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Thursday 20 November 2008
Small-Mindedness In All Its Glory
The letters page of yesterday's Metro offered a spectacular exhibition of Middle England-ness. Two correspondents wrote quite chunky letters complaining that Gordon Brown has announced an increase in borrowing while (how dare he?) also announcing an increase in the overseas development budget. This kind of attitude makes me sick. God forbid that people in Britain should have to forgo odd luxuries, or endure the horrifying hardship of overcrowded trains. No no - these clearly represent a far more serious priority to the government of a supposedly civilised country than helping millions of people who are starving, or dying in epidemics.
The price of our privilege should be an absolute moral obligation to help those less privileged. When everyone is on an equal standing, then we can start to worry about luxuries.
Two pages on from the letters page was a large feature on efforts to slow the AIDS epidemics of the developing world, which puts it all in context, I thought.
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!
I may be able to extract entertainment forever from this little snippet I spotted on the way in to work.
That TV series Pimping For Rich People Mr Right has ended with 'Mr Right' selecting his ideal woman and her deciding that she's not really interested in him after all. Oh the irony.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again:
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!
I'm heading out of town this afternoon, so updates over the weekend may be sporadic, though they will happen.
See you later.
Prizes - Yer Actual Prizes!
This isn't, despite any appearance to the contrary, a transparent effort to get more participation going here.
Sometime soon, the one thousandth (at least since the commencement of the Movable Type-driven version of the site) comment will be added here, and as I'm in expansive pre-festive season mood, I'm going to give something to the person who submits it. The final prize is open to conjecture at the moment. If the commenter has an Amazon wishlist, it might be something from that, if they don't, or if the mood takes me, it might be something that I think they'll like, or want to introduce someone new to.
Is that an incentive, or what?
A couple of notes:
I'm actually switching off commenting on this posting, to encourage comments to be context-based, not about this offer.
Obviously I'm not going to be too specific, but the magic one thousandth will be within the next thirty comments from the time of this posting.
Yes, I'm bored and trying to find ways to make this place a bit more interesting....
12:45 AM |
Stuff
I find myself unexpectedly involved in Sue Perkins' eviction from Celebrity Big Brother. I suppose it's because she's the only one of the six starting housemates that I particularly liked (or in some cases had even heard of), and also because - and I admit it's shallow - there was part of me that thought it would be cool, what with the UK's regular BB having generated the world's first gay winner, to have a lesbian winner too. She's brilliantly funny, isn't she? (Who, me? Jealous?)
Sidenote - I've got way less respect for Rhona Cameron than I might once have had.
In a different direction entirely, I quite agree with Graham - Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle does look like wonderful, if ridiculous, fun. Mind you - I love the first one....
I'm Very Impressed
For something I'm writing elsewhere, I've been doing a lot of research lately into the issue of vital drugs being priced out of the reach of the people who need them the most in, for instance, various African countries. It's a depressing subject, to say the least.
But a glimmer of official sanity has appeared today in the form of International Development Secretary Clare Short's proposals that drugs used in the treatment of three key diseases, AIDS, tuberulosis, and malaria, should be sold to the countries identified as most in need of them at cost price. It's difficult to overstate how radical a suggestion this is. Most of the major drug companies have resisted any such proposals vigorously whenever they have previously been raised. But the group producing the report had the involvement of the biggest British companies, AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline.
The reoprt and its proposals were commissioned in the wake of a G8 summit last year, and the plan is to have the G8 countries accept the proposals, which may prove a stumbling block, as the US government has traditionally sided with the major US drug companies over this issue. But perhaps right will prevail.
There are other, wider issues involved too, of course, and The Guardian reviews some of them in its leader today.
Regardless, the proposals alone, and their acceptance by the companies already on board is a huge step, and I for one would like to commend all involved.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I have no idea if I have any American (I should say USAian) readers - I know I have readers who live in the USA, so I suppose for these purposes that will count - but anyway - Happy Thanksgiving!
And remember: The Christmas shopping season starts today!
Seeing Sam
Pleasant interlude in the day today, Sam came in to have lunch with Barnaby and I. She's one of a number of people we know who've lost their jobs recently, so it's not the best of times for her, but it's always a joy to see her, and it looks like we'll be seeing her a bit more in the near future.
Truth Hurts
The senior aide to Canadian Prime Minister who was identified as the source* of the reported comment that George W Bush is a moron has resigned, having decided that her position is untenable. Which I should say it probably is, though it's a pity that she has to go, as she seems to have a very solid grasp on the reality of the situation.
*Not the original source, obviously. I'm sure countless people have been saying it on a daily basis for years.
Like Some Chocolate?
I saw an item about this on BBC News 24 at some obscure hour of the night, but Charles has pointed me in the direction of the online story. The UK's Co-Operative chain of supermarkets has announced that they're going to shift all of their own brand chocolate over to production from Fair Trade-produced cocoa. At a stroke, this will double the amount of Fair Trade chocolate sold in the UK, but will still only represent a fraction of the overall market. The rest of the industry, needless to say, seems rather reluctant to follow their lead.
Link And Think (Again)
It's less than a week to World AIDS Day, and so I thought I'd offer one more encouragement to people to participate in this year's Link and Think programme. It's essential that people take the time to make sure real information about AIDS issues is available, and linking to resources, or telling real experiences, is an excellent way of doing that. Even if you don't have a personal experience to talk about, take part, track down some useful links, and publicise them. It's absolutely worth it.
A Minor Change
You'd have to be pretty eagle-eyed to spot it, but I've taken out the 'Photo of....' link over on the left - the sad truth is that I'm just never out and about enough with the camera to keep it regularly refreshed. Maybe if I ever get round to the redesign I keep talking about I can find a way to incorporate it.
Fog
The world outside my window is quite remarkable just at the moment. I can see two street lights, and literally nothing else through the serious fog out there. I don't remember ever seeing it so thick - it's the kind that if the window was open you can imagine it visibly creeping into the room. It's Bleak House-type fog, is what it is.
MP Performance
I notice that FaxYourMP.com have published league tables of MP response rates for the period April to September this year. How well did yours do?
That's Entertainment?
In the other TV voting situation last night, I gather Goldie was evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother house, which doesn't really surprise me, as the odds bits of it I've seen suggested that he was a bit too hyperactive - I can see a lot of people being glad to see things a bit less frantic, especially the celebs, who seemed to be getting a little worn out by his constant need to get them all doing something.
Elsewhere, while I'm doing a round up of enteratinment-related stuff, I also noticed that The Mousetrap celebrates the fiftieth year of its continuous run tonight. I've seen it twice, and while it's okay, and not unduly taxing, its longevity seems eternally surprising.
And Steve Spielberg is going to make a live-action Tintin movie.
Depends How You Define 'Great'
Watching the latter half of the Great Britons Debate last night (shambolic as it was), nevertheless demonstrated that on at least some levels, the thing did exactly what it was supposed to do, which is provoke debate. Three of us watched together, and our respective loyalties shifted, we argued with each other as to the relative merits of the contenders, and incredibly, we were swayed by (some of) the debaters.
Observations: Alan Davies looked woefully out-of-place defending John Lennon, who in turn looked out of place on that Top Ten list anyway, though I won't make the mistake of resorting to the arrogant attitude the man defending Newton adopted and that Rosie Boycott demolished so well - everyone was on the list because of the public vote at the end of the day.
Jeremy Clarkson's programme on Brunel was excellent TV - he was passionate, articulate, and knowledgeable on the subject. Pity he's turned into such a thug about the whole thing ever since.
AA Gill, standing in (I'm not sure why) for Fiona Shaw, who had originally presented the case for Shakespeare, stood out as far the best debater in the bunch (not saying a huge amount, but considering there were an MP and a former MP in the group, a bit worrying). He was also the sharpest and wittiest, though Andrew Marr ran him a close second.
So - Churchill then? Well, he wouldn't have been my choice (in the end I was wavering between Newton, Darwin, and Shakespeare), but of the final three I suppose he was the logical choice.
Been Away, Almost Back
I've been trying to catch up on a bunch of things today that have been set aside during to madness of the last week. (While also trying to catch up on some sleep....) One of the things I haven't had a chance to do is get caught up on a reading of the various blogs I usually visit, so if I've missed any events of great import in anyone's life, I apologise profusely, and promise that I'll be stopping by for a catch-up as soon as possible.
Back On Track?
Well, today was possibly the first in over a week where pretty much exactly what was supposed to happen happened. We'd planned weeks ago to have a pre-Christmas shopping trip, and even though Chris still wasn't well enough to go, (I did say 'pretty much' what was supposed to happen), he did want Dolly and I not to miss out. So we ferried to Calais, bought wine, cheese, other bits and pieces, ate a meal, and came back.
Now I'm back in the flat with a large Jamieson's beside me, feeling the need to watch something mindless (hello Celebrity Big Brother), before heading off to bed. And even my bed holds particular promise tonight, as tomorrow is the first morning in a good long while when I won't be woken up by The Fattest Cat In Christendom(tm) jumping on my chest wanting to be fed. Yes, in what would probably have been a highly entertaining exercise to watch, but a slightly painful one to experience, I shifted Dillon over to Chris's new flat yesterday. In traditional manner, it took her less than five minutes to be entirely at home and crashed out on the living room floor.
Unrelatedly, when I first turned on Big Brother on a few minutes ago, I caught them midway through a 'pick a random question and discuss it' game, and the question I came in on was "Is it possible to be in love with two people at the same time?" Which triggered a major flashback for me, as I was asked this very question myself by my first partner, seventeen years ago this month. But by some uncanny instinct, I immediately knew that I wasn't being asked something so much as I was being told it....
What A Crappy Week
It's been a really bad week, one way and another.
Apart from the all-night hospital stint on Sunday, hospital visiting has meant that I've spent an annoying chunk of each evening stuck in rush hour traffic (in the rain), and although obviously it couldn't be helped, had to miss seeing both the new Harry Potter film and What The Night Is For. On top of which I've been about as insomniac as I've ever been, and because of matters outside our control, we've had no end of technical issues to deal with at work. It's been one of those where a 'Do Over' button would be really useful.
Service Interruption
Many apologies, but the site was down for a few hours late morning/early afternoon today while some server movement was going on - I know from Mike that at least a couple of comments were lost as a result, so I'm sorry if anyone else was affected. Hopefully normal service is now resumed.
Two From The Archives
Chris has a space on his site to show the postings which have been most recently commented on, and which is a very useful tool for spotting when a posting from a long time ago has suddenly been discovered and returned to life - his "Will Young wins Pop Idol" posting, for instance, is now up to 83 comments, the first of which was posted in February, the most recent of which went up last week. When I finally get round to the redesign that's been on my mind, I'm thinking of implementing something similar to highlight occasional similar occurences.
Like today, I noticed that suddenly a posting from May this year had received a comment. Not a particularly nice one, but then, 'Damion' doesn't strike me as a particularly nice person.
On a better note, one of last months postings, about the comics documentary Sex, Lies and Superheroes has managed to attract two comments from people actually involved in the production, which is pretty cool.
A Site For....
John at Sore Eyes has moved to a new domain and has adopted a new, Movable Type-based system (Ooh look - permalinks!), so it seems as good a time as any to give him one of my occasional plugs.
Multifarious Bits And Pieces
I forgot to take power for the laptop home last night, so this is by way of being last night's blog:
First off, thanks for all the notes of well-wishing to Chris after the Accident and Emergency events of Sunday night - I told him last night that people he'd never even met or heard of were cheering him on to recovery, and he was very flattered.
Next - did you know that we have, in British law, an Anatomy Act? Well, it turns out that we do, and today's planned autopsy for a ticket-buying audience contravenes it. Though I notice from this morning's update that there's a plan for it to go ahead anyway....
Not that my opinion will count for anything, but wouldn't it be nice if this Prestige oil tanker disaster made a few people think twice about our entire world's dependency on shipping huge quantities of a highly-polutant chemical all over the place? Particularly in the relatively fragile single-hulled tankers that are going to remain legal in Europe for another thirteen years based on current legislative timetables.
And finally, as they say on the TV, there's a piece in this morning's Metro (not online) reporting that China is apparently insisting that Mount Everest be renamed Qomolangma, which is the Chinese variant on the Tibetan name for the mountain, Chomolungma. Unfortunately, in defence of their argument, they are apparently accusing the British of "raping the sacred mountain of Tibetans by giving it a false name". Two thoughts occur - first, if it's imperial nations' dogma of linguistic superiority that the Chinese are complaining about, then shouldn't they be insisting on the Tibetan name, not their own variant? And second, erm, given China's treatment of the entire country, isn't the 'rape' of a sacred mountain pretty small potatoes?
What I Did On My Sunday Night
Well, against all expectation (though that's a tad redundant, because obviously, no one expects to do so), I spent all Sunday night in the Accident and Emergency Department of a large London hospital. No, not on my own account, I hasten to add, but accompanying Chris, who I had to take in and stay with while they tried to work out why, among other things, he couldn't breathe properly. Eventually, after he was seen by the Consultant this morning, they decided to admit him, so I had to head back to his to get him stuff for his stay, and then start letting people know what had happened. Needless to say, it's left me a little tired today, but apparently his consultant is particularly highly-regarded, so there's some small chance that he'll get sorted out.
Interestingly, while I was sitting around waiting for hours, and between keeping the occasional eye and ear on the dramas going on around me, I finally read a book called Were You Still Up For Portillo? by Brian Cathcart. This book, which recounts the events of General Election night 1997, is one which I saw in the shops late that year, and bought as birthday and Christmas presents for a number of people, but which I never got round to myself. It's fascinating to remember the stages that were gone through that night. We had an election party, and the swing from "Yes, we know that the exit polls are saying Labour will win, but they said that in '92", through to "Yes, but they're predicting that based on only a few results in strong Labour areas", to "Basildon! Oh my fucking God, Basildon!!!!" to "It's real, isn't it? It's going to be an actual landslide." to the defining moment; "YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!". (Which should tell you that I was indeed still up for Portillo, as were we all, even the member of our party who had to set off for a funeral in Devon at 5.30am. I was still up at midnight the following night, in fact, having spent the day, as had much of the country, walking around with a huge grin on my face and saying "Hello" to strangers.)
Say what you like about the disillusionment of the years since, that night and that day stay high on my list of best ever.
Jinxed
Well well well. Seeing the attention being given to Halle Berry's character in all of the TV ads for Die Another Day, it certainly looks like they might indeed be considering her for a spin-off. I certainly don't remember Denise Richards getting that much attention in the lead-up to The World Is Not Enough.
On the subject of which, I saw the last Bond on its opening night in New York, and remember sitting rather shocked when the largely-American audience burst into whoops, cheers and applause at the end of the pre-title sequence. We Brits just sat there quietly, of course.
Notes From The Social Butterfly
As I'm having that dull domestic weekend, I'm going to pretend that staying in and watching TV on a Saturday night isn't really the tragic thing it is. Right now I'm watching this Ultimate Chart thing on Channel 4, which is interesting, on and off. Celine's heart has already gone on, so the worst is over, and the voiceover links are making some of the rest bearable - Jennifer Rush came on with a brief burble about The Power Of Love, and the only comment in voiceover was a heartfelt "Jesus!"....
UPDATE - I'm going to count down the Top Ten, because based on what's gone before, it could be quite bizarre:
Ten - Mary's Boy Child, By Boney M (Barf)
Nine - Unchained Melody, by Robson Green and Jerome Flynn (Barf too)
Eight - She Loves You, by The Beatles (Barf three)
Seven - Relax, by Frankie Goes To Hollywood (We-hey! I'd forgotten how cute Holly Johnson was/is.)
Six - You're The One That I Want, by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (Ah - nostalgia.)
Five - Rivers Of Babylon/Brown Girl In The Ring, by Boney M (No, seriously.)
Four - Mull Of Kintyre, by Wings (Yes, I'm afraid so.)
Three - Bohemian Rhapsody, by Queen (Thunderbolts and Lightning!)
Two - Do They Know It's Christmas?, by Band Aid (Lovely haircuts, folks.)
One - Candle In The Wind, by Elton John (I'm not at sure at all how I feel about this - I love the song, but the reason for it being number one? Not so much.)
Yes, I think bizarre is the word.
"Six Inches, *Massive* Girth"
It's not exactly news, because everyone who's seen him since he went solo must have noticed the same thing, but Robbie Williams (just finished on The Robbie Williams Show on BBC One) is an absolutely astonishing showman. He conveys so much with every look, gesture and pose, and is so natural with his audiences, it's hard to imagine how he ever managed in the "no one should stand out more than the others" environment of Take That. I guess he didn't.
Finally Able To See Census
Astonishingly, the better part of a year after it launched and spectacularly crashed nanoseconds later (on the 8th January, 'for a week'), the UK Census Bureau seems to have managed to get the 1901 Census back online. I'm not sure if I'm more shocked that it's back, or that it's taken this long for them to get the infrastructure worked out.
UPDATE - Actually, maybe I (and they) spoke too soon - as it now seems not to be available again. *snort*
UPDATE UPDATE - "The 1901 Census Online service is now in the final stages of testing, and the site is currently available 09.00 to 05.00 hours (GMT) Monday to Sunday."
It's My Life
Soundtrack: Michelle Branch, The Spirit Room
Considering I call this a journal, I haven't been journalling much lately, so by way of a quick round-up of things of consequence (to me at any rate) in my recent past:
It's been good catching up with people I haven't seen for a while, like Alex and Gary, and I'm back in touch with Karen, who I haven't seen for about eight years, (not seen in person, that is, I see her on the BBC News all the time - no, because she's a *reporter*), and we're hopefully going to get together soon. These are significant events for my, as I sometimes feel that far too many of my friends are those I made through Chris when we were together, and as such aren't really my friends but his, whereas these people are all mine.
On top of those get togethers, I've caught up with various more regularly-seen people, like Chris, Alison, Ailsa and Philippa, which are always fun to meet. I had dinner with Alison a couple of weeks ago, and we realised that it's the first time we've ever gone out for the evening as just the two of us.
Work wise, we seem very busy, but not unmanageably so. In a positive turn of events, we're finally having a couple of new people starting with us who've never worked with us before, and who consequently bring a slightly different element to the team dynamic. It's sometimes difficult, when there are people who are available whose skills and working style you know, and who know you, to take the plunge and bring in a totally new perspective. When you need to respond quickly to a client's needs, it sometimes just makes more sense to go with the familiar. I hope some new viewpoints will work in our favour, though.
What else? I have a number of theatre visits coming up during the next few weeks, and I want to do a significant amount of film-going in the near future soon.
And I'm going to have a depressingly (but necessarily) domestic weekend.
US Democrats In "Choose Left-Wing Leader" Shock!
The new Minority Leader in the House of Representatives is Nancy Pelosi, of San Francisco, which should prove interesting, given her outspoken oppostition to GWB on war with Iraq, among other issues. The question, of course, is whether this will represent a new rallying-cry for the Democrats, or an opportunity, as many Republicans see it, for the party to be further marginalised.
Best Spam Subject Line. Ever.
"Customized Stockings for your Pet"
I mean - really?
It's Christmas stockings, by the way; full of pet treats, and (wait for it) customised with your pet's name. So when the whole family approach the tree on Christmas morning, your pet; a) won't feel left out, and b) will know which is their stocking.
Catching Up With The Folks
Tought I'd do a round-up of some of the happenings in the lives of various people on my (shudder) blogroll. It's not that I don't read everyone on a regular basis, by the way, as some of these aren't exactly news, but I just keep forgetting to link them.
Gert's partner Jimmy had a rather dramatic morning yesterday.
Owen has been down with a bad back over the last couple of weeks, which sounds like it's been pretty damn nasty, but he's kept himself occupied by redesigning his site and watching Squodge doing some decorating.
Dave and Octavia have made an important decision.
On the employment front, there's good news at blog v2.0, and bad at hEadSeSSions. Don't let it get you down more than you can avoid, Ruf.
Lisa-Jane has been having some family matters to deal with which I found somewhat resonant of my own history.
Lara has Sam to stay, and I'm consequently pining for New York again.
Clayton has just come to the end of a trip to Colorado Springs that seems to have been quite eventful.
And last, and almost certainly least;
Mike has finally finished his tax return....
Get Your Collection On
Everybody's favourite online comic strip is online no longer - or rather, is no longer *only* online. You can now buy a collected volume from Soft Skull Press.
And actually, in the interests of full disclosure, I should point out that it's not everyone's favourite:
GBM
The Terrence Higgins Trust has launched a new campaign to challenge anti-gay sentiment in Britain's black community, It's Time To Accept. They maintain that such attitudes affect people's ability to come out and consequently prevent adequate work on safe sex being possible among at-risk groups, such as young black gay men. The point is emphasised that blatant aggression towards gay people remains common in the lyrics of black music, and that this atmosphere of intimidation is clearly going to make the ability of black people to come out to those closest to them far more difficulat than for others.
I think it's probably an important campaign, because there is clearly a specific problem that needs addressing, but I worry that it could be interpreted by people who want to find such things as another excuse to have a go at black Britons.
Link And Think
Well, it's getting to be that time of the year again. December 1st will be World Aids Day, and as I did last year, I've signed up to the Link and Think campaign. Link and Think is an initiative designed to bring the huge weblogging audience some focused information about the situation regarding AIDS in the world today. Participants are encouraged, on that day, to link only to resources and information about AIDS, or to relate stories and personal experiences about the impact of the disease on their own lives. Some of last year's participant contributions reduced me to tears while others inspired anger and frustration. None, I think, left me unaffected in some way or other.
I would encourage everyone with their own site to sign up and take part.
What Is The Night For?
The lovely, nay, the gorgeous Gillian Anderson is appearing in a new play, What The Night Is For in London at the moment, and I for one am very excited. I'm going to see it next week, but in the meantime thought I'd share one of the very many stunning photos of Ms Anderson in circulation, in the form of this ad for the play. Go on - click on that thumbnail - you know you want to. It's not just me, is it? She really is stunningly attractive.
Lor! Listen to me - you'd think I was straight.
Addendum - I forgot to mention last night that the play's website (link above) contains a 'Backstage Weblog' - those weblog things are cropping up all over the place these days, aren't they?
Sticks And Stones
I'm of the generation that reclaimed the word 'queer'. My years of political awakening were full of phrases like 'reclaiming the language of oppression', and I truly feel that there's a great deal to be gained from using one of the commonest weapons of that oppression to demonstrate strength and self-confidence. But every now and then it's brought home to me that this is a luxury which my times have afforded me. Even friends ten years older than I had no such luxury when they were the age I was then, and indeed older. Then, 'queer' was a violent word, and its use even as an insinuation could ruin lives. Generations of gay men and lesbians had lives of oppression that I and those who came along with and after me cannot imagine. They laid the groundwork for the changes in society that allow me to wear my queerness on my sleeve, or my t-shirt. Ten years. Not even a quarter of my life so far, but enough for a lifetime of change for some of my nearest and dearest.
There's a Weekly in this, I think.
You Know You've Been Watching too Much Buffy....
....when you ICQ someone you know is a fan of some of those teen-girl pop star types (Britney and others of her ilk), with the question:
"now, is Christina Aguillera one of your little band of droolsome pop-hotties?"
Well That Answers That Question
People who know me really as opposed to virtually might know that I've been intrigued by the departure of my next-door neighbour earlier this year - a lot earlier - the end of January in fact. Shortly after she left I noticed that her locks had been drilled out, and the flat's been empty ever since, which had led me to wonder if she'd done some kind of a runner and the building managers, or her mortgage company, or someone had had to forcibly gain entry.
This morning I got a letter from a company who say they're acting on behalf of their client, the local council, and are wondering if I have any information about the current address of Miss X.
So yes, I think that was a runner that was done there....
The Occasional Buffy Blog
I got my copy of the Once More, With Feeling original cast album yesterday, so my domestic morning around the flat is being enhanced by Under Your Spell, Standing, and Walk Through The Fire, which makes me want to site and watch the episode again, but I mustn't, as I really do need to be all domestic. Brilliant stuff though.
On a related, but less positive, note, it transpires that Amber Benson won't be returning in the new series of Buffy, as had been suggested. Problems getting agreement between Fox and her representatives are being cited as the reason, but it's a real pity, as she's been one of the consistently best features of the last three years.
This Must Be A Record
For the second time in three days I've caught up with someone I don't see often enough. I've been out this evening with Gary, who I rarely ever see, and probably wouldn't have today if I hadn't literally bumped into him last Saturday and made a plan. A very mellow evening - he's very good company, and even though every time we do bump into each other we say we must meet again sooner next time, it still ends up being an eighteen month gap. Note to self - must try harder,
Quick bit of random linkage: Barnaby pointed me in the direction of a new Orisinal game The Bottom Of The Sea, which like most of them is very mellow and soothing, and involves getting a diver to the bottom of the ocean. It's yonks since I linked to Orisinal anyway, so this seems like a good opportunity.
So What Do You Really Think?
There's a book called The Eagle's Shadow: Why America Fascinates and Infuriates the World by Mark Hertsgaard, in which the author discusses, among other things, how 'America' and 'Americans' are viewed by the rest of the world. One of the key parts of his findings, at least as summarised in this Salon article (watch out for the occasional pop-under), is that many people have positive views of Americans, but the institution of the nation, its policies and mores is viewed more with fear and distrust. I have to admit that I find that quite a reasonable summary of my own position.
[Via Metafilter, where they've been talking it to death....]
This Royal Thing - WTF?
So let me get this clear:
There's allegedly a box full of stuff that belonged to Princess Diana that went missing after she died. One of the items allegedly in this alleged box is a tape recording of one royal employee talking about his rape at the hands of another. The suggestion seems to be that Prince Charles had been involved in some kind of cover up, and that Princess Diana taped the conversation to use against the prince. *And*, it's apparently in order to keep this covered up (obviously a highly effective tactic), that matters were arranged to bring Paul Burrell's trial to a halt. Though this evening they're obviously denying anything of the sort.
There is no longer any possible doubt that the world has finally gone stark staring bonkers.
We Have A Winner!
Following this morning's brief discussion on the subject of light entertainment TV programmes with weak premises, I can do no more than draw the world's attention to the atrocity currently showing on ITV1, Russian Roulette, which involves celebrities, and I use the term in its loosest possible sense, trying to answer questions correctly in order to avoid the random opening of the trapdoors on which they're standing. Oh. My. God.
The Ongoing Devastation Of Zimbabwe
BBC News Online are carrying an account of the situation facing the former workers from many of the 'redistributed' farms in Zimbabwe. They're 'former' workers because the new tenants of the farms are either not yet in evidence months after the eviction of the previous tenants, or have no experience in farming anyway. The former workers therefore have no livelihood, and no means of supporting themselves or their families. Worst of all from the point of view of the country's ability to climb out of the hole it's now in, is that the most direct effect of this situation is on the exportable tobacco crop which could actually generate revenue.
The Zimbawean government have tried to suggest that the eviction of the white farmers was about a racial divide, and about the country's black population reclaiming their birthright. But the specific victims of this current situation are poor black workers. Those who benefit, for at least as long as there is benefit to be had, are supporters of Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party. So this isn't about 'right', and it's certainly not about 'justice'. As it's always been, it's about personal greed and ultimately, it's about politics. Sickening, isn't it?
....Lest Ye Be Judged Yourself
I've never understood this desire people feel to pass judgement on things that they haven't seen or otherwise experienced yet. Or indeed things that haven't even been made yet.
To whit: next year's Daredevil movie, which I intend to judge on its own merits when I see the finished article, not on the basis of its stars (Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell) and their past record, nor those of its screenwriter and director. Unlike various of the sad comic fans over at Comicon, who would rather bitch and moan about these things before the thing is even finished than look on it as an opportunity to introduce yet another new audience to their beloved medium.
Mind you, can you really take seriously a community in which people who don't even read the title on which the film is based feel happy to comment on the suitablity of the casting: "I like this cast. I like the Spider-man cast too except for Toby. If he was perfect for Spider-Man I'm really thankfull I dont read any of his crap. I dont care if DD's cast doesnt fit the book perfectly cuz I dont like the books. Any change is prolly an improvement."? (Insert sics at all the appropriate points.)
Nostalgia isn't....
Feeling somewhat better this evening, I decided to stick to one of the events in my unusually social week, and met old mate Alex. We spent a very nice evening eating and drinking and having a bit of a reminisce. Alex and I first met in 1997, working on a pilot for a truly terrible light entertainment TV programme that fortunately never saw the light of day. (I should point out that it was not truly terrible due to any lack of effort from the people creating it (though it was a pretty weak premise, if I'm honest), but it did suffer hugely from going into final production and studio the week between Princess Diana's death and funeral). I'd run the risk of all sorts of Google trouble if I even named the presenter or any of the celebrity guests, so I won't, but if for no other reason I have fond memories of it for bringing Alex and I together.
(If anybody ever wants to see this travesty of the televisual arts, by the way, I have it on tape and could be persuaded to show it under controlled conditions for an appropriate consideration.)
More Politics - The House Of Lords; Wha'Happen?
And in the world of strange results (no, not the US Mid-Terms, though what a depressing situation that is), the House of Lords voted in favour of the adoption amendment that would allow unmarried couples to adopt last night. The 34 majority against from just a couple of weeks ago was turned into a 21 majority for yesterday, which, as the Guardian notes; "also raises further questions about Iain Duncan Smith's judgment in putting his leadership on the line by imposing a disastrous three line whip on Tory MPs on Monday night". It's a strange, shifting sort of world we're living in, isn't it?
The Madwoman In The Attic....
....strikes again.
Hot on the heels of Iain Duncan Smith's insistance that the Conservative Party must 'unite (under him) or die', Baroness Thatcher has waded in with an assertion that the Party will live with or without him. How many more times does she have to leap into a bad situation for the incumbent leader and make it ten times worse before the party definitively disowns her? Part of me wants it to be never, because there are few things in the world more entertaining than watching the Tory party tearing itself to pieces, but the part of me that thinks strong opposition is required for good governance wishes they could sort themselves out at least a bit....
What *Is* Wrong With People?
It appears that Channel 4 may finally have given up on The West Wing and could be scheduling it in a graveyard slot on Saturday nights when series three starts in the new year. Despite it being the best thing on TV (I think), and a huge critical success, it doesn't seem to be finding a UK audience, which is a crying shame.
[Via L:e:g:a:c:y]
That Firework Night Thing
I've been at home the last two days, having been struck down by some sort of bug that had me all glandular and headachey. It's sort of been just as well, as the fireworks have been going off at all hours through the day and Dillon's ben getting absolutely frantic. I'm hoping that after this evening things will be a bit easier for her.
For anyone not getting out to a display, Gert has found this nice little Java indoor firework ap.
I Have To Admit That I'm Surprised
I try very hard to be the kind of person who is willing to admit when they've misjudged someone, so here I am doing just that regarding John Bercow MP, who has resigned from the Shadow Cabinet over the Tory leadership's decision to impose a three-line whip on their MPs in voting against adoption by unmarried couples. John Bercow always struck me as a highly careerist figure, and I always recall his attitude back in his Federation of Conservative Students as being scarily, aggressively, right wing. I've watched his softening with as much scepticism as I applied to that of Michael Portillo, but I will give him credit for his action today.
That Was The Weekend That Was
Where do these little interludes in the routine of work go? I feel like I've achieved very little this weekend, yet, I'm completely knackered. Ho hum. Not much to report, but that I have a surprisingly busy social week ahead of me, with something planned on four out of five evenings. This never happens, what's going on?
A Political One
I watched Breakfast With Frost on BBC One this morning, and was somewhat surprised to see Lord Tebbit apparently coming to the defence of Iain Duncan Smith, not so long after he was criticising the party's shifts in policy and stance under IDS. It really is strange seeing His Lordship being trotted out for this kind of discussion - he's so much yesterday's man that you can't help but wonder why someone currently in the front bench team didn't step up to defend the leader. Or is that one of those 'Asked and answered' questions?
Meanwhile, the Mid-Term elections in the US continue to hold my attention, and no doubt I'll be up very late on Tuesday night following the coverage and the outcomes. As I've mentioned before, I'm an election addict, and these promise to be highly significant. BBC News has set up a microsite focusing on them.
"The Nice Kind Of Asbestos"
Today's Julie Burchill column in The Guardian is slightly more serious than is sometimes the case, discussing the BBC Four programme she's made What Killed My Dad?, about the fatal effects of working with asbestos, and she highlights some of the ongoing hypocrisy of the asbestos industry's apologists, including, surprisingly, Iain Duncan Smith.