...I shall be mostly in a truly rotten mood with society as a whole, including myself.  Bah Humbug.  Teach me to get out of bed so early (ok, so it was 11:15, but it sure felt early)

I apologise in advance, or in retrospect, depending if I have or haven't annoyed you yet.  

Normal service will be resumed tomorrow. 

Ok, so as I am too lazy to change the currently reading pics on my sidebar, I figured I'd do a literary round up instead of the last two books, one of which never even got as far as the side bar, I really am very lazy.  Caution, while I'll try not to reveal too much of the plot, there may be slight spoilers in it.

War And Peace - Leo Tolstoy

It seems like eon's ago I started this one, with Anna Pavlona's social, and it was a long haul, I'd be lying if I didn't say it felt like it too, I'm not very patient and like to finish books in a week or so, so this was a challenge.  However, the story is very well written, and all of the main characters are developed in depth so you really get to know them and what drives them, the book is punctuated by events, many of them important moments in history, so you're never far from the action, and the plot flows well, sometimes flitting backwards in time by a month or two to catch up with events in one of the other key locations while he's been focusing in on the main characters.  It was enjoyable, however I think that partly this was because I studied and am interested in Russian history, I think if Russia or Napoleonic History doesn't interest you it could get pretty boring.  The novel itself was very good, however it was let down by the First Epilogue, which nearly made me give up.  I wanted to read it as it was tying up loose ends with the characters, etc, but it was far too long for an epilogue, people like Fitzgrald would have fitted a fully entertaining story in the space of it, and Tolstoy, who was prone to philosophise a bit during the novel took this too far in his epilogue, esspecially with some of his Patriotic conclusions about the events of 1815, which in fairness were completed before the Tsar arrived in Belgium and thus it seemed as though the novels even handedness was marginally undermined by over stating the Tsar's position in 1815.  That said, it's still a good read, but I think those who call it the best novel ever are getting carried away, its brilliant, but length which allows for the brilliance detracts from the ease of reading.

A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemmingway

The first Hemmingway I've read, and I have to say I was surprised by the style of the book, which is written entirely in the first person. It's  very fast paced and tells of Fredrick Henry, an American in the Italian army in world war one, it's a very ineteresting depiction on what sometimes seems the forgotten front in the first world war, and paints a vivid picture of the men living in that with the daily knowledge that they were in immense danger.  As ciggie said in the comments to a previous thread, it is very much full of testosterone, but I found it worked well, being a novel about war and all, the plot was well driven and the main female character seemed to me to be more developed than the male, but that may be because the lead female, Catharine, reminded me of someone I know.  (just don't tell them I said so)  I liked the style of this book, esspecially coming on the back of something so in depth as War and Peace, the pace and the twists worked very well, although, as Huw will testify the last three or four pages are possibly the saddest moments in fiction ever.  So much for the fairytale I thought it was becoming.  Good read, but only if you don't mind sadness in a book.

Ok, it's been a while since I played this game, so in the want of something to blog, 20 lyric snippets from twenty tracks chosen at random by my iTunes. Good luck, and not to much laughing at the back.

1) I heard dinner went well, You liked Chris's jacket, He reminded you of Johnny, Before he went Electronic
- Belle and Sebastian - Seymour Stein (guessed by Ciggie)
2) My friend the communist, holds meetings in his RV
- Sheryl Crow - Soak Up The Sun (guessed by Huw)
3) He's going to let you down, And going to break your back for a chance, And going to steal your friends if he can
- The Strokes - Take it or leave it (guessed by Ciggie)
4) back and forth we sway, Like branches in a storm, change of weather, Still together when it ends
5) this welcome has been so nice and warm, look out the window at that Storm.
- Louis and Ella - Baby its cold outside (guessed by Valentia)
6) I'll only buy a book for the way it looks, And then I stick it on the shelf again.
- Belle and Sebastian - This is just a modern rock song (guessed by Ciggie)
7) Since youve gone I been lost without a trace, I dream at night I can only see your face
- The Police - Every Breath You Take (guessed by Huw)
8) I see the light that's shining from your eyes, blinding me, It's like I'm walking down your street again at seventeen
- The Subways - Oh Yeah (guessed by Lemonsquash)
9) I wish I could tell you all the things I want to say, somehow I think I will in time
10) But you're so blind - I can do no wrong, And I try to explain where the pains come from
11) I went to Jacob an hour after I got my advance, I just wanted to shine
12) Trying to find some explanation here, For the way some people are, How did it ever come so far (SORRY!!)
- David Gray - Sail Away (guessed by Huw)
13) Like a favourite book, When you turnin' a page, Like an innocent look
14) There's no stone left I have not found unturned, Like a tidal wave that never breaks
15) We were young and restless, We needed to unwind, I guess nothin' can last forever
- Bryan Adams - Summer of 69 (guessed by Huw)
16) When you're at home alone, the blues will taunt you constantly
17) Because you saw him at the celebrations standing at the side, He had the moves to save the day
- Belle and Sebastian - Mayfly (guessed by Jef)
18) Just down past the gasworks, by the meat factory door, The five lamp boys were coming on strong
- Rat Trap - Boomtown Rats (guessed by Ciggie)
19) That in four years, I'd be hanging from a beam, Behind the door of number ten
20) I ain't buying or selling today, I'm just looking around, For some decent conversation

Everytime I hear one of their songs, I feel like I've heard it before.

Are they actually just a cover band?

Or is it that all the songs sound the same?

This is going to sound silly, but, I still don't see why their popular.

Is this worthy of a whole blog entry?

No, probably not. 

...dies by the Scot.

Now I have calmed down from my prior rant on the subject of Mr Blair's continued avoidance of leaving office, I've been thinking about what is most likely to cause the final exit from number ten.  It has became apparent that Brown, perhaps wisely, will not himself dig in the knife, despite the fact that he is now at the stage where we can assume he could should he choose, he knows that a political assassination by him would cause an even bigger party rift and destroy any chance he has of a smooth transition.  

A smooth transition, however, looks less likely all the time, especially as we have the constitutional question of how it could occur, if Mr Blair is to resign as PM, the Queen constitutionally invites the Deputy PM to form a government.  The party would then require a leadership challenge, and I'm not sure what happens next.  It seems a bit of a grey area.  To get round this, Blair could move Brown into Deputy PM in his final reshuffle, and then resign leaving him the keys, however, if we are to believe the word out of Westminster the two sufficiently hate each other to make this form of handover unlikely, although it can't be ruled out surely that Mr Blair will place a rival as Deputy PM, Reid or Miliband, in the knowledge that they will then be asked to form a government, at least in the short term while the leadership is decided, and that may boost their chances to retain power.  The fairest way for the electorate is surely for a general election, although whether Blair will have the dignity to be fair and the bravery to risk losing power for the party is doubtful.

So what will force him to go?  Much has been said about the May elections, and I think that the result of these will not trigger a leadership challenge, as I think the Scots MP's will force Blairs hand before them.  There is a lot riding on these elections, including control of both the Scottish and Welsh assemblies, both of which are currently under Labour control but could very easily sway.  Now, the Scots MP's at Westminster have been consistently relied upon by Blair to pass measures when he did not have enough support, even if that legislation did not effect Scotland.  Scottish Labour party will not want to lose control of the Assembly to the SNP and thus I think it is highly likely that the Scottish MP's under pressure from constituency labour parties will have to attempt the Coup D'Etat with the aim of salvaging what they can from the May elections, Blair is a liability they can't risk.

He who lives by the Scot, may well die, by the Scot.