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February, 2005

  1. Guess the tune

    February 28, 2005 by dafyd

    Dum-di-dum-di-dum-di-dum Dum-di-dum-di-dum-DUM Dum-di-dum-di-dum-di-dum Dum-di-da-da-da-DUM

    That’s right, peeps – it’s the Archers! Ain’t the BBC Radio Player great?! They’ve redesigned it, to make it easier to use – you can now close the player and come back to it days later, and it will remember where you were.

    Now all we need is the TV version… (I wish)

    Apparently, the Archers are doing something fun for Comic Relief: Victoria Wood has written special episodes, and the public will get a chance to vote for the scene they like best with a celebrity chosen from the following distinguished list – Lisa Tarbuck, Ian McKellen, Stephen Fry and Ewan McGregor.

    Should be a laugh!


  2. Work Avoidance

    February 27, 2005 by dafyd

    Belleville RendezvousI’m 2-and-a-half hours in to Channel 4′s marathon 100 Greatest Cartoons programme… so far, we seem to be at number 35, having already passed such classics as the Rugrats, Charlie Brown (featuring the music of Rod “Grunt” McKuen himself), Tintin, Chicken Run, Yogi Bear, and even Belleville Rendezvous. Great stuff. Of course, number 1 is clearly going to be the Simpsons, with Toy Story, Tom and Jerry and Shrek in the Top 10.

    Ooh – Beauty and the Beast is 33rd. I love that film. Can you believe that Jerry Orbach, who played the old cop in Law and Order, played Lumiere, the singing candlestick?

    In other news – I’m reading a truly fantastic book at the moment – The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It’s a brilliant mystery-adventure yarn set in 1940s (ish) Spain. Don’t be put off by Richard and Judy‘s recommendation (it’s one of their Book Club choices) – it really is a great read!

    I’ll have it finished by tommorow – so it’ll probably be available for borrowing. Otherwise, see if you can find it on BookCrossing


  3. Fiddling

    February 26, 2005 by dafyd

    As you may have spotted, I’ve started fiddling with how the blog looks. I’ve shrunk the side bar, revamped the blogroll (links to my favourite other sites), and added the linkdump.

    So, for the next few days the blog will be in a state of flux… until I get everything working. At the moment, the linkdump shows all the entries, every day, not just the ones for that day. Need to sort that out. Any MT experts willing to give a hand? And the sidebar needs reformating. Hopefully, when it’s all finished, it will look something like this.

    Bear with me. Normal service will be resumed shortly. I promise.

    Oh, and don’t worry – the link buttons will be returning. But for the meantime, here they are for your edification and delight:

    Blood and Thunder! David Conway and the Website of Trams Nottingham High School


  4. Gmail Fun

    February 25, 2005 by dafyd

    You have to love Google’s sense of humour…

    Look at these two messages you get if your Gmail inbox is empty (image 1, image 2)

    Gmail by Google - beta

    Incidentally, I’ve got about 50 Gmail invitations spread across several accounts to give away – ask if you want one. ‘Tis truly fantastic (although I really don’t use it much).


  5. Boris Speaks

    February 25, 2005 by dafyd

    Did you know that Boris Johnson‘s political hero is not Maggie, nor Churchill, nor Gladstone?

    It is, in fact, the Mayor from “that film, umm, Jaws

    That’s because he “made a decision and stuck to it” (not to fight the shark, based on the overwhelming improbability of there actually being a Shark in Amity Bay). Even when it was clear that he was paddling further up the metaphorical creek, right into the “big fish with big teeth”.

    Watch this space for more words of wisdom from Boz, from his talk to the Durham Union Society (“Where are we? Oh yes, Darlington.”) this afternoon – once I’ve got round to writing them up…


  6. Googling Fun

    February 25, 2005 by dafyd

    Spot the odd-one-out in a Google Image Search for Ainsley Harriot

    And for extra points… can you find a Googlewhack for which my site is the only result? I know of one, but I’m not going to post it here because then Google would index that and there would be two…


  7. The brother speaks

    February 24, 2005 by dafyd

    Hah!Following in the footsteps of Scaryduck, I’ve decided that my brother will write today’s blog entry. He doesn’t know yet.

    Basically, he wrote a piece of English coursework, which is, quite frankly, brilliant. So brilliant that I’m jealous. So I’m going to post it here and pretend I wrote it. Forget about the last two paragraphs – this post is all my own work. Honest.

    I should point out for any examiners reading that he wrote this essay, then I put it on the web. The other way round would just be cheating. He wouldn’t do a thing like that. Oh no.

    Click the read more link to actually read the essay.

    (more…)


  8. The weather outside is frightful…

    February 23, 2005 by dafyd

    …but who cares when you can get “dairy ice cream with Cadbury’s chocolate pieces swirled with fondant sauce” for only 99p?

    That’s right, people: the Creme Egg McFlurry is back!

    I’m lovin’ it!


  9. The White Stuff

    February 20, 2005 by dafyd

    As both David and LemurGirl have cunningly spotted, it has snowed!

    It’s very pretty… and according to the BBC it’s going to snow more. Snowmen appeared magically in the middle of the night on Palace Green.

    There’s a very pretty picture of the Castle and Cathedral in the snow on the Castle JCR website.

    Here’s another:

    Castle in the Snow

    This photo isn’t of this lot of snow. Obviously – there aren’t any of the “builders“. Photo by The Master.


  10. It gets worse…

    February 19, 2005 by dafyd

    What’s with the whole updating craze? Just look at what Warner Brothers are doing to Bugs Bunny for a new show called “Loonatics”:

    The new Buzz Bunny

    The show features new versions of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote, the Tasmanian Devil, Road Runner and Lola Bunny (the newest of the characters, who was introduced in the 1996 Michael Jordan movie “Space Jam”).

    For “Loonatics,” the six characters are being projected 700 years into the future, given superpowers, and outfitted in tight-fitting, slenderizing space gear.

    Apparently, falling anvils and exploding cigars are no longer enough to keep kids 6 to 11 years old entertained.*

    Worse of all, some cartoony executive chap said in reponse to criticism that, “these are cartoons. Lighten up! They’re fun and the existence of one doesn’t preclude the existence of another.” No clue…

    *New York Post Online Edition