Link Dump #4
Because I’ve got exams, and therefore nothing better to do, clearly…
A Pictorial Guide to avoiding Camera Loss
The Curious Cook – Do You Need All That Water to Boil Pasta?
Europe is Ahead at Setting New Standards
Letter From London – My American Friends
Our political future can be picked up on BBC Radio 4 – The Irish Times
Scientists Report Findings on Origin of a Cancer in Tasmanian Devils
January
It’s January, which also means it’s exam time. For the last goodness knows how many years (except last year), Christmas has consisted of the impending dread of final exams. And to top it off, this year they’re probably the most important exams I’ve had to do.
I really can’t get motivated, so I’m blogging, and I’m going to have a whine.
1. The snow. The snow is really starting to piss me off. Seems like as soon as it’s gone, it comes back again. It would probably be okay if it was fairly deep, but it’s not. It covers the ground and by the time three people have walked over it turns into the invisible menace.
2. This exam next Thursday is ridiculous. The module is divided into 6 topics, and each of us given a research paper to present and discuss with the class. For the exam, we have to know at least 3 of these papers per topic and discuss them in the essays to get a decent mark. But me being the irritating complete-freak I am, I’m trying to learn all the papers and it’s taking me *forever*. It’s over 80 papers… ignoring the ones I have to go to the library, find and photocopy. Speaking of the Library! Yes, Queen’s it’s lovely, and it’s really very good. Just not in exam season. You can try all you like and convince me that there’s more reader places than in all the others combined, but I don’t buy it. And don’t get me started on the eejits who insist on blabbering…
3. Glee. Glee is fantastic, and I watched the whole (half)season over Christmas. It’s kinda like High School Musical, but EVEN BETTER. Plus Mr Schuester doing Bust A Move? And Kristen Chenowith?’Nuff said. The first show I’ve seen in ages that genuinely warms my heart. Also, True Blood. I’ve avoided watching this for ages. When I was in America, by best friend was obsessed with it. But it’s got vampires, so I ignored it. Out of sheer desperation of not wanting to watch House, I started watching True Blood, and it’s brilliant.
4. My music taste is getting awful. The other day I acquired two Taylor Swift albums and The Saturday’s albums. And the Glee soundtracks. *sigh*
Roll on February.
Link Dump #3
Link Dump #2
America Without a Middle Class
12 Days of Christmas, by Carol Ann Duffy
Ohio becomes the first US state to execute a prisoner using a single drug
Pizza napoletana awarded special status by EU
British Muslims feel the most patriotic in Europe, survey claims
Belfast’s Christmas Continental Market
Mulled Wine. Churros. The cold and the rain. It’s gotta be the Christmas Market outside City Hall, Belfast.
Here’s some photies.
Link Dump #1
The first in an irregular series where I post bookmarks I’ve saved…
The Ampersand – a whole blog devoted to the “&” symbol
Feeling Sorry for Dubai?
Maybe just a little? Don’t be. I read a great article on HuffPo the other day, “The Dark Side of Dubai“.
A few highlights of what Dubai is *actually* like…
- You can get put in jail for having a cheque bounce. For up to 3 years.
- If you have to go to court, better hope you speak Arabic.
- If you have any debts at all, you can’t leave the country. Which means you’re effectively imprisoned in Dubai.
- Who built Dubai? Not the expats… it was immigrants, mainly from south Asia, brought to Dubai with promises of an easy life and riches. The reality is far from that. Bad pay, passports confiscated, long work hours in searing heat and squalid living conditions are typical of a Dubai construction worker.
So if you can go to jail in Dubai for a cheque bouncing, what happens if you can’t pay back a $60bn loan? Oh, nothing? Funny that.
