%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |   A tentative blog to test the temperature. |
|
Ten years ago I was writing several blogs on various subjects - F1 motor racing, Music, Classic Cars, Great Romances and, most crushingly, a personal journal that included my thoughts on America, memories of England and Africa, opinion, humour, writing and anything else that occurred. It all became too much (I was attempting to update the journal every day) and I collapsed, exhausted and thoroughly disillusioned in the end. So this blog is indeed a Toe in the Water, a place to document my thoughts in and on WdC but with a determination not to get sucked into the blog whirlpool ever again. Here's hoping.     |
| I Say Tomato I see a lot of silly Anglo-American competition on the internet - people saying how words should be pronounced or spelt in English, quibbling over customs and intentions, and so on. Both sides convinced that somehow they are right, better and clearly superior. Yet how truly silly this is. The fact is that we talk about our differences so much because we’re basically the same and this makes our differences endlessly fascinating. Any need to use these comparisons to demonstrate superiority is born of insecurity. There is no right or wrong way to say “tomato” and nobody really knows how to pronounce “Marylebone.” We learn so much from each other. Comparisons between how we speak and what we’ve done with the institutions inherited by both of us from the events of the 18th Century actually enable us to understand ourselves the better. It’s in these discussions that fresh light is shone (or even “shined”) upon things about ourselves that we’ve previously taken for granted. Thanks to our transatlantic contacts and friends, we gain a much deeper understanding of ourselves. And that has nothing to do with superiority. One man’s English is another man’s dialect. Word count: 193 |
| An Old Thought Unburdened by what has been before... Isn't that Alzheimers? |
| This is Why I’ve been thinking a lot over the last few weeks. Which explains why there have been so few blog updates lately. Although you might think that all that thinking would result in all sorts of blogworthy things to say, the truth is that most of them aren’t worth saying until a conclusion is reached. So I hold fire on that until I can see the whites of your eyes. In the meantime, here’s a little thought I had several years ago. You might remember the ad. Sometimes people say things I don't think they mean. Just watched an advert for a well known brand of beer by the most interesting man in the world. At the end of the ad he lifts a beer bottle so we can see the label and advises us to "stay thirsty, my friends." I'm sorry, but to me this means I should bear the thirst because this beer is really horrible. Word count: 157 |
| Facebook Follies Lately, I’ve been ambushed by Facebook. It’s part of my boot up procedure every morning, although I never bother with it during the rest of the day. I open it just so that, on opening or closing it each day, I can see whether any friends or relatives have commented. Normally, I would spend a couple of minutes there on my way to WdC. But a few weeks ago, it laid a trap for me. It started putting Calvin and Hobbes cartoons every few posts. I have never told Facebook that I love Calvin and Hobbes, so why it should suddenly decide to throw them at me, I have no idea. Just part of the irrational mess that is Facebook, I guess. The problem is that it works. I find myself scrolling further and further down in the hope of another C & H cartoon. And there’s always another one. There are days when I get lost in Facebook for half an hour or more and that’s a fair chunk out of my day - more than FB warrants, that’s for sure. But I can see light at the end of the tunnel. They’re beginning to run out of C & H strips. I can tell because there are more and more repeats. Plus, they’ve started to try out other cartoons on me as well. No luck there, I’m afraid. Never did think much of Beetle Bailey. So it looks as though I’ll soon be able to reclaim those lost hours in Facebook. Though I’ll miss Calvin and Hobbes, it’s true. Word count: 258 |
| Just a Thought Next year's WdC birthday will be its quarter century. That's gonna be some party! |
| Weezer Again I can't help it - every now and again I come across another Weezer song that I've never heard before and I'm grinning like a Cheshire cat with enjoyment. Listen to this one and tell me you're not instantly back in the heyday of the Beachboys: |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
