Author Archives: verticallychallengedgiant

Mercury prize won by obscure band who punch goats while holding microphones

Makes an award-winning sound when you punch it in the face

Makes an award-winning sound when you punch it in the face

The prestigious Mercury music prize has been won by a hitherto unheard of band, who eschew traditional musical instruments in favour of recording metallic grinding noises from industrial machinery and mixing it with the sound you get when you punch a goat in the face while holding a microphone.

“The Barclaycard Mercury Prize has taken on even more significance in recent years, as the only other major award for British artists, The Brits, tend to be won by acts that the general public have not only heard of, but also like.” said Timothy Forbes, music editor for The Guardian, “The Mercury Prize is therefore essential to remind ordinary music fans how much better than them us critics are.” Continue reading

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New Orleans residents fundraising for UK storm

OH MY GOD!!

OH MY GOD!!

Residents of New Orleans, who are still putting their lives back together eight years on from Hurricane Katrina, have put their own recovery on hold to raise funds for the relief effort after Storm Jude battered parts of the UK.

Concerts have been organised, charity car washes have been set up and fun runs are taking place, all to help get the UK back to normal after the devastation caused over the last day. Funds will be used to replace broken fence panels and roof tiles, and to fly volunteer teams of “Storm survivors” to the UK, who will put their experiences in the wake of Katrina to use in the clean-up effort. Continue reading

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Filed under News, Uncategorized

Peter Herbert threatens formal complaint about ‘racist’ monkey signs in zoos

RACIST!!

RACIST!!

Fresh from making a formal complaint about Roy Hodgson telling a joke about a monkey, Chair of the Society of Black Lawyers, Peter Herbert, has now set his sights on the nation’s zoos, who he claims also use the term. The decorated civil rights lawyer is insisting that any reference to monkeys is removed from signs and promotional materials or he will make a complaint to the police.

“To think that in 2013 people still believe that this is acceptable language is unbelievable. Some of these zoos have signs and even adverts that have clear racial overtones which, in the multicultural society we live, is frankly unacceptable.” said Mr Herbert,

“London Zoo, which is one of the biggest zoos in the country and employs many ethnic minorities, has an attraction called ‘Meet the monkeys’. This sort of casual racism is astonishing and my organisation will be lodging a police complaint if this is not renamed immediately.” Continue reading

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Hillsborough police footage “featured outtakes from Friends”

New York. Not Hillsborough.

New York. Not Hillsborough.

A pre-inquest hearing has been told that video filmed by police during the Hillsborough disaster “may have been edited”, after an audiovisual expert pointed out that the scenes were interspersed with outtakes from US sitcom Friends.

“The reliability of footage taken from handheld cameras used by police officers on that tragic day has been called into question after an independent expert claimed that there were no Friends actors in the stadium, nor did any of the events take place in the interior of the Central Perk coffee house.” explained Pete Weatherby QC, who is representing 21 victims’ families.

“Police officers present on the day maintain that they acted appropriately and with the public’s best interests at heart. A first viewing of the footage they have provided would seem to back this up, with one officer even single-handedly fighting off an attack by a heavily armed group of Nazi soldiers.”

The images have been cross referenced with BBC footage of the events and experts now claim that there were no World War II Nazi soldiers attacking the crowd on that day, despite what the police tapes appear to show. Nor was a small child rescued from a well inside the stadium.

“It was possible that there was an attack by time-travelling Nazi soldiers that was missed by the BBC cameras, and that there was a hidden well inside the stadium that nobody knew about, which a drowning child was heroically rescued from.” continued Weatherby, “But what has really cast doubt on the footage is the outtakes from Friends.”

“Given that the first episode of Friends didn’t air until five and a half years after the Hillsborough disaster we have reason to believe that the footage may have been subtly and skilfully edited.”

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Ryanair staff to only spit in customers’ faces if absolutely necessary

Trying very hard not to spit right in your face

Trying very hard not to spit right in your face

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has said that staff will be instructed to only spit in the faces of customers who really deserve it, amid concerns that poor customer service is hitting sales.

Europe’s biggest budget airline warned earlier this month that profits may miss forecasts, and O’Leary is worried that regularly abusing customers may be contributing to their problems. Continue reading

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Ed Miliband to fund benefits rise with Saturday job at Asda

Also willing to collect trolleys if necessary

Also willing to collect trolleys if necessary

Labour has said it will reverse controversial changes to housing benefit if it wins the next election, with the move set to be funded by Ed Miliband taking on a Saturday job working on the checkouts at Asda.

The Labour leader said that the so-called “bedroom tax” was “wrong, iniquitous and not working”, claiming that a commitment to reverse the policy showed that Labour offered a creditable alternative and could make a real difference in government. This comes as great news to fans of unsustainable borrowing. Continue reading

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Britain’s favourite meal “somebody else’s dinner”

That. Whatever it is that he's carrying. No, I don't know what it is but I want it.

That. Whatever it is that he’s carrying. No, I don’t know what it is but I want it.

A recent survey has found that Britain’s favourite meal is whatever somebody else is eating. The aroma of somebody else’s food, that you can’t quite place but smells great, beat traditional favourites such as fish and chips, curry, and unspecified meat kebab to the number one spot.

“Can you smell that coming from next door? I can’t tell what it is; it could be oven chips and a pasty from Iceland with precisely zero nutritional value for all I know, but I’m not cooking it and it smells nice. I want it.” said Ian Jenkins,  one of the people surveyed.

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GTA V so good some gamers forgetting to masturbate regularly

GTA5The eagerly anticipated launch of Grand Theft Auto 5 has had an unanticipated side effect, with some gamers so engrossed in the experience they have not masturbated in almost thirty six hours.

Several shops opened at midnight to satisfy demand for the game amongst the sort of person who normally knocks one out about seven or eight times a day. Many of those who were first through the doors have been glued to their PS3 or Xbox 360 ever since, not even stopping to sleep, eat or have the occasional quick tug. Continue reading

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David Moyes still trying to sign Spanish midfielders

I'll give you £30m for Fabregas. No? Ok, £28m.

I’ll give you £30m for Fabregas. No? Ok, £28m.

Over twelve hours after the transfer window closed it has emerged that David Moyes is still sat in his office making futile attempts to sign midfielders from Spain’s La Liga.

Having failed in an early summer bid to sign Thiago Alcantara from Barcelona, the new Manchester United manager turned his attention to failing to land Cesc Fabregas. After successfully seeing a number of bids rejected he then moved on to Ander Herrera from Athletic Bilbao, before turning in a late bid for Sami Khedira, and then going back to concentrating on Herrera not joining. Continue reading

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Mystery second Bale bid was from Harold Thursday

Probably not worth a full pack of Quavers

Probably not worth a full pack of Quavers

It has emerged that the unnamed bidders hoping to rival Real Madrid for Gareth Bale’s signature were Nice ‘n’ Spicy Nik Naks Southern League Division Two club, Harold Thursday, who made an offer of £6.38 plus half a pack of Quavers.

The identity of the second club who have made a bid for Bale has not been officially announced by Tottenham but Manchester United have been linked with the player this summer. Speculation that the bid is from United would appear to be wide of the mark, however, with Harold Thursday confirming that it was their bid that Spurs are considering.
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MMR jab to be replaced with cull of sick children

Not keen on needles? How about guns?

Not keen on needles? How about guns?

A new scheme to replace the controversial MMR vaccination with a cull of any children who “look a bit poorly” is set to be trialled in Somerset and Gloucestershire despite outrage from opposition groups.

The MMR vaccine is given to young children to protect them against measles, mumps and rubella but has been linked to autism and other serious side effects in the past, despite doctors insisting that it is safe. These concerns have lead to alternative methods of containing the spread of these contagious diseases being explored, with a cull of sick children now being the preferred option.
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Heston Blumenthal breaks more taboos with release of new cannibal curry

Also considering attempting to raise the dead

Also considering attempting to raise the dead

Celebrity chef, Heston Blumenthal, is set to once again challenge the public’s perception of what can be classed as food with the release of a new line of curries made from human body parts.

In his constant quest for attention Blumenthal has been advocating alternative foods such as insects for a number of years, but limited success has seen him look into even more radical options.

“I’ve been banging on about the need for different, sustainable foods as the earth’s population continues to grow but nobody seems to be listening, possibly because they’re not overly keen on eating bugs.” said the owner of the award-winning Fat Duck restaurant, “That’s when I hit on the idea of eating people instead. It’s a truly sustainable food and could also help towards controlling the population and keeping homelessness and unemployment figures down.”
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UK men desperately trying to come up with plausible excuse for unblocking porn

Computer-pornDavid Cameron’s expected announcement that all UK internet providers will block access to pornography has sparked a panic amongst men across the country, all trying to come up with a genuine-sounding reason for asking for it to be unblocked.

Any new customers will automatically have family-friendly filters enabled and existing customers will be contacted and asked to decide whether to activate filters or not.
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Filed under Around Harold, Technology

Pirelli blame tyre failures on F1 teams “putting them on cars and driving”

About to explode?

About to explode?

Pirelli have blamed the series of tyre failures at the weekend’s British Grand Prix on the way F1 teams are using the tyres, most notably that they are “putting them onto racing cars and driving on them, sometimes really fast”.

The Italian company has modified the tyres for future races but say that teams need to take their share of responsibility and review the way that they are using them, maybe considering not driving so fast or for so long.

“In tests we have found the tyres to be perfectly safe if stored in a neat pile at room temperature. In these conditions very few of them spontaneously explode.” said a statement from Pirelli.
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Assad dismisses Syria conflict as ‘playful tiff’

assad

Assad also denied being involved in advertising

President Assad of Syria says images of entire towns reduced to rubble, thousands of murdered civilians and over a million refugees fleeing the country show “a playful tiff”.

“The pictures certainly look horrific but they give a far more drastic and violent impression of what took place than is really true.” claimed Mr Assad, “A couple of years ago I started to have an intense debate with sections of the Syrian population about the way that I was running the country.”

“What the pictures show is not my forces murdering defenceless civilians, but merely me attempting to emphasise my point that I’m doing a great job thank you very much.”
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Harold Thursday pull out of sponsorship deal with drug dealer

Different type of white lines?

Different type of white lines?

Harold Thursday have announced that they have abandoned plans to be sponsored by a local drug dealer after fans protested against the move.

Big Dave was due to appear as the club’s shirt sponsor next season, but the deal has now been cancelled after a backlash from fans who felt that promoting class A drugs on match days could be seen as being a little irresponsible.

Whilst we anticipated some negative responses from the initial agreement to promote illegal drugs for cash, we decided to ignore them when Dave offered us a quite substantial amount of money and looked at us menacingly.” said a statement from the club.

The initial move would have seen Big Dave’s name and phone number appear on the team’s home shirt and price lists for his various goods plastered around the ground. But since it was announced last week a “furious response” from fans has seen as many as six angry letters sent to the chairman, although it later emerged that one of them was a death threat intended for Piers Morgan and accidentally mailed to the wrong address.
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Venky’s set to buy, ruin Harold Thursday FC

He might get a game. On the wing.

He might get a game. On the wing.

Indian poultry firm Venky’s, the owners of Blackburn Rovers, have announced plans to buy and subsequently ruin local football team Harold Thursday.

With their mission to destroy Blackburn looking more successful by the day, the company have turned their sights to a new challenge and feel that the chance to take a team already playing in the 17th tier of English football, and attempt to make them even worse, presents the kind of opportunity that was too good to refuse. Continue reading

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Burglar rejects judge’s plan to send him to prison.

burglar copyA Harold man who was sentenced to 6 years in prison after being found guilty of 18 counts of burglary has rejected the judge’s plan and suggested an alternative proposal “in the spirit of the judge’s recommendation” that doesn’t involve him going to prison.

Paul David broke into houses in Harold and Felching over a period of three months and stole thousands of pounds worth of valuables, but he insists that prison is not the answer as it could set a dangerous precedent in restricting his freedom.

“What I am proposing instead is an independent regulatory body, made up mostly of members of my family, with the power to review any incidents they feel are inappropriate and make recommendations as to my future conduct.” said Mr David,
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Filed under Crime, News, Politics

Harold minors call for return of graffitied walls in Mussolini row

Rubbish graffiti

Talented bunch aren’t they?

The row over the appointment of Benito Mussolini as manager of Harold Thursday continued today, with the Harold Minors’ Association threatening to remove several pieces of graffiti from the club’s ground in protest at the long-dead fascist being given the job.

“We have proudly supported Harold Thursday for a number of years but feel that some things are more important than football. If we do not get a full explanation from the club we will be asking for the return of a number of pieces of graffiti, including the famous ‘Gaz M is a nob’ piece on the rear wall of the changing rooms.” said 15 year-old Dave Jumper, general secretary of the Harold Minors’ Association.
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Animal rights campaigners call for ban on Easter egg hunt

The egg is going to get it

The egg is going to get it

The annual Harold Easter egg hunt is under threat today after an animal rights group claimed that the practice of hunting eggs with dogs is cruel, and threatened to sabotage the event.

A proud tradition believed to date back as far as 300BC, many locals look forward to the thrill of hunting with hounds each Easter Sunday, chasing chocolate eggs through the woodland South of the town. But if the campaigners have their way that could all be set to change.
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Filed under Around Harold, Crime, Vicars