The Mayflower Compact

The original document has been lost. William Bradford recorded several versions.  Here is one of those,  rendered (somewhat) in modern English:

In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, etc.

Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.

In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, 1620.

Signing the Mayflower Compact 1620, Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, 1899

Please click HERE for more.

Talkin' to Squares, a Primer

Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!

Analysis of messes: "A Mess"

     A Mess

Making messes
Cleaning up messes
Moving from one mess to another
Talking about messes
Finding messes
Avoiding messes
Buying messes
Selling messes
Hearing about messes
Regretting messes
Laughing at other people's messes
Wondering about messes
Making more messes
Discovering you've made a mess previously not seen as a mess
Watching something turn into a mess
Watching a mess turn into something
Messing around
Letting people know they better not mess around with you
Messing around with other people
Dealing with people who are messes
Stepping into a mess
Learning from messes
Learning from other people's messes
Not learning from messes: yours or another's
Seeing messes for what they are
Avoiding more messes
Reminiscing with an old mess
Enjoying messes
Writing poems about messes
Not having anything more to say about messes
Having more to say about messes
Pronouncing the last word on messes

"Krishna" by Nicholas Roerich

To learn more about Nicholas Roerich, please clock HERE.

Edwin Austin Abbey, "King Lear, Act I, Scene I"

Don't throw your vote away. Vote for no. 2!

The Computation of Bowling Scores: a Mathematical Progression or Sequence?

Ontario Power Generating Station, 1912

Imperial German Navy's First and Second Battleship Squadrons and Small Cruiser Squadron in Kiel Harbor (circa 1905-8?)

Butterworth in Berlin

I recently learned Michael Butterworth will be in Berlin this Saturday, 5 November, 8 pm at the Posh Teckel bar in Neukölln, to discuss his new book, The Blue Monday Diaries.  To view the announcement for the event, please click HERE.

Dave Jenning's review of the book can be viewed HERE.

To view the Amazon description and purchase the book, please click HERE.

My musical tastes range from Beethoven quartets to free-form avant-garde "highbrow" jazz, and thus, from what I see here, I am a bit circumspect about New Order and their scene. I am very interested, however, in Mr. Butterworth's poetry and fiction; and his wide-ranging publishing projects--always unique and often ingenious--represent material for continual investigation and reflection.  I am curious, therefore, to read this new book and see what kind of light he throws upon our understanding of this sector of popular culture, which, in the case of New Order, suggests the fascinating phenomenon of young people not fully aware of what they are doing in "the arts", and yet nevertheless succeeding--and what ever that "success" might mean.  These are important questions, and I am confident that when it comes to engaging such issues Michael Butterworth's new book is absolutely candid and fully delivers.