Local Treasure and Personal Idol

This beautiful figure is from a local church, sadly not Moratinos. Still, to realise that such things are within a stone´s throw is pleasing.
It was made in the twelfth century, said the nice lady who showed us around. The expression on the face of Mary is wonderfully enigmatic. Jesus has the the look of somebody who has already seen it all.
Rebekah´s current blog about Jewel Boxes will make it all clear.


During the last couple of weeks, I have been too busy visiting friends and then winning and losing vast sums of money on Royal Ascot to do my blog. Sorry to my fan, Laura.
As a result, she - and no doubt several million others - have been asking themselves why Patrick ignored the centenary of the birth of Isiah Berlin on June 6th. One of the great minds of the last century of course, and a hero to those of independent mind.

To redeem myself belatedly, here are a few of his observations. They repay careful consideration.


All forms of tampering with human beings, getting at them, shaping them against their will to your own pattern, all thought control and conditioning is, therefore, a denial of that in men which makes them men and their values ultimate.


Few new truths have ever won their way against the resistance of established ideas save by being overstated.


Injustice, poverty, slavery, ignorance - these may be cured by reform or revolution. But men do not live only by fighting evils. They live by positive goals, individual and collective, a vast variety of them, seldom predictable, at times incompatible.


Liberty for wolves is death to the lambs.


Only barbarians are not curious about where they come from, how they came to be where they are, where they appear to be going, whether they wish to go there, and if so, why, and if not, why not.


Philosophers are adults who persist in asking childish questions.


The first people totalitarians destroy or silence are men of ideas and free minds.


The fundamental sense of freedom is freedom from chains, from imprisonment, from enslavement by others. The rest is extension of this sense, or else metaphor.


The very desire for guarantees that our values are eternal and secure in some objective heaven is perhaps only a craving for the certainties of childhood or the absolute values of our primitive past.


To understand is to perceive patterns.

BE MY BFF, OR EFF OFF

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Celebrity heiress Paris Hilton is bringing her reality show search for a new best friend to Dubai, where her hard-partying style will be reined in a notch to accommodate Middle East sensibilities, the production company behind the series said on Tuesday.
Production on the latest version of "Paris Hilton's My New BFF" will begin later this month in Dubai and take 17 days, Ish Entertainment said.
As in the U.S. and British versions of the program, the show will revolve around a group of contestants trying to win Hilton's affection and the title of her "best friend forever," or "BFF" to use text-messaging lingo.
"We're very aware we are not making the same show we would make in Los Angeles," said Ish co-founder Michael Hirschorn.
Despite the high alcohol content often found in similar reality shows, Hirschorn said that to respect the local mores of Dubai, alcohol may be nixed from the program.
He added that the idea for the show intrigued him.
"I was excited about the sheer, 'Oh my God, what's going to happen' factor," Hirschorn said.


And who, among us, can put his or her hand on his or her heart and reproach the honest Hirschorn? I myself reproduced the above article because I was excited about the sheer, 'Oh my God, what's the world coming to?' factor.

Chortling, doctoring, slaughtering, adventuring

It´s been a while since the last blog. Thank God for that, I hear you mutter.
Still, here is a mixed bag of stuff.

First my old chum Ted Simon arrived, stayed a day or so and has now gone. See pic above. He was looking for something to read while loafing, so I introduced him to "South Wind" by Norman Douglas. Hard to describe this book, first published in 1917, but it certainly should never be out of print, which it currently is.
As he read it, Ted chortled.
It is good to see a grown man chortle.

Second, Blodwyn, our favourite hen, has been unwell for some days now. We believe she has "Impacted Crop." However, we have been waterboarding her with olive oil as instructed by the CIA (Chicken Information Advisory) and see hopeful signs of recovery.

Third, after mass on Sunday, I reminded Esteban that he promised me he would take me to the local slaughterhouse to buy a lamb. Within hours, yesterday in fact, we got news that he had a lamb for us at his house in Sahagun.
What he did not say was that it was a live lamb. Obvious to some, I suppose. Any, it is now a dead lamb and headed for our big freezer. For the gory details, see Reb´s blog on the right here.

Fourth, we are off on Thursday in an adventure to the South of France to see other, even longer-time friends, mainly Mike and Sandy Molloy. Mike is extraordinarily talented - a successful writer of novels and an equally skillful painter. When he was a journalist he was at the top of that tree, too.
We go to see an exhibition of his paintings. Why France should be the beneficiary, rather than England, I do not know. I wil find out.

Watch this space.

Hang the bastard. Whoops, too late, we already have. In print.

LONDON (AFP) – Investigators probing the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal have identified a paedophile as a possible suspect, press reports and a spokesman for the girl's parents have said.
Raymond Hewlett, a 64-year-old Briton, was reportedly living near the resort of Praia da Luz when three-year-old Madeleine went missing in May 2007, The Daily Mail said.
A spokesman for Kate and Gerry McCann, who launched a global media search for their daughter, confirmed in a statement that Hewlett was "of interest" to investigators working for the couple.
"We are aware of Raymond Hewlett and the claims that have been made about him in some newspapers," spokesman Clarence Mitchell said.
"The investigators searching for Madeleine are currently looking into the circumstances surrounding these claims.
"Mr Hewlett is an individual of interest to the Madeleine investigation but I would stress it is just one line of inquiry. Beyond that I can't really go into any further operational detail."

Yes, but just suppose this man - incredibly - is innocent? Well, he´s a paedophile anyway, it says so here on Yahoo and in The Daily Mail, so it must be true. I´ll hold him down while we all kick him to death.
And I have had the nerve to moan about the way Americans treat "suspected" people.

For new readers, this blog contains traces of irony that might be difficult to detect. Check with a qualified skeptic before ingesting if you have concerns.

LOONY THUNE

Cast your eye over the next three paragraphs.

WASHINGTON – In a major rebuke to President Barack Obama, the Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to block the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the United States and denied the administration the millions it sought to close the prison.

In recent weeks, Republicans have called for keeping Guantanamo open, saying abuses at the facility are a thing of the past and describing it as a state-of-the-art prison that's nicer than some U.S. prisons. And they warn that terrorists who can't be convicted might be set free in the United States.

"The American people don't want these men walking the streets of America's neighborhoods," Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said Wednesday. "The American people don't want these detainees held at a military base or federal prison in their backyard, either."

You might think that this hits rock bottom when it comes to brainless imbecility. If so, don´t hold your breath. This is America, and tomorrow is another day.

There is really no point in elaborating on The Thoughts of Loony Thune, but I will do so anyway.

Just what sort of murderer or terrorist does this dolt think the American People does want "walking their streets," or being "held in a prison in their backyard."?

Apparently patriotic American terrorists and murderers are perfectly fine with Thune. Can´t have enough of them. Splendid chaps (or women, of course). Let them wander the streets at will, murderising and terrorising when their time is up. But Arabs are a different matter. They should be "walking the streets" of Cuba, presumably.

And, while we are on the subject and come to that, does Thune actually have a military base or federal prison in HIS backyard?

I think we should be told. For myself, I suspect he doesn´t. Not a lot of us do.

But, if he does possess such an undesirable piece of real estate, he may have a point.

As with the previous blog, here is a snap of The Twit Thune for reference. And the previous suggestions as to greeting him apply. Double.

Stupid Kit

Nancy Pelosi is complaining because, she says, the CIA lied to her about torturing prisoners in Guantanamo and other places. It is probably true, but that is another story.

Below is the measured response from a "senior" Republican, an elected official, a presumably responsible member of the American Government.

"I think her accusations against our terror-fighters are irresponsible," said Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri, the senior Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee. "It's outrageous that a member of Congress would call our terror-fighters liars."

The CIA torturers have magically transformed into "our terror fighters." Even George Orwell would have been a little taken aback, I suspect.

Remember, enough people actually went and voted for this prick in sufficient numbers to get him elected.

That it was in Missouri may be the reason, but is not an excuse.

I have put on a picture of "Kit", in case you happen to cross his path and get a chance to throw your shoes at him. If you do so, don´t bother taking them off first.

AN EXAMPLE TO, WELL, SOME OF US

Portrait of a Man Who Has Gone Too Far. Several times. And lived.

For no discernible reason, apart from the obvious, Keith Richards reminds me of a couple of people I have known who are now in a Better Place - that is to say Oblivion. One is Jeff Bernard, the other is Keith Moon. Both served an invaluable function in my life: They set the parameters for behavior. Only for bad behavior, of course. Who needs anyone to indicate how close to the limit one can go in the direction of virtue?
I remember one of my wives (it could have been almost any of them) giving me the old, "You make me sick. This time you have gone too far," routine - and all I could come up with was, "Well, you must admit I´m not as bad as Jeff."

At which point a cock crowed thrice.

TODAY´S THOUGHT
Never try to impress a woman, because if you do she'll expect you to keep up the standard for the rest of your life.
W. C. Fields