Squirrel contraceptives, pirates and New Zealand

This may at first appear to be anne-marie just being schitzophrenic again. And, admittedly the whining zooms of little mosquito fireworks outside my window MAY indeed cause this in the very near future....oh, wait! They STOPPED -- yay! (I do not know the name of this particular, yet very common, firework because of my sheltered childhood. This is so upsetting.)

Anyhoo, just returned from Bonfire Night Excursionary Activity. It was quite fun (despite the rain. and the sluggish bonfire. and the buckets of mud that we walked through. along with 73,000 other people. but we all know that i love mud, so that wasn't a big deal.). All in all a good outing that ended with one pint at the Pen and Wig (isn't that just the best name?). I had even found a Pound on the street, so that was reason to celebrate! And that made me a lot happier than pennies do! Not to denigrate pennies, or make them feel uncomfortable or marginalized. I appreciate pennies very much.

This is an annoying picture of Monirah (my friend from my course), Fabiana and her friend, Emmanuelle. It's kind of cool small, but photo editor is not helping me here.

Back to the title -- this is merely a small selection of the items I have to report from today.

Firstly, squirrel contraception was the radio topic this morning when I was preparing to leave the house at 8.00 to go to the Cardiff Bay Rotary Club Charity Car Park. The basic premise is putting out contraceptive-laced yummies for the squirrels to reduce their population since they are becoming such a nuisance here. If I heard correctly, this is the black squirrel. They destroy bird egss, kill baby birds and also have decimated the red squirrel population. The question is how would you make sure that the squirrels ate this on a regular enough basis. Sadly, and I know to everyone's great disappointment, I had to leave and did not get to hear the outcome of this brilliant discussion. But it did make me think of a friend's clever idea about controlling other populations :)

Car Park news -- I was finally able to get a semi-decent picture of a magpie!!!!! I really hope everyone will be able to see the blue on his wings. He was very saucy and did not want his picture taken; and so kept galloping just a bit further.

But on to other news. PIRATES (are we living in the 1500s?) attacked a cruise ship off the coast of Somalia today, launching rocket grenades (oh, i guess this is the 20th century part) as part of the assault. The "well-prepared" crew immediately went into "trained" defense positions and, I suppose, saved them from being pirated. Although I am still not clear on the outcome of the battle -- but I do know that one crew member suffered injuries. Passengers were advised to stay below decks. okay.

Riots continue in and around Paris for the ninth straight day. Consult Drudge; I hear he is reporting this back home. Am also slightly amused by the image of The Sun on his front page -- that is the most rubbish newspaper here and is the butt of many jokes of intelligence level.

Hunting season opened in the UK today -- to much protesting on both sides. This is the first year that fox hunting ban is in effect. But people still went out on the hunts...but without their dogs. Haven't had time to check if they were successful in killing foxes, but it was more of a principle thing. There still are people here who do like their guns. [BTW, there was a rather amusing radio show this week on how much the Swiss and the Americans love their guns. To enlighten you all, this is completely male-dominant behaviour and...well, you can go on from there.)

Let's see: there were notes on the news about how fireworks adversely affect animals, causing trauma and requiring that they be medicated.

Also, there was a small protest this week about Bonfire Night continuing to be celebrated in this modern era. Turns out that it MIGHT promote terrorism because it is glorifying the villification of a VILLIAN who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and the King in 1605. It was apparently thought that perhaps it might offend Roman Catholics, since Guy Fawkes was Catholic and trying to overthrow (well, actually decimate) the Protestant Government. This was quelled and so i was able to walk through buckets of mud to see FIRE with my friends! Fire is good. Sadly, this is the best bonfire picture i got (camera was on nighttime portrait and it didn't turn out so perfectly. think of it as art.)

Moving right along -- this was a mentally draining day, especially since I actually wrote some on my paper about Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) and read Noam Chomsky, too. Brain cramp. :) -- oh, and this should not be left to last -- shame on me. Today was the Wales v. New Zealand rugby match. There were 70, 000 people in attendance and mercy was it crowded in the city centre today! Really an electricity in the air. However, by the time we went to the fireworks, it was all over and much less electric. The All-Blacks (NZ) won 41 to 3.

To your left, you will see the Cardiff Drummer Guy. He randomly plays stationary objects as drums (such as trashcans). When I first got here, he was in a tank top and shorts and sandals -- actually rather scantily clad. Then he also wears this mesh shirt that is really a travesty. Today, we seemed to be going for a Star-Trek: The Next Generation crossed with an 80s Madonna/Prince back-up singer crossed with Egyptian Mardi Gras.

Finally, just so that won't have to be the last item... that SONG is still being played.
Show me the Way to Amarillo graced us when Fabiana and Monirah and I rode the fun carnival ride (to R). (Monirah is my friend in Forensic Linguistics; she is from Kuwait City.)
Show the me the Way to Amarillo assaulted our ears again for the fireworks display. I laugh hysterically whenever I hear it.

NOTE: word may be passed to Mr. Travis that Cardiff has a few things to learn from Keachi, Louisiana Fourth of July.

Am now listening to Opera on Classic FM to finish off the day. Perhaps I am a bit off-balance...