Monday Therapy: Misremembered Movie Quotes

The wits and wags are out in force on Twitter.  Iowahawk is there .... and displaying his usual brilliance (see this and this, for example).

MM in the Kitchen: Lancashire Hotpot

Lamb stew with potatoes.  Sounds like a good winter-weather comfort food to me!  (I never put in the kidneys, by the way.  Sorry, kidney fans.)

In Praise of the Incandescent Light Bulb

I remain devoted to incandescent light bulbs.  I tried the new morally superior ones, and I HATED THEM.  As musical satirist Remy does point out with lyrics in his new music video, “If that new light bulb is so amazing, then why don’t people just go buy that light bulb?” 

Don't Bring a Samurai Sword to a Beanbag Fight

Take a look at this crazy headline of the day.

The Least Corrupt Nation in the World Is ...?

The winner is New Zealand.  The most corrupt?  Take a wild guess, people.  Why, yes, Somalia and North Korea!

Movie Madness: Advice You Can Take?

Sometimes sci fi and fantasy flicks can give you words to live by.  Or not, teehee!  "What is best in life?"

Life Imitates Satire: Occupy San Francisco Goes Into Banking

Bwahahahaha!  Is it the "inevitable culmination"?   If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!  And somehow I can't help thinking, "The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."

Euro Notes: NOW He Tells Us

The architect of the euro currency, Jacques Delors, apparently now says that the thing was doomed from the start.  Well, Milton Friedman did say that the euro wouldn't survive its first major European recession.  I had my misgivings about the whole project, and I take no pleasure really in seeing the eurozone in flames now because it's wrecking the economic lives of millions.  But the fact remains that it's becoming increasingly clear that the euro is fatally flawed.

On a related and ironically timed note, here is a new propaganda video from the European Central Bank "celebrating the first ten years of the euro."  I rather doubt that euro will see another ten years.  Dude, doesn't the ECB have any better to do than churn out propaganda and make video games?  But I digress.  On to the video, which I find unintentionally hilarious, beginning with the choice of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" as the opening music.  (LOL!)

Nerd News: the Long Island Exam Cheating Scandal

UGH.

Couch Potato Chronicles: "Doctor Who" Extras

Enjoy!  I'll embed the first one for you:

Doctor Who Series 6 Extra - Bad Night [HD] by torchwood_vids

Nerd News: Cheating Is Big Business

I knew there were plenty of chances for undergrads to plagiarize and sponge off other people's work and all that, but this really struck me as a whole other level in shirking one's personal responsibilities and basically getting other people to do your learning for you.  Check out this blurb from the website:

Here you can easily hire a private writer in as early as 5 minutes. With 200+ writers available 24/7, we can help with any written assignment (from simple essays to dissertations).

SRSLY?  And another thing: oh, I'm sure it's easy enough to cough up a freshman essay on some banal old chestnut of an intro history or lit or whatever class, but you can really get someone to do a doctoral dissertation for you?  

Geek News: Stradivarius Violin Re-created from CAT Scan

Via Transterrestrial Musings (who comments, "I don’t think we’re that far from Star Trek replicators") comes this story of the intersection of history, music, and technology.

How Meta ... !

A new Twitter account makes fun of .... Twitter.

Awesome: Skies and Stars Over Oregon

Via the Bad Astronomy blog comes a link to some gorgeous time-lapse footage:

Finding Oregon from Uncage the Soul Productions on Vimeo.

Quirky Euro Files: Arsonists Get Sweden's Goat

"It's a Swedish thing -- you wouldn't understand"?

Geek News: Element-ary, My Dear Watson

Meet the latest additions to the periodic table!

Disgustingly Cute: Kittens Watching Ice Skating

Check out these 6 Bengal kittens (and their mom) as they watch Japan's Daisuke Takahashi compete on TV:

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Hungary Outlaws Homelessness

When homelessness is outlawed, only outlaws will be homeless!  *facepalm*

Friday Fun Video: Parodying the "J. Edgar" Trailer

L. DiCaprio (J. Edgar Parody) - watch more funny videos

'Tis The Season For Christmas Music Abuse

Yes, yes, I know that it's now officially December, so everyone has the technical right to play as many schmaltzy, cheesy versions of Christmas songs as they please.  I know that every shop and mall in the country is going to be blasting the stuff.  I do object, though, to Christmas music being played in restaurants.  

No, really!  I was just out for a nice meal with friends at a little Italian place, and the air was filled with that musical abuse.  It's a restaurant, people.  Can't I even have a meal in some peace?  Schmaltzy upbeat Christmas pop music is not "ambiance" or "atmosphere."  NOT IN AN ITALIAN PLACE.  NO WAY.  NOT EVER.  "Jingle Bell Rock" is an abomination.  I do NOT want to hear "All I Want for Christmas Is Yoooooooou" sung by some lame celebrity (and why does almost every quasi-celebrity in the entertainment business feel the compulsion to record Christmas songs?  STOP IT!) while I'm trying to eat.

Anyway, this isn't to say that I just Scroogerrifically hate all Christmas music.  I like good Christmas music.  Let me kick off the season with something nicer than craptastic versions of pop holiday ear-poison.   Try this instead -- the traditional first song of the annual Christmas Eve service at King's College, Cambridge. 

Once in Royal David's City

 (Come on, aren't these choir boys much better than Justin Bieber?  And, yes, in the name of fairness and objective research, I did actually attempt to listen to Bieber's Christmas effort.  I lasted about 1 minute.)