tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19162968695115580402009-05-10T15:56:41.670+01:00according to the ninthThe world as seen through the clarifying lens of the 9th Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1875-1889).John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-41709707990609281012009-05-10T15:51:00.002+01:002009-05-10T15:56:41.679+01:00Please move along quietly, there is nothing to see hereIn response to precisely no queries at all, I feel it is my duty to explain (make excuses) to loyal Accordingianists the long and unaccustomed silence that has befallen this august corner of Interwebshire.Sadly, owing to circumstances entirely beyond the bounds of what may be considered fair or just, your humble correspondent has, during this difficult epoch that history will surely remember as John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-56877701923322922842009-03-05T15:42:00.005Z2009-03-05T16:13:43.346Z49. When did you last paint your father?Gripping news on page 3 of yesterday’s Guardian , finally ending years of fevered speculation, with “Constable’s parents finally identified.” Reading the article, one learns that the curators of an exhibition of Constable’s portraits at the National Gallery believe that two early paintings previously thought to be of other subjects might, following what was know doubt a very considered and John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-45842353509450427832009-02-02T10:07:00.004Z2009-02-02T12:20:21.102Z48. ii) Progressing to cosmopolitanismWho could have predicted that, less than a year after boldly promising "British jobs for British people," Mr Brown would have his words come back to bite him in his prudently ample arse? That such an innocuous phrase might be interpreted by some as "Read my lips : no new jobs for Johnny Foreigner"? Listening to various government bods arguing the semantics of the Caledonian Charmer's rhetoric on John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-78025078304999928992009-01-28T11:30:00.004Z2009-01-28T12:10:53.172Z48. Inconspicuous, unostentatious, but hardly insignificant"Insects do not play so conspicuous and ostentatious a part in Europe as in some of the warmer regions of the globe ; it is only in special localities or exceptional seasons that their destructive or irritating influence becomes formidable to man. There are not many towns like Fasano, where the inhabitants have in summer to leave their usual residences to the occupancy of flies ; and if the John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-39332115947268729282009-01-06T10:48:00.003Z2009-01-06T11:25:36.547Z47. A sufficient residuum of sea-serpentsReaders contemplating a sea voyage may be reassured by the accompanying figures from the article SEA-SERPENT by W. E. Holmes, M.A., of the "Challenger" Expedition Office. Figure 2 is (Admiral?) Bing's drawing of the sea-serpent reported by the "well-known missionary to Greenland" Hans Egede ; figure 3 shows how a squid rearing out of the water and spouting a jet of water could easiy be mistaken John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-81540071104774808822009-01-01T00:01:00.004Z2009-01-06T11:25:12.221Z46. The octave of Christmas Day"NEW YEAR'S DAY. The first day (calends) of January, as marking the beginning of the year, was observed as a public holiday in Rome from at least the time of the Julian reformation of the calendar. Ovid (Fas., i. 63 sq.) alludes to the abstinence from litigation and strife, the smoking altars, the white-robed processions to the Capitol ; and later writers describe the exchanges of visits, the John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-47696732450625972272008-12-24T00:01:00.000Z2008-12-24T00:01:00.253Z45. Where the "old honour" has not altogether fled"CHRISTMAS DAY (French, Noel from Dies natalis ; German Weihnachtsfest ; Old Eng. and Scand. Yule ; Ang.-Sax., Geol), a festival of the Christian church, observed on the 25th of December, in memory of the birth of Jesus Christ. There is, however, a difficulty in accepting this as the date of the Nativity, December being the height of the rainy season in Judea, when neither flocks nor shepherds John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-37816385666522631562008-12-16T20:26:00.007Z2008-12-23T12:24:53.389Z44. Pianowire, steam-engines and explosives.In an age of technological marvels, how best to arm his navy was a question which was readily answered for the gentlemen of 1886. With its engine powered by compressed air achieving an impressive 24 knots over 600 yards, and delivering a payload charge of up to 100lb of gun-cotton, the Whitehead torpedo was clearly the weapon of choice. The Whitehead's accuracy and unwavering course were thanks John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-22616430242200240532008-12-07T20:45:00.004Z2008-12-08T11:40:33.135Z43. Great scousers in history (part 1)Here's an inspiring, brief biography of an inspiring, brief life. All the story of science that followed, from falling apples to men on the moon, is reflected at the moment an excited young clergyman rushes from his church, grasping a pocketbook of laboriously scribbled notes, toward a quiet spot where the dying light of the winter sun burns along the length of a brass telescope, standing John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-17165341409994054272008-12-06T13:41:00.004Z2008-12-17T12:53:06.476Z42. Three methods for growing cucumbersFrom HORTICULTURE by Mr T. Moore, late of the Botanic Garden, Chelsea.John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-48386849902997259302008-11-26T10:31:00.006Z2008-11-26T23:30:46.746Z41. Dr. Dudley A. Sargent of Harvard University was a plagiaristWherever possible, it is the object of this blog to afford its readers a fuller understanding of the great issues of our times, through resort to the learned and precise sages employed by the offices of Adam and Charles Black. "DANCE. The term dancing in its widest sense includes three things :-(1) the spontaneous activity of the muscles under the influence of some strong emotion, such as social John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-80581067549539415482008-11-09T15:39:00.003Z2008-11-09T23:06:04.068Z40. Sometimes a morbid kindnessLike many overgrown boys, I thrill to the sensational exploits of television survival artiste Bear Grylls. He may not have the nut-gathering, bucolic charm and authenticity of Ray Mears, but he has a far more rugged name. A recent programme did display a somewhat Morissette-ish tendency in his language, by his declaring how 'ironic' it would be if, after all the lions, tigers and bears he has John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-18674349447845950542008-11-06T20:04:00.001Z2008-11-07T22:35:20.870Z39. Mental perturbations and the emergencies of intellectual combatI am indebted to the kind and indiscriminate praise of Chessbumbus for reminding me of the ninth edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica's very fine article on the subject of the game of kings. W. Norwood Porter's introduction is a masterly opening, and be you not stricken by obstinacy, indolence, or self-esteem, you should find it instructive, and a balm to the troubles of your cerebral organ.CHESS,John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-72508720125311101262008-11-04T06:56:00.000Z2008-11-04T06:56:00.880Z38. ii) Let us have faith that right makes mightJohn G. Nicolay provides a comprehensive biography of the celebrated Illinois lawyer, rail-splitter, and chicken-fight judge, which can only be done full justice by being read in full. I would then direct the curious to peruse your local library for a copy of Gore Vidal's Lincoln (presumably to be shortly reprinted if Mr Spielberg gets round to directing Liam Neeson in a cinematic adaptation), John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-79471059590986727642008-11-03T11:16:00.004Z2008-11-03T14:47:37.568Z38. i) The largest hands ever seen on a manThe heart of Barleycorn Towers is set to glow with the unearthly radiance of the cathode-ray tube throughout Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, as the presidential contest in our former colonies is followed through all the baroque twists and turns of its final, decisive (barring lawyerly appeals to the Supreme Court) hours. What better way to join the frenzy of excitement than by taking a look John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-7102070879833690662008-11-02T17:53:00.004Z2008-12-17T12:53:06.480Z37. The age of blocking : when any neat-handed man could print for himself"In Europe, as late as the second half of the14th century, every book (including school and prayer books), and every public and private document, proclamation, bull, letter, &c., was written by hand ; all figures and pictures, even playing-cards and images of saints, were drawn with the pen or painted with a brush."J. H. Hessels, M. A. writes these words in his history of TYPOGRAPHY, as an John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-33480669046371016452008-10-27T16:50:00.000Z2008-10-27T16:50:00.423Z36. Wayward tendenciesAnother instructive and colourful biography of a notable personage from the pages of the ninth edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica. If today's theatre or the screen can offer a personality to compare I would be surprised. As the article in its original form does not appear to be found elsewhere in Interwebshire, and as it contains the phrase "a thrilling sweetness like the witchery of the John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-436715872352674012008-10-25T19:14:00.002+01:002008-10-25T22:08:42.685+01:0035. ii) Sympathy with books and readingTedder and Thomas continue their article with nothing less than an overview of practically every library on the planet. Twenty-one pages of text are accompanied by ten pages of tables, and the mind, as the cliché goes, boggles. This article is pervaded by a proud sense of the dynamic modern phenomena of free access to knowledge and the wisdom of the ages. It is not difficult to see the parallels John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-77005194316712621172008-10-17T13:33:00.007+01:002008-10-17T22:58:24.256+01:0035. i) Dusty books and silenceLast week, here at the European Capital of Culture 2008, we were blessed by no less august a figure than Andy Burnham, the government’s Culture Secretary, outlining the glorious future for Britain’s libraries in the 21st century, “far removed from the stereotype of dusty books and silence.” Libraries, we are thrilled to hear, will be put at the very heart of communities, and all kinds of John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-58116471130789529582008-10-14T15:32:00.008+01:002008-11-03T14:48:13.409Z34. Thoroughly organized, drilled, and equipped for service.The author of the article quoted in the previous three postings is one Professor McKendrick. Britannica prints his name as M’Kendrick in each instance. I am assuming that this is following either some printing convention or personal preference, for elsewhere in Britannica Scots names are printed with the full Mc or Mac, or are likewise apostrophized. Checking the list of contributors in the IndexJohn Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-64969760189309458472008-10-10T12:15:00.006+01:002008-10-14T16:24:52.803+01:0033. iii) This intricate ganglionic mechanism"No one now doubts that consciousness has an anatomical substratum, but the great problem of the relation between the two is as far from solution as in the days when little or nothing was known of the physiology of the nervous system. Consciousness has been driven step by step upwards until now it takes refuge in a few thousand nerve-cells in a portion of the grey matter of the brain. The John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-62484852746282534112008-10-08T11:54:00.003+01:002008-10-14T16:24:52.805+01:0033. ii) More fun with pigeons"Flourens and the older observers were aware of the fact that as successive slices of grey matter are removed from the cerebrum an animal becomes more dull and stupid, until at last all indications of perception and volition disappear. A pigeon in this condition (see fig. 29), if carefully fed, may live for many months ; to quote from Dalton - "The effect of this mutilation is simply to plunge John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-2324987932539346722008-10-06T11:08:00.002+01:002008-10-14T16:31:15.941+01:0033. i) Fun with pigeons"If the cerebellum be removed gradually by successive slices - an operation easily done in a pigeon - there is a progressive effect on locomotive actions. On taking away only the upper layer there is some weakness and a hesitation in gait. When the sections have reached the middle of the organ the animal staggers much, and assists itself by its wings in walking. The sections being continued John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-15786752177304982352008-09-29T21:18:00.004+01:002008-10-14T17:17:04.044+01:0032. Gorgeousness in matter and meanness in mannerThe Barleycorn family have been making use of their National Trust membership and taking advantage of the weekend's 2p per litre dip in the price of petrol, visiting two of the nation's cherished tourism honeypots : Stonehenge and Windsor Castle. Barleycorn Sr is disgruntled to note that Places of Interest seem to have universally dispensed with wordy plaques and notice boards and are now all John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1916296869511558040.post-45212204789500746622008-09-21T18:53:00.011+01:002008-09-22T10:13:55.699+01:0031. We are all to blameIn these dark days of credit crunches and global financial meltdown, you may well have considered the price of eggs in your local supermarket and thought to yourself, Why, it seems that only a year ago this product was considerably cheaper. You may have found yourself wistfully recalling the turn of the century abandon with which you once consumed omelettes. Occasionally the accounts one reads John Barleycornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16477950212613140744johnbarleycorn1875@gmail.com0