Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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I think I know which two things are most on the minds of British contributors, right now but does that mean that's what this post is going to be about?
I don't have a clue.
That's because it all depends on the first person to comment below.
It's true. Once again, we're encountering a Tuesday in the second half of a month. And that can only mean it's the return of Speak Your Brain, the greatest exercise in democracy the human race has - or ever will - encounter.
Today's subject could be art, films, flans, plans, books, bagels, cooks, nooks, crooks, ducks, drakes, pixies, rocks, music, mucous, fairy tales, fairy lights, Fairy Liquid, fairy cakes, Eccles cakes, myth, moths, maths, magic, tragedy, comedy, dromedaries, murder, larders, Ladas, mystery, mayhem, molluscs, Moorcock, May Day, mangoes, bongoes, drongoes, bingo, Ringo, Pingu, Ringu, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Doris Day, Marvin Gaye, the Equinox, parallelograms, rhomboids, androids, asteroids, pomegranates, granite, marble, marbles, maples, staples, fables, stables, sofas, eggs, pegs, legs, dregs, sodas, sausages, eggs, whisky, broth, Bath, baths, Garth Marenghi, Garth Brooks, Garth Crooks, Bruno Brookes, Bruno Mars, Mars Bars, wine bars, flip-flops, flim-flam, flapjacks, backpacks, see-saws, jigsaws, dominoes, draft excluders, dunderheads, deadheads, webheads, flowerpots, flour pots, bread bins, bin bags, body bags, body horror, shoddy horror, doggy bags, bean bags, coal sacks, cola, cocoa, pancakes, pizzas, baking soda, sci-fi, Wi-Fi, Hi-Fi, sewage, saunas, suet, Silurians, Sontarans, Sea Devils, sins, suns, sans, sense, sludge, slumps, sumps, sunshine, slime, soup, sandwiches or sandcastles.
Or it could not be.
Only you can decide.
But will you...?
Charlie reporting in feom Paris where it is a balmy 104 degrees. Though Charlie is tough as nails, Charlie’s missus asks if you gents have any tricks for staying cool since the UK is hot as hell too, lol.
ReplyDeleteCharlie, oh my brother-
ReplyDeleteSipping on a couple frosty mugs in my AC'd hotel bar right now, but need to piddle a bit with my vehicles outside. Got a cooler packed with ice, water, soda, and of course BEER.
After I'm done, I'm going to lug the cooler into my room & finish the beer, while soaking my feet in the cooler's ice & watch crappy movies.
Personally if my feet are cool, the rest of me is as well.
-Killdumpster
Thanks KD. I’ll advise the missus to put her feet in the pasta pot with cold water LOL! No coolers in the Airbnb unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteThink my viewing may include films based in cooler temperatures, like Peter Cushing/ Forest Tucker's ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN, THE SHINING, and the sequel DR. SLEEP (which I hadn't seen yet).
ReplyDelete-Killdumpster
Charlie, oh my brother!-
ReplyDeleteAre you already married AGAIN?! Jumping Jesus on a pogo-stick! Is she another French woman?!!
Well, there goes my secret plans to drive over to Illinois and cruise strip joints with you. Lol.
Jezzuz bloody he'll.
-Killdumpster
Meant "HELL." Congrats, though, oh my brother. Wish you the best.
ReplyDeleteKeep a bowl of wet flannels or teatowels in the fridge to refresh yourself with.
ReplyDeleteKeep the windows and curtains closed because the air outside is like the Sahara.
Allow yourself to do nothing.
These are things I’ve learned today.
Also: don’t adopt a cat at the height of summer, because you have to keep the doors and windows closed just when you really don’t want to be doing that.
KD- me and the missus are of the age we can commit without anyone / any institutions approval LOL! We are heart and mind and soul one entity.
ReplyDeleteMM - thanks for the advice!!! We were doing colder showers but that does add humidity. Cold towels are in the fridge thanks to you! And our movements have been restricted to air conditioned museums (except for the cluster of comic book shops a bit south and east of notre dame cathedral, natch!) 104 is just too hot!!!
Having worked in the home improvement/insulation industry, I learned the importance of air exchange.
ReplyDeleteWhen its hot outside, point a fan blowing OUT the window, with another fan outside of the room (hopefully from a cooler hallway, etc) blowing IN the room. A small table fan blowing on yourself is a plus.
I've never had air conditioning in my entire life in any homes I've ever had. I've always been relatively comfortable, and slept well.
-Killdumpster
Sleep during the day Charlie.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt if DW comes along from the deep north down under later he will have a good laugh at people in Europe going on about the heat.
Steve, you were right - its looking like Liz Truss will get to the final of 'Next British PM' after all, and quite possibly win. What a mad country.
Personally, I think its a bad system. If Boris Johnson has a mandate and can't hold onto power obviously the runner-up from the 2019 election should get the job, and Jeremy Corbyn should be the new PM. Thats not a political opinion, its just logic.
Now he's an Independent he could collectivize the economy and start executing the kulaks straight away.
If only the British were more sensible, eh?
-sean
Sean, I could never find amusement at folks feeling discomfort or pain. Especially people that get spanked by forces out of their control.
ReplyDeleteNow giggling about some folks' political philosophies, THAT'S a different story.
Heard that there are coal-fired power plants being dusted-off in Europe. Guess everyone is figuring out that Mr.Sunshine & fairies blowing pixie dust into the generator fan blades ain't gonna keep the show-on-the-road.
A fella at a gas station asked me if I'm going to change my old Dodge Swinger to ELECTRIC.
Glared at him, in disbelief & anger. Evaluated it wasn't worth a debate with the fellow.
-Killdumpter
The worst British heatwave I've ever experienced was in 2013. It started on July 4th and lasted for three weeks and it was absolutely horrendous. My bedroom felt like an oven during that heatwave but not this time so I'm puzzled by the "hottest day ever" claims for today. My tip for keeping cool is to use a hand-held fan, a piece of cardboard or something similar will do fine. Or move to the Arctic.
ReplyDeleteSean, we don't have a presidential system so it isn't "just logic" for Jeremy Corbyn to become PM as BoJo never had a "mandate" in the first place, whatever he thinks. I assume that all the supporters of barmy Badenoch will pile in behind Truss now and she'll reach the final two. And once there she'll sweep aside "socialist" Sunak and the reign of The Tin Lady will begin.
Why I've been giving as many "heat tips" that I can think of is I really understand that in many ways the UK truly can't deal with the ongoing weather onslaught.
ReplyDeleteCheck on your older loved ones. Especially those in England. My ancestory is 70% British, and I know all about the "stiff-upper-lip."
Here in the states when it gets blazing, we had cooling stations for the elderly. Find a place for Poppa, Nana, & Grammy to chill down.
Alright, oh my brothers. Done with public
service announcements. Keep cool.(Arrrgh).
Killdumpter, being suspicious of new technologies - effectively being the guy on horseback scoffing at them new fangled railways - isn't very scientific.
ReplyDelete'The west' allowing the fossil fuel industries to own its political class and sticking its collective head in the sand isn't too smart either.
Personally I don't mind if another region dominates the world the way the Brits and then the Americans did in the 19th and 20th centuries respectively because they were in the forefront of industrial revolutions - it would even things out a bit - but unfortunately the planet is too small to let crazy billionaires get their way imo.
Ok, being serious is a bit boring, so I'm going to stop.
Yes Colin, I know the UK doesn't have a presidential system. I don't think Corbyn was actually for executing the kulaks either (;
-sean
Sean-
ReplyDeleteThough I totally know about the obsolescence of technology, there seems to be an assumption about new technology being able to carry the hard load.
Ain't looking like it can currently handle the burden. Kinda like loading a new-born mule like an old-school mule.The science hasn't advanced enough to be efficient & affordable.
It will take maybe 100 years for humans to possibly ween themselves from fossil fuels by 25%. Completely. AROUND ALL THE WORLD.
Sorry to disrupt the rainbows, lollipops, & unicorns, but it's the cold, carbon truth.
That doesn’t mean you should give up. Seriously - the destruction fossil fuels are wreaking and their finite nature makes them definitively unsustainable.
DeleteI’m not sure your timescale makes sense either: people were saying this stuff 25 years ago and now we have electric cars, electric buses, actual working wind power etc etc. It’d take significantly less than 100 years if people actually just tried a bit harder.
-Killdumpster
ReplyDeleteKilldumpster, I'd never heard of America's cooling stations until a few days ago when somebody was talking about them on the radio.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, if you were British you'd be Killskip because a dumpster is called a skip in Britain.
Sean, I thought it was YOU, not Corbyn, who wanted to execute the Kulaks ;)
You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, Colin.
ReplyDelete-sean
My top tip is to head for an air-conditioned shopping centre or cinema. Alternatively, sit in front of a fan in your smalls.
ReplyDeleteDW
Colin-
ReplyDeleteHa ha! "Killskip" sounds like an 80's-early 90's X-Men team member. Disney designers are probably working on it now, even as I type this. Lol.
Sean-
Here in the states we don't currently have to wait for broken egg omelets.
Our POTUS is a staggering, simpering, lying, whimpering, pathetic, corrupt simp, and a broken eggcase. While he's frothing down scrambled, poached, over-easy, and sunny-side-up the American people are the ones with egg on the face.
-Killdumpster
I'd welcome Boris as a member of our government. At least he's more energetic & passionate than the stock market vampire, old croney swamp creatures that gank-up our houses of gov't, and maybe not bend so hard to the prog left.
ReplyDelete-Killdumpster
Well, I finished THE SHINNING. I love this movie, but when I talk to kids about ti, they always tell me there's something new there you don't find at first.
ReplyDeleteI look at the young ones, with a slightly Nickleson smirk, "Kids. I've watched this film 30 times. I've read King's book twice, researched Kubrick, King, their assistant, production, and editing staff. Also OCEANS of reviews and commentaries.
Plus watched King's remake TWICE. All about Traci Lords., maybe. Kinda like TOMMYKNOCKERS. Heh.
There's no suprised elements in view, but I will admit there are debatable points to be made concerning the major plot of the film.
ReplyDelete-Killdumpster
Matthew McKinnon-
ReplyDeleteThe mining of materials to manufacture the batteries can't be neglected. That's raping the planet also. Also, what to do with the batteries that are spent? That's a big chuck'o toxic metal to bury or sink into the ocean.
That's okay, though. It's gonna be powered by "green energy". Until when the windmills, shiney panels, and magic dreamstones can't power the grid, black-outs a-go-go.
Electricity doesn't usually come from a breeze, a few rays of light through the clouds, or wishing on a rock. IT COMES FROM A POWER PLANT.
Gonna be awhile till we reach eco/socio-utopia. Everybody needs to calm down. Dammit.
-Killdumpster
Well, like I said - technology doesn’t just stay in one place. It progresses over time. And the more resources you put into something and the more you lean on it the quicker you get there. But no: easier to fill up at the pump and say ‘unicorns, too difficult etc’.
DeleteBut I’ll tell you one thing: fossil fuels and their use doesn’t seem to have developed at all. You burn oil and put poison in the air. Always have, always will. And then it’ll run out.
So maybe if people had put their backs into alternative energy sources like sea and wind power (they don’t run out) they wouldn’t all be running around like headless chickens when a certain Russian dicatator cuts off your oil supply. Just a thought.
Killdumpster, Boris Johnson was born in New York so I suppose he could enter the race for US president in 2024.
ReplyDeleteTrump-Johnson '24?
I heard cooking Kulaks over a coal oven and eating them, while wearing a thong, helps the body cope with extreme temperatures.
ReplyDeleteSweet Jesus! It’s raining in Paris! It’s a beautiful 69 degrees! (Que up Serge Gainsbourg LOL!). And i assume that means the temps have dropped next door in the UK!!! Charlie the Charred
ReplyDeleteThanks for the topic, Charlie. Sadly, I don't have any tips apart from the obvious, of using fans, stay out of the sun, don't let direct sunlight into the building, wear as few clothes as possible, drink plenty of water and hold onto bottles filled with cold water.
ReplyDeleteHello gentlemen! Culture question! In the UK must you put your eggs in the refrigerator or as in France and Germany can you leave them on the counter or non-refrigerated?
ReplyDeleteI put my eggs in the fridge but there's no issue as far as I'm aware having them in a bowl on the counter etc. Then again I wouldn't like them non refrigerated in a really hot climate.
ReplyDeleteNot an egg man myself Charlie, but obviously the Brits can now do whatever they like with theirs now they're free of the tyrants in Brussels.
ReplyDeleteFor the benefit of those who seem to get their 'information' from Fox News, I think it is worth pointing out that it wasn't actually the 'prog left' - or punk liberals, raving remoaner establishment, the meejah, or any other gammon bogey-person - that got rid of Boris Johnson, but his own government. Thats how useless he is.
Thats three right-wing nutters who've run the UK now since the referendum, which was only six years ago. The English keep voting 'em in, and they keep resigning in disgrace, lol.
Brexit really is the gift that keeps on giving.
-sean
Oops, I got a bit carried away there. Apologies for mentioning the Brexit, Steve.
ReplyDelete-sean
Charlie (I think), I always put my eggs in the fridge but my local shops never refrigerate them. So, I assume they don't strictly need to be.
ReplyDeleteCharlie thanks you for the egg comments. It’s nice to see eggs on the counter again in some strange way.
ReplyDeleteSteve, your sharp powers of analysis have been proven correct - Liz Truss has pulled it out of the bag! She's in the final, and the bookies have her as 4/7 favourite to win, and be Britain's next PM.
ReplyDeleteIts kind of amazing how they manage to find someone even worse every time, isn't it?
-sean
When I worked at a chicken farm in my early teens, I was in charge of a building with egg-laying hens. Quite often I'd come across double yoke eggs. Some folks say they are tastier than regular eggs, and better for baking. I never tasted any difference. Maybe just a little more yoke to dunk my logtiks of toast into.
ReplyDeleteWe only made $2.00 per hour, but they gave us 2 flats (5 dozen) of eggs each week. Luckily my family loved eggs, and my sister loved to bake. She always put extra eggs in her cakes & cookies (biscuits to some of you folks). There was always home-baked treats around the house, and that certainly was welcome during my stoner years.
We still had excess eggs, though. My mom would buy the cheapest dog food for my pet beagle. He wouldn't touch it, but I'd break a1/2 dozen eggs on it, he huffed it down like a champ.
That was years before folks talked about cholesterol, but I'm sure his level was high. He sure had a rich, thick coat, though.
-Killdumpster
Bah! today in 1951 Klatuu arrived on earth!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAre we still talking about the heat? The in laws came round yesterday.
ReplyDelete"How were you with all the heat the last two days, DM?"
"Perfectly fine. We shut all the windows, closed the curtains wherever windows faced the sun, had a fan going all day. No problem at all."
"We did all that but we got absolutely roasted. All the windows shut, all the curtains shut, fan on the go. Maybe we shouldn’t have left the patio doors open."
I'm not making this up.
DW - I think you should nominate “surreal discussions “for the next “speak your mind! “That one, buddy, does take the cake.
ReplyDelete