char1ie

Just rephrase the question. "I love your accent! What is your background?" or "What a fantastic name! What's your background?" or "you are very short. Are you a midget?". Obviously the third one is a joke and is not a good way to start any line of questioning. Charlie

I watched the first episode of Season 5 of the Wire last night. More of the same. Investigations. Criminals and bad boys out on the streets. Problems with budgets. The Baltimore Sun. Etc etc. Good stuff but it's looking a bit bleak in Baltimore. Anybody else? Charlie

Keef Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Kebab & Wine Very true! Charlie

The Vale. And Springers! That place is chock full of nutters, sawn-offs and geezers! Charlie

Not for me. I know my purpose in life but the poor Chandelier doesn't. Is it a restaurant? Is it a coffee place? Is it an upmarket tea and cake shop? Is it a bar? Is it a boudoir? The poor thing hasn't got a clue. And nor did its five customers this evening. It needs to make its mind up. At the moment it must be a commercial disaster. And the bored staff don't help. Charlie

Apart from Millers Crossing. And that one with John Goodman (or is it Candy? I get confused) sitting in a hotel room with a typewriter. Good ones outnumber bad: Big Lebowski Fargo Blood Simple (totally excellent!) The one with George Clooney as a hillbilly (uh oh, there I go again) Charlie

The Wire = crime drama. I have a soft spot for a rom com. Music and Lyrics, Knocked Up, Notting Hill. I can't believe I have just admitted that on a public forum! Charlie

If we didn't have them, we'd invent them so that we could swiftly judge things we have no knowledge of. "I'm not watching that. It's soppy romantic shit" "you haven't seen it" "I don't need to see it." We all do it. Pre-judge stuff we have no experience of, based on our experience of what we consider to be related. "I don't like hot food" "I don't like cheese" "I don't like westerns" "I don't like the north" "I don't like woopsies" "I looove woopsies" etc etc. Anyway, the film is cool. Charlie

But making bread is an activity that transcends the ownership of bread. It is much easier and not expensive to buy a loaf of bread. But making bread yourself is fun and rewarding. Charlie

Cassius Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > But NO-ONE likes being stereotyped - it might be > one way (a lazy one) to catagorise the world but > that doesn't mean it's right. > Some stereotypes have been responsible for > discrimination until the recent past and probably > still is (thinking of the straight woman sacked > from a 'gay' nightclub and being called a > 'breeder' - well she may well wish to have > children and therefore that may well be a > stereotyped view of her, but she was awarded > several thousand pounds for it) You are confusing stereotyping with abuse. Stereotyping = "middle class" "blue collar" "Western" "cheerleader" "drama queen" for example. Die Hard is a typical "action movie". If you hear the phrase "action movie" you know what to expect. Same with "middle class". You have a pre-existing and continually reinforced understanding about what these descriptions mean. Charlie

blinder999 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > But Charlie, surely the key activity here is > eating the bread? > Which presumably, anyone who's thinking about > buying a breadmaker is likely to be doing already > on a daily basis. No, it is making the bread. Charlie

I'm not reinforcing stereotypes. And there's nothing wrong with stereotypes anyway, it's how we catagorise the world. You have heard the following phrases, and I think their meanings are all pretty clear: Chick lit = Books aimed primarily at females Family drama = Drama aimed at families Adult entertainment = entertainment for adult. These identify the primary audience that the work is aimed at. Each term is not exclusive. ie Family drama does not mean that you may not watch it if you are not a member of a family. Lighten up. Bridget Jones is a girls film. This film is a boys film. It doesn't exlude girls, or lesbians, or midgets, or the aged, or Spanish people. It jusy happens to be primarily aimed at men. Stop being so bloody East Dulwich. **All said with a smile btw** Charlie

Boys film / girls film. Action, adventure, war, violence / rom com, costume drama, tragedy, soppy love stories. Boys sometimes like girly films and girls sometimes like boyish films. I didn't assume it was a boys film. It is a boys film. Charlie

What are you all on about? My 2008 motto is to engage in the activity before I buy the equipment. So don't buy a running machine until you are running regularly and fancy taking it indoors. Don't buy a bike until you are enjoying riding the bike you have borrowed from a neighbour. Don't buy the workout DVD until you are regularly enjoying doing starjumps and fancy a programme. With this in mind, start making bread (using Delia Smith's recipe) then when you are making a lot of bread, buy a bread maker to speed up the process. Don't buy the breadmaker first. Charlie

Ahhh, we love a bit of the torrent! Charlie

It all depends on equipment. Do you want speakers, lights, smoke, neon, a personality and a huge playlist? Or do you have a PA system in the venue and you just want someone to play music? Obviously the price will vary. Get the yellow pages and ring round. Charlie

Yes, don't bank with Barclays.

Coen Brothers film. Just watched it. A great boys film. Dead drug dealers, a hero who finds the loot, lots of very tense action and chases, loads of blood and killing and it's pretty gruesome. Very Coen Brothers - See Blood Simple and Fargo, add them together with a bit of Desperado and you have a winner! http://vjmorton.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/no-country-for-old-men.jpg Very cool. Not totally excellent. But great. Charlie

And season 5 has just started so I'll be watching episode 1 this weekend. 10 episodes only. Short and sweet. Charlie

It's American I think. And I wince when I hear Americanisms. But there are so many! So as the first word of a story. So I went shopping... And I'm so over that. Show = programme. Did you see that show last night? Store = shop. Click here for our list of stores What's that all about?

Can I get.

Why would anybody bank in person? You have to queue. You waste time. You can't do your banking whenever you want as you have to go to the bank when it is open. And you have to deal with surly miserable staff. Who are miserable because they work in a bank. Online and phone banking is instant, 24 hour, based at home and at your convenience. If someone steals money from a bank they are stealing from the bank, not from you. Charlie

You go into a bank? Crazy. The world of online banking and cash machines is your friend. Charlie

Call the police. I hate the way they pretend to be charity workers. Charlie

I think it's a zen thing. Chickens are living flesh and blood and it's a very satisfying thing to nurture and protect. A happy chicken is a productive chicken. Egg numbers are directly proportionate to happiness. For this reason it falls to you the protector to ensure that your chickens are more than just not eaten by foxes. You will need to make sure that they are not worried by foxes. I'm sure your neighbours will be even more on side if you can offer them an element of care. "Could you watch out for my chickens" "If you see foxes let me know" "I'm worried about the strength of my coop" etc. Follow this up with "Thanks for keeping an eye on my chickens. Here are some eggs" and you'll turn your neighbours into a chicken-conscious community. I think this can be a very positive and community-building activity. Good luck. Charlie