incurable hippie\\\'s musings and rantsincurable hippie\\\'s musings and rantsAbout me? Mad, in debt, feminist, radical, angry, pacifist, warrior, radio 4 listener, geek, flower-power chick... About Hippie blog? Ramblings, photos, fury, giggles and musings about love, peace, friendship, madness, happiness, the state of the wor 
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This Blog Will Change Your Life
2008-11-12 15:29:00 For the last five years, I have had a diary that would change my life. Five years!It gives you mad tasks to do, from making the Dalai Lama get angry, to making citizens arrests, to matching your mood to the stock market, and blaming the full moon for everything.As I'm starting to get appointments and things for 2009 I decided it was time to get my next year's diary so I went to Waterstones on Sunday, with an open mind - to get my favourite of the diaries there. Something that, knowing I would use it most days for a year, would stay interesting and not bore me. I looked at the numerous ones on sale but guess what... I ended up with This Diary Will Change Your Life 2009I hope it will. I'm nothing if not original. NaBloPoMo More About: Blog
An Open Letter to Barack Obama
2008-11-11 15:48:00 by Alice WalkerAlice Walker on expectations, responsibilities and a new reality thatis almost more than the heart can bear.Dear Brother Obama ,You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Usbeing the black people of the Southern United States. You think youknow, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history.But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried,year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only tobe struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, isalmost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is notintended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed,because of all the relay runners before you, North America is adifferent place. It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, throughall the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of thespirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you wouldactually appear, someday, was part of our strength... More About: Barack Obama , Open , Barack , Letter
Fundies Say The Darndest Things...
2008-11-10 21:44:00 Fundies Say the Darndest Things is a site which is always worth a visit. People post totally bizarre or outrageous things said by Christian fundamentalists, and others can vote and comment on them.It sounds maybe puerile, but that's until you see the quotes by the fundies... then you realise who is being sensible here and who's not.Some examples:I believe that the husband and wife should vote as one: meaning that, after discussing the possible options, both come to a mutual decision and the wife strengthens the husband's vote with hers. I think it's a shame if the wife disregards her husband's opinion and "cancels" his vote by choosing the opposite. And in my opinion, the same is true for adult unmarried daughters - they are under their father's authority until marriage.But imagine some stranger came knocking on the door of your house and asked if he could move in and live with you. How much would you welcome him? You would certainly see him as "the other," and in many ways he...
Amnesty International Greeting Cards Campaign
2008-11-09 10:12:00 A few days ago I spent a few quid in the Post Office, doing my bit for the AIUK Greetings Card Campaign .The annual Greetings Card Campaign brings people across the world in touch with each other in a simple way - sending a card with a friendly greeting or message of solidarity to someone who is in danger or unjustly imprisoned. These are prisoners of conscience, people under sentence of death, human rights defenders under threat because of their work, and others at risk.The campaign, which runs from 1 November to 31 January, offers hope and encouragement to the people who receive our cards. It can also help bring about change - the impression their international mail makes on police, prison staff or political authorities can help keep them safe.There are 30 people, families or groups listed, for whom Amnesty International think that receiving greetings cards would support them, help them in their campaigns, or draw attention to their situation. Realistically, I knew that I couldn't... More About: Amnesty International , Cards
All About Me
2008-11-08 18:54:00 From Sunday Stealing.I am: coldI think: that antibiotics make me feel iller than what I had in the first placeI know: that the weather will improve againI have: a brother and a sisterI wish: that toothache would stop waking me up all through the nightI hate: spidersI miss: my DadI fear: being sickI hear: radio fourI smell: incenseI crave: brie and bacon paniniI search: for some filter tipsI wonder: whether feminism will ever make itself redundantI regret: getting into debtI love: photographyI ache: when I miss someoneI am not: as mobile as I used to beI believe: in the goodness of peopleI dance: to ErasureI sing: when I'm on my ownI cry: when I'm scaredI fight: with myself more than anyone elseI win: competitions occasionallyI lose: things all the timeI never: eat bananasI always: want more sleepI confuse: architects and archaeologistsI listen: when people talkI can usually be found: onlineI am scared: of many thingsI need: to be philosophical about it allI am happy about: the fri...
Chinese Takeaway
2008-11-07 21:46:00 It is three years today since my Dad died.In so many ways it's still so hard. Some things have got easier, the coping day-to-day with the loss, but when the pain hits, it still hits just as hard as ever.The more photography I do, the sadder I feel that I can't share it with him. When I discover a great new recipe or learn an obscure piece of vocabulary, he's the one I want to tell. Tonight I got a Chinese takeaway. Dad was a great cook, and when cooking foreign food he always strove for authenticity. He wanted to make Indian food like people in India make it, make Thai food like people in Thailand make it. Similarly when he was eating out, he wanted to go to the curry houses that the local Asian population ate at. When he did some work in Lahore in Pakistan, he avoided the tourist food places and instead found where the locals ate out.So whenever I go in the takeaway I went to tonight, I think of him because it is very popular with Chinese students. This suggests authenticity. An...
Women Deserve Better
2008-11-06 21:31:00 Today's the first time in this daily blogging business where I'm really struggling for what to say.It's only day 6 so I hope this doesn't continue! I did today's photography blog post this morning, but it's here on hippie blog post I'm having trouble with, mainly because I feel entirely lacking in words.There are plenty of subjects available, it's the actual writing about them that's the problem.So for today, I will let someone else's words do the talking, originally seen on the f word blog.NaBloPoMo More About: Women
The Man Done Good
2008-11-05 11:14:00 So, a black man is to be the most powerful man in the world. The first black President of the USA. Even as the polls and such were improving over the last few weeks, I didn't quite believe it could happen, especially since the weirdness of Bush becoming President (two elections ago) when he didn't actually win the most votes.Obama is far from perfect, but shit, compared to McCain and Palin, it was vital he won. I haven't heard anything about the Palin of the Obama campaign, Biden, but it seems he is vice-President elect so no sudden wiping out of him by the voters. (I remember when the 1997 general election results were being counted here in the UK, I was desperate for the Tories to lose power to Labour, but for Tony Blair to have lost his seat so not be PM).Of course when I say Biden is the Palin of the Obama campaign, I mean technically (i.e. running mate, potential vice president), rather than ideologically!While US politics affect us here, affect most of the world in fact, we... More About: Good
Access to Feminism
2008-11-04 11:06:00 Among the many words which I may use to define myself, two key ones are feminist and disabled.You wouldn't think these two identities are mutually exclusive, they certainly shouldn't be. Feminists, fighting for equality and justice for women, include black women, lesbians, refugee women, disabled women, don't they?Some references:Feminism , Gender & Disability:. Non-disabled feminists continue to treat disability as aside issue, an optional extra and in no way part of the so-called mainstreamacademic or political debates. The disabled people's movement - whilemany and sometimes the majority of its activists are women - is stillinformed by political and theoretical debates which strangely sidelinewomen's experiences and issues. ...A failure to understand the social model of disability lies at the heart of thedominant reaction to the situation where children are having to providesupport to their disabled parent. Challenging the medical model ofdisability and the dominant concept... More About: Access
Photography Blog Latest Posts
2008-11-03 06:26:00 Alongside hippie blog I also have a blog which is specific to photography - called, imaginatively, Philippa's Photography . I am doing NaBloPoMo over there as well, so here are links to my first 3 of those posts, and some other more recent ones that I hadn't linked to yet from here.Excitement!Free TibetLocked and ChainedCrouching TexterFudge FudgedGraffiti Artists' FeetWorld Mental Health DayBandstand in Weston ParkPopular FunkNaBloPoMo More About: Blog , Posts
Used Stamps charity list is no more.
2008-11-02 14:33:00 Some years ago, I was trying to find out which charities accepted used stamps as a form of fundraising, and realised there was no central list of such places.As a result, I did much research and compiled as comprehensive a list as I could, both national and international, and put them up at used-stamps.co.uk.The site has had 30,950 hits and created many comments and enquiries to me. Many charities have received stamps to help them raise money and it's been great to be the source of such a resource.However its success has also been, I'm afraid to say, its downfall. I get so many emails telling me about new charities which collect stamps, or charities listed which no longer collect stamps, or from charities wondering how to fundraise with used stamps, or from people wanting rare stamps, that I cannot keep on top of it.The list needs constant attention, which I cannot give it.I considered leaving the page up with a note at the top saying that it was out of date and that visitors coul... More About: Charity , List , Stamps
NaBloPoMo
2008-11-01 09:21:00 So, I am embarking on National Blog Posting Month. It seems rather insane to attempt to blog daily on not one, but two blogs when they have been so neglected of late, but that is in fact the reason I'm doing it. I love my blogs and they deserve more attention. NaBloPoMo seemed the perfect way to refocus on them and get disciplined in regularly posting again! I'm not trying to do NaNoWriMo at least!The 'national' aspect of the name is somewhat odd, given that it is avowedly international, but I'll forgive them that.So, keep checking in here and hopefully there'll be new things for you to see every day. Check in on my photography blog too.Happy blogging!
E-mail error ends up on road sign
2008-10-31 19:21:00 Embarrassing translation error...When officials asked for the Welsh translation of a road sign, they thought the reply was what they needed.Unfortunately, the e-mail response to Swansea council said in Welsh: "I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated".So that was what went up under the English version which barred lorries from a road near a supermarket."When they're proofing signs, they should really use someone who speaks Welsh," said journalist Dylan Iorwerth.Swansea council became lost in translation when it was looking to halt heavy goods vehicles using a road near an Asda store in the Morriston areaAll official road signs in Wales are bilingual, so the local authority e-mailed its in-house translation service for the Welsh version of: "No entry for heavy goods vehicles. Residential site only".The reply duly came back and officials set the wheels in motion to create the large sign in both languages.The notice went up and all seemed well - unti... More About: Mail , E-Mail , Sign , Road , Error
Eve Ensler on Sarah Palin
2008-09-13 00:41:00 Drill, Drill, Drill*I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she wasa member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws ofdrowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have aparticular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whitenessor their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that Ihave never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the factthat they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need thepolar bears.I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my lifetrying to build community, help empower women and stop violenceagainst them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why theSarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. Thepeople who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity ofFeminists. But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices isantithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story --connected to saving the earth, ending racism, emp...
Imagine A Woman by Patricia Lynn Reilly
2008-09-01 22:01:00 Imagine a Woman Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is a woman.A woman who honours her experience and tells her stories.Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life.Imagine a woman who trusts and respects herself.A woman who listens to her needs and desires.Who meets them with tenderness and grace.Imagine a woman who acknowledges the past's influence on the present.A woman who has walked through her past.Who has healed into the present.Imagine a woman who authors her own life.A woman who exerts, initiates, and moves on her own behalf.Who refuses to surrender except to her truest self and wisest voice.Imagine a woman who names her own gods.A woman who imagines the divine in her image and likeness.Who designs a personal spirituality to inform her daily life.Imagine a woman in love with her own body.A woman who believes her body is enough, just as it is.Who celebrates its rhythms and cycles as an exquisite resource.Imagine a woman who honours the b... More About: Reilly , Lynn , A Woman , Patricia
Banks, Bras and Brilliance
2008-08-28 12:13:00 Yet more fabulousness from xkcd.comAnd those deep question of philosophy and Shakespeare...In credit crunch news, "A man who chose "Lloyds is pants" as his telephone banking password said he found it had been changed by a member of staff to "no it's not"." read more...That reminds me of the man who changed his name to Yorkshire Bank PLC are Fascist Bastards, and when the said bank told him to close his account he asked them to write a cheque for his remaining balance (a whopping 69p), payable to his new name. More About: Banks , Bras , Brilliance
Designer Vaginas
2008-08-18 23:23:00 I'm watching a documentary called The Perfect Vagina, about the rising trend of women having cosmetic surgery on their vaginas.It is the fastest growing area of cosmetic surgery, and seems to be predominantly due to women's concerns about the size of their labia minora. In a medical research paper referenced in the programme, we learn that labia minora range in size from 20mm to 100mm, so naturally there is a lot of variation, but it seems that the vaginas we see, especially in porn, are 'perfect' and contained and neat, with small labia minoras, and this is making many women insecure. To the point of wanting surgery to reduce theirs.Girls of 14, 15 and 16 are enquiring about the surgery, and the numbers seeking it are unprecedented.The operation is called a labiaplasty and it is done under local anaesthetic, the woman being awake while her labia are sliced off. It can take three months for the vagina to recover after surgery.The presenter, Lisa Rogers was clearly moved and alar... More About: Designer
Wiki Birthday
2008-08-13 18:08:00 Look up your birthday on Wiki pedia. Pick 4 events, 3 births, 2 deaths, and 1 holiday.May 14thEvents1796 - Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox vaccination.1889 - The children's charity the NSPCC is launched in London.1925 - Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs Dalloway is published.2005 - Pope Benedict XVI observes his first beatification, elevating Blessed Marianne of Molokai on the road to canonization into sainthood.Births1666 - Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia (d. 1732)1926 - Eric Morecambe, British comedian (d. 1984)1982 - BeardyMan, English beatboxerDeaths1847 - Fanny Mendelssohn, German composer and pianist (b. 1805)1998 - Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (b. 1915)HolidaysFeast Day of St. Boniface of Tarsus More About: Birthday
Photography Blog Updates
2008-08-06 11:37:00 In no particular orderWeather Vane CompassBlue BandstandGirls Can Be Geeks, TooESPREMore of my work used elsewherePark BenchesChildren Playing: Stencil Art More About: Photography , Blog , Updates
Diagnosis Research
2008-08-05 20:01:00 At a hospital appointment last week, I received a diagnosis of sensorimotor axonal neuropathy. Possible causes they are looking at are medication-related, coeliac disease, and vasculitis. We know that I don't have diabetes or alcoholism, which are the most common causes.So, of course, I'm doing all the googling. Amongst others, I have learned these two things:1) With exception of the Roman Catholic Church, most mainline Christian churches offer their communicants gluten-free alternatives to the sacramental bread, usually in the form of a rice-based cracker or gluten-free bread. These include United Methodist, Christian Reformed, Episcopal, Lutheran, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and many others.Roman Catholic doctrine states that for a valid Eucharist the bread must be made from wheat. ... On August 22, 1994, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith apparently barred coeliacs from ordination, stating, "Given the centrality of the celebration of the Eucha... More About: Research , Diagnosis
I've been Stumbling.
2008-07-28 00:16:00 StumbleUpon...from Brad Barrett's Iraq Paper. It seems the tutor *really* wanted a specific answer!Made at flashface.ctapt.de. It kind of looks like me.Five minute chocolate cakeBubbles game. I used to have this on my phone, highly addictive. More About: Stumble , Stumbling
Wordle.net
2008-07-21 13:26:00 I've been having a lot of fun with this new toyFrom this blog in general.From this Stonewall postFrom this post about lapdancingFrom my photography blog
Last Night
2008-05-24 19:37:00 11.30pm - go to bed. Take night meds, include painkillers for toothache.12.30am - going insane with toothache. Smear orajel over teeth.1am - do three Buddhist pain management meditations.1.30am - smear orajel over teeth and gums.2am - getting insaner. Pain pain pain!2.30am - cry.3am - run a bath, get in the bath, hope the heat will soothe and relax. It doesn't.3.45am - google 'pain management'.4am - smear orajel over teeth and gums.4.15am - cry.4.30am - get the instruction manual out for the brand new microwave, learn how to use it. Heat up wheat bag.4.45am - slight relief from the heat of the wheat bag! Yey!5.30am til 6am - SLEEP!6am - wake up throbbing, agony, argh. Count down til 7am painkillers.7am - painkillers. While it's a relief to take them, realise that it'll be another 45 minutes til they have any effect, which they didn't last night.7.30am - cry. Smear orajel over teeth.8am til 11am - listen to radio, try not to cry, moan, groan or rock.11.30am til 1pm - SLEEP!1pm ... More About: Night
Things You Really Need to Look At.
2008-05-11 22:29:00 Carved crayons - w-o-o-o-w.Google in 20 years - genius, I need this for my house.I love tattoos, but... - some of these aren't so bad but some are so, so, so bad.Another Funny Tattoo for the html geeks among us.Sins - what happens with different combinations of the seven deadly sins.Hillary. Normally avoiding all mention of the endless US elections, had to share this one.15 hilarious church signs - Not sure I'd go with 'hilarious', but some raised a smile, especially the google reference.Vandals like tetris too15 Spectacular Lightning Images - what it says on the tin.Last Day on Earth - yowch, someone's in trouble...Talkin' Serious Cute - indeed. Serious cute.The Man She Forgot to GoogleAlong the Autobahn. Don't speed. Really don't speed. More About: Things
So, so wrong
2008-04-23 15:11:00 in so many different ways...Impossible Babe of the Day.Do we go with the political? Having a 'babe of the day' at all?The technical? That photoshopping is appalling - her back would break and her shadow actually has a stomach.Back to the political? What on earth are we telling women and girls about how they should look?Back to the technical? What the hell happened?Gah! More About: Wrong
Monday Mumbles
More articles from this author:2008-04-07 21:07:00 The 100 Greatest Female Artists of Rock'n'Roll has been published.How is Celine Dion there and not Nina Simone? I mean really, how is Nina Simone *not* on there? It's obscene!Still on music, it's surprising just what can be created using only sounds from Windows XP and Windows 98.If you're running short of toilet paper, why not try the 100% recycled Shit Be Gone! That is seriously its name. I do like it when you know where you are with a product, and exactly what it will do!I'm sure I'm not the only one whose teenage years were characterised by Judy Blume and all her books and characters. Interesting to see, then, that two of her books have been updated to reflect more recent practise in sexual health. And one of them's Forever, which was the one we all thought was exceedingly rude. Ah, the innocence!New Photo Blog UpdatesThe Orton EffectPhoto to Drawing: RaspberriesSpell With FlickrMore Orton EffectFake Model PhotographySame Photo, Different Treatments More About: Monday 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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