Phlegmatic

OK, we haven’t had a Phligm Phlagm post since mid-October, and the world was a different place back then.

I’ve been busy all right? Anyway, here’s the first load of links to catch up on. Feel free to take your time over them…

Christmas Reading List 2025

The Red Dwarf theme tune has secret lyrics, and they've only just been discovered. (But they’re actually suprisingly easy to hear once you know about them!)

What would you call a mystery species of aurochs / bison known only from cave paintings? The Higgs Bison of course!

I think we can call this "corruption", don't you?

Canoes are racist now, apparently. (Or to put it another way, the University of Victoria employs a complete fuckwit as its Professor of English, apparently.)

£250,000 gold coin found in child's pirate treasure collection.

"Kid needs permission slip to read 'Fahrenheit 451', his dad's response is brilliant." Of course, both teacher and dad (as well as almost everyone else) have in fact misinterpreted what the book is about.

One of the overlooked greats of RPG art: Russ Nicholson. I love his stuff.

Dilbert creator Scott Adams on being bullied by Clinton supporters.

True story: The raven in Poe's poem was inspired by Charles Dickens's pet raven.

OK, now will leftards shut up about tax 'avoidance'?

"...where he displayed upper body strength far beyond his supposed years and also was able to completely strip a rifle at a shooting range."

You don't need this laptop either.

Reid Hoffman's first job earned him $127 for contributing to the RuneQuest supplement 'Borderlands' (nothing to do with my shop). Now he's one of the richest people in the world You see? RPGs can totally make you rich!

Were the original big cats on Dartmoor actually from the closed Plymouth Zoo?

More links between Corbyn supporters and anti-semitic groups.

Kaunas' Seventh Fort - Ideal for weddings, parties and kids' treasure hunts. Not so good for Bar Mitzvahs.

The Work and Pensions Committee's report into the collapse of BHS is pretty shoddy work. I would have expected better of Frank Field, one of the Labour Party’s more sensible MPs.

How many people here have a Dragon 64? Are you still waiting for 'The Hobbit' to come out so that your Spectrum-owning friends will stop laughing at you?

Time Commanders is coming back! Yay!

The German authorities seem to be engaging in a cover-up of massive proportions.

Fireman Sam episode pulled amid Koran row.

"My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize."

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.

Really, really bad eyebrows.

Social Justice Warios

How to get rich from tidal energy.

How come Jeremy Paxman is allowed to ask tough questions but Kay Burley isn't?

The Pecking Disorder

Tblisi flooded. Zoo animals escape. Hilarity (and some terror) ensues.

Remember last month when New York was underwater? No?

The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission is confused between correlation and causation.

What causes inequality?

Good questions to ask in a job interview.

The hell of being born trans class.

61 deaths in "Game of Thrones" plus percentage chance to return for each. (This is spectacularly wrong for at least one person.)

American Gothic 2015

If Peanuts featured Game of Thrones quotes.

A version of The Hobbit for those who complain that the film trilogy is too long.

Streaming Doctor Who on a 31 year old TRS-80. From floppy disks.

There are now about 100,000 bushmen on Earth. For most of humanity's existence as a species, most humans were bushmen.

Comets did not bring water to Earth.

"How I defeated the Tolkien Estate"

One in seven people arrested in Britain last year was a foreigner.

I love this black velvet Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Am I the only one who thinks that all eight of these "amazing workplaces guaranteed to give you office envy" look like awful environments to work in?

Why Brazil changed the names of two characters in Star Wars Episode II.

Clever comparison chart for anyone looking to buy a new smartphone.

One Dutch trawler owns 23% of England's entire fishing quota.

Lewes seems like a cool place to be on Guy Fawkes Night.

Plymouth University has spent £300,000 on giant external video screens, but they won't be allowed to play video because they overlook a main road. That's an expensive billboard.

This isn't an ad showing girls playing D&D in 1980, it's a magazine article, and cooler for it.

Have you ever been unfaithful to your spouse? I bet you have.

FIFA is insisting that all Women's World Cup matches be played on artificial turf.

The teacher who hasn't taught since 2000, but has been paid more than half a million pounds by the taxpayer.

No, ebola isn't our fault.

'Requires Hate' and the evil of social justice warriors.

Remember this post from a couple of years ago? He's out.

Jessica Ennis-Hill wants her name removed from one of the stands because of the above story. Guess what happens on Twitter.

17 Nick and Karren Apprentice Reactions for Awkward Everyday Situations.

How to turn Barbie dolls into Weeping Angels.

A new series of The Clangers!

Paul Krugman on Scottish independence. (And it's nice to see that even neo-Keynesians have come around to my way of thinking on the Euro.)

Prices, Paul Krugman, and Consistency

This is why poor kids don't grow up to be interior designers.

Is Apple quietly killing off its best product?

Why US forests are fuelling Europe.

Logic and theology.

Five ways that films get gunfights wrong.

Interesting account of 9/11 as it happened, as seen by White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer.

Universities must convert widening access into graduate jobs. I see that the university at which I will be lecturing is the second best in the country at promoting social mobility while the one I studied at is the second worst.

This is why all those Scottish independence campaigners were protesting outside BBC Scotland.

The best moments from Friends, animated as 8-bit style GIFs.

Why don't children want to learn the violin? (Do they have to ask the question? If you can play the guitar, you are cool. Also, a highly paid career is open to you. If you can play the violin, you probably look uncool and violinist salaries are terrible. I used to audit one of the world’s great orchestras, and except for their superstar conductor, ALL of the musicians’ salaries were really low. Supermarket checkout girl low.)

Who killed lard?

What would the political map of Europe look like if all the nationalist parties got their way?

Today is the 75th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland.

James Earl Jones, Harrison Ford and the Plot to Kill Hitler!

Plant-eating dinosaurs had plumage too.

2014 World Cup Best XI

Thinking of becoming a suicide bomber? Remember what your mum told you about clean underwear.

One way to win at Warhammer 40K

"Who the hell puts a hyphen in bellend?" - The Sunday Sport Style Guide

Random H.P. Lovecraft story generator.

Left-wing anti-Semitism is anything but a new phenomenon.

Remember Gary McKinnon, the autistic hacker that the Daily Mail campaigned to stop being extradited to the US? Have you wondered what he's doing now? (And he's cheaper than us...)

There are a hell of a lot of D&D 'retroclones' out there.

How to Design a Megadungeon. (I did this in a campaign when I was still at school.)

The Man in the High Castle - the TV series

Lower, flatter, simpler taxes FTW!

Tolkien's Ainulindale, the graphic novel (way better than it sounds...)

Seven website easter eggs

Middle-earth isn't the most obvious mod project for Crusader Kings II.

When a chap went mountaineering in stout boots, a decent tweed and his bare hands.

What if natural products came with a list of ingredients?

10 Awesome D&D Computer Games

World's female population listed in order of attractiveness

A map of the internet

You really don't want to eat Haribo Classic Sugar Free Gummy Bears.

You've probably never heard of Max Martin.

Not every Kickstarter deserves to be funded.

Quangocrats who should be first up against the wall when the revolution comes.

Tube Strike Backfires

The 38 Most Haunting Abandoned Places on Earth.

Not content with single-handedly averting WW3 (true story), James Blunt is ace on twitter.

Why "evidence-based policy" is a bad thing.

Don't do it, George! part 1

Don't do it, George! part 2

Ban Kendal Mint Cake!

Awesome rubber band machine gun.

Truly upsetting vintage recipes. (Banana Candle. You need to see this.)

David Lynch's Dune, in seven minutes. (I actually think that Dune is quite a good film...)

You don't need a curved screen TV.

Some terrible ad slogans. (Actually, some of these seem quite good. I’ve gone native…)

Let's all laugh at Indian spelling.