Equal rights for men now!

From BBC news: Equal rights take a back seat.

I find myself in agreement with the premise of the initial objection... The woman was unreasonable (but is that because she's a woman or that she's just an unreasonable person?). (And let's not forget this was on a First-to-breakdown-Scotrail overcrowded commuter train, where tensions tend to be higher than the norm.)

I want equal rights for women, and with that comes equal responsibility. I don't see why men *have* to be sole breadwinners anymore (in a heterosexual relationship...); every couple should come to an agreement that does not depend on the old gender roles.

I don't expect a man to open doors for me (and am still very unsettled by the way some men *refuse* to let me open doors for them, to the extent that they reach past me to hold the damn door even though I've already opened it... trying not being churlish here, but there comes a point where it feels ridiculous). I'd give my seat up on a bus/train for anyone, man/woman/indeterminate of whatever age if they looked uncomfortable standing.

But at the same time, I find myself vaguely unsettled by the bloke's reasoning:

"You're joking, aren't you? What? You want my seat and the right to vote? Forget it."

What the hell has the right to vote have to do with it? Now he's just being a bit of a dinosaur...

But we should consider his reaction: a little more vehement than I would expect. Are we (modern females, that is) ostracising men? Are they frustrated? The writer of the BBC piece considers himself a minority:

But, I suppose, being a member of THE most discriminated against minority (white, middle-aged, heterosexual males) that my opinion will be dismissed as male chauvinist claptrap.

Is that his perception? Or is it real? Are men discriminated against? By who? Other men? Women? As a female, I know that discrimination against women in the workplace is very much alive and kicking. It gets worse the higher up the hierarchy you go. Is this the same for men? Or is it that they see policy makers publically favouring women with tax breaks or maternity leave for having children? While it may look one-sided, my very biased opinion is that these measures are only slowly narrowing the gap. The Bridget Jones and Carrie Bradshaws they may imagine when they think of modern women don't really exist in RealLife^TM.

What next? Will men take to the streets in protest?

Spin yourself out of this one...

From BBC news: New Orleans sacks 3,000 workers.

Are you trying to tell me that 3000 people who have lost their homes, belongings and maybe even friends or relatives have now also lost their source of income? What utter rot.

Souffle omelette

Souffle omelette
Originally uploaded by framboise.

It seems too me that I've been eating chicken for most of my lunches and dinners (probably because I freeze the excess dinners for lunch...). And although I found a decent source of beef at Whole Foods, I can't bring my stingy self to pay for it regularly. And I've yet to try the lamb. So, tonight, it's the old standby meat-less, tofu-less, pulse-less recipe: souffle omelette.

It's nothing special; the only difference is you beat the egg whites separately from everything else. Which isn't hard if you're only whisking the whites from two or three eggs. (Bulking up to the 6 eggs normally required for cakes takes a bit more time, and lazy git here tends to use an electric whisk for that.)

Ingredients required to feed two (or one greedy guts):

• 3 eggs, yolks and whites separated
• a handful of cheese, grated (I'd recommend parmesan, and whatever else you have in. In this instance, I was trying to use up some cheese left by friends, which consisted of fake mozarrella and plastic cheddar - not perfect, but adequate.)
• seasoning (salt/pepper; when I'm feeling chefy, I add chillies or Moroccan-stylee spices)

See here for a composite of ingredients.

Method:

1. (Turn the grill on... Whack it as high as it'll go)
2. Beat the egg whites with a super-clean whisk in a super-clean bowl. Needless to say, both bowl and whisk must be desert-dry too.
   When you get to the soft peak stage (you'll know, cos your triceps will start to complain), fold in the egg yolks, grated cheese and seasoning. (Again, this whole folding malarky must be done carefully so you don't collapse the air-inflated egg whites. The figure of eight action is my preferred method.) It's not necessary to mix it well.
3. Melt a knob of butter in a pan (non-stick if you believe in such things), and flop the mixture in.
4. Allow to cook until the base is firm enough to move about when you shuggle the pan, but not so long that the whole damn thing solidifies.
5. Stick the wobbly mixture under the grill and allow a minute (or two) for the mixture to JUST brown (more golden than brown, ok?).
6. Fold over and serve.

I committed the cardinal sin of letting my omelette cook for 30 seconds too long, and it was a bit more firm than I like... It should be a wee bit sloppy when it comes out of the whole process. (I also beat my egg whites a bit too much cos I was having so much fun...) But if you're worried about salmonella poisoning, I guess you'd be better off cooking it till it's rubbery and killed all the joy of eating a proper omelette.

Technorati tags: omelette, recipe.

mirrormask

where cats have wings and pigeons don't

Spoiler alert: no plot developments posted, but you may not want to know anything anyway.

Mirrormask, yet another collaboration by Neil Gaiman and David McKean, was everything I expected it to be. And since I can't write a review to save my life (argh, when will i ever finish that damn piece), here's what the LA Times had to say about the movie. And being a lazy git (already established in previous posts), I shall merely comment on snippets of the review....

"Although the plot and motifs are largely borrowed from "The Wizard of Oz" and "Alice in Wonderland," there is something oddly intoxicating about Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman's coming-of-age fantasy "MirrorMask." The teenager's journey through a nightmarish reverie presents hallucinogenic imagery that simultaneously dulls the senses and hot-wires the imagination, but it never fully engages emotionally."

It's the first paragraph, and already I'm in disagreement. What I enjoy about Gaiman's work is that he takes well-known/established stories, and gives them the subversive Gaiman treatment. Like a slightly warped mind telling bedtime stories with elements of Dadaism and stark reality. As for the lack of emotional engagement, it's an oft-made criticism. But that, for me, is part of its charm. You are but an observer in this world of fantasy. If the reviewer was perhaps refering to a lack of empathy for the characters, then again I'd have to disagree. Right from the start, it's clear that though our protaganist leads a life very different to her peers, the dynamics of her relationship with her mother are no different from the norm. That very ordinariness immediately endears her to half the audience (assuming it's 50% female, with their teenage years behind them).

"As out-of-the-ordinary as the Dark Lands and its unusual inhabitants are, the realization of them fails to transcend the rather predictable story McKean conceived with screenwriter Gaiman (a novelist and comic-book writer with a large cult following)."
[snip]
"Gaiman and McKean never successfully connect the kitchen-sink emotions of the film's real world to Helena's journey through the fantasy world. While a boon to special effects and low-cost filmmaking, digital images still largely project a coolness that keeps our feelings at arm's length."

Perhaps the reviewer has missed the point of the movie. It's not about twists and turns in the plot (that M Night Shayamalan really has spoilt it for all the other storytellers), it's about the journey, how things unfold. As for the digital backdrops, I rather think that was the whole point of them doing this movie now, when the technology has finally caught up with their imagination. These guys are graphic novelists after all. This movie is like a giant graphic novel, with moving bits and atmospheric music.

So, maybe not one for the mainstream audiences (it has a mere week's run in LA; in only one theatre). But does a "mainstream" audience exist anymore? And if it does, what does it watch? Harry Potter and the difficulty-he-must-overcome-with-the-help-of-his-friends? Cos that's fantasy too, dressed in Hollywood clothes.

But if you read comic books when you were younger (or graphic novels if you were posh), this is definitely one for you. If you can't stand even the mild surrealness of Tim Burton's creations, or don't watch a movie unless it's had the word "gritty" in the review, then you might want to watch something else. That maybe has Sean Bean dying in it. Again.

Technorati tag: mirrormask.

More tapioca boba than pearls, me...

Tagged by the curious hamster for a meme on where bloggers write their "pearls of wisdom". Ha! I'm much more likely to cook sago pearls than write wisdom. And since I'm avoiding writing work-stuff again, and waiting for the cable guy (who is now three-quarters of an hour late), here is a photo of my new beloved:

As you can see, she sits on my dining table when I'm at home, although sometimes she joins me on the sofa when I'm watching a DVD on the telly. And next to her, the ever-present cuppa. Rationale? I always try to sit facing a window, even if it doesn't have much of a view (the patio is in serious need of some greenery). Anything else is too claustrophobic.

As for tagging people, well... How about Gunnella, manthatcooks and the meme graveyard (Santos)?

Update: Cable guy didn't turn up. Hacked off.

MCC? Male Chauvanist C***s

From theguardian: Are mixed sex cricket teams outrageous?

Neuro-economics

Ha! Finally, confirmation of my long-held prejudice that stockbrokers are a bunch of nutters.

To stand in somebody else's shoes

In today's theguardian*, Stuart Jeffries talks of understanding our neighbours and, in particular, their religions. Although I'm an out-and-out aetheist, I understand his point about not just "tolerating" our neighbours' differences, but "understanding" them instead.

I was fortunate enough to attend a secular school as a child, which did not enforce its religion on me, the way some Catholic and Methodist-backed schools in S'pore insisted the entire school had daily prayers. Not that that's a bad thing, per se. Just not for me, thanksverymuch.

But even that lack of school or state sponsored religious teaching did not mean that I was cocooned from the world of believers. The beauty of the secularity of my school was that we had girls from almost every major religion in S'pore enrolled. And religious education (RE) was a class you had to choose to take (not that I did, lazy git). Even then, RE classes covered all the major religions, for everyone.

Anyway. My point? Getting there. From an early age, I was friends with Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Christians (Jews being quite scarce in S'pore). I never thought of myself as tolerating their different beliefs. I didn't really understand the concept of "tolerance"; it just seemed to me that this state of affairs was quite proper and natural. And that's the way I still think it should be.

From discussions at recess time, to being invited to my friends' homes and churches/temples/mosques, I learned enough about each religion to understand that in the majority, teachings of their religious leaders were all about how to lead one's life in the "proper" way, and had absolutely nothing to do with denouncing those different to them. No, that came from the lay people. The bigots who, to make themselves feel special, divided the world into "them" and "us".

And while we're talking about religious divisions, consider the Old Firm. Why can't supporters of Rangers and Celtic just be completely honest with themselves and admit their rivalry has nothing to do with religion anymore, and more about the fact that they are the only two clubs that play good enough football in Scotland to feel absolute enmity for the other?

*I'm liking the way thefiver calls its own employers: "berliner theguardian"...

Bombs (2?) in Bali

From BBC news: Bali bomb attacks claim 25 lives.

From LA times: Death toll climbs to 25 in Bali blasts.

Update: Now suspected to be suicide attacks. I find it so difficult to understand why tourist areas are targeted in SE Asia. It makes it less about ideology, and more about economic damage or publicity.

weekend

Doing anything this weekend? I wish I wasn't...

Even on regular days, I'm not exactly a sociable animal; more like a hermit crab. But this weekend, the need for solitude is greater. For I have just purchased TP's Thud and NG's Anansi Boys. And I rented Donnie Darko - the director's cut last night, and was too tired to watch it.

Unfortunately, despite the last two weeks' respite, my fledgling social life is kicking off again. Tonight: drinks and Corpse Bride. Tomorrow: some work, picking up a colleague's Jeep from somewhere in SM, and dinner with the neighbours. Sunday: NG is giving a wee talk at the West Hollywood Book Festival. And I haven't been boarding since getting back from Scotland/France... What's a lazy gal to do? Tell everyone to bugger off? My books and I need some quality time together...

I'm not really complaining. This is, after all, why I upped sticks: to get out of the house more, to have a social life, to be more physically active, to bask in enough sunlight to banish the last ten years of SAD (although why we can't have the sun and cool weather, i just don't know), to experience the craziness that is la la land.

Update: Books finished. Both fantastic reads (but I'm biased; having read most of what both authors have written). Jeep safely delivered. Corpse Bride was super. Only thing I didn't manage to do was go to the beach. Oh well; it'll always be there...

Update 2: Went to the WeHo Book Fair, yapped about it on the other blog...

Update 3: Donnie Darko is a bleak film indeed. But I enjoyed it. Since it's probably been reviewed to death already, I won't bother (lazy git and all).

Update 4: My, I've been having fun. Been to see Mirrormask. Enjoyed it.

Twa-faced Broon

Gordon Brown is a two-faced git (via nosemonkey).

And this is what he said only a few days earlier. So, home-ownership only for the deserving, eh?

Wildfires: my second encounter

Wildfires Rage Across Southern California

More on my LA blog.

Labour holds Westminster and Holyrood seats despite swing

From BBC news: Labour keeps Cook's Commons seat.

A swing of 10% to the SNP is not to be sniffed at, but I guess NuLab will be taking the win as a mandate to carry on regardless. Shame that... And although the SNP issue of bringing back essential services to St John's Hospital in Livi was well-intentioned, could they have managed to do it anyway? (says a super-pessimist...)

The other one came as a surprise to me. Thought there was a general shift towards the alternative parties in Holyrood. Shows you how much I know. Don't place any bets based on my predictions...

2008 Presidential Candidate

Sick of the Republicans? Fed up with waiting for the Democrats? Can't stand to waste yet another vote on Nader? Well check this out: A Presidential candidate for 2008 (via nosemonkey).

Hollywood gets it wrong again

From Nature: Quicksand can't suck you under.

Changing drug resistance of the AIDS virus

From BBC news: Aids virus 'could be weakening'

I'm not familiar with the HIV field of research, nor have I read this particular paper, but I strongly suspect that this refers to a small cohort, probably in Belgium (facts need to be checked when I have access to the paper). The way the AIDS virus is spread probably means that in different populations, the strains are vastly different. While it sounds like the recent viral samples they've extracted from their (untreated?) patients are more sensitive to drug treatment in cultured cells than virus samples collected 15-20 years ago, there's no guarantee that the viruses in other populations are undergoing the same "attenutation" (or weakening). While I'm happy for those who have the weaker, more treatable, virus, I've seen reports that the exact opposite is happening in other studies, where an increase in drug-resistance is seen.

Let's just hope those who pretend that AIDS is an epidemic that will just go away of its own accord fail to latch on to this particular finding.

Update: The BBC page has an audio link to an interview with Dr. Eric Artz. In summary, he refers to the way viruses lose pathogenicity (i.e. are less lethal) over time as the mechanism for survival of the virus. And suggests this may be happening with HIV-1, and could mean the virus will cause fewer fatalities in several decade.

My understanding: With viruses that are dependent on their hosts to survive and replicate, the adage "survival of the fittest" is not always true. A super-strong virus that ends up killing its host soon runs out of warm bodies to infect (in an idealised world, where local populations stay local and don't move about too much...). Case in point: the ebola virus. My guess is that these viruses die out with their local population of hosts, and the weaker mutants, which don't cause immediate death, will survive another day to infect another host.

Update 2: Having skimmed through the paper, it looks like they looked at two different scenarios: one where they allowed pairs viruses to infect cells in culture and compared the historical and recent viruses' abilities to replicate in competition with each other (indicator of their pathogenicity, don't know how it works), and another where they treated uninfected cells in culture with entry inhibitors, then infected them (measure of drug-resistance).

Their findings? Recent viruses are less "fit", and lose out in direct competition with the historical ones. And recent viruses are a little less able to infect cells treated with entry inhibitors.

[Disclaimer: This is super-simplified and over-generalised. I really don't know anything about viruses, let alone the ins-and-outs of HIV-1. Other factors to take into account include period, method and range of infection, immune response, disease progress and bloodymindedness of humans and drug companies...]

And as is pretty obvious, I'm work-avoiding... Pseudo-science on a blog being easier to write my own stuff.

Technorati tags: AIDS, HIV-1.

Help the aged... Right out of the conference.

From BBC news: Labour issues apology to heckler

In the post-match interview:

"I'm going to personally apologise to him," Mr McCartney said. "I'm going to personally meet him if he takes the opportunity."

(Emphasis mine.) Umm... I don't know what Ian McCartney is normally like, but I think that was a poor choice of words. It should have been "...if he GIVES ME the opportunity". And I hope when Mr Wolfgang meets Mr McCartney, he gives that young whippersnapper the good hiding he deserves for his insolence. (Oops. No longer allowed under Nanny-Lab.)

Elsewhere, the curious hamster makes a sound prediction.

danger down under

From the BBC's news magazine: Danger Down Under

This brings to mind TP's continent of XXXX (or FourEcks*), where there are no longer snakes; the slithering reptiles having been eaten by the spiders. And don't even bother trying to list all the other dangerous species. Not even the sheep are completely harmless...

Och, yet another mirror of Roundworld in the Discworld... ;)

*See The Last Continent.

An experiment in brown

Brown, brown, brown
Originally uploaded by framboise.

Slowly getting back to some semblance of a normal life. Felt alert enough tonight to cook without burning the place down, though how one can achieve that with an electric stove, one can only wonder.

Something other foreign postdocs have noticed (i.e. moaned about during lunch) is the way a lot of the meat here leaks copious amounts of water when fried. While that's happened to me only twice, I've not had that problem since I found a decent source of meat. Whole Foods has a half-decent meat section, where they stock organic beef, some of which has even been hung long enough to develop some flavour. Although the price is considerably more, I'd willingly give up alcohol to have good meat (not that I have to just yet). Same with the chicken. Since finding organic chicken not only at Whole Foods, but also at Ralph's, my frying pan has been almost spit-free. This isn't the best-controlled experiment, as I've not really explored the non-organic options. But since I eat organic meat for the simple reason that it's the only way to be sure the meat is hormone- and antibiotic-free here, I'm not exactly going out of my way to buy the regular stuff.

So. The experiment in brown. I don't know why it is that, surrounded by colour, I could only think to buy some mushrooms to have with my chicken. As for the chicken, easy-peasy:

1. Heat some oil in a pan over a medium-to-high heat. Place some chicken thighs (or legs) in the oil, skin-side down. Allow the chicken to develop some colour (golden brown is the aim, not charred brown), and turn over. This may take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the heat.
2. When the chicken is browned all over, turn the heat right down so that the oil is gently bubbling. Get yourself a few cloves of garlic, with skins left on. Smash with the blade of a largish knife and throw into the pan. Stick a cover over the pan and let the chicken cook. Again, depending on size of chicken pieces and heat, this could take anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes. More if your chicken was more closely related to a turkey (embarrassing story from my childhood somewhere there...).
3. While the chicken is cooking, look through the veg box/fridge to find some inspiration for an accompaniment. If you're me, realise that you've got no colour in the kitchen, and resign yourself to slicing some mushrooms.
4. Dig out a half-open bottle of Chablis some friends left in your kitchen when they left the country, and taste to check it's not gone off. Pour out a decent measure and refrain from drinking on an empty stomach.
5. At the same time, dig out the genuine creme fraiche bought almost 3 weeks ago from a Trader Joe's and sniff it to check it's not gone off either. Amazingly, it hasn't... (There's something odd about the way milk, yoghurt and cream lasts so much longer in the US. Preservatives? Better storage? Whatever it is, it's freaking me out...)
6. By the time you've finished rummaging around the kitchen, the chicken will be ready. Add the mushrooms to help soak up some of that lovely chicken fat. Or if you're conscientious, and fat-conscious, drain the fat out of the pan first. But make sure you're not removing the "jus"...
7. Remove the chicken, garlic and mushrooms from the pan, and add the large glass of wine. Let it bubble away on a high heat.
8. When the wine has "reduced" (read: evaporated. what a waste...) to half its volume, add a huge blob of creme fraiche. Make that three very generous tablespoons. Or more.
9. While it's bubbling, realise you forgot to season the sauce, and decide it doesn't matter anyway. Squeeze a forlorn half of a lemon into the sauce. Actually, make it a quarter unless it's a very small lemon.
10. Serve. With any other brown accompaniment you can find. In this case, bread frozen a whole month ago and defrosted in the microwave.
11. Eat. Feel fulfilled that you've survived another session in an alien kitchen.

And because your dishwasher hasn't received his visa yet, do the dishes... Cos they won't keep for another 3-4 weeks.

Technorati tags: chicken, recipe.

I know that loo...

From the BBC's news mag: A public inconvenience.

My first thought when I saw the photo: I know that loo! How sad is that? It's the women's public toilet in Dunbar. Although that is an exemplary toilet, I'm afraid to report that the facilities in nearby Yellowcraigs beach (between North Berwick and Gullane) leave a lot to be desired. They're the kind you can imagine being kidnapped from, being situated between sand dunes and a dark copse. So when we're driving through East Lothian, and we're caught short, we always aim for Dunbar...

Blairgowrie man is world champion

Here's a first for Blair(gowrie): one of their local sons is the current world champion.

Of stone skimming.

Yes, you read it right. To be added to the list of top-class sporting events: World Stone Skimming Championships! Held on Easdale Island, on the west coast of Scotland, they take stone skimming seriously enough to have regulation stones.

A reliable source (read: P) informs me that it made the news (i.e. the evening news in Scotland), and gave him a jolt when he recognised the champion stone skimmer as a classmate of his brother's. (Other trivia you didn't want to know: the champion's brother was in P's year in school, and good at footie. Ach, small town people... They all know each other... I lived in a country with only 3 million people and I hardly knew anyone except my classmates. And I only ever met 2 people in school who went on to fame, don't know about fortune...)

A bit of research (read: searching the Scotsman's website) found these two articles. Knock yourselves out (you may need to register):

• Skim a stone and win
• Scots triumph at skimming contest

So, well done, Dougie Isaacs!

Technorati tags: scotland, stone skimming.

Recycle those coffee cups

Feeling guilty about throwing away all those disposable coffee cups?

Santos of tsogb has a super way to recycle paper coffee cups from your coffee chain of choice.

Or if you don't bake, how about using them to sprout seeds or pot-on seedlings? (Oops, wrong time of year in the Northern hemisphere for that sort of thing... Next Spring, eh?)

It's never dreich in LA

The BBC promotes an interesting book in today's Magazine: The Meaning of Tingo (author's website here). His latest blog entry would bring a wee smile to the face of most Scots:

... Scottish weather words I found, most of them, unsurprisingly, to do with rain. Dreich, ‘a miserably wet day’; plowtery, meaning ‘showery’; and drookit, ‘soaked to the skin’.

Most of the Scottish words I know are related to the weather, closely followed by words about drink or being drunk... Now what does that say about me, or the state of Scotland? (Not 100% sure, not being a true Scot, but plowtery may be pronounced "ploootery", and drookit as "dreekit". Don't quote me on that...)

The book is available for pre-order on Amazon.com and .co.uk... I think it qualifies under my new strict guidelines for buying books. i.e. I have to want to ship it back to the UK when I'm done here. That's probably been the hardest thing to resist over here, especially since I live very close to a good secondhand bookshop.

Speaking of bookshops, tucked between many trendy restaurants in Westwood is a murder/mystery/crime specialist bookshop. I wandered in last week out of curiosity, as I'm not a huge fan of crime novels. Not recognising any works or authors on the tables, I went off in search for Ian Rankin's books. Different covers. For some reason, publishers think that British and American readers have different preferences for cover art. Same thing with Terry Pratchett's novels; they lack both Kirby's and Kidby's paintings.

Edit: Just thought to check if the bookshop has a website. Turns out they have a blog. They sure arrange a lot of signings.

Scotland's murder rate

From the Guardian: Scotland has second highest murder rate in Europe. Another depressing report on Scotland's crime rates (top for violence too).

Another study from the University of California, to be published later this year, will claim Scotland has a higher homicide rate than America, Israel, Uzbekistan, Chile and Uruguay.

So, statistically, I'm less likely to be murdered here than in Edinburgh? Don't think so, matey...

Sign of the times?

From the Guardian: Suspicious behaviour on the tube (via Nosemonkey).

Having found some time to browse the blogs I've not had time to read over the last two months, I'm starting to regret spending my Sunday on the computer. It's sunny in LA. I should be on the beach. But instead, I'm sitting on the patio, reading about the enormous pile of horse dung that Britain is turning into. It stinks.

If you want to feel really pissed off, read the article above. It is a scary account of the loss of liberty and privacy in London today. Orwell wasn't bloody far off when he wrote 1984. And while I haven't been to London since the bombing, my brother lives, studies, and commutes in London. He would perfectly fit the description of someone acting suspiciously, as defined by the Met:

[David Mery was] stopped and searched because:

• they found [his] behaviour suspicious from direct observation and then from watching [him] on the CCTV system;
• [he] went into the station without looking at the police officers at the entrance or by the gates;
• two other men entered the station at about the same time as [him];
• [he was] wearing a jacket "too warm for the season";
• [he was] carrying a bulky rucksack, and kept [his] rucksack with [him] at all times;
• [he] looked at people coming on the platform;
• [he] played with [his] phone and then took a paper from inside [his] jacket.

And so would almost every 20-, 30-, 40, 50-something year old male with a knapsack-style laptop bag. And so would I, but being female I guess I'd be slightly lower on the dodgy-scale. Although I'm outraged about what happened to David Myer, and the fact that he now has a police record he does not deserve, I can't say I'm surprised. My bro has had his bag searched several times. And so have his friends. I'm loathe to ask if there's a trend amongst his friends between the number of bag searches and the darkness of their tan. I'm afraid to hear the answer.

And there I was complaining about the ridiculous number of security checks I've had to go through to get to the US... Imagine being stopped and searched just to get from point A to B in your own country. Oh, hold on... These folk would know all about it...

Ambition and aspiration

From BBC news: Ministers 'back' Brown for leader.

"My vision is to build a home-owning, asset-owning democracy, a Britain of ambition and aspiration, where all and not just the few have the chance to own their own homes, buy shares and build up assets," said Gordon Brown...

Oh lawdy-lawd... "Ambition and aspiration"? Fine sentiments, Mr Brown. Sure, we all want to own our homes, and be worth something. But just watch that "i want, i want" culture aspirate the last drops of socialism out of the British. Methinks you are trying to appeal to the last dredges of Old Labour supporters, while using the aspirational language (read: spin) that New Labourites understand so well.

Are we moving towards the American model of self-sufficiency? While a nanny state is not desirable, neither is a health service run by profit. Sure, reform of the NHS, welfare and education systems are needed. But not in the direction New Labour intends... Through my naïve eyes, these bodies are top-heavy; full of well-educated, well-meaning managers, who are essentially bureaucrats, pushing memos and papers from office to office. Is it too simplistic to ask that many of these people be replaced with those who do the real work (you know, nurses, docs, teachers, care workers)? And while the managers are happily imbibing chardonnay/cabernet sauvignon (which grape are we casually insulting now?) in their Wimpey/Barratt houses, and climbing the property ladder, support staff find it almost impossible to convince banks to even give them a mortgage...

Oh dear... How did we get here again?

Monet aux Pixels

If you were in Rouen this summer, you would have seen a light show (Cathedrales en Lumiere) projected on the west facade of Rouen's Cathedral, famous for a series of experimental paintings by Monet. The series is scattered all over the world, and I've only seen a few: a few housed at the Musée d'Orsay, one at the Louvre, and one or two others (can't remember which ones), which were part of the touring Monet exhibition a few years ago at the National Gallery in London. They give an insight into how Monet experimented with his technique, as artists are wont to do. I don't get all the art-farty significance of it all, and can only say "Oh look! Pretty piccie!". All the same, I was sorry not to be able to show P the gorgeous collection of Impressionist art at the Musée d'Orsay due to poor planning on my part (and being ill too). And as a double-whammy, my fall-back, the Orangerie, was closed for renovations. It looks like they're expanding the place. Hope the builders they've got in are more careful than the norm: there are some precious Monet murals of water lilies in the basement. Now, you wouldn't want a burst main to flood that particular cellar, would you?

Some links to online images of Monet's Rouen Cathedrale series (will add more later; feeling lazy):

• Temps gris @ Musée d'Orsay
• Harmonie bleue et or @ the d'Orsay
• Temps gris (tour et portail) @ Musée des Beaux Arts, Rouen
• Morning light @ the Getty
• In the sun @ the Met, NY
• Morning effect @ Boston's Museum of Fine Arts
• Another one in sunlight @ Boston's Museum of Fine Arts
• And a comprehensive collection: arranged chronologically as a slideshow.

Technorati tags: monet, rouen cathedral.

flightplan

Saw Flightplan last night. Was pretty good, if you like Hitchcockian thrillers. Could not stop from drooling whenever the Bean appeared on screen, which kind of spoiled the odd moment of suspense...

Small irony in choosing the Bean to play an airline captain since he's afraid of flying... (useless trivia gleaned from hours of lotr dvd extras)

Not sure if the new Airbus 380 was used as a model for the plane, but it's not so far-fetched to imagine a child getting totally lost on an airplane that gargantuan.

Minor nit: Since Kyle Pratt was an aeronautical engineer, who designed the propulsion engines, shouldn't she have been flying in at least business class? Didn't really notice anything else... Too busy mopping up the drool.

Technorati tags: flightplan, movie.

KitKat vs Tunnock's wafer

Santos writes about a whole snap* of KitKats, which, despite knowing they're probably full of E numbers, make me crave that feeling of teeth sinking into the yielding, softly crunching wafer, accompanied by the brush of the lips with a smear of chocolat. Which lasts all of 5 seconds, after which the whole finger is consumed, never to see daylight again.

Not that I've had a KitKat in many, many years. For they are manufactured by that naughty conglomerate: Nestlé. I've been boycotting these guys so long, I've almost forgotten why! But fortunately, a brave (or foolhardy) food blogger subjected himself to a gawd-awful Lean Cuisine meal recently, made by the self-same company, and included this link.

And the irony? My dad used to work for Nestlé. I grew up on Nestlé powdered milk. I spent my childhood eating food manufactured by Nestlé's subsidiary: Maggi. And I even had dolls from Switzerland, thanks to my dad spending months at a time out there. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

Although I've been KitKat-deprived for years, fortunately for my junk food cravings, I was living in Scotland: home to Tunnock's, makers of the Caramel Wafer. The Caramel Wafer (and it deserves those capitals) is one you either love or hate. Unlike a KitKat, it takes some time to devour (savour, if you wannae be posh about it). That thin layer of sticky caramel makes it all the more special; sticking the soggy wafer to your teeth for the rest of the day. And while the chocolate coating has as little cocoa in it as KitKat's, it's a wee bit thicker and less sweet. Now, that I miss! A lot!

*as suggested by manthatcooks

Technorati tags: caramel wafer, kitkat, tunnocks.

Fauchon

What we should eat
What we prefer to eat
What we can afford

Technorati tags: fauchon, macarons.

Je mange, donc je suis

Obligatory food post. After all, I'm just back from France: home of the gastronomes.

There's something about eating in company that makes it very difficult to take photographs of the food. (Anyone else keep their food blogging a secret from work mates?) So, I'll have make do with a list of salivating dishes and a discreetly snapped steak tartare (eating with P that day, which made things easier).

Being in Normandy, a lot of the food had a strong apple theme, with butter, cream and cheese being the backing singers. One meal that stood out in particular was a lunch during the conference, at which braised chicken was served with slices of baked apple. Dessert was a light, baked cheese mousse layered with apples, and garnished with what I first thought was a green cherry, but turned out to be a preserved miniature apple. I've since found out that there are very few producers of preserved mini apples, which made it even more special.

We were also treated to a banquet in a proper château, which, while impressive, was outdone by the food and the entertainment (two wandering magicians). The highlight of that meal, for me, was the palette cleanser of a shot of calvados poured over two scoops of apple sorbet. (There's a name for this, but I've forgotten it... Something to do with alcohol killing the neurons that were making the synaptic connection... Update: It's called Trou Normande.)

Speaking of alcohol, I'm no fan of cider/cidre, having had the standard fresher's (next-day) reaction to a night of cheap pub cider. My second attempt involved a bottle of Scrumpy Jack from Cornwall, which left my tastebuds complaining for the rest of the evening. In fact, the only use for cider in my household is for the annual end-of-year baked ham. And it was even supplanted in recent years by coke (another awful drink I've never truly understood). So it came as a pleasant surprise that cidre is not only be drinkable, but also hangover-free. So that makes it three decent drinks you can make from apples...

Other delights of Normandy include huitres (oysters) (although I'm informed that those from Brittany are just as good) and cheese. I'm not one of life's creative fairies, but a box of Pont l'Evêque could give me cause to write a symphony in ode to the sublime fromage.

And for those with a sweet tooth, those Normandes do some fine chewy caramels, along with a rock; flavoured with apples, naturally... The galettes (buttery hard biscuits) are also pas mal.

Technorati tags: cider, normandy.

Vegemite vs Marmite on Flickr

Saffron has uploaded a Flickr tag fight between Vegemite and Marmite, and it looks like Vegemite is winning... I suggest all Marmite-lovers get their cameras out and fight the good fight!

Technorati tags: marmite.

Campaign to reduce cyclist deaths

From BBC news: Campaign to reduce cyclist deaths.

"We will have officers out at various cycle routes across the city over the next two weeks who will be speaking to cyclists about road safety issues and ensuring they are not breaking the law."

--Superintendent Colin McNeill, Lothian and Borders Police

How about targeting motorists and drivers of the lethal white van to make them aware that they have to give cyclists more room on the road? Or that cycle lanes must be respected, and even if you're just nipping into the shops for 5 min, once you've parked in a cycle lane, you're increasing the risk of a cyclist who has to swerve outside the cycle lane for your laziness?

we won! we won! oh.. what?

From BBC news: Scotland wins something (via curious hamster).

Elgin and its environs

www.flickr.com

This is a Flickr badge showing photos in a set called Elgin. Make your own badge here.

Amidst all the rushing around over the last fortnight, I had some time on my hands before P's brother's wedding. And since I've never seen anything of Elgin other than the town centre at night, I thought I'd have a look at the ruins of the Elgin Cathedral. From the little I remember of the explanatory placards, it was built some time in the 11th century (maybe later) and was abandoned as a place of worship four centuries ago. And ever since then, the sandstone it's made of (like almost everything else in Scotland apart from bloody granite-shoot-me-now-it's-so-depressing-Aberdeen) has been crumbling. It's a war of attrition for Historic Scotland to keep buildings like this safe for visitors, let alone intact or preserved in any way. All the same, they've done a great job, especially in the two main towers, which you can visit. I find it somewhat incongruous that while the stonework is falling to bits, all we can do is stick in new floorboards and windows to spruce the place up. Anyway, it was a pleasant diversion while I was kicking my heels waiting for events to kick off

Sidenote: What do other partners of groom's/bride's men/women-in-attendance do at weddings? The best man's gf and I were pretty much at a loose end all day and night while our men were obliged to dance with every single female in the room except us. All the same, it was very nice to see the extended family and friends.

BBC attacked yet again

Rupert Murdoch is a long streak of piss.

Galloway vs. Hitchens

From BBC News Video and Audio: Galloway vs Hitchens.

Eh, what fun. Skipping sideways for a moment, I thought for a second that I'd met GG last week at the airport in Dyce, but probably not. I'm not very good at recognising people I don't know personally. And I worry constantly that I won't recognise people I'm supposed to meet.

So what happens now?

From BBC news: Merkel ahead in tight German vote.

Another suitcase in another hall;
take the pictures off another wall;
Where is Germany going to?
Don't ask anymore.

Apologies for bursting into bad ALW music... What on earth are the Germans going to do now? I'm guessing a "grand coalition" is a euphemism for a mess of a hung parliament. And from the point of view of a female, why are the only women successful enough to lead a political party mainly conservative (small and big "c")? It's that need to have bigger, brassier balls than their male peers, isn't it?

Ashes regained

From BBC news: The day the Aussies were beaten

Back online after a week on "holiday" (more on that later). Don't want to gloat. But am pleased that the English cricket team has finally cracked Australia. It was, to one who could not see any of the play, a close one. Both sides weren't playing their absolute best the whole time, with Australia sorely in need of McGrath for much of the series. I was particularly impressed that England did not fall to the usual feeling of inadequacy, and rose to the challenge of superior Aussie bowling in the final test.

It's a nice feeling indeed, not to regret what may have been. It all came right in the end.

Onward to winter and India!

Technorati tags: cricket.

Roast lamb and tequila

Roast lamb
Originally uploaded by framboise.

P cooked what will probably be our last lamb roast for a wee whiley. It was simply delish. Something about Scottish lamb just cannae be beat (although I'm sure the Kiwis will beg to differ). It may have something to do with the sheer difficulty of getting enough to eat in a typical Scottish spring/summer. But the flesh is tender and the flavour rich (but not smelly, Mom... you really need to try it). In fact, it's so good on its own, you don't need to marinate it or do anything else to it. Maybe a sprinkle of salt, pepper and your favourite spice (I like cumin and coriander, but P was trying to use up our stash of "Good with everything salt", which has rosemary and lavender). Set the oven to 220°C, roast the shoulder of lamb (nae bone) for 20 min, turn the temperature down to 200°C and continue to roast for 15 min for every 500g. Rest for 10 min before carving, or all the juices will piss out and leave you with dry meat. Easy peasy. (OK, after reading this, P has confessed to leaving the lamb in for an extra 10 min because we had guests, who may not have liked it too pink...)

Because of time constraints, there wasn't our usual mashed potato with nutmeg. But the cous-cous (also so easy to prepare) worked in a very Moroccan way. The veggies, while plain-looking, were pretty tasty: steamed, then sat in the oven for a bit with cracked coriander seeds. (You can tell I like my coriander, can't you...)

For dessert? I bought a bottle of Sauza Tequila Gold back... So K and M brought margarita mix. I'd never tried it with calvados before. But I can assure you it works. I was also relliably informed that a small shot of Cointreau or Grand Marnier or even Amaretto works well too. And my little tip for the evening: stick the bottle of margarita mix in the freezer while you're eating your tea... It chills it enough so you don't need to add ice (of which there was none since the main ice-maker, me, was away). Bliss.

Sports-mad

It's been a crazy wee week... I think we must have gone into every single women's clothes shop in Edinburgh to find me something to wear for a wedding on Saturday. Fortunately, it's not my own, so I can afford to look a little less than perfect (ha! like I ever could...). But all the same, when photos have to last as long as the marriage, you don't want to look like a gimp in someone else's album...

On the not-so-girly front, I think I chose the best week to come home. There's been footie (yay Scotland, silly England) and cricket. OMG the cricket! I missed it so, so much... And although it's great to watch the Ashes on telly, and not have to wake up at 3am, LA time, to catch the start of the day's play, I feel like I'm missing something... I think it's that feeling of despair. For once, although I'm still apprehensive about England's chances of winning outright, I don't have the "Oh well, we'll never be as good as the Aussies" thought constantly nagging me. It's a pleasant sensation indeed.

I reckon it's going to be down to the Hoggy-baby, Freddie and Harmy trio versus the Warne, Lee, McGrath trinity. Whatever they say about the Oval, this is going to be a bowler's test...

Come on England!

Back in Embra

Cheviots
Originally uploaded by framboise.

For a wee visit, then off to Elgin, Rouen, Paris and back to LA. Never have I travelled so much in such a short space. I've neglected my duty as a circadian biologist, failing to collect blood samples to measure my cortisol levels (which are probably at a constant high at the moment).

Something that struck me on the flight back was the sudden surge in cricket commentators in the newspapers. Suddenly, everyone's an expert on the Ashes. And nobody looks at me in a funny way when I talk about England's all-new bowling prowess. Hey guys, where were you in the slim years? Hope you all stay the course, 'cause following British teams ain't for the faint-hearted. Look at Scotland's rugby and football teams: heartbreakers all (OK, tonight's result was a bit of a fluke). And England's aren't any better either, what with a seriously demoralised post-World Cup rugby team, and an inconsistent football team that could not beat Northern Ireland (good on them, btw). And now the cricket... Please Vaughn and gang, I don't want to be left sobbing after yet another close call.

But should you guys succeed... Well, you deserve:

1st BBQ in La-La Land

The crazy month that was August is nearly over. Thank goodness for that. I don't think I crawled into bed any earlier than 1am for over a month.

Being totally worn out from the constant partying, I lost all sense of reason and invited my entire lab to my first LA BBQ. Technically, it's the 3rd (see soon to-be-uploaded Flickr shots of the 2nd), but it's the first in my new apartment. Being the host and chef, I failed to take ANY photos, and also later found out that everyone else was too drunk to take any either. Which is a shame. I put a fair amount of effort into marinating pounds and pounds of flesh (purchased from Trader Joe's thanks to Santos' tip): baby back ribs in pineapple juice/ketchup/soya sauce/maple syrup marinade, tri-tip huge-chunk-of-beef in a pseudo-Korean/soya sauce/sesame oil/green onion/garlic/sesame seed marinade, chicken yakitori, chicken/papaya/peppers/pineapple kebabs marinated in coconut milk/pineapple juice/ginger/garlic/soya sauce and chicken drumsticks in miso paste and sesame seeds. And for afters: bananas BBQed in their own skins and served either with squares of Maya Gold (lightly spiced chocolate by G&B) or a Nutella-like spread, slices of fresh pineapple, rum and brown sugar, wrapped in foil and warmed on the pit, and figs with a knob of butter and sprinkling of sugar. I could really kick myself for not appointing a designated photographer. Which is kinda ironic given that I invited my photographer neighbour... C'est la vie.

A good time was had by all, what with mojitos, bottles of Ca' del Solo rosé (a personal favourite for taste, price and sentimental reasons), and several good bottles of hefty reds being consumed by 10 over the course of 5 hours. And how could I forget to mention the absolute pepper vodka? Foul stuff; harsh and an appetite killer. I'm not tempted to try any of the other flavoured vodkas of the same make. They don't quite compare to a very pleasant bison-grass flavoured vodka we tried in a Polish restaurant in Santa Monica (Warszawa?).

Since I can't upload any shots of the food I cooked, here's a gratuitous shot of a scrummy salad crafted by the Monsieur Marcel café at the Third and Fairfax farmer's market:

Sad person that I am, I bought a small jar of Marmite.

Mandelson's textiles U-turn

From the Guardian: Mandelson's textiles U-turn

Honestly! "Rationing"? When did clothes become one of life's essentials? And if we're talking about clothes from China, 1. they've probably been made by poorly paid, badly treated workers, and 2. they're probably more tat that we would do well to stop buying.

Who's been twisting Mandy's arm anyway?

England triumph in Women's Ashes

This is brilliant. English women's sports teams seem to be doing better and better these days. Although they didn't get far enough in the Women's European Championships (footie), they certainly upped the profile of the women's game. Perhaps this Ashes victory will inspire more girls to play cricket in school. I wish I had the option back then... We played bloody netball (sucked at that), basketball (too damn short for that), softball (yawn...), volleyball (ouch, my wrists!), athletics (double yawn) and various racquet-and-ball games. While it got us out in the open and physically active, none of these school-sponsered sports fired my imgaination, nor gave me a sport for life. Should have been cricket. Or maybe rugby... (Still too damn short, but I'd make a decent prop for my height/weight... Be useless at line-outs though.)

Oh. The men ain't doing too bad either. As evidenced by my total lack of sleep last night, what with BBC's TMS playing on the laptop, waking me with every wicket!

Je ny crois pas!

From BBC news: Liverpool play Owen waiting game

Benitez doesn't want him. And I don't want him back either. He might be a good Shearer replacement for Newcastle Comedy Club (trademark the folk who write The Fiver at the Guardian) though.

Good mood...

Australia may have to follow on! Heh. How often does that happen? Not counting chickens before they hatch, but it's put me in a good mood this morning...

Discovery

From BBC News: Discovery returns safely to Earth.

Funnily enough, I had BBC 24 on the telly yesterday morning at 5am (yes, I wake up pretty early). Which is why I didn't s*** myself when I heard the sonic boom. It shook the windows and patio doors. First time I've ever heard one.

Penguins

Went to see March of the Penguins recently, which makes this penguin song by eclectech all the more funny. My apologies for the lack of content recently. I've been very busy getting pished for the last fortnight.

Greenpeace short

Recently stumbled across IFILM when the TV in my wee studio died. It's a great collection of viral videos, trailers and fan films. The one that cracked me up the most? A Greenpeace video: Blair Blows Bush. Might offend those of finer sensibilities. Who might prefer this: boarding Hurricane Dennis. Well cool. Wish I could afford a kiteboarding set-up.

Storr on Skye

This could explain this:

Which would make our original guess at an explanation wrong.

From BBC news: Hoon ponders new passport checks (via curious hamster).

Lordy lord. What now? Will the UK be turned into a police state? Will all inhabitants be microchipped/tagged?

My experience with the US Dept of Homeland Security's OTT measures has not been good so far, what with being stopped at the check-in gate in Schipol because some jobsworth decided I could be a security risk because my starting point was the UK although I don't hold a British passport. Why he thought that was dodgy, I will never understand. Unfortunately, I didn't know the Dutch term for jobsworth or f*ckwit, or I'd have told him exactly how I felt about him.

And don't get me started on the number of times I had to "report" to various authorities to get my DS-2019 stamped on arrival here (for those who don't know what one is, lucky you!). And should I wish to leave the US for a vacation, I have to report to UCLA's immigration representative to get that damn DS-2019 stamped again to verify that I am still working for them. Yes, even to visit the UK for a week in September for P's brother's wedding. Thank goodness I thought to ask when I should report to her for that, because it turns out she's on holiday for most of August, and I'd be well and truly f***ed for going home at the start of September. How's them security measure for you now, safety elephant?!? Never pay heed to any security advice from the Americans. They really know how to make aliens feel alienated. No wonder nobody bloody likes them. Do we want the UK to seem as unwelcoming as the US? (And bear in mind that I'm not even here on an immigrant visa, being a postdoctoral fellow... Nothing complex about that, but I'm already very reluctant to extend my J1 visa if I have to go through all that sh*t again.)

Oh yes, I nearly forgot. To rent an apartment here, one has to fill out a detailed form with all of one's very personal and private information. Why? According to my landlady-to-be, because of the events of the 11th of September. So they now track where everyone lives. I seriously considered putting "Mickey Mouse", "Disneyland" and "none of your business" under some of the categories.

Never on me

Wish I had my camera with me today. Saw a couple of homeless men at a bus stop in LA with Rangers FC shirts on (yep, that deadbeat SPL team). Newish ones with ntl:home as the sponsor. Wonder if they were supporters...

A different take on beef noodles

While flicking through my old shots on Flickr, I realised I forgot to write up this recipe a couple of months back. So I'm back-dating the post, 'cos I don't want it cluttering up my recent slew. --20th Sept 2005 (yeah, i know.. slack!)

The first proper meal I cooked in LA, with a $5 frying pan (v. thin, cooked too fast). Still in my miso-marinade phase, strips of sirloin steak sat in a couple of tablespoons of brown miso paste for about 30 min (better o/n if you can help it) while I sliced the various vegetables. Apologies for the bad slicing. There's something about using crappy knives on glass boards that really annoys me. And add to that the fact that the board would not sit still because it was on an uneven tiled surface. I can't understand that about the two kitchens I've cooked in over here; why tile it, thus leaving plenty of grouted surface to grime up and look disgusting? Then again, it's probably because these are rented properties and the landlords don't care.

Stir fry the beef and veg (separately if your pan is as titchy as mine), and mix with some cooked soba noodles. Sprinkle on some soya sauce, sesame seed oil and rice vinegar. To garnish, plenty of toasted sesame seeds and spring onion.

49-5? wtf?

Minor panic about brother's safety over. But wtf is this all about, like? Looks like I'm going to owe someone a paperback.

bastards

nosemonkey is right. Cunting bastards.

Copycat? Wannabe? Piss off, you wanker.

appalled

I'm appalled.

Marin Alsop is an excellent conductor, and we've gone to many of the concerts where she was conducting the RSNO (Royal Scottish National Orchestra. And yes, it has both Royal and National in its name). And we've always come away greatly impressed. I've also heard she gives fantastic pre-concert talks, and is extremely knowledgeable. It's a shame we tend to miss them cos there's only so much time before the end of the work day and start of concert. Anyway, I'm appalled at the orchestra's behaviour, and am hoping they were just so overjoyed they were speechless. Yeah right.

snigger

snigger (via dave weeden) I think the previous clunky, obviously Tory, site was better. Bring it back. I don't want coffee all over my keyboard either.

From the Guardian: Foreign scientists barred amid terror fears.

Meant to write a few thoughts about this last night, but was too eager to go to the pub to watch some *real* football. Unfortunately, it was Real Madrid vs LA Galaxy. Yawn.

Anyway. I wonder if that's why, for YEARS, the Home Office held on to my passport for months at a time while they had me vetted. I didn't think my PhD work would be a threat to anyone (it's medical research, for g'sake!), although I guess any life science lab would be capable of producing dangerous substances, given the right starting materials. Just thinking aloud on why the HO kept picking on me... Funny how when the university applied for my work permit, they gave it to me within a week. Any HO case workers care to comment? Am I on a blacklist? Will I be able to return to the UK in the near future? Will the Safety Elephant (™ I don't know who coined it first) bring in a UK equivalent of the Department of Homeland Security? (omg, just the name fills me with dread. even more so when I see it on the forms I have to fill in here... remind me to post sometime about my wee immigration/security scare in Schipol on my way into the country... i'm still recovering from the fear.)

Popping in

Busy at work (don't ask), busy at play (more on that next week on the other blog). So much so I haven't read or written much all week other than lots of boring science. curious hamster has posted the inaugral weekly Scottish political blog round-up (stress on the weekly, because Stuart posted a round-up many moons ago).

Sighs. Just linking to others for now. No cogitation going on up there. Wee edit: Umm... I should clarify that I'm referring to *my* lack of writing and my bad habit of merely linking to commentary by others, not dissing the quality of the round-up. (See comments for apology... Oh, I feel so bad...)

Segue

Further brief ruminations on nationality. My new colleagues consider me Scottish, even though I explained that I wasn't born in Scotland, nor have any Scottish ancestry. To them, and my friends in Edinburgh, I've lived there long enough to have picked up some mannerisms, expressions and a wee bit of an accent (although I still swear I have nae accent!). I find myself having to defend Scottish/British sporting sides (easy enough) and London's Olympic victory (ambivalence from me). But since my link there is by residency (and by having a Scottish partner), to all the governmental agencies here, I'm not. Which makes filling out forms pretty difficult. I've been putting my Edinburgh flat as my permanent address, with Singapore as my country of nationality (and legal residency). Sooner or later, I'll come a cropper when someone in some bureaucratic office finds the discrepancy. So, although I'm posting infrequently, if you don't hear from me in the space of a fortnight, send a rescue mission to Cuba...

My £28 [loses to/beats] your £5

In anticipation.

Update: I meant to come back to this to write my thoughts about Liverpool's loss/win over the minnows that are Total Network Solution, but nothing. Nada. Not one spark of inspiration. Instead, I was engrossed in the annual saga of "Will he stay or won't he?" that has involved every home-grown talent from Liverpool for the last few years. Funnily enough, there's a bit of a trend there for impressive talent, peaking in the early 20s, waning quickly (usually after 4-5 years of service), and a hurry to sell to the first chump squad that believes the hype. Honestly, which of the recent born-and-breds has succeeded upon leaving 'pool? If anything, we've cursed Man City with the g'awful Liverpool B -side.

Sick f*cks. (via curious hamster and doctor vee)

Nosemonkey, too, is well-angry. Although I wouldn't go as far as placing ALL the blame on the damn BNP (but it would be a plus if there is a massive backlash against the bastards from the entire country), I would stick my neck out now and say it's not just them, but also the "low-level" racism on a daily basis that gives young people the feeling that they're being persecuted, that only [insert cult or religion of choice here] can give them a way out of the shit-hole they're in.

Sorry for the serious time-delay, btw. I'm too darn busy at work to check the news and other weblogs, and too darn tired when I get in. So much so that I fell asleep on the laptop's keyboard last night, and b*ggered up the post I was trying to write. Lost it now... (Or, have been losing it and have only just realised...)

Update: chicken yoghurt has a long list of considered opinions by a wide range of British bloggers. I strongly urge a read, if not of the posts, then at least of the choice quotes.

Compare and contrast

Watching a bit of C-Span to try to cure the insomnia.

"We are united in our determination that our country will not be defeated by such terror but will defeat it and emerge from this horror with our values, our way of life, our tolerance and respect for others, undiminished." --Tony Blair.

And from across the floor: ""The faceless killers behind last Thursday's attack brought death and tragedy to many innocent families. They have tried with the fires of hate to destroy the bonds of love. But since their attacks we have seen compassion and self-sacrifice prove themselves stronger than fanaticism and evil." --Michael Howard.

Compare and contrast to:

"We will continue to take the fight to the enemy. And we will fight until this enemy is defeated. [snip] America will not retreat in the face of terrorists and murderers." --George Bush.

Clearly, Dubya thinks that offense is the best defence. I take offence at that.

Also, addressing Dubya's declaration that "America will not retreat", see Commemoration Day vs. chicken American troops.

To erase the annoying whine of the Bush along with the sycophantic clapping of the carefully chosen "crowd", playing on the ipod: Explode (or implode), Cardigans.

Wee update: I'd like to add badly dubbed boy's discovery of yet another self-centered twat to the list: Omarion. I really have no idea who this guy is, but I like google-bombing even though my low ranking will hardly help.

London will march

The Sharpener crew are organising a march: http://www.pledgebank.com/solidarity.

I can't be there, but encourage anyone who stumbles across this to join in. Show 'em who's boss!

London

"Across-the-pond" update: Switched on the news when I (finally) got in to hear LA's new mayor describing how LAX and other major bodies in LA are on alert (along with all the major cities in the US).

First thought: didn't see any signs of it myself. Second thought: wouldn't notice it anyway, the police here carry guns all the time. scaring the hell out of me (also still not used to seeing London police with projectile weapons). Third thought: anything to keep the populace scared and under control, eh? (TinFoil hat™ ^{(curious hamster)}.) Fourth thought: I wish I hadn't moved here. abc has opportunistically scheduled an entire evening of "prime-time live" continuously showing footage of the seriously injured and bringing on "security consultants" who kept saying "I told you so" and generally trying to pour scorn on what I think was an excellent response by London's emergency services and its hardy population. I'm very uneasy about the response over here. I'm convinced there is a clear-thinking majority here, however the mainstream media is just full of scare-mongering propaganda presented as "analysis". I don't like the spin, nor the packaging. Nor the "selling" of news as stories, and not facts.

I was very impressed by the way New Yorkers carried on living their lives after the bombing of the towers. Just as I'm convinced Londoners will pull through, sticking two fingers at those who wish them unwarranted harm. Which makes me mad (as predicted earlier) that such suffering is being exploited by the TV networks here. I have no objections to seeing images of victims of the bombings, but only with their permission, g'dammit. And I sure as hell don't like the way some are calling this a good "wake-up call". Piss off to whatever windowless hole you live in, creeps.

Robin Grant has started/picked up on (not sure which yet, and I'm too tired to check) a meme (via curious hamster).

London

From BBC news: More than 30 die in London blasts.

See europhobia for updates. And also going underground. And Robin Grant for photos of the aftermath. And Tim Worstall has a running log of responses on other blogs. More photos.

My first response was to check the date. My brother is still on holiday at home. So that's good on the family front. Then it hit home that 30 or more people have probably died. I can't describe how relieved yet saddened I am. It feels insufficient to say that I have the greatest sympathy for those who have lost their loved ones. I get this disjointed feeling when I hear about things like that (and not just in the western world, but also when the multiple reports of bombs in Iraq come through). I keep hoping I've heard wrongly, that estimates of the dead are wrong, that somehow, these innocents have survived. It's not happened yet, and I'm not inured to the shock either. Soon, the anger will come, but not all directed at the bombers.

I'm with chicken yoghurt on this. First, let's not jump to conclusions. Second, whatever the findings are, we cannot tar entire racial, national or religious groups with the same inhumane brush. It makes me mad that people will use bombings like this to justify their deep-held prejudices about people not like themselves.

Eh?

Short post, at work. Will comment later (a whole day after the rest of the world!).

wtf?

From BBC news: Bush rejects Kyoto-style G8 deal

"If this looks like Kyoto, the answer is no," he said in an interview with ITV's Tonight With Trevor McDonald programme.

"The Kyoto treaty would have wrecked our economy, if I can be blunt."

[snip]

But he showed signs of coming into line with general world opinion by describing climate change as "a significant, long-term issue that we've got to deal with".

In the past, he has strongly opposed any action on climate change in favour of further studies on the issue.

Hey Dubya! By the time you've done those "further studies", Bangledash will be the new Atlantis.

Make it so

uknae of Mischief to Data has uploaded loads of photos of the march in Edinburgh, which I was very sorry to miss, although I sent P as my representative. Since I have the digital camera, he had to use a disposable film snapper, which means he won't be uploading those photos anytime soon. In the meantime, get a feel of the day at uknae's Poverty march photoset.

Meanwhile, Chris of qwghlm has a very rational rant on the very reason I am currently hating Bob Geldof's guts. The idiot (Geldof, not Applegate...) has given free publicity to lots of music acts that don't need it, and given himself yet another chance to sing his one hit song. He has also insulted an entire generation of young people who care about affairs of the world, try to do their bit by volunteering or donating what little money they have, and don't need bribery with banal pop concerts to get them interested or talking about how we, or rather our governments and theirs, have [bad word]ed over Africa. Instead of rational discussion and positive suggestions, he's just given the media and official voices leeway first to gasp in horror at his ludicrous suggestions and now to repeat his banal soundbites.

Instead of patting themselves on the back for turning the world's attention to Africa, they should be giving themselves a great big kick for taking the attention away from WHY talking about Africa and its debt is important. I don't like over-simplification, but sometimes, an idiot's guide is a good start. Have a look at the BBC's attempt to give some background to the various obstacles to African success.

We cannot lump all of Africa together. There are nations rich in natural resources who will prosper, given time and better trade agreements. There are others with ridiculously corrupt governments, which must be encouraged (or forced) to give greater care to their own citizens before lining their pockets. And then there are some which don't have much to call their own, yet owe the World Bank sums of money I cannot even comprehend in my tiny head. I think what I'm trying to say is that every country needs its own solution, and we're probably doing the poorer nations a disservice by speaking of Africa as a homogeneous place.

So, if you enjoyed the concerts (live or on TV), and want to know more, ignore Bob and friends. Instead, why not read some opinions by people who know what they're talking about?

"This is the right gesture - but certainly it is not enough. What Tony Blair is offering Africa is a leaking bucket. Such policies create the very poverty which they are now trying to address."

--Trevor Ngwane (anti-privatisation campaigner from South Africa)

I like the imagery. It puts in mind a song, to which I know some of the lyrics, but not the title:

There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza,
There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, there's a hole.

Then mend it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then mend it dear Henry, dear Henry, mend it.

It goes on for a bit, but essentially, it comes back to Henry requiring some water with which to wet a stone that he needs to sharpen an axe, which for some stupid reason he needs to cut a straw with. Why he didn't just stick some gaffer tape over the hole, I could never understand. But there is some similarity to the situation at hand. To stop money leaking away via corrupt or inefficient channels (come on, not all the officials can be corrupt... law of probability and all), there needs to exist a certain level of affluence or financial security. For that to happen, there must be infrastructure (either government-provided or sold to the lowest bidder). For infrastructure to be put in place (or remain there for any length of time), there must be political stability and an absence of civil war. And for that to happen, yadda-yadda...

People are people all over the world. There is no such thing as an altruistic politician or CEO. The nature of our world dictates that only the strong rise to the top, and the strong have historically maintained their grip by using/abusing their power. All the belly-aching in the world by our well-meaning pop stars won't change that. Live8 must have been fantastic for all the people who attended it. Good for them. Now let's concentrate on the task at hand.

Edit: Silly me. The white band's been right in front of me for months, and I don't even remember to plug it. Go here and here.

Update:No point retracing the steps when someone else has done the legwork. See curious hamster for a round-up.

Lucky escape

I know I said don't mention the cricket a few posts ago, but I just had to put in my 2p worth. Bleeding neck! What's wrong with Australia?! For that matter, what the [bleep] is wrong with England?!

When I first woke up at 6am US Pacific time, Australia was all out for 196. First thought: blimey, should be a walk over. Second thought: it's a bowler's wicket today. Third thought: blimey, England are going to suffer.

And suffer they did. It was a little too early in the morning to scream over here, but my BBC RealPlayer got a few choice words when first Trescothick, then Strauss went too cheaply. I could hardly believe Vaughn's loud quacking, and almost cried when both Flintoff and Pietersen walked for virtually nothing. All I could see was a complete collapse, nay, a whitewash. Oh ye of little faith!

I could never have predicted that Collingwood and (Geraint) Jones would be the level-headed saviours of England. And when they faltered, good old Giles and Gough gave their very best to scrape a lucky draw for England. Oh that final nail-biting over! Such is the pleasure of one-day internationals! Down to the very last ball (and maybe an iffy decision). I wish I could have seen it.

With only 18 days to go to the first Test, England have a lot of work to do, psychology-wise. The top order came in today expecting an easy victory. They'd just dismissed Australia for a not-too-good 196 after all. King of the world! But they apparently fell in a VERY predictable fashion. Every batsman has his little Achilles heel. Without it, they'd all be perfect automatons, and we might as well watch Men's Wimbledon instead. But, come on guys! Did you all have to fail on the same day? You fell into a massive Aussie billabong, lulled in, suckered in, waltzing with Miss Matilda. You were John Buchanan's dream team to play: predictable, ill-disciplined, hungry for boundaries.

I don't want to take anything away from the fantastic four who saved the day. They did better than could be expected, given the early collapse. But if the top order batsmen had done their jobs instead of going for glory, England would have won the game and the series. I'll settle for a draw now, but only because that was the most exciting thing I've ever heard on radio.

Technorati tag: cricket.

The green, green grass of Comely Bank (who cares about Fettes?)

Chris Applegate of qwghlm is making me homesick. He's uploaded a shot of MY street on Flickr. Not that I ever took photos of my flat or my neighbourhood the whole 6 years I lived there. You just don't do these things as a local. But I've been acting the tourist in Santa Monica today, and will shortly be uploading some grossly overexposed photos to my Flickr LA set.

Plug for the other blog: blethering about Santa Monica.

Geek, or not?

It's been a while since I last did a silly internet quiz, so I jumped at the chance to prove my geek-worthiness after reading badly dubbed boy's geek post. A score of 9/11 left me feeling rather disappointed; I didn't know who coined the phrase "science fiction", nor could I remember a quote from Dune (although, in mitigation, I last read it 15 years ago).

There are probably lots of other geek quizzes out there that test one on a broader range of geekiness. Some other day, perhaps. Today, I plan to do some non-geeky things and hit the beach!

Update: I failed miserably to avoid being a geek today. Spent an hour in the Apple store on Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade.

Cool bag

I'm looking for a cool/cooler bag to get the ice cream safely from shop to fridge, and have come to the conclusion that Americans just don't do small. But this has made my day. (Don't mention the cricket.)