[haute couture] of a topical yet practical nature

Just flicking through the haute couture, as one is want to do on a post-halloween, pre-election weekend and came up with the headgear to the left here.

An eminently practical number, this would require a voiture with adequate headroom, say a Bentley or similar and would be more suited to a shorter woman, say around 150 cm. A London taxi would do the trick, of course.

For use at the call centre phone or in a business meeting, some form of curtain-tie would be necessary to hold the grassy bits up out of the eyes but the beauty of this hat is that it does not intefere with the ears and thus phone answering would not be impaired.

Note the muted colours and absence of anything actually spectacular or daring in the below neck area. This is French couture down to a T - only one extravagant item at any one time.

Perhaps a floral stoll could be designed though to compliment the number for these chilly days or failing that, a floral wreath or two could be pressed into service.

Yes, I know what you are saying - that outfit is far too "green" and de rigeur. It hardly takes into account the current fashion for all things African and third world. To address these concerns, the number below right has been designed to re-create the "peasant in the fields at harvest time" effect.

Can't you see yourself now, sashaying down the footpath with oomph and elegance, sporting third world, emerging economy chic that grabs everybody’s attention?

Who needs the ultra glamorous layered look, when you are just so politically correct in this tribute to global sustainability?

And just look at those carbon footprints!

If you're one of those unfortunates of a Caucasian complexion, this shouldn't pose insurmountable problems. A week or two of the yellow tanning oil should produce the desired effect but I'd be more concerned with the conversational limitations - a few turns of the head and someone is whacked over the mush something awful, particularly if you are 150 cm tall.

The appropriate response is tailor made: "Are you oppressing me?"

[electoral college] nearly dropped in 1970

Read about the current state by state situation here.

Some people are not aware that on November 4th, the President and Vice-President of the United States are NOT being chosen by the people.

Rather, the people are voting for Electors who will themselves vote for the President and Vice-President on December 15th.

You might like to read about this here or here. What some people may also not be aware of is that the system was nearly abolished in 1969/70:

The closest the nation has ever come to abolishing the Electoral College occurred during the 91st Congress. The presidential election of 1968 had ended with Richard Nixon receiving 301 electoral votes to Hubert Humphrey's 191. Yet, Nixon had only received 511,944 more popular votes than Humphrey, equating to less than 1% of the national total. George Wallace received the remaining 46 electoral votes with only 13.5% of the popular vote.

House Joint Resolution 681 was introduced to amend the Constitution:

On April 29, 1969, the House Judiciary Committee voted favorably, 28–6, to approve the Amendment. On September 30, 1969, President Richard Nixon gave his endorsement for adoption of the proposal, encouraging the Senate to pass its version of the Amendment. In its October 8, 1969 edition, the New York Times reported that the legislatures of 30 states were "either certain or likely to approve a constitutional amendment embodying the direct election plan if it passes its final Congressional test in the Senate." On August 14, 1970, the Senate Judiciary Committee sent its report advocating passage of the Amendment to the full Senate.

Then it was filibusted out. Shame.

[chaucer and luther] of like mind on pardons

Geoffrey Chaucer, of course, wrote the Canterbury Tales and one of his targets was the Pardoner, even though the church did not specifically approve of their excesses:

According to canon law, a pardoner or quaestor of alms did not have the right either to forgive sin or to sell indulgences. Indulgences remitting punishment for sin could only be legitimately granted to persons who confessed their sins to their own parish priests.

Despite canon law, the practice did become corrupt:

As early as 1212 the Church acknowledged the corrupt practices of many pardoners. Church officials created numerous bulls recommending that the practice of pardoners be restricted: that they not be allowed to preach but only to read their letters.

Chaucer wasn't the only one to criticize pardons:

When the preaching friar in Piers the Plowman wishes to scorn the Augustinians, his worst accusation is that they lived by the "pur pardoners craft."

... but he was maybe the first to publicize it in a populist manner for the time:

By this gaude have I wonne, yeer by yeer,
An hundred mark sith I was pardoner.
I stonde lik a clerk in my pulpet,
And whan the lewed peple is down yset,
I preche so as ye han herd bifore,
And telle an hundred false japes more.

Martin Luther, despite the views of some revisionist historians, probably nailed his 95 theses to the Wittenburg church in 1517 and the idea really began to take hold:

75. To think the papal pardons so great that they could absolve a man even if he had committed an impossible sin and violated the Mother of God -- this is madness.

76. We say, on the contrary, that the papal pardons are not able to remove the very least of venial sins, so far as its guilt is concerned.

77. It is said that even St. Peter, if he were now Pope, could not bestow greater graces; this is blasphemy against St. Peter and against the pope.

78. We say, on the contrary, that even the present pope, and any pope at all, has greater graces at his disposal; to wit, the Gospel, powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written in I. Corinthians xii.

The threat to the Catholic church is in the idea that no one but G-d can forgive and extrapolated, that means that the Pope can aid, teach and point people in the right direction, intercede with G-d, possibly even heal ... but he can't actually forgive, nor can those he sends out to do so. This is contained in Mark 2:7:

Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?

Jesus, of course, argued that He had the authority to do that and the miracles he performed [and I have no doubt something happened, otherwise those huge crowds would not have followed Him] were material manifestations of that ability.

This is dangerous stuff, as anyone with a grasp of pyrotechnics, chemistry and the skill to speak authoritatively in pseudo-biblical language, such as Maitreya in Nairobi, [although some argue that he is something altogether different], can put on a spectacle to show he is the messiah.

Where the false messiahs fall down is that after the spectacle, there is nothing sustaining to go on with and none of the displays contain evidence of actual healing which stands the test of time. What follows is a lot of gobbledegook in blue and yellow watercolours and somewhere along the line, money comes into it. Share International is a front organization for this stuff.

What is interesting with many of these "messiahs" is how they try to ape the image of Jesus Christ in the popular imagination. Why not come as a Martian, for example? Why not as Mohammed? Why not the Buddha?

[all souls day] unique day of unity

Which day can unite Catholics, Protestants and Pagans? All Souls Day, of course:

It is a Roman Catholic day of remembrance for friends and loved ones who have left for their heavenly abode. All Soul's Day has its roots in the ancient Pagan Festival of the Dead, based on the pagan belief that the souls of the dead would return for a meal with the family.

Catholics believe that those who die are not immediately eligible for the Beatific vision (the reality and goodness of G-d and heaven) and need to be purged of their sins. This purification of the elect [is called] "purgatory," maintain[ing] that:

(a) there will be a purification of the believers prior to entering heaven and,
(b) the prayers and masses of the faithful benefit those in the state of purification.

Another site says:

It is practically universal folk belief that the souls in Purgatory are allowed to return to earth on All Souls Day. In Austria, they are said to wander the forests, praying for release. In Poland, they are said to visit their parish churches at midnight, where a light can be seen because of their presence. Afterward, they visit their families, and to make them welcome, a door or window is left open. In many places, a place is set for the dead at supper, or food is otherwise left out for them.

I'm not a Roman Catholic and yet the notion of Purgatory is a compelling one. The idea of being able to expiate the wrongdoing we might have been too stubborn to concede during our life, the idea of that "final chance" is one many of us would surely endorse.

Protestants say that the very moment of forgiveness through faith obviates the need for a Purgatory and they might have a point. I don't know. I just know that this day is a day for remembering departed family and friends, a day when you might, just possibly might, be able to intercede for them.

I'm certainly going to and this is what I meant by it being a day which can unite all faiths and non-faith as well. Think of it as a possibility. Think of your grandparents and anyone else close who has departed.

Your thoughts might have no effect at all if there is no creation, no G-d. But what if you let the chance go by and what if it did eventually turn out to be so? Could you forgive yourself?

So I'd urge everyone today to spare a thought for the souls departed. Remember, if you miss this day today, don't worry. It might just be efficacious tomorrow as well:

When NOV-2 is a Sunday, as it was for the year 2003, the celebration is held on the following Monday.

[presidential election] state by state guide and candidates

Clicking on the map above will take you to an interactive map on the election site and is the most comprehensive and succinct guide I've seen on the net so far. When you are in there, hover your cursor over the state and it will do the rest.

Karl Denninger, through whom I found this map, says:

The count for McCain (all red-shaded states) is 185. To win he must flip all of the blue-bordered and light blue states. If he misses any of them - any - he loses. Flipping all of them gets McCain 274 EVs, but the lowest-count state in the game here is worth 5 EVs (Nevada), which means there are no losses that can be sustained. Further, if he loses just one of the "barely republican" states other than Montana or North Dakota, nothing else matters.

The game is over John. While technically this race is winnable, were I a bookmaker I'd give you 20:1 odds against.

For a complete rundown of the candidates, you can't go past Wiki.

Karl Denninger is an astute American economist and all indicators are that he is right. However, there are so many unknowns, such as the anti-black factor, for example. Who is going to publicly say he won't vote for Obama because of race but what he does in the ballot booth is between the voter and that bit of paper.

People might also vote for John McCain for Sarah Palin - I imagine she'll soak up a lot of the women's votes, which are unrepresented really. There might also be a last minute gut reaction to Obama's inexperience, the too-slick way he's been railroaded through, slickness being an out of fashion idea just now in the light of Wall Street and the mortgage crisis.

I really feel that this one is down to the wire. I could well have egg on my face Wednesday morning after an Obama landslide and so I'll issue a pre-emptive apology now.

The two party system

Political commentators have long had concerns about the system:

Although the system has declined into a two-party system, the Constitution does not mandate a two-party system, nor does it limit political parties. In fact, it doesn't say anything about political parties at all. During the ratification, the Federalists and Republicans did debate and argue, but these two "parties" were not opposition parties, nor were they to truly develop into such until 1814.

James Madison, in Federalist Paper #10 argues against "factions," claiming that to ensure a fair democratic process such factions (politically parties) should be limited. Of course the anti-federalist's Clay reacted vehemently in Federalist Paper #11, claiming that limiting the liberty of citizens to form political factions violated the sprit of democracy, a point that Madison had already conceded.

The current dysfunctional, partisan, two-party system essentially creates an "either or fallacy" [and] has little to do with the Constitution, and everything to do with ideologues. Until a serious third party develops, the current false dilemma will be perpetuated, and the win-at-any-costs mantra will remain the common political strategy.

... and:

Most third parties also recommend taking back the public airways and granting media supported access to the public by all qualifying parties during an election cycle. That is the goal; giving the American people real choices at the voting booth. A government that is made up of multiple parties will diminish the concentration of power in the hands of a few political bosses over all the diverse people of this great land.

In the view of this blog, there is no true democracy any more in America, no real debate immediately prior to the ballot box - it's been a three card trick foisted on the voters for many generations. Americans need to get back to their constitution, the only document separating them from third world countries, politically. It is a fabulous document, for all its flaws and it is one which Americans will need to cling to tightly in the coming troubles, 2009-12.

[bird of prey] richard griffiths and early computers

My first computer was bought sometime around 1984 - it was a Macintosh 512KED, with 0.5Mb RAM. I only mention it because that was about the year when PCs really took off and the paranoia set in about big time hacking and embezzlement. Various films and mini-series came out around the theme of the less than scrupulous computer whiz.

One was from 1982, when the excellent BBC serial in four parts, Bird of Prey, hit the small screen, starring Richard Griffiths and Carole Nimmons.

It was made into two series, each of four episodes, each series different to the other but including the same nucleus. Basically, Griffiths plays a computer operator who files a report which leads to complications and then to threats and frame-ups. Gradually, it emerges that there is widespread collusion going on with the EEC, Britain and criminal elements, attempting to corrupt and utilize the emerging technology.

Dated in many ways, especially in the technology and sets, it was nevertheless a gripping thriller with a nice twist at the end. If you can get the DVD, it could be worth it.

The Consultant [June, 1983] starring Hywel Bennett, was another serial tapping into the fear of what could happen to the computer world when clever hackers broke into it. Bennett and partner Jonathan Morris, also very strong as the computer whiz kid who tumbles to Bennett's game and wants in, are a backroom consultancy firm who decide to tender for a major bank job which sees Bennett commuting between London and Manchester.

It shows naive bank directors [in the database field], la less naive and therefore unscrupulous payrolled computer whiz who has a little embezzlement scheme going on within the bank and a savvy bank security chief who is not at all sure about Bennett being given free rein to test the system's defences. It was said in 2000:

In the 1970s and 1980s, the hacker was either a friendless loner or a super-cynical computer expert as played by Hywel Bennett in The Consultant. Today the hacker could be anybody. In fact, as the anti-fraud section of computer group Unisys warned last October, today's computer fraudster most closely fits the profile of someone a big computer company would most like to hire.

Bennett played the former type but when he realized the size of the stakes and that he was about to be sprung, stooped to murder - first one, then another, in a rivetting piece of tele-suspense.

As the IMDb reviewer said:

"I don't know if anyone will ever have a chance to see this again, but if you find it is showing on some obscure channel, it's worth the investment of time and attention."

[obama] in october, 2006, he was unsure

Ellee Seymour has written:

I believe I was the first political blogger in the UK to write about Barack Obama back in January 2007.

Sorry, Ellee, how about this one from October 23rd, 2006, which quotes Obama:

He told NBC's Meet the Press: I am still at the point where I have not made a decision to - to pursue higher office but it is true that I have thought about it over the last several months.

[statistics can lie] though the problem remains

The news was reported that:

[N]ew research shows that 40 percent of women report sexual problems, but only 12 percent are distressed about it.

Quite apart from these figures being highly suspect due to the research being conducted by a firm which markets products for women's sexual dysfucntion, I'm convinced that the majority of problems, such as they are, are caused by:

a. the unrealistic expectations on women imposed by society, advertising, journals and other media and peer pressure through discussion of this guff;

b. the onslaught of feminism which does create a "don't-you-oppress-me", "women-can-go-it-alone" mentality;

c. the natural desire of women to have everything perfect, "just so" and the way men are failing to live up to this ideal in today's society;

d. the phenomenon whereby the more women insist on their rights, the worse becomes the attitude, particularly of young men, towards them. As men are disempowered, so the dislike of women increases, manifesting itself in cavalier attitudes and refusal to "understand".

Women need to step back and think through what they're really trying to achieve, to work in with men in a complementary rather than confrontational or snide way. Then and only then can the decades of immense damage to inter-gender relations be reversed and healed. Otherwise, the current misandry and misogyny can only produce one bitter result.

One good start would be for the new generation of girls to learn the word "no".

[small business] the key to a resurgence

On the Tory initiatives for small-business relief, reactions included:

“It’s a good report and some very good ideas,” David Frost, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said, “My plea would be that when some firm ideas come out of this, please make them long term and make them stick.”

Indeed. Restructuring the corporate environment to support small and medium business, the granting of tax breaks and start-up loans, the reining in of monopolies which threaten to snuff out competition in any given sector - these are the things the society should be supporting.

The other, social aspects will flow from that.

[viktor tsoi] ddt and samizdata

This is a really tall order - not just to explain something outside the experience of most but to make it interesting. Even if one person is interested, that would be a good thing.

Picture the early 1980s USSR and the attitude to the rock music phenomenon. My Russian friend told me tales of how the samizdat worked [a term which has now been used for a popular blog on the net] and it has been put well by Vladimir Bukovsky as:

"I myself create it, edit it, censor it, publish it, distribute it, and [may] get imprisoned for it."

It was a fraught enterprise and somewhere along the line, the first and maybe last true Russian rock star began to play and his tapes were distributed underground across the country. This was Виктор Цой [Viktor Tsoi]. Jim Morrison, Velvet Underground and Hendrix were seen as rebels and could be arrested for obscenity, drugs and sedition but the whole process was benign by comparison to Russia.

This is why singers like Tsoi, who stayed true to his musical roots, sang about everyday life and never sold out, was so appreciated by those now in their late 40s and is being rediscovered by the younger generation today. I didn't get much of a chance to get into his music over there but I do have a few tracks, of which this is one of the softer songs:

Boomp3.com

A group from the same era, ДДТ [DDT], was influenced by Tsoi as well as striking out in a highly individual manner, perhaps their greatest strength being the lead Юрий Шевчук [Yuri Shevchuk]. DDT went through a similar fate to Tsoi, with concerts censored and always the threat of an official clampdown.

Whereas Tsoi was killed in a car accident, DDT went on to greater things and became probably the most revered band in Russia, not so much for the music but for the highly evocative and thoughtful lyrics and the sheer humanity of their material. To give you an idea, Wiki says:

In the beginning of 1995, a new album, Это все [eto vsyo] (that's all). was recorded. In January, Shevchuk went on a mission of peace to Chechnya, where he performed in 50 concerts for the Russian troops and Chechen citizens alike. In the spring and summer of 2002, 10 out of 11 concerts that the band played were benefits for various social and cultural organizations.

You can imagine the effect this would have had on the ordinary Russian and I'd like to tell you about New Year in 2001 or 2002, I can't remember. My girlfriend of the time, her family and I went down to a beach house [it was only minus 10 so not too cold]. We built a fire and got vodkaring, then the teenagers in the house beside us came over and when they learned I was foreign, presented me with a DDT album. The music apparently had no generational barriers.

Perhaps the best way to show the reverence that certain groups and artists have in Russia, largely due to their difficult past, is to post the clip below. It's not the best version I've heard of this song, especially the campy bit towards the end but you have to understand that this was a tribute to and by an aging star last year, so hopefully it can be forgiven. The words:

Это все, что остaнется после меня
Это все, что возьму я с собой

... roughly translate as "that's all that's left after me; that's all that I take with me":




It's sad that a recent commenter, I'm sure atypical of our country as a whole, recently chose to leave a comment on my blog: "You're not with those Russian twats now; you're in Britain, mate."

Perhaps a course in understanding wouldn't go amiss for him. Perhaps he could go over there for a month or two and see at first hand that people are people, wherever they are.

[hallowe'en] like to see someone say trick

Don't want you to get the idea that because I posted this, I'm being a wet blanket or anything.

Fat chance of that anyway. I'd forgotten the further north you go in this country, the more the kids are going to be out and about trick or treating. We've a bag of sweets and poisoned apples and so on ready to delve into when the rat-a-ta-tap comes.

So hope you survive Hallowe'en, people. Yo!

[disturbing music] and the nature of coincidence

Shows we have to be careful what we say on our blogs and need to do a bit of checking. I dropped in a throwaway line:

Still, I was glad I didn't come last.

... about the 2007 Weblog Awards, thinking, in the back of my mind, that it was some girl blogger who was in there. Oops - it was a long time blog colleague Steve, the Pub Philosopher and I have to say he was pretty good about it but I'm still kicking myself for having written it.

Which brings me to the point I made at his place about "coincidences" which might not be coincidences at all. You see, I was playing a mournful ditty called "Indifference":

Boomp3.com

... a French accordion thing possibly played in an out of the way French cafe during the last war. It sounds to me like an attempt to be cheerful at a stressful time one evening in a place quite foreign to my eyes and yet reeking of exotic despair at the same time, a la Piaf.

A haunting, unimportant little piece which gives me the shudders and I don't know why.

With these thoughts in mind, it struck me that it might be an idea to do a post on, say, "Music which can move you to tears but it sometimes has the opposite effect too." Then I noticed that the post on awards had a comment and ... of course, it was Steve. So I followed the link back and there was his musical post.

Why does some music move us and some just unnerves us? "Indifference" is a depressing ditty for me, something foreign, rendolent of an empty late-night bar, as cold as the coming new dark age , a song about the pointlessness of it all. It makes me restless, wanting to go over there again and immerse myself in that despair. Yes ... well ... anyway.

Bet it affects you [or not] completely differently. Maybe you'd care to mention some ditties which have a profound effect on you.

[friday chinwagging] setting the world to rights

We were just having a laugh about the "poor" Japanese whose standard of living is so low that they've just cut their rate from 0.5% [for seven years] to 0.3%. Oh, the life they must have been leading.

Back home, we see that it's possible to gain your PhD in Motorways Services. WTF? Do we have universities of Hamburgerology yet? Have you noticed that whatever you do to try to get a job, you need a CCSA or GTB/3 or CLAIT or whatever.

"Uh, I'd like to sweep the streets like."

"Fine, email your CV, send proof of your ADSS and by the way, are you a member of the GSPSS?"

'You wot?"

The discussion then got onto Broony and why the Tories haven't latched on to a little winner in Broony's stategy to borrow big, save the country by plunging us all into massive debt, then exit at the next election, laying it all on Dave or whoever the Tory leader will be. Why haven't the Tories pushed this angle yet?


H/T My mate

[james bond] no solace, it seems

The Telegraph has a nice review today. Looking good, James. Can't wait.

[rearguard action] not enough on ross

This is not good enough. He has to go. or else bring the others back, dock them a proportional amount of their pay and give them a final warning too. This stinks.

[roman catholic church] meets the pc world

Don't you think he looks super-cool here?

This Sex Drive Test for the Catholic clergy - well, it was predictable PCishness but if a bishop or monsignor or whatever they're termed in the RC church can't make a decision on a newcomer, then I'd suggest he is not right for the job.

A senior churchman said a series of sex scandals had contributed to the rewriting of the guidelines. The authors said screening would help avoid "tragic situations" caused by what they termed psychological defects.

The guidance says the voluntary tests should also aim to vet for those with "deep-seated homosexual tendencies". Among other traits that might make a candidate unsuitable for the priesthood, the advice lists "uncertain sexual identity," "excessive rigidity of character" and "strong affective dependencies".

The document also makes reference to heterosexual urges. Seminarians should be barred if testing makes it "evident the candidate has difficulty living in celibacy: That is, if celibacy for him is lived as a burden so heavy that it compromises his affective and relational equilibrium", it says.

Any organization requires people as section managers who are able to process incomers without an HR department. HR is fine for a confirmation or nay but the whole reason the section manager is in place is because he/she has vast experience in this area. They should back this experience and if found wanting, then they're either moved sidewards or out.

The Church, with its financial underpinning, is an organization, a corporation [just ask P2 about that]. This blog is against that but as it is a fact of life, then it might as well act professionally.

Why can't the Catholic Church run a system like the Anglicans anyway, where marriage is allowed [real marriage, I mean]?

[bloggers choice awards 09] if you're that way inclined

It appears someone has nominated me for the Bloggers Choice Awards '09.

These things fill me with dread - as was shown in the Weblog Awards where someone nominated me, I made the finals, then got nowhere. Iain Dale was in those awards too and also got nowhere and I think most people would agree that the one who won it was a travesty. Still, I was glad I didn't come last.



In the Weblogs, I made no attempt to promote this blog and for that I was castigated by email, on the grounds of "if someone goes to the trouble of nominating you, at least you could mention it". Three of the BPers were a bit annoyed too, when I dropped out of the BP awards, in 2007, one of them writing to me: "Hey, I voted for you and now you're not there."



So I'm going to put these badges in the sidebar and if you're that way inclined, you might mosey on over and give this blog a click but I don't think they're actually taking votes on this yet. Seems to me that they've just closed the 2008 awards.

I'm in the categories Best Political Blog [wouldn't mind this one], Best Blog of All Time [mind boggles at that one, have to laugh] and Best Blogging Host [which I don't fully understand, to be honest].

Anyway, there they are.

By the way, Bloghounds are soon to run an internal awards, pontificating on the blogosphere in a number of "fun categories" so we'll keep you informed on those.

[scapegoats] while ross keeps his job

Jonathan Ross, 12 weeks while Brand and Douglas must depart? That stinks.

Among BBC staff, there is anger that she has been forced to fall on her sword, while Jonathan Ross clings on to his job.

Not just among BBC staff, I suspect. The test of what the public really thinks, whether they have the courage of their convictions, is at the end of the 12 weeks.

Will you boycott the show when Ross returns or will you keep watching regardless?

[the worcester combi boiler] the tale concludes

Sunday night - boiler breaks down.

Monday morning - the lack of heat in the house, upon waking, has my mate on the phone for an emergency callout. No problem, we'll be right over.

Monday evening - the repair man comes "right over" and determines that this time it is the fan which has crashed but of course it's too late to do anything about it. The "emergency call out fee" still stands though. Cold night in jacket and hood. Move to two pairs of socks.

Tuesday morning - awaiting the part and trying to get different jobs done.

Tuesday evening - nothing. Many phone calls but to no avail - answer machine is on at the other end.

Wednesday morning - after an unpleasantly cold night, my mate phones over and over and over to whatever numbers he can get hold of. No luck. Mood getting worse. Wearing three pairs of socks now.

Wednesday evening - fortunately, growling at one another is not on either agenda so we sit in silence, then watch a movie over supper. Then - knock on the door. Repairman comes in, complaining that my mate had called him "incompetent" to the girl at the end of the phone when what he'd actually said was that he [my mate's] confidence in the firm's competence was being steadily eroded. Repairman goes upstairs, complaining that he can't work with anyone watching him, it makes him nervous, so could my mate stay downstairs. Says he doesn't appreciate my mate's insults.

Wednesday, some five minutes later - repairman comes downstairs hugely apologetic. Sorry, sorry, it's the wrong fan. Must have ordered the wrong one. Sorry, sorry. My mate, big grin across his face, lets him out, then goes to his computer table, mouthing, over and over, "F---ing incredible! F---ing incredible." I burst out laughing and he sees the funny side too. He moans, "I want my mummy."

Wednesday, some hours later - after the two hundredth "f---ing incredible", we regret not seeing the look on the guy's face when, after castigating us for having little faith in his competence, he goes upstairs and sees that it's the wrong fan. Uproarious laughter all round. Freezing night - fourth pair of socks donned.

Thursday morning - my mate's had enough and goes to his parents for a shower, then to an appointment. I agree to stay in and see if anything happens.

Thursday afternoon - it's the door and it's the other repairman - the competent one. He goes upstairs and seven minutes later, comes back down - all done and the heating has already begun. :)

[indifferent cruelty] laying your agenda on another

If you can spare the 48 minutes [a tall order, I know] to look at this video with subtitles about the Beslan monsters, it will put the rest of this post in context.

The tame flamingo set upon by four youths, which has jammed talkback switchboards in Australia, illustrates a broader problem - that of the gutless and the sickos, often in the same package.

This blog sees no difference between the flamingo bashers, the Beslan terrorists, nutters who prey on women under the guise of respectable bloggers then accuse others of their very own guilt in blogposts, ASBOs who blame society, union shop stewards who cripple transport and rubbish collection, then tell people to blame the bosses, bosses who don't give a damn about the conditions of their employees, even switching off their heating to save money over winter and myriad other whingers and whiners.

Above all, the ones this blog places on the lowest rung in Dante's inferno are those who feel that everyone else must take on their agenda. The terrorist who holds a third party, maybe a child, hostage and then makes some political demand or other, with the child's life as the bargaining chip - these are gutless, uncaring people. The murderer who breaks down and cries that he had a tough childhood, the mother of the [still alleged] murderess Amanda Knox complaining to the media that it is traumatizing her daughter - these are all in the same boat as far as this blog is concerned. Do the acts proposed to the victim in the Kercher case bring any blogger's recent similar proposals on his site to mind?

Let's throw Jonathan Ross into that boat too.

Are more and more people becoming callous and uncaring these days or is it all a media beat-up? Hate crimes are one thing but cold, calculated, indifferent cruelty is another beast altogether.

[faroe islands] help bail out iceland

Like this one very much about the Faroe Islands helping to bail Iceland out:

The Faroe Islands, which have a population of less than 50,000, represent an autonomous province under Danish rule and are one of Iceland’s closest neighbors.

Faroese Prime Minister Kaj Leo Johannesen told Fréttabladid that his countrymen feel sorry for their close Icelandic friends but emphasized that they are granting a loan but not a donation.

The Faroese are a Nordic/Celtic mix, the language is a Germanic dialect but they are officially semi-Danish. Whilst not part of the EU, EU travel rules do apply. The staple foods are whale and mutton. Just the country to be bailing Iceland out, yes?

Now, will Jersey bail Britain out? Or am I being Scilly?

[thought for the day] wednesday evening

In adversity lies much humour.

This observation was made this evening after a a chain of events and errors which have left us freezing for a third night - so bizarre it has to have its own post, once the thing is resolved - maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, who knows?
:)

[high days coming] november first and second

As the well read and scholarly know, the festival of All Hallows [or All Saints] is on November 1st and that of All Souls is on November 2nd, at least in the western church.

Therefore the solemn ceremony of November 1st is preceded by All Hallows Evening, just as Christmas is preceded by Christmas Evening, the name of the former now contracted to Hallowe'en. It should be pointed out that:

It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints' Day from May 13 (which had itself been the date of a pagan holiday, the Feast of the Lemures) to November 1.

Naturally, Hallowe'en has overshadowed the other two days in the popular mind, through superior PR but the two days of the festival are still vital in the Christian calendar. For mine, All Souls is the more important because:

1. It encompasses the saints;
2. It can appeal to all denominations.

November 2nd is therefore a day to remember one's descendants and deceased family members, a day to pray that they are in a good, safe place, a day to pause and consider things in general.

[courage] should the underling call out the celebrity

The Jonathan Ross saga, which everyone is sick to death of now, illustrates one thing to me - what does a young producer do when an £18m a year star misbehaves? Getting off that and on to the Tenerife disaster in 1977, here was the critical exchange, prior to the KLM plane moving off down the runway:

17 :06 :32 (KLM first officer) – Is hij er niet af dan? {Is he not clear then?}

17 :06 :34 (KLM captain) – Wat zeg je? {What do you say?}

17 :06 :35 (KLM first officer) – EstIs hij er niet af, die Pan American? {Is he not clear that Pan American?}

17 :06 :36 (Angry KLM captain) – Jawel. {Oh yes. - emphatic}

For those not familiar with the story, the pilot was one of the main trainers at HQ who was "shaking the cobwebs out", having not flown for some time, except on simulators in the training room. Captain Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten was a company star, the golden boy, a celebrity who'd even graced the pages of the company in-flight magazine.

The First Officer was experienced but not in the same league, celebrity-wise, as the Captain. It was the Captain's impatience to be off home [with some justification perhaps] which tipped him over the safety edge and the First Officer did not object.

It must be tough for an underling to call a celebrity on a clear error which could make it all go pear shaped. I wonder if we'd have the guts to do it?

[classic posts] not all bloggers have them

Try Theo's contribution to Hallowe'en.

There are great blogs and then there are very good blogs which have some absolutely classic articles. On Obama, McCain and the election coverage, try these two:

* Great moments in election year blogging

* Lockwood and Malone

The first blogger here is dismissed by some and yet he has some classic stuff. The second does not post all that often but when he does, it's usually close to classic.

[hitler] and that trout and butter sauce dish

It looks yummy to me. I adore trout and salmon and in Russia, it's a staple dish. Cook it in herb butter sauce and it can't be beaten, that's if you like fish in the first place.

However, Belgian broadcaster VRT has banned the food programme Plat Prefere's segment on this dish because it was Hitler's favourite.

Uh-huh. Kindzmaraul was one of my favourite wines in Russia - very fruity and smooth tasting. Should I feel desperately guilty because it was reportedly Stalin's favourite wine? I once drove a Volkswagen during my time teaching in a Jewish school and this was looked at askance.

Should we avoid Rumblethumps and boycott the Scottish Kirk because Gordon is attached to both?

And while we're at it - Hitler disliked smoking so should we now ban the smoking ban?

[drayton manor] test case on admissions criteria

About the Drayton Manor High School thing and the principal, the fabulously named Sir Pritpal Singh ...

This is a test case, in a way, as it highlights the right of schools to determine their own admissions policy. In simple-speak, it means that the school will seek to minimize intake of "dead-loss students", thereby maintaining quality of education and classroom ambience, thereby boosting its rankings in the league tables.

Before the egalitarian, mediocratic procrusteans leap onto this, let me put in a word for the independent schools [no one inside calls them "private"]. If you call yourself a libertarian, i.e. the freedom to choose the education you want for your child and the freedom to set up a school which will deliver it, you can't therefore knock a school which aims for excellence.

You can't have it both ways. Either ALL schools work to a mediocratic median point and are open to ALL pupils regardless or else you allow choice and then there is ... well ... choice, such as Drayton Manor has made.

Anyone inside the system, as I once was, knows that the majority of independent schools are small and they struggle to gain good pupils. There are ethical limits to advertising and soliciting and you are only as good as:

1. your courses of study, professionalism of staff and care for the children;
2. your academic results.

Where the argument becomes shaky is that Drayton is a comprehensive in Ealing and some might say that, by using taxpayers' money, then it should, by definition be egalitarian, no matter what.

I'd humbly disagree.

In a semi-ideal system, parents would have the choice of two or three schools in the area and while not all three schools could apply the same criteria, as it would mean exclusion for the incapable, [an LEA matter], there is no reason why enhanced Key Stage test scores [SATs in the U.S.] could not be a criterion for entry or the schools own admissions test.

Back in the private system, now Ofsted controlled in the UK, we had an academic admissions test and it was up to the parents as to whether they could afford the fees, which were quite affordable, it being a small school.

There were international students and many from black, sub-continental and Asian background - the only criterion was the pass score and whether we felt we were able to assist the learning impaired [we had special needs facility]. Now the thing which came through loud and clear at PFA meetings was that it was the non-white parents who were most vehement that "dead-end" ASBOs not be admitted.

They had chosen to place their children in the school and this was their directive - to maintain the high standards and be ruthless with behavioural distractions. I've said that we had one criterion but of course that was combined with the interview process and whether both felt the school was of benefit to that child.

I would defend to the end the right of parents to determine that they wish their children to be in a "good school" and the way to achieve that is with an admissions policy set by the school itself.

[the worcester combi boiler] and the tale of cold feet

We are not happy chappies at the moment.

Boilers should last ten years, some have been known to last fifteen or even twenty years. If one buys the best available, on the grounds that it is less likely to go kaboom, then imagine one's feelings as this four year old device first loses its vacuum switch, turning the house into a cool store and then, some weeks later, the boiler fixed to the tune of a few hundred quid, the fan goes on it and the rigamarole of calling the man eight to ten times to get him to fix it runs into a three day affair [or even four], with no heat and no hot water.

No matter - no doubt you've all been in that position yourselves, with your very own Worcester Combi-Boiler. No doubt your toes were frozen half off your feet as the bumbling Worcester Combi-Boiler repair man led you into a false sense of security by promising he'd order the part and call you back the same day.

Seven hours ... eight hours .. nine hours ... then you called for the nth time and were told that he'd been trying to call you all day [an outright lie] and that he'd have the part by tomorrow sometime.

Did you feel the teensiest weensiest urge to kill, when that happened?

I know - we should be more manly about it, more robust - to plunge the face through the icy crust in the basin, to shed the jackets and double socks and be ... a Stoic. This is Sparta, after all, as Ordo would say. Besides, it might have happened between Christmas and new Year. Think about that!

It behoves a reader to bear the misfortunes and tribulations of others with equanimity so let's say no more about the matter. Let's put it out of mind and move onto more pleasant topics like discovering there was no Blogger problem after all and the three days composing from html could have been avoided, had I known that the bloody settings had decided to reconfigure themselves. Or even discovering what was previously a dormant investment fund, spending most of the day negotiating about it and getting the assurances that all was well and underway, only to be stymied by the fund manager at the last hurdle who has now frozen all redemptions on that fund for the foreseeable future.

Not to worry. What they can't prevent is hopping into bed with the Mac and watching the second half of Zorro from under the bedclothes. Nighty night, good people. Let's smile and think of people who really do have problems.

Tomorrow will be a better day.

UPDATE: Read Posh Totty's account at her place too.

[mary magdalen] judge for yourself

Clearly, the original, of which this above is but a photo, is not going to resolve the issue of the Mary Magdalene/John figure to the right of Jesus. Far better is this link to the Milan site - click on the Last Supper pic and then zoom to your heart's content.

If you accept that the cleaned up copy at the end of the link is close [and there is another one doing the rounds which is not only bright and clean but has been doctored or redrawn], then certain things are interesting.

Given that you know the arguments for it being John - that Leonardo and artists of that period painted youths as feminine, that there were only thirteen figures in all and that it appears to be Judas with the money bag below and to the front of Peter and John/Mary, then there does seem a good case for it being John.

Until you look at the zoomed in figure in detail. You make your own decision but that looks to me, not a femininized youth but a woman, the clasped hands also add support to that.

Now, if it were so, then who is the missing disciple? That's the key anomaly. Peter's left hand gesture and the knife in the right hand are also significant. Against that was that this is a painting, centuries later and that Leonardo was close enough to the reach of Rome not to risk incurring the wrath of the Church. He'd have to have been careful.

It seems pretty clear to me that he was hinting and the way in which, if you shift the figure of Mary/John to Jesus' left shoulder, it fits in perfectly with the idea of John's that he was leaning on His shoulder. Equally, it lends credence to the notion that it could have been Mary and if so, that the clasped hands signify either a wringing of hands or a penitent, innocent state, in contradiction to the prostitute legend. Then again, she'd have been reformed by the time of the Last Supper.

So, for argument's sake, if it was Mary Magdalene suggested there, why would Leonardo have suggested it? Some say because he was Priory of Sion. As a mason he'd also be likely to believe the wife of Jesus story too. Biblical references show she was certainly close to Him and I can well understand very close friendships with women which are actually platonic, despite the odds and the nudge-nudge wink-wink merchants.

Would it have killed the immortality of Christ if He had been married and if there had been an heir? All sources show that Mary Magdalene was deeply involved in the events around the crucifixion and resurrection. If you were in His shoes, knowing the agenda, knowing you were soon to ascend to heaven, would you impregnate your closest supporter?

Also, if Jesus appreciated women to that extent, why did He surround Himself with male disciples? The obvious answer was the custom of the time.

If you were to accept an heir, then each successive generation would progressively dilute the bloodline, despite it still being passed down and there was a grave risk in that for G-d. The enemy would surely try to either corrupt the line with itself [there was precedence for this] or else snuff it out.

That seems to me a great risk - better to pass, not a bloodline but an idea down through the disciples. The idea of the descendant being the returned messiah would also seem to be unnecessary - He can appear once more, just as He ascended.


Lastly, I don't think the idea of the marriage and heir affects the divinity one bit but it does seem more likely to me that she was a devotee and He may well have found comfort in her presence - who wouldn't have at His age?

The argument that He wouldn't have had the following if He'd been too close to her is a good one though but that could have cut both ways.

[thought for the day] monday evening

This photo is me just before bed now at 8 o'clock.


W-w-w-when the-the-the b-b-b-b-oiler b-b-breaks, your l-l-l-laptop is the only th-th-th-thing w-w-w-warm e-e-enou-gh-gh-gh to b-b-b-b-b-b-b-log on! [For a few minutes]

- Higham [2008]

[titus livius] the fall of big julie

Abridged version above

As Tiberius Gracchus has been running his series of posts on Livy and the Romans, it’s clearly time I muscled in on this act and what better way to start the ball rolling than to present to you:


Announcer: "Rinse the Blood Off My Toga," by Johnny Wayne and Frank Schuster—with apologies to William Shakespeare (and to Francis Bacon, just in case).
(FX—horn flourish) Rome! 44 B.C.

Flavius: My name is Flavius Maximus, Private Roman Eye. Licence number MMMCMLXXXVIII. It also comes in handy as an eye chart. I'm gonna tell ya about the Julius Caesar Caper. It all began during the Ides of March. I had just nailed Spartacus the Gladiator, he had a crooked lion who kept takin' a dive. Anyhow, I was just beginning to rest on my laurels when, suddenly— HE burst in to my office.

Brutus: You Flavius Maximus, private eye?

Flavius: I certainly am. What can I do for you? What's on your mind?

Brutus: Just a minute— Are we alone?

Flavius: Yes, we're alone.

Brutus: Are you sure we're alone?

Flavius: Yes, yes, I'm sure we're alone!

Brutus: Then who's that standing beside you?

Flavius: That's you.

Brutus: I know, but can I be trusted?

Flavius: (aside) I could see I was dealing with no ordinary man. This guy was a nut! (to Brutus) All right, what's on your mind?

Brutus: Flavius Maximus, a terrible thing has happened. It's the greatest crime in the history of Rome.

Flavius: right, give it to me straight. What's up?

Brutus: Julius Caesar has been murdered!

Flavius: Julius Caesar murdered! (aside) I couldn't believe my ears! Big Julie was dead!

Brutus: Yes, it happened just a few hours ago. Happened in the Senate; he was stabbed.

Flavius: Stabbed? In the Senate?

Brutus: No, not in the Senate. They got him right in the rotunda.

Flavius: That's a fatal spot. I had a splinter there once. Those marble splinters, you know—

Brutus: Boy, I tell you, all of Rome is in an uproar. I came to you because you are the top private eye in Rome. You've got to find the killer.

Flavius: Well, I'll try.

Brutus: Oh, you can do it. After all, you're the guy that got Clodius and Sullus and you sent them up on the invasion of the vestal virgins rap—

Flavius: Yes, the whole town was sure in an uproar about that, huh. Holy Jupiter!

Brutus: Now look, what do you say, Flavius? Will you take the case?

Flavius: Just a minute, pally. I'd like to know just whom I am working for?

Brutus: I'm a Senator. I was Caesar's best friend. The name is Brutus.

Flavius: Brutus,eh? All right, Brutus, you got yourself a boy. I'll take the case. My fee is 125 drachmas a day, in advance, of course.

Brutus: Okay, here you are!
(FX—sound of coins tinkling)

Flavius: You're one short.
(FX—one more coin)

Brutus: Hey, you got a good ear.

Flavius: When it comes to money—perfect pitch.

Brutus
Let's go, eh?

Concluded here

[tv quiz] which comedy show

Can you identify these shows or films?

1.

Siegfried: How do I know you're not Control?

MS: If I were Control, you'd already be dead.

Siegfried: If you were Control, you'd already be dead.

MS: Neither of us is dead, so I am obviously not from Control.

Shtarker: That actually makes sense.

2

"Politicians' language:

- Special development areas = marginal constituencies.

- Assistance to areas of economic hardship = pouring money into marginal constituencies.

- Decentralisation of government = moving government offices into marginal constituencies."

3

“Tough? Tough? It’s the toughest chicken I’ve ever known. It’s asked me for a fight in the car park twice!”

“Brandy please, Pamela.”

“Armagnac?”

“Yeah, that’ll do fine if you’re out of Brandy”

4

"Actually it was in gym class. I was trying to climb the ropes and Jerry was spotting me. I kept slipping and burning my thighs and then finally I slipped and fell on J....'s head. We've been close ever since."


"I'm in the unfortunate position of having to consider other people's feelings."

5

My mother used to say that there are no strangers, only friends you haven't met yet. She's now in a maximum security twilight home in Australia.

Jane [Seymour], you've been successfully married three times now. What's your secret?

Roseanne, is there anything you wish you hadn't eaten?

Answers

Unfortunately, with Blogger being down, answers will have to be clicked here.

[middle-east update] can livni make a difference

My approach to any research is to first go to the detractors, so here is the opening of this piece on Tzipora Malka "Tzipi" Livni:

Do not allow her smart clothing, the pleasant visage and friendly smile to hypnotize you and obscure the macabre agenda driving this life long Zionist -- the dream has always been Eretz Yisrael.

As with all Zionist Ashkenazi Prime Ministers before, her pedigree for the post is perfect: A sinister Mossad Spy, a murdering international terrorist and a legal apologist for the crimes of Israel internally and across the globe.

She does have Irgun links and was stationed in Paris in a "front" role as a local resident but that's as far as you can go. She is trying to win this election alone, without coalition partners.

Her background is lawyer/Mossad and her political stance can be expressed thus:

"We want to make clear that this region is one in which you either beat the neighborhood bully, or you join him. . . . All hesitation creates an image of weakness. Iran needs to understand the threat of a military move exists and is not being taken off the table. The more that this is made clear, the less the need to put this to use, later on. Thus, keeping the military threat on the table is important.`'

A known Sharonite, Livni stands firmly against the dismantlement of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and opposes a return to the 1967 borders. She is also vehemently against the repatriation of Palestinian refugees.

Her CV from a more pro-Israeli site states:

She is a graduate of Bar Ilan University Faculty of Law and has worked for 10 years as an attorney specializing in public and commercial law. She was awarded the Abirat Ha-Shilton in 2004. She was described as the second most power politician in Israel in 2006. She was included as the 52nd most powerful woman in the world as ranked by Forbes in 2007. She was included in the 2007 edition of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. She speaks Hebrew, English and French.

Here's an interview with her:



State of play as I see it

The loss of resolution HJ Res 362 in congress means that the hawks might be outnumbered and with Obama probably coming in as U.S. Prez, there will be U.S. pressure on Israel to accommodate Palestinian aims, something, under Livni, which would not happen.

The possibility of blockading Iran is slipping away and the threat to Israel is therefore more dire than earlier. Russia is sweethearting Iran in trade deals and Obama will want to normalize relations with Russia, which has its own deals with China as well.

The long and the short of it is that middle-east relations are currently in a flat period, awaiting some elections and other developments on trade deals. For pundits, it's probably a case of keeping a weather eye open for now.

[good news monday] not

Remember - it's worse in China.

Charming, simply charming.

1. A possibility cropped up last week in that a tiny investment from long ago which I'd thought had gone to the wall still actually existed. On a good conversion rate $AUD to £UK it would see me through Christmas.

Two pieces of news today:

* Global financial markets have singled out the Australian dollar for special punishment. Over the weekend the local currency was subjected to its biggest sell-off since it was floated in 1983. The AU dollar closed in US trade down 37 per cent from the high it reached three months ago.

* Colonial [plus my own fund] has frozen daily withdrawals from investments in mortgages. It brings the total amount of money locked up within investment funds to more than $24 billion.

So, in summary, not redeemable and if it were, at a slashed conversion rate to pounds.

2. Our boiler has broken down for the second time in two weeks and the place is now heading for iceberg status. Looking like an eskimo as I type this. Hurry on flu.

3. Blogger is still down - are you having problems composing too?

4. Telegraph this morning:

* Mobile fingerprint check - Police to use handheld fingerprint scanners for id checks in the street.

* Gordon Brown vows to borrow and spend.

Have to laugh - we're absolutely knackered, aren't we? Have a lovely Monday wherever you are.

[thought for the day] sunday evening

I am too much of a sceptic to deny the possibility of anything.
- T.H. Huxley [1886]

Dedicated to Anonymous

[v for vendetta] two years too late

All right, this blog is two years too late but better late than never. The film V for Vendetta has many disquietening aspects before it gets to the plot. One is the hype, the marketing, right down to V capes and swords and the poster looks like something from the socialist left.

The basic premise is sound though and not so far away from Brown's Britain today. Those surveillance cameras, the detector vans, the government lies, the heavily controlled society, the bureaucratic obstacles to any progress and the everyday feel to the office scenes - they're already present.

The takeover by the messiah who comes in to mop up the mess his cronies induced, asking for a pledge of allegiance from the people - that's still a short way down the track and in the film, was almost cartoonish Hitler. The way he got to power, you'll recall was:

The country was divided over the loss of freedom until a bioterrorist attack occurred, killing about 100,000 people. The fear generated by the attack allowed Norsefire to silence opposition and win the next election by a landslide. A cure for the virus was discovered soon afterwards by a Norsefire company.

Point of interest:

Tony Blair's son Euan Blair worked on the film's production and is said (according to an interview with Stephen Fry) to have helped the filmmakers obtain the unparalleled filming access. This drew criticism of Blair from MP David Davis due to the content of the film.

I didn't see it as party political but rather what does happen in the end, once the ordinary person gets the catalyst to move from victim to avenger. A totalitarian state is a wasteful state, as huge amounts of resources are required to spy on, incarcerate and mistreat its population and Gordon must know that already there is more than an undercurrent of discontent.

He probably really believes he is actually doing good for his country, unaware of the true state of affairs but surely something inside him must tell him to be worried. Then again, people have still not been pushed enough to make that jump across the victim/hunter barrier.

That requires a catalyst, someone who can motivate, mobilize, give a nation back its heart. As DK wrote in his review of a review of the film:

This is what V manages to do: he not only makes people understand what has been done to them (one of the hardest tasks) but he unites people in indignation and gives them the inspiration to do something about it. It is for that reason that I find V For Vendetta so very uplifting.

He does that for me too and yes, DK - it is well nigh impossible to get people to see what they are really up against until the time has come.