Fish Eye Milky Way

The Greek philosopher Democritus (450–370 BC) proposed that the bright band on the night sky known as the Milky Way might consist of distant stars. Aristotle (384–322 BC), however, believed the Milky Way to be caused by "the ignition of the fiery exhalation of some stars which were large, numerous and close together" and that the "ignition takes place in the upper part of the atmosphere, in the region of the world which is continuous with the heavenly motions." The Neoplatonist philosopher Olympiodorus the Younger (c. 495–570 AD) criticized this view, arguing that if the Milky Way were sublunary it should appear different at different times and places on the Earth, and that it should have parallax, which it does not. In his view, the Milky Way was celestial. This idea would be influential later in the Islamic world.

Rouen Cathedral

Rouen has been dubbed the "City of a Hundred Spires," for many of its important edifices are churches. Towering above them all is the highest spire in France, erected in 1876, a cast-iron tour-de-force rising 490 ft above the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen. Claude Monet immortalized Rouen's cathedral facade in his paintings.

History

KC the Punk Ass Dog

This is KC, an English Cocker Spaniel. She’s a gun dog, which basically is a dog which was bred to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game (usually birds). However, if you ask KC to fetch something for you, she’ll turn around and simply look at you with eyes which say “I ain’t getting that – you want it, you get it ya lazy sod”. She is unbelievably dopey and now she has a Mohawk on her head. Either way, the world should be thankful that she is not a Poodle, who may be one of the most intelligent types of dog, but let’s face it – they’re just ridiculous!

I'm a fermata - Hold me...

Much of the most widely admired piano repertoire, for example, that of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, was composed for a type of instrument that is rather different from the modern instruments on which this music is normally performed today. Even the music of the Romantics, including Liszt, Chopin, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms, was written for pianos substantially different from ours.

First Frost

After waiting weeks for any sign of the dreary rain to stop and a clear blue wintery sky to come I woke up this morning to finally be satisfied - the belated first frost had arrived! So before the sun rose too high and melted it all I grabbed my kit and toddled on to Hunters Hill Quarry in Lancashire.