Author: Harry

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Daily Links Me

Deliciosity

You’ll have noticed the daily ‘Links‘ posts.

They’re done through the ‘daily blog posting’ function on del.icio.us, which automatically posts a list of new bookmarks I’ve added in the past 24 hours. I’ve also added a new page where you can see all the tags I’ve used and browse my bookmarks that way. I’m not really using it as a place to store bookmarks where I can find them again, just as a log of anything on the web that tickles my fancy.

There’s a permanent link to the tag list in the sidebar.

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Other

Harmison’s dew-pearled

The lark’s on the wing,
The snail’s on the thorn,
Harmison is on fire,
Panesar is taking key wickets,
Pietersen is holding his catches,
God’s in his heaven –
All’s right with the world!

As I’m sure Browning meant to say.

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Daily Links

Links

Categories
Daily Links

Links

Categories
Daily Links

Links

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Culture Nature

God’s cock and hen

I woke up this morning to see something fluttering against the inside of the window-panes. Without my glasses, I couldn’t think what it was – it seemed too big for a moth and too small and whirring for a bird. It turned out to be a wren. They’re such nice things, but they are slightly unbirdy – like little russet mothmice.

Lucky it wasn’t a robin; I recently learnt from Birds Britannica that if a robin flies into your house it’s a omen of death. I assume that only applies to the European Robin and not its American namesake, but maybe the power of superstition is transferable through the power of names.

The robin and the wren are God’s cock and hen;
The spink and the sparrow are the de’il’s bow and arrow.

The ‘spink’ is the chaffinch. I guess it and the sparrow are damned mostly by rhyme and alliteration. You can find more wren rhymes and folklore here (pdf).