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Thursday 20 November 2008
And, on a completely un-related subject...
... I just saw "Kill Bill" and "Dawn of the Dead".
The first one is a fantastic anime-nerd fest, and Uma Thurman has never looked better. Also, it validates my theory that "The Passion of the Christ" should've been titled "The Gospel according to Tarantino".
"Dawn.." is cool, in a "I haven't watched a zombie flick since I was 16" kind of way.
The editing is very good, too.
So our Governor got judged yesterday...
Hey, everybody - James here, filling in for Jon.
I live in Brasília, capital of Brazil. Our city is a Federal Distric, which means basically it's a city with the attributions of a State. Which is to explain why we have a Governor and not, say, a Mayor.
Said Governor, named Joaquim Roriz, stood trial yesterday evening, under charges of electoral crimes - Turns out he appears to have, among other things, used huge ammounts of public money to fund his last campaign, which led to his second consecutive term as Governor here.
The jury, formed by five judges of our TSE (Superior Electoral Court), decided that there was only evidence, not proof, that he had commited the crimes he was being accused of. So he was absolved.
Which means he basically got out of this one scott-free, after bullying, robbing, cheating, blackmailing and lying his way through the last elections.
I'd post a detailed report of the way this man's been destroying Brasília for the past 15 years, including how the rates in poverty, violence and crime have been on a steady rise, or how he instituted an education policy that practically forces the teachers on the public system to pass all their students so Brasília will look good on the National Education Reviews, but I'm too pissed off with this right now.
Of course, none of this would have happened, had the people not *voted* for the bastard in the first place.
Outta Here
Okay, I'm finally leaving the office.
Occasional stand-in blogger James may stop by, and I may post a couple of times while I'm away myself.
Have fun y'all.
Cat On The Prowl
As mentioned, Alison is looking after Dillon at the moment, and was rudely awoken yesterday by all of her not-inconsiderable cat weight landing unexpectedly on the bed at some ungodly hour.
Today's update email under the subject line: "She shows no mercy towards the hand that feeds her":
At 4.10 this morning we were playing "I know lets' sneak into Aunty
Alison's bedroom, fling open one of her wardrobe doors and scare the
shit out of her that way!!!!"
Still Crazy After....
Once again apologies for the lack of news round here, but the only thing I really have to talk about much is work, because that's almost all I've got going on at the moment.
Couple of quick interludes: Went to see one of Underhand's pre-Edinburgh nights on Saturday, and was suitably amused.
Took Dillon for a couple of weeks at Alison's on Sunday afternoon - as I'm away from tomorrow she's looking after her. She (Dillon) did her usual trick of getting out of her box, having a quick wander round, and settling immediately in the most comfortable position, once again demonstrating that all the stuff about cats not settling applies to other cats. She did this hysterical thing of walking down the length of the garden with her left paws up on the edging of the border and her right paws on the lawn, even diverting around obtrusive plants and then reverting to the two-legs-higher-then-the-others route for reasons that surpass understanding.
Anyway - I'm off away tomorrow until next Monday - I may blog while I'm in the US, but if not, at least it'll be a planned silence, rather than otherwise.
Showing Off (II)
And on the subject of the widest possible audience, when I (eventually) got home last night, a package was waiting for me: a radically late Christmas present that I can wholeheartedly endorse for anyone with an interest in the male physique (so Darian again).
You know all of those terrible charity calendars that rugby clubs do, with all their players coyly hiding their tackle behind rugby balls (or occasionally a trophy if they're a slightly successful club)? Well the model before which they all need to bow is the annual calendar produced for the last few year by Stade De France. Dieux Du Stade is absolutely stunning. Black and white photos of all Stade's key players, plus several other sportsmen, stunningly photographed and beautifully produced. And because they're rugby players, there's none of that god-awful waify, Attitude-model look.
And the present....? The present is the book that goes with this year's calendar. Hardback, large format, one hundred-plus pages, dozens of photos from the calendar and plenty more besides.
I know there's a case to be made that it's just smut, but if it is, it's smut of the artiest type.
Showing Off (I)
I've been meaning to offer congratulations to Darian on the release of his video (yes, *that* video), and note that even though Clone Zone on Old Compton Street no longer has a huge poster of him in their window, it's good to see that he's not afraid to make sure it's seen by the widest possible audience.
The Impossible Takes A Little Longer
So in the mail today I received an invitation to "join a group of senior business people for one of a series of innovative and practical seminars". The title of these seminars, I kid you not, is "Delivering Impossible Performance".
I'm not going - I already deliver that every day....
Full Of Sound
Been meaning to mention this:
My stereo has started playing up recently. Specifically, whenever it's first turned on, the volume resets to maximum. This has caused a couple of nasty shocks when I've forgotten that it's started doing this and I've been momentarily deafened.
However, the new twist is that it's begun to jack up the volume to maximum in mid-play.
And so I present the scene on Sunday night, when I'd spent the day hunched over the laptop and my back was killing me. As I lay soaking in a hot bath in an effort to ease the ache, with something mellow and jazzy drifting through from the living room, suddenly, mellow and jazzy got incredibly loud. Mindful that it was after 11pm and I do have neighbours, I leapt out of the bath and ran through, passing a freaking out Dillon, who was running the other way, and showering both her and half the flat with water en route as I dived headlong for the off button.
I suspect the whole event made for quite a picture.
The End Of Angel
I haven't seen *any* of Angel Season Five, as I don't have access to Sky this year, though I've vaguely been following what's going on from various sources. In that spirit, Ain't It Cool is offering some allegedly solid spoilage for the last ever episode.
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.
Missed It
A combination of my generally bad run on the whole blogging front, I managed to miss the mildly auspicious point that Friday was the third anniversary of the birth of More a way of life.....
It's been a fun three years, and I'm trying and trying to be better about keeping things going here.
But I must try harder. Or finally make the decision to take a proper break.
(Hmm - making a decision. What are the odds?)
Gosh!
My posting about the Lavatera along my road in July 2002 has attracted the attention of someone who seems to want to advise people on gow to grow them (if I'm badly translating right - so to speak).
Well Obviously I'm Convinced
"Last week Tony Blair said at his monthly news conference that identity cards would be introduced "more quickly than even we anticipated".
He said that the government had won over those who opposed the controversial measure for civil liberties reasons. "
ID card Bill 'within four weeks'
So I guess we'll all be able to feel safe from the threat of terror *really* soon....
*Confusion*
So, The Complete West Wing Season Three box set arrived yesterday, and obviously I'm very happy.
But it seems to be having a little bit of an identity crisis. The booklet outlining what's in the set refers to a four-disc set, with discs 1-3 being double-sided, and disc four containing some special features. Which sounds very good.
The package that it came in, however, is a six disc set, with single-sided content and as far as I can see no special features.
Which is really what I was expecting, but I'm dying to know who gets the other version - this booklet's got a BBFC certificate symbol on it, so it's definitely intended for the UK package.
Too Many Men
The BBC is carrying as interesting article that, in a sense, they could have planned for years ago. China has a surplus of men as a result of the country's birth control policy, coupled with the franky shameful attitude towards girls there.
"If a baby boy gets sick," she said, "Its parents will sell everything they own to save their son's life. If it's a girl, very often the parents don't have such a positive attitude. Sometimes they just stop the treatment and take the baby home."
The whole situation has now reached the point where in some parts of the country, the number of men and women is radically out of balance, and progressively it's likely to spread around the rest of China.
Celeb Spotting
I was in central London for the first time in a while on Saturday evening, and in that way that happens in town, I saw three famous(ish) faces. Jonathan Miller was wandering up St Martin's Lane near the Coliseum, one of the many people who has drifted through The Bill over the years went past me outside Charing Cross, and I'm fairly sure I saw Neil Dudgeon wandering up Villiers Street.
Inexplicable
It's utterly inexplicable to me that I somehow managed to miss the announcement of Christopher Eccleston as the new Doctor Who, yet I see the BBC News item about it is dated the 22nd of last month. I had absolutely no idea until I saw a passing reefrence to it yesterday.
I can only put it down to how crazy work was around that time. But I still can't believe it's been two weeks and I hadn't even heard or read mention of it.
Good choice though, I think. He's worked with Russell Davies before, which must be a good sign as far as Davies' perception of him as an actor is concerned. He's got a hint of the last (TV) Doctor about him too, which is interesting, and he's got some serious acting credits behind him, which should help in the creation of a modern, not so kid-focused series.
Tara From The Agency
Real conversation I had on my brand new work mobile phone yesterday - the one that almost no one has the number of yet....
Me: Hello, Jon speaking.
Caller: Hello Jon, this is Tara, from the agency.
Me: Sorry, it's a bad line - Tara from where?
Caller: From the agency.
Me: I'm sorry, I think you must have a wrong number. What agency?
Caller: Did you not make a request for an escort?
Me: No, I did not. (Hangs up.)
True story. As Dave is my witness.
The Days Of Latitude And Longitude
Bonkers day.
The standard busy morning gave way to the standard busy afternoon, punctuated by a trip across town to do a pitch presentation, which went very well.
Then back to the office, where Dave and I spent a protracted and deeply freaking period trying to work out why his SQL wasn't accurately locating a point on the earth defined by Latitude and Longitude. And I say protracted - it felt that way to me, and I only did twenty minutes of it, he'd been working at it a lot longer. I'm not unfamiliar with the whole Lat/Long thing, but there was simply no way I was managing to crack the right way of looking at things to help him get this working.
Since this is something like Spring, we went for a couple of pints after work, and isn't it nice to be in a pub at 7pm and it still be light.
But since I got home I've been caught up in a trans-Atlantic client wrangle that has involved the freakiest chain of emails - I'm becoming increasingly convinced that there are a lot more people out there with multiple personality disorders than you think....
And now I'm on standby for another late night conference call....
