700 drones give a spectacle of light over Grand Harbour

Malta-themed night-time lit-up drone formations over Grand Harbour in Valletta. Uncertain if this was a first for our Islands or not, but the rave reviews of images as shared on social media by many, have nothing but praise for the initiative…

See images at Facebook URL

m.facebook.com/story.php

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“No film should be revised based on the lenses we now are, either voluntarily or being forced to peer through.” – Steven #Spielberg

Spielberg blasts revising old films for modern audiences, admits ‘mistake’ in editing guns from ‘E.T.’ | Fox News

“E.T.” director Steven Spielberg denied that any film should be updated for modern audiences’ sensibilities, and admitting he made a mistake in editing his own.
— Read on http://www.foxnews.com/media/spielberg-blasts-revising-old-films-modern-audiences-admits-mistake-editing-guns-e-t

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100 kilos of explosives under the bridge between Latina and Cisterna discovered after 79 years

bridge moscarello latina cistern

One hundred kilos of explosives, dating back to the Second World War, a quantity of dynamite capable of blowing up the Mascarello bridge, between Latina and Cisterna, in case of need.

It’s been 79 years but the dynamite was still there, in all its danger. This was discovered by the company in charge of securing and consolidating the bridge that divides the territory of the municipalities of Latina and Cisterna, which find obliged the workers to suspend the reconstruction effort and ask for the intervention of the bomb squad.

The explosives were near the pylon of the bridge and would have been blown up in the event that the Americans had passed through those parts immediately after the landing of Anzio on January 22, 1944.

The Allies instead took a different path, or perhaps passed over that bridge in an unexpected way, evidenced by the fact  that since  those tragic months between January and May of 1944 when the planted explosives were set, ready to sow destruction and death, and which remained in place until the past few days. And it’s a miracle that nothing has happened in all these years.

What does history say?

History recalls that on January 30, 1944 two battalions of US Army Rangers made their way to Cisterna, and were counting on being able to find little resistance and take the town to operate with the other units advancing from Aprilia and Campoleone in a pincer maneuver against the Germans deployed on the Vastelli Romani.

But the Germans had foreseen the intent and had strongly fortified themselves at night in Cisterna. The Rangers’ attack was a carnage: of the 767 soldiers deployed, only 6 returned back to the Allies’ lines. The others were all killed or captured.


And it can be hypothesized that precisely this overwhelming and, in some ways unexpected victory of the Germans, led to the saving of the bridge, the destruction of which at that point was no longer necessary. The dynamite, well hidden, was not used and remained hidden there to the present day

Translated from original Italian language article piblished at web URL: https://ilcaffe.tv/articolo/191782/100-chili-di-tritolo-sotto-al-ponte-tra-latina-e-cisterna-scoperti-dopo-79-anni

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‘Consuming happiness’ 

FRIENDS

Friends make people happy, but happy people find it easier to make friends. And it is that complex set of  human ties that creates the environment of support, good feeling, resilience, trust that make up the matrix of a happy life. 

This finding is backed up by one of the longest of all longitudinal research exercises, the Grant Study, begun in 1938, which has tracked the lives of 268 Harvard students — at that time, Harvard was a male-only college — for more than eighty years, seeking to understand what characteristics — from personality type to intelligence to health, habits and relationships contribute to human flourishing. 

For over thirty years, the project was directed by George Vaillant, whose books Aging Well and Triumphs of Experience have explored this fascinating territory.” 

In an interview published in the March 2008 newsletter to the Grant Study subjects, Vaillant was asked, “What have you learned from the Grant Study men?” 

Vaillant’s response was, “That the only thing that really matters in life is your relationships to other people.” 

A 2017 summary of the study concluded: “Close relationships, more than money or fame, are what keep people happy throughout their lives … Those ties protect people from life’s ‘ discontents, help to delay mental and physical decline, and are better predictors of long and happy lives than social class, IQ, or even genes.”

The ‘Nun study’

Given the discontent that we have seen to be inherent in a market-led, sensation-driven, pleasure-seeking approach to happiness, what is  there to be said for a recovery of the older Philosophical and religious tradition that sees happiness in terms of a life well led? 

A powerful piece of evidence is to be found in one of the most famous medical research exercises of recent times, known as the Nun Study. 

Directed by David Snowdon of the University of Kentucky Medical Centre, it studied the health Pattern of some seven hundred nuns of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, with particular reference to Alzheimer’s disease. The nuns were aged between 75 and 107, and what gave the study its fascination and depth was the access the researchers had to their autobiographies, written when they were in their early twenties,  more than half a century earlier,

This particular Order required Novitiates to write a brief account of their lives on entering the order, and the researchers used linguistic analysis to draw a Picture of their Personalities at that early age. 

One of their findings was that the more the early autobiographies expressed positive emotions like gratitude, happiness, hope and love, the more likely the nuns were still to be alive sixty years later. The correlations they discovered were so specific that they were able to predict with 85 per cent accuracy which of the nuns would develop Alzheimer’s and which would not. 

The difference in life expectancy between the thankful and (relatively) thankless was, on average, seven years. Being grateful adds years to your life.

From chapter 4, ‘Consuming happiness’ from the book: –

MORALITY by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

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THREE THINGS YOU OUGHT NOT TOLERATE AT YOUR WORKPLACE

Rory Hession’s take, as a weird mental health advocate, on what one ought not to tolerate at one’s workplace.

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STAR TREK: DISCOVERY will come to a conclusion with its fifth and final season, to air sometime in early 2024.

Noooooooooo 😢😢😢😢😢

read all @ URL below:

Official statement:

https://www.startrek.com/news/to-our-dearest-disco-family

Posted in GEEKY OR TECHIE GADGET STUFF, GENERAL OBSERVATIONS & THOUGHTS, Sci- Fi Science Fiction, Star Trek | Leave a comment

Army Cooks: death from within

An army general visited one of the field kitchens of one battalion under his command. While eating breakfast with the soldiers, he was impressed to see the army’s insignia stamped on every biscuit.

He went to the Senior NCO cook to ask how this feat was done, so it could be used at other battalions’ field kitchens under his command.

The SNCO chief cook replied, “I’d be glad to share that with you, General. After each biscuit is cut, I just slap it here against my belt buckle which bears the army insignia.

Horrified, the General exclaims, “That’s very unhygienic!”

The SNCO chief cook shrugs and replies, “Well, If that’s the way you feel, sir, I suggest you avoid the donuts.”

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Jet Fuel Induced Flatulence

Bud And Jim Were Elderly Buddies

Bud and Jim were a couple of drinking elderly buddies who worked as aeroplane mechanics in Atlanta.

One day the airport was fogged in and they were stuck in the hanger with nothing to-do.
Bud said, “Man, I wish we had something to drink!”

Jim says, “Me too. I know, I’ve heard you can drink jet fuel and get a buzz. You wanna try it?”

So they pour themselves a couple of glasses of high octane stuff and get completely smashed.

The next morning Bud wakes up and is surprised at how good he feels.

In fact, he feels GREAT! NO hangover! NO bad side effects. Nothing!

Then the phone rings… It’s Jim.
Jim says, “Hey, how do you feel this morning?”
Bud says, “I feel great. How about you?”

Jim says, “I feel great, too.
You don’t have a hangover?”
Bud says, “No, that jet fuel is great stuff – no hangover, nothing. We ought to do this more often.”
“Yeah, well there’s just one thing…”
“What’s that?”

“Have you farted yet?”
“No…”
“Well, DON’T, ’cause I’m in PHOEN!X!!!

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AN IRISHMAN AFTER PUB HOURS

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Ozzy Osbourne Delivers Update Following Spinal Surgery

Photo: Getty Images North America

Ozzy Osbourne has sent an update for his worried fans, three days after undergoing extensive surgery to realign pins put in his neck and back.

“I am now home from the hospital recuperating comfortably,” the Prince of Darkness wrote in a statement shared through his social media. “I am definitely feeling the love and support from all my fans and send everyone a big thank you for their thoughts, prayers and well wishes during my recovery.”

Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy’s wife, released a statement on Tuesday, stating that the operation went well and that her husband was on his way to recovery.

“Your love means the world to him,” she said.

The procedure Monday was at least the third spinal operation Ozzy has gone through since injuring his neck in a trip-and-fall in 2019. Ozzy recalls being in such agony after the injury that he was certain he was going to die.

He’s hoping that this newest treatment will allow him to return to the stage after years of being unable to “walk properly.”

The operation and Ozzy’s forthcoming recuperation, according to Sharon, will “define the remainder of his life.”

Photo: Getty Images North America

Before he can begin recovery, Ozzy will allegedly require round-the-clock nursing care for many weeks. He hasn’t given a complete performance since 2018, despite the fact that he’s released two new studio albums after his accident in 2019.

The 13th solo album from the Black Sabbath cofounder and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer is set to be released in September.

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

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