My So-Called Life
the random and not-so-random musings of a twenty-something history geek
My So-Called Lifethe random and not-so-random musings of a twenty-something history geek |
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| About Lizzie: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Lizzie is a fully qualified history teacher having finished her course at Canterbury Christ Church University. She's also a geek who was secretary of the University of Kent Computing Society during her three year BA at the University of Kent. She is very much in love with her shiny Husband, though she is sad that he doesn't glow bloo :( More about her on her website: http://carina.org.uk |
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| Mar. 14th, 2009 @ 02:24 pm Government to track movement out of the country | |||
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I'm currently feeling rather annoyed by this. " All travel plans to be tracked by Government". Under the plans, starting to be brought in already: "Anyone departing the UK by land, sea or air will have their trip recorded and stored on a database for a decade." I don't know where to start on this, or what annoys me most. Perhaps it is the justifcation from the government: "The changes are being brought in as the Government tries to tighten border controls and increase protection against the threat of international terrorism." How does tracking people leaving the country and holding the details for 10 years protect us against terrorism? This comes across as a standard line from the government, much like how ID cards will apparently protect us, even if they didn't protect the people of Madrid. Or it might be the "condemnation" of the plans by Chris Grayling, the home affairs spokesman for the Conservatives: ""Of course we need to keep a proper record of people as they come in and leave the country. I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound much like it's condemning the plans to me. Grrrr. This government is making me so annoyed with plans like this I barely know where to start. As soon as one lot are withdrawn, another lot comes up. I'm starting to feel quite worn down by it all. |
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| Feb. 21st, 2009 @ 06:51 pm More on "One for the Chalet Fans" | |||
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One for the Chalet Fans (posted last night). I finally managed to sleep, and when I woke up my camera was charged, so with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} benc's help, I photographed the cover again, properly, in decent light (so ridding the pictures of that yellow fuzzy hue).Here's the decent version:  (There's also a huge version) Here's the cover, free of annotations:  --- Spent today doing the above, shopping and seeing my in-laws. I can tell you are all awe-inspired by the excitingness of my life right now ;) |
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| Feb. 21st, 2009 @ 02:03 am One for the Chalet fans. | |||
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I couldn't sleep, so I made this: Sorry about the picture quality, I took it with my camera phone cos I went to use my proper camera and found that the battery was flat (now on charge) and I was too impatient to wait for it to be ready. I'm very pleased with myself for working out how to stick them all together in Paint Shop though :) Might make a better quality one if I can be bothered. Picture is of the cover of my GGB copy of The Chalet School Reunion. It has been annotated according to the key on the last page of that edition. |
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| Feb. 5th, 2009 @ 04:05 pm Foreword suitability fail? When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit | |||
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I've recently been reading my brand new copy of When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (my old one, that I had had since I was 8 or so, fell apart from being read rather a lot). I got my new copy through the ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} lj_uk Christmas Wishlist exchange - it's this edition (2008). According to Barnes and Noble (and various other sites) this book is recommended for 8-12 year olds. I'd agree with that, seems like a good age to read it for the first time.My edition has a foreword called "Why You'll Love This Book" by Michael Morpurgo, Children's Laureate from 2003-2005. Bear in mind, when reading what comes next that this book is recommended for ages 8-12. His style in writing the foreword suggests that he is talking to these young readers. The fifth paragraph starts: "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, published forty years ago, speaks to us of a time most of us know only through books of history and fiction, through archive film, as well as through movies. It is from The Diary of Anne Frank to I am David and Schindler's List and The Pianist that most of us have our haunting but distant insights into the lives of those who had experienced the terrors and horrors of Nazi persecution and extermination..." I understand that 8-12 year olds may well have read the former two (The Diary of Anne Frank and I am David) - I know I had read at least one of those at that age (Anne Frank), having both a taste for the historical and something of a fascination with all things WWII (and Holocaust - I think I was a rather odd child). However, I highly doubt they have seen the latter (Schindler's List and The Pianist), not least because they're both rated 15. Don't get me wrong, they're both right up there as favourite films, I think they're amazing. But they're definitely not for children of the age the book is primarily aimed at. I dunno. That part of the foreword just felt rather odd. Surely, given the writer's status as a former Children's Laureate, he would be aware of what a child of that age has been exposed to, and what they haven't? |
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| Jan. 27th, 2009 @ 05:40 am Yorkshire | |||
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I'm heading to Goole (not to be confused with Google which is what I nearly always type by accident >.<) in Yorkshire very shortly with no1typo for a few days to visit relatives. I probably shan't be online, but I'll be contactable on my mobile (see the contact details post for my number [friendslocked]). I shall also probably be tweeting. This is me on Twitter. Have a lovely few days people :) Write lots of interesting things for me to read when I get back! |
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| Jan. 25th, 2009 @ 12:09 pm President Obama's first 100 hours | |||
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| This is pretty cool - it's a bullet pointed list of all the things Obama has done in his first 100 hours of being President. Makes very interesting reading. |
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| Jan. 22nd, 2009 @ 11:24 am MPs and FOI | |||
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Typical, that on the day the Government withdraws the plan to keep MPs expenses secret my MP should write back to me about voting against the proposed measure. For good measure, I'm putting a copy of his reply here. Bits in italics were handwritten and not always very clear ;) ( Letter from Julian Brazier ) In other news, should you have any spare cash lying around (I know that this is unlikely given the current economic climate) and fancy putting it towards a cool cause, the National Railway Museum in York are trying to gather funds so they can finish their restoration of The Flying Scotsman. "Steam our Scotsman" - the campaign to raise money to finish the restoration. |
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| Dec. 3rd, 2008 @ 08:29 pm Proposition 8, The Musical | |||
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I've been pretty wound up about Proposition 8 (with good reason), but I felt we could do with a lighthearted but pointed interlude to giggle over for a bit :) And so, without further ado, I present: Proposition 8, The Musical starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... From various sources, but the one that actually prompted me to watch to and then post was Boing Boing. Cross posted to exmormon |
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| Dec. 3rd, 2008 @ 03:47 pm For those who like taking off ladies bras | |||
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Hiding out here: CT2
For those of you who like taking off ladies bras:Mostly feeling:  listlessNow Playing: Star Trek DS9: S3 E12 Past Tense, part II From here |
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| Dec. 3rd, 2008 @ 11:12 am Battlestar Galactica | |||
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| A link for those of you who are in to Battlestar Galactica (I think it's spoiler free). |
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| Jul. 29th, 2008 @ 11:15 pm Old UKC pictures | |||
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I finally got round to photographing and uploading more pictures from "From Vision to Reality", as well as rephotographing those that were already there so they are better quality. They are here for those who want to look :) I've also made a new LJ icon. ION: I went to see The Dark Knight this evening at Ashford. Twas good. Won't say any more though in case of spoilers. |
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| May. 31st, 2008 @ 01:14 pm Petition to make maternity and paternity leave fairer | |||
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I got this from jmkg, and she explains it best, so I'll let her: "Please sign the petition at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/flexibleleav We believe that families should be able to choose what works for them, rather than assuming that the mother will always be the parent who will be taking the childcare leave. In a lot of situations the mother may wish not to have a full year off work, or the family may not be able to afford for her to. Yet there is no provision to transfer any leave to the mother's partner, who equally may well prefer to have more than the two weeks allocated to spend with their new baby. Naturally a lot of families would still choose the traditional route of the mother taking the full leave, but *there should be the choice*. Please sign the petition even if you don't think it affects you personally, but you think that other families should be able to choose what's right for their situation. A flexible system of leave could also have the advantage of reducing sexist employment behaviours. MEP Godfrey Bloom (UKIP) said "No self-respecting small businessman with a brain in the right place would ever employ a lady of child-bearing age", but if parental leave wasn't automatically assigned to the mother then a major incentive for unscrupulous businesses *not* to hire women of child-bearing age would disappear. The petition doesn't propose any increase in the overall amount of leave allowed to new parents, though that could be a focus for future campaigns. It is just intended as a first step - a large first step, which could make the world a fairer place without costing money for businesses (a major reason why other proposals to make the leave allowances fairer have failed). What you can do: please sign the petition, and visit our website at equalrights.org.uk for more information. Please pass this message onto other people: tell your friends, tell your online communities, get people interested, help spread the word!" |
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| May. 22nd, 2008 @ 07:07 pm Link: "He took a polariod every day until the day he died" | |||
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I found this link earlier: "He Took A Polaroid Every Day Until The Day He Died". "Yesterday I came across a slightly mysterious website — a collection of Polaroids, one per day, from March 31, 1979 through October 25, 1997. There’s no author listed, no contact info, and no other indication as to where these came from. So, naturally, I started looking through the photos. I was stunned by what I found." Go look - it's well worth it. |
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| Mar. 12th, 2008 @ 01:37 pm Stupid chancellor, stupid budget | |||
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The Chancellor is a prick, I am not impressed with today's budget. At all. At least the Daily Mash does The Budget made me laugh. So I'm sharing it. |
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| Feb. 5th, 2008 @ 11:35 pm New camera! (also, Shrove Tuesday) | |||
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I am currently suffering from pancake overdose, having had a three course pancake meal (started with pancakes with OJ and sugar, main was pancakes with cheddar cheese, pudding was pancakes with chocolate sauce and ice cream!) After that I doubt I'll be eating them again much before next Shrove Tuesday ;) I spent the afternoon playing with my new camera, and took the opportunity to take lots of pictures of our two gerbils which we've had for about four months now but which I have not blogged about before. Pictures of our gerbils, Stan and Nibbler. Stan is the caramel one, and named after a Canadian folk singer called Stan Rogers. Nibbler is the grey (and he does have red eyes - it's not just my crappy photography! ;)) and I named him. Which is possibly why he isn't named after a Canadian folk singer! I don't think they loved me very much for taking pictures though - after a while they went and hid in the back corner of their tank! ( Stan and Nibbler ) By the way, before anyone else pastes me the URL - I have seen the BBC's "Mormon" story about the Preston Temple/MTC. My response is at the bottom of this LJ entry for anyone who is interested. Finally, a meme, stolen from hopeful_rose. You are breakfasty, like a pile of pancakes on a Sunday morning that have just the right amount of syrup, so every bite is sweet perfection and not a soppy mess. You are a glass of orange juice that's cool, refreshing, and not overly pulpy. You are the time of day that's just right for turning the pages of a newspaper, flipping through channels, or clicking around online to get a sense of how the world changed during the night. You don't want to stumble sleepily through life, so you make a real effort to wake your brain up and get it thinking. You feel inspired to accomplish things (whether it's checking something off your to-do list or changing the world), but there's plenty of time for making things happen later in the day. First, pancakes. It's great because it talks about Pancakes. On pancake day! Hurrah! |
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| Feb. 2nd, 2008 @ 04:31 pm Cinema - St Trinians on Tuesday | |||
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Thanks to those who expressed their opinion earlier :) I'm beginning to feel a bit better about it, not quite so mortified. I've decided to go see St Trinian's at Ashford on Tuesday, the 13:50 showing. As it's a tuesday, tickets are £4.40 each. As I'm going, I'm happy to take any Canterbunnies who are free then and want to go to a value of 3 or 4 if you want to squish together ;) Just comment below. I'll probably be leaving at 13:15. Tonight I'm off to see Sweeney Todd. Hurrah. I declare this Cinema Week! |
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| Feb. 2nd, 2008 @ 09:17 am Ask a friendslist - am I being especially insensitive/dense? | |||
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Last night I saw the most recent Wulffmorgenthaler and it amused me. As it was related to women's health somewhat and I found it amsuing I posted it to vaginapagina here late last night and went off to bed. I woke up this morning to a whole bunch of comments (how I read them) basically attacking me for posting something racist and being priviledged because I didn't notice any racial undertones. Now I feel awful. I didn't even notice that the female character was coloured in any way. Does this make me racist or something in some way? Advice/thoughts? As I said, I feel really awful and I'm looking for some reassurance or something. I'm starting to wonder if I'm missing a huge sensitive part of my brain... :/ (If you've already replied on IRC, don't feel you have to reply again ;)) |
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| Jan. 22nd, 2008 @ 10:16 pm Heath Ledger is dead :| | |||
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Omg. Heath Ledger is dead? Feeling rather shocked now. He was only four years older than me. Deaths of actors/singers/whatever don't usually bother me, but... woah. |
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| Jan. 22nd, 2008 @ 09:25 pm <3 strings sections | |||
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I'm currently watching the musical version of The War of the Worlds in concert, conducted by Jeff Wayne himself (available here on DVD) and it's brilliant to watch (with the possible exception of the freaky head of Richard Burton). The martian's machines are just right, exactly how I imagined them :D Not all silly like the Tom Cruise stupidness. The bit that is actually making my heart swell with pride and excitement (probably as a violin player myself with several years of orchestra playing behind me) is seeing the strings sections playing with their bows perfectly in synch - using the same amounts of the bow, going in the same direction as each other as exactly the same time. It's just an awesome sight (and as a strings player I appreciate how difficult it is ;)) I'm also rather impressed with their magical digital music/electronic music stands. So much easier and neater than the (necessarily) dog eared copies and crappy fally down music stands I had to deal with. |
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| Jan. 22nd, 2008 @ 05:22 pm Latest on Cane Hill Hospital | |||
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For previous posts mentioning see: here, here, and here (the latter includes all good links on the site). My brother red_pill saw the following in the Coulsdon and Purley Advertiser back in November and asked mum (no1typo) to save it for me when I came at Christmas. I have finally got around to not only taking pictures of the spread and uploading them, but also blogging about them ;) The feature is mainly about the future of the site, with a couple of things thrown in about the past.( Cane Hill feature in the Coulsdon and Purley Advertiser ) By the way, I still own canehill.co.uk, which I really want to get some actual content up on. Suggestions about what to put up? At the moment I'm considering just a list of links, like the ones in the third LJ post I mention at the top. |
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| Nov. 23rd, 2005 @ 01:43 pm Well, I saw that coming... | |||
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Mostly feeling:
A sketch in BBC One comedy Little Britain which showed a woman urinating uncontrollably in a shop has been criticised by an incontinence charity. tiredNow Playing: computer hum Saw that coming as soon as I knew which new characters would be appearing. Not surprised at all ;) Hvae to say I agree much more with the charity than with the BBC who state that "the sketch was not offensive as it was not grounded in reality." Hmm. |
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| Oct. 28th, 2005 @ 10:17 pm Courtesy of lisaofdoom | |||
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Mostly feeling:
Very interesting link, especially for sci-fi geeks. surprisedNow Playing: Most Haunted >:) Ta for the link lisaofdoom :) |
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| Apr. 26th, 2005 @ 11:32 am An Election Post | |||
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Mostly feeling:
Those of you who get pissed off at politics would do best to ignore this one ;) angryToday ex-MP Brian Sedgemore defected from Labour to the Liberal Democrats. I didn't really pay much attention to this story to begin with cos I didn't really care. Then metamoof pasted the link to his last speech in Parliament which was against Prevention of Terrorism Bill. I read it through and developed a whole hearted respect for this man. The speech is very strong stuff. It's certainly more than a little bit emotive.( The text of the speech ) I was really surprised. At the advanced age of 21 I am incredibly cynical about parliamentary debates and get easily bored by them, but reading this speech made my hair stand on end. He compares the system of justice in this country to being akin to the one that "found favour with the South African Government at the time of apartheid", but for me the most powerful connotations come from a paragraph further down the page where he states: "Many Members have gone nap on the matter. They voted: first, to abolish trial by jury in less serious cases; secondly, to abolish trial by jury in more serious cases; thirdly, to approve an unlawful war; fourthly, to create a gulag at Belmarsh; and fifthly, to lock up innocent people in their homes. It is truly terrifying to imagine what those Members of Parliament will vote for next.I can describe all that only as new Labour's descent into hell, which is not a place where I want to be." For me this conjures up images of the Nazi state, possibly because of the things I have been reading at the moment (including Lawrence Rees' excellent "Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution"), but it brings up a theme that is touched upon by book after book, time after time. The erosion of the rights of the Jews in Germany were so gradual that it seemed that to ride it out and wait was the best course. It couldn't last, people told themselves, things would get better and they wouldn't get much worse. History tells us these people were wrong, but hindsight is a beautiful thing. I will admit the analogy is somewhat harsh, but it also shows us what a dangerous road we are starting on. Our Human Rights are being chipped away at so slowly that we barely notice it in the name of freedom from fear. First this right is eroded, then that, and then another. If this continues one day we will have nothing left. I want to say, here and now, that the attacks on the 11th September 2001 made me no more afraid of the world around me than I was before. In the wake of all that has happened since I have become more afraid of the actions of our government, at home and abroad, and that of the US than I have those of terrorists. Something in Mr Sedgemore's speech has touched a chord with me. I will be voting in this election and I will be voting against the party that has eroded my rights as a human and as a citizen. I will be voting against the party that took us into a war I did not support under the premise of a lie. I will be voting against the party that has time and again shown themselves to be untrustworthy. I feel motivated to vote, and I will not be denied my oportunity to speak out, even if it is what others proclaim as "a wasted vote" or "a vote that will help the Conservatives win". I will use my vote to make my stand. |
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| Apr. 19th, 2005 @ 10:51 am Apollo13 | |||
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Mostly feeling:
Ben poked me at this really excellent account of Apollo13 and how mission control got the crew back this morning. A really excellent story, well worth the read :D curiousNow Playing: AdiemusII |
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| Jan. 28th, 2005 @ 11:30 am No Shit Sherlock | |||
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Mostly feeling:
Apparently the new variable fees may boost student debt irritatedNow Playing: The Verve: The Drugs Don't Work Wow. Wish I'd thought of that... *rolls eyes* |
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| Jan. 27th, 2005 @ 09:58 pm LOL! :D | |||
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Mostly feeling:
roflmao :D amused |
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| Jan. 27th, 2005 @ 09:58 am There's always one... | |||
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Mostly feeling:
Did we learn the lessons of Auschwitz? blankNow Playing: Can't Help Lovin' That Man O' Mine Most people are having a fairly reasoned debate or contribution. Then from Nathaniel, Houston, Texas, USA we get: "Have we learnt the lessons of Auschwitz? Depends on who "we" are. America had to twice go across the Atlantic to stop smaller genocides taking place in Europe after WW 2 (Bosnia and Kosovo). America also stepped in to stop Saddam Hussein, a dictator who gassed people and sent them to mass graves. So I would say America has most definitely learned from Auschwitz. Now as for whether or not "we" the Europeans have learned the lessons of Auschwitz, that's another story. Europeans sat idly by as Milosevic's thugs massacred Bosnians and Kosovars. Europeans drew absurd colonial boundaries in the third world, and then lifted nary a finger when the tribes they stuck together within these boundaries began to massacre one another. So if the question is have "we" learnt the lessons of Auschwitz, one needs to consider who is meant by "we" before answering." Do "we" think he voted for Bush then? |
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| Jan. 22nd, 2005 @ 09:57 pm For those users of emoticons among us... | |||
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Mostly feeling:
( clicky ) workingNow Playing: Dire Straits: Brothers In Arms |
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| Jan. 21st, 2005 @ 10:04 am answers to my lies meme | |||
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Mostly feeling:
My lies meme is here and the answers will be LJ cut in case anyone else wants to answer. The people with the correct answers were  weirdNow Playing: Beethoven: Mass In C red_pill, benc and rahslowe. Only rah and Pill got it right first time though ;)( answers ) I think mine were too easy :( In other news Paul Mutton is on /. again for his article on how 99.9% of the chatter on the top 60 irc channels is about illegal activity and I have an essay to write :( I also have new glasses but noone has noticed ;) Must be cos they suit me or something. One day I'll wear glasses that don't suit me and shock you all! ;) Blaaaaaaaaaaaaah |
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| Jan. 11th, 2005 @ 09:46 am There isn't really a lot about the disaster in the Indian Ocean that can make one smile | |||
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Mostly feeling:
But here is something that made me grin at least. The guy concerned is in prison, but to cover up that fact from family, friends and colleauges he said he was going to Phuket for three months. After the Tsunami he didn't get in touch with his family to tell them he was ok and so they assumed he was a victim... gloomyNow Playing: Beethoven: Mass In C You could say his pretence backfired a bit on him. Oops ;) If I were his family I'd be so relieved he wasn't dead I'd want to kill him myself for having me convinced he was dead for two weeks... |
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| Nov. 30th, 2004 @ 01:59 pm New Toy | |||
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Mostly feeling:
http://www.audioscrobbler.com/ busyNow Playing: Sister Hazel: Best I'll Ever Be |
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| Oct. 22nd, 2004 @ 02:50 pm LOL | |||
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Mostly feeling:
*giggle* amused |
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| Oct. 19th, 2004 @ 06:58 am Weekend | |||
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An odd weekend all in all, but good fun :) peacefulNow Playing: Berlin: Take My Breath Away Saturday started very very early as ben had to be on campus for 8am because Library power had to go off for maintainance and so all the kit in the machine room had to go off too. So he went and did that, then we had coffee from Starbucks while Estates played around with the power before coming back so ben could switch all the kit back on again. Then we gathered bits and off I drove to London where I went to see Telehouse cos ben had some work to do there. I must admit it was very very shiny, but this wore off after about 10 mins and then it was just boring ;) Met some ANL people, which was quite jibbly and found their attitudes to me really good. Found people listening to my opinion on something and taking my comments on board and *that* was very cool. Anyway, after breaking some stuff (and 6 hours there) ben and I departed to have dinner with my mum and brother and *what* a dinner that was :D We had 3 courses, including Serrano ham for a first course! I haven't found anywhere in canterbury that sells this precious material :D Biiiiiiiiiig Chicken pie for main course and yumyums for dessert. It was unfortunate that we couldn't stay longer :| I like home visits. Sunday was ben's parents where we ate yummy spag bol and chatted and had a generally nice time. I got my birthday pressies from them cos I won't be seeing them again till after my birthday. I got 21 presents and £21. I can see a theme here ;) Lots of chocolate and nice smellies and a really cool book with piccies of Britain in the World War Two. Only downside to ben's parents is their cats who are great but have such fine fur that it irritates my chest and nose, so antihistamines are always needed when we visit ;) Hrm...I think that's about it. My life very boring ;) Ooh - quick plug. The Comspoc website is actually back up with new content! :D Must get dressed now and go to work...(much babysitting tonight :)) |
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okay
nerdy
thoughtful
cold
creative
full of pancakes
upset
chipper