CaaC (John)

Nathan Bishop joins Manchester United on transfer deadline day https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/31/nathan-bishop-manchester-united-transfer-man-utd-12160645/?ito=newsnow-feed

Done Deal

Done Deal Ivory Coast international Christian Michael Kouakou Kouamè has joined Fiorentina from Genoa.

Done Deals

These lovely little statues enchanted ancient Greece SLIDES - 1/4 In the 1860s peasants from the town of Bratsi, in the Greek region of Boeotia, north of Athens were ploughing the soil when they unearthed an ancient grave, and then another and another. Although there were no lavish grave goods to be found, the burial sites did harbour a magnificent treasure of a different kind. As they dug, the peasants began to unearth beautifully made terracotta figurines. The fascinating little statues, mainly of female figures between three and nine inches tall, were everywhere. Eventually, hundreds would be collected. The accidental archaeologists offered the pieces for sale to anyone they met and news of the extraordinary find soon spread, attracting treasure hunters. Grimadha, near the location of the ancient city-state of Tanagra, was a popular target for looters. It is estimated that more than 8,000 graves were dug up as people hungrily searched for the figurines. The illegal excavation of the Tanagra necropolises became an open secret, and Greek authorities eventually decided to intervene, sending archaeologist Panayiotis Stamatakis to oversee the first official dig in 1874. The archaeologists’ attempt at imposing some order on the excavation was too little, too late. Their findings lacked the necessary detail to be of much academic use. In 1911 excavations began to be carried out more methodically, but it was not until the 1970s, more than a century after the first figurines came to light, that excavations were conducted with the proper rigour and care. The demand for Tanagra figurines seemed to have no bounds in late 19th-century Europe. The statuettes, mainly of women, fit in with the ideals of feminine beauty and fashion of the Belle Epoque. The softness, grace, and modesty idealized in the diminutive figures, their robes, drapery, head coverings, and hairstyles contrasted with the austere depiction of male figures: classical Greek gods, statesmen and soldiers. The presence of the government archaeologists at Tanagra did not stop the grave robbing. The insatiable demand for the figurines drove more clandestine removal from the necropolises. Fake figurines also began to enter the antiquities market. Some of the imitations were clumsy copies, but others were skilled forgeries and more difficult to detect. Local villagers would sell the figures–authentic and otherwise–to whoever would buy them, at increasingly exorbitant prices. Many of these imposters fooled experts for years. They even made their way into prominent museum collections. Recent thermoluminescence analysis of Tangara figurines in the German State collections has revealed that as many as 20 per cent of them are fakes. Custom models The delicacy of the Tanagra figurines reveals how skilled the Greeks were in the art of coroplasty, or clay modelling. The body would be shaped from a two-part mould, and then the head and arms (also created from moulds) would be attached. The figure would be customized through different poses and by adding different decorative elements, like crowns and flower hats. Before firing, artisans applied a mixture called white slip, made of water and clay. After the clay had baked, water-based pigments were applied to a layer of fresh lime plaster. The figures were painted in naturalistic hues and soft colours. Rich shades of blue and gold leaf were used sparingly, as both were very expensive at the time. The figures were popular around the Mediterranean in the fourth century B.C. Figurines have been found in Corinth, Macedonia, Asia Minor, southern Italy, North Africa, and as far away as Kuwait. Form and function The figurines discovered at Tanagra demonstrate how the wide artistic range of this kind of Greek sculpture. The excavations unearthed hundreds of different female forms, ranging from demure matrons to nubile veiled dancers and girls at play. Rather than exalting the gods or statesmen, these quiet statues were an intimate look into the lives of everyday women and their children, an experience which is often not reflected in the literature of the time. Their clothing and their gestures reveal contemporary attitudes towards female roles in society. Scholars hold differing opinions on the function of these small statues. It’s possible that they manufactured for different uses. Since the majority of figurines were grave goods, it is possible they played an official role in burial practices. It’s also possible that the original rationale behind burying the figurines was eventually forgotten, while the custom of depositing them remained. Many Tanagra figurines were found in domestic settings, which suggests that they could have been affordable, decorative art. Some of the most famous figurines, such as the Lady in Blue and the Sophoclean, seem to have been inspired by large statues by master sculptors such as Praxiteles and Leochares. Some experts believe that the Tanagra figurines were produced purely for their aesthetic appeal, as mini replicas, a practice that would later be developed by Roman patricians when they decorated their residences. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/these-lovely-little-statues-enchanted-ancient-greece/ar-BBZtk0K#image=1

Why don't they get a veterinary surgeon just to tranquilise the poor croc then get the tyre off? Indonesia offers reward for plucking tyre off giant croc's neck Indonesian authorities are offering a reward to anyone who can rescue a saltwater crocodile with a motorbike tyre stuck around its neck -- and survive. The contest will see one brave croc hunter land an unspecified amount of cash, but it will mean coming face to face with the 13-foot (4-metre) reptile Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi. Local conservation authorities have been trying -- and failing -- for several years to find a way to untangle the croc after video showed it gasping for air. That sparked worries the tyre was slowly killing the beast. After a recent sighting, the province's governor instructed his resource-strapped conservation agency to figure out how to end years of fruitless attempts. The agency offered few details on the reward, or how outsiders might pull off the task. But its chief -- who said the cash would come out of his own pocket -- warned that he was not calling on amateurs to hunt down the reptile, but rather addressing people with a background in wildlife rescue and a thirst for conservation. "We're asking the general public not to get close to the crocodile or disturb its habitat," said Hasmuni Hasmar, head of the Central Sulawesi Natural Resources Conservation Agency. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/indonesia-offers-reward-for-plucking-tyre-off-giant-crocs-neck/ar-BBZu2wV

John Grisham - A Painted House

A morning around our daughters watching wee Kaiden while our daughter went the docs, trying to play Mario Games with him on his console was a dead loss, he whipped the arse off me...gulp.

Jersey 'drowned landscape' could yield Ice Age insights Archaeologists are planning an ambitious survey of part of the seabed off Jersey where Neanderthals once lived. The site is part-exposed during spring low tide, giving the team a four-hour window to dig while the sea is out. Stone tools and mammoth remains have been recovered from the Violet Bank over the years. Neanderthals are known to have inhabited what is now Jersey for hundreds of thousands of years. The Violet Bank is a type of coastal zone known as an intertidal reef. It's underwater at high tide but some 10 sq km of the seabed is exposed during the low spring tide. In May, the team will spend a week living at an offshore fort built in the 18th Century and then digging on the seabed for three to four hours before the area is inundated. The project's leader Dr Matt Pope, from UCL's Institute of Archaeology, said: "The Violet Bank is a starkly beautiful and scientifically important landscape. "We know there is a record of Neanderthal archaeology, extinct fauna such as mammoth and more recent prehistoric monuments out there waiting to be discovered and documented." Neanderthals 'dived in the ocean' for shellfish Jersey's Neanderthal survival story Neanderthals were capable of making art Viewpoint: Why we still underestimate the Neanderthals The effort aims to discover records of early human behaviour, insights into the ancient environment and could shed light on past climate change. It will seek to understand how people used this landscape before the sea covered it around 6,000 years ago. FULL REPORT

Two satellites set for a close shave over US city of Pittsburgh Two satellites hurtling across the sky at nearly 33,000 mph (53,000 km/h) are predicted to pass dangerously close to one another over Pennsylvania. A group tracking the satellites said it predicted a 1 in 20 chance of a collision, calling it "alarming". The satellites are not in operation, but it is feared a collision could create pieces of debris that would damage other objects in orbit. The last time a major satellite collision occurred was in 2009. The satellites may pass within 40ft (12m) of each other, some 550 miles (900km) above Pittsburgh at around 18:30 local time. LeoLabs, a group that tracks space debris, reported that "it is still unlikely that these objects will collide", but that due to the size of the satellites, the chance of collision had gone up from prior calculations. (More LeoLabs Tweets) FULL REPORT

PSV midfielder Gaston Pereiro has arrived in Italy to sign for Cagliari, despite suggestions Aston Villa had launched a bid to sign him. It has been widely accepted that the 24-year-old would leave the Dutch club after they accepted a bid from MLS side Cincinnati. However, the player himself made it clear that he wished to remain in Europe, with his agent suggesting an offer had come in from Villa. (Birmingham Live)

It makes me wonder though if the bastards were really United supporters or pretending to be and maybe supporters from another club doing it, either way, they are still fucking morons.

Ship That Mysteriously Vanished in Bermuda Triangle Almost a Century Ago Discovered The wreckage of a ship that mysteriously went missing in the Bermuda Triangle almost 100 years ago has been discovered off the coast of Florida, a team of researchers has said. The SS Cotopaxi—an American merchant steamer—left Charleston, South Carolina on November 29, 1925, loaded with coal. But the vessel vanished without a trace before arriving at its final destination, Havana, Cuba. The fate of the Cotopaxi and the 32 people on board has long puzzled experts, and the ship's disappearance has become one of the famous stories associated with the legend of the Triangle—a notorious region of the western North Atlantic Ocean where several ships and aircraft are said to have gone missing in strange circumstances. "The Cotopaxi was on a routine voyage," marine biologist and underwater explorer Michael Barnette told Newsweek. "She was employed in the coal trade and so this was just another trip at the end of November of 1925. We know that on that voyage something happened because she delivered a mayday message early December saying she's in distress. "And then that was it. They never found any wreckage. They never found any lifeboats, bodies or anything. The vessel just disappeared after that point. So we've been trying to determine what happened." The story of the disappearance of the Cotopaxi has had a colourful past. Film director Steven Spielberg included the vessel in his sci-fi classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind, in which it was discovered in the Gobi Desert, having apparently been placed there by extraterrestrials. In 2015, a news report said the ship had reappeared near a restricted military zone off the coast of Cuba. Various versions of this story emerged in the years that followed. All have been dismissed as hoaxes, however. Now, after almost a century of uncertainty and speculation, a more realistic explanation has emerged. Barnette and colleagues say they have located the wreck around 35 miles off the coast of St. Augustine, on Florida's northeast coast. The discovery is revealed in an episode of Shipwreck Secrets, a new Science Channel series that starts next month. "I've always been fascinated by history," Barnette, who has discovered the wrecks of numerous lost ships over the course of his career, said. "I'm a marine biologist by profession. But maritime history is my real passion. I like going out and trying to identify wrecks because everyone has a fascinating story. I'm just a very curious guy." The search for the wreck began thousands of miles away from the Bermuda Triangle in London, England. Barnette contacted British historian Guy Walters and asked him to dig through the archives of Lloyd's of London, which contains insurance documents related to the ship's fateful voyage. During his search, Walters managed to uncover evidence that the Cotopaxi had sent out a distress signal on December 1, 1925—a key piece of information that historians had not previously known about. "A lot of times, it's more important to spend more time in the archives researching than it is on the water because that's when you will make the discoveries in all these articles for insurance or things of that nature," he told Newsweek. According to the documents he uncovered, the distress signals were picked up in Jacksonville, Florida, placing the ship in the vicinity of the so-called Bear Wreck—located off the coast of St. Augustine—which has baffled experts for decades. The waters off the coast of St. Augustine—a thriving port in colonial times—are filled with 16th and 17th-century shipwrecks. The Bear Wreck, however, stands out from these in a number of ways. Firstly, it appears to be from the late 19th or early 20th century and is located much further off the coast than most of the other older shipwrecks. The ship's real name and the reason it sank have long remained a mystery. With the evidence uncovered by Walters, Barnette and his dive partner Joe Citelli decided to conduct a series of dives at the Bear Wreck in order to look for an artefact that could link it to the Cotopaxi. Specifically, they wanted to find an object with the vessel's name on it—something commonly found on the bell of ships. However, such discoveries are rare and despite the use of a remotely operated underwater vehicle, the divers did not find what they were looking for, in part, because the wreck is covered in large quantities of sand. Barnette got in touch with Al Perkins, a diver who has been exploring the Bear Wreck for more than three decades, collecting numerous objects from it in the process. One of the items in his collection seemed to provide a clue to the wreck's origins. The object was a valve that had been manufactured by a company based around 12 miles from where the Cotopaxi was built—in Ecorse, Michigan. But was this a coincidence or a piece of evidence linking the Bear Wreck to the Cotopaxi? Barnette reached out to Chuck Meide and Brendan Burke from the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum—two experts on the shipwrecks in the waters surrounding the city. Under the guidance of Meide and Burke, Barnette conducted more dives to collect measurements of the Bear Wreck. These were then compared with the original plans of the Cotopaxi. The team discovered that numerous features—including the length of the vessel and dimensions of the boilers—matched the measurements they had taken. Finally, Barnette received a crucial piece of information from Walters, who had been carrying out research at the National Archives of New York. There, the historian found documents from a legal case that the families of some of the missing crewmen had brought against the Cotopaxi's operator—the Clinchfield Navigation company. They argued the ship was unseaworthy and unsuited to rough ocean conditions. In the documents, the president of the company countered that this was not the case and the only reason the ship sunk was because she had been caught in a large storm off the Florida coast—one that is attested in historical weather records on the day that the Cotopaxi sent out distress signals. In his testimony, the president reported the last known coordinates of the Cotopaxi, which were dated to November 30, 1925. Barnette plotted these coordinates on a map, placing the ship 22 miles north of the Bear Wreck on this date, on what would appear to be the vessel's expected course if it was travelling its regular route from Charleston to Havana. For the team, this was the final piece of the puzzle linking the Cotopaxi to the Bear Wreck. Given that a storm would strike the area the next day—and the evidence from the legal documents indicating that the vessel was not seaworthy—the researchers also appeared to have uncovered a possible explanation for the ship's sinking. The team believes these final coordinates, coupled with a distress signal being sent from the ship the next day, and historic records showing a storm had hit the area, are further evidence to show the Bear Wreck the site of the sunken Cotopaxi. "We approach all these shipwrecks kind of like a cold case murder case, right? You know, you have the body there. You try and gain whatever information you can. There's a whole bunch of tools that we use to try to identify these wrecks," Barnette said. He described the moment of realization that the Bear Wreck is probably the final resting place of the Cotopaxi as like a "jolt of electricity." "A lot of times it is very emotional because first you are excited that your theory is correct. There's also an emotional rollercoaster because you realize, 'wait a second, this is a gravesite which marks the final resting spot of the crew members that went down with the vessel.' So there's a responsibility to try and reach out to the families so we can help give closure to them," he said. "Myself and other wreck divers around the world, when we identify these wrecks, sometimes we're writing the final chapter in the story or sometimes we're actually rewriting history," he said. "What people assume actually happened sometimes is not the case." Barnette adds that paranormal explanations for the disappearances of ships and aircraft in the Bermuda Triangle—which have frequently been debunked by experts—often distract from what's really important. "Each one of these shipwreck stories is their own saga, and a lot of times you kind of hit on the Bermuda Triangle. But the Bermuda Triangle is not the story, it's the drama that unfolds on these individual shipwrecks, and aircraft." https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/ship-that-mysteriously-vanished-in-bermuda-triangle-almost-a-century-ago-discovered/ar-BBZpkZb

Rescued owl was 'too fat to fly', Suffolk sanctuary says An owl rescued from a ditch and thought to be injured was in fact just too fat to fly, a bird rescue centre has said. Suffolk Owl Sanctuary said the "soggy" bird was brought in by a landowner. When staff examined the little owl (Athene noctua), they found it to be "simply extremely obese" and "unable to fly effectively" as a result. The owl was put on a "strict diet" to slim down from its 245g to a more "natural weight" and has been released back to the wild, the sanctuary said. The sanctuary, based in Stonham Aspal, said when the bird was weighed, it was roughly a third heavier than they would expect a large healthy female little owl to be. The sanctuary said it was "extremely unusual for wild birds to get into this condition naturally". Head falconer Rufus Samkin said: "Where she was found is very productive land, and it's been a mild winter and there's a lot of food around - voles, mice. "We think she's just done incredibly well for herself and overindulged." He said the owl lost between 20g and 30g over a couple of weeks while staff monitored its food intake. "We may see her again - we hope not," said Mr Samkin. "Hopefully, she's learnt to keep her weight in trim so she can escape any predators or being picked up." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-51294545

Fucking idiots, imagine if kids had been there they would have been terrified.

I don't like Woody & the Glazer mob in how they are running the club and normal peaceful protest in letting them know to piss off somewhere else is fine but when it comes to targeting a property with flares or whatnot when there are children living there then no thank you to the idiots that did that, if someone targetted my flat with my wife & grandsons present and I caught them then I would be locked up for GBH.

AC Milan has received an offer from Hertha Berlin for striker Krzysztof Piatek, it is claimed, amid strong speculation that Spurs have a concrete interest. Piatek’s exclusive of course fuels the rumours about his future at the club, with a number of outlets reporting that Spurs are in talks over a possible deal for the former Genoa man which could be worth anywhere from €28m to €30m. (Sempremilan)

You can tell you lot have the huff because you will miss out on an EPL Treble thanks to Liverpool, this thread was sitting on page 3 @Happy Blue Manchester City ace pens new deal Manchester City has announced Fernandinho has put pen to paper on a new 12-month extension running until the end of next season. Fernandinho's previous deal had entered the final six months and there were reservations at the start of the season whether he would be handed fresh terms. The Brazil international has featured more often this season than most anticipated, in part due to Aymeric Laporte's long spell out injured. Fernandinho quickly developed into City's second-best centre-back at the club and recently made it clear he wanted to stay on for another year. A clause in Fernandinho's old contract entitled the veteran to another year if he featured in a certain amount of games. However, Pep Guardiola's side has rewarded the 34-year-old with a new deal now as a reward for his continued service to the club. "This is the best possible news," he told the club's official website. "I want to take this opportunity to put on record how grateful I am to my teammates and the backroom staff here at City. "Without them, this deal would not be possible, so sincere thanks to every single one of them. I have enjoyed every second of my time here. I never expected to build such a meaningful relationship with the club and the fans, but it has happened, and I am grateful every single day. "Our fans are unbelievable; I am so happy that I will continue to play for them a year longer. I feel their love and passion and it genuinely helps keep me driven. My focus now is on making sure we continue to be successful. "My time here has been decorated by silverware, but under Pep's guidance, we have really accelerated. I want that to carry on for as long as possible." Who Scored ? Com

Barcelona target Rodrigo agrees on a transfer from Valencia - but La Liga side have a backup plan Barcelona hopes to sign Rodrigo from fellow La Liga side Valencia before the January transfer window shuts on Friday. (Express)

Police have bone to pick with motorist using a fake skeleton as a passenger A motorist who plonked a fake skeleton in his passenger seat so he could use a high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane has been fined. Police in Arizona stopped the 62-year-old man after spotting the odd-looking companion in his front seat. The plastic skeleton - complete with a spooky outfit and a camouflage bucket hat - had a cool box between its legs and was secured to the seat with yellow rope. Alas, officers saw right through the driver's stunt. Arizona's Department of Public Safety tweeted: "Think you can use the HOV lane with Skeletor riding shotgun? You're dead wrong! "One of our motor troopers cited the 62-year-old male driver for HOV & window tint violations on SR-101 near Apache Blvd this morning. #NiceTry #YoureNotHeMan #AZTroopers" High occupancy vehicle lanes are used to ease traffic congestion for motorists with passengers in the car. Officials in Arizona say more than 7,000 drivers are penalised for flouting the rules every year. Last April, police pulled over a man who had a mannequin wearing a sweatshirt, baseball cap and sunglasses in his front seat. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/police-have-bone-to-pick-with-motorist-using-fake-skeleton-as-a-passenger/ar-BBZllN8#image=1

AC Milan's former Liverpool midfielder Suso, the 26-year-old Spain international, is expected to join Sevilla. (Calciomercato)