Next message: Fred Hebard: "Re: on finding Pitcairn Island"
One cannot accuse this list of being boring. I truly enjoy the tangents I
found myself exploring--certainly more than anticipated when I decided to
learn celestial navigation and subscribe.
As Thomas Paine stated, "The sublime and the ridiculous are often so nearly
related that it is difficult to class them separately. One step above the
sublime makes the ridiculous, and one step above the ridiculous makes the
sublime again." Regarding the island, the following "census" rides the fine
line between the sublime and the absurd. e.g., "Labor force: 12 able-bodied
men."
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/pc.html
For those of you who are mariners with a sense of the sublime/ridiculous,
note September 19th is the 4th Annual International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html
Enjoy
Bill
