Category Archives: General
The Man who fell to Earth
Back in 1996 there was a film released starring David Bowie called “The Man who fell to Earth”. Bowie played the part of Thomas Jerome Newton who was a humanoid alien who came to Earth to get water for his dying planet. He starts a high technology company to get the billions of dollars he needs to build a return spacecraft, and meets Mary-Lou, a girl who falls in love with him [obviously!]. He does not count on the greed and ruthlessness of business here on Earth, however. But that was just a film … it wasn’t real … but could it be?
Fast forward 16 years and this weekend we saw Austrian Skydiver Felix Baumgartner become the first man to literally fall to earth by jumping out of a balloon 128,100ft (24 miles; 39km) above New Mexico. This somewhat lunatic activity making him the first skydiver to go faster than the speed of sound, reaching a maximum velocity of 833.9mph and also smashing the record for the highest ever freefall.
In addition, another record has reportedly been broken. Unofficial figures show that the live stream of Baumgartner’s jump received over 7.1 million views surpassing the 500,000 YouTube live stream views record for the London Summer Olympics.
But why would he want to do this? At Sunday’s jump altitude, the air pressure is less than 2% of what it is at sea level, and it is impossible to breathe without an oxygen supply. Others who have tried to break the records have lost their lives in the process.
Well the researchers on the Red Bull Stratos project say it has already provided invaluable data for the development of high-performance, high-altitude parachute systems, and that the lessons learned will inform the development of new ideas for emergency evacuation from vehicles, such as spacecraft, passing through the stratosphere and indeed NASA and its spacecraft manufacturers have asked to be kept informed.
He says he is motivated in part by scientific endeavour, the desire to see what the human body can achieve. But Baumgartner is also spurred on by the desire to see what no-one else has seen, to be alone at the highest reaches of the skies.
He has built up to this latest stunt by undertaking various other dangerous activities such as in 1999 when he set the world record for the highest parachute jump from a building when he jumped from the Petronas Towers in a Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The twin skyscrapers were the tallest buildings in the world at the time, only overtaken by the Taipei 101 in 2004. Naturally, in 2007, he also jumped off the Taipei 101. He then went to the opposite end of the scale, completing the world’s lowest ever base jump from the 30m-high arm of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. He followed this in 2003 by becoming the first person to literally fly across the English Channel. Using a pair of specially made carbon fibre wings, Baumgartner leapt from a plane above Dover, landing 22 miles (35km) away in Cap Blanc-Nez near Calais just 14 minutes later.
I can’t help but worry about what he might do next, and will it be the last thing he ever does. It would appear that his need for danger is addictive and each time he does something it is bigger and more dangerous than the last. I just hope that this doesn’t end up as life imitating art. After all, throughout the film of “The Man who fell to Earth” there are brief sequences of Newton’s wife and children back on his home planet, slowly dying, and by the end of the film they are dead and Newton is stuck on Earth, broken, alcoholic, and alone.
This time Red Bull “gave him wings”. I just hope they are still there to help him fly the next time, whatever or whenever that might be!
A sticky situation
I have great admiration for you if you are one of the millions of Londoners who stoically battles through the Tube’s rush hour commute. I lasted precisely 12 months before I decided that life was too short and got a job closer to home. Anyone who does use this mode of transport regularly will probably agree that it is uncomfortable, tedious and unreliable.
On your journeys you will no doubt have passed dozens of Transport for London signs and notices. But how much attention do you actually pay to them? Has their familiarity as part of everyday visual clutter led to them becoming almost invisible, losing all meaning beyond shape and colour?
Take the following examples:
It would seem that there is a growing trend where people strategically place stickers over London Transport’s own messages. They use the same fonts and designs as London Underground’s famous branding, but they subvert the intended message making often amusing but sometimes serious points about anything from overcrowding to Tube etiquette.
London Transport are not amused at this latest craze and liken it to graffiti which they say is “unwanted vandalism that causes criminal damage” and “will not be tolerated”.
I disagree. Graffiti is much harder to remove, whereas these stickers can probably be taken off with just a bowl of hot soapy water? Besides, where is their sense of humour? Surely anything that can bring a smile to the face of a commuter can only be a good thing?
Another milestone reached!
I would like to thank each and every one of you for your support and for stopping by my site – even it it was only once. I had no idea when I started writing this blog that it would become so addictive and the majority of feedback that I’ve received has been extremely positive. I now have some terrific, loyal followers who I intend to continue to entertain with my light-hearted look at what’s happening in the world.
The Why Factor?
And so we find ourselves at that time of year when our weekend TV entertainment is taken over once again by reality shows!
Now I must admit that I am a bit of a fan of Strictly Come Dancing [if I can ignore the bits where the geriatric Bruce Forsyth mumbles his way painfully through the bad script on his autocue while Tess Daly smiles through gritted teeth every time he touches her, or the fact that the new judge, Darcey Bussell, is possibly the most irritating woman in the history of television!]. What I like most about this show is the opportunity to see the professional dancers show us that Latin and Ballroom dancing is still an art form to be enjoyed.
On the other side we are then subjected to the X Factor which, for me, has surely passed its sell-by date? Last night saw the return of the live shows in the studio and once again I was underwhelmed by the so-called talent up on stage. I’m not sure precisely where any of these people come from but I am pretty confident that there are much better performers in the local pubs and clubs than the sorry few that make it to this stage of the competition. Perhaps it sounds different to the people in the studio but to us at home it can be rather embarrassingly awful to sit through.
I also wonder what the contestants themselves think will happen after their 15 minutes of fame? Previous winners have all but disappeared from the face of this earth with some maybe achieving a few column inches in various tabloid newspapers for wearing something awful or falling out of a nightclub – a lasting career in the music business? I seriously doubt it! We listen to Louis, Tulisa, Nicole and Gary banging on about finding someone “current” and “exciting” and we are then subjected to distinctly average covers of songs by the likes of Queen, Spandau Ballet and John Lennon? What’s that all about?
There is a glimmer of hope this evening however. Season 2 of Homeland starts on Channel4 at 9.00pm. If it is as gripping as Season 1 then we’re in for a treat!
New Look
After almost 18 months of the same style, I’ve decided to try out a new, more modern format to the blog. I hope you like it – please let me know! Thanks a million.
Hula Hoop or just plain loopy?
It wouldn’t be Paris Fashion Week without something outlandish to hit the headlines. This year is no exception with the introduction of Karl Lagerfeld’s giant hula hoop Chanel handbag which is apparently designed to be used as a beach bag!
Surely this is this the biggest bag ever? Women will never have to complain about not having enough room in their handbag ever again!
I do hope he hasn’t missed a trick and that the bag bit can be removed for a bit of hula hooping exercise on the beach!!
Please support Breast Cancer awareness month
Unless you’ve been living on another planet for the last few years, you will be aware that October marks Breast Cancer Campaign’s action month. The event aims to raise awareness about the devastating disease, its effects and ways to prevent it throughout October.
Last night London’s skyline was speckled with pink as its most famous landmarks were lit up in support of the UK’s leading breast cancer research charity. Buckingham Palace, Nelson’s Column, the Tower of London and the BT Tower were among the capital’s icons that were bathed in a rosy pink glow.
I am sure there will be plenty of fundraising activities going on in your area, but you can also donate whatever you can afford on the Breast Cancer Campaign website at: http://www.breastcancercampaign.org/about-us. The money is vital as the statistics speak for themselves:
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Breast cancer is the most common cancer
- Around 47,700 women and 340 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year
- One woman in eight will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime
- Around 12,000 women and 90 men will die from breast cancer each year
- More people are surviving breast cancer than ever before
- 80% of people with breast cancer are still alive five years after diagnosis
- People are surviving longer thanks to advances in research, new treatments, earlier diagnosis, breast screening and breast cancer awareness
As one of the 80% – it is now almost 10 years since my diagnosis – I would urge you to give generously to help people like me survive this horrible disease and, in time, find a way to prevent it. Thank you.
Here we go again!
I’ve read today that Cadbury is launching a chocolate bar aimed at women in an attempt to win back lost sales among the diet-conscious. Regular readers will know just how much this type of targeted advertising really annoys me – just check out my post on Man Crisps!
The Crispello is the first new chocolate bar launched by the company since the 1990s and will be backed by a £7million advertising campaign. Apparently annual sales of single chocolate bars have fallen by some 6.6 per cent in a market worth around £800million a year. Evidence suggests that this slump is almost entirely caused by women buying less chocolate.
Cadbury, owned by American food company Kraft, believes the Crispello will particularly appeal to women who are worried about putting on weight. The new bar comes in at 165 calories, compared with 260 for a Mars bar and the Crispello, which is similar in taste and consistency to Ferrero Rocher chocolates, has three chocolate-covered wafer shells with a soft milk chocolate filling. It is designed with a resealable pack so it can be eaten one piece at a time. [yeah, right!]
The more cynical amongst us might say that perhaps their sales have fallen because since Kraft took them over Cadbury chocolates just don’t taste the same. If you’ve ever had the misfortune to try Hershey chocolate from the US you’ll know what I mean when I say that the Americans just don’t do chocolate like Cadbury used to!
Instead of these half-hearted attempts to win sales on gender, why not just go back to the old recipes that we know and love? Just a thought …..
Good Grief Charlie Brown!
The latest in my occasional series “On this day in History”.
On 2nd October 1950 “Peanuts”, the comic strip created by Charles M. Schulz, was published for the first time in seven newspapers. This successful cartoon continued until 13th February 2000, the day after Schulz died.
An incredible 17,897 strips were published in all, and at its peak, Peanuts ran in over 2,600 newspapers, with a readership of 355 million in 75 countries, and was translated into 21 languages. It helped to cement the four-panel gag strip as the standard in the United States ,and together with its merchandise earned Schulz more than $1 billion. reprints of the strip are still syndicated and run in almost every U.S. newspaper.
Charles “Charlie” Brown (occasionally called Chuck by certain characters) is the main character. He is a lovable loser, a child possessed of endless determination and hope, but who is ultimately dominated by his insecurities and a “permanent case of bad luck”. He is often taken advantage of by his peers.
The first strip from 2nd October 1950
In early 1988, Schulz abandoned the four-panel format in favor of three-panel dailies and occasionally used the entire length of the strip as one panel, partly for experimentation, but also to combat the dwindling size of the comics page.
Good Grief!
You’re not as happy as you think you are
Final strip 13th February 2000
If ever there is an iconic comic strip, it is Peanuts which has developed into an enduring classic. Whether you’re pernickety like Lucy, a philosopher like Linus, a joyous Flying Ace like Snoopy, or a lovable underdog like Charlie Brown, there is something to touch your heart or make you laugh, whoever you are, in Peanuts.
Laziness descends to another level!
I remember being appalled on a recent shopping trip to Waitrose to find pots of ready peeled garlic on sale in the vegetable aisle . Now I’m all for saving time and making my life easy but really, just how difficult is it to peel a clove of garlic?
The madness continues however. I’ve read this week about a supermarket chain which has been forced to apologise after they stacked their shelves at stores in Austria with peeled bananas – pre-packaged and wrapped in foil. German-owned Billa, which calls on its own customers to use more common sense when it comes to the environment, was slammed by customers who took to Facebook and Twitter to condemn the move.
Shoppers first became aware of the wasteful product after the store itself allegedly posted pictures of the product online.
You have to ask yourself what is going to be next? Are we really that consumed with our lives that eating, one of the most basic and simple pleasures in life, has become such a chore that we can’t do anything for ourselves any more. Exactly how far away from just taking a pill to satisfy our hunger cravings are we?
I for one will definitely NOT be going down that route! Quite apart from enjoying the whole process of preparing and cooking food, there is nothing more satisfying than others enjoying your handiwork. So you can keep your ready-made meals and pre-prepared products – I’m not buying!!!
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