The Rosemont Loving

Ever thought about which superhero you are most like? Me too, so I very happy that thanks to the blogosphere I am able to find out who I am. The answer is below…

The Flash - Fast, athletic and flirtatious (not fixed I promise!)

Click here to take the “Which Superhero am I?” quiz…

The Internet is a great tool and The Guardian agrees. Here is a list of useful websites that will change your life.

Interesting blog post on the social media trends for 2007 relating to PR. It should make for an interesting year and I, for one, am looking forward to the challenge.

The Lex Column in today´s FT reports on second Internet wave and what it could bring in 2007. It suggests that a buyout of Yahoo! by Microsoft could be a shrewd move…I do agree, in order to compete with Google, this would put both companies in a great position.

Unfortunately you need a subscription to view the whole article.

Will Andy Murray win Wimbledon? Will Kate marry William? Here are the Daily Telegraph´s predictions as to what will happen in 2007.

Each year at Christmas I do a little pub quiz for my family and friends. Each quiz focuses on the news and events that have happened that year. So without further ado, here it is in all of its glory…

2006 pub quiz

Sport

1. Where course in Ireland did the 2006 Ryder Cup take place at?
2. Who was the top goal scorer in this year’s Football world cup?
3. Who is England’s new Rugby Union head coach?
4. Who was the most famous person who retired from motor sport this year?
5. Following his most recent fight this year, who is now the WBO and IBF super-middleweight champion of the world?

Music

6. According to iTunes what is the biggest selling song of the year?
7. Who won this year’s the X Factor?
8. What is the name of the band that won this year’s mercury music prize and became famous through the website MySpace?
9. What famous band returned with a number one hit single called Patience?
10. Who is Cat Stevens otherwise known as?

Film & TV

11. What is the full title of the Borat movie?
12. What is the name of Bond’s enemy in Casino Royale, who he has to beat in a high-stakes poker tournament?
13. Which film won best film at the 2006 Oscars?
14. Which actor plays the new Doctor Who?
15. Who famously coined the phrase “Am I bovvered?”
Business/Tech

16. Which company bought YouTube this year?
17. Who is ITV´s new executive chairman?
18. What is the name of Microsoft’s new operating system?
19. What does WEEE stand for?
20. Who was accused of selling out when she sold her company to L’Oréal for £652 million?

Politics

21. Who is the new German Chancellor?
22. What nation is the new UN secretary general from?
23. What is Oliver Letwin´s job title?
24. Name the one country that had a democratic coup in 2006.
25. What did Robert Gates famously admit, contradicting his boss?

General News

26. British Airways tried to ban its staff from wearing them openly. What are they?
27. In our solar system, what planet is the furthest away from the Sun?
28. Who survived a 300mph car crash this year?
29. What popular body of teachings and related techniques were developed by American science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard?
30. What was the average house price in 2006? 183,000, 263,000 or 383,000

Answers:

1. The K Club
2. Miroslav Klose
3. Brian Ashton
4. Michael Schumacher
5. Joe Calzaghe
6. Crazy by Gnarls Barkley
7. Leona
8. Artic Monkeys
9. Take That
10. Yusuf Islam
11. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
12. Le Chiffre
13. Crash
14. David Tennant
15. Catherine Tait
16. Google
17. Michael Grade
18. Windows Vista
19. Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment…it is the EC´s directive on recycling
20. Anita Roddick, of Body Shop
21. Angela Merkel
22. South Korea
23. Policy director for the Conservative Party
24. Nepal. Thailand and Fiji had military coups
25. He said America was not winning the war in Iraq, contradicting Donald Rumsfeld, who then lost his job
26. Crosses
27. Neptune
28. Richard Hammond
29. Scientology
30. 183,000

There is a fascinating article in The Observer today on how 2006 has changed our mindsets. Great reading and it lies directly in line with my current view point.

I would like to highlight two stories regarding web 2.0 over the Christmas period, the wicked don´t rest…

1. The founder of Wikipedia is planning to launch a new search engine to rival Google…good luck!
2. The Queen´s speech will be available by podcast

2006 was a year of return to form in relation to cinema. We were treated to great blockbusters as well as some smaller movies that were really thought provoking. I have actually missed out on a number of treats such as Pan´s Labyrinth and Little Miss Sunshine but here are my top ten films of the year, in no particular order…

The New World
Inside Man
Superman Returns
Syriana
Munich
Borat
Good Night, And Good Luck
The Departed
Casino Royale
United 93

My year in review begins with my top ten albums of 2006…

Stand Up - Dave Matthews Band
Jehro - Jehro
Neil Young - Living with War
Nelly Furtado - Loose
Logistics - Now More Than Ever
Razorlight - Razorlight
Sam’s Town - The Killers
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
Ray LaMontagne - Trouble
Wolfmother - Wolfmother

Any other gems out there?

Tony Scott is remaking The Warriors, the 1979 cult movie. Dangerous territory, the original is a classic and he sometimes makes poop.

Lisa Von Ahn at Reuters has written an article on the Long Tail. An interesting sum up.

Latest conspiracy from inside the offices of a well known Champagne house…the Russians are killing prostitutes to take the heat off the Litvenenko situation. I definitely see the logic.