Just wave the “little finger”

I haven’t been on here for a while because I’ve been concentrating on another project, but I came back to the old “HN” today because I wanted to comment on a blogging friend’s latest post.
After that I thought I’d refresh my memory about what some of my more recent posts had been about, (“Recent!? That’s a laugh!”), and I watched the Youtube video again in the post “It’s not the words, it’s what you do with them“.
When the video finished Youtube brought up some alternatives for me to view, as it does, and I watched this one.
Being someone who has been hit by a car who’s driver wasn’t paying full attention I found it quite moving. But most of all I liked the message at the end of it.
I hope when you see someone driving like an idiot you too will wave the little finger!

Happy New Year

I thought the mixing of the languages on the signs in the shopping mall was cool.
It’s strange but even without knowing the Chinese character I always read it as if in English without realising it.
Have a good Year of the Rabbit.

This tickles me

We have Chinese TV programs on a lot at our place since Amanda arrived, and in between some of them there will be a short musical video interlude.
One of them has been tickling me for months, I think it’s because it just seems so oddball.
See what you think.


(Jay Chou, Cowboy on the run)

Amanda and Mary Poppins are the same person

Do you remember Mary Poppins ?

Do you remember the plethora of weird things that she pulled out of her Salisbury travel bag ?

Having seen what Amanda managed to produce from the suitcases when she was unpacking the other day I think she must be Mary Poppins in disguise.

Yes, given that this was Amanda’s “moving” trip and I had to book an extra case on the flight I knew there would be endless amounts of clothes and quite a few more pairs of shoes, but the list of other items was quite impressive…

Webcam & Mic
Rice cooker
Spoons/scoops for attaching to outside of rice cooker
Spare bowl for rice cooker
DVDs of Nanning Folk Festival
2 Electric adaptors and 2 extension leads
1kg Chicken Powder Seasoning
Set of place mats and Coasters
Upright chrome drying rack for kitchen, designed for holding chopping boards, knives and chopsticks
Chinese New Year door decoration
Dried salty fish (very smelly, but very well wrapped)
Dried Longan berries
Pork Floss 200g
Pack of dried mini-shrimp
Preserved eggs (pack of 8 )
Duck wing (1)
Chinese bacon
Chinese sausages (4 packs)
1 vacu-packed pillow
Water melon seeds (large pack)
More sausages
2 boxes of soft-grip gel ink pens
Sauce for hot bean curd (6 packs)
Some liquid for helping with the cooking (clear alcohol of some sort)
A shoebox full of assorted (Chinese) medicines
59 moisturising face masks
2 new pairs of shoes for wearing with her Qipao’s (very smart)
1 gold handbag, one blue double wallet, same purpose as shoes
A plastic mini heat-preserving lunch box with sections for soup, rice and main dish
Moon Cakes (seemingly hundreds of)
Another pack of CDs/DVDs in a travel holder

Somehow we’ve managed to find homes for it all, but it’s really emphasised the need to move to somewhere bigger. 😦

What’s the first question a new resident in the UK asks ?

Arrived home with Amanda at about lunchtime yesterday.  🙂

As we started to look around the place at all the suitcases and bags that needed unpacking (!) I spotted a police van and car pulling away from one on the blocks in the cul-de-sac opposite and I mentioned to Amanda that I thought some “undesirables” must have moved in over there some time back because I had seen the police there in numbers on a quite a few occasions over the past couple of months.

A. “Do I need to register with the police ?”

T. “Why ?”

A. “Don’t the police need to know there’s a foreigner living here now ?”

T. “No, darling… Not in this country.”

Thanks, Kelly, for reminding me of that.

How would you interpret this version of “I will survive” ?

I don’t normally do politics or religion on this blog, partly because I want this blog to be a happy place and partly because I have some fairly radical views on things that will likely upset people. However, on this occasion I’m dipping my toe in the water because I feel there is a message worth spreading.
Check this out…

There are two further videos in the series…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_Np3aZh6sU which, I must say, does nothing for me and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpfID7pLe7M where one gets to the truth behind the old man’s feelings.
An Australian newspaper article highlights some of the controversy surrounding these videos but here I will give my own personal take on it.

So, which form of Extremism is right for you ?

Trawling around on some blogs and watching YouTube videos that people have highlighted I often then play through some associated videos that catch my eye.

Given that I have quite extreme views on some subjects (most of which I do not post on here) I was tickled by this one I found.

Which is your favourite form of extremism ?

Question: How long is a tennis match ?

Answer: We don’t know !

At least we don’t know yet.

There are times when you know you have things to do but something just gets in the way. Tonight that thing was Nicholas Mahut v John Isner in the first round at Wimbledon.

At the time of writing this the score is

Mahut	4	6	7	6	59
Isner	6	3	6	7	59

but they have stopped for the night and will carry on tomorrow.

A war of attrition for which superlatives are not enough.

So many records have been broken that the list is still being compiled.

Two incredible athletes slugging it out face to face for 10 hours so far, and still no end in sight; no tantrums, no arguments with officialdom, no showing off… just skill, ability and athleticism.

Total respect !

I even forgot about the World Cup…..

Justice for all – Food for thought

Let’s put the pensioners in jail and the criminals in a nursing home.

This way the pensioners would have access to showers, hobbies, and walks.

They would receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical treatment, wheel chairs etc. and they’d receive money instead of paying it out.

They would have constant video monitoring so they could be helped instantly if they fell or needed assistance.

Bedding would be washed twice a week and all clothing would be ironed and returned to them.

A guard would check on them every 20 minutes and bring their meals and snacks to their cell.

They would have family visits in a suite especially built for that purpose.

They would have access to a library, weight room, spiritual counselling, pool, and education.

Simple clothing, shoes, slippers, P.J.’s and legal aid would be free on request.

Private, secure rooms for all with an outdoor exercise yard and gardens.

Each pensioner could have a P.C., a T.V., a radio and daily phone calls.

There would be a board of directors to hear complaints and the guards would have a code of conduct that would be strictly adhered to.

Criminals in Nursing Homes

The “criminals” would get cold food and be left all alone and unsupervised.

“Lights out” would be at 8pm, and showers would only be available once a week.

They would live in a tiny room for which they would have to pay £3,000.00 a month, and they would have no hope of ever getting out.

Justice for all !

Google Healthcare: an unscientific poll

That is… the Google situation with respect to China, and Obama’s Health Care reforms.

I am interested in people’s reactions to these, purely out of curiosity, and invite you to take part in a quick survey.

There are only three questions so it will only take a moment, and none of your personal data is collected.

Please click on this link to open the survey in a new tab or window.

Thank you for participating. I hope to publish the results by 1st April. (!)
(Update April 2nd: I’m going to let this run a bit longer)

Have a good day.