Notebook Letters 13.

Is Eddie Murphy a good actor?

Eddie Murphy's best films are the early ones- 48 Hours, Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop are among my favourites. His worst film I think is Best Defense. Baz, Sunderland

Oh no, not another Eddie Murphy film. The man has never done a good one. Don't talk to me about Beverly Hills Cop or Trading Places- total rubbish. Eddie Murphy is a waste of space. Dominic, Castlewellan

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 19th of August, 2009; 6/6.

* The Prince of Wales has an official harpist.

* Snakes squeeze tree trunks far harder than necessary.

* Richard III was partial to swan, crane, heron and egret, and drank a bottle of wine a day after becoming king.

* Classical music is the worst genre to listen to for thrifty online shopping.

* It used to be believe that until 1903 the Auld Alliance made it possible for French people to claim Scottish nationality and vice-versa, although there's no record of this ever actually happening.

* Senior technology gurus at the White House don't have to tuck their shirts in.

* Italy has a national law permitting hunting with bow and arrow.

* Baby corals and fish can smell the difference between good and decaying reefs.

* Whether one eats breakfast or not appears to have no impact on losing weight.

* River turtles chat to each other using at least six different sounds.

10 things we didn't know last week; 22nd of August, 2014.

Crying over new Arctics

Arctic Monkeys' debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not was amazing, Favourite Worst Nightmares was OK. But the new album Humbug just doesn't excite me.

They know it too, hence the gimmick of releasing new single Crying Lightning via Oxfam. You expect that from Coldplay, but Arctics never struck me as charity types. It just doesn't sound new- the guitar is like Teddy Picker or The Rascals. Lincoln Donnelly

The Void; Teletext page 825; 19th of August, 2009; 1/7.

Sharpe's magnetic attraction

Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros' album Up From Below that Earls loved is a serious album of the year contender. Magical stuff. Ollie Holtam

I've bought tickets for A-ha's gig at London 02 in November, as I thought their last album Analogue was brilliant- not a bad song in sight, with poetic, relaxing songs like Cosy Prisons. Morten Harket has one of the best pop voices ever, while Coldplay and Keane cite them as influences. Andy Young

The Void; Teletext page 825; 19th of August, 2009; 2/7.

Moby's Rhodes to nowhere

I don't know about inappropriate choices of songs in adverts, but the one that used to make me laugh was Gary Rhodes' cooking show where he chopped meat to the sound of Moby, a devout vegan. Semi Retired

Zachary mentions Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Neil Young in his letter. All three, and others of the era, are on the soundtrack of The Wonder Boys, for which Dylan won an Oscar. The whole album is worth a listen. Mondo

The Void; Teletext page 825; 19th of August, 2009; 3/7.

The letter about James Dean Bradfield covering Last Christmas on TFI Friday reminded me of my own unexpected gem- seeing The Jesus And Mary Chain miming drunkenly to April Skies on Top of The Pops in '86. I'm still waiting for the new album, lads. Gaz T

I think the "Dylan Sings Anything" comic Harry asked about was none other than Frank Skinner. He did a Dylan skit on his show every week with wig, guitar and harmonica. Very funny. Marko

The Void; Teletext page 825; 19th of August, 2009; 4/7.

Charts just keep getting worse

Surely the Top 40 is in the worst state it's ever been, despite the available music being in a very healthy state. If a single as good as The Cribs' Cheat On Me doesn't make the Top 40, God help us. Loads of great singles miss out on the Top 40 completely now, in favour of terrible chav nonsense. Yes, it does matter. Adam Syntax

Wild Beasts and The Temper Trap's lowly placings make me worry the album chart is getting as bad as the Top 40. TaDa

The Void; Teletext page 825; 19th of August, 2009; 5/7.

Top 10 worst No 1s of the decade

2000) Bag It Up Geri Halliwell
2001) Hey Baby DJ Otzi
2002) Gotta Get Through This Daniel Bedingfield
2003) Changes Kelly and Ozzy Osbourne
2004) Vertigo U2
2005) You're Beautiful James Blunt
2006) I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker Sandi Thom
2007) Grace Kelly Mika
2008) So What Pink
2009) Number One Tinchy Stryder/ N-Dubz
Disco Stu

The Void; Teletext page 825; 19th of August, 2009; 6/7.

* Death Valley's mysterious wandering stones are moved blocks of ice pushed by the wind.

* Tall men get married but short men stay married longer.

* Yawning is contagious for wolves, especially among their friends, probably because they are feeling empathy.

* Longhand notes are better for taking in conceptual information than inputting notes into a laptop.

* Hello Kitty is not a cat - she's a little girl.

* At the current birth rate, there will be no South Koreans by 2750.

* David Cameron is a 13th cousin of Kim Kardashian.

* Walking in formation makes people feel stronger and leads them to take different decisions.

* People's favourite tunes - regardless of genre - create strikingly similar brain activity.

* A bassett hound can be reclassified as a "very large cat" at Selwyn College Cambridge if the pet belongs to the master of the college - dogs are banned at Selwyn.

10 things we didn't know last week; 29th of August, 2014.

I would like to know why film critics always pan big blockbuster summer movies that make more money than smaller budget films that hardly anybody watches and go on to win big awards such as Academy Awards. What do other people think? Richard, Wrexham

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 20th of August, 2009; 1/6.

Moving moments

One of the most moving film moments for me is the underrated A Walk To Remember starring Mandy Moore. The wedding scene gets me every time. A brilliant movie. Tezzapop, Gateshead

My best Winona Ryder movies are Little Women, Bram Stoker's Dracula and my all time favourite is Great Balls of Fire with Dennis Quaid. Charley, Worksop

I think Duane Jones is awesome in Night of The Living Dead. Peter, Wakefield

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 20th of August, 2009; 2/6.

Tarantino the greatest?

Tarantino is the greatest. Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown and both Kill Bills are classics. Death Proof is OK, but still better than 95% of the movies out that year. Paul, Darlington

Chris, Stockport - I'm also excited about The Informers, but what happened to its release? I read a feature on it a while ago and no word since. Gav, Aberdeen

Some great performances: Bette Davis as Margo Channing, Joan Crawford as Mildred Pierce, Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond and Rita Hayworth as Gilda Ann Miller, the screen's greatest tap dancer. Bill, Glenrothes

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 20th of August, 2009; 3/6.

All of the Val Lewton-produced chillers are worth watching. The most underrated is the borderline film noir The Leopard Man. My favourite is The Seventh Victim, with its wonderfully grim final scene. Kit, Acton

I agree Eddie Murphy's best films are the early ones - 48 Hours, Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop are among my favourites. His worst film I think is Best Defense. Baz, Sunderland

I find Good Will Hunting uplifting. The storyline is engaging together with moving performances from Matt Damon and Robin Williams, who proved he could play a serious role as well as anyone. Great to watch if you need to lift your mood. Peter, Saxmundham

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 20th of August, 2009; 4/6.

I highly recommend the movie Deadgirl. Never have I been so repulsed, moved and amused by one film. It's an odd sounding mix of zombie and teen angst. Well worth a watch. Ev, Liverpool

Yes Denzil Washington is a brilliant actor, but how can you forget Morgan Freeman? He's a genius. Paul, Hants

I have collected Channel 4's 100 greatest war films, my favourite being Von Ryan's Express. Simon, Plumstead

Vortex; Teletext page 817; 20th of August, 2009; 5/6.

* You can make vegan cheese out of DNA.

* The most common last name for doctors in the UK is Khan.

* Lebanon has a craft beer industry.

* Man-eating sharks are nine times more likely to kill men than women.

* David Hockney's dachshund once defecated on the floor of Dennis Hopper's Frank Gehry-designed home, prompting a furious reaction.

* Monkeys at the top and bottom of the social pecking order have physically different brains.

* Watching action films makes you eat more.

* There are 1, 500 chickens that are entirely black.

* The men's apparel market in India is worth nearly $2 billion (£1.2 billion) more than that of women.

* Archer fish adjust for distance when they spit.

10 things we didn't know last week; 5th of September, 2014.

* Babies born in the winter start crawling earlier than those born in summer.

* At least three Google employees have lived for months in their vehicles on the firm's California campus, eating in the staff canteen and showering in gyms.

* People can answer word texts correctly while asleep.

* If everyone had only one soulmate, true love would be found only in one lifetime out of 10, 000.

* Pele - christened Edson Arantes do Nascimento - was named after Thomas Edison.

* Over the last 13 years of his life, Andy Warhol stored 300, 000 everyday objects including fan letters, a lump of concrete, used condoms and thousands of postage stamps in 610 cardboard boxes.

* The largest hunter dinosaur probably ate whole sharks.

* According to instructions set out by a Babylonian scribe, Noah's ark would have to be woven with a rope that would stretch from London to Edinburgh.

* The first DNA fingerprint used in court prevented a young immigrant being sent back to Ghana.

* The late Donald Sinden was the last person who knew Oscar Wilde's lover, Alfred Douglas and one of only two people to attend his funeral.

10 things we didn't know last week; 12th of September, 2014.

* The most effective office regime is to work for 52 consecutive minutes and then have a 17-minute break.

* The modern European gene pool was formed when blue-eyed, swarthy hunters mingled with brown-eyed, pale-skinned farmers and a mysterious population with Siberian affinities.

* A rapid human can outrun London Underground's Circle Lane between Mansion House and Cannon Street.

* A whale calf's clicks can paralyse a human hand for several hours.

* Mis-readings of the autocue result in fines for Chinese newsreaders if the mistakes build up over a three-week period.

* Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper took their family on a Sound of Music tour in Salzburg.

* Fifty years ago, "to host" was considered ugly journalese but it is actually a centuries-old verb.

* Lithuania has a big problem with potholes.

* When Richard III was killed he suffered at least 11 injuries, although some of them might have been inflicted after death.

* Deer mothers respond to human baby cries.

10 things we didn't know last week; 19th of September, 2014.

* Kelis doesn't like milkshake. If she did, it would more than likely be better than yours.

* People with a conscientious spouse are 11% more likely to get a promotion at work.

* There is a vast difference between what Kung bushmen talk about in daylight hours and after dark.

* Polar bears have switched from eating seals to snow geese.

* Typical ground level in Roman London is 7m below today's city.

* Roasted nuts are more likely to spark an allergic reaction than raw.

* Dreams get weirder as the night wears on.

* The University of Phoenix is the world's most Googled.

* It's actually fairly easy to weigh an ant.

* Turmeric is good for rat brains.

10 things we didn't know last week; 26th of September, 2014.

* At the Starbucks outlet in the CIA's Langley headquarters, baristas aren't allowed to write customers' names on their cups.

* Come September 1 and the Japanese stop swimming outdoors, regardless of the temperature.

* There is a "right" way to eat chocolate: you pop a piece in your mouth, let it melt between the tongue and the palate and then breathe in through your nose.

* "cheryl cole" is the UK celebrity search term that leads to the most malware links.

* Chimps use a leaf sponge as a tool to help them drink.

* When the RMS queen mary was launched in 1932, the bottle smashed against its hull contained Australian wine.

* Alcohol makes smiles more contagious for men but not for women.

* Early cancer hospitals in the US were modelled on French castles and served champagne.

* Sharks can be introverts or extroverts.

* Restaurant diners who sit by the window or at well-lit tables order more salad, while those in dark corners have more puddings.

10 things we didn't know last week; 3rd of October, 2014.

* It is almost impossible to take a German-registered car into Japan.

* Popping a criminal's phone in a microwave and closing the door (but not switching it on) stops said criminal wiping it remotely.

* When manager of Sunderland, roy keane opted not to sign robbie savage because of his voicemail greeting which went "Hi, it's robbie - whazzup!".

* Being obese has the same effect on Swedish men's earnings as having no undergraduate degree.

* The s*xual behaviour of mice is determined by a small number of neurons that respond to the hormone oxytocin.

* president Obama asked the makers of Homeland to "go gentle on Carrie" in the show's fourth series.

* Norwich is the Y-fronts capital of Britain.

* In China goat hair is sneaked into hair extensions.

* More Americans speak Arabic at home than Italian or Polish.

* When climbing steep dunes, sidewinder rattlesnakes flatten themselves to increase contact with the sand.

10 things we didn't know last week; 10th of October, 2014.

* bono wears sunglasses because he suffers from the eye condition glaucoma.

* simon cowell has a saying for people editing shots of him on x factor: two words - happy and handsome.

* America employs more private security guards than high school teachers.

* In the late 1960s Spanish brewer danm marketed its beer at all the family - including children.

* There are more bicycles in Copenhagen than people.

* Once a turtle starts eating a plastic bag, it is physically impossible for her or him to spit it out.

* Until this century, Spanish grape Airen was the world's most planted (by acre).

* It used to take invasive species 30 years to move from the Netherlands to the UK but now takes five.

* The most expensive pies of any English football league club are to be found at Brighton & Hove Albion - Rochdale's are the cheapest.

* Cooling pasta down then reheating it means you get a smaller blood sugar spike when you eat it.

10 things we didn't know last week; 17th of October, 2014.



*

Femme I'm interested! I could edit the Zine into next year! But I guess fluffy or debbles will do it. Sigh.

Maybe... If fluffy hadn't gone AWOL.

Gothic Fairy debbles, that's so cute. Makes me think of a little girl with pink in her hair. Like ruby Gloom. Congrats on passing your exams.

It makes me think of Neighbours circa 1989, and frizzy perms for some reason.

Zine; 7th of November, 2007; 1/5.

Cold?

So you used to put coins in the oven to try and keep warm, WLW? That's nothing. When I was younger my family were so poor we had to rub two ice cubes together to keep warm in the winter. My mate Chilly Willy had a similar experience too, until he got frostbite, but that's a whole different story.

dalek

*crosses legs*.

Zine; 7th of November, 2007; 3/5.

GMT

The Barking Tree Thanks for the advice, WLW. The button is under his tail and I don't want to touch it. Eeww. Any other ideas?

Try putting him on pause for an hour.

Donny's Angel I am saddened by the news of Father Osmond passing away. He will be missed.

Marie reads Zine every day. I'm sure she'll appreciate that.

Zine; 8th of November, 2007; 1/5.

Argyle Haunted Mansion 5!

Employee: Here's your bed.
Customer: I can't sleep. My bed is on fire!
Voice: You'd better run! Run! Run, run away!
Customer: What was that voice?
Employee: Don't ask. My lips are sealed.

Vigilante Malepartsattachedtoyourface

If only they were.

Zine; 8th of November, 2007; 4/5.