SOUNDTRACK: THE TEA-PARTY-“Everyday is Like Sunday” (2020).
The Tea Party recently released a cover of Joy Division’s Isolation. They have now followed it with this cover of a fantastic Morrissey song.
I prefer the guitars in the original just because of the very cool sound that Morrissey’s guitarist got. But The Tea Party’s guitars are a nice blend of acoustic and electric. They also add strings (like the original).
Jeff Martin’s vocals couldn’t be much further from Morrissey’s, but they work perfectly with the subject matter.
Morrissey’s been more than a little bit of a horrible person lately, so it’s nice to have another solid version of this great song to listen to.
[READ: May 25, 2020] Department of Mind-Blowing Theories
Tom Gauld is consistently one of my favorite cartoonists. Even though most of his people are stick-figurish, he conveys so much with them. But more importantly, the content of his cartoons is unfailingly clever and funny. Some you have to think about to get, which makes them even funnier.
These cartoons are all science-themed and were originally published in New Scientist.
Some examples include Darwin posting The Origin of Species on social media with these comments:
- MrTomHuxley OMG! This is Amazing!!
- BishopWilberforce1805 LOL! Totally Fake
- MorphineEmprium: For the relief of coughs and colds [this post has been flagged as spam]
One of my favorite jokes (which relies on the visual) has a scientist saying “No wonder today’s results have been so poor. This isn’t growth serum: it’s hand sanitiser!” The visual it outstanding.
Some pieces that work without seeing them: Comparing covers of the new issue of Utopian Science Quarterly and The Journal of Dystopian Science. Or seeing the new classic fiction with binary Numbers: The 11 Musketeers; 1100 Angry Men; Catch 10110.
A piece called #Alchemists includes these hashtags #alchemy! #letsdothis! #leadintogold! #elixiroflife! #nolucktoday #nevergiveup.
Innovation and integration are important in science, but perhaps the nuclear machine should be separate from the hot drinks dispenser: First row of buttons: Tea; Filter Coffee; Vent Toxic Gases.
And what could go wrong when budget cuts cause three scientists to share a lab? What if they are studying Avian growth, laser technology and feline intelligence?
You’ll have to look in the book to see the tattoos that these science gangs have created: Hell’s Anthropologists; South Side Geology Posse; Particle-Physics She-Devils. Or to see the logos for these local pubs for scientists: Th Theoretical Tankard; The Olde Trilobite; The Lab-Grown Swan.
You can also thrill to the war between Moss v. Lichen on a rock.
Gauld likes to do a panel in which there are various substances on the ground and his diagram shows what they are. Like after the chemistry department party you may find Wine, beer, poison, and experimental solution.
There are even quizzes: which of these are scientists and which are not scientists: Cosmologist, buellist, geologist, unicyclist. And which of these are theoretical particles and which are Italian desserts? Spumoni, Sfermion, Zeppole, Budino.
Have you seen some of the latest home intelligent tech? You know the smart phone. How about the perceptive tumble dryer or the shrewd soapdish. How about the thoughtful mantelpiece?
I really enjoyed the panel that looks like Ikea instructions for a product called CLÖNE.
And if you’re looking for a name for your metal band, some obsolete theories that might work include Transmutation of Species, Bodily Humors and Luminiferous Ether.
And who wouldn’t want to hear this kind of review:
The premise of your paper is flawed, the data is suspect and the conclusions are dangerous. On the plus side, the language is so completely impenetrable that nobody will ever notice.
None of the jokes really demand a vast knowledge of science. But a cursory understanding of scientific fundamentals is pretty important to really getting the most out of these jokes. I haven’t laughed out loud so much at a book in a long time.
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