Greetings saviours,
There might not be any magic ones in the sky, but we can always be there/here for each other. [awwwws]
As Easter comes around again, it's time to remember the origins of this seasonal festival... pagan rites!!!
Feasting, dancing naked, saving people from virginity, etc etc etc.
Such a shame the Xtians try to ruin it with their 'Good God, you're telling me a man on a cross, who's slowly dying of shock and blood loss, can somehow be construed as a symbol of love, peace and salvation, just because it's Friday?'
...which they abbreviate to 'Good Friday' for pragmatism's sake :-P
Actually, it's probably just called 'Good Friday' because it's 'holy' which makes it 'good'... apparently.
'Why is Good Friday called Good Friday?'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-27067136
The BBC says it, so it must be true.
But nothing of importance in the modern ritual has anything to do with Xtianity.
We all know how our Modern Easter really began, right?
And this is what's so important about that magical event:
'Gooey Goodness: Inside Cadbury's Creme Egg Factory'
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/gooey-goodness-inside-cadbury-s-creme-egg-factory-FhzIBWMJSGyVvaox0ubXpA.html
Oh yes, yes - cremey eggy is is so yummy in my tummy! Why i haven't i bought any of these yet? :-D
A lesson in probability, and not-magicality:
'Every Day This Week Can Be Written The Same Forwards & Backwards'
http://www.ripleys.com/weird/daily-dose-of-weird-wtf-blog/amazing-science/every-day-this-week-is-the-same-forwards-backwards/
Dates for every day last week could be seen as palindromic, meaning they read the same backwards as forwards.
E.g. 12321 can be written backwards and it's still 12321
Is this exceptionally weird? Well, no, not really. As the article explains.
Numerology is a weird superstition, but still derived from people's basic over-willingness to see patterns in things, when they're not really there. Like seeing the face of a fictional half-deity you've never met in a slice of toast, for example.
Ripley's has more interesting stuff about the rituals of this time of year:
'The Weirdest Easters'
http://www.ripleys.com/weird/daily-dose-of-weird-wtf-blog/unbelievable-but-true/the-weirdest-easters/
I've been watching a lot of Jonathan Creek, recently. If you don't know the show, it's about a guy who's a magician's assistant, and solves crimes in his spare time.
Anyone in the world of 'magic' will know who this guy is; and anyone in the world of Rationalism will, too:
'James Randi: An Honest Liar' (trailer)
http://anhonestliar.com/wp/trailer/
It should be good fun. I want to see it :-D
"Has John Le Carre done any funny books?", twitter has asked, this week.
It seems he has: https://twitter.com/GraemeGarden1/status/457160157697691648
I would like to add:
The Secret Of Scott Pilgrim
Relativity Friends (a Physics-centred favourite of mine)
A Small Town In Vatican City
A Delicate Tooth
The Spy Who Came Into Some Gold (not a blue movie - a gold movie :-P )
A Burger Of Quality
How'zat? :-P
In other news:
Statewide laws controlling nude sunbathing in Bavaria expired last autumn. This means people in Munich are now free to go completely naked, in six of the city's areas. The h2g2 explains the cultural context of nudity in Munich: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-london/plain/A75939349
I like their style - i could never get the hang of pulling t-shirts over my wings, anyway :-P Notice, however, how the Media have been reporting it as a recent change - the story stopped being 'News' 6 months ago. But, what the hell. Any excuse to show a bum in national newspaper, haha :-D
http://barefootnudist.wordpress.com/2014/04/12/urban-clothes-free-in-munich/
http://barefootnudist.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/more-on-munich-germanys-designated-spaces-for-being-clothes-free/
Having been prompted by a 10-year-old girl who wrote to them to complain about slow shoppers, a shopping centre in Sheffield, UK, has put 'overtaking lanes' in their store. Of course, they're exploiting this for the publicity, as much as possible, by uttering gushing praise for the girl's suggestion. But i'm wondering whether this could really work, judging by the pictures. Will half the store lose out from being on the 'fast lane' side?
http://metro.co.uk/2014/04/17/sheffield-shopping-centre-introduces-overtaking-lane-after-girl-10-writes-complaint-letter-about-slow-shoppers-4702223/
What was that mysterious black ring over Leamington Spa? Well, to me it was obviously a vortex ring, produced by shaped detonation. The first link provides all the nonsense explanations; the second, a video, and the true one - it's a practice 'fire effect' (because the word firework's taken) for a show at nearby Warwick Castle.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-27037579
http://doubtfulnews.com/2014/04/what-is-the-black-ring-of-leamington-spa-a-vortex-ring/
A hedgefund manager has been caught fare-dodging, on his commute to and from London. In fact, he did it serially, so that he has now been forced to pay back £42550 + £450 legal costs! It just goes to show that, beyond a living wage, income is all relative - this guy must get tens of millions every year, for arbitrarily selecting metaphorical horses to put money on, but he still bothers to dodge train fares! Mitchell & Webb had a good laugh at Futures Traders, on their 'Sound' some years ago: http://youtu.be/UbXTBPN1HhAhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27011497
A Buddhist monk, in Taiwan, who is compelled by Buddhist doctrine to be vegetarian, has 'succombed to temptation' and ... shoplifted some beef jerky from a convenience store. So, because the mind-numbingly impractical dogmas of religion don't allow the occasional consumption of something tasty, people are forcefully nudged toward committing crimes of heresy, hypocrisy, and, to enhance the bargain, theft! Interestingly, meat consumption, around the world, is increasing more and more, as people can afford it. Something tells me ideological vegetarians are fighting the tide! Scientific dietary advise is still to eat a balanced diet - that means a small amount of meat and dairy, but not none at all.
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/vegetarian-monk-apologises-for.html
None of those ^ stories were April Fools jokes. This one, however is. 'Man arrested at Large Hadron Collider claims he's from the future' "Countries do not exist where I am from. The discovery of the Higgs boson led to limitless power, the elimination of poverty and Kit-Kats for everyone. It is a communist chocolate hellhole and I'm here to stop it ever happening." :-D
http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/man-arrested-at-large-hadron-collider-claims-hes-from-the-future/
------------------------------------------------------ contemporary stuff
'Blue Eggs?! Bite Sci-zed'
http://youtu.be/D7_cB3jmYkw
'Why is Winter Coming (Game of Thrones) - Deep Sky Videos'
http://youtu.be/JKrn4P4c5ps
'Digital mirror reveals internal organs'
To use the 'mirror' the participant has to have already undergone a PET, X-Ray, and MRI scan, so that although it isn't a real-time projection, it is your own body contents staring back at you! Freaky stuff :o)
http://youtu.be/BXkXMVleqqc
'First Time Sexual Experiences In Animated Gifs'
Whew, there are some hardcore... metaphors... in this video :-P
http://youtu.be/BaEVychGQ6Q
'Le Serveur (Greg Romano)'
http://youtu.be/_CwHrJt8Oz8
'HOW TO MAKE A VEGEMITE SANDWICH'
Please note that this is not an instructional video for how to make a marmite sandwich. As you would expect, considering the vast difference in nature of the product, the preparation process is immensely different too :-P
http://youtu.be/H3W7Tt_iS7I
Well, wadd'ya know? You wait half a year for another comic horoscope, and then two come along at once :-D
'Richard Saunders - Dr. Duarf Ekaf's Horoscope (April 2014)' (my upload)
http://youtu.be/vnumjuFyW3g
'Psychic Vera's Horoscope for April 2014' (my upload)
http://youtu.be/rM5P-3hjLWg
'Sniper Pug'
http://youtu.be/v6IyejLa35s
'Friend Zone'
http://youtu.be/HcHBLx4dPog
------------------------------------------------------ of the weeks
Word Of The Week: vexillology -- the scientific study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general
Expression Of The Week: 'bitchy resting face' -- a face that unfortunately exhibits a frown, even when that person does not feel hostile in any way
Etymology Of The Week: portmanteau -- meaning 'a combination of two or more words or morphemes' is a prtmanteau of the words 'porter' (to carry) and 'manteau' (coat) from French; not to be confused with the definition of the word in French, where 'porte-manteau' simply means 'coat rack'
Quote Of The Week: "I took an oath to support the Constitution, and I felt the Constitution was violated on a massive scale" - Edward Snowden, the whistleblower on NSA snooping, speaking via live video link at the SXSW festival in Austin
------------------------------------------------------ non-contemporary stuff
'Creaciones de Gilbert Legrand (10 imágenes)'
http://micro.cibermitanios.com.ar/post/83255591136/gilbert-legrand
'The sound of a moth'
Forget the sound of music - this is the sound of moth.
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-sound-of-moth.html
From the 'LaurBubble' YouTube channel:
'Your Smell..'
http://youtu.be/eKWJKVqfpTw
'It's Official'
http://youtu.be/0dC8IREIQ7c
'On Hold'
http://youtu.be/RiF9Rgj2iUI
From the 'The Kloons' YouTube channel:
'Sandwich Storm'
http://youtu.be/19g4rV2yeGE
'Dubstick Chapstep'
http://youtu.be/VJB0SR7_12M
'Priceless Possessions'
http://youtu.be/m6lhGk9KLlU
'The Kloons Brainstorm'
http://youtu.be/SWc6YX9YDz8
'Did You Just Check Her Out? ( Why men look at other women)'
http://youtu.be/g2eJkPEtz7o
'Chinese Delivery'
http://youtu.be/CPIN_wWLpus
'Minimally Impressive Psychic'
http://youtu.be/ciaTIJrjzBM
'Yoga Thoughts - What You're Really Thinking During Yoga'
http://youtu.be/g9P3qHmkUUA
'Body Shots'
http://youtu.be/vJcynseXRHI
'Google House View (beta)'
http://youtu.be/fBVDp5eBMhU
'The Director'
http://youtu.be/wbkPbuvZMvE
'Save a Dog'
http://youtu.be/JOxqQ6HSVLI
{Isn't it interesting, that in the real world, people are less morally assertive about inaction than action}
'The Bro Zone'
http://youtu.be/zjojV2Aqt2c
'Alpha Males'
http://youtu.be/Tujyobdtkek
'The Mindblower'
http://youtu.be/3OK-khpuXoo
'Laid Off'
http://youtu.be/6WxHDgWJgh0
'Switching Bodies - Episode 1'
http://youtu.be/Sp9Imph4nXw
'Gay Marijuana'
What about bisexual barbiturates?
http://youtu.be/-2ZK8VuJfCc
'Pussy Water - banned cologne commercial'
http://youtu.be/q5Y56gnwKPA
.
.
Hi sugarpeople,
The 10th-16th of April is 'Homeopathy Awareness Week' to raise awareness of the nature of homeopathic charlatanry.
'twelve key points about homeopathy'
http://www.homeopathyawarenessweek.org/
'Homeopathy awareness can make the world a healthier, happier place'
"As anyone who has explained homeopathic dilution to an incredulous colleague will attest, raising awareness of homeopathy is the quickest way to dispel any belief in it"
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/apr/11/world-homeopathy-awareness-week-homeopathic-preparations?
I, myself, have written about 'Why Homepathy Can't Work' too.
The homeopathic industry is, however, just one example of fraudulent exploitation through pseudo-medical claims.
Homeopaths are not scientists and they are not medical professionals - they are businesspeople. They are callous, hard-nosed entrepreneurs, who have noticed that talking the talk and doing a few dance moves is enough to persuade people to part with their life savings!
This is even more egregious, in the context of countries that have Universal Healthcare, where everyone has already paid for their healthcare, through taxation.
What's the point in paying extra through the nose, for something that doesn't even work?
But like i said - the multi-million-pound homeopathetics industry is just one example - a case-study, if you like, of how medical scamming is tolerated.
If damp sugar can be sold in place of medicine, and those businesspeople can get away with it, then they can pretty much get away with anything!
The entire I-SCAM industry rests on the prevalence of short-sighted superstitious ideologies, to protect it from fair analysis, with which it would not be seen as a valid alternative, and would rightly be seen as callous exploitation of the vulnerable.
Awareness of Homepathic pseudoscience means awareness that all the other so-called 'alternatives' are due scientific skepticism, too.
Here is an example of another sector to the I-SCAM (Integrative Supplementary, Complementary, and Alternative Medicine) industry, which is equally scientifically valid, and equally demanding of mockery:
'Oil Pulling'
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4409
You might have heard of this fad, doing the rounds in anti-science quack circles. But what the hell is it?
Well, basically, it's just swilling your mouth out with oil. You won't be surprised to hear that all available evidence supports the layman-statement that there's a complete absence of medical benefit of any kind.
But the progeny of the pseudoscience is more interesting... and maybe not one you'll want to hear.
So just read the transcript, instead :-P
'The consequences of climate change (in our lifetimes)'
http://youtu.be/VNgqv4yVyDw
Turn up your audio - it's the latest video from potholer54 :-D
It seems he's alarmed. But not by global warming or predictions of climatic change...
I'm alarmed by the lack of HD on his channel. I want to see those pixellated images in 4K :-D
Seriously, though - you learn so much, watching one of potholer's videos.
This is one of Thunderfoot's best, and most eloquent, videos ever, IMO, in the 'WFPE' series:
'Why 'feminism' poisons EVERYTHING (#cancelcolbert)'
http://youtu.be/vLpzzaeNaKI
This video demonstrates exactly why i am an egalitarian, as he is.
So many people call themselves feminists, and yet they don't really know what it is, or how to not be sexist.
For example, the woman featured in this video is attempting to rid the world of racism and sexism... by being racist and sexist! And she doesn't even know it.
That's immensely hypocritical. It's also immensely frustrating. But it should be expected of a politic borne through reactionary zeal.
End sexism. End feminism. End racism. Be egalitarian.
"Let us all unite!"
In other news:
Generalised mammogramatic screening, it appears, is nowhere near as useful as previously thought. Far from it - they are now known to be similar in utility to the defamed PSA test which produces huge numbers of false positives (an FP is where the test erroneously says "yes, you've got it") and consequent overdiagnoses which are, understandably, met with overtreatment. Essentially, the screening process results in more harm than good. In future, mammogramatic medical screening will be limited to higher-risk groups, where the breast cancer risks are greater than the screening risks.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25346?
A man has, on the advice of a superstitious 'authority', exposed himself to hyenas, in the brush, and had his testicles chewed off! He told the Times of Zambia that a witch doctor had promised him that by losing his body parts he would get rich. As much as this story sounds made up, it seems equally plausible that a crank would really prescribe something like this. I mean, in the 'North' people actually believe damp sugar can cure illness. Really. When people can believe that, anything goes!
http://informoverload.com/man-lets-hyena-eat-his-genitals-for-money/
A work of art, set up in a heavily-bombed region of Pakistan, has attempted to reach out to the pilots of drone aircrafts, to remind them that children are the collateral damage of their attacks. I can see multiple problems with this story - drones aren't especially good at dehumanising victims (that happens anyway), and it often isn't the pilot's decision to attack. If anything, it's just going to lead to worse PTSD for the pilots. But if this campaign adds to the pressure on war-friendly governments to desist from inept warring techniques, then maybe it will help.
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/04/for-shame-the-giant-poster-that-shows-drone-pilots-the-people-theyre-bombing/360257/
The residents of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, have raised £5000 to put up a plaque, for a cat called Hamish McHamish. It's owned by a resident, but claimed as the local cat, because it frequently roams the town's streets. But why raise money to tribute a cat that's still alive? I'm thinking they're looking for their own version of Greyfriars Bobby - a famous dog that learned to stick by its former owner's grave, in nearby Edinburgh, where it would be fed by residents and tourists alike.
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/roaming-feline-hamish-mchamish-honoured.html
Firefighters have had to release a young man from a child's swing, in Somerset, UK. He was then treated for thigh injuries and taken home. I suppose we've all been there... [scoffs] :-D
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/firefighters-released-teenager-trapped.html
A Pittsburgh tree trimmer has survived an accident in which his chainsaw embedded into his neck. It lodged into his bones, and stopped there, but the incident very nearly ended his life. You can see copies of the X-Ray scans, here:
http://www.ripleys.com/weird/daily-dose-of-weird-wtf-blog/body-oddity/man-survives-chainsaw-to-the-neck-video/
A study, published in PLoS has 'found' that there is a perceived connection between intelligence and beauty in men, but no perceived connection between intelligence and beauty in women. It should be remembered that this is perceived intelligence - not real intelligence - the wealth of research demonstrates that people have no ability to work out someone's actual intelligence from their beauty. Also, the results have not been replicated, and do not tell us about non-european-non-students. The Czech students in the study judged other Czech students to be smarter if they were a prettier man, but not smarter if they were a prettier woman. Real result, or Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy? Only further research will tell.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3961208/
God-botherers (and not scientists, as the Media have incorrectly reported) have produced yet more hysterical propaganda in support of their peculiar superstitious beliefs. These particular theists have decided that Jesus - the central character in Xtian mythology - was definitely real, and had a wife. And they know so because this parchment says so... a parchment that's centuries too young to be contemporary. It's like saying "Sherlock Holmes must have been real because... well, just read this. No-one would write it if he hadn't been real!"
http://doubtfulnews.com/2014/04/though-everyone-else-yelled-fake-scholars-say-jesus-wife-evidence-is-genuine/
Speaking of god-botherers: I always chuckle a little, when superstitionists resort to rationality, to help their superstitious rituals along. Remember when Pope Frankie released some doves, and they were promptly killed by Yahweh's seagull-and-crow double-team? Well, seeing as prayer doesn't work (and they know it) they've decided to resort to a naturalistic, some might say materialistic, resolution - the employment of a Harris Hawk, to kill the killers before they kill first. Because, according to godly-logic, precautionary murder is a lesser crime :-D
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/vatican-hires-hawk-to-protect-popes.html
In the interests of preserving the false modesty of our Media's 'false balance' obsession, i should mention that the Pastafarians, who 'worship' the FSM (Flying Spaghetti Monster) APBUHNA (all praise be upon Her noodly appendage) have recently gained official acknowledgement in Poland, and can apply to become a State-registered religion. For those who don't know, Pastafarianism is a parody religion - all of its tenets are copied from 'real' religion. Essentially, it is used to criticise believed religions by holding a mirror to their insanity. There is nothing in Pastafarianism that is any less valid than its equivalents in other religions - the only difference is that the followers don't pretend any of it to be true :-D
http://proud-a.blogspot.fr/2014/04/FSM.html
A Norwegian has found something rather interesting inside a cod. Not the two half-digested herrings he pulled out - the large, orange vibrator that plopped out with them. And yes, i do mean in the 'sexual aid' sense. He hypothesises that the fish mistook it for a local species of octopus. But how did it get there? Someone must have thrown it overboard :-D
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/82569134236/norwegian-fisherman-found-vibrator-in-cods
------------------------------------------------------ contemporary stuff
'SURICATE - Le Fantôme de Merde / Shitty Ghost'
This wonderful short film was submitted by Le Golden Moustache for this year's Toronto Comedy Festival.
http://youtu.be/F-kLwqxjQt0
'John and Kevin's Sunday Papers - 6th April 2014'
I'm just glad to know which one won. And which one won? Did the white one win? No - the brown one won. Well, "well done", to the one what won. Wowzers :-D
http://youtu.be/hEMnd1q5NiA
'Realistic Mario'
http://micro.cibermitanios.com.ar/post/82333750818/realistic-mario
'Bedtime Bible Stories'
"America's Best Christian, Mrs. Betty Bowers, reads her children Bible-based bedtime stories -- and realizes that, with all its gratuitous violence and pornography, if God hadn't written the Bible, Conservative Christians would be trying to keep it OUT of public libraries not IN to public schools!"
http://youtu.be/mCk4LSHdPKw
'Blue Flame Thrower - Periodic Table of Videos'
http://youtu.be/EpwlfvERUFc
'Spinal cord implant revives paralysed legs'
This is slightly scary. But wonderful. And also really kinda cool :-D
http://youtu.be/DrLLyx7PU-4
'Global Population Growth - A Week in Science'
http://youtu.be/UOoC7PISbI4
'Vagina built in the lab from patient's cells'
Story of the day, LOL. Women are now obsolete, ahahahaha :-P
http://youtu.be/IHF-lIu5D_U
Seriously, though - these vaginal canal implants have been used to construct vaginas for women born with vaginal aplasia - a condition in which the vaginal canal doesn't grow properly.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26885335
'Are Hong Kong & Macau Countries?'
http://youtu.be/piEayQ0T-qA
'THE LOVING PET OWNER: LOOKING GOOD | The Checkout | ABC1'
http://youtu.be/Fq4SDrQOmvs
'ACTIVE INGREDIENT: HY-CLOR POOL & SPA PRODUCTS | The Checkout | ABC1'
http://youtu.be/EK23XLuz9I0
'PARALLEL CONSUMERVERSE: IF GARBOS WERE TECH SUPPORT | The Checkout | ABC1'
"Thank you for dumping with us" :-D
http://youtu.be/5VlKFi0lMpk
'PRODUCT VS PACKSHOT: KIDS WATER TOY | The Checkout | ABC1'
http://youtu.be/cyZ-RYsViyA
Possibly the most fun you'll have, out of anything comtemporary to this fortnight:
'New Age Bullshit Generator'.Via Richard Wiseman
Simply follow the instructions, and be amazed. I had high hopes, having already been familiar with the wisdomofchopra app :-D
http://sebpearce.com/bullshit/
If the fun wears off, from that, try this, a game, called:
'2048'
http://gabrielecirulli.github.io/2048/
For explanations of how to play, watch this video. Be careful, though - it's very easy to get stuck into it!
http://youtu.be/OO4tA5i7X9g
{My highest score's 3692}
------------------------------------------------------ of the weeks
Word Of The Week: entasis -- the bulge deliberately built into columns to make them more stable; often misunderstood as a consequence of the stone squashing over time
Quote Of The Week: "A thermomix - an all-in-one food processor - is great, as it acts as a second commis chef. One that can steam veg, make custard, and cook hollandaise. It's ideal for new babies, as well." - BBC Good Food Magazine
Etymology Of The Week: chocolate -- from nahuatl 'xocolatl', with 'xococ' meaning 'sour/bitter' and 'atl' meaning 'water/drink/watercourse'
Fact Of The Week: About 90% of ancient human remains come from people who died before the age of 55; yet today, 89% of cancers are diagnosed in people over the age of 50. This might be why cancers are so rarely found in the bones of our ancestors; or maybe they were getting different cancers that don't show up in the bones. The presumption that cancer is a modern illness is not yet proved.
------------------------------------------------------ non-contemporary stuff
Igudesman & Joo have been uploading a lot of videos, lately. Here are the best of them:
'IGUDESMAN & JOO on Fox19 Morning News'
http://youtu.be/f00fd8HIFTM
'555pm on WNYW Fox Channel 5 with IGUDESMAN & JOO'
http://youtu.be/j-jsPzkjRhA
'ARTE Lounge with IGUDESMAN & JOO'
http://youtu.be/0ctA6A7_mjQ
In my opinion, these are the best performances i've seen, so far:
'Do you believe in gravity?'
http://youtu.be/Ov_qBR79e08
{Ignore the fact that rock lyrics don't all end in 'e'... :-P }
'Mozart Will Survive'
http://youtu.be/RS1-lxD9Cbs
{And Pachelbel will too, apparently :-D }
'Igudesman and Joo - All By Myself'
http://youtu.be/fZ1uk7hdM7o
From the 'Just Kidding Films' YouTube channel:
'Ultra V-Neck'
http://youtu.be/yPbvgvt0SR8
'Innocent Poo Poo'
http://youtu.be/taXa2aknVGw
'Boy Friend'
http://youtu.be/x3g8skRgp4w
'Fart Freshener'
http://youtu.be/pD16fltRZbI
'Blinded By Boobies'
Why do mammals love mammaries so much? Surely it's the cloaca that really matters :-P
http://youtu.be/43Rlh7kT4z0
'Vagina Pills'
Why isn't this already a thing? Maybe ladies don't respond to spam mail quite so much :-D
http://youtu.be/KGlSNriMcoE
'Movies vs Real Life: Scary Movie'
http://youtu.be/o-yMtR8W1rI
'Bromance?'
http://youtu.be/jaF0w4I9ipo
'Crazy Asian Parent: Baby'
http://youtu.be/WTsfdROiotA
'It's COLD!!!'
http://youtu.be/8PA57xh5uUQ
'Tickle 2 Death'
http://youtu.be/6tb2sL1vuwk
'Extreme Safety League'
http://youtu.be/LCyiRjfOgFA
'SECRETS'
http://youtu.be/5A1dxWXX-8E
'Bad Memory'
http://youtu.be/pMQMeyKFwVc
'Why Is Cussing Wrong?'
http://youtu.be/vX10wARK9LU
'Worst Movie Death Scene Ever!'
http://youtu.be/6LtYgW1MTJk
Here is the original:
http://youtu.be/9Af8Nwhb5Ao
'The Worst Death Ever: Deleted Scenes'
http://youtu.be/dDwSuc5-SPA
'I'd Rather Have A Dog Than A Girlfriend'
http://youtu.be/2H1FpKuVGZs
'Getting Laid Fail'
http://youtu.be/RDGlpYABRFc
'Role Reversal: Hit'
http://youtu.be/hinLuRn753M
'Borrowing Clothes'
http://youtu.be/MFXQy3squHQ
'Nasty Girls'
http://youtu.be/Lh4iC3H03Pk
'Role Reversal: Flirting Out Of Trouble'
http://youtu.be/vJInPXShwq4
'If Idioms Were Real'
http://youtu.be/K-Kuice9uFc
'If Idioms Were Real: Part 2'
http://youtu.be/E9DxGe94uoc
'Ice Cream'
http://youtu.be/f3-h2N_YXWU
'Role Reversal: Periods'
http://youtu.be/n81NnNs-utI
'Role Reversal: Bugs'
http://youtu.be/mMijrgIIKxo
'Role Reversal: Random Boners'
http://youtu.be/gvkueuwLDPc
'Mommy Drive'
http://youtu.be/3_EQjq_XrWU
'Movie vs Real Life: Asian Coworker'
http://youtu.be/7sbUZbkuWzw
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Hi stargazers,
A couple of weeks ago, i rambled semi-usefully, about the gravitational waves story that had been going around.
Well, here are some actual research physicists, doing their best to ramble semi-usefully about it. It's actually quite exciting, if it's verifiable, because it tells us more about our universal origins, and could also hint at the necessary overlap between Classical, Quantum, and Relativistic Physics... but it's also very esoteric.
'Primordial Gravitational Waves - Sixty Symbols'
http://youtu.be/q702wxf_OPw
Something to watch out for, this weekend, is this:
'ScienceCast: The Opposition of Mars'
http://youtu.be/xngUpUyyT70
Something to look for, in the night sky. Mars! This'll be the best opportunity to steal a picture, for some time.
Something to look for, down here on Earth: NOAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!
'Kermode Uncut: Noah Big Deal'
http://youtu.be/uoGQeOUFpo0
{From before he'd seen the full film}
'Mark Kermode reviews Noah'
http://youtu.be/_HCNwIZE0gw
{From after he'd seen the full film}
I think it's been made quite clear that 'Noah' is a ludicrous film, that takes a set of ludicrous myths, and does even more ludicrous things with them.
In fact, it's so utterly ludicrous, that i'm tempted to go and see it :-D
The story itself does not originate with Xtianity, though - it is a generic flooding-related story - and flooding is something that has threatened mankind for basically all time, due to its preference for living on coastlines and riverbanks.
But a global flood? Na-ah. Potholer54 has explained, very well, that global evidence says a global flood did not happen, and so the utility of a specio-holistic ark was never a real one:
'Noah's Flood - debunked'
http://youtu.be/_sD_7rxYoZY
And NonStampCollector has explored how, even if someone wanted to put two or seven of every species on a boat, for whatever reason, doing so would be utterly impractical:
'Noah's Ark'
http://youtu.be/j_BzWUuZN5w
But the most ludicrous thing about the whole Ark-based plot, is that the theological basis for it, is purported to be that god and/or gods unknown had shashed up the Earth they'd made so badly, that they had to wipe the slate clean, and start again. There are multiple problems with this entire plot...
Firstly, if you're going to start again, why not start all over again, and not preserve all of the species that went wrong the last time around?
Secondly, if you're going to preserve all of the species that went wrong, anyway, why preserve them in such tiny populations that mathematically necessitates absurd amounts of inbreeding, thereby making your problems worse?
Thirdly, why would a god shash up a universe that badly anyway. It shouldn't be necessary to have a global flood.
Fourthly, why have a global flood, that necessitates magicking water out of nowhere, when you could use the more practical method of just melting the Earth's mantle with a gigantic asteroid impact?
Fifthly, if this god or gods can magic water out of nowhere, why not just magic all the problems that purportedly necessitated the flood, away?
Sixthly, if magic's too hard, there's a whole universe of planets out there. Why not just start again, with one of them? If this one's buggered up, then forget it and play with another one!
Seventhly, why make your in-bred creations tell this whole story as if it's a lovely tale of salvation, when it's clearly a non-sensical myth.
Eighthly, why make your in-bred creations tell this whole story as if it's a lovely tale of salvation, when it clearly involves the genocide of trillions of organisms across tens of millions of species!
'Ludicrous' has to be the word for it!
Not so ludicrous - the idea that neolithic women could spray-paint their hands...
'Women in Prehistory: Who Made the Paleolithic Hand Impressions?'
http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2014/03/25/women-in-prehistory-who-made-the-paleolithic-hand-impressions/
It must be difficult to attain a reasonable sample size, for this kind of study. Especially, considering that the disparity in this sexually dimorphic feature is minute, it can't be a very statistically strong result. But...
The data seems to present a small nudge, suggesting that the paleoloithic hand-spray-paintings, were probably done by... women.
Women in history. There's one to put on your timeline.
A new dwarf-planet appears to have been found, out beyond Neptune - the outermost planet. At its farthest, it reaches 1.2 billion kilometres from the Sun!
As a dwarf planet, it is quite small - smaller than Earth's Moon - and about the same size as Ceres, displayed on this diagram.
As reported, it is suspected to have a pink tinge, due to radiative effects on its ice, methane and carbon dioxide constituents. Because it is so far away, it is very faint, so the colours can't be picked up directly. Its faintness also makes it very difficult to judge its size.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_VP113
You can see it moving, in this GIF image, here:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140331.html
In other news:
"56 lots" of a homeopathetic non-remedy has been withdrawn from shelves, because the manufacturer accidentally put some medicine in! The USA's FDA found that they could contain penicillin or derivatives of penicillin. This is an improvement from a couple of years ago, when homeopathetic preparations were found to have crushed glass in them, and the manufacturer did not announce a withdrawal of products. So medicine is not OK, but lethal ingredients are fine? I say stick to real medicine, folks!
http://doubtfulnews.com/2014/03/homeopathic-remedy-contains-actual-medicine-stop-selling-it/
As part of the opening ceremony for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, in Glasgow, Scotland, five tower-blocks are to be demolished. The buildings were constructed half a century ago, but were due to be demolished anyway, as part of ongoing regeneration projects. It's certainly going to make good use of the spectacle, to involve it in the ceremony!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-26857816
Two brothers are set to open a restaurant in Gothenburg, Sweden, called.. wait for it... 'A Fucking Awesome Sandwich'. Brother Ingbe says he picked up the word 'fucking''s positive connotation while living in New York. He also owns a restaurant called 'Puta Madre' which is Spanish for 'your mother is a prostitute'. Such nice boys. I imagine their mother's immensely proud :-D
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/fcking-awesome-sandwich-shop-soon-to.html
A woman has attempted to smuggle more than 2 kilograms of gold into India, through Mumbai International Airport, with the gold carried... in her pants. Just the one pair would not provide the necessary fortitude, of course, and so she was wearing six. And how was she caught? Well, unsurprisingly, she was seen walking a bit funny!
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/woman-having-difficulty-walking-through.html
A Polish priest has 'warned' people that Lego could "destroy" children's souls and "lead them to the dark side". He said their 'Monster Fighters' and 'Zombie' series were "about darkness and the world of death". This just goes to show that when the line between fact and fiction has been blurred sufficiently for people to believe in gods; ghosts, ghouls and children's toys are soon to follow. But if you don't laugh at this stuff, you're really missing out :-P
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/polish-priest-warns-parents-lego-destroy-children-souls-article-1.1742761
A sheep and a goat, in Ireland, have managed to produce biological progeny - the farmer and interviewer derived the name 'geep' for the goat/sheep hybrid. Such hybridization is quite rare, and not just because bestiality is uncommon with other species, too - taxonomically, different species are often demarcated by their inability to interbreed. Cases like this demonstrate that that is not always the case, however. But it's unlikely the little geep will be fertile - such hybrids rarely are. See the link for photos and a video:
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/rare-goat-sheep-hybrid-born-on-irish.html
Goats, btw, are pretty smart animals, according to recently publicised research. But not as cute as mice (see the mouse-training video in 'contemporary stuff')
http://phys.org/news/2014-03-goats-clever-previously-thought.html
Sticking with the animal theme - the lawyer of a defendant in a French court case has protested a Judge's judgement that a dog is fit to stand as a witness. They attempted to introduce a scientific control by getting both 'Tango' (a labrador) and another dog, to react to meeting Tango's presumed killer. “So if Tango lifted his right paw, moved his mouth or his tail, is he recognizing my client or not?” said the defendant's lawyer. Dogs are simply unable to make definitive declarations of recognition or comprehension. Also, they are easily led by the humans around them. Any response would be as useless as any other! Introducing controls isn't going to get around that, LOL
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/dog-called-to-testify-in-court-during.html
Sticking, rationally, with the animals theme - an Arts Professor at Manchester Met Uni, in the UK, has displayed clear photographs of insects in flight - possibly mayflies - but insists they're actually fairies! The mind boggles with the somersaults of self-deception that must be going on in his mind. Look at the pictures, for yourself - they're clearly insects :-D
http://doubtfulnews.com/2014/04/exhibition-of-real-fairies/
------------------------------------------------------ contemporary stuff
'La Police de l'Humour (Adrien Ménielle)'
If the humour police were real... Are they going to follow up with a grammar nazi sketch? :-D
http://youtu.be/4S1FnSdzY1c
'SIGNS OF THE TIME EPISODE 7 | The Checkout | ABC1'I recently bought a rucksack, labelled as "Up to 50% off". It was down from £27 to £11. But i suppose they have the excuse that everything had the same "Up to 50% off" label :-D
http://youtu.be/-hns3qjtmAk
'PRODUCT VS PACKSHOT: WEIGHT WATCHERS PIZZA | The Checkout | ABC1'
Yuck! This has to be the most disgusting yet :-D
http://youtu.be/pYkqZoHzlNc
'THE CATCH: WOOLWORTHS ESPRESSO GLASSES | The Checkout | ABC1'
Wings up, all those who have their espresso cold :-D
http://youtu.be/H0Zs-ULu8Ck
'Slow Life'
Beautiful time-lapse footage of the corals and sponges of the Great Barrier Reef, off Australia's coast :-)
http://vimeo.com/88829079
'Cathedral of Stars (in stunning 4k)'
http://youtu.be/zr6VQDCLdlk
So... who wins? Astronomy or Biology? Votes on a postcard :-P
'Caro Emerald - Ne Me Quitte Pas (Studio version)'
http://youtu.be/kIndlXvKib4
Ne me Quitte Pas (Don't Leave Me') is a heartfelt love song, written by Jacques Brel. Caro's is a lovely version, but i think Frida Boccara's wins for sheer hardcore emotion.
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/private/81607147194/tumblr_n3gzhbZ3Mu1rdco3z
Jacques' was, of course, brilliant. Shirley Bassey's English version - 'If You Go Away' - was, however, terrible! I daren't even link it here, LOL.
Damita Jo did a version with the English lyrics, and that's pretty good, and more like Caro's. Thanks, SongFacts.com :o)
http://youtu.be/XC3ThUuqNrc
'Domino Addition - Numberphile'
A long-ish video but a fascinating one.
http://youtu.be/lNuPy-r1GuQ
'Mouse Training Secret: How To Teach A Mouse To Walk Backwards'
An entire channel of videos of how to train mice to do tricks. Wonderful. I hope the mice enjoy it :o)
http://youtu.be/JqOthdX0yQg
------------------------------------------------------ of the weeks
Word Of The Week: wanklank -- Dutch for 'dissonance'
Expression Of The Week: 'morning hitler' -- the little pencil moustache left when someone shaves their top lip, doing the bit in the middle last, to see what it'd look like
Quote Of The Week: (Greg Davies' mum, about the Oscar Pistorius murder case) "Ah, dear, silly lad... he had the world at his feet"
Fact Of The Week: Some people are capable of an action known as gleeking, gleeting, geeking, gleeping, glarfing, glitting, gleaking, glicking, glything, glanding, geezing, yanging, cobra spitting, and venoming. This is the projection of saliva, in a stream, from the submandibular gland, in the mouth, under compression by the tongue. Some people can shoot saliva several feet, when they want to, but most people only do it by accident - while talking, eating, or yawning.
------------------------------------------------------ non-contemporary stuff
Is 'As It Occurs To Me' (AIOTM) ((AIOTM)) to return? I dearly hope so. Oh, if i could turn back time.... :-P
If you don't like obscene humour, don't watch these :-P
'Christian Reilly on AIOTM - 'Wonky Face'' (my upload)
http://youtu.be/pTni3DdZLSU
'Christian Reilly on AIOTM - 'My Russian Spy'' (my upload)
http://youtu.be/MSE_sAssQK0
'Christian Reilly on AIOTM - 'Cum On England'' (my upload)
http://youtu.be/ro56csq9mG4
'Christian Reilly: Three Times An Underage Lady (Live)'
http://youtu.be/yzzinVVuwVM
'Christian Reilly: The Day That Stalin Introduced His First Five Year Plan'
http://youtu.be/VaUAoth2tpk
'Lee & Herring at "Rude For A Reason"'
http://youtu.be/8bX7eT3Yfuw
'Richard Herring on Edinburgh & Beyond 2009'
http://youtu.be/6Iu7dfHhaHA
'Richard Herring "Hitler Moustache" Racist Liberal'
I love the incredibly bigoted comments, under this video! The joke lies in the false premise that non-racism is about seeing everybody as the same - it's discontinuities that make factionalism of all kinds destructive, not acceptance of variation. That is why multi-culturalism is still problematic - omniculturalism would be better. Classic Herring :-D
http://youtu.be/mwEi5Dpq6zs
'Richard Herring - relationship (rus sub)'
http://youtu.be/m8RizTJ_UmI
'You Can Choose Your Friends'
This is a film that Richard Herring wrote and starred in (69 mins) and it's pretty good :-D
http://youtu.be/80GnRgxvhjI
'Pendulum rolling ball clock (EN). Homemade 100% mechanical marble machine clock'
via cibermitanios
http://youtu.be/UHBHCsrqYMw
'Crazy Cat'
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/this-is-thing.html
'Stunning contact juggling'
A staggering circles illusion. All it takes is some white rings, and some mans - hands (manus, in latin) - the bits that make hu-mans so great. Wow :-)
https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/2014/03/19/stunning-contact-juggling/
'From the people who brought you FLOORS'
Dare i stoop to a joke, myself? :-P
http://johnfinnemore.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/from-people-who-brought-you-floors.html
'Unfortunate publishing layouts of our time'
http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2013/04/26/unfortunate-publishing-layouts-of-our-time/
'Human leather?'
http://www.ripleys.com/weird/daily-dose-of-weird-wtf-blog/unbelievable-but-true/human-leather/
'The Morale Raiser'
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/the-morale-raiser.html
'I didn't even think it was possible to have a favourite page of a freezer manual...'
https://twitter.com/bitoclass/status/424660652141993984
'Boogie Plays - Goat Simulator Funny Moments and Gameplay'
Who the hell did the programming for ladder climbing, hahaha :-D
http://youtu.be/KRFZARiZKOc
'Which Eye Is The Drawing?'
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/81873484716/which-eye-is-the-drawing-image-credit-jose
'Ï€zza'
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/81873509715/zza-via-cibermitanios
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Oh, i feel hungry, now... :-D
..
Hi muff-munchers and moulie cord-wanglers,
...and anyone who might be celebrating Smothers' Day, this Sunday.
'Lesbian Visits Harlem Church for Her Stoning'
http://www.advocate.com/politics/religion/2014/03/20/watch-lesbian-visits-harlem-church-her-stoning
'NY Lesbian Jennifer Louise Lopez Asks ANTI-GAY Harlem Church To STONE Her To DEATH!!'
http://youtu.be/cwM1Xl-MLhs
One of those homophobic Churches... sorry, that's superfluous... one of those Churches, had a sign up, outside, saying Jesus would stone homosexuals.
{Aside: As i pointed out last week, it's the fundamentalists who are 'right' (in inverted commas, because of course, in the real world, superstition isn't) when they say Jesus condemned dem Gayz, because she (no Y-chromosome, remember!) made a blanket statement of support for the scriptures that condemn them.
With no explicit condemnation, the implicit condonement should be taken as the official position of the mythical character Jesus... Jesusella?}
Anyway, a Lesbian in New York went up to a Church that had a sign up outside, stating this bigoted opinion, and requested her stoning. She was entitled to it, i suppose.
She's not a masochist (as far as i know!) just testing their integrity. But the guy seemed rather unwilling to carry out the barbarous act, in person. Or maybe, as he said, he just didn't have any rocks.
I'm hoping the real reason was that he had an attack of morality, at the last moment.
Meanwhile, in the UK...
'Same-sex marriage now legal as first couples wed'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26793127
As an egalitarian, i find it quite satisfying, that i can now have my stomach churned equally, by the nauseating romantics of Queers and Straights alike. I'm not a masochist either. I promise :-P
Note that, in the interests of false balance, the top half of the article is nauseating, name-dropping, luvvy-duvvyness, with no concern for the fact that subjugation still exists, in other forms; and the bottom half is religious bigotry from a load of whining prats!
Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, said: "We can't just redefine an institution - redefine something that always has been - because we say it's something that we want... This is actually very self-centred. This is not about rights, it's about seeking cultural dominance and seeking to redefine marriage for all of us."
No, Andrea, your euphemistical 'Christian conscience' (bloody-minded bigotry) is the self-centred, priggish cultural dominance, which is attempting to impose a temporary definition of marriage that did not and could not exist until Xtianity did, on a 21st century recovering-from-religion country, where 58 of the 60 million people do not share your bigoted opinions in any way.
Marriage pre-existed both Christianity and nation States, and the contemporary conflation between luvvy-duvvy marriage and civil/legal State recognition do not mean you have good reason to exclude people from WASPish privilege.
Christian Concern, by the way, is not the same organization as Christian Voice, which is headed by Stephen Green - a wife-beating child abuser barred from seeing his family (victims) who has, on numerous occasions, been presented by the BBC as a voice of the euphemistical 'Christian conscience'. His 'conscience' said homosexuals should be executed!
But i suppose the BBC should get credit for presenting this article with the bigotry at the bottom (where people are least likely to read) and a clear pro-reality bias in the title.
The times, they are a-changin' indeed :-)
N.B. Plenty of States of the USA and around the world have properly recognised marriage between consenting adults of the same sex, already. At last, the UK has caught up. Who saw that happening under a Conservative government? LOL
From the unsympathisably ideologically sick to the sympathisably mentally sick...
The Mental Welfare Commission of the UK has declared that Atos - the private sector organisation to which Work Capability Assessments were outsourced, in 2007 - has blood on its hands, for causing the suicide of a woman with clinical depression.
'Benefits assessment led to woman's suicide says watchdog'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-26740651
"This lady had a lot to look forward to," said the chief executive of the MWC, Dr Donald Lyons. "She was getting married. She was being treated. She was undertaking voluntary work. She had a good social network." "There wasn't anything else which we could identify that would lead us to believe that there was any other factor in her life that resulted in her decision to end her life."
When a DWP representative analysed the process, he told the MWC that the steps taken showed "nothing untoward."
I think that's a very telling statement. The DWP - the government department that finds itself responsible for excusing the profit-motivated Atos - sees nothing wrong with a maintenance system that causes suicides!
And when i say "maintenance system", i mean "maintenance". The money is not a frivolous extra - it's not a perk - it's not a company car, a year-end bonus, or an extra week's holiday.
This is why it should not be called the 'benefits system'. A 'benefit' sounds like a perk, a blessing, a boon - it sounds frivolous - it sounds like people don't really need the money.
Which is very untrue. People's self-esteem rests on having a job, and having an income, because both gaining money and spending it makes people feel alive, and part of the society around them. This is why unemployed people get depressed and lonely, and find any test for analysis of their ignominious desperation as soothing as being buggered by a pineapple! Some will avoid going to Jobcentres (or whatever your country's equivalent might be called) simply because they find the experience humiliating.
Aloof careerists, who take home £40,000+ a year, have no right to ignore the fact that other people have a much tougher time than them 'sliding down the razorblade of life' as Tom Lehrer jokingly put it. Even they, if they lost their job, or were left bed-ridden (most maintenance claimants are not doing so as jobseekers) might feel the sudden pinch on their self-esteem, from friends, enemies, and self alike.
It's difficult to pin down causes to one person's experience, but the evidence that poverty across economies causes heart attacks, strokes, depression, suicides, poorer nutrition, and consequent to that, the spread of disease, is much harder to repudiate. (Immune systems function less well in depressed and malnourished people - rendering the starving people more susceptible to, for example, diarrhea, which healthier people find a slight inconvenience)
This is not a frivolous matter, because morbidity and mortality are at stake. We should all stop talking about 'benefits' and instead talk about 'maintenance'.
And now for the science bit:
'Standards of Evidence - Wikipedia Edition'
http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/standards-of-evidence-wikipedia-edition/
Quacks set up a petition, on change.org, petitioning Wikipedia to remove evidential quality control, so that their quackery-based businesses wouldn't get such a bad rap. Here's what Steve Novella says about them:
"There are those [] who do not want standards. It is not by coincidence that these are the people who do not or cannot meet existing standards. They feel it is better to whine about the standards than to improve the quality of their claims and arguments. They typically will characterize quality standards as oppressive, closed minded, protectionist, and elitist. As they continue down that rabbit hole, they further claim that standards are really just part of a conspiracy by those in power to protect their privilege or world view."
The quacks can't get respect by Wikipedia or any science-heeding entity, because their claims are unscientific! No surprises there. But it gets better... here's how Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia founder, responded:
"No, you have to be kidding me. Every single person who signed this petition needs to go back to check their premises and think harder about what it means to be honest, factual, truthful.
Wikipedia’s policies around this kind of thing are exactly spot-on and correct. If you can get your work published in respectable scientific journals – that is to say, if you can produce evidence through replicable scientific experiments, then Wikipedia will cover it appropriately.
What we won’t do is pretend that the work of lunatic charlatans is the equivalent of “true scientific discourse”. It isn’t."
Oh, yeah! Walesy lays the smackdown on the snake-oil salesmen. Short and sweet :o)
On-or-around-this-day-or-week:
The 74th anniversary of celebrated polymath and Rationalist Richard Dawkins' birth. Yay, for the Dawkster! Science and Reason FTW :-D
https://www.facebook.com/ImProudToBeAtheist/photos/a.241865839482.134537.241756214482/10152303823109483/?type=1
In other news:
The goblins are back! No - i don't mean Eric Pickles or Rob Ford - i mean actual not-actual goblins: "Villagers say strange occurrences have been ongoing since the early 90s when Mr Moyo joined the school but things got worse last year when the goblins’ antics turned to sexual abuse." When a crime is committed, in mysterious circumstances, somewhere in Zimbabwe, the scape-goat is frequently goblins. Inevitably, such superstitions prevent true justice from being imposed, because the real perpetrators go free.
http://doubtfulnews.com/2014/03/headmaster-of-school-outsted-because-of-goblins/
Bionic plants are now a thing! Researchers at MIT have put carbon nanotubes inside the cells of a plant, to increase the amount of light it absorbbs, thereby increasing the rate it can do photosynthesis and grow. It's the plantae equivalent of spectacles, LOL. It's not yet known whether the increased 'sight' of the plants actually translates into faster growth, but it is known that bioninc organisms are not unprecedented - a bionic organism is just one that incorporates synthetic structures into itself, in order to improve function. In humans, there are specs, stents, hearing aids, pacemakers, hip-replacements, and in some cases, entire limbs! Mankind is a bionic species already :-D
http://youtu.be/FnzIMlqmSYI
Nineteen new species of rare, speedy praying mantises have been discovered in tropical forests and old collections of central and south america. To read more, follow the link to my tumblr; and to see more mantises, click on the 'praying mantis' tag, underneath the post.
http://tapejarascience.tumblr.com/post/81060745559/nineteen-new-species-of-rare-speedy-praying
Master Splinter, from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, has been caught and killed, in Sweden. Measuring 40cm long, it had chewed through cement and wood to get at the waste scraps under a family's kitchen sink. Both their children and the domestic cat were terrified... i'm not surprised!
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/swedish-family-had-monster-viking-rat.html
Another animal story: buffalo on the loose in Sydney. They escaped from a film set. One of my favourite radio jokes is this: "Halt! Your money of your life. Get down from that horse!" "It's not a horse - it's a water buffalo" "Why on Earth are you riding a water buffalo?" "Because it's quicker than walking!" Ba-boom-tsch :-P
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/water-buffalo-rounded-up-after-escaping.html
A man has walked into a shop, asking for hair removal cream, while wearing only a garter and a pink sock. What i want to know is... where was he wearing the garter? :-P
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/man-wanting-hair-removal-cream-walked.html
Amoral entrepreneurs in the UK are due to open a 'no frills' hostelry where a half pint of beer will cost £1. "The average price of a pint in the North East where the first no frills pub will open is currently £3. The region has some of the worst rates of alcohol-related deaths and adults are more likely to drink heavily there than in other parts of England." So, it sounds like a good idea, then. They'll be selling them at motorway service stations next... in the end, everyone who wants a chat over a drink will have to converge on Watford Gap Services. They're going to need more seats :-D
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/poundpub-a-half-pint-will-cost-a-quid-at-stocktonontees-new-discount-hostelry--but-12-pubs-are-still-closing-a-week-9213101.html
This is an old story, really, but there is an ATM, in Basford, UK, that has been built with 38cm clearance from the ground. Their excuse? They built it on a hill. Um... yeeees. Anyway, i don't see what's so wrong with it - it's a better height for Tapejaras ;-)
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/supermarket-to-review-positioning-of.html
A couple of comedy road signs have been set up at a zebra road crossing, in Norway, by artists. They inspire pedestrians to mimic the funny walks of a rather famous Monty Python sketch. The locals seem pleased; the mayor seems pleased; but the Norwegian Public Roads Administration remains po-faced. Maybe it's because they're not quite the Finland, Finland, Finland Public Roads Administration ;-)
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/norwegian-roads-agency-not-amused-by.html
More comedy, with an article whose title says it all: 'Grandson of lord launches gangsta rap career from the Hampstead ghetto'. You can see his music video, at the link. I know what you're thinking - Weird Al did it better :-D
http://arbroath.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/grandson-of-lord-launches-gangsta-rap.html
------------------------------------------------------ contemporary stuff
'Making Cesium on a Barbecue!'
http://youtu.be/ni6S4OuSlCs
'Slow Motion Breakfast'http://youtu.be/BrBuN9p5L6M
'SURICATE - L'Ultimatum'
http://youtu.be/tHlb8t60MiE
'Miami 2014 Sunday Hot Shot Federer'
I can barely believe how well Federer's been playing, this year! It's a privilege to see. But all the more impressive that other players manage to beat him!
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Media/Video-Landing/*/Tennis/Media/Videos/Uploaded/2014/3/23/Miami-2014-Sunday-Hot-Shot-Federer.aspx
'Theologian says analysis of Catholicism is verging on racism'
Oh dear, LOL - racist beliefs exist despite evidence, in exactly the same way religious beliefs do. Is she implicitly condemning faith, the application of it, or both? :-D
http://youtu.be/sDJImrCGsQE
'PRODUCT VS PACKSHOT: THE CHECKOUT | Thursdays 8pm ABC1'
This is a trailer... it's what the Checkout team live in :-P
http://youtu.be/z1SlTy2RAMw
'THE LOVING PET OWNER: RELAX | The Checkout | ABC1'
More of the hilarious pseudoscience in the pet industry. If you've fallen for any of these... it's time for a rethink :-P
http://youtu.be/KC3vw16lJog
'PARALLEL CONSUMERVERSE: IF RETAILERS WERE LIKE GOOGLE | The Checkout | ABC1'
http://youtu.be/ASk5uCMxGUM
'Pop Tulips'
This is the worst magic trick i've ever seen! All he did was put some already-grown tulips in a bag, then microwave them. No wonder it got on 'Illegal Advertising' - it should be illegal! :-D
http://www.illegaladvertising.com/post/80666086605/pop-tulips
'X-ray movie shows how fly beats its wings'
Wow - look at those pecs! Pretty fly for a... fly :-P
http://youtu.be/NIKWYwcyiV0
'Filter-feeding motion of giant ancient 'shrimp''
This is a representation of the mouthparts of a 70-centimetre shrimp that lived in the Cambrian!
http://youtu.be/0CZR6aBuPVk
'Physics-minded crow brings Aesop's fable to life'
http://youtu.be/NGaUM_OngaY
'Helmet lets you experience fly vision while driving'
http://youtu.be/MtPTT1Uv6tM
'Helmet cameras let you see like a chameleon'
http://youtu.be/05V5UAX1iHQ
So... which of this week's New Scientist videos gets the vote for best background music? I reckon the fly gets my vote :-P
'Robot head puts on your friend's face'
http://youtu.be/oqazH93RqH0
'Tesla Model S 85 performance plus | Fully Charged'
Kryten swears at the Tesla S 85... with excitement!
http://youtu.be/Bv2UE7sNBfA
'Measuring Coastline - Numberphile'
How long is the coastline of your home country? It might astound you to hear, that whether landlocked or not, the question has no definitive answer!
http://youtu.be/7dcDuVyzb8Y
'Greenland Ice Sheet Changing'
This might not be comic, but it's absolutely fascinating - it contains some beautiful graphics, showing the topography of Greenland, both over and under the ice! Brilliant stuff :o)
http://youtu.be/kteMXaUNvlc
'Ed Yong: Suicidal wasps, zombie roaches and other parasite tales'
http://youtu.be/CfqO1U6lfDs
{Is it odd that people confuse influence and control, or is it just my high expectations? We are influenced by all kinds of things - parasites, powers, and memes - but control would be a majority influence - one very hard to consciously turn down. The tiny minds of insects are much easier to control, than the minds of humans, but i guess willingness has always helped!}
'The Firefly Time-Lapse - Photography by Vincent Brady - Music by Brandon McCoy' via cibermitanios
http://youtu.be/y4pWAxnfL8w
'THE DRAGONS DAUGHTER - Game of Thrones Tribute Remix'
http://youtu.be/RMvt13PtV5I
------------------------------------------------------ of the weeks
Word Of The Week: craic (pronounced 'crack') -- irish word for fun, jaunty, gossipy entertainment
Expression Of The Week: 'knobstick marriage' -- a forced marriage, between a pregnant woman and the man believed to be the father; enforced by Christians, during the 18th century, where the Parish would be obliged to pay for the maternity costs if a woman were single.
Cooking Instruction Of The Week: "Add the broken chocolate to a bowl and sit on the back of the Aga or in the simmering oven until just melted." - page 162 of Mary Berry's book 'Mary Berry At Home'
{I'm thinking Mary berry's given the burns units of various hospitals some extra work. There's no way i'm sitting on the back of an Aga until just melted!}
Quote Of The Week: “Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo.” - H.G. Wells
------------------------------------------------------ non-contemporary stuff
From the Grand Illusions channel:
'How to sell Nothing!'
The 'Nothing!' toy is actually falsely marketed, because it does contain something - air - and even a vacuum is not completely empty, because of virtual particles ;-)
http://youtu.be/AcfmS3zIGd8#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Optical Illusion Ring'
http://youtu.be/CHWqE9FmCLU#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'FunFlyStick'
http://youtu.be/DoqRq46JCrA#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'kings college photo'
http://youtu.be/blB6gYG9lpM#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Thermoelectric Generator'
http://youtu.be/6JH-GgLe1xs#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Heatmobile'
http://youtu.be/AVCX5BfPn6A#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Curie Point Magnetic Heat Engine'
http://youtu.be/mUz1ZaIHvDs#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Heliograph'
http://youtu.be/Uf-eykGL4VM#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'True Mirror'
http://youtu.be/ZSxCZCy5Wsk#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Mirror Mug'
http://youtu.be/0nW3Bp-6ozA#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Jolly Jug'
http://youtu.be/yBoQFG1q5aw#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Via'
It's the spin on the marbles that makes them flick up, after they fall - notice how they spin, fast, as they glide between the walls.
http://youtu.be/xFR7pE092cw#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Lihit No. 5'
http://youtu.be/5sDVAYf50yw#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Motus'
And now, Johnny, let's watch that again, in slow-motion :-P
http://youtu.be/PosyCV0OUWs#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Magic Stick'
BTW: This toy takes its power from the falling water - they can never beat the laws of physics!
http://youtu.be/c6ntjYU0bkM#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Floating Hourglass'
But how does this one work? Either way, they have to be closely calibrated to the density of water. So the explanation could be the overcoming of friction by buoyancy, with the position of sand inside changing the shape of the bells, or it could be that the bells are distorted by internal air pressure.
http://youtu.be/kctdo6rQZbY#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Mephisto Spiral'
http://youtu.be/f_cWI9UssFg#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Traffic Jam'
http://youtu.be/XEyOVfotm_s#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Pythagoras Cup'
http://youtu.be/kb5N2wpYRJg#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
In this video, you can see how the Phythagorus Cup works:
'More Unusual Drinking Glasses'
Siphons work by gravity, so when the water-level is high enough to overcome fiction and get it going, the surface tension will pull all of the water behind it, and down to the lower level, at the bottom of the handle. You can do this trick with a serviette and two wine glasses - the emptier glass steals wine from the fuller one. Be warned, though - this version of the trick takes ages to work!
http://youtu.be/frL2DkMM09Y#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Thunder Tube'
http://youtu.be/QyZkmjWAH10#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Trick Opening Boxes - Part 1'
http://youtu.be/XHC7-bbe_qQ#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Trick Opening Boxes - Part 2'
http://youtu.be/Y--FOKdPlNw#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Copycoder'
http://youtu.be/2tluELENbWQ#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Amazing Ways to Balance Coins'
http://youtu.be/-LPeQ8Onbio#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Amazing Cheshire Cat Optical Illusion'
http://youtu.be/w_RoDbP7nHc#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Tim's Amazing Watches'
http://youtu.be/fgr5cgaL1Lo#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Ultimate Wooden Puzzle'
http://youtu.be/k1k5-WP1u9c#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Drunken Ball'
Just imagine - in severely warped space, this crazy pattern could be perceived as a straight line!
http://youtu.be/pivDJNTCbMk#aid=P-QJERFUaOw
'Noisy Balloons'
http://youtu.be/37GBv9EcIuE#aid=P-QJERFUaOw.
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