Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Cheap At Half The Price

... or is it?

I have heard this expression a lot recently, but to me it doesn't make sense. People seem to say it to indicate that the item being referred to is cheap. When I look at the phrase, it isn't actually stating that though. To me what it says is "if this item was half the current asking price, then it would be cheap". This doesn't imply that the current asking price is cheap, conversley, it implies more closely that it is expensive!

I have always thought that the saying is meant to be "cheap at twice the price", thus implying that if the item was double the asking price it would still be cheap, therefore the actual asking price is very cheap!

What does anyone else think on this subject? Please vote and leave a comment.




Friday, November 18, 2005

Who Killed Cock Robin?

I saw an article on the Reuters website about a poor little sparrow that caused a certain amount of mayhem in Amsterdam.

It would seem that the sparrow got into an exhibition hall where they had spent weeks setting up four million dominoes for a world record attempt. You can imagine the result - it knocked thousands over! Unfortunately for the sparrow, an exterminator shot it.

Unfortunately for the exterminator (and everyone else involved), sparrows are a protected species in the Netherlands!

Here's a nicely illustrated version of the nursery rhyme (tedious link or what?!?!). [Edit - looks like that page doesn't exist anymore (11th June 2006)]

Stomp

I have just got back from seeing Stomp. It is an absolutely amazing show! You wouldn't believe how entertaining it can be to watch 8 people hit everyday objects (brushes, bin lids, even kitchen sinks!) in a rhythmic fashion. The energy and rhythm is fantastic and there is also a good deal of audience participation, though I don't think there was even one word spoken! If you get the chance, please do go and see it, you won't be disappointed!

Saturday, November 05, 2005

Are we on the Titanic?

Someone was talking on the radio today and I think they had a good point. They suggested that we were all going along blindly through life, not really being aware of the problems around us, and the damage we are causing to the Earth. The analogy they used referred to the Titanic - we are all like the passengers sitting around listening to the orchestra and sipping champagne while the ship is slowly sinking under them. Surely it must be time to wake up and actually do something instead of just talking about it!