The Copydesk

Best telly ever?

2008-05-01T11:03:00.001+01:00

Empire has produced a list of The Best TV Shows Ever.

The Simpsons is a pretty good number 1, but I would never have put Buffy at 2 or Friends at 7 (Friends simply can't hold a light to Seinfeld, Fawlty Towers, The Office or Frasier).

Similarly, I would have thought The Wire would be further up the top 5, possibly closer to 1.

Apart from that, the top 10 is difficult to argue with, although maybe Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, The Prisoner, Monty Python, Life on Mars, Only Fools and Horses, Doctor Who, Blackadder and Father Ted should be among the elite instead of drifting out of the list - or not showing up at all in the case of The Prisoner.

All in the mind

2008-04-30T16:06:00.001+01:00

Albert Hoffman, the inventor of LSD, has died, aged 102.

Dog Eats Dog Eats Man Eats Dog Eats Woman

2008-04-04T23:41:00.001+01:00

This Copydesk entry from 2003 detailed a bunch of different types of dog-bites-man-bites-dog-bites-kids-bites-dog stories.

Here's another, about a woman who bit a dog that attacked her dog.

Winging the voice

2008-03-31T19:29:00.001+01:00

The things you find on Wikipedia #6: Actress Debra Winger provided components of the voice of ET The Extra Terretrial.

Her voice was digitized, and she was not credited for the role.

DIY satellite installation man kills wife

2008-03-28T16:35:00.000Z

Man shoots hole through wall while installing satellite TV and kills wife

Patsy Long, 34, of Deepwater, died after being shot in the chest with a .22-caliber handgun on Saturday. Her husband, Ronald Long, fired the shot from the inside of their home after several unsuccessful efforts to punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means.

The Odyssey ends

2008-03-18T23:35:00.003Z

The man behind the original story that went on to become 2001: A Space Odyssey, Arthur C Clarke, has died at age 90.

It only occurred to me after I'd heard the news of Clarke's death, but 2001: A Space Odyssey was 40 years old two weeks ago.

You can read my article published in The Herald 10 years ago celebrating the 30th anniversary of the movie.

It was my first ever article for a major newspaper, and effectively the earnest start of my career in journalism.

The Rolling Stones logo

2008-03-14T08:39:00.000Z

Exploding popular myths #1: The Rolling Stones logo.

Contrary to popular belief, The Rolling Stones 'lips and tongue' logo was not designed by Andy Warhol, but by a British graphic artist John Pasche.

Iron Man

2008-02-29T11:09:00.000Z

The new trailer for Iron Man looks promising.

Harry Potter fans are "junkies"

2008-02-29T10:57:00.001Z

According to some bullshit being peddled by Dr Jeffrey Rudski, Harry Potter is as addictive as drugs.

In a so-called report in the Daily Mirror newspaper, one in ten Potter fans were said to be experiencing "withdrawal symptoms" after JK Rowling's book series came to an end with last year's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Dr Rudski said another 20% of Potter fans were "near-addicts".

"Addiction to a drug is no different to an addiction to Harry Potter," he added.

Yeah, I can see hoardes of zombified kids walking the streets now, begging for some more Hagrid.

How not to prove a conspiracy

2008-02-19T10:10:00.001Z

Mohamed Al Fayed gave evidence to the inquest into the deaths of Princess Diana and his son Dodi Fayed yesterday, and failed to convince that a conspiracy had taken place to murder the pair, by blaming everyone from Prince Philip to a reception clerk at the Ritz hotel.

On the Duke of Edinburgh himself, he had this to say:

"It is well known he is Nazi, a racist. Fine. It's time to send him back to Germany from where he comes. You want to know his original name? It ends in Frankenstein."

eBay to ban negative seller views

2008-02-05T16:45:00.000Z

eBay has finally taken heed to the concept of the customer always being right.

From May, sellers will not be able to leave negative feedback, comments or remarks about a buyer.

Imagine the same situation in the high street: I purchase an item from Marks and Spencer, then complain about the quality, service, or any other aspect of the sale - only for M&S to post my name in their window accusing me of being a bad buyer. It wouldn't happen.

The only problem I foresee with this is sabotage from rival businesses, who purchase items and leave negative feedback from sellers to deliberately undermine their eBay rating.

16GB iPhone and 32GB iPod Touch

2008-02-05T14:22:00.000Z

Apple have made a surprise upgrade to the iPhone and iPod touch, introducing 16GB and 32GB storage capacities, respectively.

I think I know what my next major technology purchase will be...

LOST Synchronised

2008-02-02T19:08:00.000Z

On the eve of Season Four of LOST airing here in the UK, watch a video that synchronises the various moments leading up to the crash of Oceanic flight 815.

Anonymous

2008-01-31T11:26:00.000Z

Anonymous are a group of like-minded anti-Scientology individuals communicating to the public only through YouTube.

Watch the video above, it has a certain menace to it.

Update: this very one-sided Fox report claims Anonymous are malicious terrorists, but I think it's a bit more complex than that, as this Wikipedia item suggests.

The first Anonymous video is here.

The Wild Wild West

2008-01-27T20:11:00.000Z

Recent read: No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy.

Review: the blistering tale of a botched drug deal and the relentless pursuit across Texas of its unwitting benefactor by a merciless psychopath, paralleled with a parable on the decline of American society and the end of the wild west.

Rating: 5/5.

Hospital staff titter over Glitter skitters

2008-01-21T17:28:00.000Z

Gary Glitter treated in hospital after suffering diarrhoea and an irregular heartbeat in Vietnam.

David Robertson's pen trick

2008-01-16T23:56:00.000Z

The hilarious Limmy gives the BBC Scotland news presenter David Robertson the once over following an apparent pen trick on the 6.30pm news programme Reporting Scotland.

Downfall of HD-DVD

2008-01-16T12:11:00.000Z

Funny, if a little bit long (and full of in-jokes), video parodying both Downfall and the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD format war.

Cursor*10 (nekogames)

2008-01-14T20:25:00.000Z

Cursor*10 is a fantastically simple little game.

Try it out, you won't be disappointed.

Jump around

2008-01-14T19:50:00.000Z

Recent read: Jumper: Griffin's Story by Steven Gould.

A worthy backstory for one of the major characters from the forthcoming movie adaptation of Gould's original Jumper, set in a slightly different universe, but with much more bite than its predecessor.

Rating: 4/5.

Edmund Hillary dies

2008-01-11T11:01:00.000Z

On 29 May 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary became the first human being to reach the summit of our planet's highest peak, Mount Everest.

Last night, in New Zealand, he died, aged 88.

The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, has said there will be a state funeral to honour one of the world's great heroes.

Jump to it

2008-01-10T16:01:00.000Z

Recent read: Jumper by Steven Gould.

Review: unpretentious and pacy sci-fi action thriller about a you man who discovers he can 'teleport' at will, with Gould delivering some real edge-of-the-seat set-pieces which earned his novel a forthcoming movie adaptation.

Rating: 4/5

Help the models

2008-01-10T15:55:00.000Z

MTV is promoting its new show, where dumb models are put to the test with mildly amusing results.

Clinton comeback

2008-01-09T11:00:00.000Z

Senator Hillary Clinton has won the New Hampshire primary in the USA, delivering a crucial blow to her nearest rival, Senator Barack Obama, in the race to be named the Democratic Presidential nominee for the November 2008 US election.

Supersonic

2008-01-03T11:00:00.000Z

Nike Supersonic gives runners the chance to prove they've got what it takes on the race track.