ninme

Have you seen the price of diesel lately? I think I can make it till Wednesday. So: The French air force seemed to have kicked some serious ass today in Libya. It’s nice to see them demonstrating their abilities for the world. Hate seeing them lumped in with the rest of the European elf-n-safety forces. […]

Categories: War and Peace

It made me laugh: Uptown Downstairs Abbey Part One – Red Nose Day 2011 – BBC Comic Relief Night A host of stars, including Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Harry Enfield and Victoria Wood join forces for a period-drama-themed spoof for Red Nose Day. Donate and download exclusive content and top sketches at http://www.bbc.co.uk/rednoseday So I […]

Categories: Entertainment

I just think it’s kind of amazing to think of. And I don’t mean that in a bad way, for crying out loud. This isn’t subtitled. I can’t find a copy of his that is subtitled but not drastically abridged. A recap: Telegraph – Japan earthquake: Emperor Akihito’s exceptional speech One of the things he […]

Categories: People and Current Events

I’m swiftly losing the ability to cope with this story. This has not helped: The Times – Why quakes leave the Japanese unshakeable, by Ben Macintyre They call it ‘gaman’ – the unflappable stoicism that helps this nation survive whatever nature throws at it Related: The Corner – Dr Robert Zubrin: Anti-Nuclear Press Puts Japanese […]

Categories: Science and Nature

Shamelessly pinched from here after hearing about it here: Wheat & Weeds – It’s Not Chernobyl In Japan The point I would like to make about this: It wouldn’t be a very disastrous natural disaster if nothing disastrous happened because of it. Abandoning nuclear power (and for what, coal? in Japan?) because of something of […]

Categories: Science and Nature

First I’ve heard of this: The Corner – Mark Steyn: Dead Jews Is No News

Categories: War and Peace

This is hilarious, and actually kind of beautiful: HuffPo – A Dramatic Story, at the End of Which Nothing Happens, by Jimmy Kimmel In which Jimmy overcomes his fear of tsunamis to travel to Bora Bora… last week. Brief quote to illustrate the funniness: At 4:30am, the phone in my hut rang and the guy […]

Categories: Science and Nature

This made the rounds on Twitter today. Commonly paired with words like “terrifying”. I’m amazed the camera man seems to make no noise. Update: Amending the title because, despite what ideas Twitter planted in my head, he’s doing some pretty fancy zooms to be amateur. And it would explain his professional silence if he’s professional.

Categories: Science and Nature

A photo essay in the Guardian Weekend: Goodbye to all that Zed Nelson’s photographs capture the human face behind disappearing Britain – the war veterans, the miners, the boxers and the fishermen. Blake Morrison reflects on the price of progress

Categories: History

Observe this video: Now, if this had happened to, say, San Diego, would we have ended up with a USS Ronald Reagan on top of somebody’s Kia? If we had had a nuclear submarine poking around underwater, would it have gotten tossed up onto somebody’s shopping mall? And what a sight would THAT have been, […]

Categories: Science and Nature

Move the sliders. Curtsy: Tim Blair

Categories: Science and Nature

So, Japan. The town of Minamisanriku has a population of about 17,000, and 10,000 are missing. Because if a wall of water 10 meters high comes at a town like that, where do you go? Some of the photos look like those old woodblock prints. These towns might as well have been built from balsa […]

Categories: Science and Nature

Too late now (£): A rigid cut off of 24 weeks, below which no baby would be resuscitated, may make economic sense — it may even make moral and ethical sense given the likely toll on the child’s health as he or she gets older — but try telling that to the parents, doctors and […]

Categories: Science and Nature

The Times – I need a fictional hero — and not a male one, by Janice Turner An interesting point. Women get emancipated and now they just fail to impress in men’s roles. (Unless you take Sex and the City, which is about the only recent movie that passes the Bechdel Test from the previous […]

Categories: Art and Literature

This is a kind of annoying video but: I first heard about this on the Mayo/Kermode film review and think it’s kind of a good point. And as it’s International Fat Women Day… (hehe get it?)

Categories: Entertainment