September 18th 2014

256px-Scottish_and_British_flags
Scottish referendum takes place –
Scotland independence referendum takes place with the result looking very uncertain. Tennis player Andy Murray used Twitter to back the Yes vote along with actor Sean Connery. Those backing the No vote and wanting Scotland to remain part of the UK include Sir Paul McCartney, Sting, Mick Jagger, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, comedian Eddie Izzard, actresses Helena Bonham-Carter and Dame Judi Dench, Simon Cowell, and Stephen Hawking all of whom signed a letter urging Scotland to stay in the union. The result will be known tomorrow.
Andy-Murray-independence-tweetAndy Murray tweet.

Ig Nobel prizes announced –
The annual Ig Nobel prizes awarded by the Annals of Improbable Research have picked out some classic scientific investigations again. Researchers who measured the slipperiness of banana peels, why pork strips appear to stop nosebleeds, and how reindeer react to humans in polar bear suits were among the winners.
Banane-A-05_cropped
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January 12, 2015

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US Central Command twitter account hacked –
The Twitter and YouTube accounts of US Central Command (US Centcom)have been hacked by a group claiming to back Islamic State. A message signed by Isis said: “American soldiers, we are coming, watch your back.” and military documents appeared on the feed. The Twitter account was later taken down.

Ronaldo wins Ballon d’Or –
Real Madrid’s Christiano Ronaldo has been awarded football’s Ballon d’Or or World Player of the Year Award. Votes are cast by the coaches and captains of all international teams and some selected journalists. The top three players were: Cristiano Ronaldo: 37.66%; Lionel Messi: 15.76%; Manuel Neuer: 15.72%. The winner of the women’s title was Nadine Kessler, the Wolfsburg and Germany midfielder. The Puskas award for goal of the year was awarded to Colombia midfielder James Rodriguez for his volley against Uruguay in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Joachim Low the manager of World Cup winners Germany won coach of the year.
Rus-Por2012 (16)Christiano Ronaldo

Branson rescues sailor –
Four-time Olympic sailing champion Sir Ben Ainslie and his new wife Georgie Thompson have been rescued by Sir Richard Branson. The couple, who were sailing around Branson’s Necker Island, got into trouble when their boat developed a problem with the sail.
Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie in 2014

Video of the Day –

Tall tales pt1 from Kilogramme on Vimeo.

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March 16, 2015

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Ronaldo has most Facebook likes after going ahead of Shakira –
Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has overtaken Shakira to become the most followed person on Facebook. The 30-year-old star now has 107,096,356 likes compared to 107,087,100 for the Colombian singer. Ronaldo became the first sportsman to cross 100 million likes last October after joining the site in 2009. He also has 34 million followers on Twitter but is only 13th on that list with Katy Perry leading on 66.6 million followers. [BBC]
Cristiano_RonaldoChristiano Ronaldo

Flintoff wins Australia’s I’m A Celebrity –
Andrew Flintoff has been crowned Australia’s king of the jungle after winning their version of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Flintoff beat Australian Football League player Barry Hall and TV personality Chrissie Swan to the title in the South African jungle. After winning, Freddie said: “As an Englishman winning something in Australia, it’s unheard of.” On the show he ate a rat’s tail and was covered in elephant manure. He also drank fermented milk laced with cockroaches and flies and fell out of a helicopter. [BBC]
Andrew_FlintoffAndrew “Freddie” Flintoff

Vladimir Putin reappears in public for first time in 10 days –
President Vladimir Putin has made his first public appearance for over ten days, scotching rumours of a Kremlin coup and even his own death. All eyes were on the Russian city of Saint Petersburg on Monday as Mr Putin met with the President of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, for talks as planned. Commenting on suggestions that he had been forced to lie low because of ill health, Mr Putin said that life without rumours would be boring. “It would be boring without gossip,” Mr Putin, 62, said in his first public appearance since March 5. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Breaking Rules from BIBI LOU on Vimeo.

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May 14, 2015

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Supergirl’s trailer reaction split between joy and ‘walking nightmare’ –
Saints be praised: a six-minute trailer for the new CBS TV series Supergirl is here, and it is extremely good.
Gone are the memories of the cult (and largely dreadful) 1984 film version starring a rather wet Helen Slater alongside Faye Dunaway chewing every piece of scenery in sight: the new Supergirl is kooky, charming and funny. Inevitably, Twitter was divided. A DC superhero show that was fun, frothy and where nobody looked anxious? What is this! Kara Jor-El fled the planet Krypton as a girl, and, like her cousin Superman, has grown up into a sweet, geeky character (played by Glee’s Melissa Benoist) who believes that wearing a pair of black plastic glassics is a cunning disguise. [Daily Telegraph] See Video of The Day
Calista-FlockhartCalista Flockhart who plays Supergirl’s boss

Swiss freediver breaks world record for holding breath underwater –

Peter Colat, a Swiss freediver, has held his breath underwater for 19 minutes and 21 seconds, smashing the world record. Colat, 38, performed the feat in a water tank in St Gallen, Switzerland. The previous Guinness World Record for oxygen-assisted static apnea was 19 seconds shorter and was set by an Italian, Nicola Putignano, last May. Colat, an experienced diver from Zurich, said the first 12 minutes was no problem. He said: “I felt the first need to breathe very late, but because of this it was even stronger.” Under the Guinness rules he was allowed to inhale pure oxygen 10 minutes prior to his attempt. See List of the day

Video of the Day –

List of the day –

Oxygen-assisted static apnea previous records

Duration Name Date Location
11:54 Branko Petrović 7 October 2014 Dubai, UAE
11:35 [2] Stéphane Mifsud 8 June 2009 La Crau, France
10:12 Tom Sietas 7 June 2008 Athens, Greece
10:04 Stéphane Mifsud 12 July 2007 Hyères, France
9:15 Tom Sietas 12 May 2008 Mainz, Germany
9:08 Tom Sietas 1 May 2007 Hamburg, Germany
9:04 Herbert Nitsch 13 December 2006 Hurghada, Egypt
9:00 Tom Sietas 29 August 2006 Tokyo, Japan
8:58 Tom Sietas 12 December 2004 Eindhoven, Netherlands
8:47 Tom Sietas 11 June 2004 Hamburg, Germany
8:06 Martin Štěpánek 3 July 2001 Miami, USA[1]

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #NoControlCampaignPH The Simpsons The Simpsons
2 Emanuel Ortega Raven Symone #Supergirl
3 #10TirosAesosQue #GrooveMusicVideo #GenderSwapAMovie
4 Corinthians George Stephanopoulos #AutocorrectedMovies
5 #TengoCeroGanasDe #GenderSwapAMovie Bale
6 #ViudasElFinal #LittleWhiteLiesITold #TGE15
7 Cruzeiro #NoControlCampaignPH #mobileengage
8 #GenderSwapAMovie #ThinkContent The Craft
9 #FelizJueves #AdviceForNewParents Ronaldo
10 Harry Shearer #LegendsOfTomorrow Inside the Milibunker

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