The self-imposed task this week was to track down the ‘positive’ things bloggers had posted, as in ‘things which raised the spirits’, ‘things we could learn from’ and so on. Right from the start, under the latter heading, came Cleanthes admonition as to what constituted ‘readability’: However, it is not mere Blogfocus plugs that will bring your name into the conversation around the mantelpiece here at the Select Society. Begging might even count against you … No: you must produce analysis of consequence, coupled with lightness of prose, wit and erudition, if your goal is to be the talk of the great thinkers here at the Society. Surely advice one ignores at one’s peril … more here.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
[sunday blogfocus] the power of positive thinking
The self-imposed task this week was to track down the ‘positive’ things bloggers had posted, as in ‘things which raised the spirits’, ‘things we could learn from’ and so on. Right from the start, under the latter heading, came Cleanthes admonition as to what constituted ‘readability’: However, it is not mere Blogfocus plugs that will bring your name into the conversation around the mantelpiece here at the Select Society. Begging might even count against you … No: you must produce analysis of consequence, coupled with lightness of prose, wit and erudition, if your goal is to be the talk of the great thinkers here at the Society. Surely advice one ignores at one’s peril … more here.
[brazil] babes and blackmail
[usa] losing the plot at international level
[europe] eu leaders wine and dine putin
[total] prosecution a modern french farce
Call me corrupt if you like but I can’t see the problem with this Total business. What is a kickback anyway? Just a payment to gain an advantage for your company and which CEO or Deputy wouldn’t do all he can, of a financial nature, for his company? It’s the greatest hypocrisy to prosecute the briber when the taker is the real criminal. Business is business – do we want a free market or an over- regulated, fair market? That is the question or so it seems to me. [HT: Oil & Gas Topix]
[sao paulo] schumacher's swansong
[aishah] last time on this, hopefully
Friday, October 20, 2006
[olives] latest news from the front line
The news from the Olive Front is not so good: Rain soaked rotten over-ripe olives fallen to the ground and lying on our driveway. Just hoping most of them stay on the trees for another week or 10 days. Getting critical now. Keep your fingers crossed.
[baseball] name the four of them
[wal-mart] $4 generic-drug plan moves to alaska
[fashion] the mechanics of flow lines
[adventure holiday] why not try darra
Darra Adam Kheil is no ordinary town, close by the Kohat mountain range in the lawless tribal belt of north western Pakistan. Filled with hashish bars, the town of 15,000 is the headquarters of the region's illegal firearms market. Here, small, storefront operations churn out knockoff versions of weapons at cut-rate prices, providing a key source of hardware for the Taliban, most of whom are Pashtun and native to the region and who were once completely dependent on Darra for their weaponry. The US poured weapons into Pakistan during the Afghan war to arm the mujahedeen and stave off the Russians [remember James Bond: The Living Daylights] and overnight, a home grown arms market sprang up, which is now being used, in turn. on the US and NATO. A real Indiana Jones town for your next adventure holiday.
[veils 2] comment on the earlier post by a muslim
[cricket] aussies flop
Interesting piece by Tim de Lisle yesterday. The Champions Trophy hasn’t had many runs, but it has had something more precious: upsets. South Africa fell to New Zealand, and now Australia have gone down to the West Indies. The Aussies showed two unexpected weaknesses. After a strong start with the ball, they couldn’t finish off the West Indian top order. The killer instinct was missing. If you enjoy Aussie discomfort, follow the link.
[happy birthday] to the transplanted scot
[veils] award to aishah for hurt feelings, poor lass
[russia] foreign ngos processed too slowly
[faith schools] rising above the level of the beast
Thursday, October 19, 2006
[education 2] explanations for the dumbing down
[education] the assault on intellectualism
Sergeant Holcombe hesitated a moment, then said, ‘Well, that’s one of those little things. That doesn’t cut so much ice. Lots of times you’ll find little things which are more or less inconsistent with the general interpretation of evidence.'
‘I see,’ Mason said. ‘And when you encounter such little things, what do you do, Sergeant?’
‘You just ignore ’em,’ said Holcombe.
‘And how many such things have you ignored, Sergeant, in reaching your [current] conclusion?’ Read more here.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
[gavin] his blog appears to be ayling
[education] the deliberate dumbing down of the west
[dow jones] passe pour la première fois les 12 000 points
[neue studie] der armut in deutschland
[news] google’s current top ten stories
2...Tamil Tigers ambush navy boats in Sri Lanka
3...Ten US soldiers killed as Iraq death toll mounts
4...Battles brewing on torture, detainees
5...Icelanders resume cull
6...Israel PM interested in meeting with Palestine leader soon
7...10 US soldiers killed in single day in Iraq
8...Muslims say Blair's integration call divisive
9...Troops will be in Afghanistan for next 20 years, says commander
10.Nobel winner may enter politics
Which could be termed ‘positive, hopeful news’? Why are the media running only these?
[musical terms] which of these ten do you know
The terms are: Meno, Dolce, Adagio, Rubato, Cadence, Forte, Da Capo, Chord, Largo, Phrase. These terms mean: A section of a composition comprising a musical thought, Slow, leisurely, Loud, strong, Closing of a phrase or section of music, A modification of the strict rhythmical flow, Three or more tones combined simultaneously, Less, From the beginning, Large, broad, slow and stately, Sweetly, softly. Answers are here.
[getting published] it’s not what you write – it’s whom you know
[president] which lady would win
Condoleezza Rice.......14%
Hillary Clinton..............14%
Segolene Royal..........43%
Paris Hilton..................29%
[iceland] not so good news this time
[north korea] wanting peace but ready to obliterate
[mea culpa] egg on the proverbial face
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
[blogfocus] the quirky, the pithy and the downright strange
It all started when I saw this: The gooey Coke-battered nuggets topped with cola syrup won the "most creative" title at the Texas state fair in Dallas last month. Fried treats are as big of a draw at state fairs as the rides and prize-winning farm animals. Twinkies, cookies and even pickles are stuck with a stick, dipped in batter and then seared in the deep fryer. Adelaidegreenporridgecafe then gave directions for deep-fried Mars Bars. Aha, I thought – here’s the theme for the next blogfocus. Continued here.
[men & women] who’s more oppressed
[torture] bush signing interrogation laws right now
[blog] blog, blog, blog, yawn, blog, blog
Now the Telegraph is weighing in, citing charities like the National Trust and English Heritage who are asking people to submit a snapshot of their day to a website (historymatters.org.uk, October 17) in the life of Britain. Oliver Kamm’s words of warning and Iain Dale’s cartoon now seem more apt than ever. Diversity and variety are certainly the spice of life but when we get upwards of 54 million different opinions, mostly repetitive, many barely articulate, [and I don’t excuse myself in this], where does one even start to look? We’re quite simply swamped and even the long-established are swept away by the tide. But perhaps the phase will pass and those left standing will carry on.
[usa] the 300 millionth is arriving today
[gaza] internecine war is rife
Monday, October 16, 2006
[narcissistic personality disorder] 34 ways to tell
[census] unmarrieds now outnumber marrieds
[iowa] hillary not the flavour of the month
[drugs] nearly all in tour de france on them
Matt DeCanio, a confessed drug cheat and now an anti-doping crusader, tells Tuesday night's Insight program on SBS TV that he's willing to go before an inquiry and name cyclists who are using drugs. "At the highest level I would say 99 per cent of the guys are on it [drugs]. If I were to have to bet my life on how many athletes in the Tour de France are on drugs, I would say one guy was clean," the 29-year-old told the program entitled "The Cheating Game". Former Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson also says athletes do whatever it takes to win, including taking drugs. It’s the old dilemma – you can’t win without them and you’re vilified for taking them. In my own weight training, taking creatine and a power mix before adds up to 7 kg more metal I can push on that particular day. So what to do?
[our troops] the daily reality of war
[eureka] first hatemail and from a lady
[creaking planet] earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, fire
[scotland] devolving into a caledonian twilight
Sunday, October 15, 2006
[destruction] now it's a wind farm
[la moto] roule sur les traces de l'auto
Aides à la conduite, respect de l'environnement, affirmation du style et création de niches, l'industrie motocycliste présente ce week-end à l'Intermot une collection 2007 inspirée de l'automobile. Moyen de transport individuel par excellence, le deux-roues motorisé n'en obéit pas moins à des règles de circulation qui le placent sur un pied d'égalité avec l'automobile. Suivez.
[congress today] mann and ornstein - summarized comments
[express poll] you got it right, general
A new poll reveals 71 per cent of Britons think Sir Richard was right to warn that the continued presence of British troops is making the security crisis in Iraq worse and 74 per cent agree with Sir Richard that British soldiers should leave Iraq “some time soon”.
57 per cent agree that Muslim extremists are exploiting a “moral vacuum” in Britain to undermine our way of life and 44 per cent want to see a greater role for the British Army in combating Islamic terrorism.
Lord David Ramsbotham, adjutant general of the army during the first Gulf War said: “I don’t think Sir Richard should be sacked. The point he has made quite rightly and strongly is that if the Army continues to be hammered into the ground, there won’t be an Army in five to 10 years.”
For what it's worth, this blog concurs with these findings.