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Thursday 20 November 2008
Phew! What A Scorcher!
My word but it's warm. I've hardly been what you could call energetic, and the sweat's been pouring off me. Which is possibly more information than you needed.
Anyway, I'm going to be good - when I'm online at the weekend, I do work, and I shouldn't, so I'm going to have a computer-free rest of the weekend.
See you on Monday.
A Blog Of Note
Partly because I've been too distracted to keep up to date with as many blogs as I used to (as previously discussed), I've been a bit bad about doing these little features. So to make up, I'm going to do two or three in the next week and then try to get back to a regular routine.
Starting with: mad musings of me. I've been reading Gert's site for what seems like forever, so intimately do I feel I know so many aspects of Gert's life. This is a real life-blog, with everything from rants about working in the civil service to pub crawl and domestic weekend postings, plus commentary on world and political events from a pleasingly leftward slant, all accompanied by a very fine line in linkage: I've just read, for instance, courtesy of her most recent post, about why it's okay for Christians to use saunas.
Gert also operates an interesting policy with regard to her list of recommended blogs: she runs an 'auditioning' list for sites which she's interested in, but not yet ready to commit to an active recommendation of. I remember vividly the day that More a way of life.... was promoted, and it made me feel all warm and loved.
Gert's fab, and so is her site.
That's So Gay!
Someone sent me a note today asking whether as a gay man I had a problem with people using the phrase "that's so gay" to describe something they wanted to paint negatively.
My honest answer was that I'd only ever seen it used online in a forum we both frequent, and that I'd assumed it had its origin in some obscure past thread in which it had been used to give stick to one of the regulars and just become a buzz-phrase.
Apparently not. I'm told that it's endemic in American English, and has been for years. My correspondent has some gay friends who take it in their stride and some who take offence at it. His own view is that most people don't really think about the meaning in an anti-gay sense at all, but that this doesn't alter the fact that it has its origin in the 'gay=bad' equation.
I'm rather conflicted about my own reaction. On the one hand, by wrongly assuming it was some kind of in-joke I've been unwittingly complicit in it by not questinoing when I've seen it used. Which fucks me off, frankly, because if people have been using it without thinking about what they're actually saying then they should be pulled up.
On the other hand, if there's no intended anti-gay sentiment (and in that forum I truly don't believe there's very much either generally or specifically in these cases), then does drawing attention to it make me sound like yet another shrill whinger who will actually create antagonism where there wasn't any?
Once upon a time I'd have waded in with both feet and to hell with upsetting people, but I'm a little calmer these days, the past is another country, etc.
So I throw the discussion open to the floor. What does anyone think?
(Postscript - Curiously, I've also found myself involved in an entirely unrelated online discussion this evening about whether the use of that word (you know the one - the one I hate above all others and won't use; begins with a 'c' and rhymes with 'punt') as a slur, panders to the misogyny that lies at its root. Weird how I can go months without a good word-discussion and suddenly have two on the same day.)
And I Woke Up...
...and it had all been a horrible nightmare.
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!
The Art Of Being Organised
Is clearly one that was handed out while I was still getting used to my newly-bestowed Art Of Storing Endless Quantities Of Useless Trivia, causing me to miss out.
Don't get me wrong - in work terms I can be as organised as I need to be - I have a reputation for work-related organisation in fact.
But at home.... different story entirely.
I know people who go to bed having set the table for breakfast and put cereal in the bowls ready for the milk to be poured onto, and tea bags in the pot ready for the boiling water. This is not me. In my house, mornings are an obstacle to be dealt with. No matter what time I get up, I always seem to leave the house having scattered round at the last minute. I have no routine - sometimes I have a cup of tea, sometimes I don't. If I do, sometimes it's before I hit the bathroom, sometimes after. One day in about three l'll have breakfast, and about two days in three I'll need to iron that day's clothes. And I keep letting this be the case, even though I know that probably one day in two, I'll have had insufficient sleep, and will be feeling thoroughly crap.
I know that I could iron a week's worth of shirts on a Sunday evening, but my hatred of ironing is such that I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than spend that amount of time at an ironing board in one go. I know I could even iron for each day the night before, but when I get in of an evening, I don't want to do anything related to work except such actual work as I have to do, and I'm trying to minimise that in the interests of a healthier work/life balance.
So my mornings remain chaotic, and my home gets progressively more untidy as the week progresses, until I reach the point where I have no choice but to waste a chunk of every Saturday just restoring order.
This, I have concluded, is not an ideal way to live.
Where Did All The Good TV Go?
I'm not sure I need to do more than ask the question. But to elaborate slightly:
The West Wing is dropped from the C4 schedule for no reason on a regular basis. That's after they messed around which day of the week it was on at the start of this season. Don't get me wrong - it's still great, but this almost seems calculated to make me wait for the DVDs.
The end of Buffy and Angel looms on Sky One.
24 - Day Two - meh.
If it wasn't for the prospect of the rest of the new season of Six Feet Under to look forward to, things would look pretty bleak indeed.
Note also that I look entirely to North America for the prospect of good TV. What's the best of the homegrown dramas? Oh look, they're bringing Spooks back next week. Must....try....to....stay....awake....
Stuffed
Alison, well-known as one who is 'never knowingly undercatered', managed to provide sufficient food for about ten people rather than the six at lunch today.
It was all good, and I'm still stuffed.
Not That Bad
So - at the screening of Full Frontal Alison and I attended, there were only ten people in the small auditorium at the start of the film. Trailers included the remake of The Italian Job, and I think the cinema staff actually forgot that there was even anything on in there due to the rather larger, Matrix-related crowds in the place, as they came in ten minutes into the film to turn down the house lights.
Two minutes later, a couple in the row behind us got up and left. Thirty minutes or so after that, someone else did likewise.
By the time the film finished, there were only four of us left.
And I just don't get that. Fair enough, the reviews were mixed to say the least, but they all made it clear that this was Steven Soderbergh back in Sex, Lies & Videotape territory, not Ocean's Eleven land, so no one should have been surprised. And fair enough it's got flaws, and it's a little self-indulgent, but it's also funny and has some very nice little performances.
So why people would walk out after they'd paid money for it I don't know.
Twenty Years Ago Today
Almost forgot to mention:
Twenty years ago today I passed my driving test.
Not sure why it's worth noting, but there you go.
Drive-By Weekend Blogging
I'm rather all over the place this weekend, but by way of summarising:
I took a flight on the London Eye yesterday for the first time in almost three years, and it remains quite a cool thing to do. We were able to spot the office, and we had pretty clear conditions for seeing all the way out to Canary Wharf and right round the city.
Last night I had a late-notice family visit, so had to miss Mike's Eurovision party. On the subject of Eurovision, I'll just say this: It was a bad song, performed badly by people with the thinnest voices I've ever heard on a professional stage. It doesn't matter how Wogan attempted to dress it up with "European anti-war voting" pretences, it deserved no points, and it got no points. Fair's fair.
This afternoon I'm off to see Full Frontal (which finally opened here this weekend, see postings passim) with Alison, before engaging in a Buffy, Angel and West Wing marathon this evening.
Tomorrow, I'm lunching at Alison's, then in the evening I'm determined to catch up on some correspondence. So if you've been expecting a mail from me for months, the long and arduous wait may soon be over.
That is all.
Loving London
I've recently partaken in a discussion about why I love my city, and my reasons for loving London are many and varied.
But as of today, I realised another one. I love London because it keeps surprising me. In the middle of a bunch of relatively modern buildings, a (much) older archway remains, apparently linking two buildings which came along far later.
It made me smile and put me in mind of the whole 'why I love my city' discussion.
(You can't see it very well in the small version, but the larger click-through one is clearer.)
Lord, So Soon!
So - Big Brother 4 then....
That's come round quickly. I missed the whole entering-the-house extravaganza, though I've taped it for Barnaby as he's on holiday, and I'm going to try very hard not to get as drawn into it as in previous years - though that may be a vain hope.
I wonder how long it'll be before we start complaining that the Channel 4 Big Brother site isn't capable of handling the load, or links aren't working, or.....
Oh look - I'll start: the links to the audition tapes don't work. Tossers.
I am, by the way, watching them make their first, surprise, nomination, and I will offer this extremely superficial first observation:
Cameron is a serious cutie.
Yesterday...All My Troubles....
I'm sure I started out yesterday with all sorts of good intentions about writing up fascinating incidents from my daily life and incisive commentary on the new, and then I just got insanely busy. Immediately after getting back from one meeting I was dragged off to the other side of town for two others, from which I didn't get back to the office 'til about 8pm, then I didn't bother taking the machine home because I had houseguests, but they turned out to be not back for a couple of hours so I might have been able to fit in a quick posting, but then I also had to go and say a fond farewell to globetrotters Paul and Claire, who are off travelling for six months, and before I knew it, the day had gone and I hadn't even logged into Movable Type.
I'll try to do better today.
1602
Marvel have finally started releasing some tiny snippets about Neil Gaiman's upcoming project for them, 1602 (first mentioned here ages ago) in the form of three teaser images which Newsarama have on display. I can't think of a single project I'm more intrigued by at the moment, the moreso because Marvel have managed to keep any details such an incredibly well-kept secret.
Gaiman himself is expansive enough to note that though the series has lots of Marvel characters in it, it doesn't have Man-Thing, which is surely to its detriment.
[Via L:e:g:a:c:y]
There Is No News
It seems that, at long last, the day has arrived when the people at Metro have finally realised that there isn't actually enough news that can be recycled from the previous evening's Standard to fill 40 pages. So this morning, under the guise of 'news', they're reduced to running a good-sized photo of the Cox-Arquettes and captioning it with an outline of their new Coke ad (the one that's been running since some time last week to my certain knowledge), with the exclusive revelation that it will air from the 1st June.
Chosen: I've Seen It
Okay - breaking with my own traditions, I've actually spent my lunch hour watching the last ever Buffy. And it's a cracker.
If anyone actually wants to know the key bits of the plot, you'll need to highlight the whole of the next section. Don't say you weren't warned, and any comments giving away details *will* be deleted.
The First's efforts to swing Spike back to its side by playing on his jealousy of Angel come to nothing. Buffy finishes off Caleb once and for all. Angel has brought a mystic amulet with him which can only be used by 'a champion'. He offers to stay and fight alongside Buffy, but she sends him away, noting that if she fails there has to be a second line of defence, and he has to run it. He and Buffy also discuss their relationship and its possible future, and her relationship with Spike.
Back home, Buffy gives the amulet to Spike. They spend the night together and she is visited by The First, who taunts her over the fact that she, like all Slayers, is essentially alone. After its departure, Buffy realises that there is a way to win. She discusses changing the balance with Willow, who will need to perform a spell to make it happen, then rallies the Potentials and the rest of the Scoobies for a final assault on the Hellmouth.
They descend on the school, and set up their positions. Willow is defended by Kennedy as she sets up her spell. Giles, Wood, Xander, Dawn, Andrew and Anya will prevent any of the vampires leaving. Buffy and her team open the seal and find the vampire army. As they come under attack, Willow performs her spell and activates every potential slayer in the world, including the potentials with Buffy.
There follows quite a battle (note - significant understatement). During it, Buffy is mortally wounded, but The First, taunting her again, actually gives her the strength to fight on. At the climax of the battle, Spike's amulet kicks in, smashing a channel to the surface and letting in the light, which it then channels at the vampires, destroying them all. Buffy is forced to leave Spike behind, telling him that she loves him. "No you don't, but thanks for saying it" is his reply. He is apparently burned up by the energies he's channelling.
The others escape from the school and Sunnydale just as the town is swallowed entirely by the Hellmouth. Spike is gone, and Anya has been killed in battle, but the others emerge mostly intact to face a very different future. Buffy especially has to deal with the fact that she is no longer 'The Chosen One'.
Best lines:
Buffy: "I just realised something - something I never realised before. We're going to win."
Willow: "You know Buffy? Sweet girl; not that bright."
And Xander's reply to Andrew's revelation that Anya died saving his life: "That's my girl. Always doing the stupid thing."
Best scene: There's a beautiful moment where Buffy and the original Scoobies discuss what they'll do on the day after doomsday. Go shopping, basically.
"It's all about power."
Today's The Day
Just a couple of quick points:
In the US, both Buffy and Season 2 of 24 reach their conclusion this evening, and TV Guide Online previews them both (looks like this link will work today only - Note, contains significant 24 spoilers for UK viewers in the first half). TV Guide has been a long-time supporter of Buffy especially, noting that the quality of both writing and preformance set it above and beyond most non-genre shows, never mind its peers, so it's good that they've stayed with it to the end.
And CNN looks back on seven years of slaying in a positive review.
UPDATE - Even Reuters are getting in on the act.
Still Ick
Sorry - I'll be more prolific when I'm feeling a bit better. Promise.
Two To Go
Days to the last Buffy, that is. (There's a clever Buffy-related link in that title too, but only people who follow the series will appreciate the care and thought that went into it. *snort*.)
Anyway, to round up a few late notes:
Joss Whedon gives a brief but I would say heartfelt end-of-run interview to The Hollywood Reporter.
He also answers a handful of questions for the BBC, including one about a mad rumour that I think the Daily Express started that someone called Holly Valance would be taking over as Buffy. Quite sensibly, he makes clear that he doesn't even know who she is. (Note - until I asked someone when I heard about that rumour, nor did I.)
And two from buffy.nu:
By this account, a sequence in Episode 7.20, Touched features the first ever US TV Network screening of a lesbian sex scene. Nice to see that the series is pushing back boundries right to the very end.
And finally: some (possible) Spoilers. You have been warned....
Ick
Well, I feel sick as a dog. Bleurgh.
But on the upside, the fact that I was up all night unable to settle meant that I finished The Amber Spyglass at about 5.30 this morning.
And I've been thinking about it through my thick head all day. I'm not quite settled in myself how I feel about it yet, but I'll try and post up some thoughts shortly.
Another Celeb
Adding to my recent tally of spotted celebs, I found myself alongside Julie T Wallace at Waterloo Station after the show.
Mysterious Indeed
It's just possible that this might get slightly confusing. Please bear with me.
The Mystery Of Edwin Drood is a Charles Dickens novel. Strictly speaking, it's part of a Charles Dickens novel, as it was unfinished at the time that he died. So the truth behind the Mystery (at least as Dickens intended it) is unknown.
The Mystery Of Edwin Drood is also a stage musical. But where the possible confusion arises is the fact that the musical isn't a dramatisation of the novel, it's a portrayal of a production of a dramatisation of the novel in a Victorian music hall. Because the originally-intended solution is unknown, the audience get to vote on the outcome at each performance. It's written (brace yourself) by Rupert Holmes. Yes, the very same Rupert Holmes who claims ownership of Escape (The Pina Colada Song).
And I've just been to see it.
This particular production was staged by Geoids, an amateur operatic group, and its location was the New Line Theatre, which is in one of the railway arches at the back of Waterloo Station.
And it was riotous. Most of the audience were known to members of the cast (in the way of amateur productions), so there were a lot of knowing looks and comments, and because they setting was supposed to be a music hall, these were actively encouraged. Many of the cast (especially those playing the music hall chorus girls) mingled in character with the audience beforehand, and the performers playing the music hall stars all hammed it up like mad and created a whole world of backstage feuding with looks and gestures. And generally, the singing was brilliant.
A camp classic.
The Day Britain Stopped
Somehow I managed to miss not only this programme on Tuesday evening, but also any discussion of it until I was catching up with Gert over lunch.
It looks like it was an interesting bit of programme-making. Though I do wonder about the quality of some of the BBC's 'Have Your Say' contributors:
" I am disgusted at the timing of such a show whilst we are still reeling from the events of September 11, the slow down in the economy, the Iraq war and terrorism. It was nothing but scare mongering. I can not see the purpose of such a show. A pure documentary on the dangers of air travel would be far more informative as opposed to a docusoap. Are you trying to tempt fate?"
I mean, hang on, if you're fool enough to believe in 'fate', then no matter when the programme had been shown, or even if it hadn't been at all, then whatever's going to happen is going to happen. Moron. Though not solitary moron in that company.
Monumental
You may or may not have noticed, by the way, that over on the left I've been counting down the days until the last ever Buffy receives its first broadcast. I thought this was worthy of note. Less than a week to go. *sob*
Advantage (Taken)
You know, I try to be a good person. I try to be helpful and do things for others with no thought of reward. And sometimes I feel like I get little more than a kick in the teeth for my trouble.
Like yesterday evening, when someone asked me if I'd mind drafting a brief letter for them, because in their view I'm a little better at the formal writing than they are. I said sure, they gave me the details, I agreed to fax the result to them in their office this morning.
So this morning, actually as I'm unlocking the office, the phone is ringing. I pick it up, expecting a client to be on the end, or maybe someone from the team saying they're running late, or something. But no, it's someone, calling to give me their fax number. So I make a note of it, then point out that I'll send it through in a little while. "What's 'a little while'?"
I explain that I've just got in, will need to power up and connect up the laptop on which I wrote their letter last night, then print it, then fax it. (And, though I don't mention it, do the other things I need to do first thing in the morning: check messages on the voicemail, open up generally....). "Maybe fifteen minutes", is my answer. Silence for a moment, then "Well, as quickly as you can. I'll speak to you later."
There is no "I hope it didn't take up too much of your evening". There is no "Did the outline I gave you make sense?". There is, in short, no "Thank you".
So I did everything I needed to do and sent the thing off by fax and then started doing actual work. Then I realised I was pissed off so decided to write about it.
I know what's going on: someone doesn't want anyone they work with to know that I'm helping out. Which I get.
But I hate the ingratitude, and I hate the assumption that I'll just ignore whatever else might need my attention to do this favour.
The Truth About Jon And Blogs
I have a confession to make - even before I went away last week, and moreso since I came back, I've lost a degree of interest in the Blogworld. I've got lax about keeping up with what used to be regular reads (with a few specific exceptions), and I actually stopped reading a number of sites listed on my 'Familiars' list a while ago.
Partly this is explained by some of the online time I used to spend catching up on blogs increasingly being given over to other sites and forums.
I daresay the pendulum will swing back again down the line - these things usually do, but for the moment, you might find me not commenting on your sites as much as I used to.
And at some point in the near future, I may do a ruthless cull of that 'Familiars' list and take out the ones I really don't follow any longer. I always think that there's an element of recommendation in such lists, and I can't, in all honesty, recommend something that I've actually become *un*familiar with.
No offence is intended if I openly admit that I don't have time to keep up with your activities, I promise.
Book Group/Film Group - The Official Invitation
Right - I know I've mentioned this before, but let's see about doing something about it.
I''ve been out this evening with a couple of friends who are in a book group, and it made me decide that the time has come.
I'd like to start a book group. And/or a film group.
Here's the principle:
A reasonable-sized group, for obvious logistical reasons based geographically close together (ie probably i or around London in this instance).
Each member of the group hosts a meeting in turn.
Meetings are held monthly to six-weekly.
The host of each meeting chooses the book (or possibly film) for review/discussion.
Everyone commits to reading/viewing the specified item and being prepared to discuss it.
Generally, I think the focus should primarily be fiction, with perhaps the odd non-fiction item thrown in, but I'm flexible regarding form.
Total cost - a book every month to six weeks and occasionally hosting a get-together.
Everything else is negotiable.
I really, really want to get into something like this. I'm a bit sick of reading multiple books a month and then just putting them away on the shelf or giving them to charity.
I'm happy to co-ordinate. If you'd like to give it a go, either leave a comment or drop me a line.
Angel Renewed
(Highlight the spaces to see the hidden spoilers).
Ain't It Cool News is reporting that the WB have finally confirmed Angel for its fifth full season, with a couple of cast changes: James Marsters is joining from parent series Buffy, and Charisma Carpenter will not be a series regular.
What News?
Having been away and seen no news of any kind for a week - which is a shock to an inveterate News-Junky's system, I can tell you - I really ought to check whether I've missed anything worth noting.
Anyone think there's some critical item I shouldn't go without knowing of?
Rain
I'd almost forgotten what that was :-)
It seems I'm being reminded with a vengeance today though.
The Holiday Questionnaire
Where?
Sicily
For how long?
Six days. Five in Lettoianni, on the coast near Taormina, and then last night in Palermo, to make it easier to get to the airport this morning.
Why?
Because I haven't been there before, and because the accommodation was already paid for.
A doing-stuff holiday, or an R&R holiday?
Mostly the latter, though with a certain amount of zipping around to take in the rather fabulous sights (and sites). On the resting and relaxing front though, I chilled enough to read The Subtle Knife and get a fair chunk of the way through The Amber Spyglass too.
Best thing (natural)?
The Alcantara Gorge - we walked up the river between the cliffs and it was stunningly beuatiful. There was a lot of other great natural stuff, but that one just wins.
Best thing (human-made)?
Tough one - but possibly the Greek (then later Roman) Theatre at Taormina. It's brilliantly well preserved, and is positioned such that the backdrop to the performance area is Mount Etna, with its constant plume of expelled smoke.
Food and drink?
Oh yes. Lots of great local produce, including (and I know this sounds so simple, but even so) the best-tasting tomatoes *ever*, and some wonderful swordfish, just grilled and with lemon juice over it. On the drink front, the Sicilian wine sold by the litre for about €3 was usually fab; light and refreshing, and eminently gluggable.
Best moment?
Another tough one, but getting up to Castelmola, the town that's actually above Taormina (which is itself only about 1000 feet up but feels much higher), and looking out over the landscape and up and down the coast ranks pretty highly.
Weather?
Was excellent. 26-28Celsius each day, a bit hazy now and then, but warm in a not-overpowering way. I even got a bit of colour myself, which never happens.
Photos?
Inevitably - I took loads. I can't remember taking so many on a trip before. I thought I'd sort them and post the decent ones up here over the next few days.
Would you go again?
Yes I would, and I'd recommend it to anyone else too.
PS
If anyone's mailed me lately and I haven't got back to them, many apologies - deciding to go away was a bit last minute, and getting organised for it has therefore been a bit crazy.
I *will* carch up with people when I get back.
I'm Off
Right. My bag is packed, I have a few bits and pieces to finish off, and then I'm outta here for a week. I had meant to do a load of new Opinion items this weekend, but time beat me. Maybe I'll try and do a few while lounging around in the next week.
Or not.
Have a good week all.
Links? You Want Links? (5)
And at the other end of some scale, today is also World Press Freedom Day; "an occasion to inform citizens of violations of press freedom - a reminder that in dozens of countries around the world, publications are censored, fined, suspended and closed down, while journalists, editors and publishers are harassed, attacked, detained and even murdered. (Note - it may just be having trouble at the moment, but the Unesco site seems dog-slow).
Which comes the day after the BBC ran this article; "Bloggers unite to fight, about the campaign in support of Sina Motallebi.
A link to Reporters Without Borders seems appropriate too.
Links? You Want Links? (4)
"Go to a store. Get a free comic. It's that simple."
Today is Free Comic Book Day 2
Links? You Want Links? (3)
Ah yes, the May Day Project.
On Saturday 10th May, take photos of where you are and what you're doing on an hourly basis and put them online. Create a global photo gallery of a single day.
[Via various people - I'm catching this one late.]
Links? You Want Links? (2)
The International Herald Tribune asks "How do you say goodbye to Buffy?" (Great article)
[I think via Sore Eyes, but it's down at the moment so I can't check.]
Links? You Want Links? (1)
I've been saving up some odds and ends, so I thought I'd deliver them in a batch.
Item one: Brian Whitaker in The Guardian examines the limits some countries like to put on the word 'Universal' in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights when it comes to gay men and women. I see Egypt, which I've mentioned a number of times before, continues its sterling pursuit of tolerance and justice.
[Via Terreus]
Joss Whedon's New Job
With the shock news that Aaron Sorkin is leaving The West Wing, I have what I will modestly call a genius suggestion:
Joss Whedon has remarked on many occasions that he considers Sorkin a genius and TWW a dream series - so as he's now down two of his three previous productions, why not offer to step into Sorkin's shoes?
This would, beyond question, represent my idea of televisual heaven :-)
Celeb-Spotting
Not a bad day - two actors and a writer so far.
He was in the caff round the corner from the office first thing, and
He (my hero), was on the Northern Line platform at Tottenham Court Road.
Meanwhile, someone who may have been Willy Russell, Alan Bleasdale, or another writer entirely was lunching near Barnaby and I.
The Fanboy Gush
Oh. My. God.
Yes - it's that good. X2 took on all of my expectations and passed them by miles. I'll be good and not spoil, but I will say that as an adaptation of comicbook concepts for film, it's as close to flawless as any I've seen. There were so many moments that set the hairs at the back of my fanboy neck off that I lost count. The negative is that it made me want to see X3 NOW.
In fact, to quote someone, probably at Millarworld "this film kicked so much ass I think I'm actually bruised."
There's a proper review in Opinion, which contains only one spoiler, and it's clearly marked beforehand.
I think a return visit later in the weekend is very much called for.
ADDENDUM - Also, saw the last trailer for The Matrix Reloaded on a big screen for the first time. Ooooooh.
Asylum Sanity
I've written before, both here and elsewhere, about the iniquitous ways of parts of the British press when dealing with asylum seekers and the asylum system. They tell lies, basically. It's that straightforward.
In today's Guardian, Libby Brooks examines five commonly-used arguments about asylum and asylum-seekers, and as far as it's possible between statistics, politics and distrust, exposes the truth. It's fascinating reading.