Well that was amazing

As I said, we stayed up all night and watched the election -- from 7pm to 7am. In Denmark, we mostly had to rely on CNN, but it was still gripping. Their much-hyped hologram was rubbish though. They could have done the same thing by just compositing in an image (if they didn't cheat and just do that). We supplemented with regular internet checks and some Danish/Norwegian coverage.

I had to stay up all the way to the end of Obama's speech -- I got burned with the 2001 election when Gore hadn't won two days later. The speech was great closure, and I was very tired and emotional by the end. I don't think I've been that tearful during an election night since that time they voted Bush in again.

There's a lot riding on this man's shoulders now, but he will get some great people to help him get there.

Sometimes, things do turn out the right way.

Exciting Times

We're staying up late tonight to watch the election - it's going to be exciting. I really think that the American People have a chance to do something amazing here.

Of course, if they screw it up this time, we're pushing them into the sun.

I Hated Brand First

(I have revised this post, as on second reading it really wasn't vitriolic enough)

I feel I should say that I hated Russell Brand long before any of those bandwagon-jumping complainers phoned the BBC. I hated him long before I even knew who he was -- just seeing his bloated, retarded face staring out at me from bookshelves was enough to instil an animal desire to eliminate him from the gene pool lest he soil it by reproducing. I literally could not punch his face often or hard enough. And then I heard him speak.

I'm not too sure what all this prank call fuss is about since I don't live in the UK and don't really want to give the turd any mental bandwidth, but hopefully this will be the end of him. The British Public really only have themselves to blame -- this is what happens when you look to a fat, talentless junkie to provide your five minutes of entertainment: having suddenly pulled a "purpose" out of somewhere, they outstay their welcome until the last puerile laughs have died out. Comedy is a profession, don't leave it to useless wastes of skin.

If he does somehow end up on ITV, I'll only watch him if he stars in "Overdose of the Week". It's a pitch I have been developing. Call me.

If Only...

Though I don't agree with the use of "probably" -- it's too much like fence-sitting, and I bet Dawkins doesn't approve either. Still, it's a start.

All Aboard the Atheist Bus Campaign

Fundraising target: £5,500.00
Donations so far: £ 110,156.83

http://www.justgiving.com/atheistbus

... it's not just me, is it?

Ridley Scott to film The Forever War?

When I heard the rumour a shiver ran down my spine - I had to stand up at my desk and pace around a bit. Could it really be true?

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117993856.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2564

I'm quite stunned -- it would simply be The Best Thing Ever.

Joe Haldeman's The Forever War is, 34 years after its publication, one of the most intelligent, compassionate pieces of (science) fiction ever written. When Alien out in 1979, I used to think what a great job he'd do it it. I can hardly belive it's going to happen.

Last week, the possibility of a new Thomas Pynchon novel, and now this? If I'm this lucky at the moment, look out for headlines that Russell Brand has contracted Ebola, and bizarrely, every single recording or trace him ever made has been coincidentally lost. Though since the Catholic Church has officially admited that god didn't create man then I shouldn't expect too much.

Miss Alaska Responds to a Question

Remember when Miss South Carolina got a little confused when answering a question?

Well, she has some competition! Miss Alaska. Soon to be "Oh, Did He Die? I Guess that Makes Me President Then!"

40

So, yesterday I was 40. You kind of forget, in the angst of it, that your mother was probably having a bit of a day of it too. In fact, I'm almost certain my mother remembers more of it than I do, but I forgot to ask.

Ses and I saw the morning run away from us until we were out in the midday meat trucks of Jutland, heading to the grey coast.

We saw some 2000 year old guy, better preserved than me; how would this man have felt, with no concept of foreign nations or money, if he'd known that he would have a museum constructed around him.

And then afterwards we take a low-risk walk around ancient woods and then home via the beach and an improbably good Mexican restaurant in Vejle. It would seem I have eaten five three burritos in the past five days.

This was all via a very long detour to an amusingly-named town just because we thought we were hilarious.

And then home -- phonecalls and emails, Champagne and some DVDs, Stanley wondering if this good cheer would mean tuna. Which of course it did.

Things I Saw This Week

I've been in the US this week, working. These trips are always strange for me as the slight cultural differences and distance, and the time zone, make me feel as if I'm travelling through some hyper-real simulation.

So that's where he parks.

I can't remember if this is sunrise or sunset. It's possibly both.


Lost on the delightfully-named Asylum Avenue.

Flair.

I treated myself to an ice-cream - the hotel is shown to provide some idea of scale.

Edmonds and I

Their excellent Webmaster Tools (http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/) tell me that if you Google "Noel Edmonds", my site is the 139th most popular referrer. 132nd if you're looking for Keith Chegwin. That certainly was an alarming unintended consequence.

Oh, wait a minute ... I've just made it worse, haven't I?

1. surreal	56
2. lovatt	2
3. andrew steenhoff	9
4. noel edmonds	139
5. arne jacobsen	180
6. keith chegwin	132
7. rate my	261
8. futuristic space stage	113

Cat House on the Kings

A cage-less cat sanctuary for 700 cats on 12 acres of land. All of them are up for adoption, but if I was a cat I'd be completely bummed out to be "rescued" from Cat Heaven. What crazy old lady could possibly resist leaving all her money to this cat home?

http://www.cathouseonthekings.com/

City Limits

Superb short film for the very talented Alake Riley.

"Hidden in the underground depths of the damp, abandoned Boomtown tube station, we meet MARLEY. An inner-city kid with big plans to set-up one of the city's coolest underground broadcasts. It will be called Boomtown D.U.B. (digital underground broadcast)."

"Without your space helmet, Dave, you're going to find that rather difficult."

Exploring

We seem to be getting out and about a bit more now that we have a car. There's a stretch of beach about 15 minutes from our house (or 30 minutes, depending on how many wrong turns we take on the way there), that we seem fascinated by for no reason.

It might be because the shop sells fairly decent ice cream or the place next door's over-priced chips are pretty good (note to self: bring own ketchup next time). Generally we just go there for an hour and walk up and down a bit.

The light is nice, and there's something very odd and transient about places like this. I want to visit it in the winter, in the snow, to see if it still exists.

And then, suddenly, we're home -- a few fields, some traffic, and there's Stanley wondering where we go and come back with different smells. I'd like to take him there, really, because I'd like him to know that there is such a thing as the sea.

I think it would really appeal to him. But of course, he might run off and get lost amongst the summerhouses -- though I can imagine him sitting there, on the beach just having a stare at little boats and far islands and thinking "WTF!" in his strange cat-like way.

Apocalyptic Danish Beach

Some photographs taken in the beach near Nymindegab on 2008-08-09. It was very windy, so I took some of the pictures low down to show the erosion shadows behind the pebbles.

I'm using Google Analytics...

... so I can see more information about the three or four people who visit my site every year.

https://www.google.com/analytics/

It was pretty easy to do - even a Muppet like me managed to copy the JavaScript and paste it in my Blogger template at the beginning of the tag.

The dashboard is a Flash object, but it's pretty cool and has a lot of features. Behold its emptiness!