I’m quite pleased to have racked up more than 10,000 visits since starting this blog. The landmark was set by somebody from Arizona who, sadly, spent no more than 1 second here. You can’t win ’em all.
Breaking 10k
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Oh for flock's sake
People of Ireland, have you no shame? Or have you not a care for what the world thinks of you?
It was perhaps inevitable that Dustin the Turkey — a puppet who has released several albums — would be voted the nation’s entrant to the Eurovision song contest. As well as it just being a sense of mischief, we did choose John “Hasn’t a Note In His Head” Aldridge as winner in a celebrity singing show.
Dustin’s entry is a parody of the Eurovision.
Composed by Darren Smith and Simon Fine, the tune draws strongly on the campness of the Eurovision contest, which has become notorious in recent years for its tactical geopolitical voting.
“Shake your feathers and pop your beak, shake it to the west and to the east,” crooned Dustin in Limerick’s University Concert Hall.
“Wave Euro-hands and Euro-feet, wave them in the air to the turkey beat.”
And it gets better:
Dustin’s song urges voters to “give douze points to Ireland” for its lowlands and its highlands, for Terry Wogan’s wig and Bono’s leather pants.
It says: “We brought you Guinness and Westlife, 800 years of war and strife, but we all apologise for Riverdance.”
Bookmakers William Hill have installed Dustin as 10-1 favourite to win. Their Irish spokesman Tony Kenny said: “A singing turkey will possibly be one of the most bizarre things that a Eurovision audience will ever see. He’ll go to Belgrade on a wing and a prayer and, fingers crossed, he’ll ruffle a few feathers when he gets there.”
It's hot.
As in above even the warmest of Irish summers. I may not survive July/August.
End of an era
It was inevitable that the voracious march of consumer technology would lead to casualties, though I think this one has been something of a slow-bleeder.
Polaroid is dropping the technology it pioneered long before digital photography rendered instant film obsolete to all but a few nostalgia buffs.
The firm is closing factories in Massachusetts, Mexico and the Netherlands and cutting 450 jobs as the brand synonymous with instant images focuses on ventures such as a portable printers for images from mobile phones and digital cameras, televisions and DVD players.
The company, which once employed 21,000 people, had (stupidly) believed it didn’t have to embrace digital technology, thinking traditionalists would stick with the old-school tech.
I told you it was a tiny planet
Events cause ripples felt far from the source. From AFP:
India’s vital outsourcing industry, which relies heavily on the Internet, was grappling with a major communications disruption Thursday after damage to undersea cables thousands of kilometres away in the Mediterranean.
Internet connections may take up to 15 days to return to normal, businesses said, adding that telecommunications in neighbouring Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were also affected.
The same disruption hit the UAE, though services are being re-routed to compensate. This, sadly, does not explain why I can’t get internet in my apartment.
Jeremy Beadle RIP
Spare a thought for the presenter of Beadle’s About, who has died from pneumonia at age 59. Although you may not have liked his shows, he did raise more than £100 million (E133m) for charity and for that alone he deserves respect. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 2005 and was a devoted supporter of charitable organisations that helped children with the disease.