Vulcanus


   Vulcanus is Fear My Thoughts' fifth album, released in 2007.

   Remarkable for:   Regardless of what the band's name says, it turns out their thoughts are quite beautiful (at least this one is).

The Highland Potato Famine


   The Highland Potato Famine was a famine caused by potato blight that struck the Scottish Highlands in the 1840s.

   Remarkable for:   This famine is one of several such incidents in the area in the 1840s. They resulted in great hardship and in the migration of some of the population to Canada and Australia.


Allegory of Divine Providence...


   The Allegory of Divine Providence and Barberini Power is a fresco by Italian painter Pietro da Cortona.

   Remarkable for:   The painting is an example of adding space and volume to a room, by using false perspective and a layered composition that simulates multiple levels. Architectural elements are also included into the scene, adding to the illusion of open space, a style called quadrature.


Kiss


   Kiss is a 1986 single by Prince and The Revolution.

   Remarkable for:    The hot and sexy video clip and lyrics. The idea is strikingly simple: a huge open space, two people dancing, another one playing the guitar, some red lighting to set the mood and a black veil. Remarkable, indeed. The song was also covered by Tom Jones.

The Battle of Agnadello


   The Battle of Agnadello was one of the major battles of the Italian Wars.

   Remarkable for:   It was one of the more significant battles of the War of the League of Cambrai, part of the conflicts collectively known as the Italian Wars. The battle itself is remarkable for showing how disagreement between army commanders and disobeying orders can lead to disaster. The War of the League of Cambrai is also interesting, because nobody seemed to be able to make up their mind!


The Seventy-Four


   The Seventy-Four was a type of two-decked sailing ship of the line nominally carrying 74 guns.

   Remarkable for:   The Seventy-Fours were a mainstay of the world's fleets into the early decades of the 19th century.  Invented by the French, this ship type was a very large two-decker, big enough to carry the largest common type of gun (36-pounders) on the lower gun deck. This great firepower was combined with very good sailing qualities.


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Love is Blue


   Love Is Blue is a 1969 album by The Dells.



Manfred von Richthofen


   Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen was a German flying ace of World War I.

   Remarkable for:   Manfred von Richthofen, also known as the Red Baron, was the top flying ace of the war. He was credited with 80 victories, more than any other pilot, thus becoming the most widely-known fighter pilot of all time.


Donald Cunnell


   Donald Charles Cunnell was a British flying ace of World War I .

   Remarkable for:   Donald Cunnell was credited with nine victories, one of them against the famous Red Baron.

The Royal Aircraft Factory FE2d Fighter

Back for Good


   Back for Good is a song by the British pop group Take That.



The Tiger I


   The Tiger I was a German heavy tank in World War II.

   Remarkable for:   The Tigers were formidable fighting machines. They were equipped with a highly effective 88 mm gun and protected by up to 120 mm of steel plating. Kill ratios of 10 to 1 were common, and some tank aces claimed to have destroyed dozens of tanks in a single action. The downside was that the Tigers were expensive, difficult to maintain and consumed vast amounts of fuel.

   In popular culture:   This tank plays a prominent role in the movie Kelly's Heroes.

Tiger I Panzerkampfwagen

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A Sunday Afternoon...


   A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is a painting by Georges Seurat.

   Remarkable for:   The large 2 by 3 meter art work was created over a period of two years, using a technique known as pointillism. This means that instead of brush strokes, the artist used miniature dots of colors that, through optical unification, form a single hue in the viewer's eye. He believed that this form of painting would make the colors more brilliant and powerful.


The Battle of Jutland


   The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, during the First World War.

   Remarkable for:   The battle was the largest naval battle and the only full-scale clash of battleships in the war, with the two fleets totaling a combined force of 250 ships. By the end of the engagement 15 British and 11 German ships were sunk, with great loss of life. Both sides claimed victory.


Ultra Beatdown


   Ultra Beatdown is the fourth studio album by English power metal band DragonForce.

   Remarkable for:   Taken separately they aren't bad at all. The guitar solos are alright, the drums are fast and loud enough, the voice seems more than adequate. Together though... not that impressive. The piece is  loosely put together and has some serious holes in it's overall cohesion.



 Somebody should show them how it's done.

The Nazi UFO Conspiracy Theory


   Nazi UFOs were rumored to be advanced German flying machines unlike anything anyone had seen before.

   Remarkable for:   The stories and the conspiracy theories abound on the subject, even if there is no evidence that there ever were such machines. It is safe to say that some of the stories were fueled by the obsession of the German leadership with the occult, while others were fueled by the seemingly unlimited engineering capabilities of the German scientists. Below is a documentary on the subject. It is not to be taken too seriously, yet the story is quite remarkable, nevertheless.

The Year 1950 in Science


   The year 1950 in science. If you are so inclined.

   Remarkable for:   Dutch astronomer Jan Oort postulates the existence of an orbiting cloud of planets (the Oort cloud) at the outermost edge of the Solar System. No, that's not what it is remarkable for... Yes! No. Yes! No. Hmm...

First rocket launch from Cape Canaveral

The German Type VII Submarine


   Type VII U-Boats were the most common type of German World War II U-boat.

   Remarkable for:   The German U-Boats were formidable fighting machines. They inflicted massive damage on the allied merchant fleets and operated with impunity, severely disrupting the movement of troops and cargo, until the allied commanders devised new tactics and techniques to deal with them. The type VII was the most produced model of submarine in history.

   In popular culture:   This submarine plays a major role in the movie Das Boot.

German Type VII U-Boat

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Oxygene


   Oxygene is an album of instrumental electronic music composed, produced, and performed by the French composer Jean Michel Jarre.

   Remarkable for:   It is the first album recorded by electronic music guru Jean Michel Jarre. The album has  quite a remarkable history, yet the most impressive aspect is the music itself. For the most part it consists of a series of prolonged tones that linger, blend and twist, spawning and feeding off each other. On a personal note, it was one of the most influential albums of my youth, even if my youth was some 20 years after the release of the album.

New Rule


   Bloggers are not allowed to watch TV.

No TV for you!

The History of Communism


   The history of communism stretches from the Paleolithic to the present day. Or so they say.

   Remarkable for:   Communism is a fascinating subject, and a good knowledge of it might help. Especially in the voting booth. Someone said to me once: "As long as people have to work for their bread, communism is impossible." Nope, nope, I just made that up.

Yeap, yeap, we wouldn't mind communing with her.

Error


   The word Error is defined as doing something wrong.

   Remarkable for:   Apparently it means different things to different people, and there is a great deal of effort going into describing exactly what an error is. Which is kinda funny, considering how easy it is to make one. And apparently it is so hard to search for an error image and get anything other than a computer error message. Talk about a monopoly!


Marathon World Record Progression


   This list is a chronological progression of record times for the marathon. If you are so inclined.

   Remarkable for:   The list shows what a difference a century makes. From 2:55 to 2:03 for men, and from 3:40 to 2:15 for women.


I'm Free


   I'm Free is a song by The Rolling Stones written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Warships in History


   On this site.

No. Year Preview Article
12 1720 The Seventy-Fours
1 1807 The Greek Brig Aris
2 1850 The Napoleon
3 1914 The Ersatz Monarch Class Battleship
5 1936 The German Type VII Submarine
4 1940 Landing Ship, Tank
5 1953 The Kotlin Class Destroyer
6 1955 The USS Saratoga
7 1966 The Knox Class Frigate
8 1974 HMS Coventry
9 1977 The Kirov Class Battlecruiser
10 1981 The Ticonderoga Class Cruiser
11 1987 Wasp class amphibious assault ship
12 1989 The Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer