Bits and Bobs of London

On the way to an estate in Wandsworth to get a haircut from a Swiss man with a stepson called Denzil.

I Love Douglas Adams

The guy who wrote the Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of my heroes. After the Torah and the Talmud, I am most likely to quote from his texts. I think it is healthy to balance the religious with the atheist!

It is ten years today since Douglas Noel Adams died, and it would only have been his 59th birthday. Gone, but very much not forgotten.

"For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons."
(The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

Unacceptable Situation

What is wrong with this picture of the Situation Room? Where is the Secretary of State? Both Hillary Clinton and a woman at the back have been edited out of the photograph by the Chasidic newspaper Der Zeitung (based in Brooklyn, NY). Ms. Clinton does not appear to be dressed immodestly, but she is sitting in the same room as some men. Apparently this would threaten the spirituality of the Jewish community if it were to be publicly printed, and so the women were photoshopped out of the shot. I wonder why the editor would choose such a photo in the first place. So might the editor, if the White House decides to do something about his flouting of the disclaimer that accompanied the picture: that the photograph "may not be manipulated in any way".

o yeah, this is what it should have been:


10/5/11 THIS JUST IN
After international exposure of this event, the newspaper apologises.

Championes, Championes, Ole Ole Ole

So tired from the release of tension and emotion that it is hard to process the fact that it is all over. The Football Association allowed my beloved QPR to claim their rightfully-won Championship trophy. It is the old Football League trophy, and it is beautiful in its blue and white ribbons. Now for a summer of speculation - who shall stay and who shall go? Now for a summer of anticipation - how will we do against the Arsenals and the Manchester teams? Now for a summer of exposure - the Americans who watch the EPL on Fox will finally learn about the Superhoops! Three cheers and it's time to try and sleep.

Thoughts on the Death of Osama Bin Laden

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that"
— Martin Luther King Jr.

Also, most quoted by my Jewish friends and colleagues, the words of God to the excited angels who wanted to celebrate the drowned Egyptians, who had died in order that the Children of Israel might escape to freedom: "The works of my hands are drowning in the sea and you want to sing" (Talmud Megillah 10b).

An enemy is dead. This is not an occasion for singing and dancing.

Ole Ole Ole Ole!

At least until the Football Association decides its punishment for something that happened a couple of years ago, my beloved QPR has won the Championship of the Football League, and should be better known by you all next year when we face the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United. So we are almost happy.

UUUUUUUUU RRRRRRRRR's