Word Of The Day

olla podrida \ol-uh-puh-DREE-duh; oy-uh-\, noun; plural olla podridas /-DREE-duhz/ or ollas podridas:
1. A stew of highly seasoned meat and vegetables.
2. A mixture; a hodgepodge.

This complex, Byzantine, at times long-winded work, which spent more than 60 weeks on Spain's best sellers list, throws together mystery, romance, and crime into one big mix like an olla podrida.
--Lawrence Olszewski, review of [1]The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Library Journal, February 1, 2004

The whole piece is an olla podrida of light music, in which the jig is the most conspicuous.
--Juanita Karpf and Tom Scott, "Populism with Religious Restraint," review of Esther, the Beautiful Queen, by William B. Bradbury, Popular Music and Society, Spring 1999

Continuously testing the resilience of the melting pot differentiates America from other places; and the olla
podrida of colors and cultures creates a reservoir of talents unduplicated on the planet.
--Rotan E. Lee, "Black gay men suffer double racism," Philadelphia Tribune, August 22, 2003

Olla podrida comes from the Spanish, literally "rotten pot," from olla, "pot" (from Latin olla) + podrida, feminine of podrido, "rotten," from Latin putridus.

More Words for Today

glabrous \GLAY-bruhs\, adjective:
Smooth; having a surface without hairs, projections, or any unevenness.

How much more powerful then will be the effect -- next week? next month? soon enough -- when Gore, resplendent, clean-shaven, glabrous in his glory, returns from the dead! Radiant! Reborn!
--Lance Morrow, "Al Gore, and Other Famous Bearded Men," Time, August 16, 2001

We offered to the rebarbative Senator Patrick Leahy's demands on us amused resistance and the promise to buy the glabrous old boy a proper hairpiece.
--R Emmett Tyrrell, Jr., "Jumpin' Jim Jehoshaphat!" The American Spectator, July 1, 2001

Glabrous is from Latin glaber, "smooth, bald."


irrupt \ih-RUHPT\, intransitive verb:
1. To burst in forcibly or suddenly; to intrude.
2. (Ecology) To increase rapidly in number.

Furthermore, and most decisively, the 1848 revolutions had shown how the masses could irrupt into the closed circle of their rulers, and the progress of industrial society itself made their pressure constantly greater even in non-revolutionary periods.
--The Age of Capital: 1848-1875 by Eric J. Hobsbawm

What happens in these flashes of inspiration is a kind of transcendence in science in which a new concept, something that has never been dreamt or thought of before, irrupts into the scientist's imagination.
--Roy Bhaskar, Reflections on Meta-Reality

What sounds are these that sting as they caress, that irrupt into my soul and twine about my heart?
--Nikolai Gogol, Dead Souls

Archetypes are primordial forces, hidden within the collective unconscious, which normally lie dormant and unnoticed but which can suddenly irrupt into the conscious mind and produce the most unexpected results.
--Dewi Rees, Death and Bereavement

But unlike the populations of some of their more famous relatives (more famous to ecologists, at least), whose population fluctuations follow a regular, three-year cycle, some meadow vole populations irrupt sporadically and others almost always stay high or low.
--Richard S. Ostfeld, "Little loggers make a big difference," Natural History, May 2002

Irrupt is derived from the past participle of Latin irrumpere, from ir-, in-, "in" + rumpere, "to break."


agrestic \uh-GRES-tik\, adjective:
Pertaining to fields or the country; rural; rustic.

The funniest and most agrestic of all his paintings were, undoubtedly, the cows.
--Robert Hughes, "An Outlaw Who Loved Laws," Time, July 26, 1993

Grass plants possess an agrestic simplicity that probably connects them, at sorne level of mind, with wholesome grain and the restorative country life.
--George Schen, The Complete Shade Gardener

Agrestic is from agrestis, from ager, "field." It is related to agriculture.

Word Of The Day

cap-a-pie \cap-uh-PEE\, adverb:
From head to foot; at all points.

Yet it is increasingly hard to ignore other scientific predictions sashaying into the press dressed cap-a-pie in silver lining.
--Andrew Marr, "Skegness: not so much bracing as basking?" Daily Telegraph, January 14, 2004

The dress code was smart but informal and Cherie Blair cut an appropriately dark but bohemian figure dressed cap-a-pie in floor-length black leather.
--Cassandra Jardine, "Court of King Tony takes centre stage," Daily Telegraph, September 8, 2001

They are of one shade cap-a-pie, black as midnight and fleet of wing.
--M.D. Harmon, "Sorry, but it's true: Birds of a feather do flock together," Portland Press Herald, January 5, 2004

In another age, there would have been beheadings, clanging prison doors in the dark Tower; there would have been a second royal court with an army preparing to do battle, prancing steeds and knights armored cap-a-pie.
--Arnold Beichman, "Spellbinding farewell . . . and fantasy," Washington Times, September 10, 1997

cap-a-pie is from Middle French (de) cap a pé, "from head to foot," from Latin ped, "foot" + caput, "head."

More Marc

marc says:
ARSENAL SCUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tommy Tornado says:
Are you saying that Arsenal are scum, or that I am scum?

marc says:
The Team

marc says:
and supporters

Tommy Tornado says:
Aha, I getcha. Does that include me?

marc says:
no

Tommy Tornado says:
So you don't think I support Arsenal then?

marc says:
i know you do

Tommy Tornado says:
How do you know that?

marc says:
cause i am a source for all knowledge

Marc

Tommy Tornado says:
allright geezer?

Tommy Tornado says:
sorry, I couldn't talk earlier

marc says:
Thats okay how are you? Did you have a good weekend?

Tommy Tornado says:
Yes, very cool. Went to see the streets on Friday, saturday FA cup

marc says:
your not a milwall supporter? ARE YOU?

Tommy Tornado says:
What if I am?

marc says:
YOU NEED YOU HEAD EXAMINED!!!!! IPSWICH TOWN ALL THE WAY !!!!!!!

marc says:
are you a Milwall supporter or not?

Tommy Tornado says:
What does it matter?

marc says:
Cause I never knew that you like football , and I want to take the piss out of you when ITFC Play Milwall

marc says:
and ITFC WIN

Tommy Tornado says:
I'll tell you what...

Tommy Tornado says:
When Ipswich play Milwall, you can take the piss all you like.

Tommy Tornado says:
Because I don't give a crap

Tommy Tornado says:
I only follow one football team.

marc says:
NOT MUFC?

Tommy Tornado says:
And it's not wanky half-arsed ITFC, which by the way, looks like a wanky spelling of 'titfuck'

marc says:
are you plastic mank?

Tommy Tornado says:
So take your Portman Road trash, back to the filthy mud-pits they came from and support a real football team.

Tommy Tornado says:
See, you can't take the piss out of me and my football team, because you don't know who I support, and I'm not going to tell you.

Tommy Tornado says:
You, conversly, have played your hand, and are now stuck with the fact that I know that support the world's biggest pile of excremental excuse for a football team

Tommy Tornado says:
Your team sucks arse

marc says:
Well that they may do, but I can admit that i support them, so the team you support must be that much of an embassrement to you that you can't admit who they are!

Tommy Tornado says:
Oh, they are very real, and they have a huge following, right here in England.

marc says:
GOOOOOONER'S? bunch of fucking foregin players?

Tommy Tornado says:
Do they football in Cyprus? Could "tITFuCk" beat any of them? Maybe the could play over there and stand a chance of being top of the world again.

marc says:
yep and they played here as a preseason tour in 2002, and beat everyone!!!!!

Tommy Tornado says:
Well that's hardly a claim to fame is it?

marc says:
and what have your team done recently

Tommy Tornado says:
There's less than a million people in cyprus, and half of those are fat english squaddies

marc says:
I know I am a big fat squaddie, but its well paid for

marc says:
yours would be your middle age spread

Tommy Tornado says:
Now if I told you what my team had done recently that would give the game away and I wouldn't be able to wind you up anymore

marc says:
that means you one of two teams Both of which are fucking scum!!!!!!! and I will find out

Tommy Tornado says:
good luck - Hey! There's a big picture ont eh front of the ITFC website that says you can buy ITFC for less than a fiver!

marc says:
I will find out your team.

Tommy Tornado says:
Well, good luck with that.

Word Of The Day

tarradiddle \tair-uh-DID-uhl\, noun:
1. A petty falsehood; a fib.
2. Pretentious nonsense.

Oh please! Even in the parallel universe, tarradiddles of this magnitude cannot go unchallenged.
--"Taxation in the parallel universe," Sunday Business, June 11, 2000

Mr B did not tell a whopper. This was no fib, plumper, porker or tarradiddle. There was definitely no deceit, mendacity or fabrication.
--"Looking back," Western Mail, May 11, 2002

Other amendments, such as a chef at the birthday party, a dancing bear in the hunting scene, and a brief solo for the usually pedestrian Catalabutte, seemed more capricious, and the synopsis suggested further changes had been planned but perhaps found impractical. Some tarradiddle with roses for death and rebirth also necessitated different flowers for the traditional Rose Adagio.
--John Percival, "The other St Petersburg company," Independent, November 22, 2001

Tarradiddle is of unknown origin.

Cheat!

http://www.collegemix.com/content.php?q=2&id=648#1

Eyebrow Thief

http://www.livejournal.com/users/eyebrow_thief/

Viridian Room

Welcome to the Viridian Room

Like the Crimson Room, only more weird.

Exam Hall Games

Teachers have invented a version of the boys' game Battleships to relieve the boredom of invigilating exams, a study claimed yesterday.

They put crosses on a piece of paper marking the position of pupils with 'bad hair'.

The study found some teachers play tag as they move about the room. 'It is just like the real game but without any running,' said a contibuter to an exam antics website set up by the Time Educational Supplement.

The there is the game of 'chicken' in which teachers walk towards each other, the loser being the first to side-step to avoid colliding.

The nastiest game is ugly where a teacher stands beside the least good-looking pupil.

John Dunford, of the Secondary Heads Association, said the games did not bother pupils, whose main concern was the teachers' squeaky shoes.

Nan - At the NY Times

It's my friend Nan - doing a piece for the NY times!

"If you were wearing white, they'd rub off," she said, turning her back.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/20/garden/20ICFF.html

Real Band Names

http://www.metal-sludge.com/RealBandNames.htm

My personal favourite is "Alcoholocaust", which is the state Mike was fast approaching on Friday night.

Word Of The Day

crabwise \KRAB-wyz\, adjective:
1. Sideways.
2. In a cautiously indirect manner.

Grass tells this story in awkward fashion, coming at it crabwise indeed, with hesitations, shifts of direction, and out of sequence, allowing his narrator to display his own confusion, uncertainty, resentment of a history that has deformed his own life.
--Allan Massie, review of Crabwalk, by Gunter Grass, [1]The Scotsman, April 5, 2003

Atwood moves crabwise through such questions as the place of moral or ideological content in art, the conflict between artistic purity and commercial necessity, and the nature of the relationship between writer, text and reader.
--Christopher Tayler, review of Negotiating with the Dead, by Margaret Atwood, [2]Sunday Telegraph March 10, 2002

Without taking his eyes from the road his left hand moved seamlessly from the old-fashioned gear stick to Sally's lap where, after a brief professional rummage, it moved crabwise on to me in the back seat.
--Sue Arnold, "The difference between a grope and a caress," [3]The Independent, October 4, 2003

How to win an Online Argument

1. Get friendly
   
   Always refer to your opponent by his/her first name. Your messages will seem warm and friendly, despite the rabid ferocity of their content. After a few exchanges, begin to use a corruption of your opponent's name - begin with "William", then change to "Billy", then change to something like "Billy-Boy". Women don't enjoy having their names shortened either, so make sure that "Mrs. Elizabeth C. Osbourne-Smythe PhD, QC" is always addressed as "Lizzy".
   


2. Picky! Picky!
   
   Criticising your opponents spelling or grammar will make you look pedantic. Far better to deliberately misread a message, then follow-up with an utterly incongruous statement. And if they make a factual error - no matter how small - make sure you're on hand to remind them of their error as often as possible.
   


3. Be selective
   
   Selective editing is a good way to avoid engaging with your opponent's better arguments. Simply delete that intelligent, pointed question which ends paragraph three and reply instead to the weaker arguments beneath. Should your opponent post something like "I'm sorry but you're talking crap", snip everything but the first two words then graciously accept his apology.
   


4. Showboat
   
   Once the argument is in full swing, publicly thank all those people who have e-mailed you privately with their messages of support. Claim that you are too busy to reply to each of them personally at the moment, but promise to continue fighting on their behalf.
   


5. You've got history
   
   Boasting about how long you've been subscribed to a forum or newsgroup is not advised. Far better to make obscure references to the forum/newsgroup when only thirteen people knew it existed. Fondly recall a similar flame-war which took place in 1989 between "Big Al" and "Phyllis from Kent". If a newly arrived opponent produces a particularly strong argument, tell them that you've already discussed (and won) this debate last year and that you've no intention of repeating your crushing arguments all over again for their benefit.
   


6. There's lots of you
   
   Always refer to yourself in the plural, as though you are speaking on behalf of the whole newsgroup: "all we are trying to say is..." sounds much more pompous than "all I am trying to say is...". When other people join in the thread, the rules are simple: if they side with you, follow-up immediately and enthusiastically, congratulating them on their courage; if they side with your opponent, ignore the tossers.
   


7. One step ahead
   
   Pre-empt all replies. Tell your opponent that you know exactly how he or she is going to respond to your message because you've seen it all before. List all potential counter-arguments to your position and invite your opponent to choose one.
   


8. Beer and arguments don't mix
   
   Never, ever, rejoin a long-running argument after ten pints in the pub. Although the devastating logic of your drunken ramblings will seem inescapable to you at the time, your opponent will lap up the incoherent, inconsistent, beer-troubled flaws in your argument and you'll be unlikely to recover. If you've been involved in a particularly vehement argument where you've staked your reputation on the line, get a friend to lock away your PC on pub nights.
   


9. Bamboozle with links
   
   If your opponent's tenacity is proving too much for you, try a Google counter-attack. This involves posting up an endless stream of vaguely related links, insisting that there's more than enough evidence contained in the 50+ linked sites to crush any counter argument. Ensure you keep the references vague and preferably link to pages that are stuffed full of even more links. If your enemy can't find the evidence they're demanding, blame them for their lack of research skills - after all, you've already provided them with ample resources.
   


10. I didn't say that!
    
    Never apologise for anything, ever.
    


11. Play dirty
    
    Think the argument isn't going your way? Simply post one long, highly antagonistic message in which you completely misrepresent everything your opponent has said in the last three weeks. End by martyrishly declaring that the argument has dragged on for too long and that you have no choice but to kill-file/ignore your opponent. Ignore any further messages and/or quietly re-register under a new name.
    


12. Victory is yours!
    
    Won the argument? Congratulations - but remember to be utterly unbearable in victory. Make generous excuses for your opponent's behaviour ("I know you primary school technicians can be under a lot of stress", "the menopause can be a very difficult time", etc), but retain a calm tone of superiority ("the important thing is to learn from your mistakes"). State that you hope your opponent stays around and reassure him/her that other subscribers are sure to forget all about this sorry business in a couple of years.
    

How to win an Argument

This post is copied in its entirety from http://www.ijmc.com/archives/1995/May/01May1995.html

I argue very well. Ask any of my remaining friends. I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me. You too can win arguments. Simply follow these rules:

* Drink Liquor.

Suppose you're at a party and some hotshot intellectual is expounding on the economy of Peru, a subject you know nothing about. If you're drinking some health-fanatic drink like grapefruit juice, you'll hang back, afraid to display your ignorance, while the hotshot enthralls your date. But if you drink several large shots of Jack Daniels, you'll discover you have STRONG VIEWS about the Peruvian economy. You'll be a WEALTH of information. You'll argue forcefully, offering searing insights and possibly upsetting furniture. People will be impressed. Some may leave the room.

* Make things up.

Suppose, in the Peruvian economy argument, you are trying to prove Peruvians are underpaid, a position you base solely on the fact that YOU are underpaid, and you're damned if you're going to let a bunch of Peruvians be better off. DON'T say: "I think Peruvians are underpaid." Say: "The average Peruvian's salary in 1981 dollars adjusted for the revised tax base is $1,452.81 per annum, which is $836.07 before the mean gross poverty level."

NOTE: Always make up exact figures.

If an opponent asks you where you got your information, make THAT up, too. Say: "This information comes from Dr. Hovel T. Moon's study for the Buford Commission published May 9, 1982. Didn't you read it?" Say this in the same tone of voice you would use to say "You left your soiled underwear in my bath house."

* Use meaningless but weightly-sounding words and phrases.

Memorize this list:

Let me put it this way
In terms of
Vis-a-vis
Per se
As it were
Qua
So to speak
well, any-who

You should also memorize some Latin abbreviations such as "Q.E.D.", "e.g.", and "i.e." These are all short for "I speak Latin, and you do not."

Here's how to use these words and phrases. Suppose you want to say:

"Peruvians would like to order appetizers more often, but they don't have enough money."

You never win arguments talking like that. But you WILL win if you say:
"Let me put it this way. In terms of appetizers vis-a-vis Peruvians qua Peruvians, they would like to order them more often, so to speak, but they do not have enough money per se, as it were. Q.E.D."

Only a fool would challenge that statement.

* Use snappy and irrelevant comebacks.

You need an arsenal of all-purpose irrelevent phrases to fire back at your opponents when they make valid points. The best are:

You're begging the question.
You're being defensive.
Don't compare apples and oranges.
What are your parameters?

This last one is especially valuable. Nobody, other than mathematicians, has the vaguest idea what "parameters" means.

Here's how to use your comebacks:

You say "As Abraham Lincoln said in 1873..."
Your opponents says "Lincoln died in 1865."
You say "You're begging the question."

OR

You say "Liberians, like most Asians..."
Your opponents says "Liberia is in Africa."
You say "You're being defensive."

* Compare your opponent to Adolf Hitler.

This is your heavy artillery, for when your opponent is obviously right and you are spectacularly wrong. Bring Hitler up subtly. Say: "That sounds suspiciously like something Adolf Hitler might say" or "You certainly do remind me of Adolf Hitler."

You now know how to out-argue anybody. Do not try to pull any of this on people who generally carry weapons.

Word of the Day

bromide \BROH-myd\, noun:
1. A compound of bromine and another element or a positive organic radical.
2. A dose of potassium bromide taken as a sedative.
3. A dull person with conventional thoughts.
4. A commonplace or conventional saying.

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em." The words are in fact already a bromide when the pompous Malvolio finds and reads them.
--Marjorie Garber, Symptoms of Culture

He cannot resist the occasional bromide: "Ninety percent of diplomacy is a question of who blinks first."
--Gary J. Bass, "The Negotiator," New York Times, July 11, 1999

The next president could live up to that old political bromide "Let's run the government like a business" by staffing his cabinet with some leading figures from the new world of business.
--Daniel H. Pink, "Fast.Gov," Fast Company, October 2000

Bromide was formed from the first element of English bromine and the suffix -ide; the pair of bromine/bromide parallel chlorine/chloride. Bromine itself comes from French brome, from Greek bromos, "bad smell." The adjective form is bromidic (pronounced \broh-MID-ik\).

Trivia: The figurative sense of "a dull, conventional person or saying" was popularized by American humorist Gelett Burgess in his book Are You a Bromide? (1906).

An End to the Big Book of British Smiles?

New teeth 'could soon be grown'

Technology to grow replacement teeth could mean the end of dentures.
Scientists at King's College London have been awarded £500,000 to help them develop human teeth from stem cells.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3679313.stm

Word Of The Day

sentient \SEN-shee-uhnt; -tee-; -shuhnt\, adjective:
1. Capable of perceiving by the senses; conscious.
2. Experiencing sensation or feeling.

I can remember very vividly the first time I became aware of my existence; how for the first time I realised that I was a sentient human being in a perceptible world.
--Lord Berners, First Childhood

Answers to such profound questions as whether we are the only sentient beings in the universe, whether life is the product of random accident or deeply rooted law, and whether there may be some sort of ultimate meaning to our existence, hinge on what science can reveal about the formation of life.
--Paul Davies, The Fifth Miracle

Sentient comes from Latin sentiens, "feeling," from sentire, "to discern or perceive by the senses."

Shooty Arrow Game

Quite astoundingly retro, but still uncommonly good. Can you shoot the other bow-wielding stickman, before he makes you into a black line kebab?

http://www.xeron.org/cosas/bowman/

Angry Bleak Nursery Rhymes

rage-filled nihilistic reinterpretations of kiddie favourites

http://www.lskerton.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/nursery.html

Poo Stories

This week b3ta are doing your stories on poo.

"My cat once ate a 6 foot-long piece of red and green string, which it couldn't completely crap out. There i was, sitting in my living room, and my cat comes running through with about 5 feet of it trailing from its ass. Considering it was around Christmas, she looked rather festive.

"A few years ago when I was at school, we went on a trip to Italy. Someone did a shit in the sink, and when the teacher asked if it looked human, my mate replied 'no sir, it looks like a shit'

"Our dog found a bucket of Artex in the garden. And by the following morning had left perfect white plastercast turds all over the house. They had to be chipped off the floor with a spade."

Read them all here: http://b3ta.com/questions/shitstories/

Fake holiday reviews

Brilliant!

The idea is to find holiday destinations with double entendre names and write up reviews for their websites. One of our favourites for the Black Cock Inn: "the Black Cock Inn cider is one of my girlfriend's absolute favourites. She says that once you've tried it, nothing else will quite hit the spot again."

http://www.jboom.com/entendre


via b3ta

Hey Hey 16k

Did you use a home computer in the 1980s? Then you have to see your ginger Fuhrer Rob Manuel's new flash video. It's based upon a catchy song by MJ Hibbett which according to Rob, "said something about my youth and made me feel bittersweet nostalgia.

See it here: http://www2.b3ta.com/heyhey16k/

via b3ta

Come-Backs

"A friend of mine had an argument with his Dad. He called him an 'old bastard'. His Dad replied with, "I would have sexually abused you as a child if you weren’t so fucking ugly.'

"Was out with a woman friend once when this happened. Random bloke, 'Ere, love, sit on me face.' Her, 'Why, is your nose bigger than your penis?'

"I was seven, running around the garden, with a pointy stick. Suddenly my mum starts shouting from the kitchen, 'You'll have your eye out. What are you going to do then?' I replied 'I'll become a pirate mum!', and continued running around.

Read all the stories here: http://b3ta.com/questions/bestcomebacks/

Cannibal chase game

Have you ever wanted to experience the thrill of being chased by cannibals? NOW AT LAST YOU CAN They are quite small cannibals, but they ululate in a pleasing fashion as they chase you through a little tree maze.

Update: I really should post the url though.

Aha - here it is http://www.netcartoon.net/cannibals/cannibals.php

Top 17 Programmer's Terminologies

1. A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES ARE BEING TRIED
- We are still pissing in the wind.

2. EXTENSIVE REPORT IS BEING PREPARED ON A FRESH APPROACH TO
THE PROBLEM
- We just hired three kids fresh out of college.

3. CLOSE PROJECT COORDINATION
- We know who to blame.

4. MAJOR TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGH
- It works OK, but looks very hi-tech.

5. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IS DELIVERED ASSURED
- We are so far behind schedule the customer is happy to
get it delivered.

6. PRELIMINARY OPERATIONAL TESTS WERE INCONCLUSIVE
- The darn thing blew up when we threw the switch.

7. TEST RESULTS WERE EXTREMELY GRATIFYING
- We are so surprised that the stupid thing works.

8. THE ENTIRE CONCEPT WILL HAVE TO BE ABANDONED
- The only person who understood the thing quit.

9. IT IS IN THE PROCESS
- It is so wrapped up in red tape that the situation
is about hopeless.

10. WE WILL LOOK INTO IT
- Forget it! We have enough problems for now.

11. PLEASE NOTE AND INITIAL
- Let's spread the responsibility for the screw up.

12. GIVE US THE BENEFIT OF YOUR THINKING
- We'll listen to what you have to say as long as it
doesn't interfere with what we've already done.

13. GIVE US YOUR INTERPRETATION
- I can't wait to hear this bull!

14. SEE ME or LET'S DISCUSS
- Come into my office, I'm lonely.

15. ALL NEW
- Code not interchangeable with the previous design.

16. YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT
- It finally worked!

17. LOW MAINTENANCE
- Impossible to fix if broken.

Canada MPs argue over sex symbol

Canada's parliament, scene of many worthy debates, was plunged into uproar after the alleged mispronunciation of a sexy Italian film actress' name.

Tempers flared when an MP accused an ex-minister of "rubbing shoulders with Gina Lollobreegeeda", reports said.

The apparent mispronunciation prompted Human Resources Minister Joe Volpe to yell: "It's Gina Lollobrigida, idiot!"

Opposition MP Jason Kenney hit back, saying he was sorry for "offending the ageing sex-kitten community".

Mr Volpe later told reporters he too had some regrets over the row.

"I'm sorry I called him an idiot. I should have referred to him as an imbecile," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3694389.stm

Roasties

The secret to roast parsnips (and potatoes) is to almost completely boil them, then leave them to cool and let the steam off for five minutes then drop them straight into a roasting pan with pre-heated oil in the oven for about and hour.

Mmm, yummy.

Googlism

A search for me - Adam Phillips - on googlism bring the following results:

adam phillips is a british psycho
adam phillips is a very good player indeed and a top bloke to boot
adam phillips is the lead guitarist and he's is someone to watch out for
adam phillips is an unusual man
adam phillips is fond of what you might call the audacious syllogism

It's all true I tell you!

I Don't Like Mondays (except bank holiday Mondays - I like those)

Thank you Boomtown Rats

The silicon chip inside her head.
Gets switched to overload,
And nobody's gonna go to school today,
She's going to make them stay at home,
And daddy doesn't understand it,
He always said she was as good as gold,
And he can see no reason.
Cos there are no reasons.
What reason do you need to be shown.

Tell me why.
I Dont't like Mondays.
I want to shoot.
The whole day down.

The Telex machine is kept so clean.
As it types to a waiting world,
And Mother feels so shocked,
Father's world is rocked,
And their thoughts turn to.
Their own little girl.
Sweet 16 ain't that peachy keen,
No, it ain't so neat to admit defeat,
They can see no reasons.
Cos there are no reasons.
What reason do you need to be shown,Br.

Tell me why.
I Dont't like Mondays.
I want to shoot.
The whole day down.

All the playing's stopped in the playground now
She wants to play with her toys a while
And school's out early and soon we'll be learning
And the lesson today is how to die,
And then the bullhorn crackles,
And the captain crackles,
With the problems and the how's and why's
And he can see no reasons
Cos there are no reasons
What reason do you need to die

The silicon chip ...

Tell me why...

Gourd Art

It's like Log Art, but much, much worse.

Bibles

I fear that buying two more old Bibles at Sunday's car boot sale means I now have a collection of Bibles.

According to www.dictionary.com a collection is "several things grouped together ".
The definition for "several" yields "Being of a number more than two or three but not many"
and finally, the definition of "many" is "Amounting to or consisting of a large indefinite number"

So, what have we learned? A collection is more than two or three things, but not as much as a large indefinite number. Thanks for that.

John Gibson - Twunt

I am so happy I could shit. A google search for "John Gibson Twunt" brings this site as the top result.