The "And in other news..." thread

[Purple Train]

Duct Taped banana ‘artwork’ sells for $6.2million in New York

I suppose art is worth whatever anyone is prepared to pay. But really…….

Duct-taped banana artwork auctioned for $6.2m in New York

The winning bidder says he will eat the banana in coming days as part of a "unique artistic experience".

www.bbc.co.uk

It's an interesting philosophical conundrum really. Modern art is - and, to an extent, always has been - about pushing the boundaries of what art is, but if the art becomes what art is not, is it art?

 

[Loppylugs]

Would have been worth twice as much if it had been held by gorilla tape.

 

[Sun Chariot]

I'm now looking at the kitchen fruit bowl. I think I'll tape a banana and two oranges inside a pair of cheap Speedos.
That should net me a couple of million.
It's
Art.

 

[MotCO]

Won't the banana go mouldy?

 

[Ediswan]

Won't the banana go mouldy?

The artwork came with instructions for replacing the banana.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Won't the banana go mouldy?

I'm now beginning to wonder if the festering smell from our 22 year old son's bedroom, is actually Art

 

[dangie]

The artwork came with instructions for replacing the banana.

The installation - which has travelled around the world - comes with instructions on how to replace the banana whenever it rots.…. In fact, the fruit has been eaten not once, but twice.

Just what level of instruction do you need to tape a banana (other fruits are available) to a wall?

So basically, the buyer is paying $6.2million to create their own artwork…??

Addition:
This could be in the ‘irritation’ thread, as it really annoys me that someone has so much money they can waste it on things like this. If you have money to spare then do something good with it.

 

[Purple Train]

I'm now beginning to wonder if the festering smell from our 22 year old son's bedroom, is actually Art

Depends on whether his name's Art, surely.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Depends on whether his name's Art, surely.

Or if his name begins with an F.

 

[AndyPJG]

Won't the banana go mouldy?

Radio news reported that the buyer intends to eat the banana. .... yes, we have no bananas!

 

[OhNoAPacer]

The art is in the concept and not the actual object itself.

 

[dcbwhaley]

The art is in the concept and not the actual object itself.

My Artist friends tell me that it s Art because it is produced by an Artist.
And that he is an Artist because he produces Art

 

[OhNoAPacer]

My Artist friends tell me that it s Art because it is produced by an Artist.
And that he is an Artist because he produces Art

The Marcel Duchamp defence

 

[dangie]

….And that he is an Artist because he produces Art

That’s a bit like me saying I’m an electrician because I’ve wired up a plug

 

[High Dyke]

BBC News - World Beekeeping Awards axe honey prize due to fraud

World Beekeeping Awards axe honey prize due to fraud

A report found that 46% of sampled honey products had likely been bulked out with cheaper sugar syrups.

www.bbc.com

The World Beekeeping Awards have announced that there will not be any prizes for honey next year because of concerns about fraud in the global supply chain.

Apimondia - the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations - said in a statement that the change was "necessitated by the inability to have honey fully tested for adulteration".

 

[edwin_m]

Hmm, that puts them in a sticky situation. Perhaps they should hive off the testing to someone more able to do it and comb through the results, just to bee on the safe side.

 

[Trackman]

They have been stung.

 

[AndyPJG]

BBC News

Man who found smooth Mars bar gets £2 compensation
A man who caused an online storm when he found a Mars bar without its signature ripple has received £2 in compensation.
Harry Seager’s picture of the confectionery generated interest from thousands of members on the Dull Men’s Club Facebook page, with one labelling it “hideous”.
The 34-year-old said while Mars Wrigley UK would not give him a reason for the imperfection, group members said the bar had escaped being blown by air.
Mars Wrigley UK said earlier this month the bar "slipped" through its production line and confirmed the swirl was being kept.
Mr Seager, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, was on the way to a classic car show in Birmingham with friends and picked up the chocolate bar at a service station in Thame, Oxfordshire.
“The only reason I emailed [Mars] was because I was interested in what might have caused it to happen. That is all I wanted to know and they kept side-lining that question,” he said.
“I think £2 is great, it will be two free Mars bars. Maybe they could have sent me more but I’m not being ungrateful. I think it’s amazing after everything that’s happened that I got the £2 voucher.”
Mr Seager said he planned to buy more Mars bars with the £2
Mars bars were first made by hand in Slough, Berkshire, in 1932, and are still made in the town.
“A few people who used to work at Mars’ factories commented [on Facebook] and they said it goes through a machine called an enrober, which is like the waterfall the bars go through," Mr Seager said.
“Apparently they get blown with air along the top as it comes out of that waterfall. Apparently there’s meant to be somebody at the end who removes the ones which haven’t been hit by the air.
“I don’t know what happens to them then. I suppose they got put into products that have Mars bars in, like cakes and things.”
With regards to other confectionery, Harry enjoys most chocolate bars but is not a fan of all sweet treats.
“I don’t like the strawberry and orange cremes in a box of Roses or a box of Quality Street but I do like the coffee ones. I remember they took the coffee ones out a very long time ago but as a kid I remember them,” he added.

Those Quality Street Coffee Cremes are only available at John Lewis and Waitrose this Christmas.

 

[Sun Chariot]

BBC News

I've bought 1000 Mars Bars and some fine "Wet & Dry". If I work hard enough, I can get them smooth by Easter 2025 and it'll net me a couple of grand...

 

[brad465]

Now that this story has calmed down somewhat, this has to be top of the list of "most stupid act carried out when drunk" (it took place at 11pm local time):

South Korea martial law: The six hours that shook the country

A recap of a dramatic night that saw South Koreans rush to overturn the president's shock martial law order.

www.bbc.co.uk

Nineteen-year-old Hwang was watching the protests in Georgia on Tuesday night's news when the images on TV suddenly changed - the spotlight was on his country after South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol announced martial law.
"I couldn’t believe what I was seeing," said the student, who wished to be identified only by his surname.
By Wednesday afternoon, he was among the protesters standing before the National Assembly, still stunned about what had happened the night before.
"It's important for me to be here to show that we are against what Yoon tried to do," Hwang said.
In a little less than six hours, Yoon was forced to walk back his shock announcement after lawmakers scrambled to block it.
But those were chaotic hours, sparking protests, fear and uncertainty in the country that had elected him.

The announcement​

On Tuesday night, at 23:00 local time (14:00 GMT) President Yoon, seated in front of blue creaseless curtains, made an unexpected address to the nation.
He said he was imposing martial law to protect the country from "anti-state" forces that sympathised with North Korea. The embattled leader is in a deadlock over a budget bill, dogged by corruption scandals and investigations into his cabinet members.
What followed was a sleepless night for Seoul.
Shortly after Yoon’s announcement, police lined the white metal gates outside the National Assembly building in the heart of Seoul, the building that the country’s tourism authorities have framed as “the symbol of Korean democracy”.
The military then announced that all parliamentary activity was suspended under martial law. But neither that nor the heavy security presence stopped thousands from gathering in front of the assembly in concern and fury.
It is easy to forget that South Korea - now a vibrant democracy - had its last brush with authoritarianism in the not-too-distant past - it only emerged from military rule in 1987. Martial law was last imposed in 1979.
This was “a move I never expected to see in the 21st century in South Korea,” university student Juye Hong told BBC World Service's OS programme from Seoul.

 

[Trackman]

Now that this story has calmed down somewhat, this has to be top of the list of "most stupid act carried out when drunk" (it took place at 11pm local time):

Wouldn't surprise me if he was.
Not even his closest advisors didn't see it coming.
He had a go at Biden once - last thing he should do - but they reckoned the name 'Biden' was translated incorrectly, didn't stop South Korean news agencies reporting it and showing it on TV.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Quiet news day in south Hampshire...

Portchester: Knitters create nude Christmas window display

The Nudi Knitters are using the window characters as a way to talk about intimate issues.

www.bbc.co.uk

A group of knitting enthusiasts has transformed a shop window into a fun Christmas scene using knitted nude local characters.
The festive display at the Carpet Gallery and Haberdashery store in Portchester precinct in Hampshire is raising money and awareness for Breast Cancer Now and Prostate Cancer UK.

 

[brad465]

A new skyscraper, with a planned height matching The Shard, has been given permission to be constructed. It will be called "1 Undershaft", which, according to Urban Dictionary, has a very unfortunate second meaning:

Subscribe to the Financial Times

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on.ft.com

The City of London has approved plans for its new tallest skyscraper, a 74-storey office tower that will be tied with the Shard as western Europe’s tallest building. Plans for the tower, called 1 Undershaft...

 

[Calthrop]

A new skyscraper, with a planned height matching The Shard, has been given permission to be constructed. It will be called "1 Undershaft", which, according to Urban Dictionary, has a very unfortunate second meaning:

Subscribe to the Financial Times

A subscription to the Financial Times provides you with the insights and perspective you need to succeed, now.

on.ft.com

(My bolding) Having gone to your Urban Dictionary link; I see that the "first" meaning which it also gives, is perfectly innocuous: "the trap door or pit in a theatrical space -- typically used to house the orchestra". Was amused to note the pseudonym of the submitter to the UD, of this particular item: "Major Barbara". Hitherto, the name "Undershaft" had come to my notice, only in connection with George Bernard Shaw's play Major Barbara, which I had to "do" for English GCE, long ago; that work's anti-hero / rather likeable villain, being the arms-industry tycoon Andrew Undershaft. I recall that this gentleman was so named, owing to his (or his ancestor's?) lowly origin as a foundling; called after the (factual) church of St. Andrew Undershaft in the City of London, on whose premises he was picked up as an abandoned infant. Presumably the projected skyscraper's name, is derived from its proximity to the church concerned.

 

[Gloster]

(My bolding) Having gone to your Urban Dictionary link; I see that the "first" meaning which it also gives, is perfectly innocuous: "the trap door or pit in a theatrical space -- typically used to house the orchestra". Was amused to note the pseudonym of the submitter to the UD, of this particular item: "Major Barbara". Hitherto, the name "Undershaft" had come to my notice, only in connection with George Bernard Shaw's play Major Barbara, which I had to "do" for English GCE, long ago; that work's anti-hero / rather likeable villain, being the arms-industry tycoon Andrew Undershaft. I recall that this gentleman was so named, owing to his (or his ancestor's?) lowly origin as a foundling; called after the (factual) church of St. Andrew Undershaft in the City of London, on whose premises he was picked up as an abandoned infant. Presumably the projected skyscraper's name, is derived from its proximity to the church concerned.

Not quite. The building will be in a street called Undershaft at number 1. The street name seems to derive from a very tall maypole (the shaft) that was erected on feast days on the corner of St Mary Axe and was taller than the church, which was therefore called St Andrew Undershaft. In 1517 the whole thing degenerated into a riot and the maypole was henceforth banned: the current church dates from 1532, so has outlived a great deal of destruction.

 

[Calthrop]

Thank you ! You're plainly a lot more well-up than me, on City of London lore and history.

 

[AndyPJG]

Giant 5kg mushroom feeds family for a week

BBC News - Beds, Herts & Bucks
A woman who found a giant 5kg (11lb) mushroom on a country walk said the vegetable fed her family for a whole week.
Alissimon Minnitt, 27, was walking with her father in a field in North Marston, near Winslow in Buckinghamshire, when they spotted the enormous fungus in the grass.
"It fed my family for a week... I've been eating it ever since. I still have three slices left in my freezer. I'll be honest - I'm a little bit sick of it," she said.
The musician is a keen forager with "an interest in mushrooms", and said she knew how to identify it and not mistake it for something poisonous.
The giant white mushroom is laying on a kitchen counter, cut in half, with cuttings laying next to it.
Ms Minnitt, from Chesham, found the fungi close to where she previously found another giant, but slightly smaller, mushroom in 2017.
"A giant puffball, external is the most easily recognisable 'forageable' mushroom," she said. "It looks like something from another planet, they are so weird."
The amateur mycologist explained she knew what shapes and colours to avoid. Experts say people without such knowledge should not take any risks.
.......

 

[Ashley Hill]

Mmm,mushrooms! Mushrooms on toast,fried,garlic,I could go on. Lucky woman.

 

[edwin_m]

There couldn't have been mush room left in the cupboard when she put it away.

 

[Trackman]

Mmm,mushrooms! Mushrooms on toast,fried,garlic,I could go on. Lucky woman.

I clicked on the link to see the size of this monster.
She even made a Pizza with a mushroom base - sounds interesting.