BunnyFactor10

Sunday morning

2008-10-05T09:41:00.002+01:00

Today i am playing rugby against my old team. I am always nervous on sunday mornings before matches. My stomach feels funny and sickly. So to calm myself i am reading a nice book in bed. Outside the rain is rattling against the windows and the sky is dark. Not a nice day to be out on the pitch. Oh and did i mention we joined a gym?

Music made with Windows sounds

2008-09-16T09:37:00.002+01:00

This is a waste of time but so brilliant!!! All the sounds used for this are sounds made by Windows XP and Windows 98. There is a LOT of similar stuff out there on YouTube. Fun bit: the versions made with Apple Mac sounds are nowhere near as good!! Hehehe.

Oddest Book Title

2008-09-02T11:38:00.004+01:00

This week in The Guardian, examples of The Oddest Book Titles. There is a prize for these. There is a wonderful gallery with some of the best titles out there.

My personal favourite is "The Sexual Politics of Meat. A Feminist-Vegeratian Critical Theory"

Honestly, do feminists not have better things to do? Is this what my tax money goes toward: funding ridiculous studies like that?

Anyway, back to the books. How about "Greek Rural Postmen and their Cancellation Numbers" or "Tattooed Mountain Women and Spoon Boxes of Daghestan"

These books have all been written by people who are serious about their beloved subject. These people probably do not see the strange side of the title. Should we ridicule them for it? You bet we should. I mean "Highlights in the History of Concrete"???!!! Come on.

Alison Moyet

2008-08-28T00:15:00.002+01:00

So the site is now live and I can tell you I have been involved, from a technical pespective, in creating a new website for Alison Moyet. Lovely singer. Website was lots of work but well worth it. I know, it is nothing flashy or fantastically design-y but it serves its purpose.

Have a look at Alisonmoyet.com

Excitement!

2008-08-22T14:26:00.004+01:00

Not sure I can tell you yet so I won't mention any names but I am very excited lately. I am working on a new official website for one of my favourite singers. Yay. I am happy to do something back for the pleasure her music has given me so far. Hopefully the site will go live on Tuesday next week so I can tell you who it is for by then as well. I am going to London tomorrow to work on it with a nice guy who invited me to help out.

It is a common misconception that all musicians with records in the shops have plenty of money to throw around, so right now, it is a labour of love (read: I don't get paid) but it is well worth it.

The down side is that I am spending too much time on it when I really should be working. I compensate by not taking a lunch break but I still feel a bit guilty, especially since I have been told not to spend so much time on 'personal projects' in work time.

Oops. So, all the more important to get this project finished asap!

V festival 2008

2008-08-15T20:28:00.003+01:00

3 days camping at the V Festival in Staffordshire. A simple burger costs £5 so we won't be spending a lot of money on food here. Dinner tonight is 3 cans of stew. Yes, we will be having loads of cheap food and good music. Well, I hope this music is good and that the rain will not be too much.But since this is a music festival, I fear it will come down in buckets at some point.

Now with pictures

2008-08-13T13:22:00.003+01:00

I have added a little picture box on the right side. Now you can see some of the most recent pictures I took. You know, to keep you updated about my terribly interesting life. *cough*

The Times in action...again!

2008-08-07T17:32:00.003+01:00

"Gay Sex as good as marriage" says Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, according to the headline in The Times today.
Well, actually, that is NOT what he says but the real quote is of course much more boring. What he actually says, and this is the headline on The Times' website: "Gay relationships are comparable to marriage".

Of course a paper has to sell copies and so the printed headline will make many more people stop and look at the paper and perhaps even buy it.

But as a gay woman, even I would say that 'gay sex' is definitely NOT the same as marriage. Just like 'straight sex' is not as good as marriage. Because sex is not as good as marriage. They are two separate things.

And for The Times to suggest that somehow gay people equate their sex life with the kind of long term commitment that marriage is seriously harming the fight for equality. Headlines like these make it look like that is what gays are after: That having gay sex gives them the right to all kinds of benefits that married couples have.

Bloody right-wing bastards at The Times! Grrr. Makes me really angry.

I am off to see a play!

2008-08-06T17:16:00.002+01:00

I am feeling very cultured right now because JD & I have just booked tickets to go to London and see a play from the National Theatre. I have never been to a play in London and I can not remember the last time I went to any kind of play at all. In fact, it may well be that I have in fact never been to a 'real' play.

Anyway, I am looking forward to it enormously. It is the matinee showing this Saturday in the Oliver. The play is called "Her Naked Skin" by Rebecca Lenkiewicz and it is about some women during the time of the Suffragettes, at the start of the 20th century. I read a review in The Guardian on Saturday and we decided we would go. So there.

Spend a morning in London, see the play then go for some (cheap) food in town. Lovely.

I can't wait.

New living room

2008-08-04T10:28:00.007+01:00

Every once so often, I feel like moving all the furniture around the living room, to see if I can make it look bigger. Or just because I have not taken my Ritalin and feel restless. I might move one piece of furniture and then another and then you just can not stop moving things around and before you know it the whole room is in a mess with books and cupboards everywhere. A panic fills my head as I lost control of what I am doing and JD has to come and calm me down before I have a major panic attack or an attack of guilt.

Here is the result of Sunday's activity. (click on picture for larger version) I think it makes the room look smaller but more cosy...I like it. Not sure about the dining table though.

My darling cook

2008-07-20T19:33:00.003+01:00

What to do with left overs? Well I am lucky enough to have a perfect solution in JD. So tonight we are having some kind of pie with carrots, mince, broccoli, tomatoes and potatoes. Why bother posting this to my blog? Only because i got this fab new phone that sends pictures straight to Blogger. Bring on mobile blogging.

Dwain Chambers is not going to the Olympics

2008-07-18T11:36:00.002+01:00

Good. There is no place for cheats at the Olympics. He knew what the punishment was when he took drugs so you can not complain afterward that the punishment is too harsh.
Dwain Chambers is a drug cheat. Simple as that.

Dwain Chambers loses appeal against Olympic ban.

The road is not for pedestrians

2008-07-09T10:15:00.002+01:00

A cyclist killed a girl and gets a £2,000 fine for dangerous cycling. Parents of the girl are angry and want him brought up on manslaughter charges.

The situation:

The girl was crossing the road with a group of friends. The cyclist was coming towards the group and shouted at them to get out of the way 'as he was not going to stop'.

the cyclist stayed on a "straight course" towards the group because he had thought he could get through a gap he saw between Rhiannon and her friends.

However, it seems Rhiannon moved in to the gap at the last second and was struck by the bike.

It was unclear in court as to whether she was still in the road or on the pavement when the collision happened.

"We think Rhiannon was probably a few inches, or a foot, in to the road and then she moved towards the pavement," said Sgt Mahon.

Of course he is an arsehole for not swerving at the last moment and hitting the girl but erhm...the group was crossing the road. Right? ROAD = for moving traffic. Pavement = for pedestrians. When walking on the road you must make sure you are not hindering traffic on that road. Right?

So just because he is an arsehole surely does not mean it was manslaughter? IF the girl was on the road when he hit her, surely it was HER responsibility to get out of the way? Not his?

I am a nurse, you dozy bitch!

2008-06-29T16:42:00.002+01:00

I always laugh when people try to get what they want by using the equivalent of "Do you know who I am??!!" I always feel that only the most desperate losers say that when nobody wants to pay attention to them or when they have a genuine inferiority complex.

Yesterday JD and I were crossing the road and suddenly a car turned the corner, right in to my path, without indicating. I could have stopped but since the driver was in the wrong, I kept on walking and she had to stop to avoid running me over. I pointed at the front of her car, smiled and said, in my nicest voice: "Use your indicator next time please."

Next thing I knew, the car window came down and the driver leaned towards me, shouting: "I am a nurse you dozy bitch!" I smiled at her and said, once again in my friendliest voice, dripping with that kind of niceness that makes people's blood boil: "That doesn't mean you do not have to use your indicator when you turn a corner. Have a nice day now, bye." She ranted on some more, and then nearly ran in to JD who had started to cross the road as well, since the nurse was spending her time shouting at me. She then shouted "Fucking Lesbian" at JD who, remember, was not involved in the incident at all, and drove off.

Why did she get so angry, and more intriguingly, why did she say: "I am a nurse you know!". Was that the best she could come up with? Is ther some law in England that exempts nurses from having to use their indicators when they turn corners?

JD & I had a nice afternoon laughing about it all, making up excuses as to why the Nice nurse got so angry. Glad I am not her patient!

Triple Towers

2008-06-25T13:31:00.007+01:00

I think I spend to much time playing Triple Towers in the pub at lunch time. How do I know? Well, look at the scoreboard. It is all me. Oops....Now I could of course spend my lunch time sitting outside in the front garden on the lovely new picnic bench we bought (and which I put together yesterday. Flatpack Rulez!) but that would be too sensible really. and too relaxing. and that would make me look lazy. Or something like that.

Holland? Euro 2008? Huh?

2008-06-21T22:17:00.002+01:00

Was there a football tournament going on? Really? Where? I did not notice it. Holland played in it? Really? How did they do? They lost to Russia in the Quarter Finals? Wow, I never knew. But then again, I never really pay much attention to football anyway. Could all have passed me by completely.

BBC says: Gay on the brain!

2008-06-17T16:04:00.004+01:00

I have always said that I feel lesbian brains are probably related to straight male brains and queer brains are related to straight female brains. Of course this is completely politically incorrect as it points to a difference in brain function which in turn could lead to scientists trying to pinpoint a Gay Gene which in turn could lead to people wanting their babies tested for being gay before they are born.

I don't care. I know I am right. And the BBC agrees with me.

Scans see 'gay brain differences'

The scientist who conducted the research said:

As far as I'm concerned there is no argument any more - if you are gay, you are born gay. The brain network which determines what sexual orientation actually 'orients' towards is similar between gay men and straight women, and between gay women and straight men. This makes sense given that gay men have a sexual preference which is like that of women in general, that is, preferring men, and vice versa for lesbian women.

So now what for the religious fundies who claim being gay is a lifestyle choice? What is going to happen now that science proves gays are 'the way God has made them', rather than a bunch of freaks who chose a sinful path in life? Oh, let me guess. They are going to ignore it, as they do with everything that does not fit in heir narrow minded view of the world.

So I shall leave you with the Feel Good Moment of the Day. In California today, gays could get married. One of the first couples to tie the know were Del (89) and Phyllis (84). Don't they look sweet? Imagine: when one of them dies, finally, the other can stay in the house they probably bought together. I just don't see why people insist on denyingg loving couples such basic human rights.

Brigitte Kaandorp in England

2008-06-13T09:19:00.004+01:00

When I was young, I was 'a fan' of Brigitte Kaandorp, a Dutch comedian. Her style is not dissimilar to Eddie Izzard in the sense that it looks like she is just talking random stuff, jumping from one spontaneous thought to the the next when in fact it is all carefully scripted. Her image is one of slightly clumsy, endearing and unexpectedly funny. Her strength is in taking an every day situation and looking at it in such detail that the audience can really recognize themselves in it and laugh at themselves.

I used to imitate her and sing her songs at parties & memorize entire shows and recount them to amuse others. Apparently talk just like her and sometimes when I was babbling too much, people would say: "Hey Brigitte, that's enough now."

What's this got to do with England? Well, in the office, being a design agency and thus all cool and trendy, most people work with their headphones on, listening to music on their computer. We can also control the music on the office stereo by logging on to the network and playing music from our computer on the stereo. Every once so often, we do a little round robin with a theme. Yesterday, everyone was to play the one song they have played the most on their computer in the past week, be it on the stereo or on their headphones. I had just recently downloaded a song by Brigitte Kaandorp and that was my most played tune. So when my turn came to play my Most Played Song, I played "Het komt allemaal wel weer goed" (see video below). And to my amazement, one of the guys said: are you sure that is not you singing. She sounds just like you.

Wow. I never speak Dutch in the office, they don't speak Dutch and yet they can hear, when somebody is singing, that her voice sounds a lot like mine. Maybe it really is true then...

Lucky escape. Twice!

2008-06-12T17:22:00.002+01:00

This week, I think the Higher Power was trying to send me a message. Twice I managed to escape a traffic ticket.

First, I went through a red light. A police car in the lane next to me also went through but, to be fair, his light really was amber. Mine was kind of red. Just. However, the police car turned left and I went straight on so when the police realised that I must have gone through a red light if I managed to get through after him, he had already turned left. In my mirror I could see him stop his car and look out of his window at my car. he realised he would not be able to turn around and catch me so I escaped! Phew. I already have 3 points on my license, which drives up the cost of car insurance. I just misjudged the light. It happens. Mind you, I did pull in to a hidden parking area and waited for 5 minutes, in case the cops decided to come after me after all.

Today I was in town and I just had to nip out of the car for 2 minutes so I made a calculation that I would not need to pay for my parking. I scanned the street for a parking attendant and saw one at the very end of the street. Thinking I would be back before he could reach my end of the street, I left the car. Of course I misjudged again and when I returned to my car, he got out his little parking-ticket machine and started to write a ticket. I smiled at him and said: Busted, you beat me to it. He said: Well, not yet because it takes me 5 minutes to write this ticket so if you move it before I finish, I'll let you off.

Nice man. Anyone think I will get a third chance or should I take the hints: Don't break the law!

Mud phobia pig gets its own boots

2008-06-11T15:44:00.002+01:00

On the BBC website today, the story of Cinders, a piglet so afraid of mud that she has been given her own wellies. That makes me smile in that sweet, gooey way. Aaaaahhhh.

The pig farmer has said there was no chance that Cinders would be slaughtered.

"She's more of a pet really now and she's going to live a very long and happy life," he said.

The young saddleback has been chosen by the couple as a mascot for their campaign to raise money for the Farm Crisis Network, which supports struggling farmers.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Covered in Bees!

2008-06-10T14:06:00.003+01:00

"Hello there, you in the street.
You're new, aren't you?"

"Urh!"

"Er... Do you want a cup of coffee?
It's no problem."

- (Droning)
- "No real problem."

"I don't want a cup of coffee from you,
you're covered in bees."

"I like my women like I like my coffee -

"covered in bees.

From Eddie Izzard's fabulous show Glorious where he discusses bee keeping. Shoppers in Northampton today got more than they bargained for when a massive swarm of bees landed on a market stall. No flower sales for this poor man. I got out my phone and took a few shots.

Euro 2008: I am ready!

2008-06-09T18:40:00.004+01:00

Bring on Italy, France & Romania. I know who the winner is going to be: Holland (or rather: The Netherlands). Even if we don't win Euro 2008, Dutch fans, dressed in bright orange, will be the moral winners. As usual.

Hup Holland!

River Song and other weekend pleasures

2008-06-08T21:20:00.002+01:00

In days long gone, I was as good as addicted to medical drama ER. Of course it was mainly for the great storylines, not for any of the rather good looking women on the show (Maura Tierney, Elizabeth Mitchell). One of my favorites back then was uncerimoniously sacked for being too old: Alex Kingston. How little do producers know about what is too old or not attractive enough!!

This weekend I had the pleasure of seeing Alex Kingston again in Doctor Who, playing River Song, a mysterious scientist who may or may not be married to The Doctor in the future. And of course she still looks totally hot. Maybe it is the curly hair (see Elizabeth Mitchell) or perhaps the red hair, but Alex looks great, waving her Sonic Screwdriver around! You go girl.

JD and I booked our ferry to France for our holiday in September. Yay! Looking forward to it already. On Saturday morning, I took a few moments to think of what could have been if Hillary Clinton had managed to win the Democratic nomination. Her 'farewell speech' was dead on. From now on, it will not be remarkable to think of a woman as presidential nominee and that is truly remarkable. Please, let the USA elect Obama in November!

Frustration

2008-06-06T13:06:00.001+01:00

is it childish to get really angry with work mates who leave mess in the kitchen in the office? It is my job to keep the office tidy but please, we are all adults, right? How hard is it to wash your mug instead of putting it in the sink and say 'oh, I was going to do that later' (and then not do it of course). One of them even said to me that it irritated them how much I go on about it and then sat down, instead of actually putting his stuff away.
And so today, as a punishment for leaving dishes in the sink etc, the kitchen is out of bounds for everyone. Not my decision but the director's. But who gets the looks and discussions about how unfair this is on those who do clean their stuff? Me of course. Because I am the snitch, the teacher's pet, the one who runs to the boss to tell on the naughty people.

Well I am done with that. Fuck them. If I wanted children I would get pregnant, not take a job in an office.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Penis-Into-Vagina-Equals-Marriage

2008-05-30T17:22:00.003+01:00

One of my favourite blogs is Pam's House Blend (apart from her support for Obama in the US presidential race, rather than Hillary) mentioned an article that claims that a marriage can be defined by Penis into Vagina. Well, Pam does not believe this but some weird woman called Melanie Scarborough does. She claims gays can never marry because a marriage is only legal once it has been 'consummated'. And according to Melanie, consummation means sex between a man and a woman. And since gay people can not do penis-into-vagina, the whole marriage debate is a moot point since their union cna neer legally be valid unless they can do penis-into-vagina. Right.

"They may have engaged in various intimacies only Bill Clinton would not describe as sex. But unless the relationship includes the one act defining marital union, the marriage can be annulled because it is deemed to have never existed."

But where does it say that 'that one act' is penis-into-vagina? Maybe that one act is, erhm.....seeing each other pee? Or brush teeth? Somewhere apparently (but no source of course for this) there must be an exact definition of 'the one act that defines marriage'. Please let me know if you find it. I feel sorry for all those couples who are married but do not have sex by putting penis into vagina. I wonder if they know they are not really married...

It seems to me that more and more, Americans are clutching at ever thinner straws to try and avoid the inevitable truth.