Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Retailers Report Lowest Holiday Sales Since 2008



December 26th, 2012

On Fox Cable News it was reported today that the level of retail sales for this past holiday season were the lowest sales for a holiday period since 2008 – or at least the rate of sales growth was the lowest depending on your terminology or what news sources you listen to or read. 

This all makes me wonder and begs the question:  Where is the ‘Change’ we were promised in the 2008 Presidential election?  It seems to me nothing has changed at all - with the possible exception of now we merely have an administration that looks to the excuses provided by its supporters for the rationalization of its failures.    

AVT


Holiday sales grow at lowest rate since '08


Holiday sales at lowest level since 2008

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

“Mona Lisa,” Who Was She? Let the Dead Rest in Peace!



December 11th, 2012


It is being widely reported on the news today that in Italy efforts are underway to unearth the remains of a woman who is believed to have been the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s painting the “Mona Lisa.”  The woman long believed to have been the model for the famous painting was buried approximately one half of a millennium ago, of course.  It is being reported that DNA samples are to be taken from the remains and measurements of the bone structure and skull will be taken to compare the woman’s remains to those of the woman in the painting.  It is believed that such undertakings will confirm whether this woman was, in fact, the model for the "Mona Lisa" painting.

To all this I say:

LET THE DEAD REST IN PEACE!!


Frankly, I don’t really care who the "Mona Lisa" model was, if in order to find out who she was requires the unearthing and desecration of an innocent individual’s human remains!

Adam Trotter




Researchers hope to uncover who's behind the 'Mona Lisa' smile

Thursday, December 6, 2012

A Covert Attempt to Overtly Humanize the British Royal Family?




December 6th, 2012

It seems of late that there has been some amount of effort to humanize the British Royal family such that the average person could possibly relate to the family as normal people.  We have had Prince Harry shown in the news while nude and partying in Las Vegas.  We have had Kate Middleton (the wife of Prince William) photographed partially clad by the swimming pool.  And now we have the latest telephone crank-call of the hospital housing a pregnant Kate by an Australian radio disk-jockey; wherein healthcare information was apparently relayed by a hospital nurse to the disk-jockey(s) while broadcast live on the air.

What could be the motivation for attempting such a feat as humanizing the British Royals to the point that they are like regular folks, one might ask?  Well, it seems to this blogger that the populace of the United Kingdom could well determine that they no longer care to support such a tourist attraction as the Royal Family once Queen Elizabeth eventually passes the reign of the monarchy.  Of course, I could be wrong as to the popular sentiment of those in the U.K.  But I believe the psychological-type of reasoning goes something like… that when a potential adversary realizes he has some control over the fate of another of whom he cares not, if the adversary views those whose fate he controls as being more human and more of an individual, the otherwise adversarial individual is more sympathetic to the plight of the other person and less likely to rally for the other’s extinction – similar to hostage situations and the Lima Syndrome, from what I’m told, which is sort of the opposite of the Stockholm Syndrome. 

So, why would the Royals care one way or another for such a situation as their being humanized if not assimilated amongst the commoners?  Well, it has been generalized to me that the Crown of England owns everything that is not owned by the Vatican.  If so, it is likely that some amount of the Crown’s holdings may be dependent on the title and social position of the Royal Family itself.   As such, if the Royal Family was ousted by the populace of the U.K., many of the Royals’ holdings could be put in jeopardy – as they would then no longer have their status and position in addition to no longer having the force of the British/U.K. government to back them to any degree.  

Therefore, if the people of the U.K. were to see the Royals as being more human rather than merely ostentatious figure heads, the populace might be less likely to oust the Royals when the opportunity presents itself or when the notion surfaces when Elizabeth passes.  Because, the fact of the matter is, what purpose does the continuation of the monarchy serve or what function could it perform for the government or the people of the U.K.?   Moreover, if the people of the U.K. were to oust the Royals, the feat could be done in such a manner which could include the State taking all of the Royals’ financial holdings by claiming that such holdings were amassed at the expense of the government. 

Any ouster and takings from the Royals would all be quite ironic, really, when one thinks about the implications of it all.  It would be like bitter pay-backs for more than a millennium’s worth of feudal mortmain and escheat (a ‘legal’ event where the Crown would take land from the owner for occurrences such as dying without heirs, not performing feudal duties, or committing suicide, and the likes). 


AVT


P.S. Of course, maybe, one could say that I have thought too much on the whole subject, or conversely, that I have not thought enough about it all.  :)


Aftermath note:  Speaking of the Australian radio disc jockey joker's, one never knows what might result from one's irresponsible actions:

Kate Middleton's Hospital Nurse Found Dead In London Days After Being Duped By Prank Callers
Then again, could the Royals have had this nurse killed/murdered as a statement or example of what happens when the Royals are made the butt of jokes due to the screw-up of an individual?



See:
Kate Middleton's hospital falls for prank phone call



Topless Kate Middleton photos prompt Prince William, wife to take legal action (with video).  British royal family says suing Closer magazine over spread

(I didn’t watch any video on the mentioned website, btw.  I never let scripts run on my computer. AVT)


Prince Harry Naked Photos During Vegas Rager


The Sun publishes photos of naked Prince Harry