Not bad at all. Hat-tip: http://padawanpooh.livejournal.com/453720.html (which has some other stuff too...)
Someone with too much time on their hands today (ahem) has lolcatted up the Queen's Christmas message to the Commonwealth:
... that I have just watched the most sensitive and informed treatment of abusive relationships I have ever seen on British television, and it was in Wallace and Grommit? Fluffles was the archetypal battered partner, and Paella the archetypal abuser. It was harrowing, and it was triggery as hell, and I only wish that kind of dramatisation was more common, and then there wouldn't be half-arsed ill-informed bollocks typed like most of the comments on this entry. Ironically, given that this entry was prompted by a children's programme, I think we need to grow up. We need to stop pretending ...
In which I admit I was wrong. From the pre-publicity, and the pre-credits sequence shown on Children in Need night, this looked like a straight remake of The One Doctor. Well, it certainly took some ideas from it, but it wasn't a straight remake by any means. And (possibly because I had convinced myself it was going to be awful) I found myself rather enjoying it. Yes, you could read it as yet another sexist diatribe from Rusty, as a strong, intelligent, and disempowered female who has finally broken her shackles is re-disempowered by the Doctor or even as Rusty's ...
It is a time of year to reflect, to think upon what has come to pass, to learn from the past and thank those that brought us to where we are today. Today, especially, is an exceptional day for these endeavours, being as it is the birthday of one of the greatest and most influential men to walk those green and pleasant lands. His works, agitation and beliefs revolutionised the world, and there isn't a day that goes by in which we are not all grateful for his work and influence. He stood up to Roman oppression, believed himself to ...
Those of you living overseas might not be aware, but part of the tradition of Christmas Day is watching, or listening to, the Queen's Speech at 3 o'clock. Mat and I listened to it on radio four. Her Maj was in sombre mood this year, but I kept smirking to myself... I blame Sandi Toksvig, who had the programme before, and had devoted a large segment of her pick of 2008 to Humph. You see, her Maj's voice and accent are very similar to Humph's, and it doesn't half cheer up the Queen's speech if you keep expecting outrageous sexual ...
Whilst the Queen is telling us all that it's our turn for an annus horribilis, I thought I might say something a little more uplifting. For me, at least, 2008 has been a year of personal growth (in more than one way) and of increasing happiness. President-elect Ros and I got married, travelled the Liberal Democrat world, and triumphed against the apparent electoral odds. Yes, it's been a good
Throughout the festive season, LDV is offering our readers a load of repeats another chance to read the 12 most popular opinion articles which have appeared on the blog since 1st January, 2008. First up this Christmas Day is this article by, erm, me, which appeared on LDV on 2nd December... Can you sum up the purpose of the Lib Dems in a sentence? (Or 'The Quest for the Lib Dem Holy Grail'). Today's Guardian carries an interview with comedian/actor Eddie Izzard: interesting for those of us who are fans (especially of his classic mid-90s' shows), but also interesting for ...
Perhaps we should set up a small factory making these.
Firstly, and most importantly, happy birthday draich_goch. All those of us who have birthdays around now (myself, hollybeenc, minnesattva, and many others) feel your pain at being overshadowed by Isaac Newton's Birthday at this time of year, but at least Newton is a great scientific figure and not some divisive religious icon ;) Small Person has been delivered to her daddy, and now all Mat and I have to do is be lazy, and perhaps watch some Doctor Who. She got vast numbers of gifts, including some from customers at the pub (Welsh Peter gave her a Ty Beanie Welsh ...
The one thing we think we know about next year is that Rhodri Morgan will be standing down as leader of the Wales Labour Party and there will be a contest to succeed him. Both Carwyn Jones and Huw Lewis have been touted as potential candidates but the one person who has dropped out of the limelight as a contender since his illness a few months ago is Finance and Public Services Minister, Andrew Davies. This does not mean that Andrew Davies will not run, just that he seems to have had other things to do other than set out ...
I spent yesterday afternoon at Doha's brand-new Museum of Islamic Art, which seems destined quickly to be acknowledged as one of the world's great museums. The building itself — designed by architect I M Pei — is positvely pharaonic in its simple grandeur. The setting is stunning, on an artifical island just off the [...]
Jonathan over at Liberal England has already wished us a merry christmas with one of my favourite christmas songs - Solstice Bells by Jethro Tull - whose folksy sound is somehow appropriate at this time of year. For anyone else still up waiting for children to settle down so that they can perform their Santa duties, here's another of my favourites:
This was what happened when the sherry drinking got out of hand ... Enjoy!
Whatever thoughts crossed my mind that weren't worth a whole post. 01:24 has been drinking far too much gin, played Worms on the damn Wii (fun), and is now going going to bed to watch more Dr Who. Yay! # 19:05 has been baking cakes with the little 'un. She's happy, this is good. Now to try to catch up on all the stuff I haven't read. #Microblogging using LoudTwitter and Twitter. matgb_twitter is there if you're mad enough.
There's a party (with added hangover) mood this year for Doctor Who's twentieth anniversary, the celebrations finishing up in a big get-together with five Doctors where everyone's slightly the worse for wear (incidentally, a happy Christmas to all of you at home!). Stories of old glories turned sour carry echoes of vampirism and the Flying Dutchman: the melancholic Mawdryn Undead; the captivating Enlightenment, which mixes ships, space and soulless wanderers' cocktail parties before climaxing in a festival that's not quite what the participants want or expect, much like... Snakedance "He calls himself 'the Doctor', though personally I rather doubt it." ...
Christmas Day: Isn't it ODD how many aliens in Doctor Who look just like human beans? Some people say it is because the Doctor's people, the Time Lords, made the other species evolve that way; some people say that it's to do with the pattern they made in the Universal morphic fields; some people say Just be grateful we don't get wrinkly rubber noses like they do on Star Trek... For example, the people of the Planet Sto aboard Max Capricorn's doomed space liner Titanic. (Incidentally, since they're all far from home does that make everyone on board Sto Aways? ...
