33,000 flee volcano in Guatemala

(Saul Martinez, EPA / September 13, 2012)

Plumes of dark smoke rise from the Volcan de Fuego (Volcano of Fire) as seen from south of Guatemala City, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012. Officials are carrying out “a massive evacuation of thousands of people” in five communities. 

The Volcano of Fire, known in Spanish as Volcan de Fuego, is one of Central America's most active volcanoes, with the last known eruption in August 2007. Fuego is famous for being almost constantly active at a low level. Smoke issues from its top daily, but larger eruptions are rare. The latest activity started in the beginning of September, with local aviation authorities put on alert about a potential ash cloud. Air traffic is expected to be hindered.
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fgw-guatemala-volcano-20120913,0,2071860.story

Parade's End (BBC)

I'm in England now and watched the first episode of a new Tom Stoppard/BBC drama "Parade's End" last Friday -- a tetralogy (four related novels) by Ford Madox Ford published between 1924 and 1928. Set mainly in England and on the Western Front in World War I, where Ford served as an officer in the Welch Regiment. Hailed by some as "possibly the greatest 20th-century novel in English".  I enjoyed the first episode and Benedict Cumberbatch is a superb actor.  Great supporting cast with Rebecca Hall (daughter of Sir Peter Hall) as his mean, socialite wife and Adelaide Clemens as the suffragette he falls in love with.  I wish people would stop comparing it to Downton Abbey as it is an entirely different creation. Below is a review by the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/9498260/Parades-End-BBC-Two-review.html

Archery and Revolution

LONDON (AP) - Maybe it's the effect of "The Hunger Games" and bow-and-arrow-toting heroine Katniss Everdeen, or the lure of competing at a 200-year-old venue. Or maybe it's the Robin Hood factor. Whatever the reason, archery is hot at the London Olympics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archery

"The profile of our sport has never been higher," said Brady Ellison, the world's top-ranked archer who helped the U.S. win a team silver medal. The sport is getting a boost from the popular "The Hunger Games," plus more archery in films like "Brave" and "The Avengers."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/03/archery-olympics-hunger-games-london_n_1738182.html

Usain Bolt and his iconic archery pose

And the new NBC series (Revolution) starts in the Fall and features, yes you've guessed it, more archery! The series takes place 15 years after all forms of electricity have mysteriously ceased working, forcing the population of the U.S. to regress to an agrarian lifestyle, some keeping to themselves and living off the land, while others find themselves terrorized by local militia. Against this sweeping backdrop, a smaller, family-driven drama takes place, with Tracy Spiridakos' character travelling to find her estranged uncle and rescue her brother.

Bob Dylan's Tempest

Bob Dylan will release his dark and apocalyptic new album "Tempest" on September 11th.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2012/aug/06/bob-dylan-tempest-first-listen

Getty Images

According to Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan describes Tempest, his 35th studio album, as a record where "anything goes and you just gotta believe it will make sense." But it isn't the record he set out to make. "I wanted to make something more religious," he says. "I just didn't have enough [religious songs]. Intentionally, specifically religious songs is what I wanted to do. That takes a lot more concentration to pull that off 10 times with the same thread – than it does with a record like I ended up with."  Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bob-dylan-on-his-dark-new-album-tempest-20120801#ixzz22oNI5CAr

Standard Charter and another British banking scandal

Hot on the heels of the recent HSBC involvement in money laundering for Mexican drug traffickers and Barclays' role in rigging the Libor interest rates, we now hear that another British bank -- Standard Chartered -- enabled Iranian banks and corporations to hide roughly 60,000 illegal transactions worth at least $250 billion within the bank, New York State’s banking regulator charged Monday.
http://blogs.wsj.com/corruption-currents/2012/08/06/n-y-regulator-accuses-standard-chartered-of-illegal-transfers/

According to the British "Telegraph" newspaper, Standard Chartered is accused of leaving the US financial system "vulnerable to terrorists, weapons dealers, drug kingpins and corrupt regimes"...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/alistair-osborne/9457293/Iranian-terrorism-charges-put-Standard-Chartered-in-the-dock.html

According to Reuters: In a rare look inside a bank, the regulator described how Standard Chartered officials debated whether to continue Iranian dealings. In October 2006, the top official for business in the Americas, whom the regulator did not name, warned in a "panicked message" that the Iranian dealings could cause "catastrophic reputational damage" and "serious criminal liability."

A top executive in London shot back: "You f---ing Americans. Who are you to tell us, the rest of the world, that we're not going to deal with Iranians." The reply showed "obvious contempt for U.S. banking regulations," the regulator said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/06/us-standardchartered-iran-idUSBRE8750VM20120806?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71

Battle of the Sprint Kings

I can't wait to see the final of the Mens Olympic 100m at 3:50 p.m. Chicago time today. I find it far and away the most exciting of Olympic events! The 100 meters isn't merely a sport; it's a primal interest, perhaps our most basic and raw form of competition. It's universal; every nation, no matter how rich or poor, can participate. Usain Bolt won gold for Jamaica in Beijing four years ago and now there's a slew of blazing competitors looking to beat him, including another Jamaican, Yohan Blake.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/olympic_infographics_and_data/9453618/London-2012-Olympics-battle-of-the-sprint-kings-Usain-Bolt-and-Yohan-Blake.html

Yohan Blake (left) and Usain Bolt

Update:  The Lightning Bolt did it again....in 9.63 (a new Olympic record).
OLYMPIC 100m FINAL TIMES

• 1 Usain Bolt (JAM) 9.63
• 2 Yohan Blake (JAM) 9.75
• 3 Justin Gatlin (USA) 9.79
• 4 Tyson Gay (USA) 9.80
• 5 Ryan Bailey (USA) 9.88
• 6 Churandy Martina (NED) 9.94
• 7 Richard Thompson (TRI) 9.98
• 8 Asafa Powell (JAM) 11.99

London's medieval volcanic disaster?

Scientists are searching for the source of a disaster that wiped out around a third of Londoners in 1258:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/aug/05/medieval-volcano-disaster-london-graves

10,500 medieval skeletons found@Spitalfields Market London
Photograph: Elly Godfroy / Alamy/Alamy