And if I water Nigella seeds with vodka, maybe I can grow Amy Winehouse!

[alexsarll]

Just returned from Sidmouth, a thoroughly charming little coastal town from which one can see the wreck of the Napoli. It's actually strangely charming, listing out there; I think they should set up some kind of floating, sloping restaurant. Also, the Devonian cliffs - not only are they a most evocative shade of red, but if you pick up one of the chunks that's fallen off you can crush it with your bare hand. Which, for bonus fun, leaves you with a Red Right Hand!

Now that Girls Aloud have done 'I Predict A Riot', and Lily Allen 'Oh My God', all we need is a decent version of 'Every Day I Love You Less And Less' and the Kaiser Chiefs themselves can be safely edited out of history. 'Cover version? Nah mate, don't know what you're talking about.'

After many interruptions (somewhere around five novels and one biography, plus a few short stories), I finally finished Hugh Kennedy's The Court Of The Caliphs. In many ways the decline of the Abbasids is Gibbon all over again, with Turks taking the role of the Pretorian guard. The caliph who first brought them in, though - what a piece of work!
"When Mutawwakil succeeded to the caliphate, he ordered the abandonment of investigation and discussion and debate and everything which people had enjoyed in the days of Ma'mun, Mu'taism abd Wathiq. He ordered submission and the acceptance of tradition. He ordered the senior scholars to expound traditions of the Prophet and teach the sunna and generally accepted opinions."
He also had some quite gleefully horrific proto-Stalinist purges of his supposed opponents, and instituted the first systematic discrimination against Jews and christians - making them wear yellow.
In more recent islam news: former Jihadi "has no truck with the idea of Islamophobia, which he dismisses as the squeal of an Islamist leadership pleading special favours". If only the left could grasp that simple concept too, eh?

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

でもね、もし、私のれじめを見て、いいと思っていても、店長じゃなくて、スーパーバイザーとして統括させようか、それともMDか本社のお客様さーびすか、とか考えているなんて、手の内を見られるのは困るし、恥ずかしいから、他のエージェンシーにも再度remindして、ほかにどういう人がいて、どうしたらいいかを考えているのかな？

[(Anonymous)]

柴田さんってホテル出身で、今はこういう組織の役割をデザインしたりアドバイスするのが仕事よね。やっぱり、話をしてるような気がする。だって、柴田さんが興味を持ちそうな案件だもの。

[kanzakura.livejournal.com]

"(Something)-san (Names are difficult) said someone from a Hotel background, or some such organisational role in a Design or Advertising job. So after all, the feeling I get from talking to [him/her]. What (Something)-san is interested in is what matters."

Best Translation I can muster at this late hour

[kanzakura.livejournal.com]

"So yeah, if, you look at my resume, it's pretty good I think. However, I'd rather that a store manager, or something like a supervisor, or an MD of the head office, or someone in customer service could have a think about it. Because them being able to see all the cards* will embarress and trouble me, and another agency will follow-up to remind you that there are other kinds of people too - so it depends on what sort of person you're thinking of?"

(* This being the English equivalent expression, not a literal translation.)

Re: Best Translation I can muster at this late hour

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I find this all deeply puzzling, normally however spurious LJ spam may be it at least has a link in it...

[(Anonymous)]

だから、戦略ディレクターと仲良しか、社長とdirectにお話しできるえーじぇんしーじゃないと、こういうことってあるかもね～

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

If anybody could enlighten me as to what the high holy Hell is going on above, I'd be very grateful.

[pippaalice.livejournal.com]

That is a Japanese person licking you!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Seriously, though - WTF? You know a little Japanese, right - can you make any sense of it?

[pippaalice.livejournal.com]

ALSO!

Who said the title? It is funny!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I did. The parents claimed to have nigella seeds in the bird feeder, but apparently they are actually niger seeds. However, I am informed that even were they nigella seeds they would not work as I might have hoped. Bah.

Is it still raining there? We have sun!

[pippaalice.livejournal.com]

It is raining! My lawn likes it tho, Nigella used Nigella seeds in a food once!

I do not know that much Japanese. Brane probably does tho. Maybe it IS Brane??

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

English language only round these parts. I could try and consult my kana book later but that would only tell you how to pronounce the above. Anyway I do not recognise the word for EGG up there, that I can tell you for sure. Egg is TAMAGO but er I don't have a clue how to make hirigana on Britisher computer.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

EGG like a Japanese bird's egg!

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

The parents claimed to have nigella seeds in the bird feeder, but apparently they are actually niger seeds.

If a dyslexic racist waters them, can they grow Rusty Lee?

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

Dusty Bin more like.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I was wondering if they could grow some dodgy intelligence about nuclear sales to Iraq, but then I realised that'd be slightly after the fact anyway.

[mylifebythesea.livejournal.com]

It's alright Sarll, just shout and they'll soon understand. It's the British way by gumbo.

[publicansdecoy.livejournal.com]

The last paragraph in that Bunting review is an interesting one. She fairly points out that Husain's work will be seized upon by outright bigots, but she seems to imply that, for that reason, he should not be saying what he does, and he should be tolerating the equal and opposite bigotry from the likes of HuT and so on. I just can't get across how much I disagree with that stance. Is it so difficult to condemn kneejerk anti-Muslim bigotry whilst at the same time condemning the likes of HuT and MCB too? I don't think it should be. We should be fighting the bigots on both sides, not giving tacit support to one side simply because they oppose the other.

-x-

[jimyojimbo.livejournal.com]

It's Bunting.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

She couldn't be any worse at being strung across streets than she is at constructing an argument, after all.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Yeah, while I found him interesting, her commentary on him was the usual sort of confused left apologism for scum, and over-concern with avoiding offending people who amply deserve to be offended which, frankly, I consider unworthy of consideration or comment.

[(Anonymous)]

Sさんがいうハッピーで若い外見の人とか、知的体育会系の人って私のことだと思う。私がJALのすっちーだったってことは知ってたけど、詳しい経歴や年齢は知らなくて、知って、椅子から転げそうに驚いたと思う。なんか、お酒の入るディナーの席では、やたら、私のこと面白がって気に入っておりました。知的体育系？だって。ちょっと違うと思うけど、そういう感じがすきなんだと思うな、このとっちゃんぼうや。

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

If nothing else, this is certainly prettier than most random spam. I especially like the third set on the bottom line of this one.

[pippaalice.livejournal.com]

S being happy you say, you think that the person of young appearance, it is human っ て my thing of intellectual physical education meeting affiliation. However the っ ちwhich I do JAL - the っ lever which is you have known, you think that you did not know detailed personal history and age and the て, knew, the revolution げ so were surprised from the chair. Something, with the seat of the dinner where the liquor enters, at random, my thing the っ て we had liked funny. Intellectual physical education system? Even. However you think, that just a little it is different, such feeling is less crowded and you think, this and the っ ぼ う and that it is what. Sa Bablefish!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Good old babelfish, I am now even more confused!

[(Anonymous)]

う～ん。おそらく、店長じゃなくて、本部のもっと上のレベルのポジションをオファーされると思う。

[kanzakura.livejournal.com]

...and so on and so on in a conversation discussing job options, and requirements. It's not your usual random nonsensical spam - it's definitely a linear conversation, but why on earth it's all happening here, I can't begin to guess.

[(Anonymous)]

But、日本で高級ブランドMDで英語が上級で財務分析ができるなんているわけないじゃん。しかも、顧客サービスに対する感受性とか、上品人とかいったら、もうぜったい、むり。

[(Anonymous)]

うちの弟は、広告のクリエイティブ出身でマーケティング経験ある営業でディレクターレベルでTOIECで７００点というだけでも、毎日、会社にへんなへっどはんたーから電話がかかってくるのに。でもね、業界的にアパレルだと上級英語でレポート書いたり、とかfinancial analysisとかしたりするってないのよね。LVMHに少しだけそういう人いるけど、それでも上品というのはない。これ、かなり苦しいポジションだと思うな～

[(Anonymous)]

JALのアシスタントパーサーで、社長表彰とかいろんな表彰もらったり、デューティーフリー売り上げ１位だったり、売り上げつくるためにビデオつくったりして、そのあとジュニアだけど証券アナリストとかで情報収集分析能力や経営視点ばっちりで、あどみもいろいろして海外とのコーディネーションも膨大なあどみ業務もOK.　極めつけはあのそしえわーるどの「既存顧客営業」担当を経験してて、おまけに、NYでまりおもっとーとから同じようなブランドのぼってがヴぇねたの研修を受けてる。アシスタント・ぷろだくと・まねーじゃー・とれーにーね。
そしえのも、プロダクト・マネージャーよね、これ。まさしく。
これ、やっぱり、人事のひとたち、悩んでるよね。MDにするか、顧客サービスディレクターか、現場と本部をつなぐ役割にするかってね。

[(Anonymous)]

そしえみたいに、MDとして、各店舗の売り上げと顧客の嗜好を分析して、VIP顧客のアポイントがあるときにお店に行ったりするほうが効果的だと思うな。

[(Anonymous)]

副社長にレポートしたり、パリの本社とのやりとりしたり、とにかく忙しくて負担がかかりやすいからということで、他にもいい人いないか探しているのかもね。それによって、spec変えようかってね。

[(Anonymous)]

ほんと、そしえだから、ぜんぶやらされて、死にそうでした。１００店舗。ブランドがいくつもあって。おまけに、商品の入れ替えは月次で、DMの製作の企画案から、キャンペーンのdraftつくりと、実際の運営までやってた。おまけに店舗はメール使えなくて、情報を徹底するために、いろいろ工夫をこらしました。

[(Anonymous)]

そうか。私は、お店のスーパーバイザー、MD、クライアントサービスのいずれかの候補になっているらしい。それにしても、お店をサロンと言いたくなるような、まるで男性版の高級エステサロンよね。

[(Anonymous)]

こわ～い。やっぱりへん。

[offensive-mango.livejournal.com]

This is great! I think I used to get this spammer too, but not on this scale.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

A couple of other people on the friendslist had mentioned it yesterday, but so far of the ones I have seen, I am definitely the favourite!

Oh well, all serves to keep that comment count high...

止めて！

[kanzakura.livejournal.com]

すみません、仕事の会話をしている人へ！　他のところでその会話続けてください！

[kanzakura.livejournal.com]

If these are actual people reading, they should get the message to desist from that. Otherwise, I'm tempted to join the conversation as an anonymous commenter, and tell the guy that he can't have any job ever.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Thank you. You are the (Japanese) Law!