Tag: Things that totally suck

Urban Island

House & Home

Okay, here’s a place that for some reason has taken my imagination:

Another view:

It’s in England — it could only be in England in that location — and in the chilly north (York), which would make it even less desirable.  Also, from its description it’s in terrible shape inside, and in typical Brit fashion it has only one bathroom, but ignore all that for the moment.

Like I said, for some reason it has a strange appeal for me.  The “no neighbors” thing is one attraction, and yes, there will be terrible traffic noise so having a garden is not that much of an attraction.  But it’s surely a better deal than one of the houses / apartments across the main road, which have all the same noise but not any privacy, with two shared walls and cramped living conditions.

Could you live in such a place, or is it the stuff of your nightmares?

I meant this to be posted yesterday, but in my sickened state I cocked up the date, so here it is.

Marking Time

Deep Thoughts

Am I the only one who’s in a mood of suspension, here?

Of late, I feel myself facing the tide of daily events with a sense of either indifference or irritation — in the latter case, that whatever happens before the November elections will turn out to be irrelevant.

More than ever before, this election will be a watershed of some kind in this nation’s history.  If Trump wins the Presidency, perhaps he can do all the things — or at least most of the things — that could begin to turn the ship of state around, away from the looming catastrophe of Socialism that would most certainly be cemented in place should Harris and her Communist vice-president win.

I have to say that I felt the same way before Obama was elected, but not as keenly as I do now.

Is this what faces us, in the foreseeable future?  A perpetual cycle of eight years of socialism, followed by four years of slight correction, followed by another eight years of socialism?

I leave it to others — I have to leave it to others — to decide what happens from now on.  I am but one vote, one voice, and my age and failing health will prevent me from participating in what so many conservatives are calling a “revolution”, an upheaval so cataclysmic that for the first time in my life, I am afraid not just of that, but of the consequences thereof.

I have made all sorts of preparations, taken all sorts of precautions, but I fear that no matter what I have done, it will not be enough.

Synchronicity

Military

…or what we Olde Pharttes used to call “coincidence”*.

Last week I posted a query from a Reader (read it here) about relocating a grandson, and there were a number of comments from other Readers on the topic.

So later in the week, I found this little snippet (via Kenny):


Only 37% of respondents would encourage their family to serve in the military, while 63% would not, according to the poll. Several branches of the military have been plagued with recruiting and retention problems in recent years as the Pentagon continues to look for solutions.

Of those who would not encourage their family members to join the military, 57% said they felt that way because it is “too dangerous,” according to the poll. Approximately 45% cited the “failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan” as the reason not to join.

Funny thing, that.  I always thought that joining the military would entail some kind of physical risk, but that probably just shows how out of touch I am with the modern world.

*I know there’s a substantial conceptual difference between synchronicity and coincidence.

Not As Advertised

Seen On Campus

It seems as though some over-achieving Brit students won a prize:

Three girls from an inner-city sixth form are heading to the US after securing the A-level results needed for their £1million Ivy League scholarships.

The bright trio passed their admissions tests with flying colours meaning Harvard and Princeton offered to fund the entire cost of their four-year education – for close to £350k each.

However, the final step of getting onto their courses rested on their A-level results – making for an anxious few months for the Newham Collegiate Sixth Form (NCS) pupils.

Yesterday it was confirmed that all three teenagers scored the grades necessary to study in the US – meaning they can now start preparing for the big move.

And the names of these hardworking girls?  Sally McKenzie, Julia Holbrooke and Heather Smith.

Nah, just kidding:

Tasneen Hossain, Feyisara Adeyemi, and Harmanpreet Garcha, all 18, were each awarded places at top universities in the States through a programme run by their East London school. 

You see, this is where the whole affirmative action thing poisons the well.  Yes I know, I have no doubt that these girls worked hard and got the results that enabled them to qualify.

But as any fule kno, the chances of Tasneen Hossain, Feyisara Adeyemi and Harmanpreet Garcha getting into an Ivy League university are going to be far better than if their names were Sally McKenzie, Julia Holbrooke and Heather Smith.

Because equity, you see, and Ivy Leagues are lousy with this foul pestilence.  So there’s always going to be that little niggle of doubt about whether they actually merited the scholarships over, say Sally McKenzie, Julia Holbrooke and Heather Smith (the latter automatically disqualified in the admissions process because White Privilege, you see).

Sadly, the joke is going to be on these girls, because Ivy League degrees aren’t worth a quarter of what they used to be.  As they will no doubt discover when they apply for any jobs outside academia.

Question Answered

Bureaucracy, Gummint, Health

A Reader asks:

“Why do you always diss the UK’s National Health Service in your news roundups?  It’s not like we have anything like it.”

He’s referring to this sardonic comment under some catastrophe involving the above institution:

Basically — and even among a few otherwise-levelheaded conservative Murkins — a lot of people seem to wish that we had a similar institution (nationalized “free” health care) Over Here.

All I’m doing is simply pointing out the many and varied ways that such a system — even one like the much-vaunted NHS — can fuck up your life.

And that we should never.