Hi Chasers, marsupials and assorted others
First up:
'The Checkout' - starts 21st March
http://youtu.be/ux2iXD_aCx0
Yeeeeeeeeeeeesss!! We're getting more Chaser :-) :-) :-)
"Back back, The Chaser is back" :D
The Checkout will be a consumer affairs program, but i doubt it'll be poker-faced. Not with The Chaser involved!
Presumably, we're due another series of The Hamster Wheel, later in the year, too. Keep it going, lads :-)
Second up:
I just discovered Halestorm. Girls that rock -- fuck yeah!
'Love Bites (So Do I) [Official Video]'
http://youtu.be/FmkHqUwa4zg
And their cover of 'Bad Romance' (Lady GaGa - obviously)
http://www.halestormrocks.com/music/bad-romance-lady-gaga-cover
I've been listening to this a lot, recently. Ten plays in the last five days. Good stuff.
Third up:
Time to deconstruct your mind, and then piece it back together again.
'Relativity Paradox - Sixty Symbols'
http://youtu.be/kGsbBw1I0Rg
If your mind remains deconstructed, then, um... oops :-(
{Disclaimer: Tapejara blog denies all responsibility for deconstructed minds. All minds are the sole reponsibility of their owner, and deconstruction is done so under the viewer's volition and discretion}
Fourth up:
A new potholer54 video! Probably one of the best YouTubers out there (for content, i mean - if you want cats playing piano, then you'll be sorely disappointed. potholer54 takes a satirical stance in deconstructing pseudoscience and propaganda}
'Science vs. the Feelies'
http://youtu.be/OjD0e1d6GgQ
Fifth up:
You might remember that i informed you of the Gunraida's short video competition, four weeks ago.
http://tapejarascience.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/entertainment-stuff-from-week-4-10213.html
Well, Sally Le Page got through to the final four, and she 'shall be judged'. Results pending... Good luck, Sally!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_Z9Mp8ROAM
{The news is both wonderful and amazing... apparently}
I'm going to stop before i reach 'Seven Up'. Yeurch - i'm not keen on soft drinks :-P
------------------------------------------------------ contemporary stuff
‘Liquid Metal Explosive!’ - Thunderf00t
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/45018328788/liquid-metal-explosive-if-you-take-sodium-a
'The Grid' - Richard Wiseman. A New magic trick...
http://youtu.be/EA8LiibQyDc
THE DARKNESS - "With A Woman" - official promo video [2013]
Well... this is slightly weird. Typical Darkness. Great song, though :D
http://youtu.be/qfbRqOdVDvg
'Justin Bieber Happy Birthday (GOAT EDITION) // Bad Teeth'
http://youtu.be/br7lvKuSYyw
'God's God' - DarkMatter2525
http://youtu.be/ODetOE6cbbc
'"Biodynamic" farming: Steiner nonsense from the BBC'
A lunatic farmer, in one of the most nutrient-rich regions of the world, attributes his success to some bizarre superstition! This shit never fails to make me chuckle :D
http://youtu.be/oBlcTWRafEc
{Listen out for the casual condemnation of chemicals, while they're carrying a massive bag full of thousands of chemicals, in the form of cow shit #definitionfail}
'TWIE 136: Bionic Eye'
Watch for the last story -- moths can drive!
http://youtu.be/jR4te_EDuaU
Betty Bowers reveals how new Popes are picked:
http://youtu.be/vhMOtePtzSY
..and this is how they're really picked:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF8I_r9XT7A
'WORLD'S WORST PUNS with Michael Portillo'
http://youtu.be/lZKdtcH4U8I
Is this football or waterpolo?
http://youtu.be/FTR-fFSnANo
'R Kelly cut - Swede Mason'
http://youtu.be/xuY1rt4qp5M
Here's the original:
http://youtu.be/ivpkzEsSRzo
{Surprisingly old, actually (2011)}
'Why British politicians suck the most'
http://www.studentbeans.com/worldweirdweb/a/fails/why-british-politicians-suck-the-most3880.html?
{A small and anglo-centric sample, but worth a LOL}
------------------------------------------------------ of the weeks
Un-quotes Of The Week:
Marie Antoinette: "Ne les laissez pas avoir le brioche!"
Fox News: [anything true]
Oliver Reed: "Just a half for me, thanks"
Eve (to Adam): "I knew it - you're seeing someone else, aren't you"
Word Of The Week: lorgnette -- spectacles with a handle
Expression Of The Week: "O tempora o mores!" -- said by Cicero, which means "Oh the times, oh the customs", as a general bemoaning of current trends and attitudes
Etymology Of The Week: cello -- shortening of violoncello; like "hippo", the shortening is etymologically erroneous - cello means "small" and hippo means "horse" (hippopotamus means "water horse")
Quote Of The Week: "My father invented a cure for which there was no known disease - unfortunately, my mother caught the cure and died of it"- Victor Borge
------------------------------------------------------ non-contemporary stuff
No, i didn't manage to forget Mother's Day. Mr. T's Mother's Day Rap "Treat Your Momma Right":
http://youtu.be/tFNJLs-Ql0o
{[In Mr. T's voice] For a good Mother's Day dessert, why don't you make her a nice raspberry fool}
This week, i discovered Drop Fox on Tumblr. Some samples:
Who does Fox News turn to to talk about gun violence in America?
http://dropfox.tumblr.com/post/41785235850/existentialfish-who-does-fox-news-turn-to-to
Fox Nation misspells ‘illiterate.’
http://dropfox.tumblr.com/post/37411776723/fox-nation-misspells-illiterate
"When theists shift the burden of proof"
http://reasonistproducts.tumblr.com/post/41359823093/www-reasonistproducts-com
This made me LOL... and now i'm singing it :D
http://reasonistproducts.tumblr.com/post/43823114280/our-new-big-books-t-shirt-freshly-made-i-wonder
From Lizzy the Lezzy:
What’s the difference between a lesbian and a ritz cracker?
One’s a snack cracker and the other is a crack snacker! hehe ;)
Feedback excerpts:
CONTRACTS, in the law of countries such as England, Wales and Australia, exist only where the parties concerned exhibit the intention to make an agreement, where there is an offer of something of value, and where there is acceptance. Weird and wonderful are some companies' attempts to bind online purchasers into a contract, despite the difficulty of regarding a stream of photons on a computer screen as proof of acceptance.
But why does the above-mentioned appear in New Scientist and not New Lawyer? Because of the odd things that happen when warranty-drafting lawyers collide with a Feedback reader, is why.
Michael Jones was initially delighted to receive an email from Umart, an Australian online computer vendor, accepting his money in return for promised goods and informing him of the "warranty return procedure". Then he read: "Please read the terms carefully as by reading it, you agree to be bound by the terms of the warranty return."
Feedback imagines a mental crunching sound at this point. "Thanks for sending me details of the Umart warranty return procedure," Michael replied. "Unfortunately I am unable to read the terms, as you claim that by reading them I automatically agree to be bound by them... For all I know, the terms might state that I must do something very painful to myself with an item before I return it."
Then a solution occurred: "Perhaps I should have a friend read the terms to me rather than reading them myself?" he suggested.
Finally, a brainwave. His email to Umart continued: "By reading the above you agree to send me a $100 voucher redeemable at any Umart store. Thanks for your generosity."
A month later, Michael is still waiting for Umart to reply.
26 Jan
{Hurrah! One over on the contractists :D}
IN OUR holiday issue, Bryn Glover suggested swapping the names "astrology" and "astronomy" and went on to wonder if there were "any other areas where swapping names would lead to greater clarity" (22/29 December 2012).
Several readers responded with what a little searching reveals to be the justly popular idea that Iceland and Greenland should swap names.
Maya Keshav sums it up: "Iceland is mostly green and Greenland is mostly ice," she notes, and adds that, according to legend: "Erik the Red discovered Greenland and wanted his Viking mates to go populate it, so he made it sound like an attractive spot to live."
We also enjoyed Alan Bundy's idea that "atom" and "quark" should swap. "The word 'atom'," he says, "was originally intended to name the smallest possible, and therefore indivisible, particle. Unfortunately, it was applied far too early. For the moment, quarks seem to be playing the role intended for 'atom'." (Though readers will be forgiven for wondering how long that will last.)
Meanwhile, Peter Mabey points out that as "oxygen" has the derivation of "acid generator", the name really belongs to hydrogen ("water generator"), and the name "hydrogen" would then more appropriately be applied to water's larger constituent by mass (currently called oxygen).
26 Jan
THE instruction booklet that came with the electric appliance Don Wycherley bought from Marks and Spencer warned him: "The appliance becomes hot during operation - this is normal."
Don tells us: "In view of the fact that the appliance is actually a kettle, I think I might have figured this out for myself."
26 Jan
"NO SWIMMING. Danger of contracting waterborne diseases. Offenders will be liable to prosecution."
Raffi Katz sends us a photo of a sign bearing these words on a bridge over the Grand Union Canal near Watford, north of London.
Raffi finds the wording unsatisfactory. "Isn't the threat of contracting a waterborne disease much greater than being prosecuted?" he asks. He suggests that instead the sign should read: "Danger of contracting waterborne diseases. Offenders will be liable to contract a waterborne disease."
26 Jan
{Having lived in that region of the world (many years ago), i can confirm that these signs are real. This reminder, in turn, reminds me of those signs that say "No trespassing. Survivors will be prosecuted" :D}
A colleague wanted to know how far the company's office in south London was from the nearest underground station. Evi.com told him it was 4.10795528787 kilometres
2 Feb
{Precision down to the last 0.87 micrometres. That's the breadth of a couple of mimivurus capsids. You can't say they don't give value for money!}
WHEN James Ryan enabled Google's Latitude service, he looked forward to seeing where his friends were from moment to moment on Google's maps. He was disconcerted when Google informed him that his friend Kris was in Melrose, Massachusetts, 11,323 days ago.
"This," says James, "is almost exactly 31 years. I suspect this will come as a shock to him, since he is only 27 years old. On the other hand, his mother is from Melrose. Was Google tracking her egg, I wonder? I'm sure that's covered in the terms of service somewhere..."
2 Feb
AS PART of his job with the European Union, Chris Torrero monitors the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, which gives details of recalled food products, along with reasons for the recall.
He says that: "The reason stated for Alert Reference 2012.CJV was perhaps unusual."
It was: "Incorrect labelling (species mentioned on the label is extinct for millions of years) on frozen shark fillets (Carcharocles megalodon) from China".
2 Feb
{To be slightly more precise, Carcharocles megalodon has been extinct for 1.5 million years. It seems they'll put anything in food, these days!}
SEVERAL readers have kindly explained the menu item "Salad of Gizzards and His Chestnuts" that so puzzled Richard Green and his party in France (5 January).
{If you read last week's article, you will probably remember this one}
Says Henry Shipley, for example: "It is likely that the item was Salade de gésiers et ses marrons (or possibly ses châtaignes). Gésiers (gizzards) are a popular food in France, very often served warm in a salad, and the usage '...et son/sa/ses...' is common in restaurants and is best translated as 'with'. So the party missed out on gizzard and chestnut salad."
Other readers who concurred with this explanation added that the dish is "very good". One wonders if the same can be said of the Tripes Alsaciennes that Martin Withington found translated for the benefit of English visitors to Alsace as "Alsation Guts"; or the "caviar of hedgehog" that Paul Ticher encountered, this time in Spain, which he worked out probably meant "sea-urchin eggs", and which he declined to sample.
2 Feb
{Alsation guts, eh? Sounds positively scrummy :-/}
Mystery promotion of the week: a shop Daniel Smith passed in Upway, Victoria, Australia, displayed a sign outside offering "Traditional Chinese and Quantum Biofeedback Medicine"
9 Feb
{Pseudoscientific guff has its compensations - its nonsensicality can be 'quite amusing' :D}
FINALLY, those of us who live in the UK and other parts of northern Europe have experienced bitterly cold weather in recent weeks. Even so, Nic Plum was startled to read this sign at a petrol station forecourt in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire: "Due to weather the air is frozen."
Nic hadn't realised it was quite so cold and wondered whether he needed another layer of clothing. Then he noticed that the sign was taped over the machine for inflating tyres.
9 Feb
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