Near Miss
So I was almost hit by a car this morning. No, I'm fine - there wasn't an actual impact, but that's only because I literally leapt onto the pavement.
At the moment of the near-collision, the driver of the car, who seemed blithely unaware that he'd come anywhere near an accident, was flicking the ash from his cigarette out of the window while talking into a mobile phone that was held between his head and his shoulder, while turning a corner.
Stupid fucker.
I Like To Think Of Myself As Well-Informed….
....but I'm by no means certain that I'd be sufficiently sure of the intricate details and significant ramifications contingent upon the acceptance or rejection of the new EU Constitution to vote intelligently in a referendum on the subject.
Assume for a moment that the Constitution allowed for all the terrible things that its opponents maintain - that it has potential consequences in economic, legal, and social terms, could politically impact our position in the global community, and determine much of the future nature of life in the UK. I'm not sure anyone who doesn't spend all day every day considering what that really means is in a position to make a reasoned decision. This cry of "we should have a referendum" every time anything of any import whatsoever comes along assumes that every single man and woman in the country is in a position to make an informed decision, and I truly don't think we are.
Or joining the Euro, to take the other subject that perennially attracts calls for a referendum - if you honestly want to tell me that you can cite all of the potential economic and political consequences and base your choice on an intellectual interpretation of them, you're a better man or woman than I.
In reality, the idea of referenda runs contrary to the basis on which a representative democracy (which is what we are) is predicated. The people don't make the decisions, we elect people to make decisions on our behalf, and those people are paid to spend their days weighing up the facts and then making the right decisions.
Don't get me wrong, I know it doesn't work like that - half of them are out being paid to do other jobs most of the time, and even those who aren't will base their decision on political expediency more often than not, but trying to pretend that we're all entirely capable of basing a fundamental political decision on much more than emotion is a bit of a stretch.
Myself, I'm a European - that's not a political comment, it's a geographical one. The political statement is that I think we should get closer to the rest of Europe, and that means both politically and economically. I have some reasoned arguments for that position, but I'd be the last one to say they were watertight.
I'm just the man in the street, and the last thing you want is big decisions put in my hands.
Now That’s Embarassing
""Walking your dog in the park is a perfectly normal thing to do," he added. "My doggy had to go.""
I hadn't even heard that Kevin Spacey had been mugged.
And indeed as it turns out, he hasn't.
I Want To Know
I really do want to know....
Who exactly is it that's stupid enough to receive an email from someone they've never heard of, with a message in it that makes no sense, encouraging them to open an executable attachment, and then actually do so?????
I mean, somebody must do it, mustn't they? Otherwise, why would the people who set these things up keep doing so? I get several a day, and I'm by no means as prone to spam as many people I know.
So which morons is it that are encouraging these fuckers to assume we're all equally thick?
Sometimes I Really Hate Myself
Bear with me:
I was in the supermarket earlier - didn't get much, just a basket full of stuff. Got to the checkout, and piled my purchases onto the conveyor.
When a 'Next customer' bar became available, I put it after my stuff and turned to the person behind me, saying "There you go", as I made space for her to start loading up her shopping.
Person behind me was an elderly woman who had one of those shallow trolleys, which she started to unload. She was reaching from the front of the trolley to the back, because of the narrow space between checkouts, so I offered to help her get to the furthest items. As I did so, I registered what she was buying - not a great deal altogether, but among it, a loaf, a single serving Fray Bentos pie, single serving quiche, one tin of pilchards, a couple of items from the supermarket's 'value' range, and (and this really sticks in my mind for some reason) two bags of Wotsits.
And as she looked up and thanked me for helping, I just felt incredibly sorry for her. Her shopping was so sad to me, so solitary, and she was so small and frail-looking.
But now I'm really annoyed with myself. What the fuck gives me the right to feel sorry for her? I have no idea if she's happy, unhappy, indifferent, anything; but I stood there and felt sorry for her. Patronised her, basically, from my judgemental position, which I have no right to occupy anyway, but certainly not when I don't know the first thing about her or her situation.
I'm really not happy about this - I get really wound up by judgemental people, and fair enough it's usually people being negative about others who wind me up, but I don't think this kind of thing is any better, and in fact it's probably worse.
Marathon Weekend
Having been jammed in traffic earlier while trying to get through Blackheath and Greenwich, I was forcibly reminded that it's Marathon Weekend - I knew it was coming of course, but I don't think I've ever been directly affected by the impact of the preparation for it.
I've blogged about the Marathon each of the last three years, and as usual I'll probably remark tomorrow that it really brings out my sense of living in a community, as the locals will be out in force to cheer and encourage all those who make the attempt.
I don't know anyone who's running it this year, but I'll be wandering along to the end of the road to do my bit in the cheering detail as usual. The weather forecast is for rain, so I'll definitely get along there - a bit of cheer might be more welcome than usual.
My Celebrity Month
Having spotted various minor celebrities in town a few Saturdays ago, I seem to be on a roll, having seen Alexander Armstrong browsing the shelves of a West End shop this morning.
Page 23
"I'm just an ordinary citizen who relies on the Times crossword for stimulation."
My good-friend-I've-never-met* Dan Harvey offers this suggestion for a new meme, of sorts.
Grab the nearest book.
Turn to page 23.
Find the fifth sentence.
Put that sentence online.
If you don't have a blog of your own, or even if you do, feel free to past your sentence in the comments here.
* Though that might soon change.
Gone Quiet
Not just the title of a West Wing episode I watched at the weekend.
Gah! All my best intentions end up going right out the window again. Having made my glorious return to Millarworld on Sunday I thought I could really be on the verge of acting like a person with an online life again, but no, this was not to be the case, courtesy of another stupidly busy week and a distinct lack of leisure time.
On the upside, speaking of leisure time, five days in New York beckon at the end of the month....
Spider-Man 2
There's a new trailer for Spider-Man 2 up over at apple.com, and it looks pretty damn cool.