Phlegmatic

"We can all put aside our partisan differences for a moment and agree that this Trump-Clinton “Dirty Dancing” duet is the best thing to come out of the debate."

Don't trust "factcheckers". Maybe it’s just my innate cynicism and a background as a professional sceptic that always makes me doubt someone who claims to be “unbiased” when giving you “the facts”.

Why Truman fired MacArthur. Fascinating account.

Weaker Sterling is (on balance) somewhere between good and very good for the UK economy.

...and another article making a similar argument.

Tolkien might not have been too impressed by the current trend to concentrate on the ethnicity of science fiction and fantasy authors rather than the quality of their work.

There is no such thing as trickle-down economics.

This is the best explanation of why so many people will vote for Donald Trump that I've seen.

Ched Evans is Not Guilty. Here's ten myths about the case that need to be busted.

Who is winning in Labour and the Liberal Democrats' race to be the most anti-semitic party?

Dennis Byrd didn't deserve to die in a car crash.

Dolly Parton's 'Jolene' slowed down is amazingly good. (Thanks beckyc)

18 Game of Thrones moments improved by quotes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Given the dearth of available options, who should American conservatives vote for in the presidential election?

Are we seeing the beginning of a political realignment in the UK? Interesting lecture.

Here's a particularly unsubtle example of simple corruption from the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.

Political map of Europe, year-by-year from 3650BC to 2016AD.

70-year-olds play D&D for the first time.

The third most likely person to become the next President of the United States, and how he would do it. OK, it’s beyond unlikely, but not impossible…

Prescription drug or Tolkien elf? Take the quiz! (What, you mean there isn’t a prescription tinnitus remedy called ‘Tinfang Warble’…?)

The American fake hate crimes epidemic.

The Game of Thrones theme played by a (very good) jazz band.

Millions of Americans are _not_ living on $2 a day.

Wrexham's new central defender has the best footballer name ever.

The Worldbuilding forums on Stack Exchange are a nice way for GMs to pass the time. (Thanks eledonecirrhosa.)

H.P. Lovecraft Lego.

This is how I imagine that beer tastes like.

The only way an independent Scotland could meet the EU's entry requirements would be to implement massive public expenditure cuts and / or tax rises. That might be fun to watch.

Who would have guessed that two men who campaigned for the right to bugger small boys would turn out to be paedophiles...? (This is the same organisation that had links with former Labour ministers Patricia Hewitt and Harriet Harman.)

The latest target of the PC police - Gilbert & Sullivan.

"Controversy as Chester Zoo opens 'Wrexham Scally Enclosure'". (I should point out that Homo Wrexhamius Scalliensis Chavus is pretty much confined to the southern part of Wrexham, not the nice bit where I’m from…)

Why Gandhi is such an asshole in Civilisation.

The Curious Case of the (Medieval) Weapon that Didn't Exist

Why you can't just have more quantitative easing to get rid of the national debt.

This is not a 512gb microSD card.

The worst football kits of all time. They’re all bad, but Colorado, seriously…?

This month's best headline is from an astronomy website.

"A lousy, stupid, no good, bad, law is being proposed."

Star Wars Episode IV in a single image. (OK, it’s a very big image, but still…)

Minimalist, anonymous rooms are probably not a good place to do teamwork.

"We all owe a significant debt to Richard Murphy." No, really.

I'm an only child, so I can't really relate to this. Nevertheless I thought it was a sweet film about growing up being “Player Two”.

Woman accidentally joins search party looking for herself.

Today's most widely misinterpreted piece of economics, from the IMF. There are two arguments put forward in the paper. The first is that there are risks associated with capital account liberalisation (allowing money into and out of the country with less regulation). The second is that although high public debt is bad for growth and welfare, for countries with excellent records of debt repayment, like the US, the UK and Germany, a “credible medium-term fiscal consolidation” makes more sense than a “fiscal noose today”. In other words, slowly bringing down debt as a percentage of GDP, not slashing everything to balance the budget as soon as possible. Now that’s pretty much what the UK’s current fiscal policy is. Still I suppose “IMF economists broadly agree with George Osborne” isn’t quite as good a headline as “You’re witnessing the death of neoliberalism – from within”. Seriously, this is a paper that says “There is much to cheer in the neoliberal agenda. The expansion of global trade has rescued millions from abject poverty. Foreign direct investment has often been a way to transfer technology and know-how to developing economies. Privatization of state-owned enterprises has in many instances led to more efficient provision of services and lowered the fiscal burden on governments”… and Facebook (and one of our less reputable newspapers) is full of idiots claiming that “we are witnessing the death of neoliberalism”.­

Here's a clever way to make interstellar travel real.

"Around 50% 'hold authoritarian views'". Sounds shocking. What’s more shocking is the ignorance of the researchers (three politics professors no less, albeit from second rate universities) as to what constitutes “authoritarian”. Authoritarians would presumably favour powerful state control, right? You know, like Stalin or Hitler or Mao. Not according to these three clowns. Apparently “ideological sympathy for… rolling back the state” is an authoritarian point of view. Incredible.

Thankfully I wasn't the only person to spot this.

Did you own a copy of Buckaroo or MouseTrap when you were a kid? There's a good chance it was assembled by Irish slaves. Seriously.

The new president of the National Union of Students sounds like a lovely girl.

The Game of Thrones Mock Draft.

The Stevland Angus Appreciation Society

Brave socio-political commentary in 'My Little Pony'. Yes, really.

The man who put 50p on Leicester City to win the Premier League at 5000/1 and cashed it out for 45p after one match (which they won 4-2).

Richard 'fuckwit' Murphy had to publically apologise to Lord Ashcroft and make a donation to his charity for being wrong. I wish the legal system could force him to make an apology every other time he’s been wrong.

Paramount is trying to claim copyright over the Klingon Language. The Language Creation Society's legal reply is wonderful.

Why are we so understanding towards the crimes of Communism? A suggestion I’ve seen elsewhere is that International Labour Day should be replaced with a day of remembrance for the victims of communism and socialism. Good idea.

Gerry Adams apologises for tweeting the word "nigger". I’m amazed at the fuss about this. Might it not have occurred to the twitter commentariat that heading a terrorist organisation responsible for the deaths of 1,800 people is ever so slightly worse than typing a naughty word into social media?

10 things the bookies thought were more likely to happen than Leicester City winning the Premier League.

When the US Navy had flying aircraft carriers.

Sorry – bit overdue…

Not an item we have in stock at The Shop on the Borderlands. Shame really.

If Facebook was designed by its users

It's an odd legal system where a muslim judge gets to decide which parts of the Bible should be illegal. And this didn't happen in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan. It happened in Somerset.

How to talk about Star Wars with your ignorant, Rebellion-backing uncle.

The Appendix N Blog. (Appendix N of the AD&D 1st edition Dungeon Master’s Guide was where Gary Gygax listed all of the literature that influenced him.)

The secret network exposing fake military veterans.

One third of people living in London were born in other countries.

Who the f**k is my D&D character?

FA Cup tie held up after cat wanders onto pitch.

My grandparents used to live in Bridgnorth. Their house wasn't like this.

Just when you think Team Corbyn can't get any worse...

How China saw the recent state visit

Which aliens would it be best to be invaded by?

The world has a new species of giant tortoise.

The phrase "politically correct" is now considered politically incorrect.

"Manchester United's Bastian Schweinsteiger may sue over Nazi dolls" (Serious point here – the doll is wearing Germany army uniform. Not everyone who fought in the Germany Army during the war was a member of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, so it gives the wrong impression to refer to this as a ‘Nazi’ doll. What it is, is a German Army doll. It’s easy to dehumanise ordinary Germans by calling them ‘Nazis’.)

Here's a teenage boy who's worked things out.

Contrary to earlier Phligm Phlagms, our solar system is NOT a vortex.

What dress size would Marilyn Monroe be today? Somewhere between an 8 and a 10, depending on the shop.

Correct politicalness.

Does the USA really deserve a presidential race between Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders? Pur-lease.

The purge begins...

Robert Lewandowski is a good striker.

Using drones to build a rope bridge.

Nigel Dodds MP saying what needed to be said about the new Shadow Chancellor.

Is Pope Francis really how he is depicted by most of the media?

Jeremy Corbyn's satisfaction rating is already abysmal.

I can relate to this.

French animal rights nutters stealing a homeless man's puppy. (I’m slightly less than 100% convinced that this is real, but if it is, then this is pretty bad.)

The interesting connection between Hillary Clinton and short-selling of pharmaceutical stocks.

Google, I have a lot of time for you, but don't get online harassers to lead your 'Online Abuse Prevention Initiative'.

Functioning 'mechanical gears' in nature. (Thank you louisedennis.)

VW is just the tip of the iceberg. Who's to blame?

"... someone said “you suck” to Anita Sarkeesian and now we have to censor the internet. "

Fantasy Swords versus Real Swords

The UK has the sixth lowest average working hours in the EU, but the second highest average salary (and more holidays too). Yay!

Sky Sports now uses Football Manager.

World's oldest message in a bottle ever found finally washes up after 108 years.

College football's FWAA 75th Anniversary All-America Team. (I count 10 players who would go on to play for the Raiders at some point in their pro careers.)

Why the #WaronNerds is A War on Art.

Venezuela is close to hyperinflation.

Killing Vox Day. (Not literally...)

If I were to play in a Super Hero RPG, I'd want my PC to be 'Speedsheet'.

See where the Vikings travelled.

Accenture to scrap the annual performance review. I worked for a similar big professional services firm for 15 years. I’ve been an appraiser and obviously an appraisee. Nothing was more harmful to performance, morale and bottom line profitability than the annual performance review system.

When Jeremy Paxman repeatedly asks an evasive politician the same question, he's a "tough interviewer". When Kay Burley does the same, she's "confused" or "loopy" or a "bossy bitch".

This is how I imagine all comic and SF conventions.

Doubly eclipsing quintuple low-mass star system

Pakistani immigrants are 13 times more likely to have disabled children because of intermarriage.

21 people who 100% did not meet a celebrity. (But how cool is it that the real Maisie Williams took the time to point out to number 2 that he hadn’t actually met her?)

Of course the budget was regressive.

The Ku Klux Klan is on the rise.

In mid-2014, Greece was the fastest growing economy in the Eurozone and even had a budget surplus if you ignored debt servicing. Then they elected Syriza.

This Warhammer player is quite upset about the rules changes in the new Age of Sigmar edition.

Making air travel even less pleasant.

"Panini launches 2015 FIFA Corruption Scandal sticker album."

Raped in a playground at 11, abused by seven men a night aged 12, her sister was murdered - one of the 1,400 victims of the Rotherham muslim paedophile ring.