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Month: December 2002

Joke: 12 Politically Correct Days of Christmas

[Bauble]May I present the slightly Americanised “Twelve Politically Correct Days of Christmas” (if I can’t, bad luck – ’cause here it is anyway):

On the 12th day of the Eurocentrically imposed midwinter festival, my Significant Other in a consenting adult, monogamous relationship gave to me:

TWELVE males reclaiming their inner warrior through ritual drumming,
ELEVEN pipers piping (plus the 18-member pit orchestra made up of members in good standing of the Musicians Equity Union as called for in their union contract even though they will not be asked to play a note),
TEN melanin deprived testosterone-poisoned scions of the patriarchal ruling class system leaping,
NINE persons engaged in rhythmic self-expression,
EIGHT economically disadvantaged female persons stealing milk-products from enslaved Bovine-Americans,
SEVEN endangered swans swimming on federally protected wet-lands,
SIX enslaved Fowl-Americans producing stolen non-human animal products,
FIVE golden symbols of culturally sanctioned enforced domestic incarceration,
FOUR hours of recorded whale songs
THREE de-constructionist poets
TWO Sierra Club calendars printed on recycled processed tree carcasses and…
ONE Spotted Owl activist chained to an old-growth pear tree.

Merry Christmas Happy Chanukah. Good Kwanzaa. Blessed Yule. Happy Holidays! (unless otherwise prohibited by law)*
* Unless, of course, you are suffering from Seasonally Affected Disorder (SAD). If this be the case, please substitute this gratuitous call for celebration with suggestion that you have a thoroughly adequate day.

News: Harry Potter and the Act Of Kindness

[J.K.Rowling and a heart of gold]Call me a sentimental old fool, but this article on BBC News nearly brought tears to my eyes. It is reported via the Sunday Mirror tabloid newspaper that J.K.Rowling (Joanne Kathleen Rowling) – the author of the famous Harry Potter series of books (see my previous coverage) granted a dying child’s wish.

Nine year old Catie Hoch was dying from Neuroblastoma (an aggressive childhood cancer) and when it became clear that little Catie only had weeks to live, JK Rowling read her the manuscript of the then incomplete “Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire” book.

Whilst I understand that she will probably be unwilling to do a similar act for every child (if you just think about the number of children that are Harry Potter fans and the number that could be seriously ill at this moment of time- it wouldn’t give her time to do anything else), it is still quite “touching” and thoughtful. Yeah, some people will probably scream “publicity whore” – but does it really matter to a dying little girl? It just about “makes up” the time when Warner Brothers (who own the film rights to the Harry Potter films) started threatening maintainers of various Harry Potter websites – some of those being children…

Snippet: Aargh! Bulk Spam!

*snippet* I go downstairs to watch a video I got for Christmas, come back 3 hours later (yep, it is a long video) and I’ve got 669 emails awaiting me. Of those, less than a dozen are “not spam” 🙁

Poll: Which Science Fiction Writer Are You?

[Isaac Asimov]Brian (of the Friday Group Therapy fame) also maintains a separate weblog in which he recently blogged about the “Which Science Fiction Writer Are You?” quiz/poll (which he got via The Gamer’s Nook)

This quiz shows you which popular sci-fi author you are most like (again, no scientific evidence behind it) from the choice of: Isaac Asimov, Alfred Bester, Arthur C. Clarke, David Brin, Octavia E. Butler, Philip Jose Farmer, Gregory Benford, Frank Herbert, Samuel R. Delany, Jerry Pournelle, Mickey Spillane, Ursula LeGuin, Stanislaw Lem, William Gibson, Olaf Stapledon, Philip K. Dick, Hal Clement, Robert A. Heinlein, E.E. “Doc” Smith, James Tiptree Jr, Jules Verne, Kurt Vonnegut, H.G. Wells, Cordwainer Smith, Ayn Rand and John Brunner.

Out of all of those I’ve read some of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, one not-very-scifish book by William Gibson and I’m a big fan of Arthur C. Clarke, the late Douglas Adams (who wasn’t included in the list) and the late Isaac Asimov.

Anyway – the quiz decided that I’m most like Isaac (“You are: Isaac Asimov -One of the most prolific writers in history, on any imaginable subject. Cared little for art but created lasting and memorable tales.”) – so I’m quite happy with that conclusion 🙂

The quiz is Javascript based and the disclaimer in the source code shows how accurately you should interpret the results: “Generally speaking, the answers that I attach to each writer should not be construed as necessarily accurate or factual. When I have no idea what the right answer is, I just make one up.”

Friday Group Therapy: Winter Activities

[Leather Couch]Yep, it’s Friday Group Therapy time for me again!

This weeks questions are about Winter stuff/activities.

  1. What is your favourite winter activity?
    It’s taken me around 5 minutes to think of something: but I guess walking through crisp, clean, bright white snow and hearing the soft crunch of the snow underfoot is one of the most enjoyable.
  2. What is your least favourite winter activity?
    Walking through mushed up, brown semi-melted snow. Slipping on the ice. Being cold.
  3. What was your favourite winter activity as a child?
    Making snowmen and sledging down Croft Hill or through Bradgate Park.