obligatory boring lj post

I got email from my MP today(!). She was publicising the anti-war demonstration on Saturday. Of course, I knew about it already, because the vast majority of people I know are going, even people who normally couldn't care less about politics, but it was nice to know her opinion. And it was sent in a clueful way, i.e. with clear subject and sender lines, and sent to me individually rather than to a mailing list bcc (or worse - an open cc!).

I'd really like to go on the march because... it's still the case that people who can dress in a fairly normal way and speak in a middle-class accent have more "power" in politics. So the more "normal" people that go, the better. Even if Our Beloved Leader has his head so firmly up his arse that he can't see that the majority of people in this country don't want to go to war with Iraq, having a large gathering of predominantly "normal" people - the sort of people who might vote for him, for instance - might dislodge it. We can hope, anyway.

Last week I was thinking about ringing up the various organising groups to see whether anyone was arranging wheelchairs & helpers for people who couldn't walk the route. But then I thought it would be very unlikely that I could get up in time. I still think it's very unlikely that I can get up in time, and it's now too short notice to arrange anything. So I suppose I will have to be supportive from my bed.

I would like to say...

Valentine's day is a bit crap when you're allergic to flowers and chocolates. That is all.

well, I'm not actually allergic to chocolates, but about 95% of chocolates in boxes contain dairy, which is Very Bad for me. and I'm not actually allergic to flowers, but any flower with a scent or a lot of pollen makes me sneeze copiously. And it wouldn't have sounded as good to say "Valentine's day is a bit crap when you're lactose intolerant and have perennial rhinitis".

Truly amazing link of the day, courtesy of lilairen: Pencil carving. Actual carving of pencils. Without breaking the leads, even. You should see From p.125 of "Gyakusetsu Ronrigaku" and Sidewards expansion even if you don't have time to go through them all.

feeding other people's addictions

I forgot! Here's the nifty link of the day (well, yesterday, actually): Give the gift of livejournal. To be added to LJ friends' birthdays as a truly useful link.

Now all we need is for the two to be combined: the following friends have a paid account expiring soon and a birthday coming up soon!