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Pointless Endeavours (Arbitrary Pursuits; Not Record Attempts)

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This article goes over the artist "Sunday Nobody" and his somewhat pointless endeavors quite well, focusing on his latest escapade:

"...on the one hand, it’s not merely an object — it’s a process and experience. It’s the commitment to executing a vision and maneuvering around every obstacle en route. The short answer, however, is that Sunday constructed and buried a 3,000-pound concrete sarcophagus, in which he buried a single bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. On the site, he planted a marker that reads, “Historical artifact buried below. Do not open for 10,000 years. Year buried 2022.”

https://www.rollingstone.com/cultur...000-pound-tomb-flamin-hot-cheetos-1234626107/
 
This UK man undertook a charity hike to visit as many "rude"-named places as possible on a route from his home to his brother's. He ended up walking 526 km on his journey.

NOTE: A full list of the rudely-labeled locations he visited is provided at the link below.
Man completes 'UK’s rudest hike' for charity from Cockermouth to Lickey End

A man has completed the "UK’s rudest walk" from Cockermouth to his brother's address in Lickey End – all for charity.

James Forrest, 39, embarked on his innuendo-fueled hilarious hike, summiting peaks such as Great Cockup, Little Cockup and Andrew’s Knob.

There was also a woodland called Nanny’s Breast, a nature reserve called Nob End, and a waterway titled Bottoms Reservoir in his pursuit of pun-filled places.

During his adventure, he visited crudely named streets in Cumbria, Staffordshire and the West Midlands, such as Bell End, Cocking Yard, Ten Butts Crescent, and Number 2 Passage. ...

Adventurer James, a freelance writer, said he came up with the hilarious idea after his brother moved home and then challenged him to take on the epic journey. ...

“Ultimately, I like to think my journey was a celebration of the very best of British eccentricity and quirkiness.” ...

His favourite finds included Willey Lane in Cockerham, Butt’s Fold in Cockermouth and Twatling Street in the Lickey Hills.

And he said he was particularly proud of himself for finding the hilariously-titled Gloryhole sculpture in Bilston, West Mids. ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.indy100.com/viral/man-completes-rudest-uk-hike
 
ChasFink said:
Would this be the U.S. Constitution or the New York Constitution that says "the right of persons to operate a lawn-mowing vehicle while intoxicated shall not be infringed?"
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Neither ... But since you asked ... Specific federal and state laws should render this stunt illegal.

At the federal level ... To any extent his route includes any portion of Interstates 90 and / or 490 (shown on his route map), the lawnmower is a piece of motorized equipment prohibited from traveling on any Interstate highway.

At the state level ... The relevant New York statutes absolutely prohibit operation of a "motor vehicle" under the influence:
1192. Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol
or drugs.

1. Driving while ability impaired. No person shall operate a motor vehicle while the person's ability to operate such motor vehicle is impaired by the consumption of alcohol. ...
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https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/2017/vat/title-7/article-31/1192/

... and a riding lawnmower does not fall under any of the exclusions / exemptions permitting it to be designated as anything other than a "motor vehicle" as defined for the purposes of the DUI statute:
2017 New York Laws
VAT - Vehicle & Traffic
Title 1 - Words and Phrases Defined
Article 1 - Words and Phrases Defined.
125 - Motor Vehicles.

Universal Citation: NY Veh & Traf L § 125 (2017)

125. Motor vehicles. Every vehicle operated or driven upon a public highway which is propelled by any power other than muscular power, except (a) electrically-driven mobility assistance devices operated or driven by a person with a disability, (a-1) electric personal assistive mobility devices operated outside a city with a population of one million or more, (b) vehicles which run only upon rails or tracks, (c) snowmobiles as defined in article forty-seven of this chapter, and (d) all terrain vehicles as defined in article forty-eight-B of this chapter. For the purposes of title four of this chapter, the term motor vehicle shall exclude fire and police vehicles other than ambulances. For the purposes of titles four and five of this chapter the term motor vehicles shall exclude farm type tractors and all terrain type vehicles used exclusively for agricultural purposes, or for snow plowing, other than for hire, farm equipment, including self-propelled machines used exclusively in growing, harvesting or handling farm produce, and self-propelled caterpillar or crawler-type equipment while being operated on the contract site.
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https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/2017/vat/title-1/article-1/125/
 
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OK let's try this again, ordering a nothing burger from McDonalds. this time nothing else in the order.

will they cancel it? deliver an empty bag? i am doing this so you don't have to
 
I have a pointless ambition for the new year (apart from appearing on Pointless - application put in earlier this year [sic], no reply to date...) and that is to ride every street/road in Bath.

There's no reason, no record attempt, and at a guess I've probably already ridden 90% of the city in my life, but there will be outliers. And I will ride them. Yes, sirree...!

Yes, I will!!
 
cycleboy2 said:
I have a pointless ambition for the new year (apart from appearing on Pointless - application put in earlier this year [sic], no reply to date...) and that is to ride every street/road in Bath.

There's no reason, no record attempt, and at a guess I've probably already ridden 90% of the city in my life, but there will be outliers. And I will ride them. Yes, sirree...!

Yes, I will!!
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Wait, you applied to go on Pointless, and didn't ask me to join you?!:frust::incan::comphit::omr:
 
This made me LOL in the metro:

Every hour, on the hour, the tower of the Palace of Westminster in London explodes with the sounds of bells ringing as Big Ben strikes out the time in a series of resounding bongs. At the same time, humming away on a server without quite as much applause, a script sends a tweet to @big_ben_clock’s Twitter feed, with the word BONG typed out one or more times to signify the hour. More than 490,000 people follow the unofficial Big Ben Twitterbot, which has been tweeting the hour since 2009.

From:
Tony Veale en nog 1
Twitterbots: Making Machines that Make Meaning (Mit Press)
 
He was trying to be the youngest but it might be more impressive if he was a teenager. Was he trying it nude as well?

A man attempting to row across the Pacific Ocean in a homemade boat has been rescued by a cruise ship after his boat capsized.

Tom Robinson, 24, hoped to become the youngest person to complete the feat. He was found sitting on top of his boat with no clothes on, 100 nautical miles south-west off the coast of Vanuatu, a post on his website said. Local media reports say he was treated for sunburn and dehydration aboard the ship, but is in otherwise good health.

Mr Robinson's record-breaking attempt began when he set off from Peru in July last year. He was hoping to arrive in Cairns, Australia, by December. He was on the last leg of his trip, after leaving the city of Luganville in Vanuatu on Monday.

Speaking to ABC Australia from the country last week, Mr Robinson had said this final part of the journey would be the "make-or-break leg".
It is not yet clear what caused his boat to overturn on Thursday evening, but his emergency distress beacon was activated, which alerted the authorities.

Early on Friday morning, the P&O Pacific Explorer helped free Mr Robinson from the water, and he climbed up a rope ladder to reach the deck, according to the post on his website.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-67027878
 
A Book Club Began 'Finnegans Wake' in 1995. After 28 Years, It Finally Reached the End


Known as one of literature’s most difficult works, James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake is best approached as a long-term commitment. Outside of classroom settings, readers often take on its 600-plus pages in groups, working together over many sessions.

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Experimental filmmaker Gerry Fialka started one such group in Venice, California, in 1995, when he was in his early 40s. Readers met monthly to discuss a page or two, continuing at this pace for years, then decades. As history churned on—through the invasion of Iraq, the dawn of the iPhone and seven presidential elections—they chipped away at the book. They read the final page in early October, 28 years after their first meeting.

“I don’t want to lie. It wasn’t like I saw God,” Fialka, now 70, tells the Observer’s Lois Beckett. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/finnegans-wake-james-joyce-book-club-28-years-180983411/

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
A Book Club Began 'Finnegans Wake' in 1995. After 28 Years, It Finally Reached the End


Known as one of literature’s most difficult works, James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake is best approached as a long-term commitment. Outside of classroom settings, readers often take on its 600-plus pages in groups, working together over many sessions.

4473939932_abeaa0e92e_k.jpg


Experimental filmmaker Gerry Fialka started one such group in Venice, California, in 1995, when he was in his early 40s. Readers met monthly to discuss a page or two, continuing at this pace for years, then decades. As history churned on—through the invasion of Iraq, the dawn of the iPhone and seven presidential elections—they chipped away at the book. They read the final page in early October, 28 years after their first meeting.

“I don’t want to lie. It wasn’t like I saw God,” Fialka, now 70, tells the Observer’s Lois Beckett. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/finnegans-wake-james-joyce-book-club-28-years-180983411/

maximus otter
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Year ago, when I was at university, I made an attempt to read Ulysses. This wasn't as part of my studies but my late-night pre-sleep read for relaxation and to ensure a good night's sleep...!

I was a voracious reader, as I am now, and would normally manage anything from 25-100 pages a night (sleep, bah! I was young!).

If memory serves I managed about something like 200 of its 732 pages over five or six weeks (thanks to Wikipedia for the page count).

And Ulysses is apparently a lightweight read compared with Finnegans Wake (as a sub-editor I'm always aware that there's no apostrophe) so while I can admire and appreciate their effort, it's not for me, Clive!
 
cycleboy2 said:
Year ago, when I was at university, I made an attempt to read Ulysses. This wasn't as part of my studies but my late-night pre-sleep read for relaxation and to ensure a good night's sleep...!

I was a voracious reader, as I am now, and would normally manage anything from 25-100 pages a night (sleep, bah! I was young!).

If memory serves I managed about something like 200 of its 732 pages over five or six weeks (thanks to Wikipedia for the page count).

And Ulysses is apparently a lightweight read compared with Finnegans Wake (as a sub-editor I'm always aware that there's no apostrophe) so while I can admire and appreciate their effort, it's not for me, Clive!
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I'm in the odd category of those who have finished Ulysses, but was defeated by Lord of the Rings.

Not claiming any literary high ground here, just that I had read so much fantasy before hitting LoTR, I was just done with the genre.

If Finnegans Wake was hard going, try Flan O'Brien's At Swim, Two Birds for similar flavour but easier going,
 
Ascalon said:
I'm in the odd category of those who have finished Ulysses, but was defeated by Lord of the Rings.

Not claiming any literary high ground here, just that I had read so much fantasy before hitting LoTR, I was just done with the genre.

If Finnegans Wake was hard going, try Flan O'Brien's At Swim, Two Birds for similar flavour but easier going,
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I haven't tried to read At Swim, Two Birds but I did attempt The Third Policeman - don't think I finished that one either.

Maybe it's just me!
 
cycleboy2 said:
I haven't tried to read At Swim, Two Birds but I did attempt The Third Policeman - don't think I finished that one either.

Maybe it's just me!
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I loved The Third Policeman when I first read it years ago - full of Irish surrealism like the man who believed night was caused by ‘accretions of black air’ & the benefits of hammering, people mutating into bicycles & so on.

It lost impact when I reread it some years back but that’s only to be expected, already knowing the story. It’s also quite a slim volume unlike Joyce which I’ve never attempted to read & am unlikely to, seeing the comments here.

I liked The Poor Mouth too.

I’ve never managed to get to the end of any William Burroughs book, having tried a few.
 
hunck said:
I loved The Third Policeman when I first read it years ago - full of Irish surrealism like the man who believed night was caused by ‘accretions of black air’ & the benefits of hammering, people mutating into bicycles & so on.

It lost impact when I reread it some years back but that’s only to be expected, already knowing the story. It’s also quite a slim volume unlike Joyce which I’ve never attempted to read & am unlikely to, seeing the comments here.

I liked The Poor Mouth too.

I’ve never managed to get to the end of any William Burroughs book, having tried a few.
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Ah, Burroughs I really used to like - haven't re-read him in a while but may do again at some point.

Tried Jack Kerouac but never got on with his work though I can't remember why now...
 
cycleboy2 said:
Year ago, when I was at university, I made an attempt to read Ulysses. This wasn't as part of my studies but my late-night pre-sleep read for relaxation and to ensure a good night's sleep...!

I was a voracious reader, as I am now, and would normally manage anything from 25-100 pages a night (sleep, bah! I was young!).

If memory serves I managed about something like 200 of its 732 pages over five or six weeks (thanks to Wikipedia for the page count).

And Ulysses is apparently a lightweight read compared with Finnegans Wake (as a sub-editor I'm always aware that there's no apostrophe) so while I can admire and appreciate their effort, it's not for me, Clive!
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I own Ulysses read aloud on about 100 CDs, unabridged, this edition -
eBay listing

Used to listen to it on the car stereo when I had driving jobs. Fantastic company. There's even a cat.
 
hunck said:
I loved The Third Policeman when I first read it years ago - full of Irish surrealism like the man who believed night was caused by ‘accretions of black air’ & the benefits of hammering, people mutating into bicycles & so on.
Click to expand...
There used to be a pub in Bermondsey - just along from where I lived - called the Third Policeman. Yes, it had a bicycle on the wall. Made no sense to me, was told about the book, didn't interest me in reading it.
I wonder if it's still there ...
 
I've readm enjoyed and re-read much of Joyce and much of Brian O'Nolan - inlcuding teh newspaper columns.
 
Stormkhan said:
There used to be a pub in Bermondsey - just along from where I lived - called the Third Policeman. Yes, it had a bicycle on the wall. Made no sense to me, was told about the book, didn't interest me in reading it.
I wonder if it's still there ...
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No, it had exchanged enough molecules with humans to cycle off by itself.

An Béal Bocht bar and venue, which was on Charlemont Street Dublin, I used to frequent it, see picture below. I think it was free standing when I first imbibed there, it closed in 2001 and was demolished.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/927862644085870592
 
cycleboy2 said:
Ah, Burroughs I really used to like - haven't re-read him in a while but may do again at some point.

Tried Jack Kerouac but never got on with his work though I can't remember why now...
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I only tried On The Road of Kerouac’s - never got to the end of it! I got the gist after about 2/3 way through.

One nice surprise in it is they go to a Slim Galliard gig sometime in their travels. I think this was about 1947. I did a recording session with the same Slim Gaillard in my time as a studio engineer in the mid/late 80s. He would’ve probably been in his 60s by then.
 
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