Face of the Day
Coming from behind in two races to win, Team NZ Skipper Peter Burling has the boat to beat.
General
The BFD Word of the Day
The word for today is… nepotism (noun) – Favoritism shown or patronage granted to relatives, as in business. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : During his papacy from 1471–1484, Sixtus IV granted many special favors to members of his family, in particular his nephews. This practice of papal favoritism was carried
Four Films That Capture the Nightmare of Christmas
Bruce Bennett Lancaster University Forgive me, I’m about to go all Scrooge. Christmas, you see, is a particularly grim time of year. Rolling around with grinding, Groundhog Day relentlessness, it is an interval of dark days and long nights, bad music, kitsch clothing and decor, enforced jollity, stilted family
Betrayal of Faith: Muslim Pro and the U. S. Military
Karl D. Stephanro mercatornet.com Faithful Muslims are required to pray five times a day, facing toward Mecca. In our smartphone era, it was only a matter of time before someone came up with an app that reminds the Muslim user that it’s time to pray, and conveniently uses
Pandemic Sewing Surge Is a Chance to Rediscover the Practical Arts
Mary Gale Smith University of British Columbia United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent Britons Googling this past fall when he said “a stitch in time saves nine” to describe actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The phrase means it’s better to spend a little time solving
The BFD Word of the Day
The word for today is… mythomania (noun) – A compulsion to embroider the truth, engage in exaggeration, or tell lies. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : We wouldn’t lie to you about the history of mythomania. It comes, via the French mythomanie, from two ancient roots: the Greek m?thos (meaning
The Common and Not So Common Injuries Sustained at Christmas
Adam Taylor Lancaster University ‘Tis the season to be jolly. Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la. The festive period is a time for family, friends and happiness. The worst thing most people face is a bit of digestive discomfort from overeating. But for a few unfortunate individuals,
Abortion Activist Makes Game Where Purpose Is to Kill an Unborn Baby with a Shotgun
righttolife.org.uk An Argentinian pro-abortion activist has created a modification for the famous 1990s video game, Doom, in which the player completes the game by shooting an unborn baby with a shotgun. Once the player has killed the unborn baby the game displays the message “You defeated fetito
Jumping the Gun
Sir Bob Jones nopunchespulled.com Last week a South Island Borough Councillor resigned, because, he said, he may have behaved inappropriately at a function. The keyword here is “may”. No details of the possible inappropriate behaviour were supplied and according to the report no-one had complained. Still, we can
A Note of Thanks
Sir Bob Jones nopunchespulled.com As a policy decision, I rarely respond to comments on this Blog. However, such has been the overwhelming supportive response to my comments regarding the ghastly hypocritical, sponging little turd Ricardo Menendez March, not merely on this site but particularly on Kiwiblog, I’d like
The BFD Word of the Day
The word for today is… meliorism (noun) – 1. The belief that the human condition can be improved through concerted effort. 2. The belief that there is an inherent tendency toward progress or improvement in the human condition. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : n 1877, British novelist George Eliot believed she
Phrase of the Week
Gerry Two Shakes of a Lamb’s Tail Instantly or very speedily Lambs have been long known as frisky animals, prancing and dancing around the paddock—at least, that is, until they lose their tails! In my Dictionary of Cliches, I find that recorded use of the phrase dates from
30 Things You Never Knew Were Racist
Michael Cook mercatornet.com Michael Cook is the editor of MercatorNet. The other day a friend discovered that his favourite YouTube chess channel had been blocked for violating “community standards”. The Croatian creator of “agadmator’s Chess Channel”, which has about 700,000 subscribers, was also puzzled. It turns out
The BFD Word of the Day
The word for today is… limpid (adj) – 2. Free from clouds or haze. 3. Easily intelligible; clear. 4. Easily or pleasantly heard; distinct. 5. Flowing or moving gracefully. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Since around 1600, limpid has been used in English to describe things that have the soft clearness
Plastic Sinning
Sir Bob Jones nopunchespulled.com The latest Guardian Weekly reported a study showing Coca-Cola is the world’s largest plastic polluter. They’re not actually, rather it’s their customers who leave their plastic bottles lying about. The reason Coca-Cola is top of the pops is simply its
The BFD Word of the Day
The word for today is… leitmotif (noun) – 1. A melodic passage or phrase, especially in Wagnerian opera, associated with a specific character, situation, or element. 2. A dominant and recurring theme, as in a novel. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : The English word leitmotif (or leitmotiv, as it is also