Ask Miltant Ginger

It's been a while since the last edition of Ask Militant Ginger.

As always, I'll be answering some of the genuine questions entered into search engines that have directed surfers to my blog.

What is the difference between nurofen and ibuprofen?

About £2.66 at last count. And that's it. As I explained in this post, Nurofen is nothing more than normal, over-the-counter ibuprofen in a fancy box. Both regular ibuprofen and Nurofen contain the same active ingredient - 200mg of ibuprofen. The only difference is that Nurofen consumers are paying eight times more for the pretty packaging and clever television commercials.

What does Quantum of Solace mean?

As I explained in this post, the Quantum of Solace is a reference to a short story written by Ian Fleming and first published in his anthology For Your Eyes Only.

The Quantum of Solace is the almost immeasurable spark of love and compassion one person has for another. They say that the opposite of love isn't hate, but indifference. If that quantum of solace is extinguished, the relationship is over.

James Bond himself, British actor Daniel Craig, perhaps explains it better than I can: "Ian Fleming says that if you don't have a quantum of solace in your relationship then the relationship is over. It's that spark of niceness in a relationship that if you don't have you might as well give up."

Quantum of Solace is also the name of the upcoming James Bond movie, set for release this November.



I have problems receiving a signal with Stiletto 2. What do I do?

The SIRIUS Stiletto 2 is a hand-held satellite radio and personal MP3 player. In order to receive live satellite radio, the Stiletto 2 needs to either be outside, with a clear and unobstructed view of the sky above, or within range of terrestrial 'repeaters' which SIRIUS has set up in major cities, transmitting the SIRIUS signal in much the same way radio stations and cell phones work.

The Stiletto 2 is pretty nifty, though. Even if you don't have a clear satellite signal, you can use any accessible WiFi network (like a hot spot in an Internet cafe or Starbucks) to tune in and receive SIRIUS Internet Radio. Just select Internet Radio from the menu and follow the instructions.

Why do most religious people dislike gays?

There are many splinters in the Christian church, from Catholic to Anglican, Baptist to Methodist and a hundred other worthless protestant permutations in between. This generally proves one thing: That most Christians don't generally agree on much.

What some Christians can agree on, however, is who to hate. It started off the the Muslims (crusades, anybody?) then moved on the black people (their dark skin was the 'mark of Cain') and most recently, 'scripture' has given legitimacy to open discrimination and hate speech targeted towards homosexuals.

Never mind that the average gay person wants nothing more than the same rights as everybody else. Because of a narrow minded and completely false interpretation of sections of the modern Bible, some Christians today choose to 'hate 'em gays.'

The scriptural arguments supporting this bigotry hold no weight whatsoever. You can read about this here. Really, the only reason religious people openly hate gays is because a thin veneer of religious respectability allows them to, while regular folks would be indicted with hate speech for saying the same things.

Is Minnie Driver a ginger?

From watching the BBC drama series Mr Wroe's Virgins, in which she appeared naked (and clearly without access to a feminine razor) I would say most definitely not.

Well, that's the end of Ask Militant Ginger for this month. Remember, if your search-engine questions drag you here, I'll get around to answering them eventually!