I Have Facebook Shares

Some recent Facebook posts which I want to share with you:

And this one, made especially for me by my friend Pam.  Thanks Pam!

 

Sweet Gangnam Style by Greater Manchester Police

Reblogged from Janet's Notebook:

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I read from Police Inspector about this warm-hearted video clip. The video is absolutely brilliant, filled with British humour. Apparently, Greater Manchester Police's job is not just policing or catching murderers. They do a Gangnam Style -- involving police vans, police on bike, sexy dinner ladies, a panda and a zombie like figure.

I must say this is the sweetest Gangham Style parody.

Read more… 42 more words

I saw this in March and meant to reblog it then. Ah well; it's a nice way to celebrate the end of April.

Today

Merry Christmas to all,

and to all a good time!

Not Much Of Anything

I saw this on Facebook and really liked it:

 

Christmas Will Never Be The Same Because of Twitter [cartoon] (Photo credit: methodshop.com)

 

I didn’t forget the November searches but they were so dull, most weren’t worth sharing.  Here are the two funniest:

• ostrich taxes for fat people
• sweaty armpits of south indian cows

1590724263_12337be064_o (Photo credit: Ludie Cochrane)

I woke up to an email from my beloved younger son:

I’ve not been the starring role in any posts recently and this needs to be rectified.  Yours impolitely, Favourite Son.

What do you think?  Should I write about Spud?

For the Man Who Can't Break Even - The Script (Dublin Inc. Acoustic Medley) - YouTube

Reblogged from Jenny's Serendipity:

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Hello Everyone!

Here is my promise to my nephew, Rhett.  ( the one with the glasses ;) )

The singers are Linda Davis, Miky Tayoba, and Rhett. Thomas Mcarthy on Cajon, Trevor Fields on electric guitar and Produced by Sam Bashor. They started as friends and decided to form a band late 2011 in Santa Clarita, California.

Go check them out!

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These guys are really good; check them out.

Smile And The World Smiles With You; Dissect It And People Ask 'Who's That Freak?'

Reblogged from The Laughing Housewife:

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I read this quote today: 

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.

-Joseph Addison

So here you go:

According to Mr. Higgins’ Honors Algebra II class at Norwalk High School (07-08) 

The smile of the “smiley face” is in the shape of a parabola.

Read more… 496 more words

A busy day here at Tilly Bud Towers means I haven't had time to blog. I bring you instead a re-blog of my most frequently visited post, edited slightly because I winced when I saw the text wasn't justified and the pictures weren't centered.

From the dark recesses of a pit known as my desk hutch: This one's for Tilly

Reblogged from Janie's Place:

Tilly Bud, you won't believe this.

Last winter (January maybe?) I found Maltesers in the ethnic foods section for Great Brittan in the huge supermarket in the Big City.  So, I dutifully bought a package because, well, I just had to know what a Malteser of Laughing Housewife fame tasted like.

Now what you really won't believe is that it made it all the way home (a 90+ minute drive) and into the house unopened.

Read more… 191 more words

I have to reblog this, if only for the truth of the last line.

I’m Not Joking

It has come to my attention that it is possible I have been infringing copyright law by sharing cartoons every day.  I don’t want to do that – apart from not wanting to go to jail (though I might soon be in there for stalking, so should I worry?), I, well, I don’t want to go to jail, full stop.  Black and white stripes are so not me.

I thought if I linked back to the source it was okay, but apparently not, which means I have been a naughty girl at least 407 times this year.

From tomorrow I will not be posting a cartoon with the daily joke.  I think I’ll miss it more than you; I love cartoons.

Don’t worry – no one is harassing me; this has come from several articles I read over the last couple of weeks.  I thought a pre-emptive cease and desist would be more dignified than heading in panic for the hills when there came a knock on my door.

I have read that they don’t mind the occasional share, just so long as it’s not a habit – which it has been thus far, but isn’t from today.  Sorry about that.

Because it is no longer a habit of mine to share cartoons with you, I hope you don’t mind if I act out of character and share this one:

Tilly Bud Is Impressed

 

Image via Wikipedia

 

It’s hard to believe we’re only in week 4 of Dancing On Ice.  Check this out (the girl in black and the guy in silver are the amateurs):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt5yHzq98VU

Sorry it doesn’t appear here; I still can’t show You Tube videos and the WordPress techies don’t know why, without visiting me at my home and disassembling my computer.

11.12.11

I’m late posting this…or am I?  Let’s muse on this a little…

Image via Wikipedia

Right now in Anchorage, Alaska it is 23:01 on 11.12.11.  In Honolulu, Hawaii, it is only 22:01.  But I prefer to write in Alaskan time because then I can say I’m posting this at the eleventh hour.

[Muttering off monitor] You ask her!No you ask her!No you ask her!Wimps!I’llaska!

Can you tell I’m really bored with this year’s date meme? 

Only one more to go, thank goodness.

Then it starts all over again in 2012!

The Act Of Rape Is Mundane

Original caption states, “Dem. Rep. Congo: Meeting for Rape Victims Rape victims who have been successfully reintegrated into their communities assemble in a “peace hut” near Walungu, South Kivu in DRC. USAID-supported health programs have assisted rape victims with counseling, training, employment, and safe living environments.” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

No one has the right to hurt me, but…a rape occurs every four minutes in the UK.  By the time you’ve finished reading this article, three women will have been raped. 

 

It is estimated that only 7% of rapes are reported to the police.  That means as many as 199,000 rapes occurred in 2009/2010.  Almost 200,000 women were traumatised in that period but less than 14,000 women felt able to report it.

 

A 2004 Home Office study found that of all women subjected to an act that met the legal definition of rape, only 43% thought of it as rape. 

 

A 2005 Home Office study found that less than 6% of reported rapes result in conviction – less than 1% of all rapes result in a conviction.

 

The British Crime Survey seldom asks people about sexual offences.

 

A 2005 ICM poll for Amnesty International found:

 

• 34% of people in the UK believe a woman is partially or totally responsible for being raped if she has behaved in a flirtatious manner.
• 26% believe a woman is partially or totally responsible if she was wearing sexy or revealing clothes.
• 22% believe a woman is partially responsible if she has had many sexual partners. 
• 8% believe a woman is totally responsible if she has had many sexual partners.

 

Attitudes need to change.

 

 

It’s not just rape and it’s not just the UK: it’s everywhere.  According to BlogHer:

 

• 1 in 3 women will be in an abusive relationship in her lifetime.
• On average, more than three women a day are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in the United States.
• Teenage girls are reporting dating abuse at rates higher than women, which makes them the most at-risk group for abuse in America.
• One in five tweens—ages 11 to 14—say their friends are victims of emotional, physical or verbal dating violence.

 

Violence occurs in the home, against women and children and, sometimes, men.

 

Attitudes need to change.

 

That will take time, of course, so what can women do to protect themselves?

 

I live in social housing and I am fortunate to have an excellent landlord in Stockport Homes.  My landlord offered a Women’s Personal Safety Course free to all residents, run by Freedom Personal Safety.  I’ll be honest – my attitude needs to change as well: I went along because I thought it might be interesting, not because I had a burning desire to protect myself.  I came away feeling empowered.  Not invincible: there are no guarantees; every situation is different and some attackers are more determined than others.  But I now have some tools to deter would-be attackers, and that is liberating.

 

What can I do to reduce the risk of attack?  There are simple methods which are obvious when I think of them; but I haven’t always thought of them:

 

• Walk tall.  I look less like a victim.
• Carry my keys.  No fumbling around to get in my house or car, and they are a useful weapon.
• Keep my mobile charged and accessible.
• Stay alert to what’s going on around me.  Go another way if necessary.
• If I think I’m being followed, get to the nearest public area or police station.
• Never stop in an isolated area.
• Sit near the driver on the bus.
• Memorise the number of a trusted taxi firm.
• Trust my instinct - get away from someone without apology or embarrassment if s/he makes me anxious or uncomfortable.  It’s better to feel foolish than to be physically hurt.

 

These are just a few of many strategies that FPS teaches, as well as physical self-defence.  FPS is affiliated to an American company called RAD Systems (Rape Aggression Defense Systems).  Both are not-for-profit organisations aiming to empower as many women and children as possible.  Check out their websites for details of available courses.  Or look at your local area’s websites for a course with other organisations.  I urge you to consider taking one.

 

Today is the Seventh Annual It’s Time To Talk Day.  Let’s start talking.  Violence doesn’t have to have happened to you for you to know how traumatising it is.

 

Various dictionaries define ‘mundane’ as ordinary, everyday, commonplace, characteristic of the world.  By ignoring the heinous crime of rape; by allowing it to continue, unreported and unprosecuted; by the very fact that it occurs 360 times a day, 365 days a year, rape is one of the most mundane acts committed by humankind.

 

Attitudes need to change.

 

 

Thanks to Freedom Personal Safety for permission to use their report on UK Facts and Statistics.  All opinions expressed are mine.

 

POSTSCRIPT: I recommend that you read the comments which follow; there is more excellent advice in them than I have included here.

 

1.12.11

 

Another interesting date. 

Yawn. 

The year’s been full of them; I’ve done them to death.  What more is there to say?  11211 is:

• A zip code from Brooklyn.
• A palindrome.
• A comprehensive guide to over fifty bars and lounges in Williamsburg.
• A media management company.
• A binary number?  Possibly.  I started a Google search but fell asleep before I’d even reached a third of the way down the list.  Like a driver who can’t fix a car, I don’t need to know how it works to show me how beautiful it is.

Instead, how about something that’s happening on this date?

If you are in the Manchester area tonight, there’s free entry to a poetry book launch.  I have a poem in it (no disinterested promotions on this blog, maties) but I won’t be there, for various reasons, one of which is the fact that I still haven’t bought new shoes after the horror of getting to the launch of last year’s anthology.

Related Posts:

• http://thelaughinghousewife.wordpress.com/2011/01/01/1111/
• http://thelaughinghousewife.wordpress.com/2010/06/18/a-pain-on-the-train/

1.11.11

Having done interesting numbers to death this year, I have nothing new to say on the subject of one.  That must be why it’s the loneliest number. 

I will, instead, lift this paragraph from my third post of 2011 (I blogged three times on January 1st, while everyone else was nursing hangovers; if you didn’t know then what you were letting yourself in for, you can’t blame me):

1.1.11 [for 1.1.11 read 1.11.11]: Isn’t that a great date? It’s like 2011 is saying, Yes, you had some interesting numbers in 2010; but let me show you what I’ve got…

2010 had the consecutive (8/9/10, 11:12:13), the repetitive (10/10/10) and the palindrome (01/11/10). Of course, it all depends on your perspective: my American friends won’t have had the same first one because they put the month before the day; here in the UK 8/9/10 happened in September but in the States it was in August. Then there’s the manipulation: if I had added or subtracted zeros then 8/9/10 would have been 08/09/10 and rather dull; 01/11/10 would not have been a palindrome at all as 1/11/10.

I then went off at a tangent, so I had to do some research on the number 1.

There is some useful info on Wikipedia:

• it is an integer
• it comes after zero and before two (seriously?)
• one is the identity for multiplication, so if you multiply any number by one, it remains that number

I needed Wikipedia for that?

What else can one share about one? 

• it is the atomic number of hydrogen

And that’s all I got.  That’s just ace, isn’t it?

Turns out I did have a little something new to say on the subject of one after all; but I never said it would be interesting.  One forgets, sometimes, just how dull one can be.

A TV Curiosity

Laura Ingalls has weird hair – despite being in braids all day long, when she goes to bed and wears it loose, there’s not a crinkle in sight.  How is that possible?  Is there something in the pioneer air?

 

9.10.11

Things happening on this date:

Lots of weddings:

But most exciting of all – it’s nine days to my lovely niece’s birthday.

Oh, and one day to the Hub’s.

Related articles

• Celebrity Birthdays Today: Sean Penn, Belinda Carlisle, Robert De Niro & More! (rightcelebrity.com)