BBC have reported that Anya Peters, who until recently was homeless and living in a car, has signed a publishing deal with Harper Collins. She decided to record her experiences in a blog, published under the name of Wandering Scribe, which was picked up world-wide and has now provided an escape from her homelessness.
The story of her homelessness and previous life is scheduled for publication next Spring.
Wednesday, 31 May 2006
Toying with intelligence
Has the gaming industry become a propaganda vehicle for Islamic extremists?. By Sohani Crockett
If Pentagon officials, intelligence reports and news agencies are to be believed ' the makers of video combat games have unwittingly become part of a global propaganda campaign by Islamic militants to exhort Muslim youths to take up arms against the United States.'
.....
To be fair, the United States itself uses a combat game called America’s Army to recruit young people, so it is not unreasonable they suspect al Qaeda of employing similar tactics. But online discussions reveal a different side to the story. If Reuters had dug a little deeper they would have found out that Congress had, in fact been, misled.
read the full article here ... NEW STATESMAN
If Pentagon officials, intelligence reports and news agencies are to be believed ' the makers of video combat games have unwittingly become part of a global propaganda campaign by Islamic militants to exhort Muslim youths to take up arms against the United States.'
.....
To be fair, the United States itself uses a combat game called America’s Army to recruit young people, so it is not unreasonable they suspect al Qaeda of employing similar tactics. But online discussions reveal a different side to the story. If Reuters had dug a little deeper they would have found out that Congress had, in fact been, misled.
read the full article here ... NEW STATESMAN
DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Dylan Thomas
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Dylan Thomas
Rome skeleton pre-dates city
A well-preserved skeleton of a woman, who lived 3,000 years ago, has been unearthed by Italian archaeologists digging in the Roman Forum. What is astonishing about this discovery is that it dates back at least 300 years before the traditional date of the founding of Rome, 753 BC.
Few traces of Bronze Age society have ever been unearthed, although it has long been known that people were living on the site where the ancient Romans founded their city.
Tuesday, 30 May 2006
Revenge of the eBay customer sold 'faulty' laptop
A student accused of selling a 'dodgy' laptop on eBay is paying the price today after embarrassing personal information about him was posted on the Internet. Details of Amir Tofangsazan's personal life and pictures of his friends emerged when the computer buff who forked out £375 for his used laptop on the Internet auction site claimed the machine arrived two months late and didn't work. Having fixed the computer, the anonymous buyer says he found it contained all sorts of information about the seller, 18-year-old Amir.
Daily Mail
Daily Mail
Saturday, 27 May 2006
Banned Moscow gay rally broken up (and the organisers weren't too happy either)
In Moscow; 50 gay rights supporters as well as 20 people from religious and nationalist groups opposed to the city's first gay rights rally have been arrested.
On Friday a court upheld a ban imposed on the march by the city authorities, who argued it could trigger violence.
... the riot police might actually have to get laid into them!!!
Thou must give that cash back
A Catholic priest, Father Martin Magill, has told people it is a sin to hold onto money they received from faulty Bank of Ireland cash machines in Belfast.
So why did nobody tell me about it? :-)
He was speaking after Bank of Ireland machines in Anderstonstown and in the city centre recently paid out double the money requested, but the response of many was to treat the extra cash as an early Christmas present.
There have been reports that queues formed at the bank machines with people eager to benefit from the bank's mistake.
So why did nobody tell me about it? :-)
Reggae legend Desmond Dekker dies
 Dekker's last gig was in Leeds on 11 May (Photo: egigs.co.uk) |
His 1969 hit Israelites was the first reggae song to top the UK charts,
Two for the females - but not exclusively.
Radio DJ sacked for sexy outfits
A female radio presenter has been sacked - for dressing too sexily on air.
Television viewers in Switzerland are campaigning for a heavily pregnant weather girl to step down.
So who do you think is perverse?
Friday, 26 May 2006
Revolution - POWER TO THE PEOPLE (right on)
1968. It was the height of the Vietnam War, the year of My Lai and the Tet offensive. Student riots in Paris nearly brought down the French government. Soviet tanks put a premature end to Czechoslovakia's Prague Spring.
In the United States, the streets were teeming with antiwar protesters and civil rights demonstrators.
The world was seething, and for good reason. There was a lot to be angry about. It was a lousy year, 1968. (1969 wasn't too great either)
But as bad as things were then, they seem infinitely worse now.
Why aren't we marching to demand an end to the illegal surveillance of American citizens by their own government,
................ where the hell is everybody?
I'll tell you where they are. They're at home, tuning in to root for the next "American idol." They're plugged into their iPods, utterly self-involved and disconnected from what lies just outside their doors. They're spending 25 hours a week playing video games in virtual worlds instead of fighting to save the only world that really matters. They're surfing porn. They're text messaging and e-mailing and scheming to close that next big deal. They're flogging their useless crap on eBay.
Whither the press? Forget it. Britney Spears gets more ink -- and better play -- than global warming does.
The real voices of dissent and engagement are found on the internet these days, but the internet is simply too diffuse to effectively galvanize a revolution.
And we desperately need a revolution.
Read the full article here: WIRED
In the United States, the streets were teeming with antiwar protesters and civil rights demonstrators.
The world was seething, and for good reason. There was a lot to be angry about. It was a lousy year, 1968. (1969 wasn't too great either)
But as bad as things were then, they seem infinitely worse now.
Why aren't we marching to demand an end to the illegal surveillance of American citizens by their own government,
................ where the hell is everybody?
I'll tell you where they are. They're at home, tuning in to root for the next "American idol." They're plugged into their iPods, utterly self-involved and disconnected from what lies just outside their doors. They're spending 25 hours a week playing video games in virtual worlds instead of fighting to save the only world that really matters. They're surfing porn. They're text messaging and e-mailing and scheming to close that next big deal. They're flogging their useless crap on eBay.
Whither the press? Forget it. Britney Spears gets more ink -- and better play -- than global warming does.
The real voices of dissent and engagement are found on the internet these days, but the internet is simply too diffuse to effectively galvanize a revolution.
And we desperately need a revolution.
Read the full article here: WIRED
Thursday, 25 May 2006
Wednesday, 24 May 2006
WanderingScribe - The Truth.
I finally think I have figured it out - there is no wandering scribe, well actually there are a number of different wandering scribes. I believe that this is actually a scam/hoax/experiment orchestrated by the BBC in collusion with the New York Times; that the voice on the NYT web site is that of an actress and that the blogs have been written by BBC scriptwriters.
I noticed that my Site Meter had been registering a number of hits from locations in the Lambeth area (including some from the BBC itself - the hits were spread round different establishments because presumably too many hits from the BBC would be too obvious). The person/s from the BBC checked only the blogs I posted relating specifically to wandering scribe and then they moved on to blogs of people who had posted comments concerning those particular blogs.
Also did nobody else find it strange that DitchMonkey only mentioned WS once in his blog on 3rd April (I am not counting the lengthy blog that she posted on his site on 6th Feb.) and nowhere has he mentioned the meeting that was supposed to have taken place between him and WS. I am sure there was a second blog where he mentioned her by name (Anya Peters) and that she had emailed him to say she had been mentioned on the front page of the New York Times but I cannot find that anymore no matter how much I search. If he had been communicating with her via email would we not have had a progress report from him at some point?
Here is something else that is strange - a search in http://wanderingscribe.blogspot.com produced this entry
... but there is an entry
I noticed that my Site Meter had been registering a number of hits from locations in the Lambeth area (including some from the BBC itself - the hits were spread round different establishments because presumably too many hits from the BBC would be too obvious). The person/s from the BBC checked only the blogs I posted relating specifically to wandering scribe and then they moved on to blogs of people who had posted comments concerning those particular blogs.
Also did nobody else find it strange that DitchMonkey only mentioned WS once in his blog on 3rd April (I am not counting the lengthy blog that she posted on his site on 6th Feb.) and nowhere has he mentioned the meeting that was supposed to have taken place between him and WS. I am sure there was a second blog where he mentioned her by name (Anya Peters) and that she had emailed him to say she had been mentioned on the front page of the New York Times but I cannot find that anymore no matter how much I search. If he had been communicating with her via email would we not have had a progress report from him at some point?
Here is something else that is strange - a search in http://wanderingscribe.blogspot.com produced this entry
Ditchmonkey
12 Feb 2006 by WanderingScribeA guy called Hugh Sawyer, who has a blog here under the name of Ditchmonkey (ODM). Because I was stunned that someone else was 'choosing' to be homeless for a year, and intrigued, I emailed him. We met and kept in contact by email and ...
... and clicking on the link for this entry comes up with this result
Not Found
The requested URL was not found on this server.... but there is an entry
Thursday, February 09, 2006
The man in the woods
In November I read, in an article in The Observer, about someone else living in the woods. A man ... somewhere in Oxfordshire. He is doing it for a year, to raise money for charity. And at the same time he continues his daily commute to work in London. A guy called Hugh (DM), who also has a blog. Because I was stunned that someone else was 'choosing' to be homeless for a year, and intrigued, I emailed him. We met and kept in contact by email
Gay Marriages
Not a comment about gays or gay marriages I hasten to add - just thought this was a funny ad. Thought I better add that before someone takes offence.
Cruelty to animals
This is a scented floor sticker, used to advertise dog food, that attracts dogs walking by.
Thank your lucky stars
Think you got it bad?
The male blanket octopus is 100 times smaller than his mate.
As if that’s not bad enough, he dies right after having sex with her.
The male blanket octopus is 100 times smaller than his mate.
As if that’s not bad enough, he dies right after having sex with her.
Hard Drive Balancing
One of the most often forgotten disk maintenance tasks is the
Hard Drive Balancing.
Have it carried out for you free of charge here LINK
Have it carried out for you free of charge here LINK
... and while you're there why not take advantage of
TCP/IP Pipe Scrubber.
Now scrubs 2 byte Unicode Connections for international ISPs
NI Academic to guide Basque peace initiative.
Professor Gillian Robinson of the University of Ulster is to help set up a new peace institute in Spain's Basque region. She will use her expertise in conflict resolution to guide the Catalonian initiative.
Do they really want to model their peace initiative on Northern Ireland's? I don't see that we have had much progress on that front. Surely she should 'put her own house in order' first.
Do they really want to model their peace initiative on Northern Ireland's? I don't see that we have had much progress on that front. Surely she should 'put her own house in order' first.
She never told her love
.... She never told her love,
But let concealment, like a worm in the bud,
Feed on her damask cheek...;
She sat, like Patience on a monument,
Smiling at grief. Was not this love indeed?
.... Elle n'a jamais dit son amour
Mais a laissé le secret, comme un ver, dans le bourgeon,
Se nourrir de sa joue de damas...;
Assise, comme la Patience sur un monument,
Elle souriait à son affliction.
William Shakespeare
Shop your neighbour .....
BBC report that members of the public, in towns and villages across Annandale and Eskdale, have been trained to use speed guns and will now be able to monitor how fast vehicles are travelling to report the information back to police.
Tuesday, 23 May 2006
Obituary: Freddie Garrity
Frederick Garrity, singer and songwriter, born November 14 1936; died May 19 2006
With his band, the Dreamers, the minor British pop legend Freddie Garrity, who has died aged 69, enjoyed a chart run on both sides of the Atlantic during the Merseybeat boom of the early 1960s. But Garrity, who had suffered from emphysema in recent years, never made it to the top of the UK pop charts, though he did have two No 2s.
The comic capers that became their trademark were developed during a club residency in Hamburg. Though Freddie was the front man, the Dreamers did not just skulk behind him, but engaged too in trouser-dropping, slapstick and other clowning. For aspiring pop stars, they were an odd bunch; a podgy bass player, a drummer who resembled a door-to-door salesman, one guitarist sporting curious sunglasses and the other prematurely bald.
Alan Clayson Monday May 22, 2006 The Guardian LINK
The Da Vinci Code - Visit the places
Visit the places
View fullscreen 360 degree interactive panoramas from the main locations in Dan Browns fiction The Da Vinci Code.
Requires Quicktime
View fullscreen 360 degree interactive panoramas from the main locations in Dan Browns fiction The Da Vinci Code.
Requires Quicktime
Chip Makers almost had their chips
Chip-makers were forced to flee their factory when they discovered a hand grenade amongst the potatoes.
A 100-metre exclusion zone was set up by bomb disposal teams at McCain's factory in Scarborough, North Yorks.
The alert came just 24 hours after the tip of a wartime shell was found at the same plant. The potatoes come from fields in northern France and Belgium where relics from both World Wars are unearthed regularly.
A company spokesman said: “It is something that we will be looking into with our suppliers” “We have strict safety procedures and the safety of our workers is of paramount importance.”
The WWI grenade and shell tip were both spotted as factory workers cleaned mud off potatoes.
Obviously their strict safety procedures are not strict enough – otherwise the grenade would have been discovered sooner.
A 100-metre exclusion zone was set up by bomb disposal teams at McCain's factory in Scarborough, North Yorks.
The alert came just 24 hours after the tip of a wartime shell was found at the same plant. The potatoes come from fields in northern France and Belgium where relics from both World Wars are unearthed regularly.
A company spokesman said: “It is something that we will be looking into with our suppliers” “We have strict safety procedures and the safety of our workers is of paramount importance.”
The WWI grenade and shell tip were both spotted as factory workers cleaned mud off potatoes.
Obviously their strict safety procedures are not strict enough – otherwise the grenade would have been discovered sooner.
Monday, 22 May 2006
500 new call centre jobs
RHL has announced that about 500 call centre jobs are being created in Glasgow -
So if you thought you had problems understanding somebody in India
- wait until you try talking to somebody frae' Glasgae' :-(
So if you thought you had problems understanding somebody in India
- wait until you try talking to somebody frae' Glasgae' :-(
Sunday, 21 May 2006
Wrong-way sailor back on UK soil
The first solo yachtswoman to circumnavigate the globe the "wrong way" and non-stop has stepped back on UK soil after nearly six months at sea.
Again what can I say -- women drivers huh!! She would have been back a lot sooner if she had asked directions and gone the right way :-) ... and they say men won't ask for directions .. at least we wouldn't have taken six months to find our way home.
Again what can I say -- women drivers huh!! She would have been back a lot sooner if she had asked directions and gone the right way :-) ... and they say men won't ask for directions .. at least we wouldn't have taken six months to find our way home.
Saturday, 20 May 2006
So We'll Go No More a-Roving
So we'll go no more a-roving
So late into the night,
Though the heart be still as loving,
And the moon be still as bright.
For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul outwears the breast,
And the heart must pause to breathe,
And love itself have rest.
Though the night was made for loving,
And the day returns too soon,
Yet we'll go no more a-roving
By the light of the moon.
George Gordon, Lord Byron
Thursday, 18 May 2006
Helluva life awthegither in't it?
Jamesie Cotter: Rab, you and me, we go back a longs ways together.
Rab C. Nesbitt: Aye, we dae, we dae, we dae, aye...
Jamesie Cotter: We started goin in tae pubs together, then we went on tae secondary school.
"Rab C. Nesbitt: Know the best thing yi can say about Rothesay? At least it isnae Dunoon. What a gaff that is, by the way. All the atmosphere of the interior of a wardrobe. Built for the nuclear age. Only toon in the hemisphere to have achieved total meltdown of the human spirit. Even saying the name makes yi feel as if its started drizzling on the roof of your mouth. Dun-oon!"
The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll look exactly the same afterwards. Billy Connolly.
"don't vote for politicians it just encourages them" Billy Connolly
Rab C. Nesbitt: Aye, we dae, we dae, we dae, aye...
Jamesie Cotter: We started goin in tae pubs together, then we went on tae secondary school.
"Rab C. Nesbitt: Know the best thing yi can say about Rothesay? At least it isnae Dunoon. What a gaff that is, by the way. All the atmosphere of the interior of a wardrobe. Built for the nuclear age. Only toon in the hemisphere to have achieved total meltdown of the human spirit. Even saying the name makes yi feel as if its started drizzling on the roof of your mouth. Dun-oon!"
The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll look exactly the same afterwards. Billy Connolly.
"don't vote for politicians it just encourages them" Billy Connolly
I like having low self esteem. It makes me specialMr. O'Neill: Right here and now, let's pledge to make Daria's dream a reality.
Daria: You mean the one where people walking down the street burst into flames?
Daria: You mean the one where people walking down the street burst into flames?
Daria - "My goal is not to wake up at forty with a bitter realization that I wasted my life at a job I hate because I was forced to decide on a career in my teens."
The Matrix Comix
The online Matrix comix can be found here ---LINK
Contributions from artists/writers such as Ted McKeever, Bill Sienkiewicz, Neil Gaiman and Poppy Z Brite.
John Becker on Religion
"You wanna know what's wrong with religion? Religion is supposed to be about people being nice to each other, but frankly I don't see a lot of that. You know what I do see, is I see a lot of people using the good book to say that they're morally superior. I see people building TV stations to bilk grandma out of her pension checks, all in the name of God. How about all those God-fearing people who are killing other God-fearing people because they don't fear God the same way?" -John Becker
World’s Best Bathroom.
According to the Bathroom Diaries, a website dedicated to finding the cleanest and best bathrooms in the world, the bathroom above is the best bathroom in the world.
Click on pic to see more.
Today is the happiest day of the year.
Experts found that people were more happy on May 18 because it is spring, the days are sunnier and longer and there is a Bank Holiday soon. LINK
WHOOPEE!
Except of course if you are an Arsenal fan !!
Wednesday, 17 May 2006
War of the Worlds
There is an online graphic novel of War of the Worlds here ......link
BUT there are now 125 pages as of today's date.
So be prepared to spend some time reading them
and Tom Cruise is nowhere in sight
Big Mother is watching you
New software lets parents secretly check every computer keystroke their children make.
Do the perils of the internet justify such spying or will it ruin the relationship with your child?
Times Online: LINK
Do the perils of the internet justify such spying or will it ruin the relationship with your child?
Times Online: LINK
Tuesday, 16 May 2006
Dust Bowl Migration Auto Camps
These images depict people who were driven from their homes in the Southwestern states by drought and economic depression and migrated to the West in search of work. Most of the images in this archive were taken in the mid to late 1930s by Dorothea Lange, one of several photographers hired by the Farm Security Administration (FSA) to document migrant life. Many of the FSA photographs were used to publicize the deplorable living and working conditions of the migrants.
LINK
So living in cars is not a recent phenomenon
A grandmother from Oklahoma, works in pea fields,Calipatria, CA
There are people worse off than WanderingScribe
Four well-dressed men sitting together at a vacation resort. "Farewell to Thee" being played in the background on Hawaiian guitar.
Michael Palin: Ahh.. Very passable, this, very passable.
Graham Chapman: Nothing like a good glass of Chateau de Chassilier wine, ay Gessiah?
Terry Gilliam: You're right there Obediah.
Eric Idle: Who'd a thought thirty years ago we'd all be sittin' here drinking Chateau de Chassilier wine?
MP: Aye. In them days, we'd a' been glad to have the price of a cup o' tea.
GC: A cup ' COLD tea.
EI: Without milk or sugar.
TG: OR tea!
MP: In a filthy, cracked cup.
EI: We never used to have a cup. We used to have to drink out of a rolled up newspaper.
GC: The best WE could manage was to suck on a piece of damp cloth.
TG: But you know, we were happy in those days, though we were poor.
MP: Aye. BECAUSE we were poor. My old Dad used to say to me, "Money doesn't buy you happiness."
EI: 'E was right. I was happier then and I had NOTHIN'. We used to live in this tiiiny old house, with greaaaaat big holes in the roof.
GC: House? You were lucky to have a HOUSE! We used to live in one room, all hundred and twenty-six of us, no furniture. Half the floor was missing; we were all huddled together in one corner for fear of FALLING!
TG: You were lucky to have a ROOM! *We* used to have to live in a car!
MP: Ohhhh we used to DREAM of livin' in a car! Woulda' been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woken up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! House!? Hmph.
EI: Well when I say "house" it was only a hole in the ground covered by a piece of tarpaulin, but it was a house to US.
GC: We were evicted from *our* hole in the ground; we had to go and live in a lake!
TG: You were lucky to have a LAKE! There were a hundred and sixty of us living in a small shoebox in the middle of the road.
MP: Cardboard box?
TG: Aye.
MP: You were lucky. We lived for three months in a brown paper bag in a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six o'clock in the morning, clean the bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down mill for fourteen hours a day, week in, week out. When we got home, our Dad would thrash us to sleep with his belt!
GC: Luxury. We used to have to get out of the lake at three o'clock in the morning, clean the lake, eat a handful of hot gravel, go to work at the mill every day for tuppence a month, come home, and Dad would beat us around the head and neck with a broken bottle, if we were LUCKY!
TG: Well we had it tough. We used to have to get up out of the shoebox at twelve o'clock at night, and LICK the road clean with our tongues. We had half a handful of freezing cold gravel, worked twenty-four hours a day at the mill for fourpence every six years, and when we got home, our Dad would slice us in two with a bread knife.
EI: Right. I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night, half an hour before I went to bed, (pause for laughter), eat a lump of cold poison, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad would kill us, and dance about on our graves singing "Hallelujah."
MP: But you try and tell the young people today that... and they won't believe ya'.
ALL: Nope, nope.
Michael Palin: Ahh.. Very passable, this, very passable.
Graham Chapman: Nothing like a good glass of Chateau de Chassilier wine, ay Gessiah?
Terry Gilliam: You're right there Obediah.
Eric Idle: Who'd a thought thirty years ago we'd all be sittin' here drinking Chateau de Chassilier wine?
MP: Aye. In them days, we'd a' been glad to have the price of a cup o' tea.
GC: A cup ' COLD tea.
EI: Without milk or sugar.
TG: OR tea!
MP: In a filthy, cracked cup.
EI: We never used to have a cup. We used to have to drink out of a rolled up newspaper.
GC: The best WE could manage was to suck on a piece of damp cloth.
TG: But you know, we were happy in those days, though we were poor.
MP: Aye. BECAUSE we were poor. My old Dad used to say to me, "Money doesn't buy you happiness."
EI: 'E was right. I was happier then and I had NOTHIN'. We used to live in this tiiiny old house, with greaaaaat big holes in the roof.
GC: House? You were lucky to have a HOUSE! We used to live in one room, all hundred and twenty-six of us, no furniture. Half the floor was missing; we were all huddled together in one corner for fear of FALLING!
TG: You were lucky to have a ROOM! *We* used to have to live in a car!
MP: Ohhhh we used to DREAM of livin' in a car! Woulda' been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woken up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! House!? Hmph.
EI: Well when I say "house" it was only a hole in the ground covered by a piece of tarpaulin, but it was a house to US.
GC: We were evicted from *our* hole in the ground; we had to go and live in a lake!
TG: You were lucky to have a LAKE! There were a hundred and sixty of us living in a small shoebox in the middle of the road.
MP: Cardboard box?
TG: Aye.
MP: You were lucky. We lived for three months in a brown paper bag in a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six o'clock in the morning, clean the bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down mill for fourteen hours a day, week in, week out. When we got home, our Dad would thrash us to sleep with his belt!
GC: Luxury. We used to have to get out of the lake at three o'clock in the morning, clean the lake, eat a handful of hot gravel, go to work at the mill every day for tuppence a month, come home, and Dad would beat us around the head and neck with a broken bottle, if we were LUCKY!
TG: Well we had it tough. We used to have to get up out of the shoebox at twelve o'clock at night, and LICK the road clean with our tongues. We had half a handful of freezing cold gravel, worked twenty-four hours a day at the mill for fourpence every six years, and when we got home, our Dad would slice us in two with a bread knife.
EI: Right. I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night, half an hour before I went to bed, (pause for laughter), eat a lump of cold poison, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad would kill us, and dance about on our graves singing "Hallelujah."
MP: But you try and tell the young people today that... and they won't believe ya'.
ALL: Nope, nope.
Myrtle Corbin aka the Four-Legged Woman.
While at a glance one could plainly see four legs dangling beyond the hem of her dress – only one pair belonged to her, the other set to her dipygus twin sister. Born in Cleburne, Texan in 1868 - her condition was incredibly rare. The tiny body of her twin was only fully developed from the waist down and even then it was malformed – tiny and possessing only three toes on each foot. Myrtle was able to control the limbs of her sister but was unable to use them for walking and she herself had a difficult time getting around as she was born with a clubbed foot. Technically, the ‘Four-Legged Woman’ only had one good, usable leg. More...
Revelations Chapter 1
…. of course, you do know it was me who made her what she is today. If it wasn’t for all that publicity I drummed up nobody would ever have heard of her. Personal appearances in places as far afield as Camden, Lambeth and she even popped up briefly at Paddington Station – what a furore that caused; people scrambling over each other to touch the hem of her garment.
But then doctors started taking an interest in her - she had this weird band of hangers-on. You know one even thought he was an alien being, ha ha can you imagine it – he used to dress in uniform, like in that film …what’s it called now? Oh yes, Blue Max.
Said he came from Planet Goerring or some such place, nobody’s ever heard of it of course, obviously a figment of a demented imagination. But they were all like that, you only had to say one word ___ and they turned ugly (not that they weren’t ugly already) but suggest that perhaps there was the hint of scandal and they fell on you, like a ton of bricks, to hear some of them you would think that she could walk upon water.
It is sad really, she had such talent and she wasted it. She got really carried away by all the adulation, forgot about her career and started a mad round of crazy parties until finally she got carried away by the men in white coats.
Of course I should never have loaned her the car ………
But then doctors started taking an interest in her - she had this weird band of hangers-on. You know one even thought he was an alien being, ha ha can you imagine it – he used to dress in uniform, like in that film …what’s it called now? Oh yes, Blue Max.
Said he came from Planet Goerring or some such place, nobody’s ever heard of it of course, obviously a figment of a demented imagination. But they were all like that, you only had to say one word ___ and they turned ugly (not that they weren’t ugly already) but suggest that perhaps there was the hint of scandal and they fell on you, like a ton of bricks, to hear some of them you would think that she could walk upon water.
It is sad really, she had such talent and she wasted it. She got really carried away by all the adulation, forgot about her career and started a mad round of crazy parties until finally she got carried away by the men in white coats.
Of course I should never have loaned her the car ………
Monday, 15 May 2006
2 charged with rape of newborn
As another blogger said "you really can't get any lower than this".
Story in: The Jackson Sun.
Story in: The Jackson Sun.
Proof that G-d exists
Go forth and read it here: LINK
You know what? I hate fags too -- the smoke really gets up my nose and the taste of tobacco
is really awful. I'm really pleased to see that heaven is a no smoking zone.
Sunday, 14 May 2006
The Big Exposé.
Sources have today revealed that the person known to many as Wonderin’Screib is in fact a long term patient at a, as yet, unnamed London hospital. The person using the nom de plume of onesole (this was originally arseole but was censored by the hospital administration because it was deemed unfit for public use and would have brought the hospital into disrepute) is in fact the lover of the aforementioned Wonderin’Screib who had a total breakdown on learning that she had an infatuation for a certain doctor and had been corresponding with him for some months.
Also the news was released that the hospital janitor (nicknamed alienspirits by other staff, because of his penchant to drink copious amounts of foreign beers) has been dismissed for allowing patients to use staff showers. Apparently he did this so that he could then photograph them, without their knowledge, and sell the photographs on the internet. Investigations are ongoing as to whether these incidents are related.
The Summer Book
by:-
TOVE JANSSON
An elderly artist and her six-year-old grand-daughter while away a summer together on a tiny island in the gulf of Finland. As the two learn to adjust to each other’s fears, whims and yearnings, a fierce yet understated love emerges – one that encompasses not only the summer inhabitants but the very island itself.
Published by Sort Of Books (LINK)
This is a book that I read years ago and re-read often. As one of the reviewers said
"This is a wonderful, life-affirming, spirited book. Reading it was a tonic."
Chris Stewart (author, Driving Over Lemons)
I couldn't have put it better myself.
TOVE JANSSON
An elderly artist and her six-year-old grand-daughter while away a summer together on a tiny island in the gulf of Finland. As the two learn to adjust to each other’s fears, whims and yearnings, a fierce yet understated love emerges – one that encompasses not only the summer inhabitants but the very island itself.
Published by Sort Of Books (LINK)
This is a book that I read years ago and re-read often. As one of the reviewers said
"This is a wonderful, life-affirming, spirited book. Reading it was a tonic."
Chris Stewart (author, Driving Over Lemons)
I couldn't have put it better myself.
Public Service
I saw this on The J-Walk Blog and thought 'oh yeah!'
Stolen credit cards is a serious problem. Finally, a service to help:
Blogs, graffiti and Big Brother
I have finally realised why blogs like WanderingScribe are so popular, it's because of programs like Big Brother which created an audience for reality shows. We now have the Reality Blog and we have the equivalent of the crowd that turns up on eviction night to boo the contestants in the commenters who frequent the blog just to post negative or abusive comments. Many blog readers now expect bloggers to perform for them and get very annoyed and abusive if we don't dance to their tune. Unfortunately we also attract the same type of idiot who takes a can of paint and sprays walls with mindless graffiti - I have had a couple of posters who get some perverse kick out of constantly posting the same abusive comment, which I have had to waste time removing. You would think that the moron who calls himself wanderingscribe would be able to spell fenian correctly, especially since it's there in large print on the screen in front of him, but no: according to him I am now a feinian c!*t ( well I suppose that's progress of a sort). Another queries whether or not I am a real doctor - again a bit of Googling would have given him the answer to that a long time ago. Instead he would rather be abusive and if I was a doctor possibly offensive. ( I suppose a doctor would be offended at being described as a quack). Then we get others who tend to post not threatening but menacing comments because we have the audacity to post a link to a BBC news item concerning certain local politicians. Perhaps it was the comment that annoyed them but I will never know because the only way they can express themselves is by posting the same abusive, mindless comments that they paint on walls. Well I now have the satisfaction of revelling in their frustration at no longer being able to post their filth here. While people like WanderingScribe (the genuine one that is) waste their time moderating their comments I have decided to switch mine off. I have better things to do with my time than waste it going round cleaning up after these idiots.
As for blog content - these are our blogs and we will post what we want and if that isn't what some people want then tough! Go read something else. It costs nothing (the same way it costs nothing to be civil) so I don't understand why people feel they have to be less than civil if they don't like what they read.
As for blog content - these are our blogs and we will post what we want and if that isn't what some people want then tough! Go read something else. It costs nothing (the same way it costs nothing to be civil) so I don't understand why people feel they have to be less than civil if they don't like what they read.
Friday, 12 May 2006
Obituary: Floyd Patterson
Floyd Patterson, world heavyweight boxing champion, 1956-59, and 1960-62, was born on January 4, 1935. Died on May 11, 2006, aged 71.
The Times LINK:>
The Times LINK:>
Thursday, 11 May 2006
Adams to nominate Paisley for first minister
Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams is to nominate DUP leader Ian Paisley for the position of Northern Ireland's first minister when the assembly returns.
He has also confirmed party colleague Martin McGuinness will be put forward as deputy first minister.
Mr Adams said Sinn Fein would take part in a business committee at the assembly to ensure the election of ministers.
However, Mr Paisley said until Sinn Fein "met its obligations" there would be no first or deputy first minister.
"I have very good news for Mr Adams - he can't do it," Mr Paisley said.
"There'll be no proposing of anybody who doesn't accept it and I certainly will not be accepting anything from Gerry Adams."
Story from BBC NEWS: LINK
It would be laughable if it wasn't for the fact that the country is going to wreck and ruin while the rest of us wait for them to do the job they've been paid to do.
He has also confirmed party colleague Martin McGuinness will be put forward as deputy first minister.
Mr Adams said Sinn Fein would take part in a business committee at the assembly to ensure the election of ministers.
However, Mr Paisley said until Sinn Fein "met its obligations" there would be no first or deputy first minister.
"I have very good news for Mr Adams - he can't do it," Mr Paisley said.
"There'll be no proposing of anybody who doesn't accept it and I certainly will not be accepting anything from Gerry Adams."
Story from BBC NEWS: LINK
It would be laughable if it wasn't for the fact that the country is going to wreck and ruin while the rest of us wait for them to do the job they've been paid to do.
Wednesday, 10 May 2006
Jokes
One night, a drunk comes stumbling into a bar and says to the bartender: "Drinks for all on me including you, bartender." So the bartender follows the man’s orders and says: "That will be $36.50 please." The drunk says he has no money so the bartender slaps him around and throws him out.
The next night the same drunk comes in again and orders a drink for everyone in the bar including the bartender. Again the bartender follows instructions and again the drunk says he has no money. So the bartender slaps him around and throws him out.
On the third night he comes in, the drunk orders drinks for all except the bartender. "What, no drink for me?" replies the bartender. "Oh, no. You get violent when you drink."
... and now one to annoy the female audience
Yesterday, scientists in the United States revealed that beer contains small traces of female hormones.
To prove their theory, they fed one hundred men twelve pints of beer and observed that 100% of them started talking nonsense and couldn't drive.
The next night the same drunk comes in again and orders a drink for everyone in the bar including the bartender. Again the bartender follows instructions and again the drunk says he has no money. So the bartender slaps him around and throws him out.
On the third night he comes in, the drunk orders drinks for all except the bartender. "What, no drink for me?" replies the bartender. "Oh, no. You get violent when you drink."
... and now one to annoy the female audience
Yesterday, scientists in the United States revealed that beer contains small traces of female hormones.
To prove their theory, they fed one hundred men twelve pints of beer and observed that 100% of them started talking nonsense and couldn't drive.
Robert A. Heinlein. All you zombies
For all you sci-fi freaks - here's a link to a great story by Robert A. Heinlein. Described as a semi-disturbing time paradox tale which tells the story of a young man who is taken back in time and .....
BBC, Wandering Scribe and statistics.
I have been sitting here having a look at my site meter statistics and to my surprise I find that someone from the BBC has been paying a visit. The blogs they have been interested in are those relating to our dear friend Wandering Scribe. Now what do you suppose that means? Are they trawling the internet to see how much interest has been generated by the BBC and New York Times' reports? Are they going to do a follow up piece? (Better get my good suit out of cold storage - just in case). Perhaps you would like to comment Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms BBC person? ... or perhaps it was just somebody idling away a bit of time during office hours (tut tut naughty boy/girl better watch you don't get into trouble.
It is really amazing what the site meter shows, people have been logging in from all over the world - Canada, France, Hong Kong, Singapore, Fife, Portugal, Taiwan, Israel and even Belfast (I can even tell you what your monitor resolution is). I hope this doesn't put you off visiting again - to put your mind at ease it does not give me your address nor telephone number (but we're working on that :-) ).
Here's a fascinating graph of last week's visits :-
fascinating that there was a massive peak on Thursday. Now what do you suppose caused that? I must generate some more publicity because the visits have really dropped off. Can't have WS grabbing all the glory round here, now can we? We would have to rename her Wandering Star (I know.... terrible humour). So tell your friends, get them to visit - and for every blog they read they get another one FREE!!!
It is really amazing what the site meter shows, people have been logging in from all over the world - Canada, France, Hong Kong, Singapore, Fife, Portugal, Taiwan, Israel and even Belfast (I can even tell you what your monitor resolution is). I hope this doesn't put you off visiting again - to put your mind at ease it does not give me your address nor telephone number (but we're working on that :-) ).
Here's a fascinating graph of last week's visits :-
fascinating that there was a massive peak on Thursday. Now what do you suppose caused that? I must generate some more publicity because the visits have really dropped off. Can't have WS grabbing all the glory round here, now can we? We would have to rename her Wandering Star (I know.... terrible humour). So tell your friends, get them to visit - and for every blog they read they get another one FREE!!!
Naturism ruined my summer
I agree that naturists have the right to want to be viewed equally as holidaymakers and promote the understanding and acceptance of their beliefs. However, last summer my boyfriend of seven months ended up cheating on me on a naturist holiday. He revealed that it was a naturist holiday he was going on, we talked it over and agreed there didn't seem to be any problems.
His ex-girlfriend was on this holiday and their relationship was re-lit. Now we are not together and he hasn't seen this other woman since the holiday. His actions I believe were encouraged by the naturist environment and as a result I think naturism is maybe more for those who are in naturism together... in marriage. Naturism ruined my summer.Emma D, UK LINK>
His ex-girlfriend was on this holiday and their relationship was re-lit. Now we are not together and he hasn't seen this other woman since the holiday. His actions I believe were encouraged by the naturist environment and as a result I think naturism is maybe more for those who are in naturism together... in marriage. Naturism ruined my summer.Emma D, UK LINK>
Tuesday, 9 May 2006
World’s Longest Burning Lightbulb.
LinkThis lightbulb is 105 years old and has been burning continuously since 1901! From the website:
# Installed: First installed at the fire department hose cart house in 1901. Then moved to fire station at First and McLeod, then to its present site in 1976 at the fire station, 4550 East Ave., Livermore, California
# Vital Statistics: Made by the Shelby Electric Company, a handblown bulb with carbon filament. Approximate wattage-4 watts. Left burning continuously in firehouse as a nightlight over the fire trucks.
DA VINCI CODE MUSIC WILL SCARE CHILDREN
... now it is getting really absurd.
British film censors forced The Da Vinci Code filmmakers to edit the movie's soundtrack, because it was too frightening for young audiences. The British Board of Film Classification claim their original rating of 12A, which allows 12-year-olds to see the film accompanied by an adult, was based on an almost silent version of the film, where violent scenes were muted and frightening music downplayed. Problems arose when two examiners saw an untouched version of the movie and threatened to change the film's rating to 15 - which would seriously affect its box office success. A source says, "It was when the movie was viewed again with the soundtrack that the problems emerged. Everyone was full or praise for the score but the BBFC felt the way it was being used to build up the tension was simply too much for very young children. "The BBFC also thought the film had a very high 'crunch factor'. You didn't just see the fight scenes, you heard the bones break." A spokesman for the BBFC says, "The sound mix was accentuating the violence to a degree which was unacceptable for a young audience."
Via 07/05/2006 14:24
I thought a 12A cert. meant really young children could not be admitted and since when has the sound of breaking bones been considered music?
British film censors forced The Da Vinci Code filmmakers to edit the movie's soundtrack, because it was too frightening for young audiences. The British Board of Film Classification claim their original rating of 12A, which allows 12-year-olds to see the film accompanied by an adult, was based on an almost silent version of the film, where violent scenes were muted and frightening music downplayed. Problems arose when two examiners saw an untouched version of the movie and threatened to change the film's rating to 15 - which would seriously affect its box office success. A source says, "It was when the movie was viewed again with the soundtrack that the problems emerged. Everyone was full or praise for the score but the BBFC felt the way it was being used to build up the tension was simply too much for very young children. "The BBFC also thought the film had a very high 'crunch factor'. You didn't just see the fight scenes, you heard the bones break." A spokesman for the BBFC says, "The sound mix was accentuating the violence to a degree which was unacceptable for a young audience."
Via 07/05/2006 14:24
I thought a 12A cert. meant really young children could not be admitted and since when has the sound of breaking bones been considered music?
Marathon Boy (update)
BHUBANESWAR, India -- Cheered by thousands, a 4-year-old boy dubbed "India's Forrest Gump" who was nearly sold by his impoverished mother ran 40 miles Tuesday to enter the country's foremost record book.
More -> http://www.local6.com/news/9149412/detail.html
Give me some of what he's been eating ..............
An Indian boy aged four will not be allowed to run long distances any more because of health fears, officials say.
More -> http://www.local6.com/news/9149412/detail.html
Give me some of what he's been eating ..............
| By Sandeep Sahu BBC News, Bhubaneswar |
Orissa state welfare minister Pramila Mullick said the government would be blamed if Budhia Singh suffered harm.
The announcement came after doctors found the boy had "high blood pressure and cardiological stress".
Budhia, who ran 65km (40 miles) in just seven hours last week, was given the check-up after allegations he had been exploited - claims his coach denies.
Monday, 8 May 2006
"Milky Sea": Mysterious Ocean Glow
Scientists are baffled by a huge (about the size of Connecticut) glowing luminescence in the Indian Ocean, as shown in the satellite picture :
"The circumstances under which milky seas form is almost entirely unknown," says Steven Miller, a Naval Research Laboratory scientist who led the space-based discovery. "Even the source for the light emission is under debate."
It has to be Atlantis :-)
Last US Titanic survivor has died
The last American survivor of the Titanic wreck has died in the state of Massachusetts aged 99.
Lillian Gertrud Asplund was five when the ship went down in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg.
She was the last survivor of the tragedy with actual memories of the sinking on 15 April, 1912.
The two final Titanic survivors live in England but both women were infants when they were rescued and are said to have no memories of the terrible night.
Barbara Joyce West Dainton of Truro was 10 months old and Elizabeth Gladys "Millvina" Dean of Southampton was two months old.
Artistic appeal for city's roads
Northern Ireland's artists are being called on to help brighten up Belfast's main roads.
The city's council is trying to improve the look of the city through its "Renewing The Routes" urban regeneration programme.
It aims to create attractive new public art landmarks, including murals and sculptures, along the city's arterial routes.
Councillor Bernie Kelly, of Belfast City Council's arts sub-committee, said the council is creating a number of opportunities for artists to get involved in new public and community arts projects throughout the city.
"These projects will be on a variety of scales and budgets: many of the art works required will be permanent, while some sites will need works that are more temporary in nature.
"We want to get local people involved with local artists, designers and developers to shape their environment and apply a strong artistic vision to these urban regeneration projects," she said.
I just hope they produce something better than those silhouettes that are stuck on the bridge near York Street railway station
Maybe they could take a leaf out of Edinburgh's book ...
Edinburgh will erupt into colour next month when 100 decorated life-sized model cows take to grazing along streets, parks and landmarks.
CowParade, which is billed as the world's biggest touring public art event, will run from 15 May to 23 July.
The fibreglass sculptures have been painted and decorated by local artists, celebrities and communities.
After the event, most of the herd will be auctioned off and 75% of the proceeds will go to charity.
The charity event first took place in Zurich eight years ago, with the cattle modelled on real Swiss cows.
Since then, more than 3,000 cows have featured in more than 30 cities all over the world.
See a selection of Edinburgh's cows
That's no way to talk about the fair ladies of Edinburgh :-)
Sunday, 7 May 2006
Prayer for Marilyn Monroe
By: Ernesto Cardenal (Nicaragua, 1925)
Lord accept this girl
called Marilyn Monroe throughout the world
though that was not her name
(but you know her real name, that of the orphan raped at nine
the shopgirl who tried to kill herself when aged sixteen)
who now goes into your presence without make-up
without her Press Agent
without her photographs or signing autographs
lonely as an astronaut facing the darkness of outer space.
When a girl, she dreamed she was naked in a church
(according to Time)
standing in front of a prostrate multitude, heads to the ground,
and had to walk on tiptoe to avoid the heads.
You know our dreams better than all psychiatrists.
Church, house or cave all represent the safety of the womb
but also something more…
The heads are admirers, so much is clear (that
mass of heads in the darkness below the beam to the screen)
but the temple isn’t the studios of 20th-Century Fox.
The temple, of marble and gold, is the temple of her body
in which the Son of Man stands whip in hand
driving out the money-changers of 20th-Century Fox
who made your house of prayer a den of thieves.
Lord, in this world
contaminated equally by radioactivity and sin,
surely you will not blame a shopgirl
who (like any other shopgirl) dreamed of being a star.
And her dream became “reality” (Technicolor reality).
All she did was follow the script we gave her,
That of our own lives, but it was meaningless
Forgive her, Lord, and likewise all of us
for this our 20th Century
and the Mammoth Super-Production in whose making we all shared.
She was hungry for love and we offered her tranquillizers.
For the sadness of our not being saints
they recommended psychoanalysis.
Remember, Lord, her increasing terror of the camera
and hatred of make-up (yet insistence on being newly made-up
for every scene) and how the terror grew
and how her unpunctuality at the studios grew.
Like any other shopgirl she dreamed
of being a star.
And her life was as unreal as a dream an analyst reads and files.
Here romances were kisses with closed eyes
which when the eyes are opened
are seen to have been played out beneath the spotlights
but the spotlights have gone out,
and the two walls of the room (it was a set) are taken down
while the Director moves away notebook in hand,
the scene being safely canned.
Or like a cruise on a yacht, a kiss in Singapore, a dance in Rio;
a reception in the mansion of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor
viewed in the sad tawdriness of a cheap apartment.
The film ended without the final kiss.
They found her dead in bed, hand on the phone
And the detectives knew not whom she was about to call.
It was as
though someone had dialled the only friendly voice
and heard a pre-recorded tape just saying “WRONG NUMBER”;
or like someone wounded by gangsters, who
reaches out towards a disconnected phone.
Lord, whomsoever
it may have been that she was going to call
but did not (and perhaps it was no one at all
or Someone not named in the Los Angeles directory),
Lord, answer that phone.
Translated by Robert Pring-Mill
Net censorship spreads worldwide
By Mark Ward
Technology Correspondent, BBC News website
Repressive regimes are taking full advantage of the net's ability to censor and stifle reform and debate, reveals a report.
Technology Correspondent, BBC News website
Written by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) pressure group the report highlights the ways governments threaten the freedom of the press.
The report has a section dedicated to the internet and the growing roster of nations censoring online life.
This censorship is practised on every continent on Earth, said the report.
A very worrying report from the BBC - don't our internet problems pale in comparison?
Working Class Hero
by John Lennon
As soon as you're born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
Till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function you're so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
And you think you're so clever and classless and free
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
There's room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
If you want to be a hero well just follow me
If you want to be a hero well just follow me
Cancer mother-of-three dies
Daily Mail 06/05/06 - Health section
Battling cancer mum Hayley Newbery has died.
The mother-of-three died in St James's Hospital in Leeds following extensive surgery in an attempt to cure her of liver and bowel tumours.
Her plight sparked a national newspaper campaign as she battled to get the wonder drug Avastin.
Last year she learnt she was two months from death unless she took Avastin to shrink her liver and bowel tumours so they could be removed.
The medication was only available privately for £50,000 until the Daily Mirror took up her struggle and launched a campaign to get the drugs on the NHS.
She endured a 10-and-a-half hour operation but died, a spokesman for the hospital said.
The family had asked for no further details to be issued, he said.
Saturday, 6 May 2006
Farmer seized by armed police... for scaring off a dog
09:10am 6th May 2006
When elderly farmer Frank Cook saw a neighbour's dog threatening his lambs, he would have been within his rights to shoot it dead.
When elderly farmer Frank Cook saw a neighbour's dog threatening his lambs, he would have been within his rights to shoot it dead.
Instead he fired a warning shot just behind the terrier, peppering its back leg with pellets but sparing its life.
Mr Cook, 77, says he went to the neighbour, apologised and offered to pay any vet's bill although the dog was wagging its tail and did not appear to be seriously hurt. But the neighbour said he had called the police.
Minutes later, says the farmer, he was standing on his lawn with his two young grandchildren when six police cars roared up and dozens of officers poured out, five of them armed.During the humiliating fivehour ordeal which followed, Mr Cook, a former churchwarden, says he was forced into an armlock, handcuffed, sworn at and bundled into a police car.
Friday, 5 May 2006
Angkor temple reopens to public
Guy De Launey BBC News, Phnom Penh
Archaeologists in Cambodia have completed the first part of what has been called the world's largest jigsaw puzzle. The Baphuon, one of the largest and oldest temples at the world-famous Angkor complex, has been in hundreds of thousands of pieces for decades. Under the Khmer Rouge's brutal regime, the plans for the temple's reconstruction were destoyed. But now, after years of hard work, one section is reopening to the public.
A French-led team of archaeologists have been scratching their heads since peace returned to Cambodia in the early 1990s. Almost 50 years ago, the crumbling temple was taken apart, so it could be strengthened and rebuilt. But the numbers marked on each stone became meaningless when the plans were lost.
At first, a computer programme tried to make sense of the jumble of masonry around the site. But ultimately the team have relied mostly on their own judgement. Some of the Cambodian stonemasons worked on the original project in the 1960s. Now tourists will be able to enter part of the temple for the first time and watch the ongoing restoration work. It should be complete within two years.
Story from BBC NEWS http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4975522.stm
Don't step on the ducks
Three women die together in an accident and go to heaven. When they get there, St. Peter says, "We only have one rule here in "Don't step on the ducks!"
So they enter heaven, and sure enough, there are ducks all over the place. It is almost impossible not to step on a duck, and although they try their best to avoid them, the first woman accidentally steps on one.
Along comes St. Peter with the ugliest man she ever saw. St. Peter chains them together and says, "Your punishment for stepping on a duck is to spend eternity chained to this ugly man!"
The next day, the second woman steps accidentally on a duck and along comes St. Peter, who doesn't miss a thing. With him is another extremely ugly man. He chains them together with the same admonishment as for the first woman.
The third woman has observed all this and, not wanting to be chained for all eternity to an ugly man, is very, VERY careful where she steps.
She manages to go months without stepping on any ducks, but one day St.Peter comes up to her with the most handsome man she has ever laid eyes on ... very tall, long eyelashes, muscular, and thin.
St. Peter chains them together without saying a word. The happy woman says, "I wonder what I did to deserve being chained to you for all of eternity?"
The guy says, "I don't know about you, but I stepped on a duck!"
So they enter heaven, and sure enough, there are ducks all over the place. It is almost impossible not to step on a duck, and although they try their best to avoid them, the first woman accidentally steps on one.
Along comes St. Peter with the ugliest man she ever saw. St. Peter chains them together and says, "Your punishment for stepping on a duck is to spend eternity chained to this ugly man!"
The next day, the second woman steps accidentally on a duck and along comes St. Peter, who doesn't miss a thing. With him is another extremely ugly man. He chains them together with the same admonishment as for the first woman.
The third woman has observed all this and, not wanting to be chained for all eternity to an ugly man, is very, VERY careful where she steps.
She manages to go months without stepping on any ducks, but one day St.Peter comes up to her with the most handsome man she has ever laid eyes on ... very tall, long eyelashes, muscular, and thin.
St. Peter chains them together without saying a word. The happy woman says, "I wonder what I did to deserve being chained to you for all of eternity?"
The guy says, "I don't know about you, but I stepped on a duck!"
Limited Edition PLAY-DOH Fragrance
PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- May 1, 2006 -- For the first time, Hasbro, Inc. has bottled that fresh, just-out-of-the-can, "eau de PLAY-DOH" aroma into a limited-edition fragrance as part of a year-long celebration of the beloved modeling compound's 50th birthday. Out in time for Mother's Day, the 1-ounce, spray bottle fragrance is meant for 'highly-creative people, who seek a whimsical scent reminiscent of their childhood.'
"One of PLAY-DOH compound's most notable characteristics is its scent," said Leigh Anne Cappello, vice president of marketing for the PLAY-DOH brand. "When you open a can of PLAY-DOH compound, you are instantly transported back to childhood. What better way to celebrate the 50th birthday than by bottling the scent for adults everywhere to enjoy as a reminder of their youth."
Hungary workers get shock at bottom of rum barrel
Hungarian builders who drank their way to the bottom of a huge barrel of rum while renovating a house got a nasty surprise when a pickled corpse tumbled out of the empty barrel, a police magazine website reported.
According to online magazine www.zsaru.hu, workers in Szeged in the south of Hungary tried to move the barrel after they had drained it, only to find it was surprisingly heavy and were shocked when the body of a naked man fell out.
The website said that the body of the man had been shipped back from Jamaica 20 years ago by his wife in the barrel of rum in order to avoid the cost and paperwork of an official return.
According to the website, workers said the rum in the 300-litre barrel had a "special taste" so they even decanted a few bottles of the liquor to take home.
The wife has since died and the man was buried in a proper grave.
Hungary? -- they must have been bloody thirsty!!
Quirkies from Ananova 5.5.06
Quirkies
A snog can 'cure hayfever'A new study says a passionate 30-minute kiss can help relieve the misery of hayfever. 08:24 Friday 5th May 2006 and you die from asphyxiation in the process
Mayor used official credit card at strip clubA Chicago mayor is in hot water after he used his official credit card at a strip club. 10:32 Thursday 4th May 2006 what a plonker
Marriage guidance counsellor sued over affairAn Illinois man is suing a marriage guidance counsellor for having an affair with his wife. 10:23 Thursday 4th May 2006 sweet!
A snog can 'cure hayfever'A new study says a passionate 30-minute kiss can help relieve the misery of hayfever. 08:24 Friday 5th May 2006 and you die from asphyxiation in the process
Mayor used official credit card at strip clubA Chicago mayor is in hot water after he used his official credit card at a strip club. 10:32 Thursday 4th May 2006 what a plonker
Marriage guidance counsellor sued over affairAn Illinois man is suing a marriage guidance counsellor for having an affair with his wife. 10:23 Thursday 4th May 2006 sweet!
Thursday, 4 May 2006
The da Vinci Code
yes I have read it and wasn't very impressed. I thought it was quite a good little pot boiler but not very well written. There are other much better authors out there and you would be far better spending your money on them. I have just read a post at Linda L. Richards' blog and agree with her that it's just a book nor did it change my worldview but I suppose I will let myself be dragged along by my wife to see the film ( I really cannot be bothered with Tom Hanks but Jean Reno and Audrey Tautou are a totally different ball game). So why am I giving it publicity? --- I haven't a sodding clue! Maybe because it's getting so much hype and because so many people are saying that you shouldn't read the book because it's evil. Maybe I just want to say (as Linda L. Richards has) that it's just a book.
The Simon Community - helping genuinely homeless people
Those of you wishing to help a homeless person should go to this web page - http://www.simoncommunity.org.uk/donations.htm
JFK Murder Solved.
Results of a 10 year private unbiased investigation provide the first hard evidence of conspiracy in 40 years! and wandering scribe is the queen of england!http://www.jfkmurdersolved.com/index1.htm
Željko Božić Accident
Željko Božić, the stunt man driving this car, was severely injured when the car accidentally caught fire and exploded during a stunt demonstration at the International Stunt Festival in Belgrade.
You can see more images here: Link and check out the big girl's blouse (WIMP) in the last pic!
Wayne asks Coleen, who's Sam?
Wayne Rooney reportedly hit the roof over a text message on his fiancee's phone - when he mistook the time 5am for the name Sam.
Vicar runs a mile to pick up rings
A vicar made a mile-long dash to collect wedding rings after a bridesmaid forgot them.
The Rev Chris McQuillen-Wright came to the rescue after groom Chris Smith arrived at the church and found that bridesmaid Paula Davies had left the pair of gold bands at the home of bride Lucy Rid.
Paula had decided to look after the rings because she thought husband James - the best man - would forget them.
Well what can I say? ...... women huh!
The Rev Chris McQuillen-Wright came to the rescue after groom Chris Smith arrived at the church and found that bridesmaid Paula Davies had left the pair of gold bands at the home of bride Lucy Rid.
Paula had decided to look after the rings because she thought husband James - the best man - would forget them.
Well what can I say? ...... women huh!
The Orangerie re-opens
The world-famous Orangerie Museum in the Tuileries Gardens in Paris re-opens on 17 May after eight years of renovation.
The centrepiece is a room devoted to Monet's Les Nympheas, a panoramic series of water lily paintings.
I have just got to see this.
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