Rosslyn Chapel

Wednesday, 13 August 2008, 16:16

A new article on Rosslyn Chapel, aka "that place where they found [spoiler] in The da Vinci Code", can be found from the BBC Christianity website.

Profusely illustrated, and the images were all free (either from Creative Commons sources or provided by the article's author). My favourite kind of image.

This is why I was reading TdVC in work. The author went through my list of all the specific claims Dan Brown makes about Rosslyn in the book and debunked them mercilessly.

It's funny. Most of the things I remembered Dan Brown claiming, he doesn't really. Throughout the book there's a lot of airy pronouncement along the lines of "Every symbologist knew that [artistic work Y] was a wealth of goddess symbols", which sounds exciting without any of that boring specifics, substantiation or giving of examples. Well, it is trying to be an adventure story rather than an essay.

Another good adventure-story-cum-thesis is—ah, some of you thought I was about to say Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Don't jump ahead! In fact, what I'm thinking of is The Road to Mars by Eric Idle. A story with robots, and also a fascinating slice of comedic theory.

And then there are the Science of Discworld books, which are a little strange... good popular science mixed with a bit of Discworld. The science parts are, if anything, better and more entertainingly written.

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Miracle Berry

Wednesday, 13 August 2008, 14:57

Look what ThinkGeek has just started selling.

Sound familiar?

Sound like something certain large sweetening interests who shall remain nameless are believed to have leaned on the US FDA to kill in 1974?

Also, ThinkGeek's page has a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory joke, which makes my day.

Filed as: food | 0 pawprints »

'M on work experience, I'm Rubee...

Wednesday, 13 August 2008, 12:30

OMFD CLOUDED LEOPARD KITTENS

Anyone living in Kent, I hate you so much right now. ;)


This! This is either the weirdest and more expensive prank ever, or... or... something. Whatever it is, it's brilliant.


Meet the new Lara Croft. Why do you admire Lara? "She's confident, she's independent"...ly wealthy. Ahem. You've got to admire this girl's dedication, though, when you hear about all the research she's doing.

Ditto here, sort of... MEP helps to get 20 cows pregnant

I sort of wish I could do this. Not with farming, perhaps, because I have insurmountable issues with animals raised for food, but with a lot of industries. It'd be fun! I want to do work experience in a vet's surgery again. That was cool, because I'm fine with blood, but not so good at helping to move large anaesthatised dogs. I saw lots of spayings and one neutering. (Which took about 30 seconds, no lie; it was slice, whip-snip, whip-snip, stitch. So much easier than a spay. It could be that that's one of the reasons I'd probably have a male dog by choice. I'm not sure I'd like to send a young lady to have a stitch put through her cervix.)


Army horsie.


Happy (and very cute) birdie. Follow the related link if you like OWLS.


Man 'too slow' for new guide dog. Sounds unfair, yes, but remember that he has to be able to look after the dog.


Olympic pandas draw crowds. This is unfair. They've been flown in to be gawped at by a bunch of sports fans.


More postmen attacked by dogs. I... I'm torner than a postman's trouser leg on this issue. On the one hand, bad dogs shouldn't bite people. On the other hand, postmen are asking for it by coming onto people's turf and rattling their letterboxes, grrrr!

Just kidding, you realise. Posties are all right.


This, ugh. [Nazi warning] I can just about charitably think of it as a joke in bad taste, but...


Charlieboy sticks his oar in on GM again. He just doesn't understand why we all can't just dine on organic salmon.


Roman temple found under church

Meanwhile, new celebrity graffiti found on pub wall.


Asylum seekers on hunger strike. Who'd want to be locked up and sent back to Iraq?


[Cruelty to animals RAGE warning] Nasty fate befalls kidnapped rabbit


Grandmother warns off armed thief. If you're ever faced with an armed robber, don't attempt to emulate this, please.


Beach lifeguards help shark count


Freemasons charged with hogging too much power!


Clumsy and poorly co-ordinated children could be at higher risk of obesity in later life, a study says.

...screw you. But the link with sport is obvious and plausible. I loathed PE with a vengeance simply because it was so humiliating to be so bad at it.


Traditional UK names 'dying out'. I apologise to my proud country for not choosing Gertrude or Herbert or Norah or Walter. (I like the name Walter. I may name something Walter. And Irene, although I prefer the French pronunciation Irène. (ih-wrenn))

Jack and Thomas are still going strong, and although Olive is dying out, there are plenty of Olivias. Also a lot of Graces and Rubies. *facepaw* chavs...


Shops get fruit and veg sale help


If you got through all that, or skimmed it, here's a quiz about wacky inventions. Wonderful stuff.

Filed as: animals, clouded leopards, dogs, gaming, praxia | 0 pawprints »