Friday, August 22, 2008

The History of the Soviet Union in 15 Minutes

Short and sweet, witty and ironic, this tells you all you need to know. Don't miss it (I ain't foolin', now; get over there and read it!).

9 comments:

RebeccaH said...

The more things change, they more they stay the same. Only the names are different.

Skeeter said...

I wonder if there is some way I can get my two grandchildren to read this.
Probably not, and that is very sad.
They were born in 2002 and 2005, so they are unlikely to ever be taught 20th Century history in Australia's current education system.

missred said...

print it out for them, skeeter

Paco said...

Skeeter: Tell'em if they'll read it, Uncle Paco will bring 'em fabulous gifts when he comes to visit someday.

Skeeter said...

Thanks friends. Uncle Paco, your promise of fabulous gifts is sure to work.

Missred, I'm certainly going to print "The History of the Soviet Union" and preserve it somewhere until I can bring it to the grandchildren's attention.
I'll have to be sneaky. Our son married into a family of Labor voters who believe everything they see in the MSM and everything that is preached in schools and universities.
The other grandparents live in what was John Howard's electorate. There was much celebration when they replaced him with an ABC TV announcer.
That's what I'm up against, and it must be delicately handled.

Minicapt said...

Skeeter
Make it a full learning experience:
1. Math and physics- http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/future-weapons/games/cannon/cannon.html (this has been extensively tested by my 4 & 6 year nephews).

2. Then- History of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The parents will be awed.

Cheers

Skeeter said...

Excellent, Minicapt. I found that very addictive and I'm sure it will appeal to the nearly 7 y-o boy.
I have been teaching him to fly with MS Flight Sim X, but he has a way to go before I can start him on weapons training in the air.
Cannon Challenge gives instant gratification.
We live on 10 acres and I planned to build a mangonel for his third birthday, but his lefty mum refused permission.
Of course, she can't stop me building one for myself and the kid might like to watch while I play with it.

RebeccaH said...

Skeeter, I share your pain. One set of grandchildren are being raised correctly, but the other set are being home schooled and Montessori'd into a green, lefty, gullible way of life that will serve them ill in their adulthood, I fear.

Anonymous said...

Controversy at the Best Legs Olympics.

I want to give my impressions of this great competition, although like the male commentator Sandy admitted: 'I am not seeing this from an entirely technical perspective'.
Firstly, I think there should be an enquiry into whether Israel was bribed by the old USSR to enter this event to make it a truly international one.
I think it should be renamed 'Best Legs' or revert to its original true title 'Artistry Without Dancing'. I thought all the competitors had amazing apparatus.
The chief judge did her best to impersonate General Zukhov on the battlefield, and looked about as old. Rather than adjusting scores to prevent unsightly weeping, I suggest Ukraine and Russia fight a small border war instead - or was it Belorussia?
Audrey Hepburn appeared to compete for two of these semi-states as far as I could see, or maybe one was Natalie Wood. Ice skater Katarina Witt made a surprising comeback performance for Khazakhstan. In the 80s she almost made me like East Germany.
The Russian was called Conniva, but the conniving of the judges was done by others. The female commentator said something about 'bent legs', but it didn't bother me.
She also mentioned 'excellent work', which may be a technical hangover from communism. They didn't look like workers to me.
The graceful passing of the banknote between four judges was beautifully caught on camera. I could not see if it ended up in the hands of a charity worker as the rules require.

Personally, I could not separate any of the eight [or ten] competitors. Audrey Hepburn had the best smile as expected, but Katarina and Olga maintained their decorum better. The USSR won all the medals as usual, but one girl looked rather Chinese, so there may be a protest.
I have an easier way to decide this competition in future. Give marks for beauty, but include the coaches. In this case the Russian would definitely have lost by several points, and so I give it to Khazakhstan, but only if she was not cheating by being coached by her mother.
As I said, I am not an expert on this beautiful sport, but would like to be..