I Quiver With Dredd

NO!  It's NOT A Typo!
Nor a spelling mistake.  Witless bafoons, have I not told you repeatedly that the English language behaves like a well-trained lapdog in the presence of Conrad?  This title is no exception.
     Technically it ought to be "I Quiver Excitedly With Dredd" but that's not as catching nor eye-grabby, and if you find it misleading - once again, whose blog is it?
     Now, I shall have to provide some background for those of you not up on your 2000 AD comic history.  Judge Dredd is the lead character in said comic, and has been for over forty years.  Art?

Old Stonyface in typical pose

     He is one of the Judges of Mega-City One, who are literally judge, jury and executioner all rolled into one.  They patrol (and partly run) this urban conurbation of 400 million citizens, a future dystopia that makes the worst run-down slums of any inner city look like luxury living.  Art?

                                           For your erudition
     Conrad loves the horrid British black humour that pervades the series, which routinely satirises contemporary society, and the sheer ruthlessly impartial human sledgehammer that is Dredd.  Oh - one thing, you never, ever get to see his face. There's an enormous amount of backstory to Dredd because it's been going so long, far too much to add in here, so expect further updates, O yes indeed.
     And they're going to be making a television series of this!  Rebellion, who publish 2000 AD, have just set up a big film studio in Didcot and will also be shooting the Rogue Trooper film there.
     Hang on - OW! - no, I'm not dreaming.  In the meantime, go out and buy the very excellent "Judge Dredd" of 2012, to get in the spirit of things.
     Okay, the motley had been superglued into a pair of lead-weighted diving boots, and the steamroller's engine is turning over - let the race begin!

Yes, "Cursed" - no flush toilets or internet!

"Dotard"
This word came up on The Flop House Facebook page, with a bit of hand-wringing about whether it was too cruel an insult to use or not.
     Conrad says go right ahead!  I've used it recently, that I know, and I would sling it about in public without any regard for people's finer feelings.  Most people wouldn't know what it means anyway.
     Because you might be unaware, the word means "To be infirm of mind especially due to age".

Art!

     The derivation, according to Chambers, is from Middle Dutch of the 13th Century, namely "Doten", meaning to behave in a silly manner.  And yes, I do keep a dictionary by me at all times.  Everyone does, right?

Toxic Trees
Have you ever heard of the "Upas" tree?  No, me neither, so I was rather puzzled when this name turned up as an answer for my Cryptic Crossword.  One quick check in Chambers confirmed that it's indeed a real thing, and that gay dog Pushkin even wrote a poem about it.  Art?

CAUTION: not edible, if you like being alive

     The sap of this tree contains an extremely powerful toxin that KILLS YOU STONE DEAD by stopping the heart in short order, so it is used to tip arrows for hunting, or a bit of assassination.  There appears to be a lot of utter guff talked by the credulous about this tree - "It's the most poisonous plant on earth", "It kills anything coming within 12 miles of it", "It can get up and walk and sting -" I think they're confusing it with a triffid in that last one.

Pushkin, plotting poetry

     Oh, the Latin name for the tree is "Antiaris Toxicaria", so if you see this on a salad menu, I'd have the mugwort instead.

Perth
I need something short to finish off with, as we are near count, so how about a bit of Disambiguation, as that website we all know has it?  Art?  Pictures!

Perth, Scotland

     Here is the city of Perth, situated on the banks of the River Tay, and home to the Museum of the Black Watch, who are a rock-hard regiment and nothing to do with telling time.  Art?

Perth, Australia

     This is the Antipodean Perth, and you may notice the difference as here you are hugely unlikely to ever encounter snow.  In fact if you do, then that wretched Planet Nibiru has just passed by Earth and turned it upside down.

Later, peeps!