Skip to main content

University Challenged at Christmas (8): Semi-Final One (27.12.16)


Tonight was notable for two reasons: (1) I managed to watch and tweet along to the University Challenge Christmas special, which I keep missing and not doing ‘live’ over the last few days, and (2) for the debate that kicked off regarding the beasts on Paul Ross’ shirt.

On first glance, I was certain his outfit was covered in rams, but soon found out they were actually dogs, which was a shock to the system, as I’d never had difficulty distinguishing between the two species in the past. How will I ever be able to trust my own instincts again, when I so clearly made such a grave misstep tonight? How often to I get my creatures mixed up? Thank God I’m not a veterinary surgeon, or I’d be responsible for some terrible, terrible things.

See below for my tweets and for the clothing debate; enjoy.

Kent Vs. Leeds (27.12.16)
7:31pm: Paul Ross: such a Kent.

7:33pm: Shiulie Ghosh isn't gauche.

7:37pm: Paul Ross' shirt has a 'Ram On' it.


7:38pm: Deep Blue...something?

7:39pm: Wasn't Any Human Heart a song by Cilla Black?

7:41pm: "It's bottom, or buttocks." - Jeremy Paxman (2016)

7:44pm:

Oh Lord...now you've made me doubt (Doughty) everything.

7:45pm: Leeds' Bell looks like a weather-aged Noel Edmonds.

7:47pm:

To me, it looks like a ram with a bulldog-like stance.

7:49pm: Unger-Hamilton came as an angora Dennis the Menace.

7:51pm: I think we have an answer to the #UniversityChallenge Paul Ross Ram / Pug / Bulldog Debate.

7:52pm: Sidney, of Sydney Opera House fame.

7:55pm:
Thank you. Appropriately for tonight's show, 'ram with a bulldog-like stance' sounds like a dinosaur name translation.

7:55pm: Roger Tiling bloody loves his job. He bloody loves it.

7:57pm: Jeremy Paxman, irritated about his tardy dinner: "Come on. Let's have it, please".

7:59pm: Someone needs to tell Tiling his mic will pick him up perfectly.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera...
Read more

'...I'm Gonna Look at You 'til My Eyes Go Blind."

Over the past week or two, I’ve been on a bit of a Sheryl Crow kick, largely thanks to rediscovering her cover of one of my most-liked Bob Dylan songs. She has one of my favourite female voices, yet despite this, I only own one CD and that’s just a single (her '97 release ‘Hard to Make a Stand’); on that basis, you can only imagine how much of her back catalogue I’d own if I hated her (it would fall into minus-figures). Dylan, conversely, takes up more of my collection than anyone else, save The Beatles and Paul McCartney’s solo work. He’s one of those artists who, when you get him, you really get him - and once I’d tuned into his style as a student, I'd time and again be blown away by his lyrics; he’ll have more jaw-dropping imagery in one track than other people fit in a whole career. These days, I mostly listen to music in the morning when getting ready, and more often than not, this will consist of a suggested YouTube playlist when I’m in the bath, r...
Read more

Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

If ever a river was mis-sold, it’s the Roaring Meg in Stevenage. I just walked past it on my way to the retail park that has taken its name. They’re similarly uninspiring. The river is less of a roar and more of a dribble; cystitis sufferers produce greater flow. The retail park is soulless. What was once a thriving enterprise is nearly devoid of atmosphere, save an underlying essence of emptiness and despair. With a Toys R Us. When it was first built I was excited. Back then, the thought of a bowling alley, an ice rink, a Harvester and a Blockbuster Video within a small surface area was enticing. I celebrated many birthdays on site. There was an indoor cricket pitch there for a while where I once had a joint party with a friend. Why someone with an almost pathological fear of sport would agree to such a venture is beyond me, but I did it. Now, there’s very little at the Roaring Meg of note. The river would be a metaphor for the shopping ce...
Read more