bitful

UK-based weblog on technology, queerness, language and fitness

Archive for May 2007

I REALLY should not have watched Whistleblower on supermarkets

Thursday 31 May 2007

Ten days ago I watched the BBC's undercover investigation on lack of basic hygiene in supermarkets.
For the last ten days I have been living on hard-boiled eggs, canned tuna, rolled oats, and assorted fruit and vegetables. Anything with the least amount of human filth added to it.
I can now button up my skinny jeans. Without [...]

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brawny

Thursday 31 May 2007

Strong and muscular. See synonyms at muscular. Hardened; calloused.

teem

Wednesday 30 May 2007

To be full of things; abound or swarm. To pour out or empty.

churn

Tuesday 29 May 2007

The cycle of acquiring new customers and losing others. Firing one group of employees and hiring another.

fray

Monday 28 May 2007

A scuffle; a brawl. A heated dispute or contest.

stat

Sunday 27 May 2007

(Short for Latin statim) with no delay; at once.

irrefragable

Saturday 26 May 2007

Impossible to refute or controvert; indisputable: irrefragable evidence.

profligate

Friday 25 May 2007

Given over to dissipation; dissolute. Recklessly wasteful; wildly extravagant.

I should not have watched Whistleblower on supermarkets

Thursday 24 May 2007

I have always enjoyed the convenience of supermarket food. However, I have lately started reading labels a bit more thoroughly than just the calories content, and I did not like what I saw.
The other night I got stuck in watching Whistleblower on BBC1 against my better judgement:
For six months, two BBC reporters worked undercover to [...]

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payola

Thursday 24 May 2007

Bribery of an influential person in exchange for the promotion of a product or service, such that of disc jockeys for the promotion of records.

390 metres to win!

Wednesday 23 May 2007

Last Thursday night I was about to start dinner when a sudden urge to go running came upon me.
Alright, it's just that after gaining a considerable advantage over Dr B. by running every other day last week in Italy, I would have hated for him to sprint and win our 'Who runs 100km first' [...]

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tachypsychia

Wednesday 23 May 2007

Neurological condition that distorts the perception of time, usually induced by physical exertion, drug use, or a traumatic event.

def

Tuesday 22 May 2007

(slang) Excellent; first-rate.

straightedge

Monday 21 May 2007

A rigid flat rectangular bar, as of wood or metal, with a straight edge for testing or drawing straight lines.

pro bono

Sunday 20 May 2007

Done without compensation for the public good.

persnickety

Saturday 19 May 2007

(also pernickety) Overparticular about trivial details; fastidious. Snobbish; pretentious.

Chris Garneau - Music For Tourists

Friday 18 May 2007

After what has been known as 'The Mika Incident' (I wowed the album for all of three days, then grew so tired of its repetitive songs and Scissor Sisters rip-off that even a fleeting glimpse of Mr Penniman's bouncy curls made me jump with all my weight on the 'Skip' button), I swore that I [...]

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dearth

Friday 18 May 2007

A scarce supply; a lack. Shortage of food; famine.

British Sandwich Week 2007

Thursday 17 May 2007

We are in the middle of British Sandwich Week 2007.
Unfortunately, we are also in the middle of our 'ZOMFG we only have three weeks to squeeze back into last year's swimsuits' week. There's no way I'm buying a larger size. I mean, my trunks were loose last year!
I know a sandwich can be a very [...]

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initialism

Thursday 17 May 2007

An abbreviation consisting of the first letter or letters of words in a phrase (for example, IRS for Internal Revenue Service), syllables or components of a word (TNT for trinitrotoluene), or a combination of words and syllables (ESP for extrasensory perception) and pronounced by spelling out the letters one by one rather than as a solid word.

bumf

Wednesday 16 May 2007

[Short for bum fodder] Printed matter, such as pamphlets, forms, or memorandums, especially of an official nature and deemed of little interest or importance. Toilet paper.

Olivia's kitchen sink

Tuesday 15 May 2007

My 2p on the Eurovision Song Contest, for decades cherished as a solitary guilty pleasure, for a bit enjoyed with like-minded lovers of all things camp, and this year forcing myself to listen to all forty-two dreary songs and watch it for old times' sake.
I feel very sorry for Malta. They want to win so [...]

Continue reading Olivia's kitchen sink

dewlap

Tuesday 15 May 2007

A fold of loose skin hanging from the neck of certain animals. A fold of loose skin hanging from the neck of a person.

borstal

Monday 14 May 2007

Rehabilitation method formerly used in Great Britain for delinquent boys aged 16 to 21.

swag

Sunday 13 May 2007

An ornamental drapery or curtain draped in a curve between two points. Promotional items, especially when given for free, considered as a group.

ballyhoo

Saturday 12 May 2007

Sensational or clamorous advertising or publicity. Noisy shouting or uproar.

Sequins and key changes and a whiff of the souk

Saturday 12 May 2007

From the ages of 7 to 17 I proudly was the one and only Italian following the Eurovision Song Contest. When I say 'proudly' I mean instead 'scared gutless worrying that there must be something wrong with me.
Italy stopped broadcasting the live show long before stopping taking part, but I kept watching it on Slovenian [...]

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Running away from tomorrow's 'Family Day'

Friday 11 May 2007

Tomorrow Italian catholic groups are staging a national rally against civil partnerships and in support of traditional families.
That is, if you have not got a mummy and a daddy (or have more than one), or if you happen to shack up with someone of the same sex, you are made to feel like scum.
I cleverly [...]

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sasquatch

Friday 11 May 2007

Generic name for the "bigfoot" of North America (meaning "hairy man" in the Halkomelem language of British Columbia in Canada)

Italian doctors are thorough but slow

Thursday 10 May 2007

I've been in Italy for the last few days to see my mother who is in hospital.
It is very hard to say whether it is serious or not; she had been losing a considerable amount of blood through her faeces and was taken into hospital to receive some blood transfusions and to undergo a series [...]

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