Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.....

.....I'm off for a short 'booze cruise' to Amsterdam......and praying for calm weather!

Not More Turkey

For those still struggling to use up that left over Turkey there is always the traditional Turkey Curry This link (scroll down for Indian version) will give you the basis for an exciting festive feast which can be served with tomato and chillie chutney if you were lucky enough to be given some for Christmas.

Christmas Cats

Given the feline theme to elements of the blog I thought you might appreciate these photos showing Merlot and Syrah joining in the Christmas festivities...not sure if it is voluntary participation or enforced by Anne...but they do look the part!!!

John

The day after Boxing Day......

......and I'm clearing out the fridge to fit in various leftovers......the way you do!

There's a lot of cheese....

Maybe there's some ideas here.........

http://www.cheeserecipes.net/

http://www.recipe-ideas.co.uk/cheese-recipes.htm

http://www.cheeseboard.co.uk/recipes.cfm

http://www.cookitsimply.com/category-0020-01g6.html

http://www.ilovecheese.com/recipes.asp

http://www.stiltoncheese.com/simple.cfm

http://uktv.co.uk/food/homepage/sid/5912

http://www.lactalis.co.uk/recipes/recipes_awt_list.asp

"Alice" by illustrators other than Tenniel

Just in time for the pantomime season....

Loads of lovely pictures over at Hugo Strikes Back

A Long lost photo is found and thanks to my lovely new christmas present it can now be seen by all!

Festive Greetings

Sarah and Hails......music video

Hails made the model, took the photos (Smiths Docks on the Tyne) and did the animation

Sarah made the model costume and did the illustration

.....neither of them sang!

Mr Monkey's World of Hats

Check out the rest of his wardrobe here

Lizzie's house walkthrough

Well done Lizzie and Russell!

It's a wrap!

At WrapArt......you'll thank them for this when you run out of wrapping paper on Christmas Eve!

They don't write them like this any more!

Social comment from the natives?

Not sure whether this is Alston in Cumbria (former family stronghold of the Clementson branch of the family).....but it might well be!

Found on Bits and Pieces

Eeeeww.....

I think this came from "Do What Now?" Don't think I'll be making it on Christmas Eve!
Click on the image for a readable version (but only if you really have to!)

Links to some lovely Dutch advertising graphics.....

.....at BibliOdyssey

Archeological underwater webcam.....

.....that you can steer and zoom

Found at Ursi's Blog.

"More than 30 meters deep in the Mediterranean Sea, these controllable cameras off the coast of Pantelleria (Cala Gadir, Sicily, Italy) offer adventurers unusual vantage points of exploration. Ancient artifacts are visible partially buried in the sand beneath the waves."

Link to webcam (you'll need to install a small IE plug-in to view)

PS.....not much point in trying in the evenings when it's dark!

Cocktail patterns.....

......from the New Scientist Videos Channel on YouTube

Nice Christmas paper animation

Do it with paper.....

Well worth a visit if you have a printer, some card/scissors/glue.....and some time!

Make anything from a 'mallet of luck' (and let's face it, we all need one of those!)...

.......to a model of Mont St Michel

And then there's the (well-worth printing) origami paper designs.....good for those small xmas presents that you'll all be getting this year! (probably 50+ designs in up to 3 colourways)

Just go visit Canon 3D Papercraft.....check out what's on offer

Here's a couple I prepared earlier......

Create your own at NAG, the Net Art Generator

They say......"the net.art generator creates images. The resulting image emerges as a collage of a number of images which have been collected on the WWW in relation to the 'title' you have chosen. The original material is processed in 12-14 randomly chosen and combined steps."

And in the same vein, I discovered another 'randomiser' that came in VERY handy when I needed a grungy background image for a poster in a hurry last week.....this one uses type to wave it's magic wand........

Try TypoGenerator next time you're short on inspiration.....it worked for me!

Escape the room/Point and click

Found at Jayisgames.....haven't tried it yet.....it took a while to load (but maybe the boy in the attic was doing some heavy-duty downloading!)
They say........
"Use the usual point-and-click skills to locate clues and find items to help you escape. Some pixel hunting will likely be necessary as well. Fortunately, the game includes an integrated save mechanism and a music mute button."

Link to 'Bon Voyage'

OK, so it's a weekend of frenzied Christmas shopping ahead.....

.......and you know, I have a sneaking suspicion it won't be anywhere near as civilised as this! (picture courtesy Plan59) But if it is, I'll be the lady in the fur coat and perky hat directing her minions please!

House of the Future

I love this sort of stuff!
Part 1

Part 2

And a modern verion.......

the website name says it all.....

........er, it's Cats in Sinks!

Soooo.....you can look at lots of pictures of cats sitting in.....um....sinks and stuff......if you want to!

Make your OWN soft toys......

More information and download the Plushie demonstration package here (Windows only)

Christmas cats and dogs

Inanimate Alice

A digital story.....currently 3 episodes online here Looks like episode 4 is due anytime soon.

'Inanimate Alice' tells the story of Alice, a young girl growing up in the first half of the 21st century, and her imaginary digital friend, Brad.
Over ten episodes, each a self contained story, we see Alice grow from an eight year old living with her parents in a remote region of Northern China to a talented mid-twenties animator and designer with the biggest games company in the world.

Amazing party trick

http://view.break.com/410281 - Watch more free videos

Christmas nostalgia

.....at the WishbookWeb. Full page scans (literally thousands of them!) from vintage US Christmas Catalogues dating from 1944 onwards.

Music video

Amanita Design (creator of Samorost .....the game) created this music video for Under Byen - Plantage. There's lots more interesting videos in the post for 12th December from Blue Tea

DIY Christmas decorations with pizazz

Simple but stylish!

Find out how at Design*Sponge

Dutch plan to build a new island

From the International Herald Tribune

"AMSTERDAM: The Netherlands wants to redraw the map of Europe - literally.
Dubai built Palm Island. Now the world leaders in land reclamation are considering an island in the shape of a tulip to fight overcrowding and shield the coastline from the rising sea."

Read the rest of the article here

Pimp my sleigh.....somebody has to!

KwikFit Insurance goes festive here

North Pole Inner (as in Hollow) Earth Expedition.....

.....er, no comment!

another game

The usual rules apply.....just click on stuff and see what happens! The aim is to uncover all ten of the characters (pastel coloured bears with, what looks like, piles of poo on their heads - though I suppose it might be Mr Whippy-style ice cream.....but it's Japanese, so nothing's a given!)

Play it here

Sarah and Bex putting the world to rights (with lots of thumb action)

Caught on camera (phone) at the Victorian Christmas Market in North Shields last Sunday.....shame I didn't think to capture the (oh so victorian but rather damp!) belly dancers a little to the west. And, well done Chris and Heaton Voices for a festive soundscape!

Cool fire stations

Guess this one's for Richard, and maybe even Nick at a push...........

This one and 6 more from around the world here

Actually, this isn't such a bad idea.....

......but perhaps some false hair would be nice!

Dear Santa.......

They don't build motels like this any more!

CoralCourt specialised in catering for the US clandestine assignation trade from the early 40's until it was demolished (SHAME!) in 1995, the integral garages (to hide your car from spying eyes) were a big selling point.

For pattern lovers

Images from Bourgoin's Arabic Tessellations, 1879.

198 public domain, high quality images here on Flickr

Natures revenge

I was clearing out the memory chip on my phone and found this (so sorry about the quality!) Daizy and I went to visit the Blue Reef Aquarium at Tynemouth a couple of weeks ago and one of our favourite tanks was the one full of heavily pregnant daddy seahorses, this one was so fat it couldn't get off the tank floor......it's a small victory, but worth celebrating!
More details on Wikipedia and from the Knysna Seahorse Project

This weekend's 'point and click' challenge

Found on Neatorama......haven't tried it yet, I'm off to a wine tasting tonight to sample some Festive Fizz

For fans of point’n'click puzzle games, “Guest House” has a different
twist to it with strange contraptions, Egyptian hieroglyphics and interesting
music. More games of the genre can also be found at Lazylaces with “Rental
House” and “Terminal House”.
Source: Lazylaces

So this is Christmas......

In the 60's child star Shirley Temple re-emerged into the spotlight by
announcing her candidacy for Congress. She lost the election, but Temple
displayed her trademark tenacity and went on to enjoy a long and successful
career with the United Nations and the State Department. Currently retired, she
reports that she is at peace with her life and proud of her accomplishments in
two of the nation's most influential arenas. "If I had to do it all over again,"
Shirley Temple Black recently declared, "I wouldn't change anything."

Hmmm....maybe she should revisit that opinion.....just listen to this!

Mass attack

Addictive Flash game.....even up the scales by growing and dropping balls......sounds easy but it gets harder!

Link

MUCH LATER.....Haven't made it past level 3 so far, I'm putting it down to a temporary senior moment and a sticky keyboard!

Brian and his techie mates......

.....(actually only half of Brian, he shuffles off stage left early in the procedings) appear briefly at about 1min 28secs in (they were probably out taking a mass tab break!!) and are cajoled into wishing the world at large a happy christmas. I'm afraid they don't measure up to Johnny's virtuoso performance, so don't hold your breath......

The Gem

This one's for Ma.....a film from the Haltwhistle Film Project featuring one of her favourite places...just don't get her started!

Porky Pig sings Blue Christmas

French kissing map

"Over 18.000 votes have been cast in a poll to determine once and for all the answer to the burning question: Combien de bises? That’s French for ‘How many kisses’, and kissing in France is a lot more complex than the French’s somewhat overstated reputation for carefree libidinosity implies." Read the rest of the post at "Strange Maps" (dated 2nd December 2007) to ensure you don't commit a crashing faux pas by either pecking too much or too little next time you're in France .

By the way, "Strange Maps" is about just that.....and worth a look!

A tool for telephone blackmailers?

Type in some text and have it converted to an audio file that you can save and use for your own nefarious purposes (choose from English, Spanish and Italian options) at vozMe

My first attempt at raking in top dollar below!

Good things should never end.....

.....but try telling Bex. Here's a contribution from her late employer!
Click on the website name (or maybe twice!) to find out how they're spending the money they've saved on her salary.

Ho, ho ho!.........

We've had loads of fun with this at work today (only during coffee breaks and over lunch of course!) Upload up to 4 headshots (easy editing tools inbuilt) and get ready to dance at ElfYourself

If you get into the head transplant mindset there's others you could amuse yourselves with

• Gizmoz
• ScroogeYourself
• My ABC Adventure (more for kids, but also hilarious for for the young-at-heart!)
• AGE-O-MATIC

How-to videos for science experiments

"Are you a fan of Instructables or SuTree? Looking for a place with just science-related items? SciVee is a site for video clips of science experiments and processes that might be just up your alley. The service originally opened up to the public in late August but today is unveiling a newer, updated look with some new features to help users find and interact with content."

(To my shame I can't remember where I copied and pasted this from.....when I work it out I'll post a credit)

Perhaps someone with more highly developed scientific tendencies than me would like to review, Chris?.....I just thought it looked like it might be interesting!

Sometimes you just can't beat an old-fashioned pencil.....

Conceptis - Few websites do free online/printable number/picture pizzles as well as Conceptis. Try your hand at weekly sudoku puzzles, or get fancy with kakuro, battleships, slitherlink, hashi, and half a dozen varieties of picture-forming puzzles. Some can be played online and all can be printed and solved with a good old fashioned pencil.

Found at Jay is Games, (er....I find a lot of stuff here!!)

Santas workshop

Lots of pop up card templates to print and make here

Harriet Martineau....late of Tynemouth

"Hey, I know that name" I bet you're thinking

That's because you've seen the English Heritage Blue Plaque on the southern side of Front Street, Tynemouth...well, maybe!
Harriet Martineau was an English authoress and temporary resident in the north......
"From 1839 to 1844 she was an invalid at Tynemouth, but recovered through mesmerism" ......but, hey......didn't we all!
There's lots more about the lady at Wikipedia here
You can download a pdf copy of one of her books "Feats on the Fiords" (with very nice art deco illustrations, one shown above) here at the Internet Archive

Confession.....I've never read anything by the woman....I just liked the pictures!

Download free mp3s

Now I'm not sure whether this is all legal and above board....but they say it is!

Try it here Search by artist or title.

Some sample searches and numbers of results

• christmas 1410
• beatles 743
• bob dylan 431
• rolling stones 170

and last but not least......OK, so MAYBE least!

• david essex 1 (sorry anne!)

Trip the light fantastic

An idea for all those discarded cocktail umbrellas you'll no doubt be accumulating over the festive period (but be liberal with the fire-retardant spray before you flip that switch!). On the other hand you could just buy one ready made from Bright Lights Little City , but be prepared to dig deep for the priveledge!

Pictures from an exhibition

The quality of the photos isn't brilliant (it doesn't do justice to the artwork on show), but I only had my phone with me.....hopefully though you get the picture! I asked about the reason behind the name of the studios, but that seems to be shrouded in mystery or a cloud of alcohol. But apparently the building itself has a chequered history (not related to mushrooms).....it once acted as an overflow for the city morgue and before that it was a toffee factory!