From a Baby Wee Wee commercial airing in the UK.
Posts Tagged ‘UK’
Baby Wee Wee commercial teaches you…something. I guess.
October 14, 2008“Volcano” by Damien Rice
September 15, 2008I’m a big fan….I’m hoping he’ll be releasing a new album soon. This song, “Volcano” is from his album 0. Recorded live at Abbey Road Studios. Oh, in the interest of full-disclosure, I have a voice-crush on the woman singing with him, Lisa Hannigan.
UK University Offering the Following Course: “Feel the Force: How to Train in the Jedi Way”
September 12, 2008
The UK’s first Jedi course teaching personal development through a Star Wars syllabus will open to students at Queen’s University in Belfast from November.
According to its publicity material, the course, Feel the Force: How to Train in the Jedi Way, teaches the real-life psychological techniques behind Jedi mind tricks.
It also claims to examine the wider issues behind the Star Wars universe, like balance, destiny, dualism, fatherhood and fascism.
The university says it hopes to attract young Star Wars fans and introduce them to education through open learning.
No prior qualifications are required and the blurb informs students that light sabres are not provided.
Via ABC
Satellite images of an ordinary day in Britian
August 11, 2008A new tv series, Britian from Above, started running on the BBC last night. The show utilizes satellite images to show how Britons travel and communicate. The images below will be used in the series.
Presenter Andrew Marr takes to the skies by plane, helicopter, microlight and even parachute to give viewers a bird’s eye view of landmarks across the UK.
The programme uses satellite data and the latest computer generated imagery to demonstrate how Britain keeps moving – tracking the planes that enter our airspace, the ships that cross the English Channel and the cars that travel our streets, all in the space of a single day.
More at The Daily Mail
Telephone exchange activity over part of the UK
A satellite image over the UK showing aircraft flight paths activity
London Taxi activity
Internet activity in the South of England
UK movie theaters to phase out popcorn
August 10, 2008
What’s wrong w/you Brits? Also, does movie popcorn in the UK come with sugar on it? Over here, across the pond, we Yanks love the movie popcorn, except with butter….
LONDON (AFP) – The credits are rolling in Britain for the time-honoured cinematic tradition of munching popcorn at the movies — a newspaper reported Sunday that increasing numbers of cinemas are banning it.
A combination of health-conscious cinemagoers rejecting sugar-coated popcorn and disgust at its distinctive smell is steadily spelling “The End” for the snack in some arthouse cinema chains, the Observer reported.
It quoted Daniel Broch, the owner of the renowned Everyman cinema in London’s upmarket Hampstead district, who recently bought 17 more venues.
“I will de-popcorn every new venue I acquire,” he said. “It has a disproportionate influence on the space in terms of its overwhelming smell, the cultural idea of it and the operational problems created by the mess it produces.
“I’m not saying no popcorn is better than popcorn,” he added. “But I am saying there is no way in which it fits with the culturally sophisticated brand I wish to sell.”
The Picturehouse Cinema, a chain of 19 cinemas across Britain, will experiment with popcorn-free screenings in September.
“Popcorn is a contentious issue. Lots of people absolutely hate it and have asked us to ban it, so we’re going to do exactly that,” the group’s head of media, Gabriel Swartland, told the Observer.
“If it’s a success, and I’ve no reason to suspect it won’t be, we’ll roll it out across all our cinemas and make it a permanent fixture,” said Swartland.
But other cinemas which tried to go popcorn-free found customers demanded it.
“Audiences in three venues… began asking for popcorn, so we provided it,” said Richard Napper, the marketing director of the Curzon chain.
Grandmother in the UK fights off 2 hammer-wielding wannabe gangsters…..with a broom.
July 17, 2008‘How dare they come in and try to steal money? If you want money you have to go out and earn it like everybody else.’
Video here.
Law abiding UK mom has to prove her innocence after police screwup
July 9, 2008
A mother mistakenly branded a violent junkie must have her fingerprints checked against every unsolved crime in Britain to clear her name.
Amanda Hodgson had a routine criminal record check for a job looking after youngsters during breaktimes at her children’s school.
The 36-year-old was expecting the all-clear but was horrified to open a letter claiming she had assaulted police officers and was a recovering heroin addict.
‘When I first read the letter, I didn’t fully understand. I couldn’t work out why I’d been sent all this information,’ Mrs Hodgson said.
‘I was horrified when I realised. It is really embarrassing and I have had to explain to my son that his mum isn’t a criminal and I’m not going to jail.’
Mrs Hodgson only applied to be a welfare assistant at the school after staff said she would be perfect for the job.
But the Criminal Records Bureau sent her the history of a woman with the same name and date of birth – then told Mrs Hodgson, of Preston, it was up to her to prove her innocence.
The CRB investigated but could not ensure she was not the person named in the report.
It then asked her to produce her passport and fingerprints.
‘To have my fingerprints taken in the first place is bad enough but then to be told they will be cross-checked against all unsolved crimes is ridiculous,’ she said. ‘I have done nothing wrong.’
A spokesman for the CRB said the Police National Computer had a 99.98 accuracy record. It only asked a person to supply their fingerprints if all other investigations had failed.
‘This may be the only sure way to remove the match,’ said the spokesman.
‘The alternative may result in appropriate information not being released with catastrophic results.’
Man mistakes moon for UFO, calls police to report the “bright, stationary object.”
July 5, 2008
Source with Audio of Emergency Call
Police called out to a 999 call about an unexplained object in the night sky solved the mystery straight away for their operator – “it’s the Moon, over.”
But the emergency call meant the officers were sent out to a house in the valleys area of south Wales.
They were told a “bright stationary object” was spotted above the unnamed caller’s home.
A recording of the call has been released as part of a police campaign asking people to use 999 appropriately.
The Control Room conversation, which took place in May, was recorded – and below is a transcript:
Control Room: “South Wales Police, what’s your emergency?”
Caller: “It’s not really. I just need to inform you that across the mountain there’s a bright stationary object.”
Control room: “Right.”
Caller: “If you’ve got a couple of minutes perhaps you could find out what it is? It’s been there at least half an hour and it’s still there.”
Control: “It’s been there for half an hour. Right. Is it actually on the mountain or in the sky?”
Caller: “It’s in the air.”
Control: “I will send someone up there now to check it out.”
Caller: “OK.”
The mystery was soon solved, as the exchange between control and an officer at the scene, makes clear.
Control: “Alpha Zulu 20, this object in the sky, did anyone have a look at it?”
Officer: “Yes, it’s the moon. Over.”
Control room staff also dealt with a stream of unsuitable calls on the 999 number during an “extremely busy period”, said a spokesman.
Another caller rang asking for help when they wanted to vote for Rhydian on the TV programme X-Factor.
‘Real emergencies’
Another wanted a pound for their supermarket trolley.
Following the calls, South Wales Police has changed the way it answers the phone.
Instead of saying “South Wales Police, how can I help?”, control room staff now say “South Wales Police what is your emergency?”
Since the change, they have reported a 10% drop in 999 calls.
Superintendent Kevin O’Neill said: “There is no doubt in my mind that the public have taken on board the message we sent about making inappropriate 999 calls and thought twice about dialling the number in a non-emergency situation for which we are extremely grateful.
“Thanks to the public we have been able to answer calls, concerning real emergencies, quicker,” said Supt O’Neill.
Between January and June 2008, the force answered 86.4% of calls within 10 seconds compared to 76.2% in the same period last year – an improvement of just over 10%.
The change in the greeting is being monitored by Cardiff University researchers Professor Martin Innes of the Universities Police Science Institute and Dr Frances Rock of the Centre for Language and Communication.
Jay Z at Glastonbury Festival 2008, UK
July 1, 2008Jay Z caught some flack when it was announced he’d headline the Glastonbury Festival 2008 in the UK. Oasis member Noel Gallagher wasn’t pleased a hip hop act would be added to the historically rock-oriented festival.
“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” he said. “If you start to break it then people aren’t going to go. I’m sorry, but Jay-Z? No chance.
“Glastonbury has a tradition of guitar music and even when they throw the odd curve ball in on a Sunday night you go ‘Kylie Minogue?’ I don’t know about it. But I’m not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. It’s wrong.”
So, naturally Jay Z kicks off his set at Glastonbury by covering Oasis’ “Wonderwall” before launching into “99 Problems.”
UK Local Goverment Association head-Stop spying for trivial offenses. Sir Simon Milton-No.
June 23, 2008
There has been growing anger about the methods used by councils to probe minor crimes, such as dog fouling.
The powers were introduced under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act as part of the Government’s anti-terror drive but it is claimed some councils are abusing the powers.
This really shouldn’t be shocking. The government pushes intrusive legislation under the guise of society’s protection and people comply. And your freedoms get chipped away little by little…..
It’s for your safety. Does anyone actually still believe that?
