“Talk about politics and your blog stats will collapse”, I was told recently. Did I listen? Of course not. I have tried to be non-political, in fact I stopped my last blog on the grounds that I was being too political, and not necessarily in a way that was compatible with my major supplier of work. I always tried to keep a balance of six basic topics: Living in Germany, science, language, politics, “look what I just saw” and “everything else/lavatory humour”. Although in reality everything tended to fit more into a general category of “look, I’ve just been involved in an entirely avoidable accident and sustained painful physical injury”.
The problem with talking about politics once more isn’t just that one ends up boring everyone else to death, but rather that, despite all that debating society membership (hey, it was either that or the chess club and I needed at least some social cachet), the ability to actively debate does atrophy over time.
Anyway, I’m just giving you fair warning – I’m sure I’ll fill in the next week’s posts with “babe of the day” photos or “boy band news”, just to get the stats looking respectable again, but there might (now that I don’t have to watch my mouth) be the occasional “the stupid fuckers have an €800,000 budget to attract inward investment from the US and UK (and India and China), but because they’ve had to employ 4 national/EU ‘oversight’ co-ordinators, who do no actual work whatsoever, can no longer afford to pay the two native English speakers who actually produced all their material, and it’s now done by a German intern who just passed her English Abitur” rant.
Apart from that, as the Tour de France has just started I’ll probably be linking excessively to Mark at (the excellent, but suddenly shifted southwards) Blognor Regis.
German Phrase For Today: “Themawechsel” – So, nice weather isn’t it?.
Song playing as this was published: Juli “Die Perfekte Welle”
Well, I don’t mind so much about the politics as long as you stop calling me “disturbingly white”.
Looking forward to “Boy Band News” - just think of all the traffic you’ll get.
Christina: Yes, I know, we’re all tanned now….. the “distubingly white” comment (although I could be mistaken - it might have been horrendously or disturbingly white) has become a by-word (by words) for a particular kind of white, middle class, male self-loathing in Britain (and the post was pretty much amained at British readers). Anyway, I wanted to at least suggest I was aware of all that before jumping up and down in th air, waving my arms and screaming “I might be a white, middle class English male, but I had a girlfriend with brown skin, aren’t I so frightfully tolerant”.
maybe you could try and post a highly relevant literature quiz, like me, for instance
hey, you don’t take into account that outside the weather is nice, it’s summer, people go out etc etc…really, what do I do in front of the PC on this beautiful Italian Sunday afternoon?? I’m leaving, ciao In-Act!
PS sorry I never comment your political posts, but I really have big problems following *italian* politics, I give up when I try with other countries. I’m a woman after all, I’m not supposed to do such things!!
strangely enough since I started blogging POLITICS my blog stats have increased astronomically, of course with a little help from my friends.
Liseuse: I get the same answer as use, but as that describes me as witty and dedicated, it might well be a trifle innacurate. They did get “disillusioned” though…. And good weather? It’s below 25° here!
Incidentally I’d struggle with Italian politics too. Far too often I fail at pub-quiz questions which start “Which 1970s Italian Prime Minister……” and it all comes down to guessing between 24 (or however many there were).
Euroyank: So what would you suggest? Write a post about the benefits of massively liberalised and unfettered free-trade, that global warming is just a fallacy, how I love my SUV and then promote it vigourously at Daily Kos?
Only 24? Jeeez, I thought we had done better. I’m pretty disappointed.
…in fact I stopped my last blog on the grounds that I was being too political, and not necessarily in a way that was compatible with my major supplier of work.
That’s not the type of comment you’re going to explain, is it?
liseuse: I think the average since 1945 has been one per year, hasn’t it? Of course, I’m not going to mention the period of, ahem, political stability you’re currenty enjoying, except to say that at least he wears well-tailored suits.
Anyhoo: I think you know the answer to that one - let’s give it at least a month to make sure I definetly have lost the contract, eh?
OK, went to your “Babe of the Day” link….she’s cute but really too young for grown ups. My favorite was this:
Worrying Signs
According to the BBC, the key elements of narcissistic personality disorder - the condition that led a 19-year-old boy to bludgeon his parents to death - are as follows…
* Grandiose sense of self-importance
* Preoccupied with fantasies about unlimited successes
* Believes self to be “special”
* Requires excessive admiration
* Has a sense of entitlement
* Is interpersonally exploitative
* Lacks empathy
* Is often envious
* Displays arrogant, haughty behaviour
Ok that describes every single surgeon i have worked for to date (4). When I find one that doesn’t fit this profile, I’ll be sure to write.
GAK! I have narcissistic personality disorder… Look! I can’t stop talking about myself on someone else’s blog… I’ll be bludgeoning people I care about to death any day now. Good thing they all live in another country.
820: “The Babe Of The Day” link - I try to link back in some way to people who link to me. I saw that guy (I presume it’s a guy) linked to me and whilst I don’t know why - it was as far away from political discussion I could find.
Having taught biochemistry to medical students, I can honestly say that it starts way before they become surgeons.
EasyJetsetter: Well it’s probably best that you stay safely ensconsed/restrained in the one country then