Assorted Ramblings...

... for a cracked-out theory?

( Cut because I'm bonkers )

I've had one of those days - I lost my only free period because I had to go and cover a music lesson, so I've been on the go all day. I managed to get out at 4.30 - early for me these days, only to discover that my bloody car won't start. So I'm sat at my desk reading LJ and checking emails until the breakdown service gets here :-(

Sod it.

Is anyone else out there getting bombarded with loads of spam in comments? I've been getting a few here and there for a while but the last few weeks I'm getting several per day. I'm deleting and reporting, but as we all know, the reporting is practically useless as these bastards just shift from place to place.

It's not serious - just annoying. Any tips as to how to stop it or at least cut it down a bit?

ETA: To try to cut this down, I've enabled CAPTCHA on comments (for anonymous commenters). Please don't take it personally!

Is it hereditary?

( cut because clearly, parents can be embarrasing at any age! )

DO. NOT. WANT.

( rant under here )

ETA: There is some spoilery speculation in the comments.

For any of my UK friends who were pissed off by that tacky promo that appeared in the closing moments of tonight's DW -

BBC Complaints.

If enough of us moan, maybe we'll make the news!

Because, seriously, WHAAAAAAAAAAAT????????????????

Now my brain hurts.

( you're nicked )

Somebody please tell me this is a joke.

Just got back from a day in London with Elinor. I took her to the Coliseum to see the English National Ballet's production of Sleeping Beauty. I was telling her that when I first discovered a love for classical music, when I was about eleven, I joined the local record library and I used to get out as many records per week as I could. I remember that when I first heard Sleeping Beauty I kept getting the set out over and over again. I think I must have worn a groove in the grooves!

There are still bits in the score that bring a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes, even though it's that familiar to me that I could probably sing the entire thing from start to finish.

It was a lovely looking production - the costumes had this whole Louis Quatorze thing going on and were goregous. Elinor absolutely loved it and came out dancing!

We then made for the nearest Starbucks in the company of teresadivicenzo, where we indulged in toasties, chocolate cake and gingerbread lattes amidst talk of Josh Groban, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo. A pleasant time was being had by all when Jaz suddenly realised that some bastard had half-inched (= pinched) her bag.

I remember the last time I had a bag stolen. That first few seconds where you're looking around you, feeling sure it's there, and then that sinking feeling when you realise it really is gone. And then the panic as you start to think of all the things you need to do - cancel cards, chequebooks (because we used them a fair bit back then!) think about how you're going to get home, get into the house and all that crap. It's a bloody pain in the arse.

:hugs Jaz:

In more ways than one.

I mean - WTF?? Bad spelling "should be accepted."

WHAT??

This twat from Bucks New University (so they're not from a "real" Uni, then) says that the ten most commonly mis-spelt words should be treated as "variant spellings" and not marked as incorrect.

He has arrived at this conclusion after years of marking papers and correcting the same mistakes over and over again.

And THIS is his solution? Instead of teaching the kids to bloody spell, we just let them go their own merry way without correcting them? So what happens when the ten most commonly misspelt words becomes twenty? And thirty? And a hundred?

Thank God for the voice of reason in The Times, in which the columnist says:

Students are now incapable of learning the spellings of “their” and “truly” that countless millions have mastered over the centuries. So let's change our attitudes to spelling to help this deserving minority.

Abso-bloody-lutely.

I'm sorry if any of you out there have trouble spelling - but this (unsurprisingly) makes my blood boil.

I've said this before, but I was appalled when, in my training year, I set my first piece of homework and was told when marking it to be lenient on things like spelling. Because the content was more important overall.

But if a kid has produced something that's badly spelt and constructed, it won't matter if it's full of good ideas if you can't understand it!

Does this mean that 2+2 can now equal 5, because there are some people out there who have trouble adding up?