I do not breathe your politics

"Comment is free but facts are sacred." (C.P. Scott)
Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Killing in the name of sport

Fishing, to be precise. I'm sorry, I know fishing is cool again, but really. Cormorants are 'unwelcome competition'? Why don't you pick a game they can't beat you at. Gin Rummy, for instance.

posted by Michael at 8/31/2005 02:42:00 AM 0 comments  

Monday, August 29, 2005

How entirely appropriate

According to the often unintentionally amusing Xinhua:
"I'm very optimistic about Iraq because, first of all, I believe, deep in everybody's soul, is the desire to be free," Bush said in a brief trip in El Mirage, Arizona. Bush downplayed rifts over the draft constitution, which was togo to Iraqi voters despite being rejected by representatives of the minority Sunni Arab community in the country. "Instead of using guns to decide the fate of the future, Iraqisfrom all aspects of their society came together and wrote a constitution. This constitution is one that honors women's rights and freedom of religion.
El Mirage indeed. These would be women's rights not to be treated equally, and freedom to be a muslim in an islamic state?

posted by Michael at 8/29/2005 09:17:00 PM 0 comments  

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Songs in the key of leave it alone

More bandstand blues: there is a band playing there at the moment, and the noise of a very, very bad cover of Hey Joe is floating over to my window. I want to shout: guys, guys, not even Hendrix wanted to play this song, and he owns it. Leave it alone. The bass player seems to know what he's doing (which is essential on a song like Hey Joe - it's the bass player who controls the pace of that song), but that's about it. Next up: a 'cover' of Sunshine Of Your Love. The vocalist is too shouty for stuff like this (and the guitarist stayed well away from the blue-moon-esque guitar solo in the middle). I predict at least one of the following songs before they end their set:
  • Smoke On The Water
  • Stairway To Heaven
  • No Woman, No Cry
(Every rock band wants to try at least one reggae song).

posted by Michael at 8/27/2005 06:00:00 PM 0 comments  

Monday, August 22, 2005

Gibson swung it?

At the bottom of this BBC page it says that the next Catholic 'World Youth Day' will be held in Sydney, Australia. Why do I care, you ask? I'm not a Catholic. Well, it's because of this stunning example of cheap crassness:
Gibson's staging of the Stations of the Cross, a live interpretation of Christ's final hours, would be part of a bid by the city to secure the Catholic Church's World Youth Day in 2008, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Saturday.
So did Mel swing it for Sydney? I'm reminded of a short story I once read, I believe called "Let's Go To Golgotha!" by Gary Kilworth - thanks Google - about a family who took a time travel tour to see the crucifixion. We can't do time travel, but we can recreate a bloody spectacle of martyrdom with the help of state of the art special effects, in order to win a bid to host a conference of young religious people that will be of huge economic importance to an already thriving city. It's the Olympics of tastelessness. Pay no attention to the chain-smoking australian actor behind the curtain.

posted by Michael at 8/22/2005 01:39:00 AM 0 comments  

What reality is up against

Check this out. A Washington Post article: War Backers Set Up Camp Near Bush Ranch. Basically a bunch of Bush supporters have decided to set up a counter-demonstration against Cindy Sheehan's 'Camp Casey' peace camp. (What on earth are they shouting when the Bush motorcade drives past? "We want war! We want war!" ?) It's a camp named after a soldier who died in the war. His father seems to have decided that his son's death was a good death:
"If I have to sacrifice my whole family for the sake of our country and world, other countries that want freedom, I'll do that," said the soldier's father, Gary Qualls, a friend of the local business owner who started the pro-Bush camp. He said his 16-year-old son now wants to enlist, and he supports that decision.
So that's hellfire Old Testament fanaticism for you. If he has to sacrifice his whole family, he'll do so. It's up to him, apparently. Note how this quote did not begin:
"If I have to sacrifice myself for the sake of our country..."
No, not him. He's too busy with, you know, stuff. And besides, he's too old to die for the country. It doesn't want mutton, only lamb. It occurs to me that this war is surviving so long - despite abundant evidence that it should not - precisely because there is no draft. There's no chance that the children of the neocons will be forced to fight. Extreme views like those of this 'father' are rare. You couldn't carry this war on a majority if parents had to vote to spill their children's blood. I've long held the view that people who wish the return of the death penalty should be denied the right to vote in secret for it. If there is ever a vote, they need to tick a little box that says "I will press the button, wield the axe, pull the trap door lever, or whatever the state requires in an execution, if I am asked to do so". If voters had to support executions with action, the state wouldn't get a majority. The same is true here. If you want the war to continue, sign up. You may be too old to fight, but are you too old to work an admin job in a US outpost near Fallujia? Or maybe drive supply runs to Baghdad. After all, that's not even fighting, is it. It's just driving. Driving supplies in a country that can't wait to be a constitutional democracy. And that insurgency? Don't worry, it's in its last throes. You won't need so much as an armoured vehicle. Hell, the logistics guys have been getting on just fine without armoured vehicles.

posted by Michael at 8/22/2005 12:22:00 AM 1 comments  

Friday, August 19, 2005

Mo Mowlam, RIP

So, another of the handful of truly inspirational politicians is gone, and in this case I seem to feel particularly gutted. I've spent a bit of the day reading and listening to witty and touching tributes to this brilliant and ever so slightly bonkers woman, including the lovely BBC obituary coverage, which was less rushed than that for poor Robin Cook, and was definitely framed as a fond farewell to "The Minister For The Today Programme". The generally odious Jeffrey Donaldson (DUP) dropped a considerable hint that it wasn't the fact that she was a woman that secured her untimely and foolish boot from the northern ireland office. "She wasn't like any man, or any other woman". He seemed slightly embarrassed to be asked about it, but it seemed to me that she got the boot because she wasn't above telling an assortment of entrenched and uncooperative career bigots and ex-paramilitaries where to go, or how to go about going, when the situation merited it. Nevertheless he seemed saddened by news of her death. A clip from George Mitchell, the American ex-senator who oversaw the peace process, and strikes me as quite a serious fellow, saw him wearing an expression of childlike amusement at memories of some of her wig-related diplomatic escapades. And then there was the peculiar food-misappropriation undertone to some of these tributes. An uncharacteristically humble Peter Hain said she was the sort of person who would "sit down next to you and nick a chip off your plate". Vera Baird, the colourful character who replaced her as MP for Redcar, said she was like everyone's big sister, "always taking your packet of crisps and offering them around". And then from the BBC news tribute page, this:
During the sit down meal she ignored protocol (and her seat at the top table) and wandered around giving every person at the ceremony a piece of her time, in return for a piece of food of their plate.
RIP Mo Mowlam, warm, funny, brave, and decent human being (and scandalous food pirate).

posted by Michael at 8/19/2005 06:01:00 PM 0 comments  

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

A quick snap

I don't seem to be able to sleep, so I am blogging. I can't really think of anything to type here at the moment, so here's a photo instead. This was taken last year. (I've only just got round to scanning it).

autumn light
Dull technical details you probably aren't interested in: Nikon F80, 28-100G lens, Fuji Provia 100F transparency film. Camera supported by handy nearby tree. Idle conjecture I'm not going to attempt to justify with science: digital SLRs (much as I love my S2) just don't seem to do this glowy stuff quite so well. When shooting with transparency film I seem to gravitate in a McLuhanesque fashion towards translucency and filtered light; there's something about holding the result up to uneven window light afterwards that makes the subjects more attractive. Transparencies have a magical quality. The slide is both the recording medium and the final product; it was there with you in a way that a print of any kind was not. For some reason, more of that quality makes it onto a computer screen from scanning a slide than if you just capture it digitally in the first place. If I thought this was going to be the last time I went on the light-through-leaves goosechase, this would be a fairly good point to end on. This and the half-dozen others on the roll, that is.

posted by Michael at 8/17/2005 02:54:00 AM 0 comments  

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Awww, bless (2)

This time, it's the cutesy-wutesy police, rescuing a baby (soft toy) tiger from a motorway central reservation. Well, it was hardly going to be able to get to safety by itself, was it? I think that's kind of sweet. Yeah yeah, I know. Mushy-brained Mike. Sue me.

posted by Michael at 8/14/2005 05:58:00 PM 1 comments  

Saturday, August 13, 2005

Awww, bless (the clever little tykes)

According to the BBC's 'Ten Things':
4. One in six children think that broccoli is a baby tree.
Which brings to mind my principled objection to Brussels Sprouts: It's just plain wrong to take a cabbage that young. Try it, folks. Sometimes they don't realise you're kidding.

posted by Michael at 8/13/2005 03:42:00 AM 0 comments  

Friday, August 12, 2005

"That which brings the highest happiness"

Just when I was beginning to think that no one wanted me to be happy, I finally got the Gouranga email. I've seen this mentioned over the years but never received it. I thought there was some sort of Hare Krisna blacklist or something like that, but no. Turns out there's probably just a really long waiting list.

posted by Michael at 8/12/2005 06:13:00 PM 0 comments  

Now THIS is blogging

This man was truly a master of understatement:
We've been lucky here on the whole. Boredom, squalor, and hunger and a horrible feeling of uncertainty all along. Except for some sickness and some very bad incidents life hasn't been too bad. It was the uncertainty that was the worst of all, I think.
Then later:
The Admiral was in here in the evening and told us that everything would be done to hurry things up. But it looks very like India or Australia for a while. A large proportion of prisoners form Burma died of heart failure due to sea-sickness on their way home, so they are going to be pretty careful with us.
My favourite part is:
I'll be like a dog with 50 tails and whole lot of juicy bones as well. By the way we must get another dog - a waggy fellow with huge paws.
When you think of letters written from husbands to wives sixty years ago, this kind of touching chatter never seems to spring to mind.

posted by Michael at 8/12/2005 03:21:00 PM 0 comments  

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Portrait of the political landscape as a young schism

I just found this photo, and it reminded me of how crystal clear it all seemed on that viciously cold day. I don't really feel any different today, except a whole lot angrier.

posted by Michael at 8/11/2005 10:00:00 PM 0 comments  

Shock news: worldwide run on contempt

So, on the 12th of September 2001, how many of us thought that the day before would be commemorated with a country music concert within five years? Oh, OK, most of you, then. Funnily enough I never imagined they would stoop this low. I really need to work on my faith in human nature. It's completely overinflated. Update: this makes me feel more sick than I have felt in years. It is utterly and contemptibly shameless. Break it down into its constituent parts, and you get:
  • The Pentagon organising public events and marches to support the government.
  • A deliberate attempt to conflate 9/11 and Iraq, again, in the face of overwhelming evidence against a link
  • A desperate grab at public opinion - they may well support their soldiers, who are dying daily, but they want the war over
  • A shameless appeal to Jesusland the Republican heartland, from an arm of government: Country music
There really is only one word for this: prolefeed. "America Supports You Freedom March". Just who is that message aimed at? Soldiers, or the President?

posted by Michael at 8/11/2005 12:54:00 AM 2 comments  

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

... AND an expletive?

Personally, I think this guy was probably arrested for over-egging the pudding. The name of the current President of the USA invokes quite enough disgust, without having to add an expletive.

posted by Michael at 8/10/2005 10:10:00 PM 0 comments  

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Dear Persil...

Can you please make the little washball thing: a) less bouncy b) less round I tugged a load of washing out of the washer-dryer, and the ball jumped out, bounced off the cooker, and then hid somewhere behind the deathless line of white goods. $#@*!

posted by Michael at 8/07/2005 01:14:00 AM 0 comments  

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Somebody stop me

For I am again browsing eBay for Russian cameras. It will all end in amusement.

posted by Michael at 8/06/2005 10:52:00 PM 0 comments  

How Mr Blair could honour Mr Cook

If I had any influence over anyone (ignore the fact that I don't even seem to have influence over my squashy stomach for a moment), here's how I'd urge Mr Blair to honour the memory of Robin Cook: Mr Blair, read the papers. Look at the Iraqi civilian casualty count. Look at the British and American troop casualties. Look at the situation in Basra, where the only authorities on the street that people listen to are Ali Al Sistani and Moqtada Al-Sadr. Look at the number and frequency of suicide bombings killing Iraqi civilians, the emerging threat to us at home, and hear Jack Straw's admission that we're part of the problem in Iraq. Watch the obituary footage in the news about Mr Cook, over and over again, and share our sadness. And admit it. Admit it, Tony, when you call him a great parliamentarian and praise his insight. Robin Cook told you so. He stood up in Parliament, he told you it was a mistake, he quit his job on principle, and he got a most unparliamentary round of applause for it. Admit it, and do something about fixing it. Or you might be left holding the war. It's all about elections, you see. You won yours, but you can only lose the 2006 US Senate and Congressional elections, because you aren't standing. Honour Robin Cook's common sense and insight. Get us out of Iraq in a sensible and orderly fashion. (Of course, Tony Blair is even more intransigent than my belly, so I'm not holding out hope.)

posted by Michael at 8/06/2005 09:11:00 PM 1 comments  

Friday, August 05, 2005

Gobsmacked (in an unsurprised way)

According to C|Net, the new US ambassador to the EU is a longtime defender of Microsoft. Note that he's not ambassador to an EU country, or a trade representative, or anything like that. Ambassador to the EU itself. The entirety of the US diplomatic connection to the EU is being handed to a man who thinks Microsoft did no wrong. Never let it be said that they won't send a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

posted by Michael at 8/05/2005 03:48:00 PM 0 comments  

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Grim news shocks european country

To: Editorial staff From: website QA team Subject: 'shocks' headlines All, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4740073.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4737641.stm I realise that these are newsworthy examples of why we're better than Europeans (we did all this dead babies stuff AGES ago), but in neither case do you actually interview the entire country concerned to find out its view. In fact, in each case you only talk to government ministers or the odd local. If you have, in fact, interviewed the entire country but it doesn't wish to go on the record, please put "A european country close to the scandal, speaking on condition of anonymity". Otherwise it just looks like lazy reporting. I have contacted the technical team responsible for the headline generator, and provided them with suitable synonyms for 'shocked'. I have also suggested new headline formats for use with 'Eww, Europe' stories. Thanks, The QA Team

posted by Michael at 8/02/2005 11:46:00 PM 0 comments  

Here he comes to save the day!

Blimey. A three-button no-button mouse, to replace the one-button no-button mouse. Now, what was that about a big screen version of Mighty Mouse? Update: the squeeze sensors aren't quite as cool as they could be, but still - it might tempt me away from the three button wheelmouse on my wacom tablet.

posted by Michael at 8/02/2005 04:20:00 PM 0 comments  

Knole in black and white

I figured I'd post a couple more photos from the roll of film with the bandstand photos on. Some of you have seen these, already; if not, enjoy.
I still consider myself to be a less than natural black and white photographer. I find the visualisation aspect particularly tricky - 'seeing' in black and white is a learned skill. (Next time you look at a coloured object, try to determine which of two different colours is the 'darker' if viewed in black and white - reds and greens I find particularly tricky). There is no really easy way to solve this problem. Some photographers use a red/orange/yellow filter for creative black and white effects (for instance, they darken blue skies relative to white clouds). Yellow is the least intense effect, but some photographers leave the yellow filter on because it helps them perceive the image as it might appear in black and white. This doesn't really work for me. Other photographers swear by the Wratten #90 filter, which is for looking through, not photographing through. If you glance at a scene through the filter, the relative strengths of the colours are diminished to the point where it becomes easier to see the image as it might be in black and white. Look for too long and your brain compensates, to the extent that the visualisation becomes useless. Clever things, brains.

posted by Michael at 8/02/2005 01:17:00 AM 0 comments  

Monday, August 01, 2005

Tom Waits for no man...

he's right out there on his own, on the surreal frontier. A very funny (short) David Letterman interview from some time back had me chuckling, having just found it today. It's from the promotion he did for Real Gone, but I get the impression that music is only part of why he's a repeat guest. If you're a fan of his music, or of alternative stuff in general, his live performance on the same show of Make It Rain is well worth a watch.

posted by Michael at 8/01/2005 12:53:00 AM 0 comments