Steve's random and often belligerent Journal [entries|archive|friends|userinfo]
Uncle Steve

[ userinfo | livejournal userinfo ]
[ archive | journal archive ]

Links
[Links:| [Unconsidered Trifles] [Post a Secret] [The Independent] [BBC News] [Guardian] [BBC photos page] [Cat Town] [Get Human] [The Slant] [The Onion] ]
[Best:| [The Greatest Fantasy Novel Ever Written, etext] [CD: 'Has Been'] [Patricia McKillip] ]
[Food:| [RealGoodTaste Blog] [cocoa-loco] [Artisanduchocolat] ]
[Charity:| [The UK Wolf Conservation Trust] [London Wildlife Trust] [sweet-charity.net] ]
[Misc:| [Why you should support Tibet] [The only link to 'Celtic' history/myth you need] [Chambers' Book of Days] [Awesome online board games shop from Canada] [BookMooch] [Maelstrom forums] [Interregnum forums] ]
[My Pages:| [Flickr] [Facebook] ]
[Wishlist:| [MY WISHLIST!] ]

(no subject) [Jul. 7th, 2009|10:39 pm]
[Tags|, , , ]

Today is the anniversary of the 7/7 London Bombings, and as Jennie points out, the fact most of you hadn't even realised that is the best outcome of all.

Good. It's a shame our own politicians had to milk it (and everything else whether it technically existed or not) in order to reduce our civil liberties, but obscurity is an excellent fate for "Britain's 9/11".

And yeah, I suppose I'm reminding people by writing this post, which would seem to be against the point, but it's worth celebrating the victories when we find them. The fact that almost no-one cares about "7/7" is a big victory against the morons and manipulators who seek to make us see the world as "us and them", and inventing phrases like the "Axis of Evil".

So let's keep Not Doing That. Good work, all.
Link7 comments|Leave a comment

(no subject) [Jun. 30th, 2009|10:58 am]
[Tags|, , , , , ]

Great Cory Doctrow article on CCTV and why it
a) won't work, and
b) breaks the social contract,

now with added photos as part of the SoFoBoMo project.

"SoFoBoMo is short for Solo Photo Book Month - a group event where a bunch of photographers all make solo photo books start to finish, in 31 days, at more or less the same time. It's modeled loosely on NaNoWriMo, where participating writers all write novels in a month..."

More finished photo books at this link.

This is one particularly good: Vistagraphs being an attempt to create something nearer to what the human eye sees (a stream of images) than a single fixed-depth normal camera shot. And I'm a sucker for landscapes.

(I suspect [info]alasdair is going to like this post, but everyone should check out the SoFoBoMo site, it's fab.)
Link4 comments|Leave a comment

Passing Crowds 2 [Apr. 25th, 2009|11:03 pm]
[Tags|, ]


Passing Crowds 2

Photos up on my flickr from today's wandering around London.

LinkLeave a comment

(no subject) [Mar. 2nd, 2009|09:06 am]
[Tags|, ]

Sadly, this is a real and accurate description of the UK right now.
Great piece.
Link5 comments|Leave a comment

Instinct [Jan. 28th, 2009|08:49 am]
[Tags|, , ]

I’m walking along the train station platform at Ware when I realise I’m holding my left elbow an inch higher than normal. And I don’t know why I’m doing it.

Then I look around and see that a man is walking parallel with me, in close. Something’s off – he’s radiating, and too intense. If he pushed or struck out with his hand, I’d need my arm here to block it, and keep my weight away from the edge of the platform. I’d need to be able to put my hand back a bit more than usual, like I can now.

I’m going into London, but there’s no reason for me to be this alert. I’ve had more trouble in central London in the past five years than anywhere (and far more than my friends, if conversation is anything to go by) but I didn’t think I was paranoid about it.

I’ve had instinct come in handy a few times. I don’t know how much of it is habit from martial arts, or living-in-london common sense. There is a test for one of the Dan grades in Bujinkan Ninjutsu which involves you kneeling on the floor while your Sensei attempts to split your skull open from behind with a bokken. (A wooden sword. No, that’s not a soft option, they’re usually made out of solid oak). You have to sense it coming, and roll out of the way. If you fail, you get to do it again, depending on the urgency of need for immediate medical attention. It’s about sensing hostile intent.

But I never think about fighting, ever. I’m aware of people around me, but only because I’m bad in crowds – I can’t help but be aware, I have to put a fair amount of effort into just trying to ignore it. Where other people march through a crowd and force it to part, I’ll wait for gaps and go with the flow. I’m not someone who sees trouble everywhere. So why tonight?

Maybe living in Hertfordshire is too relaxing…


The man walking beside me goes from 0-100 instantly, shouting and spitting into his phone.

…Maybe not.


The Central line is full of relaxed and smiling people. Town is as easygoing as I’ve ever seen it. We shop for books on ancient Greek.
LinkLeave a comment

(no subject) [Jan. 15th, 2009|05:42 pm]
[Tags|, , ]

Well now, that's interesting.

I'm stuck in Ware, which is about as remote and hideously uncool a place as it's possible to imagine. So naturally, I want to get out and socialise, so that I don't go gibberingly insane from over-exposure to mundane and unsatisfactory folk.

And yet, for the past three times in a row, I've sat here on a weeknight when there's a perfect social thing on in a pub in London and I find my genuine desire to meet new people is being strongly opposed by the comfort and easy accessibility of lazing around the house instead.

London never used to be "too far to go to", and if anything my chance of going out on a work night AND getting enough sleep is vastly improved. So why am I feeling that the trip into the city is just not worth the hassle? That's crazy talk! Of course it is! And yet somehow, here I am.

I mean okay, it's 2 hours each way. And that means about 3 hours there, before I turn around to start coming back at 10pm. But really.

Am disgusted with myself, but also warm and eating biscuits. That's a draw, right there.
Link12 comments|Leave a comment

(no subject) [Nov. 25th, 2008|10:58 am]
[Tags|, ]

London's Atlas Gallery has an exhibition called FULL MOON (pics behind link), Michael Light's selection of 900 images "from NASA'S library of over 32,000 pictures from the Apollo and Gemini missions".

They're in higher resolution than ever before, and include "Aldrin's boot print", "Earthrise seen for the first time by human eyes" and basically a treasure trove for Moon fans.
Link6 comments|Leave a comment

(no subject) [Nov. 12th, 2008|10:22 am]
[Tags|, , , ]

I like the Queen. Or to be rather, I don’t mind that we have a monarchy. I know we pay for them, and they technically have unelected powers over law, but really – how much is it when compared to what we pay every couple of days for Iraq? And when balanced against the (actually quite enormous) tourism the Royal Family bring in?

Sure, I’d probably be uncomfortable if she ever exercised those rights to veto UK law that had been voted for, but of course she doesn’t.

And every now and then, you get a blinder like this:

At the London School of Economics last week, she stopped a leading economist and asked: "Why did nobody notice (the collapse / recession we’re pretending to call the Credit Crunch)?"

“Aha, ahem, said the director of research, Professor Luis Garicano. He had clearly been briefed to chat about the weather, corgis and perhaps the Grand National. He had certainly not expected an upper cut to the jaw. Monarchs are not supposed to ask leading questions, even when the nation is screaming for an answer.

With his vocation suddenly on trial, the professor stammered, "Someone was relying on somebody else," adding, as if in moral afterthought, "and everyone thought they were doing the right thing."

She gets nothing but sycophancy from her privy counsellors, so why not ask those paid to watch the entrails of the sacred geese, the economists? How had they allowed this monumental screw-up?”


Of course, everyone saw it coming. Especially Brown. Borrowing on credit and then continuing to borrow again and again for… about another 8 years, was only going to end one way. Frantic calls were made at the highest levels (according to some), and ignored.

It feels kinda satisfying to have an leading economist put on the spot by someone he can’t possibly dismiss or bluff. Good on him for admitting everyone was basically useless, greedy and unaccountable. Almost makes me wish for the days when damaging the country and putting the public in jeopardy on this scale was seen as an attack on the Crown, and punished properly. Criminal negligence will do for now, though. Mr Brown?

-----

(Warning to most of my flist: I have some staunch anti-monarchists on here. This could get noisy. Happy Wednesday!)
Link23 comments|Leave a comment

(no subject) [Nov. 11th, 2008|11:04 am]
[Tags|, , , ]

Two minutes silence.



(From yesterday's Independent, copyright Dave Brown.)
Link8 comments|Leave a comment

(no subject) [Nov. 7th, 2008|11:31 am]
[Tags|, ]

I seem to be writing many entries recently which I then don't have the guts to post publicly.

Well, I'm going to put this one out there. It is likely to properly anger people, and I apologise for that now. I am fine with you commenting as fiercely as you want to. I mean no disrespect to servicemen past or present.

This Sunday is Remembrance Sunday in the UK. As usual, we will have a rash of comments on which Newsreader is wearing a Red Poppy and who isn't (or maybe someone wears a white one, or both, in which case things will really kick off.) The poppies are to contribute to The Royal British Legion, which is a charity which supports "the serving and ex-Service community and their dependents."

( Why I won't be wearing a poppy. )

Link38 comments|Leave a comment

(no subject) [Oct. 23rd, 2008|08:37 am]
[Tags|, ]

The non-UK readers might get a kick out of this:

We started to see adverts by The Alpha Course on the side of London buses. (They’re the evangelical Christian organisation who preach that Jesus is the only way to avoid Hell, and that gays can learn not to be gay if they just pray hard enough). Since public advertising is being used for belief, the British Humanist Organisation and various others got together and raised money for their own advert. It’s also going on Buses, and it says:

“There's probably no God.
Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”

They asked for donations online and met their target in record time. So you will see this ad on the side of Buses in the UK fairly soon, if not already.

I can’t think of many other countries in the World where you’d see this.

UPDATE: An article on today's Guardian page by the woman who started the idea.
Link24 comments|Leave a comment

(no subject) [Oct. 15th, 2008|12:10 pm]
[Tags|, , , , , ]

More evidence for Jacqui Smith to get a special award for crapness today:

The UK government wants to build a giant database storing the content of every phone call, email and internet visit made by the British public.

Yes, you read that right. Every single email, text, phone call, and internet site. Stored by default. By the Government.

Problems with this:
(thanks to [info]clytemenstra for details)

1) The UK sends roughly 1 trillion emails, 60 billion texts, and the visits from 20 million broadband connections EVERY DAY.
2) This government is shit at data security.
3) Really shit.
4) They also can't build databases.
5) And they don't have the staff to review them, or the capacity to store them. A growing, stored daily copy of the entire UK internet?
6) And if they did review these emails and phone calls, 90% of the texts would be from teenage girls saying hi to each other, in txtspeak.
7) Good luck with that.
8) It works by having a black box on each provider, which reads and copies everything going through the provider. This just needs one hack.
9) It includes all emailed business information. Ahahaha. When this was pointed out, they clarified that 'of course business traffic would have to be given special treatment in order to maintain confidentiality'.
10) Oh, and there's the whole civil liberties thing about privacy, and such.

In short it's physically impossible, we don't have the manpower or the money, and it still won't stop terrorism. Again.

Jacqui Smith, we salute you. Keep pushing for it, and hopefully when the idea is shot down you will be too.*

*Not literally. Wishing that on Ms Smith would be... er... bad. And she'll probably be able to read this soon anyway. Oh well, at least I get a new tag.
Link30 comments|Leave a comment

(no subject) [Oct. 14th, 2008|09:12 am]
[Tags|, , , , ]

For readers who aren’t into UK politics, there was this law that the Government wanted to bring in. I’ll translate it for you from the complicated legal jargon:

"The police can, at any time, snatch anyone off the street and lock them up. They don’t need evidence. They don’t need to charge the person with anything. They don’t need to let them make a phone call, or give them prisoner rights, because they aren’t charged with any crime. This can go on for 42 days – that’s six weeks.

You could vanish for six weeks, and at the end of it be released without any reason for why you were taken. They would not need to offer proof – that’s what the 42 days of investigation are for. They would just need to suspect you of being involved in terrorist activities, and want some more time to find evidence."

Now, when Blair’s government proposed this, everyone with a brain or any sense of ethics said “Er… no.” It goes against Habeas Corpus, it makes a joke of the foundation of English law and civil liberty. Most importantly, it doesn’t protect us from terrorists. Not one case has been brought where more time investigating would have made a conviction happen, and everyone involved has had to admit it wouldn’t stop a terrorist attack.

And yet, Jacqui Smith (strong candidate for worst Home Secretary in the history of the Universe) repeatedly insisted we need this law to make Britain safe. Even though the police say it won’t do that.

Well, the House of Lords threw it out.

‘Good!’ I hear you cry. Yes, but… there’s this bit at the end. Time for another translation:

"If we wait and try and force it through the House of Lords, everything else in this bill gets held up too. So we’ll put the rest through now, and hold this 42-day idea back. We won’t scrap it despite the overwhelming defeat, we’ll keep it in a bill that can be activated by House of Commons MPs “in the case of an emergency”. We get to decide when an emergency is. And I’d like to see the occasion when we need to hold suspected terrorists for 42 days and we can’t spin it as an ‘emergency’."

You can’t begin to imagine the Parliamentary time and money spent on trying to force this bill through in the past few years. Everyone involved should be fired. It’s not just evil, it’s also useless. A bit like Jacqui Smith.
Link19 comments|Leave a comment

(no subject) [Oct. 4th, 2008|02:45 pm]
[Tags|, , , , ]

So, Gordon Brown (in an attempt to be in any way electable in the next ten years) is reshuffling his cabinet and has brought back - Peter Mandelson! (Who was thrown out twice for sleaze).

Someone (do you really need to know who? Oh, okay, it's Draper) then posts about this on CiF, saying what a good move it is, and how wonderful all involved are.

The comments are a work of art. Honestly, you'll love them. (Although there are several hundred, they all go along the same lines as the first one, and I quote:
"Are you taking the piss?").
Link8 comments|Leave a comment

(no subject) [Oct. 3rd, 2008|07:02 pm]
[Tags|, ]

For anyone not already reading http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk , they have a particularly good piece on London's Borough Market.

"Walking through Borough Market the other day I caught a whiff of something deliciously smoky in the air, and I wondered what rare delicacy it might be. I turned the corner to discover that an Estate Agents was on fire.

Such is the wonder of London’s great food market that even the burning buildings are mouthwatering."

The Market is a real jewel, and as usual just a report of the fantastic food on offer makes me want to head down there as soon as possible...
Link2 comments|Leave a comment

(no subject) [Sep. 30th, 2008|08:14 pm]
[Tags|, , , , ]

I really like the new Hovis advert being shown in the UK, and I thought I'd share it in case it didn't show in the US:


"British Bread brand Hovis have released a new advert showcasing over 100 years of the Nation's history. Part of Hovis' huge relaunch campaign, the ad is a mammoth 122 seconds long celebrating the 122 years since Hovis was established.

Filmed in Liverpool, with a cast of over 750 extras (many of whom are ordinary Brits cast off the street) the ad depicts the highs and lows experienced by Britain during Hovis' existence - including World War I, the suffragette movement, the first motor car, World War II, the 1953 coronation, the swinging Sixties, England winning the World Cup, the 1980's miners' strike and the Millennium celebrations. It ends with the poignant message "As good today as it's always been", reinforcing Hovis' strong brand heritage and marking the beginning of a new Hovis era."
Link12 comments|Leave a comment

(no subject) [Sep. 10th, 2008|02:33 pm]
[Tags|]

[info]stu_n gives me hope for the cesspit that is London, in his London Observation series.
Link10 comments|Leave a comment

(no subject) [Sep. 3rd, 2008|03:13 pm]
[Tags|, , , , , , ]

Neil Gaiman's novel of an otherworld beneath London, "Neverwhere", is available to read online or download.

It is considerably better than the tv series, and among the best work Gaiman has done. The tube station names remain a favourite: Angel of Islington is an actual Angel, the Earl holds court at Earl's Court, there's Black Friars, Seven Sisters, Knight's Bridge and you really should Mind the Gap. (That'll all make more sense if you've ever visited the London underground train stations).

The clever people at Brighton Below run a Neverwhere-themed LARP in Brighton, which works quite incredibly well. I'm pushing for some kind soul to run a version in London...
Link19 comments|Leave a comment

(no subject) [Sep. 2nd, 2008|10:12 am]
[Tags|, , , ]

I love apples. Seriously. I grew up eating my own bodyweight in Golden Delicious every week, then Granny Smiths, and I try every variety I can find in the shops.

But the selection in big stores is... well, I'll not swear and just say it’s a bit limited. Tesco doesn't stock more than 3 or 4 varieties, ever. Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Gala. That's not the big problem, however.

The apples in UK supermarkets today are absolutely shocking. They're big, unblemished and look perfect, and are almost entirely tasteless. An apple is nearly always over a year old by the time it hits the shelves – covered in sprays, picked far too early and then frozen for months. Every single one has the telltale white freeze spots on it that give away the fact it’s going to be dried, tart and tasteless. They’re hard because they weren’t anywhere near ripe when they stopped growing. The fruit travels around most of the world before it gets here, but travels well – that’s the only criteria the shops have for them. They’ve gotta survive long-term, and not bruise in packing.

I can hardly buy apples from supermarkets now. There’s no point. They taste terrible. Even the organic ones have been frozen for months, and come out as lifeless, bland replicas of each other.

George Monbiot has written a piece on this and (unlike quite a few of his columns) I couldn't agree more with him. England makes apples – it’s one of the few things we always did well, and we have hundreds of varieties. (We also do pig farming better than most, but import most of our bacon from Denmark. That’s another post). It’s almost impossible to find supermarket apples grown in the UK, even in season. They’re from New Zealand, or the USA, or South Africa. A year ago.

Here’s some UK apple varieties that one google search turned up:

“Adam's Pearmain, Akane, Allen's Everlasting, Allington Pippin, Annie Elizabeth, Bramley, Brown's, Christmas Pearmain, Cox, Crawley Beauty, D'Arcy Spice, Dr Kidd's Orange Red, Dumelow's Seedling, Ecklinville Seedling, Elstar Gloster 69, Hambledon Deux Ans, Hoary Morning, Howgate Wonder, Isle of Wight Pippin, James Grieve, Kent, Lane's Prince Albert, Laxton's Fortune, Lord Lambourne, Margil, May Queen, Monarch, Newton Wonder, Old Pearmain, Pixie, Polly Whitehair, Red Devil, Ribston's Pippin, Sir John Thorneycroft, Sunset Winston, Winter Banana, Wisley Crab, Wyken Pippin.”

Heard the one about how we might not have any yellow bananas left? Bananas come in lots of colours, but for convenience in packing the industry decided to concentrate on just one variety – the Cavendish banana. Now a fungal disease is working on wiping it out globally, and because there’s no diversity of varieties, there’s no other type left to replace it. We could be eating bananas which aren’t yellow soon, because we concentrated on mass-supplying just one type.

Apples are the same way. It may not be a disease that threatens them, but picking just three or four varieties of anything is never a good idea, and especially when we’ve got such a rich history of fantastic diversity in the UK.

Read the Monbiot piece and see what you think. It makes me want to look up a farmer’s market just to try some rarer apples. And maybe some cider. Ahem.
Link29 comments|Leave a comment

(no subject) [Jun. 14th, 2008|12:37 pm]
[Tags|, , ]

The Sandbaggers is utterly brilliant in every way. Anyone who likes british spy stories (in any form - Spooks, the Quiller books, and especially the 'Queen and Country' comics) will recognise that they all er... "borrowed" heavily from this one.

Terribly 1978, but the scripts don't hold back from harsh reality or crackling dialogue. Much more ruthless than you expect from UK tv of the time, even [info]pixylatedpyxie is addicted.
Link8 comments|Leave a comment

navigation
[ viewing | most recent entries ]
[ go | earlier ]