An interesting read I was told of a couple of days ago: www.bloodbus.com
It is the adventures of a bus driver in Glasgow (think Taxi Driver but true)
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An interesting read I was told of a couple of days ago: www.bloodbus.com
It is the adventures of a bus driver in Glasgow (think Taxi Driver but true)
Now that one is funny! :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by kilted exile
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6275997.stmQuote:
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Each decade has its iconic poster. Man and Baby, which sold at auction for thousands this week, was the defining image of the 1980s, capturing the then nascent New Man and making fortunes in the process.
By the photographer Spencer Rowell's own admission, Man and Baby, or L'Enfant, is "a bit cheesy". There's a cute baby, but the eye is drawn to the buffed and muscular male specimen cradling said infant in his lap.
It made model Adam Perry a hit with the ladies, and a fortune for the photographer and the poster shop Athena, selling more than five million copies.
Twenty-one years after its release, at auction on Thursday, a print of the image went for £2,400 - considerably more than the price paid in the late 1980s by scores of students and young professionals keen to brighten up rented walls.
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Today, pinning up posters remains a way to make a rented house a home. At Exeter student Simon Manning's flat, classic images - Audrey Hepburn and co - jostle alongside posters for bands.
The Blu tac ban familiar to many is still in place. But in a world of house makeovers, framed prints from homeware shops are also present.
The original Athena chain has folded, but a newer purveyor of pictures operates under that name on many a High St. For many of the chain's customers, the medium matters as much as the image, with large, chunky, frameless canvases popular sellers, typically of sunsets and seascapes.
Also popular with today's poster buyers are iconic images from the 90s, such as the Gallagher brothers and Pulp Fiction. Then there's the growing trend for DIY artwork - well, enlargements of our own digital photos.
But in past decades there were defining images - how and why were they so iconic?
THE 1960S: HENDRIX ET AL
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Hendrix - everything a rebel wanted
Marianne Faithful in unzipped tight leathers for the poster promoting Girl on a Motorcycle summed up the music and film zeitgeist of 60s posters.
But the ultimate image was a monochrome Jimi Hendrix headshot, "because it's everything your parents didn't want you to have anything to do with," says David Lee, editor of art paper The Jackdaw.
"The long hair, spaced-out expression, the fag. Youth culture was about identifying with something your parents thought ridiculous."
This was the first generation to put the blown-up poster of his face on student walls and squatters digs - alongside other prominent rock and roll images, such as The Who guitarist Pete Townshend, arm aloft, about to windmill into a guitar chord. Or the psychedelic pink, yellow and green of Cream's Disraeli Gears album.
This was about more than simply expressing a preference for a rock band, says Mr Lee.
"It was nothing to do with rock 'n' roll. It was something new, because prior to that, everyone had been very polite, and in Pete Townshend, here was a guy who was about to smash his guitar to pieces."
THE 1970S: TENNIS'S SOFT SIDE
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Enter the 70s, and walking away from the camera is a teenage model, tennis dress hitched up as she scratches her knickerless bottom. Tennis Girl by Martin Elliot is an image recalled by critics and public alike.
But experts find little to recommend such a popular image. Of those contacted, some refused to discuss the image - one dismisses it as "mere masturbation material" and another derides it as "of an unreconstructed time".
For Howard Sounes, the author of Seventies: The Sights, Sounds and Ideas of a Brilliant Decade, it is "just soft porn". And its massive sales can be attributed to "teenage boys who had it on their bedroom walls - if your mum would let you - or at public school, where they encourage that kind of thing.
"I don't imagine any girls bought it; I can't imagine any adult having it. It is the equivalent of a picture today of Kelly Brook in a playboy bunny outfit."
It has of-the-decade soft focus and muted colours. Dated it may be, yet its huge sales have made a lasting impression. Both Kylie and tennis player Anna Kournikova have recreated the image in photo shoots.
Mr Elliot admits his poster is "not a picture I would buy", but puts its appeal down to the seaside postcard spirit of the image, coupled with "one of the world's fantasies that you are going to see up a woman's skirt".
But for Mr Sounes, the defining images of the decade should be David Hockney's paintings, the Pompidou Centre, David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, above the "naff, nasty stuff" recalled by children of that decade.
THE 1980S: NEW MAN BARED
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Three factors led Man and Baby selling by the truckload, says Andrew Renton, curating director at Goldsmiths, University of London and a Turner Prize judge.
The image of a smooth-chested hunk, skin to skin with a baby boy subverts more than 1,000 years of art history, replacing the Madonna and child. "The bloke is left holding the baby, and art history never did that before," says Mr Renton.
The 1986 image perfectly depicts the era's ideal of a caring, sharing New Man. A man toned, but not bulging; caring, not aggressive; "an impossible vision" of manhood.
Where young males bought Tennis Girl, young women plumped for Man and Baby - not just for eye-candy, but because of the message it gives off.
"It's not just 'phwoar', it's a much deeper rooted fantasy. It says 'I want this man and I want babies'. It's a complex fantasy that combines sexuality and a nurturing desire - but one wouldn't normally mean to be so public about it."
Today, it looks dated - the square-jawed model, the airbrushing, stonewash jeans, the Chippendale-esque pectorals, the man holding the baby while the power-suited woman goes off to run the company.
"It's definitely the 80s equivalent of the 70s Tennis Girl scratching her bum. It told us how reconstructed we had all become."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6301525.stmQuote:
A US advert starring Britney Spears' estranged husband, Kevin Federline, has angered a fast food trade group. The 28-year-old pokes fun at his stalled music career as he daydreams of hitting the big time while serving French fries at a takeaway.
The National Restaurant Association says the advert suggests restaurant work is "demeaning and unpleasant".
But advertiser Nationwide Mutual Insurance insists Federline is the only one being mocked.
The commercial will be shown on 4 February during the Super Bowl - US TV's highest-rated broadcast, commanding the highest fees for advertising.
Rapper Federline, also known as K-Fed, launched his music career amid a blaze of publicity but only sold 6,500 copies of his debut album, Playing with Fire, in the first week of its release.
The backing dancer-turned-musician split from Spears in November after two years of marriage.
Court papers filed in November revealed he plans to fight the pop star for sole custody of their two children.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/...250309,00.htmlQuote:
Most adults would prefer to cuddle up with a good book at bedtime rather than make love to their partner.
A survey of 2,000 people showed lovemaking was fourth in a list of "favourite activities" when hitting the sack, behind reading, watching TV - and going to sleep.
Women were more likely to prefer to read at night, according to the survey by hotel chain Travelodge.
The most popular books of the moment were The Da Vinci Code, Lord of the Rings, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, To Kill a Mocking Bird, and Treasure Island.
Travelodge spokesman Wayne Munnelly said: "Reading is the perfect way to wind down at the end of the day.
"Anxiety levels will drop as it provides a gentle distraction, pushing any worries out of your mind which will ultimately help you relax and fall asleep."
Something I got in an e-mail:
Quote:
As you know, Glasgow will be applying to host the Commonwealth Games in
2014. What you may not know is that many of the famous events which go
to make up this spectacular event, are to be especially altered for 2014
to boost Glasgow's bid. A copy of these changes has been leaked, and is
reproduced below:
OPENING CEREMONY
The flame will be ignited by a petrol bomb thrown by a native of
Castlemilk, in the traditional dress of Burberry baseball cap and a
white shell suit.
The flame will be contained in a large overturned police van situated on
the roof of the stadium.
THE EVENTS
In previous Commonwealth Games, Scotland's competitors have not been
particularly successful. In order to redress the balance, some of the
events have been altered slightly to the advantage of local athletes.
100 METRES SPRINT
Competitors will have to hold a DVD player and microwave oven (one in
each arm) and on the sound of the starting pistol, a police Dog will be
released from a cage 10 yards behind the athletes.
110 METRES HURDLES
As above but with added obstacles (i.e. car bonnets, hedges, garden
fences, Walls etc)
HAMMER
Competitors in this event may choose the type of hammer they wish to use
(claw, sledge etc) the winner will be the one who can cause the most
physical damage within three attempts.
FENCING
This event shall be sponsored by Cash Converters who shall also provide
the hardware. The contest itself shall be based outside kebab shops in
Baillieston, Riddrie, Drumchapel, and Easterhouse....the winner shall be
the one who can leave A & E first.
SHOOTING
A strong challenge is expected from local men in this event. The first
target will be a moving police van. In the second round, competitors
will aim at a post office clerk, bank teller or Securicor-style wages
delivery man.
The traditional .22 rifle has been replaced in this event by a choice of
either a Browning automatic handgun or Sawn-off 12-bore shotgun.
CYCLING TIME TRIALS
Competitors will be asked to break into the Glasgow University bike shed
and takes an expensive mountain bike owned by some mummy's boy on his
first trip away from home. All against the clock.
CYCLING PURSUIT
As above, but the bike will be owned by a visiting member of the
Australian rugby team, who will witness the theft.
MODERN PENTATHLON
Amended to include mugging, breaking and entering, flashing, joyriding,
underage drinking and arson.
SWIMMING EVENTS
All waterways are currently being tested for toxicity levels, once one
is found that can support human life, swimming events will be organised,
please note that the Synchronised Swimming event for this year will
comprise of dropping acid and watching all the funky ripples on the
pool, the specific musical support to this event will be provided by
"Belle & Sebastian".
THE MARATHON
A safe route has yet to be decided.
MEN'S 50KM WALK
Unfortunately this will have to be cancelled, as the police cannot
guarantee the safety of anyone walking the streets of Glasgow,
especially anyone that appears to be mincing...
THE CLOSING CEREMONY
Entertainment will include formation rave dancing by members of the
Govan Health in the Community, anti-drug campaigners, synchronised rock
throwing, and music by the Dennistoun community choir. The flame will be
extinguished by police riot water cannon following inevitable pitch
invasion by confused old firm fans.
The stadium itself will then be boarded up before the local athletes
break into it and remove all the copper piping and the central heating
boiler.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6440981.stmQuote:
The fourth Harry Potter novel and David Beckham's autobiography are among the books least likely to be finished by Britons, according to a survey.
Booker winner Vernon God Little was the least-finished fiction title, followed by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Autobiographies by David Blunkett, Bill Clinton and David Beckham topped the non-fiction unfinished list.
A Teletext survey of 4,000 Britons found that almost half of the books they bought remained unfinished.
UNFINISHED FICTION
1 Vernon God Little, DBC Pierre
2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
3 Ulysses, James Joyce
4 Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis De Bernieres
5 Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell
6 The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie
7 The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
8 War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
9 The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
10 Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky
Some 35% of those who bought or borrowed Vernon God Little, DBC Pierre's story of a US high school massacre, admitted not finishing it.
The figure was 32% for the fourth instalment in the Harry Potter series, while 28% said the same for James Joyce's Ulysses, third on the list.
The fiction top 10 also included Louis De Bernieres' Captain Corelli's Mandolin (27%), made into a film starring Nicolas Cage and Penelope Cruz.
Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, over which a Muslim fatwa was issued ordering the writer's execution, was unfinished by 21%.
UNFINISHED NON-FICTION
1 The Blunkett Tapes, David Blunkett
2 My Life, Bill Clinton
3 My Side, David Beckham
4 Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss
5 Wild Swans, Jung Chang
6 Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking
7 The Downing Street Years, Margaret Thatcher
8 I Can Make You Thin, Paul McKenna
9 Jade: My Autobiography, Jade Goody
10 Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?, Mick O'Hare
On the non-fiction list, former home secretary Blunkett's The Blunkett Tapes was too much for 35% of readers, followed by Clinton's My Life (30%) and Beckham's My Side (27%).
The average Briton spent more than £4,000 on books during their lifetime, the survey found.
Less than a quarter of people found time to read every day, with 48% saying they were too tired.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6409411.stmQuote:
It's big business but who really objects to spending money on spoiling their mum on Mother's Day? Only the woman who invented it.
Mothers, they're lovely. They kiss you better when you hurt yourself, cook your favourite dinners and always take your side when someone is nasty to you.
The High Street shops might make a mint out of Mother's Day, but who really objects to splashing a bit of cash on their mum on her special day? One woman did and spent 40 years of her life trying to get rid of all the cards and presents - the woman who invented the day.
The old English Mothering Sunday has its roots in pre-Christian times, but modern-day Mother's Day - the cards, flowers, chocolates etc - was started in the United States by Anna Jarvis.
The ninth of 11 children, she made it her life's work to commemorate every mother after her own mother died. The idea - like Mothering Sunday - was for families to get together in church to recognise the real value of motherhood.
Horrified
Firstly she got her local church involved and after tirelessly campaigning for almost a decade, US President Woodrow Wilson officially dedicated a day to mothers in 1914 - the second Sunday in May.
UK MOTHERING SUNDAY
Roots stretch back to pre-Christian times
In 18th and 19th Centuries, servants were given the day off to visit their mothers
Britons sent 23 million cards in 2005, about 30% homemade
But within years it had become commercialised. Ms Jarvis was horrified. She tried to take action, incorporating herself as the Mother's Day International Association and claiming copyright on the date.
Along with her sister Ellsinore, Anna spent the entire family inheritance on trying to undo the damage done to Mother's Day. One of her protests even got her arrested for disturbing the peace. She died in 1948, in poverty and without success.
In one respect what Ms Jarvis wanted from the day lives on - it has taken on huge significance and is a celebration of motherhood. However, how most people chose to celebrate it would make her turn in her grave.
Say it with flowers
Consumers are pressured by advertising and businesses to measure goodwill in terms of presents, says branding expert Jonathan Gabay.
"Mother's Day has become a yearly windfall to business. It's an opportunity to market everything from cut flowers and greetings cards to nostalgic CDs, perfume and beauty products."
He's not wrong. The UK greeting card industry is worth more than £1.2bn a year, according to market research group Mintel. Mother's Day is one of the biggest events in the industry's calendar and Britons sent about 23 million cards to their mothers in 2005.
According to the Flowers & Plants Association, 3.7 million mixed bouquets, 394,000 bunches of roses, 294,000 bunches of tulips, 293,000 bunches of freesia and 93,000 foliage plants were bought on Mother's Day last year.
What Mother's Day needs is a re-launch without its commercial sponsors, say some. Professor Ralph Fevre says the day is supposed to make mothers feel valued but its commercialism means it "isn't up to the job".
"We have a particular problem in the UK drawing a line around those parts of our lives that we want to keep sacrosanct from the market," he says.
"When we find some aspect of our lives that we want to value, or honour as the Americans say, we always end up involving the market in some way."
He suggests making it a weekday public holiday.
Breakfast in bed
"We need to try a bit harder to put work in its place. Having Mothers Day on a Sunday lets us off the hook.
"To have it on a weekday would show that we can resist that pull that takes us into work and which makes us value everything in economic terms."
Many mothers agree with his views, and there is a real movement among them to shift the focus away from buying presents to helping others, says one of the founders of Mumsnet, Carrie Longton.
"We don't want the day to disappear or for people to stop treating their mothers. We just want people to focus on what the day is about and not just grab a card and bunch of flowers from a petrol station on the way over to their mum's house," she says.
"It's inevitable that businesses will see the day as a way to make money, but most mothers would be happier with a homemade card because it shows some thought and effort has been put into it.
"There is a real movement among mothers at the moment to think about mothers who are less fortunate. We are encouraging people to make a donation to charities that help mothers worldwide rather than buy flowers.
"I will be working on a cake stall on Mother's Day to raise money for HIV mothers in Africa. It costs just £7 to buy the medicine to make sure they don't pass HIV onto their children."
It's this type of action that Ms Jarvis would approve of. Especially as she hated Mother's Day cards, calling them "a poor excuse for the letter you are too lazy to write".
:lol: :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by kilted exile
MOREQuote:
Couples in their 20s had their heart rates and brains monitored whilst they first melted chocolate in their mouths and then kissed.
Chocolate caused a more intense and longer lasting "buzz" than kissing, and doubled volunteer's heart rates....
Although kissing set the heart pounding, the effect did not last as long as that seen with the chocolate, which increased heart rates from a resting rate of about 60 beats per minute to 140.
The study also found that as the chocolate started melting, all regions of the brain received a boost far more intense and longer lasting than the excitement seen with kissing.
__________________
Huh? Can't be. I have a heart rate monitor/stop watch and it takes me a quarter mile of running to get up to 140 beats/min. I doubt chocolate in your mouth hardly does anything. Hmm, I can actually do this experiment.Quote:
Although kissing set the heart pounding, the effect did not last as long as that seen with the chocolate, which increased heart rates from a resting rate of about 60 beats per minute to 140.
Nothing says "safety" like blindfolded children armed with baseball bats, eh?
Check this out...too funny!!!!
1. go to www.google.com
2. click on "maps"
3. click on "get directions"
4. type "New York" in the first box (the "from" box)
5. type "London" in the second box (the "to" box) (hit get directions)
6. scroll down to steps #23 & 24
I also like the way it sends you to France first.
I guess one gets tired from all that swimming and needs to rest. :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by kilted exile
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6626239.stmQuote:
A vote for the worst lyric in pop has awarded the dubious title to soul singer Des'ree's hit Life. The offending lines are "I don't want to see a ghost/It's the sight that I fear most/I'd rather have a piece of toast/Watch the evening news".
Listeners to Marc Riley's BBC6 Music show have been voting for the past three weeks on a top 10 list of shame.
Second place went to Snap's Rhythm is a Dancer which goes "I'm as serious as cancer/ When I say rhythm is a dancer".
In third place was "And I met a girl/ She asked me my name/ I told her what it was" from Razorlight's 2005 hit Somewhere Else.
TOP 10 WORST LYRICS
1. Des'ree - Life
2. Snap - Rhythm is a Dancer
3. Razorlight - Somewhere Else
4. ABC - That Was Then But This is Now
5. U2 - Elevation
6. Toto - Africa
7. Oasis - Champagne Supernova
8. Duran Duran - Is There Something I Should Know?
9. Human League - The Lebanon
10. Black Sabbath - War Pigs
Source: BBC6 Music poll
Spider in the ear
How did the spiders reach the ear drum in the first place?
fascinating. I didn't even know there was going to be a pirates 4. I'm just waiting for pirates 3.
To all the men out there who are losing their hair... fast! :DMOREQuote:
Slaphead, chrome dome, baldie - people can be nasty when you lose your hair. So what's the solution?
At the age of 16, I was confronted with the stark realisation that God found my face too pretty for my fringe. I had started losing my hair.
I went to my GP to ask if he could please, please halt the hair dropping like stone from my adolescent head. He suggested a crew cut. With adolescent hormones raging, the news that I'd be bald before some of my peers' voices broke hit hard.
A decade on, I'm still coming to terms with my bald pate. I am not alone - almost one third of men are noticeably balding by the age of 30, and most seek to hide the receding tide of their hairline by shaving off what remains.
That was adorable
Awwww. Cute little girl. She could sing well, it was just so kid-like. Cuuuteness.
The common notion that women are the more talkative sex has been dispelled by scientists in the US. Researchers who bugged 400 students to log their chats found little difference in word count between the sexes.
The University of Arizona study, in Science, conflicts with previous US research suggesting women talk almost three times as much as men.
Whether someone was an introvert or an extrovert was more important, said relationship experts.
In the study, women spoke a daily average of 16,215 words during their waking hours, and men 15,669 words.
The researchers say this difference is not significant.
MORE
I think women do talk more but only because men don't listen & we have to constantly repeat ourselves
Quote:
Originally Posted by spa girl
I agree. When I tell my husband to do something or ask him a question about why something is a mess, not working or out of order, he responds with "Do What?" or "What you'd say?"
They never listen.
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...ofsync/bob.jpg
I love subliminal messages. Even though I'm not a SubGenii.
BBC's Map Symbols Quiz
I have got 9/10... Another badge to add my Geek collection.
7/10, but I really guessed at all of them.
I don't drive yet, but somehow I got a 7 out of 10.