HMS Sirius was the flagship of the First Fleet that arrived in Sydney in January 1788 to establish a British colony in New South Wales.
HMS Sirius was later wrecked on a reef at Norfolk Island.
The name “Sirius” is derived from the Ancient Greek for “glowing” or “scorcher”.
Near Sirius in the night sky is the constellation Orion which has both the brightest blue-white supergiant (Beta Orionis or Rigel) and the brightest red supergiant (Alpha Orionis or Betelgeuse) in the sky. (Canopus and Arcturus are each brighter supergiants but are in different spectral classes.) Supergiants have short lifespans; they may change into other types of star, or explode as a supernova.
Despite its “Alpha” designation, Betelgeuse is a highly variable star and usually has a lower apparent magnitude than Rigel. The apparent diameter of Betelgeuse as observed from Earth is second in size, among stars, only to our own Sun. It’s name comes from the Arabic for ‘the Hand (or Armpit) of al-Jauzā.’
Alpha and Omega (alpha (Α or α) and omega (Ω or ω)), are the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet and are an appellation of Christ or of God in the Book of Revelation. These couple of letters are used as Christian symbols, and are often combined with the Cross, Chi Rho, or other Christian symbols.
The Chi Rho is one of the earliest forms of christogram, and is used by some Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters chi and rho (ΧΡ) of the Greek word “ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ” =Christ in such a way to produce the monogram. Although not technically a Christian cross, the Chi-Rho invokes the crucifixion of Jesus, as well as symbolizing his status as the Christ.
Missed the edit window, to add:
Wikipedia link to Chi Rho page: Chi Rho - Wikipedia
Wikipedia link to Chi Rho symbol: File:Simple Labarum2.svg - Wikipedia
The Celtic cross is one of the most popular symbols used by individuals and organisations to represent Neo-Nazism and white pride, including its use as the logo for white nationalist website Stormfront.org. In Germany, the Celtic cross was adopted by a prohibited political party (VSBD/PdA) leading to a ban of the symbol if used within a racist context. Although there were doubts on the constitutionality of the ban, it was upheld in a decision of the supreme court.
The Boston Celtics have woon 17 NBA championships, the most of any team.
Wilt Chamberlain was once asked if he didn’t like playing against any basketball player. He replies “The only player who scares me is Larry Bird,” the kingpin of the Celtics dynasty.
A cool quote, but I think he was being kind and generous. In their respective primes of their careers, Chamberlain would have destroyed larry Bird had they ever played head-to-head. IMHO, of course. And I’m a Bird & Celtics fan going back to Havlicek, Cowens, Silas, Nelson, White and the rest.
In play: Wilt Chamberlain had retired, in 1973, six years before Larry Bird’s rookie year of 1979.
Crap, crap, crap. The quote is from Magic Johnson. Shows you how much I follow non-Boston sports.
In play: Wilt Chamberlain had retired, in 1973, six years before Larry Bird’s rookie year of 1979.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, hero of Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg, served as president of Bowdoin College and governor of Maine after the Civil War. He died, probably of a secondary infection of his wartime wounds, just before the outbreak of World War I.
Actor Joey Lawrence met his second wife, Chandie Yawn-Nelson, while on vacation in Disney World when the two were teenagers; they married there 13 years later, in July 2005.
1970s-1980s NBA All-Star Lloyd B. Free picked up the moniker “World” (for All-World) during his playground days. In 1981 he had his name legally changed to World B. Free.
NBA forward Ron Artest, known for numerous violent incidents, legally changed his name to Metta World Peace. His current team is the New York Knicks, whose last championship was in 1973.
World B. Free played for Canarsie High School, Guildford College, the Philadelphia 76ers, the San Diego Clippers, the Golden State Warriors, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Philadelphia 76ers again, the Miami Tropics of the US Basketball League, the Houston Rockets and the Atlanta Eagles of the USBL.
(heh, ninja’d, but it still works.)
(Yep, still works. Basketball is basketball.)
Canarsie High School is in Brooklyn, NY, and besides World B. Free, other notable alumni include NBA player John Salley, and mathematical physicist Arlie Peters who currently teaches at Duke University and who is known for his Mathematical Theory of Gravitational Lensing.
Canada has had Governors General from every rank of the British peerage: Baron (Byng), Viscount (Alexander), Earl (Grey, Dufferin), Marquess (Lorne, Aberdeen), and Duke (Connaught).
The official residence of the Governor-General of Australia is Government House in Canberra. Its familar name is Yarralumla, after the suburb in which it is located.
The official residence of the US Vice President is located on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory (USNO). The white 19th Century house at Number One Observatory Circle in northwestern Washington, D.C., was built in 1893 and originally intended for the superintendent of the USNO.
In 1974, Congress agreed to refurbish the house at the Naval Observatory as a home for the Vice President. Walter Mondale was the first Vice President to move into the home. It has since been home to the families of Vice Presidents Bush, Quayle, Gore, and Cheney. Vice President and Dr. Biden currently reside there.
While the title of the TV show NCIS stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service, NCIS was originally referred to as Navy NCIS during season one; “Navy” was later dropped from the title.