Posts Tagged ‘Russia’
Downward-Facing Drunk…
More posing pointers at Russian Drunk Yoga Poses.
As we limber up, we might recall that it was on this date in 1965 that the Righteous Brothers’ recording of Cynthia Weil/Barry Mann/Phil Spector’s “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (it also reached #1 in the UK and #2 on the U.S. R&B chart).
Centered on the vocals of “Brothers” Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, with instrumental work by “The Wrecking Crew” and a background contribution from a very young Cher, the record is a classic example of Spector’s “Wall of Sound” approach. Landing as it did in the midst the the “British Invasion,” Spector and the boys were concerned that the tune was too slow and (at 3:45) too long for DJs increasingly looking pick up the pace of their shows. There was nothing to do about the tempo; but they printed the record label to indicate a running time of 3:05… and tricked enough spinners to launch the hit. In this version and many covers, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” had more radio and television play in the United States than any other song during the 20th century (according to performing-rights organization BMI).
Meditations on First Philosophy/The Love Below…
So, it turns out that Rene Descartes and Andre Benjamin of Outkast have in common rather unconvincing proofs…
From (medical student and nice guy) Sanjay Kulkarni’s wonderful web comic Cowbirds in Love.
As we ponder the the depths of demonstrability, we might recall that it was on this date in 1962 that Izvestia informed its Russian readership that baseball had actually been invented by Russians (and transmitted to the U.S. by emigres who’d brought a 14th century game, lapta, with them).
A game of lapta, c. 1900 (source)
Uh-oh…
The shortwave radio station UVB-76 is known to DXers (serious shortwave listeners) as “The Buzzer” because it has been broadcasting a short, monotonous buzz tone (hear it here), repeating at a rate of approximately 25 tones per minute, 24 hours per day, since 1982… that is, until this past weekend, when it stopped.
Satellite photo of the UVB-76 transmitter near Povarovo, Russia
Many believe that UVB-76 was being used to transmit encoded messages to spies, as is generally assumed for the many numbers stations that populate shortwave frequencies…. though no nation’s government will confirm or deny the existence of the stations or their purpose. Or the constant transmission of its characteristic sound may have been signaling the availability or readiness of some kind of installation– a kind of “dead man’s switch” of a military or other installation– possibly for the infamous Dead Hand system.
But a more benign explanation is that the constant buzz was a High-Frequency Doppler used for ionosphere research of the sort described in the Russian Journal of Earth Sciences, in which radio waves are reflected from ionosphere inhomogeneities. (This method involves comparing a continuous radio transmission which is reflected by the ionosphere with a stable basic generator.) As it happens, the continuously-transmitted carrier frequency currently used for this research is the same as that of the UVB-76 (4.625 MHz).
Rest in peace (and quiet).
TotH to Above Top Secret.
As we keep our ears to the ground, we might note that this date, June 9, was a big one for the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Nero: On this date in 53 CE, he married his step-sister, Claudia Octavia. Then on their anniversary in 62 CE, he had her executed. And on this date in 68 CE, Nero committed suicide, after quoting Homer’s Iliad. (On hearing the approach of horsemen who’d been dispatched by the Senate, which had declared Nero a public enemy, the deposed Emperor declared “Hark, now strikes on my ear the trampling of swift-footed coursers!”)
“His most prized possession is his library card…”
Scottish artist Frank McNab has completed a cycle of paintings– Oracles in the Community— that celebrates the libraries of Glasgow… and while they’re quite beautiful, there’s a bonus– a puzzle painted into the works, turning on William Blake’s “The Song of the Libraries.”
Travellers repose and dream among my leaves.
Magical libraries give you the whole world and take you even further. The only limits are yours.
The same number as the Pleiades can be found in these imaginings And together they form a word.
This is the tail which must be added to the comet far below before it is sent through the firmament and is put to the oracle.There is a meaning in the books which are read in the dance with wisdom.
“With it or on it” the women used to say. On it.
At the pillars the ancient symbol of knowledge is his own start.
Far distant on the gates of fire he is small and his case is low.
Above the torch it lies in Arcadia.
Left of aspiration the weeds provide it.
And the sun paints its own initial on the tree of paradise lost.Now you must attach this to what is under the veil and go to where your imagination camps next…
As we search for hidden vowels, we might recall that it was on this date in 1698 that, in an effort to move his people away from Asiatic customs, Tsar Peter I of Russia (Peter the Great) imposed a tax on beards. All men were required to pay a tax of one hundred rubles a year except for peasants, who had to pay one kopek each, and priests, who were exempt from the levy.
Peter on his deathbed, still beardless
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