What we’d see as humour is associated with our recent times but apart from satirical works and the pictures of Pietro Aretino which were more bawdy than humorous, apart from the lightheartedness of Chaucer, was there actual humour as we know it, say, in ancient times? Did G-d have a sense of humour? In Ancient [...]
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Filed under: Politics & economics
Help me out here, people. I’m in the middle of getting these tabs above in order and am recategorizing and putting tags in, a big job. Could you tell me if the following cover all bases? You’d need to click this headline to see them laid out: Arts & culture Art Fashion Film Literature Music [...]
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Filed under: Blogging
The Sydney Morning Herald says: Aside from the discomfort of wearing ultra high heels for any length of time, there are myriad health problems associated with long-term stiletto love. Many of these, such as bunions, joint pain and hammer toes, are familiar to most women but it appears that heels affect more than one’s feet. [...]
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Filed under: Society & human issues
The least interesting subject I can think of is shale: “soft, finely stratified sedimentary rock that formed from consolidated mud or clay and can be split easily into fragile slabs”. It’s not interesting until one sees that it might be the west’s energy resource of the future, gradually replacing oil and other forms of gas [...]
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Filed under: Politics & economics, Technology & ideas
Tim Worstall summed it up: I’ve just had a Facebook request (no, I don’t log into it) asking that the “The Daily Mail should retract Jan Moir’s hateful, homophobic article”. This one. OK, it’s a bit strong but…..I can imagine the same writer saying exactly the same things about someone who was in an open [...]
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Filed under: Politics & economics, Society & human issues
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Filed under: Music
With an inevitability, in a slow downwards spiral, we are finally at that point when the lights are about to go out across Europe, heralding in a new 1930s with a twist. Mr Klaus said: “The train carrying the treaty is going so fast and it’s so far that it can’t be stopped or returned, [...]
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Filed under: Politics & economics, Society & human issues
In choosing the 7 greatest sporting moments of all time, the first thing which must be eliminated is parochialism – that one’s own sporting moments dominate the selection. An example of this is the Wikipedia list of greatest moments, as chosen by a British poll. Naturally, it was heavily biased towards UK events. An American [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport
Trained today and was delighted to see 30% increase in weight chest-benched. Before getting overexcited about this, this always happens when you come back after a layoff. The body says OMG, there’s trouble and starts bulking up to cope with the next assault but after some weeks it gets clever and starts to have a [...]
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Filed under: Society & human issues
We know the situation in Britain and many blame only Gordo for their pension ills. This is an issue in layers and one layer below that is people’s own bad decisions plus their over-reliance that the pension scheme would always work. Moving one layer below that, why on earth should the cost of things like [...]
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Filed under: Politics & economics
The man has the facts at his fingertips: Folks, none of this was an accident and still isn’t: * We still have banks that are holding worthless (or “worth less”) paper on their books at or near “par” and employing all sorts of games to avoid recognition of already-taken losses, including refusing to foreclose on [...]
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Above – nightmare yet to happen When on a bicycle, approaching a hill where the road narrows to one lane each way, don’t race the Arriva bus to see if you can make the gap first because he is also trying to get a head of steam up and tends to swing past you onto [...]
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Filed under: Diversions, Society & human issues
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Filed under: Diversions
Captain Nemo said, “okay” (five, four, three, two, one) Then I raised my hand and waved Captain Nemo went away (Love me when I’m gone) Left me all alone, Nemo’s going home…
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Filed under: Music
1. Those photos with a word plastered across them and an invitation to buy them. I’ll never go anywhere near your photos nor would I ever fork out for one. Nor would I ever have stolen one. 2. Embedding disabled in youtube when you can click two videos down and see exactly the same thing [...]
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Filed under: Technology & ideas
As a reaction to the BBC’s “putting the Hamas side word for word” yesterday, I wrote: Which Israel was it? Given that there are three sides of politics – whoever the combatants are and then Them, who was ordering the atrocities? Have you ever looked at Jewish belief? There is the religious type, the secular [...]
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Filed under: Politics & economics
Double banger today: 1. When packing to go training, always make sure that you include shirt and undies. If you wear swimming trunks to train in [under the shorts, natch] and then to swim in [after the regulation shower], then it’s also an idea to have packed the aforementioned items for afterwards. 2. An adventure [...]
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Filed under: Society & human issues
There’ve been developments in some stories: 1. Obama Nobel Prize. This blog joined the chorus condemning the prize givers but that was hardly Obama’s fault. Now, in the Washington Post, it’s getting ridiculous: Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution, the Emolument Clause, clearly stipulates: “And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust [...]
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Filed under: Politics & economics
Did you see the story about the 6 yr old American kid who floated away in his parents’ balloon? Rescue helicopters were on standby but what exactly could they do? Interesting conundrum. Goodnight for now.
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Filed under: Politics & economics
Obviously these incidents aren’t current in themselves but the issues are very much current. Basically, I was looking for a Jackson Browne clip which matched the mood tonight, with big trouble coming up tomorrow morning. I found the clip [below]: … but also saw a comment by someone: “Has he stopped wife beating yet?” A [...]
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Filed under: Music
The Globe and Mail has displayed the Winter Olympic medals and has polled readers. 64% like them. do you? Let’s do a little poll here: Free Web poll for your Web site – freepolls.com
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Filed under: Society & human issues
It still falls tantalizingly short of the outright proof required but it gets awfully close: “The Berlusconi government has never authorized or allowed any form of payment of sums of money in favour of members of the insurgent Taliban in Afghanistan, and is not aware of similar initiatives by the previous government,” said a statement [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport, Politics & economics
In sorting out the Middle-East mess and separating fact from propaganda, the Beeb does not help by reverting to form and putting the Hamas side word for word. Did Israel over-react? Yes and who wouldn’t if they’d been bombed every day, contrary to the rules of sovereignty and war, with absolutely nothing beyond lame slaps [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport, Politics & economics
Pamela Anderson has been accused by the New York Post of appalling child abuse. An impassioned plea by Hollywood Life dotcom says she’s no abuser. Here are the tawdry details of what she did to the little girl – don’t read on if you have a weak heart: She allowed the 9 year old girl [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport
Never buy a solid bed and mattress worth hundreds or even thousands of pounds or dollars. When the man in the apartment next door starts playing his stereo at midnight the other side of your bedroom wall, it’s impossible to move your bed-monstrosity to the living room. However, if you had an airbed, then it [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport
Do you know who this woman is to the left ? She’s Senior Colonel Yao Yunzhu. Any clearer? She is the Chinese interface with the western military and interestingly, was seen at STRATCOM in Omaha. Still not clear? STRATCOM handles all aspects of US nuclear war, inc. strategy. A senior Chinese military figure was invited [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport, Politics & economics
Two from Dearieme: Two for my father – he understands: Better sound quality but not the pipes, of course: There ye go, da.
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Filed under: Music
Compared to Andrew Allison‘s woes and probably yours as well, my source of annoyance this morning must seem insignificant. It was the sheer disorganization which made me write a timetable. I was promising to get back to people and not doing it, worrying about work, toothache and so on and basically failing to cope. So, [...]
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Filed under: Blogging, Leisure, travel & sport
There’s an Australian travel blog which always seems to come up with interesting things. His latest is about “most liveable cities’ lists which get published from time to time and as he says; I always have a laugh at those “world’s most livable cities” lists. I mean, I know they take into account “important” things [...]
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Filed under: Leisure, travel & sport
Click pic
Click pic
Don't forget these either:
Helpforheroes
Afghan Heroes
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