[blogfocus wednesday] whimsical pondering

Kate's extremely helpful Lewisham crime incident map which heads her blog. The idea is that you can pinpoint the latest flare-up in sleepy-hollow at any time. Especially useful for those of us in the U.S., France, Canada, Germany, Australia and Russia.

This evening:

1] Nige, at Bryan Appleyard's, welcomes a bit of common sense:

The nation seems to be coming to its senses at last about the London Olympics. Meanwhile, last night's Dispatches (Channel 4) raised some uncomfortable questions about 'Seb' Coe's finances and the total meaninglessness of the original budget figure. It's not too late to hand the whole thing back to Paris. Or give Beijing a second go.

2] Had to laugh. Timmy was referring to the Renault/Nissan head who was referring to oil running out and hydrogen taking its place:

So, the oil runs out in 2050 and we all use hydrogen. Great! That's climate change solved then. Next problem please!

Then reader Kit innocently asked:

Silly question but why does the Guardian have a business section?

3] Vox ascribes sadistic motives to George instead of realizing Dubya is just controlled:

So, the surge has been predictably "successful" by stabilizing Baghdad, but this is just a temporary measure which will only last as long as the extra troops stay there. Once they are withdrawn, the attacks will begin again in Baghdad.

The commanders know it, the insurgents know it and the administration knows it. A few of the more intelligent members of the media have also figured it out. About the only ones who haven't are the Republican politicians who are walking the plank again for Dear Leader.

4] Paul Linford is correct, correct, correct:

Iain Dale won't be watching the Rugby World Cup - his light-hearted explanation of why brightened up my Saturday morning and is well worth a read - but as a huge fan of the oval ball game I certainly will be tuning in and even writing the occasional blog post on the tournament as it unfolds over the next few weeks.

5] The blogger formerly known as Istanbultory but now known simply as Stan, describes the ritual of the dance:

It's a sad reality but men who troll for sex in public places, gay or "not gay," are, for the most part, upstanding citizens. In this regard, one might think of George Michael , LBJ aide Walter Jenkins, or global media mogul “Mighty” Dyckerson. There is, I have read, a delicate choreography involved in the men’s room “lewd conduct” tango.

The various signals - the foot tapping, the hand waving and the body positioning - are all parts of a ritual of call and answer, an elaborate series of codes that require the proper response if things are to advance (if ya see what I mean).

6] Mousie has this piece on Gordon Brown:

"Under a 136". This is when the police invoke Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 to detain someone who is in a public place and who, because of a mental disorder, is in immediate need of "care or control." The police officer then takes the person to a "place of safety" (i.e. A&E) to be assessed by a senior psychiatrist and an approved social worker so that a decision can be made as to whether the person needs to be admitted for further assessment and/or treatment.

7] Rilly rilly takes some following and I think this one is something to do with gays, the Metro and Fabio:

My husband looked puzzled. ‘ Noël Coward being gay and everything’, I elaborated. ‘Noël Coward was gay?’ he queried. ‘Are you quite sure dear?’ It was almost as if he was teasing me but I knew he would never do that. ‘I’m a woman dear’ I began. ‘We girls can tell gay man a mile off you know’, I said. My husband and Fabio exchanged glances so I could see they were keen to get back to work now.

8] Lewisham Kate is an active lass - she's doing all sorts of petitions and things and one day she'll even publicize them:

Well the deadline for the petition is today it looks like it has crashed and burned ....but Kate is back to the drawing board and planning bigger and better things:

Some of the things that have been suggested are :-

Climb big Ben ....fathers for justice stylee,

March to the town hall in Catford,

Another petition,

Another newspaper....sorry mrs woman from the mercury , not going to happen,

Any ideas welcome, within reason...

See you Saturday evening if we're all still alive.