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

"When skiffy writers put apostrophes in the names of people/species/planets"

I always thought they were using them as shorthand for glottal stops or something.

(cool thing, A1002808 is google hit #1 for UK search on glottal stop and worldwide hit #2)

Although quite what some fantasy wri!ters are up to with their ran!dom insertion of other punctu!ation I never did work ou!t.

Not to mention bands.

There's !!! (apparently pronounced chk chk chk)
and yourcodenameis:milo.
Therapy? used to be a great band.

There's a local band here called (((ohdear.

I never figured out whether Alex Is On Fire, or it's Alexis On Fire.

Gif

In the Eighties there was a band called: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GQtuh1Q_luQ/R7Jl9T4TIpI/AAAAAAAAB2E/dYkJlos5axE/s320/Freur+symbol.jpg

It was pronounced "freur".

RF

A beautiful example of religions twisted illogical logic:

http://www.jesusandmo.net/2009/10/16/

Ah, yes 'Squiggle', I knew than well.

Anyone want to hear of my Brush With Pop last week?

Glasgow bar. I'm standing next to this guy. Skinny guy, floppy blond hair, beige jacket over horizontal-striped top:

Me: 'Scuse me...either you're Alex Kapranos's biggest fan, or you're Alex Kapranos...
Him: Can I just stop you there? I'm Alex Kapranos.



Nice man. We have various friends in common. We talked about Jamie Oliver. He used to be delivery driver for my fave Indian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2005/nov/25/foodanddrink

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/8311140.stm

"A West Yorkshire vicar has been jailed for 14 years after being found guilty of raping two young boys and sexually attacking others.

The Reverend Peter Hedge, 47, from Holy Trinity Church at Queensbury, near Bradford, had denied the attacks, which happened"

"A Vancouver-area father has been found guilty of negligence causing bodily harm after botching a home-circumcision attempt on his four-year-old son as part of a spiritual quest to make things right with God."

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/10/16/bc-home-circumcision-charges.html

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Philistines

http://tehran.stanford.edu/Images/Ancient/soldier1.gif

Just for Gif. The first (a little way down on the right) is a Peleset (P-r-s-t) warrior, from the 12th century. The second is a Persian (P-r-s) from the 4th century. Both were involved in attempt to invade Egypt, and were repelled in battles at the mouths of the Nile. The first is known only from the Egyptian record, the second from the account of Diodorus, there being no Egyptian version.

Noggin

Just got back from a shopping trip to Sainsies to see a great mass of Muslim men leaving the house 2 doors up. All different ages and generations done up to the nines in Islamic outfits, but not a female in sight. I'm getting thoroughly sick that I've still to meet the females of their household...I hear them sometimes in the back garden calling the children, but they are essentially invisible.

I went inside and had one of the mini cigars I'd treated myself too for sunday afternoon and wondered if I should post this here and get jumped on by the usual suspects for racism. But I know that's crap because I'm very liberal and friendly with other races in my neighbourhood, in fact the Muslim men waved at me, slightly awkwardly...because oh yes I'm a western woman who they don't own.

I find myself becoming increasingly cross and fed up with the way Muslim men behave towards their women.

Yes, what a racist you are for simply stating how a group of women who live by you are basically invisible to the rest of the people in the street...

They don't necessarily feel the way you do themselves, though. I'm not defending their system even at its most liberal, but most Muslim women would not trade places with how they would be treated in the other world that you so like. It's got something to do with what one is accustomed to, but also with the fact that we have no paradise for women ourselves.

Children in abusive families can think that it is normal for them to be hit, starved, thrown into cupboards and cellars and left...but we wouldn't accept that if we found out about it would we?

So why simply allow certain human beings to not live life to the full and let them be subservient...because it's thier long-standing culture and they're used to it?

>but most Muslim women would not trade places with how they would be treated in the other world that you so like.<

what world have I spoken about that I so like?

Life is hard...I don't much like it myself oftentimes...but what I do insist on is equality. And it gets really silly the way these women are hidden away as housekeepers and child minders. The men make a big splash in the street as they head off to the mosque in several cars for some big do. And its not the first time. That's all I'm saying. It's not bloody fair on the women.

They don't have your perspective. They are raised to be wives and mothers largely, and how does one define equality anyway? Some people say that freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose. If the society allows women to live decently with whatever expectations they have, how do you judge it? Granted, the attitudes of a good many Muslim men are pretty awful, but the same can be said about men in our society as well. A lot of the justification for this sex-segregation stuff is based on specified roles having to do with child-rearing. I'd like to see a day when nobody has to raise kids, but men mostly are not inclined to do it as whole-heartedly as women. It's mostly just the way we're built in my opinion. People should have options, though; and if you ever have any kind of evidence that a woman is not getting what she wants out of life, I'm sure you'll be the first to do something productive. While you have no such evidence, try not to fret about things you only half-way understand. It's like thinking about an early 20th century woman in our society, and many still today. You're not getting anywhere by imagining that they are hostages. Anyone who really is trapped tends to make an accomodation. Think of it as Stockholm Syndrome if you want, but things just don't change fast enough for life to be what it will eventually be for everyone. I'm more concerned about people who don't know where they're next meal is coming from, frankly.

*their*

Oh for christ sakes we're talking 2009 present day London, not some olden days primitive society. Yes I know its just an anecdotal thing, but their women are literally locked away...invisible...and its done for religious reasons. Their women are to be hidden, made passive, not allowed out to the mosque which is the focal point of very visible male islamic society, and I think in 2009 that is outrageous

Outrageous:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/091018/world/jordan_women_crime


~jwf~

Poor helpless women. If you see chains, be sure to call the cops. Like I said, people are starving.