Links

Dec. 14th, 2024 06:28 pm
redfiona99: (Default)
Well, link

Art:

French Artist ‘Levalet’ Injects Humor into the Streets of Paris with New Site-Specific Street Art - https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2015/02/levalet-wheatpastes-paris/

Links

Aug. 13th, 2023 12:11 pm
redfiona99: (Default)
Art:

When Lady Chatterley joined Tinder - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41995722 Although this could have gone under literature or technology. Also, excellent choice of photo there, BBC

Education:

The Oxford University college fighting elitism - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-41829685

Healthcare:

Do You Need That Surgery? How To Decide, And How To Pick A Surgeon If You Do - https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/07/19/743248074/do-you-need-that-surgery-how-to-decide-and-how-to-pick-a-surgeon-if-you-do Article is US-based but interesting for everyone, I think.

Law and order:

Tax disc: Car tax evasion triples after paper version scrapped - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42009111 I’m not saying this always happens when a poorly-thought out electronic conversion happens but …

Miscellaneous:

Dog ownership lowers early death risk, study finds - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-42009932

Justice Ginsburg: 'I Am Very Much Alive' - https://www.npr.org/2019/07/24/744633713/justice-ginsburg-i-am-very-much-alive From 2019

Miss Iraq and Miss Israel selfie strikes a nerve - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-42009879 From 2017

Returning to Kashmir, where our parents were shot in front of us - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-41996612

WW2 Spitfire pilot Joy Lofthouse dies aged 94 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-42012740

Why Saudi Arabia and Iran are bitter rivals - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-42008809

The deadly problem with US college fraternities - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42014128

Indonesia's Orang Rimba: Forced to renounce their faith - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41981430

What now for Bosnia victims as Hague tribunal closes? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41918411

Politics:

Britain got its way in the EU when it mattered – I know, I was there - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/16/britain-got-its-way-eu-brexiteers

Sport:

Football:

Kenny Dalglish on Liverpool - the club, the fans, the city, and Hillsborough - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42009989 Even if you're not into football, this one's worth reading

Horse racing:

Bryony Frost: Why victory at Wincanton could be her breakthrough moment - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-racing/42004010

Rugby League:

England v Papua New Guinea: PNG - the country where rugby league is a religion - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/42011291 One day, PNG will get an NRL franchise, and then, then the national team will hit the heights it deserves to.

Technology:

Young drivers: The technologies that cut insurance bills - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42025295
redfiona99: (Default)
The exhibition ran from May to October 2019, and you can find the exhibition blurb here. (I recommend the website, it’s very in-depth.)

I want to start by saying we didn’t arrive late: we were exactly on time to be there with 5-10 minutes to spare. What we didn’t take into account (because we didn’t know it was happening), was that the course for the Virgin London 10 K would prevent us from crossing from Green Park to Buckingham Palace.

[Cue a 15 minute dash around Buckingham Palace to get to the exhibition in time.]

Mostly, other than a sore ankle (the sloth is my heraldic device for a reason), my take-away from this was how tiny Buckingham Place is (relatively).

Not so much the building itself, Schönbrunn is probably no bigger, but the grounds.

I can’t think of another palace where you could circle round the whole thing, gardens and all, in less than 15 minutes, at a fast walking pace.

So, after that, the security checks and your brave protagonist finding out that they'd got their top on back-to-front, we arrived at the exhibition.

Now I’d seen some of the highlights while I was in Newcastle, and I have to say, I think the layout of the Newcastle exhibition was easier to follow. They made a virtue of having less, and focussed on da Vinci’s techniques and materials, and how he used them to create the effects he was aiming for.

The Buckingham Palace exhibition didn’t seem to know whether it wanted to be organised chronologically, or thematically; and went with a mixture of the two, a mostly chronological layout with blobs of theme, which didn’t quite work.

You’d be reading along going “okay, this followed that, because he fell out with yet another patron” when suddenly there’d be some work from 10 years and two patrons before. I think a thematic layout would have worked better.

The works themselves were exceptional - the detail, and the way the drawings and sketches demonstrate the work that went into the greatness of his larger works and his plans for works that didn’t quite come off (the bronze horse for instance, sadly I can’t find a link to the studies for the engineering required for something that idiotically big).

My favourite pieces were either the maps, the plants or the cat sketches.

After that, a trip to Brazilian barbeque, to finish off an excellent day.

Links

Jun. 20th, 2021 07:48 pm
redfiona99: (Default)
Actors:

A modern muse: The enduring appeal of Audrey Hepburn - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41372155

Art:

The famed painters who vanished into obscurity - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41308226

Law and order:

Why are sexual offences increasing in Scotland? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-41399257

Miscellaneous:

'Heart of an athlete beats inside of me' - Brazilian grandmother Ivonette Balthazar - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/41416910

Depersonalisation disorder: 'I was unable to feel love' - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41384979

'Husband-proof' shopping list goes viral - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-41403964

What's the right thing to say to someone with cancer? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41366246

Science:

Flu vaccine: Is it more effective if you're in a good mood? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41400513

How plastic became a victim of its own success - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41188462

Sport:

Cycling:

PROFESSIONAL CYCLING TEAM SPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE BANS BEARDS- https://www.eurosport.co.uk/cycling/professional-cycling-team-sport-vlaanderen-baloise-bans-beards_sto6347590/story.shtml From 2017

Peter Sagan: Slovak wins record third successive world title in Norway - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/41380525 From 2017

Football:

Leeds United: Are Championship leaders finally set for Premier League return? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41386409 From 2017. It took 3 more years, but yes, this was when things started looking up for them.

Formula 1:

Bankrupt Lehman Brothers profits from Formula One sale: The collapsed bank will sell its stake in Nasdaq-listed auto racing empire, making a hefty $1.5bn from a $300m investment - https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/21/lehman-brothers-formula-one-sale From 2017 - it turns out that Bernie is very good at making money

Rugby Union:

Billy Vunipola: Saracens and England player would take pay cut to avoid burnout - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/41366795 From 2017. Billy Vunipola is right and the various rugby governing bodies ought to start taking notice of what all the players are saying.

Theatre:

Kwame Kwei-Armah named Young Vic theatre's artistic director - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41399896 From 2017

Links

Dec. 21st, 2020 09:22 pm
redfiona99: (Default)
Art:

A Gargantuan Purple Sea Monster Lurks Inside a Two-Story Warehouse at Philadelphia’s Navy Yard - https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2018/10/sea-monsters-take-over-philadelphias-navy-yard/ From 2018

Music:

Thinkin' Songs: Drown Out The World With A Concentration-Friendly Megamix - https://www.npr.org/2018/10/05/654441450/thinkin-songs-drown-out-the-world-with-a-concentration-friendly-megamix

Science:
How A 19th Century Chemist Took On The Food Industry With A Grisly Experiment - https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/10/08/654066794/how-a-19th-century-chemist-took-on-the-food-industry-with-a-grisly-experiment

Links

Aug. 9th, 2020 07:41 pm
redfiona99: (Default)
Animals:

New grass snake identified in the UK - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40853286

Architecture:

Listed buildings: New additions mark 70 years of preservation - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-40812611 From 2017

Art:

Walls of water: Hokusai and the Great Wave of Camberwell - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-40830628

History:

Partition of India: The partition of India and the birth of Pakistan shaped the lives of generations of families.

In the era of the Raj, India was the jewel in Britain's imperial crown, but in 1947 everything changed. -

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-d88680d1-26f2-4863-be95-83298fd01e02

Miscellaneous:

Now Hiring: A Company Offers Drug Treatment And A Job To Addicted Applicants - https://www.npr.org/2018/07/27/631557443/now-hiring-a-company-offers-drug-treatment-and-a-job-to-addicted-applicants

Politics:
Both from 2017

Why Is Donald Trump Still So Horribly Witless About the World? - https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/why-is-donald-trump-still-so-horribly-witless-about-the-world

There Is No Way to Survive the Trump White House: The tenures of Reince Priebus and Anthony Scaramucci represent two opposite, but equally ineffective, strategies for surviving the Trump White House - https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/there-is-no-way-to-survive-the-trump-white-house-253401/

Science:

The Swedish physicist revolutionising birth control- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40629994 I have the gravest of grave doubts.

Sport:
Athletics:

Usain Bolt: Eight-time Olympic champion's career in 9.58 charts - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/40779741

Baseball:

Team named for legendary Mamie 'Peanut' Johnson wins DC Little League championship- https://wjla.com/news/local/mamie-peanut-johnson-dc-little-league-championship From 2018

Football:

Premier League is 25 years old: Facts and figures behind the first quarter-century - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40704646 From 2017

Links

May. 10th, 2020 11:38 am
redfiona99: (Default)
Art:

Flint iron ring sculpture plans met with criticism - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-40703954

Economics:

More than 2,500 products subject to shrinkflation, says ONS - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40703866

How formula milk shaped the modern workplace - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40281403

History:

How Britain supported the early release of Rudolf Hess - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40647291

Back from the Front: Tracking down WW1 grave markers - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-40446229 There's a quote in there, that really hits home. "One unusual marker is a wooden Star of David, at Broadgreen Cemetery, Liverpool, commemorating an unknown Jewish soldier.

Often it was impossible to identify an individual soldier's remains, and Merseyside has a particular concentration of markers for so-called "unknowns", probably brought back during pilgrimages by churches and other groups."

The King's Liverpool Regiment were my great grandfather's regiment but at least we know where he's buried, and I know lots of people didn't, because to this day, the Lancashires (which the King's Liverpool were amalgamated into) still send a representative to every funeral of a World War I unknown British soldier because there's a good chance he's one of theirs.


Miscellaneous:

Alice Cooper finds Warhol artwork after decades rolled up in storage - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40715105

Refugee children on Lesbos helped to face fear of drowning - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40580529

The extraordinary life of a 91-year-old beauty queen - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-40709840

Taiwan's Taoists protest against curbs on incense and firecrackers - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40699113 From 2017

The city that makes the most expensive boats in the world - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40681345

The last days of Phnom Penh's iconic White Building - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40652014

Music:

The brilliance of Scott Walker - explained! - https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/76b1d907-dc01-45e7-9b83-1cd2a0054da3

Sport:

Baseball:

PJ Conlon: Belfast-born pitcher to make Major League Baseball debut - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/northern-ireland/44029898 From 2018

Cricket:

England's World Cup win: The transformation of women's cricket - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/40701196 From 2017.

Football:

Are serious knee injuries in the Premier League really at 'epidemic' levels? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40679002 From 2017

Rugby League:

Castleford Tigers: Why no hullaballoo for League Leaders Shield win? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/40698382 Possibly, just possibly, because, due to the existence of the actual title, we all know that the League Leaders Shield means nothing. I speak as a Saints fan. How many times have we won it and not gone on to win the league because of some disaster in the playoffs. I know the idea was to try and have the league actually matter after several complaints (including from Saints fans) that it was stupid that you could be miles ahead at the end of the actual season and it not matter at all. But it still doesn't, and giving a team the world's tiniest plate to make up for that does nothing.

Rugby Union:

Women's Rugby World Cup 2017: England XVs contracts will not be renewed - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40704070 From 2017, but I don't think they went back on their decision. It's one of those things where, for all that governing bodies talk a good game about sporting equality, for some reason, when there's a money shortage, the cuts are always to women's sport first. See also bobsleigh, see also football.

Technology:

How a 'smarter' power system might affect you - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40704036
redfiona99: (Default)
In February 2019, L took me to see the Klimt/Schiele exhibition as a birthday treat (because he is the best). Like all Royal Academy exhibitions, it was well set up and informative.

I enjoyed finding out why Klimt's pictures have always reminded me of sculptures (and that there's a word for that), and I found the preparatory sketches for his work interesting because of how he structured them, and being able to see how his training in applied arts affected his works.

However, there was this feeling that this was a Schiele exhibition with some Klimt pictures added: one almost wondered if the curator had a burning desire to put on a Schiele exhibition, but had been told the only way they'd get their exhibition was if they used Klimt's name to bring in the crowds.

I understand, I too think Schiele > Klimt, but it does mean that one of the headliners feels like an after-thought.

It also has other effects. This was the first exhibition I'd ever visited that had a content warning. About mid-way through, I did wonder why: fine, there's been a few naked women, but it's an art exhibition, when aren't there naked women? There were even the occasional naked men. They were mostly self-portraits, or as L's ditty went:

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands,
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands,
If you're happy and they know it,and you really want to show it;
if your name is Egon Schiele, put it away…

However, nothing that I thought required a warning.

The next room featured pornography by the artists. Even Klimt's lady reclining flicking the bean isn't vulgar. She's rather darling and delicate in fact, in an architectonic sort-of-way (told you I'd learnt a new word), but you know, not requiring a warning.

The pictures did lead to one small child asking her father, "Daddy, what's that?". I think the child was faced with the Schiele that's a naked woman in green skirts minus the top half of her body, so it’s an understandable question. Normally though, they don't give warnings just to prevent fathers from having to splutter explanations.

Then I turned a corner and saw why they'd put up a warning. Now, I am not easily shocked, I walked up some stairs and came face to ... face with The Origin of the World without warning and didn't blink (I am of the faction that says it's too clinical to be obscene).

The Schiele "behold the child prostitute" picture *does* deserve a warning. Part of that is a testament of Schiele's skill. He makes graphite and gouache come alive, vividly and vulnerably. The other part is the way he makes the viewer look at her the way the artist looked at her, and the artist had nothing like good intentions. It's both spectacular and creepy.

This isn't me assuming something about the artist from what he painted, I know about Schiele. This leads to the other effects of the exhibition’s focus on Schiele. This is not my first Schiele exhibition, but it was the first that ever tried to explain away the Neulengbach incident as 'locals not recognising artistic genius'.

I don't know if it's because there's been a cultural shift since the last time I went to a Schiele exhibition, but every other exhibition has been "horrible man, brilliant artist", and maybe you can't get away with being glib like that anymore, but I don't think trying to hide his horribleness is any better.

It was still an excellent exhibition, and I will be buying the exhibition book, but it was an odd line to take, especially in a post-#MeToo world when we're supposed to have stopped brushing things like this under the carpet.

Links

Mar. 15th, 2020 05:05 pm
redfiona99: (Default)
Animals:

Eurasian lynx: Plan to return it to Kielder Forest to be submitted - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-40542306 Have a lynx link.

Architecture:

Eritrea capital Asmara makes World Heritage list - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-40544406

Art:

Blue-sky thinking: How Yorkshire Sculpture Park broke the mould - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5dRb2phYh5zqddNYzQYhZyP/blue-sky-thinking-how-yorkshire-sculpture-park-broke-the-mould

Education:

10 charts that show the effect of tuition fees - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-40511184

Food and drink:

The billionaire trying to make the world's best Pinot Noir - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40496904

Health:

Behind the Headlines - Your guide to the science that makes the news. - https://www.nhs.uk/news/ Because sometimes I get cranky while fact-checking other people’s medical science posts on tumblr, and occasionally in RL, may I humbly recommend the NHS’s website for when relatives declaim that baking soda cures cancer.

Law and order:

The prison monitor sacked after voicing her concerns - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39113391

Prison officers 'assaulted on regular basis' - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40519755

Miscellaneous:

The love that survived a Chinese labour camp - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-40544415

Madagascar: Where France's maritime history sails on - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-40555125

Music:

The secrets of a hit summer song - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40497669

News:

Gay man wins Supreme Court case on equal pension rights - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40580596

Migrant crisis: 'Hipster right’ group trying to stop rescue ships - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40505337

Politics:

I don't normally post political cartoons, but this one is a cracker - https://rejectingrepublicans.tumblr.com/post/171644272454

Shoppers 'in the dark' about Brexit effect - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40530700

Most characteristic words in pro- and anti-feminist tweets - https://web.archive.org/web/20180928230709/http://www.prooffreader.com/2015/05/most-characteristic-words-in-pro-and.html

Science:

Subatomic science: 10 things we know (and don’t know) about the fabric of the universe - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3TgVv4h7Xd3y89N73XZ5z5p/subatomic-science-10-things-we-know-and-don-t-know-about-the-fabric-of-the-universe

Social media:

Taxonomy of Humans According to Twitter - By generating automated targeted ads, “The Infinite Campaign” exposes the bizarre rubrics Twitter uses to render its users legible. - https://thenewinquiry.com/taxonomy-of-humans-according-to-twitter/

Sport:

Football:

Fan's dying wish leads to Stranraer versus FC Twente game - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-40494622

Stop shouting: how Sweden tackled misbehaving parents at kids’ football - https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2017/jul/10/shouting-parents-football-sweden-football-code?CMP=fb_a-football_b-gdnfootball
redfiona99: (Default)
Art:

The Guggenheim Museum Just Made Over 200 Art Books Free to Download - https://hypebeast.com/2017/5/guggenheim-free-art-books-download

Miscellaneous:

The Falklands penguins that would not explode - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39821956

Revenge porn: Image-based abuse hits 'one in five' Australians - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-39777192

How a dying man and his son could forge a Lego legacy - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-39728707

Chinese lawyer 'wore torture device for a month' - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-china-blog-39893359

Whale, they’ve arrived - https://www.standard.net.au/story/4658320/whale-they-have-arrived/

Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning - https://slate.com/technology/2013/06/rescuing-drowning-children-how-to-know-when-someone-is-in-trouble-in-the-water.html

Music:

10 band names with surprisingly mundane origins - https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/9ce810d0-941d-400d-b2f5-33546b125f96

News:

Chechnya gay rights: Activists with petition held in Moscow - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39881452 From May 2017

Swiss border guard prosecuted over Syrian woman's stillbirth - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39882194

Inside Venezuela's anti-government protests - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-39871694 From May 2017

Photography:

Koo Stark on both sides of the lens - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-39816498

Politics:

French election 2017: Meet Brigitte Macron, the new first lady - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39842232

Science:

ALL THE TREES WILL DIE, AND THEN SO WILL YOU - https://www.wired.com/2017/05/trees-will-die-will/

Social Media:

The rise of the tweenage vlogger - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-39641264

Sport:

Football:

Dyche, Howe, Allardyce - will an English manager ever win the Premier League? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39765098

Quand Mbappé était bébé et Buffon déjà pro... - https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Quand-mbappe-etait-bebe-et-buffon-deja-pro/799679 In we are older than rocks news.

Tottenham's White Hart Lane farewell: Saying goodbye to your old ground... - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39891527

Cardiff Met FC: Student club one win away from the Europa League - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39895023 Sadly they lost to Bangor in the play off.

Rugby Union:

Maro Itoje: England, Lions & Saracens forward would be 'proud' to be role model - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/39838606

Links

Jan. 13th, 2019 12:22 pm
redfiona99: (Default)
Art:

Chris Ofili is weaving magic - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39710402

Language:

Seven old English words that deserve to make a comeback - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4clpqZdD04mMgsL52xh2lXZ/seven-old-english-words-that-deserve-to-make-a-comeback

Law and order:

Teenage offender held in inhuman conditions, court hears - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39712062

Miscellaneous:

Why Rome sends trains filled with rubbish to Austria - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39641761

Last male northern white rhino joins Tinder to raise money - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-39713327

'Stealthing' - what you need to know - http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/39705734/stealthing---what-you-need-to-know

Music:

To Ray Davies, America is a 'beautiful but dangerous' place - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39665367

Sport:

'Gorilla man' still crawling London Marathon - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39710127 From April 2017

London Marathon 2017: Inspirational stories from runners who took part - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/get-inspired/39577841

Boxing:

Anthony Joshua v Wladimir Klitschko: Is Briton the perfect heavyweight? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/39708572

Joshua v Klitschko: Why Mihai Nistor won't cash in on beating a champion - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39640173

Cycling:

Liege-Bastogne-Liege: Alejandro Valverde wins after tributes for Scarponi - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/39686593 From April 2017

Football:

Khalida Popal: Ex-Afghanistan women's captain on risks of playing football - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39671596

Links

Dec. 23rd, 2018 05:15 pm
redfiona99: (Default)
Art

UEA's Antony Gormley art installation criticised by students - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-39600258 This is probably because UEA students are fiends. (ahem) apparently not everyone had to fence against a UEA team that rules lawyered.

Films:

Withnail and I: Cult classic turns 30 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39117772

Miscellaneous:

Muslim Girl Teamed Up With Getty Images to Change the Way You See Muslim Women - http://muslimgirl.com/39274/teamed-getty-images-change-way-see-muslim-women/

Salvador: The city where children fend for themselves on the streets - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39528473

Ruddocks of Lincoln closes after 150 years in family - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-39608003

Why some Brits are opting for Belgian citizenship - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-uk-leaves-the-eu-39590751

Remains of five 'lost' Archbishops of Canterbury found - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39613462 To lose one archbishop may be regarded as misfortune, to lose five looks like carelessness

Flamingos In The Men's Room: How Zoos And Aquariums Handle Hurricanes -https://www.npr.org/2017/09/07/548981618/flamingos-in-the-men-s-room-how-zoos-and-aquariums-handle-hurricanes

Key points from the MPs' guide to millennials - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39593587

News:

Kentucky Could Become The Only State Without A Clinic That Performs Abortions -https://www.npr.org/2017/09/06/548739211/kentucky-could-become-the-only-state-without-a-clinic-that-performs-abortions

The 'studious' 12-year-old victim of India's Kashmir problem - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-39586912

Politics:

I thought I understood the American right: Trump proved me wrong -https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/magazine/i-thought-i-understood-the-american-right-trump-proved-me-wrong.html

Can Donald Trump's Arab honeymoon last? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39581911 From April last year

Science:

Swansea University smart bandage trials 'within 12 months' - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-39590851

Sport:

Are differences in rowing technique dying out? - http://www.worldrowing.com/news/are-differences-rowing-technique-dying-out

Football:

Why a Lagos slum is producing Nigeria's top football talent - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-39587899

I've inherited Hillsborough... what it means to a Scouser like me - https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/1a5e1066-bbb2-464f-9a1a-c03b05ffc127

Formula 1:

Formula 1: Bernie Ecclestone says new owners don't want his input -https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39611097 I think they will regret this but I am fonder of Bernie than most people.

Max Verstappen: Confident, talented, ruthless and with F1's throne in his sights -https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39595327 I do wish the F1 journalists would make up their minds about Verstappen. Half their articles praise the things the other half criticise.

Technology

Artificial intelligence: How to avoid racist algorithms - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-39533308

Links

Oct. 28th, 2018 06:21 pm
redfiona99: (Default)
(You'll all be glad to know there's only one part this week)

Art:

Mexico City metro's 'penis seat' sparks debate - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-39449506

History:

Peter Taylor: How has terror changed in 50 years? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39432041

Grand National 2017: Twenty years since terrorist threats delayed race - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-racing/39419174

Miscellaneous:

Meet the Hunter Troop: Norway's tough-as-nails female soldiers - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39434655

The joy and sadness of returning to Mosul - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39437227

I’m not “Black enough” for Inc. Magazine - https://facesoffounders.org/im-not-black-enough-for-inc-magazine-337569d54a6b

Music:

Prince's Sign O' The Times, 30 years on - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39441461

Politics:

Donald Trump is dangerous when he’s losing - https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/22/14658062/donald-trump-illiberalism-losing From February last year

70 days in, Donald Trump’s presidency is flailing - https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/29/15094936/70-days-donald-trump-presidency-flailing From March last year

News:

Three words to set alarm bells off for every firm - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39429819

Information warfare: Is Russia really interfering in European states? - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39401637
redfiona99: (Default)
Animals:

Why do wombats do cube-shaped poo? - http://theconversation.com/why-do-wombats-do-cube-shaped-poo-55975

Art:

Street art: Crime, grime or sublime? - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38316852

History:

The curious history of the clothespeg - https://medium.economist.com/the-curious-history-of-the-clothespeg-3f8615519c61

Medicine:

Pioneering surgeons recall first triple transplant operation - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-38250640

Miscellaneous:

Have more famous people died in 2016? - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38329740

Meat and potato pie 'sent into space' from Wigan - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-38334437 Important background information is that the nickname for Wiganers is "the pie eaters".

99 Reasons 2016 Was a Good Year - https://medium.com/future-crunch/99-reasons-why-2016-has-been-a-great-year-for-humanity-8420debc2823

A hermit's Christmas: Simplicity, solitude and silence - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37431760

The medal detective - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-5c1940d8-5f8f-4fd4-ac12-e216184a9a72

Growing up young - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-710ceafb-a26b-4a6c-9698-94800bb739f9

Photography:

Raw nature in all its beauty - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-38288359

Politics:

David Remnick: Why Trump’s win is ‘an American tragedy’ - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38344175

Donald Trump transition: What now for Ivanka? - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38343514 From December.

How Clinton lost Michigan — and blew the election - http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/michigan-hillary-clinton-trump-232547

Sport:

Is it too late to salvage vacuous, dishonest press? - http://www.football365.com/news/is-it-too-late-to-salvage-vacuous-dishonest-press Actually about the football press, but large chunks of it are applicable to the general press.

Valegro - coined the Muhammad Ali of dressage - bows out after emotional London farewell -
http://www.eurosport.co.uk/equestrian-dressage/valegro-coined-the-muhammad-ali-of-dressage-bows-out-after-emotional-london-farewell_sto5982881/story.shtml

Technology:

World’s first Maori emoji app launches with unique Polynesian expressions -
http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/12/22/worlds-first-maori-emoji-app-launches-unique-polynesian-expressions
redfiona99: (Default)
Art:

The woman who painted her body for artist Yves Klein - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37632356

Healthcare:

The bereavement midwife: Is this the saddest job in England? - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-37628554

Teenager describes summer on 'terrifying' adult ward - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-37631784

History:

Aberfan: This clock stopped ticking at 9.13 on the morning of October 21, 1966 - http://aberfan.walesonline.co.uk/

Aberfan: The mistake that cost a village its children - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-150d11df-c541-44a9-9332-560a19828c47

Miscellaneous:

Do six people die for every kilo of cocaine? - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-37717848

Black Mirror: Backlash against writer inspired episode - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37714850

Musicians:

Phil Collins: Back from the brink after alcohol battle - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37714459

Science-Fiction:

A Computer Solved Time Travel’s “Grandfather Paradox” With An Extra Time Machine -
http://www.tor.com/2016/10/19/a-computer-solved-time-travels-grandfather-paradox-with-an-extra-time-machine/ I don't think this a solution. It's a bit 'turtles all the way down'.

Sport:

Football:

Bayern Munich's Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: 'English clubs almost kidnap youngsters' -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37732246 Given that he's Bayern's chairmen and what they do to other German teams, this is a bit pot, kettle, black, but he's got a point.

Rugby Union:

Anthony Foley: A community struggles after the death of its favourite son - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/37710942

Technology:

The team fighting to remove online child abuse images - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37707231

Links

Nov. 14th, 2014 05:51 pm
redfiona99: (Thinking)
Art:

The blind sculptor who thinks everyone should touch art - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-ouch-29837275

History:

Government to 'retire' some of its WW1 debt - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29844961

The interesting bit to me comes later on in the story "The continued existence of the war bond debt illustrates the lasting shadow cast by World War One. According to the UK Treasury there are currently 11,200 registered holders of the bonds. Winston Churchill first issued “4% Consols” in 1927 when he was Chancellor partly to refinance bonds from the First World War. In addition to the war bonds, some of the debt being refinanced by the Treasury dates back to the 18th Century. One of these bonds was issued by William Gladstone in 1853 to consolidate the capital stock of the South Sea Company, which was founded in 1711. The South Sea Company collapsed during the South Sea Bubble financial crisis of 1720, leaving behind it a lot of debt."

Windscale Piles: Cockcroft's Follies avoided nuclear disaster - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-29803990

Language:

This 81-Year-Old Wrote a Dictionary to Save Her Tribe’s Dying Language - http://www.ryot.org/native-america-wukchumni-dictionary-language-extinction/855101 Just ignore the editorialising about the death of English because, horror of horrors, new neologisms are entering the language.

Law and Order:

How Louisiana Became The World's 'Prison Capital' - http://www.npr.org/2012/06/05/154352977/how-louisiana-became-the-worlds-prison-capital

Miscellaneous:

Meet the metal detectorists saving marriages - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29800160 Other people are apparently as bad as I am for losing jewellery. Their's is just more important ;)

The Adventures of the World's Greatest Counterfeiter - http://www.gq.com/long-form/the-great-paper-caper Via @TwistedSifter on twitter.

How to Buy Food: The Psychology of the Supermarket - http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/how-to/article/supermarket-psychology Via @TwistedSifter on twitter.

How Different Groups Spend Their Day - http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/31/business/20080801-metrics-graphic.html?_r=0 The results of the American Time Use survey 2008. Via @TwistedSifter on twitter.

Five Ways to Lie with Charts - http://nautil.us/issue/19/illusions/five-ways-to-lie-with-charts

What lies beneath London? - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-29566275 From deep-level air raid shelters to the colossal Crossrail construction, beneath London lies a labyrinth of tunnels. BBC News delved underground to visit some of the capital's rarely seen subterranean spots.

Watch a Japanese Kokeshi Doll Emerge From a Spinning Block of Wood - http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/10/watch-a-japanese-kokeshi-doll-emerge-from-a-spinning-block-of-wood/

Baroness Trumpington profile: From Lloyd George to the Lords - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27888144 She has worked at Bletchley Park, served as a headmaster's wife, mayor of Cambridge, a government whip and as a health minister. Besides this, she famously flicked a V-sign to her colleague Tom King during a Lords debate.

Who The Hell Keeps Calling Me? - http://digg.com/2014/when-gamergate-hits-the-wrong-target Or the gamergate idiots can't even dox the right people. Via [livejournal.com profile] nwhyte.

Science:

Geneticists tap human knockouts - http://www.nature.com/news/geneticists-tap-human-knockouts-1.16239 - Sequenced genomes reveal mutations that disable single genes and can point to new drugs. Although part of me wants to agree with the commenter on inthepipeline who pointed out that these aren't knockout mutations.

Ebola crisis: A village fights back in Sierra Leone - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29899630 Or, yet more evidence that local knowledge is vital.

Why NASA Blew Up a Rocket Just After Launch - http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141030-first-person-rocket-explosion-antares/ A National Geographic staffer's on-scene account of the Antares rocket failure.

Sports:

Two football/free speech articles:

FA made £350,000 from Twitter fines in just three years - https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/early-doors/fa-made-%C2%A3350-000-from-twitter-fines-in-just-three-years-101858229.html

Pornhub sponsored team banned from football league - https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/early-doors/pornhub-sponsored-team-banned-from-football-league-145621037.html#more-id

Football:

Rayo Vallecano fans produce brilliant, Simpsons-themed protest banners - https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/early-doors/rayo-vallecano-fans-produce-brilliant--simpsons-themed-protest-banners-151633262.html#more-id Or, the Rayo Vallecano fans would like for their matches to not always be the Monday night match.

Formula 1:

Formula 1: Where does all the money go? - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/29905081 Really interesting if you've got even a passing interest in F1, and it explains why the gap between the big teams and the rest never seems to get any smaller. (And when it does, it's because Ferrari have stuffed up, again. Why can you not hire engineers as good as your lawyers, Ferrari?)

Caterham & Marussia struggles highlight need for cost-cutting - FIA - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/29841569 We've been saying this for years.

BBC pundit slams ‘disgraceful’ and 'unfair' Formula One - https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/motorhead-uk/jordan--formula-one-is--unfair--and--disgrace-165218934.html#more-id

Links

Jun. 20th, 2014 06:23 pm
redfiona99: (Thinking)
Why Icelanders are wary of elves living beneath the rocks - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27907358

Bard garb: dramatic Shakespeare costumes - http://www.theguardian.com/stage/gallery/2014/jun/17/bard-garb-shakespeare-costumes-from-around-the-world-in-pictures

Football Section:

How Belgium Built Their Golden Generation - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27827569
Or yet another way of doing it that the FA will ignore.

On why Iran are one Liverpool fanzine's second team - http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2014/06/iran-id-like-introduce-someone/
Really worth reading.

The Birthday Paradox at Brazil 2014 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27835311
Or using the World Cup to explain a mathematical axiom.

Meet the World Cup ref who’s richer than the players he bosses about - https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/the-rio-report/meet-world-cup-ref-richer-players-orders-around-130800130.html#more-id
Given that you couldn't pay me to be a referee, I have no idea why he does it.

World Cup 2014: Golden goals, golf carts and other innovations - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27870956
Various innovations, that worked and didn't, from this and previous World Cups.

An exhibition of the work of Paul Trevillion, sports artist - http://www.theguardian.com/football/gallery/2014/jun/18/paul-trevillion-strand-gallery-master-of-movement-in-pictures
The stories that go with the pictures are wonderful.

Links

Jun. 3rd, 2014 07:05 pm
redfiona99: (Thinking)
Brazil's other passion: Malba Tahan and The man who counted - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27254747

Michael Buffer 'ready to rumble' - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/boxing/27517733

Lasers 'could prevent' need for root canal treatment - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27595573 For those of us with dental issues.

1964: The World 50 Years Ago - http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2014/05/1964-the-world-50-years-ago/100743/ Via @TwistedSifter on twitter.

The real 10 algorithms that dominate our world - https://medium.com/tech-talk/the-real-10-algorithms-that-dominate-our-world-e95fa9f16c04 Rebuttal to the Reddit article on the same topic. This one actually explains the whys and whats of algorithms. Via @TwistedSifter on twitter.

50 Cent Is My Life Coach - http://www.gq.com/entertainment/celebrities/201406/50-cent?currentPage=all This is interesting because 50 Cent is nothing like how you imagine him. Via @TwistedSifter on twitter.

Wim Wenders' Rules of Cinema Perfection - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZqrFlFPvJE

African teams can't defend? Common cliches examined → http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26463286 Most of the cliches are not so true. England do, however, suck at penalties.

An up-to-date and updated throughout list of who is injured for which team for this World Cup - http://www.physioroom.com/news/worldcup_2014/injury_table.php

Some lovely posters ESPN commissioned for the World Cup - http://www.espnfc.com/blog/world-cup-central/59/post/1834728 One word of warning. Apparently the Cyrillic is all kinds of wrong.
redfiona99: (Thinking)
Thanks to [livejournal.com profile] nwhyte I do the Librarything and Goodreads thing (I'm this name over on Librarything and my rl name over on Goodreads) and there's one thing I don't get, not in the "it's a bad thing" way, just in the "huh?" way.

I don't get how you (plural you) can compare books and comics using the same rating scale and system. Because with books you just have to like or dislike the writing, whereas with a comic the pictures matter almost as much.

For example, I am sure that Code Geass is fantastically interesting, but I can't tell two of the characters apart so I didn't carry on after the first volume. Meanwhile, I like the art in Trigun, and I've been told the story is interesting, but it didn't go anywhere within the first three volumes so I dropped that too.

When it's a comic adaptation of a book, I have the same problem. For instance, the 2000AD adaptation of a couple of the Stainless Steel Rat books do a reasonably good summary of the stories in terms of the text and the dialogue, but much though I love Carlos Ezquerra's art, I know what Jim Di Griz looks like and that's not it and it throws me out of stories something chronic, although I doubt it would be a problem if I hadn't read the books first (all hail my high school library). I bought myself the adaptation with my ill-gotten birthdaymas gains and I was thinking of reviewing it but I realised all I was talking about was the art and not the story and I felt weird putting that up on Librarything which is about books.

To me, they're just two too different media to be compared.
redfiona99: (Thinking)
Politics and Art - There's an interesting post about the Orson Scott Card/Ender's Game boycott hooha here - http://nihilistic-kid.livejournal.com/1843125.html

I have to admit I'm one of the people who is made uncomfortable by the boycotting of people's works because of their political views. It's all a bit too much "he is not a member of the party so his book will not be published" for my tastes. I mean I'm cool with "this guy is a douche for the following reasons, and I won't be paying for the film," because I am all about individual choice and informing people of stuff, but organised art boycotting, count me out.

Profile

redfiona99: (Default)
redfiona99

June 2025

S M T W T F S
12 34 56 7
8 91011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930     

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 11th, 2025 06:55 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios