(no subject)
Jan. 7th, 2004 04:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liadnanI was watching Midsomer Murders the other evening and wondered, not for the first time, whether the population of this small group of Cotswolds villages was in fact sustainable. I mean, they start off as fairly small communities and by the end of the episode they've lost a fair number. At least down in Oxford they must now, a few years after the sad death of E. Morse, be beginning to recover.
Anyway, that has nothing whatsoever to do with what I wanted to write about today, though it, coupled with my weekend visit to the north end of Oxfordshire for Jules's birthday party (which was great, good to see Jules&Andy for the first time in ages, and I was very glad to catch up with Jen before she buggers off round the world for a year and a half) and the last two weeks lost in rural Hampshire, did bring on another fit of wanting to move to the middle of nowhere.
On a different, and equally irrelevant note, I would like to be here right now. Using it as my wallpaper is probably not the best of plans: I spend all my time daydreaming about holidays when I should be drafting claims for possession of mortgaged premises. Ah well never mind, the Cyclades are probably not at their best in early January.
Changing tack completely once again, is there actually a justification for the term "Skymarshal"? I'm aware that there is, in the US, something called a Federal Marshal but, though I don't really know where they fit into the constellation of US Law Enforcement personnel, I had rather assumed that the foundation of their responsibilities and jurisdiction involved in some way marshalling people (and/or things?) on behalf of the Federal Authorities. To my mind, something called a Sky Marshal ought to be:-
(a) marshalling things on behalf of the sky; or
(b) marshalling bits of sky.
I suppose there is some argument that they are marshalling people (and/or things) in the sky, but the idea doesn't seem to involve them doing that either. Having said that, I'm willing to be convinced I'm wrong on this, and I have to admit they bring to my mind a pleasing steampunk image, though I can't quite put my finger on why.
In a final piece of Urgent Breaking News, I have a piece of music I can't quite identify running through my head. Actually, that isn't strictly accurate. I used to have a piece of music (with a snatch of lyrics) I couldn't quite identify running through my head. I have now forgotten it, before I was able to run the snatch of lyrics through google (a trick I invariably find solves the matter), and now have the irritating memory that I had a piece of music I couldn't quite identify running through my head. I anticipate I shall eventually be sectioned as a result of this, and in the meantime am trying to work out if this is an example of an unknown known, the category of knowledge Rumsfeld missed from his rather unfairly criticised epistemological catalogue: his "known unknowns" etc comment. (I was mildly irritated by all that actually. Lord knows there's enough to criticise the man for, but all those people sneering at him for "coming up with the remarkable concept of the known unknown" are both ignorant and too smug and stupid to actually think about it. As both the Guardian and the Economist pointed out at the time.)
Oh, and I was rather startled, and pleased, this morning to discover that the southbound Northern Line (Edgware Branch) train I was on was in fact going via CharingX, for the first time since the Camden Town derailment, this morning. Unfortunately, despite it being an undeniably Good Thing to have the line working again, I discovered this rather too late to change, and the Bank branch with added Piccadilly is actually my preferred route to work, rather than changing to the Central Line (so vulgar darlings, and full of West London types) at TCR.
Currently reading: Duffy, The Stripping of the Altars. Fascinating. Thoughts available when they are concluded.
Anyway, that has nothing whatsoever to do with what I wanted to write about today, though it, coupled with my weekend visit to the north end of Oxfordshire for Jules's birthday party (which was great, good to see Jules&Andy for the first time in ages, and I was very glad to catch up with Jen before she buggers off round the world for a year and a half) and the last two weeks lost in rural Hampshire, did bring on another fit of wanting to move to the middle of nowhere.
On a different, and equally irrelevant note, I would like to be here right now. Using it as my wallpaper is probably not the best of plans: I spend all my time daydreaming about holidays when I should be drafting claims for possession of mortgaged premises. Ah well never mind, the Cyclades are probably not at their best in early January.
Changing tack completely once again, is there actually a justification for the term "Skymarshal"? I'm aware that there is, in the US, something called a Federal Marshal but, though I don't really know where they fit into the constellation of US Law Enforcement personnel, I had rather assumed that the foundation of their responsibilities and jurisdiction involved in some way marshalling people (and/or things?) on behalf of the Federal Authorities. To my mind, something called a Sky Marshal ought to be:-
(a) marshalling things on behalf of the sky; or
(b) marshalling bits of sky.
I suppose there is some argument that they are marshalling people (and/or things) in the sky, but the idea doesn't seem to involve them doing that either. Having said that, I'm willing to be convinced I'm wrong on this, and I have to admit they bring to my mind a pleasing steampunk image, though I can't quite put my finger on why.
In a final piece of Urgent Breaking News, I have a piece of music I can't quite identify running through my head. Actually, that isn't strictly accurate. I used to have a piece of music (with a snatch of lyrics) I couldn't quite identify running through my head. I have now forgotten it, before I was able to run the snatch of lyrics through google (a trick I invariably find solves the matter), and now have the irritating memory that I had a piece of music I couldn't quite identify running through my head. I anticipate I shall eventually be sectioned as a result of this, and in the meantime am trying to work out if this is an example of an unknown known, the category of knowledge Rumsfeld missed from his rather unfairly criticised epistemological catalogue: his "known unknowns" etc comment. (I was mildly irritated by all that actually. Lord knows there's enough to criticise the man for, but all those people sneering at him for "coming up with the remarkable concept of the known unknown" are both ignorant and too smug and stupid to actually think about it. As both the Guardian and the Economist pointed out at the time.)
Oh, and I was rather startled, and pleased, this morning to discover that the southbound Northern Line (Edgware Branch) train I was on was in fact going via CharingX, for the first time since the Camden Town derailment, this morning. Unfortunately, despite it being an undeniably Good Thing to have the line working again, I discovered this rather too late to change, and the Bank branch with added Piccadilly is actually my preferred route to work, rather than changing to the Central Line (so vulgar darlings, and full of West London types) at TCR.
Currently reading: Duffy, The Stripping of the Altars. Fascinating. Thoughts available when they are concluded.
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no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 08:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 08:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 08:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 08:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 08:51 am (UTC)That picture was taken by turning to the left from the one to which I originally linked and looking down, by the way. Not that anyone's really likely to be interested in that.
no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 08:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 09:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 09:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 10:20 am (UTC)I seem to have missed the "known unknown" debate; sounds like something my metaphysics supervisor would have loved to torment me with.
Will look forward to hearing your thoughts on The Stripping of the Altars; I gather it was very influential in church-historical circles when it came out and corrected a lot of myths to the effect that the English had no proper spirituality before the Reformation produced a more individualised version of Christianity. I used to know Duffy quite well - charming chap who managed to be friendly while at the same time taking no nonsense, and did a good job of putting the mainstream Catholic point of view on Faculty Boards and such.
no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 10:24 am (UTC)http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1098489,00.html
It isn't really deserving of a question in Parliament, (though the thing itself is of course, and I'm somewhat confused over where their jurisdiction will be founded), but I find the term slightly... odd I guess.
no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 10:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 10:31 am (UTC)Actually, I'm beginning to get a vague idea for a steampunkish/fantasyish story out of this...
no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 11:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-08 03:47 am (UTC)