[blogfocus sunday] october 14 brain food edition

The brain needs scrummy food

1. There's a battle royal going on in Doctor Vee's brain between left side and right side. See if you can make sense of it and of his spinning woman:

I am far too strategic for my own good, in the sense that I always spend so long thinking about things that I miss the boat. Not that the skills for the right side of the brain are that bad. But I just don’t see it. I have less spatial awareness than Stevie Wonder, a dire imagination and I’m apathetic about symbolism. I am only religious in the sense that I am a Pastafarian. As for risk-taking, I can’t climb a ladder without completely crapping myself beforehand.

2. Grendel imagines sports store conversations in the light of the latest Nike bout of trade restraint:

“Naturally Sir, one does need to buy a replica of the fourth choice (League Cup) away kit.”

“The high tech nylon material certainly compliments Sir’s robust frame.”

“You should really listen to your children Madam, I know that the only difference between this and last years kit is two inches of gold braiding but to deny them this purchase is tantamount to mentally cruelty.”

3. On the day of my father's birthday, Liz takes me back to the machine gun mental fire my darling mother was famed for in her conversation. She could cover ten separate topics in the space of five minutes and my blog most certainly bears the scars:

When I'm showering and I'm in the house alone, I lock the bedroom door. I would hate for a burglar to walk in on me in the shower. It's the same principle that makes me wear knickers under my nightie when Husband is away - no, wait let me explain … A man came to work on Friday to quote for putting safety film on the windows and [said] if, for example, a schoolboy, in a fit of pique punched a window, broke it and cut his hand, he could sue the school for not having safety glass. How ridiculous is that? The game between England and France is about to begin ...

4. Kizzie writes about the 90s in the Sudan and the smuggling in of TV receivers and the spread of news:

It was very important to avoid being exposed because dictators know their regimes are oppressive, hated and that the international community might take some serious action. That's why they sweet-talk the world, they don't allow any leakage of information or any foreign journalists inside their country. They impose severe censorship, block Internet sites and spread ignorance (ignorance makes you submissive and helpless, education enlightens and makes your voice heard, it truly frees the mind).

5. As OutsideStory says:

I have recently moved to Washington DC for two years. It is a remarkable opportunity to study at George Mason University under some of the leading libertarian economists who have already greatly influenced my thinking.

He asks who killed the electric car?

They blamed the profit motive but also claimed there was a huge market. The two are not compatible. If the problem is that car companies wanted to protect existing markets then the blame lies not with the profit motive, but with government protection of the domestic car industry. They did not make that argument. Big oil did get blamed although they probably have a lot less sway than the corn lobby, which has been pushing for ethanol.

6. Finally, Moggy gives us the low-down on her slumber party [why don't I get invited to these?]:

I had grabbed my bedding and tossed it into the back of my truck, but never got it out because the friend I stayed with had plenty of bedding for everyone.

When I got home Saturday morning my pillow was up by my front door. I don't know if one of my neighbors saw it in the yard and put it there, or if it fell there when I was carrying stuff out.

One more thing that happened was my house key fell off my key chain into my overnight bag. When I got home and got to the front door I didn't have a key.

At the slumber party

And there we'll have to wind it up for the evening with just half a dozen blogs covered, sorry - time has run out but hope to see you on Wednesday evening, if you'll drop by.