Author Archives: Natalie Bennett

Media matters

May 13, 2006 – 9:27 am

Can’t help feeling today’s Independent splash falls into the “local man survives ship disaster” Titanic trap: Why global warming is to blame for Britain’s hay fever epidemic.

The pollen from trees and grasses that produces allergic reactions in millions of people is steadily increasing with rising temperatures, according to the UK’s leading pollen specialist. Pollen seasons are lengthening, and the pollen itself is provoking a morepowerful reaction.

Next: high sea-level rises will flatten the break at your favourite surf beach.

And, in the “it was bound to happen some time” category, the BBC goes live to the minicab driver for his views on the Apple court case.

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Carnival of Feminists is rushing up fast…

May 12, 2006 – 9:24 pm

Only about a day, as I write, until the deadline for nominations for the Carnival of Feminists, which will be on Self Portrait As next Wednesday. So get nominating! At the submission form, or through email: holly AT mclo DOT net .

(Although if you read this late, Holly might consider stretching the deadline a little…)

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Friday Femmes Fatales No 56

May 12, 2006 – 9:04 pm

Ten great posts from 10 new (to me) women bloggers. It is here every Friday (more or less ..)

Starting on the political side, Lisa Goodman writing for On the Face reports on the detention of an Egyptian democracy blogger. And suggests what you can do.

Then a message to all gossips: Jen Gray explains what it feels like when virtual strangers feel empowered to comment on your life.

Turning literary, Cat on Goblin Markt identifies a new genre – mythpunk. Although the term might need to be wrestled from the gamers… Meanwhile on The Ice Floe, the problem is deciding what to wear to a poetry reading.

Generally, it seems to be a week for reflections: Jama on Pilgrimgirl counts her blessings as she answers the question: “Are you living the life you had planned for yourself?” The Caroline on Exponent II reports on the joys of ageing for women, from the perspective of her fifties.

Zephoria on Apophenia reflects on the pitfalls of becoming a media ‘talking head’: “truth can’t prevail in this system and that’s just painful to experience”.

On Laughtear, Amelia concludes that the nature of grad school is “not flying. it’s falling — with style”.

Robyn and friends on R’s Live Journal considers some of the possible pitfalls of martial arts training: “Low-to-mid belt is all about unlearning everything your mom told you about roughhousing.” (And there’s a bit in there about the advantages of female anatomy – good to focus on when it is so often seen the other way.

Finally, for a bit of navel-gazing, K. on Miscellany wonders about all of those soon-aborted blogs, and their links. Which reminds me – getting towards the top of my project list is a thorough clean-out and update of my blogroll. (Anyone know how I can close it up so there isn’t so much space between each line?)

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If you missed last week’s edition, it is here. (If you’d like to see all of them as a list, click on the category “Friday Femmes Fatales” in the righthand sidebar. That will take you to a collection of 560 (and counting) women bloggers.)

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Please: In the next week if you read, or write, a post by a woman blogger and think “that deserves a wider audience” (particularly someone who doesn’t yet get many hits), drop a comment. It really does make my life easier. (Thanks to Maxine and Holly this week!)

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The thrill of discovery

May 12, 2006 – 7:24 pm

Reading my latest edition of The Historian a description by William Dampier of his first sight of flamingos caught my attention: They were, he wrote, ‘much like a heron in shape’ though ‘bigger and of a reddish color’ and in such numbers that from a distance they ‘appeared like a brick wall, their feathers being of the colour of new red brick’.. ‘The young ones are, at first, of a light grey.’

It left me musing on how few adults there must be, at least in the western world, who don’t have at least a vague idea of what a flamingo looks like. The thrill of discovery of something truly unknown, truly strange, that we’ve had not even an inkling of before, is denied us.

But perhaps I’m wrong – I read today that an entirely new family of primates has been found.

Scientists originally thought the monkey, named Rungwecebus kipunji after Mount Rungwe in Tanzania, was a type of mangabey from the genus Lophocebus. However, a more detailed genetic analysis of the animal showed its close connection to baboons.

Still – not quite the same thing as coming on that flock of flamingos. Thrilling no doubt to the scientist peering down at the DNA separation gel, but denied still to the rest of us.

Then again, we have moved on in many ways. Dampier concluded his disquisition on the subject of these curious words by noting: “The flesh is lean and black yet very good meat … their tongues have a large knob of fat at the root which is an excellent bit, a dish of flamingos’ tongues being fit for a princes’ table.’

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Beware PCWorld

May 12, 2006 – 8:13 am

I know they’re unlikely to be cheap, but there’s a PCWorld 200m from my house, so last night, as I was trying to set up a new computer, and I found at 7.45pm that I needed a serial cable not supplied, I thought that I’d just nip out and get it there. Whizzed into the doors just before they closed, found a staff member hiding amidst the racks, thought “great”. Until I saw the pirce-tag: £20 (or of course £19.99). For a bit of wire and two plugs that was, I decided, just a little too ridiculous, so I came home without the cable.

Then I looked it up on Amazon; £3 for a longer one, with four plugs, not two.

The task has left me musing: “Whatever happened to ‘Plug ‘n’play”. Several years ago it was what everyone was advertising, but it must have provoked so many angry phonecalls, and maybe suits for false advertising, that computer companies dropped it. Why should it still be so complicated trying to transfer a few files from one computer to another? Why doesn’t the cable (which would only cost the manufacturers a few pence) come with the computer?!

If you hear a rhythmic soft squelching sound today that will be me beating my head against the wall.

Note for burglars: new computer is a Morgan cheapie; definitely not worth the effort….

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Asian history uncovered

May 11, 2006 – 1:01 pm

A story about a “lost city” found on the China-North Korea border (with all of the consequent political ramifications), reminds me that I haven’t yet pointed to the latest Asian History carnival, up now on Miscellany. Particularly notable is a piece on the likely loss of a traditional Cambodian music form. It is a topic that I’ve pondered often – how societies “lose” technologies: Tasmanian Aboriginals and fishhooks and Ancient Egyptians and mummification are the two most cited examples.
As for the “lost city”, you’ll notice I haven’t named it, because I’m staying neutral on various issues …

The ruins, exposed when a reservoir was drained near the city of Ji’an, are believed to date from the Han Dynasty, which reigned from 202 BC to AD 220. They include a burial area with 2,360 tombs from Korea’s Koguryo kingdom. China and the two Koreas all claim Koguryo as part of their historical legacies because Koguryoruled north-eastern China and the Korean peninsula 2,000 years ago.

This reminds me of the Pyongyang history museum, which claims Koreans invented …well just about every human advance.

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