Born today: John James Audubon (1785-1851), Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863), Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), I.M. Pei (1917), Giorgio Moroder (1940) and Jet Li (1963).
As luck would have it, it is Union Day in Tanzania. Go figure.
26 April 2010
26/04/10
Born today: John James Audubon (1785-1851), Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863), Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), I.M. Pei (1917), Giorgio Moroder (1940) and Jet Li (1963).
As luck would have it, it is Union Day in Tanzania. Go figure.
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Alternate image of the day for Dot.
ReplyDeleteAnd, James, sweetie; the Pirates last won the World Series in 1979. The Cubs last played in the WS in 1945. They last won in 1908.
Morning all.
ReplyDeleteMedve - a small piece on the Hungarian elections has now gone up.
IMHO excellent article by Gary Younge on immigation
ReplyDeleteThanks Montana, I'm honoured!
ReplyDeletePhilippa: Very weird, when i posted on this today's thread your post was invisible and i was second after Montana. I complied with your request at the dog-end of yesterday's thread after weeping. will check out the linky.
ReplyDeleteDotterel: A good day to you. What kind of winged dinosaur descendent does the image depict?
Even weirder i posted this more than an hour ago and noticed from another machine that it hadn't gone up.
ReplyDeletePhilippa: Very weird, when i posted on this today's thread your post was invisible and i was second after Montana. I complied with your request at the dog-end of yesterday's thread after weeping. will check out the linky.
Dotterel: A good day to you. What kind of winged dinosaur descendent does the image depict?
Good morning. Another miserable day here in Glasgow. Lonely...
ReplyDelete@medve - well, it's a duck-billed flamingo, obviously...
ReplyDeleteThere's probably some Latin involved too.
Good day to you medve, I believe it's a Roseate Spoonbill Platalea ajaja, with a somewhat exaggerated green tinge to its head...
ReplyDeleteThe image seems to be suspiciously similar to this one:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img.allposters.com/6/LRG/7/721/WQNA000Z.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Roseate-Spoonbill-Posters_i63540_.htm&usg=__upVrNCBl2XujMdjZzPOr_SCPUeQ=&h=309&w=400&sz=24&hl=en&start=17&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=Lo69u3ypS5ulBM:&tbnh=96&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3DRoseate%2BSpoonbill%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1
P.S. I'm also getting weird disappearing and reappearing posts today medve
ReplyDeleteThat is a very barbie bird, in the 'dot pic'.
ReplyDeleteThe posh toyshop has lovely furry flamingos - was considering buying one as a pointless present to self, but - €98!!! - may just buy some pink cotton wool balls and make papier mache...
I've just managed to see (all?) 11 comments by going back to the main UT page and clicking on the thread again.
ReplyDeleteOf course if you can read this you've probably found your own way around the problem....
and hi NKZ, hope you're not too lonely!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'm so ronery...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh_9QhRzJEs
Depressed...lonely, down. Life is going through a transition. I will be at the grindstone of life, working in a crappy job with people who can barely string two words together.
I live for humanity. Anton Chekhov's works gives me comfort. In the absence of organised religion, although I respect people who are religious, I have to find meaning and justification for my life. At least I am studying part time now. I would frankly prefer to volunteer in something that is really worthwhile, than get paid for something I hate- at least for a few months until I get settled
down.
I live in quite a poor area of Glasgow, there are lots of social problems. It is sad. I suppose the best thing to do is be grate
Antioehre thing that I have noticed in the city is that money most certainly does not equal wealth. There are many rich people who live culturally empty lives. I am richer than them, I am an intellectual. My conscience, conscious mind and critical faculties are my wealth.
I am lookin ground online. Still in an internet cafe. I have booked a block access which is cheaper so I can talk to you guys, and be less lonely.
Also, my posts disappeared and came back again. Technical gremilins, perchance.
(apologies for spelling errors. I type quickly and am used to a spellchecker)
At least you've still got your sense of humour Napoleon, and a sense of what you have got, another song for you....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlBiLNN1NhQ
Greetings Napoleon_K, PeterJ
ReplyDeleteDotterel: I think the mysterious cases of the dis & re-appearing posts is a quantum effect ..
i'll get me coat
morning all
ReplyDeleteNap - from yesterday. Your laptop will be delivered to the address on your bank card - hope you have managed to sort it out.
I've never lived in a city - it will take time to adjust I think - different sounds around you and lots of new people.
Posts are dancing from one dimension to another - visible sometimes. This begs the question of how we see them - viewed in 5th dimension they will appear as strange shadowy blurs - making little sense.
ReplyDeleteSchrödinger's post medve?
ReplyDeleteNap K
ReplyDeleteMoving away from home is always lonely (I really feel for you) try not to let it overwhelm you though, it can take time to build up a social network but it is well worth it.
Napoleon,
ReplyDeleteGuaranteed you'll be fine. Moving from the Western Isles to Glasgow is the biggest possible culture shock than can happen in a Scottish context.
I went to Uni with a lad from Stornoway and he said it took him a long, long time to get used to the whole Urban way of life as well as the Glaswegian mindset.
Where you are in Dennistoun you will see the best of life and the worst of life, no doubt about it. And of course making that big move and being on your own exacerbates the feeling. Give it time and you'll gradually feel better and get into the swing of things.
The great thing about Glasgow is there will be different clubs/societies to join which reflect your personal tastes. I know you're into your classic literature, there will be TONS of book clubs/societies etc which will give you a warm Glaswegian welcome. Just get on the net and look it up.
My Gran (god bless her soul) said that life revolves around 7 year changes, roughly every seven years your life will make a massive change. When I look back at my life so far (not that old only my late 30s!) it's uncanny how it does follow that cycle. You'll might find you're going through one of those changes.
You've made an enormous step, people who have been brought up in cities don't realise how difficult it is to adjust to a city if you're not used to it.
You've done the positive things- made the move and got a job (it may be shitty but you're on the right way). Give yourself time to adjust and you'll be fine, absolutely fine.
If there's anything particularly you're interested in in Glasgow, let me know and I'll see if I can point you in the right direction.
Sorry for havering (don't mean to and you don't have to listen to a word I've said!) and I wish you well.
Don't apologise for havering Duke that is a wonderful post and I hope Nap K takes you up on your offer.
ReplyDelete@Napoleon - did you notice that Chekhov's fantastic book about Sakhalin is readily available
ReplyDeleteagain? Mine just arrived.
I'm ashamed to say that I've never been to Glasgow, but trust the Duke; he knows. And I bet Sakhalin circa 1900 was worse.
Hello all, welcome to Jenifera30, why did u get the Cif heaveHo? Strange how surrounded by a million people in a city is more lonely han being on your own in the countryside, certainly was my experience of London 20 years ago, and I had a network of pals...
ReplyDeleteI'd 2nd the 13th's suggestion of a book club or two, and there are plenty of folk sessions which would float my boat, but may not be your thing Nap? If they are, I'll let you ken when & where.
Oooh, who's 'the Dane'?
ReplyDeleteDuke.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Although I am really not a stereotypical Western Islander. I lived in southern England for a large part of my life, I speak with an English accent. I was living in Russia for a month when I was 19.
I am physically, intellectually and culturally healthy and wealthy. What my problem is, is my conscience and conscioussness and trying to comrehend how I fit into society.
You see, I have an inferiority and a superiority complex at the same time. I feel superior sometimes because so many people are unconscious beyond there own little world and self encompassed in it, and I feel inferior because they manage to carry on living anyway and not be dragged down by questioning every facet of my existence (what I do) . My default position is to question and observe myself and my position in relation society. This has led me to conclude that my existence has no justification, that I have no right to life.
Everyone else has some magic innate ability that makes them live their lives and prosper, to make decisive decisions, and I, I just sluggishly flow along, like driftwood on the tide.
So although I am not religious, wish me well as I have to suffer the unpleasantness of getting a low paid low skilled 'job'. The thing is, there are actually nice parts of the city- the Necropolis is my favourite place. I like to reflect in tranquility. My ideal job would be in a museum or an art gallery. Not too stressful and with plenty of time to reflect.
But anyway, sorry for that rambling account. I am going to go soon, I will come back to the internet cafe at about 5 or 6 this evening.
turminderxuss
ReplyDeleteI don't know why I got the push but being a person with very low self esteem means I think I probably deserved it.
How I got to the age of 39 whilst still believing that I am not worth listening to is another question.
Peter.
ReplyDeleteYes, I will have to read that book by Chekhov, I hear it is quite good.
Turminder.
Yes, I will look round for book clubs, etc. There are bound to be plenty with an online prescence.
Kerist Nap, In all seriousness can I suggest Booze, drugs and sex, in any order and combination, you are in your 20s it should be like the shagging, tooting, tokeing, burping, slurping, licking, tickling, bump & grinding, happy smiling Olympics! Really puts the existential angst into perspective too.. Go to some of the backpackers socials (your job is in a hostel no?) and try to enjoy yourself!!!
ReplyDeleteBefore I go, there have been ideas I have been thinking about. Volunteering in the local community on setting a healthy eating/cooking scheme. There are lots of takeways, aldis, icelands and Lidls, and many people have a bad diet. Of course, I do not mean to be classist, I have bought stuff from these places. There are clearly a lot of people who have pooe diets.
ReplyDeleteMy own cooking is not great, but I do eat healthily. Pasta, rice, vegetables and fruit. I have been meat free for a whole week until last night when I prepared haddock with mashed potaters and peas,
I have enjoyed some of your posts Jen, but know about the, 'believing that I am not worth listening to' schtick, and perhaps like Nap's Superior/inferior complex, if they want to read me why should I bother... But either way good to see you here, hope you hang around..
ReplyDelete@Napoleon
ReplyDeleteIf it's any comfort, my daughter (who's 24) thinks in exactly the same way as you do. I was the same when I was that sort of age, and I suspect many of the people who seem to cruise through life without any doubts (so annoyingly) also have their 4am moments.
Things change, and you'll change with them.
Jenni
ReplyDeletethe dreaded low self esteem thingy . Many people feel this - it has been my experience that many who feel themselves to be inadequate in some way generally have more to offer than the brash who overestimate their own 'wonderousness/
The mystification around the big question 'WHY' can leave us all thinking it must be our own fault. Why is someone nasty to me - why did it all go wrong etc ? If we take the blame unthinkingly instead of analysing it objectively we can collapse into a position of defencelessness and become quite abject. This in itself can bring yet another disaster down upon us.
Believe me - I know ! We are not subject to fate or the opinions of others. Just be Jenni - no other identifier is necessary. Once you meet and get to know the real Jenni you will find life takes a different turn.
Love xx
turminder.
ReplyDeleteNo I am not wrking yet. I have applied to work in a youth hostel, no response yet, and probably won't get one.
Really, such a Nihilistic life you describe does not appeal to me. I am quite alienated from my peer group, namely people of my own age. I suppose I could start hanging around in the pubs round the universities, but I always feel inferior and self conscious when surrounded by students. I'd rather be an existentailist, thanks. Even if it means I am driftwood in the storm tossed sea, my questioning and critical attitude to the idiocy of the 'anthill of society' (Dostoevsky quote)is what makes me me.
Anyway, gotta go. I'll come back later today.
Nap
ReplyDeleteyou will find , in any city, like minded people who share you interests.
Glasgow will have an online directory of volunteer groups - some of which will take your interest . Find the right one for yourself where your particular talents will be warmly welcomed.
many of us - me at least - could live the life of a hermit, reading, listening to music and in my case gardening and studying insects - but we hermits do have a gregarious outgoing side and , with the right group, find friends and a way to contribute.
Take care x
Wise words Leni, both for Jen & Nap, to which i'll add a favourite quote, mis remembered and badly translated but you get the drift... from Andrei Tarkovsky (someone else who Nap might enjoy!);
ReplyDelete"We all live in worlds of our own imagination. Rather than be delighted in their wonder, why do we chose to be dissapointed by their flaws?"
I'd also add to others' sage advice (not that mine's necessarily sage mind you):
ReplyDeleteI've found that my mental state is ridiculously closely linked to my activity levels, if I don't get out of the house at least once a day I go bonkers*, if I don't get some decent exercise at least every couple of days I start mentally beating myself up for some reason or another (not usually lack of exercise though!)*
*I don't like using the term depressed, I believe it's over used, and I'm therefore loath to apply it to myself. I make no judgements of others using it though since I have no way of knowing whether they're the ones genuinely depressed or not.
Afternoon all
ReplyDelete@Napoleon-I,m sure you,ll be fine.You,ve had lot,s
of good advice from people and all i wanted to add
is BE STREETWISE.Don,t be too trusting until you,ve
found your feet.Loneliness can make people vulnerable!
And you,ve always got your cyber-mates so you,re not
alone.Also you,re still young,you haven,t got dependants by the sound of it,so if it doesn,t work out it,s not the end of the world.You can always up sticks and try somewhere else.
lovely post on 'esteem', Leni. needed that (odd couple of days...)
ReplyDeleteAgreed Philippa, but did anyone else find themselves in a "this sentence is false" loop at this bit:
ReplyDelete"it has been my experience that many who feel themselves to be inadequate in some way generally have more to offer than the brash who overestimate their own 'wonderousness"?
?
ReplyDeletethought it was that people who think they aren't interesting usually are, and people who think they are usually aren't.
for example.
and i'm having 'wonderousness'. good word.
Philippa, ok, should've explained it better:
ReplyDeleteI think I'm not interesting, which means I probably am, Ok, so I'm interesting, now I think I am, I'm probably not, ok, so I'm not, and so on.....
Philippa, ok, should've explained it better:
ReplyDeleteI think I'm not interesting, which means I probably am, Ok, so I'm interesting, now I think I am, I'm probably not, ok, so I'm not, and so on.....
ah, i see.
ReplyDeleteexternal perception v logic gate, i think. heh heh.
Dott
ReplyDeleteI was referring to the brash types who superimpose their own certanty onto every situation. We are never interesting to everyone - i love birds and insects for instance but don't make them my sole topic of conversation.
It is not a question of thinkinf I might be interesting/uninteresting it is a question of *knowing* it and arranging life and attitudes accordingly. The nasties who criticise and use 'put downs ' as a means of asserting their own superiority very often have little to offer - beyond their own certainties. It is also about power structures in relationships. Big subject.
it is about knowing both your own strengths and weaknesses.
I know Leni, I'm sorry, I was just taking the p*ss out of myself...
ReplyDeleteBy double posting, gah, Blogger doesn't like me today!
ReplyDeleteSorry dott
ReplyDeletedidn't mean to go into lecture mode .
Hi guys
ReplyDeleteConsciousness and conscience eh? Self esteem and self efficacy? Dearie me that's a lot of psychology ain't it?
My advice NapoleonK is to get an ontological proof of being and become a moral agent by study and practice. I would advise learning some basic attribution theory (something I keep suggesting to all and sundry with a reason) and applying it to yourself and others. It may also be applied generally as it teaches about analysing cause and effect.
Novels (even russian ones) are all very well but to learn about life some basic science is necessary as is the praxis of just being.
The loop most of you get stuck in is a self referential linguistic / representational; you get lost in words and forget that they meaning which is not just defined by more words. Dictionaries hold definitions and not meaning.
Pen
ReplyDeleteWe are all to a greater or lesser degree locked into attributional theory - both internal and external. Sometimes this can be useful in accepting the basically unacceptle and sometimes it can be very destructive. The forces which shape us go beyond the personal - they are societal, interpersonal and even self deuding.
Our attributional frameworks are often framed for us by others - as you would say blah blah.
Huge subject - how closely do any of us analyse ourselves and our situation ? For many this is a luxury beyond them - survival is priority. Actions can be attributed to necessity - it looks different depending on point of view and level of power we hold beyond the personal.
we can also for instance blame our fear on past experiences of bullying - this may be a defensive shield or may be the truth.
Theories can sometimes be interpreted too glibly. x
Hi P3n! how about;
ReplyDeleteI post, therefore I spam...
self dudeing i'm having that ; )
ReplyDeleteturminder
ReplyDeleteNow am crushed - my poor typing skills are bringing me down.
sorry all - very dicey keyboard since parrot stripped keys on laptop.
Leni
ReplyDeleteThat was a wonderful post, thank you for that.
A parrot stripped the keys on your laptop?
ReplyDeleteMakes me feel better about melting mine with a hairdryer.
Nah Leni, unintended genius 'self dudeing' or the Lebowski approach.. ; )
ReplyDeleteLeni/jennifera
ReplyDeleteMy housemate's cat is the most computer literate one in our house: she keeps walking across laptop keyboards and changing the settings, and we can't change them back!
jennifer - genuinely just read that as meaning that you'd melted your parrot with a hairdryer...
ReplyDeletewill make tea. food may help...
Dott
ReplyDeletemy theory about animals and laptops is that the animals see them as part of the pack - obviously to be communicated with in some mysterious way.
Jenni
i suppose the hairdryer also felt affinity - to do with mythical electrical something.
Turminder - point taken Dwd.
Ha Philippa your funny.
ReplyDeleteI doubt food will help ;)
Damn it, you are funny I meant, my grammar just never gets any better.
ReplyDeleteLeni,
ReplyDeleteMy theory is that the cat can't tell the difference between a laptop and a lap: to her they're both just somewhere warm to stomp all over then curl up on.....
Dott
ReplyDeleteCats and pianos ?
Off to cook folks. Mist is finally lifting here so will go and look around me - further than the 10 yards visible for last 2 days.
I frequent a feminist blog that is normally pretty serious but they recently had a piece about declaring how awesome you are.
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty amazing it made me a bit tearful in fact.
I found it really difficult to join in (low self esteem again) but I came out of it saying I am Jennifer fucking A and I am fantastic.
The internet isn't all bad.
Jen - just caught up on Waddya - did you call Barbara Ellen a fuckwit? Dear me, truth seems to hurt, if that was really what you were banned for! :o)
ReplyDeleteLeni, that's why using some theory and a research base helps analyse cause and effect. Heider 1948, Kelley, Jones and Nisbett blah cognitive inference processes, biases and shortcoming in human inferential processes, telling more than we can know blah.
ReplyDeleteBut social causation has to be problematic if one has self aware moral agents.
Hi TXuss yeah self dudeing does sound awfully Lebowskian.
Thanks, very much, re the comments earlier. I will be around for about 45 minutes. I went home and had a nap, woke up and listened to PM for a few minutes. Tonght I am going to prepare a meal. My cooking skills are not too bad.
ReplyDeleteHi Napoleon, good luck with it all! I've moved several times to places where I knew no-one, and you'd be surprised how quickly you can make friends sometimes.
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved here, I just popped into the local after work most days with a book, and within a few days, people started approaching me and talking. Within about a fortnight I'd managed to work my way up to a stool at the locals' bar. :-)
Nap
ReplyDeleteLiving alone demands cooking skills - stick to something you know to start with and experiment with the new as you go along.
When my son is away I tend to live on bananas - hardly a balanced diet but all too convenient.
It's about motivation I suppose - cooking for someone else adds responsibility to the task.
We should have a cooking for one recipe exchange - also buying for one - I tend to over buy when alone - waste food and money. Perhaps if I bought fewer bananas I'd eat the other things ?
Leni - I usually buy something that'll do for two or three meals. Am a big fan of heavy cream saucey things, so I'll make a batch of whatever and then the leftovers just need heating up along with some extra rice / noodles / veg whatever. The extra advantage is that that sort of dish tends to improve with sitting for a couple of days.
ReplyDeleteSeconding Thauma here, making friends in a big city will take you out of your comfort zone in a big way but you have to put yourself out there Nap.
ReplyDeleteBeing shy but but nice just won't cut it.
Evening all.
ReplyDelete*******Warning - content not for the faint-hearted
After a somewhat disastrous day, I have been much cheered by the BNPs party political broadcast, which was of a quality like you've never seen / heard before. Dear Nick, looking freshly scrubbed but not too upper class, and refreshingly honest. The use of 'Nimrod' as background music throughout + shots of soldiers on the battlefield and the Cenotaph .. puts me in mind of old B&W propaganda movies. I choose my words very carefully here, but may I say - pure genius.
Jennifer, have you e-mailed the mods at all requesting reinstatement? Or can't you be arsed? Was going to add a post on Waddya but by the time I got there loads had already posted on the subject, so I just recommended those.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure they won't reinstate you without your asking them.
While checking out my constituency in the vain hope that it might not actually be ultra-safe Labour, I noticed the Census data they put up:
ReplyDeleteHomes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 10.7%
That's just ridiculous, no?
Mind you, I checked a couple of others : Selly Oak 19.3%. Beckenham 4.5%. Westminster 10.4%. Chelsea & Fulham 10.2%...
Is this an HMO / student digs issue? What on earth?
Yes, I will make friends eventually, it is jsut a matter of findifg the people I am comfortable with. There are a huge amount of my ex schoolmates in Glasgow, but I do not really want to associate with them, as I never really fitted in. I am rather selective. In the area where I live, I do not think I will be frequenting the local pubs. Trust me.
ReplyDeleteLeni - recipe exchange! genius idea... I like cooking for other people, we do 'swaps', I'll do curry here, someone will do pie, that kind of thing. And flatmate can't cook so we have a system where he buys (usually meat I couldn't afford!) and I cook. That works very nicely...
ReplyDeleteI do a lot of 'gratin' stuff that feeds two to start with, and then pack it up as two servings to be heated up over the next few days.
Have tried a multitude of combinations for lasagne and for macaroni cheese.
MsChin
ReplyDeleteYes - the BNP know the buttons. Interestingly I find that many in Wales who talk of being British Welsh respond positively to a very English pov when it comes to history and all that stuff - apart of course from the bits where The English battered the Welsh.
Just wanted to share this with everone.
ReplyDeleteStained Glass Window
I'd post it on the Andrew Brown "isn't everyone being horrible to Catholics" thread but the mods already have my number.
Anyway, I will be going in 10 minutes. I will probably go for a stroll round the city, go home, cook, before settling down to study and read for the evening
ReplyDeletedon't tease like that, LordS - where's the window?
ReplyDeleteGoodbye.
ReplyDeleteX.
NapK
ReplyDeleteChin up, mate. I'll echo what others have said upthread, you'll settle in in time.
MsC - and the photo of Churchill behind him... utterly loathsome broadcast. My skin is crawling.
ReplyDeleteLordS - damn you Facebook login people. What's it say?
ReplyDeleteHang on, I'll try and sort something out.
ReplyDeleteshaz
ReplyDeleteQuite stunning, wasn't it.
Try this ...
ReplyDeleteStained Glass Window
OMG! Fast work, m'lud. Where is that window?
ReplyDeleteLordS.
ReplyDeleteI burst out laughing when I opened that. Cracker.
p.s. No wonder it's stained....
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to find out. That's got to be worth a day out to see, assuming it's not a Photoshop job of course. So hard to tell these days.
ReplyDeleteOh, and scroll along the album. The Batman water pistol is a scream ... and that's definitely genuine.
ReplyDeleteOff for a bite of reheated yumminess ... back in a bit!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFave 4 one recipe, Ramen, or noodle soup, cook a pack of three min noodles, put in a bowl, with the stock, which should cover the noodles. Add a tbl spoon of sweetcorn, 2 chopped spring onions, and a knob of butter. If you like add sliced strips of ham or a few prawns, fresh ground pepper & chilli. Is good with a few florets of broccoli, which i usually nuke for three mins while the noodles are cooking.
ReplyDeleteDelish.
What a very moving thread, today; love and best regards To Napoleon K. Very wise words from all.
ReplyDeleteMaybe laughter is the best medicine? Self-dudeing and melting parrots!!! Ha ha ha, but the Lord S piccie and Thauma's "stained glass" - still chuckling.
Well, off to work, no doubt I'll see lots of people sitting outside pubs, enjoying the evening. (Bastards!) Thanks to all for making UT such great reading.
Ahhh feel better. Have just today got first flyer from local LibDem candidate (versus bloody hundreds from the Tory one and not a few from the sitting Labour party-line-voting non-entity). Now have e-mailed him requesting clarification on various policies.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the betting on getting an answer? Philippa? (You seem to be good at odds.)
Habib - god, couldn't face going to work now. Respect to you and your brethren (and sororitren).
ReplyDeleteHi folks - still got the buiders in! Still shattered!
ReplyDeleteWelcome Jennifer! Sympathise about the low self esteem. I have actually found that the internet can improve it - since posting on Cif I certainly have developed a thicker skin! and an ability to (at least mentally) tell people to F off! feels good!
Hard to do it for real though - probably generational was brought up in the forties and fifties and had 'don't be rude' dinned into me! ;)
Nap moving to a new place can be daunting, hope things get better soon. Hope you get a job too but remember if you don't its not your fault its those effing bankers! If all else fails try volunteering at an adult education centre (basic numeracy and literacy) I assume they do have them in Scotland. I was a basic skills tutor for 15 years and found it very enjoyable.
It gets you out and about and you meet people.
Good luck.
Right ... knackered ... off ... hiya Anne!
ReplyDeletethauma - depends if he stands a cat in hell's chance - if yes, he'll respond out of pure desperation; if not, he might still respond out of having bugger all else to do. So I'd guess short on that one...
ReplyDeletehello anne!
Evening all
ReplyDeletehaving been working and lurking
If anyone is interested in star travel, i have posted this nonsense.
LordSummerisle, if you think that's funny, then you've got some problems. My own view is that nothing is off-limits as regards comedy, but it has to be funny. Altar boys giving blowjobs to priests doesn't really do it for me - a bit like making jokes about Jews making lamp-shades out of their own skin.
ReplyDeleteWhy are you here anyway? It's been quite a while since you visited, hasn't it? (last time was when you were bannned from Cif and needed a forum to whinge, right? And then you disappeared again.) Have you have been banned from cif again for repetitive tedium and sporadic rudeness? It seems to me that you try to be 'edgy', but you're just a bore.
Hi, everybody else. Hope you're all well.
Hiya scherfig!
ReplyDeleteBit tough on LordS, there, I thought the image was fucking hilarious, in the same way I find the London Olympics logo hilarious. And the Dutch cartoons of Muhammad are quite funny; the reaction being far funnier. (right up until someone was killed, of course.)
But that's just my sense of humour, which cannot be dictated by anyone else. As, I'm sure you'll agree, your's cannot?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Paul
ReplyDeleteI have been missing BB as well. Maybe it is problems with the Asus.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteEvening all
ReplyDelete(Take 2)
Really disillusioned with contemporary British politics.Am in favour of PR but would coalition governments really address the deep-rooted problems of poverty and inequality we have in our fragmented society?
Am probably repeating what i,ve said before but i
think that at some point the shit is really
going to hit the fan in this country before we see
any fundamental changes.Apologies for sounding like
a prophet of doom but that,s how i feel.The election
on 6 May won,t make a jot of difference whatever
the result.
On a lighter note i got moderated today for asking
whether someones avatar was a 'chick with a dick'.
@Montana-hope things are alright with you
@BB-Where are you?
Whoever the US singer on the Vote Now Show was just now, she rocks - check out the podcast when it's up - about 8 minutes in...
ReplyDeletePaul - fair point (both on PR and the dick thing) - if we do end up with a coalition government, I can just see that used as an excuse by each party that's a member of it that the other one is stopping them doing X, Y or Z, or they're to blame for X, Y...
ReplyDeleteKind of like the current system and the EU.
I really don't know what's going to happen - but my biggest fear is that Labour or Tory get in as sole party with a workable majority. Because then everyone will heave a sigh of relief and go back to bitching about whatever party won - all that sense of FPTP being bollocks, or needing something different, will be lost, and the Seumas Milne 'the world will end' anti-coalitionism thing will get bedded in. And we'll be stuck with the same old shit for decades.
Peh.
Hello?
ReplyDeletePhilippa, are you trying extra-terrestrial communication as per Hawkin thread?
ReplyDeleteAh. US singer on Vote Now Show actually a satirical drag act. Took me in completely. But still very good...
ReplyDeletemissing comment again, medve - and more interested in Nessie, to be honest with you...
ReplyDeletePhilippa: Each to her / his own. And Nessie is very interesting indeed. I have been in those parts several times. Riveting. And an entirely different measure of nature.
ReplyDeleteHi, heyhabib, how are you?
ReplyDeleteI've not been reading this blog or contributing for some time now, so it's up you guys what you want to do. But I said more than a month ago that AllyF, LaRit, and LordS were just Cif wankers that popped in here when they were pissed off with the Guardian, and I also said that they would not bother to post here again when their Cif posting rights were restored. And I was right.Where is LaRit now? Where is AllyF? And LordS pops up for the very first time since he was allowed to post on Cif again (having thanked everyone on Cif for their support, but not having thanked anyone here or acknowledged anyones's support here. As soon as LordS could post again on Cif, that was UT forgotten.)
As I say, it's up to you guys now, but as a founder member I've jacked it in now (as have many others) and you might want to ask why, and think about what you want this place to be. Youtube links and platitudes have their place, but I remember when the weekend youtube parties here were actually fun rather than just posting links. There was a sort of 'context' and a dialogue. And I don't really think that this blog should be a back-slapping fest or a form of group therapy, but what do I know? So that's why I'm not really interested any more. Aah well, guess I'm getting old and grumpy. :0)
Take care, have fun.
@Philippa
ReplyDeleteThe result's going to be bad whatever happens. If the Tories are the largest party, but without an overall majority, their rhetoric today means that we'll have another election shortly when they start losing votes in the house. There might even be a crisis over their 'emergency budget', given the convention that budget measures in a manifesto shouldn't be voted down.
If Labour gets the most seats with no overall majority, then it will try to do a deal with the LibDems and end up looking sleazy.
The best result would be an exact three-party tie, with them all looking at each other and trying to work out a way of giving the voters what they say they want. Which will be bloody difficult for politicians to get their heads round.
My money's on another election by autumn. But I'd like to put on record my contempt for the Tories' attempts to defend FPTP today. I heard Iain Duncan Smith, and even John Gummer (!) doing it. Really desperate stuff.
@Scherfig
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fou nder, or anything near it, and it took me ages to post anything. But you can't dictate what an open community ought to be, although you can argue for it. It's up to the contributors what the atmosphere is, and what is discussed, and it's an organic thing.
To be fair to LordS, I recall that he did thank the UT. But that's a minor point.
Without pre-vetting of contributors, you'll always get drive-bys and temporary posters. But does that change anything long-term? Look at the regular posters here, and you'll see good people with all kinds of experience. The fly-by-nights don't really matter, do they?
Hi philippa
ReplyDeletePosted a reply which has ended up in cyber-space-
which seems to be happening quite a lot to me
recently-perhaps someone trying to tell me something?
Now you,ve got me interested in Nessie-my brain is
that unfocused today.But can see a connection between
the two subjects-ie something montrous coming out of the 'water' on 7 May perhaps--the morning after the
night before!
Scherfig, respect to you for being honest, but you may want to reconsider being personally nasty. Just my opinion and you can be as nasty to me as you like. Some people have much more feeling than I do, however.
ReplyDeletePhilippaB
The election really isn't that important.
It's them and us until the glorious revolution.
Here's another drag act, for the mean time, had me fooled, but not my current girlfriend.
@heyhabib
ReplyDeleteBe honest man!That is your girlfriend!No big deal!
Paul, least I've got one, ner!!
ReplyDeletePhilippa - Paul - Peter
ReplyDeleteDo we really know what we are voting for ? The big question seems to be around electoral reform post election. his is an essential however what about jobs, housing and so many other desperate problems ? Apart from meaningless platitudes these problems are not being mentioned - let alone addressed in real terms.
Does 'cutting back the public sector ' , for example , mean a loss of jobs - less money for services - or what ?
there are lists of vague statements - no concrete proposals. Has anybody suggested ways of narrowing the income gap, what about social inequality ?
Who else - beyond Vince and Nick Clegg - in LDs is minister material - apart from the ubiquitous Simon Hughes I can't think of anybody .
Paul
ReplyDeleteNessie clearly exists- she is very ancient and wise , sister to the Afanc. She is uncatchable - obviously - you don't survive for millions of years without more than your fair share of guile.
Hi Sherfig - hope all is well with you.
peterj - ah, yes, the 'emergency budget' - osborne really can't be kept on if they win / cobble together sufficient support to make a go of it, can he? Agree on betting on a second election within the year if nobody manages a working majority...
ReplyDelete@heyhabib
ReplyDeleteI,m sure you have got one!!!!
@Philippa
ReplyDeleteIf the Tories get most seats but no overall majority, and attempt to form a Government, Osborne's chances are root fuck all. The Tories will try to get the emergency budget through under someone else (who? Letwin, FFS?) in a minority Parliament, and lose. Cue another election on the grounds of 'who governs Britain'. Then, probably, weariness means a Tory majority.
And then we're all fucked.
@philippaet al
ReplyDeleteAgree we are likely to have a second election
within a year without anyone having a working
majority-possibly in October.But the horse-trading
between the parties in the interim period will be
nothing short of an obsenity
BTW-is anyone else having problems posting here
ReplyDeletetonight?
Oh, then for Paul and the political sitch...
ReplyDeleteTory minority government - Osborne retires to villa in Tuscany suffering from 'stress' and wishing to 'spend more time with his family' - Ken Clarke puts his cigar out and weighs in 'at this difficult time' - Cameron tells the press he won't deal with the Libdems while, in fact, begging the Libdems fo a deal - PR tthe sticking point - this gets leaked to the Telegraph - both sides back off to retain face - things fall apart - civil service run stuff for six months until November election.
ReplyDeletehave said it before, but a period of no 'policy innovations' might do us the world of good.
Anyway...my prediction.
Paul - yes, keep getting error messages and weird reporting codes...
ReplyDeletePaul
ReplyDeletesomething odd happening - repeated error message from Blogger which cannot be tracked through their site.
I reckon Hawking's aliens have arrived.
@Philippa
ReplyDeleteExcellent precis. I was, rashly, assuming good faith on at least some of the sides and ignoring the media.
@phillipa
ReplyDeleteTUSCANY????? What are the implications of what you,re
saying?
anyway - night all
ReplyDeletepeter - you dear naive thing, you...
ReplyDeletehehe heh
really - night night
Shit, I just noticed the piece by Hilary Lawson on Cif. I knew him very well, from his days at Yorkshire TV in the 1980s when he was the most unprincipled, manipulative person I've ever met. I recall him telling me, while making a documentary about children with hydrocephalus, that it would have "made much better TV" if one child had died during an operation.
ReplyDeleteI haven't yet worked my way through all the comments, but has anyone brought up his role in producing the original anti-global-warming documentary, long before the Great Global Warming Swindle? He might have been right, but he was still being a shit.
Wonder if he ever managed to get his baby the black Babygros he was looking for last time I saw him?
@heyhabib
ReplyDeleteWas never too keen on Mr Grant.Try 'Cool down the pace'
by Gregory Issacs.More lovers rock !Crap at links
sorry!
PeterJ: I am perhaps quite in tune with some of your ideas it seems. Will have a look at Hilary Lawson.
ReplyDelete@Leni
ReplyDeleteDunno about Hawkins aliens but something very strange
has been going on.Who knows who is 'out there'trying
to interpret our conversations-God help them!
Paul: I think a gaggle of gremlins has been set loose in the server farms. Everyone is describing similar symptoms irrespective of region or browser.
ReplyDeleteGood night all
ReplyDeleteGood call, Paul.
ReplyDelete@Montana
ReplyDeleteLeft a post for you on waddya.My post came across
the wrong way!My fault entirely -did sound a bit unintentionally defensive like 'how dare she' when really it wasn,t meant to be at all!!
test
ReplyDeleteOK this is really weird- just left a post saying
ReplyDeletegoodnight to habib and leni and i,ve come up as
Chekhov.This is how it starts Leni!!!!!!!!!!
It was lovely knowing you all when i knew who i was!!
Ok the test seems to have worked. I'm in "pre mod" on CIF for making a totally legitimate comment on a thread by Lord Adonis. Can I come and play on here? I promise to be my usual reasonable and confused self!
ReplyDeleteBtw Alisdair Cameron, thanks for sending me the info on how to access this website and post a comment. I'm not the sharpest chisel in the tool box when it comes to navigating the internet but I'm learning.
ReplyDeleteErr...why do my posts have dustbin after them?
ReplyDeleteOr is it a Tardis?
@Medve
ReplyDeleteIf you want to take a look at Lawson's Greenhouse Conspiracy film from 1990(!), the first part is here with later parts linked from there.
Chekhov - Hi
ReplyDeleteThe dustbin is there in case you say something you may regret - you can self delete
Paul
ReplyDeleteAre you sure you knew who you were ? Pen might have something to say about that.
Leni, thanks for the tip. Will you hold my hand? I'm a new boy on here.
ReplyDeleteChekhov
ReplyDeleteFire away - problems with posting here tonight so don't worry if it goes awry. You're a bit late - - most have retired to bed being responsible citizens.
Leni. thanks for your reply. Are you a "responsible citizen" and retiring for the night? I prefer to burn the midnight oil myself but I realize my preference might not chime with others!
ReplyDeleteChekhov
ReplyDeleteI am a responsible nightowl. The early hours need watching ! Habib and Paul are the core of the nightshift - leaders in the field.
BTW Nap; you are not alone in experiencing "existential angst". I suspect there are more of us than you might think.
ReplyDeleteI've checked out your blog and you have some interesting things to say.
Hi Leni,Habib,Paul, and welcome to Chekhov. Just home from the city, good stuff on here today. I'm often around at this time due to time zones. 8 hours behind you folk.
ReplyDeleteChekhov--Have difficulties myself with computers and cyberworld, but, am learning and most seem willing to help the newbies. So stick with it.
The "moderators"= "censors" suck on CIF but you knew that already didn't you?
ReplyDeleteBoudican; where do you live that is 8 hours behind?
ReplyDeleteCheckhov--haha, that is pretty much our raison d'etre on the UT. We're almost like pirates.
ReplyDeleteNapolean--Moving can be difficult, and yes, lonely at times too, but as the days go by you will settle in and make friends and talk to others. You're smart and inquisitive, so should be fine. Before too long they'll have you running for cooncil.(-:
Chekhov--Gold River, British Columbia, west coast of Vancouver Island. 200 miles NW of Vancouver. Where are you?
ReplyDeleteHi Boudican
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine who runs mountain bike centre here has just returned from Whistler - looking for ideas to take to NZ - have another friend - forest manager - who swears Canada is heaven.He goes over regularly - I am , apparently, the only one prepared to look at what seems like a thousand pics of trees. You've got a lot of them.
Hi Leni--Heaven? Not quite, but where I live there are virgin rainforests and some of the oldest trees in Canada. Some are 200+ feet tall, and yes as I look out the window down the Gold River valley, the picture is very green. Not all of Canada is treed though, one can drive through the prairies and see very few.
ReplyDeleteLeni--Whistler is spectacular, but prohibitively expensive. A haven for the affluent in many ways, and that was the case even well before the olympics. Great place to visit, a lot to see and do.
ReplyDeleteEvening all and welcome Chekhov
ReplyDeleteAm not working but can,t sleep.Body clock is geared
up to working nights and female better half has
practically kicked me out of bed cos i,m so restless.
In all fairness she works days!But i,m so tired-almost
beyond exhaustion as never sleep more than 4-5 hours
during the day.We had a chat earlier about me going back to days but we need the money and nights pay better.But at what cost?Sorry to be so boring cos
i know everyone has problems and some have it much
worse.
Sorry Chekhov i don,t often rant (cough!!)
@My sister called me earlier and told me a funny story.Appparently she was in Superdrug and witnessed the following'incident' at the checkout.
Old lady discretely passes over her purchases but
one item doesn.t have the right code to be processed.
So checkout girl calls over to her colleague-'How
much are anusol suppositories?-colleague in the next
checkout replies 'What are they'-and checkout girl
responds in loud voice-'They for piles,yer know what
you get up yer bum '.The poor old lady walked out
of the shop in shame without her purchases.And my
sister and another woman had a right go at the checkout girl for her indiscretion.But there is a
funny side to it and i hope the old lady will see
that in time.Although in all fairness i don,t know
how i would have reacted if anyone did that to me.
Paul--That is funny but the poor old bird was shamed in a way probably not seen in her earlier years. Still wrong of the shop employees to announce to the world though. I think I would have lit into them myself.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're not boring me, that's what I'm here for.(:
Boudican
ReplyDeleteHave seen lots of pics of Whistler - the facilities look very expensive. Canada has both space and a diverse environment . So called extreme sports tend to be the preserve of the wealthy who like some comfort with it.
The tar sands development in Alberta seem to be destroying much of the forests - and threatening bird habitats. There is so much unequal development around the world - facilities for the rich often running beside destruction and misery for the poor. I imagine your area will be protected.
Here we are post mining - attempts to undo environmental damage and tackle high unemployment are making slow progress. The legacy from previous generations damaging this one. We are very small scale here - attempts to build tourism grinding almost to halt as infrastructure lacking - since mountain bike trails opened both bank and filling station have closed ! I despair of politicians - local and national. They seem incapable of planning anything in a constructive, cohesive and coherent way.
I/m off to bed now so good night and god bless all.
Boudican
ReplyDeleteYour home sounds heavenly to me, I am very jealous.
Paul
ReplyDeleteJust caught your post.
poor old lady - what a cruel and thoughtless thing to do to her.
Sleep patterns - Hmm ! Once they are disturbed they seem to stay that way. Day working is better for the human bean - still shortage of money can be equally stressful.
We need a collective scam here - mind you the Untrusted wouldn't encourage confidence - we'd have to change the name.
Jenni
ReplyDeleteGo to bed at once - a girl out and about at this time will come to no good.
Leni
ReplyDeleteI wish I could, insomnia is no laughing matter is it.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLeni--Yes indeed, very diverse environment. The tar sands are always a polarising issue. An area the size of England looking much like a nuclear wasteland. Looks, and is, bloody ugly but the area is counted on heavily for jobs and of course, the economy. Can't see much being done to clean and green it up with our present government.
ReplyDeletejennifera30--Don't be jealous, just come for a visit. You won't be banned here.(-:
Aw I would love to Boudican, I am currently saving up to visit a friend in Kansas maybe I could swing up north for a few days. ;)
ReplyDelete@Boudican
ReplyDeleteBut an area the size of England looking like a nuclear
wasteland in the context of a vast country sparsely
populated country like Canada?Sadly that is likely
to be seen by those with power as something they can
live with if there is profit to be made.Very sad but
very true methinks.
@jennifera30-hope you,re not stressed cos that can
cause insomnia.
I,ll say goodnight(again)
ReplyDeleteTake it easy everyone-if you can!
Kansas is along way from here, but should you make it to here, I'd be pleased to see you. 2000 miles or so, may take more than a few days, but we'll see how you get on. I can definately show you more trees than Kansas!
ReplyDeleteI am very stressed Paul, well anxious rather than stressed.
ReplyDeleteIt is a short term side effect of the anti depressants I have just started taking, well worth it though if I get some relief in the long term.
Paul--You are so right. Many don't care about ecological balances as long as the gravy train rolls.
ReplyDeleteYou take care, rest well.
Boudican
ReplyDeleteI think it is hard for us Brits to comprehend the size of North America, the fact that some states are as big as our whole country just blows my mind.
Must take the hound to the park. Raining (that's one reason we have these big trees) hard, but the dog cares not a whit. Back later.
ReplyDeletejennifera30--Best to you, hope the meds work out.
Just saw your last jennifera30. Yes the Island I live on is roughly the size of Scotland. My wife and I, while in Scotland last year drove from Glasgow to Edinburgh in just over an hour. Coast to Coast in Canada is 4.5 time zones. It is big, and quite sparsely populated, excepting the larger cities near the US border. Back later.
ReplyDelete@habib
ReplyDeleteForgot to thank you for the link earlier.That track
brings back a lot of good memories for me.Was much
appreciated.Take care!