Like all pre-mass communication celebrities, St. Valentine' identity is a little blurry. So much so, that it has never been established for which of the 3rd century martyrs associated with the 14th of February the first official Saint Valentine's Day in 496 AD was declared. Was it the Bishop of Terni (then called Interamna), the Valentine who died in Africa or the priest imprisoned and executed in Imperial Rome.

Folk history, it seems, chose, the young priest who “betrayed” the Emperor Claudius… Continue

It’s that time of year again; the season for scrying the murky mesh of probabilities that will help determine our future. And of course we techies are renowned for our unerring ability to completely miss the target,
as the following examples show:

1. “This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” —

… Continue

So, I’m out shopping in town on what I thought was a normal Saturday afternoon, when suddenly the city goes medieval on me (check out the videos I uploaded).

The streets are suddenly full of black-faced characters in brightly-coloured clothing throwing sweets at me, and when I arrive in the Grote Markt, there’s some geezer dressed as an Archbishop or something with a gang of what look like
clowns jiving it up on the balcony.

Now I know the Dutch love their festivals, but what

… Continue

Samhain, (pronounced SOW-in, SAH-vin, or SAM-hayne) means "End of
Summer", and is the third and final Harvest. The dark winter half of
the year commences on this Sabbat.


It is generally celebrated on October 31st, but some
traditions prefer November 1st. It is one of the two "spirit-nights"
each year, the other being Beltane. It is a magical interval when the
mundane laws of time and space are temporarily suspended, and the Thin
Veil between the worlds is lifted. Commun… Continue

Angels’ Wings

In memory of Ivo Andrić

When Allah,

the Compassionate, the Merciful,

created this world,

It was a perfect sphere,

as smooth and unblemished

as its ideal.

… Continue