At first glance this looks like any old dinosaur museum but dig deeper....yes, its another manifestation of Johns pet gripe the good old creation theory. This contender for the church of the weird is the belief that mankind and dinosaurs shared the Earth at the same time, how can this be? - I hear you ask. Now listen, I'm trying to be more tolerant in my old age, so stop sniggering and read about how juvenile dinosaurs were squeezed onto the ark.....Museum of Earth History
(Incidently, I found out about this from The Economist, my obsession has not reached the point of actually looking for this stuff. Much.)
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Friday, January 14, 2005
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Disturbing....Telegraph | News | Spurned woman tore off lover's testicle:
"Monti initially tried to hide the testicle by putting it in her mouth, but released it. Doctors were unable to re-attach the organ."
"Monti initially tried to hide the testicle by putting it in her mouth, but released it. Doctors were unable to re-attach the organ."
One of the many things that Bruce Lee gave us (amongst such gems as slow motion gurning after dispatching a victim and making a whole generation of kids obsessed with learning how to use rice flails) was the famous '1 inch punch'. In metric, of course, the slightly less impressive 2.54 cm punch. I was thinking about this yesterday and it occurred to me that the logic behind the 1 inch punch is totally flawed. Yes its impressive, barely moving the fist but at the same time unleashing a crushing blow. But it seems to me that the 1 inch punch has the fatal error that you need to be 1 inch (or 25.4 mms) from the intended recipient. This pretty much removes any element of surprise (as you casually walk up to the victim and hover your hand in front of them) and it also places you in a somewhat awkard position if the blow does not live up to expectations (indeed, becomes the 1 inch tap, or the 1 inch nudge). It would have been much better to invent the 10 foot punch (3.04 ms) or indeed the half mile punch (0.8 km). This would have thus become a rather surprising attack, and would remove much of the danger to the practitioner. And people say I need to get out more.
Quote - 'you're about as useful as a cock flavoured lollypop' Patches O'houlilhan.
Last movie - DodgeBall (see above), very very funny. hence 7.5 out of 10.
currently striving to - increase my chaps lung capacity in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
weather - 10 +, blue skies.
Harry - twat! And why are we surprised? BBC NEWS | UK | Harry urged to say sorry publicly after attending a party wearing his normal clothes
Quote - 'you're about as useful as a cock flavoured lollypop' Patches O'houlilhan.
Last movie - DodgeBall (see above), very very funny. hence 7.5 out of 10.
currently striving to - increase my chaps lung capacity in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
weather - 10 +, blue skies.
Harry - twat! And why are we surprised? BBC NEWS | UK | Harry urged to say sorry publicly after attending a party wearing his normal clothes
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
BBC NEWS | Politics | 'Poll Idols' face first hurdles:
"Irfan Hanif, a 25-year-old doctor from Bolton, made a good impression, even if he was a little thrown by Mr MacKenzie's suggestion that instead of being treated by the NHS, young drunks should 'given a good beating' and left to die. "
....which is not really surprising.
"Irfan Hanif, a 25-year-old doctor from Bolton, made a good impression, even if he was a little thrown by Mr MacKenzie's suggestion that instead of being treated by the NHS, young drunks should 'given a good beating' and left to die. "
....which is not really surprising.
Back from the driving lesson, a mixture of excitement and terror. Its not actually that bad, but does sometimes get a little confusing as we use a mixture of both Swedish and English. One thing though, which is fun, is that my instructor sometimes corrects my lane position by pulling on the wheel himself-all well and good. However, on a few occasions now there has been a car or a bicycle in the blind spot -which he has not seen - and so I resist his attempts to move the car into, or on top of, these fellow road users. This results in us both wrestling the steering wheel for a few seconds, as we both attempt to steer the car - most amusing. More wierdly, this takes place in silence, except for our grunts as we fight the others strength.
Just a quickie.I'm off to the driving school this morning, picking up where I left off after 2 months of Elias orientated activity. Sweden has been hit hard by the storms and the amount of felled trees and damage means that some places are going to be without electricity for weeks. Here, in the big smoke, the only affect was that our broadband pipe dropped out for a few hours - this I could deal with.
recent purchases: Tom Waits CD, Smiths CD (which finally made me realise that the lyrics to 'I am the Sun and the air' are actually 'I am the son and the heir', which makes sense if you listen to the rest of the lyrics.
weather: 9+, far too warm for this time of year.
current struggle: finding the inspiration to be creative outside of nappy changing, sleep deprivation, basking in the love of my child, being a sambo (not a highly racist black charactiture but the Swedish name for living together), training, eating, and avoiding the government narcs.
At some point I intend to look more closely at the whole issue of reality shows (Sweden has more than its fair share) but what made me chuckle about this article is half way down, where it says what Greer said about her house mates, 'Bez - Huge capacity for Happiness' and Brigitte Nielsen ' Like a cat with an electrode up its arse'. Splendid. BBC NEWS Entertainment TV and Radio Greer attacks 'bully' Big Brother
recent purchases: Tom Waits CD, Smiths CD (which finally made me realise that the lyrics to 'I am the Sun and the air' are actually 'I am the son and the heir', which makes sense if you listen to the rest of the lyrics.
weather: 9+, far too warm for this time of year.
current struggle: finding the inspiration to be creative outside of nappy changing, sleep deprivation, basking in the love of my child, being a sambo (not a highly racist black charactiture but the Swedish name for living together), training, eating, and avoiding the government narcs.
At some point I intend to look more closely at the whole issue of reality shows (Sweden has more than its fair share) but what made me chuckle about this article is half way down, where it says what Greer said about her house mates, 'Bez - Huge capacity for Happiness' and Brigitte Nielsen ' Like a cat with an electrode up its arse'. Splendid. BBC NEWS Entertainment TV and Radio Greer attacks 'bully' Big Brother
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Nice thought, I'll try and hunt down the whole list and see where other places lie...which for example is the most despondent place to live? IOL: Ireland ranked fourth in World Database of Happiness
bloody hell, last time I checked the current bid it was 20 000 plus dollars ! eBay item 5947720145 (Ends Jan-13-05 21:21:45 PST) - *ADVERTISE YOUR LOGO OR WEBSITE DOMAIN ON MY FOREHEAD!*
Newspapers are held together with staples here - its not normal I tells ya.
yeah well not surprising really, as the backlash to his last movie helped elect the monkey again. Incidently, as the monkey does not have to worry about reelection this will either be the term of more tolerance or more extremism (as he thanks the far right for their support)...BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Film | Surprise win for anti-Bush film
yeah well not surprising really, as the backlash to his last movie helped elect the monkey again. Incidently, as the monkey does not have to worry about reelection this will either be the term of more tolerance or more extremism (as he thanks the far right for their support)...BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Film | Surprise win for anti-Bush film
Monday, January 10, 2005
Throw off the nice comforting blanket which was the weekend, stagger out of bed and find yourself (confused) in work with the realisation thats its monday. In the northern climate its dark, cold and chilly....my duvet nest was hard to leave this morning.
Managed to get out rollerblading last night, after the previous days aborted run (this was due to the storm which battered Malmö, I'd only been out for 20 minutes before K phoned me and pointed out that there was a curfew in place - the falling trees and tiles smashing on the ground had somehow not registered with me), which was nice. My new project - which occured to me last night - is to rollerblade to Lund, which is a distance of some 25 kilometers - should be fun, it is all on the flat though.
last movie seen: Zatoichi, bloody excellent Japanese movie with 'Beat' Takeshi, very very cool. Though the CGI gore is a little bad (and not in a good way). Zatoichi
quote: "I once punched a guy out for saying that 'Hawk the Slayer' was rubbish." - Spaced (1999)
Blatently stolen idea: Innovative triple bill movie titles e.g. Sleeper, Slacker, and Slither. Blow, Blow Up, and Blow Out. Candy, Mandy and Ghandhi. When Harry met Sally, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and Hannah and her Sisters.
Last nightmare: Defending a bungalow from zombies.
45 000 people complained about the Springer Opera which is quite amazing, usually when theres complaints its about 40 or 50. I',m quite impressed by a total of 8 000 obscenities.....BBC NEWS | Entertainment | TV and Radio | Springer opera draws 1.7m viewers
Managed to get out rollerblading last night, after the previous days aborted run (this was due to the storm which battered Malmö, I'd only been out for 20 minutes before K phoned me and pointed out that there was a curfew in place - the falling trees and tiles smashing on the ground had somehow not registered with me), which was nice. My new project - which occured to me last night - is to rollerblade to Lund, which is a distance of some 25 kilometers - should be fun, it is all on the flat though.
last movie seen: Zatoichi, bloody excellent Japanese movie with 'Beat' Takeshi, very very cool. Though the CGI gore is a little bad (and not in a good way). Zatoichi
quote: "I once punched a guy out for saying that 'Hawk the Slayer' was rubbish." - Spaced (1999)
Blatently stolen idea: Innovative triple bill movie titles e.g. Sleeper, Slacker, and Slither. Blow, Blow Up, and Blow Out. Candy, Mandy and Ghandhi. When Harry met Sally, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and Hannah and her Sisters.
Last nightmare: Defending a bungalow from zombies.
45 000 people complained about the Springer Opera which is quite amazing, usually when theres complaints its about 40 or 50. I',m quite impressed by a total of 8 000 obscenities.....BBC NEWS | Entertainment | TV and Radio | Springer opera draws 1.7m viewers
Friday, January 07, 2005
in an idle moment of looking for serious biotech issues I stumbled across this (yeah, right), probably very offensive but of the zeitgeist don't you think..incidently, there does not seem to be so much of a chav culture in Sweden. But theres definitely a lot of mullets in the country. ChavScum
Been awake a lot, and need to work from home this morning. Head very fluffy. Expect more soon though there have been few adventures in the last 48 hours other than dry poo (which sets into a concrete like substance), and....well actually thats it.
weather: its still dark, though my early morning foray to the Tvätt Stuger was in warm enough conditions. To explain, a Tvätt Stuger is a washing room. Our block of apartments, like most Swedish ones, has washing machines and driers for resident use. This is quite cool, as it means our kitchen is not packed with sinister white goods and we get the use of industrial washing machines and driers. The down side is that the Tvätt Stuger is a good source of conflict, with double bookings and illegal use (by people who have not written their booking down in the booking book!) causing much angst and gnashing of teeth.
music: the strange noises E, my child, makes
book: still Peter F Hamilton though I will soon return to Banks' new book
random thought: the subtitle of Under Seige 2 was 'Dark Territory' which in my sleep deprived mind somehow makes me chuckle
and now you understand why I don't talk about work much.....the Random Acts of Reality and The Policemans' Blog could be worth a squint BBC NEWS | Technology | Looming pitfalls of work blogs
weather: its still dark, though my early morning foray to the Tvätt Stuger was in warm enough conditions. To explain, a Tvätt Stuger is a washing room. Our block of apartments, like most Swedish ones, has washing machines and driers for resident use. This is quite cool, as it means our kitchen is not packed with sinister white goods and we get the use of industrial washing machines and driers. The down side is that the Tvätt Stuger is a good source of conflict, with double bookings and illegal use (by people who have not written their booking down in the booking book!) causing much angst and gnashing of teeth.
music: the strange noises E, my child, makes
book: still Peter F Hamilton though I will soon return to Banks' new book
random thought: the subtitle of Under Seige 2 was 'Dark Territory' which in my sleep deprived mind somehow makes me chuckle
and now you understand why I don't talk about work much.....the Random Acts of Reality and The Policemans' Blog could be worth a squint BBC NEWS | Technology | Looming pitfalls of work blogs
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Continuing my theme of surveying odd character names in movies I was checking out Christopher Lamberts resume, which sadly has no great chuckle worthy names. Yeah, we've got John Prudhomme (Resurrection), Gideon Oliver Dobbs (Gideon) and Russel Nash (Highlander) but nothing yet matching the brilliance of Casey rybeck. But, I noticed the sub-title of Fortress 2 (where he played John Henry Brennick) was Re-entry....this makes me smirk, a lot. Makes me also consider Fortress 2: Forced entry starring Ben Dover.
Incidently, I notice from Empire magazine that Bill Paxton (of which one of the coolest lines ever was directed at, to wit, 'Hudson, we are leaving') was killed by the Terminator (in Terminator, playing 'Punk Leader), an alien (well, more than one if you want to be accurate, playing Private Hudson in Aliens) and a predator (in Predator 2, playing Jerry Lambert). How cool is that!
However, I must add myself that Jenette Goldstein comes close by being finished off by aliens (as Private Vasquez in Aliens 2, though technically she blew herself up) and being terminated (admitedly by a T-1000, where Bill was finished off by the rather less cool but more reliable T-800 Model 101) in Terminator 2 (as Jennette Goldstein). We could go on, Michael Biehn having been wasted by Terminators and Aliens as well but this is turning into something like a Kevin Bacon game so I'll stop.
Incidently, I notice from Empire magazine that Bill Paxton (of which one of the coolest lines ever was directed at, to wit, 'Hudson, we are leaving') was killed by the Terminator (in Terminator, playing 'Punk Leader), an alien (well, more than one if you want to be accurate, playing Private Hudson in Aliens) and a predator (in Predator 2, playing Jerry Lambert). How cool is that!
However, I must add myself that Jenette Goldstein comes close by being finished off by aliens (as Private Vasquez in Aliens 2, though technically she blew herself up) and being terminated (admitedly by a T-1000, where Bill was finished off by the rather less cool but more reliable T-800 Model 101) in Terminator 2 (as Jennette Goldstein). We could go on, Michael Biehn having been wasted by Terminators and Aliens as well but this is turning into something like a Kevin Bacon game so I'll stop.
Picture the scene. A week before christmas, myself and K are at R & C's house for a glögg (see below) party and just as we're leaving F, a friend of C's, says 'would you like to go canoeing after xmas'. 'Yeah' says I 'Sounds good'. 'Well actually' says F 'When I said canoeing I really meant dragon boat racing'. okay.....
So thats the reason why on tuesday night I found myself sharing a dragon boat with 19 other folks paddling like crazy up and down the canals which wend around down town Malmö. In the dark. In the cold. As a novice, as the other two guys were, I figured it would be pretty laid back - no such luck. We battled out of the boat house landing area and then thundered up the canal, by shoulders already starting to ache and my buttocks clenching madly in an attempt to stay upright on the thin wooden plank which was laughingly called a seat. 'And now the fartlek training'. Shit, I realised - that was just the warm-up. Fartleks, titter ye not, are (for those not used to training until vomiting) is changes in speed over a set period of time, repeated. Nackering. After doing that, for about half an hour, we changed sides (otherwise you end up looking like a fiddler crab or a very frustrated submariner) and did it all over again. In the dark. In the cold. With warm dry people shouting and cheering from the canal banks. And then the racing starts, and then a sprint over 200 metres. Lots of splashing, lots of fun. Fortunately the guy infront of me had a good team spirit and did not object to me cracking his knuckles as I wielded my paddle like a broad sword. Thus, sore muscles and tired ass (all the clenching).
Its a red day (bank holiday) tommorow - nice.
music: none.
weather: wet, windy and above zero
food: christmas porridge
christmas decorations: gone
Glögg
So thats the reason why on tuesday night I found myself sharing a dragon boat with 19 other folks paddling like crazy up and down the canals which wend around down town Malmö. In the dark. In the cold. As a novice, as the other two guys were, I figured it would be pretty laid back - no such luck. We battled out of the boat house landing area and then thundered up the canal, by shoulders already starting to ache and my buttocks clenching madly in an attempt to stay upright on the thin wooden plank which was laughingly called a seat. 'And now the fartlek training'. Shit, I realised - that was just the warm-up. Fartleks, titter ye not, are (for those not used to training until vomiting) is changes in speed over a set period of time, repeated. Nackering. After doing that, for about half an hour, we changed sides (otherwise you end up looking like a fiddler crab or a very frustrated submariner) and did it all over again. In the dark. In the cold. With warm dry people shouting and cheering from the canal banks. And then the racing starts, and then a sprint over 200 metres. Lots of splashing, lots of fun. Fortunately the guy infront of me had a good team spirit and did not object to me cracking his knuckles as I wielded my paddle like a broad sword. Thus, sore muscles and tired ass (all the clenching).
Its a red day (bank holiday) tommorow - nice.
music: none.
weather: wet, windy and above zero
food: christmas porridge
christmas decorations: gone
Glögg
Muscles in shoulders aching, back slightly sore - yes, I've been dragon-boat racing (or training at least), I'll explain more later.
comparisons again between Sweden and the UK, this time in the freedom of information. I was not actually aware of this - that government info is more freely available hereBBC NEWS | Magazine | So you want to see the PM's memos?
comparisons again between Sweden and the UK, this time in the freedom of information. I was not actually aware of this - that government info is more freely available hereBBC NEWS | Magazine | So you want to see the PM's memos?
