Tuesday, July 12, 2011
News of the World final crossword has a message for 'catastrophe' Rebekah Brooks - Telegraph
via telegraph.co.uk
Despite orders allegedly given from the top of News International to ensure to "ensure there were no libels or any hidden mocking messages of the chief executive", staff appear to have found a way of mocking Mrs Brooks one last time.
Among the clues in the paper's Quickie puzzle were: "Brook", "stink", "catastrope" and "digital protection".
The clues for the Cryptic Crossword seemed to cut even closer to the bone, with examples including: "criminal enterprise", "mix in prison", "string of recordings" and "will fear new security measure".
The clue for 24 Across - which reads "Woman stares wildly at calamity" - is thought to be a reference to a photograph of Mrs Brooks staring furiously from the window of a car as she left News International's Wapping headquarters following the announcement the News of the World was to be shut down.
The answer to the clue is not one she would appreciate: "disaster".
Just so British. Onya guys.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Why the Associated Press needs a copy editor « Charles Apple « copydesk.org
It might not be so bad if that were all. But that same story — with that same misspelled headline — has been pushed out to newspapers all over the country. Each of which slap AP stories onto their own web sites without so much as a human eyeball to check over them.
Hello Fairfax???
Pictures of sand: Close up photographs reveal its incredible beauty | Mail Online
via dailymail.co.uk
Viewed at a magnification of over 250 times real life, tiny grains of sand are shown to be delicate, colourful structures as unique as snowflakes.
When seen well beyond the limits of human eyesight, the miniature particles are exposed as fragments of crystals, spiral fragments of shells and crumbs of volcanic rock.
Professor Gary Greenberg who has a PhD in biomedical research from University College London said: 'It is incredible to think when you are walking on the beach you are standing on these tiny treasures.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Saturday, July 09, 2011
The Leader of Opposition and His Considered Position on the Issues of the Day
via youtube.com
I thought this had been edited cleverly, but clearly it is for real.
Woman Dies of Allergic Reaction to the Dog She Had Sex With
via gawker.com
From Ireland, the land of geniuses like James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and Bono, comes this story of a 43-year-old woman who encountered a man in a bestiality chat room and then met him at his house in Limerick. She had sex with his Alsatian dog and then had a severe allergic reaction shortly afterwards, possibly from the dog's semen. She later died at the hospital. The incident apparently took place in 2008, but medical experts just confirmed the cause of death, probably because it took them this long to get over the shock of how she died. Now the dog owner, Sean McDonnell, is charged with "buggery" for ordering the dog to commit the act. Buggery is apparently still a crime on the books in Ireland, so thank God for that. McDonnell is thought to be the first person charged with it since it was enacted in 1861.
Scientists discover the point of sex - Telegraph
via telegraph.co.uk
Experts at the University of Indiana may have provided the best evidence yet after engineering two types of worms, some which could only reproduce by mating with each other and some could only clone themselves.
After exposing them to a harmful bacteria, worms that reproduced through sex survived fairly well while those that were asexual died rapidly.
Co-author Curtis Lively said: "The Red Queen Hypothesis predicts that sex should allow hosts to evade infection from their parasites, whereas self-fertilisation may increase the risk of infection.
"The coevolutionary struggle between hosts and their parasites could explain the existence of males."
I, Michele Bachmann, Pledge to End Pornography Be Gone YouPorn
via slate.com
What a nutter. Where do Americans find these people and why are they taken seriously? Very disturbing.
The Daily Fly Tyer
via dailyflytyer.com
Beautiful fishing stuff. I hate fishing, but these are beautiful.
Friday, July 08, 2011
Steve Bell nails it again. #notw #hackforheroes on Twitpic
via twitpic.com
Sad to be in #Adelaide where all this ugly, nasty, revolting stuff started. What were you thinking Rupert. Your corporate culture is hard to comprehend. I hope the Australian and UK governments will do the right thing and deny your BSkyB and the feel good Australia TV Bid.
You and your family and employees supported a revolting and disgraceful policy. You need to be held to account.
Sick of your current life. You can change it here.
via forevergeek.com
The Time Machine
1960
One of the greatest time machines of all time was this sleigh-type vehicle that was used in the movie based on H.G. Wells’ classic novel. The science explaining how it worked was never provided, though we do know it was based on real science and not fantasy. The operator moved a lever forward or backward to progress through time, and in the movie, the main character went as far as 800,000 years into the future, where he learned that humans had evolved into two separate races that were at war with one another. Another film by the same name was released in 2002 and directed by Wells’ own great-grandson, Simon. It was billed as a remake, using a similar sleigh-type vehicle, though the director reportedly saw it as more of a sequel.
Thursday, July 07, 2011
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Monkey Steals Camera, Takes Self-Portraits (VIDEO)
UK-based wildlife photographer David Slater, 46, was following the endangered species for three days in a park north of the island of Sulawesi when one of the monkeys snatched his camera.
From The Guardian:
People Who Don't Blog...But Should: Not Wading But Drowning Rebekah Brookes Spills the Beans
This seems as good a place as any to draft that memo to my army of minions. Let's see...
You ungrateful bunch of treacherous shits,
Hmmm...too long.
You bastards,
Too honest.
Dear All,
When I wrote to you last week updating you on a number of business issues I did not anticipate having to do so again so soon, but some cunt has gone and let the cat out of the bag. I admit it's my own fault; I should have paid Inspector Knacker more handsomely to keep a lid on the whole hideous affair. I can only say thank fuck I've still got the dirt on Cameron safely locked up in Rupert's HQ.
And the dirt on Rupert locked up at no. 10. Hee!
We were all appalled and shocked when we heard about these allegations yesterday. And if I find out that any of you has grassed me up, just bear in mind that I can very quickly make your life a living hell. It would be no trouble at all to have the lot of you branded a bunch of paedophiles and produce the evidence to prove it. Witness statements, photos, it's amazing what you can "discover" when you're in charge of the biggest media machine on the planet.
Our first priority must be to shred establish the full facts behind these claims. I have written to Mr and Mrs Dowler this morning to assure them News International will vigorously pursue the truth and that they will be the first to be informed of the outcome of our investigation. In unmarked notes in a large brown envelope.
More on the link. LOL
Generations of Pork: How Greece's Political Elite Ruined the Country - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
via spiegel.de
Nearly all of Greece's 400 church districts have started distributing food to the poor, including at Omonoia Square. "The number of needy is increasing rapidly," says one helper there, "and we don't know whether the end is even in sight."
In fact, it probably isn't. Last Wednesday, the governing Socialists passed a massive austerity package in parliament by a slim majority, despite intense protests. The decision paves the way for the next round of emergency loans from the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Without this €12 billion ($17 billion), Athens would default on its debt within two weeks.
George Provopoulos, governor of the Bank of Greece, believes torpedoing the austerity package, as the country's conservative opposition tried, would have been "suicide." Still, Provopoulos also believes Greece has "reached the limit" and that it would be impossible to squeeze any more out of the people.
In remarks to the conservative newspaper Kathimerini, he spoke about what he saw as the root cause of the crisis. "There is little doubt that the failings of (the existing social and political) system hindered the implementation of policies that would have averted the existing ills," he said. "We are paying the price of past mistakes."
The emergency financing will help Greece through the next months and it will buy the rest of the EU some time -- time in which the euro crisis may ease somewhat. But it's unlikely that it can save Greece. The last few decades have seen an elite, with the Papandreou, Karamanlis and Mitsotakis families at its core, establish a system of economic patronage. They threw around billions the government didn't actually have and showered friends and relatives with prosperity that was all based on credit. These leaders bloated their country's administration so that everyone could have a piece, and created a bureaucratic monster in the process.
The political parties' business dealings were always more about favors than policies. Anyone with access to public funds used them to buy friends and voters, who were then beholden to the party -- and to the family running it. The result for Greece has been a feudal democracy, where the generations come and go, but the names remain the same: Papandreou and Karamanlis and Karamanlis and Papandreou, with a Mitsotakis thrown in every now and then.
The Life Picture Cookbook - a set on Flickr
via flickr.com
Great stuff. We are busy preparing a huge buffet in the restaurant this week. Lots of groovy ideas here.
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Gold and gems worth up to £14 billion unearthed from Indian temple - Telegraph
via telegraph.co.uk
The dazzling hoard – which includes coins minted when the East India Company dominated trade with the sub-continent – has lain untouched for nearly 140 years.
The value of the collection has been estimated at up to £14 billion, with new discoveries still to be catalogued. Antiquarians described the treasure's worth as "astronomical".
Highlights include gold and silver bullion dating back to the Napoleonic era, precious stones wrapped in silk bundles, thousands of intricate pieces of diamond and emerald-studded jewellery.
The treasure is currently being retrieved from chambers beneath the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Hindu temple in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of the southern state of Kerala – which was formerly the feudal state of Travancore.
World War II: Before the War - Alan Taylor - In Focus - The Atlantic
via theatlantic.com
Adolf Hitler, age 35, on his release from Landesberg Prison, on December 20, 1924. Hitler had been convicted of treason for his role in an attempted coup in 1923 called the Beer Hall Putsch. This photograph was taken shortly after he finished dictating "Mein Kampf" to deputy Rudolf Hess. Eight years later, Hitler would be sworn in as Chancellor.
Pigeons no longer considered pests following unveiling of Reagan statue in London
via newsthump.com
Pigeons have become one of the most revered creatures in the British Isles after their strong inclination to ‘shit on things’ became much admired following the unveiling of a statue of former US president Ronald Reagan.
The 10-foot bronze statue was specially commissioned to “recognise Mr Reagan’s contribution to ending the Cold War” which he single-handedly had virtually nothing to do with.
Happy Independence Day Y'all
Monday, July 04, 2011
Vivos - Underground Shelter Network for Surviving 2012 and Beyond
via terravivos.com
One for everyone. A years supply of alcohol comes with every installation.
The First Forty Years of NPR: The Making of a Cultural Icon | Brain Pickings
Such a familiar tone and cadence. Just like the Australian ABC but with Yanqui accents.
Sunday, July 03, 2011
Godspeed You Black Emperor - The Dead Flag Blues
via youtube.com
The car is on fire, and there's no driver at the wheel
And the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides
And a dark wind blows
The government is corrupt
And we're on so many drugs
With the radio on and the curtains drawn
We're trapped in the belly of this horrible machine
And the machine is bleeding to death
The sun has fallen down
And the billboards are all leering
And the flags are all dead at the top of their poles
It went like this:
The buildings tumbled in on themselves
Mothers clutching babies
Picked through the rubble
And pulled out their hair
The skyline was beautiful on fire
All twisted metal stretching upwards
Everything washed in a thin orange haze
I said, "Kiss me, you're beautiful -
These are truly the last days"
You grabbed my hand
And we fell into it
Like a daydream
Or a fever
We woke up one morning and fell a little further down
For sure it's the valley of death
I open up my wallet
And it's full of blood
Thanks Alan the Facebook DJ with the mostest.
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Photo Hunt: Busy
Chef was pretty busy for a while last night putting out a hot oil fire. Salt did the trick and we continued with service. Multi skilled those guys.
Police brief villagers on how to spot terrorists armed with rocket launchers - Telegraph
via telegraph.co.uk
Residents have spoken of their shock after being told that their villages have been identified as potential “high-risk launch sites” for extremists wanting to fire rockets at planes taking off and landing at Heathrow.
Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s specialist aviation security team have been touring village halls with a surface-to-air rocket launcher and video footage of a missile hitting a plane in Iraq. Similar briefings have been held near other airports around the country.
Police have invested tens of thousands of pounds in software to identify potential missile launch sites in recent years and have shown residents maps with red and orange dots pinpointing the most likely location for terrorist attacks.
James Nicholls, an Effingham resident who was invited to a briefing at Ockham village hall last month, said: “It was extraordinary, I couldn’t believe it.
“We were asked to look for people burying things in the ground, we were shown all the components of this heat-seeking shoulder-launched missile. They told us they had been as far as Windsor and Sunningdale surveying and looking at potential sites.”
Friday, July 01, 2011
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