[blogfocus saturday] girlpower, yo

Let me say, upfront, that the number of blogs has expanded to the point that both the blogroll and the e-mail list are woefully out of date. The roll I’ve half done; the other I must attempt tomorrow.

Now to Girlpower, the girls only edition of Blogfocus, where the boys are the voyeurs and without further ado, we’ll start in the North of England:

1 Just how grim can it get up north? Very. One Wife's lonely journey into the Northern heartlands is told here, as the heartrending housemoving takes place:

The plan then, (for want of another word,) is to manhandle the contents of the cottage out into the van on a room by room basis, drive it two miles down the lane to the rented house and then unpack the contents and install them on a room by room basis into the rented house, recreating our life exactly as it was before. Perhaps, he was a museum curator in a different incarnation. In fact, he could probably submit it for the Turner prize. He could call it something like: "Our life - a mess in two places."

2 This, thinks Bel, is beyond scandalous:

Some families of soldiers killed in Iraq have been trying for a long time to meet Tony Blair. They have organised demonstrations, launched petitions, and done their utmost to get a meeting. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister has been too busy to see them. Anyway, how lucky for Shilpa that she managed to secure a meeting with the busy Blair. In his office at the House of Commons, no less. So it can be done, then? Perhaps the soldiers’ families should try harder.

3 Ellee continues to enjoy the presidential race and I do my best to cater for her in this:

I am fascinated to see how American politicians are actively using social media for their political campaigning. However, can Hillary Clinton break her carefully crafted mould to embrace a more open and interactive style? Would it suit her personality? The lesser known Obama could find it the perfect way to reach out to new supporters who decide they like what they see in cyberspace.

14 more bloggers plus the Mystery Blogger here.

[ségolène] elle joue un jeu douteux

Le Figaro dit: Bien que Royal affecte l'indifférence, les sondages inquiètent le PS. Ainsi, dans le dernier baromètre BVA/Orange, elle recule encore d'un point au premier tour à 26 % d'intentions de vote, contre 34% à Nicolas Sarkozy, sans changement, tandis que François Bayrou progresse de 3 points à 14 %.

Au second tour, elle serait battue par Sarkozy 52 à 48. Pire, au second tour, si elle devait affronter Bayrou, elle perdrait également par 52 à 48.

Demain, Royal devrait tirer les enseignements de la phase « participative » de sa campagne (ouverte sur son site Internet en février 2006 puis relayée sur le terrain depuis son investiture par le PS). Cette méthode, qui a contribué au succès de Ségolène Royal, est devenue sa marque de fabrique.

Mais les chiffres avancés par le PS sont invérifiables : « 2,7 millions de visiteurs » sur le site, « 700 000 participants » aux débats locaux. La réalité des contributions est différente : seulement 60 000 personnes - ce qui est déjà beaucoup - ont laissé un message sur le site Internet, ce qui représenterait 135 000 contributions (mais combien d'entre elles sont réellement argumentées ?)

A-t-elle déjà perdu ce match? Bientôt, nous en saurons.

[lost sheep] those who were lost and now are found

Vital allegorical story, hot from southern Iceland:

Farmers from three farms in south Iceland, Litla-Heidi, Gil and Nordur-Foss, have teamed up this week and found ten lost sheep wandering in the mountain area of Svínatungur and Koltungur, in the Mýrdalur valley, in south Iceland.

They were reported missing during the annual sheep herding last autumn.

The farmers finally located the eight lambs and two grown sheep which had become quite skinny but were otherwise in good health and brought them back to their farms with specially designed sheep reins.

Well that’s all right then and three cheers for Litla-Heidi, Gil and Nordur-Foss. [Try saying that three times quickly.]

[killer fungus] it’s coming for you northerners

You planning to go to Canada? To the West Coast, by any chance? Perhaps to Vancouver Island? Good luck and hope you get out alive.

The Globe says a tropical and potentially lethal fungus that has mysteriously made its home on Canada's temperate West Coast has prompted foreign medical experts to issue a worldwide alert to doctors and tourists after doctors found clumps of the fungus growing inside a Danish man's chest.

The fungus is usually found in tropical or subtropical locales in Australia, Africa, India or South America and it lodges deep in the lungs, leading to pneumonia, attacking the central nervous system and resulting in meningitis. As of December, 2006, 165 people had been infected and eight have died.

Don’t say I never bring you the good news.

[bizarre nasa love triangle] simple explanation perhaps

First, the story here, including bio link, of the “apparent breakdown of Astronaut Lisa Nowak”, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal; Navy Achievement Medal, who tried to kidnap her love rival and possibly murder her.

Christopher Mims, blogger, says: If and when NASA finds out its astronauts have problems, what's it going to do in order to avoid embarrassment and possible tragedy? Take them off the flight list. What incentive does that leave astronauts to admit that they might have problems? None at all.

That’s one way to look at it. Another way is to ask what was a married woman with children doing vying for the affections of another astronaut anyway? Secondly, as she herself said, it was "more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship." Yet she apparently wrote that she loved him.

So, a highly stressed, highly strung astronaut in the cold, clinical NASA world suddenly feels pangs of long dormant love – and what? Seems to me the man in it, the object of the affections, Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein, needs to step in and put her straight about his own feelings, for a start.

Although driving in diapers and carrying weaponry and stun gas might be a little OTT, I can’t see that the emotion driving it is unusual in any way. I’d have been more worried if she'd been devoid of emotion, as cold as a fish.

NASA have given her extended leave to cool it and the media attempt to beat this up will fizzle away. Unless she truly is crazy, of course.

[dire commercials] pass the paper bag

One thing leads to another. Two Wolves is running a post on the American serial ‘Lost’, with a sickening line from the lead female and that got me thinking about sickening lines. The most sickening lines I’ve ever heard were in a Camay Soap commercial from the 70s:

Him [coming home]: Darling, where are you?

Her [in the bath, soft music in the background, light pink and white décor ad nauseam]: I’m up here, making myself beautiful for you. [She smiles sweetly at the camera and holds up a bar of Camay soap].

Pity because I’d really enjoyed that curry for dinner. There’s a brief paragraph about these commercials here.

What were the most sickening lines you’ve ever heard?