Naming Hurricanes

I have always wondered why hurricanes are given names and seeing that the last hurricane was given ironically the name Irene, which in Greek means Peace, made me research this topic. The first hurricanes to receive human names where in the Caribbean two centuries ago. There they used to give the name of the Saint who was venerated the day it was formed. 

Since 1953 the hurricanes were 'baptised'  according to a list formed by the National Hurricane Centre in the U.S.A. The names were small in order to be remembered. The name basis was simpler than using coordinations and areas the hurricanes actually hit. 

 

This list constituted of female names until 1979 when male names were introduced. Currently there are six lists of names and when a catastrophic hurricane occurs the name given to that is then replaced by a new one. For example in 2004 Mitch was replaced by Matthew due to the fact that in 1998 it killed nearly 10.000 people in Honduras.    

Corruption in Ancient Greece

The phenomenon of corruption is very ancient and is one of the characteristic of the human nature. History is full of examples verifying this assumption. 

The great legislator Solon established in the 5th century BC the Seisachtheia, i.e. the debt cancellation. As Aristotle writes, just before the announcement of the debt cancellation, he informed his friends to rush and get large loans, which eventually were cleared of any debt, hence making them really rich. Themistocles claimed that it has no value to be a leader if you cannot enrich your friends. Agisilaos, King of Sparta believed exactly the same thing.  Even the monuments on the Acropolis were connected to the biggest scandal of abuse during the Golden Century of Pericles (5th century BC).  The main issues were both, using money from the treasury of the Athenian Alliance by Pericles and the suspicion that Phidias had distorted the gold in the statue of Athena. Plutarch writes that Pericles introduced the "secret funds" by taking 10 talents, an enormous sum for that period. When questioned in Pnika he answered "I gave them where they were needed", without explaining further. 

Demosthenes was exiled and imprisoned twice due to corruption charges. The first time he took money of Alexander the Great's treasurer, Arpalo, who took the funds from Babylon and fled to Athens. The second time he took money from the Amfises in order to cover a scandal at Delphi. Arpalos had escaped to Athens in order to avoid the wrath of Alexander the Great because he stole the army's finance and the treasury of Babylon, which had been entrusted to him. Finally, Demosthenes was convicted and exiled from Athens in 324 BC for choosing to work with the biggest abuser of his time, Arpalo. 

In ancient Greece, the laws and the constitution did not work by divine right but by the right of the people. That is why Pericles was given a trial date, although he was never tried, since during that time the Peloponnesian War commenced. Nevertheless, before the temple of Athena Nike began, the auditors looked thoroughly at Kalikratis' designs. As for Phidias, he achieved to demonstrate his innocence in court, however he didn't escape prison. The key reason was his arrogance in immortalizing Pericles and himself on the shield of the goddess Athena.

It is evident, through these few examples that the phenomenon of corruption is timeless, however it is not a characteristic of one people or nation, but of all of mankind, starting from Adam and Eve. Nevertheless that does not mean that regulations and laws shouldn't exist in order to prevent and minimise this bad habit.

The Notting Hill Carnival

One of the biggest events of the summer in London is the Notting Hill Carnival, held each August Bank Holiday since 1966, being the largest festival celebration of its kind in Europe. 

Every year the streets of West London come alive, with the smells, sounds and colours of Europe's biggest street festival. 

Twenty miles of vibrant colourful costumes, sound systems and hundreds of Caribbean food are to be found here. Music is at the heart of Notting Hill Carnival, with traditional and contemporary sounds filling the air for miles around. 

Notting Hill introduces the visitor to wonderful aromas of traditional Caribbean cuisine, providing the perfect introduction to jerk chicken, rice and peas and rum punch as well as the odd taste of other exotic food. 

The Notting Hill Carnival began as a local festival set up by the West Indian community; however now it has become a full-blooded Caribbean carnival, attracting millions of visitors form all over the world. 

There, one can observe the many astonishing floats and sounds of the traditional steel drum bands, scores of massive sound systems plus, not forgetting, the hundreds of stalls that line the streets of Notting Hill. It is considered by many as London's most exciting annual event. 

The Police was present in every street around the carnival, making sure that law and order was maintained. The carnival begins on Great Western Road, then moves along Chepstow Road, on to Westbourne Grove and then the Ladbroke Grove. As seen in this picture, this festival has no age restrictions.! 

It is one attraction that no one should miss!

The tallest bridge in the world

The tallest bridge in the world is located in Southern France, called bridge Millau Viaduct.Its construction took three years, being a mechanical and architectural miracle. 

Its highest point is 343 metres from the ground, which is consequently 19 metres taller that the Eiffel Tower. 

Angkor Wat

The Temples of Angkor Wat, in Cambodia,were built between 1220 BC to 802 BC. The impressive complex of temples of Angkor Wat have countless temples spanning in an area of 400 sq km.

 The most popular temples are Angkor Wat, Bayon and Ta Phrom which are, as many Hollywood fans would recognise, the site from the film Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie.

The temple complex has recently had a massive influx of tourists, explaining why Siem Reap, a town near Angkor Wat, has many hotels, in comparison to the one that it had 15 years ago. 

Digital Art

Since everything is digitalised, then why not art? Monnet Laurent an eighteen year old from France has created some work of art digitally. Some of her paintings are demonstrated here. 

Saint Alexander the Great

The schismatic Orthodox church in FYROM is proclaiming Alexander the Great a Saint. Archbishop of Orhid in FYROM, Stephen, has given permission to place a hagiography of Alexander the Great on the dome of St. Nicholas Church in Stip, a place normally kept for the Pantokrator, i.e. Jesus Christ blessing the believers. They have even drawn the Macedonian symbol, the Sun of Vergina, which is not in any way a Christian symbol, introducing new pagan symbols. 

This is a blasphemous and immoral decision taken by the schismatic church in FYROM. This points out how the small Balkan nation wishes to change history, altar religion and modify the way with which a certain person is proclaimed a saint.  

Bobby's Bus Shelter

Bobby's Bus Shelter at Unst, one of the northernmost isle of Shetland Islands in Scotland, could be the only bus stop in the world that is visited by bus loads of tourists every day during the summer. This of course is due to the inventive decoration, some homemade fudge, a pair of resident beer-quaffing hamsters and an intriguing story. 

On a very cold winter morning in Unst, a six year old child was waiting for the school bus in the old bus shelter. Having enough of the cold weather, he wrote a letter to the local newspaper. The council felt sorry for little Bobby and installed a brand new one. Quickly after that things started to appear, first some wicker chairs, then a microwave, then a carpet, telephone and curtains, however no one knows where they came from. 

The interior is now altered on a regular basis, thanks to the "Bobby's Bus Shelter Executive Board". It has had various themes, including an underwater theme, a yellow, a space and an African theme. When Bobby eventually grew he moved to Swaziland, in Africa. 

The most impressive statues in the world!

Every one of course knows and admires the Statue of Liberty in New York, however it is not the only magnificent statue in the world. Some statues are more advertised than others; that is why here we will see some not widely known, great statues. 

"Mother Motherland" is located in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. It has stood there for over 40 years and when it was built it was the tallest statue in the world, being 102 metres tall and weighing 530 tones. 

"Lord Shiva" located in Murudeshwar, India. The statue has been built out of a single stone found right there in the sea. Detail is evident, emphasising the long shapely fingers, intricately knotted hair, the serpent coiled around its neck and the tiger skin he's seated on. It is 37 metres high and needed two years for it to be completed. 

"The Motherland Calls" located in Volgograd, Russia commemorates the Battle of Stalingrad. It was declared the largest statue in the world in 1967, being the last non-religious statue to be declared the largest, every record holder since has been a Buddhism related sculpture. It is 85 metres high and weighs 8.000 tones.

"Gundam Robot" in Tokyo is the most modern looking statue in this category, being 18 meters high. It was inspired by a Japanese comic series. 

18 Yo young lady w 83 degree painful kyphosis fixed this am

Surgical time: 3 hr 30 min
Ebl: 400 cc. Cell saver: 115 cc.
Blood transfused: none
Complications: none.

Fusion levels: T3-L3 instrumentation and fusion with 3 apical Smith Peterson Osteotomies.

Correction: looking real good. Hump back gone!

William Wallace

William Wallace is a historical figure who has intrigued me since watching Braveheart. Wallace led the Scottish rebellion against Edward I and inflicted a great defeat on the English army at Stirling Bridge. He is not only considered a patriot but also a national hero in Scotland. 

William Wallace was born in 1270 in Elderslie, Renfrewshire, into a gentry family. Unfortunately not much is known about his early years whilst many periods of his life are based on unreliable sources. In 1296 Scottish unrest was widespread after Edward I of England had taken advantage of a succession crisis in Scotland  and imposed himself as ruler with an English administration. In May 1297 Wallace attacked the town of Lanark, killing the English sheriff. This resulted in the prevalence of a full-blown rebellion. Many followed Wallace and achieved to drive the English out of Fife and Perthshire. In September of the same year Wallace defeated a much larger English force at the Battle of Stirling Bridge and due to this and other military successes the English hold on Scotland was weakened. After this William Wallace launched raids into Northern England. As a result of his actions he was knighted and appointed "guardian of the kingdom" in the name of the deposed king of Scotland, John Balliol. 

Following the defeat at Stirling the English rallied around Edward, who then marched north with an army. Wallace's strategy was to avoid confrontation and gradually withdraw. Destroying the country side as he went along, he forced Edward to march deeper into Scotland. The English and Scottish armies met near Falkirk in July 1298, where the latter were defeated. Wallace escaped, at some stage he resigned the guardianship and was eventually succeeded by Robert Bruce and John Comyn.

Wallace returned to Scotland in 1303 after visiting France, where he pursued to obtain support for the Scottish cause. Whilst he was abroad Robert Bruce had accepted a truce with Edward I and John Comyn came to terms with the English in 1304. Wallace was excluded from these terms and the English monarch offered a large sum of money to anyone who killed or captured him. Eventually the Scottish hero was seized in Glasgow and was transported to London in August 1305. He was charged and tried with treason, although denying it, claiming that he had never sworn allegiance to the English king. His execution was held on 23 August, (706 years ago) where he was hung, drawn and quartered. His head was placed on London Bridge, whilst his limbs displayed in Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling and Perth.  

The Monastery of Ten Thousand Buddhas

In Sha Tin, a town in the New Territories, in Hong Kong, is located the Monastery of Ten Thousand Buddhas. It isn't an actual monastery since there are no monks residing there. However it is the home place of about 13.000 statues of Buddhas of all shapes and sizes. 

In order to reach the monastery one needs to climb over 400 steps up the hillside. The Buddhas located on this path are life sized. Each statue is unique including thin, chubby, bald, hairy Buddhas; they even have walking sticks, dogs, dragons and frogs.

Buddhas are found everywhere, in the garden, the pavilion, the tower and of course within the temple itself. 

This unique monastery was founded by Yuet Kai in 1951, who was a monk who preached Buddhism in a nearby monastery. Despite being an old man, the monk carried the materials needed for the building on his own, from the foot of the mountain, together with his disciples. The building was erected within 8 years and the Buddha statues took another 10 years to complete. The monk is currently venerated in the main hall of the monastery in a glass case, where he is preserved.