Majma Dance

Before proceeding to counter the idea of failure in the final fourteen years of Charlemagne’s reign, it is necessary to first grasp what the expectations of that period were. It is futile to conduct an argument concerning the realization of hopes and ambitions without having elucidated their nature. Pope Leo III’s crowning of Charlemagne as Roman Emperor on the 25th December 800 in St. Peter’s Basilica was an event of abounding symbolism.

Following the permanent split of the original Roman Empire into East and West in 395 AD, the time on the Western Roman Empire’s shmuck ran out and it officially fell in 476 whilst the Eastern Roman Empire continued until the Ottoman defeat of Constantinople in 1453. The coronation of Charlemagne symbolised the re-unification of the Roman west after the centuries of barbarism that followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire. Thus the newly reborn ‘imperium’ of 800 was to be Christian; offering protection to the people, Christianity and the Church. The huge hopes harboured following the coronation emanated from the basic expectation of a re-established world order as great and strong as the Roman Empire was associated as being.

After relaxing with some cool music off YouTube and watching a couple of cool videos on my led computer monitor, I wondered about the use of light emitting diodes in light bulbs. After all, the tech which is used to make plasma TV sets is based on the same thing used in neon lights and signs, so why wouldn’t the same be true for led diodes and lighting. I started to explore the internet and reading various articles from left and right in order to find out more about this particular subject.

I found out that initially light emitting diodes were not efficient enough when it comes to light emission to be used for lighting purposes. They have had plenty of other uses though, thanks to some of their amazing properties. Since the first LED displays on calculators they have been improved and found many uses ranging from remote controls, movement sensors and even to increase photosynthesis in plants. However lighting efficiency was an issue at first and it didn’t compare too favorably to the other alternative to incandescent lights, the CFLs or the Compact Fluorescent Lights.

However, new advances in production technology resulted in production of so called led gu10 bulbs which are much more efficient than earlier LED bulbs and have in fact surpassed the already very popular CFLs. Even though compact fluorescent lights are now becoming a standard in most countries of Europe and the Americas, led gu10 bulbs might just raise the bar even higher.

This is the time of year that I love when it comes to music. Bands have spent their summers playing festivals and split their autumns between touring and recording new material, so now is when all of that new music starts to creep out.

I'm expecting new albums from up and coming British acts such as Feed The Rhino and While She Sleeps, but a number of bigger international bands are set to release new material this spring.

Cancer Bats released a studio teaser this week hinting that their much anticipated fourth studio album 'Dead Set On Living' may be available for us to get our grubby little hands on very soon. I can't wait to have the new music on my r4i card!

Word on the street is that Buffalo rockers Every Time I Die will be announcing something pretty special in the new year, kicking off 2012 in style. Hopefully they'll be revealing details about their new album, which has been hinted at, talked about, speculated over and generally yearned for for too long!

Photo: Secret Pilgrim (Flickr)

Sleep is a naturally recurring state which is characterized by absent or reduced consciousness, inactivity of voluntary muscles, and relatively suspended sensory activity. A decreased ability to react to stimuli distinguish sleep from quiet wakefulness but it is more easily reversible than hibernation and certainly more so than a coma. During sleep, one’s anabolic state is heightened which accentuates the growth and rejuvenation of the nervous, skeletal, immune, and muscular systems. All mammals partake in sleep as do birds, amphibians, fish, and reptiles.

Just why we need to sleep has been the subject of intense research. Whilst sleep is often though to help an entity conserve energy, it actually decreases the metabolism but just 5-10%. For hibernating animals, sleep is actually energetically expensive as they must return from hypothermia to euthermy. Perhaps before a good sleep tonight, I may use my Hotel Chocolat discount codes to buy myself a lovely dessert so I can go to sleep with a happy tummy.

There are many nations all over the globe, and they have many different national past times. Some play lots of sport, some seem to spend their whole lives eating, others play music and make art together. The differences are massive- as are the differences between the differences! However one thing that almost all have in common is some form of single nation lottery which is a global phenomenon. It is over 200 years old as a game, and is played almost religiously by some people- who are drawn in by the chance of winning astronomical sums of money with a tiny expenditure! Lottery is an opportunity that few can resist to miss!

The idea is that everybody buys a ticket selecting a few numbers. Then numbers are drawn out randomly, and the person with the ticket matching the drawn numbers wins the biggest prize. The prizes are paid for with the money that people spend on tickets, although in many places lotteries also act as charities donating to cultural and sporting projects. With it’s global reach it’s surely only a matter of time until there’s a global lotto!