Heh! Scene is set for a pedants’ revolt as city dares to banish the apostrophe from its street signs.
I’m shocked to report that Stephen Fry actually seems to get it. No, I’m not following him — I don’t know him.
Ha.
Neil and I had a wee chat* about the whole kerfuffle about the BBC (and now, Sky) choosing not to accept an advertisement for a Gaza appeal. I was saying that having watched both the BBC and ABC (i.e. Australia’s independent network), I always had the impression that the news, no matter how hard they tried, always had a lefty slant. In some ways I am a bit of a lefty (does that make me a lefty libertarian — is that possible), so I prefer BBC News over, say, Fox (I tend to watch that in slack-jawed horror for a few minutes before the idiocy compels me to change the channel).
But the point is they try to be independent, so this chest-beating liberalism by actors and what not is stupid. What these protestors are saying is, You can be as independent as you want as long as your independent assessments come down on our side. Plus, once the BBC offers enough money all will be forgiven.
And with people burning their teevee licences, they do know it means they aren’t legally allowed to watch anything on the telly, right? No satellite or anything. No more Dave for you!
* Neil has never felt that the BBC has a lefty bias.
ZOMG!!!! ‘Red Dwarf’ crew to return to Earth. When’s Easter? Goddamn it’s Neil’s birthday.
祝我生日快乐！
Also, 新年快乐 and Happy Australia Day, mateys!
Neil bought me dinner at Gamba. Now I’m so full that my stomach is completely distended and I actually feel a wee bit sick. All in all a successful night out in Glasgow! Heh.
Heard some weeks ago on Dr. Karl (BBC’s Up All Night then Triple J) about epigenetics. Kind of understood it but seeing it written down (in The Economist, no less) is much better.
… being literary is mutually exclusive with being tidy. Whoever made their lunch explode in the microwave has not cleaned up and it’s been two days.
… being literary means not having the ability to understand personal finance or have an interest in (macro or micro) economics.
… you had a primary schoolgirl crush on Ralph Macchio when the Karate Kid was hot and it’s in ‘remake’ territory right now.
Michaela Aston, of the charity LIFE, which advises about abortion, said: “This young mother knows it will be difficult but she is focusing on the fact that she is already the proud mother of these babies and accepts them however they are.
“They may not be perfect in the eyes of the world but they are fully human and as such should have the same value and right to life as any other human beings.”
It’s not about accepting them and whether or not they are ‘perfect’ — their chance of survival once born is extremely slim, and they will likely suffer a great deal when born. If the parents are choosing to try and carry them to term, it’s their business, but a charity masking an inhumane ideological position behind supposed tolerance is just plain yucky.
If I controlled the world, I would evacuate every innocent Israeli and Palestinian (who wanted to be evacuated) to a safe place temporarily, then let the governments and armies of both countries bomb the hell out of each other. Let the fuckers wipe themselves out.
If this kid really gets a full suit tattooed, he’ll regret it when he tries to get a job as a professional in Singapore. I saw this tattoo show advertised a couple of weeks ago and actually started laughing. Singapore (in general) is way too fucking uptight to accept the inked. I bet I’ll still get glared at when I’m 50.
While getting dressed this morning…
Me: *pats stomach* I really need to something about this belly that’s developing.
Neil: Yeah, because you’re soooooooo fat!
Me: It’s not about fat or not fat, it’s about fit or not fit.
Neil: That’s what I’ve been telling people for years…!
Me: *heehee*
- I know ‘serves three’ is weird, but this serves three — who are down with the cold. Or two who are healthy and hungry.
- Open a can of cannellini beans. Pour out all the liquid and mash half the beans, leaving the other half un-er-mashed.
- Boil two bowls of water in a kettle.
- Heat some vegetable oil in a large saucepan, enough to stop 120 gram’s worth of diced pancetta from sticking and burning.
- Empty a can of chopped tomatoes into the pan once the pancetta has pretty much cooked. These need to be plain tomatoes, the kind with added garlic, chilli, or other herbs won’t do.
- Crumble in two chicken stock cubes, then pour in the freshly boiled water (step 2).
- Pour in the beans and stir them around.
- Throw in two baby cabbages that have been cut into lovely bite-sized slices. You can use any vegetable you want, but baby cabbage is F.A.B. Stir everything around.
- Throw in four handfuls of pasta. I have small hands, so you may only need two. Stir it all around again.
- Let it simmer for about ten minutes (stirring occasionally), then check the flavour and season as necessary (I don’t, I think it’s fine as is).
- Serve, taking care not to hit the bottom of the cabinet with the ladle’s handle and spilling a bunch of soup all over the cooker.