New Choo Shoes

Posted By Mark on Nov 12, 2012

I still haven't picked up my camera in anger in over two weeks so I've not got anything super special to share but since it is #ShoesMonday (as curated by (deep breath) +Laura Harding +Terry Fabre +Bernd Schaefers +Paul van de Loo +Pablo Luis Gonzalez +Olga Kafka +Mee Ming Wong) I thought I'd put up a snap taken on my phone last week of the new shoes I felt obliged to purchase for my wife while in the Jimmy Choo store in Chevy Chase when in the states. I really must stop popping in there. That's twice in twelve months and it's cost me both times.What’s that thing we do in Chevy Chase at Jimmy Choo? Oh yes, we buy my wife some new shoes. Google+: View post on...

Previously, In Science

Posted By Mark on Oct 20, 2012

A round up of recent science news stories and my take on them. Let’s start with this article from the BBC: Big Bang: Is there room for God? Perhaps a padded one so he doesn’t hurt himself. Otherwise, I’m going to go with no on this story. The general gist, though, is that some physicists, theologians, and philosophers got together to talk about what happened before the Big Bang. This is never going to be a productive meeting and will only ever end up with the the rational members either saying something to offend the loonies or backing down to appease the nutjobs and end the round-and-round-the-facts game being played. You might as well replace “theologians” with “reptilian overlord conspiracy theorists” for all the good ever bringing them to a discussion about things that actually exist are concerned. And as for philosophers: I’ve sat through some talks with philosophers and I’ve got a real problem with them (you’d never guess). Just like theologians their whole essence of being is in talking about unknowable concepts. Endlessly. Question them on anything and all you get is “are you sure?” with a knowing smile. Demonstrate that what they’re saying is gibberish and you’ll get a reworking of the same point of view in order to make it more vague than it already was. It’s the antithesis of science where contradictory evidence is followed by refinement or discarding. Gah! Next, an Earth-sized planet has been discovered pretty close by in Galactic Terms (always in proper case, always italicised): Alpha Centauri has a planet! The planet orbits close in to Alpha Cen B, and is technically called Alpha Centauri Bb – planets have lower case letters assigned to them, starting at b. Its mass is only 1.13 times the Earth’s mass, making this one of the lower mass planets yet found! But don’t get your hopes up of visiting it – its period is only 3.24 days, meaning it must be only about 6 million kilometers (less than 4 million miles) from its star. Even though Alpha Cen B is a bit cooler than the Sun, this still means the planet is baking hot, far too hot to sustain any kind of life as we know it, or even liquid water. Even though it’s close enough to visit with today’s technology within a lifetime I’m always impressed by the science behind even making finds like this. Consider this: if our sun were a bowling ball then Earth would be a pea about twenty metres away. Look up at the night sky and find Alpha Centauri; it’s smaller than a bowling ball. It’s smaller than...

Girls Aloud Triple

Posted By Mark on Oct 20, 2012

Seven years ago (holy heck! Seven? Holy. Heck.) I wrote about Girls Aloud in what turned out to be quite a popular post. Since then much has happened (well, it would as that was seven years ago (seven!)) in the lives of Nadine, Cheryl, Kimberley, Sarah, and Nicola, although you’d be hard pressed to remember any of it other than the Cheryl stuff. I certainly can’t. What I do know, though, is that Girls Aloud are reforming for one of those album releases and mini tours that a lot of bands do when they’re a bit down on their luck after splitting to go their own way. No blame is attached to that statement. It’s what bands do. If I were a girl in Girls Aloud (probably Nicola because she’s pale and strange and I can respect that) it’s what I’d do. I’m not going to write about Girls Aloud now though because I don’t tend to write much on the site these days. However, I do try to keep the site ticking over with content occasionally and one of the ways I do this is through the power of crappy, formulaic updates such as three music videos on a theme. Girls Aloud? Three music videos on a theme? What could possibly be coming next? You’ll never guess. Seven years! Seven! Girls Aloud – Something New Their latest track, with hints of that LMFAO/PSY that’s popular with the kids these days. Girls Aloud – Long Hot Summer I grudgingly admit that this is my favourite Girls Aloud track. Yes, that’s right: I have a favourite Girls Aloud track. I never thought that happen. Or that I’d tell anyone. Girls Aloud – Something Kinda Ooooh It’s the video with the sexy hopping dance in it. Okay, it’s got a hopping dance in...

Blind Date

Posted By Mark on Oct 19, 2012

High Screams

Posted By Mark on Oct 17, 2012

Maybe they knew what they were doing. They had to know. Is it possible that they simply didn't know? It seems inconceivable the more I think about it but could they have forgotten? They were old, after all. Perhaps they saw the wafer cones, the cold white filling, the brown stem sticking out looking for all the world like chocolate and they were transported back to a more youthful time when devouring such things was common. Memories of seaside trips? Yes, perhaps. But I think they knew. I think they'd had enough. For me, I think I'd still prefer pills and alcohol and a bed. I can respect their decision, though, even if in the moments that followed they regretted the choice they'd made. It certainly sounded like they regretted their choice. At least I can say that I know this for certain: I won't end my days tucking into a young ice cream while its mother looks on; I don't want my final impression on this world to be a bloody smear on the window of a café. Google+: View post on...