SLOW

This is the account of how all was in suspense, all calm, in silence; all motionless, still, and the expanse of the sky was empty.

Popol Vuh (Book of the Community) - a Mayan creationist text, was found and translated in 1702 by a Spanish priest, Francisco Ximénez, in Chichicastenango, Guatemala.

It is a story of sacrifice, deceit and powerful magic (not forgetting many ants, a louse, Xan the mosquito, and many other creatures), telling the tale of Hunahpú and Xbalanqué as they confront many of the evils of the world, including Vucub-Caquix and his sons, and the Lords of Xibalba.

Popol Vuh is a fascinating read and comes highly recommended.

Commentators whose comments seem to impact on players' performance, have what is known in India as the black tongue. This can often be seen in cricket when a player is said to be doing well, only to watch them go out the next ball, or when it is commented that a bowler hasn't bowled any no-balls in the whole innings - only to bowl a no-ball the very next ball.
Also known as the commentators' curse, the black tongue seems to be a common incidence in the sporting world and professional commentators do well to count their words carefully so they don't put the voodoo on any players.
The players cannot possibly hear the commentators' words, so they should not be directly affected, but somehow this seems to be the case. What would be a rational explation for this?
Do the commentators pick up on some of the players' body language and verbalise it, making it seem like it's their own thoughts?
Do they create a quantum split in the universe whereby the player is taken out of a Schrodinger's cat-like box?
Are they made to say the words by a coincidental chaotic configuration in the definition of the sport where predictions mean nothing and things can go either way?
Do they draw so much attention to the live event that there is an increase in energy or tension, which tends to confuse or distract the players?
Do they really have black tongues or the ability to put curses, wittingly or otherwise, on those on whom they comment?
Also, should commentators who exhibit this tendency be prevented from public commentary in order to protect possibly affected players?
Suffice to say, I find this to be a very interesting phenomenon that is well described by the words black tongue.

Someone must've let them out ...

Sonnet 94

They that have power to hurt and will do none,
That do not do the thing they most do show,
Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,
Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow,
They rightly do inherit heaven's graces
And husband nature's riches from expense;
They are the lords and owners of their faces,
Others but stewards of their excellence.
The summer's flow'r is to the summer sweet,
Though to itself it only live and die,
But if that flow'r with base infection meet,
The basest weed outbraves his dignity:
For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.

Shakespeare

The papyrology department at Oxford University has announced the development of a new technique that allows them to use infrared technology to scan old faded papyri for formerly supposed lost text.

This means more Sophocles, more Euripides, more Hesiod and much much more. There are about 400,000 fragments of text from Oxyrhynchus waiting to be scanned.

Chalk one up for the technolinguists!

One of the coolest things computers can do is make fractals. The fractal below was generated by a bit of JavaScript code. Highlightable fractals? Why not!

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I'll post the code soon ...

Update: Unfortunately the code gets messed up a bit if I post it here. So if anyone would like to see it then drop me a comment and we make a plan.

A lot of people seem to be appreciating the good that Pope John Paul II has done for humanity. His funeral today will bring people like Robert Mugabe and Tony Blair together in the same room. But how many people know that the pope before him, John Paul I, was murdered 33 days after being elected? Will we see something similar this time? There are a lot of consparacy theories around, but with the eyes of the world on them this time, they might not get away with it so easily.
Then again, all roads lead to Rome - even those from the Vatican.

Hier volg 'n impromptu kortstorie, geskryf deur LordFoom op 30 Maart 2005.

Sannie se saga

Sannie Klein is 'n Afrikaanse boeremeisie wat, toe sy drie jaar oud was, in 'n skeepsongeluk was met haar ouers in die See van Japan. Haar ouers is ... tragies ... dood. Maar sy is gered deur 'n groep samurai en ninja wat besig was om oorlog teen mekaar te voer op die water. Hulle het, vir eer, die oorlog opsy gesit en haar gered, en sy het grootgeword - 6 maande by ninja, 6 maande by samurai.

Samurai en ninja is amper soos mense, net cooler.

Maar, sy het NOOIT van haar volk vergeet nie: nog haar vaderland, nog haar moedertaal. Met net 'n NG-bybel het sy haarself Afrikaans geleer, haar afstammelinge van die gekose volk vasgestel, en op 'n warrelwind-toer van die wêreld gegaan om haar ware tuiste te kry.

If communicative spirits can make a group of people move a Ouija pointer to certain letters or numbers, surely they can make the people type out the appropriate characters on a keyboard?