ME AND OPHELIA
Sunday, January 30, 2005
POLAR BEAR CUBS
Cats and other animals
Here are some pictures and links to sites featuring a lot of cats, and strange looking hairless ones at Sphynx kittens. Aren't these the cutest feet you've ever seen?
You'd have to be a cat owner to appreciate the odds of two cats putting chins on table while you get a camera ready - and that they stay that way while you aim and click. Great cat pictures are very special, which I guess is why they are so popular.
Here's why the shot was possible. It wasn't a table their chins were leaning on.
[Photo via Nega Diary]
Ophelia would like this hammock thingy. At the moment it is 11.35 Sunday morning. Yesterday, was a long day pacing myself while waiting for the fireplace shop man who never showed. I even curtailed a phone call from my brother just to be able to last energy wise so as to be able to look at brochures and be decisive. Towards the afternoon I got slightly nervous because my concentration was slowing and I was afraid of making the wrong decision on a major purchase. The new gas fire heater will probably cost around £600. So, last night I went to bed at 9pm hoping for an extra long sleep. No chance. Ophelia seems incapable of sleeping longer than eight hours. We must have awoken at the same time because I could hear her padding into my bedroom. She heads straight for my room as soon as she awakes. But this morning she didn't call out as usual. So I guessed it was time to get up and said our goodmornings, switched on the lights, went into the kitchen and opened the back door for her to go out. Came in here to switch on the lights, heater and plug in the computer. Looked at the clock to find it was 5am and Ophelia was already back indoors. I am tired now and want to go back to bed but Ophelia is fast asleep in the middle of my bed, under the duvet. She's lucky I love her so much.
More pictures at Animal and SB's blogs Cats and Watermark, with thanks.
Cats and other animals
Here are some pictures and links to sites featuring a lot of cats, and strange looking hairless ones at Sphynx kittens. Aren't these the cutest feet you've ever seen?
You'd have to be a cat owner to appreciate the odds of two cats putting chins on table while you get a camera ready - and that they stay that way while you aim and click. Great cat pictures are very special, which I guess is why they are so popular.
Here's why the shot was possible. It wasn't a table their chins were leaning on.
[Photo via Nega Diary]
Ophelia would like this hammock thingy. At the moment it is 11.35 Sunday morning. Yesterday, was a long day pacing myself while waiting for the fireplace shop man who never showed. I even curtailed a phone call from my brother just to be able to last energy wise so as to be able to look at brochures and be decisive. Towards the afternoon I got slightly nervous because my concentration was slowing and I was afraid of making the wrong decision on a major purchase. The new gas fire heater will probably cost around £600. So, last night I went to bed at 9pm hoping for an extra long sleep. No chance. Ophelia seems incapable of sleeping longer than eight hours. We must have awoken at the same time because I could hear her padding into my bedroom. She heads straight for my room as soon as she awakes. But this morning she didn't call out as usual. So I guessed it was time to get up and said our goodmornings, switched on the lights, went into the kitchen and opened the back door for her to go out. Came in here to switch on the lights, heater and plug in the computer. Looked at the clock to find it was 5am and Ophelia was already back indoors. I am tired now and want to go back to bed but Ophelia is fast asleep in the middle of my bed, under the duvet. She's lucky I love her so much.
More pictures at Animal and SB's blogs Cats and Watermark, with thanks.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/30/2005
Saturday, January 29, 2005
INQUIRY FINDS BBC FAILS IN ITS MISSION OF IMPARTIALITY
And is guilty of a pro-European bias
The BBC, Britain's internationally renowned television and radio broadcaster, has failed in its mission of impartiality and is guilty of a pro-European bias, according to an independent report it commissioned, says EU Business.
The report, commissioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation's Board of Governors, said there was a "serious problem" with the BBC's coverage of European issues because of its failure to be impartial. Full Story.
Note, BBC News online are doing a good job reporting on Darfur, Sudan. And BBC TV produced a first rate Panorama programme on Darfur that ought be given awards. My gripe with the BBC is when it comes to reporting the war in Iraq as it's obvious the BBC is anti the war in Iraq, anti-US and anti-Blair (but pro Brown). Most of the British public respect the BBC and would hate to see it run down. Hopefully, new management at the BBC will make great improvements, so we might not lose our treasured public broadcasting service.
- - -
Fact of the day
Today 1963, Britain was refused entry to European Common Market by France's veto. It's successor, the European Union, is still controversial in the UK. [via Scotsman]
- - -
Weather in Switzerland
Bryan at Spare Change blog posted this photo saying they are expecting freezing rain. I guess he is in America. I hope none of it is headed this way. Strange how the tops of the trees are not covered in icicles too. Who knows how long that car has been sitting there. The photo was taken in Switzerland.
- - -
Cooking and waiting for new fire
It's 2.25 Saturday afternoon at the moment. The man from the fireplace shop has not yet arrived. For lunch today, I put a portion of beef lasagne (that I took out of the freezer last night) onto a foil covered oven tray and into a hot oven, setting timer for 40 minutes. I made a salad with purple frilly lettuce, sliced green and red peppers, tomato and cucumber. Enough for tomorrow too. I was trying to do too many things, and couldn't manage salad dressing so I just sprinkled cheese over the salad, and set the hot lasagne on top.
I always keep a tupperware box of grated cheese handy in the fridge, and a few in the freezer. Cheese freezes well if it is grated first. I buy it in bulk and it is grated all at once, using a food processor, and stored into plastic tubs suitable for freezing.
While I prepared the salad, I washed and blanched 2lbs of fresh purple sprouting brocolli, half a pound of loose spinach and a savoy cabbage cut into pieces. I used a plastic measuring jug to carry water to the salted pan for boiling on the stove, and I lifted the cooked greens from the boiling water, using a slatted spoon, into a colander sitting on top of a pot on the stove. I did have to lift the colander of greens to the worktop, but it was not as heavy as a pan full of water and greens. I blanched the 4 different greens separately, so by the time I finished there was only half a pot of water left to carry to the sink. My limbs are still aching and throat is getting sore, but I managed to get the greens done, which I am pleased about.
The semi cooked greens are now cooling in half a dozen storage boxes ready to go into the freezer later on. I did not have the strength to rinse them all in ice cold water after blanching. In each box is a portion of cabbage, brocolli, spinach and chopped green leaves from the sprouting brocolli. So, I just need to take out one box, with an accompanying meal, out of the freezer at night and microwave the veg in the boxes for a few minutes. Or use the defrosted spinach for an omelette filling, or mix in with freshly cooked pasta, cheese sauce and bacon bits or whatever.
Please note for any new readers here. These recipes are not mentioned here because they are delectable or special - they are just things that I have tried and tested to save physical energy, standing, walking and lifting. I do have frozen vegetables delivered ie, loose corn, petit pois, oven ready french fries, etc. But leafy greens I prefer to avoid freezing. I am behind my usual routine these past few days and had to get the greens blanched because they were delivered on Tuesday and I am afraid if left for a few more days they will start losing their freshness.
- - -
Web inventor is 'Greatest Briton'
Our top man Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the worldwide web, was named as overall winner of a new award to celebrate outstanding British achievement. He was selected by a panel of judges from a shortlist of seven category winners who had been nominated for the £25,000 prize.
On receiving his award on Thursday, Sir Tim said: "I have won awards for computers but I have never won an award for being British. "I am very proud to be British, it is great fun to be British and this award is just an amazing honour." Full Story.
Tim Berners-Lee said the award was an 'amazing honour'.
We are very proud of him too.
Look how time is ticking on. It is good that Sir Tim is appreciated during his lifetime.
- - -
Listen to rest of the world, Blair urges the U.S.
DAVOS, Switzerland report by Alan Cowell The New York Times Thursday, January 27, 2005:
Seeking to bridge the deep differences between the United States and other nations, Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain urged the Bush administration on Wednesday to heed the concerns of others in return for support in its wars on terrorism and tyranny. Full Story.
- - -
In Davos, spotlight turns to Africa
DAVOS, Switzerland report by Alan Cowell The New York Times Friday, January 28, 2005:
After decades languishing as the last item on the global agenda, seemingly helpless to stem its own decline, Africa is poised this year for what the rock-star Bono called "its moment" - a time when the world will be pressed to provide the money and the will to reverse a continent's slide.
Bono offered one more reason why the world should help. Around 40 percent of Africa's people are Muslim, he said, and some African states risked becoming labeled failed states as Afghanistan was under the Taliban regime. "Africa is not the frontline of the war against terrorism," he said. "But it could be soon." Full Story.
Further reading:
UN Secretary-General's High-level Panel Report 2004/5 and Gulf Daily News Muslims 'facing new challenges'.
- - -
Israeli researchers proves feasibility of infrared cameras in cell phones
Imagine using your cell phone to take your temperature, see who's lurking in the dark, or identify explosives in a package.
Sounds like science fiction? In fact, these functions - and many more - are possible once you have an infrared camera integrated into your cell phone.
That sort of gadget may soon be available, thanks to an Israeli researcher who has demonstrated that it is already technologically feasible to build such a device. Full Story.
A composite photo of a cell phone equipped with an infrared camera - it's just a matter of design, not technology, says Dr. Nizan Yaniv.
- - -
Meet the silent conversation
What if you could carry on a telephone conversation while remaining perfectly silent? It sounds impossible, but it is a technology that is likely to come to your cell phone within the next few years. With Silent Communication's 'Talking Without Talking', the cell phone allows the user to prerecord messages that can be played by pushing the right buttons on a menu.
Full Story. [via American On Line]
- - -
Fact of the day
On January 14 in 1878 the first private telephone call in the British Isles was made by Queen Victoria from her residence on the Isle of Wight. The telephone's inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, demonstrated the machine. [via Scotsman]
And is guilty of a pro-European bias
The BBC, Britain's internationally renowned television and radio broadcaster, has failed in its mission of impartiality and is guilty of a pro-European bias, according to an independent report it commissioned, says EU Business.
The report, commissioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation's Board of Governors, said there was a "serious problem" with the BBC's coverage of European issues because of its failure to be impartial. Full Story.
Note, BBC News online are doing a good job reporting on Darfur, Sudan. And BBC TV produced a first rate Panorama programme on Darfur that ought be given awards. My gripe with the BBC is when it comes to reporting the war in Iraq as it's obvious the BBC is anti the war in Iraq, anti-US and anti-Blair (but pro Brown). Most of the British public respect the BBC and would hate to see it run down. Hopefully, new management at the BBC will make great improvements, so we might not lose our treasured public broadcasting service.
- - -
Fact of the day
Today 1963, Britain was refused entry to European Common Market by France's veto. It's successor, the European Union, is still controversial in the UK. [via Scotsman]
- - -
Weather in Switzerland
Bryan at Spare Change blog posted this photo saying they are expecting freezing rain. I guess he is in America. I hope none of it is headed this way. Strange how the tops of the trees are not covered in icicles too. Who knows how long that car has been sitting there. The photo was taken in Switzerland.
- - -
Cooking and waiting for new fire
It's 2.25 Saturday afternoon at the moment. The man from the fireplace shop has not yet arrived. For lunch today, I put a portion of beef lasagne (that I took out of the freezer last night) onto a foil covered oven tray and into a hot oven, setting timer for 40 minutes. I made a salad with purple frilly lettuce, sliced green and red peppers, tomato and cucumber. Enough for tomorrow too. I was trying to do too many things, and couldn't manage salad dressing so I just sprinkled cheese over the salad, and set the hot lasagne on top.
I always keep a tupperware box of grated cheese handy in the fridge, and a few in the freezer. Cheese freezes well if it is grated first. I buy it in bulk and it is grated all at once, using a food processor, and stored into plastic tubs suitable for freezing.
While I prepared the salad, I washed and blanched 2lbs of fresh purple sprouting brocolli, half a pound of loose spinach and a savoy cabbage cut into pieces. I used a plastic measuring jug to carry water to the salted pan for boiling on the stove, and I lifted the cooked greens from the boiling water, using a slatted spoon, into a colander sitting on top of a pot on the stove. I did have to lift the colander of greens to the worktop, but it was not as heavy as a pan full of water and greens. I blanched the 4 different greens separately, so by the time I finished there was only half a pot of water left to carry to the sink. My limbs are still aching and throat is getting sore, but I managed to get the greens done, which I am pleased about.
The semi cooked greens are now cooling in half a dozen storage boxes ready to go into the freezer later on. I did not have the strength to rinse them all in ice cold water after blanching. In each box is a portion of cabbage, brocolli, spinach and chopped green leaves from the sprouting brocolli. So, I just need to take out one box, with an accompanying meal, out of the freezer at night and microwave the veg in the boxes for a few minutes. Or use the defrosted spinach for an omelette filling, or mix in with freshly cooked pasta, cheese sauce and bacon bits or whatever.
Please note for any new readers here. These recipes are not mentioned here because they are delectable or special - they are just things that I have tried and tested to save physical energy, standing, walking and lifting. I do have frozen vegetables delivered ie, loose corn, petit pois, oven ready french fries, etc. But leafy greens I prefer to avoid freezing. I am behind my usual routine these past few days and had to get the greens blanched because they were delivered on Tuesday and I am afraid if left for a few more days they will start losing their freshness.
- - -
Web inventor is 'Greatest Briton'
Our top man Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the worldwide web, was named as overall winner of a new award to celebrate outstanding British achievement. He was selected by a panel of judges from a shortlist of seven category winners who had been nominated for the £25,000 prize.
On receiving his award on Thursday, Sir Tim said: "I have won awards for computers but I have never won an award for being British. "I am very proud to be British, it is great fun to be British and this award is just an amazing honour." Full Story.
Tim Berners-Lee said the award was an 'amazing honour'.
We are very proud of him too.
Look how time is ticking on. It is good that Sir Tim is appreciated during his lifetime.
- - -
Listen to rest of the world, Blair urges the U.S.
DAVOS, Switzerland report by Alan Cowell The New York Times Thursday, January 27, 2005:
Seeking to bridge the deep differences between the United States and other nations, Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain urged the Bush administration on Wednesday to heed the concerns of others in return for support in its wars on terrorism and tyranny. Full Story.
- - -
In Davos, spotlight turns to Africa
DAVOS, Switzerland report by Alan Cowell The New York Times Friday, January 28, 2005:
After decades languishing as the last item on the global agenda, seemingly helpless to stem its own decline, Africa is poised this year for what the rock-star Bono called "its moment" - a time when the world will be pressed to provide the money and the will to reverse a continent's slide.
Bono offered one more reason why the world should help. Around 40 percent of Africa's people are Muslim, he said, and some African states risked becoming labeled failed states as Afghanistan was under the Taliban regime. "Africa is not the frontline of the war against terrorism," he said. "But it could be soon." Full Story.
Further reading:
UN Secretary-General's High-level Panel Report 2004/5 and Gulf Daily News Muslims 'facing new challenges'.
- - -
Israeli researchers proves feasibility of infrared cameras in cell phones
Imagine using your cell phone to take your temperature, see who's lurking in the dark, or identify explosives in a package.
Sounds like science fiction? In fact, these functions - and many more - are possible once you have an infrared camera integrated into your cell phone.
That sort of gadget may soon be available, thanks to an Israeli researcher who has demonstrated that it is already technologically feasible to build such a device. Full Story.
A composite photo of a cell phone equipped with an infrared camera - it's just a matter of design, not technology, says Dr. Nizan Yaniv.
- - -
Meet the silent conversation
What if you could carry on a telephone conversation while remaining perfectly silent? It sounds impossible, but it is a technology that is likely to come to your cell phone within the next few years. With Silent Communication's 'Talking Without Talking', the cell phone allows the user to prerecord messages that can be played by pushing the right buttons on a menu.
Full Story. [via American On Line]
- - -
Fact of the day
On January 14 in 1878 the first private telephone call in the British Isles was made by Queen Victoria from her residence on the Isle of Wight. The telephone's inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, demonstrated the machine. [via Scotsman]
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/29/2005
Thursday, January 20, 2005
UNTIDY BEDS MAY KEEP US HEALTHY
But an electric blanket may be a neater solution
A report from the BBC says a study has discovered that house dust mites cannot survive in the warm, dry conditions found in an unmade bed. I wonder why the report does not mention how an electric blanket affects the mites. My electric underblanket is switched on at full blast for an hour before going to bed, it is really lovely and hot when I get into bed.
- - -
January blues day formula
Someone in the comments at the end of a BBC report "I don't like Monday 24 January" writes: "This is the biggest waste of mathematics I have ever had the misfortune to read, and is an embarrassment to anyone who is a member of a British university." Heh. The formula for the day of misery reads 1/8W+(D-d) 3/8xTQ MxNA. Read full story.
Yesterday, I noticed how much lighter it was outside at 4.30pm. And today I am feeling a lot cheerier since I've had some visitors over the past few days.
On Tuesday evening, my brother and his son visited here for three hours. I had invited them to dinner to celebrate my brother's birthday. It took me all day to prepare the dinner in five minute stages. Here's how I managed. Get greens out of fridge. Rest. Wash greens. Rest. Chop red and green peppers, celery, cucumber, spring onions. Rest.
Earlier in the morning, the lady who helps in the house on Tuesdays prepared a roasting tray with tinfoil, scrubbed three large baking potatoes in readiness for me to pop them in a hot oven at 4.30 pm. I had taken three rump steaks out of the freezer the night before and at 8.30 in the morning, marinaded them in a large dish with a lid and put them in the fridge.
The potatoes went into the oven at 4.30 pm for 1.5 hours smeared with butter and rock salt so the skins would be crunchy. At the same time, the steaks came out of the fridge to adjust to room temperature. Throughout the day in stages, resting inbetween up until 5.30pm, I laid the table, lit a candle, and made a little centrepiece with some greenery, red berries, yellow mini daffodils from my planters outside and had chilled drinks ready.
At 5.45 pm I served hot pumpkin soup (also defrosted earlier on) onto warmed soup plates with rye crackers (ran out of bread) and butter as a starter. At 6pm I took the baked potatoes from the oven and replaced them with a tray of apple crumble (also defrosted overnight) and set the oven timer for 40 minutes.
Then, I high-fried 3 rump steaks (in a very hot pan with oil) for 12 minutes so they had a nice dark almost charred outside and a tender inside, adding some of the marinade towards the end. i was relieved they turned out extra tender and tasted wonderful. Cooking steaks makes me nervous, as you can't be sure with rump or sirloin of getting them just right. The best cuts of steak are filet mignon which you can't go wrong with, but unless you create a rich sauce, they are not as tasty as other cuts of steak. The key to rump steaks is marinading them for eight hours and storing them at room temperature before cooking (not straight out of the fridge). Another tip with steaks is to let them relax on a warmed plate for at least five minutes after cooking.
The marinade recipe I made up as I went along and consisted of whatever I found in the cupboard: 4-6 tablespoons virgin olive oil, big pinch of salt and pepper, two crushed garlic cloves, two bay leaves, six juniper berries, half teaspoon mustard powder, half a cup of red grape juice, a couple of teaspoons of white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, worcestershire sauce, soya sauce and a shake of Tabasco sauce.
For dessert, I served coffee with hot apple crumble in warmed bowls, topped with thick yoghurt mixed with honey. I was too tired to eat as well as manage conversation, so I ate the plate I set aside for myself an hour after my visitors left. My new dishwasher works like a dream and, along with extra space with the new food freezer, made everything so much easier for me.
Yesterday, a dear friend visited for three hours and brought a whole load of goodies and food for the freezer. On top of the box of shopping was a hot game pie with brown crusty pastry and side salad of couscous mixed with chopped celery, onions, peppers and sweetcorn in a oil and vinegar dressing. While the pie warmed up in the oven, I served my friend coffee and heated up two freshly baked cheese scones that I cut in half and buttered. The impromptu lunch was a real treat and we had a good long chat while Ophelia happily sat out in the rain which was drizzling so fine you could hardly notice. Fine rain is her favourite. She loves sitting on the balcony like a statue getting her fur all damp. Must be like a shower for her.
So, I feel much cheerier now. What a difference a few days and six hours of being amongst conversation and laughs have made. Hey ho.
But an electric blanket may be a neater solution
A report from the BBC says a study has discovered that house dust mites cannot survive in the warm, dry conditions found in an unmade bed. I wonder why the report does not mention how an electric blanket affects the mites. My electric underblanket is switched on at full blast for an hour before going to bed, it is really lovely and hot when I get into bed.
- - -
January blues day formula
Someone in the comments at the end of a BBC report "I don't like Monday 24 January" writes: "This is the biggest waste of mathematics I have ever had the misfortune to read, and is an embarrassment to anyone who is a member of a British university." Heh. The formula for the day of misery reads 1/8W+(D-d) 3/8xTQ MxNA. Read full story.
Yesterday, I noticed how much lighter it was outside at 4.30pm. And today I am feeling a lot cheerier since I've had some visitors over the past few days.
On Tuesday evening, my brother and his son visited here for three hours. I had invited them to dinner to celebrate my brother's birthday. It took me all day to prepare the dinner in five minute stages. Here's how I managed. Get greens out of fridge. Rest. Wash greens. Rest. Chop red and green peppers, celery, cucumber, spring onions. Rest.
Earlier in the morning, the lady who helps in the house on Tuesdays prepared a roasting tray with tinfoil, scrubbed three large baking potatoes in readiness for me to pop them in a hot oven at 4.30 pm. I had taken three rump steaks out of the freezer the night before and at 8.30 in the morning, marinaded them in a large dish with a lid and put them in the fridge.
The potatoes went into the oven at 4.30 pm for 1.5 hours smeared with butter and rock salt so the skins would be crunchy. At the same time, the steaks came out of the fridge to adjust to room temperature. Throughout the day in stages, resting inbetween up until 5.30pm, I laid the table, lit a candle, and made a little centrepiece with some greenery, red berries, yellow mini daffodils from my planters outside and had chilled drinks ready.
At 5.45 pm I served hot pumpkin soup (also defrosted earlier on) onto warmed soup plates with rye crackers (ran out of bread) and butter as a starter. At 6pm I took the baked potatoes from the oven and replaced them with a tray of apple crumble (also defrosted overnight) and set the oven timer for 40 minutes.
Then, I high-fried 3 rump steaks (in a very hot pan with oil) for 12 minutes so they had a nice dark almost charred outside and a tender inside, adding some of the marinade towards the end. i was relieved they turned out extra tender and tasted wonderful. Cooking steaks makes me nervous, as you can't be sure with rump or sirloin of getting them just right. The best cuts of steak are filet mignon which you can't go wrong with, but unless you create a rich sauce, they are not as tasty as other cuts of steak. The key to rump steaks is marinading them for eight hours and storing them at room temperature before cooking (not straight out of the fridge). Another tip with steaks is to let them relax on a warmed plate for at least five minutes after cooking.
The marinade recipe I made up as I went along and consisted of whatever I found in the cupboard: 4-6 tablespoons virgin olive oil, big pinch of salt and pepper, two crushed garlic cloves, two bay leaves, six juniper berries, half teaspoon mustard powder, half a cup of red grape juice, a couple of teaspoons of white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, worcestershire sauce, soya sauce and a shake of Tabasco sauce.
For dessert, I served coffee with hot apple crumble in warmed bowls, topped with thick yoghurt mixed with honey. I was too tired to eat as well as manage conversation, so I ate the plate I set aside for myself an hour after my visitors left. My new dishwasher works like a dream and, along with extra space with the new food freezer, made everything so much easier for me.
Yesterday, a dear friend visited for three hours and brought a whole load of goodies and food for the freezer. On top of the box of shopping was a hot game pie with brown crusty pastry and side salad of couscous mixed with chopped celery, onions, peppers and sweetcorn in a oil and vinegar dressing. While the pie warmed up in the oven, I served my friend coffee and heated up two freshly baked cheese scones that I cut in half and buttered. The impromptu lunch was a real treat and we had a good long chat while Ophelia happily sat out in the rain which was drizzling so fine you could hardly notice. Fine rain is her favourite. She loves sitting on the balcony like a statue getting her fur all damp. Must be like a shower for her.
So, I feel much cheerier now. What a difference a few days and six hours of being amongst conversation and laughs have made. Hey ho.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/20/2005
Sunday, January 16, 2005
ANARCHY IN THE UK GOES SOFT
Internet makes it simple to forge a new social order
Happily, it looks like one can link direct to The Times online without readers having the trouble of registration. To test if a link breaks after several days, I am pointing to a list of articles I have been reading today. The paper is delivered here at the crack of dawn each Sunday morning.
Note the article in Doors by Matthew Wall who finds that the immediacy of the web is making it simple to forge a new social order.
- - -
DEMOCRATS IN USA
Count themselves blue
Anti-Bush bracelets say, 'Count me blue'. After spending 10 days in London with friends who were outspoken about their disdain for President Bush's policies, Berns Rothchild came home wishing she had a way to show the world she didn't vote for him. Here's her great idea: Tag 'em All!
Berns Rothchild displays several of her "Count Me Blue," political bracelets, Jan. 13, 2005, in Miami. Rothchild is selling the bracelets on the Web in packages of 10 for $20, and plans to give part of her profits to UNICEF. (AP Photo/J. Pat Cart)
- - -
BLOGGERS' RIGHTS BLOG
Dooces and don’ts
The dismissal of a bookshop worker has raised important questions for web enthusiasts. Read full story that links to the Bloggers' Rights Blog.
- - -
LIVING IN ISOLATION
One in five aged 65 or more is alone for more than 12 hours a day
A report by the BBC today says older people in the UK are often living in isolation, a charity has warned - putting them at risk of depression and ill-health caused by loneliness.
It makes you wonder what the church is up to these days. My local church has never contacted me. When I first moved here four years ago, and in order to make contact with my local church, I ordered the monthly parish magazine which is hand delivered to my door. Also, over the years, as a way of being part of the community, I have sent donations for various local fundraising events. But that is the extent of contact. Nobody from the church ever calls or stops by to say hello. People always seem to be so busy and in a hurry. An elderly gentleman who delivers the magazine waves to me through my window and says hello but even he is always in a hurry because his disabled wife awaits below in an electric car.
Somedays, like today, are terribly lonely making me feel like a tearful prisoner being punished in solitary confinement. Days and weeks can go by without anyone visiting or phoning. Even on the phone people are too busy and in a hurry to have any conversation. And then as always, several people visit and phone within the space of hours or a few days of each other, making it tough for me to handle afterwards, setting me back for days. Afterwhich, as usual nothing again for weeks on end. Workmen are the same too, they all seem to turn up at once.
I know I shouldn't expect anything from anyone because I can't put myself out for others or keep on top of things. For the first time ever, I did not write any cards or give gifts at Christmas. I have missed a few birthdays, something I've seldom done in the past, and can't keep up with replies to emails or write thank you notes. I can't explain why, just can't manage.
All I seem to be managing to do is blog. It takes me all day to do one post. It's just too lonely not blogging. But some days I wonder what is the point of it all. I have posted almost daily on Darfur for the past 8 months but 10,000 a month are still dying. Congo is worse. Northern Uganda is just as bad. What am I doing, worrying about people in Africa, when I can't even communicate with friends, family and people here. Nothing I am doing is making any difference. It all seems like a complete waste of energy. Today I am feeling very sad. Everything seems so pointless.
Right now, I have to think real hard to recall when I last saw somebody, apart from my cleaner each Tuesday for two hours which doesn't count as a visitor because she doesn't speak while concentrating on work. Let's see. Apart from the grocery delivery on Tuesday, my last visitor was on December 29, for two hours. The visitor before that was on December 23, for 20 minutes. Here is an excerpt from the BBC report:
Age Concern said over 3.5m older people lived alone, many without regular visitors or opportunities to get about. A survey of 1,000 adults for the charity found that one in five people aged over 65 spent more than 12 hours of every day alone. The same age group was more likely than any other to be alone 21 hours a day. The study also found that a quarter of people over 65 do not have a best friend.
"Over 3.5m older people live alone and many do not have regular visitors or any opportunity to get out of the house," said Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern England. "It costs £15,000 to set up and run a local befriending scheme to benefit 50 isolated older people over a year," he added. Tesco has adopted Age Concern to be its "charity of the year" for 2005, and hopes their partnership will raise over £2m to fight poverty and isolation among the elderly. The initiative will be launched at Tesco stores at 1100 on 17 January.
Internet makes it simple to forge a new social order
Happily, it looks like one can link direct to The Times online without readers having the trouble of registration. To test if a link breaks after several days, I am pointing to a list of articles I have been reading today. The paper is delivered here at the crack of dawn each Sunday morning.
Note the article in Doors by Matthew Wall who finds that the immediacy of the web is making it simple to forge a new social order.
- - -
DEMOCRATS IN USA
Count themselves blue
Anti-Bush bracelets say, 'Count me blue'. After spending 10 days in London with friends who were outspoken about their disdain for President Bush's policies, Berns Rothchild came home wishing she had a way to show the world she didn't vote for him. Here's her great idea: Tag 'em All!
Berns Rothchild displays several of her "Count Me Blue," political bracelets, Jan. 13, 2005, in Miami. Rothchild is selling the bracelets on the Web in packages of 10 for $20, and plans to give part of her profits to UNICEF. (AP Photo/J. Pat Cart)
- - -
BLOGGERS' RIGHTS BLOG
Dooces and don’ts
The dismissal of a bookshop worker has raised important questions for web enthusiasts. Read full story that links to the Bloggers' Rights Blog.
- - -
LIVING IN ISOLATION
One in five aged 65 or more is alone for more than 12 hours a day
A report by the BBC today says older people in the UK are often living in isolation, a charity has warned - putting them at risk of depression and ill-health caused by loneliness.
It makes you wonder what the church is up to these days. My local church has never contacted me. When I first moved here four years ago, and in order to make contact with my local church, I ordered the monthly parish magazine which is hand delivered to my door. Also, over the years, as a way of being part of the community, I have sent donations for various local fundraising events. But that is the extent of contact. Nobody from the church ever calls or stops by to say hello. People always seem to be so busy and in a hurry. An elderly gentleman who delivers the magazine waves to me through my window and says hello but even he is always in a hurry because his disabled wife awaits below in an electric car.
Somedays, like today, are terribly lonely making me feel like a tearful prisoner being punished in solitary confinement. Days and weeks can go by without anyone visiting or phoning. Even on the phone people are too busy and in a hurry to have any conversation. And then as always, several people visit and phone within the space of hours or a few days of each other, making it tough for me to handle afterwards, setting me back for days. Afterwhich, as usual nothing again for weeks on end. Workmen are the same too, they all seem to turn up at once.
I know I shouldn't expect anything from anyone because I can't put myself out for others or keep on top of things. For the first time ever, I did not write any cards or give gifts at Christmas. I have missed a few birthdays, something I've seldom done in the past, and can't keep up with replies to emails or write thank you notes. I can't explain why, just can't manage.
All I seem to be managing to do is blog. It takes me all day to do one post. It's just too lonely not blogging. But some days I wonder what is the point of it all. I have posted almost daily on Darfur for the past 8 months but 10,000 a month are still dying. Congo is worse. Northern Uganda is just as bad. What am I doing, worrying about people in Africa, when I can't even communicate with friends, family and people here. Nothing I am doing is making any difference. It all seems like a complete waste of energy. Today I am feeling very sad. Everything seems so pointless.
Right now, I have to think real hard to recall when I last saw somebody, apart from my cleaner each Tuesday for two hours which doesn't count as a visitor because she doesn't speak while concentrating on work. Let's see. Apart from the grocery delivery on Tuesday, my last visitor was on December 29, for two hours. The visitor before that was on December 23, for 20 minutes. Here is an excerpt from the BBC report:
Age Concern said over 3.5m older people lived alone, many without regular visitors or opportunities to get about. A survey of 1,000 adults for the charity found that one in five people aged over 65 spent more than 12 hours of every day alone. The same age group was more likely than any other to be alone 21 hours a day. The study also found that a quarter of people over 65 do not have a best friend.
"Over 3.5m older people live alone and many do not have regular visitors or any opportunity to get out of the house," said Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern England. "It costs £15,000 to set up and run a local befriending scheme to benefit 50 isolated older people over a year," he added. Tesco has adopted Age Concern to be its "charity of the year" for 2005, and hopes their partnership will raise over £2m to fight poverty and isolation among the elderly. The initiative will be launched at Tesco stores at 1100 on 17 January.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/16/2005
Thursday, January 13, 2005
A GLIMPSE INTO HELL:
The true story of Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda, tipped as movie of the year, is due to be released tomorrow. This not-to-be-missed film is a true story that finds hope amid the horrors of tribal genocide. It stars Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte and Joaquin Phoenix and provides a good insight into what has been happening in Darfur, Sudan over the past 22 months. Although the film was directed by Briton Terry George, who also co-authored the with Keir Pearson, there appears to be no release date for the UK. I can only hope it comes out on DVD so I can watch it on my PowerBook.
Jim Moore has produced a list of cinemas showing the film at 23 cities in the US and Canada and says it is a must-see film experience.
The following is a copy in full of a review written by Jean Oppenheimer at River Front Times, Jan 12, 2005:
Over a three-month period in 1994, machete-wielding Hutu tribesmen in Rwanda hacked to death 800,000 Tutsi men, women and children. News reports, including film footage of the unfolding carnage, were broadcast around the globe. In the face of such unremitting acts of inhumanity, the world community did nothing.
It wasn't the first time society had turned a blind eye to genocide, of course. Fifty years earlier, six million Jews were "exterminated" by the Nazis. When the war ended, a contrite family of nations vowed "never again." Yet 30 years later the world stood by while the Khmer Rouge swept across Cambodia, systematically slaughtering 1.7 million people. Then came Rwanda, followed by the "ethnic cleansing" in Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia. Today it's Sudan, where government-backed Arab militias in the Darfur region seem determined to annihilate the country's black population. So much for "never again."
Hotel Rwanda, the true story of a soft-spoken Hutu hotel manager who risked his own life to save 1,200 Tutsis, may be the most important film released in the past year. Among the class of 2004, it is certainly one of the best. And much of its value comes from the fact that it is targeted at a mainstream audience.
Crass as it may sound, the movie is viewer-friendly. It's in English, with recognizable American actors in lead roles -- Don Cheadle and Nick Nolte chief among them. It lays out its horrific story in a way that is easy for Western audiences to follow. And, while the filmmakers imply much violence and show hundreds of bodies strewn along the road, the actual amount of blood seen on-screen is minimal. Corpses are not visibly mutilated (as they were in real life), and the terror lies more in what viewers know to be happening than in what they actually see.
Paul Rusesabagina (Cheadle) is the house manager at Milles Collines, a Belgian-owned luxury hotel in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. A Hutu, he is married to Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo), who is Tutsi. Historical tensions have long divided the two tribes. Recently there have been rumors circulating that the Hutus, who make up the majority of the population, are planning an uprising against the ruling Tutsis. Paul refuses to believe it.
When the attack does come, the Hutus spare no one. In a barbaric 100-day rampage, they slaughter 800,000 of their countrymen. A contingent of United Nations peacekeeping forces is already stationed in Rwanda, but the Security Council forbids the troops from intervening to stop the bloodshed.
Hundreds of terrified Tutsis seek refuge in Milles Collines, where Paul has been left in charge by his European bosses who, being white, have been airlifted out of the country. Eventually, some 1,200 traumatized Tutsis and moderate Hutus fill the hotel. Paul houses them, feeds them and repeatedly puts his own life in danger by offering bribes to Hutu rebel leaders to leave the refugees alone. But as Paul's supply of money and liquor dwindles, so does his ability to negotiate for lives.
Cheadle, always a fine actor, is outstanding here -- an almost willfully naive yet uncommonly decent man who sees civilization crashing and burning around him yet who, almost against his own better judgment, refuses to give in to it. One of the most interesting aspects of Paul's character development is how he slowly begins to realize not only the magnitude of the unfolding tragedy, but also that the world community has abandoned the Rwandans to their fate.
"You don't honestly believe that you can kill them all," he asks a Hutu rebel leader, almost rhetorically. "And why not?" replies the stone-faced man. Paul's faith in the United Nations is shattered first by an American journalist (Joaquin Phoenix) and then by the head of U.N. forces in the region (Nolte), both of whom bitterly explain that the West plans to do nothing to stop the violence.
Paul realizes that for years he has deluded himself into believing that by serving management loyally and by catering to the whims of the rich and politically powerful, both black and white, that he has earned their appreciation, respect and protection. He is equally disheartened to discover that the hotel's black employees refuse to accept him as their boss without a letter from the head of the Belgian parent company.
British director Terry George wisely eschews fancy camerawork or editing, allowing the horror and confusion of the real-life events to speak for themselves. And in Cheadle he has found the perfect actor to convey an ordinary man who, trapped inside a waking nightmare, must rely on his own wits and willpower to keep his family safe -- and in so doing, save hundreds of families.
- - -
Hotel Rwanda official website
Please turn on your sound on and view the movie's stills and trailer at Hotel Rwanda official website.
The Message Board at the website poses some questions - here are two:
(1) "Why did the US and other countries stand by?" - it received the most comments: 46.
(2) "What can we DO?" received the least number of comments: 4.
I am not sure what that means, but it says something. I can only guess people believe they are powerless in the face of genocide but feel strongly that their government should intervene with help to stop the killing.
Also, note these two insightful comments posted at the message board:
Dec 10: This a quote from an american ambassador I think pretty much somes up what you all have been saying "The lives of 80 000 Rwandans are worth the life of one American soldier." And this was said directly to Dallaire.
Dec 2: the humans are still an unevolved species. it will take many many years before we come to grips with our primitive instincts.
- - -
Candlelight vigil for Darfur Sudan
Last month, law student John Fitzgerald in New York attended a candlelight vigil for Darfur in the city and kindly wrote a post to share with us.
Yesterday, John emailed to say he would be attending the next vigil in New York, this coming Monday, and will ensure his camera works this time to take photos for posting here. John's bar exam is next month, here's wishing him all the best.
Chris at Explanada provides details of the vigil to be held 5.00 pm Monday at Dag Hammarskjold Park, UN Plaza.
All of us, anywhere in the world, can light a candle on Monday at 5.00 pm NYT time in memory of the two million Sudanese who have lost their lives, and stand in solidarity with the four million victims of rape, slavery, and displacement. Give meaning to "Never Again."
Displaced people wait to receive food supplies from the UN World Food Program in Kalma Camp, near Nyala town in Sudan's southern Darfur region. (AFP/File/Jose Cendon) Jan 11, 2005.
- - -
Mainstream media, visual images, websites and weblogs helping to stop genocide
American blogger Bill, aka Black River Eagle, writes a great piece highlighting Jim's post on PBS's "The Quick and The Terrible."
For further reading on the BBC documentary that Bill also writes about, see my earlier post reviewing the BBC's "New Killing Fields."
The true story of Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda, tipped as movie of the year, is due to be released tomorrow. This not-to-be-missed film is a true story that finds hope amid the horrors of tribal genocide. It stars Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte and Joaquin Phoenix and provides a good insight into what has been happening in Darfur, Sudan over the past 22 months. Although the film was directed by Briton Terry George, who also co-authored the with Keir Pearson, there appears to be no release date for the UK. I can only hope it comes out on DVD so I can watch it on my PowerBook.
Jim Moore has produced a list of cinemas showing the film at 23 cities in the US and Canada and says it is a must-see film experience.
The following is a copy in full of a review written by Jean Oppenheimer at River Front Times, Jan 12, 2005:
Over a three-month period in 1994, machete-wielding Hutu tribesmen in Rwanda hacked to death 800,000 Tutsi men, women and children. News reports, including film footage of the unfolding carnage, were broadcast around the globe. In the face of such unremitting acts of inhumanity, the world community did nothing.
It wasn't the first time society had turned a blind eye to genocide, of course. Fifty years earlier, six million Jews were "exterminated" by the Nazis. When the war ended, a contrite family of nations vowed "never again." Yet 30 years later the world stood by while the Khmer Rouge swept across Cambodia, systematically slaughtering 1.7 million people. Then came Rwanda, followed by the "ethnic cleansing" in Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia. Today it's Sudan, where government-backed Arab militias in the Darfur region seem determined to annihilate the country's black population. So much for "never again."
Hotel Rwanda, the true story of a soft-spoken Hutu hotel manager who risked his own life to save 1,200 Tutsis, may be the most important film released in the past year. Among the class of 2004, it is certainly one of the best. And much of its value comes from the fact that it is targeted at a mainstream audience.
Crass as it may sound, the movie is viewer-friendly. It's in English, with recognizable American actors in lead roles -- Don Cheadle and Nick Nolte chief among them. It lays out its horrific story in a way that is easy for Western audiences to follow. And, while the filmmakers imply much violence and show hundreds of bodies strewn along the road, the actual amount of blood seen on-screen is minimal. Corpses are not visibly mutilated (as they were in real life), and the terror lies more in what viewers know to be happening than in what they actually see.
Paul Rusesabagina (Cheadle) is the house manager at Milles Collines, a Belgian-owned luxury hotel in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. A Hutu, he is married to Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo), who is Tutsi. Historical tensions have long divided the two tribes. Recently there have been rumors circulating that the Hutus, who make up the majority of the population, are planning an uprising against the ruling Tutsis. Paul refuses to believe it.
When the attack does come, the Hutus spare no one. In a barbaric 100-day rampage, they slaughter 800,000 of their countrymen. A contingent of United Nations peacekeeping forces is already stationed in Rwanda, but the Security Council forbids the troops from intervening to stop the bloodshed.
Hundreds of terrified Tutsis seek refuge in Milles Collines, where Paul has been left in charge by his European bosses who, being white, have been airlifted out of the country. Eventually, some 1,200 traumatized Tutsis and moderate Hutus fill the hotel. Paul houses them, feeds them and repeatedly puts his own life in danger by offering bribes to Hutu rebel leaders to leave the refugees alone. But as Paul's supply of money and liquor dwindles, so does his ability to negotiate for lives.
Cheadle, always a fine actor, is outstanding here -- an almost willfully naive yet uncommonly decent man who sees civilization crashing and burning around him yet who, almost against his own better judgment, refuses to give in to it. One of the most interesting aspects of Paul's character development is how he slowly begins to realize not only the magnitude of the unfolding tragedy, but also that the world community has abandoned the Rwandans to their fate.
"You don't honestly believe that you can kill them all," he asks a Hutu rebel leader, almost rhetorically. "And why not?" replies the stone-faced man. Paul's faith in the United Nations is shattered first by an American journalist (Joaquin Phoenix) and then by the head of U.N. forces in the region (Nolte), both of whom bitterly explain that the West plans to do nothing to stop the violence.
Paul realizes that for years he has deluded himself into believing that by serving management loyally and by catering to the whims of the rich and politically powerful, both black and white, that he has earned their appreciation, respect and protection. He is equally disheartened to discover that the hotel's black employees refuse to accept him as their boss without a letter from the head of the Belgian parent company.
British director Terry George wisely eschews fancy camerawork or editing, allowing the horror and confusion of the real-life events to speak for themselves. And in Cheadle he has found the perfect actor to convey an ordinary man who, trapped inside a waking nightmare, must rely on his own wits and willpower to keep his family safe -- and in so doing, save hundreds of families.
- - -
Hotel Rwanda official website
Please turn on your sound on and view the movie's stills and trailer at Hotel Rwanda official website.
The Message Board at the website poses some questions - here are two:
(1) "Why did the US and other countries stand by?" - it received the most comments: 46.
(2) "What can we DO?" received the least number of comments: 4.
I am not sure what that means, but it says something. I can only guess people believe they are powerless in the face of genocide but feel strongly that their government should intervene with help to stop the killing.
Also, note these two insightful comments posted at the message board:
Dec 10: This a quote from an american ambassador I think pretty much somes up what you all have been saying "The lives of 80 000 Rwandans are worth the life of one American soldier." And this was said directly to Dallaire.
Dec 2: the humans are still an unevolved species. it will take many many years before we come to grips with our primitive instincts.
- - -
Candlelight vigil for Darfur Sudan
Last month, law student John Fitzgerald in New York attended a candlelight vigil for Darfur in the city and kindly wrote a post to share with us.
Yesterday, John emailed to say he would be attending the next vigil in New York, this coming Monday, and will ensure his camera works this time to take photos for posting here. John's bar exam is next month, here's wishing him all the best.
Chris at Explanada provides details of the vigil to be held 5.00 pm Monday at Dag Hammarskjold Park, UN Plaza.
All of us, anywhere in the world, can light a candle on Monday at 5.00 pm NYT time in memory of the two million Sudanese who have lost their lives, and stand in solidarity with the four million victims of rape, slavery, and displacement. Give meaning to "Never Again."
Displaced people wait to receive food supplies from the UN World Food Program in Kalma Camp, near Nyala town in Sudan's southern Darfur region. (AFP/File/Jose Cendon) Jan 11, 2005.
- - -
Mainstream media, visual images, websites and weblogs helping to stop genocide
American blogger Bill, aka Black River Eagle, writes a great piece highlighting Jim's post on PBS's "The Quick and The Terrible."
For further reading on the BBC documentary that Bill also writes about, see my earlier post reviewing the BBC's "New Killing Fields."
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/13/2005
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
BASS SEEM AS RARE AS THE CROWN JEWELS
Ophelia's late nights
At the moment it is 11:48 Thurs morning and the sun is shining so brightly I can barely see this text on my plasma screen. Ophelia is stretched out sunning herself on the table next to me. She's laying on the cushion where I set my laptop aside, so I can't move to get up and draw the curtains or I will wake her. She looks breathtakingly beautiful and soft. I wish I could take a photo so you can see what I mean. I wrote the following first thing Wed morning Jan 12:
Scottish news reports out this morning say two people were dead and 60,000 homes without power last night as hurricane-force winds caused chaos throughout large parts of Scotland, bringing destruction across the country.
Happily, all is well here. Right now, it's 8.11 Wed morning - the air is calm, sea is a cold gunmetal grey, sky is a clear pale grey. Around this time of the morning, I usually notice the fishing trawler going out to sea. Brrrr. It's amazing how fishermen manage to flex their fingers during eight hours of freezing cold and rain. Even in summer, when there are a lot of boats around, I can tell when the trawler returns around 6pm as it's surrounded by excited seagulls following it into harbour.
Some days I can even tell what kind of day the trawler has had, by counting the number of huge white sacks unloaded at the quayside: usually 11. One day, when I recover enough health, I look forward to waiting on the quayside and watching it unload. I shall tell the fisherman I've watched him from my window almost every day for four years, each time wondering if he caught any Bass. If I ask him for Bass, his reaction will probably be the same as everyone else I've asked around here about where to get Bass: there's a sharp intake of breath and voices drop as if I were referring to a lost piece from the Crown Jewels.
Last night, we went to sleep late because I waited up until 11pm to watch Germaine Greer's interview on leaving the Big Brother house. I don't watch much TV, so late nights are usually due to my blogging or waiting for Ophelia to return home. Each evening, before bedtime, I let Ophelia out so she doesn't wake me at the crack of dawn. Ten minutes later, she sweetly calls out to announce her return and I get up to give her a few fishy treats, a brushing and a cuddle and tell her what a good pet she is. If it's raining she calls out even louder which signals my need to dry her off with a cloth before brushing her.
After being together 24/7 for the past three years, I now know to watch out for moonless nights. On those nights she can be gone for hours. When it's full moon she doesn't want to venture out at all. One moonless summer evening, she had been out since 5pm and by midnight had still not returned. I was too worried and tired to wait any longer, so I went out into the back courtyard and stuck my head - and a torch - through a gap in the wall which is her entrance. It was pitch dark but the torch picked up Ophelia, crouched in silence below the other side of the wall, guarding her entrance. Then the torch picked up a pair of spooky eyes, 20 yards away, zapping me like two laser beams. It was a trespasser, crouched in a stare-out. First one to move is a scaredy-cat. Goodness knows how long they had been sat like that. After flashing the torch at the interloper, it slowly got up and gingerly sloped off. Within seconds, Ophelia jumped up through her entrance with a victorious sounding "Hrrmpph". I followed behind and marvelled at how confidently she sashayed into the kitchen with her head and tail held high. I am the headcat and she was proud of us both.
Ophelia's late nights
At the moment it is 11:48 Thurs morning and the sun is shining so brightly I can barely see this text on my plasma screen. Ophelia is stretched out sunning herself on the table next to me. She's laying on the cushion where I set my laptop aside, so I can't move to get up and draw the curtains or I will wake her. She looks breathtakingly beautiful and soft. I wish I could take a photo so you can see what I mean. I wrote the following first thing Wed morning Jan 12:
Scottish news reports out this morning say two people were dead and 60,000 homes without power last night as hurricane-force winds caused chaos throughout large parts of Scotland, bringing destruction across the country.
Happily, all is well here. Right now, it's 8.11 Wed morning - the air is calm, sea is a cold gunmetal grey, sky is a clear pale grey. Around this time of the morning, I usually notice the fishing trawler going out to sea. Brrrr. It's amazing how fishermen manage to flex their fingers during eight hours of freezing cold and rain. Even in summer, when there are a lot of boats around, I can tell when the trawler returns around 6pm as it's surrounded by excited seagulls following it into harbour.
Some days I can even tell what kind of day the trawler has had, by counting the number of huge white sacks unloaded at the quayside: usually 11. One day, when I recover enough health, I look forward to waiting on the quayside and watching it unload. I shall tell the fisherman I've watched him from my window almost every day for four years, each time wondering if he caught any Bass. If I ask him for Bass, his reaction will probably be the same as everyone else I've asked around here about where to get Bass: there's a sharp intake of breath and voices drop as if I were referring to a lost piece from the Crown Jewels.
Last night, we went to sleep late because I waited up until 11pm to watch Germaine Greer's interview on leaving the Big Brother house. I don't watch much TV, so late nights are usually due to my blogging or waiting for Ophelia to return home. Each evening, before bedtime, I let Ophelia out so she doesn't wake me at the crack of dawn. Ten minutes later, she sweetly calls out to announce her return and I get up to give her a few fishy treats, a brushing and a cuddle and tell her what a good pet she is. If it's raining she calls out even louder which signals my need to dry her off with a cloth before brushing her.
After being together 24/7 for the past three years, I now know to watch out for moonless nights. On those nights she can be gone for hours. When it's full moon she doesn't want to venture out at all. One moonless summer evening, she had been out since 5pm and by midnight had still not returned. I was too worried and tired to wait any longer, so I went out into the back courtyard and stuck my head - and a torch - through a gap in the wall which is her entrance. It was pitch dark but the torch picked up Ophelia, crouched in silence below the other side of the wall, guarding her entrance. Then the torch picked up a pair of spooky eyes, 20 yards away, zapping me like two laser beams. It was a trespasser, crouched in a stare-out. First one to move is a scaredy-cat. Goodness knows how long they had been sat like that. After flashing the torch at the interloper, it slowly got up and gingerly sloped off. Within seconds, Ophelia jumped up through her entrance with a victorious sounding "Hrrmpph". I followed behind and marvelled at how confidently she sashayed into the kitchen with her head and tail held high. I am the headcat and she was proud of us both.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/12/2005
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
CHIMPY JOKE
For Scaryduck
Right now, TV news is reporting a severe weather warning. One night last week, the sea here sounded like it was lashing against the windows. Deafening 80-90 mph winds roared around the roof and chimney with such great force, everything creaked, squeaked, whistled and howled like the innards of an old sailing ship at sea in a horror movie. Ophelia crouched under a chair in the kitchen and, unusually, sat hunched dead still in the middle of the hallway. The last time she did that, a few years ago, there was a landslip in the area. No worries here though. We are safe, high and dry on solid rock and cosy and warm.
This evening, I am looking forward to watching Big Brother on TV but disappointed to hear Germaine Greer walked out. She was my favourite. I expected her to stay for as long as Janet Street Porter did in the jungle.
Today, I visited a few blogmates and, in the comments at Madhu's, clicked into an American blog called The Attic where I found this chimpy joke that made me think of Scaryduck. Heh.
George Bush is visiting the Queen of England.
He asks her, "Your Majesty, how do you run such an efficient government? Are there any tips you can give me?"
"Well," says the Queen, "the most important thing is to surround yourself with intelligent people."
Bush frowns. "But how do I know the people around me are really intelligent?"
The Queen takes a sip of tea.
"Oh, that's easy. You just ask them to answer an intelligence riddle.
The Queen pushes a button on her intercom. "Please send The Prime Minister in here, would you?"
Tony Blair walks into the room. "Your Majesty..."
The Queen smiles. "Answer me this, please, Tony. Your mother and father have a child. It is not your brother and it is not your sister. Who is it?"
Without pausing for a moment, Blair answers, "That would be me!"
"Yes! Very good!" says the Queen.
Back at the White House, Bush calls in his vice president, Dick Cheney.
"Dick, answer this for me. Your mother and your father have a child. It's not your brother and it's not your sister. Who is it?"
"I'm not sure," says the vice president. "Let me get back to you on that one."
Dick Cheney goes to his advisers and asks every one, but none can give him an answer.
Finally, he ends up in the men's room and recognizes Colin Powell's shoes in the next stall.
Dick shouts, "Colin! Can you answer this for me? Your mother and father have a child and it's not your brother or your sister. Who is it?"
Colin Powell yells back, "That's easy. It's me!"
Dick Cheney smiles. "Thanks!"
Cheney goes back to the Oval Office and asks to speak with Bush.
"Say, I did some research and I have the answer to that riddle. It's Colin Powell."
Bush gets up, stomps over to Dick Cheney, and angrily yells into his face,
"No, you idiot! It's Tony Blair!"
For Scaryduck
Right now, TV news is reporting a severe weather warning. One night last week, the sea here sounded like it was lashing against the windows. Deafening 80-90 mph winds roared around the roof and chimney with such great force, everything creaked, squeaked, whistled and howled like the innards of an old sailing ship at sea in a horror movie. Ophelia crouched under a chair in the kitchen and, unusually, sat hunched dead still in the middle of the hallway. The last time she did that, a few years ago, there was a landslip in the area. No worries here though. We are safe, high and dry on solid rock and cosy and warm.
This evening, I am looking forward to watching Big Brother on TV but disappointed to hear Germaine Greer walked out. She was my favourite. I expected her to stay for as long as Janet Street Porter did in the jungle.
Today, I visited a few blogmates and, in the comments at Madhu's, clicked into an American blog called The Attic where I found this chimpy joke that made me think of Scaryduck. Heh.
George Bush is visiting the Queen of England.
He asks her, "Your Majesty, how do you run such an efficient government? Are there any tips you can give me?"
"Well," says the Queen, "the most important thing is to surround yourself with intelligent people."
Bush frowns. "But how do I know the people around me are really intelligent?"
The Queen takes a sip of tea.
"Oh, that's easy. You just ask them to answer an intelligence riddle.
The Queen pushes a button on her intercom. "Please send The Prime Minister in here, would you?"
Tony Blair walks into the room. "Your Majesty..."
The Queen smiles. "Answer me this, please, Tony. Your mother and father have a child. It is not your brother and it is not your sister. Who is it?"
Without pausing for a moment, Blair answers, "That would be me!"
"Yes! Very good!" says the Queen.
Back at the White House, Bush calls in his vice president, Dick Cheney.
"Dick, answer this for me. Your mother and your father have a child. It's not your brother and it's not your sister. Who is it?"
"I'm not sure," says the vice president. "Let me get back to you on that one."
Dick Cheney goes to his advisers and asks every one, but none can give him an answer.
Finally, he ends up in the men's room and recognizes Colin Powell's shoes in the next stall.
Dick shouts, "Colin! Can you answer this for me? Your mother and father have a child and it's not your brother or your sister. Who is it?"
Colin Powell yells back, "That's easy. It's me!"
Dick Cheney smiles. "Thanks!"
Cheney goes back to the Oval Office and asks to speak with Bush.
"Say, I did some research and I have the answer to that riddle. It's Colin Powell."
Bush gets up, stomps over to Dick Cheney, and angrily yells into his face,
"No, you idiot! It's Tony Blair!"
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/11/2005
Saturday, January 08, 2005
SERENDIPITY ON MARS
Life, Earth, Spirit and Opportunity
This lovely true story is from The Japan Times, January 9, 2005:
A year ago last Monday, an ungainly little robot spacecraft named Spirit boinged down onto the rocky surface of Mars. Three weeks later, Spirit was joined by Opportunity, and the pair began separate exploratory sojourns designed to last about 90 days. Twelve months later, amazingly, they are still going.
Last year was not a good one for Earth. Looking back on it now with the perspective afforded by a week or so of life in 2005, it appears like one long diorama of unmitigated disappointment and disaster, from the ballooning misadventure in Iraq to the horror of last month's killer tsunami.
It's just as well that NASA's two little rovers with the hopeful nicknames were far, far away on Mars, getting on with life oblivious to the bleakness on their home planet. They reminded us that good things do happen -- and that sometimes they even work out better than they were supposed to.
People often question the social worth of scientific ventures, especially such costly and quixotic ones as space exploration programs. In the case of the Mars rovers, however, the answer is obvious: In a year that seemed custom-designed for pessimists, Spirit and Opportunity made the case for optimism. Reading of the futile search for Osama bin Laden, or the futile quest to end the murderousness in Sudan, or the futile push for a just peace in the Middle East, or even the futile efforts to restart the space-shuttle program, one is consoled by recalling how these golf-cart-size ambassadors have achieved goal after goal in their silent haven.
Never mind that the goals weren't all that grand. Last week, NASA reported that Opportunity had climbed out of a crater and was poised to investigate its own discarded airbags. A Martian day has been counted a success if a rover scrubbed an inch of rock with its Rock Abrasion Tool Brush or laboriously dislodged "a potato-sized rock" from a wheel, as Spirit had to do last month. Grand goals or humble, the point is that the rovers reached them. Then they would wake up next morning, assimilate their assigned mini-goals for that day and go out and reach them, too.
Spirit recently climbed out of a crater and, according to NASA, "examined some of its own tracks that it had laid down prior to entering the crater." (This is not as trivial as it may sound: Didn't the philosopher George Santayana advise humanity 100 years ago to do the same with its own tracks lest it end up traveling them again?)
Their handlers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, of course, do not see the rovers' goals as either trivial or philosophical -- or as random as their daily log makes them sound. In fact, every minor trek and task undertaken by Spirit and Opportunity has been designed with major practical questions in mind.
In the foreground: Was there ever water on Mars? (That question has been persuasively answered in the affirmative by the rovers' discoveries.) And in the background, lurking behind each tiny bit of evidence of a watery Martian past: Was there ever life on Mars, and did it arise independently?
Spirit and Opportunity were actually not equipped to answer those bigger questions. Once their scrutiny of rocks and minerals had confirmed the past presence of water, their mission was basically over. Questions about life on the red planet will be on hold until a more sophisticated explorer arrives in 2010. And yet the pioneering pair laid the groundwork.
No wonder we find the Mars mission updates so cheering. They remind us of the usefulness of taking one day at a time, focusing on the task at hand -- no matter how nonsensically small -- with faith that over time the mosaic-like bits will resolve into a picture.
Spirit and Opportunity have so far taken more than 50,000 photographs of the Martian terrain, from extreme close-ups to scenic panoramas. Individually, they don't amount to anything very startling, at least to an untrained observer. Taken together, they create a view of another world that even the most uninformed layperson can see is stunningly complete. Somehow, the idea helps us carry on with our own messy lives and seemingly inconclusive projects.
Even more encouraging, though, is the rovers' unexpected longevity. Everything they have learned since April, when their 90 days was up, has been pure bonus, what Horace Walpole called serendipity -- the happy discovery, "by accidents and sagacity," of things one is not in quest of.
As Earth steps gingerly into a new year, soured and shaken by the setbacks of the last one, we should think of that. Spirit and Opportunity are twin proofs that even though life seems very bleak just now, bonuses are still part of the mix.
The Japan Times Online (C) All rights reserved
Life, Earth, Spirit and Opportunity
This lovely true story is from The Japan Times, January 9, 2005:
A year ago last Monday, an ungainly little robot spacecraft named Spirit boinged down onto the rocky surface of Mars. Three weeks later, Spirit was joined by Opportunity, and the pair began separate exploratory sojourns designed to last about 90 days. Twelve months later, amazingly, they are still going.
Last year was not a good one for Earth. Looking back on it now with the perspective afforded by a week or so of life in 2005, it appears like one long diorama of unmitigated disappointment and disaster, from the ballooning misadventure in Iraq to the horror of last month's killer tsunami.
It's just as well that NASA's two little rovers with the hopeful nicknames were far, far away on Mars, getting on with life oblivious to the bleakness on their home planet. They reminded us that good things do happen -- and that sometimes they even work out better than they were supposed to.
People often question the social worth of scientific ventures, especially such costly and quixotic ones as space exploration programs. In the case of the Mars rovers, however, the answer is obvious: In a year that seemed custom-designed for pessimists, Spirit and Opportunity made the case for optimism. Reading of the futile search for Osama bin Laden, or the futile quest to end the murderousness in Sudan, or the futile push for a just peace in the Middle East, or even the futile efforts to restart the space-shuttle program, one is consoled by recalling how these golf-cart-size ambassadors have achieved goal after goal in their silent haven.
Never mind that the goals weren't all that grand. Last week, NASA reported that Opportunity had climbed out of a crater and was poised to investigate its own discarded airbags. A Martian day has been counted a success if a rover scrubbed an inch of rock with its Rock Abrasion Tool Brush or laboriously dislodged "a potato-sized rock" from a wheel, as Spirit had to do last month. Grand goals or humble, the point is that the rovers reached them. Then they would wake up next morning, assimilate their assigned mini-goals for that day and go out and reach them, too.
Spirit recently climbed out of a crater and, according to NASA, "examined some of its own tracks that it had laid down prior to entering the crater." (This is not as trivial as it may sound: Didn't the philosopher George Santayana advise humanity 100 years ago to do the same with its own tracks lest it end up traveling them again?)
Their handlers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, of course, do not see the rovers' goals as either trivial or philosophical -- or as random as their daily log makes them sound. In fact, every minor trek and task undertaken by Spirit and Opportunity has been designed with major practical questions in mind.
In the foreground: Was there ever water on Mars? (That question has been persuasively answered in the affirmative by the rovers' discoveries.) And in the background, lurking behind each tiny bit of evidence of a watery Martian past: Was there ever life on Mars, and did it arise independently?
Spirit and Opportunity were actually not equipped to answer those bigger questions. Once their scrutiny of rocks and minerals had confirmed the past presence of water, their mission was basically over. Questions about life on the red planet will be on hold until a more sophisticated explorer arrives in 2010. And yet the pioneering pair laid the groundwork.
No wonder we find the Mars mission updates so cheering. They remind us of the usefulness of taking one day at a time, focusing on the task at hand -- no matter how nonsensically small -- with faith that over time the mosaic-like bits will resolve into a picture.
Spirit and Opportunity have so far taken more than 50,000 photographs of the Martian terrain, from extreme close-ups to scenic panoramas. Individually, they don't amount to anything very startling, at least to an untrained observer. Taken together, they create a view of another world that even the most uninformed layperson can see is stunningly complete. Somehow, the idea helps us carry on with our own messy lives and seemingly inconclusive projects.
Even more encouraging, though, is the rovers' unexpected longevity. Everything they have learned since April, when their 90 days was up, has been pure bonus, what Horace Walpole called serendipity -- the happy discovery, "by accidents and sagacity," of things one is not in quest of.
As Earth steps gingerly into a new year, soured and shaken by the setbacks of the last one, we should think of that. Spirit and Opportunity are twin proofs that even though life seems very bleak just now, bonuses are still part of the mix.
The Japan Times Online (C) All rights reserved
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/08/2005
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
BLOGOSPHERE BOOSTER
8m Americans have blogs, another 32m say they read blogs
The following editorial appeared in the FT January 4, 2005:
Dan Gillmor, the doyen of Silicon Valley's technology columnists, has decided to give up the dead tree business for good. A writer for the San José Mercury News for the past decade, Gillmor has long had an interest in journalism's newest frontier: blogs, wikkis and other tools of do-it-yourself media. (Wikkis, for the neophytes among you, are communally created web pages that draw on the knowledge of a wide group of people.) His book, We the Media, has become something of a bible for those who believe the online medium will change journalism for the better.
The Pew Internet and American Life Project suggested this week that blogging is set to become the biggest pastime in the US this side of shopping. According to the study, 8m Americans say they have online diaries, and another 32m say they read blogs. For a long time, bloggers were typing into a void: now, the number of readers is rising faster than writers.
Gillmor is vague about his plans: according to his blog, he has financial backing from Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay, to start "a project to inspire, enable and create what many have been calling a new kind of journalism".
8m Americans have blogs, another 32m say they read blogs
The following editorial appeared in the FT January 4, 2005:
Dan Gillmor, the doyen of Silicon Valley's technology columnists, has decided to give up the dead tree business for good. A writer for the San José Mercury News for the past decade, Gillmor has long had an interest in journalism's newest frontier: blogs, wikkis and other tools of do-it-yourself media. (Wikkis, for the neophytes among you, are communally created web pages that draw on the knowledge of a wide group of people.) His book, We the Media, has become something of a bible for those who believe the online medium will change journalism for the better.
The Pew Internet and American Life Project suggested this week that blogging is set to become the biggest pastime in the US this side of shopping. According to the study, 8m Americans say they have online diaries, and another 32m say they read blogs. For a long time, bloggers were typing into a void: now, the number of readers is rising faster than writers.
Gillmor is vague about his plans: according to his blog, he has financial backing from Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay, to start "a project to inspire, enable and create what many have been calling a new kind of journalism".
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/04/2005
Monday, January 03, 2005
VIDEO BLOGS BREAK OUT
With Tsunami Scenes
See tsumani videos are a big hit with blogs on the web. I've not yet had a chance to view any of the videos as a friend visited this afternoon and I've been catching up with postings at Sudan Watch. I'm wondering how videos work out for bloggers re bandwidth/costs if they get a lot of visitors to their blog.
With Tsunami Scenes
See tsumani videos are a big hit with blogs on the web. I've not yet had a chance to view any of the videos as a friend visited this afternoon and I've been catching up with postings at Sudan Watch. I'm wondering how videos work out for bloggers re bandwidth/costs if they get a lot of visitors to their blog.
# posted by Ingrid @ 1/03/2005
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Saturday, January 01, 2005
A REQUEST FOR BLOGGERS
To keep an eye on Aceh, Indonesia
Please read "Tsunami: the politics of relief..a request for the blogosphere to check out some disturbing rumours.." at Jim Moore's Journal.
A few minutes ago, I emailed Jim's post to Francis Till, a journalist in New Zealand, who pointed to an October post of mine. [My post asked if the Guardian had gone stark, staring raving mad when they published a piece calling for the assassination of U.S. President George W Bush. Note, Francis voluntarily corrected his report that originally referred to me as an "American blogger"].
Further reading:
Dec 30 Kuala Lumpur: GhanaWeb report 400,000 dead in Indonesia?" The death toll in Acheh, the region worst hit by last Sunday's tsunami, may exceed 400,000 as many affected areas could still not be reached for search and rescue operations, Indonesia's Ambassador to Malaysia said Thursday.
Dec 30-Jan 1 Jakarta: Reuters UK confirms Indonesia tsunami deaths hit 79,940 and rising.
Dec 31 Sumatra: An Independent UK report says Indonesian-based British conservationist Mike Griffiths flew over the area and said it was "like a nuclear blast has levelled the area." Supplies were piling up in a regional airport, with officials unable to get them through to where they were needed. Aceh has been wracked by a separatist war for the past 26 years. Jakarta had banned foreign journalists and international aid agencies from visiting the region, but lifted the ban on Monday.
Chaos hinders Aceh relief drive
Before and after. Parts of Banda Aceh were obliterated. (Photos: Digitalglobe)
A shattered infrastructure is stopping the delivery of aid in Indonesia's quake-ravaged Aceh province. Some 500,000 people are without homes and desperately need help, a government spokesman told the BBC. See report in full.
- - -
Quotation of the Day
"I just thought maybe those people really needed the money." - Daniel Kushner, 6, of Cincinnati, who raided his piggy bank for $10 to help the victims of the tsunami disaster. [via NYT]
To keep an eye on Aceh, Indonesia
Please read "Tsunami: the politics of relief..a request for the blogosphere to check out some disturbing rumours.." at Jim Moore's Journal.
A few minutes ago, I emailed Jim's post to Francis Till, a journalist in New Zealand, who pointed to an October post of mine. [My post asked if the Guardian had gone stark, staring raving mad when they published a piece calling for the assassination of U.S. President George W Bush. Note, Francis voluntarily corrected his report that originally referred to me as an "American blogger"].
Further reading:
Dec 30 Kuala Lumpur: GhanaWeb report 400,000 dead in Indonesia?" The death toll in Acheh, the region worst hit by last Sunday's tsunami, may exceed 400,000 as many affected areas could still not be reached for search and rescue operations, Indonesia's Ambassador to Malaysia said Thursday.
Dec 30-Jan 1 Jakarta: Reuters UK confirms Indonesia tsunami deaths hit 79,940 and rising.
Dec 31 Sumatra: An Independent UK report says Indonesian-based British conservationist Mike Griffiths flew over the area and said it was "like a nuclear blast has levelled the area." Supplies were piling up in a regional airport, with officials unable to get them through to where they were needed. Aceh has been wracked by a separatist war for the past 26 years. Jakarta had banned foreign journalists and international aid agencies from visiting the region, but lifted the ban on Monday.
Chaos hinders Aceh relief drive
Before and after. Parts of Banda Aceh were obliterated. (Photos: Digitalglobe)
A shattered infrastructure is stopping the delivery of aid in Indonesia's quake-ravaged Aceh province. Some 500,000 people are without homes and desperately need help, a government spokesman told the BBC. See report in full.
- - -
Quotation of the Day
"I just thought maybe those people really needed the money." - Daniel Kushner, 6, of Cincinnati, who raided his piggy bank for $10 to help the victims of the tsunami disaster. [via NYT]
ME AND OPHELIA
This is the personal blog of Ingrid Jones.
I live by the sea in Dorset, England, United Kingdom.
Here on my PowerBook G4 I communicate to my friends.
About things in general and my life with M.E. and cat Ophelia.
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