Today's Links
"Good Night, and May Your God Go With You."
Irish Comedian Dave Allen, of Dave Allen at Large fame, has died at the age of 68. He passed away in his sleep. As a kid I really enjoyed watching reruns of his show on public television. His satirical wit was and is still unmatched. He always appeared with a cigarette and a glass of whiskey, seated on a barstool, telling his stories to the audience and the camera, if he wasn't doing skits that often lambasted the Catholic church, an institution he was known to have a bone to pick with. He was protective of his work and made efforts to prevent his shows from being rebroadcast while he was alive. I _REALLY_ hope that the BBC will now put together a proper collection of his shows and make them available for purchase - there is so little Dave Allen material available now. Here's a collection of some of his better quotes.
The Astronomy Picture of the Day for March 8th was the spacecraft Cassini's image of Mimas, one of Saturn's smallest moons. The funny thing is how much Mimas, with its enormous crater, looks like the Death Star from George Lucas' Star Wars films. Certain members of the 'never left my parents' basement' crowd believe that Mimas really IS a Death Star, lying in wait to destroy us if the Imperial Senate and Emporer Palpatine decide the Rebellion has set up a base here on Earth.
The first ever for-Metis-by-Metis radio station went on the air, on the internet, today. I wonder what Louis Riel would think? In 2003 I had a copy of Chester Brown's Louis Riel: A Comic Strip Biography signed by the author at the Word on the Street book fair. It's a terrific read and a really good way to familiarize oneself with the story of how the Metis nation was formed.
I'm a big fan of slang and unconventional English - so I was happy to discover that the Original Hobo Nickel Society has a Dictionary of Old Hobo Slang. Set down your bindle stick and pour yourself a cuppa black strap, don't blow smoke and tell me about the pay streak you were on before you ended up on the hog.
The Uncyclopedia is a 'free encyclopedia of politically incorrect non-information'. It is set up as a Wiki, meaning users can contribute their own entries or change current ones. An example entry:
"The early years of Duran Duran, before Simon Le Bon went all fatA time of great weeping and devestation.
Also a boon time for yacht salesmen."