The Killing: Did you watch the whole series? Discuss here

I have been addicted to watching The Killing on BBC 4 on Saturday nights and last night was the final two episodes of this brilliant Danish series. So now we know who killed Nanna Birk Larsen.

I feel like I've been on a rollercoaster ride with my emotions. I was eager to find out who the murderer was, but at the same time I feel bereft now that the series is finished. It was like reading a book that you never want to end.

There were so many suspects! Did you figure out who the murderer was or were you confused by all the red herrings (like I was)?

I have to say that in my opinion, the whole series was the best dramatic series, ever! It had everything - the convoluted story has been so compelling, and all the actors were superb. I was totally hooked from the very first episode.

However, saying that, I'm not sure the ending was as satisfying as I was expecting it to be. There were so many unanswered questions! I'm still puzzling over details that don't make sense to me. What about the flat? And the car that was from Troel's department?

I am eager to discuss the series now with others who watched it too. Please share your thoughts about the ending in the comments.

Spoiler Alert:
If you haven't watched this series yet, don't read the comments!

Related post:
The Killing: Compelling Danish crime thriller on BBC4

Did you change your clocks? We're on BST (British Summer Time)

Your clocks should have been moved forward one hour today!

The time changed officially at 1:00am today (Sunday 27 March) as we switch from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to British Summer Time (BST).

It will be nice to have more daylight at the end of the day but I still wish we could leave the clocks alone. What are your thoughts about it?

MPs can use Twitter in House of Commons

MPs should be able to use Twitter in Commons, committee says
(link via guardian.co.uk)

Hmm. I love Twitter but this sounds like a very bad idea to me. I wonder how MPs will be able to focus on parliamentary debates if they are on Twitter at the same time. Members of Parliament are expected (and paid) to attend the House of Commons to work,  not to sit and read tweets or write tweets.

Thoughts?

West Wing Week: March 18 - March 24, 2011

West Wing Week: "OCONUS II - Mamalluca"

This week, President Obama remained focused on Libya, receiving secure communications from his national security team as the first family visited Latin America. The President made stops in Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador to promote American exports and economic cooperation among the neighbors in our hemisphere.

RIP Elizabeth Taylor

Dame Elizabeth Taylor died today at the age of 79. She was one of the last great movie stars, a stunning beauty, and known for her work as an advocate for HIV/AIDS research.

This is a lovely short tribute narrated by Paul Newman that aired on the Turner Classic Movies channel.




One of my favourite movies, National Velvet, starred Elizabeth Taylor when she was just 12 years old:



Suddenly, Last Summer is another unforgettable movie. Elizabeth Taylor is memerizing:

Happy 5th Birthday Twitter!

Twitter is five years old today.

Happy Birthday Twitter!



If you haven't tried Twitter yet, you don't know what you are missing! I've made new friends, found out about news before it's reported by media, discovered new websites/links, recipes, health tips, been informed by political analysis, signed petitions and spread news about petitions/campaigns, conversed with celebrities, learned more about hobbies that interest me (writing, knitting, gardening, birding), discussed and analyzed tv shows while they are broadcast, movie reviews, book reviews, and well the list goes on and on...

What are your thoughts about Twitter?

Follow Friday: March 18, 2011

These are my recomendations for Follow Friday on Twitter today:

#FF @PacificFleet The U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet is the world’s largest fleet command, encompassing 100 million square miles

#FF @periodicvideos tweets about "Quirky and cool videos about real science!" http://periodicvideos.blogspot.com/ Fab way to learn science!

#FF @FoodiePatootie Corene Caley is "...dedicated to culinary appreciation, food education, nutrition & adventurous eating." Fab blog too!

#FF @arkarthick for his useful tweets and retweets. Always friendly, with a contagious positive attitude! A real twitter star!

Follow Friday is an easy way for you to recommend other people to follow on Twitter. You simply tweet the names of Twitter users you like (preferably include a reason) and tag it with the hashtag: #followfriday or #FF.


You can see all my Follow Friday's here:

http://brilliantbritain.blogspot.com/search/label/FollowFriday 

West Wing Week: March 11 - March 17, 2011

West Wing Week: "Punching Above Your Weight"



via The White House Blog

President Obama: Standing with Japan

President Obama provides an update on the situation in Japan following earthquakes and a tsunami and says the United States is committed to providing support and helping Japan recover and rebuild. March 17, 2011.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

St Patrick is Ireland's Patron Saint

Today, 17 March is the national day of Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.

St Patrick's Day information via History.com

St. Patrick's Day - information website

To all my Irish readers:

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Amazing Tsunami video shows rescue of stranded people

Via Channel 4 News:

Eyewitness footage of the tsunami striking northern Japan and the subsequent scramble to rescue men, women and children from the flooded streets:

A Message from George Takei on the Japan Quake and Tsunami

George Takei on the Japan Quake and Tsunami: Gaman

Actor George Takei asks for the world's help for victims of the quake and tsunami in northern Japan. Please donate at www.redcross.org www.savethechildren.org  or www.doctorswithoutborders.org.

Royal Wedding Procession Route in 3D via GoogleEarth

This is very cool!

Via GoogleEarthweb:

Royal Wedding Procession Route in 3D
To celebrate the royal wedding of Prince William of Wales and Catherine Middleton on April 29, 2011, we have launched 3D buildings and trees for central London. This tour will show you Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and many other famous places along the route the couple will take to and from their wedding.

2012 London Olympics: 500 day countdown. Tickets on sale today!

Tickets for the 2012 London Olympics go on sale today!

2012 London Olympics ticket sales going 'very well'
People have until 26 April to apply for some of the 6.6 million tickets which went on sale 500 days before the event.

A bit of bad luck with the countdown clock - it stopped!:
London 2012 countdown clock stops in Trafalgar Square

Many of the Olympic events will be pricey so this list is useful:
What to see at the London 2012 Olympic Games for £20

[links via BBC News]

London 2012 Olympics

Twitter List: Japan

I've started to collect a list of sources in Japan for news and information regarding the situation. I will update it regularly.

japantimes - The Japan Times: News and features from the most widely read English-language newspaper in Japan

jt_kamiya - Setsuko Kamiya: Reporter at The Japan Times.

jt_nakata - Hiroko Nakata: The Japan Times staff writer/editor.

reijiyoshida_JT - Reiji Yoshida: Staff writer/editor at The Japan Times : politics, biz, general news.

kzinagata - kazuaki nagata: Reporter at The Japan Times.

JPN_PMO - This is the official English twitter account of Prime Minister’s Office of Japan.

norishikata - Noriyuki SHIKATA: Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Relations, Director of Global Communications at Prime Minister's Office of Japan

AmbassadorRoos - John V. Roos: John V. Roos and his family arrived in Japan in 2009. These are his impressions, in English and in Japanese, of his experiences as U.S. Ambassador to Japan.

DailyYomiuri - The Daily Yomiuri: News from The Daily Yomiuri, the English-language sister publication of Japan's largest daily newspaper, The Yomiuri Shimbun.

japanobserver - The Japan Observer: Daily Japanese news links selected by Timothy J. Phelan, editor of thejapanobserver.com and Professor of Japanese Studies at Miyagi University, Japan.

HirokoTabuchi - Hiroko Tabuchi: Tokyo-based biz, econ & tech reporter for The New York Times

TomokoHosaka - Tomoko A. Hosaka:  Journalizing Japan for The Associated Press - biz, econ, tech, politics, culture.

yurikageyama - Yuri Kageyama: Correspondent for The Associated Press AP Business Writer based in Tokyo AP

sanchanta - Mariko Sanchanta: Deputy bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal in Tokyo.

daiwaka - Daisuke Wakabayashi:  I cover the Japanese tech industry for the Wall Street Journal in Tokyo

AkikoFujita - Akiko Fujita:  ABC News Reporter in Tokyo

KyungLahCNN - Kyung Lah: CNN Correspondent

martyn_williams - Martyn Williams: Multimedia Ed & Tokyo bureau chief at IDG News Service. Cover Japan for PC World, Macworld etc.

kenmogi - Ken Mogi: The Qualia Journal

survivingnjapan - Ashley: an American living in Shizuoka, Japan

tokyotimes - Lee Chapman: an Englishman living in Tokyo since 1998

gakuranman - Michael Gakuran

Matt_Alt - Matt Alt: Full time writer and translator

TokyoReporter - Tokyo Reporter: News, features, and photography from Tokyo

tokyodiaries - Nick Roberts: Anthropologist/Qual Researcher on sabbatical in Tokyo

TimeOutTokyo - magazine, city guide Japan earthquake live report, News, emergency information, live reaction

Tokyographer - Anthony Tatekawa: Freelance photographer living in Tokyo for several years.

Japan: Earthquake and tsunami

Yesterday's devastating earthquake (which measured 8.9 on the Richter scale) and tsunami that hit Japan is an immense catastrophe on a scale that's hard to comprehend. Indeed, the earthquake was so powerful that it moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis. [link via CNN]

This afternoon, it was reported that nearly 9,500 people are unaccounted for in the town of Minamisanriku. The town is located near the epicenter of Friday's earthquake.

Channel 4 News has a shocking video from Japanese TV that shows the dramatic damage to the port town of Minamisanriku. The before and after scenes are hard to watch - the town is completely destroyed:



Also, one of Japan's nuclear power plants (Fukushima Number 1) was badly damaged in Friday's massive earthquake. Thousands were evacuated from the area near the nuclear reactor. World watches nervously as Japan struggles with nuclear reactors. [link via CNN] Very worrying indeed!

Japan has requested help from the UK in the aid effort and British aid supplies and rescue experts are being sent to Japan. [link via BBC News]

My heart goes out to everyone in Japan and my condolences to those who lost loved ones in the earthquake and the tsunami.

How you can help: Japan Tsunami Appeal - British Red Cross

Google has opened a crisis response page with useful links for earthquake victims: 2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami.
___________________________________________________________
15 March, 2011 Edited to add links to current information about radiation risk from the nuclear plant accident:

Radiation exposure: a quick guide to what each level means 
(via guardian.co.uk)

IAEA provides latest information on the Japanese nuclear accident and status at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant [via International Atomic Energy Agency]

Japan's Current Nuclear Situation: A realistic View - Tokyography's Blog

Q&A: Take proper steps to avoid exposure to fallout 
[via The Japan Times]

Radiation exposure: The fast facts about thyroid cancer and other health risks  [TIME.com]
_________________________
Related post from my blog:
Twitter List: Japan for news and information regarding the current situation.

Follow Friday: March 11, 2011

These are my recomendations for Follow Friday on Twitter today:

#FF @fromABroad Laine is a British Mum in AZ, Editor of Thoughts From A Broad.Sharing stories of Inspiring women,Ecofriendly & thrifty ideas

#FF @paulstpancras "Teacher, media relations, constitutional advisor, husband and father, friend." Informative tweets & RTs.

#FF @_MissChicago_ Stephanie is "An expat in England who occasionally misses Chicago." She's also a lawyer - and a lovely, thoughtful lady.

Follow Friday is an easy way for you to recommend other people to follow on Twitter. You simply tweet the names of Twitter users you like (preferably include a reason) and tag it with the hashtag: #followfriday or #FF.

You can see all my Follow Friday's here:
http://brilliantbritain.blogspot.com/search/label/FollowFriday

West Wing Week: March 4 - March 10, 2011

West Wing Week: "Law School in 15 Seconds"

This week, President Obama focused on education, visiting some innovative classrooms in Miami and Boston, and dropping in on a US History class in Alexandria, Virginia with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.





via The White House Blog

British mothers still not equal to British fathers!

So today is the 100th International Women's Day, and we still have an ongoing inequality in the UK regarding the right for British mothers to pass on their citizenship to their children.

The UK government has always given this right to the children of all (married) British fathers automatically but not always to the children of British mothers. My mother is English and therefore I should be eligible for British citizenship but up until recently this right was denied.

Last year (13 January 2010), the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 came into force which meant I was finally granted the right to claim British citzenship. Incredibly, it was only "a right to register as a British citizen" and I would also have to pay £540 to claim my British citizenship! This was absolutely outrageous since anyone born in the same circumstances after 1983, or at anytime to a (married) UK father, could simply complete a passport application without the need to register and without any fee.

I considered this path to citizenship to be unaccepable and I did not take up the offer to attain my British citizenship in this unfair way. There was a public outcry (quite rightly) from myself and many others about this blatant discrimination. Consequently, the law was amended in November 2010 and the application fee (which had actually gone up to £550 during the year!) was removed.

However, we still have to register and need to pay an administrative fee of £80 to cover the cost of a citizenship ceremony.*

As the law stands now the following two cases are exceptions to automatic British citizenship:

• Children born abroad before 1983 to British female citizens
• Children born before 2006 to unmarried British male citizens (and in fact they are even denied the right to register)

While it's true that the £550 application fee has been removed, it's completely unacceptable that we must provide two references and fill out a form intended for immigrants, not to mention pay £80 and attend a citizenship ceremony. I find these "conditions" before I can qualify for my claim to British citizenship, insulting to my mother as well as to myself.

We still don't have 100% parity with the children of British father's! If my father had been British, citizenship would be automatic - no registration required, no fee at all and no ceremony!

It's unjustified discrimination.

*Registration and the citizenship ceremony is meant for those without a British parent. In other words, for foreigners who wish to become UK citizens.

International Women’s Day 2011

International Women’s Day (IWD) takes place on March 8, every year. This year is special because the event is celebrating its 100th birthday.

You may have noticed that Google created an International Women's Day Doodle today. When you click on the image, it shows a page about how women can celebrate by attending a bridge event, or by checking in virtually:




Another interesting video was made by We Are Equals to mark International Women's Day. EQUALS is a partnership of leading charities brought together by Annie Lennox to celebrate the centenary of International Women's Day.

The thought-provoking video stars the James Bond actor, Daniel Craig:




Related blog posts:
100th anniversary of International Women’s Day
British mothers still not equal to British fathers!

100th anniversary of International Women’s Day

The Journey of Women's Rights: 1911-2011

Follow Friday: March 4, 2011

Here are my recomendations for Follow Friday on Twitter today:

#FF Three Fab Famous Females! @Diane_Keaton @JimmyJindo (Annette O'Toole) and last but not least @jenniferehle Lovely ladies to follow! :)
 
I don't follow every celebrity on Twitter but these three are definitely worth a follow!

From Southwark to the London 2012 Olympic Park in 4 minutes!

This is a fun video to watch:
From Southwark to the London 2012 Olympic Park in 4 minutes!!

West Wing Week: Feb 25 - March 3, 2011

West Wing Week:"Green Eggs and Governors"

Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It was a busy week on the 18 acres, with President Obama welcoming the nation's governors, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and Mexican President Felipe Calderón to the White House. The First Lady and Education Secretary Arne Duncan also kicked off Education Month at the Library of Congress.




via The White House Blog

Happy St David's Day!

St David, or Dewi Sant, as he is known in the Welsh language, is the Patron Saint of Wales. Happy St David's Day!

Did you notice the Google Doodle today? It's in honour of St David's Day. The second 'g' in the word Google is covered in a Welsh hat plus lace and a shawl tied with a daffodil, the national flower of Wales.

A daffodil or leek (Welsh national emblem) is worn by most Welsh people on St David's Day.

About Saint David's Day (from Wikipedia)

Via BBC: St David's Day recipes

To all my Welsh readers: I hope you enjoy celebrating today!

Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus!