News

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Oh No, We're Represented by Leona Lewis

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I don't know about you, but I think it is decidedly odd to see marathon runners on Tiananmen Square. The sight underlined why I think these Olympics have left me feeling uncomfortable whenever I have caught some coverage.  Witnessing the British media mysteria surrounding these Olympics Games has made me decide to be out of Great Britain during the 2012 Games. I mean, the British media is now touting the British handball teams as potential gold medallists despite their team being made up of netball rejects and people (of Scandinavian ancestry) who have played handball for at least three years..

And the entire, erm, complexity of describing Great Britain as a nation is no more evident than knowing the Mayor of London is in Beijing representing his city's (and nation's) 2012 Games. I would be hard-pressed to explain how Boris Johnson ended up as London Mayor, let alone as a politician representing Great Britain. I'd pay good money to see him saunter down a Glaswegian street..

I think word of the day shall be: bemusement.

PS. It's been quiet around Fourth Ed. but I've been working behind the scenes. I'm still looking for a solution to a few issues, but I'm happy with the changes I've been making (and hopefully you will not have noticed any of them).

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Snapshot: Saturday July 26 '08

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Saturday. Barack Obama is in London. BBC News is showing the door to Number Ten and is building up the tension. The channel has two experts commenting (one qualifies by being American, the other by being a UK blogger) and finally Obama steps out ans answers questions we cannot hear. BBC News keeps saying that Obama's visit to Germany was tantamount to rock star adoration. Maybe Obama is not giving a speech to thousands of people here in the UK, but BBC News is certainly guilty of the rock star treatment too. I find it amusing when media double standards/lack of self-awareness are as evident as they are right now.

Today's edition of The Guardian has a special supplement on 'rebel knitting'. As I'm the polite sort of person, let's say the patterns are unexciting. The introduction to the new wave of knitters is okay, though. I recently read Knitknit: Projects and Profiles of Knitting's New Wave which is an excellent overview of avant-garde artists, edgy knitwear designers and intersection between art and craft. It also deals hands-on with the politicisation of knitting which the Guardian's supplement also addresses. (Yes, I'm the sort of person who has to intellectualise activities)

Saturday.

The kitchen needs tidying, there is laundry to be done and, oh, there are crisp croissants to be had in a minute.

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I Thought Turkey Was The In-Flight Meal

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A family who were bound for a week's holiday in Lanzarote are back home after a check-in desk mix-up meant they caught a flight to Turkey instead. (..) Mr Coray said they had not realised their mistake because their boarding pass stated only Bodrum airport and not that it was in Turkey.
(source)

On a vaguely similar note, try your American news IQ. The interesting bit is actually at the end where you can see the demographic make-up of results.

The other night the land-line phone rang and a tiny boyish voice said "im goin be big brotha". Yes, I'm going to be an auntie again. This time it feels even bigger than the first time. One of my best friends is also going to become a mother. This calls for Auntie Bookish to surf the net for things to knit, obviously.

My partner's sister and my friend may never speak to me again, of course:
(if this is your creation, let me know so I can give you credit for being a genius)

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The Big Issues

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Worryingly I watch the chatterbox a great deal more than I would like - but there is something about the format which suits my scattered brain. I get interested in something and just as I'm beginning to lose the thread, it's commercial time or time for the weather forecast (both strike me as similar in their inaccurate predictions of future happiness).

Yesterday I was watching In God's Name, a documentary on Channel 4 (the liberal, arty channel which has strayed in search of viewers). It was a look at fundamental Christianity in modern-day Britain filmed by a man going for cheap shots far too often.

Example: A late-20s driving instructor was asked if he had ever had sex, for instance. No, he had not as he was saving himself for marriage. I fail to see why being a male virgin in his late 20s should be material for prime-time TV.

However, other aspects of the documentary were more interesting. In Britain, they are currently reviewing stem cell research and abortion laws in parliament. Yesterday the updates to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill were passed. Today Parliament will vote on whether to lower the limit on abortion from twenty-four weeks to twenty. The documentary showed how closely certain certain members of the Parliament (as well as former) were working with hardline Christians in preparation for these bills.

I always take documentaries with a pinch of salt but I do hope this one might make aforementioned members of Parliament reconsider who acts as their advisors. Because it just looks a touch silly when you keep quoting scientific 'facts' you've been given by someone who believes that the Earth is 4,000 years old. And you still hope to be taken seriously. It's bad science, mate.

On a vaguely similar note: Not in my name - how scientists are asking to have their names removed from a list of "climate change doubters". So far almost ten per cent of the named scientists are having WTF moments from seeing their name on the list. Watch this one grow.

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Brief Interlude on Language

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Watching the Austrian cellar abuse scandal unfold, I could not help but wonder one thing. How had the imprisoned children's linguistic skills developed? I learned from the BBC that some of the children communicated with each other in ways that did not adhere to standard German linguistic structures. The Austrian news story is horrifying, of course, and I feel slightly guilty that I find its language acquisition aspect so intriguing. It also led me to briefly reacquaint myself with the legend of Kaspar Hauser and the idea of universal grammar. I should get out more. Speaking of which, I just finished knitting my first major project (I'm going to be self-indulgent enough to post a picture once I know the recipient has received it). The cherry trees outside are beginning to bloom. And while I am still struggling with stamina and energy, I do think I am getting better ever so slowly.