Vote Early! Vote Again Two Weeks Later!!

The voting forms listing Graham Heathcote's selections for Altrincham's goal of the season were handed out at the turnstiles two weeks ago. They've now decided to reprint them after Michael Welch's free-kick on Saturday against Crawley. Why?

I'll tell you why. It's has been measured at 70 yards 6inches. (I'll post a video of it if they make it available).

* And here it is.

I Can Hardly Wait!!

Chumbawamba have already recorded, pressed and packaged their Thatcher's death commemoration EP, which they plan to mail out to everyone who orders it in advance – mailed out on the day the Milk Snatcher waves a less-than-fond farewell.

As they say, it may happen next month, it may happen in five years, but £5 for peace of mind isn't a huge amount to ask, and you can rest easy in the knowledge that you’ve put a down-payment on a small and perfectly-formed segment of the celebrations.

From the Ridiculous to the Sublime

Topo Gigio!!!!

RTE apologises to Cowen

The craven apology. Disrespect to the office of Taoiseach?

Brain Cowen is the king of Thailand. All hail.

Brian Cowen Nude

The Scary Toesies Theatre and Twanky Snax!!

We've been privileged enough to see the Scary Toesies Theatre in action in Chicago, but our words (scroll down) couldn't do them justice. Now you can see yourselves why they're the world's leading day-release puppet show.

It's Friday. Let's Boogie!

Delta 5 - Anticipation

How Sad

to see that the porn aesthetic is having such an influence on the young.

Not a pube to be seen anywhere.

But Jesus Will Suck You Off for a Fiver

God doesn't do "happy endings," apparently.

Oh, Icarus!

Cowering Shits

The Sunday Tribune carried a story about a guerrilla prankster who snuck into the National Gallery and added two naked caricatures of Taoiseach Brian Cowen to the gallery's collection. They remained in situ for only an hour or so, until staff realized what had happened.

I searched in vain for this story across the Internet all Sunday night so that I could share the mirth with my friends abroad. It was nowhere to be found. I thought there was something fishy going on.

On Tuesday night, RTE News carried the story. Today, the station issued an apology for any offence caused to Cowen or his family or "for any disrespect shown to the office of Taoiseach by our broadcast."

What a fucking disgrace.

And what's more, given some of the recent incumbents, it seems to me that the best way to demean the post of Taoiseach is to occupy it.


John Braine has invited the Irish public to do their worst. Join in if you like.

But whatever you do, laugh. Authority hates ridicule.

Silver? Where?

Did you ever play in a footy match where the goalie couldn't get his goalkicks out of the area because the wind was too strong? Well that's not far from the conditions experienced during Tuesday's Cheshire Senior Cup Final at Wincham Park.

My thinking has always been, if you win the toss then play with the wind in the first half because it may not be as strong in the second. However, given that Alty were 2-0 at half-time playing into the wind and struggled to play fluidly in the second half, the evidence suggests that it depends what kind of footie your players are comfortable with.

Either way, "We've got our trophy back! We've got our trophy back!"

Nothing Sacred (1937)

Oh laughing girl upon the brink of Death
Oh singing heart before the door of Doom

"Two months from now they won't know who Hazel Flagg was. They'll find another elephant."

Jon Langford Interview at the Hideout 2

The Interview Show with Mark Bazer: Jon Langford (Part 2) from Mark Bazer on Vimeo.

Jon Langford Interview at the Hideout 1

The Interview Show with Mark Bazer: Jon Langford (Part 1) from Mark Bazer on Vimeo.

Reggie Perrin - Forces of anarchy

Comedy Ireland

A heads-up about our latest blog roll addition, Comedy Ireland, which is running posts from our "delightful adjunct," Khmer Rouge Strippergram. The site is newly up but plans to provide a comprehensive directory of sites and standup comics in Ireland.

Clearly folk of dubious taste. Watch that space.

It's Friday. This Is Not A Request Show. Let's Boogie!

The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band - Mama's Fried Potatoes

Driving the Empire

An odd place for C&S to be lurking, I know, but the March issue of Motor Trend carries this article by Frank Markus that briefly speculates about the problems the U.S. motor industry will face in building electric motors.

Obtaining the materials to make electric motors, for example, may again prove problematic as it did in the 1970s, when cobalt was the rare-earth metal of choice for making strong-field permanent magnet rotors. Then as now, most of the world's cobalt came from Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). Political unrest there disrupted cobalt production and, consequently, electric-motor manufacture. This scare prompted GM and Japan's Sumitomo Corporation to develop neodymium as a replacement for cobalt. Today neodymium is used in the permanent-magnet traction motors propelling most hybrid and electric vehicles. Guess where 95 percent of it comes from? China. Think they'll share their hoard equitably with the rest of us as demand ramps up? Not likely. In fact, they're already talking about curtailing exports. Advanced AC-induction motors requiring no rare-earth metals, like the Chorus Meshcon covered in January, may be an effective mallet for whacking the Chinese neodymium mole.

And what about those ballyhooed lithium-ion batteries? Sad to say, the lithium-carbonate or lithium-chloride salts needed to make them don't carpet the Great Plains or Rocky Mountains either. The majority of the known reserves are found in high-altitude deserts in the Andes, with the lion's share in Bolivia, whose far-leftist government is proving increasingly inhospitable to international mining companies. China has access to reserves near Tibet, but electrifying the world's vehicle fleet with lithium-ion batteries will cause the rest of us to stage a minerals rush on South America.

Markus sees two alternative technologies that could be used instead: A zinc-air fuel cell and a vanadium-boron-air fuel cell.

. . . last summer, researchers at U-Mass Boston announced that their vanadium-boron-air fuel cell (VB2-air) boasted double the practical energy density of gasoline! Eureka! They've discovered the holy grail of electric-vehicle range! Not only that, but vanadium is found in magnetite, which is abundant in the U.S., Mexico, and several countries in Europe; and the two biggest producers of boron are Turkey and the U.S.

There's still a way to go with the technology, but failure to develop it could lead to some interesting times, as the Chinese say.

I See a Darkness

Amidst all the doom and gloom, a true glimpse of horror.