent Posts from The Martial View
Review! The Mittmaster Vault!
3 Tips (and a bonus one) For Teaching and Learning!
Distance, Timing and all that jazz…
It's good to talk…Communication in Martial Arts.
RELAUNCH!
Supporting Martial Artists Supporting Children with Cancer
Empower Self Defence Ltd
Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Sunspot by Automattic.
Powered by Calculate Your BMI

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home TV Shows Ariana Grande Nails Impersonations of Britney Spears And More
Ariana Grande Nails Impersonations of Britney Spears And More
Ariana Grande nailed her impersonations of Britney Spears,Christina Aguilera and Celine Dion as Jimmy Fallon challenged her to a game of random musical impressions on Tuesday's Tonight Show.
The pop star performed "Mary Had a Little Lamb" as Britney, "The Wheels on the Bus" as Christina and "I Can't Feel My Face" as Celine.


You don't have to have originally studied planning to work in the profession. Linden Homes' strategic land and planning manager Jennifer Winyard tells us about how studying architecture has helped her become a better planner.
What did you study and where did you work previously?
I did a BA in architecture at Newcastle University, and then worked for an architecture firm in Northumberland. It was here that I became familiar with the planning system and the application process, and came into contact with planners working in local government. I quickly realised that while I enjoyed the design element of architecture, it was how buildings fit into the wider built environment that most interested me, so I decided to go back and do my MSc in town and country planning.
What is your current job, and what does it entail?
As a land buyer, my job involves looking for strategic sites that we can develop in between three and 10 years. We then promote these sites through the planning system, submit planning applications, and eventually hand over to our regional business units to deliver. We usually deal with developments over 100 units on land larger than 10 acres.
What attracted you to planning?
Having the opportunity to look at the built environment more holistically and from a political angle rather than getting bogged down in the details of buildings. Initially, urban design also seemed an obvious way to combine my design experience with my ambitions as a town planner.
How did you find your route into planning?
I somewhat fell into planning through my BA studies. At school I don't think I could have told you what a town planner was, but I began to gain an understanding of the profession through modules on my architecture course. It was only when I began working with planners in practice that I decided town planning was the route I wanted to take.
What advice would you give to people who are hoping to get into planning?
Don't be afraid to approach planning from a different discipline. I think I am much more valuable as a town planner because I have that architectural design experience coupled with the planning perspective, which also allows me to develop better relationships with the architects that I work with on a daily basis.


text:
WorthyKids
Ellie Claire Gifts
From 1,000 to 1 Billion
How to Build Vision and Fund Your Non-Profit Organization
by Timothy Smith
The simple reality of the non-profit world is that vision casting and fund-raising are a constant. Every non-profit organization needs donors and money to build its capacity. Over the course of his 35-year career, Tim Smith has become one of the world's leading experts in fund-raising and creating vision for non-profit organizations. In his engaging and relational style, Tim shares insights, secrets, and failures learned from a career in fund-raising. In From 1,000 to 1 Billion Tim tells his story of a one-thousand dollar fundraising campaign in the 1970s and concludes with his current campaign to raise one billion dollars for the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C.
Genre: Nonfiction / Business & Economics / Nonprofit Organizations & Charities / Fundraising & Grants
On Sale: August 22nd 2017
Price: $19.99 / $25.99 (CAD)
Worthy Books Logo


This is a conversion of Safari Adventure's, Cito.
Using one of my presets which I think goes well with his character with some tweaks.
* Look in photos is affected by my custom ENB preset, so exact looks will be difficult to achieve, but you will be close if you have the required mods and any ENB of your choosing.
Activate the esp through your mod manager or manually add it to the plugins.txt file. I would sort it to come after these other mods to guarantee the conversion is successful.


text:
Category: signing bonus
Here's the salary breakdown for the University of Chicago Booth School of Business' class of 2022 including bonuses
Newsbreak 2 months ago in Around The World, Business School, Careers, Consulting Firms, Features, Financial Services, MBA salaries, signing bonus, University of chicago 0
The University of Chicago's MBA program is the highest-ranked in the US. Getty Images The Booth School of Business is No. 1 on US News & World Report's 2023 business-school rankings. A Booth pupil's annual value of attendance is estimated at about $115,062. Here are the newest salaries — including signing bonuses — of Booth's class of 2022. Despite information of a possible upcoming recession,…


text:
Q: Visual Studio 2015 c++ cannot open include file or source files I was using Visual Studio before I updated last version. Now, I cannot even run a simple hello world program. Because I am not familliar with Visual Studio much, I have no idea what to do. This is the error it gives me.

A: Open an empty project.
Inside the Solution explorer, right click on source files folder ,and click new source file.
You can name it main.cpp.
After that write your main function inside main.cpp.
Compile and Run with F5.

A: This Sounds like corrupt vc++-paths
Try clearing all variables in the projectproperties category "vc++-paths" so the defaults will be used.
For more information see
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee855621.aspx

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The reason you are here is because you are looking for the Direction opposite NNW: Abbr. crossword clue answers and solutions which was last seen today July 16 2018, at the popular Daily Themed Crossword puzzle.
Clue: Direction opposite NNW: Abbr.
Already found the solution for Direction opposite NNW: Abbr.? Click here to go back to the main post and find other answers Daily Themed Crossword July 16 2018 Answers.


One of the common long-term complications of diabetes is kidney damage. Once your kidneys are damaged, your kidney function will decline. With low kidney function, a series of symptoms can occur like itchy skin, nausea, vomiting, poor appetite and numbness, etc. Well then, how to improve renal function in diabetes?
People with diabetes can do many things to lower the risk. Tight control of blood glucose levels can prevent or reduce long-term damage to the fragile blood vessels not only in the kidneys but also elsewhere in the body.
Diet is also important for improving renal function in diabetes. Patients can drink skim or fat-free milk, non-dairy creamer, plain yogurt, sugar-free yogurt. On the contary, you should avoid chocolate milk, buttermilk, sugar sweetened pudding, sugar sweetened ice cream. As for fruits, you can choose apple, apple juice, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, cherries and pears instead of avocados, bananas, dried fruits like dates, raisins, fresh pears, star fruit, orange and orange juices.
The key point for improving renal function in diabetes is Chinese medicine treatments which can repair injured kidney tissues and improve renal function. Chinese medicine treatments include Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy, Medicated Bath, Medicated Foot Bath, Mai Kang Mixture, Medicinal Soup, Moxibustion Therapy and Steaming Therapy, etc. They can purify your blood and then restore the injured kidney tissues through dilating blood vessels, improving blood circulation, preventing inflammation and coagulation, degrading extracellular matrix and providing nutrients. Our Chinese medicine treatments can treat your kidney from the root. But our treatment requires you come to China. Is it possible for you to come to China?
Our email is kidneycares@hotmail.com and 008618330110929. Contact us for details.


This week I decided to start working on a new item. I love those little tart warmers that use the tea light to melt the wax tarts. I wanted to see if I could make a few. I ended up with a few of those, some spirit jars and two stick incense burners.


Creswell Crags is a picturesque Magnesium Limestone gorge located on the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire county border. The gorge is honeycombed with caves and smaller fissures, and is a wonderful, serene and beautiful site to explore with the whole family.
During the last Ice Age, between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago, Creswell Crags was among the most northerly places on earth to have been visited by our ancient ancestors, a story that is unique on a European and World scale. Wooly mammoths roamed the lands around Creswell Crags, and nomadic Neanderthal man sought shelter in Creswell Crags' caves whilst they were following these migrating animals.
Home to Britain's only known example of Ice Age cave art, dated 13,000 years old, it is simply dripping in history and wills to be explored.
Cave tours to this incredible site run throughout the week, so why not transport yourself back in time, immerse yourself in the history and beauty of Creswell Crags, and see artefacts, hand tools, and other fascinating things they left behind.
There is no charge to visit the Creswell Crags site or to walk around the lake and gorge. It is also free to visit the shop and coffee shop.
There is a £3 charge for all day parking (the ticket machines require exact change – change is available from reception).


HAMPTON, Va. (AP) — The last time Camille and Jason Hammond saw President Barack Obama it was on a JumboTron as they shivered in the cold along with hosts of others at his inauguration. It was cold again on Sunday, but this time they didn't have to rely on a TV, as Obama gave the commencement address at Hampton University.
The Hammonds, their triplets and other relatives were seated on the Hampton football field as the president spoke on a stage in the one of the end zones on a breezy, 59-degree day at the historically black college where Jason Hammond's mother Pamela is provost.
Obama is the 10th president to visit the private university of about 6,000 students, founded in 1868 near the site where a free Virginian taught classes to escaped slaves against state law. It was Obama's second commencement address this season, and his first as president at a historically black college.
Obama said many Americans do not have access to education, and the nation must ensure that they get it.
"All of us have a responsibility, as Americans, to change this, to offer every single child in this country an education that will make them competitive in our knowledge economy. That is our obligation as a nation," the president said.
University officials presented Obama with a seedling from the Emancipation Oak, under which escaped slaves once were taught and where President Abraham Lincoln later came to read the Emancipation Proclamation.
Tiffany Tompkins was one of nearly 1,100 graduates to walk in the ceremony, held a day after she was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army. She found it meaningful to have her new boss, the commander in chief, as her graduation speaker.
"I think it says a lot about the direction in which our nation is headed and the things that can be accomplished as long as people keep their faith and keep hope alive, keep pressing forward," said Tompkins, 22, of Fort Lewis, Wash., before entering Armstrong Stadium.
Elizabeth Rich, a 21-year-old business management major from Philadelphia, was honored the president was there, but said the extra security and limited tickets were distracting.
Lines formed around 5 a.m. outside the stadium. The event was only open to graduates and 15,000 other ticket-holders.
Javon Daffeh, who was in town for her 10-year reunion, got up at 4:15 a.m. and caught one of about a dozen 5:30 a.m. shuttle buses to the stadium. It was worth it: She got a front row seat on the field.
She can't remember the name of the speaker when she graduated in 2000.
"It's very historic to have not only the president of the United States, but also the first African American president to come here and speak at our university," said Daffeh, of Studio City, Calif.
Pedro Garcia came to watch his daughter, biology major Evelyn Sage Belinda Garcia, graduate. He said she didn't plan to walk in the ceremony until she found out Obama would be there.
"It's something that you'll hold in your memory banks forever," he said.


text:
All digital photo camera news in one place
News Cameras Twitter Buzz About Contact
Digicam Geek » Sony
Sony Presents Cyber-Shot H400, H300, WX350 and W800 Cameras
Sony has today introduced a variety of exciting Cyber-shot cameras that pack an extraordinary amount of imaging power and range into compact, travel-friendly packages.
The new line-up features the high-zoom H400 model, which is the world's first compact camera with a long-reaching 63x optical zoom lens, as well as the HX400V and H300 models, which boast 50x and 35x optical zoom, respectively.
Sony Cyber-Shot H400
It also includes the new WX350 camera – the world's smallest and lightest camera with a 20x optical zoom lens – and the competitively priced W800 model.
"High zoom continues to be one of the key priorities for our Cyber-shot camera line, in both the compact segment as well the larger, more traditional 'bridge' models," said Patrick Huang, director of the Cyber-shot camera business. "With far-reaching zooms, extremely portable bodies and a series of competitive price points, this new crop of cameras offers advanced imaging performance to travel enthusiasts, weekend shooters, family photographers and more."
Powerful New Imaging Features
New to the Cyber-shot camera line in 2014, Sony has utilized its powerful BIONZ X processor – the same processor used in the award-winning Cyber-shot RX10 and the α7/7R full-frame mirrorless cameras – in the new HX400V and WX350 cameras. This powerful allows the new cameras to deliver richly detailed images and HD videos with exceptionally low noise.
The new HX400V and WX350 cameras are also Wi-Fi and NFC enabled for instant transfer and sharing with compatible smartphones, and feature improved optical image stabilization technology with new Intelligent Active mode for smooth, blur-free images and full HD videos at all focal ranges.
Additionally, these two cameras offer "Motion Shot" video, which creates a sequence of fast-action, superimposed images to demonstrate motion of a subject or object through the frame. They also have 4K still image output for viewing images in full 4K resolution on compatible televisions.
Unique to the new HX400V high-zoom model, Sony has added full HD video shooting at a frame rate of 1080@24p for a more "cinema-like" feel to movies. The HX400V is also compatible with the popular platform of downloadable PlayMemories Camera Apps, adding a range of exciting and creative capabilities. Currently there are a total of 10 different applications available, with several others to be released this spring. Learn more at www.sony.net/pmca.
Cyber-Shot HX400V High-Zoom Camera With 50X Optical Zoom Lens
Available in black in March for about $500
Exmor R CMOS sensor with approximately 20.4 effective megapixels and BIONZ X image processing engine
50x optical zoom ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T lens (100x Clear Image Zoom) to get incredibly close to the action
Optical SteadyShot with Intelligent Active Mode for smoother, more stable HD movies
Professional DSLR-style handling and manual controls in a compact body
Wi-Fi and NFC allows instant connection with smartphone for easy image sharing between devices and remote control from phone
Full HD video shooting (1080p) with ability to shoot at 60p, 60i and now 24p frame rates
Compatible with Sony PlayMemories Camera Apps platform
Cyber-Shot H400 High-Zoom Camera With 63X Optical Zoom Lens
World's first 63x optical zoom lens with Optical SteadyShot for improved image stabilization at all focal lengths
Class-leading 20.1 megapixel CCD sensor for detail-packed still photos and HD video (720p)
Easy to use with DSLR-style body, electronic viewfinder, Intelligent Auto and dedicated movie button
Cyber-Shot H300 High Zoom Camera With 35X Optical Zoom
Available in black in February for about $220
Versatile 35x optical zoom lens
Cyber-Shot WX350 Ultra-Compact With 20X Optical Zoom
Available in black and white in March for about $320
World's smallest and lightest compact camera with 20x optical zoom lens (40x Clear Image Zoom)
Full HD video shooting (1080p) with ability to shoot at 60p, 60i frame rates
Cyber-Shot W800 Compact With 5X Optical Zoom
Available in black and white in March for about $80
5x optical zoom lens
20.1 megapixel CCD sensor for detail-packed still photos and HD video (720p)
New Sony α7II Full-Frame Camera Features 5-Axis Image Stabilization
Sony Electronics has today introduced another exciting addition to its full-frame α7 lineup, the α7II (model ILCE-7M2). The new mirrorless interchangeable lens camera is the world's first full-frame camera to feature 5-axis image stabilization, allowing it to compensate for camera movement in five different directions to produce extremely sharp handheld images...
New Sony Lens-style Cameras: Interchangeable-Lens ILCE-QX1 And 30X Zoom DSC-QX30
Building on its strong history of innovation in the digital imaging market, Sony Electronics has today announced two additions to their unique line of Lens-style Camera. The new cameras utilize the latest version of Sony's PlayMemories Mobile application (version 5.0 for Android and iOS devices) to connect wirelessly to a smartphone quicker than ever, converting the bright, large LCD screen of the phone into a real-time viewfinder with the ability to frame shots, adjust zoom, release the camera shutter, start/stop video recordings and control other basic camera settings...
Sony α5100 Mirrorless Camera Features Fast 179-Point Hybrid Autofocus
Sony has today introduced the stylish new α5100 camera, a new model packing pro-quality AF performance and image quality into a portable, lightweight package. The α5100 camera is compatible with Sony's ever-growing assortment of E-mount interchangeable lenses, and uses the same Sony E-mount as the acclaimed α6000, α7, α7R and α7S models, as well as all the previous α 'NEX' cameras...
Sony Introduces Cyber-Shot DSC-WX220 and DSC-W810 Compact Cameras
Sony today has introduced the versatile new DSC-WX220 and DSC-W810 cameras to its compact Cyber-shot line, offering consumers a variety of new ways to capture high-quality images and HD videos on-the-go. The new camera also features advanced SteadyShot image stabilization for video, high speed AF for capturing moving subjects swiftly and accurately, and has built-in Wi-Fi functionality for convenient image transfer and sharing with compatible smartphones and tablets (iOS and Android)...
Sony Introduces Cyber-shot RX100 III
Building on its lineup of acclaimed compact cameras, Sony Electronics has introduced a new addition to its popular Cyber-shot RX series – the pocket-sized RX100 III camera. The powerful new RX100 III camera shares the same critically acclaimed 1.0-type back-illuminated 20.1 MP Exmor R CMOS image sensor featured in the RX100 II and RX10 cameras...
News by brand
All RSS feeds
samsung techwin
Polaroid IM1836-WHT-WM 18.1 Digital Camera with 3
Latest search terms
Referring queries
Canon apo fluorite lenses for professionals
sony cyber shot dsc tx55
FUJIFILM Digital Camera FinePix JX680
Canon EOS 7D Mark II DSLR Camera To Be Available in November
Three New Advanced Compacts From Canon: PowerShot G7 X, SX60 HS and N2
LUMIX DMC-LX100 Offers New Micro Four Thirds MOS Sensor And F1.7 Leica DC VARIO-SUMMILUX Lens
LUMIX DMC-GM5: An Ultra Compact Mirrorless Camera With A Live View Finder
Nikon D750: Pro Features And FX-Format Image Quality In a Compact Body
New PowerShot SX520 HS and SX400 IS from Canon
Copyright © Digicam Geek, 2008-2022. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Tag: abortion
TD Marc MacSharry says he cannot support legislation for abortion services
Sligo Leitrim TD Marc MacSharry said he could not vote in favour of legislation to allow for abortion services. A No supporter in the referendum, Deputy MacSharry said when the referendum was passed that he would respect the decision of the people and would support legislation. However speaking in the…
Abortion legislation: MacSharry says there's no rift with leader, no split in party
A Sligo/Leitrim TD has strongly refuted suggestions that there is rift between him and his party leader over forthcoming legislation on abortion. Deputy Marc MacSharry also says it's incorrect to suggest there's a major split within the party on the issue. He was speaking after an Irish Times report said…
McHugh one of a number of Ministers yet to decide position on Repeal of the 8th
The Cabinet's meeting today to decide on the approach to a referendum on the 8th amendment. A number of Minister's have yet to reveal their position on the issue including Donegal Minister Joe McHugh. Over the weekend Taoiseach Leo Varadkar indicated he would be supporting the liberalisation of abortion laws.…


The Gobblin' Goblins Kickstarter launch date!
On October 27th, we are going to launch our Kickstarter! Prepare your purse! Charge your change! Weady your wallet!
Want to review / preview Gobblin' Goblins?
Our lovely local board game cafe, Coffee & Dice, runs a monthly playtesting evening, and they have kindly given us a spot on August 23rd.
An introduction to Swipey Gobbo, the first of the dodgy goblins. Read about him and his criminal activity.


text:
Wiffle Lever To Full!
Daleks, Death Stars and Dreamy Sci-Fi Nostalgia…
Mr Millward and Mr Hirst… Reunited!
March 20, 2010 at 11:57 am · Filed under Bob's Bits And Bobs
Here's a little treat for all you Levendale Primary School veterans of the 1980s. I'm afraid – for reasons of national security – that I'm unable to reveal the exact date and location of this meeting, but I recently found myself in the same room as our former teachers Mr Millward and Mr Hirst! The first time such a gathering has taken place since July 1984, when I was sent grumbling down to Middle Band to 'help Mrs Keasey take the staples out of the walls'.
I did indeed comment that our mini-reunion was like seeing John Lennon and Paul McCartney back together again, although this probably means that Mrs Keasey is George Harrison and Mrs Mulhern is Ringo. And I'm not convinced that either of them would be entirely chuffed about that. Anyway, here you go…
I should probably send out a little apology to Glenn Conroy – he was a perfectly pleasant young lad from my school year who just happened to crop up in conversation a couple of times that night! Glenn, if you ever see this, and you require expensive therapy to deal with it, just send the bill to Mr G Millward, c/o Levendale Primary School, Mount Leven Road, Yarm…
Nuggets from the Loft… Volume 2
March 4, 2010 at 6:18 pm · Filed under Nuggets From The Loft
As threatened, I've been rummaging in the loft again, and this time I've unearthed two long-lost early 1980s artefacts that would have the Antiques Roadshow team… well, let's be honest, they'd be rolling their eyes and muttering 'for f***'s sake' under their breaths. But, to me, these antiquities are as priceless as any dusty oriental remnant. After all, who wants a Ming vase when you can have a Ming The Merciless Weetabix card?
Weetabix… breakfast cereal of choice on the Planet Mongo! Found rattling around the bottom of cereal packets along with stray offcuts of mouldy biscuit, these cards were – of course – a shameless marketing tie-in with the BRILLIANT Flash Gordon movie that the velvet-curtained fleapits of Britain were showing during… well, thereby hangs a tale. The official US release date for the film was December 5th 1980, but I'm convinced it can't have hit the UK until at least Spring 1981. The impeccably-researched evidence that I'm using to back up my theory is that I remember swopping some of the above cards with Andrew 'Stan' Henry on a bright, breezy summers day at Levendale Primary School, with the sun blazing through the grubby window pane upon which Paul Frank and I had recently made a bloody awful pig's ear of painting the Loch Ness Monster.
Presumably Stan, like me, was attempting to gain the full set by eating seven Weetabix for breakfeast every morning ('Burppp… farrrt… keep 'em coming Mum, I'm REALLY hungry today… blurrrp') before arriving at school with a waistline like the Michelin Man. And a complexion to match.
Anyway, it's a great film. Now remembered chiefly for Brian Blessed's towering performance ('GORDON'S ALIVE??!?!?!?!?'), but it also contains the sobering sight of nubile twentysomething Italian sex siren Ornella Muti (a woman once voted the world's most beautiful, and reputed to have insured her all-conquering breasts for $350,000) snogging Howard from Ever Decreasing Circles.
All of this passed me by at the time, naturally, although I was intrigued by the fact that Flash Gordon himself was a professional footballer, as he didn't bear any resemblance to any professional footballer I'd ever seen in 1981. Where was his bubble perm, moustache, beer belly and permanent haze of Lambert and Butler smoke? Amateur.
Anyway, I lied, it isn't a Ming The Merciless card at all. It's actually dedicated to his sidekick, the slightly dubiously-named Klytus…
As portrayed, splendidly, by former Jason King lothario Peter Wyngarde. 'Klytus, I'm bored… what plaything can you offer me today?'
'Well Masterful Ming, I've got a slightly rusty badge* featuring one of the Weetabix skinheads…'
(*stop giggling)
Yes, this is today's second Nugget from the Loft. This was Weetabix's other concerted early 80s attempt to win the hearts and minds (and waistlines) of gullible eight-year-olds.. a gang of loveable, cuddly Weetabix skinheads (or 'Bovver Boys' as they were often affectionately known at the time). I think these came a little later than the Flash Gordon cards, possibly in 1982, and you can see them in full action here…
Again, they bore little resemblance to the ACTUAL skinheads that I'd seen in 1982, who were usually to be found gently inserting barbed wire into innocent bystanders near the perimeter fence at Ayresome Park. I'm guessing the Weetabix Frontline were mainly influenced by Madness – who were EVERYWHERE in 1982 – although I'd like to think there's a little bit of Ian Dury and the Blockheads in there as well. And, equally, you're perfectly entitled to think that I should get out a bit more and stop contemplating this rubbish in such detail. As my former Levendale teacher Mr Millward once said to me with a flabbergasted glare, 'Do you not sometimes think you're a little bit… anal?'
I'd like to pretend this happened 25 years ago, but it was actually this Tuesday night, when he and Mr Hirst joined me for a cheeky pint (more on this to follow soon)
Anyway, 'Brains' was the intellectual giant of the Weetabix skinheads, and we knew this because – obviously – he wore glasses. Early 1980s optical science had proved beyond doubt that ALL specky four-eyed freaks were DEAD CLEVER, like. It was all that swotty book-reading and squinting down microscopes wot did it, although admittedly there was ONE OTHER WAY in which it was possible to lose your eyesight in the early 1980s. This was – as any self-respecting fishcake-toting mother would tell you – 'sitting too close to the telly'.
I spent most of the first ten years of my life being warned repeatedly about this. 'Get away from that telly, you, or your eyes will go bad and you'll have to wear glasses when you're older'. I'd get this at least three times I week as I pressed my face up against the concave screen of our four-channel, wood-panelled Granada behemoth to drool over Sarah Greene. I'm now 37, and I've still yet to join the intellectual specky elite.
I need closure on this… is there any evidence whatsoever to suggest that watching TV from a short distance can have a detrimental effect on the eyesight? Surely it's no different to looking at anything else from close-up? Will my 'eyes go bad' if I also sit ten inches away from the front room wall and stare at that all night instead? The other Saturday I caught 15 minutes of 'Celebrity Mr and Mrs', and was sorely tempted to do exactly that.
NB For the record, I've spent most of the last 37 years talking absolute bollocks, and my tongue has yet to split either. Although those who've met me in the flesh could make a reasonable case for the wind having changed, and me staying like that.
Buy Wiffle Lever To Full! From Amazon UK
Readings, Signings and Wafflings…
Some Nice Reviews Of 'Wiffle Lever To Full!'
What's 'Wiffle Lever To Full'?
Wiffle Lever To Full – The Movie!
Wiffle Lever To Full! Now Available as an E-Book!
A Little Chat With…
Bob's Bits And Bobs
Nuggets From The Loft
Drew Smith
Wiffle Lever on Facebook
Wiffle Lever on Myspace