mittfh's blog

PCC & CPS clear Daily Mail over Gately article

Remember a few months ago when Jan Moir wrote an "extremely distasteful" article in the Daily Mail about Stephen Gately's death - and the furious backlash that resulted?

Well, it's been investigated by the Press Complaints Commission (who received 25,000 complaints) and the Crown Prosecution Service (2 complaints), and both have cleared the paper of any wrongdoing.

The watchdog's head said aspects of the piece were "extremely distasteful".

But the PCC said it was an essential point of principle that papers could print views which might offend readers.

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Yet another new career...

Pop quiz: Who has had 125 different occupations over the past 60 years, and has now decided to move into IT?

Here's a visual clue

And here's the answer: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8517097.stm

She certainly has an "interesting" taste in workday fashion - black leggings, bright patterned tunic top, and a white sleeveless jacket - coupled with specs, Bluetooth headset and suspiciously perfect hairstyle...

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Yak Breeding for Beginners

(I thought that title would grab your attention! Sadly, it's not original - it's mentioned in a story on this site. All will become clear if you read further!)

I've finally taken a bit of time to do something with a project I started a while back.

The project was inspired by tales told of Yak Breeding (sorry, Wuthering Dormice), and the aim was to skim through the chapters and produce one line summaries of the main event(s) of each. Easier said than done, and I initially gave up after the first 40.

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Love is blind?

It seems as there are some people for whom garments that cover the entire face can be useful/necessary, wherever in the world they may be...

Courtesy of El Reg (an online IT news tabloid) here: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/10/bearded_lady/

A Dubai man whose fiancée kept her charms hidden under a niqab opted for a quick divorce after his first glimpse beneath the veil revealed she was cross-eyed and sported a beard.

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Things Greta Says

If you like the hilarity of the average conversation in Cathy's household in "Bike", you'll probably like this...

Greta is the four year old daughter of UK satirical musician / comedian Mitch Benn and his wife Clara. Like most four year olds, she often produces unintentionally hilarious comments - but whereas in most families these are quickly forgotten, in their household one of the parents will often tweet it for posterity (editing where necessary to fit within the 140 character limit).

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100 Votes - Thanks!

Just a quick "Thank you!" to all who've been reading, voting and commenting on my stories over the past fortnight...

Petra's Outing - 1,762 hits, 101 votes, 35 comments.
Petra: I Will Survive - 229 hits, 18 votes, 2 comments.
The Genie - 1,670 hits, 83 votes, 15 comments.

All together: 3,661 hits, 202 votes, 52 comments.
(Stats as of 3rd Feb, 00:30 GMT)

Yes, my first story, Petra's Outing, has managed to acquire over 100 votes (so that probably translates as at least 50 of you clicking the button), and all three together have accrued over 200.

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Pope attacks UK Equality Bill

(Saw this article at work, and decided to be very naughty and beat Angharad to blogging about it!)

See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8492597.stm
or http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8493280.stm
(effectively the same article, just rephrased slightly.)

The Pope has urged Catholic bishops in England and Wales to fight the UK's Equality Bill with "missionary zeal".

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TG Tropes

I'm sure many of you have discovered TV Tropes, but as I've wandered through this site, reading thousands of pages worth of prose and comments, I've found a few additional themes / tropes / stereotypes / clichés, which may or may not occur elsewhere or in different media...

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Sizing

Without revealing the plot, the latest short story I'm dabbling at involves an adult male and female of broadly similar size (height, build etc.), swapping clothes (the exact circumstances and relationship between the two is part of the plot, but irrelevant to my question below) with the intention of being fairly passable (at night!).

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Not as dirty as it sounds...

The video's entitled "Penis and Pussy", but don't let that put you off - it's a crafty attempt at misdirection, as although the images the artist draws in this film start off looking like the aforementioned body parts, as he continues drawing the image becomes completely innocuous...

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=KuSWqJ7sevM

...just don't follow the related videos, as YT highlights the inadequacies of automatic algorithms...

(Another oddity - I suspect the artist may be right handed, but he's flipped the video...)

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Peter/Petra - Background info

Since I've fallen victim to the curse of the short story writer (a rather deafening blast of "Encore! Sequel!"), while I await inspiration for where I can take the story further, I thought I'd share my thoughts on the characters - which may be of use if anyone decides to write their own tale featuring them (hint, hint!)

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New research: Blondes more aggressive than darker haired women

Women with fair hair are more aggressive and determined to get their own way than brunettes or redheads, according to a study by the University of California.

Researchers claim that blondes are more likely to display a “warlike” streak because they attract more attention than other women and are used to getting their own way – the so-called “princess effect”.

Even those who dye their hair blonde quickly take on these attributes, experts found.
Times: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/genetics/artic...

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A simple question?

Spawned by this image, spotted on Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/xt2cu

Sex: Male or Female?

It sounds an easy question, but the UK's Identity and Passport Service evidently recognise some people may have problems with it.

They provide context-sensitive help for their online passport renewal form, and the help for the gender question reads thus:

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Dancing confidence research

A slightly bizzare bit of research carried out by the University of Hertfordshire in collaboration with Radio 4's Today programme has indicated that although men may be initially reluctant to get up and dance, once they hit the dancefloor they will generally be quite confident. For women it's more complicated...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/news/8412333.stm
(just excuse the lame headline)

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New (dodgy) gender differences research

Men's genes 'may limit lifespan'
Men carry the seeds of their own destruction in the genes present in their sperm, research suggests. Scientists working on mice have highlighted a specific gene that, although carried by both sexes, appears to be active only in males. They believe it allows males to grow bigger bodies - but at the expense of their longevity. The study, by Tokyo University of Agriculture, appears in the journal Human Reproduction.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8390055.stm

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Christmas tune acronym quiz

For the past few years, I've inflicted this quiz on colleagues / family / friends, and it's proved quite popular.
So now I'm going to inflict it on you lot :) [Insert evil laugh here]

Attached is a spreadsheet, containing acronyms to title / recognisable line from 125 different Christmas tunes - carols, pop songs, novelty/parodies and traditional. All you have to do is work out which tune is which.

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Haiku!

It seems as though, all of a sudden, Haikus have reappeared on the scene.

Apparently the new EU President (and Belgian PM), Herman Van Rompuy, writes them as a hobby - mainly in his native Flemish.
He even publishes them on his official website: http://hermanvanrompuy.typepad.com/haiku/
This translation of one is the most frequently quoted in media reports:

Hair
Hair blows in the wind
After years there is still wind
Sadly no more hair.

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Dodgy science alert

Ho hum, another group of scientists have "discovered" that humanity is polluting the environment with lots of "gender bending" chemicals (i.e. estrogens or others with similar effects), which are apparently "feminising boys". No big surprise there - this kind of story 'does the rounds' every now and again. The novelty this time appears to be that the research is apparently endorsed by the EU, and it's reported in The Guardian rather than the Daily Wail (whose columnists would no doubt have had a veritable orgy of doomsday prophesying...)

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Unusual reason to miss work...

For the first time in 15 years, David Dimbleby, presenter of Question Time, has had to miss recording an episode.

Here's the slightly unsual reason why: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8356943.stm

Then again, the programme itself once featured an unusual guest: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/8131264.stm

And on hearing the story, I couldn't help but think of the ultimate (fictional - I hope!) sick note (which also serves as a "Don't try this at home!" physics demonstration): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWeXpNyqOrU

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BBC Radio 4: The Choice

Originally aired at 9am today, for UK audiences only it's also available on iPlayer for the next week:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007vrr0

The Choice is a series of 1/2 hour programmes on Radio 4, featuring people who have made life-altering decisions and exploring the whole process, from the original dilemma to living with the consequences. Previous episodes have featured a chap who killed his abusive father; a woman who's adopted 9 children with special needs (most with Down's Syndrome) and a whistleblower. Today's featured Miranda Ponsonby.

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Fireworks

Here's a bit of shameless self-promotion - my online photo gallery of Kenilworth's fireworks do (held a few hours ago). It's one of the most popular in the region, typically attracting >10,000 people for the half hour display. The approach roads to the castle are closed off to aid in herding people to/from the site.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/mittfh/KenilworthFireworks2009#

And for comparison, last year's lot:

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/mittfh/KenilworthFireworks2008#

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How NOT to drive a forklift...

Could this be used as a perfect example of "Having a bad day"?
This accident happens in a warehouse in Moscow filled with glass bottles of vodka and cognac...The driver apparently escaped with minor injuries to one of his legs, but the accident apparently cost the owners of the warehouse around  £60,000.

http://tr.im/EeHt ( Discovered via the Radio 4 PM Blog entry here: http://tr.im/EgoL )

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