Interesting reads
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Some interesting discussion of the Sydney Opal Tower crack and evacuation:
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His way: The Pat Vincent story
He was an All Black captain, a jazz crooner and an inspiration to generations of young Americans. He was also probably gay - and until now his full story has never been told.
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@Tim said in Interesting reads:
Some interesting discussion of the Sydney Opal Tower crack and evacuation:
The pre-cast concrete has apparently been ruled out which leaves 'how it was installed or problems in the design or construction of the building.'
Having lived for a year in a building constructed by the same builder, Icon, I can't say the issues at Opal Tower surprise me in the slightest.
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@canefan said in Interesting reads:
@jc said in Interesting reads:
@tim said in Interesting reads:
I guess that's a legacy of the Pal's Battalion. Middlebrook's "The First Day on the Somme" has a piece on the Grimsby Chums, who were one of the first units in action, sent in to the Lochnagar Crater.
https://lochnagarcrater.org/learn/first-day-of-somme/
"In eight successive waves the infantrymen of the 34th Division stood up from their trenches, and in straight lines prescribed, officers in front as ordered, set off at a walk to attack the German front line trenches. One mile behind the British front line the four battalions of the Tyneside Irish Brigade climbed from their trenches, on the Usna and Tara ridges, and started down the hillside. In a matter of minutes this Brigade had sustained heavy casualties from enfilading machine gun fire.
During the intensive bombardment of the previous days the Germans had sheltered in their deep bunkers, tormented by the incessant concussions as they were battered by the British artillery fire. But they had survived and so had most of their barbed wire. The silence of the barrage lifting was the signal for them to come up from their deep dugouts, hauling their machine guns with them, and taking their positions in the line. Through the smoke and the haze of gunfire the German defenders peered out on an astounding site, successive waves of British soldiers marching steadily toward them as if on parade. The enemy were offering themselves as perfect targets.
The slaughter was immense, the machine guns cut down the British infantry like a farmer’s scythe cuts hay. Within minutes German artillery was raining down on the attacking survivors, the regimental rows of British soldiers had disappeared.
Parade ground order was now forgotten, small groups of survivors continued forward taking cover in shell holes. Some of the survivors gained the sanctuary of the Lochnagar Crater, and by the early evening were able to make contact with elements of the 21st and 22nd northumberland Fusiliers, who held a position in the German second line between Lochnagar Crater and the village of La Boisselle.
On the right of the Divisional attack small parties of the 15th and 16th Royal Scots and elements of the 11th Suffolks and 10th Lincolns were to advance 700 yards into the German lines and occupy a position in Wood Alley which guarded the left flank of the advance of the British 21st Division. From information obtained later, and those present at the taking of Contalmaison, it is amply proved that men of the Tyneside Irish Brigade did actually reach this village on the 1st July, but none lived to tell the tale."
The Grimsby Chums were part of the 10th Lincolns. What a fucking tragedy.
I went to the Somme, stood in the field where the battle that inspired the Warhorse film was "fought". They say the bodies were stacked so high you could barely walk on the ground that day, after the horses charged the field straight into the waiting German machine guns. Senseless mechanized slaughter on a scale that dwarfed Gallipoli
The battle lasted about 15 months all in all and around 420,000 British men were killed. Reports of Allied casualties on the first day (some reports say first morning) were around 60,000. The worst reported casualties though were in a battalion from the island of Newfoundland, Canada that lost 2,000 men or 90% of its deployment on the opening day of the battle. This was the equivalent of one in five men in the entire Dominion. 20% of the mature male population in one day.
Eat your heart out Private Ryan.
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@jegga said in Interesting reads:
If you've the stomach for it, check out live leak for examples of how high the Chinese venerate life. They're a different species. If you haven't been there, let me offer you one golden piece of advice; traffic laws mean nothing and a pedestrian crossing is an opportunity for you to play Russian roulette.
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Zola Budd: After The Fall
Think you know the story of Zola Budd? Think again. Even if you remember how the barefoot prodigy broke world records, became a symbol of South Africa's oppression, and was blamed for Mary Decker's Olympic nightmare, her story has more heartbreak, more hard-fought redemption, and considerably more...
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@jegga said in Interesting reads:
Think you know the story of Zola Budd? Think again. Even if you remember how the barefoot prodigy broke world records, became a symbol of South Africa's oppression, and was blamed for Mary Decker's Olympic nightmare, her story has more heartbreak, more hard-fought redemption, and considerably more...
I remember that and the seppo media blaming the leader for tripping the girl behind her. Lunatics.
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@antipodean said in Interesting reads:
@jegga said in Interesting reads:
Think you know the story of Zola Budd? Think again. Even if you remember how the barefoot prodigy broke world records, became a symbol of South Africa's oppression, and was blamed for Mary Decker's Olympic nightmare, her story has more heartbreak, more hard-fought redemption, and considerably more...
I remember that and the seppo media blaming the leader for tripping the girl behind her. Lunatics.
There was an upset with a boxing match involving a Korean too which they got payback with in Seoul on Roy Jones jr
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@jegga said in Interesting reads:
@antipodean said in Interesting reads:
@jegga said in Interesting reads:
Think you know the story of Zola Budd? Think again. Even if you remember how the barefoot prodigy broke world records, became a symbol of South Africa's oppression, and was blamed for Mary Decker's Olympic nightmare, her story has more heartbreak, more hard-fought redemption, and considerably more...
I remember that and the seppo media blaming the leader for tripping the girl behind her. Lunatics.
There was an upset with a boxing match involving a Korean too which they got payback with in Seoul on Roy Jones jr
I always felt sorry for Roy Jones Jr but he handled himself with a grace that was surprising.
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@antipodean said in Interesting reads:
@jegga said in Interesting reads:
If you've the stomach for it, check out live leak for examples of how high the Chinese venerate life. They're a different species. If you haven't been there, let me offer you one golden piece of advice; traffic laws mean nothing and a pedestrian crossing is an opportunity for you to play Russian roulette.
I crossed a couple of big ones just for the excitement, fucking carnage. Cars, trucks, buses and scooters coming at you from all angles no matter where on the road you are.
Just set a steady pace and keep walking
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Faustian deal? Via longform:
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Thieves of Experience: How Google and Facebook Corrupted Capitalism | Los Angeles Review of Books
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Whatever its imperfections, Shoshana Zuboff's "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" is an original and brilliant work, and it arrives at a crucial moment.
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@gt12 I'll be reading that book I think. Enjoying a few books looking critically at modern capitalism. Currently reading on about how accountants broke it.
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Me too, ironically, it'll go on the Kindle list
That book sounds interesting, what's the title?
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@gt12 Bean Counters: The triumph of the accountants and how they broke capitalism. By Richard Brooks
It's okay, I'm only a 3rd of the way through, still in the history lesson stage. I'm interested to see his conclusions (although I can already guess)
Next on the list is Utopia for Realists. Pretty sure I'm not going to agree with many of that authors views, but I'm reading to broaden my understanding of the other side of my economic beliefs.
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I went down a rabbit hole and stumbled upon this (by the way there are some great songs called maybe tomorrow)
Unlocking the mystery of The Littlest Hobo theme song | A.Side https://ontheaside.com/uncategorized/unlocking-the-mystery-of-the-littlest-hobo-theme-song/
"Maybe Tomorrow" we'll know the truth of Canada’s favourite superhero dog.
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A well written article on Stuff
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The Inside Story of an American Warship Doomed by Its Own Navy
Investigation finds officials ignored warnings for years before one of the deadliest crashes in decades.
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I heard about this from a student who relaxes every night by watching people noisily eat snacks:
The dodgy, vulnerable fame of YouTube's child ASMR stars
Right now, children are filming themselves chewing, whispering and tapping to give their adult audience an ASMR buzz.
Fucking weiiiiiiiird.
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Copernicus, born 19 Feb 1473
Publish and Perish
As I announced yesterday I am playing away this week with a tasty post on astrology and astronomy on the excellent Forbidden Histories blog site. However the substitute bank here at The Renaissance…
Sydney Opal Tower: Thousands evacuated after 'crack' | Hacker News
ESPN Video
