Just ask Richard Branson: Universe Today: "Entrepreneur Richard Branson announced today that his company, Virgin Galactic, will be taking Scaled Composite's SpaceShipOne to the next logical step, and offer flights to the public. Virgin Galactic has ordered a larger version of the X-Prize contender suborbital spacecraft which will carry five passengers - the deal is reportedly worth $25 million over the next 14 years depending on how many ships are built. Tickets are expected to cost just over $200,000, and will include three-days of training, but industry experts expect the prices will come down with increased flight frequency." Read the whole thing to see a pic of the ship.

Here's a slightly more cynical take on the operation, from Tech TV.

"PURCHASE, N.Y. - August 5, 2004 - Capitalizing on the success of its first limited-time soft-drink offering, Mountain Dew LiveWire, Pepsi-Cola North America today announced that it will launch two new soft drinks this year for brief, "in-and-out" plays. The first, Mountain Dew Pitch Black, will launch in late August and stay on store shelves through Halloween. Then, just in time for the holidays, Pepsi Holiday Spice will hit stores November 1 for an eight-week appearance through the end of the year."

Brian Micklethwait has observed this phenomenon in the worlds of potato chips and choccy bars. I have also previously seen comedy ketchup, with an entertaining blue hue. I guess we're all suckers for a shake-up.

Steve Clemons' Washington Note: "PHILADELPHIA HAS JUST ANNOUNCED FULL ACCESS, FREE WIFI in a two-year project covering 135 square miles of the city....I want to commend the City of Philadelphia for making it easier for its blogging moms, data dads, kids, and other citizens like me to get on line easily. I do not live in Philadelphia -- but from here on out I plan to visit frequently." Go Philly....

I have commented on this before after Lawrence Lessig broke the story.

you should spend it, my friend, on a Morgan Aero 8. Brian Micklethwait has seen, photographed and blogged one.




I have simply read his post and the attached article. I will begin saving my pennies forthwith.

"LONDON (Reuters) - King-sized Mars and Snickers chocolate bars will be cut down to size in Britain next year as a leading food manufacturer responds to growing pressure about portion distortion and rising levels of obesity.
The over-sized snacks, some weighing as much as 100 grams (3.5 ounces) and containing 387 calories, will be cut into "two shareable portions"...
We're changing the format. It will become shareable and delivered in two pieces," Mark Reid, of Masterfoods, told Reuters on Monday.
He said the decision was the company's contribution to Britain's Food and Drink Federation's manifesto to address portion size. The federation published the industry's response to the obesity epidemic on Monday. The plan addresses several issues including a new approach to portion size to reduce over-consumption, labelling, advertising to children, vending and public education."

And how many of the folks who buy these are really going to just eat one piece? Huh?

Allen, Parr, Carson, Leno, and O'Brien. From Reuters: "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jay Leno, America's leading late-night comedian as host of NBC's "The Tonight Show," will retire at the end of his current five-year contract in 2009 and be replaced by Conan O'Brien, the network said on Monday.
In the announcement, Leno said he had been planning to turn the top-rated late-night show over to O'Brien since renewing his own contract in the spring. O'Brien is the host of NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," which immediately follows "The Tonight Show" on the air at about 12:30 a.m.
"In 2009, I'll be 59 years old and will have had this dream job for 17 years," Leno said in a statement. "When I signed my new contract, I felt that the timing was right to plan for my successor, and there is no one more qualified than Conan. Plus, I promised (my wife) Mavis I would take her out for dinner before I turned 60." "

From ABC News: "No decision has been made on whether O'Brien, whose show is New York-based, will move to California for "Tonight," but that's considered likely because its Hollywood connections help in booking guests, particularly since competitor Letterman is in New York."

"Seattle - Clothes can make a statement. Urban-bag designer Tom Bihn has discovered that labels can, too. Bihn's sales have doubled since a French-language presidential insult mysteriously made its way onto the bilingual washing instructions for hundreds of his laptop bags and backpacks. The labels read: "Nous sommes desoles que notre president soit un idiot. Nous n'avons pas vote pour lui." Translated into English: "We are sorry that our president is an idiot. We didn't vote for him."

Here's the Tom Bihn label shirt.

How would you like your PC to treat you? From here, via my e-mail.

"While holding the Ctrl button, click on the link. Then follow the prompt and write your name in the box. This is how we'd like our computers to treat us!!!!!"

From Poynter Online: "Still, blogs are now ... complementing and questioning the judgments of the traditional outlets. I'm talking about sites such as Beatrice.com, BookSlut, Readerville, BookBlog, The Elegant Variation, 800 CEO Read, Cosmic Log, JOHO, Boing Boing or eJournal, as well as those of individual writers (Jennifer Weiner is a case in point) who must take their laptops everywhere so that they can connect directly with their readers while, not incidentally, advertising their books and promoting their public appearances." Read the whole thing.

What will it be? Who's in custody already & will be paraded? Which attack will be prevented? Will McCain get on the ticket after all? Go ahead. Name the October Surprise!!

Update: OK, so some of these are remarkably kooky, but some of them are slightly less so.

How does he get away with it? From Slate: "The American version of Da Ali G Show recently wrapped up its second season on HBO, and, once again, a long list of prominent Americans have been embarrassed. Somehow, Sacha Baron Cohen, in the guise of a British would-be gangsta with a penchant for malapropisms and misunderstandings, managed to secure another passel of interviews with people like former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman (who conceded that, yes, whale feces "have got to be massive") and archconservative Patrick Buchanan (who said that Saddam Hussein "was using BLTs on the Kurds"). In one episode, Richard Kerr, a former deputy director of the CIA, found himself debating whether terrorists could drive a train into the White House."

A little bird told me.... "Sorby Hall is a popular choice amongst students, and is well known as a friendly place to live. The Hall consists of three sections: the tower, with its spectacular views towards the Peak District and the City; the annexe, built in sections into the hillside; and 28-30 Endcliffe Crescent, a pair of Victorian houses. All are set in mature landscaped grounds," but for how long... It seems there's a redevelopment of the Endcliffe site in the works, that Sorby Hall might be demolished / redeveloped, and that my track-top that says Sorby '94-'95 might be worth something on antiques roadshow after all. Get the news three ways:

1. Unofficially from a student chat room.
2. Officially from the University
3. Second-hand from a jogger-blogger.

This building should be protected as a national historic landmark for its spectacular views of the peaks, for the quality of the mushy peas, and because it is the birthplace of the righteous and loyal brotherhood of the Snecklifter M.C.'s.

Update:

Looks like this has been in the works for a while, even before the consolidation of the dining & drinking arrangements on the Endcliffe site. I can't imagine having to go to earnie's for my dinner.

And by the way:

Sorby residents will also have full access to the amenities of the other
Halls within the Endcliffe Student Village. These include the Bars at Earnshaw
and Halifax where regular events such as quizzes, pool tournaments and discos
are held. There are also a number of TV rooms all of which have Sky TV. These
facilities are approximately 1-2 mins walk across the landscaped grounds from
Sorby. All meals for Sorby residents will be served at Earnshaw Hall which as
mentioned previously is a very short walk across the grounds.

Anyone who has come back from Halifax in the dead of night is now chuckling heartily....

From the Electric New Paper: "PAINFUL FOOTBALL: It's painful football to watch. And more agony is guaranteed if Eriksson does not sort out the confusion soon. Fix the system. Lay down the tactics. And stick to them. Maybe the frustrated fans have plenty more to say. Answers on the back of a postcard, please."

From Wirt Design via Virginia Postrel:

"Why shouldn't an outpatient oncology center look like a spa? Chemotherapy is
unpleasant enough already without requiring patients to be treated in
depressing, ugly surroundings. "The space responds to basic human needs for
patients by providing comfort, convenience and safety," says the Wirt Design website. The space also provides beauty, a bit of pleasure in unpleasant circumstances. (For a better look at the space, see the Wirt Design page.) "

Look at the pictures. The whole place is very Sci-Fi.

from TPM. Read the whole thing:

"You seem to have forgotten that loyal Democrats elected you as mayor and as
state senator. Loyal Democrats, including members of my family and me, elected
you as lieutenant governor and as governor. It was a loyal Democrat, Lester Maddox, who assigned you to high positions in the state government when you were out of office. It was a loyal Democrat, Roy Barnes, who appointed you as U.S. Senator when you were out of office. By your historically unprecedented disloyalty, you have betrayed our trust. "

OMG I hope so!!! At slashdot via instapundit.

To expand on this whole thing... I was a huge fan of TOS in reruns when I was a kid. My best mate & I waited years for the BBC to pick up TNG, & loved it. Once resident across the pond I became a devoted fan of the later seasons of DS9, but then came VOY, & after the initial novelty of the prehistory of ENT, we gave up 1/2 way through season 2 and have never been back. Time for a rest.

MSNBC: "DUGWAY PROVING GROUND, Utah - A space capsule holding what scientists hoped would be clues to the origin of the solar system fell to a crash landing on Earth Wednesday after its parachute failed to open. A pair of helicopters, helmed by stunt pilots, had been ready to snatch the refrigerator-sized parachute with a hook as the Genesis capsule descended. But there was no sign that the parachute opened, and video from the scene showed the 452-pound (205-kilogram) capsule hurtling toward the ground at the military Utah Test and Training Range. The capsule broke open on impact. The $260 million Genesis mission was bringing back to Earth a set of fragile disks containing billions of atoms collected from solar wind, the first cosmic samples to be returned to Earth from beyond the moon." Ouch. Read the whole thing.

Found the University of Pennsylvania's list of 20,000 free books on the web. I can see this being a regular stop. Check out all these primary narrative sources. I was, of course, browsing for John Rodgers Jewitt stuff when I found this:

Narrative and Miscellaneous Papers by Thomas De Quincey (Gutenberg text)
Narrative Journal of Travels Through the Northwestern Regions of the United States by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (HTML and page images at LOC)
Narrative of a Captivity Among the Mohawk Indians, and a Description of New Netherland in 1642-3 (New York: Press of the Historical Society, 1856) by Isaac Jogues and John Gilmary Shea (page images at canadiana.org)
The Narrative of a Japanese (two volumes) by Joseph Heco, ed. by James Murdoch (HTML at LOC)
Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Arctic Ocean in 1833, 1834 and 1835, Under the Command of Capt. Back, R.N (London: R. Bentley, 1836) by Richard King
volume I: page images at canadiana.org
volume II: page images at canadiana.org
Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1819-20-21-22 (London: J. Murray, 1824) by John Franklin and John Richardson
volume I: page images at canadiana.org
volume II: page images at canadiana.org
Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1825, 1826, and 1827 (London: J. Murray, 1828) by John Franklin and John Richardson (page images at canadiana.org)
Narrative of a Tour Through Hawaii, or Owhyhee (third edition; London: H. Fisher, Son, and P. Jackson, 1827) by William Ellis (page images in Germany)
Narrative of a Voyage to Hudson's Bay in His Majesty's Ship Rosamond (1817) by Edward Chappell (page images at canadiana.org)
Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America, in the Years 1811, 1812, 1813, and 1814, Or, The First American Settlement on the Pacific (New York: Redfield, 1854) by Gabriel Franchere, trans. by Jedediah Vincent Huntington (page images at canadiana.org)
Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Beering's Strait, to Co-operate With the Polar Expeditions: Performed in His Majesty's Ship Blossom, Under the Command of Captain F.W. Beechey, R.N., F.R.S. &c. in the Years 1825, 26, 27, 28 (London: H. Colburn and R. Bentley, 1831) by Frederick William Beechey
volume I: page images at canadiana.org
volume II: page images at canadiana.org
Narrative of a Voyage to the West Indies and Mexico in the Years 1599-1602 (London: Printed for the Hakluyt Society, 1859) by Samuel de Champlain (page images at canadiana.org)
Narrative of an Expedition, Undertaken Under the Direction of the Late Mr. Assistant Surveyor E. B. Kennedy, For the Exploration of the Country Lying Between Rockingham Bay and Cape York, by Wm. Carron., One of the Survivors of the Expedition by William Carron (text at Gutenberg Australia)
Narrative of an Expedition into Central Australia, Performed Under the Authority of Her Majesty's Government, During the Years 1844, 5, and 6, Together with a Notice of the Province of South Australia in 1847 by Charles Sturt (Gutenberg text)
Narrative of an Expedition Through the Upper Mississippi to Itasca Lake, the Actual Source of This River by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (HTML and page images at LOC)
Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. Peter's River, Lake Winnepeek, Lake of the Woods (2 vols.; Philadelphia: H.C. Carey & I. Lea, 1824) by William Hypolitus Keating, contrib. by Stephen Harriman Long, Thomas Say, and James Edward Colhoun
HTML and page images at LOC
volume I: page images at canadiana.org
volume II: page images at canadiana.org
Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St. Peter's River, Lake Winnepeek, Lake of the Woods, &c., &c. Performed in the Year 1823, By Order of the Hon. J.C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, Under the Command of Stephen H. Long, Major U.S.T.E. (Philadelphia: H.C. Carey & I. Lea, 1824) by James Edward Colhoun (page images at canadiana.org)
Narrative of an Explorer in Tropical South Africa (fourth edition, 1891) by Francis Galton (PDF files at mugu.com)
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe
HTML with commentary at Virginia
HTML in Austria
HTML at pambytes.com
The Narrative of Bethany Veney, A Slave Woman by Bethany Veney
illustrated HTML and TEI at UNC
illustrated HTML at nypl.org
A Narrative of Colonel Robert Campbell's Experiences in the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade from 1825 to 1835 by Robert Campbell (HTML at xmission.com)
Narrative of Edward McGowan by Edward McGowan (at LOC)
A Narrative of Events Since the First of August, 1834 by James Williams (HTML and TEI at UNC)
Narrative of Events Which Occured in Baltimore Town During the Revolutionary War by Robert Purviance (HTML and page images at loc.gov)
Narrative of Facts in the Case of Passmore Williamson (page images at MOA)
A Narrative of God's Love to William Thoresby (1801 edition) by William Thoresby (illustrated HTML at mun.ca)
Narrative of Henry Watson, A Fugitive Slave (Boston: Published by Bela Marsh, 1848) by Henry Watson (HTML and TEI at UNC)
Narrative of James Williams, an American Slave by James Williams (HTML and TEI at UNC)
The Narrative of Lunsford Lane, Formerly of Raleigh, N.C. by Lunsford Lane (HTML and TEI at UNC)
Narrative of My Captivity Among the Sioux Indians (Hartford, CT: Mutual, 1871) by Fanny (Wiggins) Kelly
page images at MOA
page images at canadiana.org
Narrative of O. M. Spencer, Comprising an Account of His Captivity Among the Mohawk Indians in North America (London: J. Mason, 1836) by Oliver M. Spencer (page images at canadiana.org)
Narrative of Prison Life at Baltimore and Johnson's Island, Ohio by Henry Elliot Shepherd (HTML and TEI at UNC)
Narrative of Sojourner Truth (1878 edition) by Sojourner Truth and Olive Gilbert (HTML at LOC)
Narrative of Sojourner Truth (1850 edition) by Sojourner Truth and Olive Gilbert
HTML at Celebration of Women Writers
Gutenberg text
A Narrative of Some Passages in the History of Eenoolooapik, a Young Esquimaux, Who Was Brought to Britain in 1839, in the Ship "Neptune" of Aberdeen; An Account of the Discovery of Hogarth's Sound; Remarks on the Northern Whale Fishery, and Suggestions for Its Improvement, &c. &c. (Edinburgh : Fraser & Co. and J. Hogg, 1841) by Alexander M'Donald (page images at canadiana.org)
A Narrative of Some Recent Occurrences in the Church of the Puritans, New York by New York Church of the Puritans (Congregational) (page images at MOA)
Narrative of Some Things of New Spain and of the Great City of Temestitan, Mexico, trans. by Marshall H. Saville (HTML at about.com)
A Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper, from American Slavery by Moses Roper (HTML and TEI at UNC)
A Narrative of the Adventures and Sufferings of John R. Jewitt, Only Survivor of the Ship Boston During a Captivity of Nearly Three Years Among the Indians of Nootka Sound, With an Account of the Manners, Mode of Living and Religious Opinions of the Natives (1815) by John Rodgers Jewitt and Richard Alsop (HTML and page images at LOC)
A Narrative of the Adventures and Sufferings of John R. Jewitt, Only Survivor of the Ship Boston During a Captivity of Nearly Three Years Among the Indians of Nootka Sound, With an Account of the Manners, Mode of Living and Religious Opinions of the Natives (1816) by John Rodgers Jewitt and Richard Alsop (page images at canadiana.org)
Narrative of the Adventures of Zenas Leonard, Fur Trader and Trapper, 1831-1836 by Zenas Leonard (at xmission.com)
Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition to the Mouth of the Great Fish River, and Along the Shores of the Arctic Ocean, in the Years 1833, 1834, and 1835 (Paris: A and W. Calignani, 1836) by George Back and John Richardson (page images at canadiana.org)
Narrative of the Canadian Red River Exploring Expedition of 1857 and of the Assinniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition of 1858 (London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, 1860) by Henry Youle Hind
volume I: page images at canadiana.org
volume II: page images at canadiana.org
A Narrative of the Capitivity and Sufferings of Benjamin Gilbert and His Family: Who Were Surprised By the Indians and Taken From Their Farms on the Frontiers of Pennsylvania in the Spring, 1780 by Benjamin Gilbert (page images at canadiana.org)
A Narrative of the Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner, (U.S. Interpreter At the Saut De Ste. Marie,) During Thirty Years Residence Among the Indians in the Interior of North America (New York: G. & C. & H. Carvili, 1830) by John Tanner and Edwin James (page images at canadiana.org)
The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson by Mary Rowlandson (Gutenberg text)
A Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Johnson: Containing an Account of Her Sufferings, During Four Years, With the Indians and French (New York, 1841) by Susanna Willard Johnson Hastings (page images at canadiana.org)
A Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Johnson: Containing an Account of Her Sufferings, During Four Years, With the Indians and French (Windsor (Vt.) : Printed by Alden Spooner, 1807) by Susanna Willard Johnson Hastings (page images at canadiana.org)
A Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Johnson: Containing an Account of Her Sufferings During Four Years With the Indians and French (Walpole, NH: Printed at Walpole, Newhampshire, by David Carlisle,1796) by Mrs. Susannah Willard Johnson (page images at canadiana.org)
Narrative of the Doings During the Siege of Quebec and the Conquest of Canada by Nun of the General Hospital of Quebec (page images at canadiana.org)
A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay by Watkin Tench
PDF at SETIS
Gutenberg text
Narrative of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains in the Year 1842, and to Oregon and North California in the Years 1843-44 (London: Wiley and Putnam, 1846) by John Charles Fremont (page images in Germany)
Narrative of the Extraordinary Life of John Conrad Shafford, Known by Many by the Name of the Dutch Hermit (New York: C.L. Carpenter, 1840) (page images at canadiana.org)
A Narrative of the Extraordinary Sufferings of Mr. Robert Forbes, His Wife, and Five Children (Philadelphia: Printed for M. Carey, 1794) by Arthur Bradman, contrib. by Robert Forbes (page images at canadiana.org)
Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, An American Slave, Written By Himself by Henry Bibb (HTML at Virginia)
A Narrative of the Life and Christian Experience of Mrs. Mary Bradley of Saint John, New Brunswick (Boston: Strong & Brodhead, 1849) by Mary Bradley (page images at canadiana.org)
A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley, A Colored Man, Local Preacher and Missionary (1859) by Greensbury Washington Offley (HTML and TEI at UNC)
A Narrative of the Life and Labors of the Rev. G. W. Offley, A Colored Man, Local Preacher and Missionary (1859) by Greensbury Washington Offley (HTML and TEI at UNC)
A Narrative of the Life and Travels of Mrs. Nancy Prince (second edition, 1853) by Nancy Prince (HTML at nypl.org)
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845) by Frederick Douglass
HTML at Virginia
HTML and TEI at UNC
Gutenberg text
Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown by Henry Box Brown (HTML and TEI at UNC)
Narrative of the Life of John Quincy Adams, When in Slavery, and Now as a Freeman by John Quincy Adams (HTML at TEI at UNC)
Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy, Late a Slave in the United States of America by Moses Grandy (HTML and TEI at UNC)
A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison, Who Was Taken by the Indians, In the Year 1755, When Only About Twelve Years of Age, and Has Continued to Reside Amongst Them to the Present Time by James E. Seaver (Gutenberg text)
A Narrative of the Life of Rev. Noah Davis, a Colored Man by Noah Davis (illustrated HTML and TEI at UNC)
Narrative of the Life of Thomas Cooper (1832) by Isaac T. Hopper (illustrated HTML and TEI at UNC)
A Narrative of the Mission of the United Brethren among the Delaware and Mohegan Indians from Its Commencement in the Year 1740 to the Close of the Year 1808 (Cleveland: The Burrows Brothers Company, 1907) by John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder, ed. by William Elsey Connelley (Javascript-dependent page images at americanjourneys.org)
A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw by James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw (HTML at Virginia)
A Narrative of the Negro (1912) by Leila Amos Pendleton (illustrated HTML and TEI at UNC)
Narrative of the North Polar Expedition by United States Navy (page images at MOA)
Narrative of the Overland Expedition of the Messrs. Jardine from Rockhampton to Cape York, Northern Queensland by Frank Jardine and Alexander Jardine, ed. by Frederick J. Byerley (Gutenberg text)
Narrative of the Settlement of George Christian Anthon in America by Charles Edward Anthon, ed. by Marshall Davies Lloyd (HTML with commentary at mlloyd.org)
Narrative of the Shipwreck and Sufferings of Miss Ann Saunders (Providence, RI: Printed for Z.S. Crossmon, 1827) by Ann Saunders (page images at canadiana.org)
Narrative of the Sufferings of Lewis Clarke, During a Captivity of More than Twenty-Five Years, Among the Algerines of Kentucky, One of the So Called Christian States of North America (Boston: David H. Ela, Printer, 1845) by Lewis Garrard Clark (illustrated HTML and TEI at UNC)
A Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings, and Surprizing Deliverance of Briton Hammon, a Negro Man by Briton Hammon (illustrated HTML at Virginia)
Narrative of the Voyages Round the World, performed by Captain James Cook, With an Account of His Life During the Previous and Intervening Periods by Andrew Kippis (Gutenberg text)
A Narrative of Two Voyages to Hudson's Bay, With Traditions of the North American Indians (London : Printed for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1847) by John Birkbeck Nevins (page images at canadiana.org)
Narrative of William W. Brown, an American Slave (1849 UK edition) by William Wells Brown (HTML and TEI at UNC)
Narratives of Colored Americans (New York: W. W. Wood & Co., 1875) by Abigail Mott and M. S. Wood (HTML and TEI at UNC)
Narratives of the Rites and Laws of the Yncas, ed. by Clements R. Markham (HTML at sacred-texts.com)
Narratives of the Witchcraft Cases, 1648-1706, ed. by George Lincoln Burr (HTML at Virginia)

BBC: "Sir Clive Woodward's seven-year reign as England coach has ended after the Rugby Football Union accepted his resignation after two days of talks. Woodward wanted to stay on for the autumn internationals but the RFU decided he should leave immediately.
"It was agreed that it would make for a smoother transition of coaching and management responsibility if I withdrew with immediate effect," said Woodward. Andy Robinson has been named acting head coach for the November Tests."

So what's this all about? Well, with the core of the team gone after the RWC, & Dallaglio calling it quits this week we're in for a pasting for the next few years, apparently, & maybe Sir Clive didn't want to tarnish his legacy.

• The Answer Bank
• CNNSI.com
• RFU Statement
• RugbyRugby.com

And who will be next? Here's some thoughts.

And hey, will Woodward make it as a club coach & be in with a shot at the national coaches' job?

So in editing and reflecting and perfecting the previous post, I had a revelation, and I think that after a year and a half I am finally able to articulate what this blog is for, or perhaps was for.

1. I wrestle daily with the idea that I came here with a 2 part plan and that only 50% of it worked out. I'm winging the other 50%. This isn't olympic wrestling or in-depth psychosis, but it is a part of who I am, esp. as I watch my friends go on to fame and glory.
2. I occasionally wonder what would have happened if I had taken the advice of someone I respect greatly but have never met, & stuck with the bird in the hand back in the summer of '98.
3. I sometimes think about having the chance to be a research historian in London. (See Thacker, William. q.v.)
4. This blog was born before it hatched, but I think the "britblog" notion was a way to keep me engaged with that alternate dimension parallel version of myself.
5. Can't be done, because as all the previous posts prove & every English teacher in the world will tell you, you have to write what you know, & from here it is v. difficult to know anything much about daily life anywhere else than here.

This never was a britblog. It was a sliding doors "2 versions of Gwyneth Paltrow" blog. Now it probably needs to be about something else. Any ideas?

Alright. This happens every so often... usually due to a surprise that catches me thinking in a certain way. Today, this did it:

1. This is London. I have a freakish "road not taken" relationship with London as being a place where I might have lived and worked alongside some of my college buddies. I imagine myself living the life of William Thacker, without the movie-star spouse, but regularly getting together with people who know me well, and communicating in a verbal short-hand about things that are insignificant to anyone else.
2. There is a lot going on in this image. This is definitely a busy and cloudy sky. I feel cold just looking at it....but sort of friendly "watching a rugby match & waiting for 1/2 time" cold.
3. Old London, which I also imagine myself in a lot (though less than previously) is also jammed up against the gleaming glass spires of new London here in a way which very few American cities (Maybe New York, Philly, Boston...) can even attempt to match. A glorious 1000 year history of residence on the site of Greenwich Palace contrasts with symbols of the economic engine of the C21st. This is visually evocative, and suggestive of a social order that I both despise because it is inequitable and miss because it is familiar.
4. I can look at this picture and sort of see the streets winding down from the palace to the river, with pubs and newsagents and oddbins and the occasional curry house or chip shop.
5. There's a fence between me and it. (fence, ocean, $500 'plane ticket.... yeah.)

So that's that. Maybe I'll have to go take a look at Greenwich Palace next time I'm home.

From Lawrence Lessig: "And as with all great public resources, this will benefit Philadelphia in ways we cannot begin to imagine. Let the city provide a platform, and watch the entrepreneurs find a million ways to make it valuable. Did anyone have any clue about all the ways the GPS would be used once Ronald Reagan set it free? " Imagine the whole city's in the bubble. Pretty awesome. One of the crucial next steps towards a truly techno-mobile future, I think.

RNCnotWelcome.org: "It is an unusual charity brochure: a 13-page document, complete with pictures of fireworks and a golf course, that invites potential donors to give as much as $500,000 to spend time with Tom DeLay during the Republican convention in New York City next summer - and to have part of the money go to help abused and neglected children...."

• El Paso Times
• Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington
• Motherjones.com
• ABCNews.com
• Kicking Ass
• World Socialist Web Site.

Where does the rest of the money go? That's my question.

to someone I met once, & they deserve better than that. I hope they catch the driver.....

Ch. 7's Sade Baderinwa is out of the hospital and recovering at home, two
weeks after being mowed down by a hit-and-run driver while on assignment.
"She's resting nicely," said ABC spokeswoman Julie Hoover. "She's making
good progress."
While covering flooding in Hackensack, N.J., on July 23,
Baderinwa was run over. The driver fled and has not been caught.
Baderinwa suffered a broken arm and other injuries. She spent several days in a New Jersey and later a New York hospital. She's expected to undergo physical therapy before returning to work, which likely won't be for several weeks.