Strangely Perfect

I saw the Tory leader, David Cameron’s speech yesterday and then later watched all the knowledgeable punditry give their opinions on such shows as “Question Time”, “Newsnight” and elsewhere. After it all, I was suddenly reminded about Obama’s meeting with Cameron in December last year (2008), when, after noticing Cameron’s desire to denigrate everything European [...]

Recently Seen in Squid News  (see here) (the newspaper for beaked Humboldt squid everywhere) Reports are coming in that the size of American humans is increasing and Squid on holiday in the San Diego area are asked to stay alert from some of the more aggressive of the species that are known to camouflage themselves [...]

Oleg Deripaska? Oleg is one of the world’s richest men.  Getting his Physics degree as the old USSR collapsed, then buying up shares in Aluminium smelters, getting an Economics degree and then setting up Basic Element, a vast metals empire, he somehow rid the company and industry of the Mafia, but no-one knows how. But [...]

Not being a frequent foreign traveller, my recent stop in Eisenstadt, Austria, at a 5 star hotel open my eyes a bit.  A peculiar quirk, for me, was the toilet, with a shelf, in the room’s en-suite bathroom.  I’ve since found that it’s called a “shelf toilet”, a German invention to ease the inspection of [...]

I’ve just been reading this fascinating book, Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism by a non-Buddhist, Richard Seager, who gives a really good, well-balanced investigation into Buddhism, the Soka Gakkai (SGI) and it’s meteoric rise in popularity under the inspirational personas of Makiguchi, Toda and Ikeda. Well you’d [...]

Truly this car is the pits. -and here’s how.. The engineers seem to have responded with the most short-term planning possible to a demand from the BMW marketing department to make the company look green now that sales of their monster cars are down 40%.  Some “ad” bloke has said “clean electricity, that’s the way [...]

This is the Soka Spirit! Words From the Gosho “Although I and my disciples may encounter various difficulties, if we do not harbour doubts in our hearts, we will as a matter of course attain Buddhahood. Do not have doubts simply because heaven does not lend you protection. Do not be discouraged because you do [...]

Relevant Links: Palin e-mail hack details emerge VP contender Sarah Palin hacked US election: Republicans fight to block inquiry into Palin’s ‘Troopergate’ affair Palin’s e-mail problems spread Governor Is Asked To Release E-Mails Once Elected, Palin Hired Friends and Lashed Foes Group Posts E-Mail Hacked From Palin Account — Update Palin E-Mail Hacker Says It [...]

Introduction I’ve nabbed the content of this from Ted Penfold.  My wife, has told me that she heard this lecture of Dick’s and found it and him some of the most inspiring things in her life.  I came across this wonderful piece by chance, looking for some background information on Nikko, the second guy after [...]

I’ve added the final extra bits to the lyrics for “Urbane Encounter” that were in the original when Errol was the drummer. It’s the bit about the Norwegians at Christmas at the end. Also, I forgot to say that it used to finish with a la-la-la bit like Marc Bolan.