Comment entertainingly and I'll consider adding you. Why you'd want me to is, of course, entirely your own problem. In doing so you absolve me of any legal liability for psychological damage incurred in the process of reading my journal. No children under the height of 4'6". Oh and no refunds. Enjoy :o)

[EDITED to add - if you're one of those people who is likely to engage in passive-aggressive friends cuts 'unless you comment to say you want to stay' then be warned that I don't play that game, so it's probably best for you not to add me in the first place to save us both time.]

Latibær is very popular in Europe. My son loves it. What do you think of Latibær?

You might know it better as Lazytown, but it's a kids' programme from Iceland, revolving around a fictional cartoon-style town, where pink-loving newcomer Stephanie enlists the help of adult superhero Sportacus to save the puppet locals from sinking into terminal indolence. Meanwhile long-time town resident Robbie Rotten works to undermine their efforts, and keep those kids fat and lazy.

Farbeit from me to deconstruct the innocence of Scandinavian TV, but there's a definite sexual subtext in this programme, despite creator and star Magnus Scheving going out of his way to make Sportacus as camp as Christmas. Disagree? Well maybe this picture will persuade you otherwise...





Or maybe he's just pleased to see her...

Current Mood: chipper

Poll #539310 Who is... ?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: None, participants: 42

the most intelligent person on your friends list?

the most attractive person on your friends list?

the kinkiest person on your friends list?

Nobody but me can read your answers. Anybody should feel free to answer this poll.

Tags: poll
Current Mood: curious

Okay I know you're all probably sick of endless rambling about London and bombs and terrorism and blahblahblah but nevertheless I have something on the subject I'd like to say, so please take the time to read, and to respond, if you have anything to say.

I found this article very enlightening, as it summarises a vast swathe of editorialising in the States in the aftermath of last week's bombs. It seems to be evidence of a common theme - that the UK's insistence on preserving freedom of speech, rights to a fair trial and freedom of movement has in some way brought the problem crashing down on our own heads.

So let me make it very clear why I think this is utter nonsense.

The aim of terrorists is not to bomb people. That is the method they adopt to achieve their aim. The aim is to affect and undermine the way of life of people living in the countries they target. They do so by creating a climate of terror.

There are several ways to fight this -

1) Catch all terrorists everywhere
2) Refuse to change your way of life
3) Refuse to be terrified
4) Make them change their aim
5) Make them change their methods.

1) is clearly impractical... not that it stops people advocating radical changes to the law to 'crack down' on everyone who might be a terrorist. And the other problem with this method is that in failing it actually militates against methods 2) and 3) - it scares people and causes their lives to be affected, their own liberties to be impinged upon. 4) is extremely unlikely, certainly impossible in the short to medium term. 5) is the method that the UK government has been trying with the IRA, with some (although not total) success. It has taken most of my lifetime even to achieve these patchy results.

The methods that are most effective are the second and third - by refusing to be scared and refusing to change our lifestyles on the terrorists' terms we win, we break the chain of bomb -> public panic -> our way of life altering.

In the wake of last week's London bombs I heard again and again the amazement of American friends at the calm response of most Londoners. "Do they put valium in the water supply over there?" was a typical comment. I think this is because of the US administration's narrow, knee-jerk application of method number 1, its failure, and the consequent whipping up of fear and support for law changes which have scuppered methods 2 and 3.

Fight terrorists by not being terrified. Fight their attempts to change our way of life by refusing to change it. Quiet resolve... that's the most effective method. This is what Londoners instinctively grasp, after years of IRA atrocities. It's what everyone who lives in the West needs to understand.

Today may have brought several breakthroughs in the investigation into the London bombs, including an arrest in West Yorkshire, and I'm sure there's a lot that will emerge in the next few days. But whatever comes of this, it's vital to remember not to do the terrorists' work for them by whipping up hysteria and allowing our values to be undermined. Because then they've already won.

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - "A large earthquake struck off the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island late Monday, and the U.S. Geological Survey said it was a major quake measuring a magnitude of 8.2.

Officials issued a tsunami warning for residents of southern Thai provinces, three months after a tsunami devastated parts of Indonesia and other countries in the region. The quake occurred at 11:09 p.m. local time at a depth of nearly 19 miles, the USGS in Golden, Colo., said.

Japan's Meteorological Agency said the quake registered 8.5. Tremors were felt throughout peninsular Malaysia's west coast, causing thousands of residents to flee high-rise apartment buildings and hotels. There were no immediate reports of any casualties or major damage.

"I was getting ready for bed, and suddenly, the room started shaking," said Kuala Lumpur resident Jessie Chong. "I thought I was hallucinating at first, but then I heard my neighbors screaming and running out."

Chalermchai Aekkantrong, deputy director of Thailand's meteorological department, told a radio station that officials were asking people near the coast to evacuate, although there were no immediate reports of a tsunami.

Tremors form the quake could be felt in the Thai capital Bangkok for several minutes beginning at about 11:20 p.m. The Dec. 26 magnitude-9 undersea earthquake, the world's biggest in 40 years, and the huge tsunami it sent charging across the Indian Ocean at the speed of a passenger jet killed more than 174,000 people and left another 106,000 missing.

More than 1.5 million people were left homeless in 11 countries."

THAILAND ISSUES TSUNAMI WARNING AFTER QUAKE OFF SUMATRA
- RADIO REUTERS

QUAKE CAN GENERATE "WIDELY DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI"
- PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER

Edited to add -

"A powerful earthquake in the Indian Ocean has hit the coast of Indonesia's tsunami-hit island of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami alert. The quake was given a magnitude of 8.2 by the US geological survey who have warned it could cause tidal waves.

The epicentre was located at about 200 km (125 miles) off the mainland."
(source - BBC News Online)

Meanwhile Russ Evans, a seismologist from the British Geological Survey - told the BBC's News 24 TV channel that the Boxing Day earthquake was 9.5 on the Richter scale. He says this quake is almost certainly an after-shock from that one, and that a tsunami is certainly possible - but hopefully on a smaller scale.

Thailand's meteorological department has issued a tsuanmi warning, urging residents in southern Thailand to evacuate. And it's reported in New Delhi that India has reactivated an emergency control room following the quake, fearing a fresh tsunami.

What are believed to be the first arrests under the [UK's] new hunting legislation were made by Wiltshire Police, when they held four men suspected of illegal hare coursing in the early hours of this morning. They said said "Wiltshire Police arrested four men at 4am this morning under the new hunting legislation. The men were found on an unclassified road between Hullavington and Sherston, near Malmesbury, in Wiltshire with four dogs and the carcass of a hare.

"The men, a 31, 32 and 33-year-old from South Wales and a 53-year-old from Ireland, have been arrested on suspicion of hunting with dogs under Section One of the new legislation. These men are also being investigated as to possible firearms offences relating to a modified air rifle and possible offensive weapons charges relating to possession of pointed/bladed articles. The men have now been released on police bail pending further inquiries."

It's understood the arrests were made by regular police patrol in the area and were not the result of any specific anti-hunting operation. Wiltshire Police said they could not confirm the arrests were the first in the UK under the new legislation, but it is believed they are.

Current Mood: chipper

Being someone whose mind tends to wander, I became curious as to what the first 20 interests registered on the Livejournal database were. So I went and checked, and it turns out they start off, perhaps predicably, with an unsurprising representation of programming geek's enthusiasms.

1 linux
2 programming
3 perl
4 unix

before Mr Geek number 1 decided to branch out with

5 women, and
6 beer.

Boys will be boys, and now that's enshrined in the LJ database. Next Mr Original Geek was inspired, perhaps by beer or women, to become more adventurous.

7 biking
8 snow skiing

before returning to type with

9 java
10 c
11 math
12 linguistics.

I'm assuming 9 doesn't refer to coffee, or islands near Sumatra. Our friend hadn't given up on physical pursuits though, and swiftly afterwards came

13 running
14 travel
15 frisbee and
16 cheese,

cheese undoubtedly being a physical phenomenon if not really a pursuit as such.

17 computers

was a not particularly surprising return to his techie heartland. Intriguingly, the next two interests were removed, so we'll never know what flights of fancy might have slotted in after computers and before

20 drinking.

Well in all honesty, not the most amazing list, but honest. No emo-ness. No pretension. No "Marshall McLuhan" or "Jean Paul Sartre". Just direct, simple enthusiasms. Beer, cheese, girls, and programming. I found myself warming to the original Mr Interested.

Well after that I wondered what the 20 most recent additions to the interests list might be. I had no idea what number on the database we'd reached, but it didn't take too much trial and error to work out the answer - 8163392. Even allowing for the startling ability of LJers to spell things wrongly, that represents a LOT of interests.

So here, for you, the most recent 20 additions to the LJ database.
( check them out )

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: something with madsexy trombones

"Fred Hale Sr., documented as the world's oldest man, died Friday. He was 113 years old.

He died in hospital in Syracuse, while trying to recover from a bout of pneumonia. He was 12 days shy of his 114th birthday.

Born Dec. 1, 1890, Hale last month watched his lifelong favorite baseball team, the Boston Red Sox, win the World Series again after 86 years.

Hale retired 50 years ago as a railroad postal worker and beekeeper."

--

Died happy I bet, after the Red Sox finally did it. Glad he got to see that...

TOKYO (Sports Network)

Carl Crawford led off the game with a homer and David Ortiz hit a monstrous shot to lead a team of Major League Baseball All-Stars to a 5-3 win over a squad of Japan stars in Game 2 of their series at the Tokyo Dome.

The major league stars have won the first two of the eight-game set, also taking Friday's opener 7-2. Crawford, of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, finished 3-for-4 with a pair of singles and a stolen base. He also made a spectacular diving catch on his way to game MVP honors.

Ortiz, though, may have stolen the spotlight with a home run in the fourth inning estimated at 514 feet. The blast by the Boston Red Sox slugger, on a 3-0 pitch, hit the lights down the right field line.

"I thought for a second it would land in the Dominican," said Ortiz.