Bullet Penséés

Some random thoughts as I cruise into my last week in blissful Corfu:

• The sheer linguistic fluency of everyone in at least 2 other languages than their native Greek
  
• The beauty of the Greeks - male as well as female.
  
• Pedestrians and vehicles pierce and part where they can and with no obvious harm or lack of temper. When I mentioned the Jay Walking laws of Seattle I was ogled disbelievingly and photographic proof demanded of lights-obedient pedestrians.
  
• CNN in this part of the world is hosted by delicious black ladies with names like Tumi and Fumi and impeccable cut-glass accents.
  
• MTV is in German with hilarious wacky kraut DJs introducing the US hit parade. I've finally caught up with Eminem's Michael Jackson video, as well as that extroadinary Jessica Simpson show where she daily astounds her new husband with demonstrations of her exasperating daffyness and general all-round stupidity.
  
• The news of interest to the locals is Anna Nicole-Smith losing all those millions. Rumours of Brad and Jenn breaking up is greeted with bored shrugs: no one thinks she has looks worth a dime, certainly not worthy of the pretty boy Brad.
  
• I try to buy something Greeky and Euro-Cool as 14th birthday present for Anna. Nothing. All is pseudo American rubbish. The Great Satan's influence infects everywhere.
• What's this I read about a *California* tsunami? Honestly, you'd think things would settle down a bit so we can focus on where our rescue dollars are actually going. Settling down last night with my whiskey and early evening CN News, I felt a distinct twinge of tsunami fatigue and made a mental note to speed any donations on their way before I think better and invest in a better bottle of bourbon
• Top 20 Catchphrases as per The Guardian: never heard of the winner, 'Little Britain's Dafydd's "I'm the only gay in the village". Heard of #2 and 3, Tommy Cooper and Homer Simpson, but few of the rest. But I'm glad they fitted in Ali G's "Is it coz I is black?". Always liked that one and look for opportunities to use it m'self.
• Un-blissful thought: working on the land has to be one of *the* tedious toils de politesse de nos jours. Pitiless, pointless and no escape.