Fun Stuff
There's no point in being in business if we can't have fun!
Here is a selection of things that make us smile
Getting Britain Building...
We are doing our bit to Get Britain Building this Christmas 2012.
We have:
- Deregulated all development law
- Pulverised planning
- Bulldozed the Building Regulations
- Shredded Section 106s and
- Discombobulated the Code for Sustainable Homes
We have even abolished the Property Misdescriptions Act.
Just as well really - check out our attempts at housebuilding here...
Happy Christmas!
'Appy Christmas 2011 from all at LMC
After many year s of Christmas creativity, we are pleased to present the Liz Male Consulting Christmas Showcase - a collection of our cards and seasonal inventions, using UK construction policy and sustainability in the built environment as themes for lots of Christmas fun:
- Eco Stable
- Approved Document X
- Twitter tale of the nativity
- Ration Book
- And this year's Golden Rule
You can download the app for FREE.
Currently only available via iTunes App Store (for free download by iPhone, iPad and iTouch users), we will be creating an Android version soon.
The app was made - in just 10 days! - by the extraordinary folk at Woobius, and with graphic design input from Crumpled Dog Design and our Christmas card ubermaestro, Mike Spike.
Greenwich's biggest supporting attraction?
Thanks to web writing expert Malcolm Davison who spotted this gem in Building magazine on 8 July 2011.
According to the feature article on the National Maritime Museum, we are told that a splendid new £35m extension, the Sammy Ofer Wing, is offering rather more than you might usually expect.
Apparently the roof on the new wing is intermittently punctuated by three full-height rectangular 'lanterns', two of which "...act as giant roof-lights to the entrance lobby below and the third - the largest - contains a public brassiere." (sic)
A true architectural example of breast practice, and big respect to Ike for getting that past the subs...
Careless Cuts Crumples Christmas
Happy Christmas to you all!
Here is our Christmas Card for 2010.
Liz Male Consulting Ltd has joined forces with the Ministry of Austerity to bring you a carefully rationed package of silliness and satire this Christmas.
LAUGHTER IS IN PERIL - DEFEND IT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT
Download a copy of your Ration Book here (PDF) - every time you do we'll donate another £1 to the Construction Youth Trust
Eyeing up some optical illusions
Yeh, yeh, we know that optical illusions are much more than a bit of fun. But they are still fun.
Check out this feature on the BBC website: The science of optical illusions
What sort of Chief Executive are you?
Not quite as silly as the other stuff here, but we still like this game by Allianz and the WWF to
test your carbon credentials as a CEO.
You have two rounds to make decisions that will maximise profit, significantly cut carbon emissions and develop low carbon products by 2030... give it a go!
Silly games time
Ever since Liz got back from her trip to Iceland, it's volcanomania round here...
So why not try your hand at steering your plane through a cloud of volcanic ash? Extra points for looping the loop.
 Volcanic Airways
Escape from the Icelandic volcano's ash cloud in your airplane! |
| Play this free game now!! |
Tweeting the Christmas story
We are well known for our Christmas cards.
So our card in 2009 was a celebration of the Christmas story - with a contemporary social media twist or two.
A £1 donation will be made every time you
download our Christmas card (PDF file).
The money will go to the wonderful Construction Youth Trust, a charity that introduces thousands of young people to the UK construction industry every year.
The strength of character of these young people, all of whom have had a severely disadvantaged start in life, is awesome. They are a great asset to the construction industry... So any of you out there who can give them even temporary work experience, training or a job - give the Trust a call!
The Daily Mail - source of memetic joy and merriment
I'm indebted to my friends at The Open Road for alerting me to this wonderful set of toys developed by Chris Applegate, including:
The Daily Mail-o-matic (automatic Daily Mail headline generator)
The (New) Daily Mail Oncological Ontology Project (which tracks theDaily Mail's classification of inanimate objects into two types: those that cause cancer, and those that cure it)
... and there are other games there to explore too, including Michael Howard Sings The Smiths and the Alastair Campbell's Wheel of Retribution. Have fun!
In homage to our love of the Slow Movement (and chocolate)
A very clever viral marketing idea from Nestle and Kit Kat - the first worldwide website where *absolutely* nothing happens.
Click here for a break from everything that's driving you mad.
Bubblewrap - the perfect stress buster for these recessionary times
Thanks to Virtual Bubblewrap here is a great little game to pop away the blues. Just click your mouse on the bubbles below.
And did you know that how you choose to pop says something about your personality type?
The brilliance of political speech writers
Following Obama's inauguration speech, we went searching for evidence of the brilliant people behind-the-scenes who help politicians and world leaders with their outstanding oratory. We found fascinating information on Obama's young speechwriter, Jon Davreau. But the best by far is this 'man of the people'...
Click here to watch a master at work
Creatives grow better in the South West
Born and raised in Devon and Dorset, Liz has fond memories of standing barefoot in fields...
Maybe this is why we love this video so much!
New Building Regulations for Christmas?
Approved Document X (mas) is published!
For all the technical guidance on:
- Miracles and other minor works
- Heavenly host requirements
- Protecton against impact of season
Click here to download our 2008 Christmas card.
PS. Building magazine described this as "the wittiest Christmas card of the season". Big thanks, as always, to our designer Mike Spike.
Plain English Awards are announced!
George W Bush leaves the White House in 2008 with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Plain English Campaign. Here's one of his best gems:
"I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe - I believe what I believe is right." (Rome, 2001)
Sadly, the property and construction sectors also did well in the 2008 Golden Bull awards.
Here is the winning entry from the Co-operative ecotown website:
"The flexibility of the eco-town enables the densification of residential plots that occur at an individual level, with the opportunity to create the value (rather than incur the cost) that this implies."
Click here to read more examples of total tripe (2011 awards)
How to handle journalists
"Journalists may underestimate the value of the stories you propose. Don't LET them make this mistake..."
A picture paints a thousand words...
This is the true story of Jodee Berry of Panama City - a former waitress who sued her employers for breach of contract and fraudelent misrepresentation after winning a contest to sell the most beer.
She said she was promised a new Toyota and believed she had won the new car. But she was blindfolded, led into the car park and presented with a toy Yoda, the little green guy from Star Wars.
(Story and photo courtesy of Associated Press)
The zero carbon eco-stable - winners announced!
The eco-stable is built with sustainable materials and micro-renewable technologies, setting the new low carbon standard for birthplaces (Messiah not included).
In 2007 we set the challenge to cut out and build the model of the eco-stable, and to photograph the evidence.
Every entry meant a donation to the Construction Youth Trust, the UK's construction industry charity that helps thousands of disadvantaged young people overcome barriers and find career opportunities within the industry.
We had some fantastic entries - Click here to see the judges' favourites.
And if you still fancy a bit of model-making, you can still download the instructions and have a go!
Click here to download the eco-stable kit and instructions.
"Seriousness is the last refuge of the shallow" (Oscar Wilde)
