Stumpy Moose

icon

National Anthems: Ghana

09 March 2010

permalink

Our ongoing search for the world's best national anthem powers on to Ghana and God Bless Our Homeland Ghana:

Stumpy Moose Review

Composed by Philip Gbeho and originally known as Lift High the Flag of Ghana, the Ghanaian national anthem dates back to 1957 when the country became the first in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence from a colonial power. (Us.)

Following a coup, Gbeho's lyrics were scrapped in 1966, however, and eventually replaced by a new text, written by student Michael Kwame Gbordzoe.

Pumped full of pomp and circumstance, it's easy to see the British influence on God Bless Our Homeland Ghana and, in this case, it works pretty well.

Fun Ghana Fact: The word Ghana means "Warrior King".

Bonus Ghana Fact: Ghana's national football team are known as the "Black Stars" (like on the flag), the Under-20 team as the "Black Satellites", and the Under-17s as the "Black Starlets".

7.5 out of 10

Source: Complete National Anthems of the World

National Anthems Leaderboard

icon

Video: Dolph Lundgren – Melodifestivalen

07 March 2010

permalink

Posted on YouTube by ronnyn74:

The Masters of the Universe star makes a surprise appearance at the Swedish version of A Song for Europe.

• For more moving pictures, see the Stumpy Moose YouTube Group

icon

Freaky Greetings Card

04 March 2010

permalink

There's supposed to be a scan of a freaky greetings card here

A scan of a real card that Mikey D & Wendi sent me from Canada.

icon

Link of the Week: ShadyURL

03 March 2010

permalink

There's supposed to be an image here

An edgier alternative to TinyURL.com and Bit.ly.

Link

icon

National Anthems: Germany

02 March 2010

permalink

Meine schwindlige Tante! Our search for the world's grandest national anthem brings us to Germany and Das Deutschlandlied ("The Song of Germany") -- also known as Das Lied der Deutschen ("The Song of the Germans") and Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit ("Unity and Justice and Freedom"):

Stumpy Moose Review

Adopted in 1922, a good 11 years before the Nazis came to power, Das Deutschlandlied weds lyrics written in 1841 by poet August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben to a melody composed by Joseph Haydn in 1797 for the Austrian emperor's birthday.

Originally three stanzas long, Das Deutschlandlied was cut down to just one stanza (the first) under the Nazis and combined with the notorious Horst-Wessel-Lied ("Horst Wessel Song").

After the war, the anthem was banned until 1952 when it was reinstated, this time only using only the third stanza, which puts the emphasis on "unity and justice and freedom" rather than German nationalism.

Before writing this review, I'd always assumed the German national anthem was called Deutschland über alles ("Germany Above All") -- the first stanza's opening line -- but that turns out to be a popular misconception. (Mental note: good trick question for pub quiz.)

Set aside any dubious associations, however, and Das Deutschlandlied remains a seamless blend of beauty and power and is undeniably one of the world's great anthems.

Bonus Haydn Fact: Joseph Haydn's head was stolen from his grave by phrenologists shortly after his death.

9 out of 10

Source: Complete National Anthems of the World

National Anthems Leaderboard

icon

Video: Linnea Quigley's Horror Workout Scene - Part 2

28 February 2010

permalink

Posted on YouTube by rarevideosUK (via Coilhouse):

For whatever reason, the "zombiecise" video never really caught on.

See Also: Linnea Quigley's Horror Workout Scene - Part 1

• For more moving pictures, see the Stumpy Moose YouTube Group

icon

Early Draft of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Surprises Scholars

25 February 2010

permalink

There's supposed to be a hilarious image of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs with Fit Girlfriend at the top of it here

Message Board

Latest discussions on the Stumpy message board.

慎楴湯污䄠瑮敨獭䰠慥敤扲慯摲

author: sambeckwith replies: 2

䭕䌠敨獥⁥慍p

author: City Centre Runner replies: 2

畓数⁲潂汷䈠捡湯䌠敨獥⁥畔瑲敬畢杲牥

author: sambeckwith replies: 0

Tales from Suburban Bohemia

Winter 2009/10 - The Big Freeze

07 March 2010

A semi-regular, semi-humorous column from our man in Prague

Amazing but False

As children, the Jesus & Mary Chain's Jim & William Reid appeared in several episodes of the soap opera Take The High Road, playing "the wee McLuskey twins."

Last.fm chart

The top five artists this week at Stumpy's Last.fm group.

Last FM thing