As part of my ongoing effort to become the world’s most boring person (I’m jesting) I have been watching Simon Schama’s The American Future: A History which has been on BBC2 on Friday’s at 9pm. Happily enough if you prefer to watch Little Britain and Have I Got News For You you can catch up on the first episode now on BBC’s iPlayer (it’ll only be there for another week or so.)

It’s been fascinating so far, to understand a bit more of the history of this relatively young nation and some of the forces within it that have been there from the outset of the founding of the republic through to this very day.

I understand that Schama is a donor to the Democrat party and the Obama campaign, but watching the programme anybody with a bit of thought process in their head would spot the leanings in the programme that seemingly favour the Democrat point of view, opposed to the Republican.

Anyway highly recommended all the same.

I’m off to walk to Chanctonbury Ring now

Ok before you berate me:

• Points to iMac in bedroom
• Points to eMac in the living room
• Points out she likes OS X

Apple have released a new design to their popular MacBook and MacBook Pro series. I don’t think it’s the most exceptional design ever but then your asking someone who likes ThinkPads.

So I’m not anti-Apple, but what I am anti is some of the apologist remarks.

A valid comment made in a Mac forum in response to the new models lacking basic memory card slots. Something that I am sure Mr Jobs would rather die than see on his beloved Macs, but something that the average consumer finds useful. Hell even I have! I like the fact that many laptops now come with basic memory card slots such as Memory Stick and SD for example.

However no such joy on an Apple. You need an external reader, or plug the camera in (mmm battery juice) or better still one apologist suggested:

“Why not get a printer with the slot reader with the rebate Apple offers. Quit your whining, this update is PERFECT!”

All well and good.

Until the original person who posed the question replied back saying

In Britain we’re very good at being a a very miserable bunch I find. Some of the most vocal people in this country seem to be dead set on decrying anything and everything. I see things differently because I know things aren’t perfect, but they never will be. I always try to view things reasonably and with a view to improve them through a bit of graft and an open ear.

Local Government websites in the UK and particularly England (due to funding about 5 years ago) can comfortably say they are some of the best in the world. Now before hammer me with e-mails about this is rubbish, I hate my council, I hate council tax (we all do) — Local Government websites in the UK by proportion are more accessible than other governmental websites around the world and have pioneered delivery of services over the web. It’s still not perfect but I’m sure many people who work on these sites will agree that the heart is in the right place and that we don’t purposely sit at our desks working out how to wind people up.

I’ve tried myself to drive forward

American Beauty is a profound film that will always be with me, ever since I first watched it in 1999. If I find myself losing my way in life and the meaning of it, I only have to watch this to feel exactly what life should be….

This is the ending’s monologue. It’s absolutely tear-jerkingly brilliant: