Tuesday 30 November 2010
Electro-Convulsive Therapy
Humour is reason gone mad.
— Groucho Marx
— Groucho Marx
Monday 29 November 2010
Go up, you baldhead!
23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!”
24 When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number.
— 2 Kings 2:23-24
Sunday 28 November 2010
Other Species
The question is not,
"Can they reason?" nor,
"Can they talk?" but rather,
"Can they suffer?"
— Jeremy Bentham
"Can they reason?" nor,
"Can they talk?" but rather,
"Can they suffer?"
— Jeremy Bentham
Saturday 27 November 2010
Friday 26 November 2010
Wednesday 24 November 2010
Always Want Again
Just take this longing from my tongue
all the lonely things my hands have done.
Let me see your beauty broken down
like you would do for one your love.
— Leonard Cohen 'Take This Longing'
all the lonely things my hands have done.
Let me see your beauty broken down
like you would do for one your love.
— Leonard Cohen 'Take This Longing'
Tuesday 23 November 2010
The Coasts Of Me
I, while the gods laugh, the world's vortex am;
Maelstrom of passions in that hidden sea
Whose waves of all-time lap the coasts of me;
And in small compass the dark waters cram.
— Mervyn Peake
Maelstrom of passions in that hidden sea
Whose waves of all-time lap the coasts of me;
And in small compass the dark waters cram.
— Mervyn Peake
Monday 22 November 2010
The Stone Skyfield
The crumbling castle, looming among the mists, exhaled the season, and every cold stone breathed it out. The tortured trees by the dark lake burned and dripped, their leaves snatched by the wind were whirled in wild circles through the towers. The clouds mouldered as they lay coiled, or shifted themselves uneasily upon the stone skyfield, sending up wreathes that drifted through the turrets and swarmed up hidden walls.
— Mervyn Peake 'Titus Groan'
— Mervyn Peake 'Titus Groan'
Sunday 21 November 2010
Word Of The Day
Metaphormosing: calling a caterpillar a butterfly
Saturday 20 November 2010
Not Just Another Drop In The Ocean
Friday 19 November 2010
Thursday 18 November 2010
Wednesday 17 November 2010
Humpty–Dumptyism
'I don't know what you mean by "glory",' Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. 'Of course you don't — till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!"'
'But "glory" doesn't mean "a nice knock-down argument",' Alice objected.
'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.'
'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things.'
'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master — that's all.'
Alice was too much puzzled to say anything; so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. 'They've a temper, some of them — particularly verbs: they're the proudest — adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs — however, I can manage the whole lot of them! Impenetrability! That's what I say!'
'Would you tell me please,' said Alice, 'what that means?'
'Now you talk like a reasonable child,' said Humpty Dumpty, looking very much pleased. 'I meant by "impenetrability" that we've had enough of that subject, and it would be just as well if you'd mention what you mean to do next, as I suppose you don't mean to stop here all the rest of your life.'
'That's a great deal to make one word mean,' Alice said in a thoughtful tone.
'When I make a word do a lot of work like that,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'I always pay it extra.'
'Oh!' said Alice. She was too much puzzled to make any other remark.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. 'Of course you don't — till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!"'
'But "glory" doesn't mean "a nice knock-down argument",' Alice objected.
'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.'
'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things.'
'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master — that's all.'
Alice was too much puzzled to say anything; so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. 'They've a temper, some of them — particularly verbs: they're the proudest — adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs — however, I can manage the whole lot of them! Impenetrability! That's what I say!'
'Would you tell me please,' said Alice, 'what that means?'
'Now you talk like a reasonable child,' said Humpty Dumpty, looking very much pleased. 'I meant by "impenetrability" that we've had enough of that subject, and it would be just as well if you'd mention what you mean to do next, as I suppose you don't mean to stop here all the rest of your life.'
'That's a great deal to make one word mean,' Alice said in a thoughtful tone.
'When I make a word do a lot of work like that,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'I always pay it extra.'
'Oh!' said Alice. She was too much puzzled to make any other remark.
Tuesday 16 November 2010
Monday 15 November 2010
Sunday 14 November 2010
Saturday 13 November 2010
Word Of The Day
telepathetic: pitiful from a distance
Friday 12 November 2010
Common Ancestor: 590 Million Years Ago
Thursday 11 November 2010
The Importance Of Punctuation
WHAT THE HAL9000 COMPUTER SAID IN 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
I'm sorry, Dave.
I'm afraid I can't do that. …
I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen.
WHAT THE HAL9000 COMPUTER MEANT IN 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
I'm sorry, Dave.
I'm afraid.
I can't do that. …
I'm afraid.
That's something I cannot allow to happen.
I'm sorry, Dave.
I'm afraid I can't do that. …
I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen.
WHAT THE HAL9000 COMPUTER MEANT IN 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
I'm sorry, Dave.
I'm afraid.
I can't do that. …
I'm afraid.
That's something I cannot allow to happen.
Wednesday 10 November 2010
The Bourgeois Sea
Oh baby, what a place to be
In the service of the bourgeoisie
— Iggy Pop 'Endless Sea'
In the service of the bourgeoisie
— Iggy Pop 'Endless Sea'
Tuesday 9 November 2010
Common Ancestor: 800 Million Years Ago
Common Ancestor: 700 Million Years Ago
Common Ancestor: 590 Million Years Ago
Sunday 7 November 2010
Physicality
Before middle age: energy > mass
After middle age: mass > energy
After middle age: mass > energy
Friday 5 November 2010
Do It Yourself
On the armchair, a book: “How to relax.”
Beside the bed, a book: “How to get to sleep.”
Next to the window, a book: “How to see what’s in front of you.”
Next to the man seated at the table, a book: “How to be a man.”
On the desk, a book: “How to succeed in life.”
In hell, a book: “How you ended up in hell.”
— Michæl Leunig
Beside the bed, a book: “How to get to sleep.”
Next to the window, a book: “How to see what’s in front of you.”
Next to the man seated at the table, a book: “How to be a man.”
On the desk, a book: “How to succeed in life.”
In hell, a book: “How you ended up in hell.”
— Michæl Leunig
Psyclones
Individuals of the same mind.
Homo Geneous
Brian: You're all individuals.
Crowd: YES! WE'RE ALL INDIVIDUALS!
Brian: You're all different.
Crowd: YES. WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT.
Lone Voice: I'm not.
— Monty Python 'The Life Of Brian'
Crowd: YES! WE'RE ALL INDIVIDUALS!
Brian: You're all different.
Crowd: YES. WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT.
Lone Voice: I'm not.
— Monty Python 'The Life Of Brian'
Thursday 4 November 2010
Tuesday 2 November 2010
Monday 1 November 2010
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