Comments for Huw Pryce

Comment on Sunday Mega-Post by Alex Martin

Alex Martin — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 05:47:53 +0000

Yet another note: The Presidio is not actually in the City of San Francisco, and never has been. It has always been (since the Spanish and Mexican period) under federal jurisdiction, never subject to local authority, and never inside the The City’s boundary.

Comment on Exploration by Alex Martin

Alex Martin — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 05:47:03 +0000

The “Spanish” are mostly Mexicans and people of Mexican ancestry. There are large numbers of Central Americans, and even some South Americans, but by far the majority are Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. There are a few European Spanish…in twenty-one years in California I’ve met two. Keep in mind that the Americans took California from Mexico by force in 1846.

Comment on Sunday, one month in by Huw

Huw — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 05:12:31 +0000

Did you know that there is a brand of biscuit from Europe called Pim’s? I didn’t before but you can guess what you might get if you ask for Pimm’s in the US…

Comment on Sunday, one month in by Sally Mercer

Sally Mercer — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 20:28:32 +0000

Hi Huw

You don’t need to look for sickly lemonade: try Pimm’s with ginger ale instead

Pimm’s Ginger

Add a new flavour to a traditional Pimm’s with this refreshing ginger Pimm’s cocktail
What you need:

Highball glass
1 Part Pimm’s No.1
3 Parts Ginger Ale
Ice
A slice of lemon & a sprig of mint

What you do:

Mix together all the ingredients.
For a jug use 200ml of Pimm’s and top up with ginger ale: 5.2 UK units, and for a highball glass use 50ml of Pimm’s and top up with ginger ale: 1.3 UK units

Comment on Sunday Mega-Post by Alex Martin

Alex Martin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 06:26:43 +0000

I should add that the national park system, and the national monument system, are very large and extensive. There are millions of acres of national park in the USA.

Comment on Sunday Mega-Post by Alex Martin

Alex Martin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 04:30:29 +0000

The Presidio has been state-supported as a military installation for centuries, and as a national park for some years, with a termination date for that support. No other park has so many buildings needing care and restoration. No other park has the assets that the Presidio does, that can be turned into income. That “wonderful open space” was slavered over for years by real estate developers, who would have paid ten of millions of dollars to have it. Congress could easily have sold it for quick cash. No other city in this country has a park like it. Two California senators fought for it, and they got it, on condition that the park take care of itself. The unique privilege, for that is what it is, of having so remarkable a space in The City, has to be paid for, and the price is self-support.

Comment on Harry Potter (part II) by Huw

Huw — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:36:31 +0000

[It is possible to enter your own name, Elinor, there is no need to post as Bruce.]

The actions that Dumbledore took and his motivations are complicated, I definitely think there is a viewpoint that would look critically upon him. While I don’t agree with it (this could, potentially lead to a long drawn out discussion about whether the ends justifies the means) it was a legitimate point for the film makers to pursue. Like all the other films and a lot of my criticisms of them, if they had made the films unbearably long for all but the most die-hard fans then they could have perhaps satisfied most people.

Anyway, don’t despair – just because the film exists doesn’t mean you can’t ignore it and go with the book instead.

Enjoy Iona, I wish I could be there,

Huw

Comment on Eve of my birthday by Huw

Huw — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:30:25 +0000

I tried getting tea at Starbucks today before getting on the train – the barista was very confused by my request and apparently they only did herbal teas and had no other tea in the shop. They did suggest, however, that I try the Starbucks a mile down the street so all is not lost and I’ll have to work out which Starbucks are the ones I can go to for proper tea.

Comment on Trampoline Dodgeball by Huw

Huw — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:24:40 +0000

@Rob: What is perhaps disturbing is that what shocked me was not so much the length they went to cover their backs legally (something that, as you say, is becoming more and more common in the UK) but how normal and usual everybody thought it was. I was supposedly agreeing to defend them in court if necessary, something that I assumed would normally make people at least think about what they were signing but most people did so without even reading the thing.

@Michael: I, perhaps foolishly, kept my glasses on (along with a large number of other people – lots of glasses-wearing people with me). I don’t think they actually contributed at all to my ability to play dodgeball but if you desire a higher standard of ability than me you might find them useful.

Anyway, I’ve looked and this seems to be an American phenomenon (and one limited mostly to California, at that) – there is nowhere you can do this in the UK.

Comment on Sunday Mega-Post by Huw

Huw — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:10:42 +0000

I’m surprised it is expected to be self supporting – I was under the clearly mistaken belief that such wonderful open spaces would be supported by the public purse (reading over my post again I realise, after the weariness of a long week, I emphasised my shock at the sight of one of the biggest roads I have ever seen – Crissy Field, in particular, is wonderful and very much worth seeing, I spent over an hour wondering around it). Yet another one of the assumptions I make without thinking that doesn’t apply in the US, I don’t know how any national park would cope without state support.