Antony Gormley

British sculptor Antony Gormley is known around the world for his figurative sculptures. His series titled Another Place, features 100 cast iron sculptures and has turned Crosby Beach, UK into a tourist attraction. Originally, Gormley's pieces were installed on different beaches in Germany, Norway, and Belgium and were scheduled to make a move to New York after their display in England. They never made it to New York, but officially settled in the Merseyside coastline. Now, they still stand in the sand, weathered and worn by the sea.

The permanent UK installation consists of 100 life-size figures of men reaching over 6', weighing over 1,400 lbs. and spread over a 2 mile stretch between Waterloo and Blundellsands. The figures, which are casts of the artist's own body, are scattered about the beach, facing out to the sea. Altogether, the installed sculptures serve to represent the shared sentiments of emigrants who are sad to leave their country but hopeful of their future in a new land. The figures are smaller, but eerily reminiscent of the Easter Island figures facing out to sea.

Halloween Fears

Boo! Samhainophobia is an intense and persistent fear of Halloween, and it can cause panic attacks for people who suffer from it. The word is derived from the old Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of the Celtic year. They believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to the Earth on this day. Other Halloween related fears are wiccaphobia, fear of witches: phasmophobia, fear of ghosts; and coimetrophobia, fear of cemeteries.

Epitaphs

Here are the epitaphs of my heroes Laurel and Hardy.

A master of comedy
His genius in the art of humor
Brought gladness
To the world he loved.
Stan Laurel

A genius of comedy
His talent brought joy and
Laughter to all the world.
Oliver Hardy

      and
"That's All Folks!"
The Man of a Thousand Voices
Mel Blanc

Happy Friday

If you really know everything, you will realize that you do not.

One thing I do know is that today is already a Happy Friday!

Cinnamon and Cassia

Did you know the cinnamon in Cinnabon rolls is actually not "true" cinnamon? True cinnamon or Ceylon cinnamon is a spice made from the inner bark of the Cinnamomum verum tree. It has a citrusy fragrance and complex yet mild taste without the "bite" we associate with the spice.

Cinnamon is produced from the inner bark of a small evergreen tree belonging to the Laurel family with the genus Cinnamomum. Although there are four commercial species of Cinnamomum, the global cinnamon market recognizes the product from one species as true cinnamon. The product from the other three species, widely sold as cinnamon, is actually cassia.

The last two are more closely related to cassia than cinnamon
True cinnamon – Cinnamomum verum
Cassia – Cinnamomum aromaticum
Indonesian - Cinnamomum burmannii
Vietnamese - Cinnamomum loureiroi

About a hundred years ago, American traders started importing cassia because of a rise in the price of Ceylon cinnamon. Cassia continues to be the main variety sold in supermarkets in the US and Canada. American labeling laws do not require that a distinction be made between cassia and cinnamon in the retail market.

The "cinnamon" found in Cinnabon and your kitchen is actually cassia, derived from Cinnamomum burmannii, a tree native to Indonesia. Of all the Cinnamomum species, this form of cassia (known as Indonesian cassia or Korintje cassia) has the lowest oil content and is therefore the cheapest. Cinnabon trademarked its supply of Korintje cassia as "Makara Cinnamon." Cinnamon and cassia have numerous health benefits.

Four Simpson Facts

The show features clips from a movie starring McBain, a movie star in the same vein as Schwarzenegger and Stallone. These clips are dispersed among many episodes, but if you put the clips together, you can actually form a full coherent story.

Many characters are named after streets in Portland, Oregon.

As soon as Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, was given a drawing of the characters in yellow by an animator, he knew it was perfect. The idea was that whenever someone was flipping through the channels, they would automatically know The Simpsons was on when they saw the yellow bodies flash by.

All, except one of the characters are a one finger short of a human hand. The only character to have five fingers on a hand is God.

Blood Pressure

The first known experiment to measure the exact pressure of blood was performed by Stephen Hales on December 1, 1733. He took a live horse, attached a tube to her left crural artery, then allowed her blood to rush through the tube and it rose to a height of 8’3”.

He noted that “when it was at its full height, it would rise and fall at and after each pulse 2, 3,or 4 inches”. The horse bled out, but he performed the experiment on a horse that was about to be put down.

Quotes from '1984'

George Orwell penned these prescient sobering quotes in his book, released in 1948.

“He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.”
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”
“Big Brother is Watching You.”
“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.”
“Until they became conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.”
“The choice for mankind lies between freedom and happiness and for the great bulk of mankind, happiness is better.”
“The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power.”
“Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.”
“Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.”

What's in a Name

PAM Cooking Spray is an acronym for Product of Arthur Meyerhoff.

NECCO, as in Necco wafers is an acronym for New England Confectionery Company.