St George, the roman patron saint of England

Happy St George's day. Yep, St George, dragon slayer and patron saint of England is widely believed to have been a roman soldier. He is also patron saint of Aragon, Catalonia, England, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, and Russia.

My first list for a while are people believed to be from one place but actually from somewhere else:

• Russell Crowe, famous "Australian" actor was born in New Zealand.
• Mel Gibson, also a famous "Australian" actor was born in New York, USA
• Nichole Kidman, "Australian" actress, was, like Barak Obama, born in Hawaii (although if you believe some scurriolous web sites, Obama was born in Kenya - which is untrue)
• and Olivia Newton John was born in Cambridge, England
• Erroll Flynn WAS born in Australia though
• Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister was born in Edinburgh, Scotland
• Freddie Mercury, lead singer of British rock institution Queen, was born in Zanzibar, Tanzania
• Cliff Richard, housewives' favourite singer, was born in India as was comedian, Spike Milligan
• Natalie Portman, "American" actress was actually born in Jerusalem, Israel
• Keanu Reeves , actor,was born in Beirut, Lebanon
• Emily Watson, the quintessentially "English" actress of Harry Potter fame was born in Paris
• Charlize Theron, "American" actress, is actually South African
• Donald Sutherland (actor born in Canada)'s son Kiefer (star of 24) was born in London, England
• Kim Cattrall, Sex and the City actress, was born in Widnes, England
• JJR Tolein, "British" writer, was actually South African
• Dominic Monaghan. "British" actor and Hobbit, was born in Berlin, Germany
• Joe Strummer, from The Clash was born in Ankara, Turkey
• Alessandro Del Piero, "Italian" World Cup winning footballer was born in Elgin, Scotland
• Adolf Hitler, as everyone knows, was Austrian not German
• Mother Theresa, altruistic "Indian" saint was born in Macedonia
• Yves Saint Laurent, "French" fashion designer was born in Algeria
• Joanna Lumley, posh "British" actress was born in India.
• Eric Liddell, "Scottish" athlete who refused to run on the Sabbath, was born in China

... I could go on.

Spring Equinox

Spring has sprung!

Today is the Spring Equinox, when the sun rises exactly in the east and sets precisely west and lasts for 12 hours, exactly half a day.

Here's a list of other names the Spring Equinox is known as:

• Spring Meridian
• Prime Meridian
• First point of Aries Meridian
• Pisces Meridian
• March Meridian
• Vernal Meridian
• Midnight Meridian

Saint Piran's Day and a list of other Patron Saints

St Piran is the Patron Saint of Cornwall (and tin miners) and March 5th is St Piran's Day.

As a Cornishman I thought I would make the day and my first list for a while with a list of 20 other Patron Saints (and what they're patrons of):

• St Adjutor - Swimmers
• St Agatha - Nurses, volcanoes and bell makers
• St Albinus of Angers -against pirate attack
• At Anthony - Pig herders and gravediggers
• St Apollonia - Dentists and toothache
• St Bartholomew - Plasterers
• St Blaise - Veterinarians, wool combers, town criers and weavers
• St Dismas - Undertakers, thieves
• St Fiacre - Cab drivers and haemorrhoids (it's all that sitting down!)
• St George Scouts and England
• St Hippolytus - Prison Officers
• St Isidore of Seville - computer scientists, computer programmers, computer technicians, computer users, schoolchildren, students
• St Joseph of Cupertino - Air travelers, aviators, astronauts, test takers
• St Jude - Lost causes
• St Martin of Porres - Hairdressers
• St Michael - Police officers
• St Natalia of Nicomedia - plague, epilepsy
• St Saint Pio of Pietrelcina - Stress relief and New year blues
• St Symphorian - syphilis, eye troubles
• St Vitus - Comedians and dancers

Hiatus

Due to the lack of internet access the Blog of Lists is on hold for a while.
It will return shortly.

In the meantime, if you have any ideas for lists, please add a comment and I may use the in future lists.

DeeDubya

Junk Food

Keep Britain Tidy has done a survey that reveals that 25% of British streets are littered with fast food packaging, up from 16% in 2002. This is a terrible state of affairs, not only is the country getting fat from eating the rubbish inside but they're not even responsible with the rubbish left over.

The worst offenders by brand:

• McDonald's 29%
• Unbranded litter 21%
• Greggs 18%
• KFC 8%
• Subway/Branded coffee shops 5%

Keep Britain Tidy have called for the food outlets to do more to prevent the amount of litter but I think the responsibilty is just as much that of the customer. USE A BIN! It's not difficult.

Kate's Golden Globes

At last, Kate Winslet has won not just one, but two Golden Globe awards (after being nominated five times previously). This sets her up for a good chance of winning her first Oscar.

It reminds me of her parody of herself in Ricky Gervais' Extras where she says the only reason she's doing the role as a nun saving Jews from the Nazi's is because it's the kind of role that gets the awards. It's ironic that she won a Globe for playing an ex-Nazi prison officer. Maybe that's what made her chose the role.

Congratulations to Slumdog Millionaire too, I must see that, along with The Wrestler. I must also mention the late Heath Ledger too, he must win the Oscar for his portrayal of the Joker.

So the Golden Globes is the first big ceremony of the awards season. Here are the winners:

MOTION PICTURES:

• Picture, Drama: "Slumdog Millionaire."
• Picture, Musical or Comedy: "Vicky Christina Barcelona."
• Actor, Drama: Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler."
• Kate Winslet, "Revolutionary Road."
• Director: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire."
• Actor, Musical or Comedy: Colin Farrell, "In Bruges."
• Actress, Musical or Comedy: Sally Hawkins, "Happy-Go-Lucky."
• Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight."
• Supporting Actress: Kate Winslet, "The Reader."
• Foreign Language Film: "Waltz With Bashir."
• Animated Film: "Wall-E."
• Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire."
• Original Score: A.R. Rahman, "Slumdog Millionaire."
• Original Song: "The Wrestler" (performed by Bruce Springsteen, written by Bruce Springsteen), - The Wrestler."
  

TELEVISION:

• Series, Drama: "Mad Men."
• Actor, Drama: Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment."
• Actress, Drama: Anna Paquin, "True Blood."
• Series, Musical or Comedy: "30 Rock."
• Actor, Musical or Comedy: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock."
• Actress, Musical or Comedy: Tina Fey, "30 Rock."
• Miniseries or Movie: "John Adams."
• Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Laura Linney, "John Adams."
• Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Paul Giammatti, "John Adams."
• Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Laura Dern, "Recount."
• Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Tom Wilkinson, "John Adams."
• Cecil B. DeMille Award: Steven Spielberg

Big Moon

Tonight's full moon will look the biggest it has done for 15 years, if only you could see it through the thick cloud covering the country! With the elipical orit around the Earth the moon is at it's closest orbit for a decade and a half and will appear bigger and brighter than normal.

Here is a list of other notable moons:

• Sun Myung Moon: The Korean founder and leader of the world-wide Unification Church and of the larger Unification Movement, otherwise known as "the Moonies".
• The Moon of Gomrath: The follow up to the children's book The Weidstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner. Set in the Manchester United footballer's favourite place to live, Alderley Edge. I wonder if Beckham had probelms with Svarts?
• Keith Moon: crazy drummer with the legendary rock band The Who, considered by many to be the best drummer ever.
• Moonstruck: Oscar winning 1987 film staring plastic warbler, Cher.
• Ganymede: One of Jupiter's 62 moons and the largest moon in the solar system, with a diameter of 3,280 miles, even larger than either of the planets Mercury.
• The Dark Side of the Moon: massive selling 1973 album by Pink Floyd, thought by some to fity almost exactly to the visuals of the film The Wizard of Oz, if started at the right time.

The last classic feudal state.

The last bastion of feudalism in the Western world finally succumbed to voting for it's first Democratic government today. The Channel Island of Sark's government was, for half a millennium, a group of landowners. The smallest of the Channel Islands (actually a series of small islands occupying approximately two square miles), was split into 40 Tennants, original bestowed as a fiefdom by Elizabeth I in 1565. Helier De Carteret became it's first Seigneur.

Although The Queen is still sovereign, Sark has its own court, is not a member of the EU and has no income tax or national health service. As of today the people of Sark (population 600, electorate 474) go to the polls to fully elect its "Chief Pleas", or parliament, for the first time.

Year in which countries became democracies:

• 2006 - Uganda
• 2002 - Kenya
• 1999 - Nigeria
• 1998 - Indonesia
• 1994 - South Africa, Malawi
• 1990 - Yemen, Taiwan
• 1985 - Brazil
• 1983 - Argentina
• 1978 - Spain
• 1969 - UK (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) as may people in Northern Ireland were denied the vote before then
• 1945 - Italy
• 1944 - Iceland
• 1921 - Sweden
• 1949 - India
• 1913 - USA (tricky one, but considered to be in 1913 with the passing of the 17th amendments)
• 1901 - Denmark
• 5th Century BC - Athenian Greece

Tribute to Oliver Postgate

The genius that was Oliver Postgate died today.



Anyone my age or older will know the creator of some of the best loved children's television programmes ever made, Bagpuss and The Clangers being favourites of mine. In this Nintendo age Postgate's programmes were a very different affairs to the fast edit, flashy efforts of today. His career in television started in the 1950's, working for both the BBC and ITV. They mainly were made in a barn by Smallfilms, the company he set up with Peter Firmin.

His shows were a lot gentler and story based than that of modern programmes. Here's a list of his work, which he not only created but often directed, produced, voiced and even physically made the characters and sets:

• Pinny's House (1986) (producer, director)
• Tottie: The Story of a Dolls' House (1984) (director, voiceover)
• Noggin the Nog colour version (1979) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
• Ivor the Engine colour version (1975) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
• Bagpuss (1974) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
• The Clangers (1969) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
• Little Laura (1968) (producer)
• Pogles' Wood (1965) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
• The Seal of Neptune (1963) (creator)
• The Pingwings (1961) (writer, director, voiceover)
• Noggin the Nog (1959) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)
• Ivor the Engine (1958) (writer, producer, director, voiceover)