Nateos Cup

The Nanteos Cup (Welsh: Cwpan Nanteos) is a medieval wood mazer bowl, held for many years at Nanteos Mansion, Rhydyfelin, near Aberystwyth in Wales. Since at least the late 19th century it has been attributed with a supernatural ability to heal those who drink from it and traditionally believed to be fashioned from a piece of the True Cross. By the early 20th century it had become a candidate - one of at least 200 in Europe - for the Holy Grail. Juliette Wood, a folklorist specializing in medieval folklore and Celtic mythology, has stated that there is "no credible reference" to the cup prior to the end of the 19th century and "no mention of possible connections to the Grail until 1905."

In 1977 the cup was displayed at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, as part of the "Aberystwyth 1277-1977" celebrations marking the 700th anniversary of the granting of the town's charter by Edward I. Specialists from the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales used the opportunity to examine the cup and concluded that it dated from the Late Middle Ages and was carved from wych elm. In July 2014 it was reported that the cup had been stolen from a house in Weston under Penyard while the occupant to whom it had been loaned was in hospital.

 And now for the fun bits of the story:

Police on a quest to find the Holy Grail raided a rural pub last week where they believed it was illegally stashed only to find an informant got it mixed up with an old salad bowl from the kitchen.

The team of 12 officers and a sniffer dog shut down the Crown in Lea, Herefordshire, because they believed staff were hiding the priceless Nanteos Cup - stolen from a country house nearby.

But West Mercia Police were forced to join the search for the priceless medieval artifact after it was the only item stolen in a raid at a remote country house in Herefordshire last month.

Weeks after its disappearance police received 'intelligence' it was in the Crown pub, but all they found was a wooden bowl used to serve salad to customers.

Clever, but ark is misspelled

unless Jesus is talking about an arc in the circle of life, I suppose.

Love, exciting and new ...

 

 A hybrid of zebra and a donkey plays with his mother at the Taigan zoo park outside Simferopol on August 5, 2014. 

The 'zonkey' has been named 'Telegraph' by his keepers. (AFP Photo/Yuri Lashov)

 

Simferopol (AFP) - A zoo in the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea has welcomed its latest arrival -- a "zebroid", or "zonkey", which was born after a lonesome zebra got intimate with a donkey.

Named Telegraph by keepers at the Taigan zoo park in southern Crimea, the foal's head and body are the solid brown of a donkey but his legs have the characteristic black stripes of a zebra.

Born last week, "Telegraph is very popular with visitors" who can watch him romping around with his mother, according to zoo director Oleg Zubkov.

Cross-breeding between zebras and other members of the equine family is not unheard of, although it is rare that the zebra is the mother. But the breeding of zonkeys or other hybrids is normally frowned upon by the zoo community.

"Such things don't happen in civilised zoos, but can occur at private zoos or on farms," said Anna Kachurovskaya, a spokeswoman for Moscow Zoo. "This sort of marketing is not justified or scientific... zoos are for preserving wild species, that is one of their most important goals."

Zubkov said Telegraph's mother, who had not had a mate for a long time, was lonely and uncomfortable in her enclosure at the private zoo founded two years ago about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from Crimea's main city Simferopol.

"So on the advice of a zoologist we moved her in with several other hooved animals and she really liked the donkey. As a result of their affection for one another we've gotten Telegraph," Zubkov said in an email to AFP.

Telegraph was named after a local newspaper which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary.

Clueless Clawson

Rep. Curt Clawson, R-Fla., addressed what he believed were two members of the Indian government at a House hearing on July 24 of this year and assured them that, as a U.S. representative, he would support all efforts to facilitate a better relationship between America and “your country” and “your government.” But there was one problem — the officials testifying before the House Asia and Pacific subcommittee weren’t Indian  officials at all, but two Indian-Americans: Nisha Biswal of the State Department, and Arun Kumar of  the Commerce Department.

When Clawson asked them for cooperation in increasing U.S. investment, a confused Biswal responded that  they shared his sentiments — as members of the U.S. government.

Coming soon to your neighborhood?

Years ago I heard a joke about (I think) Unitarians: They are atheists who just can't break the habit of going to church on Sunday.

With apologies to any Unitarians (or atheists) who might be offended by the joke, I see that the idea of a church for atheists seems to be catching on.

The Sunday Assembly, according to their website

"is a godless congregation that celebrates life. Our motto: live better, help often, wonder more. Our mission: to help everyone find and fulfill their full potential. Our vision: a godless congregation in every town, city and village that wants one.

We are here for everyone who wants to:

• Live Better. We aim to provide inspiring, thought-provoking and practical ideas that help people to live the lives they want to lead and be the people they want to be
• Help Often. Assemblies are communities of action building lives of purpose, encouraging us all to help anyone who needs it to support each other
• Wonder More. Hearing talks, singing as one, listening to readings and even playing games helps us to connect with each other and the awesome world we live in.

The Sunday Assembly

1. Is 100% celebration of life. We are born from nothing and go to nothing. Let’s enjoy it together.
2. Has no doctrine. We have no set texts so we can make use of wisdom from all sources.
3. Has no deity. We don’t do supernatural but we also won’t tell you you’re wrong if you do.
4. Is radically inclusive. Everyone is welcome, regardless of their beliefs – this is a place of love that is open and accepting.
5. Is free to attend, not-for-profit and volunteer run. We ask for donations to cover our costs and support our community work.
6. Has a community mission. Through our Action Heroes (you!), we will be a force for good.
7. Is independent. We do not accept sponsorship or promote outside businesses, organisations or services
8. Is here to stay. With your involvement, The Sunday Assembly will make the world a better place
9. We won’t tell you how to live, but will try to help you do it as well as you can
10. And remember point 1… The Sunday Assembly is a celebration of the one life we know we have."

To boldly split infinitives where no one has split before

NASA impossible engine: Incredible Star Trek like space engine design approved

An engine thought not to be possible was tested by NASA researchers who found that surprisingly, it actually worked opening the door to faster travel.

August 4, 2014

In what is being called a violation of the conservation of momentum -- one of the most powerful laws in physics that states that every action must have an equal and opposite reaction -- NASA confirmed that they have produced tiny amounts of thrust from an engine without propellant. The achievement represents a significant breakthrough and this new type of "impossible" engine could completely revolutionize space travel, an August 4 report from The Independent explained.

NASA is testing different technologies for their future space travels, but this "impossible" engine (known as ‘Cannae Drive’) has attracted more attention than others because it could possibly enable humans to move around much longer and faster through space. This new scheme submitted by U.S. scientist Guido Fetta, would leave behind the limitations of fuel loading in spacecraft, because this new system does not require rocket thrusters to move throughout the universe. 

"Test results indicate that the RF [radio frequency] resonant cavity thruster design, which is unique as an electric propulsion device, is producing a force that is not attributable to any classical electromagnetic phenomenon and, therefore, is potentially demonstrating an interaction with the quantum vacuum virtual plasma," the NASA team wrote in their study.

This system works through microwaves bouncing from end-to-end of a specially designed, unevenly-shaped container which create a difference in radiation pressure, causing thrust to be exerted toward the larger end of the container. Although the so-called "impossible" engine has already been independently tested by NASA, it is not yet capable of moving a ship through space. 

According to experts, this technology could substantially reduce the cost of satellites and space stations,which could use solar electricity to power their microwave engines. Moreover, it could allow the development of travel into deep space and shorten travel times, for example, to Mars, from a few months to only a few weeks. Though this technology was recently recognized by NASA, a similar type of technology has been demonstrated to work in small scale trials by Chinese and Argentine scientists. British scientist Roger Shawyer had shown a similar pattern through its EmDrive engine, capable of converting eletricity into thrust, without the need for any propellant and working only with the rebound microwave in a closed container. A system was also recently replicated by a Chinese team.

To throw a little light on a dark subject

A lucubration (or lucubrations — the word more often appears in the plural) is a derisive reference to a pedantic, over-elaborate or muddled attempt to make a point.

But Coleridge was an unselfdisciplined monologist addict who left a few brilliant poems and poetic fragments behind him, along with a blather of sometimes suggestive but mainly inane lucubration.

      A C Grayling, in the Financial Times, 14 Oct. 2006.

Lucubration literally means thought, study or writing that has been undertaken by artificial light. Its origin is Latin lux, light, via the stem of the verb lūcubrāre, to work by lamplight. Imagine a scholar hunched beside a guttering flame, striving late into the night to get his ideas on paper. 

The word appeared first in English around the time of Shakespeare at the end of the sixteenth century. People soon started to use it for the result of the activity as well as the activity itself.

Unfortunately, as every student struggling against a deadline to write an essay will know, such burning of the midnight oil is likely to produce work that won’t stand the light of day. Hence its current meaning.

Source: World Wide Words

Damien's note: I can only hope UrSpo will soon work this into one of his posts.