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!

The British are Coming

I like to think Tina and I have cleverly timed our triumphant return to America. It seems the States are going through another one of their regular 'Brit Love' phases.

Nowhere is this more obvious than on television, currently stuffed with British celebrities and British shows roughly shoehorned into American formats.

Leading the British resurgence is a man of whom I'm an enormous fan. Hugh Laurie.

Hugh Laurie is a comedy legend in England. Teamed up with Cambridge pal Stephen Fry, he split the nation's sides as Bertie Wooster, co-hosted the hilarious A Bit of Fry and Laurie and was the secret highlight of Blackadder as gormless George. He's also made a name for himself in Hollywood movies and wrote the fantastic adventure novel The Gun Seller.

But it was his portrayal of grouchy super-doc Gregory House that really won him the hearts of the American television audience. Laurie plays the chief of the Department of Diagnostic Medicine at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. Every week, he and his team of doctors figure out increasingly mysterious medical conditions.

It's like an episode of CSI, except it's a disease or disorder than needs to be unmasked at the episode's climax, rather than a criminal. Hugh Laurie is consistently brilliant - even if his American accent isn't. He won a Golden Globe for House in 2006.

Another regular British face on American television is Parminder Nagra, star of the 2002 movie Bend it like Beckham. She features in popular American hospital drama ER as Anglo-Indian medical intern Neela Rasgotra. Originally meant to be an American character, ER producer John Wells was so impressed by Nagra that he adapted Neela's role to suit Nagra - and let her keep her British accent.

When I lived in New York, British stand up comedian Eddie Izzard had already earned himself a pretty devoted following. His rambling comedy and 'executive transvestite' style of dress appealed to stand up audiences in Manhattan. Minor roles in Hollwood blockbusters like The Avengers and Ocean's Twelve earned him credits in the movie industry.

Izzard's hard work paid off. In January of this year, FOX television announced the production of a new show starring Izzard and fellow Brit superstar Minnie Driver. The Riches is a drama series following Izzard and Driver's gypsy characters as they assume the identities of a dead American family and attempt to settle into suburbia.

Izzard admits adapting his personality to suit conservative American audiences took some effort. He's more likely to be seen wearing a natty suit these days than the high heels and lipstick British audiences are familiar with.

His co-star, Bedales educated Minnie Driver, has already rooted herself firmly into the American entertainment industry. Her flawless American accent served her brilliantly in hit movies like Grosse Pointe Blank and she shone on the small screen when she cropped up in hit comedy Will and Grace. The resurgence in 'Brit Love' can only help her popularity.

Small Screen. Big Personalities.

It's not just British movie stars who are making it big in America. On the small screen, an increasing number of British TV shows are finding popularity with American audiences.

Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine, fashion gurus Trinny and Susannah from TV's What Not to Wear, pop up often on Oprah Winfrey's television show. Kim and Aggie, who root through disgusting residences in How Clean is your House, have made the jaunt across the Atlantic too. Nanny 911, the American version of Little Angels, sees celebrity British nannies attempt to sort out truculent toddlers, while boring British show Scrapheap Challenge really found it's feet when reworked for gung-ho American audiences as Junkyard Wars.

What's remarkable about these exports is not that American audiences enjoy them. It's that the Americans haven't just hijacked the show's format. They've also recruited the stars. Scrapheap Challenge's Robert Llewellyn, best known as Kryten from Red Dwarf, baffles the yanks with his bizarre antics, while Jo Frost, the aptly named nanny from British export Supernanny, terrifies kids into obedience with her icy stares and shelf like bosom.

It seems the British accent means something in America - and the format doesn't quite work without that English element.

The two poster children for America's love affair with Brits must be polished record producer Simon Cowell, who's snide asides have made American Idol compelling viewing for the last five years, and Gordon Ramsey, who's abusive kitchen behaviour in The F Word has riveted audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.

Whatever you think of these shows or personalities, one thing is clear. At the moment, in America, Brit is It. Hopefully that's something that will help me find my feet when I arrive.