h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

>>I'm also really honoured that your daughter would consider a flatmate who is just some mad scatalogical woman you know off the internet.<<

Well Ben, she comes from a long line of mad, scatalogical women - and has some of those tendencies herself .

The denotation of 'Scatology' is a preoccupation with excrement and excretion.
But the connotation these days really means 'uninhibited use of language', I think.
I can be rather uninhibited myself - but usually just with people I know well.

A 'strigil' is a scraper with a curved blade, used by ancient Greeks and Romans to remove sweat and dirt from the skin after bathing and exercise.

Caerwynn, if you want some company at the Baths in Bath - just yell!

Tartaronne - there was a tv report in the UK last week about the current situation in Sudan. Some journalists and cameramen spent a night in one of the refugee camps and witnessed some of the atrocities perpetrated by government police/troops. I was shocked by this - and also by the fact that the presence of UN observers does not seem to inhibit this treatment of vulnerable women and children.

I want to know why something is not being done by the international community to put a stop to this. I need to do some further research and find out what 'I' can do.

*Z at 'Sex today' conference which is turning into a success, I'll post full details later.

[Ben]

Teuchter for the explanations.

>>I want to know why something is not being done by the international community to put a stop to this.

What to say? There is a war in Iraq with dramatic news value and it is our neighbours or somebody like ourselves that are fighting a war and are kidnapped. The death of three hostages gets immense coverage worldwide (i.e. the western world).

Famines, wars, starvation and the horrid abuse of women and children on the African continent has been going on for decades. And the media really don't want to know.

I guess we had the first reports of it when the Christian fundamentalists converted the different african people with violence and our governments exploited the countries and suppressed the inhabitants - and set a pattern for governments to follow . We really are to blame. The socalled developed countries still exploit the undeveloped - and our rich countries only have dimes, nickles and no masterplan to support the people who want to build a decent society.

..I didn't mean to rant - too much. I'll take the rest to the Atelier Think Tank.

I salute Tartaronne's social conscience, but from a distance as I am coughing revoltingly.

The one nice thing about being ill is that I have a Scrumph to look after me. He was always an absolute pet about making tea and sewing his own buttons on, I taught him how to do that when we'd only been 'going out' a week, way back in the stoneage when I was 17 and he was 18...oops, sorry, sentence high-jacked by nostalgia, I am clearly channelling Bernard Levin, must stop these sub-clauses! I'll start again I think. Anyway, S has been a star. He even made pitta bread from scratch last night, and as I type he is making macadamia and lemon tea-bread and he made breakfast and this that I am drinking is the third cup of tea he's made me today and he got out of bed at one in the morning to get me a hot-water-bottle because I felt cold. Bless his cotton socks.

It's a beautiful day. I wonder if it'll do me good to wrap up warm and stagger very gently to the cemetery and stand about coughing respectfully at the war-graves for a few minutes. I'll probably give some octogenerian veteran triple pneumonia. Perhaps I should merely open the window.

We celebrate Father's Day today, here and in Finland afaik.
I lit a candle for my father who died at 11.11.1995 in the age of 54. My daughter sent a SMS to her father (with no response) And I gave a to my brother who is a proud father and stepfather. That's for the day.

No doubt the people with phones at the Green Day show were tormenting friends who weren't able to come. I've seen it happen a few times, and did it once myself at a Def Leppard show. I'm not surprised they all came out during the ballad - everyone keeping pretty much stock still means less chance ofd losing your phone. One reason why mine always stays at the bottom of my pocket - that and the fact it's impossible to move to retreive it when you're crushed at the front!

Amy's plight was interesting...I wonder how much their attitude will change when they get the results for their mocks or when study leave approaches...

Last night was grandad's 80th birthday. I don't think I've ever had so much fun at a family gathering - free bar! The Old Speckled Hen flowed generously

Just watched some AMVs I downloaded - comedy ones I Wish I Was A Lesbian and I'm A Blonde. Great laff. I'm considering a spot of AMVing to kill time after the temporary work at Royal Mail ends. Looks like hard work but the results are fun, and there's a good community around it too.

Tatty-bye for now!

AMV, TIM?

Thinking about it, I rather meanly rang my ex when Roger Water's was playing 'Wish you were here' and left the sound of the concert on his voicemail.



B

Z Staggersin, late, and slighlty hungover.

The talk on lgb issues went really really well. I was on after two speakers who were experts in their field, and the only student to speak. But I got a really warm reception and told one of the experts something he didn't know. I also got lots of complements from the audience afterwards.

My 'workshop' afterwards was really well attended and I think I managed to strike the right note bettween allowing discussion and having a structure that meant that everything I wanted to say was covered.

Glad it all went well, Z.

Is the reason why people use phones at concerts just that there are far fewer smokers these days?

TIM's explanation actually makes a lot of sense -- the concertgoers are sharing the experience with friends! I would never have thought of that.

I woke up to more snow, but it's heavy wet stuff, rancher's favorite. I think I'll walk to meeting.

AMV= Anime Music Video. I've quite a few of them myself. They are clips from Anime series that are set to music.

The opening act for the concert acutally asked people to bring out their lighters and mobile phones... It was, as I said, Surreal.

TIM, it's funny you should mention mocks because I asked one of the year 11 groups when the mocks were going to be and they just returned blank looks as if I'd said something in a foreign language. I tried a few alternative terms but it seems that mocks don't exist.

I've spent the afternoon reversing the fortunes of Marks and Spencers. There were three skirts I really liked - a gorgeous purple suede-like one with kicky-flare panels at the bottom, an off white denimy one with lots of vertical panels and a coloured one with diagonal panels. I couldn't decide so... well, you can guess the rest . I seem to have spent the money I earned last week already . But I needed skirts - I can't wear jeans to work, it's frowned upon. I bought some Kurt Geiger boots too .

Funnily enough, Amy, I was a bit about blabbing about mocks because I heard that they changed the system right after I finished my GCSEs. Apparently they do things in modules across the two years, so that would make mocks as I did 'em (previous year's papers for all the exams you're taking, six months before the real thing) redundant? I'm not entirely sure. I asked a friend of mine earlier this year if she'd started her modules (she was in Year 10 at the time) and she didn't know what I was talking about but apparently they are doing them at my old school. I don't really know, but it doesn't bother me in the least

Marv beat me to the AMVs...herm, dude, what old ones did you do? Still got 'em to show? I Wish I Was A Lesbian starts off with a smart FCLC intro, dunno if that's of interest. I really should get round to checking out that and some other stuff...going down to rent some Neon Genesis Evangelion right now actually!

The modular exam system for science GCSE has been available for several years now, TIM. It sounds as if your old school has decided to switch to it wholesale but it isn't compulsory to do so. The school I'm at atm has just started doing modular for a couple of classes in Year 10 and they have their first module exam on Thursday... but that's another whole can of worms for me to untangle. It is unbelievably lucky that I turned up there - with modular science experience - just at this time. I put it forward as proof of the existence of God. There can be no other explanation.

Lucky for whom?

If they offer you permanent work, just... say... 'No'...

Ben

[GDZ]

[tartaronne] - with a well done for Z.

[SG V]My net connection's running like through syrup (and I don't mean that it's sweet )

[Amy] *listens to her Aunty Ben*