Saturday, January 20, 2007

[blogfocus saturday] on the efficacy of alcohol

Just who is this summer honey? Clue – she’s in this Blogfocus.

1] Work – the curse of the drinking classes. Drink – the elixir from heaven or the breaker of homes? Fourteen bloggers give you their take on the demon drop. Mr. Eugenides kicks off:

There is a binge-drinking culture in this country: there are too many people storing up long-term health problems for themselves. People need to take more responsibility for their actions. Beyond this incontrovertible bromide, though, I don't know what the answer is; but I know it's not treating us like children. Lumping those of us who often go out for a drink of a Friday night and sometimes wake up with a sore head on Saturday morning, in with the alcoholics, the all-day drinkers, the genuinely habitual, and heavy, consumers of alcohol, just seems to me to be daft.

2] From the Baron at Gates of Vienna, it appears it’s not only on this side of the pond either.

Dymphna and I can testify, through long association with Charlottesville and UVa, that it does indeed have a reputation as a hard-drinking “party” college. Virginia Tech may give it a run for its money, but the University of Virginia is definitely where the children of the upper middle class want to go for an alcohol-friendly environment. Local parents out here in the boonies know the University’s major attraction, and it makes them worry if they have a kid who gets good enough grades to be accepted there.

3] The Cityunslicker, as part of one meme, listed these, among others, including disclosures about his drinking propensity:

1. I don't actually work in the City, geographically speaking;
2. I have never owned any shares;
3. The animals that scare me most are mice and any other types of rodents;
4. As a drinking lightweight, I would easily lose to a small teenage Chinese girl in a drinking competition.

Eleven more bloggers plus the Mystery Blogger here.

[charming situation] can't comment on my own blog

1] Every single post, Blogger asks me to switch to Beta. I ignore it;
2] When I go to someone else's Beta, I have to use a Google Account to comment;
3] My own blog now asks me to comment in the Beta way, by asking for my Google Account;
4] When I fill it in, it says I have no Google Account, [which I have just used to comment on someone else's blog];
5] I can't comment on my own post.

Fine.

6] I decide I finally have to try this Beta out, create a new blog, then go to switch it to Beta;
7] Beta says that at this time, it can't switch me because they're only switching a limited number of blogs and I'm not one of them. They further say that one or more of my blogs is unswitchable and therefore the rest are also unswitchable;
8] I succumb, cross my fingers and go to switch ALL my blogs;
9] They say sorry but one or more of my blogs ... but one day I can 'join in the fun'. They ask me if the comment was helpful. I press: 'No.'
10] They say thank you for my comment and at that point I jump up and run around the room screaming and gibbering like an idiot, muttering obscenities and wanting to kick the screen in, which is counterproductive and besides, it's actually Blogger I want to kick in anyway, isn't it?

I calmly post to you that I can't comment on your comments at this moment, dear commenters. I'm really, very, very sorry. How long Blogger will play this practical joke I know not.

[children’s health] now, whom can we blame

Here’s one article which blames the school for children’s ills: Canadian schools report:

43 per cent of boards had air-quality complaints in the 12 months prior to the end of the last academic year — and 30 per cent of boards did not respond to that question;
41 per cent of boards had cases of mould in those 12 months; 26 per cent did not respond;
32 per cent of school boards have counsellors in all their schools;
50 per cent of the boards have individual schools which have contracts with Coca-Cola or Pepsi to provide soft drinks and snacks;
26 per cent of school boards say they have daily physical education this year.

And speaking of childhood obesity, which we weren’t, more and more of the darlings are looking more and more like rolly-pollies as time goes by. So whom to blame here? We could try the fast food companies. Or we could blame the parents, finally. And what to do about it? Put them on Atkins?

Or fund schools properly, train teachers properly, teach children properly, including physical training and appeal to parents to start taking responsibility for their children? And stop covering up?

[whales] drawn north by melting ice

Two decades ago, hunters, scientists and other northern travellers usually reported about six killer whales a year in the waters of western Hudson Bay. By 2000, the number of sightings in that one area had ballooned to more than 30 annually.

The reason for the increase in killer whale numbers is unclear. But Federal researcher Jeff Higdon, who works with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Winnipeg, said his research shows a strong correlation between increased sightings and the decline of sea ice.

Apart from ignoring the journo-cringeworthy term ‘ballooning’ and admitting the reason is unclear, nevertheless, NASA studies suggest that for more than 25 years, winter sea ice diminished by about 1.5 per cent per decade. But in the last two years, melting has occurred at rates 10 to 15 times faster.

So what? It puts the Inuit hunters under pressure to survive for a start. So what, you ask again?
Don’t know. Just thought I’d mention it.

[connex] can only locate 10% of its trains

Everybody loves Connex … according to Connex.

Many Brits have a sneaking admiration for the go-ahead perspicacity of Australia, particularly in cricket. I wonder what they’ll think after this story. Have you ever heard of Connex? Of the Brit disaster? Of how the company lost its contracts?

Australia obviously hadn’t heard about it because they were then allowed downunder to wreak their particular brand of havoc:

Melbourne’s rail operator, Connex, can pinpoint the location of trains on as little as 10 per cent of its network, The Sunday Age has found. More than three years after a damning report found the lack of a "real-time" display of train positions was a factor in a crash between a suburban train and a V/Line country train, Connex has admitted there has been no upgrade of Melbourne's old train-monitoring system.

My questions are 1] who approved the giving of the contract to this inept company in Britain; 2] why didn’t Australia learn from the lesson and 3] why aren’t the directors behind bars?

Friday, January 19, 2007

[creaking earth] everything normal, all ok


I've just come in from outside, wet through, where there is usually minus 10 and heaps of snow at this point in January and I'm lying if I tell you there's plus 2, light rain and a gale. It's not happening at all.

Everything’s normal, all’s ok. Bloggers, journos and pollies know far more than scientists about such matters, after all.

So, one last time, it's not happening, all right? Trust me on this.

[al gore] speculation is the name of the game

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both have strikes against them. As this Age article states:

Although Clinton has proved herself a highly capable senator, worries abound about her electability. And then there's the recurring query that worried Democrats whisper to each another: Is Bill behaving? Obama certainly qualifies as the next new thing, and … yet, in the age of terrorism, it will be a tall test for a first-term senator with no real Washington accomplishments to persuade the country that he's ready to be commander in chief.

That dynamic of doubt is sparking renewed interested in Al Gore.

"More and more people are asking, 'What about Al Gore?' " says Steve Grossman, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee. "If Al Gore were to announce for president, he would be a first-tier candidate on day one. Instead of it being Hillary and Obama on the covers of the national magazines, you would have three faces there."

Of course, this is the season of all sorts of speculation but the more I read of this, the more one looks at historic US presidential run ups such as this and this and the likelihood that the Democrats might struggle for the presidency with the current candidates, it might be worth a second glance at this Al Gore factor.

[apologies] higham's guide to doing it right

This blog is fed up to the back teeth with all this apologizing. Here are two of the more recent ones:

# ABC rebuked "Grey's Anatomy" co-star Isaiah Washington on Thursday for using an anti-gay comment this week and Washington issued a lengthy apology.

# Redford Says Bush Owes An Apology

As a service to readers, here is a link to an apology-help-write site and below is my blank which you’re welcome to copy and use:

I, [insert name here], formally and unreservedly apologize to [insert name here] for any offence or damage I may have caused [insert time frame] and wish to add, even though it in no way mitigates the deep humiliation and injury caused by my remarks, that I was not myself at the time and in no sense either believe or support the said remarks and further state that by calling [insert name again] a [terrorist, prat, chav – fill in your own], I was well out of order and wish him [or her] the very best for the future.

Always have this at hand, should you ever need to apologize, following a mouth-off-first-think-later type situation. Thank you and sorry.

[guido] the rich get richer and the poor …

It all began, as far as I can see, with this attack by Tim [the manic] Ireland, giving a point by point account as to why Guido Fawkes should be struck off. Countless other bloggers got in on the act. Then Paul Linford weighed in with this:

Keen observers may have noticed that, with the possible exceptions of UK Daily Pundit and myself, the debate is thus far polarising on political lines....

That may well be so but I don’t consider myself to be particularly left wing and Guido’s account of the tiff:

Skip this if you have a low boredom threshold, because it is for the geeks. Guido himself is basically simultaneously bored by, but amused that the blog boycott / de-link call has so spectacularly badly backfired, with hits up again to a new month and year high at 2,345,463 page views yesterday … so it looks like it is over and normal service can resume. So, for old times sake and just to wind Blog Brother up one last time, here are yesterday's stats. On Day 2 of the link boycott, Blog Brother himself slipped from fifth to sixth ranked link referrer…

… does not fill me with love for the man. Some time back, on someone’s blog, Guido’s alter ego commented and I commented under it, supporting what I thought were his essentially correct remarks. I’m not ‘naturally’ anti-Guido. But I am anti-bignoters who crow about their stats and for whom it’s the only purpose of blogging.

I have just been through his blog [thereby contributing, in a miniscule way, to his already swollen stats] and I’ve come to a conclusion I hope is not jaundiced:

He may have once been a good blogger. Who knows? He’s not anywhere near the blogger Iain Dale is now. Whatever one says about Iain, his posts are well-written and are not constantly self-referential [not constantly were the words]. In other words, he delivers product. Plus there’s Doughty. Doughty can’t be ignored, it is heavily influential and well put together.

Iain Dale contributes to the blogosphere in other ways too. He’s forever analysing it, creating lists and running drinks evenings for bloggers of a certain bent. Which is where Guido comes back in because he was one half of the latter event and all credit to him.

In the end, for the life of me I can’t see what 2,345,463 people see in his blog and why he wields such enormous influence. I can name eight to ten blogs immediately which are better and that was the primary purpose behind Blogpower. To give the top blogger [without the readership] a small chance.

I have no personal beef with Guido. It’s just a Dr. Fell situation, really.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

[sublime classic] does such an animal exist

What is sublime? What is the most sublime piece of music you ever heard, what was the context and did you ever hear it repeated?

Was it somewhere here:

Beethoven - Piano Trio Op. 97 in B Major, Brahms - Piano Trio No. 3 in c minor orShostakovitch - Piano Trio No. 2 in e minor [with Natalia Gutman], which, incidentally, is coming up live in early February.

Can popular music ever be sublime? If my reputation is not already shot to ribbons, I’m going to thrust forward the Stranglers’ Down in the Sewer [all four movements of it] as an example of how a genre was hijacked and turned into a piece of fabulous music [within the parameters of pseudo-punk].

All right, all right, I know, I know. So what about Thijs van Leer and his magic flute, with Jan Akkerman and his improvised guitar and keyboards, in Focus, in such classics as Birth and Hamburger Concerto?

What about one of my favourite groups of all time – Can – and Tago Mago?

[bitta bovva] the chavs and the happy-slappers

I s’pose I can’t talk.

I was roaming London in the days of Splodginessabounds’ Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please, lived next door to the genesis of some record label I can’t remember [Virgin? Island?], drank in ‘ammersmith and Stamford Bridge, wore smoking jacket, bowler and Stranglers teashirt and generally made a prat of myself.

You all remember Bad Manners, the Beat, the Specials, the Selecter and so on? That was my era and there’s always been a bit of an underculture in Britain.

Fast forward twenty five years and I’m right out of it. What is this chav culture? Something about Burberry and Prada and Rooney – seems like it’s just a metamorphosis of the old thing which was always going on. Violence? London was always violent. Doug ‘n Dinsdale wouldn’t tell me why but they assured me it was so.

So is there anything actually … wrong with it … other than a bit of high spirits? Utterpants says:

"Short of enforced sterilisation, these shameless sluts will continue to breed like sex-crazed rabbits—smoking, drinking, fighting and fornicating their way into every corner of the land."

"Sterilisation?" we asked. "Isn't that a bit drastic?"

"It's simply no good pussy-footing around with bans on the sale of Burberry baseball caps and designer tracksuits to teenage Chavs," he replied, as he sucked on a curiously shaped glass pipe and blew a cloud of pungent smelling tobacco in our direction …"

Uh-huh. Still doesn’t seem all that bad. Sad that the young have turned into mindless excuses for humans, strangling the language in the process but still, we can’t change the world, right? Then I saw this Guardian article. Wiki put it more in context:

England, 18 June 2005: Police arrested three 14-year-old boys for the suspected rape of an 11-year-old girl who attended their school in Stoke Newington, London. Authorities were alerted when school staff saw footage from the students' mobile phones.

Nice stuff. Have we finally reached this stage?

[cancer] breast density huge factor

Researchers have found that women whose breast density was 75 per cent or more were 4.7 times more likely to develop cancer than those with density under 10 per cent. Women with dense breasts were 18 times more likely to find a cancerous tumour within 12 months of a negative mammogram.

This underscores that cancer is actually hardest to detect in women with the highest risk, a double-whammy that will likely result in a serious rethinking of screening.

Pardon my ignorance but by ‘dense breasts’, do they mean … er … ‘big breasts’? Well, apparently not:

On a mammogram, the gland tissue in the breast looks "dense." This means that it's thick or hard to see through. Some women have denser breasts than others. Dense breasts have more glandular and connective tissue and less fat tissue. Younger women tend to have denser breasts than older women. And thinner women tend to have denser breasts than heavier women.

Seems to me women have a lot to contend with in life.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

[evil] does it exist or is it just sociological

Musa Hilal, Janajaweed leader and his 'alleged' handiwork, seen through children's drawings at the time

Fascinating post by Norman Geras which there’s no point reprinting here but he asks the question of the title above – does evil exist as an entity or is it all due to sociological factors? Having looked in a little detail at the Sudan atrocities, pictured by children and those of Algeria and given my leaning towards a Christian explanation of evil, it would be clear where I stand.

Not wishing to debase the issue but seeing parallels in film, Darth Vader seems a case in point. Was he evil? He seems to have succumbed to it – the good made bad. But that still doesn’t resolve the question as to whether this is a mechanical human process or the result of mal-intent.

This question will not go away and will become more and more insistent on resolution as the next few years unfold for the world.

[doomsday clock] now set forward two minutes

This blog believes many things but it doesn’t believe one can predict the end of the world. Too many times doomsday devotees have made the prediction and too many times the fatal day has then passed.
It’s also written in scripture that it’s impossible to predict, so why bother? On the other hand, this particular clock is maintained by the world’s premier scientists:

The minute hand of the Doomsday Clock has been moved closer to the fatal midnight hour to reflect the growing concerns of global terrorism, the unchecked nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea and - in a first - the threat of climate change.

The clock was first set 60 years ago by an elite group of nuclear scientists at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, shortly after the United States dropped its atomic bombs on Japan. The clock, which hangs in the University of Chicago, has been set at seven minutes to midnight since 2002. It was moved Wednesday to five minutes before the hour.

Seems to be something to keep at the back of the mind, not that there’s a lot we can do. Also, it seems a tadge political to me. However, there’s no doubt we’re now in perilous times.

[uk unemployment] papering up the cracks

Talk-talk has replaced make-make

UK unemployment claims fell more than expected in December to a nine-month low as expansion in service industries prompted companies to hire more workers.

It has been said that the British worker is motivated by a number of factors, of which ambition is the highest rating. It’s also been said that he lacks motivation in the first place and the blame for this is sheeted home to the employer, which is only partly fair.

The portrait of the British worker has changed. You know the old images – cap and gladstone bag and British workmanship equalled quality. Now it equals words. Also, the service industry is not production. It doesn’t actually … er … produce anything tangible except images and words.

Another aspect is that the British worker has priced himself out of a job, as our own Martin Kelly has mentioned before. The worker has overunionized himself.

All of this is characteristic of a banana republic and the road there is twisted and pockmarked but nevertheless, it is all downhill and inevitable.

[blogosphere] aristocratic pretensions cut no ice

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Venerable Lord James the Extemporaneous of Chalmondley Chumleyton
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title


Was it for this reason that I informed the esteemed blogroll of last evening's Blogfocus, employing the third person singular? It has been brought to my attention by more than one blogger and they were in no way being pedantic, that I seem to have been getting a little dizzy, a little light headed of late.

Please accept my apologies and normal service will be resumed henceforth.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

[blogfocus tuesday] vital issues

1] Straight into it and L’Ombre is wondering about the discrepancies in Heinz Beanz on either side of the channel:

To go along with the Verizon Maths noted a couple of days ago here we present proof that the English and the French apparently measure/count things differently. In the English ingredients, Beans are 51% and Tomatoes are 33%. In the French version we have only 49% Haricots blancs (beans) and 27% Tomates. I'd be curious to see what proportions are in Heinz baked beans bought in other countries and I'd love to know what the explanation for this state of affairs is.

2] A big welcome to the Norfolk Blogger and to his shocking revelation about Mars Bars:

I always read and hear Tories going on about "the nanny state", but this is obsessive. Having a permit for fatty foods is hardly going to endear Mr Cameron to fish and chip shop owners in Glasgow who have been known to deep fry Mars bars.

3] The Flying Rodent, [and I do like the man’s style], is more concerned with the gruesomely botched executions and offers this:

I'm looking forward to the executions of Chemical Ali and Doctor Germ. With comic book nicknames like that, how can Moqtada's boys resist? I reckon they'll be blindfolded, locked in a room strewn with rakes and left to clatter about smacking themselves in the face for an hour or so, just as an appetiser.

Eleven more bloggers plus the Mystery Blogger here.

[mathematical formula] it all adds up

S + G + L + R + W = NE

Where:

S = snowflakes gently falling outside
G = little gift
L= cuddly lady
R= good red
W= warm room
NE= nice evening

[bitta kultcha like] higham’s blogonnet cxlvii

My blog is as a fever, posting still
On that which longer nurseth the disease,
From the MSM which doth preserve the ill,
The uncertain sickly appetite to please.
My reason, the physician to my blog,
Angry that his prescriptions are not kept,
Hath left me, and I, desperate, now approve
No sleep is death, which physic did except.
Past cure I am, now reason is past care,
And frantic typing with evermore unrest;
My thoughts and my diatribes as madmen's are,
At random from the truth vainly express'd;
For I had hoped thee fair, Oh Blogger bright,
Who art as black as hell, as dark as night.

[litvinenko] russia would like to chat with berezovsky

The altruistic BABs in one of his happier moments

Sure they would love to chat to him:

“Russia's top prosecutor said his office wants to question fugitive tycoon Boris Berezovsky [in a ] probe of ex-security agent Alexander Litvinenko's poisoning death, Russian news agencies reported today. He added that British police want to return to Moscow to carry out further investigations.”

And in those words you have the whole game plan.

[mystery man] you'd better find out

Just who is this man? Is he a good man? Will he make our lives better? Or not?

Monday, January 15, 2007

[comments] what is the etiquette regarding these

My computer, a little like Imagined Community’s, plays up and does very strange things and so I don’t read much into situations like not being able to access Jackie Danicki’s site, for example. The Englishman knows of my difficulties and many is the time I can’t post comments on his site. But when the page reappears after a few anxious moments, I know all is well.

The Last Ditch has a tricky comments system. Once you’ve commented and the page reappears, it gives no indication of whether the comment has gone for approval or not. Then it’s a wait to discover whether it ‘took’ or not. So, as I say, I don’t read too much into it.

I’m known for being a little ‘left field’ in some of my ideas and probably in some of my comments and yet I hardly think they’re malicious or fail to meet standards of decency. About the strongest comment I ever left was a few minutes ago on Westminster Wisdom, predictably, on Christianity.

So when I begin to detect a real problem on certain blogs – two of the Blogpowerers in particular, one of whom I know visits me often - I wonder how much it is a technical glitch and how much rejection of the comment. One of these fine bloggers uses moderation, the other not. This raises the question of blog-etiquette.

I was given to understand, by people such as Stephen Pollard, Tim Worstall and Chris Dillow, in my early blogging days, that 1] one always linked and 2] one didn’t reject someone’s comment unless it was offensive or attacked another commenter in an unacceptable way [other than arguing the point, of course].

I suppose I took these rules to heart and the result is my comments section which all can view. And let’s face it – it’s a little dispiriting if one’s comment has been rejected.

One of the Blogpower blogs I visited earlier, without moderation, had me open-mouthed. Though I’d commented on three of her posts yesterday and had gone back and re-read those posts afterwards, seeing the comments in place, nevertheless, this evening the comments had mysteriously been spirited away and some posts were registering zero.

This was mildly upsetting. Particularly as I can’t see how the comments were not constructive. Well, people will do as they wish on their sites but surely there’s some sort of etiquette governing this?

[la france] experience may tell in the end

Sorry to quote the Guardian but:

Ali Ammar told the French Socialists’ presidential candidate that the Bush administration suffered from “unlimited dementia". He also attacked what he called modern-day “nazism" in Israel. According to the Jerusalem Post, Ms Royal was unfazed. “I agree with a lot of things you have said, notably your analysis of the United States,” she replied.

I’m reasonably certain the French populace won’t be beating a path to my door to ask my opinion on whom to vote for, but it seems to me a bit like this:

Sarkozy: Good looks, experience, battle-hardened, orthodox views, predictable pollie
Royal: Good looks

[coincidence] a touch of light romance

Do you believe in coincidences?

I mean, apart from the obvious ones such as George W. Bush, Anthony C.L. Blair and John W. Howard, respectively, putting their countries onto emergency powers footing, [here, here and here].

Or pushing ID cards onto an unwilling public [here, here and here], in an era of relative peace and prosperity for their respective countries.

No, I mean coincidences like this and this and this, for example.

Or take today, for example. I came out of the Ministry to go home, then decided to go back in, to the attached café to eat big. There’s a lady I’ve had my eye on for some time and guess what? She was standing at the entrance, speaking on the mobile, alone, she hadn’t eaten, my regular table was free and so I write to you now quite chipper, as we might say and not even the direness of the world’s events can conspire to make me slit my wrists, [at least not for another hour or so].

Which brings me to the next point about the chemistry between men and women. What is it about a pretty woman that makes the blood circulate so swiftly, straightens the back, pulls in the paunch and puts one on one’s best behaviour?

[questionable taste] epitaph competition

In a Welland, Ontario cemetery:

Here lies all that remains of Charlotte,
Born a virgin, died a harlot.
For sixteen years she kept her virginity,
A marvellous thing for this vicinity.


Here’s another one:

Here lies Lester Moore.
Four slugs from a forty-four.
No Les
No More.

And another, which makes one pause:

Here lies the body of John Round.
Lost at sea and never found.

Here’s another good one.

And here’s mine:

Here lies Higham, he outlived most;
Never had time, always burnt his toast.
As his friends passed away, still he pressed on
Until one day, he too was gone.

If you can write your light-hearted entry, you could be in the running for a day’s trip, for one, to your choice of destination – Basra, Grozny, Mogadishu or anywhere you’d care to choose, in the Sudan.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

[chirac] dog in a manger

Old lady trying to shift Paris 2012 T-shirts after the loss of the Olympics. Interesting that the sign is in English.

In a poll published Friday in the daily Le Parisien, 80 per cent of respondents said they found Nicolas Sarkozy courageous, 57 per cent believed he was capable of reforming the country, and 48 per cent said he would make a good president. Other polls continue to show him running neck-and-neck with his Socialist opponent Ségolène Royal if, as widely expected, the two make it to the second round of the presidential election, to be held on May 6.

So he got the nomination but Chirac played less than fairly and even now is undermining the UMP candidate for President by refusing to rule himself out of the race, either out of spite or under some delusion that he could take on Ségolène Royal himself and win. Chirac became an anachronism in most people’s minds about the time of his comments about British cuisine and there is certainly a case that he contributed greatly to Paris losing the 2012 Olympics. Unfortunately, he may have had the last laugh, as costs spiral out of control.

Chirac is a perfect example of people who overstay their welcome and then just get in the way. I truly, truly, hope I never do such a thing in my own sphere.

[t.w.a.t.] chicken yoghurt’s war report

Did you manage to catch T.W.A.T. at 5? It’s a great commentary on the war, from the perspective of a school report. Also mentioned here.

[extraordinary rendition] nice way to travel

Call me jumpy, call me paranoid but in the light of this, I get distinctly nervy when reading this. And the words which stood out, for me, were “had been authorized”.

Now what could possibly be the connection? One involves a dog and the other – human beings. Simply this - the cavalier attitude, the pitiless dispassion, the comfort with the idea of inducing damage and discomfort in animals and ‘people reduced to animals’ for some directed purpose, often state agency required. What starts as interrogation of prisoners ends up as a tool of the state and who is immune?

Surely though, that’s only in Chile, Brazil and third world countries. You might like to read this.

[quote of the day] the nature of the brit

"Ah, the British - give us a wide-screen TV and a fortnight in Tenerife, and we're anybody's."

[testimonials] second group of ten

Some of you might be wondering by which criteria I select blogs to do testimonials on. It’s now become this way – I include three non-Blogpowerers from the sidebar, two ladies and the rest are Blogpowerers. Hope this selection has been written acceptably for the writees:

11] Pub Philosopher Two years old now as a blogger, the Socrates of the Saloon Bar, as Tom Paine calls him, rates his high points as the Cartoon Wars, the trial of Nick Griffin and the Religious Hatred Bill, when free speech became the big issue and his own hits went through the roof. Perusing all his ‘support badges’ and noticing Infinitives Unsplit in the blogroll, he is indeed one of the real libertarian bloggers, straight to the point and brooking no fools. I like the Pub Philosopher and may he keep on blogging. Someone buy this man a drink.

12] Out Story The eerie otherworldliness that greets you on entering this site disguises the razor wit and sharp observation in his analyses. Not one to get about other sites much, as far as I can see, which might not be so far, a visit to The Outside Story requires an investigative approach. There’s no profile and so, from his sidebar, one sees Right Links Exchange, a host of Amazon ads for books and a pretty clear indication that this is a Brit blogger and one of the better ones. Add him to your visiting list – you’ll be well rewarded.

13] Tea & Margaritas The concept itself is intriguing: tea, the consummate beverage, the bringer together of calm and bonhomie but margaritas as well, confirming that this is no maiden aunt we’re dealing with here. The fully titled Tea and Margaritas in my Garden has one wistfully contemplating that very garden. Addicted to loving, working, thinking, ranting, gardening, questioning, creating, playing, planning how to continue making home more like an English cottage inside and out and attempting to do her gardens on a budget, T&M is one busy Ontario, Canada lass who runs a ticker at the top of her site, counting down the days to spring. Lucky hubby, Elvis, Teddy, Angus and Isobell.

14] Heather Yaxley - Greenbanana The Greenbanana, [meme for continual improvement], blogs on everything and anything interesting, from a PR or motorsport perspective, being a teacher for the CIPR qualfication, part-time lecturer at Bournemouth University and head honcho at the Motor Industry Public Affairs Association [MIPAA] Limited. She loves quirky little snippets and factlets as well. With a strong sense of responsibility, posting on anything from the Dakar Rally to ‘social ghost towns’, Heather’s blog is what I’d describe as ‘computer snazzy’ – lean, clean and neat little links here and there. Definitely a must-read to add to your sidebar.

15] Buckeye Matt’s a young American from the Buckeye State who blogs in the day to day, realistic, chronicled style I like so much. After one of my own posts, you’d perhaps not know much more about me but in Matt’s case, what you see is what you get. He’s a master of the stream of consciousness, e.g., on a post about the troops in Somalia, he’ll suddenly follow it with: “On a lighter note, last night was quite fun. Nothing beats sitting around with a friend, watching Office Space, and drinking rum. Does life get any better? Yes, it does.” It does indeed, if you follow the man in the mask’s daily thoughts.

16] Macadamia As he himself says, he’s Conservative, middle aged, a tad opinionated ... seeking to change the world one mind at a time. The toon depicts an exploded computer and the caption: “It’s never done that before.” Scourge of the Liberals, Steven Harper fan, the Canadian Neocon, out of Ontario, is a Marauding Marsupial in theTTLB Ecosystem and a fearless blogger on all things patriotic. Macadamia is fast becoming a must-read site for fellow Canadians but an interesting perspective for the rest of us out there as well.

17] Lord Nazh Very difficult to load his site but with the most original design I’ve yet seen with that trademark toon at the top, Lord Nazh is not only a speaker of wisdom, with an American slant, he’s pretty handy with the computer as well. His loyalties are emblazoned across his header and so one wonders what’s to come, once one eventually gets to the posts. A Marauding Marsupial in theTTLB Ecosystem, Lord Nazh posts colourfully and despite his “very serious MAJOR personal issues going on right now”, posts quite often. A smorgasbord of comment.

18] In Search of High Places A young man who is, at once, open, genuine, fun loving and out to discuss and thereby to learn. His positioning on the Christian side of the ledger shouldn’t deter any genuine seeker of truth and lively discussions should ensue, such as that on ‘free will’, the old Erasmus conundrum. It’s blogs such as these that I see as the ‘real’ blogs – the search for higher places is a fine play on words and quite indicative of what Alex is about. Do visit and find out for yourself.

19] Imagined Community A man who knows. Hovering somewhere around the centre of the political spectrum, Ian’s idealism comes through in his blogname: Imagined Community. Social harmony is what he seeks and intelligent policy making is the road to ensuring it. Sadly, we are currently far from our ideal. Co-founder of Blogpower, Ian is closely linked with the blogosphere and the nature of those who link to and comment on his posts is also a measure of his calibre. Described as “a masochist on del.icio.us”, the computer-savvy Ian is sure to change his status from the Lowly Insect in theTTLB Ecosystem to something altogether on a higher plane. Stay tuned to this blogger.
20] The Tin Drummer: Ashes devotee, the Oxford educated, kebab eating Tin Drummer is the man with the golden voice, with a free-streaming consciousness, the Dale linked co-founder of Blogpower and fierce champion of the freedom of speech, who recalls only a percentage of his past life and that’s as it should be. He says: “I see no reason for governments to be treated with respect, nor for individual MPs to demand to be heard respectfully. If you can make yourself heard, and thereby respected, you deserve to be an MP. If not - tough.” Tom Paine further notes that “the trademark lurch in subject matter - is arresting.” Truth is, he’s not nearly as gung-ho as he seems, having a deep sensitivity towards and respect for others within his sphere and outside it. A fine blogger.

Next Sunday, I plan to run testimonials, whether the poor victims wish for them or not, for: Devil's K, React Snob, Bryan A, Bel is thinking, Finding life hard?, Liz, La Femme Contraire, Chicken Yoghurt, Andrew Allison; An Insomniac and Corporate Presenter .

[iran] brain-drain crippling the gung-ho swaggerissimo

Check out this one about جمهوری اسلامی ايران‎:

A year ago, the International Monetary Fund said Iran had the highest rate of brain drain of 90 countries it measured. The figures have increased two-and-a-half times this year over the same period last year.