Monday, June 01, 2020

in vain would fond winds fan her back to life

hello there


cor, blimey (or strewth if Australian), it's now June, look you see. and here we are without doing horse, whatever that might actually be. well, not all of us will have done whatever that is, but no doubt someone will somewhere. but, as i am not sure one could actually do so whilst reading this (since i know not what it is), let us leave that to one side.

normally June would be a sigh of relief. we, as a people, would generally have clawed our way past the dark treachery of winter and resisted the temptations of spring. it would now be time to collect the promise and favours of the gifts of sunny, lovely weather, a fine reward for endurance. but this is being composed during the centrifugal part of May, where the invisible war still rages, even if in no discernible direction.

shall we be able to embrace the idle pleasures offered by June? it is difficult to say. many of us are just simple, unassuming folk, keen to compromise and meet whatever is asked for the sake of a quiet, normal life. but, those in power, leading the crusade against coronavirus, appear at odds with it all. many of the elite who we allow to direct what we do seem set on using the war effort to needlessly control how we may live, and in some instances appear keen to let the invisible war last just long enough to rid their vision of society of the obsolete, the dissidents, and those who would generally not fit in with whatever it is they want to with wielding power.



but, still, you are probably only here for my usual calendar update. and above, here is the first dose of such. if for some reason you like the idea of having a calendar but also have no wish to own your own when you can just use mine, there you go.

yes, that is the Star Wars calendar for the month of June (2020), showcasing the generally aesthetically pleasing "tie fighters" gallivanting around the galaxy. also, the more observant of you may well have noted that there is one of them splendid "death star" things in view. really quite a curious weapon, so it is, to be sure. whilst it has the power to destroy a planet, there are limitations. in the first film, which confusingly turned out to be actually, at least, the forth film, for some reason it has to fly around one planet so as to destroy another planet. no idea why it did not just blow both of them up, or simply twat one of them into the other, which would have made for a quite class game of intergalactic (planetary) conkers. but never mind that, look at the lovely shades of purple one finds in space, apparently. even if only a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

are there many, or any, dates of consequence of significance in June? i would expect the answer is a definitive yes, with each date held within the month being of a nature that means something to someone somewhere. but, for the sake of more simplistic reading, here are a few which stand out, without being necessarily outstanding, of a more general (or "universal") construction.

2 - in a ceremony which might be considered modest when contrasted against, say, present day pageants to crown winners of things like Love Island, the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II took place on this day in 1953. the perennially modest and unassuming pop star Keith Richards once commented that a number of generations had only ever had three constants in their lives - The Sun, The Queen and The Rolling Stones.

3 - decididamente celebremos, for today is the birthday of Luis Fernando López, widely considered to be the greatest, best and most important Colombian race walker of all time, born this day in 1979.


thank you for the picture
5 - the song Everyday Is Like Sunday by Morrissey entered the UK singles chart (back when it was proper and based on sales) at number 12 in 1988. rather unexpectedly, the sentiment of the title resonates with a fair few of us at the moment.

6 - legendary motion picture Raw Deal was released on this day, in 1986, to an unsuspecting and not particularly interested audience. it is widely considered to be the greatest, best and most important film ever to feature both Sam Wanamaker and an attempt to smash in the face of Arnold Schwarzenegger with a cake.



7 - the multi-talented artist who shall forever be known as Prince was born on this day in 1958. sadly with us no more in a physical sense, but very much so spiritually. one senses that for however long the human journey has, so long as we can hear we shall listen to his music.

9 - hey hey, my my, it's Murcia Day. which for some reason is only officially celebrated in Murcia itself. but, you know what, if you feel like it go right ahead and do something Spanish, or if classical Iberian, on this day, see if anyone dares try to stop you.

10 - prolific American novelist and writer Louis L'Amour passed away on this day in 1988.

12 - what many consider to be the greatest, best and most important football match, like, totes ever, took place on this date in 2010. making this date in 2020 the 10th anniversary. rather memorably, and in a poignant way, at least one American newspaper (with a rudimentary if not particularly functional grasp of it all) reported on it with the headline USA Beats Britain 1-1 To Be Declared Winners Of World Championship.



14 - Ernesto 'Che' Guevara was born on this day in 1928. whereas most commonly he is associated with Cuba and Castro (and various merchandising, in particular t-shirts), one should never forget the inspirational, if tacit, role he had in the founding of the renegade Tooting Popular Front faction.

16 - an elaborately named album called The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars by David Bowie was released on this day in 1972. maybe if it had a shorter, more catchy title it would have done better, but alas it only made number 5 on the UK album chart.




17 - it's a very happy birthday indeed to 'Red' Ken Livingstone. normally being working class precludes one from any pivotal role in the Labour Party leadership, but it was with distinction that Red Ken led the revolutionary Guerrilla London Council until the counter-revolutionary forces of Thatcher ousted them in 1986. defiantly, Red Ken regrouped and led a bloodless coup (election) and appointed himself the first Mayor of London in 2001 (or around then). if you have a red flag, he shall fly it for you. whether you wish him to or not.

18 - this day in 1815 saw that egotistical short French dude, Napoleon, get his f*****g head kicked in by the most righteous Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo. unfortunately for most people now this is only remembered as a vague footnote in pop history due to the Abba song.

20 - one of the greatest films of all time, and arguably the greatest performance Jack Nicholson ever gave, came out today in 1974 in the form of Chinatown. probably best not to mention the director, though.



21 - traditionally the longest day for those north of the equator, whilst being the shortest for those south of it. what happens to those on the equator? no idea, perhaps neither and yet both, all at once. 

22 - during the ongoing Falklands Wars, an Argentine general called Diego Maradona broke the Geneva Convention on this day in 1986 by using what was clearly his hand to score a goal, but what he later claimed was the "hand of God". the main consequence of this was for the Scottish Parish Council to pass a resolution, decreeing that from then on anyone who scored a goal against England could claim a place in the line of succession to the Scottish throne.

25 - era defining anthem Whoomp! (There It Is) by Clock entered the UK singles chart at number 4 on this day in 1995. of more long term significance was Selling The Drama by Live entering the chart at number 30 on the same day. what was number one? the obscenity of Unchained Melody by Robson & Jerome. elements of our society argue that democracy is a failed experiment, and that political power should not be reliant on a mandate from the masses. from time to time the composition of the singles chart, when based on the purchasing choices of the public, make for a compelling argument that they are absolutely correct in this.



27 - zut alors, Louis XII of France was born on this day in 1462. generally he is regarded as one of the wisest and most insightful of French monarchs, for he was quite aware of France being un peu de détritus. knowing that neither he nor anyone else could do much to change this, for the most part he just kept out of the way, wisely attempting to downplay attention on the nation.

29 - Mikhail Baryshnikov defected from the USSR on this day in 1974. inexplicably, seemingly unrelated events have been held to honour in ever since. one example is that the Seychelles were very specific in using this date to become independent from the United Kingdom. more recently, it was insisted upon that the date of defection was to be the day of release for the first ever iPhone in 2007. at various stages of its development the iPhone was designed under codewords such as 'Baryshnikov' and 'Defect' to honour this, with initial models only ever available in white as some sort of misplaced tribute to the film White Nights, what also starred Gregory Hines out of History Of The World Part 1, with Part 2 still yet to be released.

but as usual you are more likely much better off worrying about that which is important to you, not dwelling so much on any of the above. no matter how important they may have been to someone else, somewhere.



indeed, presented in the greater glory of Commodore 64 mode, that is my NZ calendar off of Mum and Dad. pictured here, for the month of June 2020, is of course Fox Glacier on the South Island. which reminds me, i need to establish why there is a north and south island that is well known, but no one ever speaks of the west or east islands of New Zealand.

well, i would imagine that's about just enough for as decent a grounding foundation i can give you for the month ahead. as ever, i can only take it as a given that the calendar update shall prove to be useful, if not overtly beneficial, as we plough on, together in our own directions.




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!






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