Thursday, January 28, 2021

Covid-19 Lesson 6

So far, I have taken you through a list of people who are way underpaid for what they do and most of whom are forgotten or glossed over by governments around the world. Now we come to a group of people who can't be ignored but are treated as if they were morons; when it is politicians who are the morons.

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

The First Brexit Success Stories

Boris Johnson must be congratulated. The first month out of the European Union isn't over yet, and the Brexit success stories are already piling up. I'll try to concentrate on the more relevant ones in this article. It takes a genius like the Prime Minister to get results this quick. It's all down to his superior intellect and his ability to make quick decisions to which he sticks like glue.

Scottish Independence

As a member of Clan Forbes, it is my sacred duty to promote Scottish independence; as I don't live there, I won't be voting once things have progressed so far. I live in London; as a taxpayer outside of Scotland, it is my sacred duty to promote Scottish independence. Once Scotland is out, taxes in the rest of the United Kingdom can be lowered to bearable levels. Sorry to my Forbes cousins, you'll go broke.

Sunday, January 24, 2021

Covid-19 Lesson 5

In my last article, I went through a list of commodities that we use at home and never think about too much how we get them. One thing that came out of all four previous articles was that these people have to get to work somehow. Due to people being terribly hidebound, most prefer to lose hours a day for traveling and pay through their noses for the privilege to use public transport or for their otherwise superfluous car.

Covid-19 Lesson 4

So far we had the people that keep us from being overrun by the rat kings cohorts, the people who keep us safe from brigands and being burned alive, and the ambulances and hospitals that battle Covid-19 directly apart from all the other stuff that makes us ill. Time to open up the next box and show whom we so easily forget.

Saturday, January 23, 2021

British Fishing And Brexit

One of the quaintest industries in Britain is the fishing industry. It lost all of its viability in 1973 when the government sold it out to the European Union by becoming a member. Since then it had been a long tale of bankruptcy and buyout to foreign nations who were cleverer than the clumsy fools in 10 Downing Street at that time and since then.

Friday, January 22, 2021

Flooding And Covid-19

It rained on the parade of Boris Johnson's devising. Instead of being able to bask in the sunshine of Covid-19 vaccination, heavy flooding in the United Kingdom combined with Covid-19 to create the perfect storm. If anyone thinks coincidence, then think again. Both things were foreseeable and could have been mitigated with proper management. 

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Covid-19 Lesson 3

In the first two lessons we learned from Covid-19, we were outside, looking at the services we take for granted even now, though they are not and paid like they didn't matter. We move inside now to the service we all have come to appreciate and rely on more than ever. Hospitals are the linchpin of what is being done against the pandemic. And yet, there are lessons to be learned even here after we learned some already.

Monday, January 11, 2021

Sale! Save Money!

How often have you fallen for that lie? How often have you wished you hadn't listened to advertising serving you lies? All these sales are a con, some more so than others. Government agencies are trying to prevent the criminally fraudulent ones; but there are so many legal frauds, who can distinguish between one and the other? And make no mistake, at 50%, shops are still making a killing.

Covid-19 Lesson 2

Covid-19 has been a good teacher. But the content of the lessons has come fast, furious, and in abundance. I'm tryin to break the flood of information down to bitesize morsels in the hope we won't forget too soon. Lesson 1 was about the invisible workers; Lesson 2 is about the forgotten ones out in the street.

Sunday, January 10, 2021

When Advertising Goes Wrong

Advertising is a constant pain on the radio, television, the internet. But it is necessary to pay for the entertainment we get. Once we were kids, and pooh sticks was a game we played. No advertising, no hassle. Which means intelligent entertainment doesn't need advertising; only greed needs it. The only joy one gets from advertising is when it goes wrong. And how it can go wrong. Follow me to the gallery of fails.

Covid-19 Lesson 1

I will rather haphazardly go through all the things we learned from Covid-19; mostly it's things we knew before, but never appreciated. Let's make some time and get it all out into the open to give the brain some air. The first lesson is about invisible people. Are you thinking homeless? There are people even more invisible, isn't that frightening?

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Insurance Goals

Being insured against all kinds of calamities makes you feel better, safe, and secure. House, flat, content, car, life, income, funeral costs; you name it and there is an insurance company that will cover it. The friendly insurance broker will find you the best and cheapest way to insure your every life aspect with the nicest most paying insurance company. Or is he and are they?

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

To Wear or Not to wear: The Tie

While we are all sitting at home, we can ponder the pros and cons of the tie. We are just wearing it for business video links with a shirt and over the hidden pajamas. And shirt and tie are kept on exactly for as long as the video call lasts. But is a tie really necessary? 

Richard Wagner's Lohengrin

When I mention Lohengrin, I get three possible reactions: the opera, the chocolate bar, the wedding march. Lohengrin is the Wagner opera where you need a guide and a map to try and make sense of it. Richard Wagner concocted the libretto from poems, Greek mythology, and fake history. The end product has nothing the viewer recognizes as any story they ever heard. At the opera, they then spend hours in limbo or are busy rifling through the program they bought.

Only Stupid People Pay for the Same Thing Twice

Am I stating the obvious? I don’t think so, and maybe you’ll follow my reasoning. Far from paying twice for the same thing, sometimes we end up paying for the same thing many times over. Going through an example might help you make up your own mind.

The Shamans Got It Right: Placebo Works

The results from a study into the workings of placebo products and the placebo effect show that a harmless substitute 'medication' works. The compound being made up of sugar or flour works just as well as the real thing containing pharmaceutically active components. Conclusions may be drawn with wide-ranging consequences.


Sunday, November 22, 2020

How Economy Works

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Who hasn't heard or said it? But his post is not about the famous woodchuck. This is the story of Chuck Forest who inherited a forest and grew rich on wood. How he did it? Read on. It is the real American dream come true.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

London Spy: A Review

BBC has broadcast the first of five parts of London Spy. During build-up to this first episode, all kinds of allegations were thrown about by all kinds of people, mainly because the main characters are all gay, I suppose. Now the real thing is out and open to all to assess, I hope we can get back to what really counts. I for my part was entertained and impressed. The latter is mainly due to the work of director Jakob Verbruggen.


Friday, October 30, 2015

Last Minute Halloween Costumes

You forgot to go shopping for a Halloween costume or had decided not to go to the party and now changed your mind? There are lots of ways you can rustle up a cheap Halloween costume with what you find at home. You'll look sexy in any of the costume designs I have found for you. Just take a look at the pictures and take it from there.


Monday, August 3, 2015

Climbing the Olympic Stadium

If you like climbing in unusual places, then the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, might be the ticket. You can climb all over the roof, abseil onto the running track, or use the steel cable running over the arena below. All these tours are guided and perfectly safe to go to. And you'll get all the specialized information for the price of one.


Friday, April 24, 2015

Edouard Louis on Eddy Bellegueule

I said somewhere else that Berlin is everywhere, but so is rural France. Edouard Louis is a young French writer who wrote the novel 'En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule' at the age of 18. It was published in France last year and is currently being translated into 20 languages. It was a bestseller. It caused a scandal with the busybodies that sell censure called political correctness and was greeted as a revelation by realists, writers, and able-minded literary critics alike.

Edouard Louis

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

The Royals: Not Bad Enough

When a TV channel like E placed at the bottom of the good TV channels' list announced its own scripted series, you had to prepare for the worst. When they called it 'The Royals', you really wondered what they intended to do about it. Now the first installment has been aired. And it was bad, really bad. But not bad enough.