Fact Of The Day

[Umaril Has Returned]

Christopher Lee, famed British horror legend, was among thousands who
traveled to Finland to fight against the Russians in the Winter War of
1939.  I can only wonder how many of his comrades saw him later on
TV and went "Hey, that guy was in combat with me back in
1939!".   Very interesting fact.

That is very interesting: I have Sir Christopher's autobiography LORD OF
MISRULE and he doesn't mention that at all. He was in Paris in 1939 and left before the Nazis invaded and he served in the RAF in Rhodesia, North Africa and Italy during WW2. 

The Wikipedia mentions that Lee was among thousands of volunteers who went to Finland to fight the Russians during the Winter War of 1939 shortly after the outbreak of  der Zweiter Welkrieg, oder Weltkrieg Zwei.   He may have been other places as well as most able-bodied British men were drafted for WW2.  I have no doubt he was in other places.

[ER]

For centuries Japanese men soaked in very hot tubs as a method of birth control. While the mechanics of why this was somewhat effective at preventing conception weren't understood, it was long noted that men who took very hot baths tended to father fewer children than those who bathed in more tepid water.

[Umaril Has Returned]

It was 100 years ago today that Serbian teen Gavilo Principe assassinated the Austro-Hungarian Empire's arch duke Franz Ferdinand, the act seen as the ultimate reason for the start of WW1.   (auf Deutsch,  erste Weltkrieg.)

Can you believe it, 100 years ago today..

Für alle Deutsch und Österreichisch-Ungarische soldaten von Weltkrieg ein:
Ruhe in Freiden, mein Gebrüder. Gott sei mit dir und ihr Familien.  Sie sind echt Helden alle miteinander. Vergiss nicht diese fein Männer, schlafend jetzt mit unser liebe Gott in Himmel.

"Wir tragen seinen Geist, Kamerad. Den wir so lang Verloren"!

[BoyScoutKevin]

It was 100 years ago today that Serbian teen Gavilo Principe assassinated the Austro-Hungarian Empire's arch duke Franz Ferdinand, the act seen as the ultimate reason for the start of WW1.   (auf Deutsch,  erste Weltkrieg.)

Can you believe it, 100 years ago today..

Für alle Deutsch und Österreichisch-Ungarische soldaten von Weltkrieg ein:
Ruhe in Freiden, mein Gebrüder. Gott sei mit dir und ihr Familien.  Sie sind echt Helden alle miteinander. Vergiss nicht diese fein Männer, schlafend jetzt mit unser liebe Gott in Himmel.

"Wir tragen seinen Geist, Kamerad. Den wir so lang Verloren"!

Actually, yes.  As it was one of the items that made both the local and national news, and it is one of those events that I have a hard time comprehending, because, of course, it was way before my time.

Unfortunately, slightly more than 25 years later, another world war broke out in Europe. But, if anything can be said about both wars, that while there have been a number of other wars in Europe since the end of World War II. There never has been a war of the severity of either world wars. Thus, maybe people, especially in Europe, have taken something away from both wars.

As a side note, the last surviving veteran of the war from either side died two years ago. Her name was Florence Green, and she died on February 4, 2012, at the age of 110. The last male veteran from either side died almost an year earlier. He was an American named Frank Buckle, who died almost an year earlier on February 27, 2011, also at the age of 110. We owe a a lot to both Ms. Green and Mr. Buckle and the other veterans of the war.

The war even had an influence on people who were not veterans, but civilians, at that time. One of them was Walt Disney. His older brother Roy was in the U.S. Navy, and Walt wanted to do his part. He was too young to enlist in any of the armed forces, so he lied about his age and joined the Ambulance Corp to be an ambulance driver. He got to Europe after the war ended, but his time spent in Europe continued to be a major influence for the rest of his life. Actually, he earned some of his first money as an artist while he was in France. Drawing designs on the backs of the leather jackets that the men wore.

No, let us never forget the sacrifices that the people who came ahead of us made.

[Umaril Has Returned]

It was 100 years ago today that Serbian teen Gavilo Principe assassinated the Austro-Hungarian Empire's arch duke Franz Ferdinand, the act seen as the ultimate reason for the start of WW1.   (auf Deutsch,  erste Weltkrieg.)

Can you believe it, 100 years ago today..

Für alle Deutsch und Österreichisch-Ungarische soldaten von Weltkrieg ein:
Ruhe in Freiden, mein Gebrüder. Gott sei mit dir und ihr Familien.  Sie sind echt Helden alle miteinander. Vergiss nicht diese fein Männer, schlafend jetzt mit unser liebe Gott in Himmel.

"Wir tragen seinen Geist, Kamerad. Den wir so lang Verloren"!

Actually, yes.  As it was one of the items that made both the local and national news, and it is one of those events that I have a hard time comprehending, because, of course, it was way before my time.

Unfortunately, slightly more than 25 years later, another world war broke out in Europe. But, if anything can be said about both wars, that while there have been a number of other wars in Europe since the end of World War II. There never has been a war of the severity of either world wars. Thus, maybe people, especially in Europe, have taken something away from both wars.

As a side note, the last surviving veteran of the war from either side died two years ago. Her name was Florence Green, and she died on February 4, 2012, at the age of 110. The last male veteran from either side died almost an year earlier. He was an American named Frank Buckle, who died almost an year earlier on February 27, 2011, also at the age of 110. We owe a a lot to both Ms. Green and Mr. Buckle and the other veterans of the war.

The war even had an influence on people who were not veterans, but civilians, at that time. One of them was Walt Disney. His older brother Roy was in the U.S. Navy, and Walt wanted to do his part. He was too young to enlist in any of the armed forces, so he lied about his age and joined the Ambulance Corp to be an ambulance driver. He got to Europe after the war ended, but his time spent in Europe continued to be a major influence for the rest of his life. Actually, he earned some of his first money as an artist while he was in France. Drawing designs on the backs of the leather jackets that the men wore.

No, let us never forget the sacrifices that the people who came ahead of us made.

I will agree with everything you said concerning the sacrifices of others.

However, as a man of German heritage on both sides, I have to respect the sacrifices of my relatives who fought for Germany, as well as my American-born relatives of German descent who fought for the U.S.  One of my German-speaking American cousins, Harold Molter. was a prisoner of the Germans. He was later released when the Soviets swept from the east and freed the camp. He served America faithfully, as someof my other relatives faithfully served Germany.

It's been hard for me to maintain balance in a unique and somewhat interesting situation such as this.  I don't wish it on anyone.

[LilCerberus]

The PEACE SYMBOL was drawn as the letters N and D for NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT...

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44497000/gif/_44497910_cnd_logo_203.gif

[BoyScoutKevin]

After a time out for station identification, we are back with Round 8.

Round 8
Retail

Does anybody remember the Warner Bros. Store? But, first . . . ?! I just can't see the popularity of Harry Potter (give me Artemis Fowl any day) but it has been good for NBCUniversal, where they have sold a ton of Harry Potter junk (ah, merchandise) at their theme parks, and as a product of Warner Bros., Warner Bros. gets a cut of that, but only a cut.
So, does anybody remember the Warner Bros. Store? I do, but they were all closed about the time Harry Potter got big, and if they had remained open, Warner Bros. would have gotten a bigger cut of the junk (ah, merchandise.)

On the other hand . . .?!

Not only does the Walt Disney Co. have a chain of stores here in the U.S., but in 13 countries around the world, including South Africa (Here you go Trevor.) and an on-line store in 3 more countries. As, unlike Warner Bros., they know the films are only a come on to buy all the ancillary junk (ah, merchandise) out there.

This round goes to Walt Disney.


Round 9
Resorts

Warner Bros.: None
Walt Disney Co.: Yes, in conjunction with and without their theme parks.

This round goes to Walt Disney.


Round 10
Radio

Warner Bros.: None
Walt Disney Co.: RadioDisney, and their live, call-in interviews with the stars of the Marvel Films, their red carpet events,  and their ads for the Marvel Films. "Guardians of the Galaxy" is still almost a month away from release, but ads are already running on RadioDisney. More on RadioDisney later.

This round goes to Walt Disney.


Round 11
Publishing

Both Warner Bros. and the Walt Disney Co. have a publishing arm, but Warner Bros. has the bigger thumbprint, so . . .

This round goes to Warner Bros.


Round 12
On-line

Both Warner Bros. and the Walt Disney Co. have a large presence, both officially and unofficially, on-line, so . . .

This round is scored as a tie.


Round 13
Music

Both Warner Bros, and the Walt Disney Co. have a musical arm, but Warner Bros. has the larger fingerprint, so . . .

This round goes to Warner Bros.


Round 14
Games

Both Warner Bros. and the Walt Disney Co. have game tie-ins to their characters, but Warner Bros. has the larger footprint. Indeed, it surprised me how large is the Warner Bros. footprint in games, so . . .

This round goes to Warner Bros.

Final total
3 rounds Warner Bros.
3 rounds a tie
8 rounds Walt Disney Co.

So, the Walt Disney Co. wins this fight as to who is best able to promote its product, and Marvel, so far, has done better in its ability to promote than D.C.

Finally, Warner Bros. is a great company. It has been a great company. And it will always be a great company, but it will never be as great as the Walt Disney Co., because it does not have the vision and imagination of a Walt Disney.

Next time: the 4th of July in poundage. City by city.

[ER]

Abdul Kassam Ismael, Grand Vizier of Persia in the tenth century, carried his library with him wherever he went. Four hundred camels carried the 117,000 volumes.

[BoyScoutKevin]

4th of July in lbs. (tons) of fireworks.

50,000 (25) New York City

16,000 (08) Nashville

15,000 (7.5) St. Louis

07,000 (3.5) Seattle

03,500 (1.75) Addison, Texas
Not everything is bigger in Texas

02,000 (1) Chicago

Next time: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Fashionista?

[Chainsawmidget]

The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Nintendo game was translated and released in Japan before any of the comics or cartoons where.  It was given a new title that roughly translates to Legend of the Radical Ninja Turtles.

Also April O'Neil was made Splinter's daughter for no reason. 

[Raffine]

You can catch leprosy from eating undercooked armadillo.

[BoyScoutKevin]

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
aka Princess Kate
Fashionista

I know she wanted to look good for the Aussies and Kiwis on her trip Down Under, but 22 outfits in 19 days?
High end: $3995.00
Low end: $520.00
Average end: $2257.50
$49,665.00 total
or $2613.95 per day

Her mother-in-law may be one of the wealthiest women in the world, but stretched out over a year, that is $954,091.75, and that does not include, as far as I know . . .

the shoes (a pair of which sometimes can cost more than the dress)
the purse
the hat
the underwear (She does wear underwear. Doesn't she? Maybe we can have our local expert on everything underwear, Trevor, look her up and check her out, the next time she is in South Africa.)

Next time: it's the music. He tells ya!

[Trevor]

the underwear (She does wear underwear. Doesn't she? Maybe we can have our local expert on everything underwear, Trevor, look her up and check her out, the next time she is in South Africa.)

At one point I was so obsessed with Princess Diana that I even managed to find out - via a fashion mag - that she liked wearing Donna Karan Intimates Collection lingerie. 

[Chainsawmidget]

the underwear (She does wear underwear. Doesn't she? Maybe we can have our local expert on everything underwear, Trevor, look her up and check her out, the next time she is in South Africa.)

At one point I was so obsessed with Princess Diana that I even managed to find out - via a fashion mag - that she liked wearing Donna Karan Intimates Collection lingerie. 

I think we all just found out things about Trevor that we really didn't want to know. 

[Trevor]

the underwear (She does wear underwear. Doesn't she? Maybe we can have our local expert on everything underwear, Trevor, look her up and check her out, the next time she is in South Africa.)

At one point I was so obsessed with Princess Diana that I even managed to find out - via a fashion mag - that she liked wearing Donna Karan Intimates Collection lingerie. 

I think we all just found out things about Trevor that we really didn't want to know. 

Oh, there's much more, plenty more.