Simple Things

Honestly, if universities I'm not interested in are going to insist on sending me things about open days about a week before my applications will be going through, they could at least have the decency to put them in proper envelopes so I get the fun and excitement of opening them.

Curse you, Sunderland!

An International Reputation For Quality

Not so very long ago, the worst thing I could tell you about Lancaster University was that its 2006 prospectus has a shiny goldish cover that looks really quite naff, and is a bit ugly and mish-mashy inside. Since those carefree, innocent times, there have been Goings On at Lancaster. You may have read about them.

Their first mistake was to invite a bunch of companies with decidedly dodgy records when it come to human rights to a conference that they might get more involved with university research. Understandably, this riled some of their students and postgraduates who were of the opinion that their education might be better off if it were not driven by and towards companies like Shell, BAE Systems (they make things for killing people) and so on. Which is really fair enough. So, they organised a protest - a peaceful protest, mind - and, reportedly, were assured during it by the police that they were doing nothing wrong and could carry on. Which is really fair enough.

A few months later, they were served with court summonses, accused of "aggravated trespass" and facing a maximum of three months in prison. Which is really not fair enough.

Now, Lancaster seems pretty proud of its history of student activists. They even name colleges after them. And yet here they are, wantonly prosecuting the ones they've got now for an entirely peaceful protest. The only explanation I can think of is that they're trying desparately to make people forget how ugly their prospectus (and, come to think of it, their logo) is, and while that end is easy to sympathise with, their means are simply unacceptable.

There's an online petition yonder, you may very well wish to sign it. Alternatively, you could go and complain in person, but they might have you arrested.

It's Not The Crazy Dance!

The Crazy Dance doesn't live here anymore.

This is because The Crazy Dancer would not otherwise have given me a much-needed lift tonight.

Boo.

And Slowly, The Language Develops

People often invent new words. It's a common thing to do. They are often determined to ensure that these words become widely used. Success, admittedly, is rare. This is largely because the words in question are entirely useless and are foisted upon a population that doesn't want or need them.

Is knunder any different?

That is for everyone to decide.

It's The Loveliest Number Since The Number One

At the daytime Apex Challenge on Saturday, a great big Scout competition which basically involved running around a cold, wet moor up to your armpits in various kinds of moory vegetation and doing foolish things, the team I was in (I'm loath to call it "my team" lest people think I was instrumental in what success we had) scored 555 points... and came 5th.

We might be runners-up, but my, do we run up with style.

We Listen To Our Readers*

Comment received in response to the post "Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring Ring":

Lailah has just suggested that you send that to Innocent. (The photo, not the phone, obviously. Trying to send a banana phone through the post would clearly just be silly, plus you'd lose your funky banana hook. I may be overthinking this.) Fame and honour will be yours! Or something like that.

E-mail sent 2nd September (with attached image, which I'm sure you can work out for yourself):

Dear innocent,

If your current bananaphone is not built from real fruit, I would like
to recommend this approach.

Thankyou for your time.

-- Mark Taylor

Reply received today:

Hello Mark,

Thanks very much for your e-mail. At the moment our bananaphone is only
made from fake bananas, but if we could find bananas which never ripened
and didn't turn to mush, then you could be onto something.

All the best,

Row

The trouble is that it's very difficult to tell whether or not they thought I was serious. Now, any volunteers to draw up a plausible-looking plan for a working real-fruit bananaphone?

*I say "we" because I feel it gives me an air of authority. I have no other team members... yet†.
†Though this might appear to be hinting at the appearance of some in the near future, in fact it isn't. Sorry if anyone saw in it a brief glimmer of hope that I might be diluted a little before long‡.
‡Sorry also for this absurd footnotery. Well, a bit. In all honesty, I rather enjoyed it.

I Would Eat My Words, But My Face Is Still Numb

Well, I got to see a dentist after all, so you can retract the sympathies you haven't given me. In place of the nasty and horrible decay I had, I now have a great big temporary not-quite-a-filling that looks oddly like a great big blob of chewing gum pounded into the hole. Though I'd imagine it has a mite more toughness to it than that. Still, the most important part of this endeavour is that my tooth is no longer painfully knackered.

Yay for dentists!

In Fifteen Minutes This Will Be Highly Appropriate

Ow. Toothache.

I have nasty, nasty toothache and I probably won't be able to see a denstist for a while. Cry cry cry cry cry.

I can't think of anything interesting to add to this. I just wanted to vent.

(The worst part is, it's not even a mystery toothache - my tooth really is quite clearly knackered. I do not like having a knackered tooth. Cry!)

I've finished whining now.