RECENT COMMENTS

Friday, December 31, 2004

mimicry

The singing Dingo link of the previous post was found at the mimicry page of adlib.
2 dogs fighting also made an impression.

This was sparked by a search for wire music after reading a post on fence music at barista. We once used some music of the wires in a play, a haunting production.


Comments: mimicry

Happy New year!
Posted by michelle at January 1, 2005 08:26 AM

You too
Posted by boynton at January 1, 2005 03:12 PM

this eve

A party, a revel or a quiet drink with friends?

(Or - might just stayathome for a spot of singalong)


Comments: this eve

Happy New Year, Miss B. Whatever you do, have fun!
Posted by Scott Wickstein at December 31, 2004 06:41 PM

Yes boynton, happy new year. oxo. A few Bloody Mary's and tying up the phone for several hours actually talking to someone was how I spent it.
Posted by Link at January 1, 2005 09:21 AM

Thanks Scott.
Was glad to see the end of 04 that's for sure.
Hope 05 is a good one for you.

Thanks, Link.
Your new year's eve sounds pretty good.
Maybe have to add revive the art of long telephone conversations (or marvellous ways to tie up a telephone) to my list of resolutions.
Happy New Year.
Posted by boynton at January 1, 2005 03:17 PM

Thursday, December 30, 2004

seasonal

Meanwhile:

Apothecary's Drawer on the dreaded Christmas circular letters.

James Thurber's "A Visit from Saint Nicholas (In the Ernest Hemingway Manner)"
(via Incoming signals)


Comments: seasonal

The author read a number of these out on BBC Radio 4 yesterday. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry...
Posted by Dick at December 24, 2004 10:42 AM

I hope you got to hear one of the best lines:

"February, a peaceful month punctuated by dental check-ups."
Posted by boynton at December 25, 2004 07:32 AM

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

sea-eat

SEA-EAT blog
The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami

(via wood s lot)


Comments: sea-eat

Ambika Prasanna Triphathy who is from Orissa and is working for Crocodile bank. He was in Campbell bay (Greater Nicober) in Andaman Nicobar was doing research on Leather back turtle. We have not heard from him since the tragedy day. Not sure if he is safe. The family is waiting to hear about him and any one who has knowledge of his situation please inform us.
Telephone :+919880079083
Posted by Pranab Pani at December 31, 2004 09:55 PM

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Suggest Analysis

Perhaps there is room for improvement in the suggestion generation algorithm, or there is something much more subtle going on here. I suspect that suggestions might be derived in large part from (phrases within) link anchor text, but I've not yet had a chance to try and verify this conjecture
An analysis of Google Suggest (via diversionz)

The Analysis includes Sample pages of lists which makes for good browsing.

This is a selection from Privacy

privacy please
privacy plus
privacy police
privacy polocy

privacy lost with the touch of a keystroke
privacy is a right
privacy is a thing of the past
privacy is important
privacy is not important
privacy in paradise lost

privacy google
privacy good
privacy god
privacy get over it
privacy guardian serial crack

privacy experts shun black boxes
privacy fence cost per foot
privacy drape
privacy dummy
privacy window cling
privacy act for dummies


Comments: Suggest Analysis

What the hell is:privacy preserving bayesian network structure computation on distributed heterogeneous data?
Posted by nb at December 29, 2004 12:14 AM

prive arsey
Posted by FXH at December 29, 2004 01:14 AM

"What the hell is:privacy preserving bayesian network structure computation on distributed heterogeneous data?"

For starters, it's not a good blog name.

For middlers, it's about trying not to come up with an answer for why yer searching for what yer searching for.

And for enders, it's basically "prive arsey" Or for the clean shaven amongst us, "privy asset".

*insert the bear and rabbit joke here*
Posted by Nabakov at December 29, 2004 04:05 AM

Monday, December 27, 2004

Barista has a link to to the guardian's google-proof? quiz.

In the comments, Nabakov ups the ante with 21 really difficult questions...
The wheel of my aunt has become disengaged. May you be of assistance?


Comments: formidable

Sometimes i am awed by that Nabs.
Posted by David Tiley at December 27, 2004 11:04 PM

That was rather awesome.
(already a contender for GG's 2005 awards?)

btw - did not want to 'Top'(not) with a lame comment on your post David, but I think there is a link between blogging and trivia. Data-philia.
Posted by boynton at December 27, 2004 11:47 PM

Boynton, your lame posts are terrific. And when you provoke Nabakov and Sedgwick into punning, I am awed by the run.

Dazzling.
Posted by David Tiley at December 28, 2004 01:46 PM

Thanks awfully, Mr Barista.

Though I think that Sedgwick puns without provocation.

(and another notorious Trvia-phile and
Teetotallizer can give the punters a run for their money)

I think Team blogger would indeed form a rather formidable table at pub trivia, as long as all punning devices were turned off.

And Nabakov rarely stoops so low in the witticism stakes but I have a pun nonetheless in answer to the aunt one.

Q: "The wheel of my aunt has become disengaged. May you be of assistance?"

A: She might consider Limited Slip Differential at 3 am instead.


Posted by boynton at December 28, 2004 05:15 PM

At 3:00am aunts are known to suffer from slip deprivation.
Posted by Tony.T at December 28, 2004 08:08 PM

Aren't some aunts 'enjoying' such sliplessness in the smalls-less hours?
Posted by boynton at December 28, 2004 10:36 PM

"At 3:00am aunts are known to suffer from slip deprivation."

3:00am!? They should have met my Uncle Sieggie. Ex-RN with a little Ronald Colman pussy-tickler 'tache.

He'd have deprived 'em of their slips at sunset, halfway through their second pink gin...in the back squash court.
Posted by Nabakov at December 29, 2004 04:21 AM

Any touch of the Ronald Colman in looks or demeanour and Bob's your Uncle.
Posted by boynton at December 29, 2004 10:07 AM

blueprints

Home of Wilbur & Carol Post, 1995

Mr Ed's stable

Blueprints of TV sitcoms (via grow a brain)



Since Wilbur was an architect it was assumed during the series that he designed the stable and also the Posts' nearby house. Inside Mr Ed's Stable

Projects of note:-circular house for sexpot actress Gloria Laverne -luxurious and innovative stable for Mae West's horses -The American History Museum
Television Architects

express lane

this guy in the express lane at Safeway on Boxing Day
who had graciously inisisted I jump the queue before him
said The last shall be first!
That's what I'm hoping for on Judgement Day.

the way you scan the man in these situations...
I reckon that by the time that St Peter gets to me he'll be so tired it will work in my favour.
It seemed to check out as a joke so
I threw in a casual rejoinder like a christmas cracker
It could work the other way...
His patience could wear thin

This was a mistake.
Suddenly he had a basketful of rare evangelical items to share into the air
as we headed to the register
but not much time miraculously
the express lane was flowing too smoothly for conversion


Comments: express lane

Triff..

I once got caught hitching illegally on the side of a freeway in Canada with a million skeeters as well.

This van drew up with utterly no paint on it at all. Door flew open. Big voice said: "Jesus loves you. Get in the van."

I did. He was a wild prophet, who spoke of angels with brass trumpets as if he was William Blake alive and living as a missionary to the Inuit.
Posted by David Tiley at December 27, 2004 11:04 PM

Oh my lord...
Posted by Norabone at December 27, 2004 11:09 PM

Friday, December 24, 2004

more gift ideas

Roger McGough The Dada Christmas Catalogue at Self Winding

(via eeksypeeksy)


Comments: more gift ideas

A couple of nice Roger McGough poems.

Goodbat Nightman

God bless all policemen
and fighters of crime,
May thieves go to jail
for a very long time.

They've had a hard day
helping clean up the town,
Now they hang from the mantlepiece
both upside down.

A glass of warm blood
then straight up the stairs,
Batman and Robin
are saying their prayers.

They've locked all the doors
and they've put out the bat,
Put on their Batjamas
(They like doing that)

They've filled their batwater-bottles
made their batbeds,
With two springy batresses
for sleepy batheads.

They're closing red eyes
and they're counting black sheep,
Batman and Robin
are falling asleep.


Happiness

lying in bed of a weekday morning
Autumn
and the trees
none the worse for it
You've just got up to make tea, toast and a bottle
leaving pastures warm
for me to stretch into

in his cot
the littlefella
outsings the birds

Plenty of honey in the cupboard.
Nice.
Posted by Nabakov at December 27, 2004 11:16 AM

...nice

Wish I had read Batmaner Robin a few years back.


Posted by boynton at December 27, 2004 05:40 PM

the littlefella
outsings the birds

.. funny to think he is all grown up now and probably in his forties...

I hope he lives like this:

Let Me Die a Youngman's Death

Let me die a youngman's death
not a clean and inbetween
the sheets holywater death
not a famous-last-words
peaceful out of breath death

When I'm 73
and in constant good tumour
may I be mown down at dawn
by a bright red sports car
on my way home
from an allnight party

Or when I'm 91
with silver hair
and sitting in a barber's chair
may rival gangsters
with hamfisted tommyguns burst in
and give me a short back and insides

Or when I'm 104
and banned from the Cavern
may my mistress
catching me in bed with her daughter
and fearing for her son
cut me up into little pieces
and throw away every piece but one

Let me die a youngman's death
not a free from sin tiptoe in
candle wax and waning death
not a curtains drawn by angels borne
'what a nice way to go' death
Posted by David Tiley at December 27, 2004 10:46 PM

that's great.

I took down my only McGough today for a re-read.
"Holiday on death row"

I remember reading it and the long 'holiday..." poem for the first time, the "rat a tat tat" lines in particular.

Always good to have a rat a tat quote up one's sleeve...

Your McG selections have made me want to read more.
Posted by boynton at December 27, 2004 11:43 PM

Thursday, December 23, 2004

j b

I was so thrown by the question at Trivia last night that I couldn't recover my wits in time to think of which writer had the given names John Boynton.

I couldn't recover my wits for two hours as it turned out.

Wednesday, December 22, 2004



Bad Giftgetting - from Good Housekeeping's Christmas cook book 1958.

Wattle I get? ....Gathering wattle for Christmas

I am a Losing Lottery Ticket! (Full of hope and promise. But in the end, a cheap letdown)
What crappy gift are you (via lexicon)


Comments: wattle

I think it's a damn shame that wattle is no longer gathered for Christmas. Slap on a tablespoonful or two of daub & pour yourself a glass of Chateau Marmont '98 to wash it down with & you've got yourself a toothsome seasonal supper dish.
Posted by Dick at December 22, 2004 11:49 AM

ditto boynton, losing lottery ticket!
Posted by Link at December 22, 2004 07:15 PM

Crap pictures though.

Now this is book illustration,...and where I want to be for Christmas.

http://sun3.lib.uci.edu/~jsisson/john.htm

I think I had most of the books listed from '57 to '74, and still have the Eagle space and rockets one. Great bog reading.
Posted by Nabakov at December 22, 2004 09:51 PM

Have a very merry Christmas! :)
Posted by michelle at December 23, 2004 07:07 AM

I realise that reads rather ambiguously. To clarify - I meant the getting of gifts, not the receiving. I would only ever cast apsersions on my own gift selection of course. ;)

Sounds good, Dick - though maybe a wattlecino is in order with shopping still to be done:
http://www.cherikoff.net/cherikoff/recipes.htm#wattleccino
The Gumleaf smoked salmon and salmon pâté sounds pretty good, as do the Bunya nut slivers. I could avail myself of the Bunyas in parental garden.

I desperately wanted to be Socks, Link.

Great blog reading, thanks Nabakov.
Will have to save it up for the sleepy Boxing Boxing Boxing days.

Cheers Michelle. You too.
Posted by boynton at December 23, 2004 11:54 AM

progression

Animation of John Coltrane's Giant Steps.
(via bifurcated rivets)

Should brush up on my ditone progressions before playing the elves at carol maker (via diversionz)

Monday, December 20, 2004

bah humballoon



I've just noticed that one of the balloons at the terminal party of the previous post would seem to have a fairly poor party attitude.


Comments: bah humballoon

It's not happy because it just found out about the Hindenballoon.
Posted by Tony.T at December 21, 2004 05:07 PM

News travels fast in Adelaide.
Posted by boynton at December 21, 2004 09:47 PM

By hot-air mail?
Posted by Tony.T at December 22, 2004 11:29 AM

Maybe he just heard about the ballooning xmas credit card debt.
Posted by FXH at December 22, 2004 03:31 PM

I have it on good authority that he supports inflation, though.
Posted by Tony.T at December 22, 2004 06:32 PM

infaltion- bah - a lot of wind and rubbery figures
Posted by FXH at December 22, 2004 11:08 PM

Looks like that cheeky young Will from Accounts slipped a rubber johnny left in Shed 5 by one of those lascar seamen (you what they say about them) into the proceedings.
Posted by Nabakov at December 22, 2004 11:45 PM

Shed 5?
Big night.


btw I think the balloon is melancholic because he is the only poet amongst the bean counters.
Posted by boynton at December 23, 2004 11:36 AM

It shows. The poet is a metre above the bean counters.
Posted by Tony.T at December 24, 2004 09:32 PM

the sound of a thousand feet
counting the beat
Posted by boynton at December 25, 2004 07:34 AM

Well Tony, that's cos the rhymster is well versed in rising above such occasions.
Posted by Nabakov at December 27, 2004 11:20 AM

terminal party

Portrait of the South Australian staff ready for their Christmas Party

terminal party

Presenting the Terminal Superintendent with his ten year pin at the staff Christmas party, Birkenhead shipping terminal office, December, 1956


Comments: terminal party

Where do I start with that staff Christmas Party?
You've got a 'Snow' who isn't even blond, and he's patting one of the Misses on the shoulders despite the fact she's actually not a Pat.
Posted by Norabone at December 20, 2004 11:53 PM

Always nice to see Snow at Christmas.

Wonder if the Roneograph featured in the festivities?
Posted by boynton at December 21, 2004 10:04 AM

deceptively beige

Shameless lift from J walk who used this Band And Song Name Generator for generating blog names. I've been thinking of dropping the b if I move elsewhere, but I could always just add an adjective. The names in bold hold particular appeal.

Pathetic Boynton
Boynton of the Third
Boynton Tsunami
Boynton Nose
Deficient Boynton
Rapid Boynton and the Officer
Deceptive Work
Boynton of the Flushing Sound
Boynton Elephant
Boynton CreepCrest and the Sun
Eleventh Boynton
Reduced Boynton and the Rutabaga
Eyebrow of the Habitual Leaf
Slipping Particle and the Boynton Fear
Septic Psycho
Boynton Fashion
Boynton Toad
Groovy Filth
Gothic Grave and the Boynton
Rewetting Boynton
Boynton of the Lone
Wasted Fiction
Boynton Widow
Boynton Saturn and the Asking Ice
Boynton Beige



Comments: deceptively beige

dropping the b?

oynton?

boyntonian
boyntoniac
boyntonite
boy tonite
Posted by FXH at December 20, 2004 02:53 PM

One of those sounds ok.

(Boyntonian of course - a bit of class?)

Oynton also delivered some possibilities :

Uncertain Oynton
Quivering Duck


Posted by boynton at December 20, 2004 10:03 PM

I tried this. One of the names I got, I thought particularly appropriate:

Jumping Ramage of the Stressful Habitat

Bit unwieldy for a blog monicker, but apt, all too apt...
Posted by dave at December 21, 2004 09:12 AM

Less wieldy for a blog 'Description' though?

This just in:
Ramage Nape and the Deceiving Cheese

and I put in Cabbage on your behalf:

Cabbage Custodian
Cabbage Slate
Shapely Coconut.
Posted by boynton at December 21, 2004 10:11 AM

Dirty Beloved of the Conductive Sadness
Koala Anxiety (!)
Dirty Beloved Nibble of the Loony Nostril
Miserable Dirty Beloved and the Bagel
Dirty Beloved Bamboo and the Dirty Policeman
Major Reindeer of the Low Dirty Beloved
Dirty Beloved Tsunami of the Seventh Brain

Dirty Dirty Beloved
Posted by vernaculo at December 21, 2004 08:56 PM

"How much can a Koala Bear?"

Maybe the anxiety is brought on by the Habitual Leaf...
Although I do like Conductive Sadness - I think your last is best best.


Posted by boynton at December 21, 2004 09:50 PM

Saturday, December 18, 2004

lights

May try to see the electrical display. Aiming for The Boulevard but will settle for Box Hill North.


Comments: lights

There’s a good one in Canterbury parallel to Burke road and about a block in. In between Canterbury Road and Mont Albert Road. The main guy there has a very sophisticated computerised system that syncs music and lights and “beats”. You need to get out of the car to appreciate it properly.
Posted by FXH at December 18, 2004 10:33 PM

Coincidentally - I went there, FX.
Gave the Boulevard a miss because half of Melbourne was there in the balminess, so did the mini-Ivanhoe at Camberwell instead.

In the words of a nearby toddler "Incredible".

(I had been last year - but preferred this year's silent show, the music had been switched off)
Posted by boynton at December 19, 2004 11:21 AM

Coincidentally Kelly Street.
Posted by Tony.T at December 19, 2004 11:44 AM

Ridgey Didge
Posted by boynton at December 19, 2004 11:47 AM

"on Riversdale Road" (sung to the tune of "Telegraph Road")
Posted by Scott Wickstein at December 19, 2004 03:44 PM

The Long And Straighting Road.
Posted by Tony.T at December 19, 2004 04:57 PM

I heard something on radio or somewhere (maybe I made it up) that the The Boulevard was slipping because new people buying in to the area were "more tasteful" and less community minded and therefore there were gaps in the display and a few miserly party poopers who only put up the odd token light and don't get into the spirit.

Time for a Preservation Order.
Posted by FXH at December 19, 2004 10:07 PM

That's highly disturbing news you may have heard, FX.
On the other hand it was almost predictable, given the trajectory, boom and bust. I seem to recall that the Boulevard has been through this once before - and was 'dark' for a decade?

Once the mini-buses get involved, you know the writing is on the wall.

If a Heritage order can help prevent the inevitable I'm all for it. But would it be NIMBY -or NOT IMBY?
Posted by boynton at December 20, 2004 11:18 AM

I heard the traffic was terrible.
Posted by Tony.T at December 20, 2004 03:31 PM

It looked prety bad from a distance.
I should try walking next time.
Posted by boynton at December 20, 2004 10:38 PM

"quote"

The Gallery Of "Misused" Quotation Marks

A sign at a restaurant in Novi, MI:

Have Breakfast with "Santa."

Geez, way to tip off the kiddies about the whole Santa thing


(via Daily Jive)


Comments: "quote"

The proof is in the reading.
Posted by Tony.T at December 18, 2004 04:51 PM

The "Proof" or the "Reading"?
Posted by boynton at December 18, 2004 09:33 PM

Thank you for linking that! Wow. The gallery is superb. It's nice to know I'm not alone in my hatred of misused quotation marks.
Posted by jason at December 19, 2004 09:27 AM

One that used to irritate me immoderately was outside a local barber shop. It read: "Hair!!! Cut!!! Sir!!!"
Posted by Dick at December 19, 2004 11:26 AM

Yes - the "Gallery" is good, isn't it.

(These are the easiest "replies" to comments I've ever typed)

btw - there was a good quote on quotation marks here:
"I am irony ironized. My new life is surrounded by so many quotation marks that they cancel each other out."
http://boynton.ubersportingpundit.com/archives/003531.html
Posted by boynton at December 19, 2004 11:28 AM

!

You'd think the exclamation marks are the prerogative of the customer.

(A number 2 on the sides and number 3 on the top with no exclamation marks, thanks)
Posted by boynton at December 19, 2004 11:37 AM

Friday, December 17, 2004

snow in summer

Australia's sentimental attachment to snow-themed Xmas cards despite the Summer heat can be seen in this 1950's example from the wine nostalgia site:

This is the Barossa Valley au naturel in late December (source)
You know - sans snow sans sleigh sans ho ho ho


Comments: snow in summer

our Clare Valley wines could send out snowy christmas pamphlets, with tenuous justification:

http://www.catalog.slsa.sa.gov.au:1084/search/dclare+snow/dclare+snow/1,1,3,B/l856&FF=dclare+snow+south+australia&3,,3,1,0
Posted by kent at December 18, 2004 01:58 AM

(and I won't have any cynics telling me that photo wasn't taken in december 1901.)
Posted by kent at December 18, 2004 02:00 AM

Touche.
That's a find!

(I went down the wrong track looking for christmas parties but my evidence was inconclusive anyway. This could well have been taken in July)
http://www.catalog.slsa.sa.gov.au:1084/search/.b1067251/.b1067251/1,1,1,B/l856~1067251&FF=&1,0,,1,0
Posted by boynton at December 18, 2004 10:58 AM

notes

pi10k - Converting the first 10,000 digits of pi into a musical sequence.
...as your computer cycles through the digits of pi, the corresponding notes will play
(via J walk)


1923 [?]: Notes, X-ray diffraction data - (NH4)3FeF6 [LP and Ava Helen Pauling
1923 [?]: Annotation by Ava Helen Pauling - "I love you"


Selected Highlights Linus Pauling Research Notebooks (via Plep)

Thursday, December 16, 2004

gaspard

Mais quand elle s’en retourna
Le pauvre chien fumait la pipe


Le chien de la mere gaspard

From a Gallery of Little Golden Books (via exclamation mark)


Comments: gaspard

Sadly I didn't see my favorite french nursery rhyme character there - "Un petit d'un petit". The one that was given to sitting on l'oeuf threatening walls
Posted by Sedgwick at December 16, 2004 09:07 PM

Un petit d'un petit d'un petite livre d’or?

Be astonished with the Markets.
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.creativepuzzels.nl/spel/speel1/petit-3.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3DUn%2Bpetit%2Bd%2527un%2Bpetit%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D
Posted by boynton at December 16, 2004 11:21 PM

old wine

A search for Barossa Pearl led to this site:

In this section, The Way We Were, we take a look at Australian wine society through the medium of advertising and wine posters

Just off to chill the McWilliams...

"Discover how chilling makes the sherry flavour zing. Parties swing...

Then pop it in the fridge till its chilled. Pour.
Ummmmmmmmmmmm!
You’re hot….it’s cool….and suddenly,
you’re enjoying Sherry as never before!”



Comments: old wine

Lady Livia spent her school holidays earning pocket money gluing labels on bottles for Bests' Baby Cham party packs.

The downside was that they gave samples of the merchandise to the workers at the end of each week.

With the taste of Baby Cham still ringing in her ears after all these years, she's never ever been known to mock Barossa Pearl.
Posted by Sedgwick at December 16, 2004 09:19 PM

Actually Pearl sounds top of the range to me:
" a light, delicate, fruity sparkling wine with a clean, lingering finish which was not cloying..?"
Posted by boynton at December 16, 2004 11:36 PM

Elke Brooks (one of my top 10 girlie vocalists) contends "Pearl's a zinger".

(Trivia question of the week who was Elkie's brother? Clue, also in the same biz.)
Posted by Sedgwick at December 17, 2004 07:20 AM

... and fancy Elkie changing her name. (Trivia q2 implied.)
Posted by Sedgwick at December 17, 2004 07:25 AM

Bookbinder brooks no swing?

Elaine's bro was Tony Mansfield.

(Google brooks no Trivia shame)

btw - Penfolds were right.
Zing goes the things of my larder.
Posted by boynton at December 17, 2004 10:42 AM

Coupla pints of chilled sherry at the beach and there will be fun in the Morris Major tonight.

In those long lost days before booze buses.
Posted by David Tiley at December 18, 2004 03:00 AM

Waves of nostalgia, for a past I never had.
(The Sherry/Morris combo I mean)

But what about a decanter?

"Nothing makes a braver display on a barbecue table than a Decanter of Penfolds red and one of white. Each decanter holds a full four pints."

Truth in advertising?


Posted by boynton at December 18, 2004 10:52 AM

I used to be a mulled swine.
Posted by Tony.T at December 18, 2004 04:54 PM

Sure you weren't a wine boar?
Posted by boynton at December 18, 2004 09:39 PM

No, just a hog's head.
Posted by Tony.T at December 18, 2004 11:46 PM

To knock the Pearl is to fall for the cultural cringe. Barossa Pearl was the first alcohol I ever tasted and much of the ensuing thirty-six years may be seen as an heroic odyssey in vain search of that moment's rapture.

And cold sherry works a treat, too.

Mums drank well in those days.
Posted by Rob at December 22, 2004 12:58 PM

"Unlike Barossa Rhine Riesling, suffer from early disdain. That came later. Among people who fancied themselves as connoisseurs it became fashionable to be disparaging about Pearl as old hat, although the critics had probably first encountered wine via a string of Pearls.
"http://www.nicks.com.au/winenostalgia/page7.html

Actually Rob, I'm quite liking the retro chilled sherry...shilled cherry...especially on a day like today of 35 degress.
Posted by boynton at December 23, 2004 11:29 AM

Can you please let me know who the brother of Elke Brooks is, we have been trying to find out for a couple of weeks and have hit a dead end. Found this when I put "Elke Brooks Brother" into the Google search. The only person I can seem to get is Tony Bookbinder who played for the Dakotas but I thought she had a brother who was better known than that!!!! Appreciate any help you can give thanks. By the way, many is the time (many years ago) that Barossa Pearl was imbibed, was one of the favourites at the time.
Posted by Ann at January 12, 2005 09:22 PM

Ann, I'm certainly no Bookbinder expert, but did a bit of googling.

The other brother would seem to be Ray?
"... Elkie Brooks was born Elaine Bookbinder in 1946. ... Her brother Tony was the drummer
with the then well known group The Dakotas whilst her other brother Ray had a quartet..."

Though whether Ray's fame surpasses Tony's is hard to say.

see also:
"Elkie Brooks, who was born Elaine Bookbinder, on 26 February 1946, a bakery owner's daughter from Cavendish Road, Salford, was almost certain to follow many of her family members into show business - Tony Mansfield, her brother, was leader of the then well-known group, "The Dakotas"; another brother had a quartet; her uncle, Nat Bookbinder was a bandleader in Manchester, and uncles Brian and Alan were in the pop music business as a group called "The Chapters""
http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/celebs/popmusic6.html

Hope this helps. Mr Sedgwick may know more.
Posted by boynton at January 13, 2005 03:42 PM

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

teas

Another one of those Nickolas Muray Pabst ads took my fancy, possibly because of the presence of the Great Dane.

Or because something reminded me of this image, which I had meant to post on a NLA Saturday. Apart from the morning tea conviviality, I like the mysterious shadow of a figure with tea cup.

The symbolism of tea leaves could be mysterious, according to this 1922 Guide by Cicley Kent - another choice find by Ramage.
It would seem that bad omens far outnumber the good, and I'll never look at a beetroot in my tea leaves in quite the same way again :
Beetroot.—This symbol indicates that someone will try to do you a bad turn, but it will fail in its object and rather turn out as a benefit

Oddly some symbols are metaphoric:
Telephone.—You will be put to considerable inconvenience through forgetfulness
Whereas others are WYSIWYG
Fire-Escape.—An urgent warning to take all precautions against fire

Dogs do not bode well: "... in a general way this sign indicates adverse conditions, the thwarting of life's chances, unfortunate love affairs, family misfortune and money troubles"

And Cicely may have had issues with concertinas, but is possibly right about the bagpipes:
This symbol gives warning of coming sorrow or much agitation and disturbance.


Finally one of these Tea Games is this Top Dog involving biplanes. I was hopeless at even flying my plane let alone firing at another. (via the ultimate insult)


Comments: teas

Woof.
Posted by Hamlet, another great Dane at December 15, 2004 02:55 PM

To tea, or not to tea

or not,
Two tee - or not two tee?
Posted by boynton at December 15, 2004 03:10 PM

Tee Hee
Posted by Tee Tee at December 15, 2004 03:28 PM

Cool! More ways to fritter away a work afternoon.

I even fingered out to do an Immelmann roll in between the Arnotts, and felt quite Albert Ball-ish there for a while (must keep an eye on the clock).

(Google 'Albert Ball' (images too). If he didn't exist, someone would have invented him as the Sir Galahad of the RFC.)
Posted by Nabakov at December 15, 2004 11:36 PM

Did the Immelmann Roll come before the Fosbury Flop?
Posted by Tony.T at December 16, 2004 10:25 AM

It must still be possible to buy those ties somewhere. They can't all have disappeared. A brace for Christmas, please, anybody who's got connections...
Posted by Dick at December 16, 2004 10:33 AM

First Googlehit:
"Won't it be nice when all this beastly killing is over, and we can enjoy ourselves and not hurt anyone? I hate this game . . ." Albert Ball in letters to his father and fiancée, 6 May 1917


...or after the Heimlich manoeuvre?

or The Windsor Knot?

"By the late 'forties, about seventy percent of ties were being bought by women. Advertisers focused on this Freudian reversal with such slogans as "Whatever your dish, Van Heusen has three sizes: small, medium and WOW!""
http://fly.hiwaay.net/~jimes/necktie/spatHistory.html

Posted by boynton at December 16, 2004 12:13 PM

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

googlesee

I put See's concern about this site (like so many others) impeding the search for info to Google images
Where is your info?
I like the combo of parrots and lecterns.

I also asked: What does my info look like? and (inspired by a comment)
Information is not objective?

Ask Google Questions via Idle Type

Then I tried Where is my info? at those crazy choristers at Google Suggest... (like a stroll through a spruiking strip) taking note of some of the suggestions along the hapless way from W to info ...

Weather
Weapons of mass destruction
Where is the love lyrics
Where is the love?
Where is my polling place?
Where is my mind
Where is Singapore?
Where is my ipod

Google Suggest via Barista

operatic

...You can get it relaxing in your sunlit music room after a strenuous operatic role, or at leisure in your favourite easy chair...


Nickolas Muray - Color Prints George Eastman House (via I Like)

Text from - Pabst Beer magazine Ads 1948 49


Comments: operatic

love the penguins...
Posted by David Tiley at December 14, 2004 12:51 AM

As a matter of fact, I've got ... errr ... creme de cacao.
Posted by Tony.T at December 14, 2004 12:43 PM

I was quite drawn to the Penguins too.


Or Menthe?
Barossa Pearl Fishers...
Posted by boynton at December 15, 2004 01:41 PM

Saturday, December 11, 2004

new trees

We received our oxfam xmas tree delivered by volunteer 4wd club members on this sultry saturday - as pc as a tree can hope to be.
I trimmed it quietly with decorations that made the old plastic tree wilt under two dollar shop trinkets but disappear into the larger scale here, everything loud is now low key.
I trimmed it with the assorted ghosts
that gather round primal rituals and pine needles particularly
the advent of calendar bite


I was reading last year's tree entry - and saw the last comment.
your web site is like many others that do not help people find their info.
I agree see.

meanwhile your info is probably off hiding somewhere. I haven't seen it.


Comments: new trees

That person should call him/her self Don't See.
Posted by Tony.T at December 12, 2004 01:06 PM

Boynton your latest marginal note: "to access comments click on the timestamp" seems like a sad and desperate plea for comments which you'd never have got in the first place. ;)
Posted by Norabone at December 12, 2004 01:10 PM

Yes - but I half suspect that See might also be Nora given her lastest comment.
(cheersthanksalot)
Actually it was in response to a few emails from people who thought (like me at first) that they had been forbidden. Ok call me Luna See.
Posted by Clem N See at December 12, 2004 01:42 PM

O I C?
Posted by Norabone at December 12, 2004 01:48 PM

According to my perplexed 12 year old daughter, our (plastic) Christmas tree is shrinking. "It used to be huge..." Looks just the same to me.
Posted by wen at December 12, 2004 02:00 PM

Sad and desperate or no, I went to some expenditure of time and personal energies to make this note appear here. (even in Linux - which I don't normally so far use as it's on a slower machine than my once hot rod now putt-putt windows machine which won't let me comment here at all - I can only comment using the timestamp entry)
Information is not subjective, access and accession are. Boynton is an example to us all, of brevity, wit, and responsible linkage; in the first person or in the third.
Maybe someone can help fix the comment security...
Posted by Bucky at December 12, 2004 04:27 PM

Speaking of primal ritual and the mists of antiquity, here's a nice collection of beasts from way back when.
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/HistSciTech.Bestiary
Posted by Nabakov at December 12, 2004 05:01 PM

Hey Clem, I found boynton's advice invaluable for both here and at Troppo. Interestingly while trying to get a message through to ze vebmaster at troppo I had to visit ubersportingpundit were commenting, (albeit completley out of context) by clicking on the obvious poses absolutely no problemos.
Posted by Link at December 12, 2004 08:16 PM

SO glad your site isn't one that helps people "find their info." Please don't ever try to compete with Google . . .
Posted by mg at December 13, 2004 02:09 PM

Clem starts with See, you know. I just felt I should point that out.
Posted by Tony.T at December 13, 2004 09:56 PM

Cheers all.
I do agree partly with See, see.
As I've said before, I'm often embarrassed that Google throws in the blogs with the "your info here" content.
At least I'm starting to recycle my content now, if not my xmas trees. (Plastic is probably more Pc in that regard, wen, or is that PVC)

Bucky and MG have got me thinking up my next post...stand by...

That's a great bestiary, Nabakov, thanks.

Think that Ubersporting is on a separate "thing" (excuse the techno speak) to the rest of the Uber blogs, Link, hence the different comments config.
I could be wrong here.

Hmm...In clem n see?
Posted by boynton at December 13, 2004 11:06 PM

No, Ubersportingpundit is on the same MT installation as the rest of the flock. That might be the problem, actually. I might upload it again for everyone when I get a bit more time so everyone has their own installation.
Posted by Scott Wickstein at December 14, 2004 08:09 PM

Friday, December 10, 2004

storiopath

Also via Making Light:

A story about a storiopath
And here we get, I think, to what fascinates me about this woman. She seems obsessed by narrative, but she doesn't seem to be able, in a sense, to control herself. She needs details. She needs to know what happened next in someone's life...

She seems almost oppressed by her need for stories



Comments: storiopath

Oh dear. This could be me, I'm afraid. I'm just glad imaginary people don't sue.
Posted by wen at December 12, 2004 01:52 PM

Hmmm - imaginary people suing...

smells like a story... ;)
Posted by boynton at December 13, 2004 11:10 PM

sifterhood

It was nice to be placed within this collection of sifter blogs, most of whom are serious sifters who consistently uncover original stuff. I think boynton is somewhere down the sifiting chain mostly, picking over the siftings until I lift some link as a hook. Tales from the tailings. (via the real deal: exclamation mark and idle type)



Women making nets ...nets are made for agriculture and sport as well as fishing
British Fishing in the 1950s (via Making Light)


Comments: sifterhood

I don't know what the big deal about making nets is.

It's pretty bloody easy. You just get a bunch of holes and sew them together.
Posted by Nabakov at December 12, 2004 08:22 AM

Row upon Row
You watch it Grow...

http://www.bertaut.com/netmaking.html
Posted by boynton at December 12, 2004 11:36 AM

Bloghorrea? Isn't that taken?

That fishing site makes me thing Pressberger and Powell missed a golden topic to mine for at least a couple of fillums.

And as for Ealing, well, they should have been all over it.
Posted by Tony.T at December 12, 2004 01:02 PM

Yes it is, round these parts. But it's a division of "Give Get Give Take and Have" which I've just added to the roll.

That'd be Jellied Ealing?
Posted by boynton at December 12, 2004 01:33 PM

It would be ridiculous of me to feel miffed at being left off that list. Therefore I'm not miffed. Not.
Posted by Teresa Nielsen Hayden at December 13, 2004 02:36 PM

That's OK Theresa, don't un-miff yourself entirely, you should start your own Miffter List.

Actually, if your last name was Green, we could make puns like Trees-Are Green.

But it's not, so we can't. That is disappointing.
Posted by Tony.T at December 13, 2004 10:01 PM

Mifters are doing it for themselves? ;)

(Though I'm miffed on your behalf, Theresa, as of course I regularly sift through "Particles" for serious sifting to lift.)
Posted by boynton at December 13, 2004 11:20 PM

I know, but you link back to Particles, and you say interesting things, so I've never minded it for a minute. Clearly, you're enjoying the links and engaging with them, which is the whole point of the exercise. Life as it should be. A Good Thing.

My weblogs are freebies, universally accessible. Readers are inevitably going to use them for their own purposes. I get a kick out of seeing some meme I started (I mean "meme" in its original sense, not the LJ kind) getting shared around and spread along odd vectors, mutating as it goes. That's fun.

What irritates me -- and it's one of those things where I feel silly for letting it get to me at all, but sometimes it bugs me anyway -- is running across a weblog that has lifted five or six or seven Particles links in a row. Literally, they'll have come in and picked up a big chunk of the current display, re-posting it in their own weblog -- often enough in the same order, frequently with no additional or intervening material; likewise with no linkbacks or credit.

I know the same thing happens to Cory Doctorow. In fact, I know it happens to Cory oftener than it happens to me. I forget how many blogs I've stumbled across that were picking up a substantial fraction of their total content from his posts at BoingBoing, adding nothing in the process. I don't see the point. Where's the fun in it for them?

But I truly shouldn't let it get to me. As I keep reminding myself, those people aren't shameless. They're just clueless.
Posted by Teresa Nielsen Hayden at December 14, 2004 01:53 AM

Thanks Teresa, I'm glad I've got the green light to mutate. And yes, I prefer the "Clueless" theory for those cybersinners who fail to cite their sources.

It can sometimes get tricky about links and original content. If a blog is a web log, (or on days when that is all it is) then there is an impulse to simply log everything that manages to catch the subjective attention.
This probably accounts for the replication of current links among sifters - esepcially those on the blogroll - inevitably like-minded when it comes to links?
In general I do try to follow the link-with-a-tangent school, and add some take on it, some days are better than others.
In the daily barrage of linkage there is a place for the sub-sifters, to slow things down by a close examination of one link. But the flow is often too compelling - I wish I could restrict myself to one link a day. Maybe in my next blog life.
Posted by boynton at December 15, 2004 02:14 PM

Boy do I get guilty about this. Particularly when I arrive on a site and find a little bunch of things I really like.

But then I am chuffed when someone picks it up from me. As long as we all acknowledge the Great Chain of Blogger Being.

My particular snarly fetish is labelling pictures. I really really want to know where things come from. And I really really don't want to twist the use of something, unless they are engaged in the public political debate. How would you like the face of your adorable tot arriving anonymously on some Alaskan site labelled as Uglikid of the week? You only have to break the chain once, and the thing is anonymous from that time on.
Posted by David Tiley at January 14, 2005 02:52 PM

ps - I will even email people to say I have done it, if I think the pic is fabulous; I have yet to get a reply so I think the email addresses on websites are generally garbage.

Or maybe they are so convulsed with rage they can't touch the keyboard.
Posted by David Tiley at January 14, 2005 02:54 PM

I hope I'm not guilty of this, eg. via Goggle Image Search, which tends to present everything as a sort of open source, decontextualised pixel farm ripe for twisting into hotlinked collages.

(btw have you seen Google Montage?)

There is some attraction (as well as ease) in viewing the web as dynamic found data, though I must say I wouldn't want to see an image of my late labarador on an Alaskan ugly dog site.
The bluey is fair game.

To be more serious - maybe there is a (fine but definite) line to be observed (voluntarily) in appropriation/co-option.
Posted by boynton at January 14, 2005 06:56 PM

Thursday, December 09, 2004

whistling

Communicate with machines via whistles
What looks at first like a simple process becomes ever more interesting, a technical mocking bird that’s either mimicking or earnestly trying to communicate.
(via snarkout)

Bird Songs and Training Records at The Online Guide to Whistling Records


Comments: whistling

I wanna hear what happens when you put two Univeral Whistling Machines together.
Posted by Nabakov at December 12, 2004 08:26 AM

something like this?
http://www.geocities.com/sweetonesmusic/
Posted by boynton at December 12, 2004 11:47 AM

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

strange streaks

thanks to dirty beloved for the alert. A Strange Streak Imaged in Australia

So what is it? Nobody is sure...

or ¿ It could very well be a hair/dust on the lens.

Not related: The other night reclining in the loungeroom I got a fright when something in the mid-suburban sky, not a plane, whizzed by at a strange angle. For an atomic split second of science fiction was it a missile or a martian? The reports of barking dogs in the neighbourhood made me realise there were general fireworks afoot, and this phenomenon merely a rogue cracker. Flo, the tough blue heeler, was also shaken, ran for shelter under tables and knees and needed extra calming.


Comments: strange streaks

In with Linux KDE Konqueror
Posted by vern at December 9, 2004 11:57 AM

So hah okay well then there now. Here I am.
No Firebird no Firefox no Mozilla no Opera, I don't have a working onlinable machine with IE on it. But Linux gets through. A sign, a sign.
Now if I only had something to say...cheers on the Martians thing - it's all space travel now, even a walk to the store - galaxies in your wake, stepping through the firmament to get some milk and coffee.
Posted by vernaculo at December 9, 2004 12:04 PM

Willkommen Konqueror. Kup of Koffee?

To klarify - in with Firefox?
Posted by boynton at December 9, 2004 12:08 PM

That was spooky. (interrobang here) Took to long to compose the K's.
Koffee must have been in the firmament

I just had a theory about Firefox, that's all.
Posted by boynton at December 9, 2004 12:10 PM

puzzler

Alas - I think I need Java. These Classic Sliding Block Puzzles all look very tempting, but don't seem to play on my machine. I would love to try Get My Goat, Line Up the Quinties or Motor Garage Puzzle. Will rely on others to test drive.

The Sliding Block Puzzle Page via bifurcated rivets


Comments: puzzler


Perhaps we should swap machines for a while, Boynton. They work just fine here, and now I am struggling to leave them alone. The damn goat gets inside easy enough, but while you are working on that someone messes up some of the fence and it won't go back! Some of these others are much easier, but I wish it wouldn't tell me I am supposed to do them in 25 moves (or whatever) because I prefer to take 90. Much better value for money...
Posted by Phlip at December 10, 2004 11:46 AM

Thanks for that report, Philip. You've sold me on the Goat and I must do something about the java plug in. It's a mystery how I ever came to lose it. Perhaps in the last crash/rebuild.

I'm Glad that Wolf/sheep/Cabbage game didn't have
"x moves". Would have made me feel even dumber.
Posted by boynton at December 10, 2004 12:19 PM

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

eaton

I saw this wonderful photograph over at beelzebubug


and returned to browsing Pictorialism to Modernism: Australian Photographers from the 20th Century (via wood s lot)
I paused at John B Eaton. It may have been the hit of mellow victoria and old yarra picturesque that got me in this morning. It wasn't until I was searching beyond the archived thumbnail at the State Library of Victoria and the NLA that I made the winding connection back to Link ...

reto ideas

Retro images (via Twists and Turns)

Here are some ubersportingpundits theorising over the temporary comments glitch


Comments: retro ideas

Cheers boynton. That should keep me going over the non-ratings season.
Posted by Flute at December 7, 2004 02:45 PM

and the non-writing season
http://www.sbpmarketdirect.com/library2/pages/YOF_048L.html
Posted by boynton at December 7, 2004 04:29 PM

In and out again
Posted by vernaculo at December 8, 2004 09:46 AM

http://www.sbpmarketdirect.com/library2/pages/YOF_095L.html
Posted by boynton at December 8, 2004 11:34 AM

Now, now, Miss B. I never wear ties that thin.
Posted by Scott Wickstein at December 9, 2004 03:52 PM

But is that an IE Tie?

ie. or casual cross-browser wear? ;)
Posted by boynton at December 9, 2004 04:06 PM

Always smart casual ;)
Posted by Scott Wickstein at December 9, 2004 08:24 PM

vinyl party

A strong contender for my ideal party

From Vinyl Orphanage A safe haven where forgotten and unwanted vinyl record albums find solace (via J walk)

(To access comments in IE, click on the datestamp)

Monday, December 06, 2004

oesophageal

There was a time when I would read the odd medical journal headline such as: Partial oesophageal perforation associated with cold carbonated beverage ingestion, and worry.


Comments: oesophogael

How about Partial oesophageal perforation associated with undisolved Aspro clear taken without water?
Posted by Nora at December 6, 2004 07:01 PM

I think (speaking as an old "The Illustrated Family Doctor" c1934 reader) an Aspro Clear in itself would not present a danger. A course of antibiotics taken without water with bravado might be different.
Alas, too much reading of the above tome in my youth has caused a relapse in my hyponchondria.
How do I know if I have it?
Posted by boynton at December 6, 2004 07:16 PM

Nora, that sounds particularly unpleasant and very painful. The scariest thing I've read in a medical journal was the description of being bitten by a funnel web as being the most 'horrendous' thing that could happen to you. Description of horror followed. My advice boynton, try not to read them, try not to even flip through em.
Posted by Link at December 8, 2004 03:07 AM

Nora, that sounds particularly unpleasant and very painful. The scariest thing I've read in a medical journal was the description of being bitten by a funnel web as being the most 'horrendous' thing that could happen to you. Description of horror followed. My advice boynton, try not to read them, try not to even flip through em.

posted twice to be sure to be sure
Posted by Link at December 8, 2004 03:08 AM

Funnelwebs - Ha. I feel one state removed from phobia... would not like to have to worry about that garden variety horrendous contingency.

Medical journals were horrible things to flip through, that's for sure, with very gruesome graphics. But for worrisome self-diagnosis you can't beat the old 'Family Doctor' genre. The more archaic the disease or remedy, the more it can fascinate ;)
Posted by boynton at December 8, 2004 11:32 AM

sheep wolfs cabbage

There's something familiar in this Wolf, Sheep & Cabbage game. I think it's that the Wolf looks like a certain Blue Heeler who has a weakness for sheep and sheep-like shapes. In fact, the man's task seems as simple as the daily ask of walking Flo without letting her nip any off-the-leash Cabbages. It still took me about six turns to work out how to do it. (via fishbucket)

Sunday, December 05, 2004

scotsman archive

You can search The Scotsman Digital Archive for free, but have to pay if you want to read beyond the old bold exclamatory headline.
(via bifurcated rivets)

You can also read the first edition of 25th January 1817 on line. I generally head to the Miscellaneous section of this genre, and was not disappointed to find items such as these entitled Singular Occurrence - Extraordinary Attachment - An Impudent Robber- and Parisian Modes ("Some riding coats of blue-cloth have three rows in front of small yellow buttons")

from Singular Occurrence
He then went into a long account of a quarrel which took place between Friday and his wife, on Wednesday…
The jury again met accordingly on the 10th instant, when the constables reported they had not been able to find Friday, but that they had found his wife alive and hearty...


(nb. You can access the comments through the permalink entry)


Comments: scotsman archive

If you dont have the curse of Ubersportingpundit, you can comment through the comment link too. :)

I dont know what is going on. Try it again.
Posted by Scott Wickstein at December 5, 2004 07:52 PM

Still Forbidden by the Server at the Comments Box.

Maybe there was too great a delivery of Spam for the doorstaff to handle?
Posted by boynton at December 5, 2004 08:04 PM

No, if that was the case I wouldnt be able to access it. Try flushing your cache?
Posted by Scott Wickstein at December 5, 2004 08:33 PM

Flushing your cache?

Don't do it yourself. Always call THE MAN in.
Posted by Tony.T at December 6, 2004 02:59 PM

As in the Scot's Man? Or is Scott the MAN?

It does all sound rather technical.
Although as a directive, 'flushing your cache' also sounds rather slurred. ;)
Posted by boynton at December 6, 2004 04:09 PM

Here's my pitiful technical search technique:

when those naughty flirts of newspapers show you the first para and demand money for the rest.. pick a distinctive collection of words - which may make no sense at all - and google them.

Hey presto - someone else may have purloined it already, or at least put up a link. Armed with that, most rags will let you have that article, but usually not move sideways into the stacks. (Tho its worth a try cos some will...)

Another part of this, btw, is for bloggers to lift whole articles and not just links. Put them under the fold. I allus think it feels presumptuous, but you are doing other researchers a favour.

And/or use furl. Google to find out what that is. Just make sure you keep your pickings public. Mind you, furl may not be stable either.
Posted by David Tiley at December 6, 2004 04:42 PM

Thanks David, some good tips there. If looking for something specific I often google it. Often works with the Age.
In regards to the Scotsman, I didn't include this info "Search every edition of The Scotsman between 1817 and 1900 in our unique online archive." It's more of an historical resource than your standard members-only deal? Wish it was available free - very tantalising to read some of those old headlines and not get to the story. Certainly hope that bloggers attached to institutions could post such artcles in full - if it's not in breach of some copyright?

Furl looks good too. The Public archive (most viewed) is a bit like deli.ci.ous?
Found this
http://blog.contentious.com/archives/2004/06/22/10-cool-things-to-do-with-furl
Posted by boynton at December 6, 2004 05:07 PM

Aha! I just made a small discovery, Scott.

The pop-ups work as normal in Firefox.

Do not work in IE...
Posted by boynton at December 7, 2004 01:06 AM

strange days

Strange days on the web with notices that talk about forbidden access and failed to open stream and whispers of packet loss which still sounds like the loss of a maritime vessel in a distant world to me.

So the St Kilda mail boat may well have been the first thing I searched for...

Saturday, December 04, 2004

You don't have permission


I think you may get permission to comment if you jump the fence and get into the permalinks.



Comments: forbidden

May I?
Posted by boynton at December 4, 2004 01:50 PM

Be my guest!
Posted by Scott Wickstein at December 4, 2004 04:43 PM

The Forbidden Pundit?

What's going down, Wicky? Robbie The Robot short out the kilobops.
Posted by Tony.T at December 4, 2004 05:43 PM

We have ignition.
Posted by Tony.T at December 5, 2004 12:28 AM

Yer right, you just can't comment here anymore.

However this pyscho door policy is not limited to yer blog. More than a few others seem to have gridlock at the moment.

http://www.internettrafficreport.com/australia.htm
Posted by Nabakov at December 5, 2004 03:49 AM

I'm still getting the message Forbidden to access this server when I try to comment - or read via pop-ups, on all the Ubersportingpundit blogs.
Perhaps I've been identified as spam and have been Uber banned?
The permalinked entry is the only way I can access.

But Nabakov suggests this is more widespread?
Very intersting data, and would be tempted to include a link to that site, if there was an even smaller footprint graphic available.
(But still think old maritime when I read "Packet Loss")
Posted by boynton at December 5, 2004 11:32 AM

That's when a packet hits an Ice-Blog.
Posted by Tony.T at December 5, 2004 04:42 PM

Or a nice blog? What percentage of the blog is submerged?
Posted by boynton at December 5, 2004 05:32 PM

Not sure, but probably a bit.
Posted by Tony.T at December 5, 2004 07:03 PM

Is drowning in cluelessness. Thats what happens when you hit a cyber ice-burg.
Posted by Scott Wickstein at December 5, 2004 07:53 PM

Half man, half ice-berg. A cy-burg, that is.
Posted by Tony.T at December 5, 2004 08:11 PM

Friday, December 03, 2004

ladybirds

A bloggerly conversation prompted a check of my basic Ladybird facts, but alas, many of the sites feature crawling gifs that are a little too animated today.
This site has a curious gallery of icons that in an un-clickable state read like poetry.

And some good articles: The original Jane - from Ladybird's Peter & Jane books

The Adventures of Wonk is one of the most sought-after series of books by Ladybird collectors.

Craig's Ladybird Book site is well done. My favourite series is 563 Learning to Read but perhaps The Party was so dazzling to me as a child it may have set the party bar impossibly high.

hip christmas

And also from the site of Corgis at Basic Hip, the first in a series of nine Christmas albums.
(via the ultimate insult)

corgis

Corgi toys (via the presurfer)

At Sputnik Toys You will find TV & Movie Die cast cars, Hot Rods, Choppers, Airplanes, Military Vehicles, and Spaceships!

Thursday, December 02, 2004

beetle sounds

I think I could get as nostalgic over this Beetles record as any by the fab four (on the floor). A CD of the defining characteristic of the Volkswagen Beetle: The Sound
Pull up to a stop light on Melrose Avenue, roll down your window and hit track 2 and share the revs of your vintage Beetle with the car stopped next to you.
(via J walk)


see also Beetle- dung-beetles in Sergey Makovetskiy's mono-play
(From the Russian translated by world lingo)

from Beetles in Art and Literature at Beetles (Coleoptera and Coleopterists) Welcome to the world of beetles and specialists studying them! (via Ramage)


Comments: beetle sounds

dak dak tanks boynton.
Posted by Link at December 2, 2004 08:37 PM

Beet ya too it.
Posted by Nabakov at December 3, 2004 02:16 AM

think I'm a few revs short of a vintage v-dub today
Posted by boynton at December 3, 2004 12:04 PM

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

book collections

Nick Piombino lists (here and here) some of his collection:

Books and Company
was the name of a bookshop, gone long ago, housed
by the Whitney Museum, and then heartlessly
thrown aside. Its passing was mourned by innumerable
writers; it has never been replaced, not by a long
shot.

I always liked the name of that store, because, in a
way, books *are* company, and the combination
is unbeatable. By that I mean, hanging out with
friends and family who you exchange books and
talk about them with



Meanwhile Kent visits a bookshop in Adelaide


20 Strange and wonderful books
a short list of books that took me by surprise and then changed me, odd little books you may never have heard of. After several decades there are only a handful that stick out in this way. Some are truly wonderful and cry out to be shared. Others, frankly, aren't as good - but are genuinely strange
(via things)


My Strange Pets And Other Memories of Country Life is one of the sample collection of Victorian and Edwardian articles, stories and illustrations at Forgotten Futures
One of my sons and I were standing at the front door feeding nine fan-tailed pigeons. At the same moment every one of the birds dropped down on the gravel as if they were in the agonies of death,- throwing themselves from side to side, and at the same time raising each wing alternately in the air. I remarked, "How strange that is. I never saw a bird go on like that except 'Polly' when I give her a bath with the watering-can." The pigeons kept going through the same performance for at least three or four minutes, when all in a moment a heavy shower came down with a sudden plump. The birds were aware of its coming, though my son and I did not anticipate it  Pigeons and Rain


via apothecary's drawer


Comments: book collections

I’m reading Tom Holland’s ‘Rubicon’, a rattling account of how Julius Caesar hijacked the Roman Republic and came across this wonderful line, that I just have to share with the world, illustrating just how tight two powerbrokers of the time were with eachother.

‘”A year later, however, when Caelius found himself particularly short of panthers, Curio thought nothing of slipping him twenty of his own.”

We’ve all been there, but not with such panache.

I can just read the message delivered to Curio: “Wow! that was some party you threw in Naples last month. I still can’t get the stains out of my best toga. Listen mate, I’m in a bit of a bind at the moment and I was wondering…”

Now that’s living the Vida Loca.

Oh, and if yer want weird elegant sexy bizarre fantasy books, check out James Branch Cabell's "Jurgen".
Posted by Nabakov at December 1, 2004 08:57 PM

better yet, if a man in a toga calls for 20 panthers
say: sorry mate, I don't have any anthers

(apologies to ogden)

I'll look out for Jurgen.
Posted by boynton at December 2, 2004 11:33 AM

final touches

I watched Compass on the Australian Chamber Orchestra's The Seven Last Words of Christ and found it very moving. Michael Leunig reading his contribution had me weeping with memories of vigil and loss.

"For love was made in spite of all, Piece by lonely piece, fragments frail and small; Dearly held when life was cold and dark; Now love’s the light that holds it all. It is there – it is true; The final touches now will see it gently through; Two more little touches of your hand – Love for me and love for you."




Comments: final touches

Closed my eyes and thought, "well there ya go, Jack Thompson has been possessed by the long lost voice of Orson Wells."
Posted by Sedgwick at December 1, 2004 02:27 PM

Yep. The 'duet' of author and actor was good.
I thought Michael Leunig's gentle voice worked well with such a tender piece of writing - but it was good to hear this after the actor's orson-sonorous tones. The repetition no doubt helped to strengthen the emotional effect.
Posted by boynton at December 1, 2004 02:46 PM

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

thanks tails

Thanks Tails are tails for cars. An organ which express appreciation

After seeing the video I agree with Collision Detection that this robotic proboscis is not entriely convincing as a dog tail. This is despite the presence of a black lab in the video. And anyway - as a sign there are problems with a wagging tail, given the ambiguity.
That wonderful tail can say; "I am interested in that, I am challenging that, I will dominate that, I feel very confident right now, I am relaxing now, I am scared right now and feel threatened, I am confused right now and don't know what you want me to do, or, I will protect you now and I will be aggressive...source

I remember Doug wagging his saying I will dominate that as he encountered another male dog in the park -a preliminary to dog rage. Perhaps the car could have a set of hackles to switch into unequivocal aggro mode.

And Bronte is a dog that has the submissive tail wag that in traffic wouldn't be saying 'thanks' as much as 'help'.
I want to enter this pack so please don't hurt me. I am willing to be submissive to the Alpha tanks.

Monday, November 29, 2004

I enjoyed sequencing with this Sequencer (via Sarcasmo) where the sounds have a Tati-esque quality (eg #13)

So I went looking for some Tati and found some here

at El Poder de la Palabra which is quite amazing:
The Power of the Word ... fragments of 2146 literary texts, as well as the biography and images of its authors....with works of art, images of architecture and classic and cinematographic music

The cinema composers and top classic music samples will keep me going for a while.

I used Google translator to read some of the literary texts by countries including Australia - and our famous expat novelist - Peter Sea Turtle



bing's intensity

We feel we've captured Bing's intensity and inspirational spirit in our tribute to this American Icon.


via monty python dolls via life in the present


Comments: bing's intensity

Think the sculptor must be related to some of those court artists. I gazed upon the model and thunk, "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas ... starring Fred Astaire."
Posted by Sedgwick at November 29, 2004 01:12 PM

... but my optics deceive me! I do believe it's Stan Laurel.
Posted by Sedgwick at November 29, 2004 01:17 PM

"Yes officer, I'm sure. It's definitely suspect 3. Gene Kelly. The one that married that princess from the Monaco Bar."
Posted by Sedgwick at November 29, 2004 01:23 PM

"Loved and remembered (enough to render?) by millions"

btw I have oft noted the decline of the art of Court Sketching, with the odd exception. Perhaps this is a conservative viewpoint, but is there a trend away from photo-fit Realism to pastelly Expressionism?
Posted by boynton at November 29, 2004 01:35 PM

Everyone wants to be the next Jackson Pollock.

The oddest thing to see is the courtroom sketch that appears on the teev news - pixelated! Disheartening for the talented courtroom artist* that their magnum opus should be seen so accurate as to require pixieskasing.

My hope is that if one day my Cayman Island Offshore Online Interactive Thimble and Pea Two-Up Facility turns turtle, I will be in a line-up with one of those all thumbs, finger painting court artists charged with the task of pointing the finger.

'Tis a strange and seemingly anachronistic trade.

*Oxymaroon (or possibly Prussian blue) alert.
Posted by Sedgwick at November 29, 2004 02:38 PM

http://www.nga.gov.au/International/Catalogue/Detail.cfm?IRN=45694&ViewID=2&GalID=ALL
Is this a fair likeness of the GG?

(would run it through the pixelate filter - but I guess you get the picture)
Posted by boynton at November 29, 2004 07:37 PM

Yes, when it comes to "intensity" I always think of the Bing - that white hot avater of burnin' soul.

And what's with this "Synchro-Motion technology" bit. I thought it already came with the original.
Posted by Nabakov at November 29, 2004 09:19 PM

Saturday, November 27, 2004

saturday pic

It does seem particularly quiet out there today. Empty park apart from drafted junior cricketers, empty streets with residents underslept in the overnight heat.
And elsewhere in the blogosphere, turkeys and snow.
So it does seem timely to just post a pic from the NLA Collection and let it sit out the silence.


update 9:30 pm... Knew I should have run wth the roos



Comments: saturday pic

"Commodore Buddy was already impressed with Betty's batting average, but when she reached up and produced a glass eye, Buddy's admiration turned to awe."
Posted by Sedgwick at November 27, 2004 09:31 PM

P.S. The comment would have appeared much earlier, but for constant messages about mysql appearing instead of mycomment.
Posted by Sedgwick at November 27, 2004 09:35 PM

Yes, the mysql server totally melted down. My hair has gone a paler shade of grey.
Posted by Scott Wickstein at November 27, 2004 11:29 PM

A leg glance down to deep mid-dinghy for four, and suddenly this match was alive.

(I was going to put in the second pic earlier - thought it might add a 'consequence' ;)
Posted by boynton at November 27, 2004 11:30 PM

In the process, Sedge's 3rd comment on the running of the roos has walked...
(There was nothing editorial going on there Sedge!)
btw- "a slow saturday"- was this a classic Mozz?
Posted by boynton at November 27, 2004 11:32 PM

Tim Lane would be proud, Miss B.
Posted by Scott Wickstein at November 28, 2004 12:08 AM

Calls for the third comment.

"Yes Ritchie, it's out. Don't think he made it through for the 3rd, so Sedgwick's on his way back to the pavilion for just 2."

"Yes Tim, it's a pity he didn't walk."

"Yes Ritchie, instead he chose to run with the warts and all story of Cromwell's adventures in Papiloma where old Ollie learnt you can’t run with the hares and hunt with the hounds at the same time unless you're wearing a Lord's Protector. I really don't think it was ever on."

"Well observed Tim, now back to the game. Gillespie makes his way to the pitch, which neatly get's us back to jack tar Buddy and the amazing uni-ocular Betty on the deck of ..."

"Goodness Ritchie, it appears that one of the spectators has collapsed in the stands."

"Well spotted Tim, but I don't think it's anything too serious. In fact I believe I know the chap concerned, and sadly I've seen it all before. It's that Tony Taylor. Happens to him all the time. He gets out there in Bay 13. Hot afternoon. Has one pun too many and, well, the result's there for everyone to see. I really have to say that I don't think it's good for the game."
Posted by Sedgwick at November 28, 2004 07:04 AM

"Punstroke.

That man should be capped.

You'd have to say, though, that otherwise the crowd has been remarkably well-behaved given the slow conditions. I thought we might have seen the odd outbreak of innuendo, but luckily there has been no maidens in slips with fine legs and the like, no googlies as far as I know and no no balls.

I don't know what the story is with Deniliquin though"
Posted by boynton at November 28, 2004 10:17 AM

Suspect it's the mid off season for silly points.

"Come all without, come all within,
You'll not see nothing like the Denili quin."
Posted by Sedgwick at November 28, 2004 11:26 AM

Except maybe the MOama Quaddie.

Wonder how Buddy would bet.
Posted by boynton at November 28, 2004 12:14 PM

Buddy would have had a go at the multiplicity of multiple bets available at the TAB.*

*The prodigal Australian son of the National Bank of Nigeria, formerly known as "The Lucky Shop" (©Cash Converters).

The Duet, Quinella (Sub-species: single, box and roving banker.), Exacta (Sub-species: single, box, standout and roving banker., Trifecta (Sub-species: ditto.) Mystery 6, Running Double, Daily Double, Quaddie and Parlay.

Fair chance Buddy would have cleaned up big time ... providing his Bet had her eye in.
Posted by Sedgwick at November 28, 2004 01:59 PM

I always liked the sound of Exacta, although it makes a flutter very serious all of a sudden.

To gamble absoloutely sounds like gamboling
with intent.

And where did they end up gamboling?

Posted by boynton at November 28, 2004 08:31 PM

What IS it about Deniliquin and roos? I went there. Once. Easter 1975. Stayed on a farm with my family. Our host, the farmer arrived at dusk. "Ready to chase some roos?" he yelled. We all piled into his station wagon and took off across the scrub. Within hours we saw our first roo. Then many more. The 'sport' was literally to drive along side them. His party trick was to pat them, as they bounced while keeping one hand on the wheel. It was...memorable...and nothing much had changed in those intervening years since the photo but I don't remember the grass being as long...
Posted by Nora at November 29, 2004 06:52 PM

beerbohm

Coventry Patmore preaches very vehemently to the Rossettis that a tea-pot is not worshipful for its form and colour but as a sublime symbol of domesticity

From an on-line version of Rossetti and His Circle by Max Beerbohm



Comments: beerbohm

I dont think Mrs Rossetti is very impressed, by the look of her. And rightly so. If a man's home is his castle, a woman's teapot is her...?

Does she give Mr Patmore a poke in the eye? He looks a right bastard. I would.
Posted by Scott Wickstein at November 28, 2004 01:51 PM

Hmmm... Caravan? ;)

http://www.teapottery.co.uk/Mid-Size_Teapots_4/Caravan_42.htm

(a recycled link)

No, I don't think she buys it. Spouting again?

But from what I read in a book (bought on Friday)
it seems the domestici-tea was rather strained.


Posted by boynton at November 28, 2004 08:23 PM

Whenever I play 'what teapot is that' I'll be sure to drop you a line.
Posted by Scott Wickstein at November 28, 2004 11:46 PM

Friday, November 26, 2004

allotments


worm eating vegetables while man sleeps in the sun


...we shall feel like taking a snooze in the deck chair or lying down under a tree, instead of getting on with those gardening jobs that must be done


The temperature is climbing into the thirties and it's buy nothing day.
If I was to nick down to the op-shop I might look for and then, if I was lucky, not buy some old ephemera like these marvellous Allotment & Garden Guides
A series leaflets published by the U.K. Ministry of Agriculture in 1945 on view at earthly pursuits

I've had a wonderful wander through the Jerusalem Artichokes, Potatoes, and assorted lines like these:
The teeth of an iron rake should be riveted firmly or they will soon fall out.

Blight spores don't work down the stems to the tubers, as some people think

The Ministry does not rule out flowers altogether


But this site was merely one of the bumper crop of links up at Ramage's Cabbage special. I could pinch them all.


Comments: allotments

Hey, you pinch my cabbages and I'll get Mr McGregor after you:

"MR. McGregor was on his hands and knees planting out young cabbages,but he jumped up and ran after Peter, waving a rake and calling out, "Stop thief!""

(Just kidding)
Posted by dave at November 27, 2004 07:09 AM

"He lost one of his shoes among the cabbages, and the other shoe amongst the potatoes"

I think Peter could lose a shoe or two among the cabbages of Mr. Anderson.
Posted by boynton at November 27, 2004 09:55 AM

trivia blog

and a Trivia blog Three Bits o Trivia (21 Facts Per Week) (via grow a brain)



Comments: trivia blog

Swine.

Just thought I'd say that. It's a funny word, you know.
Posted by Tony.T at November 26, 2004 01:41 PM

sow is hog ;)
Posted by boynton at November 26, 2004 01:45 PM

Oink that the truth.
Posted by Tony.T at November 26, 2004 02:29 PM

I cannot tell a porker...


"As Homer Simpson could tell you, pork rinds are just deep-fried chunks of pig skin"

http://lexicon.typepad.com/triviums/2004/11/unbeaten_streak.html
Posted by boynton at November 26, 2004 05:32 PM

Yes, but, I already chew that.
Posted by Tony.T at November 26, 2004 07:33 PM

Well I Never chew that.
I prefer Gilt-free cuisine.

(Warning: Pun Reserves are dangerously nearing the Ham and Boar stage)
Posted by boynton at November 26, 2004 08:13 PM

Typical. Those Pun Reserves always sty too long.
Posted by Tony.T at November 27, 2004 06:38 PM

Thursday, November 25, 2004

mona

John Milton used 8,000 different words in his poem, "Paradise Lost."

That's the long and the short of Trivia for you. One of the many facts that might be useful in esoteric conversations at Corsinet Trivia Collections (via J walk)

So now I know The Mona Lisa, by daVinci, is 2'6" by 1'9".


But did you know Mona sings! (via grow a brain)


Comments: mona

Yes, but there's three words that that young Johnny Milton, (a sexy monomanical charismatic preacher who's picture, painted at the time and now hanging in the UK National Portrait Gallery, makes him look just like the lead singer in a great brit band - Jarvis Cocker meets Ian Curtis meets Morrissey- but better looking than all of them, albeit in a dark foxy way) didn't use... "to be continued".
Posted by Nabakov at November 25, 2004 08:10 PM

Quite. And not forgetting:
"If Lost Please Return"

and possibly
"Late return will incur a fine"
Posted by boynton at November 25, 2004 11:54 PM

swimsuits

The National Geographic Swimsuit Collection - the splashiest collection of swimsuit photograpghs ever published
A sample gallery (via Plep)

And by the way - this is a highlight of the NLA Swimsuit Collection


Comments: swimsuits

Oh, the temptation, the temptation!

Manfully yeilding not to.

But, do note that such woollen swimming costumes (if they are such, and I think they are - riding and swimming on the sheep's back) would be decidedly hazardous for the weak swimmer in that they at least doubled their weight when immersed.
Posted by Sedgwick at November 25, 2004 02:30 PM

Swimming with weights?
An early form of Xtrem Swimming?

Wonder which bather is Leopold?
Posted by boynton at November 25, 2004 03:27 P

brontes

Note scribbled in back of Anne's Prayer Book
Her wounded feelings are clearly evident in a note which she scribbled in the back of her Prayer Book: in the minutest 'Brontë script' she declares: 'Sick of mankind and their disgusting ways'. The writing is so tiny it is difficult to read without the aid of a magnifying-glass

Anne Brontë - The Scarborough Connection (via Plep)

 
January 8, 1845
Monsieur, the poor have not need of much to sustain them -- they ask only for the crumbs that fall from the rich man's table. But if they are refused the crumbs they die of hunger. Nor do I, either, need much affection from those I love. I should not know what to do with a friendship entire and complete - I am not used to it. But you showed me of yore a little interest, when I was your pupil in Brussels, and I hold on to the maintenance of that little interest -- I hold on to it as I would hold on to life.


This letter was written by Charlotte Bronte, English writer, to Professor Constantin Heger. There is no evidence that this love was ever returned by him
Romantic LoveLetters (via Exclamation Mark)

 
Emily and Keeper's relationship began as a fierce power struggle, but it became one of mutual respect. One reason for the transformation appears to be Keeper's consistent devotion and loyalty. With Keeper, she could feel safe and protected. This suggests how the dog's behavior and temperament influence the nature of each human-dog bond. In turn, Keeper was changed by his experiences with her. Early accounts describe Keeper as a dangerous dog, liable to attack anyone who tried to discipline him. After years with Emily, however, Keeper became a different dog, a quiet presence in the Brontë home. When Emily died after a short illness, observers were impressed by Keeper's grief-stricken behavior during the funeral services

Emily Brontë and Dogs: Transformation Within the Human-Dog Bond