Friends J., B. and M. were staying with us in England the past week, (hence the lack of blog entries), and one night we were showing each other the funniest videos on YouTube.
This one in particular had me in stitches:
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
Friday, 19 December 2008
Thoughts on motoring
Tailgating:
A sign of latent homosexuality.
(Can you think of another reason why one grown man would be riding up the bum of another?)
A sign of latent homosexuality.
(Can you think of another reason why one grown man would be riding up the bum of another?)
Tuesday, 16 December 2008
Dance off!
This is a bit of a long story, so bear with me. I will get to my observation and my point, I promise!
Long-term followers of this blog will remember that one of my rants a few months back was on Strictly Come Dancing, which is probably my most favourite TV show on at the moment. If you haven't read it, have a look at the archive: it's the entry for 16 November.
Well, shortly after I wrote that blog, John Sergeant decided he was no longer having fun marching around on the dancefloor, and he resigned. As a result, the entire United Kingdom was in an uproar. After all, a lot of people had spent money (or maybe a few people had spent a lot of money) on telephone votes to keep him in, and they had now paid for nothing, causing some people to demand their money back.
Luckily, John's early demise did not upset the show too much: originally, three contestants would have gotten to the final, and now only two would get that far. Until last weekend, that is. Saturday saw the semi-final, and only three couples were left: Rachel and Vincent, Lisa and Brandon, and Tom and Camilla. Rachel and Lisa each had fantastic dances, while Tom had an off-night, and this showed in the judges' scores: Tom was last on the leader board. But here's the hang-up: Lisa and Rachel received equal points. And this is what the current Strictly controversy is all about.
You see, the ranking on the leaderboard after the judges have given their scores, is converted into points. The viewers then vote for their favourites, and these are converted into points as well. The viewers and the judges therefore have an equal input into the outcome of the show. The two couples with the lowest combined score then have a dance-off, and the judges get to save the pair who performed best in this dance-off only.
The problem is that someone at the BBC found out that, because there were only three couples left and (or so they say) both Lisa and Rachel have equal judge-points, the public would not be able to save him from the dance-off.
Let's assume (partly because she's my favourite, but it really does not matter) that Rachel is a bigger favourite with the viewers than Lisa is, but that Tom gets the largest number of phone votes.
Lisa, who has received 3 points from the jury, will then get only 1 point from the viewers, totalling 4 points.
Tom, who has received 1 point from the jury, will get 3 points from the viewers, totalling 4 points.
Rachel, who has received 3 points from the jury, will get 2 points from the viewers, totalling 5 points.
In other words, Lisa would be dancing off against Tom, even though he has received the most telephone votes. And because someone at the BBC has decided that that was not fair, they froze the votes and let all three couples go through to the final. The votes that had already been casted would roll over to next week, but it has still resulted in a big row, people asking for their money back, a complete review of the voting system, inquiries and inquests, and what have you.
Now I have a few observations about this. First of all, why should Tom not go to the dance-off? He had an awful night, and his dances were way worse than those of either of the girls. He deserved to be at risk.
Besides, both Lisa and Rachel (but not Tom!) have been in dance-offs before and survived. That is what they are for, so that the judges can save a couple. The BBC is now immunising him from elimination. And that seems blatantly unfair to me.
Also, Tom could never have been saved from the dance-off, even if the judges hadn't inadvertently given both Lisa and Rachel the same score. Let's assume again that Rachel had the higher score, but from the jury this time, and that Tom was still the phone-in favourite. That would have resulted in two possible scenario's:
Scenario A
Rachel has 3 points from the judges and gets 2 from the viewers, totalling 5 points.
Lisa has 2 points from the judges and gets 1 from the viewers, totalling 3 points.
Tom has 1 point from the judges and gets 3 from the viewers, totalling 4 points.
Result: Tom and Lisa have a dance-off.
Scenario B
Rachel has 3 points from the judges and gets 1 from the viewers, totalling 4 points
Lisa has 2 points from the judges and gets 2 from the viewers, totalling 4 points
Tom has 1 point from the judges and gets 3 from the viewers, totalling 4 points.
Result: we have a 3-way tie.
The question is what would happen if scenario B took place. Either the BBC would weigh the judges input heavier, which means Tom is still in the dance-off and which disrespects the viewers vote, or the person with the highest number of votes goes through, which would mean they might as well dispense with the judges. And this is only if Tom is indeed the favourite of the viewers, which is by no means certain.
It seems to me that it is scenario B that the BBC need to revise their voting system for. But as this script is completely hypothetical, Lisa and Rachel having received the same number of points, the BBC has frozen the votes for no good reason at all. Somehow, Tom is being protected from elimination. And if there's going to be any research into the scoring of Strictly Come Dancing, that should be the topic.
Long-term followers of this blog will remember that one of my rants a few months back was on Strictly Come Dancing, which is probably my most favourite TV show on at the moment. If you haven't read it, have a look at the archive: it's the entry for 16 November.
Well, shortly after I wrote that blog, John Sergeant decided he was no longer having fun marching around on the dancefloor, and he resigned. As a result, the entire United Kingdom was in an uproar. After all, a lot of people had spent money (or maybe a few people had spent a lot of money) on telephone votes to keep him in, and they had now paid for nothing, causing some people to demand their money back.
Luckily, John's early demise did not upset the show too much: originally, three contestants would have gotten to the final, and now only two would get that far. Until last weekend, that is. Saturday saw the semi-final, and only three couples were left: Rachel and Vincent, Lisa and Brandon, and Tom and Camilla. Rachel and Lisa each had fantastic dances, while Tom had an off-night, and this showed in the judges' scores: Tom was last on the leader board. But here's the hang-up: Lisa and Rachel received equal points. And this is what the current Strictly controversy is all about.
You see, the ranking on the leaderboard after the judges have given their scores, is converted into points. The viewers then vote for their favourites, and these are converted into points as well. The viewers and the judges therefore have an equal input into the outcome of the show. The two couples with the lowest combined score then have a dance-off, and the judges get to save the pair who performed best in this dance-off only.
The problem is that someone at the BBC found out that, because there were only three couples left and (or so they say) both Lisa and Rachel have equal judge-points, the public would not be able to save him from the dance-off.
Let's assume (partly because she's my favourite, but it really does not matter) that Rachel is a bigger favourite with the viewers than Lisa is, but that Tom gets the largest number of phone votes.
Lisa, who has received 3 points from the jury, will then get only 1 point from the viewers, totalling 4 points.
Tom, who has received 1 point from the jury, will get 3 points from the viewers, totalling 4 points.
Rachel, who has received 3 points from the jury, will get 2 points from the viewers, totalling 5 points.
In other words, Lisa would be dancing off against Tom, even though he has received the most telephone votes. And because someone at the BBC has decided that that was not fair, they froze the votes and let all three couples go through to the final. The votes that had already been casted would roll over to next week, but it has still resulted in a big row, people asking for their money back, a complete review of the voting system, inquiries and inquests, and what have you.
Now I have a few observations about this. First of all, why should Tom not go to the dance-off? He had an awful night, and his dances were way worse than those of either of the girls. He deserved to be at risk.
Besides, both Lisa and Rachel (but not Tom!) have been in dance-offs before and survived. That is what they are for, so that the judges can save a couple. The BBC is now immunising him from elimination. And that seems blatantly unfair to me.
Also, Tom could never have been saved from the dance-off, even if the judges hadn't inadvertently given both Lisa and Rachel the same score. Let's assume again that Rachel had the higher score, but from the jury this time, and that Tom was still the phone-in favourite. That would have resulted in two possible scenario's:
Scenario A
Rachel has 3 points from the judges and gets 2 from the viewers, totalling 5 points.
Lisa has 2 points from the judges and gets 1 from the viewers, totalling 3 points.
Tom has 1 point from the judges and gets 3 from the viewers, totalling 4 points.
Result: Tom and Lisa have a dance-off.
Scenario B
Rachel has 3 points from the judges and gets 1 from the viewers, totalling 4 points
Lisa has 2 points from the judges and gets 2 from the viewers, totalling 4 points
Tom has 1 point from the judges and gets 3 from the viewers, totalling 4 points.
Result: we have a 3-way tie.
The question is what would happen if scenario B took place. Either the BBC would weigh the judges input heavier, which means Tom is still in the dance-off and which disrespects the viewers vote, or the person with the highest number of votes goes through, which would mean they might as well dispense with the judges. And this is only if Tom is indeed the favourite of the viewers, which is by no means certain.
It seems to me that it is scenario B that the BBC need to revise their voting system for. But as this script is completely hypothetical, Lisa and Rachel having received the same number of points, the BBC has frozen the votes for no good reason at all. Somehow, Tom is being protected from elimination. And if there's going to be any research into the scoring of Strictly Come Dancing, that should be the topic.
Monday, 15 December 2008
Notice!
I think I've remarked before on the amazing amount of signs and notifications found in Britain. Honestly, there isn't a public building where they cannot be found.
Here's a few photo's that I took on Saturday. In the motorway services nearest to the train. And I had not been in England more than 30 minutes by this time:
Oops... My bad!
And there I thought they were for drying my hair!
Now forgive me, but it seems to me that if you need to be told which way a door will open, you are not capable of reading the notice in the first place...
Saturday, 13 December 2008
Chunneling
My husband and I travelled to England today. It was supposed to be my big move, but due to circumstances I've had to delay that for two months. Let's just say that after stockbrokers, bankers and fasion designers, vets are next on my hitlist. Anyway, we both took our individual cars, so for the first time in my life, I drove myself across.
Now I've taken every imaginable mode of transport on my way to the British Isles, from busses to slow boats, to hovercrafts, to airplanes to catamaran. But never before had I taken the Channel tunnel train. Until today, that is. And it was not at all what I had imagined.
In my mind's eye, I was expecting a steam-powered flatbed freight train, (the kind you see in Indiana Jones-movies), that would actually whistle as it disappeared into a damp, dark cavern of a tunnel, all the while billowing thick clouds of black soot.
I envisioned myself locked in my car, keeping my doors and windows tightly closed and wishing for a roll of duct-tape to seal the seams, coughing and shivering from the cold that such a cave must undoubtedly exude. And then of course suddenly breaking out in sweat half-way, as we neared the bottom of this man-made hell-hole.
So if I tell you I was mildly surprised when I finally got to Calais, I'm sure you'll appreciate the understatement. How was I to know that I would be told to keep my windows half open? Or that I could actually get out of the car during the journey, and walk around? Or that I found and entire See-Buy-Train tax-free shopping mall?
In fact, I'm truly happy to have found an alternative route to my alternative home, one that allows me to keep my shoes on while going through customs, and that ensures that I am not housebound while in England because there's only one bus a day through the village and no other way to get around, and that shaves a considerable amount of time of my journey as well.
Oh, and - height of sophistication - the train even has toilets. Wow.
Now I've taken every imaginable mode of transport on my way to the British Isles, from busses to slow boats, to hovercrafts, to airplanes to catamaran. But never before had I taken the Channel tunnel train. Until today, that is. And it was not at all what I had imagined.
In my mind's eye, I was expecting a steam-powered flatbed freight train, (the kind you see in Indiana Jones-movies), that would actually whistle as it disappeared into a damp, dark cavern of a tunnel, all the while billowing thick clouds of black soot.
I envisioned myself locked in my car, keeping my doors and windows tightly closed and wishing for a roll of duct-tape to seal the seams, coughing and shivering from the cold that such a cave must undoubtedly exude. And then of course suddenly breaking out in sweat half-way, as we neared the bottom of this man-made hell-hole.
So if I tell you I was mildly surprised when I finally got to Calais, I'm sure you'll appreciate the understatement. How was I to know that I would be told to keep my windows half open? Or that I could actually get out of the car during the journey, and walk around? Or that I found and entire See-Buy-Train tax-free shopping mall?
In fact, I'm truly happy to have found an alternative route to my alternative home, one that allows me to keep my shoes on while going through customs, and that ensures that I am not housebound while in England because there's only one bus a day through the village and no other way to get around, and that shaves a considerable amount of time of my journey as well.
Oh, and - height of sophistication - the train even has toilets. Wow.
Thursday, 11 December 2008
Greetings from London
If you look at my last blog entry, you'll know I've been thinking about terrorism today. In light of this, here's a short story I wrote on the day after the attacks on London, on 7 July 2005. Some of you may have already read it, as it was published in Link, the magazine of the Faculty of Humanities at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Greetings from London
From: Mark [Mark.Rhodes@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday 10 September 2001 19:17 EST
To: Lindsay [LJRhodes@btinternet.co.uk]
Subject: News from New York!!!
Hey Sis!!!
Well, here we are, finally!!! I’m gonna wake up, in the city that never sleeps… And it’s great! I can’t wait to explore! It took us quite a while to get here, though. We had a four hour delay at Heathrow. And then the flight took longer than expected, we seemed to be turning circles over NYC forever! And finally the taxi we were in got stuck in the rush hour traffic as well.
But never mind, we’re here now! And we’ve already seen some of the sights (as if you could miss the World Trade Center towers! Boy, are those buggers big!) We kept seeing them from the plane, at one point we got so close I thought we’d crash into them! I can hear you think: yeah, right, as if that would ever happen!!!
Anyway, apparently tourists can go right to the top of the WTC, and Ben and I decided that that’s the first thing we’re going to do tomorrow morning! Is there a better way to see the Big Apple than to see all of it in one go?
But I’ll tell you all about that in my next mail. For now, we’re going out for a bite to eat (a fine sample of the famous New York style pizza will go down nicely, I think) and then to find a bar and get pleasantly inebriated!
Later!
Mark
P.S.: Ben tells me to send his love to the most beautiful girl in the world. Honestly, he may be my best friend, but you’re not making him family, are you?
*****
From: Mark [Mark.Rhodes@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday 12 October 2002 21:32 BORT
To: Lindsay [LJRhodes@btinternet.co.uk]
Subject: What a glorious day!!
Hiya Lindsay!!!
How’s life in dreary old London? Well, let me tell you, on Bali it is absolutely glorious. The weather is great, the sun is shining like there’s no tomorrow, the sea is wonderful, the people are friendly, you name it. It’s paradise.
Today we arrived in a little seaside town called Kuta Beach, where we checked into a nice little backpackers hotel. And then we spent all day on the beach, playing in the surf and sipping cool Pina Colada’s. Absolutely wonderful, just what I needed.
I’m still having the occasional hard time, though. I mean, traveling with Jennifer is great, don’t get me wrong, but this is something Ben and I used to talk about. Traveling the world, seeing great cities, hitting on beautiful girls in exotic places… (don’t tell Jen I wrote that, will you?) I suppose I should be grateful that the elevator was full, and that I was not on top of the WTC, but sometimes I feel guilty… I still see him sticking out his tongue at me, flaunting the fact that he’d get the view sooner than I would… How were we supposed to know?
Anyway, enough of that! I’m supposed to have a good time here, and to enjoy myself! After all, it’s my first trip since 9/11. And Jennifer is certainly making sure that I have a good time. She’s spoiling me rotten. I must have gained a stone during this holiday, at least! But she told me that tonight I’ll have a chance to dance it off, though. She’s determined to go to this club she’s heard so much about.
Oh, here she comes, I’ll mail you soon!
Love
Mark
*****
From: Mark [Mark.Rhodes@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday 15 November 2003 8:06 EEST
To: Lindsay [LJRhodes@btinternet.co.uk]
Subject: Kisses from Constantinopel
Hello, Lin!
Sorry I didn’t mail you last night, I got to my hotel too late to send you any lines. So how is my baby sister doing?
I can’t tell you too much about (supposedly) beautiful Istanbul, since I haven’t seen any of it myself yet, but I’ll be able to tell you all about it later. Serina (that’s Abbou’s wife, I don’t think you’ve met her) is making me breakfast and once I’ve finished that, she’s taking me into town to show me the sights. We’re planning to pick Abbou up from his synagogue as well. I can’t believe that he’s already gone there! He must have left at 6!!
Anyway, it smells as though Serina has her culinary delights ready, so I’ll write later!
Love
Mark
*****
From: Mark [Mark.Rhodes@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday 20 November 2003 9:55 EEST
To: Lindsay [LJRhodes@btinternet.co.uk]
Subject: NOT AGAIN
Im sorry I haven’t been able to mail much, but things have been so hectic around here. I havent slept in days, every time I close my eyes I see blood and debris flying around, and I feel like I’m choking. when is it ever going to stop?
I can’t believe its happened again! What is happening to me? First New York, then Bali, and now here! It seems that every time I leave England something bad happens, and somebody I know and care about dies!
Luckily, Serina was able to leave the hospital yesterday. Shes off this afternoon to go to her parents in Ankara this afternoon. I hope that they can comfort her a bit; she hasn’t stopped crying since she found out that Abbou was killed in the attack. She’s coming with me too the station. She’ll catdh a train to Ankara, and I’ll take one to the airport. Ill hopefully be home tonight. Can you pick me up from the airport? I don’t know when or where I’ll land yet, but I’ll call as soon as I can. Oh, and coul you book me an appointment with my psychiatrist? I’m going ot need it!
Thanks
Mark
*****
From: Mark [Mark.Rhodes@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday 10 March 2004 16:34 CET
To: Lindsay [LJRhodes@btinternet.co.uk
Subject: I can’t believe I’m doing this
Hey Lin
I can’t believe I let you talk me into this. I know that nothing has ever happened in Western Europe and that I’m safe here, but I keep looking over my shoulder. I’d much rather be at home. It may not be your favourite city, but at least I feel at home in Coventry.
I know, I know, it’s a business trip, and as you said, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life if I don’t travel again. And you’re right, surely lightning doesn’t strike the same place five times… And of course you’re right that I won’t be able to further my carreer if I don’t follow at least a few seminars abroad. But it is still impossible for me to enjoy this.
Alejandra is pleasant enough company. I had sort of forgotten her, I hadn’t seen her since the two of you graduated. I’m just wondering if you’re not trying to play cupid? I know you and mom think I’ve been single way too long, but you have to understand that it’s really hard for me to learn to care for anybody but my immediate family.
Anyway, Alejandra has been really sympathetic about it all, I could tell that you’ve kept in touch with her regularly. She’s shown me some of Madrid, but she didn’t push whenever I felt I couldn’t handle it anymore. Too bad she can’t come down to Toledo with me tomorrow for the seminar, but she has to work as well.
It’s going to be an early start tomorrow. Apparently Alejandra is always at her desk by 7:00 am. And she doesn’t come home at night until at least 9 in the evening. I must say I was suitably impressed until I remembered the famed Spanish siesta… But anyway, it’s still early in the morning for your average English bloke. Since she insisted of accompanying me as far as possible, she’s taking me to the station, and then she’ll catch a metro to the center. That means we have to be at Atocha train station at 6:40!!! I get tired just thinking about that time. Normally I’m not even out of bed by then!
I must confess, I do feel a lot better now. You couldn’t have fixed me up with a better friend… and she looks great too! I hope she’ll be able to join me in Toledo over the weekend!
Bye for now
Mark
*****
From: Mark [Mark.Rhodes@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday 6 July 2005 18:34 GT
To: Lindsay [LJRhodes@btinternet.co.uk]
Subject: Meet me
Hello Lindsay
I’m sorry, I know I haven’t been in touch much since last year, and I know you think I’ve been blaming you for what happened in Madrid. And if you think I might have had something to do with any of the bombings, I couldn’t even hold it against you. God knows I’ve been wondering myself.
And yes, I did blame you, for a bit. After all, you’re the one who insisted that I go to Spain, even if I didn’t want to. But lately I’ve come to realize that you’ve lost friends in each of these attacks too. The only luck you’ve had in all of this is that you haven’t had to see any of them happen, while I seem to have a knack of getting myself into these situations. Or maybe they find me, I don’t know…
Anyway, I’d really appreciate it if you’d meet me. I would love to see you face to face, and besides, I’d like to congratulate you on the Olympic victory. I know you (and so many others) have worked very hard for that… What if we went to the British museum tomorrow like we used to when we were kids? Then I can show you some of the things I’ve been up to last year as well. Why don’t we meet at King’s Cross station at around 9 am? I’m staying in a little hotel near there, and I don’t think that’s too many changeovers from Hounslow, is it? We can walk to the museum from there…
I hope you’ll be there, you’ve always been my best mate, and we’ve each suffered alone long enough.
Love forever
Your brother Mark
Copyright 2008 by PJ Mulroy. All rights reserved.
Greetings from London
From: Mark [Mark.Rhodes@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday 10 September 2001 19:17 EST
To: Lindsay [LJRhodes@btinternet.co.uk]
Subject: News from New York!!!
Hey Sis!!!
Well, here we are, finally!!! I’m gonna wake up, in the city that never sleeps… And it’s great! I can’t wait to explore! It took us quite a while to get here, though. We had a four hour delay at Heathrow. And then the flight took longer than expected, we seemed to be turning circles over NYC forever! And finally the taxi we were in got stuck in the rush hour traffic as well.
But never mind, we’re here now! And we’ve already seen some of the sights (as if you could miss the World Trade Center towers! Boy, are those buggers big!) We kept seeing them from the plane, at one point we got so close I thought we’d crash into them! I can hear you think: yeah, right, as if that would ever happen!!!
Anyway, apparently tourists can go right to the top of the WTC, and Ben and I decided that that’s the first thing we’re going to do tomorrow morning! Is there a better way to see the Big Apple than to see all of it in one go?
But I’ll tell you all about that in my next mail. For now, we’re going out for a bite to eat (a fine sample of the famous New York style pizza will go down nicely, I think) and then to find a bar and get pleasantly inebriated!
Later!
Mark
P.S.: Ben tells me to send his love to the most beautiful girl in the world. Honestly, he may be my best friend, but you’re not making him family, are you?
*****
From: Mark [Mark.Rhodes@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday 12 October 2002 21:32 BORT
To: Lindsay [LJRhodes@btinternet.co.uk]
Subject: What a glorious day!!
Hiya Lindsay!!!
How’s life in dreary old London? Well, let me tell you, on Bali it is absolutely glorious. The weather is great, the sun is shining like there’s no tomorrow, the sea is wonderful, the people are friendly, you name it. It’s paradise.
Today we arrived in a little seaside town called Kuta Beach, where we checked into a nice little backpackers hotel. And then we spent all day on the beach, playing in the surf and sipping cool Pina Colada’s. Absolutely wonderful, just what I needed.
I’m still having the occasional hard time, though. I mean, traveling with Jennifer is great, don’t get me wrong, but this is something Ben and I used to talk about. Traveling the world, seeing great cities, hitting on beautiful girls in exotic places… (don’t tell Jen I wrote that, will you?) I suppose I should be grateful that the elevator was full, and that I was not on top of the WTC, but sometimes I feel guilty… I still see him sticking out his tongue at me, flaunting the fact that he’d get the view sooner than I would… How were we supposed to know?
Anyway, enough of that! I’m supposed to have a good time here, and to enjoy myself! After all, it’s my first trip since 9/11. And Jennifer is certainly making sure that I have a good time. She’s spoiling me rotten. I must have gained a stone during this holiday, at least! But she told me that tonight I’ll have a chance to dance it off, though. She’s determined to go to this club she’s heard so much about.
Oh, here she comes, I’ll mail you soon!
Love
Mark
*****
From: Mark [Mark.Rhodes@yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday 15 November 2003 8:06 EEST
To: Lindsay [LJRhodes@btinternet.co.uk]
Subject: Kisses from Constantinopel
Hello, Lin!
Sorry I didn’t mail you last night, I got to my hotel too late to send you any lines. So how is my baby sister doing?
I can’t tell you too much about (supposedly) beautiful Istanbul, since I haven’t seen any of it myself yet, but I’ll be able to tell you all about it later. Serina (that’s Abbou’s wife, I don’t think you’ve met her) is making me breakfast and once I’ve finished that, she’s taking me into town to show me the sights. We’re planning to pick Abbou up from his synagogue as well. I can’t believe that he’s already gone there! He must have left at 6!!
Anyway, it smells as though Serina has her culinary delights ready, so I’ll write later!
Love
Mark
*****
From: Mark [Mark.Rhodes@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday 20 November 2003 9:55 EEST
To: Lindsay [LJRhodes@btinternet.co.uk]
Subject: NOT AGAIN
Im sorry I haven’t been able to mail much, but things have been so hectic around here. I havent slept in days, every time I close my eyes I see blood and debris flying around, and I feel like I’m choking. when is it ever going to stop?
I can’t believe its happened again! What is happening to me? First New York, then Bali, and now here! It seems that every time I leave England something bad happens, and somebody I know and care about dies!
Luckily, Serina was able to leave the hospital yesterday. Shes off this afternoon to go to her parents in Ankara this afternoon. I hope that they can comfort her a bit; she hasn’t stopped crying since she found out that Abbou was killed in the attack. She’s coming with me too the station. She’ll catdh a train to Ankara, and I’ll take one to the airport. Ill hopefully be home tonight. Can you pick me up from the airport? I don’t know when or where I’ll land yet, but I’ll call as soon as I can. Oh, and coul you book me an appointment with my psychiatrist? I’m going ot need it!
Thanks
Mark
*****
From: Mark [Mark.Rhodes@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday 10 March 2004 16:34 CET
To: Lindsay [LJRhodes@btinternet.co.uk
Subject: I can’t believe I’m doing this
Hey Lin
I can’t believe I let you talk me into this. I know that nothing has ever happened in Western Europe and that I’m safe here, but I keep looking over my shoulder. I’d much rather be at home. It may not be your favourite city, but at least I feel at home in Coventry.
I know, I know, it’s a business trip, and as you said, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life if I don’t travel again. And you’re right, surely lightning doesn’t strike the same place five times… And of course you’re right that I won’t be able to further my carreer if I don’t follow at least a few seminars abroad. But it is still impossible for me to enjoy this.
Alejandra is pleasant enough company. I had sort of forgotten her, I hadn’t seen her since the two of you graduated. I’m just wondering if you’re not trying to play cupid? I know you and mom think I’ve been single way too long, but you have to understand that it’s really hard for me to learn to care for anybody but my immediate family.
Anyway, Alejandra has been really sympathetic about it all, I could tell that you’ve kept in touch with her regularly. She’s shown me some of Madrid, but she didn’t push whenever I felt I couldn’t handle it anymore. Too bad she can’t come down to Toledo with me tomorrow for the seminar, but she has to work as well.
It’s going to be an early start tomorrow. Apparently Alejandra is always at her desk by 7:00 am. And she doesn’t come home at night until at least 9 in the evening. I must say I was suitably impressed until I remembered the famed Spanish siesta… But anyway, it’s still early in the morning for your average English bloke. Since she insisted of accompanying me as far as possible, she’s taking me to the station, and then she’ll catch a metro to the center. That means we have to be at Atocha train station at 6:40!!! I get tired just thinking about that time. Normally I’m not even out of bed by then!
I must confess, I do feel a lot better now. You couldn’t have fixed me up with a better friend… and she looks great too! I hope she’ll be able to join me in Toledo over the weekend!
Bye for now
Mark
*****
From: Mark [Mark.Rhodes@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday 6 July 2005 18:34 GT
To: Lindsay [LJRhodes@btinternet.co.uk]
Subject: Meet me
Hello Lindsay
I’m sorry, I know I haven’t been in touch much since last year, and I know you think I’ve been blaming you for what happened in Madrid. And if you think I might have had something to do with any of the bombings, I couldn’t even hold it against you. God knows I’ve been wondering myself.
And yes, I did blame you, for a bit. After all, you’re the one who insisted that I go to Spain, even if I didn’t want to. But lately I’ve come to realize that you’ve lost friends in each of these attacks too. The only luck you’ve had in all of this is that you haven’t had to see any of them happen, while I seem to have a knack of getting myself into these situations. Or maybe they find me, I don’t know…
Anyway, I’d really appreciate it if you’d meet me. I would love to see you face to face, and besides, I’d like to congratulate you on the Olympic victory. I know you (and so many others) have worked very hard for that… What if we went to the British museum tomorrow like we used to when we were kids? Then I can show you some of the things I’ve been up to last year as well. Why don’t we meet at King’s Cross station at around 9 am? I’m staying in a little hotel near there, and I don’t think that’s too many changeovers from Hounslow, is it? We can walk to the museum from there…
I hope you’ll be there, you’ve always been my best mate, and we’ve each suffered alone long enough.
Love forever
Your brother Mark
Copyright 2008 by PJ Mulroy. All rights reserved.
Why?
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, terrorism is:
'the systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective'.
It seems to me that they are mostly right. For instance, the original objective of terrorist movements such as the IRA or the ETA was to gain the right to rule their country. In case of ecoterrorism, the objective is to stop activities that may harm nature, such as the hindering of nuclear transports.
However, the above definition appears to be woefully inadequate when it comes to the terrorist activities that we have seen in the 20th century. At no point in time have I ever read any that gave me an idea as to what the leaders see as the objective of their acts.
Take today: 14 people have been arrested in Belgium on the suspicion of terrorism. They are supposed to have connections to Al-Qaeda. Apparently, their target may have been the Euro-top which is taking place today. The question then is why? Is this on religious grounds? Monetary? Repression? Politics? And what do they hope to achieve?
I really don't know, and I really don't understand. If you have any clues and can fill me in, please leave a comment.
'the systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective'.
It seems to me that they are mostly right. For instance, the original objective of terrorist movements such as the IRA or the ETA was to gain the right to rule their country. In case of ecoterrorism, the objective is to stop activities that may harm nature, such as the hindering of nuclear transports.
However, the above definition appears to be woefully inadequate when it comes to the terrorist activities that we have seen in the 20th century. At no point in time have I ever read any that gave me an idea as to what the leaders see as the objective of their acts.
Take today: 14 people have been arrested in Belgium on the suspicion of terrorism. They are supposed to have connections to Al-Qaeda. Apparently, their target may have been the Euro-top which is taking place today. The question then is why? Is this on religious grounds? Monetary? Repression? Politics? And what do they hope to achieve?
I really don't know, and I really don't understand. If you have any clues and can fill me in, please leave a comment.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Rain or Shine... or both...or neither!
Have you ever noticed how often weathermen get it wrong? Isn't it amazing? I have often wondered, especially while trying to undo the damage caused by a rainstorm that I had not been expecting (and that had, of course not been predicted), why that is.
You see, I have long suspected weathermen of lying on purpose. Not to deceive us, but to hedge their bets (a bit like stockbrokers and bankers, if you remember my earlier rant). And yesterday, I finally got the proof I needed to confirm my suspicions.
I was watching the news on one of the Dutch channels, and the weatherman gave the most interesting report. He said (well, he said this in Dutch, of course... I took the liberty of translating it) the following:
'The forecast for tomorrow's weather is good, but I do have two marginal notes. It is going to get wet, and it will be very cold. Also, there is a chance of fog. And motorists should beware that it is possible that wet patches may freeze over, so the roads could be quite slippery.'
You have to wonder, of course, what this particular meteorologist defines as 'good weather'. It seems to me he is trying to give us a positive message (and is therefore hedging his bets) by not only calling severe wintery frost 'good', but also by giving us four downsides instead of the two he promised. A clear case of hate the message, not the messenger. In any case, the only thing I knew for sure after this report: it's going to be variable.
And now I'll go search for my umbrella and my sunglasses. I need to go kill a weatherman, you see.
You see, I have long suspected weathermen of lying on purpose. Not to deceive us, but to hedge their bets (a bit like stockbrokers and bankers, if you remember my earlier rant). And yesterday, I finally got the proof I needed to confirm my suspicions.
I was watching the news on one of the Dutch channels, and the weatherman gave the most interesting report. He said (well, he said this in Dutch, of course... I took the liberty of translating it) the following:
'The forecast for tomorrow's weather is good, but I do have two marginal notes. It is going to get wet, and it will be very cold. Also, there is a chance of fog. And motorists should beware that it is possible that wet patches may freeze over, so the roads could be quite slippery.'
You have to wonder, of course, what this particular meteorologist defines as 'good weather'. It seems to me he is trying to give us a positive message (and is therefore hedging his bets) by not only calling severe wintery frost 'good', but also by giving us four downsides instead of the two he promised. A clear case of hate the message, not the messenger. In any case, the only thing I knew for sure after this report: it's going to be variable.
And now I'll go search for my umbrella and my sunglasses. I need to go kill a weatherman, you see.
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
No fun!!
I've labelled this post as News Clippings, but it's actually not. Startingly not, even.
You see, normally, if I'm short on inspiration for what to write on this page, I'll trawl through my RSS newsreader to check the headlines. There's usually always something funny that gives me something to report. But would you believe it: there's nothing. Anywhere. At all.
Of course there's news, in fact there's almost 2000 headlines (in the 15 feeds that I subscribe to), but not one of them is interesting, funny or exciting enough to write about! It's just amazing! Nothing even remotely humorous or remarkable!
Anyway... the day isn't over yet. Perhaps I'll find something later. I'll keep you posted!
You see, normally, if I'm short on inspiration for what to write on this page, I'll trawl through my RSS newsreader to check the headlines. There's usually always something funny that gives me something to report. But would you believe it: there's nothing. Anywhere. At all.
Of course there's news, in fact there's almost 2000 headlines (in the 15 feeds that I subscribe to), but not one of them is interesting, funny or exciting enough to write about! It's just amazing! Nothing even remotely humorous or remarkable!
Anyway... the day isn't over yet. Perhaps I'll find something later. I'll keep you posted!
Monday, 8 December 2008
Euh... I forgot?!?!?!
I was just reading last Saturday's Times (yes, I know it's Monday), and I came across an article which stated that the common Coldsore virus may be linked to Alzheimer's disease. If so, it read, the most effective treatment for this debilitating affliction may be simple, over-the-counter drugs such as Zovirax.
It is, of course, wonderful that such a simple and cost-effective cure may be found for such an awful disease, but I couldn't help wondering: as far as I know, Zovirax is a cream. So if you're prescribed this for Alzheimer's, where would you have to rub it?
It is, of course, wonderful that such a simple and cost-effective cure may be found for such an awful disease, but I couldn't help wondering: as far as I know, Zovirax is a cream. So if you're prescribed this for Alzheimer's, where would you have to rub it?
The Eye of the Beholder
Me, husband and friend J. went to Amsterdam yesterday to have lunch with friends A. and T. While we were waiting for the tram, we were looking at a billboard, which was an advert for L'Oreal Mascara and it featured a larger-than-life photo of Eva Longoria. The thing is that her eyelashes were obviously not just enhanced with L'Oreal Mascara. They were fake. Very fake.
Now don't get me wrong, I think Eva Longoria is quite a beautiful woman, in a more-packaging-than-content sort of way. But I cannot for the life of me come up with reasons why she, or anyone else for that matter, would want to walk around with a couple of dead caterpillars on her eyelids.
But while J. and I were discussing the morbidity of it all, husband made my day with his observation:
'Huh. She looks like a peacock!'
Now don't get me wrong, I think Eva Longoria is quite a beautiful woman, in a more-packaging-than-content sort of way. But I cannot for the life of me come up with reasons why she, or anyone else for that matter, would want to walk around with a couple of dead caterpillars on her eyelids.
But while J. and I were discussing the morbidity of it all, husband made my day with his observation:
'Huh. She looks like a peacock!'
Friday, 5 December 2008
Easter Bunny watch out
First the Thanksgiving turkey, and now Rudolf the Red-Nosed Raindeer... What will she do for Easter, I wonder?
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6381815
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6381815
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Appreciating Rain
I'm not really having a great day. I had to get up very early this morning to bring S. to the airport (yes, he's left me for England...again!) It was cold and dark, sleety and wet. I'm pretty sensitive to the weather in the best of times, but standing at Schiphol airport watching my heart going to passport control at 5:30 in the morning is certain to ensure a certain melancholy for the rest of the day.
Yet later on in the morning, while walking home from the shops, the heavens decided to give me the prettiest anti-depressant in nature, and I can't help sharing it with you:
I haven't stopped smiling since.
Remember: If you want the rainbow, you've got to put up with the rain.
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
The Bush Legacy
George W. Bush gave an interview last week, in which he said he'd like to be remembered as the president who freed 50 million people and who helped bring lasting peace to the world.
Now if only wishes came true...
Now if only wishes came true...
Monday, 1 December 2008
Insights into the Stock Market
Once upon a time, a man walked into a casino and started playing roulette. Little by little, he kept putting bets on numbers that were not called. The more money he lost, the more desperate he became until he could no longer contain himself.
Irate, he started to complain profusely: first at the dealer and then to the management of the casino, claiming that their system was wrong and that they were to blame for him losing his life savings. He demanded to be repaid his losses. The bouncers calmly and quietly escorted him to the door, never to let him in again.
This seems only right to me.
But imagine my surprise and indignation when I learned today that stockholders are taking Fortis to court (one of them claiming to the amount of 2 billion euros), demanding reimbursement for the money they lost due to the credit crisis.
Pure madness.
Irate, he started to complain profusely: first at the dealer and then to the management of the casino, claiming that their system was wrong and that they were to blame for him losing his life savings. He demanded to be repaid his losses. The bouncers calmly and quietly escorted him to the door, never to let him in again.
This seems only right to me.
But imagine my surprise and indignation when I learned today that stockholders are taking Fortis to court (one of them claiming to the amount of 2 billion euros), demanding reimbursement for the money they lost due to the credit crisis.
Pure madness.
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