5x5

lovely rita, meter-maid: traffic cop in Karlsruhe tickets a public sculpture

imitation is the sincerest form of flattery: more DVD döppelgangers from Bob Canada 

vexillology: a humorous look at the other US state flags that are in need of a face-lift

no fortunate son: the long history of artists requesting politicians not use their music for campaigning

ornamentation: eulogy for Don Featherstone, inventor of the pink flamingo

felix, fido

Though the Urban Dictionary may yield a more colourful definition, someone described as fidious takes something on faith alone. One can find this element in the word perfidious, which jaunts off in rather the opposite direction to connote treachery or faithlessness, although the latter’s antonym is unperfidious—something that is not considered a breach of faith. A perfervour, again drifting off toward the other course is a zealous, patriotic individual—wholly fervid, heated and impassioned. Fidiousness is about belief and reliability, however, and not confidence and would probably be best opposed to a sceptical attitude.

5x5

volksmedizin: collection of unusual health tips from Austria

best face forward: social networking giant is developing algorithms to identify people from their backsides (auch auf Deutsch)

on the bedpost overnight: an absurdist’s look at paparazzi culture, framing celebrities with an old wad of chewing gum

cats and dogs: collection of foreign idioms for heavy rain

turnip princess: apocryphal assortment of newly re-discovered fairy tales

gorgon ou au revoir, ruby tuesday

The French edition of the English language daily, the Local, is tragically reporting that Ruby the Lamb, whose genes were spliced with those of a jellyfish in order to express proteins that would result in transparent florescent skin, was apparently inadvertently slaughtered and served to some hapless diner.

The poor little lamb was created, rather gruesomely, for research purposes (in order to better study organ transplants by allowing doctors to observe them directly) and local authorities are prosecuting the matter as a contravention of environmental regulations against genetically modified foodstuffs, though Ruby was probably safe to eat, chimera-experts opine. The vampire lamb pictured is still at large.