AngelA

For quite some time Ive been meaning to write about this little movie I seen over a year ago and stole my capricious heart. Angel-A is shot in ravishing black and white is a parable of self-acceptance and of a desperate man given an opportunity at redemption. Jamel Debbouze who also stars in "Amelie," plays André, a small-time criminal with a knack for lying and getting himself deeply in debt — the kind that gets you tossed off the Eiffel Tower for nonpayment. Under pressure from seedy Parisian underworld types, André tries to plead and con his way out of his predicament but to no avail.

He finds himself perched on a bridge ready to drown himself in the Seine when he spies a woman thrashing about in the water, apparently a fellow suicide attempt. Temporarily snapped out of his own despondence, André leaps into the river and pulls her to safety. And thus forms a friendship with the damsel that was in suicidal distress.

Visually this is the way Paris ahould be shot, black and white, making the seedy underbelly they explore somehow elegant. Anyway if you liked Amelie you will fall in love with this, sure to be classic. I urge you now to buy it /rent it and watch it.

This is Gallifrey (aka The Hubble Space Telescope’s Finest Photos)

A Star is Born - April 1, 1995

One of Hubble’s first victories was capturing several embryonic stars or EGGs (evaporating gaseous globules) hiding throughout clouds in the Eagle Nebula. Within these finger-shaped clouds, nicknamed the “pillars of creation,” molecules of gases such as hydrogen and helium clump together and begin to generate their own gravity, which draws in nearby gas and dust. If these balls of gravity grow big enough, nuclear fusion reactions will be triggered in their cores, and they will become stars.



A Supernova Mystery - June 30, 2000

What kind of star died on October 9, 1604? On that day, several observers spotted a supernova that was as bright as Mars. German astronomer Johannes Kepler was so taken with the sight that he wrote a book about it. Kepler’s supernova is thought to be the most recent star to explode in our Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers combined the forces of the Hubble, Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory to see if they could identify the type of star that produced the explosion; they could not. But this rainbow photograph of the supernova remnant combines all the images. The different colors represent infrared radiation (red), visible light (yellow), and X-rays (blue/green).







Stellar death On July 4, 1054, a “new star” startled Chinese astronomers, who wrote that the star was so bright that it was visible in broad daylight for several weeks. Almost a thousand years later, we know that the appearance was caused by a star 10 times the mass of our sun that exploded as a supernova. What’s left of the dead star is still spewing out high-energy particles into the Crab Nebula. This Hubble image, composed from 24 exposures, reveals the nebula’s structure.







Space Clocks the worlds oldest and dimmest stars - white dwarfs to you nerds

Han Solo PI

feel good video for the day

No contest

This has to be the most annoying laugh I have ever heard - no debate about it, can you imagine going to an open mic with this dude?

walk on the wild side

I just caught the end of this BBC show a few weeks ago and this is all that I could find on it - it was hilarious... If you are able to catch the episode my favorite is the polar bear and seals, where the seals taunt the polar bear by telling him in a geordie accent 'hey terry, yur so fat like when yew were int school yew sat beside everyone like'..

Repost

I just remembered this vid last night and giggled. For those of you who havent seen it here it is again.

Open letters 2

I tried writing an open letter to the religious zealot Mel Gibson in light of him falling off the catholic wagon but with too many demands from my children had to file it for another day.

Many moons ago I did an entry on open letters from these guys and recently paid them back a visit.

Here are a few examples and if you cant be entertained by post secret then this is the sight for you

TO THE SQUIRREL
TRYING TO CHEW ITS WAY
THROUGH MY ROOF.

September 28, 2005

Dear Squirrel,

Winter is coming. I understand that you need a place to stay. But please find an alternative to my house. Yes, it is warm and cozy. No, you may not come in. Enough with the chewing.

I thought this was clearly established last year. Remember when you woke me up every morning with the scratching and chittering? I was not impressed by your tenacity. Frankly, that's why actions were taken.

You pushed. I responded.

I apologize for the trap. It was overly dramatic. In my defense, it was a "live trap" and its packaging displayed a drawing of a squirrel and a heart, which pretty clearly signals my feelings on the matter.

I acknowledge that as an arboreal creature you have easy access to my patio. But the bits of bagel and pizza crust strewn about are simply disrespectful. How you managed to balance a loaf-sized hunk of bread on the narrow porch railing is beyond me. It seems like a deliberate taunt. You may stop now. Message received. No more traps.

The torrent of peanut shells is tolerable. My dogs sneak them up to the bedroom, and last week I awoke to find a shell fragment stuck to my face. But this is clearly not your fault; the dogs are poorly trained. It is a nuisance, yes, but all in all I'd say that the whole shell business falls into the realm of typical squirrel behavior, and thus I would not think of asking you to stop. Consider this an olive branch.

I simply ask that you relinquish my home. There were faults with the old roof that proved too tempting for even the best-intentioned rodent, I understand. So you'll notice that as of Friday the ruckus that has kept you away from the structure has ceased, and upon your return you will no doubt realize that extensive changes have been made. This was not inexpensive and I would appreciate it if you could respect the all-too-clear message of so much new wood and flashing.

You know what they say: Good fences make good neighbors. If you give me a chance I think you'll see that's exactly what I am. I hope that soon I may say the same of you.

William Sawalich


AN OPEN LETTER
TO THE GENTLEMAN
AT THE BAR WHO ASKED
IF I WOULD LIKE
A PIECE OF HIM.

March 3, 2005

Dude,

I apologize for only now getting back to you. When first asked if I did, in fact, want a piece of you, I could muster no reply. Frankly, I was taken aback by your surprising offer. Never have I witnessed such an act of selfless generosity.

Alas, my soul does not possess the same depth of compassion for my fellow man as does yours. While I do not always think of myself first, my welfare often holds a position among the front-runners. I treasure my pieces too deeply. I am, therefore, flattered and intrigued by your proposal.

Are you truly willing to give me—someone who only met you moments before, when you bumped into me and my drink on your way to the table shared by you and your acquaintances—a piece of yourself? The tone of your voice and your posture at the time indicated your sincerity regarding the issue, but please, you must be sure. This is not something to be taken lightly and, I assure you, I regard it in all seriousness.

Now, before I return to you my answer, I must ask if there is any piece in particular you wish to give. Surely, when you asked if I wanted a piece of you, you had specific parts in mind. I ask because I do not wish to take something that was not truly offered. Neither do I really wish to receive a piece that I may already possess. The portion that regulates your alcohol intake, for example, is similar to a part that already exists within me (though mine is certainly not nearly as worn from use). You do have some pieces that I do not. The multiple veins that pulsed and expanded throughout your neck are an example. The embarrassed girlfriend would be another.

Additional details that I would like to work out involve location. When you suggested we take it outside, what was your intent? Would this facilitate my receiving your piece? I would appreciate some feedback on this issue, as well as on any other issues you feel have not been addressed. Your recommendation that I get some, as you insisted, depends on your prompt reply.

Thanks, bro,
Kyle Sundby

AN OPEN LETTER TO
MY EYEBROWS.

November 11, 2004

Dear Eyebrows,

How did we get here? When I looked at you in the mirror a few minutes ago in the men's room, I barely recognized you, your untamed strands pointing in every direction but the proper one. Have I ignored you so long that you felt you needed to give me some sort of wake-up call? Has my treatment of you been so shabby that you felt the only way to get back at me was to be so unruly, so out of line, so ... blond? I mean, I haven't been blond in, like, 15 years. The rest of the hair has moved on from blond, to that sandy brownish color, and now, slowly but steadily, to gray. Not you. Not only have you steadfastly refused to follow along with the graying process (for which I'm somewhat grateful, I suppose), but you've carried it to an extreme, don't you think?

Look, I know you're jealous of the beard. It came in red, and there's nothing I can do about that. I know it hurts your feelings when people call me a redhead, because you and I both know that they're only looking at the beard. But this is getting ridiculous, you growing in all different directions, refusing to stay straightened out, and lightening into what looks like bad-home-dye-job blond. Is that what you want? Do you want people to think that I've dyed my hair this nondescript blondish reddish brown and that you're telling my secret? Or is it worse than that? Do you actually believe that people will think I've dyed you and not the hair?

Since I cannot divine your motives, I'm writing now to ask a favor. I will respect your decision with regard to color, whatever it is. Should you decide to hop on the gray bandwagon, I will support and accept you. But please, please, allow yourself to be straightened out and stay that way. We're only 37 years old; we can't have that bushy Andy Rooney look just yet. I promise that once we get older, and my (sorry, our) career is more stable, you can go whatever direction you choose. But for now, I'm afraid this is the way it has to be. I don't want it to come this, but I found the #3 guide for the hair trimmer, and if I have to use it before my job interview next week, I will.

Best Regards,

Don Moorhead
Evanston, IL

AN OPEN LETTER TO
THE INTESTINAL PARASITES
I MANAGED TO PICK UP
IN WEST AFRICA
THIS SUMMER.

August 7, 2007

Greetings, Soil-Transmitted Helminths!

Welcome to my digestive system! I hope you're making yourselves comfy. Judging by the generalized gastrointestinal discomfort I've been experiencing lately, I can assume that you are. But I'm really fine, don't worry about it. Luckily for me, the mental images associated with having hook-mouthed, bloodsucking parasitic worms feasting on my intestinal lining are far worse than any actual physical manifestations of such a condition. So far, anyway. But look who I'm talking to. You guys certainly know better than anyone what's going on down there. You have front-row seats to Ailea's Colon Show, by golly! Must be grand.

Anyhoo, just wanted to let you know there are no hard feelings over your unwanted breach of my lower tract. Aside from the occasional cold and a sinus infection once in high school, I've never actually had a real disease before, and I think this counts. Well done. This way, at cocktail parties for the rest of my life (or at least until something better comes along), I'll be able to nonchalantly mention that bout of hookworms I had in West Africa once. People will be intrigued by the suggestion of exotic adventures in my past. They'll think I'm very interesting and want to be my friends. It might go something like this:

STRANGER AT A COCKTAIL PARTY: These shrimp croquettes are a little overcooked, don't you think?

ME: Obviously you've never dealt with a case of intestinal parasites in post-conflict West Africa!

STRANGER: You're fascinating.

So, really, you guys are doing me a favor, see? Besides, if we're honest, it was pretty inevitable that we were going to end up like this, if you think about it. I had a hunch you might be in my future when I learned that people here don't necessarily use soap to wash dishes, and that human fecal matter often finds its way onto crops as fertilizer, and that most families live without a toilet per se. Who knows? Maybe you crawled in through my foot when I stepped in a puddle on accident, and made the journey to my abdomen by way of my lungs. If so, I admire your ingenuity and persistence, worms, as much as it horrifies me. But all that's in the past now.

So you don't hear it from anyone else first, I also wanted to tell you that I'm in the process of looking around for some form of benzimidazole right now. Once I find some, I'm afraid you'll all be faced with an eviction notice. Sorry to have to break it to you. But if I know nematodes, you guys have been busily doing it in my bowels and whipping up gobs of eggs, probably about 30,000 a day each, I've read. So have no fear—your progeny will live on in the puddles and soil of your beautiful nation, and I have every confidence that they will go on infesting the guts of unsuspecting visitors like me for generations. Thanks for all the good times, and goddamn you all and your freaky sci-fi existences.

Your unwitting host,
Ailea Sneller

Bernard -Polar bear without hair

Ive been catching this show just before my tribe and I trapse out to school each morning, and I ALWAYS find myself chuckling hours later at these little snippets of slapstick. Bernard is a primative ,selfish ,impatient aalbeit curious polar bear who travels the world turning even the simplest thing into a funny but difficult challenge.He usually gets knocked unconscious at the end of an episode, due to some calamity caused by his bumbling but thats why I love watching it.

Darwinism & Evolution

What with the bicentenary of Darwin celebrations mottled around the media and world THIS has to be the funniest debate about evolution Ive heard courtesy of nilpod.

Stuff N Nonsense

Just a bunch of stuff that I found arsing around the net whilst shirking the responsibility to give a half decent post.

Freemans Mind

I am no gamer by any stretch of the imagination but I do find this parody of half life incredibly funny, so much so that if and when I do play any shoot 'em up games I will always have this narritive going through my head. For the nerds heres the link where you can seemore

Big Brother

My Brother recently decided to do a series of Podcasts with his friend Nicky. My brother is incredibly adept and entertaining when it comes to spinning yarns and I suppose I might be biased but I really think anyone can appreciate the humour and wit that is exchanged between these two. To Subscribe or listen to Wils ramblings theres also a story in there about me also that I havent posted up yet. Give it a try on a rainy night!

Information for the retentive

The mind boggles....


Did You Know? from Amybeth on Vimeo.

The incessant plague of lazy spelling and meaningless phrases

I have never claimed to be word perfect either in vocabulary, spelling or grammar but whats been poking the hamsters wheel in my head this weather is the way people are speaking and writing text speak. Its kinda contradictory that I will use expletives to convey my frustrations of these lazy bastards (I was going to call them uneducated bastards but they are not - I mean how many of us have gone to school and learned the word 'that', to be only abbreviated to 'dat'? Its only one fucking extra letter to write!!)If you are one of the unlearned masses that stalwartly refuses to either learn to spell or wash, then you may be in need of some enlightenment regarding your free fall into your own embarrassing stupidity - am I being harsh? Yes if you refuse to spell out basic words and numbers in the order which you were originally taught!!

This form of laziness seems to be spreading like wildfire,for example, whilst looking at youtube and reading comments on the various videos I'm watching (e.g., "Major Failur"), its incredulous the amount of people who refuse to spell simple words in order to look cool.

There seems to be a lot of people that feel the same ,recently I have some across this forum Here
They have a system called 'Smartness' which I reckon is a good idea, it may seem a little strict comma-wise but this is the run down of it

"Smartness
There's a lot of confusion about the smartness system. People are dumb and they don't know why. Here I'll try to explain some of the common reasons.

YOU DON'T LOSE POINTS FOR:

Saying words that aren't in the dictionary.
Saying usernames.
Quoting dumb people.

YOU DO LOSE POINTS FOR:

Saying lol, wtf, rofl, omg, o rly, rox0rs etc.
Typing in all lower case.
Not using proper apostrophes (dont wont cant im instead of don't won't can't I'm).

We're basically trying to stop people being lazy dumb idiots. Just type properly. I know people like to feel like the system is broken - but the fact is that they're just dumb lazy *****.

There's no real rewards to having a high smartness level but if your smartness drops below a certain level you will be automatically banned for a few days."



Now I'm no elitist, when writing I make errors but I can be forgiven for trying at least.'Smartness' is a great idea, can you imagine the chaos this would cause if implemented on Bebo, Myspace or Facebook? In conclusion, it seriously upsets me to give you anymore examples and research into this dark area. I'm just so tempted to join up to all these forums/comment box's and berate them for their laziness.
Before anyone points out the irony of my post I am aware that there are grammatical and spelling errors throughout.