Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
::Today's soundtrack: The Ramones "What a Wonderful World" ::
Every once in a while, I can't help but look around and think about how amazing the world is right now. I mean, this is truly a fantastic age in which we live, isn't it?
Think about right now, and think about just 100 years ago. Electricity, fast and easy transportation, inoculations for many diseases which used to be a death sentence, accessibility to food, communications, and everything. It really is quite incredible.
It used to be, if you wanted a meal at home, you'd have to make it yourself. These days, there's take out and TV dinners. Heck, you buy just about any type of food you want frozen. Pies, brownies, sausages, French toast, whole lasagnas, Chinese stir fry, Cajun brown rice, whatever you want. It's ALL right there at the supermarket, and it doesn't matter whether or not the fruits and vegetables you want are "in season" where you are; it'll be there. Do you think there are banana trees growing anywhere near where I live? Heck no. But can I saunter on down to the grocery store and buy them? Hell yes!
Have you ever met any one who had the measles? Do you know someone who has been permanently crippled by polio? Did you know someone who died of smallpox? No, you probably don't because modern medicine has effective treatments for them which have prevented epidemics like there used to be. You get a couple of shots as a kid and just like that you're set. Natural selection be damned!
Planes, trains and automobiles have made it possible to get to almost anywhere on the planet in a matter of hours, rather than days, weeks or months like it used to be. In two hours, I can be at the airport, then in eight hours I can be in mother fucking England, thousands of miles away! In, what, twenty hours I could be in Japan! The other side of the world, people! Holy crap.
Nevermind all the improvements to world wide communications. Shit, I can talk to people live, in real time, who are presently in other countries with no problems. Telephones, e-mail, text messages, web cams, and such make it possible to maintain tabs on your peeps no matter where they are. Heck, with GPS locators, you can know exactly where they are, always. You can have live, streaming video chats with people a whole world away, if you wanted.
It just blows my freaking mind to think that I can eat Thai food and talk to someone who is in New Zealand all without leaving my home or putting on pants. I could play Halo with three different people in three different countries through the miracle of Xbox Live (again, no pants). What a fantastic age in which to be alive. Just sit back, and enjoy (pants are up to you).
William the Bloody (worldly)
