Thursday, January 10, 2013

Beowulf Meets Godsylla

Beowulf Meets Godsylla:
"Meanehwæl, baccat meaddehæle,     monstær lurccen;
Fulle few too many drincce,     hie luccen for fyht."
I stumbled across this a day or so ago, but I could not remember where, so I googled it and found this.  The article has a link to the original source, a book on Amazon.com, which I intend to add to my already too large queue of reading material.

Your mileage may vary, but I found this hilarious.  As one who has made efforts of wading through Beowulf n the original Klingon, it displays the structure of Beowulf (i.e. each line with two sections along with alliteration)

Tolkien geeks may note the the Book of Unfinished Tales has several chapters written in Old English, including much of what was eventually published as The Sillmarillion.

'via Blog this'

Friday, January 04, 2013

2013 could be the best year for comet spotting in generations | Crave - CNET

2013 could be the best year for comet spotting in generations | Crave - CNET
"The moon could have some serious competition in 2013. 

No, we're not finally building a real Death Star, no matter how much the American people demand one. I'm talking about a surprise visit from a recently discovered heavenly body known as the comet Ison. The chunk of ice and rock has likely broken free from the Oort cloud and is heading our way right now. If it survives the journey, astronomers say it could become even brighter than our lunar neighbor in the night sky as it makes a pass through our neighborhood next fall."
It'll be nice to have something like this to look forward to in December 2013.  If course, it may be a flop like the recent apocalypse scare when the Mayan calendar rolled over to a new cycle....

Seriously, a lot can happen to a comet on its long journey.  The chances of it hitting anything are remote, but you never know.  It should be interesting to follow this as astronomers are tracking its progress.

Thursday, January 03, 2013

Spam maker Hormel buys Skippy peanut butter - Jan. 3, 2013

Spam maker Hormel buys Skippy peanut butter - Jan. 3, 2013:

 "Hormel Foods, the maker of Spam luncheon meat, is paying $700 million to buy the Skippy peanut butter brand from consumer products maker Unilever, the companies announced Thursday."

'via Blog this'

Just what I've always wanted -- a peanut butter and spam sandwich

Al Jazeera buys Al Gore's Current TV - CNN.com

Al Jazeera buys Al Gore's Current TV - CNN.com:

"(CNN) -- The Arab television network Al Jazeera said Wednesday it has acquired Current TV, the U.S. network started by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. 
The buy will give the network -- headquartered in Doha, Qatar -- greater access to the U.S. market."

'via Blog this'

Hmmm.