We just decorated! It’s traditional to do it on a Saturday, apparently, or at least for us it is. The tree, the tinsel, the baubles! All there, and now I’m feeling quite Chrismassy at last. And the site isn’t left out – the home page has already been transformed, and I might do something to the banner too. Just to show I care.
Teh tree! Teh tree!
I don’t have any problems with Christmas. It is a secular festival by and large – Father Christmas, trees, snow, tinsel… this is what most people think of, not Jesus in a manger. Those who want to celebrate the Christian aspect can go right ahead. I’d remind you that it was basically Pagan to begin with though. And the name? Pfft… chill out.
It’s also Hanukkah around the same time, of course. Happy Hanukkah!
If you are feeling particularly concerned at the lack of Jesus, this week’s B3ta newsletter would cheer you up. Check out how to put the Benny Hill back into Bible. (Note – not for the squeamish. Or anyone trying to avoid hell.)
(Post edited to show off the tree)
(Double edit to thank Pingu for the marvellous Santa banner)
We got our candidate statements of entry for the AS exams in January today, and I found out that on the 17th I will have English in the morning and Physics in the afternoon. Which is kinda good, I guess, because if I have a good day I can storm through and get it all done. I won’t bother to type ‘But if I have a bad day…’ because I’m sure you’ve already worked that out for yourself.
I also have an ICT exam a few days before on Friday 13th. (Great date for an exam…) I haven’t really blogged much about ICT, because I’m really keeping it a bit quiet. Basically I’m having a go at the thing without the whole going to lessons\doing the homework business. I’ll be doing the coursework over Christmas or something, and reading through the book. Y’know, if it works it works. If not, I’ll have proved that school really is useful once and for all 
Well I saw Jon Stewart live tonight at the Prince Edward Theatre. Wowness! Evening started off with a few clips from the Daily Show reports about London (big laugh at the ‘UK and Falklands Island correspondent) and then Jon and two other Daily Show writers \ producers came out to read from America – The Book. (Yes, the same book I was blogging about exactly a year ago – I feel so ahead! 
The final part of the show was a Q&A from the audience, at which point we realised we were probably the only Brits in the audience! It appears Jon Stewart’s More4 appearances haven’t built up his profile enough… although plenty of Americans and Canadians about.
Oh, and I swear it was Jimmy Carr sitting two rows in front of me. (Yes yes, I guess he’s British too.) Couldn’t be absolutely sure but it definitely looked like him. Jimmy, if you’re sad enough to search for yourself on Technorati, give me a shout OK?
Actually – before the show started I was thinking that as an American Jew, Jon Stewart probably presents a double whammy terrorist target. But honestly, with a pot of Belgium Chocolate ice cream as well, I wouldn’t have cared much.
And if you were wondering – no, I didn’t get woken up at 6 this morning by the explosion. Most likely this was due to me going to bed late after virtually attending (MSN wise!) Josie and Lucy’s wine and sugar fuelled party. Not as late as they were up though, as I turned on my phone this morning to receive not one but three texts from 4am.
Oooh – dust off your copies of Google Earth and train it on the UK because they’ve upgraded the detail level hugely. And when I say hugely, I mean you can see my house. Not just a smudge where my house is – you can actually make out my house. I think this is the high point for human civilisation. Unless we get Google Earth in Real Time (note – probably physically impossible) I don’t think there is anywhere for us to go but down.
Oh, and proper Firefox is now out. En-GB Firefox. With colour spelt correctly and everything.
Good night!
Awww bless! Congratulations to David Cameron, who proved that even Tories understand that after three election defeats, you might want to start doing something about it. It’s all very reminiscent of New Labour’s birth – after all, don’t those rectangles (Change to Win – Win for Britain) at the top right of their bright new website look familiar? Or is it just me?
Seriously, having a proper opposition could be a good thing for Labour in the long run. When Gordon Brown takes over (or he doesn’t, and the universe implodes) the party will need to change to present a fresh face to the electorate at the next election. I’m not talking about swinging leftwards, but simply finding new ground for New Labour to explore. A lot of the original battles now been won – a minimum wage, or civil partnerships. When the Conservatives appear to have embraced a bit of investment in our public services, you know it’s time to move forward.
In other political news, Adair Turner has definitely become my new favourite Lord. (Take that, Robert Winston!) Seriously, he rocks socks. Best-Pensions-Commission-Ever. And I mean that. No I’m not just being silly, it really is good, but regurgitating it all now might send you to sleep. Part of the problem is the name NPSS for the new super pension collection thingy. It’s uninspiring. Come on Turner! Call it Free Parking or something, that’ll get people to invest in it.
Helen on It’s (waiting) time.: “Fabulous news, congratulations to you both! X” Jun 8, 21:51
