Blog 133: That was the Year that was

"The Optimist stays up till midnight to see the New Year in. The Pragmatist stays up to make sure the old year actually leaves" Bill Vaughan

Actually overall 2010 has been not bad. It has been a mixed blessing of sunshine and showers... but overall... not a bad year. But 2010 probably won't figure in my list of favourite years... Most of the time in 2010 I was vaguely annoyed about something. I have a feeling this has been a transitionary year. That's the trouble with transitionary periods, nothing is quite right yet. I have a strong feeling 2011 is the one to watch. But I can't pontificate on what hasn't happened yet, I can only let the last days of 2010 play out and see what the new year brings

However I can't let the old one go without a little reflection. But in keeping with a vaguely annoying year... find my reflections are not a tranquil as one would hope at this time of year... but I find them amusing enough to share.

So in pure JaxWorld style.....here are my top 5 Most annoying things about TwentyTen:

1. Weather hysteria

SNOW!!!!Oh get over it! Winter in Northern Europe starts at the end of November but will end at the end of March. It may snow. Prepare. Grit. Carry on. (oh and get a shovel) HEATWAVE!!!!Oh calm down. Summer comes early in Northern Europe now. The sun will shine April to July - we will top 100 degrees fahrenheit. Stop planning outdoor events in August the rain WILL spoil them. (oh and get some factor 30+)

2. Passion what passion

When we finish panicking about our weather...it is amazing how often we get really emotional about something then completely forget about it... come on despite it going on for 3 months you've now forgotten about the BP oil spill and you are rather embarrassed about crying your heart out when the Chilean miners came up one by one. Haiti earthquake, Pakistan floods... we did care deeply honestly. How quickly we move on. Don't believe me... Eyjafjallajökull used to something you could spell,locate and have a strong opinion on. (Yep, you had to google it...didn't ya!)


3. Political actions by the politically ignorant

While we all laughed at Naomi Campbell's political ignorance in accepting blood diamonds then whinging when she had to go to court over it... her home country does the same thing en mass. Yep...with the same wisdom that German blamed the Jews and sought a final solution... Britain blames the unemployed for the banking crisis and seek a final solution to benefits. Don't start me on those who think blatant lies (Nick Clegg) or evil spin (Nick Griffin) are totally acceptable simply because we didn't like the geezer before them.

4. Reality crazy

They make them because they watch them. That's what they say. But who REALLY watches the reality shows they are making? The documentary style ones are vaguely informing and the competion ones are vaguely entertaining.... BUT dating, makeovers, lifestyle, docusoaps...who really needs to watch celebrity stylist clean a toilet on the M25? It's the fact we won't turn the telly off when this rubbish came of in 2010 has lead to the co-stars of Katie Price's reality show all having their own shows and Xfactor failures Jedwood having more telly time than the Queen.


5. Life will never be the same

Face it. We started the year without i-pads and kinnects for our X-boxes and thought we were quite technically advanced. But now.... totally sane people will be remembering the night they spent in a sleeping bag outside the apple store just to be the 1st to have an i-pad. Meanwhile while a zillion kinnects are added to the Xbox....a zillion side ways glances at the dusty wii in the corner reminds us all that these things are just a short jaunt in time from being as useless as an 8-track in a Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4.

So... that's that. The year where in sport we lost the world cup by being arrogant wankers but will bring home the Ashes (which is just as well as we had them on us and didn't really want to give them to a load of Aussies again). The year where we thought we were getting political by voting against a bad government yet got ourselves a worse one but will be shown the way by the young who seem to have woken from their slumber. The year where marrying a footballer seemed a bad idea as Mrs Cole,Mrs Rooney and Mrs Terry found out but marrying a royal seemed to give us all time of work. The year where we lost the talent of Alexander Mcqueen, the legend of Norman Wisdom and the passion of Claire Rayner but cracked bootiful turkey jokes about the passing of Bernard Matthews. The year where millions lost their jobs as the cuts began to bite but we all felt happy for the mystery lottery winner who went home with £120 million. The year where there was a significant rise in the amount of babies born in the UK, but none carried more weight than Sharon Needham's 13lb 8oz baby boy Harry who arrived in April.

Yep there's nothing like a little reflection to make you realise 2010 has been quite a year... but I have a feeling there are exciting times ahead. Wonder what 2011 will be bringing us all?

Happy new year everyone when it comes!

If you enjoyed this blog and you want to contact Jax or find out more about the JaxWorld blog, please log onto : http://thejaxworldblog.vpweb.co.uk/

Thanks for continuing to vote for JaxWorld as the Best Blog about Stuff and for ALL your support that has made this blog such a huge success.

BLOG 132: Wrong 'uns

"Women may be able to fake orgasms, but men can fake whole relationships." ~James Shubert

Before you say anything I am writing this blog in the toilet of very nice restaurant. I'll explain why later, but I just had to slip out and let you know about my very surprising week. Well actually not all that surprising as it turns out, but anyway I wanted to share and lord knows there is sod all going on out in the restaurant I want to be a part of... so here we go....

Don't you just hate it when shock waves ripple around you when something unexpected occurs... but at the very same time an inner voice says “emmmm I'm not ENTIRELY surprised”. It's a disconcerting thing to be both shocked and unsurprised in the same moment. Like this week where I was very shocked and yet very unsurprised to find myself declared an expert on dating. Unsurprised and yet rather shocked to find myself commissioned to write on the subject.

Okay, I have written about dating before. I think my very first blog was about the world of internet dating. If you were with JaxWorld back then, you'd know I'm not entirely convinced. However, like miracle weight loss cures everyone I know knows someone for whom it worked (funny enough it's ALWAYS a friend of a friend and not ONE person who is directly in my life.... me smells urban myth here). Those who read my blog on dates from hell (Blog 22) will know I know LOADS about dating the WRONG guy. Plus let us not forget my decades of compounding my errors by living with the wrong guy (and not just the one wrong guy either!). Hell, even my novel published back in 2003 alludes to how selecting the wrong guy is just something some girls effortlessly do. I guess I've been wittering on about dating the wrong guy for quite sometime.

Thing is (and people may wish to shoot me, but that's only because it is true), dating the wrong guy is a CHOICE. Intelligent, attractive, everything going for them women make this choice just as much as the desperate wallflowers. I've made this choice. I bitch about it, I laugh about it, and you could sail a boat on the tears I've cried about it...but one thing for sure.... I CHOSE it. It's an odd thing to do for an intelligent woman, but I'm not alone. Of our own free will millions of us women choose to date the wrong guy. Over years of introspection I came up with the five most common reasons why I do it at least:

1. In that moment when I was asked....I was lonely or insecure

2. In that moment when I was asked... I figured a relationship was the cure to all my problems

3. In that moment when I was asked... I couldn't be asked to be single any more (it's hard work!)

4. In that moment when I was asked... I was desperate for a project (and he so needed fixing!)

5. In that moment when I was asked... I ignored my gut feeling and all the red flags!

Over the years I've asked loads of women who habitually date 'wrong uns' WHY? Amazingly every woman has given me a variation of the five reasons above. What's worse is that after the first date we don't hesitate to go on a second … and before you know it... a decade...or even more, gone! It's not like we don't know the questions every sensible woman asks herself before embarking on a relationship... it's just that we CHOOSE not to. So over the years, I've used my conclusions about my findings in a variety of publications... so I suppose it is not tooo surprising that eventually someone would mistake my opinion for expert advise!

However imagine my surprise when a well known internet dating site asked me to instruct their members on the principles of dating the wrong guy! Apparently some brainiac there thinks these principles could be used their clients advantage when trying to decide whether or not to make a second date with someone. Well, given my track record in continuing to see people after I know they are a wrong un...maybe they had a point! I could understand their line of thinking... just get clients to NOT do as Jax does! Emmmmmmm....there was a compliment in there I'm sure (as well as a cheque)... so I started scribbling...

Have you ever looked across the table on a first date and thought... “ GIRL... you are settling for less”. I know I have. Time and Time again! It's not just that my dinner companion tries to drink his soup through a fork (it happened... really), it's just that gut feeling that THIS isn't right. That's the time to thank them for a lovely evening... cause if you DON'T walk away right then...you start to make excuses... and that gets messy.

Then there's the guy who treats you in a way that just don't feel right. First date...he's introducing you to his mother... or worse brings his mother on the date (believe me THAT'S happened too!). But sometimes it's more subtle than that... but the point remains the same. If you don't feel the way he treats you on that first date is right... and bear in mind this is the pinnacle of how much thought he will EVER put into the relationship... then it ain't gonna improve on a second or third date ( a certainly not over a decade or two of retakes!)

Which brings me to the biggest reason women date 'wrong un's' for years and years. Thinking that the relationship will improve after something. It defies logic, but even intelligent women think that unsuitable can be made a perfect fit if you just add a little something to it. Look, if it wasn't great to start, WHY and HOW is it gonna get better after a baby, a house, a marriage, a dog, a new job. Things are built on foundations... the wise man built his house upon the rock. If you are building on sand... well you know the song.

Ah yes...Mr Right Now. You know this person isn't 'the one' and never could be... but it's better to be dating SOMEONE (read anyone) than no one. Silliest move of all... dating out of boredom/fear of being alone, means that Mr Right Now will eventually leave you feeling so empty that the relationship WILL end. And you'll be dating no one, but you'll be older. I have a friend who squandered her entire 20's on a guy who she knew she didn't want to settle down with, but as he wasn't ready for a big step either...she just drifted along as it was better than being alone. Of course when it ended, she found most of the great single guys she used to know were all in serious relationships... that they'd got into, while she was off the market treading water with Mr Right Now.

Then there is the investment of time argument. Okay, you know he is the wrong one, but you've house broken him now...who can be asked to do that again? Which is just silly. I (more than once) invested a heap of time in men I know are not right for me, until I realised that I would be better off using the knowledge of what did want to find the person who IS what I wanted. I mean, if I'm smart enough to not throw good money after bad, why not be smart enough to stop investing time in the wrong places! (There will always be another note in your purse...but there may not always be the time to spend it).

And finally there is the 'Well no one else is actually asking me out, so if I don't go out with him there will NEVER be anyone else.” No real introspection needed here as the answerto that is clear: Well of course no one else is asking you out zippy!.... You are already SEEING SOMEONE!!!! Clear the decks. It's that simple!

So... I ended up writing the instruction manual for the dating site: HOW NOT TO END UP DATING SOMEONE YOU WISH YOU WERE NOT DATING. My goodness it is long! But the animator broke it up nicely with lots a great drawings.(Some are actually VERY funny). Hell, maybe I'll have to take back that comment about urban myths after all... they really do seem to have clients who end up in happy relationships. Funny to think my trusty tome may be a part of that process!

You know it don't matter how many things you publish its's always a bit odd looking at it. How not to end up dating someone you wish you were not dating: My dating life (and the dating life of quite a few of my friends) laid bare. It felt quite nice that all those wasted nights we'd accumulated between us generated by being with the wrong guy iare going to be used to be of help to women in the future.(But as I cash the cheque,I have to say I doubt it... we women are a contrary breed, just because we know what we should be doing never actually means we are going to do it!)

But in a nutshell the 'rules' as they laughingly have called them are simple and there are only TWO:

1. Trust your gut feeling about the man you are dating... ask yourself if this one is a keeper.

2. If he exhibits behaviours that don't sit right with you on that first date... DO NOT agree to a second.

If the guy is not a keeper simply and politely say “It was nice meeting you” shake their hand and LEAVE. The flawed compatibility is NOT a temporary issue, this is a problem that cannot be ignored and I can assure you that time won't fix it either.

It seems harsh to not give someone a second chance. After all a first date is a pressure cooker of nerves – especially for the guy. But it is also an audition. It's an audition for a significant role in your life. Harsh as it may seem... most auditions end in failure. So if he has failed... end it.

Yes,you will disappoint him, yes,you are heading back to lonely town on a scooter for one.... BUT if you don't walk away when you FIRST get that feeling...there will be a second date, which turns into a third and a forth. Suddenly out of fear, boredom or just sparing someone's feelings...you're dating the WRONG guy.

So... heres's to turning over a new leaf and following my own advice.

I suppose me and my laptop best come out of the loo and go back to our table in this very nice restaurant..... I think I have to tell my dinner companion something!

(Oh come on.... you knew!)

If you enjoyed this blog and you want to contact Jax or find out more about the JaxWorld blog, please log onto :http://thejaxworldblog.vpweb.co.uk/

Thanks for continuing to vote for JaxWorld as the Best Blog about Stuff and for ALL your support that has made this blog such a huge success.

BLOG 131: PROUD and PREJUDICED!!!!

"This is the final test of a gentleman: his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him." William Phelps (British Colonist)

I have to admit to a standard lady crush on Colin Firth. The 50 year old British Actor features on most women (of a certain age) secret crush list... which is odd as there is little about his actual packaging that can be found on most women (of a certain age) desirable list. And yet..the crush continues...despite all reason.

Like most who enjoy this crush, I do not fancy Colin Firth. I have had the pleasure of seeing him in real life, and I have to admit that if you were that way persuaded he is undoubtedly an attractive man – but I have to admit that he does not ring my bell. Mr Firth ( or his gorgeous Italian wife) have no need to worry about him having to be a gentleman around me ….as I have no desire to compromise him. Colin Firth does not rise my passions... so what is with the crush?

Well... in his roles, in his real life... Colin Firth comes over as a Respectable Gentleman.

And no... this is not to do with the fact he played Mr Darcy in the now legendary 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. (I prefer Elliot Cowan's Darcy in ITV's 2008 'Lost in Austen'). This is not just about the roles he plays, there is something about the man that communicates Respectable Gentleman. It's just that you just can't imagine Colin Firth displaying the less attractive but often celebrated elements of masculinity. You can imagine him firmly repelling adverse situation with nothing more than a disapproving glance. This is to do with the quiet masculinity, the certain sense of what is right, the strength that comes with being respectable.

And it is the ultimate magnate to women... this concept of male respectability. And there is not one nation on this planet that packages the idea of the Respectable Gentleman better than the British.

The concept of the gentleman in the UK is not merely a social or class designation. True, as with all thinks UK social class has a lot to do with it... originally members of the British aristocracy were Respectable Gentlemen by right of birth … BUT in the case of being a Respectable Gentleman paradoxically enough, that birth alone could not make a man a member of this desirable status. But being Respectable Gentleman did used to require a certain degree of financial security and social influence.

By the 1800's the waters were very muddied... clergy belonging to the Church of England, army officers, members of Parliament — were recognized as gentlemen by virtue of their occupation, while members of numerous other eminently respectable professions — engineers, for example — were not. The whole concept was due an overhaul.

The modern rules of what makes a gentleman were founded in Victorian times when the new industrial and mercantile elites, in the face of opposition from the aristocracy, inevitably attempted to have themselves designated as gentlemen as a natural consequence of their growing wealth and influence. But the eventually, the Victorians settled on a compromise: by the latter part of the century, it was almost universally accepted that the recipient of a traditional liberal education based largely on Latin at one of the elite public school — Eton, Harrow, Rugby, and so on — would be recognized as a gentleman, no matter what his origins had been.

However as the Victorian period wandered into the 20^th Century the concept of the Respectable Gentleman became more behaviourally based. Yes financial security remained desirable (and NEVER mentioned) but social status less so. It became about cultivating impeccable manners, an implacable expression and a strong sense of fair play. A Respectable Gentleman must be patriotic but not shout about it, and always be perfectly turned out but not vain about it.

A Respectable Gentleman does not have a concern with power and the need to triumph or to win. He is primarily concerned with people, courtesy and kindness. He would never promulgate his own ideologies or justify pettiness and lack of feeling for people. A Respectable Gentleman would never reward qualities that arise from his sex, race, class or creed. He is the safe depository for trust that will not be misplaced.

So you can imagine my dismay to discover that Colin Firth... the poster boy for the Respectable Gentleman has recently been quoted as saying:

"It's true, I'm very associated with this stereotype, but I don't think that exists except in the roles I play.”

OH NO!!! … The Respectable Gentleman does NOT exist????

Well...I must say.... THAT was not very gentlemanly Col was it? What happened to the safe depository for trust that will not be displaced???

I'm so distraught! That was like telling kiddies that Santa isn't real!!!

(Side track here...Andrew Yau at the University of Calgary has proof Santa exists, www.nserc.gc.ca. )

Back to the main point...

There is a chink of hope here...

The mark of a Respectable Gentleman is NOT his infallibility it is his ability to retract a mistake.

Mr Firth... on behalf of all believers in the state of Respectable Gentleman-hood, I invite you to take advantage of the many avenues which are open to you to retract this statement so that we may grant you safe passage on the single path to forgiveness!

Come on Colin... I'M WAITING!

If you enjoyed this blog and you want to contact Jax or find out more about the JaxWorld blog, please log onto : http://thejaxworldblog.vpweb.co.uk/

Thanks for continuing to vote for JaxWorld as the Best Blog about Stuff and for ALL your support that has made this blog such a huge success.

BLOG 130: Angry Young Men

Destiny is not a matter of change, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."- William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925)41st US Secretary of State After having a giggle at the daft names demographers have given the generations born in the 20th Century, I found myself drawn into the findings and profiles of each category. It's actually quite fascinating - and telling. Like for instance, the children born 1990 onwards have been titled by demographers as the 'Net Generation'... and now that the early born ones of this generation have hit the age of majority, personality traits are being documented. Turns out the this latest brood have more in common with kids born at any time in the 20thcentury except those born mid 1970's through to the end of the 1980's. This is because the Net Generation have a three question mantra: What do I believe in? What do I think needs to change? What am I doing about it? I for one am unsurprised. WHY am I unsurprised? Well it makes total sense to me... every other generation have had passion in their belly. Every other generation have fought for something they believed in. They made their destiny from the changes the chose to show they wanted. Be it marches of the suffrage movement, the peoples marches against unemployment,or the legendary marches of the baby boomer generation – social change has been the end result of passionate generations who realised putting up and shutting up is a choice. The children born pre 1946 (Veterans) in the late 40's- 50's (Baby Boomers) and 60's-mid 70's(Generation Jones) all were very invested in upsetting the status quo and creating a brave new world. They were very passionate that short term unrest causes questions which generate answers for the greater good. The children born into Generation X (mid 70's – mid 80's) and Generation Y (mid to end 80's) however seem to be uneasy with upsetting the apple cart and are a much more passive set. Generations X and Y have a deep held passion- that a sensible question to ask is what is in it for me. As a consequence Generations X and Y are the least likely to cause any civil unrest and the most likely to be bewildered by the Net Generation's return to protesting about the state of the nation and demanding change. I am so glad the children of the so called 'Net Generation' (1990 onward) have more gumption than the generation that proceeded them. Thank heaven for them. I had come to the very sad conclusion that living in a democracy was destined to be something we could find only in a history book. My generation followed the famous baby boomer generation. It was a hard act to follow as they were phenomenal. That post war generation were very concerned about the world they lived in and wanted to ensure that the mistakes of the past were not compounded and visited upon us their children. They sang songs about children being the future, they organised and marched on the authorities around the world calling for an end to unjust wars , the suppression of women, unfair social policies, frightening nuclear weapons and created a counter-culture in which the mantra was 'If you are not part of the cure you are part of the problem'. They felt people should 'Come together' to express their ideas of how the world should be and that the voices of dissent or approval should be heard. They taught generations to follow to recognise the word politic meant idea and to state you were not into politics meant that you were not into ideas. The children of the baby boomers were instructed from the cradle that having ideas was a human state and to forbid you expressing your ideas was to remove your humanity. With that for an example my generation (Generation Jones) observed the world we lived in and made it clear about the ideas we thought worth keeping and the ideas we thought worth rejecting by coming together en mass. We marched on parliament about the racism of the 70's-80's, we marched on parliament about US Cruise Missiles being parked on UK soil, we marched on parliament about the North South Divide, we marched on parliament about the introduction of a tax payable for the right to vote. We believed it was our duty as young people to express our approval or disapproval of what the powers that be wanted to do with our world. Yes we did get a little side tracked by acquiring stuff during the 80's and lifestyle design became a mild obessession for life but over all, we were and remain an unashamedly a political generation – we're into ideas and into expressing them. And we've changed a lot of things about life in the UK: The Anti Nazi league changed the persception of the acceptability of the growth of white nationalist groups. It would be impossible for the 18-25's of today to have any idea how the increase in racial conflict of the 1970's and 1980's affected daily life back then, and I for one am so pleased that they have not to experience it. I recall 100,000 young people turning up each time at the 2 marches and subsequent Rock Against Racism gigs. CND's protest against 160 US missiles being parked at Greenham saw a quarter of a million people march on parliament to register their disapproval. This went on to generate the highest support for nuclear disarmament post WW2 . It would be impossible for the 18-25's of today to have any idea what it was like to live during the cold war and the constant threat of nuclear weapon usage, and I for one am so pleased that they do not have to experience it. I recall public support for unilateralism being such that 3 million marched in October 1983 to ensure their voices were heard. Protests regarding the segregation of the North from the 1980's wealth of South seem irrelevant today but the closure of the heavy industries based in Northern England under the 'New International Division of Labour' saw these areas decline rapidly . At a time where Southern England's fortunes rose, the economic and cultural differences between the areas gulfed. I would not expect the 18-25's of today to understand the incredible social strife this divide caused – especially as today many Northern post-industrial cities and towns are now experiencing renaissance. However unexpected support came when 50,000 students demonstrated to draw attention to the lack of investment in the North with 33% of the country backing them which triggered the renaissance we see today. What seems most unbelievable today is that 'The Mother of Democracy' once considered charging people for the right to vote. Now this had been done in the UK before... in the 14th century, but people were breathless to find that it was reintroduced in the 20th. The system was deeply unpopular as as it was based on the number of people of voting age living in a house rather than its estimated price - never the less the government of the day forced it through. I would not expect the 18-25's of today to understand how a shift of the tax burden from rich to poor (1 voting adult in a mansion paid less than 5 voting adults in a semi) angered people when they discovered the only realistic way to get a reduction was not to register to vote. From1986 there were mass protests, called by the All-Britain Anti-Poll Tax Federation, as millions took to the streets in every town and city in the UK. This unrest was instrumental in toppling the government leadership at the dawn of the following decade and the removal of the Poll Tax. As many 20th Century generation discovered, a key tenant of the right to democracy is the right to protest. And throughout that century massive strides in social and cultural improvements were made through protest. All though the right to civil protest is not exclusively for the young, it is usually the 18-25 group who are the torch bearers... unencumbered with children and unshakeled to the status quo as they are. Besides, to look back and know you made a difference when you were young by being politically aware became more and more important as the world moved away from forcing change by war. The Veteran generation - who protested for better conditions for the working man and the vote for women, handed the torch down to the Baby Boomers - who protested for equal pay, and a ban to the bomb, handed the torch to Generation Jones who protested for an end to apartheid at home and abroad who gave the torch to Generation X and Y... who worried as to weather a burning torch should be a wall sconce or a garden accessory. Or if Health and saftely had any advice about what sort of fire extinguisher to get for it.

Yes...while Generation Jones took time out to have the babies that were to become the Net Generation.... Generation X and Y did not shirk the whole making choices thing. They were very active in making choices... they went shopping.(The rise and rise of the shopping mall is down to Generation X and Y's obsession with this activity). They certainly didn't waste the freedom to make choices on just shopping to be fair they also went on holiday. (Generation X and Y are the most well travelled generation ever). Passion is a private affair for the X and Y's who are the least likely generation to organise and take to the streets. They really don't feel there is anything to get publicly passionate about and find it all a little embarrassing all that radical stuff.

Thankfully they have handed the torch (designer,H&S approved and co-ordinates with EVERYTHING) to the Net Generation. The Net Generation however are less worried about what is in for them and more worried about the futures of those who will follow. They want to be heard about the environment, they want to be heard about tuition fees... they want to be heard about broken promises. They (courtesy of the Net for which they are named) seem to know how to organise. And they will be marching on a street near you. They figure that change is crafted through the choices you make.

I have been accused of being unfair to Generation X and Y. That their destiny was to maintain the status quo and that as a member of Generation Jones I am unable to recognise that things are fine the way they are - that there are higher things to think about than shaking up the system.

A very good friend of mine is a Generation X and Y member and works in the legal profession. Together we watched the demo's in Dublin and I noticed she shuddered violently. I asked her what she was reacting to and she said ( I quote):

"For heaven sake... what scruffy little herberts...surely they must have known there was a good chance this would be shown on TV, SURELY they could have worn something nicer"

To which I said very quietly under my breath...

"The prosecution rests mi'lord!"

If you enjoyed this blog and you want to contact Jax or find out more about the JaxWorld blog, please log onto :http://thejaxworldblog.vpweb.co.uk/

Thanks for continuing to vote for JaxWorld as the Best Blog about Stuff and for ALL your support that has made this blog such a huge success.