Fisher Price Feet

Is it just me, or does the entire world appear to have been taken over by the deadly curse of Fisher Price Feet? Men, women and children all over the country, and indeed overseas - the virus appears to have spread worldwide - are walking around with their hooves encased in plastic toys.
For those who have managed to escape this scary phenomenon, I present to you Crocs.
Plastic shoes in a variety of garish colours, which for some reason the accompanying words 'comfy' and 'colourful' have managed to cause grown men and women to abandon all sense of style and reason and wear these items with vigour.
Now don't get me wrong, I am all in favour of comfy. Even colourful. (Blue Suede Shoes anyone?) I mean I own many pairs of flipflops, and there is even a pink stripey set in the pile somewhere. However, there were, I thought, times and places for such attire, and only the few delighted in regularly startling their peers with mad footwear.
It seems I am wrong. Gone are the days of a simpler time. Black, brown, navy. White if you're from Essex, or you're a girl and it's summer. Red if you feel like scandalising the office. Now an entire nation is being bombarded with yellow, orange and lime green, worn with reckless abandon and without a moment's hesitation. How long can it last I ask myself. How can people be that happy when they are wearing shoes quite that ugly?
And then I look down at my own worn trotters, scarred and blistered from those very pretty shoes and wonder if it's worth it. Pah, of course it is.
I shall wait earnestly for the rest of you to come to your senses.

Tank Girl Tardis

Having spent a weekend selling books at a Living History event, and reading the newspapers when trade was quiet, my mind has been a jumble of significant historical events and Princess Diana. I still remember where I was when I heard - standing in a towel on my doorstep as my partner of the time arrived and relayed the news in incredulous tones. I’m sure many others do too.
This got me thinking about other notable where were yous, and how much they defined society at the time. JFK. 9/11. Man on the Moon. The end of WWII. What a day that must have been. One of joy, relief, regret, remembrance. The world caught up in a time of change.
The words ‘time machine’ probably conjure up different things to different SciFi fans. For most these days I expect it’s Doctor Who. Being able to travel back in time to any period of history intrigues and mystifies me. I mean, if you could go anywhere, where would you go? Where would you start?
Going forward in time is perhaps an easier task. Maybe only a few weeks - if not only to find out the lottery numbers. (Call me a charlatan, but I’m not sure I want to fast forward 50 years the rate we’re going.)
But going back in time, there are so many things I’d love to experience, witness. Perhaps I should make a list. Give myself boundaries and encourage others to make their own.

1) The building of the pyramids, Egypt. When travelling there a couple of years ago, I was amazed not only by the unequivocal beauty of what I had seen, but the sheer capacity of mankind in the face of adversity. I mean, these people made pillars as wide as Olympic swimming pools.

2) The first journey of the Orient Express - imagine being able to see such landscapes in such luxury. The wonders, the excitement, the hustle and bustle.

3) The discovery of America, with Christopher Columbus. Aside from the Great Potato Discovery, of course, to have travelled so far, and to see this new land on the horizon…

4) The age of the Samurai - Japan during this time and the men who governed and fought for their country intrigue and in many ways inspire me. The castles, the gardens, the armour, the customs. Such devotion and dedication is perhaps unequalled.

5) London, the 1920s. The lifestyle, the style. Decadence and delight.

6) Notable mention - The Brat Pack years. Sinatra, Martin. Vegas, New York. Could anyone be any cooler than Ol’ Blue Eyes?

Of course, beyond these wonderful worlds of adventure, there is one time and place I’d give anything to go back to. Nepal, 1998. The best two weeks of my life. Hiking through the Himalayas with my late father. Sometimes there’s just nothing better than family and a great view.

Not a control freak? Are they sure?

You Are 28% Control Freak

You have achieved the perfect balance of control and letting go.You tend to roll with whatever life brings, but you never get complacent.

Are You A Control Freak?

Seeing as I have spent much of my working life being told the opposite, I am somewhat flummoxed at these results.
Perhaps that's what you get for leaving these things in charge of someone else... ;-)

Crispbook

It struck me the other day, whilst Owen and I were swimming up and down at the Ferry debating on why facebook had become quite so compelling, how much I was behind the times in the world of friends. I have taken up both the garish MySpace and the stark Facebook, and dabbled frequently, and then less frequently, with both. Reasons for the dwindling upkeep of these pages seem to be because I am not very good at expanding my 'e-circle', (talk to strangers you say?) and therefore find myself talking to the same people I normally do, and even sit near, except in a diluted form on a public forum.
Now don't get me wrong, I very much appreciate the ease of wall posting, the numerous applications you get to play with (damn, that Movie Quiz is addictive), and even the regular occurence of photos which I would rather die than ever see of me again. I just wonder whether, in the grand scheme of things, I should perhaps be texting, phoning, or even, gasp, seeing these people instead of frittering away the same precious hours sat on a computer in a darkened room, whilst eating crisps.
So from now on, I intend to keep my facebooking in some sort of check - lunchtimes not included of course - I mean what else does one do these days? - and actually go out and see people. I mean that's what life's about, isn't it? That and eating crisps of course.

Bring on the Crusher

Now I'm assuming most people I know won't have seen this, so I thought I would share with you my new tank girl discovery – the mammoth beast that is the CRUSHER. The Crusher is an unmanned ground vehicle that operates autonomously in off-road terrain. Or as described by The Olive-Drab blog: "it's a six-ton behemoth that moves out, up and over whatever gets in its way."
Designed by the National Robotics Engineering Center at Carnegie-Mellon University, it looks absolutely awesome. But words don't quite cut it with things like this, so here it is:







Now I for one would love to drive this thing. Anyone for a whizz round the carpark?

i-swim

Is it odd to get quite so excited to discover that you can now waterproof your i-pod, and indeed buy 'pre-made' waterproof mp3 players?
Having started swimming a few months ago, and after finally acknowledging the fact that I am now addicted, (having gotten hideously antsy when I went away and found the hotel pool closed for maintenance) this to me seems like a wonderful idea. The monotonous up and down, up and down just sometimes needs that little bit extra to get you through. I mean don't get me wrong, there are some great people watching opportunities. The gold lame bikini woman (no, dear, not really, not in a leisure centre), the beached whale, who thrashes around whole-heartedly, yet barely gets 5 yards and drowns the entire pool (please go home, please), the gay couple who swim along together eyeing up each half decent six pack (such a refreshing change), and the Damart lady, whose collection of floral swimwear knows no bounds.
However, sometimes, there is nothing quite like The Eye of the Tiger, Fortunate Son, or indeed 'The Boss,' when you hit that wall.