Sunday, June 21, 2020

Miscellany


Bilbo Baggins has left the Shire: 

Sir Ian Holm (1931 – 2020) passed away on 19 June 2020 aged 88. His illness was Parkinson’s related. 

Holm played a multitude of roles and characters, from an android in Alien, Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire to King Lear, but is fondly remembered today for portraying Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings films. 

“I've always been a minimalist. It was Bogart who once said, ‘If you think the right thoughts, the camera will pick it up.’ The most important thing in the face is the eyes, and if you can make the eyes talk, you're halfway there.” 
- Ian Holm 

Roads go ever ever on, 
Over rock and under tree, 
By caves where never sun has shone, 
By streams that never find the sea; 
– Bilbo Baggins. The Last Stage. 


Ian Holm as Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire 

As Ash in Alien 

As Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element 

As Bilbo Baggins 

RIP, Sir Ian 

Randy Rainbow rocks: 


My wife Kate has introduced me to the delights of the YouTube videos of Randy Rainbow (that is his real name 0 his father, a muso, changed his name to Rainbow), an extremely likable and personable young man whose videos are primarily taking the piss out of Donald Trump. Most of the videos are melodies from Broadway shows, films and musicals, with revised lyrics. Randy is mucho talented and deserves to go far. 

Some links: 

His website: 

Some fave videos: 

A Spoonful of Clorox 

A Stable Genius 

Favourite Things 

Well worth a look. 


Not a gerbril . . . 

From The Daily Mail, June 8 2020 at: 

The following story is reprinted from the above link: 

A 30-year-old man in China has had a whole fish removed from his rectum after he had allegedly sat on it by accident. Gruesome footage shows medics removing the dead blue tilapia from the patient's body at a hospital. Reports from local media did not specify the fish's size but the species usually measures 30-40 centimetres (12-16 inches) long. The incident is believed to have taken place last Tuesday at the Zhaoqing First People's Hospital in Guangdong province of southern China.

Doctors made the shocking discovery during an X-ray scan after the 30-year-old man had gone to the hospital for severe abdominal pain. The patient, who remains anonymous, claimed that the fish slipped into his rectum after he had accidentally sat on the creature, according to Guangdong Television.  
The man eventually came to the hospital after failing to remove the fish from his backside himself.

The medics had to surgically open the man's belly to remove the dead fish from his rectum because the fish was 'quite big'. A nurse can be heard in the video saying: 'It stinks so much!' 

All I can say is, Ewww!!! 

Sat on a fish! 


By the way, the gerbrilectomy story is an urban myth, debunked by snopes.com at: 


A rose by any other name? 

The Black Lives Matter protests have caused attention to be focused on related aspects of institutionalised racism. Not only have statues been torn down and defaced, ion Oz as well as in the US, attention has also been drawn to products, some justified and some bordering on the ridiculous. 

Recent examples: 
_________________ 

Over in the UK, ex-MP Fiona Onasanya (below), who was expelled from the Labour Party and lost her seat in Parliament in 2019, complained that the Kelloggs company was being racist in the marketing if its Rice Krispies: 

“Coco Pops and Rice Krispies have the same composition (except for the fact CP's are brown and chocolate flavoured)... so I was wondering why Rice Krispies have three white boys representing the brand and Coco Pops have a monkey?" 




One person responded: "I grew up with Coco Pops and Rice Krispies. I never once wondered that. Some of us can tell the real world from the imaginary one." 

_________________ 


In Oz calls to change the name of Coon cheese for being racist have been rejected both by the company, Saputo Dairy Australia, and by the public. A poll on news.com.au’s Facebook page about whether or not the name should be changed received 48,900 votes, with 13 per cent in favour of renaming Coon and 87 per cent opposed. 

Saputo Dairy Australia says Coon was named in recognition of “the work of an American, Edward William Coon, who patented a unique ripening process that was used to manufacture the original Coon cheese”. 

Source: 
_________________ 


Over in the US, the maker of Eskimo Pies, a popular ice cream in the US, has announced they will be changing the name of its product after years of controversy. Although sold since the 1920s, the term Eskimo is considered an offensive term used to describe Inuit people. The changes will be implemented by the end of the year and the company will also cease using the Inuit character in the ice cream’s marketing material. 

Source: 
_________________ 

From: 

In Australia, Redskins made by Allen's confectionery company have also come under fire as their name refers to a derogatory term considered offensive by Native Americans. While the raspberry-flavoured sweet originally featured a Native American wearing a traditional headdress, the logo has since been changed to a plain purple and pink design. Similarly Chicos – brown, chocolate-flavoured jelly babies – are also considered politically correct, despite their continued availability on supermarket shelves. 



Kind of a drag: 

Katrina Tait shared an Australian Christian Lobby petition on her Facebook page opposing the Drag Queen Story Time event at a Brisbane library in January, According to her: 'I can't believe I have just had to sign a petition to try to stop drag queen story time happening at libraries in our country,. What happened to protecting children's innocence and letting them just be kids?' 


Drag queen 'Annie Depressant' reading to children at the Wyndham Plaza Library in Werribee, Melbourne

Katrina Tait has now been referred to the Anti-Discrimination Board and is now facing legal action and fines.


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