|
|
Wednesday, May 30th, 2012
| |
5:02 am - face-mauling
|
"A naked man was on top of another nude man along a busy highway, biting into the man's face, tearing it to pieces. A police officer arrived to help, but the mauler growled at him and continued to chew away, stopping only when he was shot to death." [Source: AP - Even police shocked by gore in face-mauling attack]
(You know what? I'm going to bed. I didn't stay up to come across such facially cannibalistic news.)
current mood:  recumbent
|
|
(3 comments | comment on this)
|
| Monday, May 28th, 2012
| |
9:13 pm - Syria - 15000 killed
|
I heard our Foreign Secretary WIlliam Hague mention that 15,000 Syrians have been killed (so far) largely by Syrian 'government' troops and shellfire. Channel 4 News still stick to the 10,000 figure, with Jon Snow beginning his report, "The atrocities against civilians since the beginning of the uprising has become almost a daily horror" (words to that effect). I think Channel 4 News should focus on their remit i.e. "news". I made it, from the media, 10,000 Syrians murdered, back in early April. We saw a new low with 90 killed, in Houla on Friday, including some 45 children, some, along with women, having had their throats cut. Today, 40 people reported killed in Hama.
We had an idiot protester breaking in to, and interupting, the Leveson Inquiry, where Tony Blair was giving evidence, branding Blair a "war criminal". I wonder if that young man spared any thoughts for those Syrians who had their throats cut by Syrian government thug soldiers? We stopped Saddam from committing equivalent horrors. Why not go for Assad? All Hilary Clinton could manages to squeak out, "stop rule by murder". Or else what? Oh I know - more empty words - that seems all she's good for these days. We're talking about innocent children having their throats cut that's all.... Along with a Syrian regime change, I hope we see one in the USA later this year. I think it's a shocking dereliction or moral responsibility that Obama just does NOTHING to stop these atrocities. Perhaps they should make doing nothing a second-degree war crime.
I really can't help feeling that had we had a President McCain, we might not have got to 15,000 Syrians dead (and rising?)
current mood:  blank
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
| |
11:59 pm - Postmodernism (III)
|
In London today, we had sunshine and warmth, around 25 degrees C, instead of the 18 degrees expected for this time of year. I had a G&T (made with lemon, because we don't have lime in stock) - possibly the first one of the year. It was a welcome cooling drink in the accumulated heat of the day at sunset. For dinner, G made a veal, cheese and ham improvised from the 'cordon bleu' version. Today the workmen came back, meaning distraction. I cannot afford much more distractions before the final essay deadline. It is scary because I am running out of time, the deadline cannot be extended, and I still don't feel I have a grip on the subject. For example, I found it disconcerting that I now don't appear able to explain the difference(s) between Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. I thought I had that worked out a few weeks back. Or was that Modernism vs PostModernism?
Don't you just hate it when people talk, and usually laugh, loudly on the streets late at night Their animal voices reverberate loudly in the still of the night, shattering the peace. I wish them ill.
current mood: hopeful
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
| Sunday, May 20th, 2012
| |
1:10 pm - Bologna earthquake; etc
|
A bomb went off in Brindisi yesterday, by a school, killing a 16 year old female student.
A 6.0 scale earthquake stuck Bologna today, 4:03 am local time, killing at least 6 (including a 100 year old woman). At a depth of just 5 kilometres, the tremor's epicenter was measured 35 kilometres northwest of Bologna (near Modena, it was reported). More buildings in Bologna collapsed following an aftershock of 5.1. It was the worst earthquake in northeast Italy for 700 years. The last major earthquake in Italy happened in L'Aquila in 2009. We have been to Bologna at least three times.
In other news, the 30th anniversary of the landing of the British task force at San Carlos Bay, Falkland Islands was commemorated at the National Arboretum, with the unveiling of the Falklands War Memorial. And, Megrahi dies at last. Some families of victims (mainly those in the UK) however see his as "the 271st victim of Lockerbie".
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Saturday, May 19th, 2012
| |
11:59 pm - german
|
I turned over to ITV1 HD just in time to see Didier Drogba shoot the winning penalty goal in Chelsea vs the Germans, Bayern Munich - in Munich.
This headline makes a nice change - "Germany isolated over euro crisis plan at G8 meeting in Camp David" Britain is also isolated in being out of the euro idiocy, thank goodness. Some interesting comments to that article, such as "Why doesn't GERMANY leave the Euro?" and, "Cameron should show a little humility and take a back seat on this, instead of prancing around with a barely concealed smirk." That last remark shows you can't win being Cameron. Labour attack him for not leading and influencing form the front, and then you get more dim wits sniping about Cameron not showing 'humility'. How droll. Oh I forget - the Guardian is a left-wing paper probably with a sizeable Cameron-hating readership. Silly me. Obama is demanding that the Germany sorts out the eurozone crisis. Of course Obama won't pay to help Greece etc! Only words. Words, which may fool some voters in the USA ... don't really work in this scenario, as they didn't with trying to stop mass murder of civilians in Syria! Obama speeched, "Growth and jobs must be our top priority.." Errr... wasn't Obamacare his top priority? (I switch off when Obama comes on the TV these days.)
The third German angle I encountered today comes in the form of Gerhard Richter - who is German - the world's most epensive, and arguably the world's greatest living painter. He was No.11 on Art Review's 'Power 100' list for 2011. Certainly, he is Germany's most important painter. In 2010, $76.9m worth of Richter’s art was sold at auctions. He was born in 1932 in Dresden, which we bombed during WWII because the Nazis wouldn't stop killing civilians through their relentless blitz of English towns and cities. One of Richter's themes in his paintings is the indiscriminate killing of civilians, as suggested in his history painting, 'September' - with its oblique reference to '9/11'.
I'm trying to catch up with BBC's excellent series on 'The Impressionists', presented by art writer Waldemar Januszczak (first shown near the end of last year). Viewed Episode 1. Three more 1-hr. episodes to go.
current mood: sleepy
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Friday, May 18th, 2012
| |
11:55 pm - geek
|
"He [Zuckerberg] graduated from dorm geek at Harvard to Geek God in less than a decade," said Matt Frei, Channel 4 News, reporting on today's Facebook IPO on the Nasdaq. At $38 a share, FB was valued at over US$100 billion - making it bigger than well-established and successful major companies like Disney, McDonalds and Ford, and more than what Israel or Argentina earn in a year. (I remember the last dot.com boom and bust. But we didn't have such a social media netowrk "in those days". Difficult to envisage how FB can earn those vast amounts of revenue to justify its share price. I heard that Bono has become a billionaire through his involvement in FB. I think he's such a creepy guy. Maybe I'm just jealous.)
In London, I see ads for HM ladies skimpy swimwear, the lastest Burton plus Depp plus Bonham-Carter movie, Dark Shadows, and Dolce Gabbana.
Tonight we had roast duck, which I partially micro-waved first. It reduced the roasting time, and tasted great. Watched "Maestro at the Opera" (turned out to be Puccini's La Boheme).
BBC HD 21:00 – 22:00 Maestro at the Opera 3/3 The final two students attempt to master opera and visit Italy for some vital tuition.
current mood: exanimate
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| |
12:24 am - D. Summer, R.I.P.
|
"Last dance, last dance for love
Yes, its my last chance
For romance tonight"
---- 'Last Dance', Donna Summer
Noticed a sudden news flash yesterday afternoon that Donna Summer, not merely the "Queen of Disco", but the "undisputed Queen of Disco", has died, aged 63, of lung cancer. Summer believed she contracted the disease from inhaling toxic particles released after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York (not far-fetched, as the dust, say pollution experts, contained asbestos as well as traces of Lead, mercury and dioxin).
Her song 'I Feel Love' was No. 71 in top 100 Number 1s, as voted by Channel 4 viewers in 2005 (with John Lennon's 'Imagine' taking the top spot). Perhaps unsurprisingly, Donna Summer songs have been choices amongst contestants in reality talent contests (Pop Idol, X-Factor). In 2004, Rowetta sang 'MacArthur Park' on X-Factor. You could be forgiven for thinking the song was about food (because "someone left the cake out in the rain"). In 2006, Gaswegian Nikitta sang 'Last Dance' on X-factor, before exiting that competition. More recently in 2008, Alexandra Burke performed superbly 'On The Radio' - again on X-Factor. (Coming to think of it, the X-Factor format tends to include a 'Disco night' - which might explain why!) I love all three songs, in that order of most to least favourite. Don't often hear those played much these days.
As Sir Elton John, from one queen about another, said, "I’m so sad. This woman was the queen of disco and so much more." Gloria Gaynor, Grace Jones,Chaka Khan and even Madonna are considered to be 'Queens of Disco'.
current mood:  blah
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, May 16th, 2012
| |
11:58 pm - eurozone; gay marriage (non-issue in UK)
|
"Barack Obama nor I support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage. We do not support that [gay marriage]." --- Joe Biden (VP debate, 2008)
David Cameron tells the Eurozone, which in the words of Mervyn King is "tearing itself apart", to "make up or break up". I think they'll probably break up. The fracture lines are too deep, and the cuts seemingly too tough to take, and the people seem to be in denial of the need to tighten their belts. The Greeks apparently still want to keep the euro, but without the austerity! That's fantasy, unless Germany puts its money where its mouth is. The Germans keep stating they want to keep Greece in the eurozone, yet they won't pay up. Meanwhile, we're all being dragged through the 'mud'.
Today on the news, a really horrible story, about the father of 17 children, who had 6 of them burnt to death in a fire deliberately started by someone. We need to bring back the death penalty for the arsonist who did this.
In old news, gay marriage, which the UK public remain largely unexcited about, was endorsed recently by Obama, "to distract from dismal record" (claims Florida Republican Marco Rubio). Also, to unlock so-called "pink dollars" (from dumb gays with too much money, who would release money for Obama's re-election campaign when Obama says 'yes' to gay marriage). Obama didn't back gay marriage when they had that vote on Proposition 8 in California (Nov 2008). Some prefer to believe that Obama has "gone through a process" where he now backs gay marriage. Funny, it's a presidential election year this year. Apparently it was Biden's idea for Obama to now say 'yes' to gay marriage. (F*cking hypocrites! NO MORE YEARS for either of them, please ....) I wonder if gay marriage and DOMA will come up in the presidential debates this time round.
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| |
10:52 pm - Butt (V)
|
I'm afraid that's today's high point. Sunnier today, lighting up areas "where the sun don't shine". I love watching people work.
current mood:  enthralled
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
| Monday, May 14th, 2012
| |
6:45 pm - London Wetland Centre- WWT
|
Went round to 'experience' the London Wetland Centre, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, a 43 hectare (105 acre) wetland reserve created from disused Victorian reservoirs, in Barnes (W. London) yesterday, in lieu of a day out by the sea-side.
This blog claims, "as you walk through the habitat of some of Britain’s most glorious wildlife, you definitely achieve a sense of well-being". According to Time Out, "The four disused Victorian reservoirs tucked into a loop in the Thames have been softened by landscaping and weathered by nature to become an extensive landscape of lagoons, islets and pastures..... The Wetland Centre is a fascinating, beautiful place."
I didn't appreciate the place much while there. It seemed to lack the 'wow factor'. We didn't like the cafe. There didn't seem to be many obvious attractions, apart from the 'wetland' aspects, plus one or two small gardens and mock olde buildings doubling up as mini museums. Ihere weren't even that many birds on the route we went on. However, today, looking through some of my video footage, I feel differently. I now feel I would like to make a return trip some time, because you get 'close to nature' and if you can tolerate the constant noise of areoplanes above which can drown out the birdsong, it is rather peaceful.
current mood: exanimate
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
| Sunday, May 13th, 2012
| |
11:10 am - sunny
|
Very sunny in London today. Thinking about heading off to the coast. Not quite perfect because it will be cold there, more so on the south coast, say Brighton, than the north coasts around Essex. It's warm-ish in Southend, but it's not my favourite place. Kent coast is also mixed, but generally colder than we would like. Yesterday I suggested, "What about Broadstairs?" It's another one of those English seaside resorts well past its heyday. It is probably 'quaint' and relatively 'unspoilt', a little 'off the beaten track'. I wish we could wait till it gets warmer before we do the coast. If I had my way, I wouldn't mind going back to Grand Designs Live exhibition. A walk round the new landscaped park and garden around the Olympic venue might ha done, but I gatherthey closed fof the walk path by the Olympic stadium and won't open to the public until afer the games. I'll have another think about what else London and surrounds might offer to someone feeling quite jaded about London and what it can offer.
Addendum Speaking off 'off the beaten track' - what about Sitka??
BBC1 HD Saturday 12th May 2012 21:55 – 23:40 The Proposal (starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds) When threatened with deportation, a businesswoman forces her put-upon PA to marry her. With Immigration growing suspicious, the couple must convince the authorities they are engaged to be married, and decide to take a weekend trip away together (to Sitka! where they do a good fish stew).
current mood: tired
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
| |
9:15 pm - 9 Asian males convicted (II)
|
A number of national newspapers headlined with this story today.
"A Nation's Shame" said The Times. (I guess that nation isn't Pakistan.) Perhaps they mean as a nation, we have let those young girls down. (And we have.)
Sky News: "The i leads with the story of a sex gang who preyed on underage girls. They have been described as "pure evil" by detectives who worked on the case. According to the Mail, the gang, which plied teenage girls with alcohol before raping them, could have been stopped two years before their crimes were finally uncovered. The Independent says police, social services and the Crown Prosecution Service all made mistakes which allowed the gang to continue operating. The Times also reports on the sex gang story, saying hundreds of youngsters in children's homes are being sexually abused by networks of paedophiles."
I despair at some of the prevailing low mentality. as seen in one young Asian 'man on the street' interviewed by BBC News. He seemed to blame the girls' families for allowing their daughters to go out of the house at night. When put to him that surely it was the men who were responsible for the crimes, you might have expected any right thinking person to immediately accept that unquestionably that was the case - the men had sexually exploited young children. The guy didn't hesitate in offering his own verdict, that "it takes two to tango". I wish the presenter had put to him, how is that in anyway applicable when we're talking about rape? I think it's very possible that the Asian community are in some form of denial.
The lawyer for the 59 year old ring leader (who cannot be named for 'legal reasons') said his client "believes his convictions have nothing to do with justice but result from the faith and the race of the defendants", and that his client "believes that society failed the girls in this case before the girls even met them and now that failure is being blamed on a weak minority group."
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, May 8th, 2012
| |
10:47 pm - 9 Asian males convicted
|
"I don't even know how many men that I had to sleep with that I didn't want to. I couldn't even count them, there were just that many. I felt really bad, and dirty and ashamed, and just couldn't get out of it.. it were like, once you're in it, you're trapped," said "Mary", one of the rape victims of the gang of 9 Asian males convicted today for offences including rape and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child. The men plied their victims with drink and drugs so they could "pass them around" for sex.
It's a horrific crime, perpetrated in a cruel, calculating and callous way. I thought it was really sickening how one of the defendants had accused their victims as being 'prostitutes'. I believe they were all 'muslim' men. One came from Pakistan in 1993 to teach in a mosque. They certainly were all (apparently) Asian men, which seems something the media and some do-gooder charities appear reluctant to mention. Do gooder charities also seem quick to point out that such crimes occur in "all communities". The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) carried out a study of on-street grooming that showed that of 753 offenders, nearly half were of Asian heritage. On the other hand, it has been reported that such Asian men grooming young vulnerable 'white girls' is only a fraction of all sex crimes. I think this is a situation where we should neither overplay, or underplay the 'race' angle. At the moment, I feel it is being sidelined as a valid field of investigation. I am also worried that the emphasis is more on what went wrong for the victims, how they ended up as prey, rather than focus on what the root causes (if any) are for why we are seeing so much of this type of grooming, which does seem unique disproportionately prevalent within this community. I wouldn't go so far as to label it a 'muslim crime' (as I believe the EDF have), but we really do need to get to the bottom of this properly, in order to protect children from these predatory sex criminals.
( Read more... )
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Monday, May 7th, 2012
| |
10:18 pm - Foxes Live
|
"Parasites aside, Gertrude, as wet nurse, was doing a terific job in terms of helping Claire out," said the Foxes Live presenter.
All those damn urban foxes are given names, perhaps to humanise them! Claire, who has 5 cubs, has to eat the equivalent of 2500 calories per day to maintain her own basal metabolism, to move around, and to produce the rich milk that is needed for her cubs to feed on. In graphic detail, this equates to 8 hamburgers, or about a dozen pieces of fried chicken, or about 20 mice, or about 1000 earthworms!
( Read more... )
current mood: amused
|
|
(3 comments | comment on this)
|
| Sunday, May 6th, 2012
| |
7:50 pm - Hollande wins
|
"You know, with the French, you have to differentitiate between [their] words, and what they acually do" --- French political commentator (as heard on BBC News).
Nicolas Sarkozy has conceded to Francois Hollande, who has become France's first left-wing president in 20 years. I heard that the projections of the voting results so far are Hollande 52% to Sarkozy 48%. One elated Frenchman, a Hollande supporter, told BBC News that Hollande had declared that all he wanted was to be a "normal president". Sarkozy, the guy said, always sought to divide people. Hollande is a socialist, on the far left. He is said to be anti-austerity. I think the French people will come to regret their choice.
Earlier today some French gays (see above) were already anticipating the win, celebrating by drinking cola and alcohol and dancing ... no, prancing, to 80s disco music, like D-I-S-C-O and 'Le Freak' (C'est Chic) half naked.
I'm afraid my interest in the French election this time round is low, as is my interest in the Greek election. I feel sorry for the ordinary Greek people struggling against quite severe austerity cuts - but I'm afraid their politicians should have seen this coming, and done more to avert the crisis. Easier said than done I guess.
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Saturday, May 5th, 2012
| |
6:12 pm - Boris wins; frozen planet; 2012 hours to go
|
Like the PM, I too am delighted that Boris Johnson has been voted back as (Conservative) Mayor of London for 4 more years. "His victory was the only consolation for the Coalition..," reported Sky News.
L - electioneering leaflet (which I receieved on polling day!);
Independent - "Huge Labour gains leave Coalition with identity crisis"
I think they must mean that both components of the Coalition (Conservative and Lib Dems) lost heavily, and that it was a consolation only for the Conservatives. No consolation for the Lib Dems. For the first time since they formed in 1988(?) the Lib Dems have less than 3000 councillors. The Lib Dems's man, Brian Paddick came an embarrassing fourt - pushed out of third by tired, dull, nonsensical, lacklustre totally uncharismatic Green candidate Jennie Jones. I feel a bit sorry for the Lib Dems, but not much. Hope they get annihilated at the next election (which does look likely, because the country hates them, apparently for breaking their promises re: student fees! (Quite frankly, students in the UK should be grateful that fees are only up to £9000 and they don't pay up front. In the US I believe the annual fees are around the US$35,000 mark.
Prof. Tony Travers (LSE) commented that the Boris 'brand' was more potent than Conservatives (hence the so-called 'identity crisis' for the Conservaties), and the Labour brand more so than the 'Ken' brand (but nobody is talking about any identity crisis for Labour).
Very happy that Ken Livingstone lost. It's his last election he said. Good riddance.
What do I have to do to get 'Frozen Planet' Episode one? Buy the Blu Ray set I suppose. I missed Episode 1 - again! I knew they would repeat it, but I didn't keep my eye on the ball, and all of a sudden I find that BBC HD started showing it today - about half way through Epsiode 1. Episode 2 followed on. We see a moth caterpillar that freezes every winter, thaws in spring to feed on leaves, and freezes back again. It does this for 14 years until it gathers enough nutrients, so it could spin a coccoon and turn into a moth, to mate. And the cycle starts again. Sounds like hell to me.
I'm also vexed that somehow I managed to only record the first half of Episode 1 of 'The Killing' (Series 2).
( Read more... )
current mood: blank
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
| |
8:16 pm - Local elections
|
I voted. Weather was not too bad at the time, just cloudy and quite dry. A woman whose back of head was covered by a head scarf with non-head-scarfed male companion, and pushing a pram, walked out the polling station as we got there. Inside, I got an impression of a hive of activity - with quite a few voters at more booths set up than I remember, and two sets of desks, staffed by at least half a dozen poll workers. Lighting and signage seemed better than previous elections.
Of course I had to vote Boris for mayor. He had the better answers to problems, IMO. I would never vote for Ken who seems just power hungry. This is the idiot who courted Chavez, with a hare-brained scheme to get Venezuelan oil in return for London expertise. Plus I really cannot trust Ken. You are asked to place a second choice vote for mayor. My pencil hovered over the BNP box, but I simply could not do it, even as some form of protest vote. I certainly cannot vote for the Green candidate because she wants to increase the congestion charge - which would be bad for business. Writing now, I forgot that I had toyed with the idea of voting ex-police, gay Brian Paddick (Lib Dem). Instead, I went for that independent lady, Siobahn [something].
And then for the other two ballots, I went on auto voting, and put the 'x'-es on CONSERVATIVE candidates. Job done.
current mood: satisfied
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012
| |
10:32 pm - very difficult
|
F l a s h b a c k Venice Biennale, 2011, British Pavilion - Mike Nelson's installation - 'I, Imposter'
Today has been paradoxical. Very difficult, yet on a road to recovery - sort of. I'll explain another time. For now, one of G's photos taken in November at the Venice Biennale 2011. Happier time! I happened to be using the flash card that held those photos, which I haven't so far had a chance to look through.
Oh yeah, some human garbage was killed last year - 'brought to justice' is how Obama puts it. (It wasn't really "justice" - there was no trial was there? Obama speaks a lot of BS!)
current mood: blah
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
| |
11:59 pm - May Day
|
|
They call it 'labour day'. Seems so passe to 'celebrate' it, or come out in force carrying banners to protest about something or other. I note it's a big event in France. Maybe many there haven't anything better to do with their lives on what turned out to be a gloriously sunny day there. Marine Le Pen rallied her voters but told them she could neither endorse Sarkozy nor Hollande. Luckily in London, we (seem to) have moved on, moved away from stupid May Day 'protests' which in those days, invariably turned ugly.
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
| Saturday, April 28th, 2012
| |
6:25 pm - blue; Joan Mitchell (III)
|
I know I'm feeling blue, but let's do the art.
Detail, Then, Last Time IV, 1985 by Joan Mitchell; Oil on canvas; 259.1 x 200 cm / 102 x 78 3/4 in
This is my second encounter with Joan Mitchell. The first was at Tate Modern a month ago (LJ entry published today - here).
Now, this particular piece - great title by the way - isn't my favourite. But it has got a great deal of BLUE in it. And quite a moody blue too. Just the thing!
current mood: hopeful
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
|
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2){kind=small}
keith_london's journal