Jae: Volume 3, Issue 5

Two of the best people at work have left these last two days. On Monday Arwen made her escape from the office, and then yesterday Sarina abandoned us too. This has left me feeling rather down at work and despite drinking in the office last night with Sarina for one last time, my spirits were not lifted. My mood isn't helped by the the additional fun of having no money.... it's just another day in Jae land!

It's not been a good week and it shows little sign of improving at the moment.

Interlude One

I have just tidied up my desk and created a box full of toys, books, comics and, weirdly enough, some hats.

Jae: Volume 3, Issue 4

Oh my. It's warm!!! 29 degrees Celsius. Sure not as warm as some places in the world, but it's hot for Britain. Had the most uncomfortable journey home on a crowded commuter train, sweating like I'd just run a marathon. Not a pretty sight!!

Arwen left work today, which is very sad. Once upon a time there were several fun people like Arwen at work, but now... alas they are a dying breed. But she went out in style with the creation of a superb photo cake... crowned with a picture of the four people leaving this week in the style of Abba. :D

Made a stupid mistake on Betfair today and lost a lot of my hard gained winnings. Don't worry... I'm still £40 up but alas...

Oh, horrid news. I opened my wallet today to find my debit card.... shattered... :( So I'm going to have to wait for a replacement. I hope it arrives quickly. I suspect I may have to spend Friday down the bank getting money out over the counter; read Jae's worst nightmare (other than trips to the barbers).

Jae: Volume 3, Issue 3

Zoe and Lee came to visit yesterday, on their rather snazzy motorbikes. While Jim and I awaited their arrival we played cryptic quizzes down the pub, I am still truly useless at them. Once Zoe and Lee turned up we headed up to the Greenwich Odeon Gallery to see the The Dark Knight.

Wow. That movie was simply breathtaking. It truly captured the essence of what Batman is. Heath Ledger as the Joker was absolutely superb, and the themes of renewed hope and despair were masterfully intertwined with the plot, adding to it rather than distracting from it. The only complaint from me is that it was too long... there were 20 minutes of the movie that could quite easily have been removed without taking away from the quality of the movie. However all was redeemed by the ending, which showed just how much the makers respected the mythos of the Batman franchise.

After the movie we headed down the local for a meal and a chat before they headed off home.

It's been so hot of late. Sleeping is just not fun when it's soooo warm. :( Where's some good ol' air conditioning when you need it?

Today Jim took me out to Inside for a Sunday lunch. We hadn't been there for quite a while so we were really looking forward to it. Sadly we were disappointed. Now, don't get me wrong, it was good food. I had chicken spring rolls for a starter, roasted lamb with rosemary jus and mint sauce on a bed of vegetables with roast potatoes and finished with a lovely chocolate and nut brownie with vanilla ice cream. BUT... it was not the taste sensation we were accustomed to expect from this restaurant. It was all a little bland. :( Shame.

Jae: Volume 3, Issue 2

This week I've been looking for a new job. I have a few interviews lined up so wish me luck!!

My time at my current company has had some amazing highs and some terrible lows. When I got the first call from my boss, Simon, asking me to come in for an interview way back in my first week in London, I was extremely glad that someone had offered me the opportunity so early on in my job search.

The interview went well... with Simon, Bonnie and Shaila doing a good cop, really nice cop and brutal cop routine. The three managers presented the company as young and dynamic and I took a temporary contract position in customer service.

I told myself then that this would offer me the chance to look for something better. However the liberal atmosphere in the office, the lack of a dress code, the friendly staff of so many nationalities and the promise of regular free alcohol and nights out lulled me into laziness and I never did get round to even bothering to look for new work.

Soon my position went from temporary to permanent, the company went from strength to strength and I gradually took my place as an experienced and well respected (I think anyway!) member of staff.

The nights out continued and I made many, many friends. But the first sign of unhappiness appeared within a year... the turnover was very high due to the companies love of hiring American graduates on working holidays. This took a toll on my emotions as I met people who I became firm friends with... but who soon left and I had to begin the process again.

Slowly over time, as the company matured and grew, the nights out began to dry up and the senior staff began to change as people such as Shaila and Bonnie moved on. Soon enough the young and dynamic company became just another corporate office, full of new rules and regulations. The systems and policies changed so greatly, and despite my best efforts to argue against their implementation, they began to affect the business for the worst. Customers went from horrid (we had a lot of commendations back then but still... customer service is customer service) to downright malicious as they fought back against the silliness.

Although I'd been threatening to leave for quite some time, and despite several pay rises and perks (such as not needing to really do any work), I finally cracked this year. This might explain the change in my blog from personal journal to commentary... life was just too glum at work.

So in May, upon my return from holiday, I made the decision to actually leave for real. I handed in my resignation, with quite a long period of notice!, and didn't bother looking for new work. I know... naughty Jae! But I'm now actually doing it so you can let me off a little, Dear Constant Reader.

So yes, my first three years in London were greatly improved by this company and I shall look back on my time here with fondness. But, unless by some miracle they offer me a pay rise of £6000 (LOL), my time here is OVER.

Farewell to:

1) friendly American/Canadian/Australian/Kiwi temps
2) the smelly homeless people who live outside the offices (I mean this literally, they really do live there!)
3) Waterloo Station (hopefully)
4) cute young University graduates. There's a new one here at the moment... phwoah!! I mean that... phwoah!!!!!!!
5) cute older members of staff who I've had a permanent three year crush on. (Please note to all employees of the company who read this... my three year seniority "bagsie" on a certain Charles Dera lookalike will continue to be in effect even after I leave. HE IS MINE! [in my dreams...]) :P
6) my customers free drinks in the office on a Friday night
7) the mysterious 1st, 2nd and 3rd Floors
8) the employees of several eating and drinking establishments across Vauxhall, particularly the ladies of the Kennington Road Cafe.
9) blogging at work.
10) being the 5th longest serving member of the company. That was a nice feeling...

I'll do a "Remember When" post of my favourite moments at the company once I'm finally really gone... :D

Jae: Volume 3, Issue 1

Last night I stayed behind late at work, as is usual Friday night procedure for drinks in the kitchen. This time we were there to pay our regards to Vince, a guy who started just a few weeks after I did, who is moving on. By the end of the night it was just Christina, Frankie, Anthony from Accounts and I left bitching and gossiping about our colleagues. I may have revealed too many secrets myself but I did also learn a lot about what is being said on the office IM facility that I was totally unaware of! Scandals all around!

Today Jim and I headed off early to Catford for an excursion to Aldi. Yes, Dear Constant Reader, you heard me. Aldi. I had read in the Guardian that it was actually not so bad and wanted to see for myself. Having experienced the joys of Lidl once too often myself I'd always been reluctant to try out Aldi but it was ok. But as Jim said... it was a little odd. Ostrich? Wetsuits? Climbing harness'? Weird. But we picked up a few things.

Then we went in search of a duvet cover set which lead us deeper into Catford... Catford gives off a certain aura. It takes me back to the early nineties. The cleaning fluid smells that emanate from some of the stores put me in mind of walking past Superdrug in Snodland as a child. It's not exactly an appealing place and the bizarre, dirty and somewhat creepy store we eventually found the duvet set in made the point perfectly.

However there is a diamond hidden in this rough. Hidden within the bowels of the Catford Mews Indoor Market is a small bookshop. It's one of those bookshops that you just don't see enough of. Sure it's a mess, but it's a joyous mess... books piled 20 high, with pile hidden behind pile until there is barely any shop floor left. Jim had mentioned I'd like this place but surely there was no way he could know I'd like it that much!

And lying on the floor by the door were two boxes of unorganised comics... DC, Image and, delight following delight, Marvel. Nothing really took my fancy there but after the shop keeper had seen me practically orgasming in my comic geekiness he found piles more... and I came away with a few... Fantastic Four, the Avengers and, of course, some X-Men. Awesome! I may make more trips there...

On the way back to the car there was an incident with a road rage induced driver shouting abuse at us as we had been half way across a road when he turned into it and expected us to jump out of his way rather than continue across at a steady pace (and you know my pace is plenty fast enough... it's like 50 metres a second! :p)

We had lunch at the local... pizza, beer and a delicious chocolate sponge with vanilla ice cream. Delicious.

Edinboro Castle

Last night I headed out to the Edinboro Castle pub with Kasey and Jon (former workmates of mine) and had a rather lovely evening in Camden.

We were joined by other former workmates Chris I and Dan who have continued an old Wednesday Club tradition. Ben K, Steve and Husam also turned up, a full 2 hours after I did which confused them as we'd all left from the same place. :D

The pub itself was large, well decorated with really efficient service and a good range of ales, lagers and ciders. My favourite thing though was the glowing birds used to indicate food had been ordered on your table. So cool. Sadly the food was expensive, lacklustre and the portions tiny. Good for a drink just stay clear of eating here.

It was nice to see some old faces and good to hear that their post EO careers have flourished.

*NOTE* My hiatus is not over... but infrequent personal diary entries may appear as and when i do something I want to make a note of. :D

Caption this!

Look a girl!

Jae is in Camden with former work mates such as Kasey.

Jae Kay Is Taking A Break

This may come as little bit of a shock to your Dear Constant Reader. But I've decided to take a break from blogging for an unknown period of time. Maybe it'll be a couple of hours, maybe a couple of months.

Why? A melancholy has settled upon me and I do not wish to inflict it upon you. That's my main reason.

Also this blog is supposed to be my personal diary, but I haven't had anything interesting personal life wise for some time. Until I do there is not much point with my continuing to write.

Thanks so much for reading, put me in your feed reader and when I return you'll know about it.

So in case I don't see you; good afternoon, good evening and good night!

Oh Italy... What Ever Were You Thinking?

I can't imagine what goes through the minds of those who made a gay man retake his driving test because of his sexuality. I would love to know the thought processes behind it. Were they just trying to be annoying or were they really so stupid as to think his sexuality would have an affect on his driving ability? Did they think he wasn't gay when he took the first driving test??

There are some backward people in this world but the guys/girls behind this little homophobic gesture make the fundies look almost normal!!

Brent Corrigan Is Still Hot

He's gone from cutie to stud. But he's still battling against his past. That's why his blog always makes an interesting read. Go send the hottest (gay) porn star a big hug!

SocialJae

Well, thanks mainly to Steve's bad influence, I have recently joined many different social networks (and tools) and I thought I'd just give you my opinion on a few of them.

Swurl : Swurl offers you the ability to bring all your web content into one place using feeds. It's great for fun things like my feed timeline but I find it's not so good at following your friends feeds.

Socialthing! : This is a utility whereby you can bring together all of your friends status' from different sites (Facebook, Twitter, Plurk etc). This makes it easier to follow your friends, but currently it's invite only. Drop me an email with your email address if you want an invite!! I admit to quite liking Socialthing, even if it's not the most attractive site in the world.

Brightkite : It's invite only too I'm afraid, again send me your email address if you want one! This app allows you to check in at your location. Basically you are logging your physical location as a status. You can then comment on it too, add photos etc. Early days yet... I think it could be amazing if I knew more people who were using it.

HelloTxt : This application allows you to microblog from multiple locations and keep track of other status' ala Socialthing! This makes it rather better than Ping.fm although Ping.fm is better for cross posting on blogs, IMO.

Identi.ca : An opensource competitor to the currently troubled Twitter. Watch this one, I think it'll become quite cool if it takes off properly.

Also rediscovering the joys of Last.fm.

The Sexualisation Of Height

One of those things that sets me out from the crowd, other than being as gay as a window and causing chaos and destruction where ever I go, is my height.

Whatever it may be 6'8" - 6'10", it sure does draw me some attention. I think my now well practiced sour "London face" has assisted in keeping street level interaction down to stares and double takes. This is a vast improvement on being stopped every ten feet by an old lady who just wanted to tell me her Grandson was my height. After a while I realised that the population of Britain was either 50% giants or these old women were batty/annoying. Thankfully the scare stories about crime in London have scared the old ladies into minding their own business and no longer stopping me from getting on with my day.

However my height is not something I am ashamed of or that causes me undue distress and so I'll often add it to profile pages, such as Myspace, if the question is asked. This has lead me to discover a whole underground movement of people who have a fetish for height.

Now I've already discussed macrophiles before, and I've come to terms with them. But I'm not talking about macrophiles here... I'm talking about random men and women who seem to be stalking me on social networks and bombarding me with questions about my height.

You'll find them lurking around groups such as "I'm Tall, So I Am Better Than You". They will find someone tall and add them as a friend.

Now I foolishly changed my friends policy from "I need to at least vaguely know you" to "I'm bored of worrying about whether I know you or not, it's easier just to accept you". This was a stupid move that has meant every so often I now get a pop up message on Facebook along the lines of:

"Wow, you are soooo tall. What's that like?"

Sometimes I think this is just a conversation opener and if I reply it won't be long before we are discussing life, the universe and everything and become life long friends. Alas...

"So, what is your shoe size?"

This is a danger signal, ignored only at your peril. Soon it will be what's your weight? Where would I come up to? and other personal questions.

What I find so weird about all these folks is they don't even make a pretense about it. They don't try to pretend they just want to talk about any of the 500 other groups, subjects or people I've expressed an interest in so they can form a friendship and then investigate my height. No it's straight in at the height questions and within 5 minutes you'll get something like:

"So you could lift me up and do me against a wall?"

or

"If I pay you £100 will you beat me up please?"

Do they not read my status "In A Relationship"? Of course not because they also ask question like:

"Where do you live?"

"How old are you?"

"Are you straight or gay?"

They took the time to find out my height from my profile but can't be arsed to read it for two seconds and find out these simple answers.... grr....

So here's an idea for all you people who get off on tall guys and girls. Firstly: chatting them up is a good thing to do before you start to live out your sexual fantasies. Secondly: read a bit about them. If they are in a relationship like me, they probably aren't interested. Thirdly: be intelligent.

I think tonight I shall begin the process of deheighting my social network profiles, just as once I degayed my university rooms for visits from my Mum, so as to avoid these crazy people in the future. Sure some of the guys are very, very cute but I've got Jim. Who needs anyone else?*

*Please note whilst I do not need anyone else I am not ruling out completely the idea of sex with Charles Dera, Matt Damon or Brent Corrigan. ;)

My Rights Are Better Than Your Rights

This is the kind of story that makes me uneasy about anti discrimination laws. Here we had two different sets of rights in conflict with each other and one had to be chosen as superior to the other.

I don't like that. Get rid of these anti discrimination laws and simply write down a Bill of Fundamental Rights which will hopefully do what the Human Rights Act obviously can't do (I'm assuming that if they need all these anti discrimination laws then the Human Rights Act is pretty darn useless!). Everyone should have the right to expect the same service from public servants as anyone else.

Human rights. One law for all.

Just For Steve

As you appear to have enjoyed his last picture... :D

A Jae Update

Proof, if needed, in the superiority of Mormons over other crazy skygod believers. Is he wearing Aussiebum??? Not very Mormon in my opinion... but I'm not complaining!!

Anyhew... enough eye candy. So what have I been up to?

Last Friday I went out after drinks at work to Pico's, a restaurant bar on the Albert Embankment. I haven't been there in a while and in keeping with the retro theme I was with 3 former employees of the company I work for. Looking around the table it wasn't hard to remember the good old days of a couple of years ago when work was fun.

Saturday: gay Pride of course!!! After the parade I had a fun trip home on the train wearing my rainbow whistle, flying a pink Union flag (large), covered in badges and stickers proclaiming things such as "Queer" and a supporter of the GLBT Met Police association (the person giving out the badges was rather delicious) and of course holding tons of leaflets, free stuff and a copy of the Pink Paper. Could I have looked any more gay??? :D

After that I watched the Doctor Who finale and then went out with Jim to see Hancock at the Odean (the Galleria, I'm sad to report, is very worse for wear but still worth the extra). Not a bad movie really.

Sunday was a quiet day.

Monday, after work Jim and I headed to the Vietnam Restaurant and got very, very wet in the rain. We then proceed to stuff our faces under the all you can eat rules. It was a bad day for the diet but a good day for my taste buds.

Tuesday, new boy started at work. I think my Plurks explain how I feel about him. But as I continue to get rid of my responsibilities he will be the first person in the company to avoid my training other than those who have started while I've been on holiday. I've passed the training baton on.

Today. Had a lovely meal down the local. Mmm...

Vatican Angry At Those Bloody Accepting Anglicans!

Imagine... a church VOTED to allow FEMALE bishops. Whatever next??? Peace, love, goodwill to all men (and even women)?? Heaven forbid, this is not the kind of thing any Christian should be supporting.

I cannot believe how backward the Catholic Church is. They make these hateful Anglicans look like angels.

More Sad News

Elizabeth Spriggs has passed away. She played the witch in Simon and the Witch and made an appearance in Doctor Who (Paradise Towers, she was a cannibalistic old lady... most scary). Her role as the witch was just so entertaining.

Conspiracy

Firstly let me just state some facts: I used to be an X-Phile (a fan of the X-Files, and “used to be” is probably a lie) and even now find it hard to resist the urge to buy magazines such as Fortean Times.

However, despite reading many articles on the “fake Moon landings” and the case of the missing cosmonauts (supposedly lost in space) with great interest, I am not a believer in these conspiracy theories. I obviously do not have the information and evidence at hand to completely debunk them so I always maintain a healthy skepticism but, based on the facts known to me, I think they are nothing better than lies and misunderstandings.

Today is the 3rd anniversary of the July 7th bombings on London Transport (I refuse to call them 7/7 as I think that is just a silly, tabloidy thing to call such a serious event) and I’ve seen and heard a few conspiracy theories rehashed from that time mostly referring to this being a false flag attack. These deserve about as much attention as the 9/11 Truth Movement guys (September the 11th sounds so much more ominous than 9/11 don’t you think and given the circumstances I thus prefer the long form); i.e. NONE.

I don’t think that conspiracy theorists make up the theories because they are liars or nuts (ok… some are nuts). I think they just labour under two particular major misunderstandings:

1) they are unable to accept the fact that small groups of people and individuals can have such a massive, malign influence on so many lives. People would find it easier to understand a grand conspiracy lead by George W. Bush to destroy the Twin Towers in order to start a new war, using all the technology and power at his disposal, than believe that 19 guys armed with small sharp objects and some luck on their side could cause such havoc. It’s sort of comforting isn’t it, to believe that there is some major Government involvement with a purpose, rather than think that your lives are so susceptible to other’s whims. It’s a very scary fact but one we, and the Government, needs to come to terms with.

2) They have too much faith in the power of their Governments. The image of a Government firmly in control, able to manipulate events with ease and secretly planning a New World Order is one used often in the media. But this ignores the fact that the Government is a group of human beings. Humans make many mistakes. There is no way, I repeat, NO WAY that secrets as large as a Government conspiracy on the scale something like September the 11th would require could be kept a secret for long. The amount of people required to perpetrate some of the theories espoused would be astronomical. And we are meant to believe these people are going to just keep quiet??? Never. Secrets only work in small groups and/or where the reasons behind the secret are inherently just.

To be honest I feel as if those who support the 9/11 Truth Movement and other conspiracies are scared of facing reality. A reality where the Government cannot protect us, no matter how hard it tries, and where we are left personally responsible for our own lives and the lives of those we are directly involved with. These conspiracy theories allow them a comfort blanket, and if the consequences of the theories wasn’t so horrid then I’d say “let them have it, whatever gets them through the day”.

Alas these theories are, I’m sure, a terrible thing for the families. Some might embrace the warmth and safety of them; but others will be only further harmed by the continued espousal of these ideas. Imagine having a family member who died in a terrorist attack and then being told “Oh no, those planes were empty/didn’t exist.” Or being Jewish and losing a friend and being told this was a Zionist plot to bring about war in the Middle East. No one should need to go through that after all they have suffered already.

I believe that questioning the truth of everything you are told is healthy (if done politely and intelligently) but disregarding facts in pursuit of your own selfish need for reassurance in the face of other’s personal tragedy is almost criminal.

London Pride 2008: My Favourite Pictures

Here are a few of my fave pics from yesterday's parade. See my Flickr page for all the pictures.


This gal was on the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard float. Hirarious!


I might not agree with much that Labour supporters now say but... this sign made me laugh so hard as I also nodded my head in agreement.


Boris Johnson seemed at ease on the parade, but not far behind him was a group of marchers shouting "BORIS, BORIS, BORIS. OUT, OUT, OUT!!". I gave them a loud supporting blow on my rainbow whistle (of course I had a rainbow whistle!).


Nick Clegg showed his face at the Trafalgar Square post parade rally.

This guy was walking with the St John's Ambulance crew I think. Phwoah!!!


Sir Ian McKellan did not join the front of the parade this year, instead he lead the Stonewall contingent.


Drag queens are what makes the parade special. From the glamourous (as above) to the bizarre their colour adds something unique to a Pride parade.

Journey's End: Doctor Who 4.13

**SPOILERS**

This was not a complete disaster, which given the high standards set in the previous episode is something to be proud of. But personally I didn't think it was quite as good as that episode, even if it did hit some high notes.

So the Daleks plan is revealed... to destroy every universe in existence, leaving just the Daleks. Every new series companion is brought together in one place as the Daleks plan near fruition but thanks to the Doctor's failed regeneration his hand has regenerated into a more human version of him; and left Donna a bit more of a Time Lord at the same time. Using her new found knowledge she stops the Daleks who are then destroyed by Human-Doctor in a fit of rage, at the same time she sends all the planets bar home to where they belong. Davros perishes moments after revealing to the Doctor that he may not use weapons, but he uses people he meets as weapons themselves.

The Doctor and his companions fly the Tardis together and bring the Earth home and he drops them back where they belong: Sarah Jane says goodbye and heads home to Luke, Martha and Mickey head off with Captain Jack to Torchwood, Rose and her mother are stranded back in the alternate dimension with the Human-Doctor, and the Doctor and Donna are finally left alone.

Donna and the Doctor soon realise she cannot continue to exist as she is; her Time Lord brain was not designed for a human body and she is dying. The Doctor and Donna realise there is only one thing to do: erase Donna's memories of the Doctor so she doesn't attempt to use her Time Lord abilities. Donna protests but the Doctor does it... leaving Donna with her family... back to being just a temp from Chiswick.

It was a good episode, but... Donna's fate was the most depressing ending to a series so far. If she had died it would be bad enough, but instead she lives out an existence she herself had said was not how she wished to live. Her own personal Hell. :(

Kudos to Catherine Tate. Despite my love of Martha, I have to say Donna was the best companion of the new series. I shall miss her.

Check out my London Gay Pride 2008 pictures at: http://ping.fm/NPUfl

London Pride 2008

Pride was brilliant.

The sea of pink Union Jacks came stomping down Regent Street led by London Mayor Boris Johnson, to the sound of drums. Drag queens and muscular men, political protesters and same sex ballroom dancers. It was an amazing parade. The military and police units made my heart swell with pride, as it normally does, while the topless men had a similar effect elsewhere.

I spotted Peter Tatchell, Carole from Big Brother 8 and Ian McKellan spread among the crown along with some well known homosexuals on the scene.

At Trafalgar Square Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg gave a speech, although didn't say anything particularly interesting.

At the start of the day, whilst Frankie and I were waiting for Christine to appear, we were approached by a man from Terrence Higgins. He asked if I could fill out a survey and I was happy to oblige. "Were you in Bangkok in May?" he asked.

The GLBT world is a small one.

Only downer was the large group of Christian protestors at the end of Regent Street. Downer because they looked so sad and pathetic, boxed in by the police and without any real effect on the parade.

Humourous moment... the Gay Catholic stall was squeezed in between the Gay Humanists and the Raelians. That must of pissed them off... :D

Pictures will follow.

Off To Pride

Yoinked from Sexy Black Dudes

Off to pride with some "breeders" as they describe themselves.

Mario Maurer's Father Has Died

Sad news. Mario Maurer's father has passed away. :(

Working For The Man

What do you guys think about gay people who are sacked from their religious places of work? For instance I know of one guy who was sacked from his position at a Seventh Day Adventist church school because of his sexuality.

Now I sympathise with him, and find this kind of discrimination disgusting on a personal level. But really what did he expect? It’s a Seventh Day Adventist school! Should we, as members of the LGBT community, really be signing up to support and work for religious and bigoted organizations? Would it be morally right for me to apply for the current open position of PA to the BNP member of the London Assembly? Personally I think it would not be morally right.

Now of course everyone is free to apply for whatever job they wish, but what really goads me is when a LGBT person applies to work for one of these despicable organizations and then is surprised when they act with intolerance and disgust.

So what do you guys think? Should every organization have to employ people regardless of whether or not the prospective employees agree with their basic founding principles? Should any moral, progressive person be working for and sustaining these organizations which discriminate against allsorts of people (women and LGBT people are just the tip of the iceberg)?

My desk is surrounded by stars and stripes!

Big Brother Update

Despite my silence on the matter, I am still watching BB. And Jesus, these guys are proving to be a volatile lot. Each time a bad apple is removed (Alexandria, Dennis, Sylvia) a new one grows to take it's place.

Enter Jennifer. Not only is she the most dull creature in the universe, but she is a hypocrite (her whole religious thing, what an idiotic thing to admit to) and a bitchy madam. She is up for eviction tomorrow and hopefully she will be thrown out.

Rebecca is the Sylvia to Jennifer's Alexandria and I have no doubt Rebecca will be next week's Big Brother villain.

And then we have the house criticising Kat. This must not stand! They say she is too happy. They say she is too sad. They say she is too emotional. This they claim is a sign of her being fake. No guys... this is a sign of her having a personality, unlike Luke who has turned into the most bitchy, evil creature.

Mario and Lisa... AH! What are they doing in there? Lisa talks through her nose and Mario talks out his arse. They have a go about Kat crying and how it has to stop then when she comes out to apologise for it they go "Don't worry you can't control who you are". How two faced!!!

Dale. Dale would be better if someone stripped him naked and but a gag in his mouth. He is such a knob.

Mo. Mo. Mo. I don't dislike him, but he is a little awkward isn't he?

Rex. So up his own arse, but at least he seems slightly sensible.

Stuart. Bland, bland, bland.

Michael. Wow. He's even more insane than I though.

Rachael. Nice. An actual nice person! Shocking!!

Darnell. Nice, a little volatile, but nice.

Here are my predictions.

Jen will go tomorrow, Rebecca will go next week. Dale and Stuart will either start getting it on or will kill each other. And hopefully Darnell, Rachael and Kat will make it to the end.

KAT TO WIN!

Happy Independence Day

To all my American readers, enjoy your day! I will be... thanks to the many, many Americans I work with our work is also celebrating July 4th with food and drinks.

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty, than those attending too small a degree of it.

Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Archibald Stuart, Philadelphia (December 23, 1791)

I'd give anything to know what Thomas Jefferson would think of George W. Bush. ANYTHING! Wouldn't that be a delicious exchanges of letters... Jefferson versus Bush... if only.

There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.

President Clinton's first inaugural address, Jan. 20, 1993

True, too true. For all my current dislike for the current administration, I still cannot pretend my love of the country and it's ideals has ever been diminished. If only America would throw off those relics of the eighties, the Evangelists, then it might return to it's glorious post as the leading nation of the free world.

Why I Love The Bilerico Project

Some time ago I started reading the Bilerico Project (I think one Scott-O-Rama first brought my attention to it). And I have found it intensely interesting. This week it reaches it's first birthday and I thought I'd just put a shout out to it, and spread the word a little.

This is a gay current affairs blog with a difference. Sadly it is very USA centric, but as I find the USA endlessly diverting this doesn't put me off. It obviously deals with the big queer news out there but what it does that is slightly different is it also reports on queer news often overlooked especially from the perspective of the black LGBT community in America. This is just something I don't hear that much about and I've found it fascinating. On top of that, it is a group blog so it offers many different views and perspectives.

If you haven't checked it out, and have an interest in America, I encourage you to do so.

A Terrible Crime

On Sunday, just down the road from my own home, two students were brutally murdered. After being stabbed in what must have been a horrific frenzy (the student whose flat it was was found with 196 stab wounds) the flat was set alight.

These two men had been studying here in this country but met a truly disturbing fate. I just hope that whoever did this is caught, and soon. Anyone capable of that sort of violence is a danger to us all.

The sheer amount of violence used in this incident makes me think that it was not random, but some form of crime of passion (be that love or just plain hatred). Hopefully this might allow the police to quickly follow the clues and capture the monster.

I do not wish to imagine what the two men's parents went through when they had to identify them. Just for that the perpetrator(s) deserve a lifetime in jail.

The Top Ten Places I Would Visit If Money Was Not An Option

Of course I don't have that much money, especially not at the moment, and all the money I do have will be going towards my next Thailand trip. But we can but dream...

So in no particular order....

1. Białowieża Forest, Poland. I did not enjoy Poland and really do not feel much inclined to visit the place again. However... This forest is the last remaining part of the forests that once spread across Europe, including Great Britain, before we cut them all down to make way for "progress". I may not be pagan any more but I have no doubt this is one place where it would be hard not to worship nature.

The World Without Us (the book that drew my attention to this amazing place) says this place is evocative of the Brothers Grimm. Count me in!

2. Angkor Wat. Hardly original but it does look truly amazing. How could I not wish to visit this amazing temple complex?

3. The Amazon Rainforest. My Mum has always said there would be nothing that would make me happier than to bob along the Amazon river in a dinghy cataloging the wildlife. This shows just how well she knows me. Nothing would make me happier. I wish to see this place so much but know that i) it'll probably be gone by the time I make it there and ii) it won't live up to my expectations as I'll probably be surrounded by stupid tourists who wouldn't even begin to comprehend the true majesty of that place. I know that sounds pompous but you know what I mean! We've all met those tourists... Jim and I like to take pictures and videos of them now, for later amusement.

4. Darwin, Australia. Weird one this. I just want to go here, no real reason. Oh, who am I kidding... I WANT TO SEE SALTWATER CROCODILES!!! Plus there's some amazing natural parks around it. And then I can jet over to the Great Barrier Reef and go "oooo...."

5. Kenya. I've never been to Africa and I think Kenya would be a great first (only) visit. It has plenty of big game (imagine me with a big rifle and a hunting cap. Then imagine me hunting big game... hunters. Nothing would make me happier than to have some stuffed rich, old white man's head on my wall), and plenty of history.

Mmm... Jim, me and the open plains of the Savanna... and a jeep... and a ranger (preferably big, tall and handsome)... bliss.

6. Maine, USA. So you might accuse me of being too big a Stephen King fan. BUT... I have wanted to visit Maine for a long time. Eat some good lobster, drive around the beautiful countryside... oh and hang around outside Stephen King's house and scream like a little girl.

7. Costa Rica. Did I read "Jurassic Park" too many times as a youth? Of course! Costa Rica is a rare thing... a stable democracy in South America, which also happens to be one of the most spectacularly beautiful places on Earth. 5% of the worlds biodiversity is squeezed into 0.1% of the world's surface. Amazing.

8. Pitcairn Islands. One of the last bastions of the British Empire, in the middle of the Pacific... full of history (the few inhabitants are descendants of the HMS Bounty mutineers!) and just plain interesting. Let's go now!

9. The middle of nowhere. I imagine it is somewhere in some North American forest. No one for miles. Just me. I couldn't live there forever, but just a couple of days with no distractions. Bliss. Also: grizzly bears, bigfoot and moose would be encouraged to make an appearance (Grizzlies at a distant and bigfoot in the day time please...)

10. Charles Dera's bedroom.

What are your top 10 choices?

Oh No...

Are we going to get news stories every time the HMS Iron Duke changes course, holds a party or seizes drugs from no on? Please say it's not true! I am a self declared royalist and it hurts me to suggest that there should be less pictures of Prince "Yummy" William but... let's not turn this into just another boring celebrity chase. Let the men and women of the Iron Duke get on with their jobs in peace and quiet.

Anyway... there's a far more good looking, former Iron Duke sailor I know, who deserves more attention. Step forward... Jim!

Watching Commander In Chief

Just trying to pick up a few tips for my campaign ;)

But reminds me how much I miss Matt Lanter.

Why are people surprised that Barack Obama would support faith based initiatives? He has made his Christian faith quite clear, and it makes sense for him to believe that these initiatives would be a good thing. It's one reason why I personally didn't see him as the best choice for candidate for President. Too religious. But he's the best America's got now Hillary Clinton is out of the running.

Christian Americans continue their attack on state's rights and personal freedom. The fight against gay marriage can only be framed as a religious one. There is no sensible, secular reason for wishing to ban it. Which brings me to Jae's (rather long) quote of the dsay from President John Tyler, the 10th President of the United States of America.

The United States has adventured upon a great and noble experiment, which is believed to have been hazarded in the absence of all previous precedent — that of total separation of Church and State. No religious establishment by law exists among us. The conscience is left free from all restraint and each is permitted to worship his Maker after his own judgment. The offices of the Government are open alike to all. No tithes are levied to support an established Hierarchy, nor is the fallible judgment of man set up as the sure and infallible creed of faith. The Mohammedan, if he will to come among us would have the privilege guaranteed to him by the Constitution to worship according to the Koran; and the East Indian might erect a shrine to Brahma if it so pleased him. Such is the spirit of toleration inculcated by our political institutions… The Hebrew persecuted and down trodden in other regions takes up his abode among us with none to make him afraid… and the Aegis of the government is over him to defend and protect him. Such is the great experiment which we have tried, and such are the happy fruits which have resulted from it; our system of free government would be imperfect without it.

President John Tyler was a man of honour it would seem. Our world needs more of them.

I Have An Important Announcement (See Video)

A Slow News Day?

Sometimes you have got to wonder how journalists earn their keep (thankfully as a blog I can put out any old shite, but you'd expect them to have some standards!). For instance this "story" written by Peter Beaumont for the Observer. Here he suggests that the recent pictures of an Amazonian tribe were some sort of set up. Well they were. As my post suggested these pictures were put out by the Brazilian Government with the intention of proving a known tribes existence (something denied by loggers and other Governments) and helping raise awareness for their plight. It's a marketing ploy used with good intent!

Mr Beaumont suggests in his article that people were suggesting that this was an undiscovered tribe. I saw this suggestion NOWHERE. Not even in the article his article links to!! Now this could of course have all been an innocent mistake but it unleashed a torrent of "hoax" stories. This undermines the work of the Brazilian Government and Survival International.

To make matters worse Mr Beaumont has now threatened to sue Survival International because they are quite rightly denying wrongdoing. Sheesh... some people. I'd expect better of the Observer. Does he really think that it's such a jump from his news story to the word "hoax" used by even less reputable journalists? He may not have suggested it was a hoax but he does send the reader off down that train of thought.

And what is it with people suing all the time?? It's such a sign of weakness.

Oh P.S. his actual point would have been better if it was clearly "Why did they choose to disturb the tribe?" (an interesting moral issue, and something he gives just a paragraph to) rather than "Shucks they lied" (when in fact they did not mislead at all, it's just he misinterpreted the press releases).

Best Of The Blogs: Today

Ignoring comparisons with a British TV Series I'm looking forward to "All Creatures Great And Small"

I love hypocrites!!!

Oh noes!!!!!!!! This is so funny your jaw will break.

Jae has found husband number 523. Jae believes polygamy is not such a bad thing...

Thai + Navy = Squeeeeeee!

Thai actor 'Por' Thrisadee Sahawong (ปอ ทฤษฎี สหวงษ์) plays a naval commander in a Channel 3 soap opera, Poo Kan Reua Rae (ผู้การเรือเร่).

Yoinked from Bangkok Of The Mind