Moolies

Oh yes

...Nora won!

A story about a parrot

Nora came home and explained that there was a competition running at school, to win a book token (or book, the actual details remain slightly vague in my head. McK knows all, obviously). To stand a chance of winning, you had to draw a parrot.

The day for entries was Tuesday, and Nora didn't touch her parrot  enterprise until late Sunday. She then acted on my advice and got Daddy to download and print out a picture of a parrot so she could use it for reference. this duly accomplished, she completely ignored the download. This is to be expected.

To be honest, 20 minutes with coloured pencils and an awful lot of outside-the-lines scribbling does not a decent parrot make. We gently explained to her that the best thing to do would be to leave it for the mo, and come back to it tomorrow, perhaps to embellish with pens instead of just pencils, and maybe to do the outline of the parrot in strong colour when she did.

She did, and the parrot looked absolutely lovely, in the way that you'd imagine a picture of a parrot by a Nora sized person would. But what made this a very "Nora" parrot was the absolutely splendid 'story' she wrote around the outside to accompany said drawing. Nora's writing is fairly ok, but what is really pretty wonderful is the way she can teach herself to spell just about anything. The joy of learning from phonetics is when she asks "How do you spell brilliant?" you can say to her, "Well, you tell me - how do you spell it?" and apart from the double L, she works the whole thing out. So, basically un-helped apart from the odd spelling letter here or there, the story goes something like "This is Nora Mackay's parrot. It is 100 years old. I like parrots because of the colours on their wings, they are very interesting". She was going to put "It's good, isn't it?" because she was very proud of it and wanted to say so. How I recognise that innocent brashness. I gently persuaded her that it was up to the judges to decide if they liked it, not her.

So the parrot was you know - a perfectly lovely parrot, but what made it so very very Nora was the quirky, funny (100 years old? What the hell was all that about?) commentary down the side. I think she betrays very easily where her heart really lies. She loves joining in and making things, but she wanted to fill the white space around the parrot with words.

The end to this story is that she was the only person in her class to enter the competition. The parrot is currently up on the wall in the main school hall, with all the other entries and I'm SO PROUD OF HER I COULD BURST.

(Note: actual competition winning - no idea as yet. I think we've decided that she's going to get a prize from us anyway. Personally, if I was running the competition, whether she won the main prize or not, I'd still give her a prize for effort. But then, you know. I would say that, wouldn't I).

Please

My pleas.

Please keep oil prices high. I do not care if that means corrupt officials and rulers of small oil rich nations stay temporarily rich. The more oil costs, the less we will use, and the more the impetus will come to find alternatives. $200 a barrel by 2030? How about 2015? Please?

Please, sane govts (of whom there are at least a few), look at what a huge number of American voters did very recently. They voted with their feet to say "enough is enough" on a huge raft of issues. A reasonable percentage of that number could be rationally talked to in your own country if you put the breaks on and said you know what? Massive change. Now. It's too late to start worrying, we have to continue acting.

Take note of this article explaining what the IEA is suggesting we have to cope with in their latest projections.

I've said this before and so I must be very dull, but I strongly believe that the time for two party politics is over. For either party politics. For *politics* in the sense that we know them. If I look at my children's future, there's a little "Alice in Wonderland" type door in the back of my brain. I know it's there, it's constantly in the shadows in the corner of my eyes. There's a key in the door and luckily, it is small, not totally overwhelming. If I open the door though, even just a crack, it's just pitch black and filled with "Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh!".

We are the luckiest generation in human history, as an overall, within countries where, you know... for example, Govt Ministers are not appointed who preside over the forced slavery of women and girls as punishment, or you know... who might condone the death by live burial of women involved in honour cases... (what the hell is happening in Pakistan? Is it all an anti-American push to the right - a reaction against Musharraf and the war? I'm presuming Yes). So. In the west, even long term unemployed families have access to an almost ludicrous wealth of services, of foods, and of consumer goods, compared to any generation previously. Those who choose to read and engage have libraries, books are relatively cheap and of course, they can have access to this bonkers ideas distribution device, the Interweb. The wars that we are involved with kill comparatively insignificant numbers of people when put up against any major wars previously. Compare this to 10, to 20, to 50 and to 100 years ago, it feels as if  we somehow are at a peak. There are two things we can do: assume that everything will toddle along as normal, in which case a very large percentage of  the human population is going to be alot more than displaced  (not to mention all the other species on the planet, but you know - let's stay in the 'selfish' mind set on this one, shall we?) or paddle, duck like, like crazy, underneath the surface to just at least kind of stay where we are... at least a bit.

Going back to the "Yes we can" effect, or mantra, I was thinking about doing something which could potentially be a totally fruitless, and pointless exercise but sometimes - like marching with 3 million other people against wars in Iraq, for example, the futile gesture is still the only noble course of action. I was thinking about writing to the two UK party leaders with the same letter and saying that now is about the best time you've got - oil prices are going up again, the recession is hitting, but... there has been this brief chink of light and sanity in the election of someone with a sense of drive and intelligence who may actually be able to do things, in a country which still has a fairly big world stage presence to say the least. If they were to ask the British electorate, right now, whilst still basking in the warm, post election glow if they would join in, and fight for cause greater than any war, and they would make visible and clear everything that we need to do, Now, not next year then I do believe that a big enough number of people would stand up and say "Yes we can". But now. NOW.

But it has to come from both parties. It has to be above politics. If it remains a political issue then... well. The voice behind that little door gets louder all the time. I can't actually state what my fears are exactly, because they sound like science fiction lunacy, but I as I wander through this super-inventive, super-human-luxurious environment we've built for ourselves, I almost feel like I can feel  the future breaking through, and in that are James and Nora. And I am frightened in those moments.

By the way, on an entirely unrelated note - and to break the apocalyptic mood slightly, no one has written any comments on here since *August*! I wonder if Ive gone all terribly boring, or if everyone is too busy.

Weird.

TED gets it wrong

TED emails tend to be delightful, with little nuggets of good, or sprightly thinking from all sorts of different sources. TED is part of the whole "Yes we can" zeitgeist,. Capturing the urgent good will that a certain part of the population has, and distributing that energy in the hope that it'll help the "Can" thing to happen.

And then they go and support something which is so totally wrong it makes my eyes bleed.

Trying to get the choicest bits from the email here - I mean the email's not bad or anything, by the way. It explains the concept admirably:

"Dear TEDizens,

blah blah... the launch of an inspiring global endeavour to celebrate compassion and to promote a new collaboration between the world's religions. What we're doing, starting today, is to begin writing the Charter for Compassion that Karen Armstrong called for earlier this year when she made her TED Prize wish. And the exhilarating twist here is that the writing won't be done behind closed doors. It will be done by you... and perhaps millions of others around the world. Because we're using special collaborative web tools created by the geniuses at Kluster to enable this be truly a charter "created by the world for the world".

Later this week millions of Muslims, Christians, and Jews will be sent an email inviting them to come to the site and offer their choice of words, in their own language, to help create a charter capable of inspiring the world to focus on what the great religions share, as opposed to what divides them. Already people are responding to this amazing idea with passion and excitement. The goal is to obtain all input from global participants within the next four weeks, select the best contributions with the help of a council of religious "sages", and conduct a major launch of the finished document in 2009.

We'd love you, the TED community, who saw the birth of this idea in March, to be among the first to contribute.

The two things you can do to help now:

1. Help us write the Charter! The first writing phase begins now with the Preamble, a concise explanation of why the Charter is necessary and urgent.

2. Send out the ask to everyone in your network. We want this to be a truly global and diverse document that represents all of our voices."

Oh really? Then why wasn't the charter invitation sent out to the world's leading Philosophers? Or peace negotiators? Or, how can I put this plainly: people who are not constrained by a religious doctrine, in their search for enlightenment and peace?

Lovely idea - totally pointless. Let's just say for a moment that having a charter for international peaceful understanding could actually lead to something useful or good (let's just pretend) then why - aaaaargh! this makes me so angry. Sorry. hold on.... Why yet again, does it appear that religions have some authoritative hold over the world "Peace"? Why is any religious doctrine held up as being a definitive interlocutor on this subject?

Ah, but I'm missing the point, aren't I. It's about finding the similarities between religions because only then will global understanding and the path to enlightenment occur. Well... DUH you people. Wouldn't it be helpful then to introduce the voices of those who have gone BEYOND the walls of religious orthodoxies and have searched their whole lives for life meaning *without* introducing a filter?

TED's answer to this would of course be an optimistic puzzlement. Well - for sure, join in why don't you, we'd love to have you as part of the project! Fantastic! But it should have been intertwined in to the very fabric of the original idea. Leading thinkers being asked.  Looking over shoulders and saying Oh, yeah... you people, sure - what is it you have to contribute, again? Oh sorry, I got distracted by the important folk who wear religion badges.

What annoys me is the elevation of the status of those in world religions, as if they are in a position of moral authority. They aren't. no more than anyone else. Quit listening to the opinions of those in organised religions First.

Am I a little bit too annoyed about this? Ahaha... er. Yes.

Please

My pleas.

Please keep oil prices high. I do not care if that means corrupt officials and rulers of small oil rich nations stay temporarily rich. The more oil costs, the less we will use, and the more the impetus will come to find alternatives. $200 a barrel by 2030? How about 2015? Please?

Please, sane govts (of whom there are at least a few), look at what a huge number of American voters did very recently. They voted with their feet to say "enough is enough" on a huge raft of issues. A reasonable percentage of that number could be rationally talked to in your own country if you put the breaks on and said you know what? Massive change. Now. It's too late to start worrying, we have to continue acting.

Take note of this article explaining what the IEA is suggesting we have to cope with in their latest projections.

I've said this before and so I must be very dull, but I strongly believe that the time for two party politics is over. For either party politics. For *politics* in the sense that we know them. If I look at my children's future, there's a little "Alice in Wonderland" type door in the back of my brain. I know it's there, it's constantly in the shadows in the corner of my eyes. There's a key in the door and luckily, it is small, not totally overwhelming. If I open the door though, even just a crack, it's just pitch black and filled with "Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh!".

We are the luckiest generation in human history, as an overall, within countries where, you know... for example, Govt Ministers are not appointed who preside over the forced slavery of women and girls as punishment, or you know... who might condone the death by live burial of women involved in honour cases... (what the hell is happening in Pakistan? Is it all an anti-American push to the right - a reaction against Musharraf and the war? I'm presuming Yes). So. In the west, even long term unemployed families have access to an almost ludicrous wealth of services, of foods, and of consumer goods, compared to any generation previously. Those who choose to read and engage have libraries, books are relatively cheap and of course, they can have access to this bonkers ideas distribution device, the Interweb. The wars that we are involved with kill comparatively insignificant numbers of people when put up against any major wars previously. Compare this to 10, to 20, to 50 and to 100 years ago, it feels as if  we somehow are at a peak. There are two things we can do: assume that everything will toddle along as normal, in which case a very large percentage of  the human population is going to be alot more than displaced  (not to mention all the other species on the planet, but you know - let's stay in the 'selfish' mind set on this one, shall we?) or paddle, duck like, like crazy, underneath the surface to just at least kind of stay where we are... at least a bit.

Going back to the "Yes we can" effect, or mantra, I was thinking about doing something which could potentially be a totally fruitless, and pointless exercise but sometimes - like marching with 3 million other people against wars in Iraq, for example, the futile gesture is still the only noble course of action. I was thinking about writing to the two UK party leaders with the same letter and saying that now is about the best time you've got - oil prices are going up again, the recession is hitting, but... there has been this brief chink of light and sanity in the election of someone with a sense of drive and intelligence who may actually be able to do things, in a country which still has a fairly big world stage presence to say the least. If they were to ask the British electorate, right now, whilst still basking in the warm, post election glow if they would join in, and fight for cause greater than any war, and they would make visible and clear everything that we need to do, Now, not next year then I do believe that a big enough number of people would stand up and say "Yes we can". But now. NOW.

But it has to come from both parties. It has to be above politics. If it remains a political issue then... well. The voice behind that little door gets louder all the time. I can't actually state what my fears are exactly, because they sound like science fiction lunacy, but I as I wander through this super-inventive, super-human-luxurious environment we've built for ourselves, I almost feel like I can feel  the future breaking through, and in that are James and Nora. And I am frightened in those moments.

By the way, on an entirely unrelated note - and to break the apocalyptic mood slightly, no one has written any comments on here since *August*! I wonder if Ive gone all terribly boring, or if everyone is too busy.

Weird.

Ah, maybe the big bed

James wouldn't settle tonight, and after the 4th bedroom visit, I asked him gently if he'd *like* to go in the cot, instead of using it as a threat if he didn't settle down.

He nodded quietly, with the caveate: "With the stars quilt?"

... with the stars quilt, my lovely.

The big bed

James has graduated to The Big Bed.

He slept last night in the bunk bed underneath Nor, and I think he managed to annoy her, pushing his feet up against her mattress saying "Poke! Poke!".

Heh.

Unfortunately, I had a migraine (although I don't like to use that word given that it tends to mean bigger and greater migraines ahead) and had ceased functioning effectlvely almost entirely by about 5.30 so was holed up in the bedroom with the light off. Grrr.

We've had our first cold of the winter which as I'd expect, is taking forever to leave us alone. James stopped eating properly for about 5 days and his previously at least partially cuddly baby body because a little boy's skinny body overnight. I've realised these days that such moments are there to try and goad us in to stress overkill. They are the trolls of the illness world, made to make us pull our hair out and become 'Jewish Mother' stereotypes.

Instead, it is my intention to leave work in time to scoot by Waitrose and pick up some Goat's double cream. Ice cream is the answer! Feed the boy lard.

Dragging their asses back to the sniping zone

I finally got to see the end of the election night Daily Show special, and saw Messrs Stewart and Colbert deftly handle the "I can't actually speak, so I'm just going to drink my coffee and let the crowd cheer" moment. Colbert babbled on a bit to cover for his mate, who I think would have risked saying something far too emotional about the victory, and as he'd said it, those muffled, struck back lip quivers would have got a little more pronounced.

Y'man from Fox news (brave guy) gently ribbed him about it the next day but missed the point in one sense. It's a comedy show, right? He's allowed to be partisan. Er, well... it's a satire show. It's basically the funny bits from Private Eye, but written way better, and on every weekday (phew). It's a brilliant, jewel of a show and it works more often than it doesn't.

I started to feel uneasy about quite how obviously partisan they were being during the democratic nomination race. To be fair, I doubt if Hillary offered to come on the show, but there again, there was a reason for that. They'd signed up to the Obama ticket from the off. during the election race, they made clear, and humorously bad attempts to be fair (ie: they didn't even try to be) in their sniping - much as they had a pretty huge target in Palin.

How are they going to claw their way back to the centre and say to Obama, clearly, right, the honeymoon is over and you will now be held to account for everything you do? Will they be able to do this without looking a little awkwardly hypocritical?

In one sense, capturing the zeitgeist and energetically protesting the need for change, in the face of a tsunami of lost opportunities, embarrassing stupidity and worldwide condemnation was important, and brilliant to see. A real sense of the whole country galvanising came from watching the show. But for a satirical programme to be so strongly associated with the campaign of the new President...? They're in a difficult place.

Would I have cried? Obviously. But then, I'm not the host of an enormously popular satire show! Lucky for you, let me tell you.

Colbert, as usual, ridiculously funny by not appearing to be funny at all. His timing is perfect. I wish his show was more accessible on British TV, I don't enjoy watching that much TV on my laptop for some reason.

Well what now?

I'm trying to think of a time during 2008 when we weren't all glued to our screens watching Youtube clips like maniacs, either pulling our hair out in amazement or gasping for joy, tears of emotion welling up... what a madcap second half of the year it has been.

I think regular readers will recall the quite ludicrous, almost hysterical buzz I got from The Olympics, based almost purely around how fantastic Nora thought it all was. Before then we had the Democratic nomination, after it we had the race to the Whitehouse beginning in earnest, then global capitalism proved to be full  - knock me down with a feather - of greedy bastards willing to mortgage their own teeth and THEN the election.

One of the email promotions for "The Daily Show" directly after November 4th slightly lamely had a subject line which felt like the guy left over at the party saying "Hey, er, guys? you know I'm still here, right? I mean we can still have fun and everything, can't we?"

We've all become news adrenaline junkies! Give us more excitement! We need volcanoes erupting in the middle of Paris! We need giant lobsters wandering out of the sea around Australia and demanding a voice in parliament!

Surely there must be some drastic, extraordinary event which can mask the actual news for a little longer? Because the actual news is just, you know. The normal shit about Africans killing each other in desperate and pointless civil wars, food shortages, suicide bombers. I mean Good God how Boring can you get?

Anyway. I just wrote to http://www.change.gov and told them to put a moderated forum / message board up there so that citizens of the world ("real" citizens of the world) can voice their support for the message, "Yes we can". You never know. They might. It would be nice.

Witnessed an accident - mild one, luckily

Ah, but I didn't see. I heard the crunk and saw the immediate aftermath.

Events as they rolled:

Cait slows and becomes first in the queue for a right hand turn on a 4 point junction with 2 dedicated lanes, one for straight on/left, one for right. It is dark. It is raining.
Crunk!
Look back, person on moped on road surface
Cait, incensed that the car is driving away from the crunk does what in retrospect seems pretty cool. Incensed, I put my hand up in the universal "Stop" motion and yell "STOP!" in a big, loud, incensed sort of voice. The car stops
The lights change, I notice that there's no one with the injured person yet, and it's very dark, I wave to the car beginning to travel in the traffic incident victim's direction "Stop! Stop!"
there's no one with the bloody victim! I grab the bike and begin to pelt toward them, suddenly there are 4 other people at the victim and FUCK! FUCK! The fucking driver is driving off!

...I totally ballsed it up, through doing a stupidly obvious thing - trying to help, where I was already bloody helping! Twat!

Victim = hurt ankle, girl, in shock saying "I'm fine, I'm fine", refused help for so long you kind of reach a point of diminishing returns and back off, so I left home.

Here's the question though - what should I do?I didn't get his/her plate, I didn't actually see the incident... McK thinks the whole thing will be on CCTV. Possibly? The plan is to call the local cop shop and see what they say. Maybe given that they have evidence on film (if they do) they'll be able to get the stupid bastard for dangerous driving purely "because", if you see what I mean.

Who knows?

Here's a lesson. Cycling in the dark and the rain, I'm lit up like a bloody Christmas tree. you couldn't miss me. Girl on moped: had 1 light at the front of the moped, and was wearing black all over.  I don't know that it hinged on that, but apparently the driver suddenly began to turn out of the lane and veer right, therefore banging the side of the vehicle straight in to her. It is possible that s/he didn't look, and didn't see her, but she was also somewhat non-seeable anyway.

So. Cycling home in the dark and the wet.

(Nervous).

Update later:

Without a victim, even though the crime might be on camera and therefore there are two witnesses - a human and "silent" one, there can be no crime report, apparently. In this day and age that is completely nuts! I mean if you clearly have electronic, untampered evidence, and you clearly have a witness happy to step forward and you clearly have a driver who is willing to drive away from a victim of their own crime, who is therefore a danger to other road users... ???

However, that's the way it crumbles, I guess. Hmph. They've taken the details I had, and if the victim comes to the station to report it then they'll give me a toot (ie: that's the end of that).