02/12/2008 by admin.

Happy 27th Birthday Britney Spears. Let’s celebrate - in the last year, Britney Spears was the most searched for term on Yahoo.com.  There are billions of searches each year and the troubled pop artist drew more hits than Barack Obama.  He was third on the list, behind Britney and ‘World Wrestling Entertainment’. 

This is all very interesting as some recent buyers of our novel initially mistook it to be by Britney Spears, not Billie Shears.  This was simply an ‘at a glance’ problem, but their names are very similar and rhyme.

Then we realise that Britney’s breakthrough song was, ‘Baby one more time’ with the lyrics, ‘Give me a sign, hit me…” She still believes. Do you? Here’s the video, complete with the clock ringing at 3.00.

 http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_bsniYwSaWg

Curious as a definition of ‘Haymaker’ includes one able to deliver a good punch. Which leads us on to the ‘World Wrestling Entertainment’. Interesting as ‘throwing a haymaker’ is a wrestling move.

Perhaps this all explains why Britney Spears made an appearance on the show, ‘The X Factor’?  Does not our novel ask whether we - the human race - have the X factor? Are we equipped to care for our planet and its eco-systems? Why Britney even chose to wear a top hat, just like the mysterious man in the shadows - the character orchastraing our story is clearly making a big impression.

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q62a Is life logical?, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q.9 Do you feel in control of your life?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q.4 Have you ever wanted to stop the clock? | No Comments »

13/09/2008 by admin.

Sir Cliff Richard has celebrated 50 years in showbusiness by publishing an auto-biography. Sir Cliff used to live in a council house at Cheshunt in Hertfordshire. The house was tiny and he had to share a room with one of his sisters. It was in 1958 that he burst on to the music scene with the song, ‘Move It’ with a style initially based on Elvis.  Sir Cliff has has number one’s in each of the four previous decades. The relevance of the anniversary to to our story is simple - for early in our tale Sarah asks Julia about Peter Pan and Netherland! Sir Cliff seems to defy his years, so was fondly dubbed, the Peter Pan of Pop!  He was also the front singer of ‘Cliff Richard and the Shadows!’

A devout Christian, Sir Cliff has remained a Bacholor Boy throughout his career. What can we say, other than Congratulations!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iArJm9gBvg

Posted in Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Q80a Do you keep a diary?, Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Q62 Have you ever helped the poor?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q49 Do you ever think about the old days?, Q31 Are you a charitable neighbour? | No Comments »

10/09/2008 by admin.

Scientists have switched on the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland in the hope of shedding light on one of the fundamental questions in physics, ‘What is mass?’ 

The current favoured model involves a particle dubbed as ‘The God Particle’.  The enormous experiment is designed to throw light on this - to understand how Nature works - and on the mysterious ‘dark matter’ and ‘dark energy’ that makes up the large majority of the Universe.

The LHC is the biggest and most complex machine in history, taking 13 years to construct at a cost of 5bn.  The experiment involves sending two beams in opposite directions  - revolving about a huge circle of magnetic tubes. Dr Shears a particle physicist from the University of Liverpool said, “We will be looking at what the Universe was made of billionths of a second after the Big Bang.”

The project has not been without its critics with some fearing the formation of a black hole that might swallow the Earth!  We’re not merchants of doom but it’s curious that the experiment is taking place within the proximity of Lake Lucerne - the source of inspiration for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstien.

Scientists clearly hope that the LHC experiment will live long in the memory. Perhaps they’ll adopt an iconic song to remind them of the day, for a study using Beatles music has been set up which catologues 3,000 recollections of Beatles related memories.   For a long time people have noticed that music is a great way to remember events from the past.  See www.magicalmemorytour.com for details.

Our Beatles choice to make the launch of the LHC is ‘Revolution’ … It’s going to be alright!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87yq372R4Ts

Posted in Q49 Do you ever think about the old days?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Q46 Do you value a good education?, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q23 Do you believe all the laws of physics?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst? | No Comments »

29/07/2008 by admin.

In Humberside, England, a young romantic named Robert ploughed a proposal for his sweetheart to marry him. The message read ‘Sarah Marry Me’.  He then flew his surprised girlfriend of 10 years over the field. Sarah was amazed, and shed a few tears. She accepted at once, saying the magic words, ‘I do’. 

The Blakesware Set must be delighted. Our Sarah hopes that one day someone might do something similar for her!

Another celebration - The National Areonautical and Space Administration (NASA) are celebrating 50 years since they were established.  The highlights are many - orbiting the Earth, landing on the Moon and adventures into our solar system.  The most famous quote remains, ‘One step for a man, one giant step for mankind,’ and echoed in The Haymakers Survey.  NASAs motto is ‘For the benefit of all’.  NASA’s Office of Education’s motto is ‘Shaping the Future’. 

We recommend a visit to NASA’s website to witness all they’ve achieved.

 http://www.nasa.gov/50th/home/index.html

We come down-to-Earth with a visit to the West Midlands and a safari park to rejoice at the sight of six rare white lion cubs, which is remarkable since according to African legend white lions are a lucky charm and only come along once every 100 years.   Take a peep at the darling cubs…

Word for word, letter for letter, their names are Star, Haze, Neptune, Ariel, Oberon and Ophelia. Fortunately, none are made of stone, unlike Uncle John Plumer’s lion head statue!

Posted in Q65 Have you ever wished you could fly?, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q42 Do you enjoy drawing?, Q41 Do you like surprises?, Q22 Do you love our Earth? FREE CHRISTMAS PRIZE DRAW!, Q25 Do you believe in fairies?, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you? | No Comments »

23/05/2008 by admin.

Dramatic evidence of the break-up of the Arctic ice-cap has emerged.  Scientists have found major new fractures during an assessment of the state of giant ice shelves in Canada’s far north. They found a network of cracks that stretched for more than 10 miles on Ward Hunt, the area’s largest shelf.  The scientists were astonished to see these new cracks, saying: “It means the ice shelf is disintegrating, the pieces are pinned together like a jigsaw but could float away. We’re seeing very dramatic changes; from the retreat of the glaciers, to the melting of the sea ice.  What’s happening to the ice shelves is part of that picture.” 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7417123.stm

After the record Arctic melting last year, all eyes are now on what happens to the sea ice this summer.

Perhaps this explains why Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ has been put back on display in a Norwegian museum, having been largely restored after it was damaged during a heist in 2004.  The painting is not quite its former self, carrying a humidity stain in the bottom left-hand corner. The painting, of course, features within our story to represent nature’s torment at our destuctive hands. We see its restoration as a message of hope for the future.

Let’s celebrate with this version of Norwegian Wood, by The Beatles.  Look out for the man in the shadows!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG0xiweOaMw

Posted in Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q43 Do you believe in happy endings?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | No Comments »

21/05/2008 by admin.

Mysterious bands of shadow which sometimes pass across the ground during an eclipse might be produced by sound pulses, according to a new theory.  “Shadow bands” have been observed travelling across the ground before and after totality - when the Moon completely covers the Sun. Astrophysicist Dr Stuart Eves thinks the phenomenon could be down to something called infrasound - a sound with a frequency too low to be heard by the human ear.

“As the eclipse shadow moves through the atmosphere, the sudden disappearance of the Sun changes the Earth’s temperature. This rapid cooling of the air sets up a difference in pressure. The potential energy associated with this pressure difference then escapes as high-intensity infrasound. The speed of the Moon’s shadow is generally supersonic and likens the phenomenon to the sonic boom of a jet breaking the sound barrier. But the sound pulses are not generated as single events. Instead, they are created continuously along a “shock front” which moves ahead of the eclipse itself.  This infrasound “front” may create a pattern of peaks and troughs in the atmosphere, which changes the speed and direction of light waves - an effect called refraction - passing through it.  This in turn is responsible for generating the shadow bands seen on the ground. If proven, it would be a something of a revelation that eclipses are a sonic as well as an optical phenomenon. But none of the [existing] theories seem to take account of the fact that shadow bands change direction,” he explained.

Dr Eves also thinks the disruption to pendulums may be caused by infrasound pulses causing the ground to vibrate, disrupting the pendulum’s rhythm.  In addition, animals, and in particular birds, have been seen to exhibit unusual behaviour. In the case of birds this includes premature roosting and apparent signs of distress or alarm.  Birds have auditory ranges that extend well beyond those of humans, and might be affected by low frequency sound pulses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv7SgYNA_ec&feature=related

Posted in Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery? | No Comments »

09/04/2008 by admin.

The influential artist David Hockney has donated his largest work, Bigger Trees near Warter to Tate Britain, home of Stubbs’  Haymakers painting.  The landscape - 12 metres long and 5 metres tall - was first exhibited last year at the Royal Academy.

It was painted in situ on 50 individual canvases that fit together like a jigsaw.  Trees especially have caught his imagination - we know the feeling! Oh an anagram of DAVID HOCKNEY is C KIND HAY DOVE!

Proposals to protect honey bees in England and Wales have been announced, with the Government seeking advice of 44,000 bee keepers. Numbers have fallen by 30 percent in the past 50 years. One of the main causes has been an invasion of foreign bacterial diseases which have been thriving thanks to higher temperatures in recent decades.  The Farming Minister, Lord Rucker to the House of Lords has said the English honey bee population could be wiped out within 10 years.  Sir David Attenborough recently said, “If bees and butterflies disappeared, you wouldn’t have any food on your table.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niEZaD_G6PM

What do you think of it so far? Rubbish! Well plastic rubbish. The quantity of rubbish on British beaches has increased by over 100% over the past decade, and most of it is due to plastic. Not only is the rubbish ugly, its also a threat to wildlife. As Emma says, “its like living in the dark ages.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7339737.stm

Posted in Q78 Do you want to be part of the picture?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Q74 Do you like puzzles?, Q31 Are you a charitable neighbour?, Q21 Have you ever hugged a tree?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | No Comments »

06/02/2008 by admin.

The Indian guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who is credited with introducing the Beatles and other stars to ancient Hindu meditation methods, has died, aged 93. 

He introduced the Transcendental Meditation movement to the West in 1959, with the intention of creating individual peace and enlightenment.  “Don’t fight darkness. Bring the light, and darkness will disappear,” the Maharishi said in an interview in 2006, repeating one of his own mantras.  The roots of the Maharishi’s life remain shrouded in mystery. He said himself that “monks are not expected to speak about themselves; the message is important, not the person.”  Here’s what he had to say about meeting the Beatles…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7230000/newsid_7230200/7230223.stm?

This is the incredible X-ray that unlocked the mystery of what happened to a key ‘lost’ by Chris Foster a key a computer student on a drunken night out.  He apparently swallowed the key whilst drunk because he didnt want to go home from a party.  Still, as the photo insert shows, Chris safely recovered the key and has it in hand! Please don’t try this at home.

A  rubbish dump twice the size of the United States has been discovered floating in the Pacific Ocean. The vast expanse of debris, made up of plastic junk including footballs, kayaks, Lego blocks and carrier bags, is kept together by swirling underwater currents. It stretches from 500 nautical miles off the Californian coast, across the northern Pacific, past Hawaii and almost as far as Japan. the rubbish could double in size over the next decade if consumers do not cut back on their use of plastics. More than a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals die every year as a result of plastic rubbish.  Syringes, cigarette lighters and toothbrushes have all been found inside the stomachs of dead seabirds. The rubbish can also be dangerous for humans, because tiny plastic pellets in the sea can attract man-made chemicals which then enter the food chain.

Posted in Q68 Does the Earth have a spirit?, Q69 Do you put off to tomorrow what you could do today?, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Q56 Do you believe rules are there to be broken?, Q55 Do you believe in truth?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q40 Can you play a musical instrument?, Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q.7 Have you dreamed of being a champion? | No Comments »

22/01/2008 by admin.

An image beamed back from Mars by NASAs Explorer Spirit in 2003 is creating a stir of excitement.  It shows what may be a strange humanoid looking figure walking downhill. Sceptics might say it’s just an odd shaped rock formation, but whatever the explanation, it’s certainly intriguing and mysterious. Many stargazers are struggling to believe their eyes.

Posted in Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q78 Do you want to be part of the picture?, Q70 Do you like to look at the stars?, Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you? | No Comments »

16/01/2008 by admin.

In a near repeat of the summer floods of 2007,  Britain is enduring heavy rain and hurricane-force winds once more.  Interestingly, the media are again quoting from Samuel Coleridge’s poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner.    

One of the Fab Four, Sir Paul McCartney, is launching an exhibition of photographs by his late wife Linda to mark the tenth anniversary of her death.   They include a picture of Sir Paul in reflective mood - just like the Thinker. The photos will be exhibited at the Hyman Gallery in London.

Climate change is having a major impact on Britain’s coast, the seas around the coast, and the life in those seas.  The Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership says seas are becoming more violent, causing coastal erosion and a higher risk of flooding.  Higher CO2 levels in the atmosphere are making oceans warmer and more acidic, affecting plankton, fish and birds.  2006 was the second warmest year in coastal waters since records began.  Our wildlife is suffering and the trends are set to increase.

The ‘darkest ever’ matter known to science has been made in a US laboratory.  The material was created from carbon nanotubes.  Researchers say it is the closest thing yet to the ideal black material, which abosrbs light from all angles and over all wavelengths.

Posted in Q60 Have you ever experienced deja vu?, Q79 Have you ever looked into the shadows?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q47 Do you know your history?, Q30 Did you ever watch the rain on your window?, Q32 Are you afraid of the dark?, Q.2 Are you an art lover? | No Comments »