Oh, London you're a lady
Laid out before my eyes
Your golden heart is pulsing
Between your scarred up thighs.
Your architects were madmen
And your builders sane but drunk
My darling they have used you
And covered you with mud.
et al
The Pogues
Thanks Beth (thanks, I think, PD). I always thought Danny Kaye was such a nice man. Don't know either song.
It is awfully chilly there, in Copenhagen and nobody said anything about the countryside, but if a place isn't by the sea, it just isn't going to feel like home.
Did you know that Denmark is a peninsula in the North of Germany ...?
Steve -- I'm sure there are plenty of salty old queens in Copenhagen, maybe rivaling Hollywood?
Incidentally, Phoenix has posted a discussion about pollution including a link to various areas. I can see why no city in Southern California's LA basin makes it high on the list -- I'd be interested in finding, say, Santa Barbara. I've always wondered how Huntington Beach made it onto the best city in U.S. list although I remember the low crime and best schools being a factor.
No, not the Who. The Pogues.
(Always a shame about the fire. I grew up around (much smaller) forest fires; my sympathies go out.)
In case nobody checked, the worst countries list is a telling story:
1. Sierra Leone
2. Niger
3. Burundi
4. Mozambique
5. Burkina Faso
6. Ethiopia
7. Guinea-Bissau
8. Chad
9. Central African Republic
10. Mali
I stayed at the Admiral Hotel in Copenhagen. First morning with the door wide open to the balcony I was lying on the bed with not too many clothes on when it began to get dark. It was the Queen of Sweden (or similar name) cruise ship sliding into dock outside my room, with about 3000 people eager for their first glimpse of Copenhagen, and one or two more who realised you could see into all the sea front bedrooms of the Admiral Hotel. Problem did not occur again as it docked the same time every day, and I was ready for 'em.
Yes - it is a bit dodgy here at present. I live in the inner suburbs, and the fires are quite a long way away - although there were fires the other day in the grasslands surrounding Olympic Park, which is quite close to me.
However, the sky is orange and filled with smoke, and soon the cinders will start falling. The strong winds are bringing the smoke into the city proper. Everything smells of smoke. People with asthma start to have breathing problems and are advised to stay indoors.
We were planning a trip south today, to check out my friend's new beach flat on the south coast. It looks like there's fires on the way down - so will have to check before we leave.
We're just desperate for some proper rain!
No offense, but has it ever occurred to y'all that the Australian continent doesn't want you there?
(Please don't take offense; meant to be a wry and commiserative quip on the frailty of human innovation in the face of nature, not an assault on the lovely Aussies.)
Here's the full list from smh.com, the Economist Intelligence Unit survey:
Most liveable cities
October 4 2002
1. Melbourne Australia
Vancouver Canada
3. Perth Australia
4. Vienna Austria
Toronto Canada
Geneva Switzerland
Zurich Switzerland
8. Adelaide Australia
Brisbane Australia
Sydney Australia
Copenhagen Denmark
Dusseldorf Germany
Frankfurt Germany
Oslo Norway
Montreal Canada
Others of note:
21. Tokyo Japan
Osaka Japan
24. Hamburg Germany
Munich Germany
Auckland New Zealand
Wellington New Zealand
32. Lyon France
Paris France
44. Hong Kong China
Portugal Lisbon
Madrid Spain
London UK
San Francisco US
52. Dublin Ireland
New York US
93. Quito Ecuador
Johannesburg South Africa
Bucharest Romania
119. Jakarta Indonesia
Tehran Iran
121. New Delhi India
129. Karachi Pakistan
130. Port Moresby PNG
More about Melbourne -- the standard of living seems to be the top of the list as criteria:
http://www.centralequity.com.au/about-melbourne/melb_standard.asp
OK lightw
But that was for 4th October which was a Friday. Who's to say what the order was after the week end? Let alone now.
Well, they don't do the survey daily, Steve! I would imagine we'd have to wait until next year. BTW, Long Beach, CA. was high on the U.S. list from another source (which I'd have to look up in, unless someone know offhand and can locate the current list). I've been unable to find another source for such lists on world's most livable cities or countries -- I note somehow the link to EIU didn't work as the "m" in "com" was omitted.
I'll be back with a correction.
http://www.eiu.com/
The latest survey is the most expensive city -- click at the top left.
Westminster, CA is the most livable city in the world. Lovely, truly beautiful. Mmmmmmmmmm.........
Well, they keep moving the link as one logs in and one has to subscribe to really get any info:
http://wcol.eiu.com/asp/wcol_WCOLHome.asp
Well, I did one free entry for cost of living in US.
Anyone want to try for Australia?
