[blimey] lasagne assault unfair

This is a totally unfair post. It's dinner time here in the fSU and I'm famished. So, I go into Welshcake Limoncello's site and blimey! I'd have to eat the whole lasagne, I really would. The instant I post this piece, I'm off to have some ravioli, which is all I have in the freezer. Hope you survive WCL's post better than I did.

[segie et sarki] deux styles totalement différents

A quelques heures d’intervalle, les deux principaux candidats à la présidentielle ont utilisé deux styles totalement différents pour présenter des vœux très politiques.

Ségolène Royal filmée dans une pièce vide, illuminée d’une guirlande multicolore et d’un lampadaire design. Nicolas Sarkozy sur un simple fond bleu incrusté d’un logo UMP. Les traditionnels vœux du Nouvel an ont donné une occasion supplémentaire aux deux rivaux dans la course à l’Elysée de marquer leur différence, à moins de quatre mois du premier tour.

Suivez …

[neujahrsschwimmen] das jahr beginnt ins kalte Wasser

Es ist ein eher ungemütlicher Brauch zum Start ins neue Jahr: das Neujahrsschwimmen. In aller Welt springen Menschen ins - meist kalte - Wasser und beweisen sich und ihren Mitmenschen Mut. Mit solchen Aktionen ist ihnen eines gewiss: Das Jahr kann nur noch besser werden.

Vermutlich ist es aber einfach nur der Wunsch, zum Jahresanfang mal etwas Verrücktes zu unternehmen. Zum Vernünftigsein gibt es ja noch an 364 Tagen Gelegenheit.

Mehr hier …

[testimonials] first ten ready

I really abjectly apologize. First I exhorted everyone to do this, The Cityunslicker and others responded but I simply couldn’t get my act together until now. Well, I’ve started and here are my first ten ‘take it or leave it’ comments on members of the blogosphere. Please, people, if you can see your way clear to doing something like it, each blogger will then have a nice little store of comments to put in his or her sidebar. But be honest. Don’t eulogize just for the sake of it.

1] The Cityunslicker: The travelling blogger with the razor wit has a habit of cutting to the chase and only ever falls by the wayside on matters of faith. CUS’s comments are as good as his posts and what bloggers appreciate is that he’s at least read the posts, unlike some. Behind that sometimes direct exterior beats a heart of gold and an astute mind, let alone a wealth of experience.

2] Westminster Wisdom: Perfect example of a Blogpower blog which should be in Iain Dale’s Top 10. He’s not every surfer’s cup of tea as he demands a concentration span longer than three minutes and the ability to comprehend both history and the English language – tall order for many. For those with the patience, he’s deeply rewarding and that's why he is rapidly entering the 'must read' category of a sizable chunk of the discerning corner of the blogosphere.

3] Ellee Seymour: What’s left to say about Lady Ellee of Ely? Superb blog, always up to date and posing a dilemma with a humane edge to it. It’s a testimony that she’s now won the first of her many awards and yet she somehow manages to visit others, comment on comments, maintain a work, study, political and family schedule and enjoy it all the while. A true lady, as all are aware, she is my prediction for Top 10 on Iain Dale’s list this year.

4] Not Saussure: Some bloggers are fine amateurs and some are professional. Notsaussure is of the latter ilk, facts always at his fingertips, never a word out of place and right on the money. He is one of the Blogpower blogs who should be up there mixing it with the big boys – he’s that impressive - and a sizable portion of the A list is coming to realize that. Virtually a must read for the discerning, his blog is also beautifully presented, which certainly helps, in my humble opinion.

5] The ThunderDragon: Already an A lister, technical whiz Thunder Dragon shows that not all A listers are stuck up stats groupies who’d sell their grandmothers for more traffic. And he’s on Iain Dale’s list for a reason – he’s simply a fine blogger, scoring highly on the ten point Dale criteria and with his finger always on the political pulse. He's also the technical brains behind Blogpower, along with Ian at Imagined Community.

6] Sicily Scene: This lady, Welshcakes Limoncello, could be charged with mental cruelty by relentlessly revealing to us the idyllically unhurried world of Sicily and photos of the magnificent fare upon her table [not to mention the card corners] but to be fair – she does often provide recipes. Rapidly becoming a must read for a large portion of the blogosphere, her wise young head and astute comments are also particularly appreciated by fellow bloggers.

7] Mr Eugenides: What can one say? An Edinburgh based A lister, a widely acknowledged political genius of the first order - still he finds time to visit Greece, sink a pint or two and take on the idiots who purport to govern our fair land. A member of that select group of high traffic bloggers who’ve not forgotten their roots and who are approachable [if you can dodge the swear-shrapnel on your way in, that is]. Mr. E is pure class.

8] Stumbling and Mumbling: I confess this is my favourite blog and yet I disagree with many of the sentiments, I don’t understand a fraction of the economics and I’m less than reverent ion my comments. Leicester boy Chris Dillow is master class and his steady elevation into the elysian zones of the blogosphere are testimony to the regard in which he is held. His point form analyses are compelling and his only direction , as far as I can see, is up.

9] Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe: Environmental expert Colin Campbell is one of the expat Scot brigade, soon to become an Australian citizen, with two beautiful children and a menagerie of pets and one mystery wife who hardly gets a mention. His blog is unique, centred as it is around family matters but he's no stranger to ascerbic comment on the political foolisness of the day. Short of ideas? Come to Colin’s blog for inspiration.

10] Tom Paine: I’m in awe of very few people in this world but I’m in awe of Tom Paine. Whilst bloggers like yours truly are rabbiting on twenty words to the dozen, Tom is taking it all in, rarely commenting and then coming out with sheer common sense, whatever the topic. You need to know what you’re talking about when you approach Mr. Paine and I strongly suspect there’s a wealth of life experience tucked away behind that moniker and it comes through in his support of good causes. Little wonder Tom is on most of the A list blogrolls and all of ours as well.

Next to come will be those listed in the blogrolls as Pub Philosopher, Out Story, Tea & Margaritas [to be added to my roll as soon as I post this], Heather Yaxley - Greenbanana, Buckeye Matt, Macadamia and Lord Nazh, amongst others plus my two fellow administrators of Blogpower.

What was the basis on which I chose bloggers for the first list? Simply those who commented on this blog in the last two days. I shall be writing a piece for each person on the blogrolls and hope to finish it by the end of this week.

[george bush] misunderstood and maligned [3]

Here are Part 1 and Part 2 of this tribute to George W. Bush. The third batch of ten is below. The idea is to vote for the three best from these ten, with a view to eventually finding an overall winning excerpt:

21] "First, let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to be not rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill." - Washington, D.C., May 19, 2003

22] "I think war is a dangerous place." - Washington, D.C., May 7, 2003

23] "You're free. And freedom is beautiful. And, you know, it'll take time to restore chaos and order - order out of chaos. But we will." - Washington, D.C., April 13, 2003

24] "I think the American people - I hope the American–I don't think, let me—I hope the American people trust me."—Washington, D.C., Dec. 18, 2002

25] "There's only one person who hugs the mothers and the widows, the wives and the kids upon the death of their loved one. Others hug but having committed the troops, I've got an additional responsibility to hug and that's me and I know what it's like." - Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2002

26] We need an energy bill that encourages consumption." - Trenton, N.J., Sept. 23, 2002

27] "And so, in my State of the - my State of the Union - or state - my speech to the nation, whatever you want to call it, speech to the nation - I asked Americans to give 4,000 years - 4,000 hours over the next - the rest of your life - of service to America. That's what I asked - 4,000 hours." - Bridgeport, Conn., April 9, 2002

28] "Do you have blacks, too?" - To Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, Washington, D.C., Nov. 8, 2001

29] "I am mindful of the difference between the executive branch and the legislative branch. I assured all four of these leaders that I know the difference, and that difference is they pass the laws and I execute them." Washington, D.C., Dec. 18, 2000

30] "Dick Cheney and I do not want this nation to be in a recession. We want anybody who can find work to be able to find work." 60 Minutes II, Dec. 5, 2000

[after new year] state of the planet, state of the head

Welcome to the New Year, everyone. Still alive? How’s the head?

Well, skipping over the killings, executions and so on, the world’s journos consider 2006 their worst year ever as they actually began to get killed going into trouble zones, whereas before they could stay at a safe distance and invent portions of the stories.

The Pope, predictably but no less correctly, bemoaned the assault on the family by modern culture, meaning the culture of sex, drugs, indiscriminate clubbing and shopping that so many parents are delighted their children are developing a taste for.

After New Year Debt. The flurry of gift shopping near the end of the year leads some down the path of least resistance and into the land of credit card debt. The average U.S. household has $10,000 in non-mortgage debt, and the holiday spend-a-thon no doubt puts pressure on consumers to buy more and boost their personal deficits ever higher.

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service offers five tips to consumers who find themselves having bought more than they had planned:
# Know how much you owe: Add up all your credit card and other bills to get a realistic picture.
# Create a spending plan: Decide beforehand what needs to be paid, then put in place a plan for your income.
# Pay off credit card debt: Stop making new charges and pay down what you already owe.
# Build a savings cushion: The goal is to have enough to cover your expenses for three to six months.
# Develop a strategy for a financial future: Monitor your finances on a regular basis. Open a retirement fund and contribute to it regularly.

Can’t see the point of this advice. Those who are careful and frugal will remain so and those with no money and big eyes will continue to load everything onto the cards with no thought of tomorrow.

The one piece of good news is that scientists seem to have developed a non-BSE cow. That’s a good start to 2007 – I’m sure the cows will be delighted by the news.