Six Things, Volume 47

Dinosaurs | Wikipedia | Triangle | News | 52 Things | Toys

Dec 10, 2023

Thing 1 – Dinosaurs

“Birds are dinosaurs” remains an excellent way to engage children with the idea that birds are in general pretty cool and worthy of their attention. But while the connection has now been firmly established (thanks firstly to the detective work of John Ostrom in the 1960s and 1970s, and then to the discoveries made in the Liaoning formation in China in the 1990s), the subject is still on the touchy side in certain areas.

All the more pleasing, then, that Wikipedia (after, so we gather, much discussion, gnashing of teeth and renting of garments) took the decision to place all nearly-11,000 of today’s bird species in the clade Dinosauria.

Hurrah!

Until, that is, they changed their minds.

Hurrooh.

BUT WAIT.

Since that Atlas Obscura piece was published just six days ago, it seems that Wikipedia have reversed the reversal, as it were. So now, if you go to the page wikipedia dot org slash wiki slash bird, you get this.

Re-hurrah.

Shout it from the rooftops: BIRDS ARE DINOSAURS. If you doubt me, I refer you to Jimmy Wales.

Thing 2 – Wikipedia

Talking of Wikipedia, here’s a strange thing. Every time a Wikipedia article is updated, this website makes a sound. The build-up of sounds, along with the accompanying visual element, makes it strangely mesmerising.

Thing 3 – Triangle

It’s around this time of year, as Strictly Come Dancing enters its final throes, that I think about the importance of doing things badly.

It’s not an original thought, of course.

“Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.” Kurt Vonnegut

(Talking of Vonnegut, it was good to learn that his house isn’t haunted.)

The Strictly format is familiar now. Celebrities (of varying levels) learn how to dance. Some already do it quite well (cue heated debate about whether so-and-so should even be allowed to take part), others not so much. And gradually the ‘not so much’ ones are eliminated, leaving the ones who manage that tricky balancing act of pleasing both the judges and the Great British Public.

The departure of the less able dancers is disappointing for the part of me that has long held that all sporting (and by extension, artistic) events would be vastly improved by the participation, alongside the professionals, of a regular member of the public, playing to the best of their extremely limited ability. How better to put the immense skill of the professionals into perspective than the sight of a 43-year-old loss adjustor from Croydon lumbering along in Usain Bolt’s wake?

(We got a glimpse of this at the European Games a couple of years ago, when Belgian shot-putter Jolien Boumkwo stood in for injured team-mates in the 100 metres hurdles, just so the team could get a couple of points and avoid elimination)

All this preamble is really an excuse to share my two favourite Strictly clips of all time.

Bill Bailey was pretty much the perfect Strictly candidate – popular, likeable, a bit strange, surprisingly good at dancing but not perfect, and absolutely prepared to learn a difficult skill to the very best of his ability. Most of all, there was joy.

And when it comes to joy, this was provided in huge dollops by Rose Ayling Ellis – I remember in particular this routine, beautifully choreographed to immerse the watcher in her soundless world. A simple invitation to empathy. It never fails to destroy me.

A quick sidestep to the clip that inspired this Thing – a juggling routine by Michael Moschen I’d somehow never seen before.

Juggling, like dancing, is a physical discipline requiring coordination, rhythm, and hours and hours of practice. What I love about this routine is the music of it.

For those who would like more of this kind of thing, he talks a bit about his process here.

Thing 4 – News

An annual December highlight is Scott Bryan’s roundup of the best moments from the year’s BBC news coverage, and this year’s compilation doesn’t disappoint.

Thing 5– 52 Things

Another yearly delight is Tom Whitwell’s 52 Things. This year I’m particularly fond of the first two.

Thing 6 – Toys

This is very silly.

Six Things