Address tae the haggis

Address tae The haggis by Harry MacFadyen (...)

A Burns supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns, author of many Scots poems including "Auld Lang Syne," which is generally sung as a folk song at Hogmanay and other New Year celebrations around the world. The suppers are normally held on or near the poet's birthday, 25 January, sometimes also known as Robert Burns Day or Burns Night (Burns Nicht), although they may in principle be held at any time of the year. (...)

Everyone stands as the main course is brought in. This is always a haggis on a large dish. It is brought in by the cook, generally while a piper plays bagpipes and leads the way to the host's table, where the haggis is laid down. He/she might play 'A man's a man for a' that'. The host, or perhaps a guest with a talent, then recites the Address To a Haggis:

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.

The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies like a distant hill,
Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o' need,
While thro' your pores the dews distil
Like amber bead.

His knife see rustic Labour dicht,
An' cut you up wi' ready slicht,
Trenching your gushing entrails bricht,
Like ony ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sicht,
Warm-reekin, rich!

Then, horn for horn, they stretch an' strive:
Deil tak the hindmaist! on they drive,
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve,
Are bent like drums;
Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
"Bethankit" hums.

Is there that o're his French ragout
Or olio that wad staw a sow,
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
Wi' perfect scunner,
Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view
On sic a dinner?

Poor devil! see him ower his trash,
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash,
His nieve a nit;
Thro' bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit!

But mark the Rustic, haggis fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his wallie nieve a blade,
He'll mak it whistle;
An' legs an' arms, an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thristle.

Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinkin ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a haggis!

At the line His knife see rustic Labour dicht the speaker normally draws and cleans a knife, and at the line An' cut you up wi' ready slicht, plunges it into the haggis and cuts it open from end to end. When done properly this "ceremony" is a highlight of the evening.

Film School NYFA - They're Made Out Of Meat

Short film produced at the New York Film Academy and directed by Stephen o'regan. (...)

They're Made Out of Meat is a Nebula Award-nominated short story by Terry Bisson. It was originally published in OMNI. It consists entirely of dialogue between two characters, and Bisson's website hosts a theatrical adaptation. A film adaptation won the Grand Prize at the Seattle Science Fiction Museum's 2006 film festival.

The two characters are sentient beings capable of traveling faster than light, on a mission to "contact, welcome and log in any and all sentient races or multibeings in this quadrant of the Universe." Bisson's stage directions represent them as "two lights moving like fireflies among the stars" on a projection screen. They converse briefly on their bizarre discovery of carbon-based life, which they refer to incredulously as "thinking meat." They agree to "erase the records and forget the whole thing," marking the Solar System "unoccupied."

The story was collected in the 1993 anthology Bears Discover Fire and Other Stories, and has circulated widely on the Internet, which Bisson finds "flattering." It has been quoted in cognitive, cosmological, and philosophical scholarship.

Carl Sagan - 'A Glorious Dawn' ft Stephen Hawking (Cosmos Remixed)

[A] musical tribute to two great men of science. Carl Sagan and his cosmologist companion Stephen Hawking present: A Glorious Dawn - Cosmos remixed. Almost all samples and footage taken from Carl Sagan's Cosmos and Stephen Hawking's Universe series. For more songs and their MP3s (including this one) check The Symphony of Science and Colorpulse.

Lyrics:

[Sagan]
If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch
You must first invent the universe

Space is filled with a network of wormholes
You might emerge somewhere else in space
Some when-else in time

The sky calls to us
If we do not destroy ourselves
We will one day venture to the stars

A still more glorious dawn awaits
Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise
A morning filled with 400 billion suns
The rising of the milky way

The Cosmos is full beyond measure of elegant truths
Of exquisite interrelationships
Of the awesome machinery of nature

I believe our future depends powerfully
On how well we understand this cosmos
In which we float like a mote of dust
In the morning sky

But the brain does much more than just recollect
It inter-compares, it synthesizes, it analyzes
it generates abstractions

The simplest thought like the concept of the number one
Has an elaborate logical underpinning
The brain has its own language
For testing the structure and consistency of the world

[Hawking]
For thousands of years
People have wondered about the universe
Did it stretch out forever
Or was there a limit

From the big bang to black holes
From dark matter to a possible big crunch
Our image of the universe today
Is full of strange sounding ideas

[Sagan}
How lucky we are to live in this time
The first moment in human history
When we are in fact visiting other worlds

The surface of the earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean
Recently we've waded a little way out
And the water seems inviting

Ulduar

Here's [Summergale's] first collaboration with Cranius, a highly talented musician and machinima producer, and the incredibly awesome machinima artist Legs. Without their help and huge contributions, this video would likely have never seen the light of day. (...)

"Ulduar" has a bit of a "Romeo and Juliet" theme, where the PvEer (sung by Summergale) is dating the PvPer (sung by Cranius). He's a punk and a bit of a rebel. She's a highly-skilled and geared raider. She wants to bring him along to her playground of choice, the newest most challenging raid instance. He wants nothing to do with it and wants to show her the dark side of PvP.

The Lord of The Rings: Andúril, Flame of the West

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and the concluding film in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy following The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Two Towers (2002).

As Sauron launches the final stages of his conquest of Middle-earth, Gandalf the Wizard, and Théoden King of Rohan rally their forces to help defend Gondor's capital Minas Tirith from the looming threat. Aragorn finally claims the throne of Gondor and summons an army of ghosts to help him defeat Sauron. Ultimately, even with full strength of arms, they realize they cannot win; so it comes down to the Hobbits, Frodo and Sam, who face the burden of the Ring and the treachery of Gollum, and finally arrive at Mordor, seeking to destroy the One Ring in Mount Doom. (...)

Meanwhile Elrond arrives at the weapon-take of Dunharrow and reveals himself to Aragorn. He presents Aragorn with his birthright - the newly forged Andúril, Flame of the West. He urges Aragorn to use this sword, forged from the shards of Narsil, to recall the Dead Men of Dunharrow and use their allegiance to the heir of Isildur (i.e. Aragorn) to stop the attack of the Corsairs ships from the south. Aragorn accepts this counsel and rides off that very night into the Dimholt, along with Legolas and Gimli.

The Lord of the Rings: The Council of Elrond

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson based on the similarly titled first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Set in Middle-earth, the story tells of the Dark Lord Sauron (Sala Baker), who is seeking the One Ring (Alan Howard voice). The Ring has found its way to the young hobbit Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood). The fate of Middle-earth hangs in the balance as Frodo and eight companions form the Fellowship of the Ring, and journey to Mount Doom in the land of Mordor: the only place where the Ring can be destroyed. (...)

In Rivendell Frodo meets Gandalf, who explains why he didn't meet them at Bree as planned (he had escaped Orthanc and Saruman's clutches with the help of an eagle). In the meantime, there are many meetings between various peoples, and Elrond calls a council to decide what should be done with the Ring. The Ring can only be destroyed by throwing it into the fires of Mount Doom, where it was forged. Mount Doom is located in Mordor, near Sauron's fortress of Barad-dûr, and the journey to it will be incredibly dangerous. Frodo volunteers to take the Ring to Mount Doom as all the others argue about who should or shouldn't take it. He is accompanied by his hobbit friends and Gandalf, as well as Strider, who is revealed to be Aragorn, the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor. Also travelling with them are the Elf Legolas, the Dwarf Gimli and Boromir, the son of the Steward of Gondor. Together they comprise the Fellowship of the Ring.

George Carlin - Saving the Planet

George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian. He was also an actor and author, and he won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums. Carlin was noted for his black humor as well as his thoughts on politics, the English language, psychology, religion, and various taboo subjects. Carlin and his "Seven Dirty Words" comedy routine were central to the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, in which a narrow 5–4 decision by the justices affirmed the government's power to regulate indecent material on the public airwaves. (...)

[In this video] George talks about the self important attitude of people who think the planet is headed for total destruction.

Mtn Dew Game Fuel ® World of Warcaft ® Edition "Choose Your Side"

To help celebrate the launch of Mountain Dew Game Fuel® Citrus Cherry and Mountain Dew Game Fuel® Wild Fruit, Blizzard Entertainment® and Mountain Dew team up for a unique sweepstakes promotion. (...)

World of Warcraft, often referred to as WoW, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994. World of Warcraft takes place within the Warcraft world of Azeroth, two years after the events at the conclusion of Blizzard's previous Warcraft release, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.

Wrought

"The movie was created by me [Legs] and Cranius.

The song used (Wrought) is by the awesome rock band "Peratus". Go listen to more of their music if you like Wrought! (...)

Our interpretation of their song is a tragedy which unfolds as you see flashbacks from the perspective of an undead warrior who recalls how he fell in love with a beautiful blood elf before his undead existence, a forbidden love which was unacceptable to her people."

Paul Romer's radical idea: Charter cities

How can a struggling country break out of poverty if it's trapped in a system of bad rules? Economist Paul Romer unveils a bold idea: "charter cities," city-scale administrative zones governed by a coalition of nations. (Could Guantánamo Bay become the next Hong Kong?)

Dragon Ball Z - Goku turns super saiyan for the first time

Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール, Doragon Bōru) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 through 1995, and later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Inspired by the Chinese folk novel Journey to the West, it follows the adventures of Son Goku from his childhood through middle age as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven mystical objects known as the Dragon Balls, which are known to grant any wish. Along his trip, Goku meets several friends and fights against several villains who plan to get the Dragon Balls to grant their wishes and some who aim to conquer the world. (...)

DBZ 80 - Transformed at Last

Goku, enraged by his Krillin's death, turns super saiyan for the first time on planet Namek.

Policy Peril: The Truth About Global Warming

Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis explains the truth about global warming in his film Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous Than Global Warming Itself.

Lily Allen - The Fear

"The Fear" (also known by its working title, "I Don't Know") is the UK Number 1-lead single from British singer-songwriter Lily Allen's second album It's Not Me, It's You. Originally, "Everyone's at It" was to be the lead single, but it was replaced instead with "The Fear". The song was released digitally on January 23, 2009. The Wideboys and StoneBridge have both remixed this track. (...)

The video was directed by Nez. It begins with Allen singing from inside a caravan with a washing strew on the right with underwear and a teddybear. She exits, however upon returning, the interior of the mobile home transforms into the hall of a country house. She then wanders throughout the ornate house, which contains colourful and expensive-looking rooms. The music video includes dancing butlers, giant dancing presents, dancing balloons, coloured smoke and confetti located around different rooms of the house. The last scene is shot from an aerial view; the camera moves upwards through grey, miserable clouds contrasting with the colourful "party" that Allen was attending throughout the rest of the song. The video was directed by Nez. It was filmed at Wrest Park, Bedfordshire, England.

MATT RIDLEY ON EVOLUTION, ECONOMICS, AND "IDEAS HAVING SEX"

Matt Ridley, an Oxford-educated zoologist, turned to journalism in 1983 when he got a job as The Economist’s science reporter. He soon became the magazine’s Washington correspondent and eventually served as its American editor.

Ridley has written several acclaimed books that combine clear explanations of complex biology with discussions of the science’s implications for human society. In the reason.tv interview, Ridley discusses some of the themes in The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature; The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation; Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters; and Nature via Nurture: Genes, Experience, & What Makes Us Human; as well as his forthcoming book which seeks to understand how and why human progress happens.

Paul Feine and Alex Manning interviewed Ridley in the Milton and Rose Friedman Reading Room at Chapman University in Orange, California.

Solar eclipse of July 22, 2009

The solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 was the longest total solar eclipse during the 21st century, not to be surpassed until June 2132. It lasted a maximum of 6 minutes and 39 seconds off the coast of Southeast Asia, causing tourist interest in eastern China, India and Nepal. This was the second in the series of three eclipses in a one-month period, being book-ended by two minor penumbral lunar eclipses, on July 7 and on August 6.

SEAT Leon commercial

In a lonely tavern 5 different men are recounting seeing something at 8am in the morning, one sees a dark shadow with a deep roar, the next man saw it 7 miles away going out of town, a bearded man saw it on the mountain road and when he blinked it was gone, a man playing darts saw it at the lake as it disappeared into the fog. The last man appears from the darkness and says it looks like there is more than one out there.

He's Barack Obama

Its a bird! Its a plane! No, he's Barack Obama and hes come to save the day! JibJab puts the rock in Barack with a new, over-the-top satire that debuted in front of the President himself this Friday at the Radio & Television Correspondents Dinner!

Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum in Bric-a-Brac Independence Day

What if America had been founded by the characters in the movie Independence Day? Mr. T hosts as Celebrity Bric-a-Brac Theater tells the revised story of the founding of our nation. And there's Daleks.

Nathan "Flutebox" Lee and Beardyman @ Google, London

The UK's premier beatboxers (Nathan "Flutebox" Lee and Beardyman) performing live at the Google offices in London.

Intel - Ajay Bhatt Is A Rockstar

Intel just kicks off its multi-year global campaign with the goal of conveying a message that how far the computing industry has advanced with the chip giant's technologies. The first ad that appears on YouTube focuses on the co-inventor of Universal Serial Bus (USB), Ajay V. Bhatt, who holds several patents on the most broadly adopted external bus standard.

The ad begins with him going for a cup of coffee. An adoring fan show his appreciation with his home-made Ajay tee shirt, and several others surround him trying to get an autograph from the Intel Fellow and Chief Client Architect.

Paramore - Decode

"Decode" is a song by Paramore released as a single from the soundtrack to the film Twilight. (...)

The official music video premiered on November 3, 2008 on MTVu, MTV, MTV2 and on MTV.com and was directed by Shane Drake. The video features the band members walking and performing in the woods, in Nashville, Tennessee (even though in the video, it is clearly supposed to be Forks, Washington). While they play, there are also scenes of the band acting as tracker vampires searching through the woods. Scenes from Twilight are also intercut.

Futurama - Fry's Dog Waiting

Video Games | Futurama- Fry's Dog Waiting

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

"Jurassic Bark" is the seventh episode of season four of the television series Futurama, airing November 17, 2002. It was nominated for an Emmy Award, but lost to The Simpsons. (...)

 When Fry takes Bender to a museum exhibit, he is shocked to find a fossilized dog on display, which he recognizes as his pet from the 20th century, Seymour. For three days he protests in front of the museum by dancing to "The Hustle" by Van Mccoy, demanding they give him Seymour's body back, which proves successful. The professor then examines Seymour's body, and concludes that, due to his unusually rapid fossilization, a DNA sample can be made to produce a clone, and it would even be possible to recreate Seymour's personality and memory.

Fry begins to prepare for the dog and Bender becomes jealous, especially when Fry refers to Seymour as "my best friend". Just when the professor is ready to clone Seymour, Bender arrives. Angry that Fry will not spend time with him, he grabs the fossil and throws it in a pit of lava, believing that destroying it will restore his friendship with Fry.

Fry is furious at Bender and extremely upset at having lost Seymour. Bender realizes how Fry could love an inferior creature and apologies for what he did. The professor explains that the fossil may not have instantly melted, as it was made of dolomite. With this in mind, Bender, claiming to be partly made from dolomite, dives into the lava and recovers the fossil.

The professor begins the cloning process and his computer informs him that Seymour died at the age of 15, meaning he lived for twelve years after Fry was frozen. Fry has the cloning process aborted, believing that Seymour will have moved on with his life and forgotten about him. A flashback then shows that Seymour waited for Fry in front of Panucci's Pizza, where he worked, and never left that spot for twelve years. In the final shot an aged Seymour lies down and closes his eyes.