buck buck buck buck
Oh, I just don’t know what to think. The National Archives insists that “the Civil Service does not do jokes” but this article about a Cold War Chicken Bomb seems to good to be believed.
When you find yourself in danger
When you’re threatened by a stranger
When it looks like you might take a lickin’
(Buck buck buck buck)
There is one thing you should learn
When there is no one else to turn to
C-a-l-l for Superchicken!
east and beyond
In a comment on a previous post, Liz asked how I was getting on with The Glass Palace and though I was nearly half-way through it, I sort of went off it. Not off so much - it’s lovely and well-written, but sort of a romance and I have to be in the mood for that, so I’ve set it aside for another day.
But my passion for all things exotic (to me, of course) continues unabated and I’ve picked up the big, fat 1421 - The Year China Discovered the World which is a fascinating bit of research suggesting that the Chinese discovered America 71 years before Columbus. I’m only part way through and although the Amazon review suggests it doesn’t really add up, it’s certainly persuasive so far.
If you’ve heard of the Piri Reis map, you’ll find it features heavily in his research and there’s something very compelling about his theory that it was based on Chinese sources - certainly more so than some of the wilder Atlantis theories. Well-written, accessible and just the sort of thing I’m in the mood for.
well done light blues
Nicely done Cambridge on the 150th Boat Race. From what I saw, Cambridge held their line perfectly and in fact, moved away when Oxford was warned off. I think Oxford simply choked and never quite got their pace back.
I should add that I think it’s a great shame that the BBC won’t be showing it anymore. It’s really far too niche an event for commercial television and I think it’s, sadly, the end of an era.
random silliness
Want to know the answers to loads of silly questions and urban myths? Like, “where are all the baby pigeons?” or “who invented the smiley face?” or even “is it possible to be tickled to death?” (my brother always seemed keen to find that out by experimenting on me).
Or maybe you want clarification of some more serious queries, like “why is ‘propylene glycol alginate’ found in salad dressings? or “what are the hazards of disease which may be transmitted by towel litter against which we are warned by the labels on hot-air hand dryers?”
All this and more (much more) can be found in the Straight Dope Archives.
And if, after an hour or two trawling through all that, you still find yourself with time on your hands, you can spend some wayward hours perusing this Monty Python and the Holy Grail goody bag with images, scripts, video and sound files from my most favouritist movie of all time.
bookworming
Having had a rotten cold the last couple of days, I’ve stayed in bed and read and read. Over the course of three days, I’ve gobbled up the entire His Dark Materials trilogy. What a lovely, lovely set of books! I never really got into the Harry Potter thing and have to wonder why this series hasn’t received quite the publicity that the Potter series did. Of course, I’m looking forward to reading more of Phillip Pullman, despite him being classified as a children’s author. Then again, so is Tolkein, so I shouldn’t feel bad, I suppose.
Sadly, my daughter is not a fan of Potter and hasn’t taken to the Pullman books as yet either, though I hope this will change.
In my worming through books, I’ve also read the first of the Boudicca series (which I’ve not got on quite so well with) and am just starting The Glass Palace, a book about Burma in the 19th century, sent to me by my cousin and dear travelling companion.
curfew?
I swear, as good as British schools can be, sometimes they really astound me. More schools should keep kids in at lunchtime, says the government. Uh, d’uh. When I were a lass, only seniors (sixth-formers) were allowed off campus at lunchtime.
Apparently headteachers say it’s too expensive to pay for supervision. Wot?! In other words, they dump the kids out the gate and that’s OK then? What about the ones who choose to stay in school and eat school lunches? Do they just leave them on their own in the kitchens to fend for themselves? It’s a bloody weak excuse and completely and utterly bollocks as far as I can tell.
Again, in my school, teachers seemed to manage just fine without the need for extra babysitting staff. They all had a free period to do their marking and did rotation in the lunchrooms. No disrespect to teachers, ever, of course - I know it’s a rough job - but I can’t recall it being quite so much of a palavar.
charming britannia
Looking for the Real Little Britain? Ah, it’s a loverly place, so it is. Regional variations on a theme:
http://www.glasgowsurvival.co.uk
And in the spirit of regional fairness, here’s CharverWatch thanks to Sarah (who didn’t link to herself so I won’t, though I know it’s our Newky Sarah - or is that formerly Newky?).
This is one of my favs…