The Daily Teaser — 5-7-2013: The Clone Zone … !

What … ?

Hang on … !

Sounds like Peter Bone, MP, has made a suggestion.   turning the August Bank holiday into Margaret Thatcher Day.

Personally … ?    Personally, I hope that won’t go through.

After all, the woman was divisive enough when she was alive: dead she’s safely out of the way.

Let’s move on, shall we?

~≈Å≈~

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi putting in her answers: along with wishing me well — yesterday was the second anniversary of my being a non-smoker — she also scored a very patriotic six out of six*.

Let’s see how she — and you — do with today’s rather technical questions.

Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video …

Q1) 5th July, 1996, saw the birth of the first cloned mammal: what was that animal’s name … ?

Q2) What species of mammal was she … ?

Q3) The Roslin Institute — where she was created — is in which country of the UK: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland of Wales … ?

Q4) Our heroine was named after which singer … ?

Q5) How many mothers did she have … ?

Q6) Moving on — slightly — the word ‘Clone’ comes from which ancient language: Latin, Greek or Arabic … ?

Q7) More to the point, what does the ancient word mean: bough, stick or twig … ?

Q8) Which Star Wars episode has the word ‘Clones’ in its title … ?

Q9) Moving on, again … what was the name of the first cloned cat … ?

Q10) Finally … which Aldous Huxley novel features lots of clones … ?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers … 

Q1) 4th July is US Independence Day: where exactly is the USA celebrating its independence from … ?

A1) The UK: or, strictly, the Kingdom of Great Britain, as it was at the time.   (The US is celebrating it’s independence: the UK is celebrating getting rids of a really snotty colony … )

Q2) Who was that latter country’s King, at the time … ?
A2) George 3rd.

Q3) Who — on 4th July, 1778 — issued a double ration of rum to American troops, to celebrate the day … ?
A3) Who else: George Washington.

Q4) Two of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, both later served as US President, and died on 4th July, 1826.   Name either.
A4) John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

Q5) Ironically, one of those men is ALSO credited with inventing the Swivel Chair: which of them … ?
A5) Thomas Jefferson.

Q6) Finally … Which Rhode Island town is credited with holding the oldest Fourth Of July celebration in the USA … ?
A6) Bristol.

I’ll leave you with this thought from Ian Wilmut, one of the men who worked on that first clone …

“Is this sort of thing which has been thought about beneficial? So that if you're asking the question, for example, ‘Is it appropriate to think of making a copy of a person?’ You have to ask not only, ‘What is the benefit to the people who are asking for this to be done?’ But also, ‘What’s the impact on the child that’s going to be produced?’ And that last bit I think often gets missed out.”Ian Wilmut.

And with this tune … 

Have a good day!

Have a good day!

Have a good day!

Have a good day!

Have a good day … !

*        You’re on form there, Debbi: you do know you can reward yourself with an extra-large turkey … ?

Never Let Me Go: Love, Death … And Clones …

You know, I have to be honest, it’s not THAT often I watch a chick flick, I really don’t.

No, seriously, I don’t.

But I had the night to myself, last night.

And had a copy of Never Let Me Go going spare: arguably something of a chick flick.

But arguably, quite good: whatever gender it’s aimed at.

☱☲☴☲☱

Set in an alternative Earth, Never Let Me Go is narrated by Carey Mulligan as Kathy H: a carer reliving memories of her childhood at a very unusual private school, in Hailsham, Surrey.

One that — as a teacher tells Kathy and her classmates, Tommy and Ruth — is in existence to bring up clones as organ donors, doomed to die — or complete — at a young age, after roughly three to four organ donations.

The film follows Kathy growing up: as her, Tommy (Andrew Garfield) and Ruth (Keira Knightley) move from the school, and move to cottages maintained by their creators.

Growing up … 

Growing up, and forming relationships that come, eventually, to tragic ends … 

☴☲☱☲☴

Now, I called this a chick flick, didn’t I … ?

That’s possibly doing Never Let Me Go a disservice, given the term can be a touch derogatory.

However, Never Let Me Go is definitely told from a very different angle from most science fiction films, dealing with the character’s emotions rather than hard-core problem-solving and alien-zapping.

And it’s all the better — chick flick or otherwise —for that …

Never Let Me Go
★★☆☆