France 24 (That’s “France vingt-quatre”, not “France Twenty-Four” as you might imagine). It’s an English-speaking channel “with a French perspective on the news”. It’s being launched here next month. Yes, because there’s a great demand for a French perspective on things. All those times people have said to me, “Eeee, I wish the 10 O’Clock News was a bit more French!”, or “Y’know, wouldn’t it be great if they renamed Sky News as Nouvelles de ciel?”

I just don’t get it. I don’t understand who its target audience is supposed to be, I don’t understand how it’s going to make money, and I don’t understand why anyone would be particularly interested in a French perspective on the news. I do understand why the American news channels get (albeit relatively few) viewers – after all, it’s the news from the perspective of the world’s biggest super-power. I understand Al Jazeera English – after all, the future of the unstable Middle East determines our future, and they have very different things to say. But news from a French perspective? I just don’t get it.

Here’s a trailer, as found via Iain Dale, who frankly seems as confused as the rest of us:

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The Guardian’s free give-away wallcharts were a phenomenal success for the dead-tree Guardian, but didn’t involve Guardian Unlimited to any real extent.

But now, for the first time, the wallcharts have made their online debut…

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And so, six months after it happened to everybody else, the West Wing has come to an end for me. A seven-year era over.

I was fifteen when I started watching the West Wing, and preparing for my GCSEs. The West Wing, always watched on DVD rather than TV, has been a constant source of entertainment through those exams, AS-Levels, A-Levels, and three-and-a-bit years of medical school. That seems a heck of a long time to have been entertained by a single series.

The West Wing was a series with everything: The drama of the assassination attempt and Ellie’s kidnap, the sadness of the deaths of Mrs Landingham and, of course, Leo, the joy of election victories and moral victories, the comedy of – well, too many moments to mention, the romance between Josh and Donna, CJ and Danny, the marital tension between Mr and Mrs Bartlet, not to mention the politics… It just had everything. It may not have been on top form for all of it’s life – the programme struggled somewhat following the departure of Aaron Sorkin – but it was always a good watch. And the final series was, in my opinion, fantastic.

I know there are those who say that the final series was overly dramatic and sentimental, but I liked it. Maybe I’m overly dramatic and sentimental. I said back in January that I wanted the West Wing to die with dignity, and I think it did.

But what am I going to watch for the next seven years? What show can possibly combine the fantastic production values, unparalleled writing, and unmissable drama of The West Wing?

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This spoof of Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” has been viewed over 12,000,000 times, according to Google Video… So maybe they can…

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Did Fireman Sam really need sexing up?

The original and best:

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The new, bad version:

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What was wrong with the old one? And why is the new one so bad?

Was the person singing it really as drugged up as it sounds?

Is the fact that Sam is no longer ‘there on time’ a commentary on the gradual decline in public services and regular fire service strikes?

Why hasn’t the Daily Mail been complained about this?

Why does life have so many questions and so few answers?

I’m all for silver surfing, and with the positive impact it appears to have had on the life of this 78-year-old widower over his YouTubing career, perhaps it’s something we should be positively encouraging.

For the uninitiated, here’s his first Vlog:

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Good for him. And before someone makes the obvious joke, no, he’s not my alter ego.

Just came across this while YouTubing… It’s from the second season of Scrubs.

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What other TV comedy could include something quite like this and get away with it? Scrubs is comedy with depth, and it continues to be excellent. For the uninitiated (is anybody uninitiated?), Amazon have seasons 1-3 available on DVD, and season 4 available to preorder. Enjoy.

Some time ago, Professor Stephen Hawking posted a question on Yahoo Answers asking how the human race could survive the next hundred years. A few days or so later, he (as you might hope for such an intelligent guy) answered his own question with an audio message, which Yahoo have inexplicably combined with a patronising slideshow to create this video:

My first reaction to this news was that, with all that brainpower, you might hope that Prof Hawking would be having happier thoughts. You know, sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, that sort of thing. With a brain the size of his, an awful lot of happiness could fill the space currently occupied, quite clearly, with a whole lot of misery. 😉

Then it occured that the most respected thinkers and philosophers of every society ever (or, at least, quite a few) have predicted the downfall of the human race to be in the near fuure, and it’s not happened yet. What makes the good Prof any different?

Next, it occured to me that it was, perhaps, reassuring that this video was popular enough to make it into the most-watched videos on Yahoo’s site. It shows that people must be interested in the problems which may affect their offspring after their death, that they care for the world in which they live, and actively want to aid the survival of the species.

Then I noticed what was above this video in the chart:

My faith quickly evapourated… but my smile grew.

Live TV… can you think of anything else that can provide this much schadenfreudic entertainment? Watch and enjoy as Windows Vista’s speech recognition is put to the test. And fails, miserably, in front of millions.

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It’s all a little bit reminiscent of this, which you may remember from eighteen months ago, when Bill Gates himself experienced a Windows failure at the worst of times… But then, doesn’t Windows always fail at the worst of times…?