Smithsonian Magazine announce the winners of their 3rd annual photo contest.
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For anyone who played the recorder at school.
Just perfect.
After falling apart at the end of the Bath Half last month (2:07) I managed a PB at the Warwick Half yesterday!
1:58:47, average 9:04 miles, my splits range from 8:42 (the last mile) to 9:35 (mile 11).
Pretty chuffed.
I haven’t seen Batman v Superman yet. I think when I do it will be exactly what I expect, good and bad. There’ll be some scenes that look really cool at the IMAX, it will be fun to see Wonder Woman be a bit awesome, it will be hopelessly dark and not represent either the Superman or Batman I love, Jesse Eisenberg will be a weird Lex Luthor.
Of all the DC movies Suicide Squad continues to be the one I’m most excited about, this new trailer only helped:
I’ve also realised I haven’t picked up any DC comics in a while, but have no idea if there’s even anything any good I should get? The only one I have on my list to pick up is Vol II of Batgirl of Burnside, nothing else is grabbing me (unlike Marvel where I want to pick up about half of the Secret Wars trades). If anyone has any suggestions sling them my way.
Update: Warner Bros have ordered reshoots on Suicide Squad to make it funnier and less dark (so a few notches towards Deadpool and away from BvS by the sound of it). Also, this.
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Q1 2016 in review
Today I am 12,000 days old. The 90 days of this year so far have been ok.
Exercise
I ran 140 miles.
My pace isn’t great; my best run was probably a 7 miler where I averaged 8:30 miles. On the Bath half I crumbled over the last few miles and ended up average 9:45 miles. I’ve got the Warwick half on Sunday, it’ll be the first half that I’ve run by myself so I’ll see how it goes.
Oddly, I feel like I’ve been exercising less. I think I’ve been running for longer distances less frequently.
Days out
Warwick Castle. Charlecote. Oxford. I met a very little lamb, some giant rabbits and a turkey near York. Haven’t had many new experiences, though I’ve been generally keeping myself busy. Could do with some new adventures; I’m thinking it might be fun to round up all my little people and take them to the zoo for my birthday.
Home
Something made Milly very anxious a couple of months ago and she licked her legs bare but the fur seems to be growing back now.
The garden is looking pretty decent, certainly ready for some planting.
I’ve neglected the stack of boxes Mum and Dad dropped off containing the contents of my bedroom at home (I’m almost certain it’s mostly stationary).
Input
I’ve been pretty good at only watching things I want to watch (I can’t remember the last time I just put the TV on and flicked channels). I hit a bit of a wall on the reading front, Station Eleven was very clever but I found it tough to get through.
I currently have a surfeit of comics, games and films. I need to reduce spending and increase consumption.
Favourite things
- Board with Life. The show, the podcast, the bits, the news, all of it. So funny, and charming. I’ve been spoiled in that I got to marathon through several years worth of content and now I’m waiting week on week but it’s worth it.
- Films – Deadpool, Song of the Sea. The Hateful Eight was very good but Deadpool and Song of the Sea are some way ahead of the field for me.
- Computer game – Tharsis – admittedly it’s the only game I’ve played, but it’s such a compelling puzzle; well worth £11.
- Book – Magician’s Land. I was convinced I’d read more books this year but I can only really remember Magician’s Land.
- Comics – Saga continues to impress. I was looking forward to Planet Hulk but in the end it wasn’t really my cup of tea.
- Board games – Raiders of the North Sea is utterly brilliant. Marvel Legendary is still the game I play the most thanks to the solo rules.
- TV – Narcos, Daredevil (I haven’t finished it yet but I love it so far), I’ve also really enjoyed Lucifer.
Goals
For the next few months I think:
- Run a sub-50 10k
- Play at least one session of D&D
- Book a short break
- Get one of my game ideas to a playable prototype
Categories
Royal Badges
This is from my copy of A Handbook of English Heraldry (11th edition, published 1914) by Charles Boutell: “a concise list of the more important of the Badges that have been borne by the Sovereigns and Princes of England”.
William Rufus: A Flower of five foils.
Henry I.: A Flower of eight foils.
Stephen: A Flower of seven foils: a Sagittarius.
Henry II.: The Planta-genista: an Escarbuncle: a Sword and Olive-Branch.
Richard I.: A Star of thirteen rays and a Crescent: a Star issuing from a Crescent: a Mailed Arm grasping a broken Lance, with the Motto—”Christo Duce.”
John and Henry III: A Star issuing from a Crescent.
Edward I.: An heraldic Rose or, stalked ppr.
Edward II.: A Castle of Castile
Edward III.: A Fleur de Lys: a Sword: a Falcon: a Gryphon: the Stock of a Tree: Rays issuing from a Cloud.
Richard II.: A White Hart lodged: the Stock of a Tree: A White Falcon: the Sun in splendour: the Sun clouded
Henry IV.: The Cypher SS: a crowned Eagle: an Eagle displayed: a White Swan: A Red Rose: a Columbine Flower: A Fox’s Tail: a crowned Panther: the Stock of a Tree: a Crescent. His Queen, Joan of Navarre: An Ermine, or Gennet.
Henry V.: A Fire-beacon: a White Swan gorged and chained: a chained Antelope
Henry VI.: Two Ostrich Feathers in Saltire: a chained Antelope: a Panther
Edward IV.: A White Rose en Soleil: a White Wolf and White Lion: a White Hart: a Black Dragon and Black Bull: a Falcon and Fetter-lock: the Sun in splendour
Henry VII.: A Rose of York and Lancaster, a Portcullis and a Fleur de lys, all of them crowned: a Red Dragon: a White Greyhound: a Hawthorn Bush and Crown, with the cypher H.R.
Henry VIII.: The same, without the Hawthorn Bush, and with a White Cock His Queens: Catherine of Aragon—A Rose, Pomegranate, and Sheaf of Arrows. Anne Boleyn—A Crowned Falcon, holding a Sceptre. Jane Seymour—A Phoenix rising from a Castle, between Two Tudor Roses. Catherine Parr—A Maiden’s Head crowned, rising from a large Tudor Rose.
Edward VI.: A Tudor Rose: the Sun in Splendour.
Mary: A Tudor Rose impaling a Pomegranate— also impaling a Sheaf of Arrows, ensigned with a Crown, and surrounded with rays: a Pomegranate.
Elizabeth: A Tudor Rose with the motto, “Rosa sine Spinâ” (a Rose without a Thorn): a Crowned Falcon and Sceptre. She used as her own motto—”Semper Eadem” (Always the same).
James I.: A Thistle: a Thistle and Rose dimidated and crowned,. No. 308, with the motto—”Beati Pacifici” (Blessed are the peacemakers).
Charles I., Charles II., James II.: The same badge as James I., without his motto.
Anne: A Rose-branch and a Thistle growing from on branch
Some notes on the list:
- Or (when in italics) is the heraldic term for gold rather than the conjunction, so a Rose or, stalked ppr is a golden rose with a purple stalk (ppr is shorthard for purpure)
- The Planta-genista of Henry II is the broom, and gives the Plantagenets their name. An Escarbuncle is like an eight-spoked cross (it looks a bit like a cartwheel without the wheel)
- Plenty of pub names: White Hart, Sun in Splendour, Spread Eagle (an Eagle Displayed), Red Dragon
- Impaled and dimidated both mean that the badge is split into two halves with one image on each side. When impaled each half shows the full badge scaled to fit the space; then dimidated the image is cropped, as if two complete badges were taken, sliced in two then stuck together. This can lead to some pretty funny arms (looking at you Prochowice).
- Even if your Tudor history is rusty you should be able to figure out which of Henry’s wives bore which of his children.
- A Badge is similar to, but distinct from a Coat of Arms or a Crest. Generally a Badge resembles a single charge and may be borne by itself (Arms must appear on a shield or lozenge, a Crest on a coronet). A good local example would be the Bear and Ragged Staff of the Beauchamps and Nevilles