I don't....honestly!!!!!!!!!

The Law of Exclamation

First recorded in an article by Lori Robertson at FactCheck.org in 2008, this states: "The more exclamation points used in an email (or other posting), the more likely it is a complete lie. This is also true for excessive capital letters."

It is reminiscent of the claim in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels that the more exclamation marks someone uses in writing, the more likely they are to be mentally unbalanced.

According to Pratchett, five exclamation marks is an indicator of "someone who wears their underwear on the outside".



I do use a lot of exclamation marks.... but I wear my underwear on the inside...(if I'm wearing any at all!)

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I'm trying to think of an analogy for this story....

but my little brain is too confused...

Vatican welcomes Anglicans into Catholic Church

The Vatican said Tuesday it has worked out a way for groups of Anglicans who are dissatisfied with their faith to join the Catholic Church

The process will enable groups of Anglicans to become Catholic and recognize the pope as their leader, yet have parishes that retain Anglican rites, Vatican officials said. The move comes some 450 years after King Henry VIII broke from Rome and created the Church of England, forerunner of the Anglican Communion.

The parishes would be led by former Anglican clergy -- including those who are married -- who would be ordained as Catholic priests, said the Rev. James Massa, ecumenical director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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This time it's personal...

For those following British news, you will be aware that yesterday saw council elections and voting for the new (or old!) London Mayor.

I am now so out of touch with British politics I just get the general jist of things from reading the papers, the Daily Mail is one paper that allows and receives comments.

Judging by the comments left on the Daily Mail's article about Labour's defeat at the polls; the only reason why the Tories have been so successful is because Labour seem to have really screwed things up of late and not because the Tories are so much better and offer that much better an alternative.

The elections for Mayor of London are a slightly different ball game. Here, I would beg to differ with Jakartass and my vote (if I had one) would be for Boris Johnson aka the man who pissed off Liverpool; the reason being...I really can't stand Ken Livingstone he sets my teeth on edge everytime I hear or see him...as I said...it's personal!

I wonder if Boris has cat?

Turn again, Whittington,
Once Mayor of London!
Turn again, Whittington,
Twice Mayor of London!
Turn again, Whittington,
Thrice Mayor of London!

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Losing her religion....

I am a little surprised by the fact that Peter Phillips' fiancee has renounced her Roman Catholic faith in order that Peter Phillips does not need to renounce his place in the line of succession, as per the 1701 Act of Settlement.

Princess Anne's son is 11th in line to the throne; following Charles and his sons, Andrew and his daughters and Edward and his two children and Princess Anne. So the chances of his inheriting the throne are slim to non-existant; added to the fact that Princess Anne has brought her children up to be as non-royal as possible even refusing titles for them when they were born.

So, why on earth would they follow this path; Peter Phillips would not be setting a precedent if he were no longer in line of succession, Prince Michael of Kent was excluded from the line of succession after he married a Roman Catholic in 1978; Peter Phillips has not carried out royal duties until now; so it does all seem quite strange!

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Yes, Prime Minister....

It strikes me that the last of Tony Blair's official portraits bares a striking resemblance to Jim Hacker from 'Yes, Prime Minister'






Which gives me the opportunity for a clip from Yes, Prime Minister.

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Branding pitfalls...

Read how implementing a new logo could go ever so slightly wrong

A spokesman for OGC said: "It is true that it caused a few titters among some staff when viewed on its side, but on consideration we concluded that the effect was generic to the particular combination of the letters OGC - and it is not inappropriate to an organisation that’s looking to have a firm grip on Government spend."

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Now there's a headline writer's dream....

Scientist may be first man to find the female G-spot

The writer of the article was a man...a slightly frustrated man possibly...!!

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Computer error...!!!

And the moral of the story is....



...always know what your POS is capable of...oh,yes, and don't mess with the service staff!!

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News...

Reading E@L's most recent post, I have one question for him..."How do you really feel about nodding in movies"?

The Edison Chan and "supporting cast" saga continues, Fumier's latest post on the subject delves (can't help thinking that's an unusual choice of word!) further into the 'underwear vs. no underwear vs. gossamer thin strips of underwear' issue. I haven't had the misfortune to see the pictures, however as a male friend has said - rather too graphically..."a little bit of trimming can go a long, long way!" I don't think I really need to!! The only thing I really need to know...is what kind of a man has a 'pink Mac book'??

I think it safe to say that Mohammed Al-Fayed, has really lost the plot....everyone knows Camilla's not a crocodile, she's a horse.

And...Panda Porn...

The two pandas writhe about for a bit longer. Then they untangle. It may be best to stop male pandas from watching what comes next.

"The female is not co-operative," says Dr Hou laconically.

That is an understatement

We Brits take our newsreaders very seriously...we like them to be authoritative, knowledgeable, demurely/sensibly dressed and not 'be' the story...unfortunately 'Spangles' aka Natasha Kaplinsky, is failing miserably at most of that at present. Last night was the first night of her new anchor position at Channel Five. The Daily Mail's review had one line that summed up the 'show'...Her dark blouse was unbuttoned well south of Watford.

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And in today's news....

The And the Oscar for general society's best investment banker goes to....

How dim can people really be... my favourite was:

UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE (BBC2)

Bamber Gascoigne: What was Gandhi's first name?

Contestant: Goosey?

(if you weren't brought up on English nursery rhymes, then read here)


20 Things everyone needs to know.

And finally....if only it were this easy

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I think it's amusing...but then I'm not PC

'Santa Claus Is Coming To Get Me': Mental health charity sparks outrage with spoof Christmas carols

I particularly like 'For multiple personality disorder there is We Three Kings Disorientated Are'

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Odd the things that one notices....!

Whilst flicking through the Daily Telegraph website I looked at the pictures of Charles and Camilla's horse Royal Superlative....as I went through the pictures...the mouse came to rest on the picture with a description of the picture.....



I can't figure out which is which!!

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Well, we are both packing.....

I would imagine that Tony Blair's day today will be a little similar to mine...granted I'm not going to be meeting the Queen, granted I have already resigned, granted I am not moving out of one of the most famous addresses in the world....but we've both got the bloody packers in....!!!!

After 10 years, one month and a few weeks as PM, Blair is finally handing over to Gordon Brown. It's been an interesting 10 years, we've had his 'People's Princess' moment, we had the first baby born to a Prime Minister in however many years, we had Iraq (correction, still have Iraq), the dodgy dossier, spin, Cherie, Alistair Campbell, the 'war on terror', G8, 7th July, 11th September, Northern Ireland, the Good Friday agreement...and many, many other interesting, embarassing and odd moments.



For a good roundup of all things 'Blair'...go to the Daily Telegraph's page. Particularly informative/amusing is the assessment of the Blair Christmas Cards

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Why?

Confusing art.. English style

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The revenge of the Trucial States...

First this....

'A scale model of Concorde which has had pride of place at Heathrow Airport's entrance for 16 years has been removed.......Emirates is to put its own model up on the site.'

then this....

'Dubai is to buy the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship for $100m (£50.5m) and turn it into a floating hotel off the Gulf emirate's man-made islands.'

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Well it explains a fair bit, anyway!

Seb Coe is partially colour-blind

Personally, I think the offical logo is awful, an embarassment even.....my money would be on something a bit like this.....


selected from these....

And, if you don't know what I'm talking about, read here

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It just gets better....

From the PDI on Wednesday...came this little snippet of worldly wise information....

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Election update....

Continuing from my previous election post...

City Boy and Island Boy are already on holiday and are in Cebu driving north for a few days at the beach....City Boy just texted me and tells me that they are driving through Danao City...aka the gun-making capital of the Philippines (we have a bit of a standing joke about this tendency of places here to label themselves as the 'something' capital of the Philippines!). Silly me, and I thought everywhere in the Philippines was the gun capital, however, after a little research I see that it's correct...apparently when the elections were announced..business heated up!

With the whiff of elections in the air, the gunsmiths of Danao City are working
overtime to meet demand for their signature .38-caliber revolvers.
"The orders start coming in three years in advance," said one weapons merchant,
who would not give his name. "If you don't have guns, goons and gold, you will
not win an election."

This from E@L - have swiped the picture - he won't mind, all things considered I think he owes me one!!!!

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Just before I go...

From 12:01am Sunday morning to 12:01 am Tuesday morning, there is an alcohol ban in the Philippines - no alcohol can be bought, sold or consumed in public places (hotels, restaurants and bars included)..this is all apparently to make sure the voting population behaves themselves...foreigners are excluded...!

One of my more cynical colleagues stated that the alcohol ban was so that the hired assasins could shoot straighter....

So whilst Island Boy and myself are sunning ourselves in Bohol, I can get progressively drunker and he will have to stay sober! as they said in Airplane"I guess the foot's on the other hand now, isn't it Kramer?". Actually it feels a little like the day before Ramadan starts in Jordan..I have this urge to go out and stock up on vast quantities of alcohol!!!

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How much is that voter in the window....I do hope that voter's for sale.....

As promised earlier..a short post on vote buying..again, a selection of headlines to give you a rough idea of what's happening..

New vote buying schemes - in case the others were all a tad old fashioned

A thousand pesos for my vote

Phone cameras can be used for vote buying

Insurance cards not used to buy votes - just remarkably convenient timing..'The cards were given to over two million party members as “an act of prudence and gratitude” to “loyal members,” he added.

At the same time, he said the cards were distributed to party “campaigners and poll watchers who under the law are entitled to reasonable allowances or compensation…”'

Comelec reporters receive P100 cell phone cards

Is it a prize, or is it vote buying

And this is a classic headline...40% believe Arroyo will cheat

Given the violence and the vote buying, I have a few questions...

1. Can the Philippines really be classed as a democracy?

2. Is it really worth having the elections?

3. Is it really worth while being a politician of any description in this country?

4. Will there be enough politicians left alive in the country to actually have an election on the 14th May?

Answers on a postcard to.....

I was asked the other day how much it costs to buy votes in England...I answered that to the best of my knowledge at grass-roots level vote-buying doesn't really exist or at least not the form of cash/phones etc exchanging hands as it does here; however at more senior levels allegedly a peerage could change hands...

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