Izu Dancer

An Izu Dancer on a phone card.
They’ve been making film versions of Yasunari Kawabata’s 1926 story The Izu Dancer since the Thirties, but the yellow costume that’s now standard uniform for Izu Dancer tour guides wasn’t part of the earlier productions and might actually come from the 1986 anime. Source.

A tour guide.

Earlier Izu Dancers. Source.
The 1986 anime. Source.

Whither Spango?

Two visions of the future use of the former Spango Valley IBM site are in competition. One calls for 400 housing units, the other for an AI data centre. My brave prediction: neither. The site has been bruited in the past as a bus yard for McGill’s and as New Cappielow Park. Source. Source.

Morton host Queen’s Park. After their win on Tuesday Queen’s Park are back in ninth place with 7 points, and Morton are tenth with 4.

Last weekend’s victory against Arbroath capped Morton’s winless streak at 18 matches, 19 if you count the friendly against Stranraer. But they went 20 games without a win in 1987-88.

If Morton win today it’ll be the first time since March that they have won two in a row.

Liiath Fairney was the last Morton player to score against Queen’s Park, September 5th.

[Sam Murdoch has been loaned out to Drumchapel United.]

[Morton win 2 – 0 on goals by Gillespie and Garrity.]

The other Championship matches:
Queen’s Park (10th) 2 – 1 Inverness CT (5th) (October 13)
Ayr United (7th) 0 – 1 Partick Thistle (3rd) (yesterday)
Dunfermline Athletic (5th) [0 – 0] Livingston (4th)
Inverness CT (6th) [2 – 0] Arbroath (8th)
Stenhousemuir (1st) [1 – 1] Raith Rovers (2nd)

Other matches:
Elfen Saitama 1 – 0 Albirex Niigata (WE League Cup) (October 12)
HFX Wanderers 2 – 2 Cavalry (October 12)
Halifax goals by Bahamboula and Meilleur-Giguère.
Vancouver FC 2 – 1 HFX Wanderers (yesterday)
Halifax goal by Olguin. HFX Wanderers miss the playoffs.
Mito HollyHock [0 – 1] Urawa Red Diamonds
Dumbarton [1 – 1] Stirling Albion
Clydebank [2 – 0] Beith
Keith [6 – 4] Invergordon
Newtongrange Star [3 – 0] St Andrews United
Halifax Tides [2 – 2] Montreal Roses [Goals by Rhodes and Cameron.]
Hannover 96 [1 – 1] St Pauli
Tiamo Hiakata [1 – 2] Grulla Morioka (tomorrow)
YSCC Yokohama [0 – 2] ReinMeer Aomori (tomorrow)
Omiya Ardija [0 – 2] Elfen Saitama (tomorrow)
AIK [2 – 2] Göteborg (tomorrow)
Morton Women (5th) [1 – 1] Bonnyrigg Rose (2nd) (tomorrow)

Challenge Cup, league phase, matchday 6 (October 13):
Clydebank (1st) 4 – 0 Dumbarton (25th)
The first Dumbartonshire derby since 2001. This ends the Challenge Cup league phase. Clydebank advance. Dumbarton are out, have sacked their manager, and Dumbarton is covered in Clydebank graffiti. Video.

Scottish Communities Cup, R3 (selected):
Carluke Rovers [2 – 4] Ardrossan Winton Rovers
Largs Thistle [3 – 1] Lesmahagow

UEFA Europa League, league phase, matchday 2:
Benfica 4 – 1 Celtic (October 15)

UEFA Conference League, league phase, matchday 1:
Hearts 1 – 1 Nordsjaelland (October 15)

AFC Champions League Elite, league stage, matchday 2:
Newcastle Jets 1 – 3 Gamba Osaka (October 13)
Kyoto Sanga 1 – 0 Ratchaburi (October 13)
Công An Hà Nội 0 – 1 Kashima Antlers (October 13)
Vissel Kobe 2 – 0 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (October 14)
Kashiwa Reysol 5 – 1 Port (October 14)

AFC Champions League Two, league stage, matchday 2:
Tampines Rovers 0 – 1 Machida Zelvia (October 15)

Caribbean Cup, SF, leg 1:
Portmore United 3 – 1 Violette (October 13)
Club Sando 1 – 1 Mount Pleasant (October 15)

J League Cup, R3 (October 14):
Mito HollyHock 1 – 0 FC Tokyo

Historical matches:

Scottish Alliance and Scottish Cup, October 17, 1891:
Airdrieonians 5 – 1 Partick Thistle
Saltcoats Victoria 1 – 7 Linthouse (Sc Cup PR3)*
Monkcastle 4 – 2 Morton (Sc Cup PR3)**
Ayr 6 – 1 Inveraray (Sc Cup PR3)
Thistle 9 – 1 Kilbarchan (Sc Cup PR3)
Kilmarnock Athletic 5 – 4 Port Glasgow Athletic (Sc Cup PR3)***
St Bernard’s 5 – 1 Kirkintilloch Athletic (Sc Cup PR3)
East Stirlingshire 5 – 4 Mossend Swifts (Sc Cup PR3)

Scottish Federation and Scottish Cup, October 17, 1891:
Glasgow Wanderers 4 – 3 Pollokshaws
Annbank 2 – 0 Hurlford (Sc Cup PR3)
Burnbank Swifts 5 – 0 Mauchline (Sc Cup PR3)****
Kilmarnock Athletic 5 – 4 Port Glasgow Athletic (Sc Cup PR3)***
Wishaw Thistle 3 – 2 Royal Albert (Sc Cup PR3)
Cowdenbeath 0 – 3 Clydebank (Sc Cup PR3)
Bathgate Rovers 5 – 5 Falkirk (Sc Cup PR3)

Ayrshire League and Scottish Cup, October 17, 1891:
Galston 1 – 0 Beith
Saltcoats Victoria 1 – 7 Linthouse (Sc Cup PR3)*
Monkcastle 4 – 2 Morton (Sc Cup PR3)**
Annbank 2 – 0 Hurlford (Sc Cup PR3)
Burnbank Swifts 5 – 0 Mauchline (Sc Cup PR3)****
Battlefield 4 – 2 Stevenston Thistle (Sc Cup PR3)

*same match
**same match
***same match
****same match

Staffelwalze

This is a replica of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s staffelwalze, or stepped reckoner, the first calculator that could add, subtract, multiply and divide (most of the time), completed in 1694. Source.

Damiano Tommasi

AS Roma standout Damiano Tommasi retired in 2011, then served ten years as president of the Italian Footballers’ Association, and is now mayor of Verona. Source.

Morton visit Arbroath. The Red Lichties are seventh in the Championship with 11 points. Morton are dead last with 1 point, 5 goals for and 17 goals against.

The season is one-quarter over. Morton are on track to finish 2026-27 with 4 points, a −48 goal difference, and automatic relegation.

At this point in 2013-14 Morton had 1 win, 3 draws, 5 losses, 9 goals for, 17 goals against, for 6 points, in tenth place, 1 point behind Cowdenbeath.

Morton’s worst goal differences of all time were:
−73 in 1987-88
−71 in 1984-85
−63 in 1937-38
−51 in 1908-09
−48 in 1932-33

Comparing the first nine league matches of every year that Morton have played in a league we find that 2026-27 shows the worst start in the entire history of the club. Next worst was 1901-02, Morton’s first season in the top division, when the team accumulated 2 draws and 7 losses in their first nine matches.

Morton’s best start came in 1963-64 when they won all 9 matches.

Dean Black scored against Arbroath in their last meeting, August 22nd.

[Arbroath 1 – 2 Morton. Grant Gillespie scores, plus an own goal.]

The other Championship matches:
Ayr United (6th) [1 – 1] Dunfermline Athletic (5th)
Inverness CT (8th) [2 – 0] Stenhousemuir (1st)
Livingston (4th) [1 – 2] Partick Thistle (3rd)
Raith Rovers (2nd) [2 – 0] Queen’s Park (9th)

Other matches:
Inverurie Loco Works 1 – 0 Invergordon (October 7)
Göteborg 1 – 0 Västerås SK (yesterday)
Edmonton 27 – 12 Ti-Cats (yesterday)
Criacao Shinjuku [1 – 0] ReinMeer Aomori
Clyde [2 – 1] Dumbarton
Invergordon [2 – 0] Rothes
Port Glasgow [3 – 0] Girvan
Kilsyth Athletic [0 – 4] Greenock Juniors
Greenock HSFP [5 – 0] FC Papas
Carluke Rovers [3 – 0] East Kilbride Thistle
St Andrews United [3 – 4] Jeanfield Swifts
Toronto FC [2 – 1] CF Montréal
Mito HollyHock [1 – 2] Shimizu S-Pulse (tomorrow)
Grulla Morioka [1 – 1] Honda FC (tomorrow)
St Pauli [2 – 0] Karlsruher SC (tomorrow)

106th Emperor’s Cup, R3 (part 2) (October 7):
Match No. 58: Gainare Tottori (J3) 0 – 0 Tokyo Verdy (J1) (Verdy win on PK)
Match No. 59: Kawasaki Frontale (J1) 2 – 0 Tegevajaro Miyazaki (J2)
Match No. 61: Sanfrecce Hiroshima (J1) 4 – 0 Iwaki FC (J2)
Match No. 62: Fagiano Okayama (J1) 1 – 0 JEF United Chiba (J1)
Match No. 64: Avispa Fukuoka (J1) 0 – 1 Yokohama FC (J2) Upset
Match No. 66: Yokohama F Marinos (J1) 2 – 1 Kyoto Sangyo University (Kansai Univ. 1)
Match No. 67: Urawa Red Diamonds (J1) 3 – 2 Omiya Ardija (J2)
Match No. 68: Cerezo Osaka (J1) 2 – 0 Kagoshima United (J3)
Match No. 70: Shimizu S-Pulse(J1) 2 – 1 V-Varen Nagasaki (J1)
Match No. 72: FC Tokyo (J1) 4 – 0 Shonan Bellmare (J2)
Matches 57, 60, 63, 65, 69 and 71 were played September 23rd.

South Challenge Cup, R3 (selected):
Whitletts Victoria [0 – 2] Largs Thistle
Hawick Royal Albert [1 – 7] Clydebank

Women’s Scottish Cup, R2:
Stenhousemuir [9 – 2] Morton (tomorrow)

UEFA Nations League:
Scotland 1 – 2 Slovenia (October 6)

Historical matches:

Scottish Alliance, October 10, 1891:
Airdrieonians 6 – 1 Ayr
Kilmarnock 0 – 0 Port Glasgow Athletic
King’s Park 2 – 3 East Stirlingshire
Morton 3 – 1 St Bernard’s
Partick Thistle 0 – 3 Celtic (Glasgow Cup R2)

Scottish Federation, October 10, 1891:
Arthurlie 1 – 1 Hurlford
Falkirk 7 – 1 Wishaw Thistle
Kilmarnock Athletic 2 – 4 Albion Rovers
Motherwell 5 – 1 Clydebank
Royal Albert 1 – 3 Burnbank Swifts
Glasgow Wanderers 2 – 7 Clyde (Glasgow Cup R2)

Ayrshire League, October 10, 1891:
Ayr Parkhouse 1 – 4 Annbank
Galston 2 – 1 Monkcastle
Irvine 3 – 1 Saltcoats Victoria
Mauchline 4 – 1 Newmilns
Stevenston Thistle 3 – 0 1st Royal Scots Fusiliers (Ayrshire Cup R1)