Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Pluto Pacifica

It's nice to know that so many are fighting for Clyde Tombaugh's discovery to keep its status (you know Clyde Tombaugh of Burdett, Kansas discoverer of Pluto). It's funny that people want to argue the definition of a planet, but perhaps arguing over the definition is sort of a fun thing since its all semantics and doesn't change anything. Maybe the change in the solar system's named planetary makeup will be more important than the US switch to the metric system or the killer bees (which according to the papers this summer have illegally crossed the US border from Mexico after years of threats. Why didn't border patrol stop them?) I'm sure the change in our solar system's named planets is also making big news in the Weekly Reader as did the bees.

I learned something else today that changes nothing. After reading about a lost at sea fisherman who was rescued between the Marshall Islands and Kiribati, I couldn't remember ever hearing of Kiribati. Kiribati is an island chain/group near the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu. Christmas Island is among its geography and sounds slightly familiar though I can't tell you why. So, just in case you start dreaming that you're in a national geography bee which for some reason is the only way for you to save the world from the evil clutches of Sir Hateful, your long-time villain nemesis, you will know that answer to "what island nation are the Christmas Islands governed under?" is Kiribati.

One more thing. Yahoo music has been pushing Ollabelle on me for a month. Yahoo is right, they do match my genre preference. Anyway, everybody should give them a listen to see if they might also match their genre preference.

12 comments:

lobiwan said...

If that's Ollabelle, than what is the CD you gave us?

Or has yahoo pushed upon you TWO bands, one jazzy spirituals and the other down home country, who just happen to share the same name??

Confused...

linda jean said...

Same band... the website is playing music from their new cd, which is soon to be released. And you're right it does sound different.

lobiwan said...

Sounds different???

IS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY.

linda jean said...

http://www.ollabellemusic.com/

the music that plays on this site is what lobiwan is yelling about... and the two sites list the same people as band members. i do not know them personally and so cannot address the change in music.

bloggendrauf said...

I like Christmas Island because it sounds like a place you might want to spend a lot of time and where people would be nice. One would think, however, that Christmas Island would be located in a place where it snowed since so much of what Christmas is really about is the snow.

If I recall correctly, snow and cold figured very prominantly into the true story of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. You couldn't very well have a Grinch if you didn't have cold and snow. And you really can't have Christmas if you don't have a Grinch. Or maybe it's that you can't have Christmas without cold and snow and, therefore, you couldn't have a Grinch. Oh, bother...

Maybe the story could be updated and it could be the Grinch Who Carved the Big Heads On Easter Island as in these big heads http://www.lost-civilizations.net/images/easter-island/easter2.gif

I like big stone heads - JEO

Ranger said...

Jonathan alluded to the true reason for "Christmas Island" sounding familiar-besides the fact that it is named after a very familiar holiday- Easter Island. Which besides having giant stone heads, had something to do with some war I thought.

mllr said...

Oh my goodness,I love this! I want Ollabelle right now. I listened to the www.ollabellemusic.com website and I really wanted to hear each song in its entirity. Tell mom to order some of their new Cds as soon as she can, so I can buy from her. So they used to do down home country? I think I would like that to.

lobiwan said...

Christmas Island is to the British what the Bikini Atoll is to the US

Its like they decided to put out two albums simultaneously in two different genres.

linda jean said...

mllr-- I'm not sure of the likelihood of mom getting the first cd in. I bought the cd "Ollabelle" off of itunes and it is as good as it sounds... be warned, once you start buying off of itunes its difficult to quit. I haven't purchased the new one yet.

Thanks for the info on xmas island, lobiwan

Unknown said...

Linda I love you. I am using your comment for one of my letters for Charles. Good Day. :).. my stomach is full of butterflies that haven't died yet.

malh said...

I found a book at the library about astronomers 3-4 years ago. The man who wrote it interviewed Clive Tombaugh and he sounded like such a cute old man(he was 95 at the time), I would hate to see Pluto demoted.

Jesus on the Mainline...John the Revelator...love those songs.

Unknown said...

no present from c. present for c. that is ready but still being prepared since the actually going away date is sketchy. and he promised to come stay with me for a night so we can have a two person going away thing and he is going to treat me to dinner and a movie.