A friend of mine is running a survey on social media usage. Yours, in particular. Please could you assist her by completing it?
It’s not a big thing and it takes less than a minute of your valuable time, but it will help her out immensely, working on the:
Two dollars means a snack to me, but it means a big deal to you
principle.
We’re literally talking a few clicks here, and they promise no spam:
Click here to take the survey and help out
So… er… why are you still here?
Thanks, readers. 🙂
A nice preview of SA comedian Trevor Noah on popular BBC programme, QI:
It’s an admittedly small sample (n=4), but the scientist in me noted that homosexual individuals seem rather susceptible to isiXhosa click singing. I’m not homosexual, nor am I particularly good at click singing, but this fact may be of interest should you be “on the pull” for a same sex partner at some pub or club this evening.
It’s good to see a bit of SA culture (yes, I’m aware that it’s Trevor Noah and I’m stretching it a bit here, but…) on entertaining, quality, prime-time UK TV.
We’ve done it with sharks in the Isle of Man, so why not have some fun tracking some penguins a bit more locally?
Dramatically billed (beaked?) as:
FIVE PENGUINS. SEVEN DAYS. ONE RACE AGAINST TIME.
it’s a publicity thing to highlight the plight of the African Penguin:
Since the turn of the 20th century we have lost 99% of the entire African Penguin population.
From 7 to 13 October we celebrate the perilous journey undertaken by five African Penguins.
Fitted with satellite tracking devices, we will follow the birds as they take to the high seas in a race to bulk up ahead of their fast approaching moulting season, where they will lose over half of their body weight.The catch? The fish they depend on are becoming increasingly scarce. This means they must swim extreme distances to feed, all the while avoiding the impolite intentions of the Cape fur seal and unfair competition with fishing vessels. By determining how far the birds must forage to find food, these areas can be protected and so restore balance to the ecosystem as a whole.
One day in, and Siren “The Explorer” has gone furthest with 196.25km. Hank “The Underbird” is living up to his reputation, having covered “just” 122.55km.
It’s fun, it’s educational, it’s kinda quirky. Go see and share it on twitter: #ThePenguinRun
TIL (yes, belatedly) that Paul Dacre is the Chairman of the UK Press Complaints Commission’s ‘Editors’ Code of Practice Committee’:
If you needed proof of the Press Complaints Commission’s utter irrelevance: Paul Dacre is Chair of its ‘Editors’ Code of Practice Committee’.
— Jon Snow (@jonsnowC4) October 3, 2013
Paul Dacre also happens to be the editor of the Daily Mail. This is akin to appointing Hitler as Chairman of the ‘Jewish Wellbeing Society’ or installing some Bears as joint trustees of the ‘Keeping The Woods Clean Panel’.
What a joke. Self regulation se ma se ****.
(did you see how I almost semi-ironically self regulated my language there?)
Because you can’t have enough about riots on your blog in any given week.
This is nice: The London Riot Re-enactment Society. And yes, we all remember the “recent” riots there, but London has a history of civil disturbance and the LRRS wants to recreate those moments for posterity. And fun.
The first of these notorious dates was Wat Tyler’s Peasants’ Revolt way back in 1381, and would – entirely accurately – be re-enacted as follows:
100 000 re-enactors dressed as peasants angry about the imposition of poll tax (and other concerns such as the fact that they had no rights) will march from Kent and occupy London for two days, opening all the prisons and ransacking the Tower and Lambeth Palace and demolishing Savoy Palace completely (this part will be easy as it isn’t there), throwing looted treasure into the Thames and beheading judges and lawyers. In a dramatic climax which will take place at Smithfield a re-enactor dressed as the 14 year old King Richard II will meet a re-enactor dressed as Wat Tyler, who will then be murdered by a re-enactor dressed as the mayor.
Sounds like posterity. And fun. But the numbers and the practicalities will make things difficult to organise. Fortunately, by doing away with some of the rules practiced by some other re-enactment societies, the red tape can be reduced.
A knowledge of historical costume and weaponry AND some experience of rioting is the ideal combination for a LRRS member, but members can join with knowledge of one, or the other, or neither. After all, many participants in the riots that we are re-enacting had not a clue what they were up to, and we want historical accuracy, do we not? Neither will we, like some re-enactment societies, impose strict rules against the consumption of alcohol. Most of the top riots involve a bit of drinking. If, for example, you are involved in a re-enactment of the Gordon riots and you are very good at acting drunk for days on end, then feel free to just drink water, but if you think that only gin will do the trick, then drink gin, and we won’t ask where you got it from.
And why stop at re-enacting riots that have actually happened? Why limit yourself in that manner?
We could re-enact riots that haven’t happened yet. Or ones that might never happen.
We could re-enact riots that so far exist only in books or films.
The LRRS is full of excellent, innovative ideas in order to preserve London’s fascinating history and I’m hoping that I’ll be lucky enough to take part in a full-scale re-enactment next time I’m visiting the homeland.