Lost in Translation, and Happy Birthday

I had to share this news article on the BBC - about how a sign was wrongly translated from English into Welsh for folk in Swansea, South Wales. Hilarious!! God Bless the Welsh....

Also, a few day's ago it was my Dad's birthday. I won't tell you how old he is, but he had a lovely day I believe. Here's some music to celebrate this momentous occasion....HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD, I love you!

Obama, Palin, Damon, Astaire!

In recent weeks I have been taking more of an interest in the upcoming US presidential election which will take place on 4th November.



Currently, it appears that Barack Obama is leading ahead of John McCain.



I am not a US citizen, but I have an interest in the outcome of the election as it will inevitably have an impact on the future of the globe in terms of environmental and economic policies, decision-making; and the outcome/development of existing international relations, levels of peace/safety, commitment to human rights and welfare etc. Although there are now many powerful players on the world stage, there can be no denying of the level of power and influence which resides in the hands of the USA.



Barack Obama seems to give many people hope and encouragement - he appears to have that special mix of intelligence, wit, depth, charm and charisma that makes him a natural leader with the ability to inspire and potential to facilitate and direct change in his country and the world at large.



John McCain seems to have a wealth of experience which may well give him some edge over Barack. He has made an interesting choice for his Vice Presidential Running Mate - Sarah Palin. Recently she has been receiving a lot of media interest, and she has more recently tried to embrace the satire which has surrounded her rather than deny or ignore the fact that it exists.

The media can be biased. We can be manipulated, us Joe Public (which includes Joe the Plumber hahahaha!!) without even realising it.

With this in mind, I still continue to love some of the video clips currently circulating Youtube:

To be fair, here's a 'blooper' from Joe Biden, Barack's VP who is talking to someone here in a wheelchair:

But hey, at the end of the day, Palin is stirring a lot of controversy and comment:

And here's a fun game to play so you can imagine what it might be like if the Republicans win and John McCain doesn't last a full term in office...

http://www.palinaspresident.us/

Well who knows what's going to happen. May the best and right man win. Whatever happens in the midst of the credit crunch crisis, pending recessions, changes in the political makeup of the world - we can all take a leaf out of dear Fred Astaire's book....

Credit Crunch

Well not a day goes by currently without there being headlines spread all across the UK media about the current financial woes which are currently bestowing themselves on the world's markets, Governments and people.

In some ways I feel a bit removed from it all - so far I haven't felt the effects too much because I rent where I live, I use public transport, and I work in the public sector (not Local Government!). So far my bank has just managed to avoid falling through a hole. But food shopping has definitely become more expensive in recent months...that I have noticed on the monthly shopping bill.

But it's everywhere you go and everyone seems to be talking about it. The media certainly don't help and have exacerbated the problem. But that is the age we live in now and it is an integral part of how we exist and communicate with each other, and to make some sense of the world we live in.

Well anyway, I found this helpful link on the BBC website which explains what all these financial and economic terms actually mean - we are hearing them all of the time in the UK but maybe you're not exactly sure what the journalists and commentators are always talking about.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7642138.stm

At least now I know exactly what the term 'Credit Crunch' specifically means - banks have stopped lending to one another because they're not sure how much/if they have any money to actually lend! This has caused loan rates to rise, and it can now be stupidly hard for people to secure a loan/mortgage deal. (There goes me buying a flat/house in the foreseeable future then!). And this is why banks are now collapsing and asking for money from Governments. Well, what Silly Wally Bankers we have.... ;)

There's some fascinating terminology on this site as well, including:
- Bear Markets and Bull Markets
- Dead Cat Bounce
- Spiv (spin-off from 2WW flashy chancers who dealt in the black market, now being used to refer to chancy 21st Century traders)

It looks like it might take a while indeed for economies to recover properly from all of this.....seems like everyone is waiting to see what will happen. A bit of belt-tightening, prudence and appreciation of the simpler things in life in the meantime won't do anyone any harm I hope.

What to Eat now

If you live in the UK, or maybe even Europe (can't comment on places beyond!), then apparently the best things to eat right now, which are in season are:

- Butternut Squash
- Blackberries

So get squashing, and picking!