Gone For Lunch

Back in a couple of weeks or so with tales of motorsport, 7-star weddings and golf...

Grammar, We Love You

Scene: Sunday morning in a kitchen in SE6. A man is reading the newspaper and drinking a coffee. A small child in pyjamas enters.

"Daddy, we need to go to the shop."

"Oh, why's that Freyja?"

"Well, we don't have no apples."

"Right, we'd better do that later on then. By the way, it should really be 'We don't have ANY apples'"

"I know Daddy - that's why we need to go to the shop..."

I reckon she's got a future writing for Two Pints...

Made Of People

I quite like this from Flickr:

Flickr! It’s made of people

We’ve launched People in Photos, a new feature that will help put a face to the Flickrverse and enable you to highlight members that you’ve photographed in a whole new way. People in Photos lets you add a member to a photo, find photos of people you know, and manage which photos you’re in.

I gather from various sources that being tagged on photos without your knowledge is the thing that people moan about most on Facebook (I wouldn't know, as I flatly refuse to be on Facebook). However, it does seem like Flickr has taken heed of all that and built in a load of personal choices about who can tag you, how you are alerted and removing yourself. You can also prefer to never be tagged if you wish.

So big Twitter/Flickr hook up in 2010, anyone? That would win.

UPDATE: of course, you can tweet your pics direct from Flickr already, you just set it up like publishing to a blog.

Overheard #92

Fair point:

"I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think bullshit comes in a web."

But It's No iPhone...

You should probably read this:

Hypocrisy oils the wheels

"Oil is vital and Britain hasn't got much of it. I hope it won't be vital forever but it certainly still is. There are worse reasons to fight or appease than the procurement of a necessity. If we went to war for food, I doubt anyone would blame us."

Overheard #91

A quiet Friday night in led to a confusing discussion about various actors:

"You know that chap? The hobbit. The one that plays the hobbit. The hobbity one"

Turns out in fact we were both talking about Orlando Bloom (who plays the elf).

Colour Me Amazed

Those of you with psychology degrees may well scoff knowingly but I found this a most fascinating twenty minutes or so:

Told You So

All part of my master plan, see?

Fat at 40 is better than thin

Contrary to the widely held belief that it is healthier to be slim, researchers in Japan found that the life expectancy of the overweight at 40 was six years longer than that of their thinner counterparts.

Pass the beer-battered deep-fried brie-stuffed foie gras parcels...

GO < CB < Me

Old Man Brooker spot on, again - I think the final paragraph should be read out in school assemblies across the land:

CB: Ageing isn't fun, but it's better than death

Go For The Juggler*

This is pretty stunning, from the same guy who was Bowie's hands in Labyrinth:


* punchline to one of my favourite jokes: "How do you kill a circus?"

(via Neatorama)

Raven Mad

One of the ravens at the Tower of London is called 'Thor'. That's pretty damned cool.

kottke: the most famous unkindness

However, another is called Colin. Not so much.

That'll Learn You

I read two almost identical stories in quick succession yesterday.

First: Swansea thugs regret attacking fancy dress cage fighters

Second: Somali pirates hit Navy ship in error

People are basically idiots, aren't they.

Pednatic To A Fault

I have a new favourite Wikipedia page (thanks, Doug)

Muphry's law

Muphry's Law also dictates that, if a mistake is as plain as the nose on your face, everyone can see it but you. Your readers will always notice errors in a title, in headings, in the first paragraph of anything, and in the top lines of a new page. These are the very places where authors, editors and proofreaders are most likely to make mistakes.

Nice Tackle

I've just discovered Studs Up. Excellent.

Four Local Gay Parrots Go For A Pint

More Mitchell & Webb genius (and splendidly on topic for my little corner of the blogosphere)

You've Been Jugged

As I popped out for a bite to eat this morning, a smartly-dressed young man with exotic sideburns stopped me in the street, asked if I was Jewish and, confusingly, waved a lemon in my face.

Do I look like I am a) Jewish or b) riddled with scurvy or c) both? And what would you call the Jewish version of a chugger - a Jugger?

Obviously, I was tempted to grab his hand and shout 'Ken!' to find out more, but I was in desperate need of a bacon sandwich.

Weird.

Time Travelling

Recently, I had cause to travel into central London on a Sunday, to watch England play Australia in a cricket match.

Obviously, this blatant disregard for the Sabbath meant I should have had an inkling but as I checked my options I found that the 1) Jubilee Line (to St John's Wood) was closed and that 2) Charing Cross trains were diverting to Blackfriars which might have been OK but for the fact that 3) Blackfriars tube station was closed for running repairs, so I thought about taking our other line to 4) Victoria but the trains to there were not running from Catford due to over-running engineering works, which meant I could still walk over the hill to 5) Honor Oak Park but Southern Trains were only running southbound from Platform 2 due to roof repairs which was the wrong direction for me so I had to wait a further 30 minutes for a reduced service from 6) Catford Bridge to London Bridge, get a shuttle to Charing Cross, take the Bakerloo to Baker Street and walk a further 20 minutes to Lords.

And we lost.

Looking forward to the 2012 Olympics, anyone? Christ.

Hot Or Lot

Recently, I've seen a bit of a fuss about Salem. At first listen, the Cocteau Twins Do Dubstep would seem the obvious comparison but certainly the chilling & ethereal electronica is an appropriately autumnal alternative to the big bright bangers of the summer. And some of their videos are, quite frankly, disturbing. Anyway, this is their latest offering, 'Frost':


Yes, I like it, but why do I feel the sudden urge to put a jumper on?