The “XXXy McXXXFace” meme/fad seems to have gained a life of its own and spread to places one would never have expected it to. For many, the most famous example is “Boaty McBoatFace”, a suggestion made for the name of a polar research vessel in the UK. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll find references to, for example, “Hooty… Read more »
News Item: Why do people still think the Earth is flat? Why indeed? I watched the video embedded in the above article, and tried really, really hard to take at face value what was being said. One gentleman pointed out that man hasn’t yet drilled more than eight miles into the ground (I haven’t verified that) so there’s no knowledge… Read more »
Headline: London Buses to Be Powered by Coffee Needless to say, this was a clickbait headline—coffee’s far too valuable a commodity to waste on powering transportation. But apparently, the new biofuel will be a blend of oils extracted from the coffee grounds and diesel. I’m not sure if this is an attempt to be innovative in the use of waste,… Read more »
This past summer, I wrote a piece about political correctness where fruits and vegetables are concerned. It was based on a fictitious future (circa 2032) news item about scientists having discovered that fruit and veg can understand human languages. This led fruit and veggie advocates to inform the world that expressions such as “red as a beetroot”, “blow a raspberry”… Read more »
News headline: Sheepdog puppy led a herd of sheep into his owners’ home To paraphrase the UB40 song from 1986— “There’s a sheep in mi kitchen, what am I gonna do?”… What would you do if you found nine sheep in your kitchen? Fall asleep as you counted them? Threaten them with the mint sauce jar? Tell them to get… Read more »
It’s been discovered that herrings pass gas. While congregated in great shoals. The news isn’t new—in fact the background studies were done in the early 2000s—but my attention was drawn to it by a “Fact or Crap” page-a-day calendar (on September 21 to be precise). Where do I start? The pitch? The communal nature? The interpretation? So many facets—so little… Read more »
(For anyone old enough and British enough to remember, the 1960s radio show “I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again” (ISIRTA) had an interesting way of scene-setting for a sketch. I’ve tried to emulate that in some small way.)
Headline: “Roadkill deaths driving some species to the edge” The animals of Nickeldime Wood had convened at the Old Lightning Tree for what in less politically-sensitive times would have been referred to colloquially as a pow wow. Friend and foe, and predator and prey were all gathered there. Such meetings were rare, but if one thing was guaranteed to bring… Read more »
The art of digging is dying. No, I’m not looking for a gravedigging pun here. (Actually, I did look, but couldn’t find one.) Long considered men’s work, most men could handle a spade and a shovel quite well even if they didn’t labour for a living, because so many families grew their own vegetables. Many women would have become expert… Read more »
Are you a typewriter eater or a lathe eater? Here’s another question. Are you a hater or a lover of articles that attempt to pigeon-hole you? Whatever… read on. Here in southern Alberta, Taber corn is much sought-after, for some reason. Whenever we see a sign for Taber corn, we flock like bees to a honeypot or flies to… well,… Read more »