… because Ophelia over at ButterfliesAndWheels is in a foul mood. And you know what? I agree with her 100%. I really am beginning to wonder whether the legacy of the Age of Enlightenment is well and truly dead, and we are rushing pell-mell into a new Dark Ages.
Year: 2005
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Avoid At All Cost
As if the ringtone wasn’t bad enough, some bastard has gone and manufactured a Crazy Frog doll. Perhaps it will work as a voodoo doll, and if I stick enough pins in it some idiot with a mobile phone playing the ringtone will drop dead? One can only live in hope. -
Your Personal Helicopter
If you’re tired of life, why not invest in a Gen-H4 Personal Helicopter? I was going to say that I wouldn’t be seen dead in one of these things – but I suspect that would be the inevitable result. I’ll stick to Shank’s pony, thanks very much. -
The Ex-Parrot
I’m not the only one who thought that we had stumbled into Monty Python territory on hearing the news that a parrot had died of bird flu in the UK. CuriousHamster over at A Big Stick and a Small Carrot also made the connection. And he quite rightly points out the note of hysteria that seems to have got sounded on stories about bird flu. There’s a difference between being informed and panicking unnecessarily. The UK press and media seem to have concluded there’s more money to be made in stoking the fires of panic. -
Well, I’m Back…
…he said, doing his best Sam Gamgee impersonation. For the last week we’ve been taking a short holiday in the province of Gelderland in The Netherlands. Getting to know the countryside that should, if all goes well on the house buying and selling front, become our home in about six months time.There are some pleasant places in the future neighbourhood, such as a couple of woods within walking distance of the house…
Martin is already thinking about the dog he’s going to get to accompany him on long walks… He didn’t pass up the opportunity to examine labrador puppies. All together now: aawww!
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Mothership
I just thought that I’d leave you pondering some art produced by a collection of artists involved in the Dutch company Mothership.In particular, the body suit/armour/fetishware stuff produced by Masahiro Fukuyama. Disturbing doesn’t even begin to describe it. -
Service Interruption
Just to note that I’m travelling again for a few days, so blogging will be thin or, more probably, non-existent for a while. I’m sure you’ve all got better things to do with your time anyway. -
Fantastic Cinema
Today’s Guardian has a terrific article penned by Marina Warner – one of my favourite writers mining the rich seam of folklore and the fantastic in European culture. Her article focuses on film makers who have brought their visions of fantasy to the screen. Her list of names is a role-call of directors who I gladly invite into my mind’s eye to rattle the cobwebs and blow a chill wind or two: Terry Gilliam, Tim Burton, Jan Swankmajer, The Brothers Quay.The news that there are three new films about to be released from Gilliam (The Brothers Grimm), Burton (The Corpse Bride) and The Brothers Quay (The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes) feels like an embarrassment of riches. -
Bone Conduction
The Yubi-Wa is the latest mobile phone from Japan’s NTT – but with a twist. It’s not a handset, but an oversized pebble-sized ring worn on the finger. To listen to someone on the other end of the phone, you stick your finger in your ear. The sound is conducted through the finger. It’s an interesting idea, but the ring is too big as far as I’m concerned. Mind you, I suspect that ostentation is part of the attraction for the sort of people who would buy it in its current form. -
Seven Years Ago
Seven years ago yesterday Matthew Shepard was murdered. His mother writes about it here, and asks whether things have really changed that much for the better in the US. -
Simple Physics
The principle of the lever appears to be a concept that is unknown to the most powerful person in the world. I find this worrying. -
The Pterosaurs’ Trick
Interesting new research reported on in this week’s New Scientist over how pterosaurs may have been able to fly. -
Present Ideas
Do you have people in your life who are difficult to buy presents for? Are you completely bereft of ideas of what to get them for their next birthday/anniversary/bar mitzvah?Well, here’s a suggestion – a coffee stirrer; although you’ll probably have to think of another use for the walrus baculum. -
A Logical Fallacy
There’s currently a debate about euthanasia going on in the UK. The Archbishop of Canterbury has recently weighed in on the debate. I think Ophelia, over at Butterflies and Wheels, puts her finger squarely on what is wrong with his argument. -
Bombing’s Too Good For ‘Em
I do realise that that is not supposed to be the appropriate reaction, but I confess that it was my first reaction when I read this story. I never did like the Smurfs – irritating little creatures without any redeeming features whatsoever as far as I’m concerned. -
Bad News For Chocoholics
This research article suggests that manfactured chocolate has disturbingly high levels of lead contamination. This is not the sort of message that a chocoholic such as myself wishes to hear. -
Homework
Your homework for today is to read this material. In particular, Dr. Woodson’s excellent guide to what you need to know and what you need to do. -
The Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker is a high-profile prize for English literature. Last night the results for the 2005 competition were announced and John Banville has won it for his novel The Sea. I’m not sure whether to acquire a copy or not. The story synopsis does not really appeal to me. I’d much rather go for a copy of the runner-up: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. The synopsis of that novel sounds really intriguing: cloned children whose sole purpose in life is to end up as organ donors. I always like stories where the game of "what if?" is raised to the next level. -
The Slippery Slope of Choice
I mentioned last week that the word "choice" tends to make my hackles rise. It’s because I often think it’s used in false circumstances. For example, New Labour apply it to services in the public sector. Well, I’m sorry, but to me, a public hospital should be the best that it can be, and funding should not be driven by a mythical sense of choice. When I’m ill, I don’t want to consult fucking league tables, I want to go to my local hospital and be rest assured that I am getting good treatment. Anything else is a travesty, and poking free market practices into places where I don’t want them to be. Eddie explains this very well over at The Sharpener. -
Gosh, That Was Quick…
It looks as though we’ve sold our current house. We had four viewings of the house yesterday, and two people immediately put in bids – and we’ve accepted one of them. The formal contract gets drawn up this week, and once it’s signed, we should be well on our way to moving to the country next March.
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