Friday, February 20, 2009
Milton Keynes Discovered off Moroccan Coast
Plato writes a column for The Sun on the discovery of the lost city of Atlantis - 'a perfect rectangle the size of Wales' - by Bernie Bamford using Google Earth. (You weren't expecting me to say that, were you?) Bernie says: 'It looks like an aerial map of Milton Keynes. It must be man made.' Milton Keynes man-made! Bit of a stretch that, Bernie. Plato, as usual, just drones, 'I told you so.'
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
I am suprised Plato is writing in The Sol, I would have thought getting down with the Chavs was more Socrates territory?
ReplyDeleteThe credit crunch must be hitting hard at the academy? Davos must not be the moneyspinner it was.
Plato, as usual, just drones, 'I told you so.'
ReplyDeleteAs does Donovan, genius inventor of the Beatles and Bob Dylan.
So cruising Google Earth counts as 'exploration' these days does it? And I suppose looking at porn counts has having a sex life and commenting on blogs counts as a social life...
The conversation, circa late sixties in the town of Buckingham, went something like this.."They're building another new town you know, just up the road from here." Really, what's it called ?", "Milton Keynes, stupid name, I bet they have a problem moving people there"
ReplyDeleteThe best laid plans of mice and newtowners.
Fool that I am for asking, that image didn't show a single roundabout..
My understanding is that it's pretty disappointing if you actually sail over it. Immediately becomes clear from the tell-tale trails of bubbles that thousands of Germans are already hogging all the best spots. From time to time they release buoys which float to the surface carrying angry demands for more bratwurst and pilsner. Brits may have to settle for the South Mimms Service Station, only about 300 miles south of Chittagong. Order a double saveloy and they'll chuck in a free can of shark repellent.
ReplyDeleteFunny how I was thinking of Plato after our discussions yesterday, how the guy made timelessness a supreme virtue - and with other Greeks seems to have passed that idea on into Christendom, something it would never have got from its Jewish roots.
ReplyDeleteWith those mental blinkers on, I would never have spotted him in the Sun this morning. An Adjustment of some force.
Meanwhile forgive my earnestness when I say I'm unconvinced by your three-way parallel, Brit:
Google Earth v (real) exploration
blogging v (real) social life
porn v (real) sex
The last one's just not the same kind of relationship. The goods of Google Earth and blogging are both less and more than their real counterparts. More because you can explore places you'd never get to physically, meet real people that you'd never get to physically. We can I think learn much about these goods from observing kids and teenagers relishing these new human possibilities.
On the other one, put simply, porn is bad for us. It doesn't bear anything like the same relationship to its real counterpart, which is (or is meant to be) extremely good.
I say this not primarily because I want to be down publicly on porn - most of us know what the term means, hypocrisy is worse - but because I think there are some genuinely good and interesting facets to the virtual world. Bundling these three needlessly clouds that good, which I for one would like to understand better.
put simply, porn is bad for us.
ReplyDeleteOnly if it's done properly, Richard....
Of course I jest, and am enjoying your considered comments.
And talking of enjoyable comments, I spotted this one in Bryan's hubble link in the post above:
NASA needs shields. Protect the astronauts and the space shuttles with shields.
Posted by: SHIELD IS THE ANSWER
It pleases me greatly to think that SHIELD IS THE ANSWER stalks the internet looking for places to promote the use of shields.
PORN! where? I cant see any
ReplyDeleteporn, i mean point taken Brit
ReplyDeleteOnly on the good ship Internet could a comment about Milton Keynes morph into porn.
ReplyDeleteAs jack Nicholson famously said "ah, the Internet, so much porn, so little time."
Calm down gentlemen, if you please, all except elberry.
And in any case NASA's worldwind is far superior to Google Erf, if you have the horsepower.
Speaking as one who grew up in North Bucks before it became Milton Keynes I rather wish it was several fathoms deep under the sea.
ReplyDeleteIn those days we managed without roundabouts, roads designated H or V and fast-growing trees designed to obscure any view of the countryside from passing drivers.
If you please, can we refer to pornography as 'grumble'. That's so much more civilized.
ReplyDeleteGrumble is dangerous: it should be restricted to people who are above corruption.
The anti-spam text today is 'seacited', what an excellent new word. i feel pretty seacited, i might have to go out and do something about it.
This is really useful information. Thanks
ReplyDelete