Mick's blog of boring stuff: November 2007

Sunday, November 25, 2007

The Salt Lake City tribune has an article on the changing demographics of Utah, and the sociopolitical implications thereof.
Map of Australia, Middle Earth style.

It's cute, but I'll post it 'cos it's fun. It's the story of a doggie that loves his curry:
...Dante has such a taste for tandoori that he refuses to eat normal dog food and regularly turns up outside his local take aways and restaurants begging for curry.
Unfortunately poor Dante developed bowel trouble as a result of his preferences, and the vet nixed his curry munching days. Luckily, a local restauranteur stepped in:
...Mohammed Asdar Ali, who owns the Village Tandoori on Beech Road, Chorlton, took pity on him and created a healthy dog-friendly chicken balti dish which will not inflame Dante’s bowel problems.
Nothing like a good curry. Dante seems like a most discerning doggy.
And since we have that out the way, I may as well follow it up by recommending John Dyer's 'Top 1010 Clues that You're at a Really Good Nerd Party.' OK, enough cute stuff. I'm done.

Absolutely beautiful gravestone art (in the form of a pretty reclining nude lady) from Ramblings of a Renegade Djinn.

One of my favourite phrases ever published is found in Albert Bender's 1962 description of his experiences with the Men in Black, Flying Saucers and the Three Men. At one point, Bender is brought aboard a space ship. There he meets three comely alien ladies, who proceed to apply oil to his body. "They massaged every part of my body without exception..." wrote Bender. Lovely phrase.
A recent blog entry in 'Inexplicata - The Journal of Hispanic Ufology' covers another case in which this rubbing down of all by aliens has occurred. For instance, one hapless lad has this done to him:
They then covered him in a dark, amber-colored oil and placed the repulsive-looking female on top of him. The sexual act was rapidly consummated and the aliens fussed over him again, bathing him in the strange oil once more.
Sounds like his alien ladies weren't as nice looking as Bender's, but he went a bit further with them. Unless Bender left out details for the sake out decorum.
The fine Inexplicata article goes on to detail other instances of young Brazilian chaps having alien women forced upon them. It's a good read.

Henry Fountain reports in the New York Times that the first use of cacao beans was probably for an alcoholic drink:
The ancient peoples of Mexico and Central America loved to drink chocolate. But their beverage was nothing like the modern one — it was a frothy, bitter brew of fermented, roasted and ground cacao seeds, often spiced with chile peppers, more like mole poblano than Swiss Miss.
Which sounds pretty damn good to me. I like hot chocolate once in a while (and when I was on my lame 3 AM shift always had Milo or Ovaltine before retiring - helped me sleep), but the modern beverage can be rather lame. On the other hand, a chocolate drink with more character - spicy or bitter, something with character - would go down pretty well. Any recommendations?

I've been listening to In Our Time for a while now, and am greatly impressed by the host, Melvin Bragg. Under his guidance, three experts discuss the topic of the week, which ranges from William of Ockham to antimatter to Joan of Arc to Joseph Conrad.
I used to think that Terry Gross was the best interviewer which I had heard, but Melvin Bragg now claims that title. I am amazed at his ability to converse (within the context of In Our Town) intelligently on such a wide range of subjects.
Perhaps one of these days he will do Crowley. Here's hoping.

Curious Expeditions blog has a fine little entry on the history of figureheads. One of the interesting tidbits that he brings up is
The bared breasts of the female figurehead wasn't just for sailor's enjoyment. "An adage dating at least to the time of Pliny the Elder maintained that the waters could be calmed by a woman uncovering her body at sea, and many sailors no doubt hoped that the representation of a bare-breasted woman would stave off foul weather."
So the validity of UFO sightings is difficult to prove one way or the other. "Who cares?" says Greg at UFO Mystic, "they're fun."

Old news, but I just found out. Google Desktop Search is finally available for linux. Here is the link for debian-based distros.