six inch stiletto

Stairway denied! Pretty bloody ridiculous if you ask me. Does this mean the guy with the guitar at the end of a party has to pass round a hat to pay the royalties? Gives additional strength to the “I’m not a fucking jukebox, man” defence, if nothing else.

Found via the BBC’s 100 things we didn’t know this time last year

With 18-year-old Hammasa Kohistani crowned Miss England recently, I’ve come across a spate of articles about Muslim beauty queens around the world.

And some advice from islamweb.net which we could all do well to heed (substituting lovedonewetakeforgranted for husband), but nothing beats the woman I saw collecting a child from school recently, wearing different-shades-of-beige jilbab and headscarf, and glittery pink high-heeled strappy sandals and pink glitter-polished toe nails. I so wish I’d had a camera, she was gorgeous. And, in my little corner of the world, for that short trip, not subject to arrest or threats of death.

I do find it a little bit difficult to reconcile designer label logo-printed headscarves with hijab though - Chanel, maybe, but Dolce and Gabbana (as I saw last week)? Can it be okay for a woman to advertise expensive clothes designed by a gay couple in the guise of Muslim modesty? I guess such things demonstrate to the wider London community that Islam is a religion wherein people pick and choose which parts of dogma they wish to apply to their own lives, as with any other religion, and that can only enhance understanding. She probably just liked it, though.

Just- wow . This tallish (5′11) healthy strong intelligent male has to have received a whuppin’ from somebody.

Tough. The stiletto has to come out for this one.

Because I haven’t posted it here yet, and because it is way cool, here is a link to John Udell’s screencast about heavÿ metal ümlaüts and the evolution of a wikipedia article.

Here you will find the current article.

Mmmm broccoli. It is one of my favourite vegetables, when cooked properly. It is disgusting when cooked badly. And the way to cook it properly is this (when you’re not using it on pizza - try it on pizza, it’s good! with roasted pine nuts!):

Fill a small saucepan approx. halfway full with water, then place on a high heat on the stove to boil.

Chop your broccoli into roughly evenly-sized pieces.

When the water’s boiling, add the broccoli. After the water has returned to the boil, let the broccoli cook for NO MORE THAN ONE MINUTE. That way mushy, bitter broccoli lies.

After one minute, drain the broccoli and then replace it into the empty saucepan.

Fill the saucepan with cold tap water, put the lid on and leave for two minutes.

Drain the broccoli, then serve immediately with salt and pepper.

It will be bright green, crispy, sweet and delicious. Serve with pretty much anything. Also very good in salads. Green beans may be cooked in exactly the same way (or in fact, with the broccoli).

Fractals in romanesco broccoli