Anorak

Anorak News - Pop culture, media, sport and weirdness

28th, March 2014 Strange But True

Other Parents' Kids With Stupid Names: Biggles, Posie and Tuppence JACKSON-KEW

OTHER Parents presents those parents who give their ordinary kids extraordinary names... More »

28th, March 2014 Reviews 2

Climate Change Ain't Gonna Be As Bad As They Say

THERE are three important questions about climate change: is it happening, is it us causing it and how bad is it going to be? It's the answers to those three that determine what, if anything, we should try to do about it. My answers to those three have been yes, yes, and maybe not as bad as people think for some time now... More »

28th, March 2014 Key Posts

Darren Gough's Greatest Moment on TalkSPORT: 'We H'all Live In A Yeller Sumbarine'

DARREN Gough was once a cricketer with Yorkshire and England. And then he reached the dizzy heights of TalkSPORT radio... More »

28th, March 2014 Flashback

Prophylactic Tooth Brushes And Other Adverts From First World War Newspaper Stars And Stripes (1918-1919)

BETWEEN February 8, 1918 and June 13, 1919, General John J. Pershing published the United States Army newspaper for its forces in France... More »

28th, March 2014 Reviews

1 In 5 BBC Listeners Would Refuse To Attend A Gay Marriage

The first Marriages That Happen To Have People Who Are The Same Gender will take place across England and Wales on Saturday, with some tying the knot on the stroke of midnight, after the government’s legislation received the Royal Assent... More »

28th, March 2014 Flashback

1950: Arsenal and Leeds United Fans Kept In Check By New Technology

FLASHBACK to March 3 1950, where the FA Cup sixth round game between Arsenal and Leeds United is underway. The hot topic is the latest technology... More »

28th, March 2014 Film 1

Exploring the IMDb Bottom 100: The Worst of The 1960s

WITH nearly 3 million films in their database, it’s quite a dubious accomplishment to be ranked in IMDb’s Bottom 100. That’s the bottom of a very deep barrel – the bottom 0.003% in fact. I’d love to explore all the members of this exclusive club; but, in the interest of time we’ll start with the 1960s... More »

28th, March 2014 Celebrities

Fists Of Love: Kelly Osbourne Dates A Man Who Since Birth Has Had 'Ozzy' Written On His Knuckles

KELLY Osbourne is dating an American skater-boi called Braydon Szafranski... More »

28th, March 2014 Celebrities

How To Seduce Kelly Brook with Dead Badgers, Otters And Weasels

KELLY Brook is engaged to be married. We know this because she's bought a ring balloon... More »

28th, March 2014 Money

Radio Put Downs: Did Kate Adie Call A Banker A 'Fat ***t'? (Audio)

Listen closely at around the 4mins 25s marks. What's that she says of Sutherland? He's a what..? More »

27th, March 2014 Books

In South Korea, The Diary of Anne Frank Is Sold As A Brian Eno Romance

IN South Korea, The Diary of Anne Frank is a story of seduction, romance, 1980s fashions and a model who looks like Brian Eno... More »

27th, March 2014 Film

First look at the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trailer

ONCE upon a time, we had the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles on British TV because on these shores, everyone is far too chicken to use the word 'ninja'. Mercifully, times have changed and now, we're all set for a brand new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. More »

27th, March 2014 Flashback

Circus Performers Of 1940s And 1950s America In Colour

SVERRE "Bex" Braathen captured 1940s and 1950s circus performers on Kodachrome slides... More »

27th, March 2014 Film 2

5 Movie Maniacs From The 1980s That Wanted To Be Freddy Krueger

THERE'S an old saying that goes: "if you’re going to take a shot at the king, make sure you don’t miss." Such words of wisdom also apply to the movie monsters of the 1980s... More »

27th, March 2014 Reviews 1

McDonald's Fan Stian Ytterdahl Gets Entire Menu Tattooed On His Arm

“Now I’m a living billboard,” Ytterdahl yells the newspaper Romereskes Blad, “But I think all this is just fun. Maybe it won’t be as fun when I’m 50 or 60 years, but it’s my choice.”.. More »

27th, March 2014 Reviews

ITV Passes Of PR Spin As News In Story On Cost Of Childcare During Teachers Strike

IN "Strike forces parents to find emergency child care", ITV's Simon Harris, has news of the teachers' strike. He speaks with a victim of those striking teachers... More »

27th, March 2014 Music

The Big Reunion: Andi Peters and Britpop

ARE you aware of the ITV2 series, The Big Reunion? Thus far, the show has brought Blue, Atomic Kitten, Liberty X and more, back together. Now, voice of the show - Andi Peters - has said he wants to do a Britpop version. Just imagine. All those 30somethings fishing out their velvet blazers and flared cords out of the bedding box!.. More »

27th, March 2014 manchester united

Manchester United Balls: The Plane-Flown Anti-Moyes Banner Shows The Modern Fan Is An Idiot

MANCHESTER United fans have become a monocular, retrospective bunch. Used on success in the Alex Ferguson years, a group of them are looking to raise enough money to hire a plane to fly over Old Trafford during Saturday’s game against Aston Villa towing an anti-David Moyes banner behind it... More »

27th, March 2014 Money

The IRS Says It's Going To Tax Bitcoin, Well, Just Like It Taxes Everything Else

THIS is perhaps a bit unkind of the IRS over in the US, issuing new tax guidance about Bitcoin in late March when everyone has to have their tax returns in by April 15th. But that's what they've done and the ruling isn't a surprise to anyone except those with the most absurd ideas of what Bitcoin actually is... More »

27th, March 2014 Celebrities

I Was At Diana Dors' Sex Parties: Max Clifford, Bob Monkhouse's 'Slit Eyeballs' And The Krays

Dors was one of the country's biggest stars. Dors was billed as Britain's Marilyn Monroe. Her real name was Diana Fluck - but her mother said she should change it because there was always the chance that her name would be up in lights outside a cinema - and one of the letters might fall off.... More »

27th, March 2014 Politicians

Winner Of Nick Clegg And Nigel Farage Debate To Fight Chocolate Teapot

WHEN Nick Clegg took the Yellow corner and Nigel Farage the purple one, LBC radio realised it had a fight on its hands, the likes of which we have not seen since chocolate teapot fought a glass hammer... More »

27th, March 2014 Flashback 5

The Darrin Factor: 6 Upsetting TV Character Replacements

IT shouldn't be a big deal when a familiar actor or actress is abruptly replaced on a TV show. Yet audiences are often unable to cope. I suppose it’s due to the fact that a subconscious connection is often developed between audience and actors. When, suddenly, an interloper appears in his or her place, all hell breaks loose. The textbook example is Darrin from Bewitched: when Dick York was replaced by Dick Sargent audiences were left confused and disoriented. What happened to Samantha’s husband? Did she remarry, or did she magically transform his physical appearance? What in the name of all that is holy is going on?!?... More »

27th, March 2014 Celebrities 1

Dylan Thomas Would Have Hated His Welsh Language Royal Mail Stamp

LETTER of the day is in the Times. It concerns Dylan Thomas and the Royal Mail's new stamps calling him a "Barrd ac awdur" (poet an author)... More »

27th, March 2014 Money 1

George Monbiot Makes Shock Discovery That Humans Are A Viciously Destructive Species

THIS really ought to take some sort of a prize for the amount of cluelessness it shows about our fellow humans. Yes, of course we're ruthless, greedy and destructive swine, what the hell else did anyone ever think we were?.. More »

26th, March 2014 In Pictures

The Soyuz-FG Rocket Booster With Soyuz TMA-12M Space Ship Blasts Off From The Baikonur Cosmodrome

Awesome... More »