The Somewhat Ambitious

For some reason or another the things that have attracted my attention over the past few days have all been zoological in nature. So I thought I’d compile them for you briefly into a sort of ‘What Nature’s Up To’ newsletter. The answer, in short, is ‘being fucking terrifying’.
1. Snakes. Everyone loves snakes. Except, that [...]

[Read more →]

Sort of.
You see, in case you hadn’t heard, Luke has cancer and right now, he’s knee-deep in a critically acclaimed (no, seriously) show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. You may have noticed, if you’re a denizen of Melbourne, that Luke has been featured rather prominently in The Age this morning (the article can be [...]

[Read more →]

In a story designed solely to test my resolve, New Scientist has announced a startling find: the fossilised remains of a 42 foot snake. The once great, lithe slithering monster long ago buried itself into the ground and over time, became hard. Very hard. From the New Scientist:
Analyses of the rocks surrounding the Titanoboa fossils [...]

[Read more →]

Male bonding occurs amongst monkeys! Specifically, the males!
I know, i know, it’s a relief. Here I am, petrified I’ll piss off an errant gypsy and be turned into a chimp, only to realise I’m patently incapable of forming one-half of a Turner and Hooch type simian crimefighting duo. You know, where we’re initially at odds [...]

[Read more →]

It should be pointed out that both Luke and myself drink coffee. A LOT of coffee. Well, to be fair, I don’t monitor his intake. But whether you’re new to The Somewhat Ambitious or are an avid devotee, you may have noticed the inky black tongue of insanity creeping into our material. And here is [...]

[Read more →]

The Boston Globe has published a startling and awesome article on how to “hack” your brain, and emulate some pretty serious hallucinatory effects. Apparently “tweaking your cortex” can involve as little as some halved ping-pong balls. Why didn’t anyone tell me this before? I’ve frittered away my youth on gallons of mescaline when I could [...]

[Read more →]

Three cheers for terrifyingly misleading titles! A five-year-old girl, little Emelia Fawbert, has discovered a 50,000-year-old rhino bone during a fossil hunt with her family in Gloucestershire. Emelia (who is cripplingly adorable, even whilst grasping the petrified thigh-bone of a long-dead monster) found the 16-inch bone (hello vicar) with the help of her father, who [...]

[Read more →]

Is it wrong for me to pine for Bollywood in space? The implications zero-g will have on coreography are mind-boggling*. The launch was delayed for several days due to bad weather (on earth, not in space, obviously), but the Indian Space Research Organisation is feeling optimistic. My favourite part? The craft, named “Chandrayaan-1″, will orbit [...]

[Read more →]

I’m acutely aware of how little people care about vehicles on the moon. An unmanned buggy, painstakingly humping the idiotically barren lunar landscape like an octogenarian feebly pawing for a lightswitch? I couldn’t care less. Unless the moon has an ocean of coke syrup brewing inches beneath the surface, waiting to burst forth and change [...]

[Read more →]

Two planets over 300 light years from Earth have collided recently, and scientists are giggling with excitement (as are Red Dwarf fans. Remember when Lister played pool with planets? Anyone?). Various astonomers from UCLA and CALTECH said the crash ocurred between two stars in the Aries constellation. Apparently the planets exchanged numbers, although witnesses say [...]

[Read more →]