So. Linky links.

[miss_s_b]

Several of you have said that you will miss my netcasts on LC. Well, PHEAR NOT! Starting today, I shall be doing a replacement feature on here. It'll probably end up being three or four times a week, rather than daily. It will be five link items (blogs or news items or whatever else floats my boat) and one meme. And because I hate the word netcast I shall be calling it something else:

The Blood Is The Life!

Fresh squeezings from the veins of the internet

(Somehow, that just seems so... me!)

I'll be making an icon later, but for now, here are today's picks:

• To be filed under you've got to laugh or you'll cry - George Osbourne's £47 Expenses Claim for Two DVDs. The Evening Standard reports that George Osborne claimed £47 of taxpayer's money for two copies of a DVD of his speech - and the speech was on "value for money". - hat tip Stephen at Lib Dem Voice/lib_dem_voice_feed.


• Weaker Copyright Benefits Society. Michael Geist summarises a Harvard Business School Report on intellectual property which has interesting findings - hat tip Amused Cynicism/amused_cynicism_feed and Slashdot/slashdot_feed


• The Flower of Power. Click on the petals which apply to you and see how blue (or yellow) you are. I have 7 blue petals, two yellow, and one blue AND yellow because I am a special snowflake bi.


• Positive Thinking Does More Harm Than Good for some people. I recall saying this (less eloquently) to several people when they told me that all I need to do to land the job of my dreams and be rolling in money is "think positive". Maybe they'll believe me now I have The Economist on my side - via andrewducker


• El Presidente Ros Scott has written a pamphlet for Unlock Democracy. It's about Local Government, and you can download it here. It has been described as a brilliant, hard hitting review of recent government policy towards local government and should be essential reading matter for anyone who cares for our democracy. by a COMPLETELY impartial person.

And today's meme: Mugs

Do you have a mug or mugs which is/are Your Mug(s), at home or at your workplace? Describe it/them, upload pictures, tell us why it is special to you. - via innerbrat

Home: I have three mugs that I get upset if anyone else uses them. The first, and most important, is the Wile E Coyote Capricorn mug that Sarah H bought me for my 18th birthday. I can't find a picture of one online, but the picture on it is similar to this one. The text on it is so faded it's barely legible now (because Ian used to put it in the dishwasher), but it reads Capricorns are ambitious and self-confident, and zealously persistent, but shouldn't go off half-cocked because that could be hazardous to their health. It's special to me because it was a present, and because it has my favourite cartoon character and my star sign on, and it's very me. It's very faded and old, but I still love it, and if it ever got broken I would cry lots. It's also advice I could probably do with bearing in mind more often...

The second is a Snape/McGonagall mug that anisiriusmagus bought me for another birthday. I was heavily into RP at the time, and I used to play McG.

The third is one I bought myself from the WB store in Manchester, when it was still there. It's green, and has all the WB cartoon characters on it, and holds a pint, which makes it perfect for sinister milky drinks at bedtime.

Workplace: the pub I work in only has one of these left - the traditional half-pint dimpled beer mug - and I treasure it. It keeps the beer cooler than the fancypants newfangled tulip ones, and it just feels RIGHT. My dad used to drink beer out of the pint version when I was a kid. If it got broken, I think I would actually have to buy some more, after saving up for a few weeks.

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Comments

[ginasketch]

I prefer this. It means I can sidestep that horrid site. :D

[miss_s_b]

We aim to please ;)

[freddiefraggles]

Flower of Power: I have 8 blue, 2 yellow and 1 blue/yellow as well. My multi-coloured one is the dis/able bodied one, 'cause I don't think I count as either.

[telegramsam]

I had 7 blue ones, one yellow one, one blue/yellow (I'm definitely overweight but not necessarily "large" so I wasn't sure what to choose on that one) and one totally blank one because I'm not gay/lesbian but I'm not exactly a normal heterosexual either. Or actively anythingsexual frankly cos I run away screaming from other humans if they get to close to me. Cos they're scary scary animals that bite, like alligators and such.

What's the point of this exercise again? I don't really get it. :|

Also 8 + 2 + 1 = 11

I think you have an extra petal somewhere in there.

[freddiefraggles]

Maths never was a strong point.

[etoile]

Who did the little Slytherin mug belong to? I noticed that 'cause I have the same one at home... though, I use a greater evil when making anything other than black coffee. Wait... does a Starbucks mug still count as evil if you nicked it?

[miss_s_b]

That's one I bought, but it's not a special close-to-my-heart one. And the enormous Dennis the Menace one is my dad's.

[po8crg]

I have two mixed ones, one for being middle-aged and one for being bi, and one blue (for being fat).

I'm debating on the able-bodied; sleep apnoea is more a pain in the ass than a disability, but I'm completely dependent on my CPAP, which does affect my life - I can't spontaneously sleep somewhere unplanned; I can't sleep anywhere without a power socket (e.g. camping) or reliable power (e.g. many third world places). I don't think that really is disabled, but it's a real pain.

[miss_s_b]

Some people would count my eyesight as a disability, but I don't because as long as I have my specs, I'm fine, although I'm blind as a bat without them. Also, I haven't got used to the idea of depression being a mental illness, as opposed to "something I take pills for and it goes away", so I put myself as blue for that.

[mindrobber.blogspot.com]

1. Oooh, thanks for reminding me to order a replacement for my favourite mug, which I somehow seem to have lost somewhere in the process of being a student. FYI, it is a Morning Sedition mug. It is special to me because MS was fooking marvellous (and quite important in the formation of my politics).

2. Done the flower thingy. I had one yellow petal (for being large) and one special snowflake. What have I proved? What does it mean that I am mostly blue? Do I have to be a Tory now, or something?

3. I am going to see Janeane Garofalo in Edinburgh this summer! Woo! There is no reason you should care about this, but since I'm already typing stuff...

[miss_s_b]

1, Will have to look that up when not preparing for bed
2, Nah. It's sky blue, not oppression blue.
3, Jealous!

[mindrobber.blogspot.com]

Slow to reply but: on point 1, a nice place to start is The Snot Green Sea, a repository for most of the comedy segments from MS and its successor shows.

Some bits and bobs I like:

http://www.thesnotgreensea.com/mp3/mort/aams071505Card.mp3

http://www.thesnotgreensea.com/mp3/sammy/aams101305Sammy.mp3

http://www.thesnotgreensea.com/mp3/environews/mms06192006EnviroNews.mp3

http://www.thesnotgreensea.com/mp3/misc/mms06282006Jim%20sings%20about%20urine.mp3

http://www.thesnotgreensea.com/mp3/misc/AARP_Ad.mp3

In other news, well done on your leaving LC. I'll feel less like I ought to read it now.

Crikey, I better go to sleep.

[telegramsam]

Positive thinking shmositive thinking.

As a life-long pessimist I find that article very refreshing. And I always found those "self-affirmations" to be completely empty BS peddled by pollyanna psychiatrists and self-help quacks who are entirely too optimistic for their own good, like someone who thinks a hello kitty band-aid will fix a gunshot wound.

Or people who just want you to shut up and go away to some corner somewhere and "help yourself" so they don't have to be bothered helping someone else or allowing a "gloomy gus" to harsh their puppies-and-unicorn-micro-universe mellow.

[djm4]

I used to have two pint-sized earthenware mugs, passed to me from my parents, with 'Good Health to the Liberal Party' inscribed on them. They'd been issued for some anniversary or other back in the 70s, I'd drunk out of them since I was abut 10, and I'd had them with me through college and work for many years. Then, a few years ago, someone I was briefly sharing a house with broke both of them in quick succession (I suspect by putting them through the dishwasher when I'd asked him not to). I can't be too pissed off, because they were made to be drunk out of and mugs do break, but I was a bit gutted to lose them both, as they had great sentimental value.

I've never seen any record of anyone else having mugs like these ever. The Internet certainly doesn't seem to know they exist.

[miss_s_b]

I used to have an earthenware mug with an otter on it, which I had had since I was younger than amazing_holly because my mum took me to see Tarka the Otter and I loved it so much. It got broken about three years ago, and I was gutted.

[blazingskies.livejournal.com]

It's off topic, but I think it's awesome:

Millenium Elephant calls you Auntie Jennie!

Awwwwwww!!!!!

[miss_s_b]

He's a very lovely fluffy elephant.

[gaeriwitch.livejournal.com]

I don't quite get the point of the flower.I get 3 yellow petals and 7 blue. And that means I'm what? Blue is powerful? Do I have to click somewhere I haven't seen?

[miss_s_b]

The point is to show you your areas of privilege

[gaeriwitch.livejournal.com]

Ahhh, I see.
Although, in my case not having English as a 1st language shouldn't count, should it? Or I should change English for French, in my case.

I am quite privileged according to this flower. I do try to remind myself of my luck at having had things relatively easy in life so far.

asquith

[(Anonymous)]

You know those parodies in Private Eye about "me and my spoon"?

You could do that about mugs. You could lampoon bloggers in this way.

I'd actually quite like to see someone mock me in that manner, so long as it wasn't really vicious, more laughing with me sort of thing.

Re: asquith

[miss_s_b]

I think this is the point where I have to confess to not all that much familiarty with Private Eye...