Meme

Compare and contrast:

Gruts (13-Oct-2004): Soundbite Science

One of my pet gripes is something I call soundbite science: so-called scientific studies whose sole purpose is to generate a bit of cheap publicity for someone…

BBC: Critics attack new science GCSE

The new GCSE science curriculum has been branded "sound bite science" which takes a back-to-front approach.

I could probably sue.

Pope to scrap limbo?

Compare and contrast:

BBC: Vatican to review state of limbo

…The Catholic Church is concerned about the grief suffered by the parents of stillborn babies, which could be compounded if they believed the souls of their children were to be excluded from heaven.

Times: Pope tries to win hearts and minds by saving souls of unbaptised babies

…For the Church, looking to spread the faith in countries with a high infant mortality rate, now is a good time to make it absolutely clear that stillborn babies of Christian mothers go direct to Heaven, too.

On a personal note, I think the Pope will be making a huge mistake is he scraps the concept of limbo simply because it's a ridiculous idea with no basis in reality. It would set a very dangerous precedent.

Confessional

Compare and contrast (my emphasis added):

BBC: Barrymore admits suicide thoughts

Entertainer Michael Barrymore has admitted he considered ending his life after the death of a man in his swimming pool in 2001.

… Barrymore, who has published a new book called Awight Now, Setting The Record Straight, said he hoped audiences would accept him again so that he could stage a comeback.

Guardian: Blunkett: how I cracked under the strain of scandal

David Blunkett today reveals the full extent of his emotional turmoil at the time of his resignation as home secretary, admitting that he "cracked" and that "at one point I really did think I was going mad".

… He is now re-entering the political arena with a controversial memoir based on the taped diaries he recorded at the end of each week.

Anyone might think that writing an autobiography causes one to start admitting to sure-fire, headline-grabbing angst.

More Blunkett madness:

Keeping tags on the BBC

The BBC missed a great opportunity to educate the general public today:

BBC: Shoelace tag valued above gold

A simple tag to prevent shoelaces from fraying was deemed to be worth more than gold by the indigenous Cubans who traded with Christopher Columbus…

These tags were used from the 15th Century onwards in Europe, to prevent the ends of laces fraying, and to ease threading in the points for fastening clothes.

The native Taino people of Cuba often threaded the tags into necklaces.

The word's not tag; it's aglet.

Lean, Bean love machine

(Yeah, right!)

Women may have a reputation of demanding lengthy foreplay, but they become sexually aroused as quickly as men, according to a new study that used thermal imaging to measure increased blood flow to genital regions…

Subjects were naked from the waist down and positioned themselves such that their genital area was exposed and readable by the thermal imaging device. The participants next watched [a video of the Canadian countryside], or one featuring pornography, horror or comedic clips from the Best Bits of Mr Bean.

Mr Bean? Who are these pervs?

See also:

Hoary old chestnut

Compare and contrast:

Mary Midgely (Guardian, 30-Sep-2006): During the last century Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot found no difficulty in committing the three most monstrous crimes of all time, not only without the help of religion but in open opposition to it.

Adolf Hitler (Mein Kampf, 1925): Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.

With enemies like that, who needs friends?

(He was a vegetarian too, you know. And a fervent anti-smoker. Doesn't necessarily make him a bad person, though.)

Further reading: Loads more of Hitler's religious pronouncements here and here.

Symbolic feature

(with the emphasis on the bolic.)

Hebden Bridge Times: Replica Fustian Cutting Knife

A giant replica of a fustian cutting knife is a step closer to being built in Hebden Bridge after plans were approved by the Town Council.

Hebden Royd councillors recommended approval of proposals for a "central paving feature" in St George's Square, which would be part of the town's traffic review and pedestrianisation scheme…

Its polished stainless steel blunt tip would point directly north towards Nutclough Mill, former home of Hebden Bridge Fustian Manufacturing Society Ltd.

The feature will replace 12 parking spaces in the parking-space-starved Pennine tourism hot-spot.

See also: Wikipedia: Fustian (in case you were wondering).