The Final Frontier...

Just some news to pass along if you missed it... From the AP news story. Note that even he said "whoosh" to the opening credits, just like the rest of us!




"Star Trek" theme composer Alexander Courage dies
By ROBERT JABLON – 14 hours ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alexander "Sandy" Courage, an Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated arranger, orchestrator and composer who created the otherworldly theme for the classic "Star Trek" TV show, has died. He was 88.

Courage died May 15 at the Sunrise assisted-living facility in Pacific Palisades, his stepdaughter Renata Pompelli of Los Angeles, said Thursday. He had been in poor health for three years.

Over a decades-long career, Courage collaborated on dozens of movies and orchestrated some of the greatest musicals of the 1950s and 1960s, including "My Fair Lady," "Hello, Dolly!" "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," "Gigi," "Porgy and Bess" and "Fiddler on the Roof."

But his most famous work is undoubtedly the "Star Trek" theme, which he composed, arranged and conducted in a week in 1965.

"I have to confess to the world that I am not a science fiction fan," Courage said in an interview for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation's Archive of American Television in 2000. "Never have been. I think it's just marvelous malarkey. ... So you write some, you hope, marvelous malarkey music that goes with it."

Courage said the tune, with its ringing fanfare, eerie soprano part and swooping orchestration, was inspired by an arrangement of the song "Beyond the Blue Horizon" he heard as a youngster.

"Little did I know when I wrote that first A-flat for the flute that it was going to go down in history, somehow," Courage said. "It's a very strange feeling."

Courage said he also mouthed the "whooshing" sound heard as the starship Enterprise zooms through the opening credits of the TV show.

"Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry later wrote lyrics to the tune, which were never sung on the show but entitled him to half the royalties, Courage said.

Among the many other projects Courage worked on was the 1987 TV special "Julie Andrews: The Sound of Christmas," for which he won an Emmy for musical direction.

He and Lionel Newman shared Academy Award nominations for their adapted scores for 1964's "The Pleasure Seekers" and 1967's "Doctor Dolittle."

A friend and colleague of movie composers John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith, he also provided the orchestration for such movies as "The Poseidon Adventure," "Jurassic Park," "Basic Instinct" and "The Mummy" and supplied arrangements for the Boston Pops while Williams was conductor in the 1980s and early 1990s.

For "Star Trek" he composed music for only a few episodes, in addition to the theme and the music for the pilot. But that theme was reprised in the TV sequel "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and in the "Star Trek" movies.

Courage was born Dec. 10, 1919, in Philadelphia and raised in New Jersey. After graduation from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., in 1941, Courage enlisted in the Army Air Corps.

After the war, he became a composer for CBS radio shows and then became an orchestrator and arranger at MGM.

Beginning in the 1960s he composed music for TV shows, including "The Waltons," "Lost in Space" and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," although the only themes he created were for "Star Trek" and "Judd For the Defense."

Finally I am over that fear....

Yesterday was an interesting day. I travelled with my son's 8th grade trip to Six Flags north of Chicago. Plans were to go and enjoy the day at Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor. Well, weather being what it is in Illinois, we were looking at a high of 57 degrees and a closed waterpark. And that was not good news for me. I really like water parks and was looking forward to spending most of my time there. Instead I was going to spend all of my say at Six Flags. Not especially good news. I am not a fan of ride attraction theme parks and I have never been a fan of roller coasters and the like as I have been known to get motion sick on rides like this. Mind, you I have never gotten sick on a roller coaster, but more like rides that have repetitive motions like the Tilt-A-Whirl and things like that. But I avoided roller coasters in the past and was thinking that I would be doing the same this day too. WRONG! I was traveling with a fellow parent and friend (Ed) and he enjoys rollercoasters, at least to an extent. I knew that eventually I would have to face the inevitable question of "What ride do you want to go on first?" Responding with "None of them." was not going to be an option. So while looking all of them over very carefully, I agreed to go on the Superman ride, which to my inexperienced eye, looked fairly tame. So, I found my self in line with fellow parent and a couple of other students and prepared myself for something I have not done since I was like 18 years old. I kept telling myself that this will only last about a minute and if I get sick, well, then I would deal with that later. Ed, kept giving me a bit of a rubbing about trying to get me to scream like a girl before the end of the day, so I said we could avoid all this waiting in line and stuff, cause I could scream like a girl right here on the ground. All I needed to know was how loud and how long. (that idea did not work) I must add, I am not afraid of heights, nor am afraid of getting trashed around on things. It is the fear of getting motion sick that bothers me, as when i get motion sick, it really sticks with me for a long time and can make a long day even longer. I was most concerned with getting motion sick and having to sit around the rest of the day, looking green, and feeling like crap. But there I was in the SuperMan ride line and after about 30 minutes of standing in line, I was next in line to get on the damned thing, and realized that I was not nervous anymore. So I sat down, strapped in, and got ready for a ride. 40 seconds later, I returned to my feet, still alive and not feeling sick. And you know what, it was not that bad, as a matter of fact it was actually quite fun for someone who doesn't do that sort of thing and I even managed to go on a few more that day without any ill effects. It was quite nice getting that fear over and done with. I don't have to worry about that anymore. I can join others on rides like this instead of standing around waiting. I still will not be able to do the spinning and twisting rides, nor can I ride in a car backseat for very long without getting sick, but at least I don't have to bypass roller coaster rides anymore. Now, if I can just convince my son that they won't kill him, maybe he can get over his fear too.

Later!

Not even a Ninja (wannabe) can stop a dog!

More proof of the superior quality of dogs! To quote Frederick the Great of Prussia: "The more I see of men, the better I like my dog."

http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/351106.html


Full Story:
Pit bull saves owner from Samurai-sword-wielding boyfriend

Updated: 05/20/08 8:45 AM

A domestic dispute that included the use of a Samurai sword and a pit bull led a Jamestown man to jump out a second-floor window Monday night, before he was apprehended hiding between some mattresses on a nearby porch, Jamestown police said.

The incident began at about 8:10 p.m., when a concerned neighbor called 911 to report a loud domestic dispute on West 10th Street. Police later learned that a 27-year-old man had punched his girlfriend in the head and put the sword to her throat, before her pit bull bit him several times, police said.

As officers were interviewing the 28-year-old woman, a neighbor told police that the man had jumped out the bedroom window. Wearing only jeans and socks, he was tracked down by the Jamestown police K-9 Unit and found lying between several mattresses stacked vertically on a West 10th Street back porch.

Officers charged Nicholas Clark of North Main Street with assault, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.

Another Video Game turned film... in this case... COOL!!

For most of you who do not have an XBOX 360 or have ever played this game, this will pretty much fall flat, but for those of you who do, it will make you pretty excited to hear this... BIOSHOCK the video game, is coming to the big screen. I have been playing this game for the last few months now and it is a very well done game, winning all kinds of awards and lots of praise from gamers everywhere. The game is hard to describe but basically you are a normal dude that by chance ends up in an art deco underwater environment that was supposed to be a free will sort of place but ended up going really bad... and to survive you are forced, for the most part, to decide whether or not you enhance yourself physically to make youself stronger and able to use special powers and you have a number of moral decisions, like helping or hurting little "sisters" in order to get further in the game. It is a very deep game and very nerve wracking and often, quite creepy. Anyway, it is a big seller and the guy who made "Pirates" is picking it up. I copied the story from Yahoo and posted it below. This could be a really cool movie, especially when fans are involved in the making.

Later!



Fri May 9, 2:51 PM ET



SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Take-Two Interactive Software Inc said on Friday that "Pirates of the Caribbean" director Gore Verbinski will make a movie version of "BioShock," its hit video game about an underwater utopia gone disastrously wrong.

The movie will be made by Universal Pictures, a unit of NBC Universal owned by General Electric Co, and John Logan, the screenwriter behind "Gladiator" and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," was in talks to pen the script, Take-Two said.

"Gore is an avid video gamer and true fan of 'BioShock'. That was extremely important to us in deciding to move forward with this project," Christoph Hartmann, president of Take-Two's 2K Games label, said in a statement.

Take-Two did not disclose financial terms of the deal or other details, such as when the film would be released. The company is the target of a $2 billion takeover bid by rival game publisher Electronic Arts Inc.

Released last August for Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 game console, "BioShock" won praise for its complex story, haunting art deco atmosphere and creepy characters such as Big Daddies and Little Sisters.

"BioShock" has sold more than 2 million copies and Take-Two is working on a sequel.

The "BioShock" movie deal is the latest sign of the growing importance of video games in popular culture.

Earlier this week, Take-Two said its "Grand Theft Auto 4" criminal action game racked up more than $500 million in global sales in its first week.

That handily topped Hollywood's biggest film debut, Verbinski's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," which pulled in $406 million in global box office receipts in its first six days.

Microsoft made headlines when it signed "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson to produce a movie adaptation of its hit "Halo" video game, but the project was put on hold in 2006 when financial backers Universal and 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp pulled out of the deal.

Reuters/Nielsen

Things you learn as a cook and event planner

Greetings! I am sorry I have not updated my blog in a while. I have been neck deep in a huge fundraiser for my office and it has taken most of my time and the blog was the last thing I could think about. But today is a bit smoother and I decided to put down some observations about planning a large meal, cooking that meal and cleaning up that meal.


The meal was for the Mother/Daughter/Friend banquet at my church. Last year the men stepped up to cook a meal for the banquet as catering it was getting too pricey and most of the ladies didn't think we could do it. Well, we did and we did it well. This year it was kind of expected that we would do it again, and we agreed. My buddy Dave and I were pretty much in charge of last year's meal and we got the nod to go ahead and do it again this year. This year we decided to go with Tomato Basil and Lemon Pepper pork loins with italian seasoned asparagus, with wild rice and balsamic vingrete and honey grilled peaches. Desert was to be ice cream with little sugar snacky things flavored with strawberry. The menu was tried out on a small group and knew it was good, but that was with 10 people and not 100! Anyway, we did the meal on the 6th and it turned out well and everyone was happy. But in the course of doing this, I observed and learned a few things about preparing a meal for 100 plus people.

- Church kitchens are set up for serving guests, not cooking for them
- If you stir rice too much, you get wallpaper paste. (I know this, but was unable to stop it from happening)
- There really is such a thing as too many cooks in the kitchen.
- There is no substitute for a real fire grill when it comes to making grilled food. It just can't be done properly.
- There is no such thing as a fresh peach in the month of May. (at least on in Illinois!)
- NO cooking banquet event will be a success without a good working crew. (of that, we were in abundance of!!!)
- When clearing the food plates, and if you are the cook/planner, do not be the one that scrapes the plates... every plate you find with food on it you will take as a personal insult because they did not finish their food.
- No matter what you prepare, SOMEONE will ask for Ketchup!!
- Leaving them with a tasty dessert can fix main meal problems.
- And I know now why cooks/foody types drink after preparing meals... they need to!


All in all, the banquet was a great success and it was fun! It is however, a fairly involved activity and you alway want to please or at least satisfy them all. I think we did it last night at the banquet.. or maybe they were just being nice.

That is all for now! Take it for what it's worth!

Later!

Dogs are good... no matter what 3rd world country they are stuck in...

Another reason that third world countries should stay third world and more proof that dogs really are man's (and woman's) best friend... WOOF!!!! Dogs ROCK!!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080422/od_nm/child_dc_1

PATNA, India (Reuters) - Hundreds of villagers have flocked to a remote Indian village to see a baby girl who was saved by stray dogs after she was abandoned in a mound of mud by her mother, officials said on Tuesday.

Villagers in the eastern state of Bihar saved the newborn on the weekend after they saw three dogs barking near a baby covered with mud.

"The dogs removed the soil around and began to bark and the baby started crying which drew attention of the local villagers," Ram Narayan Sahani, a senior government official, said on Tuesday from Bihar's Samastipur district.

"The girl is crying but is safe in the lap of a childless couple who have adopted her."

Police said they were looking for the girl's mother, who they think had left the girl to die.

Female foeticide, though illegal in India, is widespread as boys are traditionally preferred to girls as breadwinners, and families have to pay huge dowries to marry off their daughters.

The United Nations says an estimated 2,000 unborn girls are illegally aborted every day in India.

(Writing by Bappa Majumdar; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Guess that accent you all hear is your hearing problem!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The South
The Northeast
The West
Boston
North Central
http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have">What American accent do you have? http://www.gotoquiz.com/">Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

I have often been accused of having a bit of a drawl in my speech patterns... well according to this, I guess I's just a derned midwesterner. Sheet, I got nuthing agin anyone with a accent.

later!

I drank what!?!?!?

This came in an email from my good gamer buddy Stu in North Dakota! Take it for what it's worth!


To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine and those who don't.
As Ben Franklin said: In wine there is wisdom, in Beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.
In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia Coli (E. Coli) bacteria in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.
However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine and beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.
Remember; Water = Poop, Wine = Health. Therefore it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of shit.
There is no need to thank me for this valuable information: I am doing it as a public service.


Later!

Tastes good so far!

An update on my wine making efforts! So far we have a Liebfraumilch, a Merlot and a Carbernet in the bottle with a Port close to bottleing. Both my fellow vintner and I are sci-fi geeks, (first and foremost Star Trek) and so we decided to honor that love of Star Trek with a few labels giving a nod to the best Sci-Fi creation ever! Here are pics of the first two sets of labels we have come up with. More labels that will expose our geekiness will be forthcoming. I think that some of my labels may move into the fantasy genre shortly. Possibly with the Port.... Wish you could enjoy a bottle with me! By the way, we are not selling our wine..... only giving it away to those who wish to try it.

Later!

Turkey Run State Park

Over the recent spring break, the family and I headed out to Turkey Run State Park, Indiana. This has been a favorite place for me to go and enjoy the outdoors, get some great excersize and enjoy the scenery. If you have nver been before, you will be amazed that this place is in the mid-west and not someplace out west or near the mountains. The natural formations of erosion of the sandstone and shale is really awe inspiring. It is a very well cared for location and kudos to the Indiana DNR for taking such good care of it. I was not able to enjoy it as much as I normally do as I had an injury to my knee at the time and spent most of the time dragging my leg behind me, but we still did some of the hardest trails the park has to offer. The kids and Gunnar really enjoyed the chance to just climb and go off leash - so to speak. They have quite a nice campground near by and the Turkey Run Inn is really nice and about half of what you would expect for a place that nice. My wife and I will be taking advantage of the Inn sometime this year I think. (especially seeing how cheap it is over the "off" season.) I encourage everyone to check it out if they have the time. And make sure you do trail number 3! It is the best of them all! Later!

Those hood wearing thugs!

Check out this article from the Telegraphco.uk website! Maybe I should try to incorporate the "hood"lum aspect into the the re-enacting that I do. I know of a couple of teenagers that could pull it off!


'Hoodies' were the scourge of Medieval London By Laura Clout
Last Updated: 1:20am BST 08/04/2008
They are the symbol of today's disaffected youth but a historian has revealed that the hoodie-wearing yob is not just a modern problem.
Professor Robert Bartlett, who is an expert on the Middle Ages, said hooded tops were also the garment of choice for 12th-century juvenile delinquents.
The teenage apprentice boys of London were lawless, violent and the scourge of the capital."They were away from home for seven years with no parental control and they would riot regularly for political and religious reasons," he told the Radio Times.
Hooded tops were worn by most citizens during medieval winters, he said, and they also served to hide the identity of young miscreants.
Prof Bartlett, of the University of St Andrews, said the life of the period resonated with today in other ways.
The English, who are now among the worst binge-drinkers in Europe, were also renowned as drunks in the Middle Ages.
"A surviving 12th-century Latin manuscript refers disapprovingly to 'Potatrix Anglia' - 'England the drunken'," said Prof Bartlett, who is presenting the series Inside the Medieval Mind on BBC4, starting next Thursday.
He will reveal the opening of the North-South divide, with the first recorded case - in 1120 - of a southerner complaining that he is unable to understand the speech of a northerner.

More demo photos...

Here are the photos from the DAR talk in Sibley. All the kids present were winners for various topics or categories sponsored by the DAR. If you notice, Cora, my daughter is not smiling as there were dozens of people taking photos and it was kind of a late night the night before. She was tired and maybe just a bit embarassed by all the attention. She did a great job at the presentation though.

Rest in Peace... job well done!

Thank you and good-bye to Charlton Heston, best know to most gun owners not as the actor who supported 2nd Amendment rights, but as the best president the NRA has probably ever had. The image of him with a flintlock rifle raised above his head, commenting to Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore, saying "from my cold dead hands!" is iconic for most 2nd Amendment right supporters. He pretty much changed the landscape of politics when it came to gun issues and did it with class and style. Job well done. Maybe someday another similar personality like his will take the president's position and do a good of a job. Some people would say Ted Nugent might make for an interesting NRA president. "Interesting" would be an understatement!

Remember that the 2nd Amendment is the 2nd one on the list... right behind the freedom of speech, religion and press.... standing behind to insure that the First is protected!

Later!

Working in the Past Tense...

Just a bit of an update to the blog. This last weekend I think I spent more time in historical costume than I did my 21st century clothes. I did a 14th Century demo at the Monticello Middle School, talking about archery and general subjects to the 6th grade class. I really love going there cause the kids are really receptive and the librarian does a bang up job of making a whole week long affair on studying the middle ages. A parent with a decent camera sent me some photos of the archery talks and demonstration and some of the general discussion. As is apparent from the photos I have started wearing armor and such at more an more demos as I am slowly trying to get a decent man-at-arms gear together. I am just about there. All I really need is some better footwear or leg protection to make it all work. And if you notice, in both photos I am wearing weaponry at no time did any kid go crazy and try to take the blades or something stupid like this. I like the fact that most schools are starting to understand that this zero tolerance for weaponry on school property needs to be dialed back a bit so that some teaching and learning can be done. While you can talk about the middle ages and not mention warfare, you are leaving out alot of discussion of "policy making" that went on at that time. I am finding that many more schools are opening their doors to having demonstrators come in and bringing their tools of the trade, even if those tools are guns and knives sometimes.

I also did a talk for the DAR (Daughters of the Revolution) in Sibley, IL. This was a incredibly receptive audience and I was really in a groove talking with them. We could have gone on and on with a Q and A session but they had students to recognize with awards and they normally have fairly short meetings. But this was a really smart group of people and they got into the presentation, which very quickly turned into a discussion group, which I found refreshing! I will load up some photos from that soon if I get any from the photographers.

That is all for now. I promise to do better in the future!

later!

How much do you know about.... Civics?

My wife sent me a link to a short civics trivia test. The quiz is made up of 20 questions found on the actual citizenship test with a few curveballs in the mix. The last ten questions may be a bit harder, but a score of around 24 out of 30 is considered a passing grade. They score you on the number right and you can compare it to others in your state, and to others in your age range. It is pretty cool! I got a 26 on the test, which is 6 points higher than most people in my age range and state of residence.

Check it out at http://games.toast.net/independence/

Let me know what you get!

Later!

Sorry for the delay...

Sorry I have not been more attentive to the blog. A lot of stuff going on. I have a huge project at work that is taking up most of the brain cells in my head, things are busy around home, and I have been distracted by a injury (maybe) to my right knee. The doctor suspects I have a torn meniscus (cartilage) that will maybe require some outpatient surgery. We will see. However, to let you know what has been happening, I have a number of history demos coming up soon, (Love them, as they pay really well!) and I and working on the next two batches of DeeJay Cellars wine. They are a Port and a Cabernet. Both are about two weeks or more from bottling. And I am eagerly awaiting Easter, as I gave up Soda, all candy, and all potatoe products for Lent. (I am not a Catlikker, but a Lutheran, but I see a good lesson in the practice of giving up things for Lent.) I am not really missing anything, but I am looking forward to having a chance at eating those danged Kathryn Beich candy bars my son is selling for his Scout Troop! Dang those caramel bars are good. I hear them calling my name! Anyway, that is all for now.

Later!

The Dungeon Master is dead...

The world of role playing lost it's greatest treasure yesterday. E. Gary Gygax, the creator of the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons and arguably the biggest influence on all role playing out there today, died of an abdominal anuerism at the age of 69. The story can be found at http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9885383-1.html or just about any where on the net. Alot of people are writing about their feelings, and I find it very heartening that they are not being depressed and morose about it, but taking it rather well and giving him the kind of comments that I think he would have enjoyed. I am giving you a sample of those I have come across.

"Too bad he didn't get to re-roll his savings throw. The Lord is a harsh DM indeed. This is a sad day. Should've had an amulet of health or something.I mean, think about it, if Gary Gygax hadn't created D&D, how different my life would have been. I probably would've played sports, gone outside more, had sex before going to college, been more popular... Damnit Gary, YOU RUINED MY LIFE!!!"
"j/k My life has been infinitely more interesting thanks to the stuff I learned by gaming."

"No testament I've read yet even touches on how important this man's efforts have been in absolutely everything enjoyable in my life - EVEN if I didn't play DnD on a regular basis, the sheer idea of role-playing, creating adventures, looking forward to sharing awesome ideas in gaming environments with buds with pizza and pepsi and later beer and smokes and Magic the Gathering all traces back to the simple ideas this guy brought forth of randomizing storytelling in the fantasy worlds of swords, knights and dragons. World of Warcraft would not be without him. The Lord of the Rings movies, likewise. Supremely important this being was. He deserves a mountain throne, an elven palace or some elemental plane named after him."

"What loot did he drop?"

"What...no saving throw?
:-(
Well, I guess we all have to go meet the 'Dungeon Master' in the sky at some point...."

"Get the cleric."

reply- "That would permanently lower his constitution by one. I don't think Gary would want to live that way."

second reply- "Are you sure? Start with Speak with Dead and ask!
Unfortunately, I think his death qualifies as Death From Old Age and Raise Dead, Resurrection, and True Resurrection specifically exclude that."

"No one gets out of "HIS" adventures alive at the end of the game."

And finally, the one that made me laugh the most:

"I find it ironic that the man credited for preventing so much sex had six kids himself."


As for myself, I have been playing Gary's game or some version of it ever since I was about 12 years old or so. And now my son plays it too. I was hooked from the moment I opened the basic boxed set, oh, so many years ago and never let go of that desire to play. I was fortunate to meet him at Gen Con 2007 and got my photo taken with him and my son. I even got his signature on my D&D book. That's a Pretty Cool Thing in the the geek world.

Alot of the gaming I did was influential to my imagination, hobbies, and in some ways, view of life now a days. Thanks, Gary! It has been, and will continue to be fun.

Later!

My Nerd Score

Granted I am taking a que from my buddy Chuck at Miri's Dad on Blogger.com, but I thought it would be fun to add my Nerd Score in my blog too.



So, I am, like most things in life, a little bit more than average than the rest of the people I meet.

Yes, I am a gamer, and XBOXer, a Trekkie, and all those other things that get you called a geek or nerd, but at least I embrace the fact!

Later!

Oh those sexy, tawdry Vikings.... Gudrun, you look so hot!

Check out this new article from Yahoo. I always refused to believe that our Western European ancestors only though that mud and dirt were the pinnacle of fashion!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080227/sc_nm/viking_dress_dc_1

LONDON (Reuters) - Vikings were much snappier dressers than thought, according to new evidence unearthed by a Swedish researcher.
The men were especially vain while the women dressed provocatively, adorning themselves in vivid colors, silk ribbons and glittering bits of mirrors, said Annika Larsson, a textile researcher at Uppsala University in Sweden.
"They combined oriental features with Nordic styles," she said in a statement. "Their clothing was designed to be shown off indoors around the fire."
The findings are based on the Swedish Vikings who traveled east into what is now Russia rather than the Danish or Norwegian Vikings who went west.
Until Larsson's discovery in the Russian region of Pskov near Novgorod -- in an area used as an Eastern trade route -- most people had believed Viking dress was conservative.
Her findings included a blue dress with a train fastened to the breasts with clasps to highlight the figure, she said.
These kind of ornate features in clothing, however, disappeared with the onset of medieval Christian fashion during a time the Swedish Vikings pushed into Western Europe, she said.
"It's easy to imagine that the Christian church had certain reservations about clothing that accentuated the breasts in this way," Larsson said.
(Reporting by Michael Kahn, Editing by Myra MacDonald)

It's Alive!

Well, after about 3 weeks of carefully treatment and monitoring, the first bottles of DeeJay Cellars wines have been bottled. We have bottled 28, 750
ml bottles of Merlot wine. This first batch of wine is name Red Shirt Merlot, giving honor to all those poor red shirted Star Trek guys that never made it back from a landing party or away team. The merlot, which still needs to age for at least three months has at this moment, a very buttery texture to it, with a good sense of oak and raspberry essence to it. It does seem to be a bit on the weaker side, but I think that is due to the relative newness of the wine. We figure the alcohol content is around 13%. I think the body and texture of the wine will definately improve with time. Plans are to open a bottle in one month, compare it to our first taste, and then compare another bottle at three months. For those who I have told I will share some wine, you can certainly expect a decent bottle of good table merlot, that will go with a nice sirloin and vegetables, and even go well with a pizza or pasta meal with tomato sauce.

In the photos you can see my son with the two fermenters. The merlot is to the back of the first photo and the liebfraumilch is still in the process of fermenting. The next two are the first couple of bottles of wine being corked with a very nice piece of machinery that makes bottleing very easy. Further along is the wine being racked from the carboy to the bottles. It really was about a three man operation and took about 20 minutes to get 28 bottles corked. The next is a shot of just some of our "babies" waiting to go to sleep for about three months. And finally, my vinting partner and I enjoy the very first glass of DeeJay Cellars Red Shirt Merlot.

The next bottling will tak place in late February or early march and if it is good, it will be the Kohlinar Liebfraumilch.

Yes, we are both Star Trek Geeks! (don't worry, not all the wines will be in homage to the greatest sci-fi televison series)

Prost!