Entertainment stuff from the fortnight 26/8 - 8/9/13

Hi, Bad Phreakozoids


I have finally finished reading Bad Pharma!

In fact, i've had so much un-otherwise-usable time recently, that i've read Freakonomics (2006, paperback edition), too!


Both books were 'a great read', as nose-scrapers currently say.

Obviously, Bad Pharma is far more topical, and far more useful, informative, important, and empowering to the reader and society in general. But that's it's nature.

As Levitt/Dubner frequently say in Freakonomics - Economics is merely about describing the way things are - whereas Ben Goldacre explains exactly how Medicinal Science works; how it has been allowed to go wrong, by people who should know better; who and what have made it go so wrong, by their own hands; and exactly how to fix it. Which includes suggestions for even a lay reader.

Bad Pharma is definitely a 'must-read', as the nose-scrapers also say.

So thank you very much to the wonderful lady who gave me Freakonomics... and also to whichever relative it was that i asked to receive Bad Pharma from (as a seasonal present, you see).


More of a downer, though... the UK government recently decided that the appropriate response to illness is to massacre anyone with the disease, and anyone who might catch it from them.

But that's OK... because they're only badgers! Genocide is fine when it's a different species, apparently, even though they can feel just as much pain as we; are just as able to panic and anticipate pain; and their deaths do nothing to mitigate the proliferation of disease between the cows themselves, as facilitated by farmers moving them around all the time!
{Live animal export/import is necessitated by the historic inbreeding that farmers have employed to genetically modify capitalistically favourable faetures into their livestock e.g. bigger legs, swollen boobs}

The only major cause for culling instead of vaccination is that the farmers find it much cheaper to cull than to vaccinate.

Of course, you'd have to be some kind of spineless, jelly-brained conservative politician to just go along with what the industry says, despite the evidence or lack thereof... oh... yes, i see where the UK's gone wrong, now.

Then this tapejara's rooting for Team Badger!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=664024916949962&set=a.120778494607943.16772.113646935321099&type=1
http://teambadger.org/index.html

'Save The Badger Badger Badger!'
http://youtu.be/EllYgcWmcAY

In case you think my sources are biased, here's the BBC's More or less episode:

'What price the life of a badger?' 30 Aug 2013
http://castroller.com/podcasts/MoreOrLess/3715417?start=undefined

...and to go full circle, the grandmaster of statistics himself - Ben Goldacre:

'Badger badger badger badger CULL badger badger badger TRIAL'
"Squabbles between farmers and animal rights’ protesters bore me senseless..."
http://www.badscience.net/2013/06/badger-badger-badger-badger-cull-badger-badger-badger-trial/


And then there's the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics which, it should come as no surprise to you, is facing a few of its own troubles, due to it being in contemporary Russia...

'The Sochi Winter Olympics Of Homophobia'
"Proudly sponsored by Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Procter and Gamble, General Electric, Panasonic, Dow, Samsung, Omega, Atos, and Visa."
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/60099224965/the-sochi-winter-olympics-of-homophobia-proudly


On to the fun stuff...


------------------------------------------------------ contemporary stuff

'The Cold Caller Sketch - The Pod Delusion' (my upload)
http://youtu.be/bnLMzc_Zbtc

What would life be like if we lived in only two spatial dimensions? Really weird!
'Dimensions - Sixty Symbols'
http://youtu.be/f3FGMJ6TNF0

'Is This Video Worthwhile?'
http://youtu.be/AfdcnuSZI78

'The Hamster Decides - Episode 3'
http://youtu.be/nGJi2v56ajs

'The Hamster Decides - Episode 4'
http://youtu.be/Jij0Du-iAio

'Walking shark discovered in Indonesia'
OMFSM - look at it go!
http://youtu.be/QAopGJamyig

'The Darkness - I Believe In A Thing Called Love Acoustic'
http://youtu.be/g9kQwJF3svg

'LOST ISLAND : Le Repérage [Hors-Série]'
http://youtu.be/r0dBPI4etvI

'Caro Emerald - I Belong To You (Acoustic)'
http://youtu.be/81h1m6wLxt0

Caro Emerald - Back It Up (live)
http://youtu.be/vPUv_lRYwTY

Caro Emerald - I Belong To You (live)
http://youtu.be/H6bwg2nxTOE

Caro Emerald - The Wonderful In You (live)
http://youtu.be/aOKDDLeh5wg

You can download all six of Caro's acoustic session songs in a free package, from here:
'The Shocking Miss Emerald FREE Acoustic EP'
http://www.caroemerald.com/ep/

'How to Melt Cars and BBQ Pigeons - Sixty Symbols'
http://youtu.be/JZ1Hgzi2ElQ

'The Best of Dusty Smith' (volume one)
Very sweary. Great fun. (Most of his videos rib religion... just so you know)
http://youtu.be/owCXgbghoL0

------------------------------------------------------ of the weeks

Word Of The Week: pulchritude -- beauty. Doesn't sound right, does it!

Headline Of The Week: 'JD Wetherspoon to open first motorway pub on M40'

{Don't drink and drive! ...just leave your pint on the dashboard}

Quote Of The Week: "Anybody can become angry, that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way, that is not within everybody's power and is not easy." - Aristotle

Dumb Question Of The Week: "If Hitler was so oppressive, why did he let everyone draw on the Berlin Wall?"

Fact Of The Week: The British invented the goosestep. The practice dates back to training sessions in 1806. The Nazis didn't invent their salute either - it's a variant of the Bellamy salute, which schoolchildren in the USA were made to do before the Nazis made European schoolchildren do it.

------------------------------------------------------ non-contemporary stuff

'The man with the magic beard'
Oh yes! This is a wonderful video :D
http://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/2013/08/29/the-man-with-the-magic-beard/

'Shake your head from side to side...'
Hehe - a great illusion. If you're struggling to work out what the image is, the answer's further down the page...
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/60637884639/shake-your-head-from-side-to-side-hehe-a

'Tangerine Dream'
http://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/tangerine-dream/

'Look at this and then blink...'
{Blink repeatedly} I don't even have to blink to see this effect... is there something wrong with me?!?
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/60638170098/look-at-this-and-then-blink-blink-repeatedly

'Handy illusion'
Very well done :)
http://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/2013/08/20/handy-illusion/

'Dog-man'
Ah - Dogman - the superhero who takes a break to shit at the side of the road? :P
http://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/dog-man/

'Amazing new illusion'
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/60638320293/amazing-new-illusion-watch-the-whole-thing-and

A selection of spiralling directive illusions:

http://micro.cibermitanios.com.ar/post/60470814411

http://micro.cibermitanios.com.ar/post/60199142450

http://micro.cibermitanios.com.ar/post/59426694422

Two faces or one?
http://micro.cibermitanios.com.ar/post/56194659591

A journey around a Penrose Triangle:
http://micro.cibermitanios.com.ar/post/56100062340/triangulo-de-penrose

Miniature magic, by Matthew Albanese:
http://micro.cibermitanios.com.ar/post/57905681099/miaturas-magicas-por-matthew-albanese

'An underwater river, in Yucatan, Mexico'
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/60638768417/an-underwater-river-in-yucatan-mexico


'13 year old kid plays Eruption by Van Halen'
http://youtu.be/Y6OOFbrzdP8

And here he is, a few years later...

'Van Halen - I'm the One cover'
http://youtu.be/tnn-3u2uJjU

'The Darkness - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us COVER!!!'
http://youtu.be/JTPQGi0icPo


'Chickens by Hot Leg recorded at The Fleece in Bristol 02/03/09'
Haha - nothing gets more rock 'n' roll than this. Especially the falsetto. Nothing's more rock 'n' roll than falsetto. Justin Hawkins, you rock!
http://youtu.be/oX-1p3VM3h4

'Kissing in the Wind by Hot Leg'
I'd never heard Kissing 'live', before :)
http://youtu.be/QRobLCSRfVU

I've recently added quite a lot to my 'Justin Hawkins and The Darkness' playlist. Have a look, if you like...

'Justin Hawkins and The Darkness - Tapejara Channel'
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL557F647C43D7F21E

Having filled that one up, there'll have to be a second one for the new album... and yes, there is going to be one :-D
http://www.justinhawkinsrocks.co.uk/index.php?subaction=showcomments&id=1375992868&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&


'How German Sounds Compared To Other Languages'
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=563535147036354

Wow - just look at the way Nadal and Janowicz were playing in their match in Montreal!
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Media/Video-Landing/*/Tennis/Media/Videos/Uploaded/2013/8/9/Montreal-2013-Thursday-Highlights.aspx

Wahahey, Gasquet! He must have been taking lessons from his countryman - Fabrice Santoro - the magician :D
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Media/Video-Landing/*/Tennis/Media/Videos/Uploaded/2013/8/9/Montreal-2013-Friday-Hot-Shot-Gasquet.aspx

Zouch! That's not the way to play a ball, Novak!
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Media/Video-Landing/*/Tennis/Media/Videos/Uploaded/2013/8/11/Montreal-2013-Saturday-Hot-Shot-Djokovic-Cops-It.aspx

This is how you play a ball... in Squash :D
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Media/Video-Landing/*/Tennis/Media/Videos/Uploaded/2013/8/15/Cincinnati-2013-Thursday-Hot-Shot-Dimitrov.aspx

...this is how you play a dropshot...
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Media/Video-Landing/*/Tennis/Media/Videos/Uploaded/2013/8/18/Cincinnati-2013-Final-Hot-Shot-Nadal.aspx

...and this is how you play a backhand to win a set!
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Media/Video-Landing/*/Tennis/Media/Videos/Uploaded/2013/8/16/Cincinnati-2013-Friday-Hot-Shot-Federer.aspx


The answer to what's in the illusion: it's pikachu!

And i shall leave you with a tidied up, rebalanced live performance of Hot Leg's unreleased song 'Into My Arms':

Hot Leg - Into My Arms (Live)
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/60635682168/the-unreleased-track-into-my-arms-that-has-been.
.