Ok. So I realize that I kind of bummed out on my 30 days thing. *shame* I’ve been pretty busy lately and I kind of lost all motivation to do this after I stopped running. Weird, right? I should probably start running again. :-\

Anyway, I’m back with a new quote that I came across in readings for my anthropology class.

“Body art is about conformity and rebellion, freedom and authority.”
-Enid Schildkrout

My first tattoo - on the bottom of my foot

I just thought this quote was quite awesome. In the west, especially the United States, I think that we view body art – especially tattooing and piercing – as a sign of individuality and freedom, but we don’t really consider the part of conformity. Marines as well as other branches of the army get tattoos as signs of devotion, prestige, and honor. In other cultures, some get piercings, body art, or change their hair as initiation into that particular culture.

I think that it’s just amazing that body art can cover such a vast array of aspects in every culture. Makeup, clothing, hairstyles, piercings, tattoos, henna, almost everything can be considered body art.

Question: Do you have any tattoos? If not, do you want one, if yes, of what?

Armies of Gielinor received an update last week that many may have passed over. Aside from several bugfixes, there were numerous changes to different parts of gameplay that, although not mentioned on the main page, I believe should be more up front:

• Penance Ranger replaced with Barbarian Spear woman
• Seaslugs are now amphibious
• New ability to limit trinkets in multiplayer matches.
• Prestige is now given by how many runes you have, not by purchasing them. Anyone who purchased prestige will be refunded.

Model Chanel Iman has a new spread in the December issue of Prestige Magazine
More Pics After The Jump….

These three men represent what I consider the journalistic ideal. What else do they have in common? They are no longer reporting. Well, sort of. As you know, Walter Kronkite passed away in July, after a lifetime of diligent reporting and being voted “the most trusted man in America”.

Carl Kasell, the voice behind Morning Edition on NPR News since its inception in 1979, has stated that he will no longer be reporting as of December 30th, 2009. Kasell will, however, continue announcing for the NPR news quiz Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.

Bill Moyers was the White House Press Secretary during the LBJ Administration, and went on to have a lengthy career with National Public Radio, as well as smaller stints on CBS and NBC. Since 2007, Moyers has hosted Bill Moyers Journal, discussing some of the most important and least-covered stories of the day with experts from multiple perspectives. I personally haven’t missed an episode of the Journal since its inception, and to me Bill Moyers represents the perfect journalist, one whose concern is uncovering the truth for the American people. Moyers is an outspoken critic of the American media, whose focus in recent years has shifted more and more to ratings and profits. Moyers is one of the few journalists who realises what “balance” truly is:

“The journalist’s job is not to achieve some mythical state of equilibrium between two opposing opinions out of some misshapen respect—sometimes, alas, reverence—for the prevailing consensus among the powers-that-be. The journalist’s job is to seek out and offer the public the best thinking on an issue, event, or story.”

Moyers has stated that he will no longer be producing the Journal as of April 30, 2010, and as of yet he does not have plans for another show. Let’s all hope that changes, for the good of America. Seriously, this man should be president.

I don’t know how I’ll feel once Kasell and Moyers are off the air; I certainly felt sick when Kronkite died. It really sucks having the wise older folks you trust no longer supplying you with vetted and insightful information. Who are we supposed to trust now?

After being poorly (I feel a lot better more of the time now) I have had the urge to clean the house meticulously and start creating decorations and presents for Christmas. I am rather excited about Christmas this year; I am never really over-the-top excited about it, but this Christmas will be the first in our new house! I put the tree up last night… a lot of people have said that it is far too early, but my family is coming to celebrate Christmas a week early, so why cant I put the tree up a week early!? It is just inspiration standing in the corner now, I cant wait to start putting presents under it.

Yesterday Ryan came home with a new frying pan, which was on sale in Debenhams:

So this led me on to looking at all the kitchenware that Debenhams sell… There are quite a few things that I love, which I am sure you can get elsewhere too, just they are all bundled together in one shop! Here are my selections:

1. Dark grey Roast ‘n Rack by Maxim – I love making roast dinners so much, but I still dont really have the roasting trays for all the ingredients.

2. Cream plate with glass dome lid – I just love the aesthetic of having this in the kitchen with cakes under it!

3. Teal rectangular stoneware dish by Le Creuset – maybe for pasta bakes

4. Cream stove kettle by Prestige – I adore the lines and the shapes that make up these retro-style kettles. I even love the fact you have to put it on the stove, so amazing! There are some of the same/similar style that are electric, but its not really the same thing is it. We also need an upgrade from the £6 kettle I bought a few years ago from Woolworths haha!

5. Azure cast iron casserole dish By Le Creuset – for casseroles of course. Winter is drawing in and I am always a sucker for homemade comfort food. For some reason all the Le Creuset items I have picked here bar one are in blue; I actually like all and any of the colours in the range that they make.

6. Ken Hom 5 piece Wok set by Tao – because I dont have a wok, and I really feel like trying to make stir fry and chinese style chicken.

7. Teal cast iron 26cm square grillit by Le Creuset – because it would make amazing steaks, and you can pour out the juices from the pan afterwards… mmmmm!

8. Spring form cake pan by Kitchen Craft – because I have none!

9. Volcanic regular cast iron grill by Le Creuset – I believe you can either put this in the oven, or as a hot plate on the stove… I love that idea.

10. 5 piece stainless steel set by Prestige – because all of my pans are leaving black flakes in my pasta yuk! Not necessarily this set, but something similar that wont ruin my food.

11. Blue Icona 4 slice toaster by De Longhi – so yummy looking! And blue again… why!?? We need an upgrade from the £5 toaster from Woolworths I bought 3 years ago…

12. 14cm microwave saucepan – when I saw this I thought of Ryan. He always eats beans, and always cooks them in Tupperware pots without handles or spouts, and it looks like a very awkward process to try not to burn your fingers, so this could be ideal!

13. Assam teapot by Bodum – I am never any good at judging how long to leave teabags to steep in the water before pouring, and it either comes out too weak or too strong. So… if I can see what is going on inside the pot I will be ok! It also has a plunger to stop the process when it is right for you, and you can use teabags or leaves and it works!

14. Cream food mixer by KitchenAid – how gorgeous is this machine! We have one in the kitchen at the bar that I work at, I might see if they will sell it to me as it is not really in use.

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I am also in the process of designing some quilted Christmas stockings for myself and Ryan, to hang on the wall (where the mantel should be if the house still had one), some knitted presents for my grandparents, maybe some other presents too, and some decorations for the house! I am thinking garlands, and wreaths, and paper chains of course.

Ryan is dying my hair for me tonight, so if I think I look semi-unpoorly afterwards I shall take a photo and paste it to the end of this blog.

[Edit - photo!!!]

Jenn xx

P.S I am now down to 4 hamsters… It seems to be a sad time in Hamsterville. I have not changed anything about their living conditions… maybe it is just that time of year Rest in peace crazy dude who bit me really hard…

The Red Garland Quintet with John Coltrane: Dig It! (Prestige PR7229)
Of course it is that crucial “with…” that makes the ears prick up, and pricked ears are just the thing for listening to Coltrane’s dazzling opening solo on Billie’s Bounce, filled as it is with the remnants of bop and the beginnings of the sheets of sound explorations that the saxophonist would increasingly engage in.

This was 1957 and along with Trane, the Miles Davis Quintet pianist had Donald Byrd on trumpet, Paul Chambers or George Joyner on bass and Arthur Taylor on drums. This was an influential band for record collectors but not a live playing unit. Nevertheless it has that late ’50s jazz essence, and Garland remained a favourite for many piano fans.

The tracks are unusually long for the era – Garland’s original composition, Lazy Mae, which concludes this Rudy Van Gelder remastered edition CD, runs to over 16 minutes. It’s a stately blues with the leader laying out the basics in a left hand riff before he adds some treble, and the rhythm team enter for a strong, swinging work through. In fact, it’s not until near the halfway mark that Coltrane enters with another masterful solo, followed by Joyner and finally Byrd, high and lyrical.

The single trio track is Crazy Rhythm, with Garland in exemplary form.

Apparently this disc was originally compiled from the left-overs from sessions which had produced three previous records. Well, what delicious leftovers!

“Todo gran truco de magia consiste en tres actos. El primero se llama ‘La presentación’: el mago muestra algo que parece ordinario, pero, por supuesto,… no lo es. El segundo acto se llama ‘La actuación’: el mago hace que lo ordinario se transforme en algo extraordinario. Ahora bien, si buscas el secreto… no lo encontrarás, es por eso que hay un tercer acto llamado ‘El prestigio’: ésta es la parte con los giros inesperados, en la que la vida cuelga de un hilo, y entonces ves algo impactante que nunca habías visto antes”

Así empieza “The prestige” (El prestigio), o “El truco final”, nombre con el que llegó a España esta película que ayer por la noche estrenó la primera de televisión española.

Una película sobre el peligro de una obsesión, con magia, romances y algo de tensión – que se agradece, la verdad – de la mano de Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlet Johansson y Michael Caine, entre otros también bastante conocidos.

No es una película para quitarse el sombrero, pero sí que la recomendaría para esas tardes de domingo o esas noches de tormenta.

Los efectos especiales no son increíbles, pero tampoco hay excesivas escenas en las que sean necesarios los mismos.

La trama sí que me parece elaborada, con esos giros cada día más esperados por los avezados cinéfilos, pero que a los que nos gusta dejarnos sorprender hace que nos recorra algo por el estómago cuando se dan.

La ambientación está  conseguida y la caracterización de los personajes me pareció quasi inmejorable.

Ahora mismo no recuerdo bien qué nota le daría a la actuación, y cuando no recuerdo la actuación suele ser síntoma de que fue buena, o al menos no parecía sobreactuado.

Siempre me emocionó la magia.

Estad atentos, pies izquierdos.

Fragments #7

(Gil Scott Heron – Inner City Blues)

“Four vital functions as basic as the four elements: Sexuality, sociality, ideation and glory. Or: pleasure, speech, thought and prestige.
Being deprived of any of the four leads to stupor and death.”

Final piece of the Fragments selection..could have gone on for a while longer but new inspiration is knocking on themusicologist’s door so tomorrow I’m rolling out a new theme…just like to finish the ‘Fragments’ by paying a final tribute to Baudrillard for delivering such profound insights into the age of banality that we find ourselves inhabiting..for me the Cat penetrates some dark corners with illuminating observations.

What better way to wind up this session than with a combination of Marvin Gaye and Gil Scott Heron..I’ll say no more and just leave it up to the two of them to lay it on you.

Ahora que los marineros del Alakrana ya están a salvo, y los partidos politicos empiezan con sus dimes y diretes de la gestión de la crisis, yo creo que viendo los resultados, no hay nada más que se pueda discutir.
Sabiendo como se gestionó en otros tiempos y por otras personas un incidente con un simple petrolero que acabó asfaltando las costas desde Tuy hasta la Bretaña, me alegro mucho de que esa misma gente no estuviera hoy en dia en posiciones de responsabilidad, pues si por aquel entonces se habló de marea negra, mucho me temo que a dia de hoy estaríamos hablando de una verdadera marea roja en las costas de Somalia.

It’s pretty clear by now: they meant getting our enemies to like us, and disrespecting our allies.

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Artigo de Xosé Luis Barreiro sobre o aniversario do Prestige en La Voz de Galicia:

Cualquier observador independiente sabe que el Prestige no se hundió por viejo -que lo era-, ni por enferruxado -que lo estaba-, ni porque Iohannis Apóstolos Mangouras careciese de experiencia o valentía para hacer las maniobras, ni porque, como ahora se insiste, faltasen protocolos o antecedentes que aplicar a las tareas de salvamento. El Prestige se hundió por pura negligencia de la Administración competente, y porque nadie se atrevió a tomar ninguna decisión que pudiese implicar el más mínimo riesgo.

La historia del hundimiento del Prestige está escrita con indecisiones culposas, ya que incluso la orden de alejar el buque hacia aguas de competencia borrosa -que es la medida más cobarde de cuantas se podían tomar-, se ejecutó de forma poco decidida, en zigzag y sobre mar arbolada, hasta hundirlo en la fosa atlántica, a 3.850 metros de profundidad, en el punto en el que más costoso y peligroso podía ser el posterior control de la carga.

De todo aquello han pasado siete años, que en realidad son muy pocos. Pero todo indica que la historia real del Prestige se ha borrado de nuestra memoria, y que todos hemos convenido en reconstruir una narración fabulada del naufragio que nos evite el bochorno colectivo de haberlo visto con nuestros ojos y haber dejado que las autoridades se fuesen de rositas y sin responder de nada. El ex ministro Álvarez Cascos, y López-Sors, que eran los responsables del asunto, intentan sustituir el debate político, desde el que se podía evaluar la gestión del naufragio, por un puro análisis técnico en el que parece que solo los hados, los temporales y las carencias de recursos explican la catástrofe.

Y ya es de temer que la Justicia, que lleva siete años amontonando folios en un juzgado pequeñito, construya finalmente el mismo veredicto que hizo Felipe II en dos minutos, y sin gastar un solo folio, sobre la Armada Invencible: «Al petrolero enferruxado lo hundieron los temporales».

Por eso, porque también somos cobardes para contar aquella historia, nos va a quedar sin aprender la lección más importante del Prestige : que no hay protocolo que valga, ni remolcadores, ni centros de salvamento, ni farrapos de gaita, si nadie toma decisiones de abrigo y desestiba, y si el barco se va, bamboleando sobre las olas, con rumbo hacia el «quinto pino».

Del Prestige se han escrito millones de páginas de periódicos, estudios, informes, sumarios judiciales y discursos que solo funcionan como la faísca que tapa la realidad. Y por eso no podemos evitar que, al releer lo que hoy se escribe, tengamos la sensación de que la fábula interesada le ha ganado la partida a la historia real, y que, ni siquiera como testigos, apenas sabemos lo que allí pasó.

Xosé Luis Barreiro. La Voz de Galicia 14/11/2009

I picked up my preordered this game and collected it the day it came out. What can I say other than it is a very good game, good choice of weapons, the new perk system works well in multiplayer, and there are more attatchments for the weapons than you can shake a stick at!!!! It seemed to play very well for the first two to three days it was out but is now making a turn for the worse. Why? Simple! Elite gamers! Already they have found glitches, (on a game that had all its levels designed to allow you to get onto rooftops to stop glitchers!), Ive seen people outside of maps, on top of electricity pylons and hanging on the side of walls like spiderman! Not to mention the kangaroos that bounce around to avoid bullets! I have also encountered a couple of people using turbo pad controllers. And I know what they look like as a friend of mine purchased one a while back. The only feature in the game that does stop some cheats is the new host connection. Anybody tries to use a lag switch to gain an advantage. As soon as they activate it, it changes host! JUSTICE!!!!! Im going to get to level 70 so I have all the weapons unlocked, but I am not going to prestige! Social games for me I think!!

Obama thinks he’s “restored America’s standing in the world”, for some incredibly silly reasons that applied before he was president. Just one more way he’s acting like a buffoon. The rest of the world’s not bowing back, Obama.