Came into the office this morning to find several leaks in the ceiling near my desk, and my filing trays looking rather waterlogged...
I am now typing this to the sounds of several drips landing into strategically-placed containers. If I post a really cranky JE later today, you'll know why...
Yay for flat roofs (not!)
-MT.
[StanLee]Hey there, true believers![/StanLee]
It's all change for the X-books in April, when Marvel is due to do its much-trailed Reload.
Joss Whedon is indeed writing a X-book, but not, as speculated, New X-Men - instead, it's a brand new title, Astonishing X-Men. Yeah, I think that name sucks, too, but I'll reserve judgement until I find out who's going to be in it and how it fits into the scheme of things.
Unfortunately, Chuck Austen is not getting the push just yet. New X-Men will drop the New, and be handed over to his tender loving care. Joy.
No surprise about Chris Claremont and Alan Davis taking over on Uncanny X-Men, although the small matter of the X-Treme X-Men becoming the new Excalibur might be. Oh, and they may be missing Bishop, who is getting his own series, District X.
The continuity mess between New X-Men and New Mutants is to be resolved, when the latter becomes Academy X. Could be a bumpy ride, with Professor X leaving for Genosha (and Excalibur), and Scott Summers and Emma Frost running the School for Gifted Youngsters...
Meanwhile, Weapon X is to re-join the continuity somewhat, Mystique is still doing her thing (still working for Xavier?), and Cable and Deadpool are still flat-sharing.
[StanLee]Excelsior![/StanLee]
Bangladesh 'beer' tests alcohol ban
By Roland Buerk
BBC correspondent in Dhaka
It looks like beer, it tastes like beer, but in law at least it is a malt beverage.
A company in Bangladesh believes it has found a legal loophole to get around the Islamic country's ban on alcoholic drinks.
But their discovery has created a furore among Islamic parties and the threat of legal action from at least one leading international brewer.
[...]
The company is using the wording of Bangladesh's Drug Control Act 1990 to justify the sale.
The act outlaws beer, but defines it as a malt and hops-based drink produced by a brewing process and containing at least 5% - and not more than 8.5% - alcohol.
The drafting was intended to ensure medicines containing alcohol would be exempt from the law.
The drinks are being marketed as Crown and Hunter and the cans bear a striking resemblance to famous international beer brands.
But again Shameem Islam believes he is one step ahead.
"That was deliberate," he says, "we checked and found Foster's and Carlsberg never registered their brands in Bangladesh, so we took the opportunity to register first."
Cheeky! Check the pictures in the BBC news item for the proof.
Men Demand Freedom To Wear Skirts
Kilts? Fine, if you're Scottish. Sarong? In the right setting, great! (Probably not a good idea in Northern Europe... *grin*) But skirts, as in women's skirts? Only for the downright foolhardy, I think.
Girl suspended for saying 'hell'
A seven-year-old girl has been suspended from her school in the US for saying the word "hell" to a classmate.
Brandy McKenith from Pittsburgh said she was punished because she had explained to a boy who had said "I swear to God" that he would go to hell.
The Pittsburgh school district is investigating the suspension.
The student code bans profanity but does not give a clear definition of what profanity is, a Public Schools spokeswoman told local press.
Brandy told the BBC's World Today radio programme that she did not think she had been rude.
Her father, Wayne McKenith, told the programme he was outraged at this week's decision by Sunnyside Elementary to impose a suspension.
"I thought it was utterly senseless, especially in the context - the Biblical context - she used it in."
"Here in America we have real problems in schools," he said.
"We have guns, drugs, dope, and you're worried about a kid saying hell in a Biblical context - and you suspend her for that."
The girl's parents complained to the principal of the elementary school, which is in the north-eastern state of Pennsylvania.
Here's hoping this story reaches an "okeley-dokeley" conclusion soon.
Found this site via DeviantArt (hi Leons!) of all places.
Visit http://www.musicplasma.com/, enter your favourite artist or group, and get a map of all the artists and/or groups that are related or similar to your choice. Select an artist, and get some clips of their music (sorry, looks to be Windows Media on that front). Bit sluggish, but tres cool!
Why your MovableType blog must die
by James A.C Joyce
An essay attempting to justify the practice of crapflooding MT blogs. In summary :
Oh, and his solution? "Move your shit over to LiveJournal. At least then we can pretend that it doesn't exist and you can stop pretending that your shit doesn't stink." Charming.
Thoughts?
Good news - we finally got snow across most of the UK.
Bad news - most of it is now ice, and has caused most of the public transport system, plus a lot of roads and planes, to grind to a halt.
Worse news - yesterday there were strong winds across most of the UK. w00t, wind-chill of -10 or worse.
Oh, and I managed to slip up again on the icy pavement this morning, in an almost exact repeat of what happened this time last year... As it was, I needn't have bothered, as there were no trains to be caught when I did get to the station.
Most of the schools have closed for the day, and I saw loads of kids sledding down hillsides near Tring this morning.
Last night was a bit hairy, as the snow was still falling when I left work, and I ended up walking through Tring, partly to stay warm, and partly because I suspected that the bus might not show up to get me to the station. Luckily it did appear, and I made it home eventually.
Top UK dish 'hooked French first'
It is thought to be the quintessential British meal, but new research claims the original idea for fish and chips came from Jewish and French dishes.
A study of the multicultural nature of UK cuisine suggests the meal was influenced by immigrants 150 years ago.
Professor Panikos Panayi of Leicester's De Montfort University has begun a £6,000 research project to investigate the global influence on British food.
He said fish and chips mixed "French frites with Jewish fish dishes".
Mr Panayi's research is expected to last two to three years and his findings will be published in a book called The Spicing Up of English Life.
He said: "In the middle of the 19th century the main concern of most sections of English society consisted of eating enough food of sufficient quality to stay alive, rather than displaying a concern about variety.
"Transformations between 1850 and 1945 included the emergence of fish and chips, influenced by both French and Jewish culinary traditions.
He said the origins of the dish were complex, but probably came about from the combination of French frites with Jewish fish dishes.
"It certainly isn't the traditional British food people might think, and of course the meal is often enjoyed with a cup of tea - the best example of the influence of the Empire on English eating and drinking habits."
Had to lie down for a while afterwards, to let the food and wine settle down.
Most of my Christmas presents (Pringles socks, Pierre Cardin shirt, black leather jacket) were given in advance, so I only had the one gift to unwrap last night - a box-set containing the Complete Maus, by Art Spiegleman.
No snow, alas, another mild & grey Christmas. I expect we'll have the snow and ice show up around the end of January again, when I'm back at work.
Pasta tomorrow (Boxing Day), as we can't face eating leftovers just yet, need to pace ourselves with something a bit lighter...
First 'mad cow' case rattles US
The United States has reported its first suspected case of "mad cow disease", or BSE, in Washington state.
Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said a Holstein cow had tested positive - but she insisted US beef was safe.
In response, a number of countries in Asia, including America's biggest importer, Japan, have moved swiftly to ban US beef.
Oddly, France are not on the list of countries banning US beef - yet.
A Manchester City fan received a life-saving transplant from his brother - but only after he promised to support rivals United instead.
Martin Warburton, 50, made brother Paul sign a contract - under a red seal, naturally - to the effect that he would change allegiance.
Paul, 59, who is fighting leukaemia, had the stem-cell transplant in Belfast - but admits he has mixed feelings after agreeing to the unusual conditions.
"I was really lucky that Martin's cells matched, as some people can have seven or eight siblings and find that none of them matches up," he told the Daily Telegraph.
"But he had to be a Reds supporter, didn't he?!"
As part of the contract, Paul now has to chortle if Manchester City are relegated and join the MUFC supporters' association.
He also has to trip up legendary City "diver" Francis Lee so that - in Martin's words - "you can, for the first time, see him fall over fairly".
Mischievous Martin said he could barely suppress his mirth at the piece of paper he made his brother sign.
"This was the perfect chance for me to get Paul to stop backing the Blues," he said.
"We made a great joke of the contract but he still agreed to sign it."
EXTRACTS FROM THE CONTRACT
To ensure all blue blood will be replaced with RED
All outer clothing to be RED - with hints of white
Interior and exterior decoration of home to be changed to RED
All blue coloured materials to be used as rags to clean up dirt
Contract to be signed and witnessed under RED seal
I've spent a large portion of the weekend setting up MovableType, and migrating over the old blog stuff from Radio Userland. Had a few false starts with the site building, but it's done now, and you can go and marvel (at how little I've achieved) at the usual URL.
Most obvious ommision is a blogroll of some description - I got the old OPML file knocking around, but as I only got partway through my Friends/Fans list last time, it might be a while before that shows up. Also, I've got a lot more work ahead of me, transferring over the old News That Matters to the new blog - the main benefit of this would be that my wit and wisdom might be more widely recognised outside of
Oh, and I can sneakily blog stuff from work, when I've got a spare moment.
As some of you may have spotted, News That Matters is sort-of back in action - just a few items a day, due to my current workload (art prepping plus coding).
Anyhow, it's turned 11.30pm here, so I'm off to bed shortly. But in the meantime, if any of you have some pointers for MoveableType-related stuff that I should investigate, do let me know. Ta.
From BBC News
The mysterious cause of a young Australian man's meningitis was finally found to be a dinner of raw slugs.
He had eaten two slugs for a dare five weeks before falling ill.
But slugs harbour Angiostrongylus cantonensis - also known as the rat lungworm - which can cause the potentially fatal brain inflammation.
Experts writing in the Medical Journal of Australia say that if people do want to eat slugs, they should cook them first, in order to kill the parasite.
It took five months before he was fit enough to go back to college. Figures - a student.
From BBC News
Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar has seen red over a new Disney film which it claims portrays its earthmovers as "evil".
The US engineering giant is attempting to block the release of George of the Jungle 2, claiming the film will damage its reputation.
The company claims the straight-to-video slapstick comedy portrays Caterpillar earthmovers as part of an "evil attacking army" bent on destroying the jungle.
But Disney - which has vowed to fight Caterpillar's trademark infringement law suit - claims the offending scenes are harmless fun.
Nice job guys, helpfully promoting Disney's latest Christmas turkey.
To thine own self be true. (If not that, at least make some money.)
