Reading etc.

In her agony column for the Observer, the fair Ms. Frostrup addresses the following problem:

The dilemma: I have had a long-time interest in beekeeping. Unfortunately I have a mortal fear of bees (and similar stinging insects), and neither my partner nor I enjoy the taste of honey, rendering the material benefits of keeping bees somewhat moot. I have read a great deal of books on the subject and have yet to determine just why I am so fascinated by this most peculiar hobby – though I do quite enjoy watching beekeepers remove the honeycomb frame from an apiary, as I find it quite relaxing. It has got to the point where it is affecting my marriage, as my partner is entirely unsympathetic to what she describes as an “obsession”. I tend to spend most evenings reading apiarist manuals and commenting on beekeeping forums on the net, to the detriment of our sex life. I am interested in sex, but at this point I am more interested in bees. Is this kind of relationship normal? How can I bring my partner round to enjoying my interest in beekeeping with me?

It seems to me that this must be a joke. You may see the reply here, should you so wish.

And tonight’s fresh from the blogroll links for your delectation:

Townmouse used to be a city girl and she wrote about her daily London commute on a bicycle. Then she moved to the middle of nowhere and now she writes about the weather. It’s a lot more entertaining than it sounds.

Remember in an earlier post I gave you a link describing various different European institutions and how some are EU and, crucially, some are not. I think that, if the man from the Daily Mail had known that, he could, at the very least have spared himself from Jon’s ire.

Very European tonight, but this is a hilarious account of the consequences of Lisbon Treaty ratification in the UK. Frankly these are not words you see juxtaposed frequently.

My esteemed sister-in-law has decided to join in the Nablopomo thingamajig. She is not a frequent blogger, so she needs all the encouragement she can get to survive this marathon. And she is funny, consider her commute home.

Like many another, I love the sartorialist. He photographs people on the street wearing interesting and clever clothes. I find this a very inspiring blog and am always sizing people up to see whether they could go on it. What amazes me is how shoes so often make the outfit. I lalways have to scroll down to see the bottom of the pictures and it is extraordinary how often shoes make the look and tie everything together. Like here.

I can’t help feeling that Mr. Godin’s advice to marketers might also be applied to the Irish population as the economic crisis continues unabated.

I know I already linked to the bad writing blog but this gave me my biggest laugh of today.

A nice post from Charlotte on the joy of less formality at work.

Look, a writing competition for your blog posting. Since we’re all NaBloPoMoing anyway, you might as well give it a go.

More links tomorrow, if I’m feeling strong.

For Nablopomo (if you have to ask, this post is not for you), I was going to give you details of my favourite blogs. My favourites list is not up to date. I was going to do it in November. It’s more time consuming than I had anticipated.

Instead, I am going to read my blogroll every day and give you some links to posts I like.

So starting with this one. It is technical, it is perhaps a little tedious but so many people get this wrong, people who should know better and it drives me bananas. Please consider, the difference between the Council of Europe and the European Council. I particularly enjoy the way all the comments are further refinements by fellow obsessives. This is starting off all wrong, isn’t it?

I wish I’d read this before we’d got our cat.

The White House Government blog – oh the disappointing dullness of this. However, I can’t help feeling that this picture is going to make the religious right quite cross.

Unlike the Government blog, the flickr stream is always worth a look: careful, interesting shots.

This is a hilarious blog about bad writing – here’s an example. Subscribe, subscribe, you will not regret it. Though you will cringe when you see your own particular faults lampooned.

I am sure you are aware of the excellent Mr. Kottke. I have found many of the blogs I read regularly via his site. May I give you a sample? Just tonight I had a look at strange maps, a bizarre banner ad and one for generation text.

Isn’t this clever? And it’s not just techno tips for old people either. Well, it depends, how old is old?

You know who dooce is, of course: this appealed.

I love this woman. She has proper standards and she is not afraid to say so. I am still very glad that she was not at mass with me and my children on Sunday.

The weirdness of Americans. Be very afraid, where America goes the rest of the world follows. I mean, why are we all celebrating Halloween? Can I take this opportunity to point out that this is an Irish festival exported to the new world with the bulk of our population. You can see though why pumpkin lanterns were always more likely to take off than turnip lanterns which they were using at home in the absence of exciting new world vegetables. I digress, regular outrages are available here from the woman who let her nine year old ride the subway.

Really, why would I do this again? Particularly when I can’t even work out how to put the logo in my sidebar. Sigh.

Consider the gender of every person in this photo:

First Lady Michelle Obama and the spouses of the G20 leaders pose for a group photo at CAPA High School in Pittsburgh, Penn., Sept. 25, 2009. Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson

Is there still some way to go before we have gender equality, do you think?

Honestly, what were they thinking? I thought it was a joke on a comedy show when I heard it first on the news. Don’t get me wrong, I think (like all us Europeans) that Obama is the cat’s pyjamas and I love it when America is all multilateral and that but, as he said himself, he hasn’t accomplished anything. He is also the President of the United States of America, and there is a serious risk that he might end up waging war during his Presidency because that often seems to happen to American presidents. It’s like the Pope calling Henry VIII the Defender of the Faith. They’re laying themselves open for trouble.

And one of the good things about the Nobel Peace Prize, surely, is that it shines a light on abuses and human rights work of which you might not previously have been aware. I think every sentinent being on the planet knows about Obama. And, I suspect, politically, it might do him more harm than good.