Month: May 2005

The Victory Day

Today is the 60th anniversary of The Victory Day. In 1945 the World War II has ended with capitulation of German army. This is one of the biggest holidays in Russia, as well as about 40 other countries.

I want to congratulate all those people who participated in the war and who are alive today, as well as remember those who died both in battles and afterwards. Thank you all.

I think it is important to pass the war stories to the coming generations. Most of the kids born these days won’t know any veterans of the Second World War, so it is upon their parents to deliver the knowledge of the horrors that wars bring. This war must be remembered.

There is an excellent resource – Pobeditely.ru – which shows the history of the war in a simple and clear way. It also lists a lot of people who participated in the war.

Gremlins

Gremlins (1984)This old classic called “Gremlins” was on TV, Maxim was sleeping, I had nothing better to do, so I watched it. Again.

Directed by: Joe Dante
Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Action
Cast: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Frances Lee McCain, Polly Holliday, Glynn Turman, Dick Miller, Keye Luke, Scott Brady, John Louie, Judge Reinhold, Jackie Joseph, Harry Carey Jr., Corey Feldman, Don Steele
IMDB raintg: 6.8
My rating: 7.0 [rate 7.0]

Continue reading Gremlins

Glasgow kiss

Finding the meaning of Glasgow kiss was a bit harder than usual. Mostly it was because there are name clashes with poetry, TV Series, drawings, etc.

Wikipedia rescued me. Here is a quote from teh Glasgow kiss page:

A Scottish kiss (sometimes also called a Glasgow kiss) is a British slang term for a headbutt. It is considered derogatory because it portrays people from Scotland as being violent.

And from the Head butt page I learned that it is a fighting technique:

Head butting is a fighting technique that uses the cranium to strike an opponent’s face to cause injury or a knockout.

The head butt is very powerful as the entire body can be driven behind the strike. It is also potentially damaging to the person throwing the head butt. At the front of the cranium are two bony prominences, which the brain can strike into during the delivery of a head butt causing dizziness or even unconsciousness. There is also the risk of shattering the opponent’s teeth and cutting the forehead (HIV infection is a concern).

When delivering a head butt, it is wise to control the opponent’s head by holding the back of the neck. This will keep the head static and easier to strike without injury to yourself. It is also a good idea to strike above the hairline, as any abrasion of the skin will mean the blood coagulates in the hair and does not run into your eyes.

The head butt is powered by bending of the waist and driving with the legs, not by neck movement (which can cause whiplash).

Targets for the head butt include the nose, cheeks, chin, jaw, sternum, solar plexus, and collar bone.

The head butt can also be delivered backwards to an opponent who is holding you from behind.

Contract

It was interesting to find out that one of the meanings of the verb “contract” is a kind of “shorten” or “minimize”. Here is a quote from the dictionary.com:

  1. To enter into by contract; establish or settle by formal agreement: contract a marriage.
  2. To acquire or incur: contract obligations; contract a serious illness.
    1. To reduce in size by drawing together; shrink.
    2. To pull together; wrinkle.
  4. Grammar. To shorten (a word or words) by omitting or combining some of the letters or sounds, as do not to don’t.