Thread: Random Tandems Rides Again Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.


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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Come across something odd or funny or surprising or strange? Want to share?

For anything that's not really a thread, more of a strand.

[* ]Firenze
Heaven Host[/* ]

[ 18. September 2014, 08:22: Message edited by: Firenze ]
 

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Posted by TomOfTarsus (# 3053) on :
 
I liked SusanDoris's reflections on her weekend (which apparently was the impetus, or one of them, for this thread). Good news, charitable behavior, talent, a good time had by all. I'd be afraid of "actually derogatory compliments" had we directed the conversation to "unexpected behavior of teens" or some such!
 

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Posted by SusanDoris (# 12618) on :
 
Glad you liked it.
The reason I phoned the school was that, five years ago, I thought there might be a student who would be able to come once a week to read for me. Audio books and braille are very good of course, but many of the books I wanted to read were not available in these formats. They recommended a lovely girl who came during her 'A' level year and then every holiday while she was at University. Coincidentally, this girl has done the same 'A' level course as the other girl did.

At the same time (five years ago), two (older) women came in answer to my small ad and have been here almost every week since. And what a pleasure it has been to have that to look forward to.
 

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Posted by Polly Plummer (# 13354) on :
 
I went yesterday to the funeral of a former colleague, a lovely but prickly person, who had always said he didn't have any faith and wished he could. I was quite expecting a secular funeral, and not looking forward to that, but in fact it was a "normal" Christian service. His wife said that, although neither she nor the children had any real faith, they were following his wishes: he had enjoyed church services as a boy when he sang in the choir and wanted a proper church service for himself.

This gave those of us who do have a faith, no matter how vague or shaky (as people said afterwards), the chance to pray for him together, and was extremely comforting. Hallelujah!
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
(Originally posted by Alex Cockell:)

Hi all,

For those who missed it - Netflix UK have series 1 of Rev available to stream now.

Old Ship thread - Old ship thread here in Oblivion

Series on 'Flix - Rev on Netflix UK - needs sub.
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 

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Originally posted by Dogwalker:
This link was posted on the Diocese of Western Mass Facebook page earlier today: Temple Israel welcomes Trinity Church

I thought about where to post it; it's kind of a "mystery worship", it could lead to purgatorial discussion, or it could just go nowhere. But here seems like a good place to start.

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Originally posted by George Spigot:
Ignatius the Ultimate Youth Pastor

I'm not so sure where to post this video. It made me laugh though so in the end I decided on Heaven. This was made I believe by people who run a church youth group and is a warning about the cult of celebrity. I completly lost it at the "literally hundreds of miles away" comment.

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Originally posted by The Rhythm Methodist:
Mr. Spigot, sir -

Really entertaining! I'm sure I know the youth pastor they based it on.

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Originally posted by deano:
Sat in the Sheffield Arena waiting for "We Will Rock You" to start. Phil Hilborne rocking out Brian May licks! Loverly!!!

But funniest thing so far is watching all the middle-aged, middle-class ladies all dressed up for a rock gig in high heels, jeans or leather trousers and tops from Next all pointing at the Miranda Hart posters saying "Ooh, I like her" to their friends.

Rawk 'n' Roll... Yeah!!!

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quote:

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Originally posted by Firenze:

quote:

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Originally posted by Dogwalker:
This link was posted on the Diocese of Western Mass Facebook page earlier today: Temple Israel welcomes Trinity Church

I thought about where to post it; it's kind of a "mystery worship", it could lead to purgatorial discussion, or it could just go nowhere. But here seems like a good place to start.

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Originally posted by Ariel:
For people who like teddy bears.

There's got to be a good story behind this. And the antique photo is lovely. I hope they can trace the owner.

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If they can't find the owner, we'd be happy to adopt him.

We (or more particularly D.) have a habit of being adopted by Small Bears; some have been abandoned by their owners, and others wait in charity-shops until he comes in ...
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
*bump*
 

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Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :
 
I meant to post this yesterday.

Of all the inappropriate things to say at Mass during the sharing of the Peace*:

Me: "Peace be with you."
Him: "Happy Bastille Day."


*and in San Francisco no less.
 

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Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Try this from a friend:

Her: Peace be with you.
Neighbour: I cannot tell you how angry your article in the parish magazine made me - you should be ashamed of yourself.
 

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Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
The current Google Doodle is a charming animation set to Debussy's Clair de lune.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
I try to avoid doodling: I don't get paid for it!

I need a glass of wine.
 

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Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
I loved that Doodle too, lilBuddha

Has anyone else been entranced by the side discussion on the UCCF thread:

Alan

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The person given the task of arranging stalls at Freshers Fair usually had a good laugh. "Hmmmm, who can we put the CU next to this year to make them really uncomfortable?". Right next to the loudest, loud speaker was always popular. Next to the LGBT society was usually ruled out, because the LGBT people started screaming about persecution. The Islamic Soc and Atheists always seemed popular. The imaginative, or just bit more aware, realised that right next to the Joint Chaplaincy stall (under that same loud speaker, of course) was likely to cause the most consternation among the conservative members of ECU.

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The roleplaying society is always a good bet, with some nice, prominent D&D books. I always found it funny to imagine the reaction of those evangelicals who freak out over D&D if they ever encounter Unknown Armies or Call of Cthulu.

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Originally posted by Horseman Bree:

His dates were: born 940, elected Pope 999, died 1003, shown in the article as 940-999-1003.

This was immediately translated by my computer into an offer to ring up this number on Skype!
(preview post tells me that it has happened again)

I didn't dare, for fear the Gerbert might answer.

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...a comment by Mark Twain. When Twain was living in the UK, a couple of his friends from the US were out to his house to tea. A week later, he writes to someone else:

“We furnished them a bright day and comfortable weather—and they used it all up, in their extravagant American way. Since then we have sat by coal fires, evenings.”

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Originally posted by Ariel:
Found this while cleaning out some files on my computer...

"This chain letter is meant to bring greater happiness to you and your parish. Unlike any other chain letter you may have received, this one does not cost money. It will lighten your load.

You simply send a copy of this letter to six other church members in various other dioceses that are unhappy with their bishop. Then you bundle up your bishop and send him to the diocese at the bottom of the list. In one week you will receive 16,536 bishops. One of them should be just what you've always wanted. You must exercise faith in this letter and be sure that you do not break the chain. One good parishioner did and got his old bishop back. Another poor soul broke the chain and was called to be a bishop."

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Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
ROTFL re the bishop chain letter.

I wonder if Pope Francis broke a chain letter??
 

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Posted by Jengie Jon (# 273) on :
 
I saw a cloud bow today, I think it was the first I ever saw.

Jengie


[Deleted duplicate post.]

[ 27. September 2013, 20:54: Message edited by: jedijudy ]
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 

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Originally posted by lilBuddha:
'Tis International Talk Like a Pirate Day, Ya scurvy dogs!

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Originally posted by Arabella Purity Winterbottom:
I think the situation is a bit like that which medical professionals face these days. In the old days, they were almost like gods, and no one dared question them. Now, with the internet providing so much information, and television presenting so many fallible doctors, that authority has broken down. And some medical professionals can't cope ...

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Originally posted by Penny S:
The [Met Office's] forecast of strong winds with associated potential for damage included this phrase...

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This warning has been updated to bring forward the end time.

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(Copied from closed thread.)
Ariel, Heaven Host
 

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Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
A partial solar eclipse tomorrow morning! People on the East Coast of the USA will be able to see it as well.
 

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Posted by PeteC (# 10422) on :
 
This is hilarious and I had to share it with the Ship!

Interpretive dance
 

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Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 

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Originally posted by PeteC:
This is hilarious and I had to share it with the Ship!

Interpretive dance

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Originally posted by Moo:

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Originally posted by PeteC:
This is hilarious and I had to share it with the Ship!

Interpretive dance

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Could someone who knows The Sturdy Wench make sure she sees it?

Moo

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I immediately thought of Kenwritez too.

 

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Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
Moved from Darwin's religious views.

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Originally posted by Moo:
Hosts, I'm putting this here because I don't know where else to put it. I don't want to start a debate; I just want to report on something interesting.

Yesterday at our church education hour, two Virginia Tech professors told us about their biographical research on Darwin. Duncan Porter is a biologist and Peter Graham is in the English department. They have collaborated in writing about Darwin's life and religious beliefs. Their sources were not just Darwin's published writings, but his private letters.

When he went on the voyage of the Beagle he was an ordained Anglican priest. Other men on the ship sometimes teased him about his fundamentalism. He was actually not that interested in religion. The main focus of his life was a burning curiosity about all aspects of the natural world. Three years before his death he wrote in a private letter

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In my most extreme fluctuations I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God--I think that generally(& and more and more so as I grow older) but not always. that an agnostic would be the most correct description of my state of mind.

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All his life he gave very generously to churches. When the Beagle reached New Zealand, he contributed one fourth of the total sum required to build the first church there. (He had a great deal of inherited wealth.) His son recalled that his father would walk him to church every Sunday, but rarely go in.

Essentially he spent very little time thinking about religion, although he obviously considered it a good thing; otherwise he would not have supported it.

This talk gave me a new understanding of Darwin, and I thought you all might be interested.

Moo

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Originally posted by Niminypiminy:
That's interesting, because as far as I recall from Desmond and Moore's biography Darwin lost his faith fairly comprehensively after the death of his daughter Annie (given more detailed treatment in Annie's Box). But it could well be that the talk you went to interpreted the sources differently from Desmond and Moore, Keynes and other biographers who might, as it were, be wanting to find an atheist Darwin.

(edited to correct punctuation)

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Originally posted by Moo:

When he went on the voyage of the Beagle he was an ordained Anglican priest. Other men on the ship sometimes teased him about his fundamentalism.

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Originally posted by Lucia:
Want a new home with an unusual colour scheme? Wow, just wow!

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quote:

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Originally posted by The Undercover Christian:
Don't give up, Flippy Mouse!

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I have some empathy for that mouse! Doesn't life sometime feel like we're doing this?!
 

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Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
Just thought this needed sharing - girls aren't all into pink
 

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Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Looks great and you can get one of the kits from Amazon in the UK - but the mark up is from $29.99 to £70.80 which to my mind is a bit steep
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
That was seriously fantastic and great.

My great-niece wants Lego for Christmas.

The gurlie Friends sort - Aargh.

[ 24. November 2013, 09:31: Message edited by: Penny S ]
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
I think I'll give her my old Meccano set.

Should I repaint it pink first?

I've got the previous owner of the house's Benetton deep pink with glittery bits paint in the garage. (I was going to use it up on the underside of the garden store.)

[ 24. November 2013, 09:50: Message edited by: Penny S ]
 

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Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
Penny S, I'm not used to chrome, blue and yellow Meccano yet, although it does look smart. Meccano is red & green, with natural metal brackets and brass nuts, bolts, wheels & pulleys.
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Some of my Meccano is not painted.

I went to a house in response to a local paper ad for Bayko parts, to complete the version I had worked up to.

( Bayko - I am delighted to see from another page that it was advertised as suitable for boys and girls. Ahead of his time, our Mr Plimpton.)

It was beautifully fitted in a homemade box, and had belonged to their son. They asked if I was interested in the Meccano. Another homemade box, with assorted uncoloured and red and green pieces, which I fell on with delight. It had been a gap in our childhood, since my grandmother had given my Dad's away in the war. And his Mamod engine. And railway.

They then apologised that the Hornby set had already gone. (I was beginning to worry about the whole arrangement, thinking about Dad.)

I haven't made full use of it - did do an earthquake model with it for school, involving elastic to store the energy until it moved suddenly.
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
I've just realised I need to get up at 6.30 tomorrow in case the window fitters get here at 7. Perhaps this belongs in Hell.
 

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Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :
 
Not sire if this is the right place to ask,. and I know I've asked before, but how do you stop getting advertising posts on facebook? I've lost the directions!
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Probably do better on the computing or even Inquire within threads. But if it's stuff on your news feed, there is normally a drop down which appears if you fumble about the top right hand corner of the post, with options to not get ads from that source.
 

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Posted by Drifting Star (# 12799) on :
 
I have no adverts on Facebook using Firefox. I think it's because I have the Adblock Plus Add-on for Firefox (it's so long since I got rid of them that I can't quite remember, but that seems most likely).

Adblock Plus is available for Chrome as well, but there my specific browser knowledge fades out.
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Not sure where to post this. Two weeks back there was a rather odd coincidence, involving C S Lewis, and a children's programme. Sad, I know, but I watch a programme on CBBC - out of the Welsh lair of Russell T Davies. It does something I told children they shouldn't do in their creative writing - mix the genres of SF and fantasy. Spaceships, or wizards, not both.

So, in the week of the 50th anniversary of Lewis' death, and his memorial arriving in Poet's Corner, this programme includes a reference to a magical chamber which has been, in the past, accessed through a wardrobe. (It is currently reached through the door of the understairs loo. It has also been reached through a teenager's poster of the Beatles.) The moving chamber was necessary for the plot. The wardrobe was not. Then, in the same programme, one of the characters, engaged in tidying the school props cupboard, dressed himself up in a lion's head.) No comment in the script, but it did seem as though oblique references were being made. (I haven't noticed any other references to anything.)

Then, when I got round to watching the programme on Lewis' life, another, and much more unlikely reference appeared. I've never read Lewis poem Dymer, and did not know anything about it. Apparently it concerns a man who, travelling in a strange wood, meets a beautiful woman, fathers a child by her, finds she is a monster, and is killed by her. To my surprise, another episode (children's TV, this) had a similar plot - minus the death. Trapped for many years in a magic realm with an alien disguised as a human woman, the 17 year old hero grows up, fathers a child by her, which grows to about 8 years old, before returning to the time and age at which he left*, the alien returning to her usual monstrous form, and the child disappearing - with most of the characters' memories. (The relationship was seen as companionate, and nothing was seen of anything physical. Curiously, the hero's male best friend, his father and his grandmother, seemed to take on what had happened without blinking or commenting. Best friend's reaction was pleasure that the child had been given his name.)

*Could be another Narnia reference, I suppose.

But a seldom read poem? Seems unlikely. I thought the plot a bit peculiar for CBBC - not the sort of thing expected from Sarah Jane, by comparison. I wouldn't usually associate anything Lewisian with Russell T Davies. (He had a co-writer, and unfortunately I can't remember his name.)
 

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Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
I thought you all might enjoy this cartoon.

Moo
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
And a measure of my sadness is that I have just spent a few minutes working out that the drone's number is 620, in case it meant anything.
 

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Posted by SvitlanaV2 (# 16967) on :
 
Random thought: The Baptizers would be a good name for a rock band made up of ordained ministers.
 

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Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 

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Originally posted by Wild Organist:
Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, but this is just so exuberant and fun. Mind the ads at the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n543eKIdbUI

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From "Angels, not Anglicans?", a fun YouTube!

[ 13. December 2013, 01:27: Message edited by: jedijudy ]
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Has anyone been to the Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany?
Wow! It looks amazing!
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
Only a few more days 'till the shortest day - hurrah!

I don not like going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark!

(Especially as teaching these days so often involves a screen and therefore closed binds )
 

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Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 

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Originally posted by Lyda*Rose:
Has anyone been to the Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany?
Wow! It looks amazing!

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Originally posted by Lyda*Rose:
Has anyone been to the Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany?
Wow! It looks amazing!

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Originally posted by Pearl B4 Swine:
Science question: My windows were all frosted over this morning- that white lacy, kinda thick ice. I used my hair dryer to melt some, so I could see out & watch the bird feeder, etc, but the moisture quickly froze again. But this time, a clear glaze. Why is this? What determines whether the ice is clear or opaque white frost?

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Originally posted by Pearl B4 Swine:
Thanks, lilBud. I see that the ice is changing, where I had heated it & it was clear. It is gradually whitening again, but not nearly as non-see-through as the original kind.

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Originally posted by Pearl B4 Swine:

If there were theoretically no humidity in the house, would the frost on the windows be clear?

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Originally posted by Pearl B4 Swine:

And, I was told that ice cubes are clear or white-ish according to the air trapped in the water. Is this true?

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Originally posted by Pearl B4 Swine:

One last thing-- could snow ever be absolutely clear? thanks again, Pearlie

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The cold, hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by – let alone get ahead. And too many still aren’t working at all.

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Originally posted by Jengie Jon:
I finding the do us a flavour ad campaign odd.

The the American Version and the United Kingdom.

It is the fact that the brand styling is almost identical that gets me. Are these one firm two countries or who is imitating who?

Jengie

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Originally posted by SvitlanaV2:
If, like me, you're an ordinary, modern lay Christian you've probably heard the older folks talk about how they learned the books of the Bible by heart as children.

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I went to a christian school. We had to learn a passage every month. The length of the passages varied by how much of the month we were in school for. For the shorter months (usually July) we had to memorise the books of the bible. Oddly, it was the easiest we ever did. The kids would be anxious to try to do it on the first day of the month, with the big challenge to do them all in 1 breath.

And at 30, I don't think I quite qualify as "older folk".
 

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Posted by SvitlanaV2 (# 16967) on :
 
Ah, well. Maybe church schools in the South of England were and are very devoted to the Bible! But I doubt that your experience was shared by most schoolchildren in the UK at the time or since.

A recent study apparently shows that knowledge of the Bible is in decline in the UK, especially in people under the age of 45. A non-evangelical theologian I know claims that candidates for the ministry have less Bible knowledge than they used to, and I understand that even evangelicals know the Bible less thoroughly than they once did. (The net is certainly full of criticisms directed at American evangelicals in this regard.)

However, I don't suppose every elderly lay Christian is necessarily clear about, say, where the different books of the Bible are, or about the chronology of biblical events.
 

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Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on :
 
So, Rolf Harris has been found guilty. I'm not going to go into the rights or wrongs of the case, or argue as to whether he is innocent or guilty, but as a random tangent, did anyone else think that the verdict means his paintings will fall dramatically in value?
 

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Posted by Zacchaeus (# 14454) on :
 

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Originally posted by St. Gwladys:
So, Rolf Harris has been found guilty. I'm not going to go into the rights or wrongs of the case, or argue as to whether he is innocent or guilty, but as a random tangent, did anyone else think that the verdict means his paintings will fall dramatically in value?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Zacchaeus:

quote:

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Originally posted by St. Gwladys:
So, Rolf Harris has been found guilty. I'm not going to go into the rights or wrongs of the case, or argue as to whether he is innocent or guilty, but as a random tangent, did anyone else think that the verdict means his paintings will fall dramatically in value?

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Yes, I did.

I went to an exhibition of his a few years ago and loved them. I said I to the person with me that 'I could live with one of those but I can't afford it'

When I saw the verdict I thought, now I could probably afford one but I couldn't live with one now.

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Originally posted by LeRoc:
A lot of people have commented on the exclusion of South-East Scotland from the Celtic Union.

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Originally posted by Dafyd:

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Originally posted by LeRoc:
A lot of people have commented on the exclusion of South-East Scotland from the Celtic Union.

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Historically, the Lothian region was part of Northumbria; it was annexed by Scotland in the early medieval period.

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Dafyd: Historically, the Lothian region was part of Northumbria; it was annexed by Scotland in the early medieval period.

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Metapelagius: As before that the Angles had overrun the North Welsh kingdom of Manau Gododdin ...

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Maybe the different kingdoms of the Island of Britain have overrun eachother so often that a case can be made for any division


But what do you think of this division into Northland, Anglo-Mercia, New Saxony and the Celtic Union? If you had to divide the British Isles into four equipopulous parts that are as historically/culturally homogeneous as possible, would this be the best fit?
 

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Posted by Drifting Star (# 12799) on :
 
I think the Celtic Union has the feel of a ragbag of scraps put together - four very different countries in there together simply because they are all different to the main part of England.

You only have to listen to the Scottish complaining about having a Welsh presenter at the Commonwealth games to know that that wouldn't work!
 

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Posted by Metapelagius (# 9453) on :
 

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Originally posted by LeRoc:

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Dafyd: Historically, the Lothian region was part of Northumbria; it was annexed by Scotland in the early medieval period.

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Thanks, I didn't know that.

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Metapelagius: As before that the Angles had overrun the North Welsh kingdom of Manau Gododdin ...

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Maybe the different kingdoms of the Island of Britain have overrun each other so often that a case can be made for any division

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Originally posted by Sir Kevin
Do you enjoy seeing and hearing Mr. Nighy in films and on BBC Radio as much as I do? Currently listening to him as lead in Charles Paris over on Radio 4 Extra. I do some of my best puttering and writing listening to him.

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Originally posted by Sir Kevin:
Wasn't he in the Pub at the End of the universe film or some such with zombies? Sorry, I hate Google. I can't be arsed to look it up.

My second (unpublished thus far) has one vampire and nil zombies!

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He was in Shaun of the Dead playing Simon Pegg's stepdad. If we're talking vampires, he also plays the head vamp in the Underworld films.
 

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Posted by Gussie (# 12271) on :
 
I'm rather fond of Bill Nighy too, mainly because he's a big Bob Dylan fan, and any one who's one of those is OK by me
 

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Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 

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Originally posted by LeRoc:

quote:

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Dafyd: Historically, the Lothian region was part of Northumbria; it was annexed by Scotland in the early medieval period.

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Thanks, I didn't know that.

quote:

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Metapelagius: As before that the Angles had overrun the North Welsh kingdom of Manau Gododdin ...

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Maybe the different kingdoms of the Island of Britain have overrun eachother so often that a case can be made for any division


But what do you think of this division into Northland, Anglo-Mercia, New Saxony and the Celtic Union? If you had to divide the British Isles into four equipopulous parts that are as historically/culturally homogeneous as possible, would this be the best fit?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Sir Kevin:
Wasn't he in the Pub at the End of the universe film or some such ...?

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quote:

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Originally posted by balaam:

quote:

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Originally posted by LeRoc:

quote:

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Dafyd: Historically, the Lothian region was part of Northumbria; it was annexed by Scotland in the early medieval period.

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Thanks, I didn't know that.

quote:

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Metapelagius: As before that the Angles had overrun the North Welsh kingdom of Manau Gododdin ...

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Maybe the different kingdoms of the Island of Britain have overrun eachother so often that a case can be made for any division


But what do you think of this division into Northland, Anglo-Mercia, New Saxony and the Celtic Union? If you had to divide the British Isles into four equipopulous parts that are as historically/culturally homogeneous as possible, would this be the best fit?

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But there are parts of England that were never Anglo Saxon, such as Elmet. Elmet was later overrun by Vikings, but so were parts of Scotland and Ireland. Should West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, northern Derbyshire and part of what are now Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire be part of the Celtic union? It has greater provenance than parts of Scotland and Ireland.

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The Ugandan army has said it plans to take over the country's Miss Uganda beauty contest, it appears.

Kampala's presidential adviser on the military Gen Caleb Akandwanaho - who is widely known as Salim Saleh - says the move is intended to "attract young people into the agricultural sector", adding that it may help to solve the "problems of hunger and poverty among the youth of the country,"

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However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.

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Miss Austen seems to have been guilty of befuddling her gentle readers (according to Online-Utility.org's readability calculator) .
 

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Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
I came across this news story, which I hope you all enjoy.

Moo
 

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Posted by luvanddaisies (# 5761) on :
 
Someone tell Mousethief (the mouse part of him anyway), there's going to be Orthodox cheese.

Blessed are the cheesemakers.
 

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Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Just as well Russia isn't in the EU - they probably wouldn't be allowed to call it "mozzarella" ...
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Unbelievably, someone's been manufacturing plush toy microbes. They even have a cuddly Ebola.
 

---

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
I've got the common cold one. Very cute.
 

---

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
Someone gave me the flu one.

Moo
 

---

Posted by basso (# 4228) on :
 
The last few posts were a bit worrisome if you read threads from the bottom up.
 

---

Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
If you put a sperm and an ovum together do they breed?
 

---

Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 
I need an old man pub. A place where grey haired old guys can go at 4 pm and drink beer anonymously with other old guys who laugh at the same jokes we all know already. Just saying.
 

---

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
Here is a nice time-lapse video of an exploding meteor.

Moo
 

---

Posted by spork (# 18260) on :
 
Just thinking about my dear old Dad and how we would call 'Oxbridge' Camford because why the heck not and it would make us giggle like children!
 

---

Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
Wow! Thanks Moo. I liked his spinning leaf too.

Huia
 

---

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by spork:
... we would call 'Oxbridge' Camford ...

---

I must admit I've occasionally wondered why it should be one and not the other. But I suppose if one's referring to them both in full, one usually says "Oxford and Cambridge" rather than "Cambridge and Oxford".



[ 07. November 2014, 15:01: Message edited by: Piglet ]
 

---

Posted by The Machine Elf (# 1622) on :
 
Now trying to think of a "Thingy and wotsit" where there isn't stress on the first syllable of Thingy and the last syllable of wotsit.
 

---

Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :
 
This morning, I was listening to "Love is a battlefield" by Pat Benatar. I really love this song but was thinking that it's really showing it's age - very 1980's! I thought about how you could redo the song, but maybe slow it down and make it more moody.

Then this evening, at the end of a TV show that happening to be on (no idea what it was), lo and behold - there was a slowed down version of "Love is a battlefield"! How weird is that!

(Unfortunately, this new version was absolutely abysmal. Bring back Pat B!)
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
City skylines at night without light pollution.
 

---

Posted by Twilight (# 2832) on :
 
I woke up from my nap with an old camp song in my head:

"White ---- bells, upon a slender stalk,
Lilies of the Valley deck my garden walk."

You tube didn't let me down. There are lots of charming little girl groups singing this round for me.

However!

About 9 out of 10 versions, there or on Google, call it "White coral Bells," when I was sure it was, "White Choral Bells." A few groups even sang "upon a silver stalk."

I ask you?!
 

---

Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
In the situations vacant column of the Christchurch Press, "Want to earn money standing around on street corners?" No, not an advertisement for the oldest profession, (although prostitution is legal here) but an attempt to recruit more road workers to repair the quake damaged infrastructure.

Huia
 

---

Posted by Jengie jon (# 273) on :
 
Only on ship of fools would I wonder why "eta" (=η) was being used, when they actually meant "eta"(=edited to add).

Jengie
 

---

Posted by mark_in_manchester (# 15978) on :
 

quote:

---

Just thinking about my dear old Dad and how we would call 'Oxbridge' Camford

---

On holiday I ran into a very annoying woman who made a great fuss about her dog, a 'Labradoodle' cross. It was not until later that it struck me that I might have asked her if she was sure she had not, in fact, bred a 'Poobrador'.

[ 20. November 2014, 22:09: Message edited by: mark_in_manchester ]
 

---

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
Ah! I just had a moment of accidental delight. I thought that this afternoon at work was going quite peacefully. I just now figured out why--I had accidentally shut down MS Outlook, so I have not been receiving any e-mails all afternoon! Bliss!
 

---

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
I saw a nice message on a T shirt.

NEVER TRUST AN ATOM
THEY MAKE THINGS UP

Moo
 

---

Posted by Lucia (# 15201) on :
 
For those who know their biblical and ANE languages! I am the very model of a biblical philologist Appologies to Gilbert and Sullivan!
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lucia:
For those who know their biblical and ANE languages! I am the very model of a biblical philologist Appologies to Gilbert and Sullivan!

---

Very good.
 

---

Posted by Horseman Bree (# 5290) on :
 
Not sure why the Model Major-General should be so inspiring, but he has also influenced Singularitarians ( just a little bizarre historically!) and psychopharmacologists, among others.
 

---

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 
And Episcopalians.
 

---

Posted by Jengie jon (# 273) on :
 
O I have heard "He is the very model of moderator provincial*". It was performed in the 1980s so long before Youtube and such.

Jengie

*Before the merger with the Congregational Church of Scotland, synod moderators were provincial moderators. In the case of Northern Province this included the whole of Scotland, Northumbria, Tyneside and Cleveland.
 

---

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Some people (myself included) will be delighted to see that (at least according to the Telegraph), Edinburgh is once again Britain's Top City.

Proper thing.
 

---

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Perhaps a Mystery worshipper was called for - I don't know where this was, but in the UK somewhere. The relevant part is halfway down the page, below the bit about dishwashers.

www.paranormal.org.uk/mustardland/viewtopic.php?t=51431

[ 26. December 2014, 17:42: Message edited by: Penny S ]
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Some alternative New Year's Honours
 

---

Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
I've just learnt, from a crossword clue, that episcopal is an anagram of Pepsi Cola. Perhaps a sponsorship opportunity for TEC there.
 

---

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Albertus:
I've just learnt, from a crossword clue, that episcopal is an anagram of Pepsi Cola. Perhaps a sponsorship opportunity for TEC there.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
Some alternative New Year's Honours

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jengie jon:
Two completely random tangents. I took this photo yesterday.
Jengie

---

Apparently one needs a Google account to open that.

 

---

Posted by Jengie jon (# 273) on :
 
Darn, I tried to make sure it was readable by all. It is on google photos but it will let me post it to Google+ or Facebook and I could not find anyway otherwise to change the settings

Does this work or this one?

Jengie
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Yes.
 

---

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Last night in the strong wind, my plastic tomato house ended up on its side on the other side of my garden and half way back towards the house, neatly tucked in over a group of large flower pots and under the rim of the bird bath. I wish I'd seen it go. It managed to do it by pulling a cup hook in the fence to which twine had attached it out. It partly knocked over a smaller plastic similar thing, but, it arrived where it did without knocking over the canes that had been inside it, the bird feeder pole, canes which had held up cucumbers, leeks or a plastic rain gauge en route. It may have flattened a few last lettuces and one onion. and knocked a sunflower seed dispenser on its way, but I have to conclude it either flew, or rolled. It's not a large garden, it only moved about six metres, but there's a lot of stuff in the way. I've put its frame back, but sequestered the cover. I didn't sleep well last night, but heard not a thing.

[ 15. January 2015, 15:13: Message edited by: Penny S ]
 

---

Posted by SvitlanaV2 (# 16967) on :
 
Heading down musical memory lane just now I noticed that a (fake...) Salvation Army band appears in the pop video of 'I Don't Care' [1992] by Shakespears Sister (sic). How cool is that?

(The band pops up in the background at 4:04. )
 

---

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Watching the 2nd Harry Potter movie, and realized Mr. Weasley is played by the same actor who played Fr. Brown!
 

---

Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :
 
Wonderful news from my alma mater. With a recent history that includes being the location for some of the Harry Potter films, Durham University has just appointed Professor Snape to be the inaugural Michael Ramsey Canon Chair of Anglican Studies.

 

---

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Sipech--ROTFL.
 

---

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Love it! As if Durham wasn't cool enough already (about 15 years ago we spent a week singing the services in Durham Cathedral and staying in the castle - it was lovely).

On the subject of appropriately-named officials, I noticed in The Orcadian newspaper when I was home that the new president of the Orkney branch of the National Farmers' Union is a Mr. Cowe.


 

---

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
I just realized that this year is the 75th anniversary of Gracie Allen's run for President of the United States! The gag started on the Burns & Allen radio show in late February of 1940. Gracie then, over the next week or so, did a whirlwind tour of other radio shows (such as Jack Benny and Fibber McGee & Molly) to announce her candidacy.

The idea caught the public fancy and it began to snowball. The radio show developed a campaign song with such lovely lyrics as "Those big politicians don't know what to do!/Gracie doesn't either, but neither do you!" and "Vote for Gracie to win the presidential racie." Her platform included such wisdom as "be proud of our national debt: it's the biggest in the world!" When asked her opinion on a hot-topic bill, her advice: "if we owe it, we should pay it."

One of her ideas that sounds even smarter these days than it did then: Put Congress on commission: if the country does well, they'd be paid accordingly; if the country does poorly, so will they.

Her political party, the Surprise Party! held its convention in Omaha, Nebraska. Yes, they actually held a convention in Omaha. It was packed. The Party mascot? A Kangaroo. Party motto? "It's in the bag!"

The campaign ground to a halt when the radio season ended in May (or maybe June). Over the summer, the Burns & Allen Show changed sponsors and, when it came back on in September the campaign idea had been dropped. Despite this, during the election in November of 1940, Gracie still netted in excess of 40,000 write-in votes. Perhaps they followed the advice of the campaign song: "That's right, you can't go wrong! Vote for Gracie and keep voting all day long!"
 

---

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
Sorry for the double-post, but I need to correct something. I foolishly relied on Wikipedia for the number of write-in votes Gracie received. There appears to be no actual evidence to support that. Other Sources indicate that the total number of write-in votes (without classification as to who or what was written in) was only about three thousand votes. So Gracie, if she got any write-ins at all, would have received less than 3000 votes.
 

---

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
Yesterday evening, I was playing the trumpet in a street party here in Brazil. A short black man with a baseball cap arrived, and brought out a trumpet. He played some notes along with us. He started a New Orleans type song, which we played along. Then he left.

It was Wynton Marsalis.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by LeRoc:
It was Wynton Marsalis.

---

Or did you just April Fool us?
 

---

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 

quote:

---

jedijudy: Or did you just April Fool us?

---

No, it would have been a good one but this happened on 31 March and it was very real. I'm never going to forget this in my whole life.
 

---

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
4 ft. long pet rabbits!
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Golden Key:
4 ft. long pet rabbits!

---

I want one!!!

 

---

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
...whereas I'm more inclined to run away!

I think animals are wonderful, but I'm not a pet person. If I had to be around one of those giant rabbits, it would take some time and work to get used to it. I tend to have a visceral negative reaction to standard poodles--where I grew up, poodles were much smaller. I'm not sure I even knew standard poodles existed. I'm getting over that, though.
 

---

Posted by basso (# 4228) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Golden Key:
4 ft. long pet rabbits!

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by jedijudy:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Golden Key:
4 ft. long pet rabbits!

---

I want one!!!

---

Could you imagine one of those with an axe?!??!??!
 

---

Posted by basso (# 4228) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Hedgehog:
Could you imagine one of those with an axe?!??!??!

---

 

---

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Shhhh, don't tell Kelly!!!
 

---

Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
Do they come in milk chocolate?
 

---

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Albertus:
I've just learnt, from a crossword clue, that episcopal is an anagram of Pepsi Cola. Perhaps a sponsorship opportunity for TEC there.

---

I remember hearing that many years ago.

If the Mormon Church still owns Pepsi, I doubt that there's much hope for a sponsorship.

---

Snopes, people, snopes.
 

---

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Those rabbits may explain the passage I've lately read in Lindsey Davis' book "Master and God" about Domitian. In the description of Titus' games inaugurating what was to be called the Colisseum, rabbits were listed among the animals. "Rabbits?" queried the main character, but explanation there was none.
 

---

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
It turns out that a seventeenth century play by an unknown author may have been written by Shakespeare.

Moo
 

---

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
I want it! I want it! want it!!!
It is ugly, impractical, dangerous and oh so lovely.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you......the Black Pearl
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Me too!

If we order two do you think we'll get a massive discount that makes it affordable?
 

---

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :
 
Genius!

Here's an earlier version.

It fits rather well with the most phallic vehicle I have ever seen, spotted this weekend.

AG
 

---

Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :
 
It's back!

The Englewood review of books has done their top 10 bad christian book covers (certainly beats our measly caption competition).

The 10th cover, and the whole premise of the book, is cringeworthy. Though I really, really want to read DOES GOD EVER SPEAK through CATS.
 

---

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sipech:
...certainly beats our measly caption competition.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sipech:
It's back!

The Englewood review of books has done their top 10 bad christian book covers (certainly beats our measly caption competition).

The 10th cover, and the whole premise of the book, is cringeworthy. Though I really, really want to read DOES GOD EVER SPEAK through CATS.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Penny S:
And what happened on the 20th May, 2012?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sipech:
It's back!

The Englewood review of books has done their top 10 bad christian book covers (certainly beats our measly caption competition).

The 10th cover, and the whole premise of the book, is cringeworthy. Though I really, really want to read DOES GOD EVER SPEAK through CATS.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by lilBuddha:
I think the judges got bored with the Chinese Cresteds winning all the time.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sandemaniac:
Not really thread worthy in itself, but I thought this XKCD would go down well here.

AG

---

Interesting spin! I particularly like the mouse-over message. I've had moments like that.

 

---

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
I came across this interesting article.

Moo
 

---

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
I have no idea whether this belongs here or not - or anywhere.

Breaking News - Republican Congress members have hailed as an example of what good science looks like research revealing that members of the genus ursidae no longer defaecate in sylvan biomes.

Guardian leader
 

---

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Moo:
I came across this interesting article.

Moo

---

quote:

---

But there is another temptation which we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners. The contemporary world, with its open wounds which affect so many of our brothers and sisters, demands that we confront every form of polarization which would divide it into these two camps.

---

Every form of polarization.

The more I read the Address to Congress, the more layers I notice. There are lots of thought-provoking statements to chew on.

Also of some interest is his earlier address to the bishops of the U.S.
 

---

Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
Just because it entertained me - this link shows why it is a bad idea to discourage spiders with a lighter, particularly when you are buying gas / petrol
 

---

Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
Apropos nothing at all, when people capitalise the third person singular form of "to be" I now expect a news report from the Middle East. It's disconcerting.
 

---

Posted by M. (# 3291) on :
 
Apropos of nothing, I caught a bit on the radio the other day that the Holy Ghost had been found buried in mud in Hampshire.

I was contemplating fundamental changes to my theology when I realised that the article was about Henry VIII's warship of said name.....

M.
 

---

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 

 

---

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
Apropos nothing at all, when people capitalise the third person singular form of "to be" I now expect a news report from the Middle East. It's disconcerting.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by M.:
Apropos of nothing, I caught a bit on the radio the other day that the Holy Ghost had been found buried in mud in Hampshire.

I was contemplating fundamental changes to my theology when I realised that the article was about Henry VIII's warship of said name.....

M.

---

In the interests of accuracy, it's the warship of Henry V, not the Tudor madman
 

---

Posted by M. (# 3291) on :
 
Ah! Sorry! I really wasn't listening properly, was I?

M.
 

---

Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Piglet:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
Apropos nothing at all, when people capitalise the third person singular form of "to be" I now expect a news report from the Middle East. It's disconcerting.

---

You think that's disconcerting? I bought a bottle of scent a while back in Marks & Sparks and only recently realised that it was called "Isis".

---

There's a hairdressers's on the main road between central London and Heathrow airport called Isis. I wonder how business is right now?



 

---

Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :
 
A language school in Greenwich fell foul of that.

Wasn't there also a rumour about a god in Downton Abbey being killed off because it was called ISIS?
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I think it's a real shame. "Isis" has been around for centuries - I hope they're not going to rename one of Oxford's rivers because of this.

"Daesh" is a better choice - it spells out the acronym of the group's Arabic name, and is also an insulting pun. It can be understood as "to trample underfoot" or "bigots who impose their views on others." Besides, it annoys them.

quote:

---

A group of British imams has suggested to prime minister David Cameron that he call the group "the Un-Islamic State".

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sipech:
A language school in Greenwich fell foul of that.

Wasn't there also a rumour about a god in Downton Abbey being killed off because it was called ISIS?

---

I think it was a dog. Gods don't seem to be a very big presence in Downton ( nor dogs much now, come to that).
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
And the cat, Ira, was shitting itself.
 

---

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I had a few friends in college who were alumni/alumnae of Inverness Royal Academy, which has rather unfortunate initials ...
 

---

Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by BroJames:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sipech:
Wasn't there also a rumour about a god in Downton Abbey being killed off because it was called ISIS?

---

I think it was a dog. Gods don't seem to be a very big presence in Downton ( nor dogs much now, come to that).

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Piglet:
I had a few friends in college who were alumni/alumnae of Inverness Royal Academy, which has rather unfortunate initials ...

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Welease Woderwick:
I was coming home on the bus this evening and it suddenly occurred to me that there may be people here who can answer a little question of mine:

I wear bottle bottom specs, I have been shortsighted since I was about 12 and in the last dozen years have developed a squint so I now have 8 [a value, not a number] prisms in each lens. Fine, no issues and my sight is fine with that BUT ever since I got these new specs blue LEDS appear forward of where they actually are - non-LED blue light no problem [not that this is really a problem] and I wondered if it was something to do with wavelengths or my brain or something else entirely.

Anyone who can explain this to me?

---

quote:

---

Sipech: For fans of church architecture, these vertical panoramic photos of New York church buildings are rather wonderful.

---

Whoa, I'm getting dizzy

But they are beautiful.
 

---

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Just as well St. John the Divine* is so big it's probably a photographic impossibility. Now that really would make you giddy.

* or "St. John the Unfinished" as D. calls it
 

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