My Work Is Cut Out understanding this one

I’ve heard it said a few times recently: “I/he/she really has their work cut out for them”. It seems it’s one of those phrases which could mean anything. It’s been bugging me, so I researched it. Apparently, it means two things; that you either have very little work to do (because everything is cut out, ready to go), or that you have too much work to do (because someone has to help you to keep up the pace). It seems to me the former is the most sensible one, but it’s only after researching it that I realised why people might use the latter. To me, it’s another one of those meaningless phrases which confirms my belief that English is the craziest language on earth.

What Maketh a Mr Man?

I think this game – to create your own Mr Man or Little Miss – has the opposite effect they intended. Although it’s fun to piece one together out of various garishly-coloured components, I couldn’t help thinking that it confirms what a formulaic no-brainer the concept was in the first place.link

Cyberbegging at its best

This is the internet at it’s most limp; some poor tool sets up a website to take donations to buy himself a car. Shameless. In an interesting twist, people are apparently donating amounts like 1 cent, which doesn’t even cover the cut which the payment service takes. link

Futurama's Episodes are Numbered

I know it’s not really been on Australian TV for a while, but once again, it seems the good TV series have to be cancelled in the US before they are cheap enough to be shown in Australia. (Refer ‘Now and Then’) Now, it seems that after months of white-anting the Futurama schedules (changing its spots, leaving it out altogether some weeks) Fox has chosen not to pick up a new season, which effectively kills the production. If you’ve been watching it – or downloading episodes over the net, like me – you won’t need convincing of the need to save it from the axe. Please sign here and make your vote count. (Just as a side note, I’d make sure you don’t make your email address viewable publicly; avoid spam!)
For other Futurama and Animation links, see here.

Got Snow?

I’m in the U.S. again, for the first time since September, and things are only marginally different. Security was still tight on the way in (“green marines and their submachines” sounds like a great title for an album), and the whole concept of ‘tipping’ people still spooks me a little.
But today; snow! I’d only ever seen snow once before today, but that was all lying around not doing much. I saw my first snowflakes, and everyone here seems to think I’m a little mad, trying to compare whether two flakes are really as different as they say.
Coming from the other end of the world, where it’s pushing 100 degrees Farenheit, it’s a weird experience. I’ve had to completely reverse my wardrobe as well as my sleeping patterns.
I noticed that on the way into the US, I had to certify on the customs form that I had never been guilty of moral turpitude. I guessed I hadn’t.
US TV consists mainly of advertisments (at least, what’s on the channels I can access from my hotel), and most of those are to do with health, dieting, cars and suing people. The remaining bits are political discussions on why the US allies aren’t as happy about the war on terrorism as the US is (they’re pussies, apparently), the Winter Olympics in Utah, Britney Spears and sitcoms.
If you want to keep up with what it’s like in NY at the moment, visit NY at a Glance

A Potted Summary

Having now completed reading all the Harry Potter books, two observations and one wild prediction.

  • One; I – strangely – do not have a desire to cast spells on anyone. Not even the programmers of Free-To-Air TV during January.
  • Two: ‘Ron Weasley is to Hermione Granger is to Harry Potter’ is as ‘Han Solo is to Princess Leia is to Luke Skywalker’.
  • Three: Neville Longbottom is Voldemort.