Yeah. Or, I might not do that.
Thursday 22 September 2011
I somehow don't think there'd be many giant pink sea-snails
I am planning a trip away at the moment, but haven't decided where yet. On a whim, and with memories of Rex Harrison sticking a pin in a globe in 'Dr Doolittle', I thought I'd try a modern version: put my birth date and today's date into Google Earth as global co-ordinates, and go wherever in the world the virtual pin popped up:
Google would suggest a country rife with political unrest as the perfect vacation spot. Just like when it used to tell people to swim across the Atlantic if they wanted to get from New York to London.
ReplyDeleteHappy soon-to-be birthday!
I got the Sudan. Hmmm, nope. Better off sticking a pin in a glossy travel brochure, I think.
ReplyDeleteBut there might be a giant luna moth!
ReplyDeleteI got Libya too but only because my birthday is tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteSome variations, if you try the dates American style, they'd put you in southern Nigeria.
ReplyDelete"09 28 19.77,-09 22 20.11" would put you somewhere in Guinea.
"-28 09 19.77,22 09 20.11" would put you right smack in the middle of N14 in South Africa.
Not too shabby.
I'm obviously a technological incompetent; I keep getting a clothing warehouse in Preston and an invitation to buy Enrique Iglesias tickets - for last March!
ReplyDeleteYaaay, cracked the technology! I got Boa Vista in the Cape Verde Islands which frankly sounds like exactly the sort of place I would enjoy; it even came up with Ghostship "Cabo Santa Maria", Isla Boavista - Cabo Verde - 06. January 1998.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome to borrow my birthday, John; that actually sounds like fun!
Is this your very subtle attempt to tell us when your birthday is?
ReplyDeleteWe'll have to send you another lemon, you seemed to like the other one so much...
Am making a note of the date by the way, prepare to be twitter spammed...
SRWilkin - Oh dear. I promise it was NOT meant to do that, but I do see how very much it looks like it. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteAnon - Ah, yes, those are better. But they do involve me accepting the American date format, which would cause me a certain amount of pain...
Ficklepickle - That's an excellent result. I am actually tempted to nick it. A ghost-ship, you say... (Also, I'm a big fan of Preston warehouses)
I couldn't resist. I got Paris. I wanted Albania *sulk*
ReplyDeleteDemocratic Republic of the Congo-think I might put off going there for a while....on the plus side though-I bet I`ll get a good exchange rate.
ReplyDelete*hmph* At least m'colleague got Paris and everyone else seems to have got somewhere interesting, albeit not all ideal as holiday destinations. What do I get?
ReplyDelete10 DOWNING STREET.
Even I'm not dull enough to go there for a holiday. Although it might mean I can stage a political coup. EQUAL RIGHTS FOR SPAZZY PEAR-FACED PEOPLE!
...Gotta be better than Cameron, surely?
If I do the dates the right way round I end up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And sorry, but that just doesn't look like a great place to vacation.
ReplyDeleteIf the dates are done backward though, you end up in Japan.
Hey! Just wanted to say I'm a huge fan of cabin pressure and thanks to you I got 37 people to play the traveling lemon game with me today.
ReplyDelete(I'd imagine it's quite a bit harder to find a lemon in the biggest high school in my state than on Gertie)
thanks so much for all the creativity you put into cabin pressure and the souvenir program
~Jax, (USA)
Even more intriguing when you start using telephone numbers ....I'm off to sit in the middle of the Indian ocean =)
ReplyDeleteStrange. I managed to get Libya as well. It seems that maybe everyone who reads this blog is going to bump into each other quite soon. See you soon!
ReplyDeleteI got a nice, presumably, national park in the Southern Sudan. Could be the new hip tourist spot, if one is up for a bit of an adventure.
ReplyDeleteSwitching to the American date format, I ended up in the sea off the coast of Cameroon, in the Gulf of Guinea. Not my idea of fun. But this game kinda is.
Seems only a few, including the really unfortunate Miss Pear (10 Downing St!)made it out of Africa.
Try shutting your eyes and spinning a globe and letting your fingers stop on a spot...couldn't do much worse.
And, if I forget on the day to come post a message or some such, because I am busy and stuff, happy birthday for the 28th.
You may have inadvertently discovered Qadafi's hiding place.
ReplyDeleteI got Newport Pagnell! 5 miles away from where I live!! HeeHee, don't mind going there, good shopping:)
ReplyDeleteI just typed in my mobile number and apparently I am going to Ivory sky Dental clinic- the Phillpines.
ReplyDeleteLol, eek don't much fancy that!!
Also, thank you mr finnemore for all the cabin pressure games, we have been playing rhyming journeys, evil names etc. Also for your... 'books that sound more interesting with the last letter knocked off' what do you think of The tale of Peter Rabbit- The tale of Peter Rabbi? Lol.
Also loving the sketch show.
thank you!!
Oh come on John. Where's your sense of adventure?
ReplyDeleteI put the word "cake" into Google maps :P and the top result was in New York. So I'd recommend NY purely for the cake...
ReplyDeleteI just tried this for a laugh - wound up in Sudan! Now, fun as that sounds for a holiday destination...
ReplyDeleteNo, but there may be a pushme-pullyou or two....
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday for Wednesday
Wa-hey! The Poohtervention sketch leads off "Pick of the Week"!
ReplyDeleteAnd the show is the Comedy of the Week podcast!
Libya, and reversing the dates (day's date and birth date) sent me to Egypt. I'm not particularly enthralled about the idea of either of them - I think sticking a pin in a globe may be safer.
ReplyDeleteIt's a holiday in Sudan or Nigeria for me as well, depending on standard or US date organisation (does that say something about the age of people who read this blog!) ...
ReplyDeleteHappy nearly birthday, John!
Dear John
ReplyDeleteThe south of France is beautiful this time of year, I have villa there... would you like to go?
Wherever you go - Happy Birthday...
Kate x
Using today's date here in the USA, 26 September, and my birthday, 16 July 1976, I get northwestern Sudan in European format...
ReplyDeleteIn North American format, I also get Nigeria, on the border with Cameroon.
This won't work? With only a maximum number of 31 days in a month... You can only play with 31deg longitude and 31deg latitude. You won't be able to go West at all because no one can be born on a negative number of a month.
ReplyDeleteJohn I think you need to try a better way of choosing a holiday location.
:)
Happy Birthday to you, John - hope you have a good day! (I'm exactly one year and 8 days older....)
ReplyDeleteHave a great day John. Your shows aren't just funny, they're memorably funny - and that's really something. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, John! Thank you for bringing so much delight to the world. I hope you have a smashing day, and wish you all the best for the future.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday from France!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your brilliant shows and for my next holidays in Sudan (it seems like I'm going to meet lot of your fans there) ;)
Happy Birthday, John, and thank you for giving us so much aural pleasure. Missus. When - if - I grow up, I would like to be like you, only slightly less hairy.
ReplyDeleteAlso, well done on your performance on The Unbelievable Truth last night! You played the game like an old hand, and your lectures were very funny and unmistakably yours. Wanted to say so in person but, well, this is me we're talking about, so it doesn't happen, obviously! Hope to see you become a regular on the show now you've broken your duck... or quail.
Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteMany happy returns!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, John! You've cheered me up more often than I can say - I hope this returns the favor in some small way.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday John
ReplyDeleteBig John (but not very big John across the road)
Happy Birthday Mr. Finnemore!!
ReplyDeleteHope you have a wonderful day and this year brings you all you wish for! and I hope it brings us many more opportunities to listen to/watch/read your fantastically comic genius creations!
However most importantly hope you get lots of scrumptious birthday cake today!!
Happy birthday John! :D
ReplyDeleteI won't try to write anything witty because I'm not.
Witty that is.
Happy Birthday! C:
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! I love your shows and I hope to see more from you soon! (Especially Cabin Pressure. =D)
ReplyDeleteAll the best John! I hope you had a nice birthday :)
ReplyDelete♫ Happy Birthday toooooo yoooouuuu ♫
ReplyDeleteI ended up in Mali.
ReplyDeleteYou know, that could be a romantic way to pick a honeymoon destination... depending on where you get, of course.
According to Amazon, "John Finnemore" is the co-author of "Peeps at Many Lands: overviews of six countries 1900-1916, plus ancient Egypt (Samizdat Edition with Active Tables of Contents)" so maybe you could check northeast Africa out? (in a time machine?)
ReplyDeleteJust realised I calculated the difference in our d.o.b.'s totally wrong before (should have been 1 year minus eight days, whoops)- one should never go blogging at 7.23 am...
Hope you had a fab birthday anyway!
Happy birthday Mr John Finnemore! I just wanted to say how much I really like all your radio shows, I even chose you as the subject of my year 9 Spanish project! -An A3 sized poster on somebody you admire like a friend or celebrity- (And I aced it! Thank you google translate!)
ReplyDeleteMy vacation spot would be in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Halfway between UK and Cuba, but still better than Libya. Well, I always wanted to do a sailing trip...
ReplyDeleteI decided to try out the same approach myself on Google Earth and was treated to one of the most bizarre marketing videos I've ever seen. Two "pandas" had carnal knowledge of each other and then one "gave birth" to an air-conditioning mechanic. The speechmarks indicate the fact that they were very obviously people in unconvincing panda suits. I've no idea what was being said on the soundtrack as it was in Chinese. The video was on YouTube for HVAC Jacksonville 2, if you want to see it for yourself.
ReplyDeleteYour post is great, very appealing to me, have helped me the most, let a person can gain a lot of different things.
ReplyDeleteI would like to appreciate the great work done by You,Please continue posting like this..
ReplyDeleteIt seems that maybe everyone who reads this blog is going to bump into each other quite soon.
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I'm not particularly enthralled about the idea of either of them.
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Thank you mr finnemore for all the cabin pressure games, we have been playing rhyming journeys.
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Am making a note of the date by the way, prepare to be twitter spammed...
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