With the new film now released in the US and this Friday in the UK, I thought I would dig out my favorite Batman chalk drawing.

Thanks to: http://www.thepuzzlefactory.com

Did you remember these when you were a kid?

Thanks to: http://www.photobasement.com/kind-of-a-racist-toy/

My remarkable insight into the wonderful world of mankind’s creativity

1. The Aeroplane
The sheer speed with which this invention has developed astounds me. Alcock and Brown were the first people to fly the Atlantic in 1919, and then just 40 years later we had jumbo jets doing the very same journey. When you think about it, that’s a short space of time for such a big leap.

2. The Mouli Grater
I’m pretty sure it’s a 20th-century phenomenon, and it’s much better than a fancy 2008 food blender. It’s a simple hand-cranked steel cheese grater invented by a Frenchman. It’s one of those things that nobody has ever been able to improve upon. I like to grate a good old piece of cheddar on mine - maybe to then melt down and make some kind of cheesy sauce. I may also put a hunk of Parmesan in my mouli or, perhaps, a radish. Very nice.

3. The Atomic Reactor
This has had a lot of bad press. But I’m sure there’s something in atomic power, so we need to stick with it. I’ve tried to invent a few things myself in the past. I devised cash machines with a gamble function, but I couldn’t find a bank interested in it. Then I invented a machine that recycled newspaper into bog roll. You sit there on the loo reading, put your paper in the slot and once you’re done and instantly you’ve got bog roll. that’s got to be good, but not as good as an atomic reactor.

4. The Space Shuttle
I like the Space Shuttle for its ability to put up satellites. Without it, we wouldn’t have sat-nav. Beyond that, I’m slightly cynical about these passenger shuttle flights being banded around. It happened before in the early seventies. PanAm opened a ’space flight club.’ It said: “Soon we’ll be able to take you to the moon on holiday, pre-book now.” They took the money and nothing happened. Now everyone’s signing up again! The fools…

5. The PC
I hate computers but i reluctantly acknowledge that people are more in touch thanks to PCs. What I dislike about them is going to buy one. Some awful chap in a suit tells you a million things you don’t understand, takes your cash and then presents you with a box full of more boxes. I’ve got two Apple Macs and they’re pretty neat, but having to buy them was hell. I’d rather slit my wrists than go through that again.

6. Television
It’s such a marvelous world-changer. We rely on TV now, but we didn’t even have it a few decades back. It shows just how great TV is for it to make my list at all because, as a rule, I prefer mechanical things. Seriously, they do. Smell a mechanical alarm clock and tell me which one you prefer.

7. The National grid
OK, electricity is a 19th-century invention, but the idea that it could be standardized for a whole county is very much a 20th-century phenomenon. It’s such a fantastic idea and you wouldn’t want a fridge or an iPod without it. It opened the door for millions of future inventions like teleporters - I wish someone would invent them. Or an anti-gravity levitation personal-transport capsule. that would be good. It’s something I fantasize about a lot.

8. The Sellotape dispenser
I can’t think about how the world existed without Sellotape, but equally, I can’t see how anybody uses the stuff without a dispenser - it’s impossible to find the end of the tape. If this machine hadn’t been invented, the amount of people dying from stress-related illness would be double.

9. The Heart And Lung Machine
Prior to this, anything that went wrong with your heart was inoperable. The ability to stop someone’s heart while you mend it, and then fire it back up, is remarkable. I find it amazing that we could invent something as unbelievable as this in the 20th Century.

10. The Electric Screwdriver
Self-assembly furniture is such a big thing, and putting large quantity of self-tapping wood screws in by hand is absolute murder. The powered screwdriver has liberated DIY man. Can I just say that the mobile phone is my least favorite 20th-century invention. I hate telephones, and now you can’t escape them.

At the start of April 1997, Easter time, British television saw a revolutionary new force take to the airwaves. Its bright colours, fun outlook and happy stars constituted bold, modern ideas. A couple of months later, they were big news - so now you know I’m not talking about Channel 5 Why were thy big news?

Teletubbies is, as you almost certainly know, a BBC2 television programme for children. Small children. Pre-school children, in fact. It is called Teletubbies because each character has a small screen in their tummy which can show TV pictures. A Teletubby is a furry, rounded, primary-coloured creature with an aerial sticking out of its head, a face ranging from pale beige to dark beige, very big eyes, a twitchy nose and a happy smile. It has grey circular rubber grips on its feet. They are of a very sunny disposition, and are terribly likeable. They hold each other in very high regard (”Teletubbies love each other very much”, we were told once) but unlike some shows it isn’t rammed down our throats, which is appreciated.

The show has a structure along these lines:

* Intro song
* Windmill spins, Teletubbies run around madly
* Teletubbies say hello
* Short story/event
* Windmill spins, Teletubbies run around madly
* Teletubbies stand on a hill
* Each Teletubby in turn receives a small transmission flash on their tummy
* One Teletubby is honoured with the full transmission film and is very happy
* The (live action) film is shown - maybe a story, a song, or a film about a child
* When it is over, the Teletubbies say “Again, again!”
* The film is shown again
* Teletubbyland based story, usually with some vague moral
* If time allows, a vignette (signified by the windmill) happens - maybe the ships or the bear
* Windmill spins, Teletubbies run around madly
* Teletubbies stand behind hills, voice says goodbye to them, they say goodbye and duck down behind hills
* One Teletubby jumps up and says “Boo!”, others follow suit
* Voice says “Nooo” in a smiley voice, Teletubbies repeat
* Voice says goodbye again, Teletubbies say goodbye and duck down behind hills
* Sun sets (”The sun is setting in the sky, Teletubbies say goodbye”)
* In turn, Teletubbies say goodbye again, then jump into hole in roof of house
* Whichever Teletubby jumped up earlier pops out of the hole, waves and says “Bye bye!”

All that, in half an hour!

Check out this Teletubby imagery by graffiti artists in southern Italy:

Do you want Teletubbies on your desktop? If so then download this Teletubbie wallpaper in 800X600

Update: Just found this great little pic of Teletubbies in the wild!

A lot has been spoken of the Teletubbies, those potbellied cuties of unknown origin and strange colors that play and sing before the eyes of our children. But, in spite of the criticisms poured by well-meaning, although wrong, defenders of political correctness, nobody up to now has dared to analyze seriously this phenomenon until now…

Many are the questions that I pose relate to the imagery that the Teletubbies are showing to the children who watch the show. We need to understand the reach and the complexity of the messages that the children receive from the show. Here I will try to indicate quickly by means of inspired questions that will aimed at finding out the “truth behind the Teletubbies!”

1. What country are the Teletubbies is found?
2. Why is the exact situation never described? - Are they being watched?
3. Perhaps their home is a secret base where genetic experiments are carried out? - Come on - this would make a hell of a lot of sense.
4. Are the Teletubbies the result of such experiments?
5. Why do they carry a television set in the belly?
6. Is this apparatus part of their genetic code or a modification added later?
7. When theTeletubbies leave their house why are they then are forced back inside when some hidden loudspeakers appear? - 1984?
8. Where are their parents?
9. Why do they seem to have been abandoned? - no one seems to look after them (This fact reinforces the thesis that the Teletubbies are beings created in a laboratory.)
10. If they are abondend, Why always they are playing? Do they not need to do work?
11. With no work, How do they get their food?
12. How it is that we never we see him them buy anything? - is is some sort of communist state?
13. What the hell happens when the Teletubbies have hallucinations in which real children appear? Is it some sort of reality drug? - or a glimpse of a parallel universe?
14. Is the Children in the TV a subliminal message so that the watching children believe that their life elapses in the interior of the Teletubbies?
15. Why are the only alive animals that they can see are rabbits?

Without doubt, the most perceptive minds will question the power of the Teletubbies after looking at some of these questions.

I do wonder if I should let my children watch the Teletubbies!

1. The Verve

Richard Ashcroft’s band were orignally called Verve (no. ‘The’), but they stirred up a lawsuit from US jazz label of the same name.

2. Chicago

Pete Cetera’s soft-rock band were originally called Chicago Transit Authority, but when Chicago City threatened legal action, the quickly backed down.

3. Marillion

In 1979, band found Mick Pointer orignally took the name Silmarillion after JRR Tolkien’s book, but thought better of it due to copyright issues.

4. Suede

The US caused problems for the Britpoppers as there was already a band of the same name. forcing them to become The London Suede.

5. Linkin Park

Orignally called Hybrid Theory until another band called Hybrid flagged up issue. So they swapped to Lincoln Park but couldn’t afford the new “lincolnpark.com” domain, hence the new spelling.

6. Kling Klang

Legendary electro-oddities Kraftwerk are reportedly suing Liverpool band Kling Klang as the phrase is a registrered band trademark and the name of their Dusseldorf studio.

7. The Hopefuls

The minnesota indie fun lovers had to abbreviate from The Olympic Hopefuls after the US Olympic committee pointed out it owned the rights to the name.

8. Liberty X

The “Flopstars” were orignally “X”-less…until early “90’s band Libery took umbrage.

9. Pear Jam

Originally called Mookie Blaylock after basketball player. But Blaylock was still playing and considered his name his brand.

10. Death from 1979

The Toronto dance-punk duo had to add the 1979 after a legal dispute with New York label DFA Records.

When reflecting on the decade of the eighties, no one single term, idea, or event comes to mind.

During this single ten-year span, large-scale cultural changes and major political events took place around the world. The early eighties were marked by events such as the election of Ronald Reagan to the presidency of the United States, a renewed Cold War, and revolutionary developments in technology. By the end of the eighties communism had all but ceased to exist in eastern Europe, America was mired in an economic recession, and large numbers of people found themselves using personal computers on a daily basis.

Important political events took place at home as well as abroad. We witnessed Michael Gorbachev lead the U.S.S.R. into a new era of democratic thought and improved relations with America through policies like Glasnost, Peristroika, and treaties like The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (parts I and II), as well as the re-unification of Germany, and democratic elections throughout eastern Europe. During this time we also saw failed attempts for democratic reform in China where, as Elizabeth Bland shows in her essay “Remember Our Freedom,” thousands of teenagers were killed by the government in the Tianamen Square massacre. In America, some of the landmark events to make history were the death of seven astronauts and one teacher in the Challenger Explosion (see Jarett Epstein’s essay “The Challenger: Our Disaster,”) a stock market crash, and a failed attempt to assassinate President Reagan.

Social perspectives also changed during the eighties, resulting in new-found awarenesses of issues such as teen life, women’s roles in society, and AIDS. Ashley Van Valkenburgh, in her paper “Teen-Angst in the Eighties” explores how Hollywood director John Hughes depicts teen life in a more significant light than previous movies have. Heather Brausa’s essay “The 1980’s:The Baby Boom Meets Its Doom . . .” discusses the relationships between alterations in the female work force, childbearing trends, and fertility rates. In keeping with the decade’s women’s movement, more women led lives outside the home resulting in a new sense of independence. This concept of liberation and empowerment was facilitated by the rising interest in health and fitness as discussed in Juliane Gestone’s paper, “Booming Bodies and Heatlthy Minds.” For women, the fitness boom served as a social movement resulting in changes in the cultural perception of women and consequently their role in daily life. In other areas of health, the AIDS epidemic surfaced. Deepa Channaiah’s paper, “The Ryan White Story: A Shift from Fear, Confusion, and Ignorance to Acceptance and New Found Knowledge of AIDS” focuses on teenager Ryan White’s experience with the fatal disease. As a result, the widespread ignorance of AIDS among the general public evolved into a better understanding and acceptance of the disease and its victims. Finally, Keya Veney’s essay “The Vanessa Williams Story” examines the role of the African American woman in society. Thus, the 1980’s revolutionized cultural views of society through distinct changes in social issues. But that’s not all.

With the eighties came a booming interest in athletics which increased exponentially over the decade as sports evolved. This interest in athletics reflected the decade’s prevalent values of competition, success, and self-image. These same values helped define the eighties. Americans took a superior attitude towards other nations in sporting events, as was evident in the international competitions of the decade. Alexis Siggers’ paper “Nationalism and the Olympics in the Eighties” examines the Olympic Games as prime examples of the intense competition on which Americans thrived . Throughout the decade, the Olympics were a perfect showcase for the nationalism that was provoked by competition. Not only did the attitudes about sports change in the eighties, but the actual sports also went through drastic change. Josh Levin’s paper “The NBA Revolution” points out that one of these most noticeable changes was the emergence of professional basketball. In the eighties, professional basketball was transformed into an exciting game that captured the hearts of millions of Americans. To them, basketball was more than a sport. Along with the health craze which had emerged in the late seventies and Americans’ changing attitude towards college and professional athletics, came an increase in the marketing of athletic apparel. Will Thompson’s essay “My Adidas!” delves into this sneaker boom of the eighties. The sneaker industry became the driving force behind this increase and not only became important to athletics, but also took the fashion scene by storm.

Finally, the eighties are defined as a new era of image-oriented entertainment. This era is highlighted by the influence of music videos and the changing role of blacks in entertainment. The introduction of MTV made image a crucial part of music and advertising. Matt O’Neill’s explanation of this media where a new kind of rock star was created is entitled “I Want My MTV.” Madonna was one of these successful performers who relied on her image to capture her audience. The video-style format opened a new market for both performers and advertisers. Madonna’s success is analyzed in Todd Slaughter’s study “The 80s: Music Video and Madonna.” During the same time Rap music began to develop and increase in popularity, giving inner city youth the oppurtunity to express their culture and develop a new identity to mainstream American society. Oyama Caviness describes the significance of rap in “There Ain’t Nothin’ Like Hip Hop Music.” The Cosby Show changed the image of blacks on television and broke down many previous stereotypes. The Huxtables were a professional family, a doctor and a lawyer, who definitely broke out of the lower-class stereotype frequently representing black families on television prior to the show. Anthony Crenshaw takes a look at the change in television portrayals of the black American in his essay “The Cosby Show Changes the Way Blacks are Viewed.”

1. Napster

Before Napster, music downloading was the pastime of only the class “Poindexter”. In 1999 this all changed with the creation of Napster. Napster was created by a fellow geek named Shawn Fanning who set up the centralized file swapping service in only 60 solid hours. Napster is now dead, but it’s legacy continues with even white cap wearing jocks downloading the latest Jay Z album.

2. MMORPG

MMORP’s or text based MUD’s as they where known in the early 80’s were some of the geekiest hobbies known to man. It was only in 1991 when NeverWinter Nights was released did this change forever. Now we have the highly successful World of Warcraft that whilst may not be defined as “cool” it’s now been accepted by the mainstream.

3. GPS

In the 1980’s, radio/satellite buffoonery was geeky as hell! However after the creation of the GPS (Global Positioning System) – Such technology became not only useful but now it was even considered cool! Now, GPS devices such as Tom Tom’s are seen on every dash in the city.

4. Dyson

In the 1980’s, the only people who spoke about their vacuum cleaners were geeks and bores. This all changed in 1993 when James Dyson created the bagless vacuum cleaner! Now talking about your “dyson” was not just cool, it was mandatory at dinner parties and other social events.

5. CDJ

Ever since the dawn of music, there has been musical DJ’s. I am not saying that all analogue DJ’s were geeks but I am saying the vast majority fitted the bill. In the early 1990’s – the Pioneer CDJ-500 turned up and whacked DJing straight into the category of cool as fuck.

6. MP3

Anyone remember the portable tape player? Now, think about the type of people who used them – geeky right? This all changed in 1997 when SaeHan Information Systems released the first ever MP3 player. Ok whilst this bad boy could not hold a full album with only 16mb of on-board memory, it was a great step forward in the world of portable music.

7. Grills

In the same way that talking about vacuum cleaners was restricted to geeks and bores – the same was true of grilling machinery. When George Foreman burst into the grilling industry with the tag line – “I’m so proud of it, I put my name on it” - grills were now cool! George managed to accrue $150 million from his grills which was way more that all the money he made during his total career.

8. Play station 1

Whilst Console gaming was popular during the 1980’s, it was mainly the Geeks who played them. It was in 1995 and the release of the Sony Playstation that this changed forver. Ken Kutaragi the father of the PS1 made console gaming cool and this still continues today.

1. Commodore 64

Manufactured between 1982 and 1994, the C64 computer is fondly remembered by a whole generation of gamers.

2. Action Man

The former Stalwart of boy’s bedrooms was discontinued in 2006. He fights on in special collector’s edition form, however.

3. VW Beetle

In production for an unbeleivable 65 years, the final orignal-model Beetle rolled off the production line on 30 July 2003.

4. Pacers

These mid-Eighties spearmint sweets (aka Opal Mints) are much mourned. They tasted like toothpaste and were marketed by a succession of mulleted Seventies sportsmen.

5. Tab Clear

In the midst of the clear-colo craze of the early Nineties one brand stood above all others when launched in the UK in 1993 - a pity, then, it was produced for less than one year.

6. DeLorean DMC-12

Featured in Back to the Future and built in Northern Ireland, the DMC-12 was only built between 1981 and 1983.

7. Sinclair C5

The electrically powered tricycle for city travel - an idea way ahead of its time - was so ridiculed on it’s launch in 1985 that production halted the following year.

8. Wembley

The home of English football, built in 1923, closed in 2000. Opinion is still mixed about it’s successor.

9. VHS

With the rise of DVD, VHS’s days were numbered - the final Hollywood movie to be released on the format was 2005’s A history of Violence.

10. Concorde

One of the most beautiful pieces of engineering ever, Concorde (below) was removed from service in 2003.

1. Last month, a woman in her late 60s attempted to hold up a post office in Northenden, Manchester, UK, armed with a knife. Staff activated alarms. She walked off.

2. A trio of German pensioners aged between 64 and 73 known as the “Grandpa Gang” were jailed in 2005 for taking part in 14 bank robberies, stealing more than 1 million euros.

3 Australians David Davies, 81, and Florence Davies, 77, were convicted in 2004 for drug trafficking after police found 19kg of cannabis in a false ceiling.

4. An “Oliver Twist-style” training school was uncovered on a remote Siberian island in 2004 run by elderly criminals. Classes included “Dealing with police” and “How to win over your cell mates.”

5. Dottie Neeley, 87, from Kentucky was jailed in 2005 for selling her prescription painkillers and medication to addicts.

6. Wiliam Woolard from Worthing, Wes Sussex, is spending nine weeks in prison for claiming over £7,000 of benefits while working as a licensed scrape dealer.

7. A Lancashire pensioner, Harry Greaves, 70, was electronically tagged this year after being caught chauffeuring his drug-dealing wife around blackpool.

8. In 2000, wheelchair-bound Josie Daly - then 64 - was exposed as one of the UK’s premier madams. Her saunas in London made an estimated £7.5million in two years..

9. Retired accountant Roger Trotman was imprisoned by police in 2005 for ignoring his ASBO, gained for his fervent policing of parking on his Surrey road.

10. In 2004, Cumbrian resident Frank Benson was fined £100 for flashing a two-handed V-sign at speed cameras.