Monday, June 08, 2009

[sandy denny] the voice

This lady, over at Jams, is a fine singer.  In a different genre but still with a fine voice, I miss this lady:



From Wiki:

Over a ten year career Sandy Denny left an extensive legacy and remains influential. She is remembered for the crystal-clear purity but also the strength of her voice as well as her pivotal involvement with the British folk rock movement, where, as a member of Fairport Convention, she moved the band away from west coast American cover versions and into performing traditional material and original compositions.

[thought for the day] monday evening


I follow the scent and get excited and once on the scent, I cannot be called off it.  It is ... how shall I call it ... a passion for getting at the truth.  In all the world, there is nothing so curious and so interesting and so beautiful as truth.

[Hercule Poirot, 1934]

[blogrolls] sorted for now

Probably errors all over the place - dud links, people left off etc. but I'll sort it out in the next few days.

Blogrolls

Just added Mutley.

[guest posts] interesting reading

The problem with the rpc code referred to in the earlier version of this post [now wiped] has been SORTED, thanks very much to those who offered advice.

So, may I present the GUEST POSTERS.

These are the fine folk who from time to time have posted on this blog and produced an interesting 141 guest posts between them, with main honours for prolific blogging going to Jailhouse Lawyer and Buckeye Thoughts.

Click either here or in the Nav Bar above to go to the site. If you'd like to post on this site, in most cases, I'm sure we could arrange something.

[monday poll] hottest conservative women


Seems I'm not the only one at it:

Congratulations to the fifteen women who comprise the Right Wing News's list of "The 15 Hottest Conservative Women In The New Media."

[bigotry] insult a belgian today


This is bigotry:

Some useful terms of abuse to help you get the worst out of the countries you visit:

ITALIANS etc: Greaseballs. Dagos. Wops. Candles. Spaghetti-eaters. Ice-cream salesmen. Eye-ties.

EGYPTIANS: Gippos. Yellowbellies. Anti-yids. Sphinctas.

FRENCH: Froggies. Bloody French. (N.B. The French are very easily insulted by the British. Almost anything will do.)

GERMANS: Krauts. Boche. Sausage-eaters. Square-heads. (N.B. The Germans are an appallingly insensitive nation and therefore extremely hard to insult. Try setting fire to them or calling their Mercedes Volkswagens.)

COLOURED PEOPLE: Best not to even talk to them.

This is not bigotry:

In reality I don’t have a problem with gays, muslims, lower classes, coloureds or females at all. In fact females are my favourite humans and many of them are coloured and/or social class and/or muslims and/or gay and I don’t have an issue with any of.

It’s only lately that my clear bigotry has been made plain because I don’t support their choices and agree with them. It’s the outspoken ones or the radicals. The radical gays, the muslim extremists and the feminists (All feminists appear to be radicals). I dislike them all them.

I do support their right to do as they want but my personal views are mine.

Gays. I’ve known gays for a while now and all have been open about it but didn’t push it in my face. It’s not a lifestyle that I am interested in. Sorry. I don’t think they should be allowed to marry because that is defined as between a man or a woman but I do think that gay relationships should be recognised in law outside of marriage.

Muslims. To be honest I’ve only known a few muslims in my life. They have kept themselves to themselves. Been good people and friendly enough. Their kids are better behaved than ours in general and their family society tends to be solid and I think that is what makes their kids more stable. There are a few radicals but, like christians, they are not all like that.

Social classes and coloureds. The many born and educated here who seem to make up the bottom of our society. I’ve known a few coloured people and, if you ignored the colour of their skin, you couldn’t tell the difference between us. Same hopes, fears and lifestyles.

Females. I’m talking about the hardest feminists here. Not to be confused with strong and independent women. Feminists believe that man should be subjugated and inferior because women bear the children and don’t think with their fists. They can quote all the ways men mistreat women and their favourite feminist authors but get stuck when actually looking outside their chosen subject.

In my view nobody should get special treatment or special protection. We are all equal and the law should decide guilt or innocence based on facts that exclude race, colour or special circumstances and punishment should also be consistent.

Women pick dogs as pets because the dogs love them unconditionally and listen intently to what they say, men don’t. Men pick dogs as pets because the dogs do what they're told and shut up when they want them to. Two different requirements for, it seems, two different species.

On his son:

As part of his training he pulls the wings off flies to toughen him up.

My view of women is less practical and it's certainly idealized. I see women in some sort of mutual symbiosis with men, both bringing our particular skills and perspectives to the table, not forgetting that chemistry which transcends all rationalization, which is such a saccharine sweet view that it even makes me wince to see it in print here. Women want men to be strong, we want women to be feminine - not subjugation of one gender by the other but just being sensible about it.

It seems, if the loud radicals are to be believed, that there are very few women today with similar views to this so sadly, we must agree to disagree and stay apart.

What I object to strongly are the unsustainable subjective post-modernist constructs forced on society which prevent any rational, kind and intelligent interaction. We are in a society where tolerance and harmony today are all by Decree. It's like a 'paint-by-numbers' panorama. Whatever happened to self-actualization? Thinking for oneself? Whatever happened to aiming above mediocrity? Whatever happened to diversity of opinion? What the hell is wrong with being a man? Why shouldn't a woman be feminine if she wants to? Why shouldn't she marry and have her family?

Isn't it interesting that those who bang on the most about equality and trust and honesty and tolerance are the first ones to force deviant constructs on society and accuse someone who holds a different view. And they want to use Legislation to beat that person down and shut him up. How many times have you heard things to the effect of: 'We should all just love one another and conform with my vision of society and those who differ from me on this should be locked in a steel cage with spikes on the inside and punished until they agree with me?'

I don't give a damn if you disagree with me, as long as you can support it logically, without resort to ad hominem and circular arguments with false first premises. Even then, I'll still buy you a beer if I see you and we'll still chat about this or that. No grudges.

So, good luck to Lord T - I see nothing overtly bigoted in those views at all.