Sometimes, I find the web addictive. I should be doing something else. I want to talk about this but I’ll let Metafilter do the job. Saves me typing on a Saturday (for those who don’t want to click: The World Summit on Sustainable Development, aka “Earth Summit II,” will start soon in Johannesburg, ten years after the Rio Earth Summit. Have things improved at all in the last ten years? [Metafilter].

On this day…

2005: Boston Legal
2004: Flash Floods
2004: Should I Mention The Olympics?
2003: Great Yarmouth
2003: Stag

If you believe the old-timers then the nation is becoming stupid. Perhaps not actually the nation but then a good proportion of the people are less intelligent than their counterparts in previous generations. Every media is dumbing down because we are all too thick to understand long words. Well, thank goodness for yesterday’s Observer (second reference to it in a row). Euan Ferguson argues that this is not the case. We are intelligent again!

On this day…

2007: Better In Just 14 Days
2005: By Ek
2004: Save A Pop Idol
2004: Open House 2004
2004: Back Ache Update
2003: Oh Canada II

Jonathan Fenby wrote an excellent piece in today’s Observer (which thankfully I have found online and can link to) about the state of the British capital? I admit that I hoped Ken would help sort some of the mess this city is in. An integrated public transport system, clean and safer streets etc. I bought into the whole idea of new vision for London. But, as Fenby writes, “The snag is the man who should be providing it shows himself better at getting elected mayor than giving his city a new start.” Perhaps it is too much to hope that one man could change the attitudes of the society in this city. Many people just accept the way it is and perhaps, if most people are OK with the state of London, then this is the way it should be.

I know that I am talking very generally. What should I add to The Observer piece? London transport is over-crowded, dirty and smelly. When it runs it’s acceptable but when it doesn’t run then the whole system falls apart. Last week’s rain brought large chunks of the system to a halt. Rain, for goodness sake, it’s the one thing we know we are going to get here. Yesterday, I was stood on the Northern Line and there “there is no service” announcements must have gone on for ten minutes.

Ah, and I survived the party quite well – although I did feel a little rough this morning. It didn’t finish until gone two in the morning and ended with us watching old episodes of The Tube. Perhaps I should have left earlier.

On this day…

2005: 7 Million Londoners, 1 London
2004: Viva Owen?
2003: Wonderful Weekend

While we appear to be on the verge of more war in the world, the good folks at today’s Daypop news point us to The Guardian:

Today is Hiroshima Day, the anniversary of the first use of a bomb so powerful that it would come to threaten the existence of the human race. Only two such devices have ever been used, but now, a decade after the end of the cold war, the world faces new dangers of nuclear attack – from India, Pakistan, Iraq, al-Qaida, and even the US. Launching a special investigation into nuclear weapons, Paul Tibbets, the man who piloted the Enola Gay on its mission to Japan, tells Studs Terkel why he has no regrets – and why he wouldn’t hesitate to use it again

[Guardian]

Did you know that today is Hiroshima Day? It seems to have missed me. I think this is something we should all be thinking about at this time.

On this day…

2006: Dropped at 0815
2006: A Glass Pyramid
2004: Doesn’t Time Fly?
2003: Things To Say
2003: Five Live and Weblogs

What does the world think of homosexuality then? It’s a crazy mixed-up place. Earlier this week, we had a sitting Conservative MP tell the world that he is gay. This, on top of the fact that the Tories also seem to be supporting the bill on gay marriage [previous comments on this subject]. It’s about time the Conservatives accepted that there are gay men and women in their rank and file. It’s just a shame it’s taken so long for one of them to publicly stand up and say so (mind you, it’s also a shame they have to say so). Still Hugo Young makes the most sense on the subject. Then we have a TV programme playing the camp-card for comedy – I know this is going to be unpleasant (Corrie’s Les Battersby to claim he’s gay). Lots of gay visability then. So why does the church continue live in another place on the subject? Catholics should boycott gay commitment ceremonies, is the new message. What is a boy to think these days?

Hugo Young in The Guardian:
Almost everything you need to know about the Tory party is encapsulated in the revelation that Alan Duncan is gay. A banal detail is elevated into first place in the news. A dreary social commonplace is treated by both the party and the media on a par with the discovery that the Pope has a secret wife. How much further behind the curve can an organisation get than feeling obliged to declare its 21st-century relevance by means of this amazing item? How devoid of content does a party have to be if the best way it can think of proving its openness, its revolutionary departure from type, is by showing its tolerance for Alan Duncan being gay?

On this day…

2006: Another Airport Again
2002: Seven Wonders

More unease about war plans – Iraq attack plans alarm top military [Guardian]. It’s all made me think how little I really understand a) the politics of the middle east and b) the culture of the middle east. Then again, everyday I realise how little I know about the culture and politics of my own country.

In random wanderings, these caught my eye on Metafilter today: America’s CEOs aren’t greedy enough [Philly.com] and Vanguard Airlines intends to file for protection under Chapter 11. Imagine having your termination notice posted on a web site!

On this day…

2003: Gay Marriage

Continue reading →

I keep hearing that tension is mounting and we’re heading for some kind of war with Iraq. The West, apparently, wants rid of Saddam. The thing that concerns me most is that I have not heard or seen any evidence so show that it is right for The West to start throwing their weight around in that part of the world again. It is always suggested that we should fear this man (and maybe we should) but can somebody please tell me why we are doing this? Reason would tell me there is some terrorist threat. President Bush is going after the terrorists in every country. I would like to believe we have some sound arguments (and, of course, some evidence) for any attack. In a democracy, aren’t we supposed to know why our leaders may send fellow citizens to war?

Apparently, the church even think it’s immoral. However, as they don’t appear to have any more of a clue than I do what all this is about, how can they say that?

The anti-Iraqi messages coming from The West (and most importantly, from The White House) reminds The San Francisco Chronicle of Orwell’s 1984. While everybody with a weblog on this planet may be linking to this article at the moment, it’s not going to stop me from pointing you in that direction too.

On this day…

2004: It’s Getting Warm In London
2003: Business Like Apples
2003: Dannii Minogue ‘invents new dance’

As if you didn’t know: Kate won Big Brother 3. Johnny was second, Alex third and Jade forth. Once again this year I started off with very little interest but, as time went on, it became more interesting. For the past two years, the same thing has annoyed me. How come some of the contestants (for it is a game show) seem so ignorant of what the whole thing is about. If they have never watched it they can’t fail to have seen some of the media coverage. They must know what it is all about. But no, they moan about the whole concept and how bad Big Brother is. Why? [BB3]

On this day…

2003: Pride

I may not agree with everything our delightful new Mayor does but I have to say that I think the London Assembly building, which was opened by The Queen yesterday, is a stunning building. I am pleased to see that, in this age of taller, squarer buildings, we (occasionally) still strive to build something that is visually stunning. Now all I have to do is get down there and see it with my own eyes.

On this day…

2005: Button On The Podium
2003: Home again

Don’t you just love Canada? I do. “Canada took a major step toward legally recognizing same-sex marriage on Friday when an Ontario court ruled that to do otherwise is unconstitutional”. I believe that this is a positive step forward. [other thoughts]

Unrelated but when will these guys start shipping to the UK?

On this day…

2007: Anything You Can Do
2002: Fix My Car
2002: Running Shoes