I, Anti-Botanist (Day Thirty-One)

Here is the first featured article of the year from Wikipedia with which I could not care less about:

Lambertia formosa, "commonly known as mountain devil, is a shrub of the family Proteaceae, endemic to New South Wales, Australia. First described in 1798 by English botanist James Edward Smith, it is the type species of the small genus Lambertia. It is generally found in heathland or open forest, growing in sandstone-based soils. It grows as a multistemmed shrub to around 2 m (7 ft) with a woody base known as a lignotuber, from which it regrows after bushfire."

January Recap

Wow, what a week. I just finished a 10-hour day shooting a promo video for my educational programs at work and I am beat! Even though I am fried, I want to begin the tradition of reviewing how I did over the last month.

Days I learned something new: 30/31
Blog posts: 18
My favorite gist: Definitely learning what eye shadow is made of. It brought out my inner rock nerd.
Books I finished this month: "The Woman I Wanted To Be" by DVF (That is truly unacceptable and I will have a higher number of books next month,
My takeaway from this month: That tracking my progress in something makes time go by more slowly. I like that.

The Labor Economics of the Battle of Öland (Day Thirty)

To my attention Wikipedia via its featured article today brought an item of military history, and to this item I supplied a little labor economic critique.

The Battle of Öland was "a naval battle between an allied Danish-Dutch fleet and the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea, off the east coast of Öland on 1 June 1676. The battle was a part of the Scanian War (1675–79) fought for supremacy over the southern Baltic. Sweden was in urgent need of reinforcements for its north German possessions; Denmark sought to ferry an army to Scania in southern Sweden to open a front on Swedish soil."

The battle resulted in Danish naval supremacy, which was upheld throughout the war. The Danish King Christian V was able to ship troops over to the Swedish side of the Sound, and on 29 June a force of 14,500 men landed at Råå, just south of Helsingborg in southernmost Sweden. Scania became the main battleground of the war, culminating with the bloody battles of Lund, Halmstad and Landskrona. 

Here is a synopsis of the Scanian War:

With the declaration of war against Sweden on 2 September 1675, Denmark saw a chance to regain its recently lost eastern provinces. The southern Baltic became an important strategic theatre for both Denmark and Sweden. Denmark needed the sea lanes to invade Scania, and Sweden needed to reinforce Swedish Pomerania on the Baltic coast; both stood to gain by taking control of the Baltic trade routes. As war broke out between Denmark and Sweden a strong naval presence also became essential for Sweden to secure its interests at home and overseas.

In October 1675 the Swedish fleet under Gustaf Otto Stenbock put to sea, but sailed no further than Stora Karlsö off Gotland before it had to turn back to Stockholm after less than two weeks, beset by cold and stormy weather, disease, and the loss of vital equipment. Stenbock, held personally responsible for the failure by King Charles XI, was forced to pay for the campaign out of his own pocket. During the winter of 1675–76 the Swedish fleet was placed under the command of Lorentz Creutz, who attempted to put to sea in January to February 1676, but was iced in by exceptionally cold weather. (Emphasis Added.)

As I have noted prior, when an exorbitant expense occurred under the failing, directly or indirectly, of an individual, the governments of past could choose to rectify such financial shortfalls from the purses of those persons involved. In so doing, I speculate such great, potential risk functioned as a high barrier to entry for those positions of high command, and thus poorly allocated human capital would have lost many a battle.

Bases Loaded: The Things I Have Missed for the Last Three Days (Day Twenty-Seven, -Eight, and -Nine)

Here is what I missed from the last three days, at least, according to my favorite website, Wikipedia:

On Jan. 27th,

Batman: Arkham City is a 2011 action-adventure video game developed by Rocksteady Studios and released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and Microsoft Windows. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to the 2009 video game Batman: Arkham Asylum and the second installment in the Batman: Arkham series. It was released worldwide for consoles, beginning in North America on October 18, 2011, with a Microsoft Windows version following on November 22.

On Jan. 28th,

Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, dominated the British stage of the mid-20th century.

On Jan 29th,

Lanny King McDonald (born February 16, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies and Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played over 1,100 games during a 16-year career in which he scored 500 goals and over 1,000 points. His total of 66 goals in 1982–83 remains the Flames' franchise record for a single season.

What was the Use of The Peasants' Revolt? (Day Twenty-Six)

Topics like today's featured article on Wikipedia reminds, and thus refreshes, me as to the reason behind commencing this whole blogging enterprise.

The Peasants' Revolt "was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black Death in the 1340s, the high taxes resulting from the conflict with France during the Hundred Years' War, and instability within the local leadership of London. The final trigger for the revolt..." came from "John Bampton, in Essex on 30 May 1381,... attempt[ing] to collect unpaid poll taxes in Brentwood... A wide spectrum of rural society, including many local artisans and village officials, rose up in protest, burning court records and opening the local gaols. The rebels sought a reduction in taxation, an end to the system of unfree labour known as serfdom and the removal of the King's senior officials and law courts."

Richard II meets the rebels on 13 June 1381 in a miniature from a 1470s copy of Jean Froissart's Chronicles.

On 13 June, the rebels entered London and, joined by many local townsfolk, attacked the gaols, destroyed the Savoy Palace, set fire to law books and buildings in the Temple, and killed anyone associated with the royal government. The following day, [King Richard II, then aged 14,] met the rebels at Mile End and acceded to most of their demands, including the abolition of serfdom. 

After William Walworth, the then mayor of London, had hastily gathered a militia from the city and started dispersing the rebel forces. "Richard immediately began to re-establish order in London and rescinded his previous grants to the rebels... Unrest continued until the intervention of Henry le Despenser, who defeated a rebel army at the Battle of North Walsham on 25 or 26 June. Troubles extended north to York, Beverley and Scarborough, and as far west as Bridgwater in Somerset. Richard mobilised 4,000 soldiers to restore order. Most of the rebel leaders were tracked down and executed; by November, at least 1,500 rebels had been killed."

Interpretations of the revolt have shifted over the years. It was once seen as a defining moment in English history, but modern academics [mostly, due to the scholarship of May McKisack, Michael Postan and Richard Dobson] are less certain of its impact on subsequent social and economic history.... The revolt has been widely used in socialist literature, including by the author William Morris, and remains a potent political symbol for the political left...

In short, I have two takeaways: 1.) History remembers mobs and their violence poorly, and 2.) External forces rarely effect reliable change, if not coupled by strong internal advocates.

Also, I highly encourage all to read Section: 1.1 Economics.  It is quite a succinct account of pre-industrial European labor markets. (Further suggested reading: Douglass C. North and Robert Paul Thomas's The Rise of the Western World: A New Economy History.)

Creme brûlée and shortcuts

So I received these beautiful ramekins for Christmas, but was very nervous about my ability to make Creme brûlée. I am not an insecure cook- I do have an instinct for food that has impressed many, but for some reason this seemed slightly out of reach.

So I did what you would expect- I looked to Pinterest for shortcuts. I found a "no fail, super easy" recipe. 

What. A. Nightmare. 

I haven't tasted them yet but this is what it looks like. I'm afraid it's going to be runny and gross. Also, it says you can use the broiler instead of a proper tourch. It lied. We shall see. 

Oh well, we're learning! 

"Cry Me a River": A Musical Memoir (Day Twenty-Five)

Today's featured article on Wikipedia highlights the song, "Cry Me a River", recorded by "American singer and songwriter Justin Timberlake for his debut studio album, Justified (2002). It was written by Timberlake and Scott Storch with producer Timbaland, and was inspired by Timberlake's former relationship with singer Britney Spears. Jive Records released the song to contemporary hit and rhythmic radio in the United States on November 25, 2002, as the album's second single."

Let us unearth of the musical elements:

"Cry Me a River" is an R&B song with an instrumentation that features clavinet, guitars, beatboxing, synthesizers, Arabian-inspired riffs and Gregorian chants. The instruments are arranged into what critics described as a graceful and mysterious melody. Jane Stevenson of Jam! said the single combines gospel and opera. Tyler Martin of Stylus Magazine enjoyed the way that the song unconventionally mixed a range of experimental sounds. According to Martin, the wave synth affects the real strings to create an unusual dissonance. The song's chorus devolves into a choral reading in which Timberlake pleads over the group. "Cry Me a River" finishes with a Timbaland vocal sample.

As well, "'Cry Me a River' is written in the key of G♯ minor, in alla breve, with a tempo of 74 beats per minute. Timberlake's vocal range spans from C♯4 to B5."

Two additional non-musical bits: First, the "single received generally positive reviews from critics, who considered it a stand-out track on Justified and praised Timbaland's production. It won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 2004 ceremony." And second, Francis Lawrence, who when all is said and done will have directed three of the The Hunger Games films, also, "directed the music video for 'Cry Me a River' in Malibu, California."