Aborting the Truth

Abortion.

Having just penned an article on abortion for the brilliant Jacques magazine, it's a topic I've been thinking about a lot recently. Soon, much of America will be joining me - as one of the most-watched 30-seconds on television is about to be dedicated to the debate.

Focus on the Family - a seriously laughable right-wing organization dedicated to shoehorning 'Christian' teachings into secular American life - has paid an outrageous fortune to air an anti-abortion commercial during Superbowl XLV. It will be watched by tens of millions (and be a serious downer sandwiched between cheerful ads for beer and pick up trucks!)

The focus of the commercial is Tim Tebow, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for the Florida Gators. The commercial will focus on how his mother, living in the Philippines during the 1980s, was pressured to have an abortion which would have 'aborted' this Maxwell-award winning footballer.

The Gainesville Sun explain:

Tim's story begins years before his birth, when his parents, both University of Florida students in the late-1960s, met on campus. In 1985, the family moved to the Philippines, where they lived as missionaries. Just before her pregnancy with Tim Tebow, his mother Pam fell into a coma after contracting amoebic dysentery, a bacteria transmitted through contaminated drinking water. When she discovered the pregnancy, doctors told Pam the fetus had been damaged. They encouraged her to terminate the pregnancy. Full story here.

The 'heartwarming' story, of course, is that Pam refused the abortion because of her strong Christian convictions and at the end of her pregnancy, the result was a beautiful, healthy baby boy who would later be voted 'the nation's most outstanding amateur athlete in any sport.'

The focus of the commercial is on making people consider just what potential each and every aborted baby might have had if the birth had been carried through to term - and Focus of the Family hope that the anti-abortion message will strengthen their movement to have abortion in all forms banned across the United States.

There's one problem with the commercial, however. Many people are claiming that Tim Tebow's story of faith-affirming survival against the odds is bullshit (such as Salon, here.)

When Tim's mother was pregnant, she and her family were living in the Philippines - were abortion has been banned since 1870. Abortions are forbidden under any circumstances, including rape or cases in which the life of the mother is jeopardized.

Doctors and midwives who perform abortions face losing their medical license and being imprisoned for up to six years. Women who have abortions - for whatever reason - can be jailed for up to two years. Abortion is so stigmatized in the Philippines that women seeking aftercare for an illegally-obtained abortion (the only way to terminate a pregnancy in the country) are routinely refused medical treatment and reported to the police.

In short; it's very unlikely that Tim Tebow's mother was actually advised to have an abortion, even if her life was in danger. Even if that was true, her claim that doctors "fought for me to have an abortion from the very beginning, all the way through the seventh month" simply doesn't ring true. Why would doctors repeatedly risk losing their license and being imprisoned in order to pressure an unwilling woman into have a procedure that she didn't want and which was illegal?

Hey, I don't know the facts. I wasn't there. Perhaps an approximation of this story did happen, in some form. However, based on the facts, Tim Tebow's 'heartwarming' story is, at best, an exaggeration and at worst, an outright lie.

And while I've found an awful lot of peace with the Pro-Life movement, I really resent being lied to. I resent millions of dollars being spent on promoting a story that isn't entirely true. I thought we'd put a stop on that after the 2008 Presidential Elections.

I left a comment on the blog of Mike Waters, a very intelligent and articulate Christian who alerted me this story in the first place. It expresses my thoughts on the Tebow commercial - and the abortion debate in general - pretty succinctly:

If Pro-Choice and Pro-Life teamed up and invested all the millions they waste on commercials like this into providing adequate sex education and contraceptives, we’d eliminate the need for abortions within a decade.

But neither side will do that because – quelle surprise – abortion isn’t actually the issue they’re fighting over.

Actually ENDING abortion is less important than scoring cheap political points off each other. The Pro-Life side are trying to enforce religious principles and subjugate women, the Pro-Choice side is trying to enforce population control and engage in social engineering. Abortion is just the cover they use to mask their true agendas.

Both sides disgust me.

Why 'Free' Health Care Costs So Much

With the debate about Health Care being quietly shoved onto the back burner over here in America, it's ironic that the failure of so-called 'free' health care in Britain has never been more apparent.

The latest? An article in the venerable Hampshire Chronicle linking the outrageous waiting lists for doctor's appointments with the thousands of 'no shows' at the doctor's office.

MORE patients are failing to turn up for hospital appointments in Winchester, costing the NHS hundreds of thousands of pounds. New figures show that in 2008-09 an estimated 22,000 appointments were missed. Full story here.

As much as I've come to question the privately-funded health care system in America, this is one example of how the right-wing critics of 'socialized medicine' actually make a legitimate point about how 'free' health care is excessively expensive and wasteful.

Case in point? How thousands of people are making doctor's appointments, but never showing up for them. That's why it's so difficult for legitimate patients to get an appointment in a realistic time frame. I remember going to the doctor back in England and having to make an appointment a week, or even two weeks, in advance. In America, they can generally see you the same day.

The difference is, of course, that in America you have to pay for your doctor's appointment. Generally, it costs you about $20 'out of pocket' and your insurance company pick up the rest.

However - and here's the good bit - if you make an appointment and fail to show up, your insurance company still gets billed for it. You booked an hour of the doctor's time and he charges you for it whether you're there or not. However, if you're a 'no show' the insurance company turns its nose up at being expected to cover the cost of your missed appointment and charges you the full whack.

Anywhere from $50 to $250 dollars, payable within 30 days.

As you can imagine, it's an incredibly effective incentive not to miss a doctor's appointment - or, if you do, at least cancel 24 hours in advance.

This is the problem in Britain. Because the doctor's appointments are 'free' there's no value attached to them, so people blithely skip showing up. Then those same idiots complain that there's such a long waiting list.

If you made every NHS patient pay a tenner for a doctor's appointment, I can guarantee that people would think more seriously about whether they really need to see a GP or not. And if you charged them £100 if they missed an appointment they'd made, I bet you'd find attendance improving dramatically.

So instantly; a new revenue stream for the cash-strapped NHS, dramatically shorter waiting lists and probably fewer patients to see overall (only the ones with something actually wrong with them would pay the £10 to go and see a doctor.)

Gordon Brown? David Cameron? If either of you want to adopt this proposal, feel free. If the American health care system has taught me anything, it's that you get what you pay for. In the case of the NHS, that's unfortunately nothing.

Ask Militant Ginger

It's that time again! Another delve into the keyword questions that drove people to Militant Ginger.

Is Princess Diana more annoying dead than alive?

I don’t know – that’s a tough one to call. I would have to make a judgment call and say yes; because while the poor woman was still alive, at least the incessant media coverage about her was mitigated by the fact that ‘shedidaloddagudworkfurcharidy, mate.’

These days, she’s still rarely off the telly in one form or another (mostly conspiracy shows about her ‘murder’) but no longer contributes to children with AIDs or digging up landmines or anything jolly like that.

So incessant media attention MINUS charitable contributions EQUALS more annoying than ever.

What’s the Bluetooth Headset Captain Jack wears in Torchwood?

Sorry to disappoint you, guys – but Captain Jack’s stylish Bluetooth headset from the mediocre mess that was BBC’s Torchwood was actually a one-of-a-kind prop made from toilet rolls and washing up bottles in the BBC props department.

Ianto, Owen and the others, however, did use a real brand – the Jabra BT250v . You can get your own here.



Why do Christians hate gay people?

Christians technically don’t hate gay people.

Certain people claiming to be Christians (i.e. certain Evangelical groups) hate gay people, but they have as much to do with Christianity as Mormonism does. [Congrats, Militant Ginger. You managed to insult two religious demographics in a single sentence – Editorial Bear]

The truth be told, the official line is that no Christian ‘hates’ gay people. They just believe, rightly or wrongly [Erm, wrongly – Editorial Bear] that homosexuality is unnatural (despite it being practiced by a recorded 1,800 species of animals) and a sin against God.

They don’t hate the sinner, they hate the sin. This distinction does seem to confuse some Christians, hence the problems – but ‘hate’ is not the official line.

Anyway. While God was pretty clear on the matter (read Leviticus) his son, Jesus, was kind of ambivalent – a little like President Obama.

It’s possible to make a pretty convincing case against homosexuality using New Testament scripture (CK whipped me in this debate, so I have to give credit where it’s due) although I believe that Jesus was more about the ‘love your neighbor’ part of his belief system, rather than whether or not being gay was cool.

ибупрофен vs нурофен

I don’t even know what this means – nor do I know why it brought somebody to my blog! But I hope it has something to do with sexy Russian ladies in uniform.

I am so objectifying this lady right now.

Did Stephanie Meyer plagiarize Charlaine Harris?

Charlaine Harris, who wrote the Sookie Stackhouse series of vampire books, is often credited as the inspiration for Twilight. People have even accused Meyer of plagiarizing Harris directly – one commentor on this blog wrote “All you have to do is read Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series and L.J. Smith's Vampire Diaries and there's the whole storyline in all 4 of the Twilight books. Someone needs to sue this woman because she's just getting credit for what others have done and watering it down into her disgusting version. It's NOT FAIR!”

Personally, I think it’s difficult to accuse Stephanie Meyer of plagiarism, because the whole vampire genre is SO trite and derivative that there hasn’t been an original work of vampire-inspired fiction for decades. In fact, Meyer managed to inject a rare bit of originality into the genre by mixing it with the romantic tribulations of a narcissistic, self-obsessed teenager AND in making the whole series of books a clumsy metaphor for abstinence.

So, good for her.




Why can’t antibiotics cure the common cold?

One of the most annoying things about living in America is how people will rush to the doctors for a prescription of antibiotics as soon as they have the sniffles.

These people are retarded. They’re the idiots breeding antibiotic-resistant bacteria and driving up the cost of medical insurance. They’re too ignorant to research one of the most basic facts of modern medicine: Colds and flu are caused by viruses.

Antibiotics only treat bacteria. Taking antibiotics to cure your cold is utterly useless.

In fact, it’s more likely to make you sick than better, as each time you take antibiotics you perform a neat little holocaust of all the ‘good’ bacteria in your gut and screw up your digestion.

We can’t only hold the deeply stupid people who wolf down the pills responsible, though. Seriously lazy doctors have got into the habit of filling in these idiot’s prescriptions because it takes ten minutes to convince them that antibiotics are a waste of time, and just thirty seconds to give them the prescription they stupidly crave.

Educating the masses and convincing doctors not to pander to hypochondriacs is vitally important - unless we fancy all falling victim to an antibiotic-resistant super-bacteria five years in the future (hey, that's an idea for a book!)

The law, morality and Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

That’s not even a question. That sounds like the title of an undergraduate literature dissertation.

Twilight kind of went like this

Why do pirates wear eye patches?

Most people think pirates wore eye-patches to cover the hole in their skull where an eyeball used to be (remember, kids – cutlass fights are all well and good – right up until somebody loses an eye!)

But actually, patches were an essential accessory for bi-optic buccaneers as well.

On the sun-drenched seas of the Caribbean, an eye-patch was used during ship-to-ship combat. When a pirate descended into the bowels of a ship to loot the booty, he’d step from the sunshine on deck to the murky darkness of the unlit hold. As you’ll know if you’d ever had somebody shine a flashlight into your eyes, that renders you instantly blind – as it takes valuable minutes to build up ‘night vision’ after being in a well-lit environment.

Pirates would wear an eye-patch to force one eye to adjust to low-light conditions, so when they thundered downstairs into the lower decks of a raided galleon, they could lift their ‘patch’ and immediately see clearly in the darkness, without having to wait for their eyesight to adjust (which might lead to an adversary running them through in the mean time.)

It’s a good trick to remember. If you’re ever sneaking about outside, always keep one eye closed, so if the lights come on, or somebody shines a flashlight in your face, your ‘night vision’ won’t immediately vanish, leaving you temporarily blinded as soon as darkness falls again.

Which is better Nurofen or ibuprofen?

They’re both the same thing! Nurofen is an expensive brand-name pill that contains 200mg of ibuprofen – exactly the same dosage as the cheap, generic brand (but three times more expensive.)

Aside from an easy-to-swallow coating, they are exactly the same product – so use your noggin and plump for the generic pill when you get the chance. Anybody who tells you that brand-name pills have a ‘superior blend’ or similar rubbish are just buying into the hype.

Same drug, same thing – the only difference is whether you keep the difference in price, or you ‘donate’ it to a pharmaceutical giant (and believe me, baby, their profit margins make the oil industry look positively pauperish by comparison.)

Smith Cho drinks tequila in Knight Rider?

The delectable Smith Cho was one of the stars of Knight Rider’s aborted relaunch. In fact, as far as I was concerned, she was the star. Cute and funny and a mouthwatering sight in a bikini, she should have kept that show on the air even if Val Kilmer’s smooth-talking Ford Mustang didn’t.

There were other memorable parts of this episode - I just don't remember them

Anyway. In the third episode, Knight of the Iguana, our intrepid crew try to track down a stolen missile and to that end, Smith’s character – Zoe – poses as the hero’s wife and pours a bottle of tequila down him. It’s left ambiguous whether or not they got up to some tequila-fueled mischief later that evening - but I’d be thoroughly disappointed in the new ‘Michael Knight’ if he hadn’t! Girls like Smith Cho don’t come along very often.



Sweet, safe, grown-up pit bulls for sale?

If you’d read this post, you’d probably have realized that I’m not entirely convinced that pit bulls are ever entirely ‘safe.’ All dogs have the capacity to be dangerous - my wife was mauled by a tiny terrier when she was little - but I do believe that pit bulls are inherently more dangerous than most.

They're still beautiful animals, though.

Pit Bull - Bad dog, or just bad publicity?

In ‘Burn Notice’, what was the waist leather bag Fiona wears?



Fiona Glenanne, the former IRA assassin and femme fatale of USA’s Burn Notice, wears a Leather Hip Bag during some of her more dangerous missions and you can get one of your very own here.

We've moved!

Hi there! Editorial Bear here!

Militant Ginger has actually had a slight migration - from rolandhulme.blogspot.com to a domain of its very own - www.militantginger.com!

I'd really appreciate it if you'd change your bookmarks - although with the wonders of the 'net, you should still be able to find your way here with your existing links.

Thanks a lot!

Airship!

If you have a moment, go and check out my other blog at 'Steampunk Generation!'

Democrats lose in Massachusetts!

If there are any patterns in American politics, one of them is that that the Republicans thrive in times of adversity, while the Democrats are at their weakest when, by rights, they should have the upper hand.

Take today's blinding election result in Massachusetts.

Ted Kennedy's election seat - held by a Democrat for decades (the same Democrat) - and in a liberal state, should have been a shoe-in for another Democratic candidate.

Instead, Republican insurgent Scott Brown sailed to victory and left behind him the scuttled remains of health care reform.

It's an astonishing failure for the Democrats - but hardly atypical. It seems whenever they're at their strongest, they wind up being at their most vulnerable. Just like in the 2004 elections - when they 'couldn't lose' against President Bush - it turns out that the American people don't seem to like the left wing getting anything too easy.

Ultimately, I'm not too disappointed. The Health Care Reform Bill- which most likely rested on the result of this election - was a limp, soulless compromise that delivered every reform the health insurance industry demanded (such as mandatory health care coverage, with fines for those who don't purchase it) with none of the ones average Americans needed (like a public option, or protection against being overcharged for pre-existing conditions.)

In the end, the bill not being passed will probably bring about as much 'reform' to the health care industry as if it had. I never thought anybody could convince me that no reform was better than half-assed reform - but ultimately that's how I ended up feeling.

Democrats? You need to get your house in order.

Why Every Man should be a Mr Fixit

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to 'become a mechanic' and so far I'm doing pretty well at it.

I've replaced the indicator thingy on The Locomotive [Is 'thingie' the official term for it? - Editorial Bear] replaced a headlight and just triumphantly changed the windscreen wipers. That last one was the trickiest!

But the simply truth is; it's a good habit to be getting into.

From Charleston to Chicago auto repair is an increasingly expensive business. Repairing my own turn signals, for example, cost me $8 in parts - but would have been around $50 if I'd taken it to a shop!

Admittedly, it took me about a week to finally figure out how to do it (electrics have never been my strong suit) but I did do it. And although it's pathetic, I felt a totally disproportionate sense of accomplishment for doing so!


I used to change the oil of my old Triumph TR7 and fiddle about beneath the hood of my Pontiac Firebird; largely because I felt there was something innately masculine about knowing a thing or two about cars. I'm hardly a mechanic, but I do think it's more than just financially and emotionally rewarding figuring out simple auto-repairs - it's also kind of fun.

But the problem is, it's not so easy to fix modern cars - one of the reasons I refuse to drive anything that's not over the age of consent (21 years, for the record.)

Most repairs on a twenty-year-old car are approachable even for manual-in-one-hand-screwdriver-in-the-other mechanics like me. Changing a water pump on a modern-day Toyota Corolla, on the other hand, pretty much requires a $20,000 computer and an engineering degree these days.

So, men of the world - join me as I try to teach myself more about mechanics. You never know when you might need that knowledge!

Three Versus Three!

Like many people, I often think that football - or 'soccer' as the Americans charmingly call it - involves too many players. Cut down versions, like 'five-a-side' have proven quite popular - while my personal choice would be 'none-a-side' with everybody spending some much more productive time in the pub instead.

Well, the sport got at least two players closer to how I envision it, with the World Soccer Tour choosing the Myrtle Beach Resorts as the location for the championship of their famous 'three versus three' tournament.

Yep, you heard that right. Settle down this August at a comfortable Myrtle Beach Resort and you'll be able to watch six people kicking a ball around at the newly renovated Grand Park and surrounding Myrtle Beach Accommodations.

“This is the first national soccer championship for Myrtle Beach", said Myrtle Beach Accomodations president and CEO Brad Dean, "and the first such championship to be played at Grand Park.”

“It will be great for the athletes and spectators to have this caliber of sporting event close to a prime shopping, dining and entertainment spot on the Grand Strand.”

While you might never have heard of it, the World Soccer Tour attracts upwards of a thousand high-school aged athletes each and every year, who get to compete after qualifying at one of fifty tournaments held across the country.

And yes, I said 'country.'

Because just like the inopportune title of the 'World Series' of baseball, the World Soccer Tour consists entirely of teams from the United States - making it a very small 'world tour' indeed.

Making a Killing Online?

When I was a kid, one of my favorite TV shows was 'Maverick,' starring James Garner, and later Roger Moore, as a charming, inveterate gambler getting into all sorts of trouble as he rode the Wild West looking for the next poker game to cash in on.

Funnily enough, though, it never inspired me to be much of a gambler.

In fact, despite loving some of fiction's finest gamblers - James Bond being the perfect example - I guess I inherited my account father's level head when it comes to that sort of irresponsible 'investment.'

But while I've never had much of a stomach for poker, I've met a few people who have. In fact, just recently I met my first 'professional gambler.'

This kid went from poker game to poker game, and played online, netting an average of $25,000 a year.

That doesn't sound too impressive - especially given the long hours and high risk of his occupation. However, he was young and enjoyed what he was doing. What's more, he gave me plenty of examples of older people who made a respectable living playing poker online.

By going to a website like Online Casinos Planet, these would-be card sharks can get dealt into game after game at any hour of the day or night - and some (a very small minority) actually make a living from it.

Now, I've recently realized the immense earning potential of the Internet - but that's not a game for me.

However, it just goes to show how the Information Superhighway is opening up all sorts of unprecedented earning opportunities that we wouldn't even dreamed of a few years ago.

The Bureau of Immigration Triumphs Again!

Tonight, we got a knock on the door at about 8:30pm. Opening it up, I found myself staring into the face of my former neighbor. Fortunately I don't know the Spanish for 'Holy Crap!' because that's exactly what I would have said to him.

You see, my neighbor was an illegal immigrant. He'd been arrested and deported a couple of years ago and, after popping straight back across the border, been subsequently arrested again and banged up by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services - in a federal prison where, I'd been led to believe, he was going to rot.

Except here he was, on my goddamn doorstep.

Not that I'd wanted him to rot, I kept reminding myself. I had nothing against this guy, apart from the fact that he had flagrantly and repeatedly violated the immigration law's I'd spent five years as a slave to, reaped the benefits of New Jersey's free health care and schooling while I struggled to pay for insurance and daycare, didn't pay a dime in taxes (and subsequently pulled in more a month than my wife did) and insisted on driving his unregistered, uninspected, uninsured minivan home drunk off his arse every night.

But seriously. Apart from that? Nicest guy ever.

Anyway. Instead of being behind bars like I'd been led to believe he was, the guy was standing on my porch, politely inquiring if our landlord was around.

After a moment's disorientation, I shook his hand, invited him in and Mummy Militant and I found him our landlord's number. During the process, we exchanged what niceties we could given the language barrier.

"You've lost weight!"

"Thanks, so have you."

"Well, I've been in a federal prison for five months."

"Ah, right." Awkward pause. "So, erm. What happened then?"

"I got deported back to Mexico."

"And?"

"I came back here."

"Like, immediately?"

"Oh, no." He paused. "It took three weeks."

So with another shake of his hand, I sent our border-hopping pal on his way and closed, locked and bolted the door. Pressing my back against it, I asked Mummy Militant: "These immigration guys... Are they freaking kidding me?"

Since President Bush left office, a lot less attention has been paid on the question of illegal immigration of America. In fact, Obama's accomplished more in the past year regarding the issue than Bush and his cohorts did during two terms in office (which isn't necessarily a good thing. Obama's policies are brusque and unforgiving.) Tie that into a crappy economy - when even illegals find difficulty getting a job - and you're looking at the best immigration situation for years.

But the fact is, my neighbor was back. Being arrested, imprisoned and deported - twice - was as minor an inconvenience to him as renewing his motor-vehicle registration.

Which, incidentally, he never did.

It just goes to show that, whether the government's Democratic or Republican, they're all equally pathetic and powerless in the face of illegal immigration. In fact, it seems like the only reason people like my drink-driving neighbor are considering leaving the Land of Opportunity is because our crappy economy means those 'opportunities' are fewer and further apart than they used to be.

Walking in a Weiner Wonderland

Are the Democrats to blame for Gay Marriage failing in NJ?

As many advocates of same-sex marriage will already be aware, the upcoming gay marriage bill in New Jersey has been rejected in the NJ senate by a 20-14 majority.

It's an unexpected defeat for supporters of marriage equality, as the generally liberal-leaning New Jersey was expected to accept the motion with little resistance.

Garden State Equality chairman Steven Goldstein admitted: "We resent, more than you can imagine, remaining second-class citizens a bit longer. On the other hand, at least the ball has moved at little bit forward."

In retrospect, though, this defeat was inevitable - and not because of any overwhelming hostility towards same-sex marriage by the residents of the Garden State (who, in polls, largely supported the motion.)

The new New Jersey governor, Republican Chris Christie, made it a campaign promise to veto any same-sex marriage bill if it crossed his desk - meaning that ultimately this bill would have been cast aside even if the senate had won that single extra vote they needed to pass it.

Which makes this a failure created by the Democratic party in New Jersey, not the Republicans (who opposed Same Sex marriage from the very beginning.)

If incumbent Governor Jon Corzine hadn't been so absurdly corrupt and inept, perhaps he'd have won last November's election - and kept in place a political hierarchy that would have been much more receptive to the passing of this controversial law.

Republican Chris Christie, as I wrote here, had a shameful political record when he stood for election - but that was par for the course in this utterly corrupt state. He won victory over Jon Corzine not because he was better, or more competent (which he inarguably wasn't.) He won merely because he was the least corrupt politician out of the two (which wasn't much of a claim, either!)

The gay and lesbian population of New Jersey, who had formerly been proud of the fact that theirs was going to be one of the earliest states to adopt gay marriage, have every right to be angry that this law didn't pass.

However the blame should be placed squarely at the foot of the state's Democratic party - who acted with such irresponsibility and incompetence over the previous four years that the largely liberal-leaning people of New Jersey had no option but to vote against them and get 'in bed with the enemy' (in this case, the Republican party') come the 2009 election.

Soaring property taxes and a gaping deficit ultimately overshadowed the ongoing struggle for marriage equality in this state. The fact that the financial survival of the many overwhelmed the civil rights of the few is a shameful legacy for New Jersey Democrats to have to contend with.

Gingerism in Doctor Who?

This New Year's day saw the triumphant end of David Tennant's reign Doctor Who - and his regeneration into chintastic twenty-six-year-old newcomer Matt Smith.

[Oi! That's discrimination against people with abnormally enormous chins! - Editorial Bear.]

With just a few seconds of screen time to distinguish himself in, I thought Smith did pretty well - patting his extremities to ensure his latest regeneration had the prerequisite arms and legs - and then checking his long hair to see what color it was.

"Still not ginger!" he wailed.

This was a reference to David Tennant's original regeneration, five years ago. When morphing from one-season wonder Christopher Ecceleston into the inimitable Tennant, the good Doctor complained "I've never been ginger before!"

Yet the British public have shown their typical ignorance of the past by interpreting Matt Smith's comments another way. Over 100 viewers wrote in to complain that his 'still not ginger' remark was, in fact, gingerism.

So many people complained, in fact, that the BBC even emailed me to ask their opinion for a special edition of the Today show they were doing on 'ginger discrimination' (apparently, ever since I appeared in their documentary "F**k off, I'm Ginger" I've been their 'go to' guy on matters of gingerism.)

[Oi, you fraud! That's categorically untrue. A quick search of Militant Ginger's webstats showed that the BBC randomly found you through a google-search - totally unaware that you'd once been the star of one of their documentaries. - Editorial Bear.]

Anyway, my point is this; there was nothing 'gingerist' about Matt Smith's comments.

In fact, it was categorically un-gingerist - a final hurrah in which producer Russell T. Davies demonstrated that he was as hyper-sensitive to the ginger minority as he was to all the others. It was almost like an apology to all us redheads, suggesting that he, too, was disappointed that the next incarnation of 'The Doctor' wasn't ginger.

In any event, I don't have any antipathy towards the BBC for that comment - quite the opposite. As for the hundred-or-so people who complained about 'gingerism' to the BBC? Well, I admire their dedication to our cause, but they sure backed the wrong horse in this particular case. When it comes to blatant ginger discrimination, they'd be better off assailing Tescos for their disgusting 'Christmas Card' I blogged about last year.

I'm as sensitive - possibly more so - to 'gingerism' than anybody else (hell, my blog's called 'Militant Ginger' for a reason.) But I simply object to real discrimination, not the made up stuff. When I went onto national TV as part of 'F**k off, I'm Ginger,' I told the audience I had no intention of becoming the 'Malcolm X' of gingers. I certainly don't want to become their 'Al Sharpton' by claiming discrimination where clearly, none exists.

Anyway. Here is David Tennant's regeneration sequence:

What's the bag Fiona wears around her hip in Burn Notice?

USA's exciting spy thriller 'Burn Notice' is back for another season, which has had a slew of people asking me about the cool 'fanny pack' the sexy Irish assassin Fiona is rarely seen without onscreen.

The bag Fiona wears around her hip - which I call the
Fiona bag - is actually Australian, made by the Happy Cow company. Handcrafted from 100% recycled leather, it's got handy compartments for a mobile phone, purse and iPod (and, presumably, a spare 9mm magazine.)

The LeatherHip bag Fiona wears comes with an incorporated leather belt and buckle fastening, which comfortably fits a 32" to 40" waist.

You can pick up Fiona's hip bag to call your very own in tan, dark brown or black here.

Ignorance is Inherited

This just makes me sad.

The note from the ignorant parent reads:

“Note: Just to let you it is not that we don’t believe in things like that, it is just misleading when you talk about it being billions of years old, when we all know that the world is only about 6,000 years old. So why would I pay so that you can misslead my children, your world is just a revolving(?), ours has a start and an end. God created the world. He created animals and man all in the same week. It was also Adam who named all the animals, they will do the essay ‘Rock and Minerals’ but it might not be 5 pages long, and about billions of years, it will be according to the Bible.”

The 'other' Sherlock Holmes

While Guy Ritchie's brilliant Sherlock Holmes is racking up well-deserved millions at the box office, there's another group of people trying to cash in on the good detective's name.

Burbank, Ca. based The Asylum is an admirably pragmatic film production company specializing in 'mockbusters' - or low-budget knock-offs of Hollywood blockbusters (with release dates cynically plotted to cash in on the larger movie's free publicity.)

The latest production to hit the shelves of your local blockbuster? Sherlock Holmes.

Written by Paul Bales and directed by Rachel Goldenberg, Sherlock Holmes is a low-budget feature filmed largely in Wales. In keeping with the Welsh location, it also stars Gareth David-Lloyd (better known as the ill-fated Ianto from BBC's Torchwood) as the inimitable Doctor John Watson.

Gareth David-Lloyd, late of Torchwood, pulling off his signature 'deeply uncomfortable' scowl. On the right is unknown Ben Snyder.

The bad guy, legendary Victorian villain 'Spring Heeled Jack' is portrayed by another sci-fi star, Star Trek: Enterprise's Dominic Keating. More of a mystery is the man they've picked to portray Britain's greatest detective. Has anybody else even heard of 'Ben Syder' before? In any event, he sounds game for the challenge.

Dominic Keating, in the fashionable steam-powered suit that every gentleman is wearing this season.

Mixing steampunk and fantasy, the plot of 'Sherlock Holmes' is described thusly:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective faces the ultimate challenge when enormous monsters attack London.

I can't quite remember reading that one in 'The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes' but, then again, I was drinking a lot of sherry back in those days.

Unsurprisingly, Sherlock Holmes won't be hitting your cinema screen any time soon - but it will be released in your local Blockbuster at the end of January (and presumably reach the SyFy channel shortly afterward.)

In the mean time, to whet your appetite, here are some special effects shots from the upcoming movie. I have to admit, you can give Asylum as much grief as you want, but a giant steam-powered dragon attacking London is just cool.

Sherlock Holmes

I've been a fan of Sherlock Holmes ever since I read the original stories - out of Victorian-era Strand magazine reprints in the bottom of my father's bookshelf, no less (how's that for a boast?)

That being said, I've never been much of a fan of Holme's onscreen incarnations. By far and away my favorite was Robert Stephens, in Billy Wilder's beautiful The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. The rest have, quite frankly, left me feeling rather flat.

But no longer.

Because last night, I saw Guy Ritchie's big-screen re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes and it was magnificent.

Starring Robert Downey Jnr and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson, 'Sherlock Holmes' is an action-packed movie that threw away decades of movie mystique and returned Holmes to his literary roots. That meant no deerstalker or plaid cape - just a bohemian genius in a darkened flat that smelt of sulphur and gunpowder.

Ritchie's movie is unashamedly post-modernist; the fast pace and brutal action scenes are unapologetically aimed at a 21st century audience with a short attention span. However, true fans of Holmes won't be disappointed. Apart from the ambiguous relationship with New Jersey con artist Irene Adler (played scintillatingly by Rachel McAdams) there's not a moment of the tightly-worded script that's not totally in sync with the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

People who criticize the movie for being too violent, or say that Robert Downey Jnr's portrayal of Holmes is too frantic and unstable, clearly haven't read the books. There were more than a few stories in which Holme's talents at boxing served to his advantage, while the stories themselves made no secret of the fact that Sherlock was (in the words of Downey Jnr himself) 'nuts.'

Ironically, it's not even the character of Holmes that's undergone the greatest reinvention. Traditionally, the movies have portrayed Doctor Watson as a bumbling oaf (it was actor Nigel Bruce, opposite Basil Rathbone, who perfected this caricature) yet that's certainly not how he appears here.

Young, vibrant and energetic, Jude Law's portrayal of Watson is perfectly in keeping with Conan Doyle's original description ("thin as a lath and as brown as a nut," according to A Study in Scarlet.) What's more, he's no bumbling idiot. As befits a decorated army surgeon, Watson is tough, focused and an invaluable partner to Sherlock Holmes.

And when it comes to Holmes himself, Robert Downey Jnr and Guy Ritchie do a magnificent job expressing the man's maniacal energy. Through intense bursts of sound and rapid camera cuts, Ritchie illustrates how Holmes is a man who's brain is always racing. He's literally burning up with intellectual and physical energy - a madness that can only be assuaged by the single-minded pursuit of a mystery's solution.

Downey delivers this perfectly - with his portrayal of Holmes carefully balanced between madness and genius. I particularly enjoyed the way Holmes would 'visualize' his physical actions before he performed them - a neat and practical demonstration of the Victorian theory of the Law of Attraction (or modern-day 'Neuro Linguistic Programming.)

And yet even ten paragraphs into this review, there's yet more I loved about this film - like Guy Ritchie's beautifully-realized Victorian London.

Bustling, busy, intense and vibrant, this was a city you could actually believe in - and Holmes and Watson actually lived there. Tiny little touches - like sharing fish and chips (from a very specific stall, since Holmes liked the beer they used in their batter) reveal a portrait of the city only a native could deliver (director Guy Ritchie's best movies have always been set in his native city, ever since Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.)

The music, again, hits the mark with unerring accuracy. Holmes has traditionally been accompanied by classical music, or violin masterpieces. Instead, Guy Ritchie cranks up the old Victorian Victrola, infusing the soundtrack with a bit of period raunch that sucks you into a down, dirty and thoroughly believable vision of Holmes' London.

Ultimately, you'll need to approach Sherlock Holmes with an open mind to truly appreciate it. If you like your Holmes in the mold of Peter Cushing, Jeremy Brett or Basil Rathbone, you'll be sorely disappointed. Robert Downey Jnr's version is debauched, dangerous, anti-social and self-destructive (much like he was in the stories.)

Likewise, the movie is a rough, tough adventure which focuses heavily on punch-ups, shoot-outs and chases - which are a little intense compared to Conan Doyle's stories (but not necessarily out of keeping with them.)

Personally? I loved it. I'd have sat down and watched the whole damn thing a second time if they hadn't booted us out of the cinema. I think this film is nothing less than masterful - and has permanently altered my perceptions about the World's Greatest Consulting Detective.

And somebody please buy me the soundtrack CD for my birthday.

On Doctor Who

So thanks to the power of You Tube and some lax copyright policing by the BBC, I was able to watch the final episode of Doctor Who yesterday. And although I'd whined about The End of Time Part One being rubbish, I have the admit the second episode was magnificent!

Bernard Cribbins, everybody's favorite old man, reenacting that scene from Star Wars in a laser-turret? The Doctor dodging nuclear missiles in a twirling, whirling space ship? The gratuitous, but lovely cameos by all the old stars of 'Who? And that teary farewell - with David Tennant's lip quivering as he admitted 'I don't want to go!'

Marvellous. Brilliant. A tour de force that wrapped up Tennant's reign as The Doctor with satisfying aplomb.

The only problem now? What comes next...

David Tennant - easily the best Doctor since Tom Baker - will not be easy to replace. Not only that, but the beautiful Tardis design (that's become as much a fixture of the series as he was) crumbled and burnt during Tennant's regeneration. Truly, the next series will be a new 'era' for Who - and producer Stephen Moffat has some seriously big shoes to fill.

I'll tell you this, though - the preview of 'Series 5' does look promising. Not only that, but the newest 'Who girl' - Scottish actress Karen Gillan - is utterly delicious. Not only that, but she's a bona-fide ginger, too! (Even if the Doctor isn't, as Gooseman pointed out.)

Given my love/hate relationship with Russell T. Davies, I'm going to be interested to see where Moffat takes the series. Will the Doctor be popping back, encountering old friends like Captain Jack and Sarah Jane Smith? Or will it be a clean break? Only time will tell (and fortunately, Doctor Who is a Time Lord.)

Anyway. Here's the preview to Series 5. I can't wait!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to a new decade (well, unless you're one of those people who insists that the 'new' decade starts in 2011 - and celebrated the 'new' millennium in 2001. Seriously, you should have taken the hint when nobody turned up to your party.)

Last night, the Militant family saw the New Year in our in-laws and it was one of the nicest, most mellow New Years I can remember. It was also fun sending text messages across time-zones - with friends from London and Paris texting me 'Happy New Year' five or six hours early, while I got to send my pals in Colorado early 'New Years' from the East Coast (all except for Coffee Bean - sorry, I don't have your number!)

And today, the New Year awaits like a blank slate. I'm really, really excited as I've got big plans for 2010. If the previous year has taught me anything, it's that you can achieve great things if you apply yourself. For example, I never imagined a year ago that 2009 would be the year in which I lost 28lbs and got into the best shape of my life.

So in the interest of focusing my efforts again this year, here are my Militant Ginger New Year's Resolutions:

1. Give up alcohol until the 27th January - I've recently found peace with my fondness for wine and beer, so I'm not proposing this for any dreary puritanical or health reasons. However, in an effort to lose these final two pounds and hit my ideal weight of 160lbs, I need to do something drastic. Temporarily cutting out the delicious calories from my favourite beverages will hopefully be enough to tip me over the edge of my weight-loss plateau.


2. Earn at least $10,000 from freelance writing/blogging this year - One of my favourite authors, legendary horror writer Stephen King, had a simple criteria for being a 'good' writer. If you got sent a cheque for something that you wrote, and it didn't bounce, than you were a 'good' writer in the most pragmatic and practical of terms. By those standards, this past year's seen me become a 'better' and 'better' writer, with more and more cheques coming in, with larger figures at the bottom of them. I intend to keep that trend going this new year, with an ultimate goal of earning $10,000 from freelance writing projects and blogging.


3. Exercise and weight-train three times a week - Similar to the lifestyle adjustments that led to me losing weight, I discovered that just a moderate amount of weight training can lead to a dramatically better body. I actually have muscles for the first time! So while I'm not going to become one of these narcissistic 'gym rats', I am going to continue press-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups and lifting free weights at home to become fitter, stronger and more toned. Basically, I'm going to make sure that when the Militant Family head back to France for the summer, I'm not ashamed to take my shirt off.


4. Start becoming financially independent - I had an epiphany this year, in which I realised that the road to financial security and independence doesn't lie along a single income stream from a single career. To that end, I'm going to pursue many different options for creating revenue - and, ultimately, financial security. A few bucks here and a few bucks there might not sound impressive - but when you've got enough of those 'few bucks' coming in from a multitude of sources, it adds up. Also, if you have income from many different sources, instead of just one, it provides a cushion against recession, redundancy or other hassles. This year, I'm going to start staking those options out.


5. Become a mechanic - No, that's not one of my 'alternative income sources.' But this year, I am going to clue back into my days tinkering with old cars to make sure I become as handy as possible (all in anticipation of finding my ideal 'Gingermobile' later this year.) I've been practicing on The Locomotive and have made remarkable progress - fixing the indicators and changing a headlight to start with. Next is to install the remote starter that Mummy Militant got me for Christmas.


6. Write a book - I'm brimming with ideas, but I haven't seriously tackled writing anything but articles in over a year. In 2010, I'm going to bang out a book. I haven't decided what yet (my father gave me a great concept for a reverse-James Bond novel) but I plan to keep at it. If Stephanie Meyer can earn a $750,000 advance for her vampy melodrama, I'm sure I can too!


7. Visit France again - les Grandes Militants, maman et papa Militant, are moving dogs this year and we can't wait to see where they go. The highlight of 2009 was our trip to France, which was just wonderful. We can't wait to go back this year, and hopefully catch up with family again (including introducing Mini Militant to Uncle Mycroft.)


8. Visit somewhere cool in America - In 2009 it was Philadelphia and Washington D.C. - two amazing locations that are just brimming with colonial history. This year, I want to visit more of this great country - Florida (pet Hemingway's pussycats) or Colorado (see all my cool blogging friends) or maybe California. I don't know exactly where, yet - but wherever it is, 2010 is the year I get to go there.