I read a superb article in yesterday's Telegraph advocating the decline of the traditional Christmas card.
Now correct me if I am wrong, but shouldn't Christmas cards portray Christmas greetings? Often I am confronted with "Season's Greetings" on a card. So am I meant to be having a happy winter then? It seems that the PC brigade are at it again, in their efforts not to upset ANYBODY unless of course you are a white, English law abiding citizen. I truly believe that we are now an ethnic minority within this country, therefore why are we not entitled to all the benefits offered to all other ethnic minorities?
I gave up enjoying Christmas years ago. Ask most kids of what they think Christmas is all about and they will scream at you, "PRESENTS" and not just two or three either. Doing our weekly shop this morning was a pain. Got there nice and early (I thought) about 8.30 but already the shop was filling up with Christmas shoppers pushing trollies with mounds of food of which most will get ditched. And there is still two weeks to go.
The stomach churning adds depicting a CD with some little angels singing Christmas carols for only £10.99 make me want to vomit. No correct that. Projectile vomit.
I am going to have to stop now, because I am winding myself up to a full blown rant and I don't think people are ready for that. Maybe after fucking Christmas, eh?
Bah bloody humbug.
more here....
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Sad rail death
On my local news last night there was a tragic story of a young girl who lost her life while taking a short cut home along a railway line.
The inquest gave a verdict of accidental death.
But no, the family are not happy with this. They are trying to sue Railtrack for allegedly not showing any warning signs indicating that the live rail was on the outside of the track.
I realise that the family are wracked with grief and are lashing out in their time of despair, but they have to understand that this girl was half pissed and walking beside a live railway line in the pitch darkness. A recipe for disaster if ever I saw one.
Everybody knows that you are taking a risk by walking along the track and there are always adequate signs indicating the hazards at level crossings.
The sooner they accept the fact that she took a risk whilst under the influence, the better for all concerned.
It saddens me that society has slipped into this compensation culture where it seems that everybody looks for someone to blame and to gain financially from it.
Accidents happen and always will.
Deal with it.
The inquest gave a verdict of accidental death.
But no, the family are not happy with this. They are trying to sue Railtrack for allegedly not showing any warning signs indicating that the live rail was on the outside of the track.
I realise that the family are wracked with grief and are lashing out in their time of despair, but they have to understand that this girl was half pissed and walking beside a live railway line in the pitch darkness. A recipe for disaster if ever I saw one.
Everybody knows that you are taking a risk by walking along the track and there are always adequate signs indicating the hazards at level crossings.
The sooner they accept the fact that she took a risk whilst under the influence, the better for all concerned.
It saddens me that society has slipped into this compensation culture where it seems that everybody looks for someone to blame and to gain financially from it.
Accidents happen and always will.
Deal with it.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Nowt really worth writing about at the moment, so I succumbed to one of these on-line 'What type are you?" thingies. If you're equally bored, have a go.
I knicked it from b. Go and visit her.
I knicked it from b. Go and visit her.
You are The Tower
Ambition, fighting, war, courage. Destruction, danger, fall, ruin.
The Tower represents war, destruction, but also spiritual renewal. Plans are disrupted. Your views and ideas will change as a result.
The Tower is a card about war, a war between the structures of lies and the lightning flash of truth. The Tower stands for "false concepts and institutions that we take for real." You have been shaken up; blinded by a shocking revelation. It sometimes takes that to see a truth that one refuses to see. Or to bring down beliefs that are so well constructed. What's most important to remember is that the tearing down of this structure, however painful, makes room for something new to be built.
What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Stormy weather
What a howler last night. I don't know about you lot, but Kent had a humdinger of a storm. We lost a fence panel because of it. Well I say lost, when I actually mean flattened. So yours truly had to don waterproofs, boots et al and drag the thing back into the posts. Considering our fence is over twenty years old, it doesn't do too badly. But would you believe it, the wind has dropped and the current bun is peering through the window. Batten down the hatches 'cos tonight they forecast some more of the same.
Where do they go?
Whilst out walking Barney in howling winds and pissing rain, a thought struck me (right between the eyes, in fact). Where were all the squirrels that normally send my trusted hound bonkers taunting him to chase them up the trees?Were they cowering in bus shelters?
Is there a communal Hobbit house where they all congregate and chat about the weather?
Had they gone away for the weekend to Ibiza, perhaps?
Maybe Secret Squirrel (remember him?) had enlisted them to track down some suspect radiation trails.
Wherever they were, it wasn't in our woods. Didn't stop Barney charging around like a dog possessed though.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Now this is what I call justice.
A friend sent me this yesterday. Very interesting.
"TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO, HE IS THE MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFF( ARIZONA ) AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
These are some of the reasons why:
Sheriff Joe Arpaio created the "tent city jail" to save Arizona from
spending tens of million of dollars on another expensive prison complex.
He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for
them.
He banned smoking and porno magazines in the jails, and took away their
weightlifting equipment and cut off all but "G" movies. He says: "they're
in jail to pay a debt to society not to build muscles so they can assault
innocent people when they leave."
He started chain gangs to use the inmates to do free work on county and city
projects and save taxpayer's money.
Then he started chain gangs for women so he wouldn't get sued for
discrimination.
He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order
that required cable TV for jails. So he hooked up the cable TV again but
only allows the Disney channel and the weather channel.
When asked why the weather channel he replied: "so these morons will know
how hot it's gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs."
He cut off coffee because it has zero nutritional value and is therefore a
waste of taxpayer money. When the inmates complained, he told them, "This
isn't the Ritz/Carlton. If you don't like it, don't come back."
He also bought the Newt Gingrich lecture series on US history that he pipes
into the jails. When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a
Democrat, he replied that a democratic lecture series that actually tells
the truth for a change would be welcome and that it might even explain why
95% of the inmates were in his jails in the first place.
With temperatures being even hotter than usual in Phoenix (116 degrees just
set a new record for June 2nd), the Associated Press reports: About 2,000
inmates living in a barbed- wire-surrounded tent encampment at the Maricopa
County Jail have been given permission to strip down to their
government-issued pink boxer shorts.
On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing pink boxer shorts were chatting in the tents, where temperatures reached 128 degrees."This is hell. It feels like
we live in a furnace," said Ernesto Gonzales, an inmate for 2
years with 10 more to go. "It's inhumane."
Joe Arpaio, who makes his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches,
is not one bit sympathetic. "Criminals should be punished for their crimes -
not live in luxury until it's time for parole, only to go out and commit
more crimes so they can come back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy
things many taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves."
Wednesday he told all the inmates who were complaining of the heat in the
tents: "It's between 120 to 130 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living
in tents too, and they have to walk all day in the sun, wearing full
battle gear and get shot at, and they have not committed any crimes, so shut
your damned mouths!"
Way to go, Sheriff! If all prisons were like yours there would be a lot less
crime and we would not be in the current position of running out of prison spaces.
Sheriff Joe was just re-elected Sheriff in Maricopa County , Arizona"
Oh if only we could get away with that this side of the pond. The civil liberties groups would go apoplectic.
"TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO, HE IS THE MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFF( ARIZONA ) AND HE KEEPS GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
These are some of the reasons why:
Sheriff Joe Arpaio created the "tent city jail" to save Arizona from
spending tens of million of dollars on another expensive prison complex.
He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for
them.
He banned smoking and porno magazines in the jails, and took away their
weightlifting equipment and cut off all but "G" movies. He says: "they're
in jail to pay a debt to society not to build muscles so they can assault
innocent people when they leave."
He started chain gangs to use the inmates to do free work on county and city
projects and save taxpayer's money.
Then he started chain gangs for women so he wouldn't get sued for
discrimination.
He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order
that required cable TV for jails. So he hooked up the cable TV again but
only allows the Disney channel and the weather channel.
When asked why the weather channel he replied: "so these morons will know
how hot it's gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs."
He cut off coffee because it has zero nutritional value and is therefore a
waste of taxpayer money. When the inmates complained, he told them, "This
isn't the Ritz/Carlton. If you don't like it, don't come back."
He also bought the Newt Gingrich lecture series on US history that he pipes
into the jails. When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a
Democrat, he replied that a democratic lecture series that actually tells
the truth for a change would be welcome and that it might even explain why
95% of the inmates were in his jails in the first place.
With temperatures being even hotter than usual in Phoenix (116 degrees just
set a new record for June 2nd), the Associated Press reports: About 2,000
inmates living in a barbed- wire-surrounded tent encampment at the Maricopa
County Jail have been given permission to strip down to their
government-issued pink boxer shorts.
On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing pink boxer shorts were chatting in the tents, where temperatures reached 128 degrees."This is hell. It feels like
we live in a furnace," said Ernesto Gonzales, an inmate for 2
years with 10 more to go. "It's inhumane."
Joe Arpaio, who makes his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches,
is not one bit sympathetic. "Criminals should be punished for their crimes -
not live in luxury until it's time for parole, only to go out and commit
more crimes so they can come back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy
things many taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves."
Wednesday he told all the inmates who were complaining of the heat in the
tents: "It's between 120 to 130 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living
in tents too, and they have to walk all day in the sun, wearing full
battle gear and get shot at, and they have not committed any crimes, so shut
your damned mouths!"
Way to go, Sheriff! If all prisons were like yours there would be a lot less
crime and we would not be in the current position of running out of prison spaces.
Sheriff Joe was just re-elected Sheriff in Maricopa County , Arizona"
Oh if only we could get away with that this side of the pond. The civil liberties groups would go apoplectic.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Daylight robbery
We have just returned from the Post Office having sent off some Chrimbo pressies to the States.
For a box around eighteen inches square, I was fleeced for the amount of £61.
Yes, that's right. Sixty one quid for goods that amount to half that value.
No wonder the Post Office makes huge profits.
I an now going to lie down in a darkened room, with maybe a bottle of Scotch to keep me company.
Christmas?
Bah humbug........
For a box around eighteen inches square, I was fleeced for the amount of £61.
Yes, that's right. Sixty one quid for goods that amount to half that value.
No wonder the Post Office makes huge profits.
I an now going to lie down in a darkened room, with maybe a bottle of Scotch to keep me company.
Christmas?
Bah humbug........
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