Great Footballer; Stupid Drunk

I must admit I’m getting a bit fed up with all the bullshit being spread liberally around the airwaves and TV networks about George Best. Yes - he was a great footballer in his day, and he deserved the accolades he received for same. But - and you knew there was a but didn’t you - he was also a stupid man who threw away a perfectly good liver in favour of drinking himself to death. He had a liver transplant which saved him and prolongued his life, and then he basically threw it all away and went back on the booze. Stupid frigging drunk.

That same liver could have kept a more deserving recepient alive for a lot longer. It’s a tad hypocritical of people now to suddenly ‘forget’ that he basically inflicted this on himself, and it’s a waste of a perfectly good organ. What a shame. What a waste.

Stop Thief - You’ve Got Mail!

IN A GROWING TREND for judges to hand out punishments which fit the crime, the BBC World News today carries a story about a man who was sentanced to (amongst other things) wearing a sign saying “I STOLE MAIL - THIS IS MY PUNISHMENT” for a day. In 2003, this gobshite was sentenced by a district judge to two months in jail, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The release conditions stated that he must spend four days at a post office observing staff dealing with inquiries about lost or stolen mail, write letters of apology to the victims of his crime and give three lectures about his crime at schools. The judge also ordered him to wear a signboard reading “I stole mail - this is my punishment” for a full eight-hour working day.

A recent appeal to overturn the judgement failed and now the sentance has to be carried out. I think the bugger got off lightly myself. If it had been me handing out the judegement I might have gone a different route, but then it’s widely acknowledged that I’m not exactly a wilting flower when it comes to dealing appropriately with criminality

Space Race: Is Everyone Going To The Moon?

IT’S FINALLY STARTING TO make a sort of sense. First of all we had el presidento Bush announcing that it was time for America to go to the Moon, then on to Mars back in January 2004 with some rumblings here and there since the announcement (mainly due to a lack of any real credibility and of course any details (see here for an interesting analysis by Space.com), followed then more recently by the Canadians, surprising me and most of the western world with their cries for a debate on communing with aliens and it all just seemed nonsensical to me until I came across another little piece of the puzzle today.

It seems that the Chinese are getting in on the act. MSNBC reports that China has announced plans to put men on the moon by 2015. They go further to suggest that China will also build a moonbase within this timeframe. This sounding familiar yet folks? I’m thinking someone is coming down with a serious case of moonbase envy

Looks to me like the space race is back on - and it’s not even an election year! Oh well - squatters rights and all that. First to build gets to rent the place!

And You Thought Canadians Were Boring?

JUST WHEN I THINK I have a handle on most countries and how they are likely to behave, a surprise comes along to uproot my thinking and force me to stand back and admire the complete insanity. What am I referring to? Well - as most of the western world gradually steps away from the whole UFO thing and even as the USA - my favourite lunatic asylum - decides to pull back from SETI work the Canadians completely surprise me by requesting that hearings be held to discuss relations with extra terrestrials. I shit you not!

On September 25, 2005, in a startling speech at the University of Toronto that caught the attention of mainstream newspapers and magazines, Paul Hellyer, Canada’s Defence Minister from 1963-67 under Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prime Minister Lester Pearson, publicly stated: “UFOs, are as real as the airplanes that fly over your head.” Hellyer warned, “The United States military are preparing weapons which could be used against the aliens, and they could get us into an intergalactic war without us ever having any warning. He stated, “The Bush administration has finally agreed to let the military build a forward base on the moon, which will put them in a better position to keep track of the goings and comings of the visitors from space, and to shoot at them, if they so decide.”

CNN are running this story entitled Former Canadian Minister Of Defence Asks Canadian Parliament Asked To Hold Hearings On Relations With Alien “Et” Civilizations which is a must-read. Ah - those whacky Canadians and their sense of timing!

By the way… Hellyer’s speech ended with a standing ovation

Ever Wanted To Play The Didgeridoo?

HAVE YOU EVER wanted to learn how to play the Didgeridoo? Well - strangely enough neither have I! However, I do know a couple of folks who are keen to learn and so I agreed to hunt down some useful links to the relevant information for them and post it on the site. So… SkinnyBint and HeavyLifter - these are for you; enjoy

First off we have a traditional How To Play The Didgeridoo piece from aboriginalart.com. When you are done with that, check out the extensive list of everything you might ever want to know about playing the Didgeridoo over at didjshop.com. Next up is a quick piece about breathing and rythms and finally a very snappy piece on technique for you to digest. Hopefully there is enough information for you here to get those windpipes in motion!

Great Moments: The Birth Of The Internet

Newsman Wolf Blitzer: “Why should Democrats, looking at the Democratic nomination process, support you instead of Bill Bradley, a friend of yours, a former colleague in the senate? What do you have to bring to this that he doesn’t necessarily bring to this process?”

Vice President Al Gore: “During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.”

- CNN Interview, March 9th, 1999

Aeon Flux - Complete Animated Series DVD

IF ANYONE WAS WONDERING what to get me for christmas this year (are you reading this SusiQ!) then you need look no further than this absolutely must-have collectors item for any fan of the animation genre. I posted an item previously about the upcoming Aeon Flux Film and website, however nothing Hollywood could do in the cinema theatre could compare to the sheer originality and brilliance of the animated series upon which the film is based.

If you even consider yourself a passing film fan, and a moderate lover of inventive, original and risque animation - then you absolutely must get your hands on this DVD collection. Trust me - I’m a film nut