Barometer climbing back up - so I won't need a lower nail Bungus ! Windy but some sun and not really cold at 43F at the moment.A busy busy day. We went shopping because we needed things and also it got us out of Karen's way.
Y and Joan went to see 'The Other Boleyn Girl' and Y says the critics are quite wrong because she thought the film first rate. Good acting, lovely costumes and she averted her eyes to avoid the beheading scene.
I meanwhile did what I wanted to do and that was - make leek & potato soup, or, if you want to sound posh - Vichyssoise - the recipes are identical. Mine is from my own tried & trusted book which as you can see is becoming a little dog-eared, or foxed, as the book dealers say. I always search under 'L' and then find that for some reason I originally called it 'Potato and Leek Soup' hence its place in the 'P' section. And I never remember !
Nevertheless a good 'un, and when Debra copied it because she likes it, she was charmed with my line 'if a skin forms, be glad - stir it in and the flavour improves'. Today's was no exception. When it comes to the blending stage, like Delia last night, I don't overdo it because we both like to discover the odd chunk of potato and strand of leek and I am not aiming to produce 'cream of ..... etc.'
Then I decided to deconstruct the dining table, because the new Ikea one, plus chairs are arriving in the morning and the men asked for plenty of room for assembly. Eastwood Volunteer Bureau rang to collect the chairs around noon, so it should all dovetail.
Brian is going to pick up my printer en route to collect Helen for WoW. I've every confidence. He is pretty good with these things. I rang round for my Sigma 10-20mm lens and tracked down the 'best buy' to London Camera Exchange on Pelham Street. They have one in stock so I bought it and will collect it tomorrow afternoon.
The Screen Print is to show you Radiogandy's Google page-rank but I suppose that all of you who have a google tool-bar will already know about it. I can't pretend to fully understand the system myself. But I suppose it is good?
Comments..... Such a lovely lot of interesting content which I have much enjoyed reading, as I am sure you all have too.
Madeline..... Y thanks you for your 'get well' wishes and although it is hard to say she is much improved she says a little box of tic-tacs got her through the film without being thrown out for disturbing the others. I can just see you and Chris with your torches against the risk of a power-cut. We can't have you sending a blog-comment by torchlight now, can we?
AnonymousRob.... Thanks for your support over the 'macho-suffer-the-cold' syndrome. But we note that Bungus was discussing a couple of decades earlier. And you are absolutely right - it was the 9d-s at The Elite. Is it to be DetSgt Rob now?
This oath-of-allegience stuff is nonsense. Although I am not 100% anti-monarchy I feel that a conscientious and firm-minded 'republican' is entitled to be a fully paid-up citizen of this country. It is abit like Voltaire and his "I disagree with what you say etc., but will defend to the death your right to say it" May not be word perfect but it's good enough. People are entitled to pursue any form of government they chose, provided they do so by lawful, non-violent and democratic means. And, before anyone asks, I would include Islam and Sharia Law.
Bungus..... Do watch Delia because I want to hear your opinion. Nigel Slater does nothing for me either. He writes well, but I don't think he cooks well. The rapid run-through of the stars of yesteryear was, as you remark, far to fast.
Jill..... Delia was a little too fast also. Too many recipes in too short a time. I've not yet had chance to check if the TV recipes are in her new book. I hope so. I agree with your points but she did provide 'food for thought' - ha ha! Y says thanks for her lovely newsy 'real' letter. And we all wish you well with your forthcoming operation.
Y points out that you and Ro have another Very Important Event coming up and she suggests I seek permission before blogging it to cyberspace and the world? She is an erratic blog-reader only but although I try to keep her uptodate sometimes I forget things. Its like peeling oranges - if I printed her a hard copy she would love to read it - but she doesn't like reading things on screen. Even so, she often looks at TV teletext to catch up on the news. Eventually she will get round to Information Technology even if only to exchange e-mails with grandchildren.
Quotation time.......... Still with Picasso.......
"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers."
Pablo Picasso
Perhaps a little of an oversimplification, but I take his point. The site I have linked you too was chosen because of the wealth of his pictures therein, all clickable, and some surprises particularly in his 'Juvenilia'. A Portrait of his mother, pastel on paper, when he was 15, is a work of amazing maturity.
Sleep tight. See ya' all tomorrow.......
.
Sleep tight. See ya' all tomorrow.......
.
3 comments:
It would be interesting to do a blog comment by torchlight, but that will have to wait until I get my wind-up clockwork computer!
It's very windy here now, but not quite as bad as on Monday.
Another iGoogle quotation for you:
If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.
- Robert X. Cringely
I'm made up about being made up to DetSgt by the Chief Inspector. In honour of the occasion I've decided to wear a blue shirt at work today. However, in case anyone thinks my polical leanings are wrong (or Right) I'm also wearing a red tie.
I caught the very start of Sports Portraits last night. The photographer in question is Rankin. Maybe the blogmeister will do a link to him, though I know he doesn't do requests. I was struck by how much Zara Phillips looks like Prince Wills; has anyone ever seen them together?
Congratulations on the purchase of the 10-20mm lens. With such a wonderful why dangle you will see the world very differently. Can I borrow it please?
I read the review of T'Other Boleyn Girl. Could one of you wordsmiths please explain this sentence:
It's well known that Henry split with the Catholic Church in order to marry Anne, but in this version he does it purely to get into her heavily embroidered pants.
Does this mean Hal split with Rome to get into Anne's knickers or married Anne to get into her knickers? At university I learnt that Henry split with the Catholic Church in order to marry Anne as she was pregnant by him (so he'd already got into her knickers) and he thought she would give him a son. Naturally, they had to be married for the child to be a legitimate heir to the throne. As Henry was already married he had to get Rome's agreement to a divorce. When the Pope said no Henry split with the Church. The rest, as they say, is history.
Did you know Henry 8 was the monarch who was awarded the title Defender of the Faith which all monarchs since have held (Fid Def on our coins). He was awarded the title by the Pope for his (Henry's) defence of Catholicism.
I know nothing about Google's page-rank so I googled it. This is what I found:
PageRank Explained
PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at considerably more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; for example, it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important." Using these and other factors, Google provides its views on pages' relative importance.
Of course, important pages mean nothing to you if they don't match your query. So, Google combines PageRank with sophisticated text-matching techniques to find pages that are both important and relevant to your search. Google goes far beyond the number of times a term appears on a page and examines dozens of aspects of the page's content (and the content of the pages linking to it) to determine if it's a good match for your query.
That's Google's own explanation so now you know.
Rob
After my tongue-in-cheek comment on the oath of allegiance, I suppose I should make it clear that I incline to your view.
Of course Voltaire was right.
I would only differ with you in that I think there can come a time when insurrection is called for (you cannot really blame the Americans, Russians or the French in spite of what ensued).
I am not sure, from the way you put it, whether or not you favour consideration of Islam and Sharia law. Please clarify otherwise I cannot debate it with you.
I have already given my views on the Delia programme. All I would add is:
1) Sandra, who is a great lover of peppers, cannot abide the bottled ones
2) I reckon it is as quick to grate cheese as to open a packet and
3) parmesan is not the same unless freshly grated but that won’t matter to you as you don’t like it.
But Sandra has told me that she intends to try freezing surplus mash...
Like Yvonne, Sandra cannot read and understand stuff on-screen. She has to have a hard copy.
Nice quote again.
Jill:
I didn’t find Delia fast. I think she only did 2 recipes.
I believe it is ‘hot-smoked salmon’ not ‘hot smoked-salmon’
I do my best to avoid mince of any kind unless I have actually seen the meat first (which must be completely fat free).
But I agree with RG about the soup. And I especially liked the idea of the added rocket, spinach and watercress.
Re ‘White Girl’; I am inclined not to like the Daily Telegraph opinion on most things (which is why I don’t read it).
As for 10 Days to War, isn't life difficult when it is impossible to believe anything seen or heard? Everyone believed Winston in the war.
I know a lot of things are faked but I am very impressed by the way those penguins were trained to ice skate.
‘The Poles’ was interesting and at the same time discouraging.
Both our sons went picking for a short time, about 20 years ago, at a pound an hour, and soon became disillusioned (Simon was the van driver. He walked out when told they had to stay another 2 hours and drove home with those who wished to do the same). But £7 an hour seems very reasonable, and it seems very sad that natives are unwilling to give it a try, preferring to draw benefit.
There are 2 East European brothers who work in ‘our’ Netto. They are both charming and helpful in every way.
AnonRob:
Dorothy Dandridge was delicious. As the Pub landlord would say “I’d delect her”.
In principle, I prefer the plump and cuddly brunette about 4’11" tall.
Nevertheles my 3 wives have all been about 5’4” and blond(ish). Two of them also slim (that includes Sandra, now under 8 stone but once a 14).
Yvonne's review is the only good one I have heard or seen. Even the Chad says "Peter Jurgens' script is extremely dull and the dialogue flat... trivial moments (are) drawn out, some scenes overlong... For those who like undemanding melodrama, there may be plenty to enjoy... visually impressive aspects of the film do little to disguise the lack of drama or excitement.
Apparently, after Roman times, women didn't wear knickers until the 19C. So no prob there for Henry.
Your university version of history sounds the most likely to me, although everyone's history is different.
I love the irony of Fid Def.
Madeline:
It has been windy here too today but rather disappointing for a ‘storm’.
Not quite as unpleasnat as Monday.
I like your quote too.
But cars have come down in comparative price. In 1959 I bought a new Beetle for £700 which was the same as my salary as a qualified architect. The new Toyota ‘mini’ is £7,000 (about a quarter to a third of pa salary?).
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