I am becoming fascinated by the BBC's replacement for the horribly dry dispatch box (late night politics programme for the pointy headed). the daily politics (even if inexplicably not daily) is an improvement not least because, despite imprisoning the presenters in an awful set with sick making graphics and a lime green sofa precisely calculated to give the maximum discomfort and least flattering aspect, it features Dianne Abbott and Micheal Portillo. Abbott and Portillo already sounds like a comedy double act, but their similarity to Richard and Judy is much stronger, down to the adoring yet exasperated gaze Abbot trains on her sofa mate.
Amazon has for a while now been suggesting some frankly psychotic reading matter for me (cf my Tivo thinks I’m gay). I fence and of course read about fencing, and on the basis of this reading I am offered such delights as Put 'em Down, Take 'em Out!: Knife Fighting Techniques from Folsom Prison and Cheap Shots, Ambushes and Other Manoeuvres .eventually of course I purchase something, albeit from the historical rather than prison violence side, and English Martial Arts is proving an Intriguing read. it posits the existence of a complete organised system of martial arts, much in the more familiar model of oriental systems (though without the explicitly spiritual dimension they possess), with four levels from scholar to master progression between which is made by virtue of a 'prize'. This prize is an examination fight rather than a purse and is mentioned in accounts up until the late 18th century.
lovely thing sent me by priya http://www.trevorvanmeter.com/flyguy/
reading the side bar on this page it seems the titles are much more interesting than the entries, maybe i should just write titles.
about the walkers attacking jockeys todays argus boasts "tearaway told to behave".
on the way to work: board for the local rag "sussex walkers attack jockey", on the back of a car "keep your distance but stay close to god"
http://www.yayhooray.com/thread.php?id=2484, ready.gov (the fear of attack US gov site) can clearly be rearranged for any story.
"Stand up and fight back against those file cabinets, you cube-dwelling bitch. "
Beloved has purchased Italio Calvino's Our Ancestors, this is of course fantastic news, Calvino is a peerless writer. But alongside the pleasure of a friend discovering a favorite book is a certain jelousy that I too cannot read this book for the first time again.
mental note: invent machine capable of wiping memory of the end of stories.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin//radio4/today/listen/audiosearch.pl?ProgID=1044956954
American senator feels the french are unimportant because they don't possess an aircraft carrier but would be useful for advising the Iraqis on surrender.
emailed response http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/inside/emailoftheday/emailoftheday.shtml
Fake parking tickets are being left under the wipers of SUVs across the country, raising both drivers' blood pressure and consciousness. In Brooklyn, the NYPD, a.k.a. the New York Pranks Division, is citing drivers for violations such as "Increasing U.S. reliance on foreign oil," "Contributing to childhood asthma," "Holing self up in two-ton metal fortress," and "Compensating for lack of manhood." The penalties range from a slap on the wrist -- "SUV must be used for carpools only" -- to the draconian "Blow yourself up (please)."
http://stayfreemagazine.org/suv/