Today a marrow was put through Leo's cat-flap ; I do'nt think he's really into them much ; Anyone know of any good recipes entailing marrow's - Apart from baking them stuffed with minced beef and onion ,  served  with gravy and frozen sprouts ?

Yesterday for £10 I bought the U2 18 videos  dvd .
'Walk On' is possibly my favourite all time track by anyone .
And I love 'The Saints are Coming' : U2 & Green Day .
I love it all . Their first album for four years may be released soon , presumably coinciding with a tour . In which case should I get myself a ticket ;  we'll see .

I do'nt know what's in the news apart from the  Olympics on and on and on and an apparent  plot to kill Barack Obama , mercifully uncovered .
Maybe a few U.S citizens  hate themselves so much that all they feel they have to be proud of is the colour of their skin , and are so insecurely afraid that they can't bear  the prospect of someone of a different skin colour becoming their president .

Having said that I do'nt  agree with ' Black History ' becoming a mandatory part of the curriculum for all British schoolchildren : Optional , yes , but not compulsory .
I suppose next it'll be 'gay history' , and if this makes sense I despair of  the boringly predictable  'pc'  ( 'politically correct' )  brigade as much as I hate ( as I'd define it ) racism , or any other nasty discrimination .

Maybe I should be overjoyed at the fine acheivements of many British Olympic competitors : It's kind of a nice surprise , but I  feel more international , or human , than provincial , and am not really one to take much personal pride in  achievements of those who I do'nt know and who do'nt know me .

Last night I watched the tv drama ,  previously released as a feature film , about the former hangman Albert Pierrepoint , not entirely convincingly played by the Dickensian character-actor Timothy Spall , which was watchable enough  though far too instubstantially short to be very psychologically  illuminating .
It went  out of its way to portray Pierrepoint as an essentially decent fellow , who conscientiously took pride in the professionalism of his work ,  executing it as quickly and efficiently as possible , which if you are strongly opposed to 'the death penalty' could begin a lively debate . . .

I concocted a sort of impromptu 'lamb casserole' for supper ;  My lovely cat was unusually 'playing up' for a while , I realise now  because ,  he's not stupid , he knew  fresh cooked meat was 'on the go' and  wanted his share of it , which I gave him : It's said that brand-name cat food is best for cats because it's nutritionally balanced , and not as high in protein as pure meat or fish so less long-term harmful to their kidneys , but surely freshly cooked meat or fish mixed with some rice , pasta or potato is at least as healthy for them ( ? ) .

Though I do'nt miss my 'ex partner' at all personally I do so miss the regular contact , closeness , friendship and companionship of someone of the female gender , of a similar-ish  age to myself .
Maybe some people are just destined to be single and lonely , which I know can be an excuse for defeatedly  not trying , but , though I can be very determined , under the circumstances I still just do'nt know how to go about changing my singleness .

I've just seen  a film that I bought for £4 yesterday , 'The Jacket' (2004) , starring Adrien Brody ( 'The Pianist' ) , Kris Kristofferson , Jennifer Jason Leigh , and Keira Knightley and Daniel Craig , both affecting convincing american accents , and well acted by all .

Which puts to shame that ' too big for his boots ' film critic Mark Kermode , a.k.a 'Dr . Heckle and Mr . Snide ' , who Oh  so funnily  calls Keira Knightley ' Ikea Knightley ' and claims she can't act .

It's about a gulf-war wounded soldier suffering from amnesia returning home , ending up in a psychiatric institution being controversially 'treated' by being drugged up , put in a strait-jacket and shut in a body-drawer in the hospital's  morgue .

In which he has visions of the future , and , yes it's a little  confusing , but  ends satisfactorily and quite movingly : An under-rated minor-masterpiece , which I was feeling quite depressed when I started to watch ,  kind of expecting  it to make me feel worse , but it turned out to be really good . I like a lot of films with a 'time travel' aspect to them .
One day I'll get a bigger tv , as 32" can seem a bit small  ,  for movies not in full-screen format .

The Bad : Following all the frustration with my old laptop , my new one almost certainly has a software and/or hardware fault , which I do'nt think I can fix : It does'nt recognise  my , or any other wireless network :  I'll call the Comet helpline tomorrow .

And  aside from that my first impressions of windows vista is that it's very pestery and annoying : What's wrong with XP ? -
Nothing much at all , so why replace it ?  :
For commercial reasons of course .
Microsoft have the monopoly , so can do as they please .

My late Father liked to be different , so if he'd had a pc he'd have probably had a Mac , which I know nothing of as I've never used one .

I  would'nt put money on his becoming President , although it's entirely possible that he might .

Will this years Derby winner New Approach get the better of Duke of Marmalade at Newmarket tomorrow  ?
At the moment  the betting odds say no . I missed out on todays televised 'banker' bet , Lush Lashes , and should I , not having had a bet for a while , 'go in heavily' on Duke of Marmalade , who I've already profited from more than once this year ,  tomorrow , even at 'odds on' ? - Maybe . . .  I plan to monitor the situation from minute to minute , though , my laptop having become impossible to run off of the mains any more , I've reserved a new one to collect from lowestoft Comet , tomorrow , so I may miss the race .

On Radio5live now they're talking about a childrens book by Jaqueline Wilson which includes  the c--- word : Good free publicity  ?
Maybe not , and , some idiot said that people in the south of England do'nt know what the word means !

On 5live , in between their ultra-extensive olympics coverage , earlier today  I heard a snippet of a conversation with a woman who was saying that , if you're a parent and generally quite 'matey' with your children , when you  have to 'lay down the law' to them  it's a good idea to be touching  or holding them  whilst  firmly  speaking  to them , which ( as a non-parent , but who remembers my youth ) makes sense to me , if it means conveying  that , however serious , and maybe temporarily angry you are , of course you still love them .

My poor old Dad tended to just , exasperatedly/contemptuously  go "Ohrrrrrrrrrrr . . . " , when he disapproved of my behaviour .

This 'blog must be a 'well kept secret' according to the ratio of pageviews to visitors , according to the 'stats' .

On 5live now they're talking about seagulls , attacking people ,  and stealing their sandwiches  :  What worries you most  :  Seagulls , or Gary Glitter  ?

I hear that Dr . Gunther von Hagens gruesome ' body worlds ' exhibition , as featured in the 'Bond movie Casino Royale , will be at Londons O2 arena from October 24th .
Featuring 'donated' human bodies , stripped of skin ,  saturated in plastics to preserve them and fixed in rigid lifelike poses , apparently for paying exhibition visitors to walk around , and touch as well as look at if they want to . . .
Fascinating in a way but I find the idea profoundly unsettling to say the least .
Ethically , and religiously if you have a faith , what is your attitude to such an exhibition , and would you pay to see it  ?

My Mum has for many years studied the writings of the Austrian philosopher / mystic / spiritual teacher etc. Rudolf Steiner , which are called  anthroposophy .
Apparently Steiner said something like that 'ahrimanic' , or 'dark , negative' forces in the atmosphere can adversely affect some people , perhaps causing them to commit 'evil' acts , but do'nt quote me on that . .
Possibly , I suppose , but I think it's unwise to put about such a notion , as a possible excuse for abnegation of personal responsibility .

However I do think that , if someone  holds  in a  lot of  anger and resentment  , sensitive people around them can potentially be affected by the silent , sullenly angry persons vibes , even to the extent of  exploding into anger .
So if there are a lot of profoundly angry , negative people around , perhaps that could happen on a larger scale .
And if some of those people are dead , in spirit form , well why not . . .

But as for 'ahrimanic' or 'luciferic' forces , and angels or demons , well maybe , but if they are not spirits of dead people then what is their origin ?

But lets not get too despairingly negative , there's  loads of good , positive , loving , healing stuff going on too .
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I bought a pack of fresh cod , £3.50 , from our local Somerfield , use by August 24th : What an overpoweringly awful smell when I opened it : I took back the bar code and receipt for a refund , but , if only we could have at least one proper supermarket here , instead of two silly little 'toytown' ones . . .
But  any proposal of that would have outraged residents  campaigning dementedly against it . .
Sometimes you just can't win can you .

I do'nt see right or left-wing as legitimate terms of abuse , we all come to our own conclusions , and as long as we do'nt try to impose them on others , what's the problem ?

Do I favour the idea of  very authoritarian , punitive , highly policed societal structures ? - Not at all .

Would I support capital punishment for a few particularly heinous , sadistic , premeditated crimes where guilt is overwhelmingly proven and legitimate  mitigating factors are absent - Yes .

And do I think there should for a while be a moratorium on most immigration into already overcrowded UK towns and cities - Yes .

Do I think that the benefits system should be scrapped , and damaged , disadvantaged people  left to fend for themselves , and that the NHS should be privatised - No .

And would I ever vote for the BNP - No , Never .

So am I 'right wing' , 'left wing' , a bit of both , or neither ? - Who cares .

All political or religious fanatical extremism leads to totalitarian nightmares when  its adherents get to assume power .

So do I condemn all injustice , opression , human right abusage whether in the name of socialism , fascism , religion or whatever - For sure I do .

I wrote to the 'slave2victoria' 'marx brother' clown on this site , requesting him not to leave comments on womens 'blogs here including the 'c-word' : They may not mind , and perhaps I'm old-fashioned , but it seems odd of a supposed worshipper of women to be so ungentlemanly : He replied to say he'll do that no more , and , whilst I certainly do'nt want to be a 'dom' to old men ,  if to anyone , it's faintly gratifying to be taken notice of if one knows that one is right !

I was talking with my Mother about the past : Some things I remember and she does'nt , and some she remembers and I do'nt .
Too intricately complex to attempt to write about in brief .

The above article is chilling : thousands of street children , homeless people , homosexuals , prostitutes , african immigrants and others deemed by the chinese government  'not fit to be seen' by visitors to Beijing during the olympics have been rounded up and put in ghastly camps , forced to work for up to 16 hours a day making tacky souvenir's to be sold to tourists , kept in vile conditions and tortured if they show any resistance .
Not unremeniscent of 'behind the scenes' goings on at the 1936 Berlin 'nazi' Olympic Games .
I believe that China was awarded the Olympics on the condition that its 'human rights' would have considerably  improved by now .

I watched part 1 of  the bbc2 'Maestro' programme , shown on tuesday , in which some semi-well-known people  try conducting the bbc concert orchestra .
Of course being able to read music is likely to help a lot but is not essential , and it would seem that anyone who has a 'feeling' for the music , and  co-ordination , confidence and a willingness to take it seriously  and to get to know , in their heads , every note of whichever piece they're going to conduct , knowing exactly how they want it to sound , can learn to at worst competently , at best very impressively conduct that piece , in a relatively short time .

I also watched a short C4 programme about Sion Jenkins , who has the unique status of having gone to trial three times in the UK for the same offence : Accused of murdering his stepdaughter Billie Jo , eleven years ago , and each time the jury could'nt reach a verdict .
He's chosen to place himself back into the public spotlight , by having written a book giving his version of what happened .
I know what I sense and think , but can't prove it , so we have to accept that officially he no longer has any case to answer .

I used to think that my Father , though intelligent , had a knack of appearing to be more intelligent and knowledgeable than he was .

I sometimes wonder if that skill might have passed onto me , which is daft because , we all know I'm a half-wit , who sort-of may have some sort of 'way with words' , sometimes , maybe .

I heard on C4 news that , as part of the drive to repopulate our nation with Gordon Brown fans , his government plan to provide free laptops and broadband to the 'poorest' families with children .
I'm by no means anti the internet or unsympathetic to anyone struggling financially , but , how can home pc's and broadband internet be a priority in such a situation , especially with free internet access in public libraries ?
And how come  those of my , and my parents generations somehow seemed to manage entirely adequately without computers during our childhoods ?  !

The front pages of todays 'Mirror and 'Mail are almost  identical , citing  "fury" at  Colin Stagg's £706,000 compensation for his having been 'set up' by the metropolitan police in an attempted 'sting' operation , designed by the forensic psychologist and 'criminal profiler' Paul Britton , in which an undercover policewoman employed highly dubious tactics to try to get the then 29 year old Mr . Stagg to admit to the savage murder of Rachel Nickell , on wimbledon common , in 1992 .
I've not  read the 'Mirror but at least in today's 'Mail  they fail to substantiate the alleged 'fury' engendered by his compensation award  by quoting anyone claiming to be furious about it . However both attempt to use as a selling point the presumed resentment and jealousy of their readers of  a 'working class' man  receiving such a  substantial award , especially since he's never been found innocent or guilty , of that awful crime , in court .
It's a long story which you probably know  , out of which neither Colin Stagg or those involved in the attempted 'entrapment' operation emerge with much credit .
He'd never had a 'proper' girlfriend , was desperate to get one , and the SO10 undercover WPC  who befriended him first through letters , then 'phone conversations , then closely monitored meetings in Hyde Park , said sick things to him like that she wished that he had murdered Rachel Nickell , and that she'd only feel able to 'give herself' to a man so strong and dominant as to have viciously stabbed Miss . Nickell 49 times , and sexually assaulted her , in front of her traumatised two year old son .
He always denied being responsible for her murder , though has always admitted being on the common that day , as he was most days .
Though he said sick things like that it excited him to be shown a photo of Miss . Nickell's body by police  questioning him about her murder , and he appeared to know details of her murder that he should'nt have known , unless they somehow leaked out from someone involved in the investigation to local residents including him , which is possible .

However , he 'passed' a 'lie-detector test'  live on national radio , another man will be going on trial for the murder this November , and I do'nt think that many still seriously belive him responsible for the murder , apart from Rachel Nickell's former partner Andre Hascombe , and Paul Britton , who still maintains that the statistical likelihood of more than one man with the deviant sexual pathology that he  ascribes to the murderer , and to Colin Stagg , due to his having written  increasingly  lurid  and violent 'fantasies' to try to please his new 'friend' the undercover WPC 'Lizzie James' ( who retired , and won £200,000 compensation for the 'stress' brought on by her involvement in the investigation ) being in the vicinity of Wimbledon Common on the same day is infintesimally small .

One thing that some recent , and  probably some not so recent investigations into some  particularly notorious crimes has taught us is that if you are a man living in the vicinity of the crime who could be described as a 'loner' ,  especially if you show any interest in the case , you'd better have rock-solid alibi's , otherwise you run the risk of an ostensibly  believable case for your guilt being formulated  ,  damning lies , exaggerated partial truths or harmless enough but embarrassing truths being published about you in national newspapers ,  possible imprisonment for any number of years , and then , if you are lucky , sooner or later being officially cleared of suspicion , and perhaps being financially compensated , maybe  substantially , whilst having to face some people's name-calling , and jealousy of any  compensation , for the rest of your life .