Tag Archives: delusions

Two Countries Divided By a Common Language

14 Replies

I have often commented on the differences between UK English and US English. I don’t mind either. The Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, Indians, South Africans and many other groups all have their own versions of English too. I look on it as a gift to the world, and once given, it is not ours to control. Use it how you want.

However, I also have to point out that there are many other languages and cultures in the world who all have a claim to something similar. China, India and Arabia have all made great contributions to the world we know. Even Switzerland, as Orson Welles points out in The Third Man, after five hundred years of democracy and peace, produced the cuckoo clock. And chocolate and bankers who still cling to Nazi gold.  No single nation is universally brilliant and moral – no single nation, whatever politicians tell us, is universally evil.

 

The first sign that something was not right in the President’s head

Bearing that in mind, it seems that there are people who want to control English and force others to speak like Americans. It’s bad enough that we are bombarded with constant American films and TV, but recently it seems we can only get US English in spellcheckers. We are being forced to become part of the USA.

Not only in spelling, but politicians in the USA are taking it upon themselves to advise us how to live and run our country and, even worse, are giving a misleading picture of life in the UK.

Even if this is a picture of a doctor healing man that isn’t Epstein i still represents a slide from both humility and reality

It is, I think, time to start pushing back. I accept that most citizens of the USA are lovely people, and my mother always told me that Americans had very good manners. It is the tragedy of modern America, that you don’t draw from this pool of talent and elect some of them.

So here are two pictures. The Daily Star has just run a headline based on the famous line “He is not the Messiah, he’s just a very naughty boy.” If you know your Python you will recognise the quote immediately. If you don’t, I apologise for my cultural imperialism.

This is how o cope with a delusional brat – you can’t reason with him, you aren’t allowed to punish him because he has corrupted the system, so ridicule is all that remains

The other is a picture of Sweep. Again, you may not recognise him, or his importance, and I apologise again for my insensitive use of cultural imperialism. He is the rapscallion companion of Sooty, and I have more confidence in him, than I do in most current politicians.

And finally . . .

 

 

 

Another Day Crossed Off the List

18 Replies

I didn’t even switch the computer on until 11 pm today. Looking at the clock, it seems that two hours have passed by in the blink of an eye. I have paid for an eBay purchase, deleted emails, read one that needed reading, read an auction catalogue (which I should have done last week) and answered the comments on the blog. It doesn’t seem like much, but going through an auction catalogue and checking some of the lots seems to take ages.

And so, I sit down to write.

I’ve been sitting most of the day, but that was in a different chair and in a different room. That has been the only variety in my day. There is a TV advert which says that laughing uses more calories than jogging. I don’t believe it, but I have watched several comedy programmes to ensure that I got some exercise.  Come to think about it, I once read an article that said visualising an exercise is nearly as beneficial as doing it. I think that related to strength and there is probably some isometric effect, but I can’t help thinking that if it were true we’d here a lot more about it.

Sunlit oak leaves at Clumber

I’m going to start an exercise regime where I imagine all my food is much heavier than it really is. That way I can eat and delude myself that I’m lifting weights at the same time. If I write off to a couple of online Colleges I can probably get some qualifications to make it more believable. (Yes, I use that link before, in case you looked and thought it seemed familiar).

You may think, and I forgive you if you do, that I haven’t done much, but ask your self this question – what have you one today that is as important to human happiness? You may have been industrious (which I have not), you may have done some housework (which Julia has mentioned to me once or twice today, I admit) but have you made a breakthrough in the way we think of sandwich eating?  Thanks to me, it is now possible for fat people to feel virtuous and healthy as they eat sandwiches and work their muscles instead of just their jaws.

I had a sandwich and a bowl of soup tonight, and, as a result of imagining that the sandwiches were heavy, finished my meal feeling like i’d had a bit of a workout. Apart from the exercise, think of the other benefits – no gym subscriptions and no need to shower. Talk about win-win situations.

I went back to November 2017 for the pictures.

Robin at Rufford Abbey