I’m In The Money!
Well, not so much.
Who remembers the OnDigital/ITVDigital fiasco? Well, at the time ITVDigital folded, I was one of those who'd paid upfront for a year's subscription then got about three weeks use out of it before everything went dark.
Today, in a startling development, I received a letter from the liquidators telling me that my claim of £100+ had been assessed and I was being paid a dividend based on the available funds and the size of my claim. A cheque was attached....
Now, what treasures shall I pursue with the unexpected and princely sum of £10.48?
‘Bye Mo
Probably no great surprise after recent news coverage, but still saddening to hear of Mo Mowlam's death. She was my mother's MP and probably the only Labour politician she's ever said a good word about.
I thought of her as one of those British politicians of character and integrity that have to be treasured because they come along so infrequently. Tony Benn is one such, Mowlam was categorically another.
I'll miss that playful way she could deal with people which somehow always managed to convey that she was deadly serious about what she said and did.
Even though she'd stepped out of politics, still a massive loss to the country.
I Havent Mentioned Potter, Have I?
Meant to, but didn't get round to it. My original plan was to save Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to read on the extended flights of the wedding trip, but then the thought of lugging it in my carry-out hit and I decided to read it before I went. This meant that finishing it and having to run around like a mad thing washing and packing for the trip all mushed into the same brief span, hence I didn't blog about it.
So; I liked it. Long-term readers may recall that I was about as unimpressed with the last one as it's possible to have been, but I think the series is redeemed by Volume Six. I still think JKR is rather a clunky prose writer, but she's got an eye for a plot and continues to throw in highly creative concepts along the way. This one's a bit talky until what feels like a rather hectic final sixth, but the good kind of talky, that develops the characters in positive ways, unlike last time.
I do think though that unless a hell of a lot happens between books, she's left herself a massive amount to wrap up in a single final installment.
Anyway - the thing that finally reminded me briefly to mention it is this link, which is via me finally fitting in a catch up with John's postings over at Sore Eyes. Very amusing.
It’s Telling, Isn’t It?
Setting aside for a moment the appalling fuck-up that it increasingly looks like the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes by the police was, a thing that struck me as the details originally emerged and that I meant to blog at the time:
Do we all remember the eye-witness accounts from people on the train about the 'Arabic' man who was targeted? I heard at least four or five people describe him as such. When I heard he was Brazilian I did wonder about this. Now I've seen photos of the guy (as in the linked piece), I've gone beyond wonder into the worrying realisation that human nature is exactly as bad as I always thought. Because he doesn't look even remotely Arabic. People just wanted him to be when they thought he was a terrorist.
Damn Those Women!
All of them!
They're too powerful, too much in control, and too damn good at multi-tasking!!!! It's their fault we don't have a manufacturing industry any more! They just treat men as walking sperm banks! It's amazing we even have a civilisation any more, the way they go on!
It must be true; Michael Buerk said so.
And he's obviously in no way a misogynistic old git.
Well Thank The Lord That’s Over
Yes, I know it's people like me who keep talking about it, but I've been very restrained this year. My Big Brother commentary has been a thing of almost naught, but I'll offer a few points arising from the final:
1) I stand by my original assertion that this year's initial mob were the most universally hateful group of people I think I've ever seen in one place. I started out not wanting any of them to win, and I ended up with exactly the same view. I was willing to get behind Eugene at the last, after he demonstrated that he actually has balls on Wednesday, and I'm glad he yanked half the prize month out from under Anthony's nose.
2) I'm happy to note that none of them seem to be getting any exposure to speak of (Orlaith's tits notwithstanding) since they were evicted along the way. As David noted, usually by this point one or two of them have been seen at a premiere or something, but I don't think it's happening this year.
3) 'Kin' hell, how evil a bitch did Makosi come across as? I honestly think she'd have been best to have taken a "It's a gameshow, I was playing the game; get over it" approach, but no, she just confirmed that she really is as vile as the rest of them.
4) Loved the evil looks Craig kept giving everyone else. Gut instinct: after about a month he and Anthony will never speak to each other again.
5) Eugene coming out of that place was brilliant. All those stupid thumbs-up poses he kept striking for the cameras were so wonderfully goofy. Compare and contrast with Anthony's cocky/arrogant style thirty minutes later.
6) And speaking of Anthony - how thick is he? He could barely string syllables together, never mind words. And don't tell me it's down to the excitement. Nadia managed to be more intelligible last year in her non-native language. Just dumb. I'll concede pretty, but dumb. Pretty dumb, in short.
Craig Is Out!
Well, Big Brother was unexpectedly entertaining this evening, as the most loathsome housemate they managed to deliver out of this year's pack of vile examples was evicted as the least popular of the last five. Hardly surprising - I'd imagine he'd come last out of a line up that included Hitler, Ian Huntley and the 11th September bombers.
And once he was out, he was if anything worse than he was when he was in. What a wanker. All of that bollocks about his sexuality: "I know what I am, and I'm comfortable with it, but I just can't bring myself to say the word." Well Craig, I wish you wouldn't, because no one I know wants you in our tribe....
The second twist of the evening was more entertaining still. One housemate had the chance to gain half the £100K prize money unconditionally, but knowing that would only leave half of it for the eventual winner. What larks that it was Eugene who inadvertantly put himself in the hot seat, as he's the only one of the lot you can even imagine hesitating. Oh how he agonised before making what I confess was the shocking but absolutely sensible choice to take the money. I'd have seriously expected him to 'do the right thing'. Of course, he made the decision without knowing that if he turned it down, the final prize money would have doubled....
Nice that C4 have managed to add something a little interesting to the mix even at this late stage. The fact that he may still win overall and so get the rest of the money makes his call a little ironic of course, because if he'd said no, as the current favourite with the bookies he might have walked away with £200,000....
Robin Cook
I honestly can't remember the last time I was as shocked by a newsworthy figure's death.
Seriously sad, and a massive loss to British politics. Tributes here.
Back Again
Quick round-up of the last couple of weeks:
Well, there was a wedding in Las Vegas. There was a suitable amount (but not an excess) of parental crying on both sides. There was a little wedding chapel. There was an Elvis. There was a Best Man's speech (my second in 12 months), that was put together without notes the evening before the wedding. There was the embarassingly drunken late-middle-aged woman with fond memories of the Groom's childhood. There was a domestic of sufficient vigour that the hotel security people got involved at the tail end of the reception (I was long gone by then, so I don't know much more detail than that). Overall, there was everything you need to know that there was definitely a wedding.
The second leg in San Francisco was fairly drastically curtailed for various reasons, so I've acually been home longer than was originally the plan, but having promised myself a break, that's what I've had, and I've well and truly slumped since I got back. No email, no blogging, just a desperate need to do absolutely nothing of consequence, which I appear to have succeeded in managing. (To the extent that I actually forgot to buy new work shoes, having dumped my old ones in SF after they split right across the sole. - Guess what I'll be doing this lunchtime....)
So now I'm back. Not entirely re-invigorated; over a week of being on family duty isn't exactly relaxing; but certainly relatively calm.
Ironically, the thing I'm now most looking forward to is a week's holiday in October. But that's because it's the first holiday David and I will have taken together, and that's what I want more than anything.