21 November: Albert name day

Today is the name day for people called Albert.

Albert is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Germanic Adalbert and Adelbert, containing the words adal ("noble") and beraht ("bright").

1. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: husband of Queen Victoria. It has often been used as a royal name, other examples being Albert I and Albert II, rulers of Monaco and Prince Albert, Duke of York, later King George VI of the United Kingdom.

2. Albert Einstein: theoretical physicist, scientist, and philosopher who developed the theory of relativity, widely regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time.

3. Albert Finney: English actor during the early 1960s, debuting with The Entertainer (1960), directed by Tony Richardson.

4. Albert Runcorn: a Ministry of Magic investigator in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.

5. Albert W. Hall: American actor. He portrayed Chief Phillips in Apocalypse Now, Judge Seymore Walsh in Ally McBeal and The Practice and Brother Baines in the 1992 Spike Lee film Malcolm X.

6. Albert Gore, aka Al Gore: former Vice President of the United States.

7. Albert Tatlock: fictional character on Coronation Street. Actor Jack Howarth played Albert from 1960 to 1984.

8. Albert Fish: American serial killer also known as the "Gray Man", the "Werewolf of Wysteria", the "Brooklyn Vampire", the "Moon Maniac", and "The Boogeyman".

9. Albert Green, aka Al Green: American R&B musician.

10. Albert Spaggiari: French criminal chiefly known as the organiser of a break-in into a bank in Nice, France, in July 1976. 46 million francs were stolen, none of which were ever found.

Latest

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

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20 November: The Colbys

The Colbys, a Dynasty spin-off, made its début on US TV on this date in 1985. 10 facts about The Colbys:

1. Dynasty had been the highest rated series in 1984–1985, so its producers clearly had high hopes for it. They basically threw money at it, with episode costing approximately $1 million to make. This made it one of the most expensive TV series of the 1980s. However, it wasn’t anything like as popular as Dynasty and was cancelled after two seasons.

2. The Colbys stars Charlton Heston as tycoon Jason Colby (Burt Lancaster was considered for the role); Barbara Stanwyck as his sister Constance (Katharine Hepburn was in the running for this); Stephanie Beacham as his wife Sable (Faye Dunaway, Diana Rigg and Susannah York all turned it down), Katharine Ross as Sable's sister, and John James and Emma Samms as their Dynasty characters Jeff Colby and Fallon Carrington.

3. A number of Dynasty stars like John Forsythe made appearances too, but Joan Collins refused to appear as she disapproved of a Dynasty spin-off.

4. The Colbys’ mansion, The Belvedere, is represented by Jay Paley House in Holmby Hills, then owned by business magnate Barron Hilton.

5. The exteriors for Colby Enterprises were shot at the First Interstate Tower in Los Angeles. Exteriors for Zach Power's headquarters were shot at the nearby Bank of America Building. These real life companies were rivals just like the fictional occupants of the buildings.

6. It was Barbara Stanwyck’s last acting project. Sadly, she hated it. She called the show "a turkey" and "The biggest pile of garbage I ever did" and demanded to be written out after one season. She wasn’t the only one. Stephanie Beacham referred to it as "Cobblers", as in "a load of cobblers", a British phrase meaning nonsense or rubbish.

7. In the UK, the series was shown on BBC1 from in January 1986 but was only shown every two weeks, alternating with Dynasty.

8. It was reported that Charlton Heston was paid $85,000 per episode and Barbara Stanwyck was paid $75,000.

9. The second series ended with Fallon, stranded in the desert, being abducted by aliens.

10. When the series was cancelled, John James and Emma Samms were offered and accepted contracts to continue playing their roles in Dynasty. Stephanie Beacham and Tracy Scoggins also accepted contracts for Dynasty, while Maxwell Caulfield resumed his role in Dynasty: The Reunion in 1991.

Latest

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

19 November: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

On this date in 1975 Milos Forman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest starring Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, and Danny DeVito premièred at the Sutton and Paramount. 10 things you might not know about it:

1. The film was based on a novel by Ken Kesey, published in 1962. The title comes from a nursery rhyme which appears in the book: “Vintery, mintery, cutery, corn, Apple seed and apple thorn, Wire, briar, limber lock, Three geese in a flock. One flew East, One flew West, And one flew over the Cuckoo's nest.”

2. The book was made into a stage show in 1963, with Kirk Douglas in the leading role. Douglas owned the rights, and wanted to make a film of it at the time with director Miloš Forman. Douglas posted a copy of the book to Forman, but it never arrived. It was possibly confiscated by customs but neither party knew that. Hence Forman was annoyed with Douglas for not sending the book and Douglas was annoyed with Forman for not acknowledging receipt. It was only when Kirk’s son Michael decided to have another go at making the movie that the misunderstanding came to light.

3. Kirk Douglas had always fancied playing Randle Patrick McMurphy himself, but by the time the film was being made, he was too old. Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando, and Burt Reynolds were all considered for the part before it finally went to Jack Nicholson. Likewise, several actresses were considered for the part of Nurse Ratched before it went to Louise Fletcher including Anne Bancroft and Angela Lansbury.

4. At first, Forman envisaged Nurse Ratched as “the personification of evil,” but the part evolved to suit Louise Fletcher so that in the end, she’s just the tool used by an evil system, believing that she’s actually helping people by doing her job.

5. Nurse Ratched didn't have a first name in the book. Louise Fletcher chose "Mildred".

6. The filming location was a real hospital. The actors lived in the psychiatric ward during filming and got to know real patients. As part of the process of getting to know their characters, Forman had the actors take part in ad lib therapy sessions, and secretly filmed them. Some of that footage ended up in the film.

7. Many of the people who appear in the film aren’t actors. Dr. John Spivey is actually facility superintendent Dr. Dean Brooks; Mel Lambert (Harbor Master) is a car salesman who happened to sit next to Michael Douglas on a plane; Will Sampson (Chief Bromden) was a Park Ranger in Oregon selected for the part because he was the only Native American the casting department could find who was big enough to play the character. Patients in the hospital used as a location appeared as extras and some got jobs as part of the crew. One was cured of a lifelong stutter as a result.

8. Jack Nicholson and Forman fell out over a plot point and refused to speak to each other for much of the production process. Any necessary communication was carried out by cinematographer Bill Butler as a middleman.

9. The rigours of filming and separation from his future wife got to Danny DeVito so much that he invented an imaginary friend to talk to. Becoming concerned that he might actually be going mad, DeVito sought medical advice and was told he was fine as long as he was aware that the friend was imaginary.

10. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is one of only three films to win all of the “Big Five” Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay. The other two are It Happened One Night in 1934 and The Silence of the Lambs in 1991.

Latest

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

18 November: Quince

In the French Revolutionary Calendar today is the Day of Quince. 10 things you might not know about quince:

1. The scientific name for quince is Cydonia oblonga, and it is the only member of the genus Cydonia. The genus is part of the rose family, meaning quince is closely related to Apples and Pears.

2. Quinces are native to the Caucasus and Western and Central Asia. Wild trees grow in Azerbaijan, Iran, southwestern Russia and Turkmenistan.

3. The flowers of the quince tree are a pretty pale Pink, so the trees are sometimes planted in gardens for ornamental reasons.

4. The fruit is golden yellow and resembles a cross between an apple and a pear. It emits a sweet and floral scent rather like a combination of apples, pears, and citrus.

5. It is a good source of dietary fibre, vitamins C and E, potassium, and antioxidants.

6. The biggest quince producers are Turkey and China accounting for 43% of the world total in 2021.

7. In Turkey, the expression "to eat the quince" means an unpleasant situation because of the rather bitter aftertaste of a quince fruit inside the mouth. In Greek mythology, it represents love and fertility, while in other places, it represents happiness and prosperity.

8. One popular use for quince is to make a sweet and tangy paste known as “membrillo.” This paste is served with Cheese or used as a filling in pastries.

9. Marmalade was originally a word used for quince preserves. The Portuguese word for the fruit is marmelo, from the Ancient Greek melimelon, or “honey-apple.”

10. Quince was once used as a natural source of pectin, a thickening agent for jams, jellies and other confections, before gelatin was widely available.

NEW!!

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

17 November: Roentgenium

On 17 November 2006, a ceremony was held in Darmstadt, Germany, to celebrate the naming of the element Roentgenium. 10 facts about it:

1. Roentgenium is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol Rg and atomic number 111.

2. Not much is known about it. It’s a bit difficult to study as the most stable of its isotopes only has a half life of 130 seconds. Only a few atoms of the stuff have ever been made.

3. However, scientists predict that if ever enough is made to study it properly, it will turn out to be a dense noble metal which will be solid at room temperature, and a pale silvery colour.

4. Roentgenium has seven isotopes whose half-lives are known. There are more which haven’t been confirmed yet, including one, roentgenium-286, which could have a half life of as much as 10.7 minutes.

5. Roentgenium was first synthesised by an international team led by Sigurd Hofmann in 1994 at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research near Darmstadt, Germany.

6. The team that discovered it bombarded atoms of bismuth with ions of nickel in a linear accelerator.

7. Before it was assigned the name Roentgenium, it was given a temporary name, unununium, with a provisional chemical symbol of Uuu.

8. It is named after the physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (also spelled Roentgen), who discovered X Rays.

9. It is 272 times heavier than hydrogen.

10. Roentgenium does not occur at all in nature and has no uses apart from scientific study.

NEW!!

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

16 November: Gertrude Name Day

In Poland, today is the name day for people called Gertrude.

Gertrude is a feminine given name derived from Germanic roots meaning "spear" and "strength". 10 famous Gertrudes:

Gertrude Stein

1. Gertrude the Great: German Benedictine nun and mystic from the monastery of Helfta. Her feast day is November 16

2. Gertrude Jekyll: British horticulturist, garden designer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens and wrote over 1000 articles for magazines such as Country Life.

3. Gertrude Stein: American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector.

4. Gertrude: In William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, she is Hamlet's mother and Queen of Denmark.

5. Gertrude Bell: English writer, traveller and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and was highly influential to British imperial policy-making due to her knowledge and contacts.

6. Gertrude Lawrence: English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York.

7. Gertrude Chataway: child-friend of the author Lewis Carroll. It was Gertrude who inspired The Hunting of the Snark.

8. Gertrude Ederle: American Olympic swimmer, who, on August 6, 1926, became the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

9. Gertrude Rachel Levy: British author and cultural historian writing about comparative mythology, matriarchy, epic poetry and archaeology.

10. Gertrude of Nivelles: seventh-century abbess who, with her mother Itta, founded the Abbey of Nivelles, now in Belgium. Her feast day is 17 March.

NEW!!

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

15 November: William Pitt the elder

This date in 1708 was the birthdate of William Pitt the Elder, First Earl of Chatham, British Prime Minister and noted orator. 10 facts about him:

1. He was born Golden Square, Westminster. His mother was Lady Harriet Villiers, daughter of Viscount Grandison, who belonged to the Anglo-Irish nobility and his father was Robert Pitt, a member of Parliament.

2. His grandfather, Thomas, was governor of the East India Company’s “factory” at Madras (now Chennai). He was known as “Diamond” Pitt and was known for his temper, and for not getting on with “that hellish confusion that is my family.” He was, however, affectionate towards the young William.

3. William Pitt attended Eton and then Trinity College, Oxford.

4. He suffered from gout from an early age, which ruled him out of many sporting activities. He read a lot, and his favourite poet was Virgil.

5. As a second son, he didn’t inherit the family estate and so had to find a career. He chose the military – a school friend called George Lyttelton, introduced him to Richard Temple, Viscount Cobham in 1731 and Pitt gained a commission in Temple’s regiment.

6. William Pitt was elected to the family pocket borough of Old Sarum in 1735. He sided with the opposition to Walpole, joining Cobham’s nephews Richard Grenville and Lyttelton as a member of the group known as ‘Cobham’s cubs’.

7. He was known for being leader during the Seven Years War, when he declared, “I am sure I can save this country, and nobody else can.”

8. He became known as the 'Great Commoner' due to his refusal to accept a title until 1766.

9. He married Lady Hester Grenville, sister of Richard Grenville in November 1754. They had five children, including William Pitt the Younger, who became prime minister in 1783.

10. He died on 11 May 1778 at the age of 69. His son William read the passage in Homer’s Iliad on Hector’s farewell to him on his death bed.

NEW!!

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book