[blogfocus wednesday] old friends revisited

Click on the pic for the expanded version of one of Lord Nazh's trademark cartoons, originally from www.daybyday.com.

The great danger when one becomes close to others in the blogosphere is the temptation to be a little less than careful in promoting those friends. This is a mistake and I'd like to show some of the wares of eight bloggers whom, if you don't already know them, you should:

1. Tiberius Gracchus reflects on sin and the quest for atonement which often follows:

When thinking about sin, one thinks normally of atonement. In Joe Wright's new film, Atonement, based on the Ian McEwan novel- the sin is committed within the first hour, and the second hour shows the consequences of that sin spinning out of control, spinning through three people's lives and leaving a fourth, the perpetrator, in that icy circle of hell that Dante reserved for traitors.

2. Tom Paine writes of walking through those pesky barriers at the airport terminal:

An older businesswoman who had sat next to me on the plane from Frankfurt walked straight through, opening barriers as she went. We followed, pleased at avoiding the humiliation of walking pointlessly from side to side under the gaze of the petty officials.

The senior immigration officer (an officious Scot) looked angry, but said nothing. As I walked away after he had checked my passport, he barked at a junior colleague to "Put those barriers back! Someone [pointedly, as the "someone" in question was in earshot] has opened them."

3. Ian Grey writes of the difference between toruing and "living there":

I always fancied the Far East but the opportunity never arose (although my Lodger and colleague got to do a training course in Tokyo, it kept us in Sake' for months and gave us a chance to refresh our CD players). I define "lived there " as in staying in an Apartment for an extended period rather than a Hotel (Norway 1 year, Saudi 1 year, Ontario 2x 3 months, Eire commuting for 6 months or so.)

4. Lord Nazh puts a complicated scenario regarding abortion and it's well worth following through:

The husband/boyfriend argues that this wouldn't be good [to have the child] because of [insert good reason here] and you feel roughly the same. After thinking about it, you feel that reason [insert better reason here] would overcome his (and your concerns) and decide (as is your right) to have the child even though he doesn't want to.

A period of time later, you split up (in no relation to said pregnancy). Here's the question: should it be his choice whether to support the child or not? (morally yes and legally yes, in all places I'm aware of, but this is a hypothetical) Why or why not?

5. JMB writes of the scourge of the walker and she doesn't mean blistered feet:

Canada Geese are the scourge of the unwary walker since they don't pick after themselves. Despite being native to North America they have spread far and wide, to Western Europe, eastern Siberia, eastern China and Japan, annoying people everywhere, although I find them rather charming. Once a New Canadian was arrested at Stanley Park for catching one with the intention of dining on it. So tempting, those fat little things.

6. Lady MacLeod is having problems with nipples and migraines:

I consider myself European in most of my outlook but in I did grow up in the Highlands and carry whatever prudery that entails and I acknowledge that. I had a French nanny however and was exposed to the rather revealing Hindu arts at an early age. All to say I am more nudist than not – but in private people, in private. Perhaps it is a cultural thing, perhaps an age thing, but I do not enjoy having another woman’s nipples thrust into my view – especially a woman MY age, and worse, one who needs to drop thirty pounds.

7. Liz gets quite biblical in her blogging post:

In the beginning ... was the blog, and the blog was made word. And I blogged and the world was good.

On the next day they created MySpace, and everyone said, 'This is the future,' and I became part of the future. But I continued to blog.

On the next day they created Facebook, and everyone said, 'Be my friend,' and I was their friend. But I continued to blog.

On the next day, they created Twitter, and everyone twittered - and I said, 'Enough.' And I continued to blog.

Which is just a silly way of saying, 'AAaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh! I can't keep up!'

8. All right, he's not blogging but I can't forget Notsaussure, especially when addressing the The Commission on Integration and Cohesion:

First, I don’t quite see why anyone would want to hire someone if they didn’t think their language (or any other) skills were adequate for the particular job they had in mind. Well, any private employer, at least; certainly our local hospital — of which I saw rather more than I would have wanted during my late wife’s last years — employed whole armies of absolutely charming ladies from the Philippines as nursing auxiliaries whose English, unfortunately, wasn’t up to communicating with patients at anything other than the most rudimentary level, which meant that complicated requests like ‘please get me a bed pan’ (from the elderly lady in the bed next to my wife’s on one stay in hospital) frequently went unanswered.

I tried to put in Ian Appleby and Two Wolves but they weren't posting either. However, I'll keep a look out.