THE CURMUDGEON EXPRESS

THE CURMUDGEON EXPRESS

Sunday, December 30, 2012

IBLOGGING ....

Which is  WEBLOGGING without the 'we'.

The internet told me that:


A weblog, sometimes written as web log or Weblog, is a Web site that consists of a series of entries arranged in reverse chronological order, often updated on frequently with new information about particular topics. The information can be written by the site owner, gleaned from other Web sites or other sources, or contributed by users.
A weblog often has the quality of being a kind of "log of our times" from a particular point-of-view. Generally, weblogs are devoted to one or several subjects or themes, usually of topical interest, and, in general, can be thought of as developing commentaries, individual or collective on their particular themes. A weblog may consist of the recorded ideas of an individual (a sort of diary) or be a complex collaboration open to anyone."

Which kind of explains why the 'we' has been dropped given that blogs are basically self-centred exercises by people who want to bang on about things in diary form.





Blogging is a much better diary tool than Facebook. A good and interesting blog requires effort, humour, intelligence and dedication in order for it to work. It is not about pathetic add-on ‘likes’ to generate frequency and volume although of course some blogs can be a bit pathetic.


There are good and serious blogs in which the creators write well-thought out and constructed essays. 




These can be a pleasure to read, are informative and, depending on the skill of the writer can be lightened with gentle humour. Not all 'good' blogs are interesting though, some being ponderous and self-righteous to the point of being priggish.



Bad blogs come in two basic types.













There are the poorly written types that have bad spelling:














There are those that are as boring as Facebook and Twitter entries.











And there are those that don't seem to have any purpose.







I prefer the other type of 'bad' blog. The one's where the writer has deliberately set out to annoy, shock or tittilate.









Like the one's that misinform.














Or the one's that berate, bludgeon or rant.













And the titillating ones.








Some people think that anything to do with the Internet, social media and modern technology is a young person's game.





Well that old guy Richard of RBB can put the lie to that as he normally lives on the 'net'.

He in fact, by the creation of lots of blogging alter-egos has managed to cover all types of blogs from the mundane to the fantastical and manages at times to shock, bore, distress and misinform. Everything but educate in fact unless you count the frequent and wearisome treatises on double basses although I guess that is covered by the 'boring' type of blog.

Richard hasn't quite exhausted his subjects topics (he has exhausted those he subjects his blogs to).





Even though there is a fair amount of crap in what he says it is always worth looking out for the next installments.

How dare he go away on holiday.




RAINING AGAIN

Just in time for New Year.


' Rain...rain...Rain...! '
Rain on tinned roof
Rain on concrete
Rain soaking into sands
Rain on soft earth
Rain on metal road
Rain on windscreen

Rain falling into the sea
Rain in the river

Rain on flowers
Rain on leaves
Rain under trees
Rain on hills

Rain on my skin…

Each with its own unique raga
Reverberates across the sky
On to the earth…

indira babbellapati



Saturday, December 22, 2012

BEACH ART

We went for a nice walk to Smuggler's Bay the other day.
Earlier the storms had washed a lot of sand away but I'm happy now that a lot has been dumped back.

Someone had made the effort to install some driftwood and stone art at the end of the beach












This was nice to see and makes me marvel at nature's own configurations.













Thursday, December 20, 2012

APPARATCHIKS

The Secretary of Education, Longstone has gone. I wonder how much that little one year exercise cost?
I was flabbergasted to hear on the radio news this morning, one of her defenders saying that .."to be fair she hasn't been here long and doesn't understand the culture.."
Well fuck me! Why the hell was she employed then?

Prat Parata has to be the next to go. Then Key. Then ....

Sunday, December 9, 2012

CATS PEE (WITHOUT THE GOOSEBERRY BUSH)

Willow the cat gobbled up the left-over asparagus from our roast dinner last night.
Asparagus, like Sauvignon Blanc, makes your pee smell funny. This is due to the methoxypyrazines in them. You may have heard that some Sauvignon Blancs smell like cat's pee.


What I am wondering is, if after eating the asparagus that Willow's pee smells any different?
I'm not going to put it to the olfactory test but I did notice that when she went for a pee in the garden she took an extra long time covering it up with dirt.