Crooked Timber, an exception to general comment-thread-y rules of thumb

The rule of thumb is that on any blog where posts regularly attract more than about 50 comments, none of said comments will be worth reading due to the preponderance of idiot trolls, clueless newbies, and the generally hard-of-thinking. At Crooked Timber, this is not the case. Viz: Newbie CT commenter: I wouldn’t much care … Continue reading Crooked Timber, an exception to general comment-thread-y rules of thumb

Eggscerable reporting, or ‘no, the EU won’t ban eggs by the dozen’

The latest insane euromyth, as faithfully invented by the Daily Mail, is that the EU is planning to ban the sale of eggs by the dozen or half-dozen. As usual, the Littlejohn Rule applies here: if the story sounds like something you "really couldn't make up" (thanks, Mr Dale), then somebody doubtless has made it … Continue reading Eggscerable reporting, or ‘no, the EU won’t ban eggs by the dozen’

What I’ve been up to, week ending 2010-06-27

Snaptu is much uglier than Nokia Communities, but has the massive advantage that, erm, it works. #nokiafail # Blimey. The Penrith result doesn't look good for the whole 'avoiding PM Abbott' thing. *prepares to be deported as undesirable alien* # Half-relatedly, only realised today that Tony's originally a Pom. Sorry about that, guys. # Even … Continue reading What I’ve been up to, week ending 2010-06-27

What I’ve been up to, week ending 2010-06-20

Off to the Belgian Beer Cafe. Belgian beer FTW. # No Belgian beer available, so drank Australian beer as well. Which is nearly as good. Now #ebz o'clock http://fallenlondon.com/c/115119 # RT @feral_pigeon peck at rob green's humble pie # Amusing spammers are OK by me: RT @diamondauction But for my lawyer, I’d still be in … Continue reading What I’ve been up to, week ending 2010-06-20

In praise of firing squads

I oppose the death penalty, but if countries are going to impose it, then the firing squad is a pretty decent method. It's rapid and painless enough not to be sick torture, but it's also brutal enough to remind everyone concerned that they are, actually, violently and prematurely ending a life. Which is good, because … Continue reading In praise of firing squads

Best comment evah

From the Awl, which you should read anyway, this short article: "A bolt of lightning struck the ship capturing oil from the blown-out BP well in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, igniting a fire that halted containment efforts in another setback for the embattled company in its nearly two-month struggle to stop the spill, … Continue reading Best comment evah

What makes me angriest? Quebec.

There are many things in life that rile me. But in terms of 'obvious, absurd, insane unfairness that's tolerated for absolutely no sensible reason at all', Quebec is top. In most countries that have real languages and joke languages that are indulged, the joke language that's indulged is the language of the people the land … Continue reading What makes me angriest? Quebec.

‘Anti-Europe’ is an accurate term for UKIPpers

There are two possible meanings that the phrase 'anti-Europe' can carry. One is the Fox News interpretation, under which Europe is full of gay, garlic-eating communists, and therefore should be bombed, or at least avoided. The other is the opposition to European political integration, or to the view of Europe as a political rather than … Continue reading ‘Anti-Europe’ is an accurate term for UKIPpers

Shorter US public response to Deepwater Horizon

"Dear Big Oil. Yes, we know this sort of thing is inherent to oil extraction, and we do still want cheap oil extracted - but please can you do it in places where instead of oiling up a few American pelicans and ruining American banjo-playing yokels' weekends by making them kill land animals instead of … Continue reading Shorter US public response to Deepwater Horizon