Two Ideas - one I will implement, and one I will not.

[ewt]

I was thinking the other day that it would be neat to read various London papers for a week at a time and then criticise them, in depth. This would work for magazines as well. For example, if I read The Economist I tend to end up shouting at it. I certainly shout at the Metro, but that's to be expected. I also shout at The Ecologist, the New Statesman, and nearly everything else I read, for being biased one way or another and not presenting information well. I shout at the New Scientist for not being complete enough, but probably in that case the problem is that I ought to be reading scientific journals or summat to get the level of information I would like to have. I'm not thinking of ranting about every article in every periodical for evar, I'm thinking of short snapshots.

Maybe someone else already does this in a blog and I don't know about it. I genuinely do not have the time and will not have the time for several years to come.

The second idea I might get around to. Those big catering-sized metal drums of vegetable oil are a great size for huge plant pots, and there are lots of them around on garbage night in any restaurant district (I see them in Greenwich fairly regularly, and Bethnal Green, and so on). They look a bit grotty if you only have one of them as a plant pot but having several that are all the same size and approximate same design would work quite well, I think. So, at some point, I will get one and see if I can get the end off to make a plant pot. If that works, I shall go on a raid and get LOTS of them. I'll be planting some perennials I want to take with me when I leave, see.

Okay, I'm off to find a squirrel-sized shovel.

Comments

[pfy.livejournal.com]

The Metro is astonishingly crap at science reporting. It is so bad that anyone who has passed their science GCSEs should be able to spot at least one error per column.

Degreasing the metal drums sounds like a PITA, but I guess that at least they are free. Are they likely to rust? You could also try getting old buckets from skips.

[403.livejournal.com]

They generally do if left uncared for (which can be part of the appeal, depending on what you're looking for), but won't if primed/sealed & painted. It will be important to find paint & sealants which won't leach into the soil and kill the plants that will be growing in them.

[mooism.livejournal.com]

I keep meaning to start a journalism criticism community but never quite get pissed off enough at news reporting to actually do it.

[poggle.livejournal.com]

My hubby has opinions when he reads the papers which is fine when we are sitting at home, does he read the paper at home NO. He waits until we are sitting in a crowded train or a cafe before going off on one of his rants. I sit there saying nothing just wanting the floor to open up and eat me whole. lol

[hairyears.livejournal.com]

There are reasons why I read at least one other paper a week, besides my usual daily Financial Times. However, the Daily Star I found on the train home does not count: the kindest thing I can say about it is that, being rather light on news and analysis, it has good spurts coverage.