Random Thoughts- Some Of Them Cheerful

[poliphilo]

Ailz thinks we can live on £150 per month. I think that's pretty steep, but I like a challenge.

At least we don't have to worry about flooding- because we're so high up- though it seems like most other places do. How many flood warnings were issued yesterday? Over a hundred, I think. This new climate of ours- whether caused by global warming or not- is taking some getting used to.

We bought a couple of halogen heaters. One for the living room, one for the kitchen. Apparently they cost about a penny an hour to run.

Sarah Palin is an ignorant woman. I read a report that, as mayor of Wasilia, she wanted to ban Twelfth Night from the local library. Can that really be true? I don't like the thought of her becoming empress of the world.

The scum rises to the top. Pakistan has just acquired a guy notorious for graft as its Prime Minister. I say "acquired" because no-one elected him. He was appointed by the ruling party.

Mind you, no-one elected our Prime Minister either. He too was appointed by the ruling party. Matthew Parris- a columnist I respect- came right out and called him the worst Prime Minister in British History. Is that really the case? What about Anthony Eden?

I watched Longford the other night. Longford was the do-gooding aristo who tried to get parole for Myra Hindley- the most notorious British murderer of the 20th century.  It was a play about identity. Was Longford a saint or a fool or a bumbling egotist? And who on earth was Myra Hindley? Her partner, the clever psychopath Ian Brady, had her down as a "classic hysteric"- a person who becomes whatever their interlocutor wants them to be- a Zelig- a shapeshifter. We're all a bit like that- but are we enough like that to murder children? This is a question we'd rather not deal with- which is why we start shouting and stamping and waving our arms about whenever her name is raised.

Jim Broadbent was Longford, Samantha Morton was Hindley, Andy Serkis was Brady. What a lot of good actors we have in this country at the moment!

Comments

Actors

[saskia139.livejournal.com]

I'd watch almost anything with Jim Broadbent in it. Of course, at this point, I'd watch almost anything with a British cast.

Re: Actors

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Broadbent is an outstanding character actor. You know that anything with his name attached will be worth watching. His Longford had a goggle-eyed innocence that was equally touching and annoying.

Re: Actors

[saskia139.livejournal.com]

He really is. The best thing about the Ewan McGregor obsession I went through a few years ago is that in watching so many of his films, I discovered Broadbent and people like him.

[nostoi.livejournal.com]

Ailz thinks we can live on £150 per month.

From what you say about Ailz she comes across as somewhat amazing and her good sense could help a lot of people who aren't as astute as she is. Has she considered setting up a webpage or writing a budgeting help book? :)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's just as well one of us understands money :)

Maybe she'll consider a book when she's finished with the OU.

[solar-diablo.livejournal.com]

Sarah Palin is an ignorant woman. I read a report that, as mayor of Wasilia, she wanted to ban Twelfth Night from the local library.

Hadn't heard that one, I'll have to research it. She's often portrayed by favorable media here as a Libertarian, but if she sought to ban books it moves me from indifference about her into full-blown dislike. Censorship is a major no-no in my book.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I believe it's an established fact that she wanted to censor a number of books- and then moved to sack the librarian who stood up to her.

I've seen Twelfth Night mentioned as one of those books, but I'm finding it hard to believe.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

Apples, oranges. And not an established fact, either. According to a piece in the Anchorage paper, Palin asked about the procedure for removing books from the shelves (in response, I gathered from another source to some queries from some residents). I can only imagine the response she got from the librarian! That's neck and neck with "give me the borrowing records of this patron so I can hand them over to the FBI" as things calculated to send your average librarian ballistic.

Not reported in a lot of the uproar is that Palin did indeed dismiss several people who she felt weren't seeing eye to eye with her on various agendas, but later. The librarian was one, but according to the letter Palin wrote her rescinding the termination, the issue was Palin's desire to merge the library and museum functions. I can see this becoming an issue in a small town with budget problems -- indeed, I've known several library/museum hybrids here in Philadelphia that have divested themselves of either their library or their museum holdings, or streamlined both including merging staff.

I don't know what you saw in terms of a list, but there was one posted on an Obama campaign web site diary (by a lower level person, not the campaign itself). That list was bogus -- it included the Harry Potter books, not published until after the alleged incident, and apparently was actually someone's list of all the books that were banned, or suggested to be banned, at one time or another.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I saw Twelfth Night mentioned on some blog or other. I've been trying to find out which books she had in mind, and no-one seems to have a list. In a way it doesn't matter. Censorship is censorship, no matter how worthy or unworthy its target.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't know about that. There's "this doesn't belong in the children's section, let's put it in the adult section" kind of censorship, which isn't so bad in my book. But in any case, irrespective of what Sarah Palin may originally have thought about censorship in her town's library, the fact is that she didn't actually try to get anything censored.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

No, I believe she made enquiries- and then backed off.

[(Anonymous)]

That's correct: she made inquiries, but didn't pursue it. She also did not advocate for adding creationism to the curriculum in Alaska schools and she supports the teaching of contraception as well as abstinence.

[sovay]

I believe it's an established fact that she wanted to censor a number of books- and then moved to sack the librarian who stood up to her.

I haven't been able to find a list of the books she wanted removed, but it is established. And this alone would put me against her with extreme prejudice.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Me too.

Healthy democracies don't ban books.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

It is an established fact that she inquired about procedures. It is not an established fact that she sacked the librarian for not censoring books.

[craftyailz.livejournal.com]

£150 a month is a very generous amount for 2 adults and 3 rabbits. If I was being tight I'd go for £100 a month. The only difference you'll see is more stews and casseroles - which I know you're prejudiced against - but I'll call them curries and other fancy names and you'll be fine.

Love you!!!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Love you too......

[mummm.livejournal.com]

*giggle* What a cute exchange!

[serennos.livejournal.com]

Please can you come and live with me and my husband and show us how it's done?!

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

For 150 pounds a month...does that include ALL household expenses or is that just food?

We had a halogen heater for years in our living room. It heats locally quite well but doesn't heat the whole room although it does take the edge off the chill and that's all we often need.

Sarah Palin makes my stomach churn. She's scary.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

All expenses? I believe so, though I haven't seen the calculations.

I'm afraid I find all politicians scary these days.

[mummm.livejournal.com]

Sarah Palin is creepy... just plain creepy. I can't believe she is going to run for VP. It makes me sick.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I don't think she's a proper person to be running the world- which is what she'll be doing if McCain wins then slips on a banana skin- but then who is?

[richenda.livejournal.com]

Is that for everything?
My monthly expenses come to about that, with fuel expenses spread over the year, but I'd have a job to buy food as well. I don't say that it isn't possible, but I'm not sure where or how I'd cut down - I don't overheat my home.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure how much exactly is contained in that figure. I don't have a head for this sort of thing. But I know it's based on a decision not to use the central heating- except in extreme conditions.

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

I need to talk to Ailz about how to live on 150 Pounds a month (isn't that less than $400 USD?). That would truly be a coup in this country. Perhaps I should relocate to yours....

[jfs.livejournal.com]

It's very roughly $300.

And it's a pretty major coup in this country. I don't know what Tony and Ailz's major outgoings are, but I think I would struggle massively to live on that amount in London. (In fact, my travel costs are approaching that each month.)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Oldham is a lot cheaper than London- at least, I assume it is. I have my doubts, but Ailz assures me it can be done- and she's put a lot of work into her calculations.

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

I pay 2/3 of that amount for rent on my apartment alone. My rent is $195 a month, and believe me apartments do not come any cheaper here in the good old USA. My place is subsidized by the government - fair market price on my place is $1600 a month.
Tony, you make it sound as if it would not be too farfetched for an American retiree on low income to make the move to the UK. Our Social Security checks come to us no natter where we go, or so I understand.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure about that. There's immigration to be considered for a start. Things are toughening up on that front.

Another thing is we don't pay rent. What we're doing is paying off a small mortgage- and I'm pretty sure that's not included in the notional £150.

And the cost of living is rising sharply all the time. We're tightening our belts because we have to.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think it's a pretty tall order. I know we won't be running our central heating.

[nostoi.livejournal.com]

That is a tall order. For the last couple of years we have had our heating on from Dec - March inclusive, and for a maximum of three hours a day during January and Fabruary. I don't think we could cope with much less as our house is very prone to damp, and our gable end faces the harsh east winds which make it a bit chilly indoors most of the year anyway.

We have a gas fire, a wood stove and two halogen heaters that we use the rest of the time. We managed to cut our gas usage by half in the first year(the bills were exactly the bloomin same of course!).

[ibid.livejournal.com]

I guess it's possible in the North.

My only consolation with La Palin is that she isn't running for president and on the evidence of Chaney old republicans never die.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I believe Cheyney, if elected, will be the oldest president ever- and his heart ain't too good.

[chochiyo-sama.livejournal.com]

Cheney isn't running--it's McCain.

If Cheney ran and won, I would be leaving the country forever to live in a box on a street corner in Tibet if need be.

Sarah Palin is a creepy, scary, opinionated, fanatical, inexperienced disgrace to the office of Vice Presidential candidate.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Ach- Of course I meant McCain....:)

Wow.

[elegysostenuto.livejournal.com]

150 British pounds = 264.21 U.S. dollars

That's incredible.

That is just over what I pay for one week of food.

Re: Wow.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure how we're going to manage it, but Ailz says it can be done.

We've been working hard these past few weeks to get our food bills down.

Re: Wow.

[chochiyo-sama.livejournal.com]

You will have to journal your expenses and your life so we can all learn and benefit from it.

I know I waste a tremendous amount of money due to laziness and disorganization.

Re: Wow.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

One thing we've been doing recently which helps is to write out a shopping list and stick to it.

Another is only to go to the shops once a week.

I'm so fascinated.

[elegysostenuto.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

Re: I'm so fascinated.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Me too :)

Food tip!

[(Anonymous)]

We've discovered a cuisine that combines 3 fantastic traits - 1) it's delicious 2) it's really cheap and 3) it's very healthy. The cuisine in question is that of the Mediterranean peasant. You eat fish / meat maybe once a week each, and the rest of the time eat lots of fresh fruit and veg, lots of olive oil (lowers cholesterol), pasta, dairy (cheese & yoghurt) and eggs. The times you're eating vegetarian you don't think of it as vegetarian, as it's not designed to be vegetarian per se, it just happens to be. It's so tasty you don't notice. We've been eating things like entirely homemade pizza, pesto/pasta, creamy prawn linguini, one-pot summer chicken, spinach and feta lasagne, roast pepper, mozzarella and tomato tart. A good book to get is the BBC Good Food Magazine "101 Meditteranean Dishes" - rrp £5. Tom F

Re: Food tip!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Sounds really good.

Actually, we're not all that far from a mediterranean regime. We don't eat a lot of meat- except for bacon- and we have pasta several times a week. We're particularly fond of spaghetti putanesca. We also eat a lot of cheese and eggs.

I used to eat pizza quite a bit, but I find it's guaranteed to give me terrible indigestion, so I've knocked it off.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

The scum rises to the top.

Yes.

It is true about Sarah Palin. She tried to get the librarian fired because she wouldn't cooperate.

She is going to win. People LOVE her.

I am amazed, appalled.

How must Hillary feel? All her hard work and this, this--cheerleader--shoots past her, a cheerleader with a grating voice and who was ON A CLIP saying that "We must pray for our troops WHO ARE DOING GOD'S WILL IN IRAQ."

Are we to be ruled by zealots now? Apparently.

And I thought we were sliding toward a police state with Bush. With a zealot at the helm (McCain might not last long, might die), will we be told what to do because it's God's will and for our own good? How smug she is, and all her ilk.

The Evangelicals are kneeling at her feet. She's the new Saint of the Homeschool Moms.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to be philosophical about it.

I wonder how her evangelical faith will cope with exposure to the world outside Alaska.

Perhaps she'll be "converted".

I'm banking on her being uncultured and ignorant rather than stupid. I believe, from what little I've seen of her, that she's a smart woman- smarter than Bush, smarter than McCain.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

I think she may be smart, too, but I think she is inflexible, and that worries me more than her intelligence.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

Jim Broadbent is brilliant.