Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Samhain


I wouldn't throw him out of bed for eating biscuits. Phwoah!

I'm so sorry for my lack of posting of late. Work is just getting silly and I don't have the energy to post at the moment. I can't wait for the weekend!

Normal service will resume asap!!! Honest!

As such I can't be arsed to write a good Halloween post (I did start on one called Ghoulish Greenwich, but that can wait for another day) so instead "enjoy" my least favourite Halloween post ever... and the one thing that terrifies me more than the Tories.


Creepy... more about that picture here

Oh and... my first ever Charles Dera pic was posted in a Shadow Person post...

Monday, October 29, 2007

Happy Birthday news.bbc.co.uk!

If there is one page my computers (work and home) have open the most often it's the BBC News page. After Wikipedia, I'd say it's my favourite website.

This week is it's 10th birthday and as it's formed a major part of pretty much every political post I've ever written I'd just like to say "Thanks BBC News!"

Sunday, October 28, 2007

SHOCKER: Idiot Blackmailers Attempt To "Smear" Britains Least Respectable Family!

Now most people know I'm a Royalist, and I love our Royal Family. But I love them warts and all, and admit they are not perfect. So I find it quite humourous that some people thought they could try to blackmail a member of the Royal staff with evidence of possible use of drugs and involvement with sex acts. Hilarious!

Maybe these people don't know that sex, drugs and pretty much every other scandal possible has already been and gone when it comes to the British Royal Family and they are still around. Did they really expect a Royal aide to give in to their demands? This is the Royal Family we are talking about here, any aide with brains would know it'd be less pain to report the blackmail attempt then to attempt to go along with it. The implications of allowing themselves to be blackmailed whilst working for the Windsors would probably see them put away for years. Nobody is stupid enough to risk that.

If anyone out there thinks our royals are squeaky clean they are dreaming... they are just as human (and thus messed up) as the rest of us. Just think about Lord Frederick Windsor. (Ok, I'm not saying he's messed up as it was cocaine... Jesus I wish these rich people in London would at least do something original with their lives. Cocaine is so common! Sometimes I think I'm the only person in London who hasn't done it!)

Now think about Prince Harry and Prince William. In uniform. Or out. Whatever your preference. Yum. Now you see why I'm a Royalist! Gordon Brown and Ed Balls ain't half as appealing!

EDIT: Well Google has spoken and it looks like a lot of people have a feeling Lord Frederick is involved somehow. Google hits to my site are always so informative on what some people are thinking out there. Within just a few moments of posting a story I can usually get a good feel what the web savvy public think.

Tories Want To Complete The Breakup Of The UK

Sometimes I think even the Tories wouldn't go to some of the places they go to. Pander to the nouveux rich rather than their normal middle class base? Check. Continue to use xenophobic and childish language in the immigration debate? Check. But continue the break up of this United Kingdom begun under Labour? Surely they wouldn't go that far?

After all it was only in 1997 that their manifesto included a section on "Nationhood" a belief in maintaining our Union as one country rather than devolving power to all the different nations (of whom there are far more than just the 4 big ones!). They wouldn't stoop so low as to pander to the "English" who wish to see hundreds of years of Union destroyed, that'd be quite some u-turn.

Oh, who am I kidding... of course they'd stoop that low! It's the Tories after all, they have no scrupples about trashing patriotic policies in favour of nationalistic ones just to get elected.

At least Labour have been consistent (and honest) with their policies towards the nations over the last 30 years (even if I do so very much disagree with them) whilst the Tories flip flop desperately seeking the golden policy that'll finally get them the power they crave so much. A vote for Tory is a vote against principles.

Friday, October 26, 2007

The Darwin Awards


I watched The Darwin Awards today. Not exactly a good movie, in the same way Hitler wasn't exactly a good person. But it did remind me of one of the small joys of the t'internet: The Darwin Awards website.

Now sure, taking glee in others unfortunate deaths isn't in the best of taste... but a lot of these stories will make you laugh until you cry. Now read these stories and try to say that humans are not just stupid animals. It's part of our charm!

I also watch Superbad - GREAT MOVIE! Probably not a watch again and again kind of movie but certainly good for a laugh.

PEOPLE!

Remember that guy I told you about who was annoying me by constantly commenting on my family tree? I told him to leave me alone, so he sent me an apology... followed by more questions and comments! I ignored him as I had clearly stated I wanted nothing more to do with him. And then the other day I get a chain letter email from him! A CHAIN LETTER! One of those "If you don't annoy and disrespect at least 5 of your friends by sending this to them, you will die" emails. I've restrained myself from sending him a nasty email informing him of his obvious flaws. I am a good person... that kind of thing is beneath me. So I am venting on here instead.

Needless to say I've made my profile on Ancestry private to avoid this kind of thing happening in the future.

Maybe it's because I work in customer services and used to spend all day reading peoples emails to the company I work for, but I cannot stand the kind of stuff I'm being sent on www.genesreunited.co.uk. It just reminds me of the kind of stupid stuff I come across at work.

At work sometimes we'd find a really random email. I never used to believe it, but some people just RANDOMLY email questions to nobody in particular. I work for a stationery company. But despite this being obvious on our website we still get really odd stuff come through such as:

- One lady wanting to know why we had stopped manufacturing Rizla rollers. (Considering we'd never, ever sold them, it's a tad random).
- One man asking whether it was ok to allow his employees to work in a place where people are smoking. Said place was a tent with one side open. Well, at least on that one I got to write back that 1) we're a stationery company, not a citizens advice bureau, 2) perhaps this might be the kind of question he'd want to address to his local council and 3) a brief search on Google confirmed my suspicion that this would contravene the Smoking Ban, and that perhaps he might want to try using Google in the future to answer his questions. Of course I said all that in a much politer way.
- One woman who wanted us to help her find the end of her sellotape.

So when I receive a comment on my family tree along the lines of :

"My ancestor has a similar surname to yours. Their first name is different, so is their birth date and place (one in Kent, the other in Northampton) and oh their surname is spelt differently but could they perhaps be the same person."

I really, really have to try hard not to send them back a rude message. I've just found 5 different messages all along those lines in my mailbox, from 5 different people (admittedly in four cases the surname was the same, but everything else was different). I have to deal with enough idiots at work, why can't I do something in my free time that doesn't involve idiots??? I only ever send messages to people when the names, dates and places match up and even then it's more a tentative hello rather than a full on questions straight off. Is that too much to ask in return??

Oh well, now I've vented I'll go send them some nice, polite replies. "No I'm afraid we don't have a match". Such is life.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Tempus Fugit


So I've been off work for two days now and they've bloody flown past! Perspective of time really does change as you grow older and it only ever seems to go by faster. Except, of course, at bloody work.

Not only that but I just saw that my first crush, a boy who was 17 when I first saw him, is now 27!! 27!!! I wish I had a magic stopwatch with which I could stop time. It's extremely annoying to find time has whizzed past you whilst you weren't paying attention.

So what have I been doing with my days off so far? Being productive? NEVER! Work was too stressful for my liking so I randomly too days off to simply do nothing at all... I've watched loads of DS9 Season 6 (my Star Trek obsession is back!), seen a few nature documentaries (my nature obsession remains) and am about to watch Wrong Turn 2 (well, Dear Constant Reader, you know I love a good horror!).

Ah... bliss. Now I just need a Tardis or something so on Sunday I can come back and do all this again.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Abortion Isn't A Good Thing

I've always been pro choice but anti abortion; I believe in a woman's right to choose but personally I find the concept of abortion abhorrent. Recently I was reading the Economist and there was an article in there regarding a fresh debate on abortion. I was reading away quite fine until I saw the graph. 200 000 abortions in a year?? 200 000????

I simply am astonished that there are so many "mistakes". Should people who make the rather stupid and easy to solve mistake of having unprotected sex be allowed to solve their problem by aborting their child? Even Lord Steel thinks it's getting slightly out of hand.

I'm not saying abortion should be banned or made harder to obtain (even if my question above suggests I was!), we all know what lies down that road; death, disease and unhappiness.

However, we need far better safe sex education out there. We need to ensure contraception is used to avoid the need for abortions. I'm fairly sure a condom would cost less than an abortion.
Abortion should always been seen as a necessary evil and the very last line of action in the event of an unwanted pregnancy. Our consumer "get what you want" society should not be allowed to turn abortion into a form of contraception. It's far too gruesome a practice to allow it to become that.

Some Privacy Please!

We've got some scaffolding up outside our house at the moment as our front wall is being replastered and repainted. It's long overdue. It went up last week but nothing seemed to happen, as is the way with most things our landlord does.

However on Monday we got home to find work had begun and a lot of plaster had been removed. Being worried about thieves using the scaffolding to climb into our house we had locked all our windows from the inside. So we were quite pissed to find someone had come into our flat and opened them.

Tuesday... same thing but in the bedroom this time. It made me feel physically sick. It breaks our tenancy agreement for 24 hours notice before coming into our flat.

So I've booked three days off work from today and am at home, unable to relax completely wondering if the workmen are going to come barging through our door as they don't know I'm here. Grr.... But I can't wait to see their faces if they do.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

What Lies Ahead

We all know how crowded London is. It can, at times, be a very unpleasant place to live. So it's a little disturbing to see that Britain might have a population of over 75 million people within a few decades.

For all the positive things people can do towards saving the planet, only having one child is probably the best one. We are at a stage in our evolution, physically and mentally, whereby we can reduce our population significantly and not suffer too much economically and probably see increased social benefits from smaller communities.

Less people means less waste. Less people means more space. Less people means an easing of the housing crisis.

Win win in my opinion.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Darn It!

England lost, but both teams looked hot so I didn't mind too much. Rugby is better than porn. :D

Hey! Who needs Facebook when there's a thing called Ning? Ning allows you to set up your own social network... yes... a social network all about you (or an organisation or blog). That way you can gather all your friends in one place and not need to worry about random friend adds or unwanted application requests.

I set one up for this blog just to test it... might be good for work as we can make it private.

Eye of the Gorgon: The Sarah Jane Adventures 1.2


I am a little behind with this stuff! Eye of the Gorgon proved that SJA is the best childrens telly out there. Well acted, good solid stuff. Brilliantly scary nuns helped too.

Rugby World Cup final tonight...



Mmm... Ben Cohen....

And I'm behind the boys all the way! Come on England... let's thrash those unruly Springboks...

Friday, October 19, 2007

Bobbing Along The Thames

Last night was a proper night out with work. Several reasons for it including Bonnie’s leaving do, celebration of our rebranding and launch of our new website and reaching a million pounds of sales with one of our newest suppliers.

We left work at 6 and all 40 off us caught the overground to Waterloo and then wandered, en masse, to Embankment Pier. After some wandering up and down the embankment to find our boarding point we eventually found our boat… the High Society.

We boarded and found a bar on the lower deck and a seating, dancing and eating area on the upper deck. As I could barely stand in the lower deck I spent much of my time up with the dancing peoples.

My boss decided to put my iPod on the sound system but after listening to “Brave Sir Robin” from Spamalot and some of the Monkees finest selection (I’ve got eclectic tastes… so sue me!) they decided someone elses iPod would be more appropriate. He he… We had some food and then some speeches. During the speeches we were told that although all of us had really made an effort, four people deserved special credit, and should step forward to claim an envelope. One person each from Marketing, Accounts and Technology were called forward and I sat there applauding and not really thinking I’d put in much of an effort to be in the running… and then my name was called! Wow. I won two “ecoupons” as is our company slang which grant me a day off work and/or £50 worth of HMV vouchers. We can’t decide whether it’s one or both as there are no terms or conditions. I’m hoping for both! ;)

Then we had a very brief lasting attempt at Karaoke where Phil showed us he had an amazing voice as he sung to Bonnie, our new CEO sung “I Touch Myself” and then we kind of gave up.

I drunk loads of spirits as Kasey and I spent our time getting each other random drinks (mmm… Navy Rum… *throws up*) Sadly our time cruising up and down the Thames was over before I knew it and I wandered to Waterloo with Paul before heading home. Despite having a horrid hangover this morning I wasn't too bad off... I hear the evening got incredibly messy after that.

I've uploaded some of the photos to Facebook and you'll see some links there if you're quick!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Mmm... Wispa

Once More Unto The Breach

Someone get me out of here. Stupid customers and colleagues asking idiotic and badly phrased questions then getting annoyed when I answer the question they asked. I hate how some people think that right now anyone else has time to translate they unasked questions.

Today is JPs last day. Wish I was going. But even if I really wanted to I just don't have the money to be able to say goodbye to this job. Life is a bastard.

And just now one of my colleagues called in to say they were never coming in again. Can I blame them?

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

You Have Gotta Love The Jim!

So work yesterday was horrible... really, really horrible. There I was thinking my opinion of other people couldn't possible get any worse. Then it did.

And today? Well today was worse. I had to listen as my colleagues were berated by irate idiots and at times I just wanted to go and take down some details so I could go and beat up the individual involved. Of course I didn't but I hate blokes who phone up and treat the girls like shit just because their girls. Don't think that happens? Ha! Racism, homophobia and sexism are all well and truly alive in customer services.

Anyway... I headed home late after a 12 hour day feeling very sorry for myself and found Jim had run me a foamy bath surrounded by candles which I soaked in until dinner was ready. I feel human once more.

I just wish there wasn't any work tomorrow. Today I booked off Wednesday through Friday next week so I could have a rest and avoid spending any money.

Mum called today. She's got herself a Facebook profile. :D She also promised there was some money on the way from my Grandad. This has become a running joke between Jim and I as this is what she promises every time I speak to her. he he...

She also told me about my Nans first trip on the internet where she sent an email to my uncle and sat waiting for him to reply. Bless her.

Leave Dave The Dolphin Alone!!!

I know I go on about this a lot... but... human beings are idiots. They should not be allowed near Dave The Dolphin. Now all their touchy touchy playing with this animal has meant she's gone and got half her tail cut off.

So much for "It's hard not to play with her, she likes it anyway and nobodies getting harmed" brigade.

I really think this world is too good for the likes of us.

Monday, October 15, 2007

The World Without Us - Blog Action Day

Bloggers Unite - Blog Action Day

As you, Dear Constant Reader, may have noticed of late I've undergone a little bit of a regression back to my former nature loving ways; this fits neatly with my disillusion with modern "life".

And the book I've just finished, The World Without Us by Alan Weisman, has really made me think.

Our oceans are full of plastic, our soil and water filled with chemicals, such as dioxin, and we are desperately trying to work out what to do with our nuclear waste. If our species survives for dozens of generations the nuclear waste from today will still be with them. Doesn't that upset anyone?

Sure climate change is a major issue but sadly it's one of many and the current populism that environmentalism is undergoing is kind of making a lot of people forget that.

I really do think it's time our species thought about our quality of lives, our legacy to the future and our responsibilities as the dominant species on Earth. We live crowded stressful lives of consumption, and then profess to "love children and animals". How can you love children if you leave the next generation a polluted legacy? How can you love animals if you allow the destruction on an epic scale of habitats around the world?

I have to say I believe serious consideration should be given to not only immediate environmental improvements but to a long term population reduction strategy. I mean less people would = less stress, less consumption and would make preserving our world in a reasonable state far easier. Sure there are moral issues on population control (infringements on personal liberty, the cultural bias to male children causing disadvantage to females etc).

I think it's quite disgusting that our Government continues to pile responsibility for environmental action on the individual... recycling shouldn't need to occur as the need to recycle shouldn't present itself. Companies must not be allowed to spew out hideous amounts of plastic rubbish and excessive packaging. It's time the people of the world stood up and took their lives, and their planet, back.

No More Sir Ming

Sadness. Oh well... onwards and upwards I suppose.

Tories Reach New Low?

Oh the Tories... they are bequethed some money in a will. The son of the man contests the award (which leads back to my whole argument that inheritance leads to greed) and what do the Tories do? The Tories who are so big on allowing people to get their inheritance? They not only contest it but they try to give the son a bad name in the process!

However, the Tories argued that there were rational reasons why Mr Kostic left his son out of his will.

The court heard that Mr Kostic had rejected his family, believing they were conspiring against him.

He made the will after saying Margaret Thatcher was "the greatest leader of the free world in history" and that she would save the world from the "satanic monsters and freaks".


And

Lawyers for the Conservative Party Association earlier told Mr Justice Henderson that Mr Kostic and his son had become estranged and that he was unhappy with his son's career choices.

The party's barrister Andrew Simmonds QC said there was also Mr Kostic's "great and long-standing affection for the Conservative Party and his admiration for Mrs Thatcher".


Tories go on about family values and the Government not stealing peoples money, but their quite happy to join in a familial dispute, spread some dirt and try to take an insane guys money.

Then again, to leave the Tory party some money, you'd need to be a little crazy.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Some People!!!

I have to put up with rudeness all day at work. I'm paid to put up with it, even if it makes me die a little inside everytime I let someone get away with unnecessary behaviour.

However I simply cannot stand rudeness in my real life. Today I received a comment on my old Ancestry.co.uk account (for my family history research). I've had to cancel my membership to save a little money and haven't been keeping it up to date (I fully intend to go back to it when I've got my money sorted out). The comment on one of my ancestors was this:

"Hello JeeKay

Sometime ago, I entered comments on your tree on Ancestry, which, for some reson, you have failed to alter.

You have his date of birth as 1725 and his parents birth in the 1800's.

I have given details in your tree on several other Semark/Seamark to assist you in making those changes.

With regards"

This guy left me like 50 million comments one day (over the course of several hours) which as I wasn't using Ancestry, and because I found that amount of comments on my tree a little weird, I ignored. And now a couple of weeks later he sends me a bloody rude email CHASING ME UP. I couldn't believe his audacity. Who does he think he is?

So I sent him a rather rude (for me) reply.

"Thank you for your comment.

I do appreciate your comments, however I have cancelled my Ancestry
membership and keep my family tree elsewhere (and thanks to some
marriage certificates had already corrected my errors). I shall, when
I have a bit more money, return to my Ancestry membership and upload
the corrected family tree.

However I feel quite upset to have received this comment (copied
below) which is quite rude and ill-mannered. I really do appreciate
your attempt to help me, but I'd rather you didn't leave me comments
any longer.

Kindest Regards

Jae Kay"

Was that a bit harsh?

10 Downing Street Petition Of The Week

Lockheed Martin are in the running to take over the UK Census from the Office Of National Statistics. Personally, I don't think that's right. If you agree why not sign the petition to keep an arms dealer from taking our most personal information.

To be honest I'm not very confident that outsourcing Government work to private corporations is a good idea in general and that confidence completely disappears when it comes to our private data. I don't think we should be outsourcing our census just to save a few million... why not just cancel the ID card project and save money that way? For more info check out the campaign site.




So now we see that Gordon Brown and his Government have betrayed us. They don't intend to stand up to the Tories. They just intend to steal the Tories policies. Well Mr Brown, I'm not going to fall for that one; I just hope no one else does either.

The "latest" idea is to use tax policy to encourage marriage.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Andy Burnham told the Daily Telegraph: "It's not wrong that the tax system should recognise commitment and marriage."

He did not advocate specific changes to the tax system, but said there was a "moral case" for using tax to promote the traditional family unit.


A moral case? A MORAL CASE? How can this Government speak of morals when it is engaged in selling off our country bit by bit to private companies? How can this Government speak of morality when it is scandalously not moving to stop the rampant destruction of this green and pleasant land?

This Government wants to interfere with our private lives far too much...




And for all of us who want to live life more sedately. Don't you wish life could be like that!

Drinking

England won! We're in the final against either Argentina (BOOOOOO!!!) or South Africa (AAHHHHHHHH!).

After Jim cooked a really yummy curry we went out drinking with our neighbour and his mate. We were sat in a position between two rooms and humourously the two rooms televisions were very out of sync... so we spent the night watching as one room would erupt, then calm down followed then the other room would do the same... like some kind of Mexican wave.

I drunk way too much, but having lined my stomach with way too much rice I didn't really get drunk and I feel fine this morning (except horribly bloated, I may well have passed my limit on food with the rice last night... I just love rice...).

As we walked up the road from the pub to our house we saw the most gorgeous fox. You have got to love foxes, with those cute little ears and inquistive looks.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Good Luck England!



Everyone knows my deep seated hatred of the word, and concept of, England. But as England are the last British team left fighting in the Rugby World Cup they have my unreserved support. Come on England!

I just couldn't bring myself to show a St Georges flag on my blog...

Now what I hope happens is that England win, and then the French team become so distraught that they all strip naked. Then everybody wins... because those French guys are bloody gorgeous. Mmm...

The King of Thailand has been taken to hospital. I hope he is alright as I think Thailand needs him more than ever right now to keep the army in check (even if does secretly like them...).

Everything Changes

As I sit here at work waiting for the moment we "change" (I'm sure I'd be breaking some rule telling you any more before Monday) at 1pm I kind of ponder to myself about the changes I've seen since I started.

I've worked at the same place for two and half years, it's now the longest period of time I've stayed working for one company. Every member of my department at the time I joined has left. In fact since then I've seen 25 people, friends, come and go in a team that's gone from 5 people to 13. And that's just my team, if I expand it across the company it's going to be at least 50 people who've come and gone. I'm now the 8th longest serving member of the company (and I'll be 7th after next week).

It's quite depressing that this place constantly changes... I just read an email from May about a trip to the park that was being arranged for the bank holiday and pretty much everyone it was CC'd to has gone, and I can remember how different this place was even then. Sometimes I remember people and I think "Were they really here just a couple of months ago?" because time just seems completely distorted in this place. Sometimes it feels like I've only just started here, and other times it feels like I've been here forever.

So to all those old folks from my company who sometimes drop by here to check up on me make sure you check out the website on Monday! You'll be very surprised!

Friday, October 12, 2007

Sleepy

So far since Monday I've done 6 days of work. And I've still got a couple of hours to do tomorrow (I know... working on the weekend... *sob*). The company I'm working for is "changing". Joy! My most pressing concern is Charles Dera can no longer be my background, it's got to be a corporate background. :( Sadness. Anyhew... I have no money which is very annoying. And that's really been my week... boring and a little depressing... so...

Go see all about how a South China Tiger has been spotted in the wild... and see a really cute tiger cub picture. I want one!

I'm just about to finish a really marvellous book called The World Without Us, which also has very good website. I will certainly be making a whole post about this book but for now it's given me plenty of food for thought.

Here's a good article about the "An Inconvenient Truth" trial. I find it humourous that someone would not want their kids to be taught something, although I agree the other side of the argument should be presented. In our schools creationism is taught in Religious Studies as one of many religious themes whilst evolution is taught in Biology. I don't see why climate change can't be taught in a similar way (the non believers views would probably fit best in politics though... to say climate change isn't happening is a bit dumb, considering the Earths climate is in CONSTANT flux). The climate we live in is quite different to the climates our ancestors have survived through and the climate in the future will be quite different from now. That's life... the only problem is, are we making things worse? (In my opinion... of course we are... that's what humans do!).



Yoinked from Jonge Mannen

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Work Has Shagged Me Out

I've had a 13 hour day door to door along with delayed trains, a long walk, a complaint, a meeting and the chill of the first signs of winter...

Cameron says Brown looks "phoney". Pot calling kettle. Actually... Earth calling Kettle... come in Kettle... Cameron is the phoniest person in British politics since T. Blair.

And for all fellow human haters... check out IdiotBrain

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

The Used Condom

How topical... on the same day I talk about cruising (and sex in toilets) I find a used condom in the toilets at work.

I wandered into a cubicle and saw the unmistable Durex wrapper on the floor just to the back. And then, there in the toilet basin, was a used condom. How disgusting. Disgusting because two people working in my building don't even have the shame/consideration to tidy up after themselves. I don't mind the whole sex in the toilet thing (each to their own way too dirty and small for my liking) but at least tidy up after yourselves...

Labour Caves In To The Gold Diggers

Rejoice! You can now take £600 000 of your parents cash when they die! Starting counting the days until they die guys...

I saw a brilliant article in the London Lite the other day... one woman moaning because her parents left all their money to charity. She moaned about how she'd helped them on their farm every day and even travelled from work to their farm to help out after she moved to London and then didn't get a penny.

What did I think? I thought..."So you only helped out your parents because you expected some financial compensation when they died???" So much for doing things for love and to show familial committment. Greedy bitch. I was shocked she had the audacity to tell her story in a newspaper, or that someone at the newspaper put a sympathetic angle on it!

Toe Tapping To A Homophobic Beat

I hate hypocritical conservatives (small c!) who fight against gay rights in the day time and mess around with other blokes in the night time. These guys deserve to be brought down. However I believe the place for the destruction of their careers is in the political theatre, where their hypocrisy can be highlighted fully and the folly of homophobia can be shown to the population at large.

In America this is not what is happening.

I've read about the eighties and early nineties in gay Britain. I know one of the major bugbears of our community was the "pretty cop"... a cop whose job it was to entrap gay men into committing acts of public indecency. This policy was introduced for reasons of prejudice and removed for reasons of fairness and because police resources should be spent on more important things (such as stopping teenagers murdering each other in our streets).

In America it continues... and when a Republican hypocrite is caught out by it in public restrooms they are duly abused. But reading much of the liberal press and blogs over there and watching my beloved Daily Show, they don't seem to be abusing them because they are hypocrites. Nor does anyone seem slightly worried that their police are spending times accosting men in public restrooms rather than them spending time protecting their communities.

In fact I can almost smell a whiff of homophobia leaking into the commentaries and news stories. "Ewww... he was cruising for sex with men in a public restroom, how disgusting". "What a pervert". You get the picture.

I'm going to admit, as I have done before, I went cruising as a teenager (back when under 18 sex was illegal). No harm done. No one was hurt. I just cannot see what the problem is. I can understand problems occuring when cruising grounds become so busy that other peoples rights to a quiet stroll in the park are destroyed. I can understand it if someone is openly accosted at a urinal (something which to me is breaking one of the greatest social taboos in the world, if someone tried that on me [except Charles Dera] they'd get a piece of my mind). But someone tapping their feet under a toilet stall wall? That's code, developed to avoid annoying heterosexuals. So what is the big damn problem people???

Make fun of these bastards for their hypocrisy. But get over your twee moral dislike of cruising... no ones making you do it!

Monday, October 08, 2007

Just Another Manic Monday

And I've found the best picture of our favourite... Charles Dera! Rejoice Dear Constant Reader...

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Money

I hate not ever having enough money to get through the month. I hate being so bloody poor despite having a good job.

Been watching rugby this weekend which reminds me...



Rugby players have nice arses. As do others...

Beer and Totty

Works policy of only having work drinks in the office kitchen is over... and we are allowed back down the pub every once in a while. First up this week is the Wheatsheaf... free beer, loose talk with colleagues and fun times. I learnt more about those work colleagues who joined the kitchen rule came in, than I've learnt about in all the months they've worked for the company.

Today Jim and I have taken a walk through Greenwich (although we didn't see this hero), saw the market, got ripped off in the old fashioned sweet shop and had a buffet lunch in Vietnam. Yum.

Found this website today. Love it, and found some very interesting edits made by my work colleagues while at work. Cheeky.


Supernatural is back. Jensen Ackles. I can't convey how sexy I think he is. There are no words.

And for Steve, Bret Harrison from Reaper...

Thursday, October 04, 2007

It's World Animal Day!

And to celebrate I’m going to try to see if I can remember all the names of all the pets I’ve ever owned.

Sharnall Lane

This was the first house I ever lived in, with my Mum, Nan, Auntie Melly and Uncle Graham.

My first pet was my Nans dog Lucy. She was a grey toy poodle and she was a horrid little dog. She hated me. Thankfully she was rendered deaf and blind by the time she was 10, however this didn’t stop her barking every time I visited my Nan. Grr… But give let's give her her due... she didn't let a Shadow Person scare her.

My second pet was Misty the Cat. Misty was a mysterious cat, I rarely saw him. However my Mum always talks of him fondly.

The third pet was Max. Max was bought by my Uncle Graham as a puppy just after I was born and Max and I grew up together. He was a retriever with ginger coat. I honestly have never seen a dog since with the same colour coat as Max. I remember being very sad when Graham moved out, and even more sad the day Nan and I walked into town and passed a house with a dog in the garden who came to greet us at the gate as we walked past. It was Max, he’d been given away!

The fourth pet I remember is actually a shed full of birds. It was in my Nans garden, and I believe they might have been budgies. God I wish I had budgies. Love them.

My fifth pet was extremely random: I found a tortoise who I named Thomas (after the Tank Engine!). He lived with us for quite a few years until one day as we prepared his box for hibernation he made a run for it. Now you might not think a tortoise could get very far in just a few seconds but you’d be surprised. He disappeared until the following spring when he was found sleeping inside my neighbours compost heap. A little after that he made another escape attempt and disappeared… until one day I was in the local pet shop and saw him in a cage. I knew it was him as when we found him he had a large dot of white paint on his shell which we could never get off. Bastard thieves!

Gosh this is just the first couple of years of my life…

All By Ourselves

Mum and I moved out to live with her future first husband (his name was, I believe, Shitface).

We moved out from my Nans, into a caravan in Maidstone and Mum got pet number 6, a ginger cat named Garfield (it was the eighties!). She was gorgeous but as we were in between houses we wouldn’t let her out on the own. So it was a fairly common sight to see me, at five years of age, walking around Hermitage Lane with a cat on a lead. A few years later my mates and I had gone out and got some chips, as we turned back onto our street (Woodlands Avenue by this time) I saw my mum on her knees in the middle of the road. As I got closer I could hear her sobbing and saw Garfield’s bloody body stretched across the road with her still meowing plaintively for help. My mum loved that cat and she didn’t get over it for quite some time.

Under our caravan we had a family of cats, who we decided to capture and give away. One was a spitting image for Misty and as Misty had just passed away was handed to my Nan as Misty II

Our next pet was an Alsatian dog named Shane who we got as a puppy when we moved into our first house. He was gorgeous and he, Thomas and Garfield were to form the nucleus for our own little menagerie. Garfield and him got along famously until the day that Shane playfully picked up one of Garfields kittens and dropped in on the concrete killing it. He was extremely remorseful and spent weeks in mourning over that kitten but after that day Garfield rated Shane as Public Enemy Number 1 and spent her days tormenting him.

Our next pet was Geisha, a Japanese Akita and a rescued dog to boot. She was a lot more highly strung than Shane and was simply not able to be left alone at any time. She was one of the first of her breed in the country but her owners had treated her so badly that she was a wreck. Fireworks night was the worst. She used to grab hold of your arm and drag you to wherever she wanted you to be, and there was no saying no.

Bentley the Cat was another rescued animal. He was very old and had been so badly treated that his last owners had stubbed cigarettes out on his feet. We gave him a lovely retirement.

Bonnie and Cylde were two black cats we got as kittens to replace Bentley when he passed away. They were mischief makers, always hiding in motorcycle helmets and pouncing on an unsuspecting Garfield.

Marmalade was a baby ginger cat we got after Garfield died. We didn’t have him long before we abandoned the house.

Honey and Spice were two hamsters who lived in an aquarium in my room. They were sisters, whose favourite thing to do was grab my Monster in my Pocket toys and eat them. In the end Honey killed Spice. Bitch.

The Goats. Despite only living in a council house, we kept two goats at the end of our back garden. Mum used to milk them as she felt goats milk helped her eczema. If we went out they’d always escape into the main garden, knock open the ajar kitchen window and stare through it at Shane and Geisha menacingly.

We also had several rabbits, a pond full of fish, freshwater oysters and amphibians of all shapes and sizes plus a goldfish.

At one point we had Shane, Geisha, Bonnie, Clyde, Marmalade, the goats, Honey, Spice, the pond, a rabbit, Thomas, the goldfish and whatever creatures I had managed to catch on any given day.

Sadly our little menagerie ended abruptly when, for various reasons, my Mum and I fled the house. My auntie moved in and looked after Shane, the cats and Honey. Thomas had made his escape. The pond was filled in after all the fish were killed by a summer outbreak of blue algae. The last goldfish had died and wasn’t replaced. Geisha and the goats moved to a farm run by two lovely gay guys who owned another Akita and I imagine they spent their days frolicking in meadows. The rabbit was eaten by one of the neighbours racing dogs who had got into our garden and ripped open his hutch. (Mum promptly shot the dog… my Mums tolerance of animals was only extended to those who were not evil bastards)


Shepway


There was only a brief interlude between leaving Snodland and arriving in Shepway before we got our first new pet.

It took Mum and I a while to convince my stepdad Tony we needed a pet after moving into Sellindge. Eventually we got one from my auntie Melly. She was the daughter of Melly’s cat Sophie and sister to Misty III. Millie was a black and white cat and I fell in love with her immediately. She hated all humans deeply and wished nothing more than to be left alone. We were soul mates. The thing with Millie was that if she sat on your lap or meowed at you, then you were truly blessed as she didn’t give attention away willy nilly. Millie was short for Millwall (Tonys football team). She lived to be 11 and died in 2005.

Hurlock was Millies son (named after a player at Millwall). He was a minx and eventually Millie forced him to find a new home. No one in the house was too upset by this. He was an extremely badly behaved cat.

Pocket Money was my most beloved pet. He was an American Bullfrog I raised from a tadpole over the course of a couple of years (much to Millies intense curiosity). One day I went away for a week to see my auntie. I left my Mum strict instructions on his care. I returned to find my Mum had rearranged my room, moving his tank next to the radiator… his water had evaporated and he had cooked to a crisp. I was devastated (as only a 12 year old can be). I am still trying to forgive her.

Chekhov was a Russian Hamster who lived in a cage in my room. He wasn’t very friendly and often bit but we got on okay (I stopped him from being eaten by the ever interested Millie and he didn’t use the wheel at nighttime). One day I got home from school and he simply wasn’t in his cage. I asked my Mum what had happened. “Well I took him to work with me” She worked with the young mentally handicapped, “And I gave him to one of our clients and he bit her and she threw him against a wall.” Sigh.

The Stick Insects. After Pocket Money died I got some stick insects. One day my Mum decided to be very helpful and cleaned out their tank “throwing away all those sticks”. We kept finding stick insects in the garden for the rest of that summer.

Apple. We got ourselves a rabbit when we moved into Old Mead and Beth treated it so badly I ended up looking after it. One day it dug itself out of our garden, straight into the jaws of our next door neighbours dog.

For some reason, after we moved into another house in Cheriton, we decided to get a new cat. Angel was brought from our home town of Snodland and was quickly adopted as “Beths Cat”. Millie was “Jasons Cat”. However Angel didn’t like labels and used to follow me for street after street whenever I left the house. I think this may be because Millie hated her and would spend her days growling at her. Funny thing is that since Millie has died and my parents have a new cat called Tinkerbell, Angel has taken on Millie's role. She’s still a sweety though. She is the soppiest cat in the world.

Molly was one of my Mums boyfriends dogs who came to live with us. She promptly escaped and was last seen playing on Pent Valley Schools property.

Crystal was a local homeless cat who was the mankiest thing you’ve ever seen. Despite my Mum saying that if anyone fed him we’d be shot, I spent my days surreptitiously passing food to him outside. This lead him to move in, much to my mums annoyance.

Bob was an evil rabbit. We kept him in a hutch and let him out for a run every day. He soon grew to massive proportions and spent his time in the garden running round and round the cats (terrifying all three of them). Eventually he grew to believe he was a cat. Some days I’d be upstairs in my room and I’d hear the cat flap go… then I’d hear a bouncing on the stairs. I’d look down from my bed and there would be Bob looking up at me EVILLY. Sometimes I’d wander into the front room and he’d be curled up on a sofa fast asleep with Millie keeping a watchful, but distant, eye on him. He eventually grew bored with us and moved house. I’m telling you, that rabbit was a sentient lifeform. After he left we couldn't get rid of his hutch... Millie had decided it was going to be her new home. We didn't argue.

Scooby was Angels son. He stayed with us for a while but soon moved into a neighbours house. He still visit my parents.

And now, here in Greenwich, we just have the tropical aquarium. With a giant clown loach. Who makes such loud clicking noises you can hear him across the room when he is hungry. He worries me (and our other two, much smaller, loaches). Plus there's two black tetras who just never die, three neon tetras, a pleco, at least two catfish and one hardy survivor from an original 5 yellow barbs.

My family now have two cats Angel and Tinkerbell, a Jack Russell called Noodles (Jim loves that dog), some fish and a hamster. I predict it’s only a matter of time before they have goats.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

I think it's time for everyone in London to read Jae's Guide To Using A Train

Awww... David Cameron has given a very worthy speech filled with lovely platitudes about politics that you can believe in. Then he goes on about the usual Tory policies. I mean... where are the politics I can believe in? Where's the high ideals? No where... we have weak, old, piecemeal policies. It's hardly a Tory revolution. And some of the passages are laughable...

"One of the aspirations people still have and rightly so is the aspiration to own a flat and a home of their own and all of us... all of the shadow cabinet here they could tell the same story... of young people who come to our surgeries, they show you their salary, they talk about local house prices and they just say I don't see how I can achieve that dream and George showed how we're going to cut stamp duty to show that we're on their side and we'll help mend the rungs of the housing ladder and get on their side. This is the party of aspiration and opportunity and George [Osborne] has shown us the way."


Oh big deal... how on Earth does he expect this to help??? The problems with the housing market are massive, and the changes needed to fix it are going to be painful and unpopular... Sadly David Cameron doesn't have the balls to tackle the problem. Time for a change? Yes. Time for the Tories? NEVER.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

I Can See!

Today I made a giant leap... I went to the opticians.

When I was younger I never had any problems with my sight but gradually, through my jobs in call centres and offices, my eyesight has become very, very bad. I went to the optician and got some glasses two years ago but as I wasn't too fussed with the glasses and wore them only inside I eventually destroyed them through Jae style wear and tear.

Unable to watch television any longer, nor able to read the train departures board, I decided it was time to give in to the inevitable and get some new glasses. I booked an appointment with Vision Express (all very hassle free, they had appointments free the very next day after booking) and today headed into Lewisham to get my eyes looked at.

The optician was friendly, if a little worried about how bad my eyesight was, and I was soon picking glasses out. My cunning plan to save money at glassesdirect.co.uk was foiled by the pleasantness of the Vision Express staff.

I was expecting to choose the glasses then come back a few days later for a fitting. Nope... they told me to come back in an hour, so I headed home, got breakfast and then headed out to pick up my glasses. They fit perfectly first time and I walked through Lewisham amazed by how much I could see... it's very easy to get used to bad eyesight.

I can now sit in my 5th floor office and almost read the bus registration numbers in the bus station below. Almost... I'm not superman even though I do now look a bit more like Clark Kent... *cue picture of Tom Welling, I knew I could work this in here somewhere...*



And on another more puerile note... I can now perve way more efficiently. Yay!

Jae Agrees With Tories

I know... shocking. But I'm not just a Tory Hater. I will admit that, once in a blue moon, I do agree with something they say.

The Tories propose ending early release for criminals. I was about to bad mouth them, asking how they were going to fund this... when I saw they also propose scrapping ID cards and the money saved would go to more prison space.

Brilliant. Sadly... the Lib Dems have been proposing scrapping ID cards for a long time. The Tory Come Latelys strike again. The Tories allowed the Labour Government to begin to erode our civil liberties after September 11th when they put on a good show of national unity instead of being a good opposition and keeping the Government under control. The Lib Dems are the only party that has consistently fought to protect our freedoms and to introduced efforts to fight crime... something the Tories obviously want to emulate... You might deceive the public, but not me.

Someone Stands Up

Monday, October 01, 2007

Inheritance

The Tories have pledged to revise the inheritance tax by increasing the threshold at which you have to pay from £300 000 to £1 000 000. Same old Tories.

I believe the inheritance tax is a good thing for several reasons, and I believe it should stay at £300 000. Those reasons, which you are perfectly fine to criticise, are:

1) By ensuring that money passed from one generation to the next is taxed (thus decreased) we ensure we do not end up allowing the creation of a rich, land based class of workshy people. If parents can pass all their wealth to their children we'd end up with Lords of the manor all over ago.

2) Morally I find it repugnant that some children expect an inheritance or that some parents feel obliged to leave one. I want my parents to live their lives to the fullest and not worry about leaving anything for me or my siblings.

There are many people in my family wasting their lives doing nothing desperately waiting for their parents to die so they can inherit the riches (and squabble over them with the rest of the family in acrimonious disputes that'll probably give all that inheritance to lawyers). By being forced to pay an inheritance tax this kind of behaviour can be discouraged (but sadly not stopped).

Money is nothing but paper and metal. Use it to enjoy life, not squirrel it away and waste it on ungratful kids. Sure leave a few thousand as a nice little present but when the figure gets to £300 000 or more we are talking silly amounts of money. If I die and leave that much money in my account when there's so much good it could do in the world now, I'd feel deeply ashamed of myself as I headed to Hell.

3) The inheritance tax might make a few people think twice when buying a home, worried the price might take them over that £300 000 threshold and thus force they kids or unmarried partner to have to sell the house if they died. This is a good way of keeping the massive inflationary pressures of the housing market in check.

4) There are plenty of ways around the Inheritance Tax.

5) I don't see the point of raising the limit. Either you should have the inheritance tax as it is or axe it. What is the point of just amending it? Oh wait... it's a bloody gesture to middle class voters. One day political parties might actually introduce policies for the greater good rather than as underhand attempts to gain power.

It doesn't raise that much money for the Government (£3 Billion pounds... there are plenty of cancelled projects filled with more money wasted than the Government gains from this!) so it's not like the Government has the tax to raise funds. It's more about benign social engineering. Now sure, I hate social engineering... but hey that's pretty much the Tories raison d'etre so I don't quite understanding what their issue is...

American TV Round Up

So we near the end of the first wave of new shows and here's three of my favourites


Reaper



It's a Kevin Smith creation. It involves supernatural elements mixed with comedy. It stars the very cute Bret Harrison. How can I not like it?

The first episode is pretty good as Bret's character discovers his parents sold his soul to the devil and he must now help him capture a very hot firemen... in all senses of the word.



Bionic Woman



Staring Eastender Michelle Ryan as Jaime this show has potential. I wasn't amazed by the show but it could be good and it had Katee Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica so it's gotta get bloody good real soon.

Gordon Ramsays Kitchen Nightmares



Oh we all know Jim and I love Gordon Ramsays shows... we even visited Momma Cherris, one of the restaurants visited during his British show. Well now he's taken the same format to America where we discover, amazingly, people moan more and seem to lack the ability to avoid getting incredibly angry despite being on national television. Fun, fun, fun!