Zombie

I know, you're right Daddy. It was a beautiful clear blue sky. That's what made the dream so frightening because it was unexpected and... unnatural

thanks Addy I think it helped writing it down

I heard a terrible noise. I didn't know what it was. In the distance a farm tractor moved slowly across a field, a man walking alongside. Everything was so vivid, the sky a brilliant blue - too blue - and the hedgerows and trees impossibly green. Looking back at the tractor I could see it had changed direction, lurching across the field towards a gap in the boundary hedge, the walking man now clinging to the tractor as if for his life. Strange; both he and the driver seemed to be looking backwards. I turned to see and there it was - a dark column of dust and debris moving across the adjoining field. Straight at them. I know about tornadoes, I've seen them on the news. But this was different. It wasn’t right. It seemed to have... intent. The tractor had reached the edge of the field where it jolted and stopped at an odd angle. Both men ran towards the gap. Running for their lives. Then I heard - felt? - a new sound; deeper, louder. I was standing in the middle of a large expanse of bright yellow crop at the far end of which stood a row of tall poplars, silvery leaves waving in the breeze. Except this was no breeze. Then I saw it, rising above the poplars, a monstrous writhing maelstrom of darkness, destruction and death. Curiously, I thought about those farmers. What happened to them? No time to waste on others, I stared uncomprehendingly at the awful horror breaking through the line of trees. I turned and ran. For my life, just like those two men. A glance over my shoulder and I could see it was closer. I changed direction and looked again. It made no difference. The noise was unbearable - a roaring, rushing, whirling, dreadful noise like nothing I had ever heard. It was alive and angry, roaring and eating everything in its path. I knew whichever way I ran would make no difference. It would get me. I was going to die. Then I woke up.

Great video and remix! Thanks for sharing, Thorn This link explains how the project came about http://www.edgeboston.com/women////152177/lesbian_filmmaker_directs_she4me_marriage_psa

I was going to post some disgracefully gratuitous pics of Dan Osborne flexing his fabulous water droplet covered muscular torso. But that would be wrong. So here's his back But to be serious, I know many of you are eager to know the outcome of Saturday's Splash! Final splash-off. Sadly, despite having made a heroic effort to squeeze into his size zero spangly speedos, Dan didn't win the "splash-off" It was won by someone else... But that didn't stop presenter Vernon Kay having a good grope of a dripping wet Dan... Now in case some of you are wondering if I'm a bit obsessed with Dan, no, not at all. Just to prove I'm not here's another pic of Dan The truth is it was Vernon who was obsessed - here he is again having another grope and here's Dan having some fun with Tom after they've just got out of the pool all dripping wet...

I'm not sure of the point you're making. Are you saying there is a connection between the very important healthcare advances that have been developed in the US, and the US system for delivering that healthcare to its citizens? Surely most people would agree that the first is impressive, the second is... well, let's be kind and say not so impressive But is there a connection? Can't you have both impressive innovation AND value for money at the point of delivery: good healthcare and at the best price? As for Mike's point, over the last 50 years not so much. I can't speak for other countries but Britain's contribution was innovation and discovery of fundamental knowledge - like antibiotics, inoculation - which didn't require vast resources (same with Christian Barnard pioneering heart transplant surgery in South Africa in the 1960s). The other point is that most of Britain's contribution happened because of blue skies / curiosity driven research. But no-one can afford to do that now. Research today is target driven - we want a solution to this problem and we want it by xxxxx. That means huge resources that generally only US companies are big enough to deliver. In Britain we only have one truly big company, GlaxoSmithKline. However, this may be about to change when the Francis Crick Institute opens in London next year. This is a $1 billion+ interdisciplinary biomedical research centre funded by two of Britain's leading medical research charities and three London universities plus a government grant. Francis Crick co-discovered the structure of DNA with Maurice Wilkins and the American James Watson - that required very little money, just lots of brain power and a bit of luck

I agree with you Daddy. But nationalism / separation / secession, call it what you will, stirs up powerful emotions. Salmond is a very skillful politician, he can turn a phrase and make black seem white That's why he's trying so hard to get a TV head-to-head with Cameron because then he'll have a perfect target: an Eton educated English public school toff v. the canny wee cuddly Scottish guy

According to his first chart Americans pay more in taxes for a healthcare system that gives them nothing (unless they're young, old or poor) than every other country that has a "healthcare for all" system. So why would Americans prefer to pay more - for no benefit - AND then have to pay health insurance premiums on top in order to get benefits? (even if the employer pays they still pay through reduced salary) It seems pretty clear that in the home of free market capitalism FMC has completely failed to deliver true competition, efficiency and value for money in the US health insurance market. So why do so many Americans seem willing to fight to the death to keep it? Because - forget the crap about libertarianism and freedom of choice - it all comes down to value for money. We all need good healthcare and we all want the best price.

Further news update: the EU / EC President Juan Jose Barroso has scuppered the second key assumption of Salmond's plan for Scottish Independence saying Scotland would not automatically remain an EU member but would have to apply as a new country. This would require consent of all EU member countries. Including Spain. Spain has never been a big fan of the UK - the Spanish Armada ended in tears, then there's Gibraltar... - and because it has refused an independence referendum for Catalonia will not want to give Scotland an easy ride. But none of this really matters for Scottish voters when Braveheart is being shown every day or so to keep their blood up...

Thanks for that analysis. Here's an outsider's perspective: It seems you're tied yourselves up in "philosophical knots" and are wasting your nation's effort, talent, skills and lives going round and round in circles trying to tighten those philosophical knots further around the necks of your political / philosophical opponents until they've been throttled. It's like that scene in an episode of the original Star Trek - I forget which - where the "good" Captain Kirk is locked in battle with his "evil" counterpart, trapped in some kind of dimensional bubble where neither can ever win and they'll just fight each other for eternity. Such a waste of effort At the heart of this seems to be an antipathy by so many Americans to the very notion of society. We are social animals for goodness sake It took a while to get there but European countries seem pretty much to have at long last accepted that life is lived in society and to have a healthy society needs "give and take". And for this to work it needs reasonable compromise when the immovable individual rights to say and do as you please meet the irresistible rights of others to move about freely in society, to get and hold jobs and not be abused and discriminated against because they're the wrong colour, love the wrong person or worship the wrong God or no God. Seems to me that's the only rational and practicable approach

Shame you chose not to read the Met Office report Mike. But I quite understand. All those bothersome facts and data. All that detailed but oh-so-tiresome scientific analysis. All that measured language. All those irritating considered opinions by world class meteorologists working for the the world's leading Meteorological agency. And how inconvenient that the well educated leader of Britain, who last time I checked is of a like-minded persuasion to you, should be entirely comfortable with and fully accept its data analysis and findings Oh, and btw, I believe it was you who was taking the swipes, Mike *checks Mike's first post - nods head sagely * - the only "change" I referred to is the unusual interest of Americans in the weather So I do hope you will now stop wingeing about the weather. It really is getting tiresome.

ooo, Mike! You shouldn't just look at North America in isolation. At the same time as the US has been experiencing an exceptionally severe winter, the UK has been battered for over two months by Atlantic storms that normally track much further north. Both these extreme weather events are connected, and both are connected with what's been going on in the Pacific. As you know I did a recent blog on this and if you truly are interested in understanding what's going on then you should read the Met Office report which ties in the Pacific / US / Canada / UK weather events What's funny is the Brits are renowned for constantly banging on about the weather - it's our favourite national pastime - and guess what, Americans have been doing exactly the same for the last two months. And that change is undeniable http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/1/2/Recent_Storms_Briefing_Final_SLR_20140211.pdf

I am mystified. Twice actually First, why do most (all?) Americans choose to self-identify with a political party and/or a specific and always flawed "philosophy" written by dead people? And second, having done so, then feel some tribal obligation to beat the drum for that political party and/or flawed philosophy? This doesn't seem to happen in European countries. To give you an example, when I go down the pub a political issue may come up. But people don't then divide like the Red Sea into "Reds" and "Blues" and then proceed to engage in a proxy battle for their respective tribes. But Americans seem to revel in this. And, worse, every aspect of life seems to have been divided along party political lines. Why not just make up your own minds on each issue and see the world through your own eyes and using your own intellect, rather than those of some feeble minded self-advancing corrupt bunch of back-stabbing incompetents who probably never held down a real job in their lives?

Insurance figures are not the whole picture. The don't pay for national infrastructure repairs (rail lines, power distribution), economic disruption, business losses, uninsured and uninsurable losses - and there is much more of this now as extreme weather events are becoming so much more common - and losses by farmers and food producers. It's just too early to make comparisons. As for the EA... well, farmers in the Somerset Levels who've lived there for generations don't take such a kind view as you do - listen to Farming Today R4 6.30am Saturdays

Fingers crossed Peter Capaldi will reinvigorate the show. And we need a replacement companion - I'm fed up with Clara and her irritating perma-grin

It's an excellent speech. Just seems weird coming from a TV anchor.

News update. Today all three main UK Parliament political parties said an Independent Scotland would not be able to share the pound - "If Scotland walks away from the UK, it walks away from the pound". Kinda scuppers Salmond's financial plans. The risk is alienating Scottish voters but more likely there will be real worries for "yes" voters about snipping the ties and floating off with an untested currency at the mercy of global markets...

It's going to be a long time before we know the full costs - to businesses (transport disruption etc) - to individuals collectively - to the Treasury (lost taxes) - to the public purse (rebuilding infrastructure like the West Coast Line into Cornwall, the main line into London from Reading which is going to have to be closed for weeks / months so it can be rebuilt with new signalling at a higher level than the overflowing aquifer) And meanwhile another vicious storm is due to hit tomorrow so future damage is a total unknown as is... when is it all going to end? No sign of the jet stream flipping back to where it should be

I've started a new blog which deals with the extreme weather in Britain and the US with a link to the Feb 2014 UK Met Office report explaining the link between global warming and extreme weather http://www.gayauthors.org/forums/blog/504/entry-14336-recent-weather-and-climate-change-update/

the blob... was it.... was it.... alive???

After two months of incessant and record breaking rainfall Britain is now waterlogged. Literally. All ground aquifers are not just full up, water is being forced out of the ground under pressure at the same time as rain continues to fall from the sky. We're famous for talking about the weather in casual conversation but it has been headline news now for weeks. Every day. Things are now so serious, and in so many parts of the country, that the government has cleared other business to focus on the domestic crisis. Even if it stopped raining tomorrow, flooding from ground aquifers will continue for months. But it isn't going to stop raining. We are stuck in a cycle of vicious jet-stream-driven Atlantic storms that shows no sign of changing anytime soon. Another severe storm is going to hit later this week. Normally the jet stream takes this weather much further north where it doesn't matter. It's the same jet-stream that has been causing the terrible winter in the Northern United States. Even Americans have started complaining about their weather - on this site! And they've been doing this for weeks! This is anti-American. It's unconstitutional! Britain invented weather. Well, we invented weather forecasting As an island nation we've always needed to know what's coming our way. We spend a huge amount on weather forecasting. This is done by the Met Office, a government dept since 1854 and closely linked to the MoD. These are not amateurs. They train many forecasters from around the world. They have the most qualified and experienced climate scientists and two IBM supercomputers for global climate modelling. The "butterfly effect" means you have to model the whole planet if you are to be a serious and effective weather forecaster. And this is what they said today: "This series of winter storms has been exceptional in its duration, and has led to the wettest December to January period in the UK since records began. Heavy rains combined with strong winds and high waves led to widespread flooding and coastal damage, causing significant disruption to individuals, businesses and infrastructure. The severe weather in the UK coincided with exceptionally cold weather in Canada and the USA. These extreme weather events on both sides of the Atlantic were linked to a persistent pattern of perturbations to the jet stream, over the Pacific Ocean and North America. The major changes in the Pacific jet stream were driven by a persistent pattern of enhanced rainfall over Indonesia and the tropical West Pacific associated with higher than normal ocean temperatures in that region. The North Atlantic jet stream has also been unusually strong; this can be linked to exceptional wind patterns in the stratosphere with a very intense polar vortex. ...recent studies have suggested an increase in the intensity of Atlantic storms that take a more southerly track, typical of this winter's extreme weather. There is also an increasing body of evidence that shows that extreme daily rainfall rates are becoming more intense, and that the rate of increase is consistent with what is expected from the fundamental physics of a warming world. " The full report is here. If you have a view on global warming and climate change you should read it http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/1/2/Recent_Storms_Briefing_Final_SLR_20140211.pdf

Putin's a nasty guy and many aspects of his Russia are pretty nasty too including attacks against LGBTs, persecution and discrimination. But maybe we need some context. Did you know Britain had the same or very similar law until just over 10 years ago? Did you know Margaret Thatcher made the same kind of anti-gay speech that Putin might well have lifted word for word? Judge for yourself: Surely the countries we should be targeting first are those that have made being gay criminal and where people are being executed for being gay. Surely we should be directing campaigning efforts for reform in India, the many countries in Africa where homosexuality is illegal, Iran, Saudi Arabia... It's a long list I'm not saying Russia is in a good place but there are far more urgent targets.

Thorn's right. This has a fancy name: "linguistic re-appropriation". So the performance artist Penny Arcade was able to sell her most popular show Bitch! Dyke! Faghag! Whore! on the basis of the title alone. Same with Yankee - coined by the British as a derogatory term it's been "re-appropriated" by Americans as in the song Yankee Doodle Dandy. Same with the all the LGBT words which were used against us, we've now reclaimed. Same with people of African origin who are happy to use the N-word amongst themselves. But there is a "rule" that people outside these social groups may NOT use them. This is the thing about language that makes it so complex and interesting - and challenging for those learning the language - it's not just the words themselves, it's also about context and intent. .

don't think I want to watch a show called "chopped"...