Meaning

Two things that are might possibly be confused but which are in fact very different.

Origin

There are several phrases that suggest one thing is interchangeable with another, e.g. 'a change is as good as a rest', 'enough is as good as a feast'. I can't think of another that specifically draws a distinction between two things like 'as different as chalk and cheese'. Why the need to make the distinction? After all, chalk and cheese aren't similar enough for anyone to confuse them.

The earliest citation of the phrase, in John Gower's Confessio Amantis, 1390 does suggest some dodgy dealing, in which cheese is replaced with chalk:

Lo, how they feignen chalk for chese.

and

And thus ful ofte chalk for chese
He changeth with ful litel cost,
Wherof an other hath the lost
And he the profit schal receive.

The English language is packed full of phrases that contain pairs of rhyming or alliterating words - often for no better reason that whoever coined liked the sound of them. For example, hocus-pocus, the bee's knees riff-raff etc, It doesn't seem likely that the naming of chalk and cheese as items that are specifically different has any more behind it than the alliteration of the two words

Ok, I am totally against terrorism whatever its source and whomever the intended victims or the reasoning behind it, its just bad - full stop.

It does always strike me though as to how little creative thinking these people must have, airports, night clubs in the capital are not these highly likely targets and very very obvious, surely if you want to get away with it you pick somewhere a little more subtle, like a town in Somerset or a bust station in Wales whatever, one you have a great bigger chance of success and two you can freak out the population at large.

Just hope MI5 are not reading this.. oh who is that at the doorbell.. wont be a second... arggghhh ...oofff

How wierd must it be, yesterday you ran a country and today the removal men are in packing up your stuff, your out of a job and out of your home... Nothing will be the same for you again.. Have to pay your own way, dial your own phone numbers, pay council tax.. stand up when others come into the room, queue at the doctors sugery, get your own groceries.

I'm sure I would be shedding a big tear or two

I went to the cinema and saw the new Fantastic Four Movie and I went with my mind pretty closed after seeing the first one a couple of years back. But I must say I really enjoyed this one, the characters have all developed a great deal and I just love 'The Thing' and 'The Human Torch' - the silver surfer was the business as well... It looks like some critics did not rate it though 

"This movie is a mess. It's as if the script was cobbled together in a rush then changed during filming. The ending, in addition to being a letdown, is nonsensical. A lot of what happens in the film, including the re-introduction of Dr. Doom, feels completely arbitrary. What does it say about a major motion picture when the Stan Lee cameo is the highlight? (That was the only time when I smiled.) Rise of the Silver Surfer is only 90 minutes long but it seems as protracted and pointless as anything else this summer has had to offer. "

"A rush of blood to the head" certainly some top tunes on the album thats for sure, really like listening to it in the morning.

I went tot he gym this morning and was doing a run (well just finishing it) and one of the staff came over and asked if I fancied doing a circuits class - "Yeah Sure" I said.... well it well near killed me, it was like nothing I had done before my head was pounding and I was gasping for breath and as we finished he said "Well done, this was the advanced class" - arrghhhhh. My legs and arms are like blooming lead now

The Andrews Sisters years before my time WWII vintage, I heard a couple of records by them yesterday  Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Mr Sandman - brilliant, what great voices they had and fantastic timing, and the music to bugle boy was fab - I know its like 'out of date' and that but it rocks and if you get the opportunity give it a listen

Here is a bit about them

One source lists 113 singles chart entries by the trio between 1938-1951, an average of more than eight per year. They boasted an exuberant, close-harmony style well-suited to cheery novelty songs, and their intricate vocal arrangements and rhythmic ability mirrored the sound of the swing bands that constituted their chief competition in their heyday. But, in a sense, they had no competition. No other female vocal group, and very few male ones, came close to their success from the late '30s to the early '50s, an era when first big bands and then solo singers dominated popular music. Their reign is all the more remarkable given that they swam against the current of contemporary music trends while making it seem effortless. For the most part, the Andrews Sisters did not focus on romantic material, but rather sang upbeat songs, often borrowed from other cultures. Although they were well-established by the time the U.S. entered World War II, their optimistic tenor made them perfect boosters of the war effort, and in later years they remained closely identified with the war years, remembered as wearing military uniforms and singing their signature song, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."
 

England got battered again by the Boks over the weekend 55-22 in another painful viewing ordeal. The guys played hard though I thought and there was a definate improvement from the week before, a few names put thier head over the parapet for consideration for the World Cup squad, Mark Regan, Matt Stevens, Magnus Lund in the forwards and several of the backs especially that familair name Jonny Wilkinson.

Will England be downhearted by the two defeats, no  I don't think so this was at best a third string 15 (with a couple of exceptions) and come the world cup things will be a lot different

Round and round the garden like a teddy bear one step, two step a poisoning over there..... The murky world of spies eye, round and round it goes and where it stops nobody knows!

THE man suspected of assassinating former KGB colonel Alexander Litvinenko blamed British spies for the killing yesterday.Andrei Lugovoy, named last week as the man Scotland Yard want to arrest over the radiation poison plot, made his claim at a press conference in Moscow.He said Litvinenko, who died after being slipped a cup of green tea laced with radioactive polonium at a London hotel, was working for M16.The former KGB agent said British spy bosses may have murdered Litvinenko. He said: "I cannot get away from the thought that Litvinenko was an agent who had gone out of control and they got rid of him."Even if the British security services didn't do it themselves, it was done under their control or connivance."

Litvinenko arrived in Britain in 2002 and lived with his wife and child in London.Last November, he had a meeting with Lugovoy and another man at the Millennium hotel in London.He then fell ill with symptoms of leukamia and tests showed he had been poisoned with polonium 210.

Litvinenko died a week after going into hospital.

Shortly before he died, he made a tape recording in which he claimed his death had been ordered by Russian president Vladimir Putin.Investigators found a cup at the hotel that had traces of polonium.Last week, prosecutors told police they should arrest Lugavoy and charge him with murder.

Police have asked Moscow to arrest him and send him to London to face justice.But under the Russian constitution, it is illegal for them to extradite one of their citizens. It means that as things stand, Lugovoy is "untouchable" by British authorities.Yesterday, his claims were treated with scepticism by Scotland Yard.A senior source said: "This looks like a classic manoeuvre to muddy the water. All the evidence we uncovered leads back to Lugovoy.

"If we could lay hands on him, he would be arrested and charged with murder but he knows that he is safe from us if he stays in Russia.The affair reads like a Cold War spy novel. Lugovoy appears to be getting his defence in early, by claiming Colonel Litvinenko was a secret agent who had been 'turned' by MI6 and then murdered by them because he was a maverick and too dangerous.We think what he is saying is preposterous. He was one of only two people with Alex Litvinenko when he was slipped the poison."Lugovoy was heavily contaminated by the poison, so was his hotel room, his bed and the seats he sat in on jets to and from Russia."We know that there is no realistic chance of getting him extradited to face trial.

"But we are hopeful the Foreign Office might persuade the Russians to arrest him themselves and put him on trial for murder in Russia using our evidence."As well as naming MI6 as suspects for the murder, Lugovoy put forward two other possible "culprits" - a mysterious Russian "mafia" syndicate and the Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky. Berezovsky lives in London since fleeing Russia after falling out with Putin.Russia wants him extradited to face charges.He was a close friend of Litvinenko and police say there's "no evidence at all" he was implicated in the killing.

Being out of office for a few weeks is a lot of fun and very cool, but getting back to work mega sucks, all your stuff has just been building up and no one has taken care of any of your stuff - head down and get on with it right?

 

Lets hope something comes of this right?

The United States yesterday described the two countries' most high-profile meeting in almost 30 years as positive but urged Iran to stop supporting militias in Iraq.

The meeting in Baghdad between the US and Iranian ambassadors to Iraq covered only sectarian violence in Iraq and did not touch on Iran's controversial nuclear program, the most contentious issue in bilateral relations.

The meeting, which began with a handshake, ended without any agreement on a date for further talks.

But it marked a shift in the US policy of shunning almost all contact with Iranian officials since Washington severed formal diplomatic ties with Teheran in 1980, 14 months after Iran's Islamic Revolution and five months after Americans were seized in a hostage crisis at the US embassy in Teheran.

Every day is a day in Paradise - not for all thats for sure, its a great saying and thats about all.. I watched a very stark movie last night called Children of Man - a really heavy apocalyptical view of the downfall of mankind - it didn't look to far away from the truth to me

 

"Children of Men" envisages a world one generation from now that has fallen into chaos on the heels of an infertility defect in the population. The world's youngest citizen has just died at 18, and humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction. Set against a backdrop of London torn apart by violence and warring nationalistic sects, "Children of Men" follows an unlikely champion of Earth's survival: Theo (Owen), a disillusioned ex-activist turned bureaucrat, who is forced to face his own demons and protect the planet's last remaining hope.

Bad news the Cutty Sark up at Greenwich has caught fire and been badly damaged, a lot of the timbers had been taken out for renovation but apparently the trust who look after the Cutty Sark are worried that it might be a write off....

"Fire today ravaged the Cutty Sark, turning the 19th century tea clipper, permanently moored in south London and one of Britain's most important maritime treasures, into a blackened wreck.

Despite the apparent damage, however, experts who have been leading a broad restoration project on the 138-year-old ship said an initial inspection indicated a section of its structure remained intact and it could perhaps be restored.

"Parts of it are completely unaffected," Ian Bell, technical manager of the Cutty Sark Trust, told reporters after being allowed to inspect the vessel."

 I don't get it, you go to the airport and you get called to your plane, its delayed 15 minutes and so you wait to board and then on you go.... you sit down and then the pilot says he heard 5 minutes ago the traffic control has delayed your slot by 90 minutes ........ why the fuck do they allow you on the plane to get fed up and frustrated!!!!!

Yes bu the slot may be moved forward is the reason - in that case just board the plane quickly. very frustrating indeed - and there was aload of bloody turbulence so no grub or hot drinks

Tony Blair the Prime Minister for the past 10 years is expected to stand down tomorrow.

I think the guy has done an OK job and had a genuine desire to make the UK a better place to live, I think his hands have been tied far to often by the politically correct crowd.

I wish him well, but I would ditch Cherie - ouch! 

ANother big announcement - the end of cassette tapes

Cassette tapes were once at the cutting edge of personal music collections, offering portability and piracy.

The "mix tape" was a romantic rite of passage in the 1980s. Recording songs from the radio - or from another tape if you splashed out on a double-tape deck - to give to a loved one or a mate was a painstaking business. Fading out the music before the DJ butted in became an art form.

We took the kids up to London on Saturday and went to the Science Museum up in South Kensington, to all you tourists out there its well worth a visit and like all of the major museums in the UK its free. It a huge massive building laid out into different sections of science with plenty of interaction points for the children. The whole thing is well laid out and so there is plenty of space. Its really pretty wild to able to look at really close the worlds first locomotive or the command module from Apollo 8 or a Luftwaffe Dornier jet from WW II.

Its really easy to get to and its right next to the National History Museum and the V&A Museum

Hmmm, eat a bit of humble pie time for me.... I spoke to American Express and they were very helpful and immediately contacted Equifax with an update, still knackered me for Barlcays but American Express said they would write a letter for me if required to give to Barclays..... grumble, grumble

Credit scoring and credit rating what an arse. I wanted to take a loan from Barclays, I have done so in the past and never had an issue, so I phone up talk to some garbled Indian lady and get a 'no' as an answer so I'm thinking WTF? - Barclays send me a letter that says its been refused because information received from the credit reference agency. SO I register with Equifax who are the credit reference agency pay my £16.00 to get the info and find out I have a great credit rating but two things are working against me,

1, I have only lived in my new house for one year

2, American Express are cocks. They mischarged me about something so I disputed it and they dropped the charge but have put me down as defaulting payment - wankers

There are a few different reasons for hypoglycemia in adults and here is a list of the main causes.

Causes and Treatment
Causes include certain medications, alcohol, critical illnesses, hormonal deficiencies, some kinds of tumors, and certain conditions occurring in infancy and childhood.

Medications
Medications, including some used to treat diabetes, are the most common cause of hypoglycemia. Other medications that can cause hypoglycemia include

• salicylates, including aspirin, when taken in large doses

   

• sulfa medicines, which are used to treat infections

   

• pentamidine, which treats a very serious kind of pneumonia

   

• quinine, which is used to treat malaria

If using any of these medications causes your blood glucose to drop, your doctor may advise you to stop using the drug or change the dosage.

Alcohol
Drinking, especially binge drinking, can cause hypoglycemia because your body's breakdown of alcohol interferes with your liver's efforts to raise blood glucose. Hypoglycemia caused by excessive drinking can be very serious and even fatal.

Critical Illnesses
Some illnesses that affect the liver, heart, or kidneys can cause hypoglycemia. Sepsis (overwhelming infection) and starvation are other causes of hypoglycemia. In these cases, treatment targets the underlying cause.

Hormonal Deficiencies
Hormonal deficiencies may cause hypoglycemia in very young children, but usually not in adults. Shortages of cortisol, growth hormone, glucagon, or epinephrine can lead to fasting hypoglycemia. Laboratory tests for hormone levels will determine a diagnosis and treatment. Hormone replacement therapy may be advised.

Tumors
Insulinomas, insulin-producing tumors, can cause hypoglycemia by raising your insulin levels too high in relation to your blood glucose level. These tumors are very rare and do not normally spread to other parts of the body. Laboratory tests can pinpoint the exact cause. Treatment involves both short-term steps to correct the hypoglycemia and medical or surgical measures to remove the tumor.

It was the opening meeting at the Brighton race course this weekend (29th April) and even though I have lived in Brighton for time beyond mind I have never attended a  race meeting, anyhow on SUnday we decided to go and have a look, its only a short ride on the 2 or the 2a and it stops right outside the race track. £13.00 to get in I thought was a bit steep but once you are there you go in right? There were six races and we did pretty well missing the first and the last, 3 out of five is not bad 

 

2.40 1st  2 Proper (IRE)  11-8 JF  £5.00 to win Atomic 3.50 1st  6 Night Wolf (IRE)  13-2  £5.00 to Win Cyrmu Am Byth 4.25 1st  7 Bienheureux  13-2  £5.00 to win Cymru Am Byth

 

How about one that revolves around the day of the week. Today is Friday what is the origin of Friday, from my schooling its named after the Norse god Freya - So I will Google it and see if I'm right.

Friday
The day in honor of the Norse goddess Frigg.
In Old High German this day was called frigedag.
To the Romans this day was sacred to the goddess Venus, and was known as dies veneris.

Well I was nearly right 

I don't know about you but I have a lot of logins to use at work, for my banking, for forums, websites etc etc and keeping track of them is a nightmare, you don't want to write them down but you need to remember somehow, so do you use the same password - ALERT compromise city , or do you keep a pass worded spreadsheet? Great but if your on the road in a cyber cafe etc you are fucked. So what the answer hardware Tokens or Single Sign On, great in a corporate environment but useless for heterogeneous systems around the world..

The company that comes up with a secure portal site that allows you to access the sites you access using Single Sign On will make an absolute fortune!

Well, It was odd I had written the day before about feeling wierd and on Thursday - Boom, out drops the cold from hell a real corker achey limbs mega sneezing the full nine yards. Anyhow I had a doctors appointment for Friday so I went along to see him and the thing that had been worrying me was fine, my blood pressure was 116/84 - pretty pleased.

I stopped smoking on Monday so it five days in today or put another way 75 cigarettes I have not smoked. I have to just keep plugging away at it day on day, day on day. My main reason for quitting is it sucks and second on July 1st Smoking is banned from all public places in the UK.

Where will smoking be banned?

Smoking in all indoor public places will be banned. Many places - such as cinemas and public transport - have rarely permitted smoking in recent years, and so it will be places like pubs, restaurants, nightclubs and private members' clubs that feel the biggest impact of the ban.

 

Where will you be able to smoke?

You'll still be allowed to light up outdoors, in the home or places considered to be 'homes', such as prisons, care homes and hotels.

Smoking could still be banned at certain outdoor locations that are 'substantially enclosed', such as football grounds and railway platforms. No decision has yet been made on smoking inside cars carrying passengers.

 

What will happen if I'm caught fag-in-hand?

If you're caught smoking in a banned area you could be fined £50.

 

But who's really going to care if I light up a sneaky one?

Those in charge of the premises would be fools to let you get away with it, especially considering that they could face a £2,500 fine if they fail to stop you. They could also be charged on-the-spot fines of £200 if they fail to display no-smoking signs, with the penalty increasing to £1,000 if the issue goes to court.

The rampage at Virginia Tech university killed 33 including a suspected gunman.

There were two hours between the two separate attacks, the second of which saw 31 deaths, and students have asked why the campus was not locked down.

University officials defended their actions, saying they could not have foreseen the second incident.

I know the American gun lobby is a hugely powerful body but an occurrence like the above seems to take place every few months or so in the US I wonder how many more rampages need to occur before the US attempts to tighten up gun control or has it all gone too far and they can never reverse the law of the gun?

seagulls are a total f*cking nightmare in Brighton, as soon as your rubbish bags are out the flying shithouses are ripping them open spreading rubbish everywhere, they start screeching at 4.00am until dark, the shit acid that burns the paint off from your car, they steal infants from prams and steal cans of Strongbow from your hand. There are hundreds and hundreds of them and there are more and more every year. Why do not Brighton council do something about the flying pests I'm sure if there were hundreds and thousands of rats running about they would be pretty quick to act and if they can't or won't act against the seagulls at least supply adequate bins to the areas around the streets of the Royal Sussex County Hospital for example so the residents can place thier waste in seagull proof bins instead of having to leave black bags out on the street.

Last year a pair of shithouses built a nest on next doors roof, every time my kids went outside the seagulls dive bombed them and shat on them scaring them and the old lady next door to death. I phoned the council 'can you move them or can I?' What is Brighton Councils reply? 'No they are a protected species' Get a bloody grip there needs to be a cull

How much sodding council tax do I pay?

Well, the Easter break is over for 2007 its back to work tomorrow, all the chocolate is eaten and the gym is to be returned to to work off those extra few pounds though in my case its more than a few 

We spent the break up in Hafan y Môr, Nr Pwllheli, North Wales its a holiday camp run by haven Holidays formerly it was run by Butlins in the dawn of time. We booked up a silver caravan which was £320 for three nights which I did feel was steep in price, but it was a nice caravan away from the main hustle and bustle of the camp. We loved the go-carts they were a lot of fun and the competitive edge was incredible 7 of us rattling around the track like madman trying to get the edge over the other drivers. James came in first on one race and Harry on the other, again not cheap at £4 for four minutes but great non the less. The kids loved the water park as did I, it was a great hangover cure. The only thing that really got annoyed was how poor the arcades were, half of the machines were mal-functioning or just broken - but of course not switched off they rely on the British not to complain and just move onto another machine without getting their money back. In fact it pissed me off so much I'm going to write a letter of complaint to haven, not that I expect anything to come of it.

We enjoyed the night-time entertainment the music and acts were pretty good quality, there was a stone killer of an act though where they got five blokes up on stage to perform antics, it went on and on and on and the compare had such a shrill voice you could not hear a work she was saying, the place half emptied while this 'brilliant' act was on.

Pwllheli was full to busting it being bank holiday and all and while we were sat outside the Victoria Hotel drinking cider and wine (its on the corner of Morfa'r Garreg) in the spring sunshine we were all amazed at how many 4 x 4's there were all of them seemed to be the crew cab pickup type as well for even more environmental damage. I know Pwllheli has of course a great marina but they fair weather boaters don't need vehicles of this size! It was the same outside The Mitre as well one after the other 4 x4 by 4 x 4

And as for the traffic - bank holiday weekend and the nightmares it entails, no problem we did Pwllheli to Brighton in 5 hours fastest time by 30 minutes and on the way up Brighton to Pwllheli 5 hours 30 minutes - OK we did leave early but even so, well chuffed

The French broke the speed record for a train on wheels yesterday it came in at 574 kmh. Thats some speed for a train I couldn't imagine it on the clacky clack old train in the UK. Then again it was a specially prepared piece of train and the train was somewhat modified and they had boosted the power lines running overhead, but a great record non the less. When I was fortunate enough to be in Japan with work we went on the bullet train from Tokyo to Kobe and that fairly moved but was only just over half the speed of yesterdays record. The bullet train was very strange as it gave the sensation of hardly moving as the ride was so smooth. What impressed me most with the train was the onboard refreshments. A lady in traditional dress came into the carriage selling what seemed to me the most amazing fayre, non of your crappy sandwiches and a mars bar. It was all beautifully boxed and packed and prepared sushi and the suchlike. The best part that the sales lady backed out of each carriage and bowed to the commuters as she left the carriage. Brilliant 

Facts about yesterdays record

The electrical tension in the overhead cable was boosted from 25,000 volts to 31,000 for the record attempt
The train travelled almost as fast as a World War II Spitfire fighter at top speed
Power output: more than 25,000 horsepower

I was looking for a photo of Sean Connery from You only Live Twice where he was made up to look Chinese and didn't even look remotely oriental but unfortunately I failed. What bought it to mind was a film on TV over the weekend called 'Genghis Khan' which had some classic actors in it Omar Sharif, Lames Mason, Eli Wallach, Telly Sevalas, Michael Horden, Woody Strode and Robert Morley as the Chinese Emperor - One thing in common non of them are Chinese or even of Chinese descent. Its an incredibly miscast movie with a terrible story line and plot.

Here is a review of the film that pretty much spot on

This 1965 so-called epic distorts the history of Genghis Khan, but then what bad historical epic doesn't? Instead, it rewrites the legend making Khan a more sympathetic figure. The main actors in the film are overall first rate, but watching James Mason speaking with obviously false buck teeth to show he's Chinese is embarassing - it's also his worse piece of acting. Robert Morley does try as the Chinese emperor, but only Eli Wallach seems to realize he's really involved in a bad epic that equals a high school production. Only Stephen Boyd stands out as Genghis Khan's longtime enemy. Boyd plays his role over the top, which is probably the only way to approach it for such a film. The production uses mostly European Caucasian actors even for the Chinese scenes(with the exception of the Egyptian Omar Sharif), something one watches with befuddlement and amusement going by today's more PC standards. Henry Levin is one of the more underrated directors from his era and he does try mightily with the material he's given.However, He does show a fine eye for spectacle as justified by Geoffrey Unsworth's photography.

Another step closer to 'Big Brother' has been announced a revolutionary way of identifying people. Great way to help stop terrorists though who think a beard shave is the way to go

Bioscrypt, a Toronto-based company, has claimed an industry first with its 3D camera that doubles as a security check by scanning the users face with infrared and visible light.  The VisionAccess 3D DeskCam scans in three dimensions for authentication purposes. 

The security scanning works by using 40,000 identification points on specific portions of the face such the forehead, eye sockets, and nose bridge.  So far, tests have proved that the system can differentiate between identical twins, and Ryan Zlockie, director of product management, claimed that facial hair will no make no impact on the identification.  This means that if a person were registered with beard, they would not have to reregister if that person shaved.

Of course I don't know fully both sides of the story, but to me Iran's actions taking 15 UK naval service personnel captive is not a great thing. Iran is being squeezed by the UN to give up its uranium enriching program by having sanctions and embargos placed upon. Iran says 'hey, I don't need you guys telling me what to do' and so carries on regardless. Britain is patrolling off the coast in Iraqi waters and Iran decides they are in Iranian waters and captures them. Now with a shed load of US troops next door in Iraq and a load of UK and other nationalities troops in Iraq, does it seem like a good idea to be antagonizing the UK, don't forget of course that the US is run by gung-ho Bush who makes no secret that he would like to wipe out Iran's leaders and that Blair lives in his pants.

Where will end? Hopefully nice and peaceful like

Not talking about moving moody goods not standing in a mask and a sword doing an epee, I'm talking about the thing that stops people coming into your land or from animals getting out of your land.

The wall at the bottom of the garden is not very stable so I had decided to put up a new fence, so I duly went off to B&Q and bought myself 2 6ft fence panels, three meta posts and three 8ft posts. I cleared the ground where the fence was to go and had it all levelled. I need a hand so on Sunday Peter Neville and Gary (Barney) Brown popped up, quick as a weazel Barney is digging a post and announces the footing of the wall extends to far out and therefore the meta posts are a waste of time and the best way will be to concrete the posts in.

So back to B&Q for three bags of ballast, luckily I have a few bags of Blue Cirlce cement already, don't forget the 8 metaclips. Pete and I get back and Gary has prepared all three post holes. Mix up some concrete, cut the panels to shape get them levelled and bobs your uncle. Two hours and the show is over from start to finish.

You wonder why it takes the 'authorities' so long to figure things out, you would think with the ammount of cost to the country that stuff like like was a no brainer years ago

Alcohol is as dangerous as heroin, medical experts proposing a controversial new drug classification system have said.

The table, published in The Lancet, was drawn up by a team of highly-respected scientists led by University of Bristol's Professor David Nutt and chief executive of the Medical Research Council, Professor Colin Blakemore.

Using three main factors to determine harmfulness - physical harm, dependency and effect - independent experts rated 20 drugs in each category as either "no risk" (0), "some risk" (1), "moderate risk" ( 2) and "extreme risk" (3).

Combining the scores, heroin was unsurprisingly top of the table with an overall "harm score" of 2.7, followed by cocaine which scored 2.3. Alcohol was put at just under 2 and tobacco at 1.7.

Speaking at a news briefing in London, Prof Blakemore said: "Alcohol and tobacco are way up there in the league table, with alcohol being not very far behind demonised terrors of the street like heroin."

Class A drug Ecstasy is placed near the bottom of the table scoring just over 1.1, despite it potentially leading to a seven-year prison sentence for possession.

And LSD, another class A drug, is also considered relatively safe despite its powerful hallucinogenic properties while Cannabis, which was recently downgraded to class C, also occupies a middle position on the table at just over 1.1.

Prof Blakemore added: "We hope that policy makers will take note of the fact that the resulting ranking of drugs differs substantially from their classification in the Misuse of Drugs Act and that alcohol and tobacco are judged more harmful than many illegal substances."

A "Drug Futures" working group from the Academy of Medical Sciences is currently reviewing the issues surrounding drug regulation.

Chairman Professor Sir Gabriel Horn said: "We have heard views from both members of the scientific community and of the public which indicate that the current classification system is in need of review.

"Such a review must be underpinned by evidence on the harms of drug use to the individual user, to families and to society, and be considered in the light of the latest evidence from brain sciences."

It was very sad to hear about the loss of Bob Woolmer a cricket classic and a great coach, he passed away the other day during the world cup and that seemed to be that, now however there are noises by the Jamacian police that there may be more to his death than meets the eye and have as for a second opinion on the autopsy. If he was 'done away with' who on earth would want to kill a 59 year old cricket coach and why?

Or is there something to cricket that us laymen do not know about?

Wondered what Intel Core Duo is? If so read below

Features and benefits

I was having a shave this morning - as you do and all of a sudden from nowhere pops up the nursery rhyme 'Cry Baby Bunting' I asked by partner have to you ever heard 'cry baby bunting' and she says no so I wonder if its an English rhyme? First noted in 1784

Cry Baby Bunting
Daddy's gone a-hunting
Gone to fetch a rabbit skin
To wrap the Baby Bunting in
Cry Baby Bunting

Friday at last and I'm knackered. I'm really looking forward to the weekend, few beers, lots of laughs and a barrel load of rugby  

More proof of global warming?

Winter in the Northern Hemisphere this year has been the warmest since records began more than 125 years ago, a US government agency says.

The combined land and ocean surface temperature from December to February was 0.72C (1.3F) above average.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said El Nino, a seasonal warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean, had also contributed to the warmth.

But it did not see the high temperature as evidence of man-made global warming.

The Noaa said that temperatures were continuing to rise by a fifth of a degree every decade. The 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1995.

Weather experts predict that 2007 could be the hottest year on record.

"Contributing factors were the long-term trend toward warmer temperatures as well as a moderate El Nino in the Pacific," said Jay Lawrimore of Noaa's National Climatic Data Center.

He added: "We don't say this winter is evidence of the influence of greenhouse gases."

When I was a 'younger' lad and you went to the chippie and got pie and chips the pies were kept in the glass fronted warmer over the chip fryer, not only were the pies baking hot but the pastry was crispy, nowadays they microwave or nuke the bloody things and the pastry is all soggy surely killing the whole pie concept. I wonder if pie sales have declined because of this, cos I no longer buy a chip shop pie 

I used to love Kents pies from Manchester and Pukka pies 

A Brand people want:

• On a national basis Pukka Pies are one of the largest & most popular pie brands
• Brand leaders in the fish & chip shop and fast food markets
• No 1 branded pie in the stadia market
• Pukka Pies are recognised by consumers as better quality and sell faster than other pies where stocked
• A brand that is supported by strong marketing:
  - TV advertising
  - Radio advertising
  - Point of sale & posters
  - Signage at football, rugby league & motor sport

"Today is a day to celebrate the foe have met their fate" Genesis.

What a grand day, what a grand match hoe fantastic it was to see England put France to the sword at Twickeham yesterday and great win, some raw talent unearthed, the possibility of light at the end of the tunnel established - Hallelujah!

England 26 (9)
Tries: Flood, Tindall
Pens: Flood 3, Geraghty
Cons: Flood, Geraghty

France 18 (12)
Pens: Skrela 3, Yachvili 3

England ended France's hopes of a Six Nations Grand Slam as they beat them for the first time since the World Cup.

Welcome to blog number 101, 100 blog entries full of crap gone and onwards and upwards we go.  Maybe the next 100 might have some data of interest to others although according to my stats the bog gets hit by Google and Yahoo on at least 5 or 6 times a day.
 

Give me peace and mind to trust, don't forget the rest of us, give me strength and self control, give me heart and give me soul use the feel to crack the fix and tell how you are with politics and open up your eyes! Open up your eyes

Its so obvious although we all read 1984 by George Orwell we have not protested in anyway to our constant surveillance by the state, the monitoring of our mail and our phones, outrageous or comforting?

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.

The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. At one end of it a coloured poster, too large for indoor display, had been tacked to the wall. It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a metre wide: the face of a man of about forty-five, with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features. Winston made for the stairs. It was no use trying the lift. Even at the best of times it was seldom working, and at present the electric current was cut off during daylight hours. It was part of the economy drive in preparation for Hate Week. The flat was seven flights up, and Winston, who was thirty-nine and had a varicose ulcer above his right ankle, went slowly, resting several times on the way. On each landing, opposite the lift-shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran.

Inside the flat a fruity voice was reading out a list of figures which had something to do with the production of pig-iron. The voice came from an oblong metal plaque like a dulled mirror which formed part of the surface of the right-hand wall. Winston turned a switch and the voice sank somewhat, though the words were still distinguishable. The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely. He moved over to the window: a smallish, frail figure, the meagreness of his body merely emphasized by the blue overalls which were the uniform of the party. His hair was very fair, his face naturally sanguine, his skin roughened by coarse soap and blunt razor blades and the cold of the winter that had just ended.

Outside, even through the shut window-pane, the world looked cold. Down in the street little eddies of wind were whirling dust and torn paper into spirals, and though the sun was shining and the sky a harsh blue, there seemed to be no colour in anything, except the posters that were plastered everywhere. The blackmoustachio'd face gazed down from every commanding corner. There was one on the house-front immediately opposite. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into Winston's own. Down at streetlevel another poster, torn at one corner, flapped fitfully in the wind, alternately covering and uncovering the single word INGSOC. In the far distance a helicopter skimmed down between the roofs, hovered for an instant like a bluebottle, and darted away again with a curving flight. It was the police patrol, snooping into people's windows. The patrols did not matter, however. Only the Thought Police mattered.

Behind Winston's back the voice from the telescreen was still babbling away about pig-iron and the overfulfilment of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.

Winston kept his back turned to the telescreen. It was safer, though, as he well knew, even a back can be revealing. A kilometre away the Ministry of Truth, his place of work, towered vast and white above the grimy landscape. This, he thought with a sort of vague distaste -- this was London, chief city of Airstrip One, itself the third most populous of the provinces of Oceania. He tried to squeeze out some childhood memory that should tell him whether London had always been quite like this. Were there always these vistas of rotting nineteenth-century houses, their sides shored up with baulks of timber, their windows patched with cardboard and their roofs with corrugated iron, their crazy garden walls sagging in all directions? And the bombed sites where the plaster dust swirled in the air and the willow-herb straggled over the heaps of rubble; and the places where the bombs had cleared a larger patch and there had sprung up sordid colonies of wooden dwellings like chicken-houses? But it was no use, he could not remember: nothing remained of his childhood except a series of bright-lit tableaux occurring against no background and mostly unintelligible.

The Ministry of Truth -- Minitrue, in Newspeak -- was startlingly different from any other object in sight. It was an enormous pyramidal structure of glittering white concrete, soaring up, terrace after terrace, 300 metres into the air. From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party:

WAR IS PEACE

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

Well, it was on this day March 6th 1962 Mr Patricia Ann Golding and Mr David Golding had a son called Paul Alexis Golding and today he turned 45 years old. Where did the time go and does everyone elses time move as quickly?

Message to Chairman Khrushchev Concerning the Opening of the Geneva Disarmament Negotiations.

March 6th, 1962

Dear Mr. Chairman:

I have received your message of March 3, and I am glad to know of your agreement that the meeting in Geneva on March 14 should be opened by foreign Ministers. I am particularly glad that Mr. Gromyko will be able to join with Lord Home and Secretary Rusk before the meeting for preliminary discussions; our hope is that these conversations might begin on March 12. It will be the purpose of the representatives of the United States, headed by Secretary Rusk, to make every possible effort to find paths toward disarmament.

Our object now must be to make real progress toward disarmament, and not to engage in sterile exchanges of propaganda. In that spirit, I shall not undertake at this time to comment on the many sentiments in your letter with which, as I am sure you know, the United States Government cannot agree. Let us, instead, join in giving our close personal support and direction to the representatives, and let us join in working for their success.

Sincerely yours,

John F Kennedy

I guess we have all been in the situation where you have gone into a three hour exam and gotten the feeling of being caught short and needing a wee, but for the guy below its a bit more pressing

Exam supervisors at a German university stuck to rules so rigidly that a man with a bladder dysfunction had to urinate in a bottle in front of 120 fellow students because they would not let him go to the toilet.

None of the three supervisors would accompany the man to the toilet despite other students' protests.

Eventually one female student emptied her water bottle so the man could go to a corner of the room and relieve himself.

In a letter written on Wednesday and seen by Reuters, university deputy head Karl-Reinhard Volz apologized to the student, saying the supervisors' behavior was completely unjustified and "lacking in any normal human sensitivity."

Beautiful bright sunny day in Brighton today, not a cloud in the sky which has made it very brisk but it was one of those mornings when you wake up you feel happy to be alive.

Great little story below 

 

HOBART, Ind. - Kevin Russell found out it's not easy trying to cash a check from God. The 21-year-old man was arrested Monday after he tried to cash a check for $50,000 at the Chase Bank in Hobart that was signed "King Savior, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Servant," Hobart police Detective Jeff White said.

Russell was charged with one count attempted check fraud and one count intimidation, both felonies, and one count resisting law enforcement, a misdemeanor. He could face prison time.

Police were called to the bank after Russell tried to cash the check, which was written on an invalid Bank One check with no imprint, White said. Russell had several other checks with him that were signed the same way but made out in different dollar amounts, including one for $100,000.

Russell struggled with police as they tried to detain him, White said, and then threatened police as they transported him to the Hobart Police Department.

"I've heard about God giving out eternal life, but this is the first time I've heard of him giving out cash," White said.

No court date has been set for Russell. He was being held Wednesday at the Lake County Jail on a $1,000 bond

What I want to know is how come on a Monday morning I more knackered than I am on like a Tuesday, Wednesday etc. If I had been on the piss I would get it, but I have had a very sedate quiet weekend early nights and this morning I am buggered, is it because I am more relaxed I really do not know? Not looking for answer just spouting shite   

Helen Mirren won best actress last night for her portrayal of the Queen, not surprised to be honest and I'm please The Departed did well with four as I'm getting the DVD for my birthday. Tell you what I didn't know at the Oscars on the 'stars' seats 'goody bags' are left for for things like plastic surgery vouchers and car music systems - what blew my mind is that goodie bag contents are worth over $100,000. Its absolutely fucking scandalous. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer etc, etc

I had the day off yesterday and watched Quadrophenia yesterday.

Great Movie and filmed in my home town as well, makes it all the better

The central figure of Quadrophenia is Jimmy. Through his eyes we see his uncomprehending (though loving) parents, the London Mod scene and just how far he's prepared to go in the long-standing Mod vs Rocker conflict. To Jimmy, being a Mod is everything; a way of life, a community and a chance to be special (to everyone else it's just something they do at the weekend). As he explains to Kevin, he wants to be different, to stand apart from others. It's kind of ironic then that the way he achieves this.

More info on the movie and the music can be found at this great resource http://www.quadrophenia.net/

 

Good news last night. Blair announced that 3,000 British troops would be coming home from Basra by Christmas and the first troops will be pulled out in May around 1,500 or so. So I guess that the local security forces but be at last coming up to scratch - in the southern province at any rate.

On a different note but very good news is the story below

THE world's biggest wave-power farm is to be built off Scotland's coast, ushering in a revolution in green energy production, The Scotsman can reveal.

The £10 million scheme off Orkney, set to start operating next year, will be the UK's first commercial wave farm and is expected to produce energy for up to 25 years.

It is one of nine wave and tidal schemes to be announced by ministers today which will harness the energy of the sea. Scotland has significant amounts of wave energy and also has expertise in engineering at sea thanks to the oil industry, a combination that could make this country the world leader in the field. It is hoped thousands of jobs could be created in a whole new industry supplying wave and tidal power systems to other countries.

Experts say that every metre of Scottish coastline has enough wave energy reaching it to power 100 homes.

The news came amid renewed concern about the cost to the environment of traditional forms of energy. A report by Edinburgh consultants Wood Mackenzie warned that all new oil finds within 15 years were likely to come from sources that are expensive to extract from, both in money and energy, as well as damaging to the environment.

The Orkney wave farm, which will be run by ScottishPower, will generate three megawatts of electricity - enough to power about 3,000 homes. The energy will come from four sausage-shaped generators, which will convert wave power into electricity which can then be transported to the mainland.

Edinburgh-based Ocean Power Delivery (OPD) is supplying the four wave-energy converters or "Pelamis", named after a type of sea snake, for the Orkney scheme. Each one is about 520ft long and creates 750 kilowatts of power.

I see Apple and Cisco are still going at it over the name iPhone - I thought this had all been resolved recently - guess I was wrong

Cisco Systems Inc. has given Apple Inc. until Wednesday to respond to a trademark infringement lawsuit over its use of the name "iPhone" for its new iPod-style phone.

The U.S. trademark battle was originally supposed to be resolved this Thursday, but both sides agreed to extend the deadline until next week.

Cisco's Linksys division began shipping a line of Voice over Internet Protocol — or VoIP — phones under the iPhone brand in December and has owned the trademark since 2000, when it acquired InfoGear Technology Corp.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced a product he called the iPhone at the MacWorld conference in San Francisco in January. The cellular phone was lauded for its sleek design and touch-screen technology.

Both companies said they want to use the time to reach a settlement. Cisco said it would allow Apple to use the name but wants both companies' phones to be able to communicate with each other, though it did not provide information of how such interoperability would occur.

In Canada, the issue is further complicated because Comwave Telecom Inc. — and not Cisco — has owned the trademark to the name iPhone since 2004. The Toronto-based company offers its own range of voice-over-internet services under the name and even has a product called iPhone Mobile.

The Brit Awards were on last night, its awards for contribution to music here are the winners from last night, nothing to do with USB I know LOL. I think the Fratellis rock and I was really pleased they made it as British Breakthrough act - shame the TroNs were not there though
 

British Male Solo Artist James Morrison

British Female Solo Artist Amy Winehouse

British Group Arctic Monkeys

MasterCard British Album Arctic Monkeys
“Whatever people say I am, that’s what I’m not”

British Single Take That “Patience”

British Breakthrough Act Fratellis

British Live Act Muse

International Male Solo Artist Justin Timberlake

International Female Solo Artist Nelly Furtado

International Group The Killers

International Album Killers “Sam’s Town”

International Breakthrough Act Orson

Outstanding Contribution to Music Oasis

Well its February 14th St Valentines day, so hopefully to quote Darius Danesh "Can you feel the love in the room" - I have not heard anything of him in the past year - wonder what he is up to?

There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine's Day. Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries. Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine". Other aspects of the story say that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying him. In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honour St. Valentine.

Gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. There was often a social gathering or a ball.

St Valentines Day another day of mass commercialism where peer pressure is placed upon a person to buy cards/flowers and chocolates. I love my partner dearly and I truthfully feel that I do not need to buy here a small gift to demonstrate my love - I do it every day and yet I know she will be slightly disappointed if I do not get her anything - the winner mass consumerism and the money men. Next up Easter, Mothers Day, Fathers Day its a whole load of bollocks but the pressure is put onto to comply. What day will be invented next?

What do you think? Ethanol as a fuel source!

Ethanol is a promising alternative fuel that, along with improvements in fuel economy and reductions in travel demand, has the potential to help solve many of the problems associated with gasoline use. Though the current form of ethanol made from corn offers limited environmental benefits and limited potential for large-scale displacement of petroleum, it will be a key to the transition to cellulosic ethanol in the future.

Cellulosic ethanol is more energy-efficient than corn ethanol and uses more abundant and diverse feedstocks that, unlike corn, are not used for food production. Unfortunately, cellulosic ethanol is not yet ready for commercial deployment.

In the near term, the largest potential for oil savings comes from improvements in the fuel economy of new vehicles, and greater fuel efficiency will help lower the costs of an ethanol future. For this reason, government should continue to support research into cellulosic ethanol and other alternative fuels, but not at the expense of concrete steps to implement proven, cost-effective, near-term solutions such as improving fuel economy over the next 10 years.
 

All over the news yesterday comes the news "Massive Snowfall due for South East England" only travel if you really have to blah, blah, blah - Ok, so I wake up to three inches of snow but its already raining and the snow has virtually gone all before 9.00am.. I know its been worse in other parts of the country but golly gosh, do the British flap over a bit of weahter or what? - El Tel or Mr Wogan or Terry was late in though Sarah Kennedy had to carry on into his slot as Terry was stuck on the M4 in snow. Also a lot of the airports are shut today with thier runways snowed in, Birmingham, Bristol, Stanstead and Luton. 

 dont know if people in other countries have the same phenomena, but in the UK club scene we have a culture within dance music - a group of wierd but wonderful people that call themselves Cyber Kids.

Cyber Kids dress in very strange clubbing gear. There are even shops that cater for these people, the most famous being Cyberdog in Camden, London.

You tend to get these people in the harder trance clubs, places like Gatecrasher (known as Crasher Kids), Sundissential (known as Tidy Boys/Girls), and places similar where the music is hard, drugs are definitely present, and the atmosphere is rocking!

So, what do other people think of Cyber Kids?
Do you have anything similar in other countries?
Would you ever dress up like that?
Are they freaks or cool?
 

"Don't tread on an ant its done nothing to you, there be a day when he is treading on you" - Fun song Ant Music, Adam and the ants

Managed to do the majority of the updates I was planning and I have enabled matrix stats on the site so I can get a true impression of the ammount of visitors coming through the envoiroment  - seems quite pleasing at the moment but a long way to go I feel.

Bloody cold this morning -4 degrees for Brighton is not usual its nice though, apparently snow is on the way the heaviest for years, here is what I just read. If I'm lucky its snowed in again and no work, LOL

A band of freezing cold weather is heading for Britain bringing with it ice and blizzards.

Most of the country woke up to sub-zero temperatures - it was as low as -8C in parts of Scotland - and forecasters are warning that the heaviest snow in years could fall within the next 24 hours.

Arctic conditions are already gripping North America where an extreme cold weather alert has been issued from New York to Toronto and some people are suffering from frostbite.

Weatherman Paul Knightley said cold air from the north mixing with an "active" mild weather system from the Atlantic would bring the snowfalls.

"On Wednesday night and Thursday morning a much more active weather system comes in from the South West," he said.

"Overnight Wednesday and Thursday morning are going to see quite a significant band of sleet and snow into south west England and South Wales and eventually by morning across much of Wales into the Midlands and into the London area and southern England as well as the South East."

He continued: "The snow will be potentially disruptive in London because it is predicted for rush hour and is going to cause some significant disruption, I think.

"It will probably be some of the heaviest snow in the last couple of years in the London area."

The Met Office issued an early warning of severe weather.

A statement said: "The Met Office is expecting a period of heavy snow to develop across south-west England and much of Wales during Wednesday night and this is expected to extend across the Midlands, London, the South East of England and East Anglia during Thursday morning.

"There is also a risk that the snow will extend into parts of northern England for a time before dying away from all areas during Thursday afternoon."

Sorry for the lack of blog for the past few days, I have been away in the back of beyond well Pwllheli, North Wales and I guess in the mid of winter it is a bit beyond. Had a cracking time though as always staying near the Gimlet in Morfa Garreg. Got a bit worse for wear on the Saturday after watching the international rugby England vs Scotland followed on the Sunday by Wales vs Ireland. Jonny Wilkinson what can you say the fella has hardly played a ball in anger this season and he plays like he has not missed a match, fantatsic!

I hope when we retire to move up to North Wales not to Pwllheli itself but to one of the surrounding villages but not Trefor - After meeting a couple of the inhabitiants on Saturday its put me off the place, certainly a bad advert for Wales, Stupid boys wanting duffio (fight) why? who can tell, small town mentality I guess, but it didn't really mar a great weekend

Quite a bit of site updating to do, I'll try to get on it today if the chance permits.

I just loved the description 'viral marketing'

The Arctic Monkeys, the "viral marketing" superstars of the Internet who hold the British record for the fastest-selling debut album, landed four nominations on Tuesday for this year's NME awards.

The group whose cheeky lyrics about prostitution, drunkenness and run-ins with the police are delivered with a distinctive Sheffield twang, said of their nominations: "Very nice. We didn't think we would get any this year."

The Arctic Monkeys, who landed three NME awards last year, face tough competition in the Best British Band category from Kasabian and Muse, who are both also nominated in three other categories.

In what could be an intriguing trans-atlantic battle for top honours, American groups The Killers and My Chemical Romance landed four nominations.

 

 

"It's cool, it feels like music right now is living and breathing," The Killers said of the nominations.

My Chemical Romance were equally delighted: "We're not the kind of people who have shelves of awards in our apartments -- some of us don't even have a place to live," they said
 

Well, I wouldn't have believed it, I woke up this morning and instantly I thought there is something weird about the light but I didn't think for a second it may have snowed. On closer inspection, Huzzah! an inch of snow covering everything, once I'd gotten dressed and gone outside I realised I was the first in the virgin crisp snow, absolutely wonderful the silence is something you only hear here when its snows, the whole world sounds muffled and distant.

I got into the car having cleared of the snow, brrrrrr, started down drove down the hill (extremely cautiously) and made it to the main road, the traffic was doing like 3 miles an hour and I had 70 miles to go. No way, I turned the car round, wheels slipping at 5mph, go to the bottom of our street and had to put the car wherever i could, no way it would drive up I just slid back down.

Its pretty rare to get a snowfall like this in Brighton Sussex, but again the Brits are totally caught out and the country grinds to a standstill

I'll take photographs today I think

It certainly has a ring to it, 'golden globes' I know where my mind instantly translates to and its not  anything to do with the movie industry,  

This year, the Globe front-runners appear to be "Babel," which led all films with seven nominations; "The Departed," which earned nominations for best drama, best director (Martin Scorsese), best actor (Leonardo DiCaprio) and best supporting actor (Jack Nicholson); "The Queen" (primarily for Helen Mirren's lead performance as Elizabeth II) and "Dreamgirls."

Because there will be both drama and comedy/musical winners, the victors could end up pitted against each other for the Academy Awards. That result could create battles between Mirren and Meryl Streep (whose performance in "The Devil Wears Prada" has made her the front-runner for best actress in a comedy or musical), not to mention a three-way showdown between "Dreamgirls," "The Departed" and "Babel."

"Obviously, we don't want to count anything before it happens, but it has to do with voters voting on the film rather than the category. 'Dreamgirls' happens to be a movie for everyone," Jim Tharp, head of distribution for Paramount (which inherited the musical when it acquired original producer DreamWorks) told The Associated Press.

On the other hand, HFPA members may give awards to performers who wouldn't appear to have a chance at the Oscars. Oddsmaker David Scott of America's Line, working for the Los Angeles Times' Envelope.com site, has "Borat's" Cohen the prohibitive favorite for best actor in a comedy or musical, but it's a long shot the Academy will even nominate Cohen, much less vote him its award.

Oscar favorites up for Globes for best actor in a drama include Forest Whitaker, for "The Last King of Scotland," and Peter O'Toole, for "Venus." O'Toole has been nominated f