Lahari's, University of Warwick

July 21, 2006

An apology…

I got this in an email forward, just when I needed some cheer. So, here’s sharing the laughs.

Lahari de Alwis : 21 Jul 2006 16:13 | Comments (0) | Close comments | Report a problem

July 12, 2006

bigcats On Monday I watched the “Big Cat Week” programme on BBC1 and was saddened and a little bit annoyed at the dumbing-down of documentaries. Admittedly, it was directed at a younger audience, but I remember watching proper “grown-up” documentaries when I was a kid and I can still clearly remember some of the information provided, whereas I don’t imagine any of the children remembering what they hear on this programme. Albeit, that can only be good as some of the statements made during the programme were utterly ridiculous and hardly any useful information was presented.

Some examples:

She’s slinking along.

When she (Bella the leopard) was clearly bounding along some rocks in plain sight. This is not only misleading, it is wrong! If the kids don’t know what slinking means, they will link the wrong action to it and if they do, they’ll just be confused.

It’s going to take the whole leopard team to keep track of her.

Isn’t that why they have an entire team and not just you, lady in your jeep, who only turns up to inanely fill the silence? At this point would it not have been appropriate to tell us why it’s so hard to keep track of her, giving an insight into leopard behaviour?

Toto is sooo tiny. (Repeated at least three times. We get the point!) I can fit that little cub into my two hands.

Apparently size is all that matters, not the dangers that face him and the measures provided by Nature to counteract these. At one point, he even gives the impression that the mother Cheetah won’t be able to find Toto (her cub) despite his repeated cries because of the tall grass!!! And, he never went on to explain that the cub is well camouflaged and has a specific cry for the mother to find him.

These are high-octane cats, by anyone’s standards.

Does anyone set standards for cats? And, if you did, wouldn’t it be that they are high-octane?

Well, if you can’t eat it, play with it!

Great advice to give children.

Lahari de Alwis : 12 Jul 2006 18:11 | Comments (24) | Close comments | Report a problem

June 20, 2006

Why bother?

Pearls before Swine – Stephen Pastis

Bloggers

You know it’s all the rave when it gets into the comics page.

Lahari de Alwis : 20 Jun 2006 11:59 | Comments (0) | Close comments | Report a problem

June 05, 2006

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Heard on a train to London.

Train conductor: Anyone from Oxford?

Little Kid: We’re from Coventry.

Train conductor: Is it sympathy you want?

Lahari de Alwis : 05 Jun 2006 12:15 | Comments (4) | Close comments | Report a problem

May 26, 2006

Literary Scenery III

Follow-up to Literary Scenery II from Lahari's

From Nadine Gordimer’s Burger’s daughter:

“At sea, at sea; to circumnavigate is to end up no farther than you started.”

May 19, 2006

Which is more environmentally–friendly?

Using a couple of paper towels to wipe your hands dry

OR

Blowing them dry using a blow-dry machine for a few minutes?

Lahari de Alwis : 19 May 2006 15:01 | Comments (14) | Close comments | Report a problem

February 23, 2006

Literary Scenery II

Writing about web page /laharidealwis/entry/literary_scenery/

Writing about an entry you don't have permission to view

From Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist:

“Camels are traitorous: they walk thousands of paces and never seem to tire. Then suddenly, they kneel and die. But horses tire bit by bit. You always know how much you can ask of them, and when it is that they are about to die.”