Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Surprisingly still alive: no 2
Patrick Moore.
Now 83, he's still presenting the monthly Sky at Night which has to be the most unpolished, cheaply made and wonderful programme on British Telly. I usually understand only about a third of it but never fail to be impressed with some new fact or revelation. The ultimate geek, even before geeks were invented, he has always managed to combine a thorough mastery of his material and a delightful sense of fun. He met Orville Wright, Neil Armstrong and accompanied Albert Einstein's violin playing on the piano. He's anti fox hunting too which makes him OK in my book. On April 26th next year the Sky at Night will be 50. I do so hope that Patrick will be presenting that night. I wonder if monocles will ever be fashionable again?
Comprehensive resume here.
sirpatrickmoore.com
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 6:00 PM
The climes they are achanginPatrick Moore.
Now 83, he's still presenting the monthly Sky at Night which has to be the most unpolished, cheaply made and wonderful programme on British Telly. I usually understand only about a third of it but never fail to be impressed with some new fact or revelation. The ultimate geek, even before geeks were invented, he has always managed to combine a thorough mastery of his material and a delightful sense of fun. He met Orville Wright, Neil Armstrong and accompanied Albert Einstein's violin playing on the piano. He's anti fox hunting too which makes him OK in my book. On April 26th next year the Sky at Night will be 50. I do so hope that Patrick will be presenting that night. I wonder if monocles will ever be fashionable again?
Comprehensive resume here.
sirpatrickmoore.com
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 6:00 PM
Monday, October 30, 2006
We're all doooooooommed.
How much CO² are you pumping out?
Surprisingly still alive: no 1
Robert Robinson.
Now nearly 80 and still presenting Brain of Britain on Radio 4. I thought he'd carked it years ago. He is the quintessential old school boffin TV quizmaster and sports a mean combover. Still sounds exactly the same as he ever did. Sounds like he'd give you detention for not having a sharp enough pencil. They need to make a detailed cult documentary of this national institution and soon.
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 2:17 PM
Saturday, October 28, 2006
I've been investigating the dog scene in Athens. There are large numbers of feral muts all over the city. They are not the scrawny looking strays you might normally expect to find in urban areas. No, they are great lumbering hounds that look pretty well cared for. Most wear collars and seem to be at ease with people. They can be seen wandering around all areas of the city during the day and night and often sleep wherever they choose during the hot days. I saw one pair that had decided to doss down in the gutter of one of the main roads around Syntagma Square. [ Imagine two dogs asleep in the road on Trafalgar Square and you get the picture ]. Reading around on the web, it seems that the stray 'problem' in Athens dates from around ten years ago when most of the municipal dog pounds throughout Greece closed due to fear of prosecution for mistreatment of animals. In 2004 with the Olympic Games approaching, the city decided that packs of dogs wandering the streets was not a good look and so they rounded them up, shipped them out of the city for a few weeks, fed and spruced them up. They were neutered and then returned to where they came from once the Games were over. Rumours abounded that large numbers had been poisoned but these were denied. I got the impression that the street dogs are like communal pets. People feed them and leave water out for them. They seem to be great characters and certainly do add an extra dimension to street life. I happen to like dogs and found it pretty charming to see them lounging around amidst the ruins or posing outside the parliament. I can see that some might feel differently but somehow the city would be the lesser without these doggy dudes. Following are a few photos I snapped on my travels. You can see over 600 similar shots here.
The Greek Animal Welfare Society [ ARGOS ] - has more information and an adopt a stray campaign.
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 10:24 PM
The Greek Animal Welfare Society [ ARGOS ] - has more information and an adopt a stray campaign.
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 10:24 PM
Let's do Athens
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Think of this as the Feta salad for the main course which will be served up in the next few days.
1. The Athens metro is clean, on time and inexpensive to use - why can't we do this?
2. The Athenian Acropolis may be a cliche but it transcends this as an inspirational marvel of human achievement.
3. Greek people are friendly, relaxed and know how to enjoy life.
4. Athenian food is - wonderful.
5. Tourism is a mainstay of the Greek economy but there are certain negative touristic issues which should be addressed.
6. Something has gone badly wrong with Athenian architecture - a civilisation that could produce sublime classical marvels now lives in a concrete nightmare.
7. The general standard of coffee is very bad indeed.
8. The general standard of snacks is rather marvellous - we like Greek snacks very much indeed.
9. There is a whole dog scene that I need to find out more about.
10. I want to go back.
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 11:18 PM
All go in Athens1. The Athens metro is clean, on time and inexpensive to use - why can't we do this?
2. The Athenian Acropolis may be a cliche but it transcends this as an inspirational marvel of human achievement.
3. Greek people are friendly, relaxed and know how to enjoy life.
4. Athenian food is - wonderful.
5. Tourism is a mainstay of the Greek economy but there are certain negative touristic issues which should be addressed.
6. Something has gone badly wrong with Athenian architecture - a civilisation that could produce sublime classical marvels now lives in a concrete nightmare.
7. The general standard of coffee is very bad indeed.
8. The general standard of snacks is rather marvellous - we like Greek snacks very much indeed.
9. There is a whole dog scene that I need to find out more about.
10. I want to go back.
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 11:18 PM
Monday, October 23, 2006
It appears the interweb only works in Greece on days that have an odd number. And there has to be an astronomical alignment at the Temple of Zeus. Today is just such a day - so I thought I'd better get posting before the planets shift again. The picture above was taken earlier next to the Temple. The modern Greeks prefer to worship the car and they like to do it most around 5pm simultaenously at the same time time all together. I've had such a jolly time in Athens and there a few tales to tell. Must try to fit those in some time this week. Just off now for a spot of last minute alfresco indulgence before Stelios sends his big orange taxi to pick me up.
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 4:26 PM
Thursday, October 19, 2006
I'm in Athens for a few days and I've discovered that they have the interweb here now. Although it doesn't seem to allow you to connect to any non-Greek sites apart from Blogger [ or maybe that's Greek and nobody told me ]. So I can post [ I think ] but I can't read my own blog or any comments on it. So this should be interesting. It's 11pm in the UK but I'm writing this in the middle of the night here. After a high security flight I arrived to find that the state of the art metro appeared to be on strike. This obliged me to board the Cattle Bus from Hell to get into the city from the airport. There's nothing like having a Greek granny's armpit in your face for 45 minutes - as a jampacked maniacally driven bus careers along the Olympic Highway - to give a truly flavoursome introduction to the cradle of western civilisation. I'm staying in a seedy part of town. What else did you expect? There is a midnight convention of vagrants in progress up the road as I write. They seem to be gearing up for a pitched battle with the hooker collective round the corner. I may take some clandestine photos from the balcony if it kicks off. Or I may not.
Tomorrow, I become the tourist at large. There are ruins to be seen. But I don't know how to communicate with the locals. I've already been miming to the hotel receptionist. He looked worried when I tried to simulate plugging in an internet connection cable. He threw a handful of computer manuals at me and stood as far back from the counter as he could. I've looked at the manuals and am still none the wiser; it's all Greek to me.
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 11:14 PM
RubbishTomorrow, I become the tourist at large. There are ruins to be seen. But I don't know how to communicate with the locals. I've already been miming to the hotel receptionist. He looked worried when I tried to simulate plugging in an internet connection cable. He threw a handful of computer manuals at me and stood as far back from the counter as he could. I've looked at the manuals and am still none the wiser; it's all Greek to me.
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 11:14 PM
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
I was interested to hear, today, of the man that was fined for putting the wrong kind of rubbish into his recycling bag, allegedly. His local council seem far stricter than my local council when it comes to enforcing compliance with rubbish rules. In Swansea you can be fined for leaving your rubbish out a day before collection day. In Bignjuicyville, it seems, you can leave your rubbish out whenever you like and wherever you like. For the past six months a bloke down the road has been leaving piles of smelly rubbish bags all over the pavement every week on random days of his choosing. The Bignjuicy Council seem more interested in steam cleaning the chewing gum from the pavement outsde the Town Hall than prosecuting Mr Rubbish for his crimes against cleansing. Interesting how different standards apply not just within different towns but between towns. I wonder how that works? What do you have to do to ensure a good standard of local street cleanliness?
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 11:13 PM
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 11:13 PM
Monday, October 16, 2006
Quick question
Who, for good or ill, has had the greatest influence on the way you see the world?
[ anonymous answers allowed ]
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 7:44 PM
In my primeWho, for good or ill, has had the greatest influence on the way you see the world?
[ anonymous answers allowed ]
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 7:44 PM
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Slacker than John Prescott's gusset after a night on the pies - that's been me this week blogwise. I hasten to add that otherwise, I've been as taught as Gordon Brown's thong. [Hold that image] What with unexpected job offers [ at last the word is out - I'm available and I give great service ], putting up with the shenanigans of existing clients as well as taking time out to see Modigliani's elongated efforts. It's tough at the top. A month without telly and I am feeling strangely happier at the moment. Admittedly the weather has been superb. I can't remember such beautiful balmy days and scintillating light this late in the year. Admittedly my perspective on life continues to shift to a much healthier domain [ www.orgasmobrain.com ] , the more distant I become from my former 'career'. Admittedly I've been busy busy with no time to sit around comtemplating my nether nether regions. But I think that not-having-a-telly has genuinely improved my state of mind. It's something to do with, I think, not allowing disconnected people, whom you will never know and care little about. Remote egos who are not aware of your existence, other than that you are one of faceless millions watching them. Not allowing these people to sap your will to live with their relentless stream of 'entertainment' which is just so much chewing gum for the underutilised regions of my brain. This, I think, is why I've felt happier. So today I went and bought a new telly. It's all her fault.
Misery beckons.
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 5:07 PM
Misery beckons.
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 5:07 PM
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Unfortunately named wives of Kim Jong Il: no 1
Kim Young-suk
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 7:33 PM
Kim Young-suk
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 7:33 PM
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Be happy - for tomorrow...
"Nothing matters very much, and few things matter at all."
Arthur James Balfour
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 12:01 AM
My, but you're boodiful!"Nothing matters very much, and few things matter at all."
Arthur James Balfour
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 12:01 AM
Monday, October 09, 2006
The lergy has left me [ I hope ] - almost back to my old self; drugs, booze, sex and an unhealthy interest in making mobiles from discarded food packaging. [ You should see my Taste the Difference fishcake tray 13 tier counterpoise ]. When I was trawling last week for photographs for the quiz I found a collection of images that had been on display at the National Portrait Gallery earlier in the year. David Partner has taken some amazing shots of our leaders, making them look all butch and powerful with lashings of spray on gravitas. I thought about getting my picture taken by him as butch, powerful and gravitas are all my thang [ I was Genghis Khan in my Primary School nativity play ]. However, his fees start at £400 so maybe I'll save up first. What impressed me greatly was that he had made the often photographically challenged Foreign Secretary look, well, rather lovely. Elegant, sophisticated and a bit stunning. You have to hand it to old Maggie B, she looks the business in black and white. [ OK, OK, I'm correcting the karma from all the cheap cracks I've made in the past - but it is a good shot no? ]
The rationale behind the project seems to be partly about showing to us those who run our lives. Half of them I'd never seen before. [ Be afraid of Bridget Prentice - she has a whip and looks like she knows how to use it ]. It's interesting to look into the faces of these often faceless people. To spot signs of likeability, punctiliousness, pained endeavour, brutality, and kindness [ those last two look like opposite ends of the scale ]. I enjoyed looking at these photos a lot.
Gwan
Try the quiz - still a few to guess.
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 6:50 PM
Shine onThe rationale behind the project seems to be partly about showing to us those who run our lives. Half of them I'd never seen before. [ Be afraid of Bridget Prentice - she has a whip and looks like she knows how to use it ]. It's interesting to look into the faces of these often faceless people. To spot signs of likeability, punctiliousness, pained endeavour, brutality, and kindness [ those last two look like opposite ends of the scale ]. I enjoyed looking at these photos a lot.
Gwan
Try the quiz - still a few to guess.
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 6:50 PM
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Last night was the Harvest Moon [Northern Hemispherist terminology]. Early on, the moon hung low in the sky, large, vibrant and glowing a creamy yellow - beaut. It's a bit nearer the earth at the moment and seems a wee bit brighter. I came over all romantic when I saw the moon silhouetting the trees across the urban wasteland that is Bignjuicyville. I dodged the packs of feral chavs to bring you the picture above. I think it has a Japanese feel to it.
Did you know that this year sees the almost latest Harvest Moon there ever can be? The latest one would be October 8th. It doesn't occur on October 7th again until 2025.
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 9:00 PM
Friday, October 06, 2006
The suggestion is that the niqab inhibits social interaction and recognition of individuals. I'm not sure about this. I do think that it does provide a barrier. It's a fairly alien form of dress for most white Britons and is hard for them to understand. The adoption of the niqab does seem to be a matter of personal choice and it's interesting that UK raised muslim women might choose to wear it given their awareness of societal conventions. It makes a statement for sure. I think it's healthy for Jack to have raised the matter but, inevitably, all hell has broken loose with the hypersensitive claiming this as another attack on Islam. If anything, it can only serve to increase understanding of Islamic belief and customs by giving greater exposure to the reasons for the veil. Jack is Jewish and is immensely sensitive to religious sensibilities so I do not think he's gone into this unthinkingly. There's definitely an agenda of challenge to British muslims from the government though and it's not surprising that they will feel spotlighted by this. Better to provoke dialogue and interraction, I think, than to ignore. To prove my point about social interaction and recognition I've prepared a little quiz. Can you identify the politicians below from their eyes alone? I bet you can.
Sick puppy
Ta for those kind words below. Sadly the telly is dead so I'm amusing myself with various alcoholic remedies (hic), radio 4 and non-stop disco dancing on my in blog podium [see above].
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 10:04 PM
 1 |  2 |  3 |  4 |  5 |
 6 |  7 |  8 |  9 |  10 |
Sick puppy
Ta for those kind words below. Sadly the telly is dead so I'm amusing myself with various alcoholic remedies (hic), radio 4 and non-stop disco dancing on my in blog podium [see above].
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 10:04 PM
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
"B I G N JUICY"
Regular readers may have noticed that my organ was offline for a time yesterday. I was unable to gain access to the server as incrediblycheaphostingcompany decided to put some new valves into the server without prewarning. They responded not to my emails - they are only open for a few hours a day when there is an r in the month. I phoned them today. It's the first time I've ever had to phone them. How best to let them know the domain I was calling about. I decided to go for the matter of fact - "I'm calling about..." and then I bottled and spelled it out. "Ah yes drD I've got an email about BIGANDJUICY I'll just check it for you." I have a sneaking feeling there may be some notoriety for this here domain within incrediblycheaphostingcompany. I feel exposed. Or it may just be the fact that I'm going down with H5N1. Headachey and that strange eyeballstoolargefortheirsockets feeling I usually get when lergyfied. I've not been sick for ages. Buggeration.
Bignjuicy
You may have heard that Tesco is launching it's own range of low budget software. I was able to obtain a pre-release copy of the word-processor and decided to put it to the test. Imagine my surprise upon opening the help facility to be confronted with this. Will they stop at nothing to sell more fresh fruit?
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 4:54 PM
Boxed offRegular readers may have noticed that my organ was offline for a time yesterday. I was unable to gain access to the server as incrediblycheaphostingcompany decided to put some new valves into the server without prewarning. They responded not to my emails - they are only open for a few hours a day when there is an r in the month. I phoned them today. It's the first time I've ever had to phone them. How best to let them know the domain I was calling about. I decided to go for the matter of fact - "I'm calling about..." and then I bottled and spelled it out. "Ah yes drD I've got an email about BIGANDJUICY I'll just check it for you." I have a sneaking feeling there may be some notoriety for this here domain within incrediblycheaphostingcompany. I feel exposed. Or it may just be the fact that I'm going down with H5N1. Headachey and that strange eyeballstoolargefortheirsockets feeling I usually get when lergyfied. I've not been sick for ages. Buggeration.
Bignjuicy
You may have heard that Tesco is launching it's own range of low budget software. I was able to obtain a pre-release copy of the word-processor and decided to put it to the test. Imagine my surprise upon opening the help facility to be confronted with this. Will they stop at nothing to sell more fresh fruit?
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 4:54 PM
Sunday, October 01, 2006
It's now been quite a while since I last watched telly having suffered the sad demise of my ancient set. I've managed pretty well without it mainly because I've got plenty of other stuff to keep me busy. Today I nearly bought a new one. I was foiled at the last minute by an incompetent manager at Comet who'd advised me, via his 15 year old lackey, when I phoned, that he would price match a bargain I'd found on the web but only if I called into the store. So I did. And when he saw the price he had to match he suddenly decided that the bargain I'd found did not fit within his 'parameters for price matching'. Which, strictly speaking, is correct [ I'd already checked out the smallprint on their webshite ]. This lead me to lecture him in a wholly condescending manner about his failure to inform me of this on the phone. He had the temerity to argue with moi and I heard myself saying, "Sir, IF you had made this clear to me on the phone I WOULD NOT be standing here now - let me assure you". I have to say that I am not normally this pompous in real life - I felt driven to it by the mealy mouthed wriggling which often comes to the fore when you are scrabbling at the margins of profitability with box shifting hairgel boys. I lost. My cool slightly - and the deal. Had I been female and fluttery I think the outcome may have been more to my advantage. Or if I'd not reacted so quickly to his backtracking I might have persuaded him to honour the 'deal'. No matter, we learn - and I can still buy it marginally cheaper from webulike and without the hairgel. However, I'm now hovering between buying and not buying. Contemplating for the first time I can ever recall being without regular access to a telly and on a semi/permanent basis. Indeed I could even get a refund on my TV licence! Is there anyone else out there without a telly? Are you happier and more attractive as a result?
On wings of fire
Flippin 'eck. If one of your plane's engines was on fire would you want the pilot to:
a. Land the thing asap and get you all the hell out of there?
b. Carry on to your destination several thousand miles distant?
c. Serve more drinks and cancel the inflight showing of 'Airport Death Crash 2000'?
I'm never going to fly with British Airways again after reading this.
Daniel's been at it again
Latest Libeskind extravaganza; the new extension to the The Denver Art Museum. How do you hang paintings where most of the internal walls slope away from you?
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 4:29 PM
On wings of fire
Flippin 'eck. If one of your plane's engines was on fire would you want the pilot to:
a. Land the thing asap and get you all the hell out of there?
b. Carry on to your destination several thousand miles distant?
c. Serve more drinks and cancel the inflight showing of 'Airport Death Crash 2000'?
I'm never going to fly with British Airways again after reading this.
Daniel's been at it again
Latest Libeskind extravaganza; the new extension to the The Denver Art Museum. How do you hang paintings where most of the internal walls slope away from you?
freshly squeezed for you by drD at 4:29 PM