Black Dog Blog

Archive for the ‘wordplay’ Category

Electroshock collars banned in Wales. Ha! In your FACE, Cesar Milan!

Sheepies in the snow

Taking home leftovers from work parties can be bad for you, Ancient Egyptians find.

Stemming blood flow to the arm protects heart during attack. Not sure if I'd dare do this as part of my first aiding…

Naughty tigie behaviour. Remind anyone else of The Life of Pi?

'Most unfortunate names' revealed. How I adore puns.

Personally, I've come across the name Pritti Mistry – which is quite sweet, actually – and know of a Jane Eyre in my family history. Of late, I have persuaded a Ms Robson of my acquaintance to call her first son Jerome. (Luckily, I'm sure she'll forget long before she should have this opportunity.)

And as a Baskerville, don't think I have considered adopting a Howard or Howell. Not that a wolfhound would understand the intricacies of wordplay, so it wouldn't be cruel.

Is Switzerland a hotbed of "Zionism and foreign aggression", then?

Children 'over-exposed to sexual imagery'. I saw Dr. Papadopoulos interviewed on breakfast news this morning. Amazingly, it was a good interview (though dumbed-down, as usual). I can't see that clip online; here's another video report on early exposure to sexualised imagery.

Milli-grandiloquent
Herm 'Hellmutt' Baskerville,
Having a crack at a
new form of verse,

Blames double dactyls for
brashly inciting a
sesquipedalian
poet to worse.

Interesting form. Can't say it's one I'd normally have tried… although it looks like it'd be great for comic nonsense poetry, my favourite genre.

Yummy article about the conlang (constructed language) in the Avatar film.

An informative diagram. Go look.

SO WHO ARE THE REAL ALIENS HERE, EH???

(*title puns)

Newly-elected British National Party MEP Nick Griffin inflamed racial sensibilities once again this afternoon when he insisted that protesters not throw eggs at him unless they had first separated the yellows from the whites.

People in the audience vocally disapproved of this, and as a result Griffin was hit by a boo meringue.

edit: OK, this is nuts. If this joke ends up on t' telly – 8 out of 10 Cats, recording Thursday evening for broadcast Friday night – it's all down to one of my colleagues retweeting it on Twitter. It will be stolen rather than credited to me, but I can confirm that I originated the joke over email and that I am awesome, and that you should all buy my book (chapter 1 free to read on the web). ;)

I've finally given in and started tweeting. @suitov

edit2: Didn't make it into the show, apparently. Hee. Clearly I'll have to start broadcasting witticisms to the world more often.

It's been rumoured/leaked/announced/fervently fan-wished that the title of the forthcoming Doctor Who Special, The Waters of Mars, is an anagram. Over-bombastic director Russell T Davies is known to like wordplay ("Torchwood", for example, is an anagram of "Doctor Who").

So, having spent a few minutes with Notepad I can reveal the true title of the episode:

The Forest Aswarm

Disclaimer: This is not the true title, or not according to fandom. It's just the option I liked most. (Honourable mention to "Matt? He's far worse".)

I am most peeved that there's no D, which is needed to make most good words, eg Doctor, TARDIS, Dalek, retarded.

This post marks the official beginning of the campaign to have "naglfar" declared the correct collective noun for thumbnail images.

Each web image gallery now comprises one naglfar, or several naglfars, of thumbnails.

So mutt it be.

What did the guy say who couldn't decide between pantheism and suitheism?

"Is it just me or is everything God?"

I'll probably start privlocking these update posts, don't worry. I know diets are terribly boring for those who aren't involved.

But I was either 86.4 or .6 this morning, can't remember now, and thinnnnngs can only get better.

I think the reason I do well with the shakes is that not eating at all is, to put it bluntly, a rock hard thing to do… whereas eating salads is the realm of pansies, girls and metrosexuals, none of which I am, at least full-time.

(Actually I like salad—or salad components eaten separately, depending on the component—but the canteen at work changed hands and the food there is rubbish now.)

Now, fun with anamagrams.

Herm Baskerville:
"Leash Verb Milker"
"A Berserk Hell Vim"
"Barks Eviller Hem".

Herm Diogenes Baskerville:
"Barking Redeems Evil Holes"
"A Berserk Helldog, Semi-Vein"
"Barking Heeds Eviler Moles"
"Love Lies, King H B Redeems. Ar!"
"Hell Rover Debases Mike. Gin!"
"A Helldog Ember Rives Skeins"/"A Helldog Ember: Knives Rise"
"Hell Rover Singed Iambs. Eek!".

My favourite: "Hell Rover Bandies Geekisms".

(Weft suggests "Tutor is Achieve" or "I Teach Vitreous" for Ice. Ice suggests "T' Few" in a Lancashire accent for Weft. Weft suggests "alien stab" for Basaltine. Basaltine suggests "Fake it twisty" for Weft. Weft is now not speaking to Basaltine.)