90 for 90

prince philip is soon turning 90, and in grand british tradition, a list of 90 of his gaffes, faux-pas and general rudeness has of course been compiled. i do not think this is exhaustive.

medicine and humanity and possibility

HIV and AIDS are diseases that no-one thought possible to cure. so when a doctor in a hospital came up with a solution, tried it, and it worked, he was scoffed at. "who was this guy and who did he think he was?!" that man was gero hüttner and his patient was timothy brown, aka The Man Who Had HIV, and Now Does Not.

urdu we do

Gawker has a 10-minute video on the world's last remaining hand-written newspaper. bless them, the scribes leave a blank space in case of "breaking news" by the time they finish.

pylon eyesore?

the UK is running a competition to find new designs for electricity pylons. can boring be beautiful?

how to sell ad space

if you're dutch, it involves getting naked.
but not in the way you think...
[scroll right]

bedtime storybook

but this one is NOT for reading aloud to your children. it's for reading in your head as they don't go the f~#k to sleep.

iceland wants to be your friend

and what do friends do when they come from different cultures and countries? they teach each other words! ok, usually of the rude variety - i can swear in hungarian, german and fijian - but also some usefulness creeps in along the way. and remember, each icelandic word "has been hand-made for you by actual humans".

Every Single Word in Icelandic - as explained to you by your friend, Iceland.

letters of note

there is a sad echo you may have heard, whispering how (handwritten) letters are dying out. never fear, the internet is here! over on 'letters of note, you will find 'correspondence worthy of a wider audience', such as a letter Iggy Pop wrote to a fan, or a memo on the casting of Star Trek:TNG.

mind the gap

commuting every day to work on public transport can become tiresome and dull. you don't get a seat. the person next to you apparently hasn't showered in maybe six days. you go three stops before realising you left something important at home. which is why when people get creative and cheeky, tweaking little details you notice because you've got nowhere else to look, it makes your day.

example one: Stickers on the Central Line

the reluctant role model

cher, gay-icon supreme, had a daughter and she named her chastity. one day, chastity realized something just wasn't right. now she is a he named chaz, subject of a documentary about the demanding process. and no...it wasn't because his mom was cher.

flowchartness of helpful

it is a difficult question to answer sometimes, so now there is a very useful flow-chart to help you resolve the issue.

SKI ballet