Gloom and Doom

It's raining and cold in London.  This typical mid-June weather reflects my mood.

Financial markets tanking (although not today, wheee!), ill-timed austerity and simply bad economic policies crippling the economies of Europe and the US, nihlist US Republican leader-of-the-free-world wannabees falling all over each other to see who can be more bigoted and un-American in the name of "patriotism," natural catastrophes left and right.  Ugh!

It can only go up from here.  Plus, I'll probably feel better when the sun comes out!

Meat and More Meat

I had a new experience tonight at Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chao in Atlanta. Basically, the deal here is that waiters hover around the dining room carrying spit-roasted meat on skewers, carving succulent slices beef, lamb, pork and chicken directly onto your plate until you're completely stuffed.

It's a chain, so it's somewhat "chain like," but no more so than Ruth's Chris or Morton's. The meat, however, tastes great. The danger is that because you can eat as much as you want, you can easily become over-stuffed. I did.

Sophisticated dining it is not, but the impeccable service and great food made for a unique and totally enjoyable evening.

Shangri-La

During my Southern California sojourn, we dropped in for a drink and a (very expensive) snack at the recently re-opened uber-chic Shangri-La Hotel bar in Santa Monica. Apparently there's quite a bar scene there normally, but as we arrived at 3.3o in the afternoon, the place was dead empty, which was actually more than fine by me.

We took a quick nose around the lobby and pool area, and I quite like the hotel's art deco styling (reminds me of South Beach), especially in the bar, with the polished wood bar and tables.

Overall, I would probably like to stay here on a future visit.

Good-Bye to Muffin Tops

Good news. If, like me, you're tired of seeing bare midrifts bulging out of too-tight jeans, help is on the way.

The Evening Standard reports that cosmetic surgeons in London have developed a procedure to eradicate the “muffin top” bulge of fat that spills over the waist of women's jeans. This problem appears to be particularly acute in the southeast of England, but no doubt it's reaching epidemic proportions in the USA as well.

Basically it's liposuction, but on surface layers rather than on deep layers of fat.

I've got an easier and probably less painful way of getting rid of this problem: don't wear tops that expose your stomach if you're overweight (that's what I do).

The Gap

It's been a long time between posts. I have a thousand excuses, but mainly I was away for two weeks and too lazy to post, then never got back into the routine after returning.

Did spend two fantastic weeks in Malibu though with nothing but sun, sea and warm weather (and some wildfires too).

Anyway, I will try to get back to the usual semi-irregular schedule of posting, at least for the next two weeks!

Great Queen Street

I tried a place called Great Queen Street (on Great Queen Street, natch) near Covent Garden. I found the experience totally enjoyable.

It's a loud, "buzzy" gastropub, simply furnished with bare oak floors and tables. They serve basically British food, unpretentious but with a little flair, sometimes described with words like "sturdy" and "robust." Beef, lamb, pork - even wood pigeon. They also had a fish stew of some sort. My beef was very good and I also tried a taste the chicken pie, which was fantastic.

Even the restaurant reviews seem to be good.

The knowledgeable, efficient and very friendly service made our dinner a very pleasant experience, and even the bill wasn't too bad (for London at least). Overall, a good find.

Abbey Road

Forty years ago today, the Beatles shot their iconic "Abbey Road" album cover on a north London zebra crossing outside Abbey Road Studios. After all these years, tourists continue to dodge traffic to recreate the photo.

The BBC has done a brief feature on it and there's even a live webcam where you can watch people walk across and annoy drivers by stopping in the middle of the street to take photos.

Today at 11:35, the time the original picture was taken, fans are gathering to cross the street en mass in commemoration of the photo. That's happening just about now as I write this (totally serendipitous, as I only heard about this five minutes ago). I just looked at the webcam and the street is mobbed.

I have, of course, visited and walked across the crossing, but haven't yet gone for the photo-op. Perhaps it's time I should. It worked for these guys.

Ryanair Sucks

But Michael O'Leary sure knows how to make money.

The NY Times published a good piece on the Ryanair chief and his unabashed philosophy that "passengers will endure nearly every imaginable indignity, as long as the tickets are cheap and the planes are on time."

And it's true! Ryanair continues to make money, although not as much as before, while its competitors struggle.

I have flown Ryanair more often than I would have liked (which is never), usually out of necessity. It always amazes me how people willingly subject themselves to abuse and discomfort. Travelling British Airways or other "full service" airlines provides enough trials, but the Ryanair experience truly tries one's limits.

Nonetheless, people continue to flock to the airline who's official attitude towards their customers is to treat them like shit, because they really don't care. Apparently they're right, but do they really have to be so mean?

Americans and Torture

The Economist has published poll data showing how opinions towards the use of torture vary around the world. Based on polls taken in early 2008, the results show that:

Respondents in western European democracies such as Britain and Spain were most hostile to the idea of even some degree of use of torture, whereas residents in big but poorer countries such as Nigeria, Turkey and India seemed most willing to tolerate the idea. . . According to the polls, Americans are more willing to tolerate the use of torture than are Chinese.

Another shameful legacy of the Bush-Cheney-Rove era. 45% of Americans now think it's OK to torture people. America, I hardly know thee.

Tactics of the American Right

I recently came across this quote from Nazi leader Hermann Goering, made during an interview at the Nuremberg Trials:

Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and for exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.

Sound familiar? I guess we know where these guys got their playbook.

And of course, the politics of fear continues.

Freedom to Yell

I've been reading a bit about the Professor Henry Gates arrest in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for what boils down to being black and yelling at a policeman.

Paul Gowder at the blog Uncommon Priors gets to the real essence of the issue - it should not be illegal to yell at the cops:

The racism is actually the least interesting part of this story, just because we all already know that none of this would have been happened had he been white.

No, the real interesting issue is this “disorderly conduct.” The cop’s stated reason for arresting Gates was that he was yelling at him in front of other people. Let me repeat it. That was the stated reason for the arrest. So riddle me this: since when do we live in a society such that yelling at a cop is sufficiently plausible as grounds for arrest that the cop can actually write it in the arrest report?

Let’s not be confused here: the cop did not claim that Gates was getting violent, or that he posed any threat to the cop or anyone else, including himself.

Another example of how far the police state has really evolved in USA. Remember the British historian that Atlanta police wrestled to the ground and arrested for jaywalking?

The Swimming Pool Did It

A Polish woman has filed suit against an Egyptian hotel claiming that "stray sperm" in the hotel's swimming pool made her daughter pregnant. The London Paper reports a Polish travel industry source as saying, "The mother is adamant that her daughter didn't meet any boys while she was there and is determined to go ahead with the case."

The article concludes:

. . . legal minds will have to decide what is more likely – a medical miracle or a teenager lying to her mother to get out of trouble.

Another Paul Krugman Song

I thought it was unusual when I came across the first Paul Krugman song, but now Loudon Wainwright III (yes, father of Rufus) has one too. It must say something profound about our current era that people start writing songs about economists. I just don't have a clue what that is.

USA Beats Spain

Does the USA national team's shocking defeat of number one ranked Spain in the Confederation Cup competition mean that the team will actually stand a chance of doing well in next year's World Cup? Perhaps.

In 2002, the team delivered a sound performance, but disappointed in the 2006 competition. Nonetheless, the program has showed steady improvement over the past eight years, and most of the team play for European clubs, including at least five in the English Premier League.

So, is there a chance of a win in the 2010 World Cup? Probably not, but depending upon the draw, they should reach the quarter-finals, maybe even the final four.

D'oh!

Now you can get Homer Simpson as the voice of your TomTom sat-nav system.

Their tag line is "Let Homer Simpson be your co-pilot." They say "driving with Homer is as easy as 1,2 … doh!"

Excellent!

Tennis Anyone?

The Wimbledon fortnight begins today, and the British have again pinned their hopes and dreams on Scotsman Andy Murray. If he wins, he will be the first Brit to win since Virginia Wade in 1976 and the first British men's champion since Fred Perry won in 1936.

The British have become so desperate to win on their home court that even the English will cheer for Murray, despite the fact that he doesn't seem to care much for them. He once infamously said he'd support any team playing football against England, which didn't particularly endear him to English sports fans.

Fortunately, with Nadal out this year he may actually have a chance to lift the trophy. Fred Perry sportswear has even designed a new retro-style kit for him to wear, presumably to help him channel the former champion to guide him to victory.

I do hope that Murray wins, but I cannot help feeling that the next two weeks will follow the typical British/English sporting scenario: everyone works themselves into a frenzy of expectation for an epic victory, only to face bitter disappointment and humiliation in the end.

At least we can all enjoy the strawberries and cream in the meantime.

How Close Did We Come

How far down the road to this did the USA travel in the past eight years?

Probably farther than most people think or would like to believe. Remember a government that:

• Stole an election
• Routinely and brazenly lied to its population to further its ideology
• Used fear unashamedly to cling to power and further its agenda
• Spied on its own people
• Publicly branded dissent as treason and hounded critics as traitors
• Assumed powers of arrest and detention without habeas corpus
• Tortured prisoners
• Invoked religious tenants as drivers of policy

Not possible you say?

Most Americans take our freedoms for granted. We cannot imagine our government, a body empowered by us to defend our freedoms, could possibly act in a way that would jeopardise them. The idea that the abuses most Americans associate with third-world regimes would happen in America seems outlandish. But they did.

Thankfully, America remains pretty good at self correcting. The country is beginning to get back on track. Nonetheless, it will always amaze me that those claiming to speak for freedom (teabaggers -- sorry, tea-partiers, Glen Beck, Limbaugh and the rest) continue to vociferously cheerlead for those who have done the most to steal those freedoms from us.

And remember, Dick Cheney is still watching you!

Goths at the Beach

Ever wonder what Goths do when it gets hot? Goths in Hot Weather shows you, and even ranks each subject's "goth" and "sweatieness" factors.

(Picture from Goths in Hot Weather)

Hat tip to Andrew Sullivan.

No TV!

The big switch to totally digital TV happens in the US today, and the LA Times says that the Los Angeles area, the place many TV producers and studios call home, is "among the nation's top slackers" in preparing for the switchover.

More than 250,000 LA area homes have still not converted, and nearly 2.8 million homes across the US will receive only blank screens on Friday if they do not get a converter box for their old analog televisions.

The article also suggests that "some people might use the transition as an opportunity to give up on broadcast television, at least temporarily."

That sounds like a pretty drastic solution!