The British Monarchy does social media

by dianaburrell on July 26, 2010

Did you know that the British Monarchy has a Twitter account? A few weeks ago, the Queen started following me — yeah, little old me! — but I quickly figured out it wasn’t the real queen. The British Monarchy account, however, is the real deal. It’ll remind you of when the Changing of the Guard occurs, and where certain royals will be during the day if you’re so inclined to show up at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Monarchy also introduced today their own photostream on Flickr. You’ll find lots of photos of modern day royals, but I liked looking at the old photos taken during Victoria’s reign. New photos will be added in the future.

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Does the Benny Hill theme make everything funny?

by dianaburrell on July 19, 2010

My soon-to-be 9-year-old is starting to show signs of Anglophilia, the most troubling sign of which is that he loves watching the more tame clips of Benny Hill on YouTube. He explains what makes him giggle is the music, “Yakety Sax.”

I’ve discovered there’s a video mashup culture devoted to mixing “Yakety Sax” with movie scenes that could hardly be described as madcap. Do a search on “Benny Hill theme makes everything funny” and you’ll see what I mean. While I don’t think  clips of Adolph Hitler’s rants set to “Yakety Sax” are particularly funny, there are some mashups that amuse me:

1. Scarface. I believe the Scarface script holds the record for the most mentions of the words “fuck” and “fucking.” I couldn’t get beyond the motel room scene in the beginning, but I do know Al Pacino goes down in a blaze at the end. (Sorry, can’t embed this video from YouTube.)

2. Casino Royale. And they don’t even have to speed up the video!

3. Friday the 13th:

4. Star Wars. My son’s favorite:

5. And here’s something interesting. Look how creepy Benny Hill’s “sexy” skits are when set to music from The Omen:

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Is it eccentricity that unites Britons?

July 13, 2010

Yesterday I received notice from British bank First Direct of an amusing survey they’d done of 1,000 Britons that claims one in 10 Brits is an “eccentric” – that is, a person who’s creative, individualistic, and free-spirited — and that more than 32 million Brits exhibit eccentric traits. Famous Britons they deemed eccentric include Boris [...]

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Making elderflower cordial

July 7, 2010

Every June I try to make a batch of elderflower cordial, the quintessential British summertime soft drink. I got hooked on elderflower cordial a few years ago when I found it in our local Whole Foods, sold under the Belvoir label. Suddenly, Whole Foods stopped selling it, but by then, I’d learned how to ID [...]

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What Trinny and Susannah did next

June 21, 2010

British style mavens Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine were once hugely popular television personalities in the UK, and even here in the U.S., they achieved a certain level of notoriety with their show, What Not to Wear (where they could always be counted on to grab and push up some hapless woman’s droopy boobs to [...]

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I must have a Storm Kettle

June 6, 2010

This weekend, since the weather has been so spotty, I’ve been planted in front of my computer watching gardening videos on YouTube: stuff like how to divide rhubarb rhizomes, which hoe works best in tough, rocky soil, and how to make a lasagna garden (which, to be honest, I long thought was a garden filled [...]

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Sarah Ferguson’s Oprah appearance — a recap

June 1, 2010

… and surprise, surprise, the taped interview took up the whole hour-long show. It was a painful interview to watch, quite frankly. First, because I take no enjoyment watching someone’s distress on national television. I’m not condoning Sarah Ferguson’s behavior nor do I feel particularly bad for her as I think she’s got more advantages [...]

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Sarah Ferguson to apologize on “Oprah” next Tuesday — and Hail Britannia on BBC World Service to discuss

May 28, 2010

So Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York and self-appointed fixer for royal access, is getting a huge career boost: She is getting 10 minutes on “Oprah” next Tuesday to tell her side of the story to an American audience. I’ll definitely be watching as I’ve been contacted by the BBC World Service again to offer [...]

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The Duchess of York is not having a good week

May 24, 2010

… and it’s her own damn fault, say a great many people on both sides of the Atlantic. The Duchess, the former wife of Prince Andrew — who happens to be an unpaid trade ambassador for the U.K. — was caught in a sting set up by a British tabloid as she tried to sell [...]

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6 little known facts about the UK’s new PM David Cameron

May 12, 2010

1. You can see David Cameron from space. 2. David Cameron is so cool, he’s banned in 7 states in America. 3. Che Guevara wears David Cameron t-shirts. 4. When David Cameron was born, he calmly shook his mother’s hand. 5. David Cameron doesn’t need to lift the toilet seat. It lifts itself for him. [...]

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