While reading through Cracked's thoroughly-researched debunkment (not sure if that's a word, but let's keep going here) of various national stereotypes (the Poles aren't actually stupid, the Brits don't actually have bad teeth, the French aren't actually cheese-eating surrender monkeys, and Japanese men don't actually have... erm... you'll have to read the article), I came across a link to a list of countries ranked by alcohol consumption.
(Boy, that's a lot of brackets.)
So it turns out (according to the World Health Organisation, at any rate) that the dry countries like Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iran don't touch the devil's water. (At least, that's what they're telling their parents.) But who's on top of the list? Which nation is the beer-swillingest, wine-tastingest, ale-swiggingest nation of all?
You say Ireland, with its whiskey and its Guiness. The stats say "No, sir."
You say Germany, with its beerfest. Again, you're wrong.
You say Czech Republic, UK, France, Italy, with their pilsens, pubs and wine farms? Again, you are sadly mistaken.
So who, with an annual average of 15.6 litres of booze consumed per capita in 2003, is the drunkest nation on Earth?
You may be surprised.
Power : Weight
It's one of the golden rules of athletic performance: instead of just boosting your power, try reducing your weight at the same time. (It's why you never see any overweight marathon winners.) Ford have figured this out, after their Shelby GT500 pushed out plenty of power (540 horses, to be precise) from its supercharged 5.4-litre V8.
So that's the power side of the power-to-weight ratio sorted out. Now, to boost performance even further, they're leaving the power side alone and taking care of the weight side of things. They've replaced that previous engine with an aluminium version, reducing the car's overall weight by a hefty 54kg... making the car go even faster than before.
"It might not be as sexy as adding more horsepower or bigger brakes," reckons Shelby American founder Carroll Shelby, "but shaving pounds off of a car is the single smartest move you can make."
So that's the power side of the power-to-weight ratio sorted out. Now, to boost performance even further, they're leaving the power side alone and taking care of the weight side of things. They've replaced that previous engine with an aluminium version, reducing the car's overall weight by a hefty 54kg... making the car go even faster than before.
"It might not be as sexy as adding more horsepower or bigger brakes," reckons Shelby American founder Carroll Shelby, "but shaving pounds off of a car is the single smartest move you can make."
Euro
Paul Krugman has a go at explaining the fine mess Europe (especially Spain and Greece) has gotten itself into. You've got to love how the problem is the single currency, but the solution cannot involve abandoning the single currency.
McQueen
There's a gorgeous retrospective of the work of late fashion designer Alexander McQueen up at New York magazine.
As the magazine says, his stuff wasn't always wearable, but it was always beautiful.
Up In Smoke
The good things about the ban on cigarette advertising are obvious and numerous and there's no point repeating them here. But there's one bad thing about it: the culture is missing out on great vintage advertisements like this:
And this:
And, of course, this:
Who thought the day would come that I'd actually lament the lack of cancer-stick commercials?
And this:
And, of course, this:
Who thought the day would come that I'd actually lament the lack of cancer-stick commercials?
Sweet FA
Football365 have some ideas on how to revive the FA Cup. Point 5 makes the most sense to me. Point 6 is only strengthened by last year's pre-game hymn...
Dear Harry
Dear Harry Turtledove
I know that as one of the best – nah, make that THE best – writers of alternative history fiction, you're a very busy man. That online novel you're writing about JFK surviving the Dealey Plaza attack, only to face a reputation-destroying impeachment process (yet another of your I-wish-I'd-thought-of-that-myself brilliant ideas), is probably filling most of your free hours right now.
I realise, too, that anybody else in your position would have retired by now, happy in the knowledge that you've reimagined and rewritten history like no-one else ever could. Ruled Britannia, where the Armada invades England and Shakespeare writes a resistance play? Pure genius! Your Timeline-191 series, where the South wins the Civil war? World class, sir! And your series where aliens invade Earth in the middle of World War II? You knew you'd outdone even yourself there, didn't you?
But, see, I have one more favour to ask. Just a small one. You could even do it as a stand-alone novel (like The Guns Of The South, where you had time-travelling AWB militants supplying the Civil War South with AK-47s). No big deal.
All I'm asking is that you write a novel about Operation Unthinkable. That's the one where Churchill planned to lead a US/British invasion of the Soviet Union (using re-armed German troops) at the end of World War II.
Now THAT would make a great alternative history novel!
Regards,
ItWasThisOrTwitter
I know that as one of the best – nah, make that THE best – writers of alternative history fiction, you're a very busy man. That online novel you're writing about JFK surviving the Dealey Plaza attack, only to face a reputation-destroying impeachment process (yet another of your I-wish-I'd-thought-of-that-myself brilliant ideas), is probably filling most of your free hours right now.
I realise, too, that anybody else in your position would have retired by now, happy in the knowledge that you've reimagined and rewritten history like no-one else ever could. Ruled Britannia, where the Armada invades England and Shakespeare writes a resistance play? Pure genius! Your Timeline-191 series, where the South wins the Civil war? World class, sir! And your series where aliens invade Earth in the middle of World War II? You knew you'd outdone even yourself there, didn't you?
But, see, I have one more favour to ask. Just a small one. You could even do it as a stand-alone novel (like The Guns Of The South, where you had time-travelling AWB militants supplying the Civil War South with AK-47s). No big deal.
All I'm asking is that you write a novel about Operation Unthinkable. That's the one where Churchill planned to lead a US/British invasion of the Soviet Union (using re-armed German troops) at the end of World War II.
Now THAT would make a great alternative history novel!
Regards,
ItWasThisOrTwitter
Tarantino
How cool is this? A designer-type person named Ibraheem Youssef has put together a series of tribute posters to Quentin Tarantino movies.
You gotta love the Reservoir Dogs one...
Delta Wing
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's the concept model Delta Wing, which Indy racing bigwigs are considering as their new racing car. It's believed to be capable of top speeds of 235mph (that's, like, almost 380km/h, which is more than three times the legal limit on South African roads), and they reckon it'll cut fuel consumption in half.
Can't wait to see the prototype on the track.
A Little Less Conversation
You'll never guess what happens in this video:
Unless, of course, you guessed that people would talk in Swedish, that the lights in the concert hall would go out, that Dolf Lundgren would appear on stage carrying a flaming torch, that he'd then bust out into a rendition of "A Little Less Conversation", and that he'd then do kung-fu moves all over the place.
Unless, of course, you guessed that people would talk in Swedish, that the lights in the concert hall would go out, that Dolf Lundgren would appear on stage carrying a flaming torch, that he'd then bust out into a rendition of "A Little Less Conversation", and that he'd then do kung-fu moves all over the place.
Rom Com
The Daily Beast keep the Valentine's fire burning with rom-com auteur Nora Ephron's list of her Top 11 Romantic Comedies. This scene from Sense And Sensibility (which is, it must be said, much more rom than com) always gets me.
And They Say Romance Is Dead...
Happy Valentine's Day, from All Songs Considered (who're playing the all-time greatest break-up songs), and from xkcd (who's offering us this slice of romance):
Dad
Scary stat from Fact-a-Day: There are 15.4 million children (aged 0 to 17) whose fathers are currently alive. 54% of them say their father is not part of their household.
I'm playing my National Anthem on Permanent Repeat today.
I'm playing my National Anthem on Permanent Repeat today.
The Road
Now here's how you start a season: for the first episode of Season 14, Top Gear set out – in an Aston Martin DBS Volante, a Ferrari California and a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder, of course – to find the world's greatest driving road. They found it in Romania, in the Carpathian Mountains, on the outskirts of Transylvania. Obviously.
The Transfăgărăşan was built in the early 1970s by order of Nicolae Ceauşescu, just in case the Soviet Union ever thought of invading Mother Romania. It took six million kilograms of dynamite to build the road's northern face... because the 1970s were a crazy time.
Here's the Top Gear clip. Turns out the 2010s are a crazy time too.
The Transfăgărăşan was built in the early 1970s by order of Nicolae Ceauşescu, just in case the Soviet Union ever thought of invading Mother Romania. It took six million kilograms of dynamite to build the road's northern face... because the 1970s were a crazy time.
Here's the Top Gear clip. Turns out the 2010s are a crazy time too.
Tick Tock
At last! A time-waster that tells time! HumanClock.com uses pictures (which truly have to be seen to be believed!) to help you keep track of the time you' should be spending on more productive pursuits.
I'm Quoted, Therefore I Am?
Permit me a cruel chuckle. French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy (and you have to know that anybody who cites "philosopher" as their day job isn't going to be the most grounded of individuals) has been caught out quoting the works of famous modern thinker Jean-Baptiste Botul... who's famous for being a fictional character.
Man
This ad ran during the SuperBowl. I'm not sure I like what it says about the state of modern man. Neither am I sure I can keep a straight face when the faux James Bond music kicks in.
Little Old Lady Got Mutilated Late Last Night
The Daily Beast has a gallery up of Hollywood's Sexiest Werewolves. For you, it might serve as an excuse to reconsider Taylor Lautner's hirsute beefiness. For me, it's an excuse to post this old clip of Warren Zevon playing "Werewolves Of London".
Tougher
The Big Picture is back with more mud-splutteringly good images from this year's Tough Guy Challenge.
This Superman shot is going to be a comic book cover one day.
His Way
Mesdames et messieurs, I present for your musical appreciation the French chanson "Comme D'Habitude" by tracksuited crooner Claude François.
And before you ask, oui, that's the song Frank Sinatra stole and turned into "My Way". According to the wise folks at Slate's Culture Gabfest, the song has gained a second life as a gay anthem in France. The reason isn't Claude's amazing turtleneck zipper top; it's because of the lyrics. The song's about a relationship that's slowly petering out, and the lyrics are unclear about the genders of the people involved in the relationship. And somewhere along the line, the song took two paths: one led to the rainbow flag, the other led to Mr Sinatra's swaggering swagger.
And before you ask, oui, that's the song Frank Sinatra stole and turned into "My Way". According to the wise folks at Slate's Culture Gabfest, the song has gained a second life as a gay anthem in France. The reason isn't Claude's amazing turtleneck zipper top; it's because of the lyrics. The song's about a relationship that's slowly petering out, and the lyrics are unclear about the genders of the people involved in the relationship. And somewhere along the line, the song took two paths: one led to the rainbow flag, the other led to Mr Sinatra's swaggering swagger.
Fields
Dutch photographer Hans van der Meer has a great book (with words by the great soccer wordsmith Simon Kuper) called European Fields. There's a website, too – with plenty of pictures.
The shots were taken during lower-league/Sunday league soccer matches, far from the stadiums and floodlights of the Premiership, Bundesliga or Champions League. Seeing these blokes running around in the cold and mud, on rinky-dink fields with nobody watching, you have to admire their efforts.
No wonder it's called the Beautiful Game.
What's Your Flavour?
The latest Pictory gallery is up: this one's called Local Flavor, and it's a collection of foodie shots.
I fancy some of that Santorini calamari.
Comics & Economics
You know the whole debate about corporate personhood? No? Okay, then... maybe this contribution will get you thinking about it then.
Mush!
The Big Picture has a typically sublime gallery up, titled simply Dogs And Sleds.
Somewhere in heaven, Balto is wagging his tail in approval.
Free Fallin'
You never know when you're going to need this: Popular Mechanics' guide to How to Fall 35 000 Feet – And Survive. The odds on you dropping out the sky and landing safely are very long indeed... but there's evidence enough to suggest that you could, in fact, live to tell the tale.
Fly By Night
This is totally mesmerising. It's a simulation of global air traffic over the course of a 24-hour period.
Look at all the pretty lights!
Look at all the pretty lights!
Drivers Wanted
It's a beautiful, poignant work of art. And it's a car commercial. Ultimately, though, this VW Cabrio ad is proof that advertising can actually be beautiful.
Here's How You Do It
Smart: publishing Paste magazine.
Smarter: publishing Paste magazine in both print and online editions, thereby allowing cheapskates (or – and here's an audience every publisher forgets – people who live outside of the magazine's distribution area) to read the entire magazine, consuming both the edit and the ads, for free.
Sure, they've lost the $5.95 I would've spent (if, of course, my local newsstand stocked the mag) buying the product. But they've saved whatever they would've spent printing the mag, and they've just added one more person to their circulation. Like I say: smart.
Flash! Ah-hah!
It sounds like the plotline of a superhero mystery. Actually it's the premise of a fascinating Slate piece: Is Apple killing Flash?
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