The Washington Post’s political blog, The Fix, turned off the comments at the weekend after some persistent malicious postings, as Chris Cilliza explains here.. and, from the comments that followed, my nominee for quote of the day from rmck1 – Any political discussion venue is by nature going to attract its share of the unhinged. *ducks* Pete Baker
Eammon McCann may be an expert in the cannon law of the Catholic church, but he’s no great fan of that or any other religion. This tongue-in-cheek consideration of Councillor Mills’ rather unscientific reference to Hurricane Katrina last week is from his column in the Derry Journal. Update: the story is beginning to break online in the US. Update to the update: Eamon apologises for inaccuracies in the quotation above.By Eammon McCann The Mills of God grind slow, but they …
Not content with beating up on Ireland at rugby last week *ahem*, the Kiwis are taking a swipe at the next island in with the latest viral ad for 42Below vodka from New Zealand [who knew?- Ed]. It’s an ad the guys at Langerland would be proud of. At the First Post, Patrick Collister considers what would happen to him if he tried a similar approach, he suspects it would end in the Tower – the ad should load automatically.. …
From Samizdatista Michael Jennings comes this important study – On the Effectiveness of Aluminium Foil Helmets – “It requires no stretch of the imagination to conclude that the current helmet craze is likely to have been propagated by the Government, possibly with the involvement of the FCC. We hope this report will encourage the paranoid community to develop improved helmet designs to avoid falling prey to these shortcomings.” – or it’s proof that some people have way too much time …
Satirist Craig Brown has written a sequel to his the previous interpretation of history, by W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman, 1066 and All That, this time focusing on the 20th Century that might have been – 1966 and All That. The Guardian, helpfully, provides some extracts, including this from the history of The Sixties – the decade in which the condition of Ulcer was finally diagnosed.. The Condition Of Ulcer. In the late 1960s, the British discovered Northern …
Amazing the favourable coverage that can be garnered with the words “Free Food and Drink”.. ahem.. To paraphrase Samizdatista, Dale Amon – “Mick launches bid for Most Oppressed Blogger Ever” *ducks* Pete Baker
A brief humorous interlude.. courtesy of The Broom, via The Taoister.. part of an ongoing series of cartoonery by the ubiquitous cabal *ahem* [coat on] Pete Baker
discover your jack-o-lantern face @ quiz me Pete Baker
A couple of seasonal posts coming up. Since the BBC have decided to inform us that pumpkins are now usurping turnips as the vegetable of choice at Halloween.. unless you’re Baldrick that is.. *ahem*.. here’s a useful animated guide to carving your Jack O’Lantern.. found by Cullen at Half a Pica Distance away. Pete Baker
That’s the conclusion I’ve reached after careful consideration of the evidence. Exhibit 1 – a public vote on the In Our Times Greatest Philosopher, via Radio 4.. Karl Marx. Exhibit 2 – a public vote on the World’s Top Public Intelluctual, via Prospect Magazine.. Noam Chomsky. Exhibit 3 – a panel of experts select the Philosopher/Man of the Decade, via Men’s Health magazine.. Homer Simpson! [also here]. “Homer no function beer well without.” I rest my case. Pete Baker
Chris, at Crooked Timber, links to it today, and Sheila, of The Variations fame, noted it previously. [My bad.. and slow] The latest Genius ad [QuickTime movie].. both, though, suggest there’s a possibility of an unfavourable reaction from intelligent design/creationism advocates.. Hmm.. If only they’d put the tag-line over a cloudscape image, complete with the supreme being, glass of the black nectar in her hand, smiling serenely.. surely everyone would be happy with that? No??? Heh. Pete Baker
In accordance with BBFC guidelines. Eric the Unread got a 12A certificate.. and I get an 18, for some reason.. hmmm.. btw the quiz itself is definitely 18. See what your rating is! Created by bart666 What this supposedly means – Suitable for 18 years or older. This is real life. Anything in this category is considered to be of subject matter relating to adult life, that happens day in and day out. Walking down the street is an 18 …
The (new) Broom sees similarities between voices at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
Which Polyhedral Are You? I am a d4. Shrewd, petty and evil. Bwahahahaha [*evil laugh*] Hey at least it’s one of the Platonic solids! NB Scrupulously scientific – knowledge of dice not required.To elaborate slightly – You are a four-sided die, a d4. Otherwise known as a tetrahedron, a “Caltrop”, or (to a lesser degree) “Ol’ Pointy”. This crap bores you, so I’ll get to the point. Others tend to see you as petty, conniving, manipulative, argumentative, defensive, greedy, and …
You are Statler or Waldorf You are Statler or Waldorf. You have a high opinion of yourself, as do others. But only because you are in the balcony seats. ALSO KNOWN AS: Those two old guys in the box. SPECIAL TALENTS: Heckling, complaining, being cantankerous QUOTE: “Get off the stage, you bum!” – What Muppet are you? – Brought to you by Quizilla Via MerkLAST BOOKS READ: “The Art of Insult” and “How To Insult Art” NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT: …
Newton Emerson in excellent form, once again, in today’s Irish Times, foolishly bravely running the risk of comparison with a satirical giant of Irish literature with a modest proposal for the Secretary of State, Peter Hain, to considerUpdated Newton’s kindly given Slugger permission to reprint the full text. Many thanks, Newton – What about a generation of generators? Northern Secretary Peter Hain unveiled two new budget priorities in his speech to the British Labour Party conference: “Boosting our investment in …
Spotted by the, allegedly, semi-retired Richard Delevan. The announcement of the IRA’s final act of decomissioning, perhaps tellingly, merited only a brief mention by the satirical Onion – “I knew that Guns For Guinness trade-in program would work where so many other attempts had failed.” Pete Baker
Mick noted The Guardian’s Ship of Fools’ funniest religious joke the other day. In today’s Guardian, comedian Emo Philips, quite rightly, points out – Hey!.. that’s my joke.. and adds a couple more for the sheer hell of it. heh. Pete Baker
Government, according to Prime Minister Tony Blair, is a bit like learning to unicycle.. No, really! The admission came during a Question and Answer session with party delegates in Brighton.. chaired by Eddie Izzard.. whose presence may, or may not, have had something to do with the somewhat surreal flights of fancy between more scripted serious questions.From the transcript – Eddie Izzard[EI]: Okay. Thank you very much to the ladies and gentlemen of the media. We’ll just wait a brief …
At a time when Northern Ireland is awash with translations, here’s a new one for your PC, sent to us by my brother. You’ll need to click on the image to get the all-important detail. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
