...
I commented on someone else's blog, but thought I'd repeat my comments here, because I love the album and the group *just* *that* *much*...
http://whymissjones.blogspot.com/2009/12/you-make-me-feel-alive-alive-alive.html
... and now I'm off to listen to it again and again and again...
FYI - I very highly recommend Why Miss Jones's blog, always good reading and well-written.
...
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
* follow-up: wtf, me...?
...
Well, now...
What was that all about, then...?
Why on earth did I so totally go off on one about this particular topic...?
Why this? Why now?
I huff and puff and sigh and shake my head and discuss with friends and family and collegues about how terrible/ ridiculous/ etc things are.
I sometimes sign petitions (when someone else organises them and all I really have to do is enter a few details and click a few buttons and can be bothered or organised to do even that).
I occasionally complain about things that impact on me directly.
Sad, and lazy, but true.
So what was it that so got right up my humph that I wrote a full-blooded complaint and then followed it up with a ranty wee blog about how that complaint was treated?
Was it the 'raised in a politically active Socialist 70s and 80s Scottish working class family' part of me resurfacing?
(wonder if my wee brother remembers being on demos and marches in his pram, chanting "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie! Out, Out, Out!")
Was it that long-forgotten part of me that was a member of CND and used to strike and protest against cuts while at university?
("Sit down, join the fight, education is a right!")
Pretty sure that 'no'.
If so, wouldn't it have come out before now?
(pun slightly intended, given what I complained about).
I was never a Boyzone fan or a fan of the man himself, so it's not like I felt particularly protective or precious about the poor soul.
So what was it that lit the blue touchpaper?
Was it that everyone else seemed to be complaining and I got swept along?
Was I part of the 'orchestrated campaign' she claimed had risen up on "teh interwebs"?
No.
I wouldn't have taken hours out of my own time to write the complaint and then blog about it if that was the case - again, sad, and lazy, but true.
Was it the standard template auto-response brush-off from the PCC?
Well, that didn't help... because I have thought and thought and thought about this, and the only thing I can think of is that I got fed up.
Plain and simple, I got fed up.
Fed up with seeing poorly written copy, lies, innuendo, and downright nastiness appear as acceptable pieces of 'journalism' that get publicity (and paid for).
Once something is out there, you can't take it back - not any more.
You can apologise, you can retract, you can correct, you can boycott and complain, you can punish with fines or sackings - but you can't make it un-happen.
In this day and age, copies will always exist, someone will always remember... and isn't that how rumours and urban legends start?
Isn't that how nonsense like 'vaccines are dangerous' and 'Diana was murdered' and 'Obama is a Kenyan Muslim' keeps going?
I know that it was her opinion, and I will defend to the end of time her right to have that opinion.
But she gets paid for writing her opinion, and that opinion is then made easily available and accessible in the public domain.
So, for her to claim that her article and intention was 'misunderstood'...?
* breathes and counts to 10 slowly *
I am so fed up of hearing "ah, but, see... what I meant was..." - especially when you are supposed to be a professional writer to trade.
If you have something to say, say it - that's what you are apparently paid for.
If you are then misunderstood by so many people (over 25,000 complaints to the PCC, a Facebook group, Tweets, other articles and comments condemning what you write, etc)...
... well...
... I would think that you might want to maybe rethink your career choice or may go on a refresher course or brush up your skills a little...?
Because that many people misunderstanding you - either we are all thick or...
... you and your editor knew exactly what you you were doing when you published that article on that day, and have sat back and enjoyed the publicity since then, knowing that it'll all blow over and fade and be forgotten about until the next big story or controversy (ooh look, a kid in a flyaway balloon only not but with mad parents and the BNP on the BBC...!)
And yes, I am aware that I'm not helping by going on about it. So I'll stop.
:-\
.
Well, now...
What was that all about, then...?
Why on earth did I so totally go off on one about this particular topic...?
Why this? Why now?
I huff and puff and sigh and shake my head and discuss with friends and family and collegues about how terrible/ ridiculous/ etc things are.
I sometimes sign petitions (when someone else organises them and all I really have to do is enter a few details and click a few buttons and can be bothered or organised to do even that).
I occasionally complain about things that impact on me directly.
Sad, and lazy, but true.
So what was it that so got right up my humph that I wrote a full-blooded complaint and then followed it up with a ranty wee blog about how that complaint was treated?
Was it the 'raised in a politically active Socialist 70s and 80s Scottish working class family' part of me resurfacing?
(wonder if my wee brother remembers being on demos and marches in his pram, chanting "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie! Out, Out, Out!")
Was it that long-forgotten part of me that was a member of CND and used to strike and protest against cuts while at university?
("Sit down, join the fight, education is a right!")
Pretty sure that 'no'.
If so, wouldn't it have come out before now?
(pun slightly intended, given what I complained about).
I was never a Boyzone fan or a fan of the man himself, so it's not like I felt particularly protective or precious about the poor soul.
So what was it that lit the blue touchpaper?
Was it that everyone else seemed to be complaining and I got swept along?
Was I part of the 'orchestrated campaign' she claimed had risen up on "teh interwebs"?
No.
I wouldn't have taken hours out of my own time to write the complaint and then blog about it if that was the case - again, sad, and lazy, but true.
Was it the standard template auto-response brush-off from the PCC?
Well, that didn't help... because I have thought and thought and thought about this, and the only thing I can think of is that I got fed up.
Plain and simple, I got fed up.
Fed up with seeing poorly written copy, lies, innuendo, and downright nastiness appear as acceptable pieces of 'journalism' that get publicity (and paid for).
Once something is out there, you can't take it back - not any more.
You can apologise, you can retract, you can correct, you can boycott and complain, you can punish with fines or sackings - but you can't make it un-happen.
In this day and age, copies will always exist, someone will always remember... and isn't that how rumours and urban legends start?
Isn't that how nonsense like 'vaccines are dangerous' and 'Diana was murdered' and 'Obama is a Kenyan Muslim' keeps going?
I know that it was her opinion, and I will defend to the end of time her right to have that opinion.
But she gets paid for writing her opinion, and that opinion is then made easily available and accessible in the public domain.
So, for her to claim that her article and intention was 'misunderstood'...?
* breathes and counts to 10 slowly *
I am so fed up of hearing "ah, but, see... what I meant was..." - especially when you are supposed to be a professional writer to trade.
If you have something to say, say it - that's what you are apparently paid for.
If you are then misunderstood by so many people (over 25,000 complaints to the PCC, a Facebook group, Tweets, other articles and comments condemning what you write, etc)...
... well...
... I would think that you might want to maybe rethink your career choice or may go on a refresher course or brush up your skills a little...?
Because that many people misunderstanding you - either we are all thick or...
... you and your editor knew exactly what you you were doing when you published that article on that day, and have sat back and enjoyed the publicity since then, knowing that it'll all blow over and fade and be forgotten about until the next big story or controversy (ooh look, a kid in a flyaway balloon only not but with mad parents and the BNP on the BBC...!)
And yes, I am aware that I'm not helping by going on about it. So I'll stop.
:-\
.
Saturday, 17 October 2009
* Stiff Upper Lip (wha-hey) and DON'T (bother to) Complain
...
I should first make clear that the Commission generally requires the involvement of directly affected parties before it can begin an investigation into an article. On this occasion, it may be a matter for the family of Mr Gately to raise a complaint about how his death has been treated by the Daily Mail. I can inform you that we have made ourselves available to the family and Mr Gately's bandmates, in order that they can use our services if they wish.
Press Complaints Commission
OK, so this morning I weighed on the whole Jan Moir thing...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/16/stephen-gately-jan-moir
(Charlie Brooker is a genius...)
I read all the articles, responses, tweets, etc.
I even tweeted and Facebook'd about it myself ("You wilfully wrote snide erroneous bile & it's our fault for "misunderstanding" you? Yeah, right, Jan Moir.http://tinyurl.com/yfrm9jb")
(It was my 400th tweet, and I'd like to think it was worthwhile.)
I decided to act on a suggestion from Mr Brooker's article.
I spent an hour and a half researching and writing a complaint to the PCC explaining and demonstrating how I believed Ms Moir's article breached sections 1, 5, and 12 of their Code of Practice:
Section 1: Inaccurate and Misleading
Section 5: Intrusive on the Family's Grief
Section 12: Homophobic
In less than 10 minutes of submitting my complaint on their standard form, I received a poorly written standard template automated reply from the PCC:
Dear (my full real name)
Thank you for sending us your complaint about the Daily Mail article on the subject of the death of Stephen Gately. We have received numerous complaints about this matter.
I should first make clear that the Commission generally requires the involvement of directly affected parties before it can begin an investigation into an article. On this occasion, it may be a matter for the family of Mr Gately to raise a complaint about how his death has been treated by the Daily Mail. I can inform you that we have made ourselves available to the family and Mr Gately's bandmates, in order that they can use our services if they wish.
We require the direct involvement of affected parties because the PCC process can have a public outcome and it would be discourteous for the Commission to publish information relating to individuals without their knowledge or consent. Indeed, doing so might unwittingly add to any intrusion. Additionally, one of the PCC's roles is dispute resolution, and we would need contact with the affected party in order to determine what would be an acceptable means of settling a complaint.
On initial examination, it would appear that you are, therefore, a third party to the complaint, and wemay not be able to pursue your concerns further. However, if you feel that your complaint touches on claims that do not relate directly to Mr Gately or his family, please let us know, making clear how they raise a breach of the Code of Practice. If you feel that the Commission should waive its third party rules, please make clear why you believe this.
Press Complaints Commission
That's exactly how it appeared, apart from actually containing my real full name in the salutation (how formal).
Punctuation, spacing, and content are all unchanged (including the use of first person 'I' throughout the letter then signing it as a faceless organisation rather than a named person...)
So there you go - that's why there's a direct specific link on the page for complaining about this very article and its author...
IT'S SO THAT THEY CAN AUTO-SEND A STANDARD TEMPLATE RESPONSE TELLING YOU TO PISS OFF.
Now, I've worked in contact and service centres for about 15 years, so I know that standard template auto-responses are efficient, consistent, and cheap (sorry, cost-effective).
However - and call me old-fashioned on this - sometimes any cold and factual standard template response, let alone a poorly written one, is just not appropriate.
Because really, what their auto-response is saying is this:
We didn't actually bother reading your complaint .
Oh, and by the way - you don't actually really have the right to be offended or to complain about articles like this when they're not about one of your family.
If you do still want to complain, you'd better have a darn good reason and be prepared to explain yourself...
So I'm supposed to just accept that poorly thought-out, poorly written, inaccurate and just sheer nasty shite like this is 'good copy' and a-ok to publish as business as usual - unless it's about one of my family?
I'm supposed to accept that what gets published in (sadly) widely circulated 'news'papers is apparently nothing to do with me - unless it's about one of my family?
I'm supposed to accept that my thoughts, beliefs, feelings, sensibilities, and opinions on the matter don't count - unless it's about one of my family?
So what was the problem with the whole Andrew Sachs phone call thing, then? Was everyone who complained one of his family?
Don't get me wrong - I loathe prank phone calls, especially when they are paraded and broadcast as "comedy".
I just can't really see what the difference is - in fact, I would even suggest that this article is worse because it is deliberately misleading, inaccurate, intrusive on grief, and homophobic.
And what about the stooshie about the Dunblane survivors article? Was everyone who complained related to them?
I completely understand the intention of their ruling - unless the family wants the PCC to get involved, any investigation could itself be intrusive.
Very honourable, very compassionate.
I get the bit about "if you feel that your complaint touches on claims that do not relate directly to Mr Gately or his family, please let us know, making clear how they raise a breach of the Code of Practice. If you feel that the Commission should waive its third party rules, please make clear why you believe this"
I'll be responding to their email redirecting them to my original complaint in which I have already clearly demonstrated how the article is misleading, inaccurate, and homophobic, none of which relates directly to the Gately family (although implying that they lied about 'drug use' immediately before death and 'insisting' that it was due to natural causes is really offensive in and of itself)
But really, it seems to me that if you want to get away with posting nasty, inaccurate, bigotted nonsense with no more punishment than having to issue a follow-up statement that says "It's not me, it's you, you all deliberately misunderstood me and twisted my words and all ganged up on me, waaah"...
... then just make sure that you include and name a person involved in it (allegedly or otherwise) and just sit back and hide behind Section 5, since any investigation of complaints without family involvement is apparently immediately dismissed as intrusive.
>:-/
.
Friday, 26 June 2009
Immediate thoughts...
Post mortem results: non-contributory factors: sun, moon. Possible contributory factor: good times. Likely cause of death: boogie.
If you'd bet on him not going through with the concerts, does this count and do you get a pay-out?
Who would have put money on him being outlived by Amy Winehouse, Pete Doherty, what's left of the Rolling Stones, or the rest of the Summer Wine... or even Liz Taylor...?
Poor old Farrah Fawcett and family... can't get a look-in...
But seriously though folks, maybe now those kids will have a chance at a slightly more normal life...
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
* I'm listening... or at least, I will be as soon as I can...!
...
Yay...!
New Rage Machine...!
http://spikenesmith.blogspot.com/2009/02/blog-post.html
Double Yay...!
Double act...!
Oooh, I am SO looking forward to it... well, to catching up with it once I get back from working abroad for 2 weeks...!
Yay...!
New Rage Machine...!
http://spikenesmith.blogspot.com/2009/02/blog-post.html
Double Yay...!
Double act...!
Oooh, I am SO looking forward to it... well, to catching up with it once I get back from working abroad for 2 weeks...!
Sunday, 28 September 2008
* ahoy-hop
...
Found this through a link from a webpage and couldn't resist a look...
http://cdbaby.com/cd/captaindan2
... pirate hip-hop...!
And it's their second album...!
Love the idea, just not overly sure about spending money on something that I'd probably only use every Sept 19th... I'm a part-time, fairweather kinda pirate, ye see...
:-p
Found this through a link from a webpage and couldn't resist a look...
http://cdbaby.com/cd/captaindan2
... pirate hip-hop...!
And it's their second album...!
Love the idea, just not overly sure about spending money on something that I'd probably only use every Sept 19th... I'm a part-time, fairweather kinda pirate, ye see...
:-p
Saturday, 20 September 2008
* Here's a conspiracy theory for you...
...
And I've only just come up with this one and haven't really thought it through or researched it, so some of the details might be a bit inaccurate, impossible, or sketchy...
... and it's kind of along the same lines as Spike Nesmith's youtube post 'The Spike Nesmith Rage Machine: "Predictions"'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsrLqbB3Mtk
... but here goes, anyway...
This article and its posts are about some of the bizarre stuff going on with regards to the state of John McCain's mental health:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/18/the-big-whisper-whats-up_n_127435.html
So, anyway, so...
... what if, last minute into the campaign, McCain dies or withdraws through ill-health, taking both him and Palin off the ticket, and the Republicans put up a completely new dynamic duo for the presidential race...?
That way, the Republicans have had the benefit of months and months of Obama and Biden and Demmy-krat bashing (and can blame the more questionable aspects of their campaigning on people who aren't involved anymore)...
... but there's no time left to do even remotely the same to the new Republican candidates...
.. leaving the choices as:
* 2 people who've had the media focused on them for months and so loads is known (true or otherwise) about pretty much every intricate little detail of their lives and families and associates and business
... or...
* 2 pretty much unknown quantities who haven't had mud slung at them or had their skeletons brought out of the closet in public or had every aspect of their lives and families and associates and business dug up and pored over and speculated over and lied about...
If you're the kind of voter who is easily swayed and goes for people over policies, who would you vote for...?
?:-/
And I've only just come up with this one and haven't really thought it through or researched it, so some of the details might be a bit inaccurate, impossible, or sketchy...
... and it's kind of along the same lines as Spike Nesmith's youtube post 'The Spike Nesmith Rage Machine: "Predictions"'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsrLqbB3Mtk
... but here goes, anyway...
This article and its posts are about some of the bizarre stuff going on with regards to the state of John McCain's mental health:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/18/the-big-whisper-whats-up_n_127435.html
So, anyway, so...
... what if, last minute into the campaign, McCain dies or withdraws through ill-health, taking both him and Palin off the ticket, and the Republicans put up a completely new dynamic duo for the presidential race...?
That way, the Republicans have had the benefit of months and months of Obama and Biden and Demmy-krat bashing (and can blame the more questionable aspects of their campaigning on people who aren't involved anymore)...
... but there's no time left to do even remotely the same to the new Republican candidates...
.. leaving the choices as:
* 2 people who've had the media focused on them for months and so loads is known (true or otherwise) about pretty much every intricate little detail of their lives and families and associates and business
... or...
* 2 pretty much unknown quantities who haven't had mud slung at them or had their skeletons brought out of the closet in public or had every aspect of their lives and families and associates and business dug up and pored over and speculated over and lied about...
If you're the kind of voter who is easily swayed and goes for people over policies, who would you vote for...?
?:-/
Sunday, 13 July 2008
* a book and cover type misalignment
...
So I got on the bus to go into town yesterday and as it was a single decker it was already fairly busy (even at quarter past 9 on a Saturday morning), so I ended up going right up to the back to be able to get a seat.
As I sit down I become aware that across the aisle are a couple of ned-like individuals... all shellsuits and nasal and hungover and heavily gelled cropped hair plastered to their heads and acne and big ears, and they're already deep in conversation.
[was 'Acne' the 8th dwarf who didn't make it into the final cut of the Snow White story for reasons of ickyness?]
As I come into hearing range and my brain automatically starts to translate the tone and lingo and pace and articulation, I realise what I've just heard...
One of them had made a comment which involved their mate, and picking up a stripper.
* ew *
I know that young men often regale each other with tales of conquests both genuine and exaggerated...
... but * ew *
This is a bus full of families and old ladies...!
This is no place to celebrate the coupling of a greasy sub-educated yet clearly overpaid waste of oxygen with a female who can only be of loose morals and little standards, if that was her customer or her partner of choice...
Oh, just * ew *
And then I realise...
... they're talking about DIY.
Their mate was actually involved in the collection of a device of the steam-based-wallpaper-removing variety.
... oops...
Apologies, boys.
It might say more about me than you that my immediate reaction to your comment was the worst and naughtiest one.
Then again...
You go with what you know - and I've travelled that bus route often enough to know that given some of the parts of town that it travels through, more often than not my first interpretation of the comments would be the right one...
* ew *
...
So I got on the bus to go into town yesterday and as it was a single decker it was already fairly busy (even at quarter past 9 on a Saturday morning), so I ended up going right up to the back to be able to get a seat.
As I sit down I become aware that across the aisle are a couple of ned-like individuals... all shellsuits and nasal and hungover and heavily gelled cropped hair plastered to their heads and acne and big ears, and they're already deep in conversation.
[was 'Acne' the 8th dwarf who didn't make it into the final cut of the Snow White story for reasons of ickyness?]
As I come into hearing range and my brain automatically starts to translate the tone and lingo and pace and articulation, I realise what I've just heard...
One of them had made a comment which involved their mate, and picking up a stripper.
* ew *
I know that young men often regale each other with tales of conquests both genuine and exaggerated...
... but * ew *
This is a bus full of families and old ladies...!
This is no place to celebrate the coupling of a greasy sub-educated yet clearly overpaid waste of oxygen with a female who can only be of loose morals and little standards, if that was her customer or her partner of choice...
Oh, just * ew *
And then I realise...
... they're talking about DIY.
Their mate was actually involved in the collection of a device of the steam-based-wallpaper-removing variety.
... oops...
Apologies, boys.
It might say more about me than you that my immediate reaction to your comment was the worst and naughtiest one.
Then again...
You go with what you know - and I've travelled that bus route often enough to know that given some of the parts of town that it travels through, more often than not my first interpretation of the comments would be the right one...
* ew *
...
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
* is that buzzing coming from the radio...?
...
With a headline like this, how can ANYONE resist...
"Lorry carrying 12m bees overturns"
This is the link to the story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7482609.stm
Basically...
"Motorists on Canada's biggest highway ended up with a bee in their bonnet after a truck transporting 12m of the insects overturned.
The lorry was carrying 330 crates of honey bees when it tipped over on a ramp in St Leonard, New Brunswick.
Bee experts were called in to help deal with the accident on the Trans-Canada Highway...The BBC's Lee Carter in Toronto says the bees had been used to pollinate a crop of blueberries, and were being transported home when the accident happened...."
And it's real, it's a real story and not from The Onion or Newsbiscuit or anything...!
Now, I've heard of a threat that involved "a jiffy bag full of wasps" - but a truck full of bees...!? Really...?!
It kind of makes sense when you read the article, but the idea of truck full o' bees is just weird... so is a "bee expert" like a bee wrangler or something like that to round them up once and get them all back in the truck once they've done their a-pollinatin'...?
Do they have tiny wee whips to head 'em up and move' em out...?
Do they have to do a headcount like on school trips to make sure they've not left any of them behind...?
:-?
...
Sunday, 29 June 2008
* pick me (or it's against my human rights...)
...
So the summary of this story:
Is this:
Birthday party snub sparks debate
The case has sparked a debate in Sweden about civil liberties
An eight-year-old boy has sparked an unlikely outcry in Sweden after failing to invite two of his classmates to his birthday party.
The boy's school says he has violated the children's rights and has complained to the Swedish Parliament....
Now, I can't be the only one who's thinking..."wtf...?!"
Isn't it a basic human right to be able to pick and choose who comes to your own birthday party without local or European governmental influence or rulings...?!
In fact, isn't it a basic rite of passage in childhood...?
To have that momentary God-like position...
... that power of veto...
... to actually get to choose something that matters and that has an impact...
... to be able to prove a point by NOT inviting certain people, or make yourself seem popular by having over-indulgent parents who allow you to invite loads and loads of people (therefore surrounding yourself in people and presents...)
So is it against human rights when, in reality TV shows, some people are chosen over others...?
(yeah, I know - those shows are so awful it's pretty much an offense to human rights that they exist at all...)
And what about the whole 'picking teams' thing...?
You know, where there would be some sort of game being organised in the playground and there would be 2 captains and they would each take a turn to choose someone from the attending throng to be on their side and you would wait and wait and wait and others would get picked before you because they were better than you and you knew that but you just wished that for once you wouldn't be picked last just because you had no talent and only wanted to be part of the game and the gang...
So does it turn out that that was all against my human rights, then...? The whole 'waiting to be picked and watching others get picked before me' thing...?
Cool!
Where do I sign up to sue for the emotional scarring that it clearly caused which has obviously and terribly affected me every day of my life since then...?
Or are we maybe just taking this whole thing just a leeeetle too far...?
Am I saying that we shouldn't protect children from being hurt or excluded or discriminated against?
No.
Alls I'm saying is - stop over-protecting them. Life ain't always fair: that's how you learn.
If you always get everything when you're a kid, then how and when do you learn to deal with not getting everything when you're grown-up?
If you're coddled up in emotional bubble-wrap all of your childhood, then you're not going to be equipped for being an adult when it comes off and you're suddenly expected to cope all on your ownsome in the big bad horrid world.
Kid 1 in the story didn't invite kid 2 to his party because kid 2 didn't invite kid 1 to his - t1t for tat, revenge, whatever.
It happens.
Lesson learned - be considerate of others, put yourself in their shoes, what goes around comes around, whatever.
But discrimination?
On what grounds, exactly...?
A childish falling-out over attending parties? How is that discrimination?
I can't think of any more extremes on this whole area - we've already got Health and Safety regulations meaning that the over-cautious are protecting themselves against the over-litigious in terms of school trips and playground games and pretty much curbing them completely, we've got age-old fairy tales and 50-year-old cartoons being edited and re-written to be more politically correct, we've got generations who are afraid to interact for fear of accusations of 'improper behaviour'...
Where do we go from here in terms of reclaiming childhoods...?
...
Monday, 23 June 2008
* a wee experry-ment
...
I wonder if this will work from work...
I've heard of "phoning it in", but "emailing it in" is a new one on me...
:-)
*** UPDATE ***
So the emailing it in bit works... except that it posts the company standard disclaimer at the bottom... oh well, at least it's an improvement on not blogging at all...!
:-)
I wonder if this will work from work...
I've heard of "phoning it in", but "emailing it in" is a new one on me...
:-)
*** UPDATE ***
So the emailing it in bit works... except that it posts the company standard disclaimer at the bottom... oh well, at least it's an improvement on not blogging at all...!
:-)
Sunday, 22 June 2008
* oops...
...
So I've been completely rubbish at keeping this up...
... sorry...
will try harder...
Am in a better job now, so it should be easier to post nonsense and links to weird stuff again, net-nanny allowing...
I hope...
}:-p
So I've been completely rubbish at keeping this up...
... sorry...
will try harder...
Am in a better job now, so it should be easier to post nonsense and links to weird stuff again, net-nanny allowing...
I hope...
}:-p
Monday, 29 October 2007
* tired and busy
...
so I'm now into my second full week of being back in full-time employment.
And although I was really good over the summer and didn't have great big long lie-ins until the afternoon or spend all day drinking and play-station-ing or blogging and got up at my normal time, I'm still utterly exhausted.
I think it comes from the fact that I've not been very active over the summer - now I'm walking to and from bus-stops and my job sees me running around a fair bit, too - plus, I'm learning and taking things in and having to make decisions and look after people and remember to eat and drink during the day...
my brain and body are out of shape...
I'm not even properly doing housework, let alone blogging!
Once things settle down again and my internet access at work is finished, I'll be able to do this properly again - I can blog in Word and email it home and post it at night... I certainly have plenty to ponder on...
so I'm now into my second full week of being back in full-time employment.
And although I was really good over the summer and didn't have great big long lie-ins until the afternoon or spend all day drinking and play-station-ing or blogging and got up at my normal time, I'm still utterly exhausted.
I think it comes from the fact that I've not been very active over the summer - now I'm walking to and from bus-stops and my job sees me running around a fair bit, too - plus, I'm learning and taking things in and having to make decisions and look after people and remember to eat and drink during the day...
my brain and body are out of shape...
I'm not even properly doing housework, let alone blogging!
Once things settle down again and my internet access at work is finished, I'll be able to do this properly again - I can blog in Word and email it home and post it at night... I certainly have plenty to ponder on...
Thursday, 11 October 2007
* Shocked by the Power and Stalked by the Spider
…
On Saturday, me and Hobbes joined my Mum, eldest Auntie and my sister for a wee girlie day out.
We went to the Glasgow Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum for its very first guest exhibition since reopening last year – and it couldn’t have picked a better one to start with…
http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/assets/fileStore/KYLIE_leaflet.pdf
“KYLIE: THE EXHIBITION
The exhibition explores Kylie Minogue as a popular icon and international performer. Featuring costumes, accessories, photographs and awards, sound and video, the exhibition looks at Kylie's career and changing image.
KYLIE: THE EXHIBITION also gives some insight into how a major international tour develops - from initial concept to first live performance.
200 objects including 45 costumes and 60 photographs are on display, from the overalls Kylie wore as Charlene in Neighbours and the gold lame hotpants she wore in her Spinning Around video in 2000 to costumes from her latest Kylie Showgirl: Homcoming Tour.”
[The above text was copied and pasted directly and without editing from the Glasgow.gov.uk Museums section.
Hilariously, it reads
“Lame” (laim) as in ‘pathetic’
… Rather then
“Lamé” (lah-mmay) as in ‘sparkly’
AND
It reads “hom-coming”, which given her legendary gay following is quite an interesting typo...]
Now, the obvious thing to say is just how small the stuff is, in both height and width – this is one seriously teeny tiny woman; any Barbie-doll-type action figure would not be a kick in the gold lame hotpants off actual size.
The costumes are really interesting – it’s always surprising how much detail and construction goes into costumes that are generally only seen from a distance or on TV, and it’s always funny to see ‘mechanics’ overalls looking so clean and false-patched-up, and to see the ‘Kids’ video where Robbie Williams was the higher paid ‘star’ helping out poor wee re-launching Kylie…
But weirdly enough, the most disappointing part of the whole thing is… how tacky and cheap some of the awards are.
The MTV Astronaut award thingy just looks like something my 5-year-old niece would knock up in day-care – it’s utterly tin-foil-hastily-wrapped-round-an-ornament-for-a-school-play…
And ironically, the best part wasn’t even directly a part of the exhibition.
Kelvingrove has a working pipe organ, and there are sometimes recitals when the museum is open.
This truly is a magnificent instrument; it’s beautiful and intricate and resonates throughout the building and when you are in the main hall itself when it’s being played you can actually feel it resonate through your very being.
We had not long arrived and noticed that the day’s recital was due to start in a few moments, so we decided to hold off going downstairs to the Kylie exhibition so that we could hear the start of it.
Giggling, I mentioned to the girls about how if he didn’t play “I Should Be So Lucky” (Kylie’s first hit) or “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” (her biggest hit) then I would be gutted, and we all have a bit of a smile and a chat at how funny that would be.
So off the organist goes, beautiful, deep sounds soon filling the halls and our hearts: this is the first time we’ve heard the organ since the reopening and refurbishment.
Only… slowly it dawns on us just what we are listening to…
Waltzing Mathilda
And…
The theme tune from Neighbours (Kylie’s breakthrough TV show)
And…
I Should Be So Lucky!!!!!
On a massive magnificent pipe organ!!!
Truly, a most commendable stroke of good-humoured genius.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Now, the night before, I had had a bit of a headache and went to bed just after 10pm, leaving Calvin and Hobbes watching whatever was on TV.
About 15 minutes later, I had an awareness that something was going on: the living room door was opened and I could hear them talking and I heard someone rummaging about in a kitchen cupboard and the front door being unlocked and opened and closed and relocked.
Knowing Calvin, I decided that there must be a spider in the living room, and as I hate the creepy little uninvited guests [I don’t even like looking at pictures of them let alone having them in the house] he had done his usual thing of getting a cup from the kitchen, scooping the little bugger up, and throwing it out of the front door; death is only used in extreme cases (or if I get to them first).
So I turned over and went back to sleep.
Except…
Calvin came to bed about 15 minutes later, and me being me, I woke up at the sound and movement of this.
He then proceeds to tell me about the spider incident.
Yes, there had been a spider.
Yes, it was in the living room, marching across the floor right in front of the telly like it owned the bliddy place.
No, this was no ordinary retrieve and release operation.
The initial noise and movement that I had heard was actually Hobbes (who is not overly bothered by spiders) leaping up and running into her bedroom and shutting the door until it was safe to come back out, freaked out by the fact that this was – and I quote Calvin, man of a thousand spider-removal-exercises –
“the biggest effing spider I’ve ever seen”.
And he’s done a fair amount of travelling and outdoorsy stuff to know what he’s talking about.
Calvin had initially got a cup to scoop it up in.
The cup wasn’t big enough.
He had to get a JUG to fit this thing in.
And even then he couldn’t scoop it up – once he had put the jug over it, he had to get a bit of paper and slide it underneath to get the d@mn thing in.
Ooh, I am starting to itch just thinking about this…
In the morning, he showed me which jug he had used… the circumference of which is about 14 inches… so this THING, toes-to-toes, covered a circle of 14 inches…!
Seriously, draw a circle or find something that’s 14 inches round.
THAT’S FRIGGIN' HUUUUUUUGE for an in-the-house spider in the city of Glasgow…!
And then he tells me that it wasn’t just all legs… a fair proportion of this beast was body – he could make out a fair amount of detail and hair and maybe even fangs…
So this thing is immediately given the nickname ‘The Spider Of Death’.
I check and double and triple check with Calvin that it wasn’t actually an escaped exotic pet or a tropical asylum seeker that hitched a ride with the bananas into the supermarket – he maintains it was just a big old bugger, nothing unusual or special (yeah, right…)
Only now, I am becoming slightly obsessed by the fact that...
... HE SET THIS THING FREE.
The Spider Of Death could still be out there, somewhere, in my garden, in the garage, at my door, at my window, waiting for the chance to come back into the warm and dry and telly.
It could be watching me, waiting, just waiting, knowing that every new movement, every new web I see, I experience a momentary flurry of panic that The Spider Of Death has returned to claim as its own the house, the telly, everything, everything covered in its creepy crawly sticky icky web of hate and death.
Or…
It was most likely eaten by a bird or a squirrel or a fox within 12 hours of being forcibly evicted by Calvin.
I know which scenario I prefer…
On Saturday, me and Hobbes joined my Mum, eldest Auntie and my sister for a wee girlie day out.
We went to the Glasgow Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum for its very first guest exhibition since reopening last year – and it couldn’t have picked a better one to start with…
http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/assets/fileStore/KYLIE_leaflet.pdf
“KYLIE: THE EXHIBITION
The exhibition explores Kylie Minogue as a popular icon and international performer. Featuring costumes, accessories, photographs and awards, sound and video, the exhibition looks at Kylie's career and changing image.
KYLIE: THE EXHIBITION also gives some insight into how a major international tour develops - from initial concept to first live performance.
200 objects including 45 costumes and 60 photographs are on display, from the overalls Kylie wore as Charlene in Neighbours and the gold lame hotpants she wore in her Spinning Around video in 2000 to costumes from her latest Kylie Showgirl: Homcoming Tour.”
[The above text was copied and pasted directly and without editing from the Glasgow.gov.uk Museums section.
Hilariously, it reads
“Lame” (laim) as in ‘pathetic’
… Rather then
“Lamé” (lah-mmay) as in ‘sparkly’
AND
It reads “hom-coming”, which given her legendary gay following is quite an interesting typo...]
Now, the obvious thing to say is just how small the stuff is, in both height and width – this is one seriously teeny tiny woman; any Barbie-doll-type action figure would not be a kick in the gold lame hotpants off actual size.
The costumes are really interesting – it’s always surprising how much detail and construction goes into costumes that are generally only seen from a distance or on TV, and it’s always funny to see ‘mechanics’ overalls looking so clean and false-patched-up, and to see the ‘Kids’ video where Robbie Williams was the higher paid ‘star’ helping out poor wee re-launching Kylie…
But weirdly enough, the most disappointing part of the whole thing is… how tacky and cheap some of the awards are.
The MTV Astronaut award thingy just looks like something my 5-year-old niece would knock up in day-care – it’s utterly tin-foil-hastily-wrapped-round-an-ornament-for-a-school-play…
And ironically, the best part wasn’t even directly a part of the exhibition.
Kelvingrove has a working pipe organ, and there are sometimes recitals when the museum is open.
This truly is a magnificent instrument; it’s beautiful and intricate and resonates throughout the building and when you are in the main hall itself when it’s being played you can actually feel it resonate through your very being.
We had not long arrived and noticed that the day’s recital was due to start in a few moments, so we decided to hold off going downstairs to the Kylie exhibition so that we could hear the start of it.
Giggling, I mentioned to the girls about how if he didn’t play “I Should Be So Lucky” (Kylie’s first hit) or “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” (her biggest hit) then I would be gutted, and we all have a bit of a smile and a chat at how funny that would be.
So off the organist goes, beautiful, deep sounds soon filling the halls and our hearts: this is the first time we’ve heard the organ since the reopening and refurbishment.
Only… slowly it dawns on us just what we are listening to…
Waltzing Mathilda
And…
The theme tune from Neighbours (Kylie’s breakthrough TV show)
And…
I Should Be So Lucky!!!!!
On a massive magnificent pipe organ!!!
Truly, a most commendable stroke of good-humoured genius.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Now, the night before, I had had a bit of a headache and went to bed just after 10pm, leaving Calvin and Hobbes watching whatever was on TV.
About 15 minutes later, I had an awareness that something was going on: the living room door was opened and I could hear them talking and I heard someone rummaging about in a kitchen cupboard and the front door being unlocked and opened and closed and relocked.
Knowing Calvin, I decided that there must be a spider in the living room, and as I hate the creepy little uninvited guests [I don’t even like looking at pictures of them let alone having them in the house] he had done his usual thing of getting a cup from the kitchen, scooping the little bugger up, and throwing it out of the front door; death is only used in extreme cases (or if I get to them first).
So I turned over and went back to sleep.
Except…
Calvin came to bed about 15 minutes later, and me being me, I woke up at the sound and movement of this.
He then proceeds to tell me about the spider incident.
Yes, there had been a spider.
Yes, it was in the living room, marching across the floor right in front of the telly like it owned the bliddy place.
No, this was no ordinary retrieve and release operation.
The initial noise and movement that I had heard was actually Hobbes (who is not overly bothered by spiders) leaping up and running into her bedroom and shutting the door until it was safe to come back out, freaked out by the fact that this was – and I quote Calvin, man of a thousand spider-removal-exercises –
“the biggest effing spider I’ve ever seen”.
And he’s done a fair amount of travelling and outdoorsy stuff to know what he’s talking about.
Calvin had initially got a cup to scoop it up in.
The cup wasn’t big enough.
He had to get a JUG to fit this thing in.
And even then he couldn’t scoop it up – once he had put the jug over it, he had to get a bit of paper and slide it underneath to get the d@mn thing in.
Ooh, I am starting to itch just thinking about this…
In the morning, he showed me which jug he had used… the circumference of which is about 14 inches… so this THING, toes-to-toes, covered a circle of 14 inches…!
Seriously, draw a circle or find something that’s 14 inches round.
THAT’S FRIGGIN' HUUUUUUUGE for an in-the-house spider in the city of Glasgow…!
And then he tells me that it wasn’t just all legs… a fair proportion of this beast was body – he could make out a fair amount of detail and hair and maybe even fangs…
So this thing is immediately given the nickname ‘The Spider Of Death’.
I check and double and triple check with Calvin that it wasn’t actually an escaped exotic pet or a tropical asylum seeker that hitched a ride with the bananas into the supermarket – he maintains it was just a big old bugger, nothing unusual or special (yeah, right…)
Only now, I am becoming slightly obsessed by the fact that...
... HE SET THIS THING FREE.
The Spider Of Death could still be out there, somewhere, in my garden, in the garage, at my door, at my window, waiting for the chance to come back into the warm and dry and telly.
It could be watching me, waiting, just waiting, knowing that every new movement, every new web I see, I experience a momentary flurry of panic that The Spider Of Death has returned to claim as its own the house, the telly, everything, everything covered in its creepy crawly sticky icky web of hate and death.
Or…
It was most likely eaten by a bird or a squirrel or a fox within 12 hours of being forcibly evicted by Calvin.
I know which scenario I prefer…
Monday, 8 October 2007
* the bestest possible update
...
so yesterday was my birthday (yeah yeah, 21 again... )
And despite me telling people that I didn't want or need anything and just a card and their company would be perfect as it was all about presence and not presents, I was just spoiled rotten...!
Hobbes got me the Tenacious D movie - yay!
My wee sister got me a cowprint phone that moos instead of ringing as well as loads of other cool stuff
Via my sister and my Mum, my US rellies got me Absolut Disco - a bottle of Absolut vodka with a bottle cover made of disco ball (seriously!)
My Mum and Dad and auntie M got me money (always good)
plus there are other cards in the post which haven't arrived yet because of the postal strike
And
Calvin, knowing about my ipod disaster
http://pumpkinspider.blogspot.com/2007/09/self-pity-self-destruct.html
and fed-up with me going on about how I can't get his Monolith to work right and how I missed my own wee ipod and could he get me the charger for my mini-disc down out of the box in the loft...
Got my a brand new ipod nano video...!
And it's the lovely red one, too...!
And holy cr@p, it's just amazing - it's wee and shiny and the quality is unbelievable and oooooh...!
and...
he got me a proper arm-band doohickey to put it in for when I'm out on a plod... hint hint...
:-)
AAAAAAAAAAAAAND
I've got a new job and go back to work next week...!
:-D
If I may be so bold as to quote Ren and Stimpy...
happy happy joy joy, happy happy joy joy,
happy happy joy joy, happy happy joy joy,
happy happy joy joy, happy happy joy joy,
happy happy joy joy joy...!
so yesterday was my birthday (yeah yeah, 21 again... )
And despite me telling people that I didn't want or need anything and just a card and their company would be perfect as it was all about presence and not presents, I was just spoiled rotten...!
Hobbes got me the Tenacious D movie - yay!
My wee sister got me a cowprint phone that moos instead of ringing as well as loads of other cool stuff
Via my sister and my Mum, my US rellies got me Absolut Disco - a bottle of Absolut vodka with a bottle cover made of disco ball (seriously!)
My Mum and Dad and auntie M got me money (always good)
plus there are other cards in the post which haven't arrived yet because of the postal strike
And
Calvin, knowing about my ipod disaster
http://pumpkinspider.blogspot.com/2007/09/self-pity-self-destruct.html
and fed-up with me going on about how I can't get his Monolith to work right and how I missed my own wee ipod and could he get me the charger for my mini-disc down out of the box in the loft...
Got my a brand new ipod nano video...!
And it's the lovely red one, too...!
And holy cr@p, it's just amazing - it's wee and shiny and the quality is unbelievable and oooooh...!
and...
he got me a proper arm-band doohickey to put it in for when I'm out on a plod... hint hint...
:-)
AAAAAAAAAAAAAND
I've got a new job and go back to work next week...!
:-D
If I may be so bold as to quote Ren and Stimpy...
happy happy joy joy, happy happy joy joy,
happy happy joy joy, happy happy joy joy,
happy happy joy joy, happy happy joy joy,
happy happy joy joy joy...!
Thursday, 4 October 2007
* wtf??? Leapfrogging mayor bruises tomato???
...
OK, so this was the headline on the main page of the BBC website:
"Leapfrogging mayor injures woman dressed as tomato"
HOW COULD I NOT LOOK...?
And this was the story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7026851.stm
The whole thing is pretty funny in and of itself, but honestly, when you start to ACTUALLY think about the reality of the situation...
what does it say about the details of the incident and the injuries in her medical notes and her sick line from the doctor...?
what does it say in the accident book for her work...?
what does it say on the insurance claim form...?
what will the report from Health and Safety say...?
how much does she love her job, when she gets to dress up in ridiculous rather than glamorous outfits and get assaulted (a-salted?) (sorry) by minor dignitaries, leading to long-term absence, back injury, and humiliation on a world-wide scale thanks to the report of the whole thing appearing on the Internet...?
And possibly most importantly...
how does anyone involved with this keep a straight face...?!
OK, so this was the headline on the main page of the BBC website:
"Leapfrogging mayor injures woman dressed as tomato"
HOW COULD I NOT LOOK...?
And this was the story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7026851.stm
The whole thing is pretty funny in and of itself, but honestly, when you start to ACTUALLY think about the reality of the situation...
what does it say about the details of the incident and the injuries in her medical notes and her sick line from the doctor...?
what does it say in the accident book for her work...?
what does it say on the insurance claim form...?
what will the report from Health and Safety say...?
how much does she love her job, when she gets to dress up in ridiculous rather than glamorous outfits and get assaulted (a-salted?) (sorry) by minor dignitaries, leading to long-term absence, back injury, and humiliation on a world-wide scale thanks to the report of the whole thing appearing on the Internet...?
And possibly most importantly...
how does anyone involved with this keep a straight face...?!
Tuesday, 2 October 2007
* belly-aching carefullness
...
With regards to this article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/7020936.stm
The summary and main points of it for me are:
"An art student who fears she was almost killed by her belly button stud in a car accident has warned about the potential dangers of body piercings. Jessica Collins' seatbelt forced the stud through her stomach almost to her spine in the crash in Munich. "
"...The lap belt has pulled so tightly that the front part of her waist was pushed up against her spine... The doctor... was fascinated from a medical point of view. He'd never seen anything like it before."
""It was a freak accident. I can't say I've ever heard of anything like this before, but for a decorative bit of jewellery, it's not worth the risk." "
For me, the key words here are FREAK ACCIDENT!!!
They admit themselves that the doctor had never seen anything like before, and I'll bet very few of us have ever seen or heard or thought about it happening before now.
I'd even go so far as to say that if it really was a real risk or if it did happen on a regular basis that it would be making the news more often, and we’d all have heard about someone who knows someone who totally had it happen to them…
AND
It would be one of those parental urban legend type warnings that are doled out as part of disapproval, along the lines of "you'll catch cold" and "you’ll get hurt” and “you’ll take someone’s eye out” and “you'll go blind"...
So I guess that if we are using the possibility of a freak accident as a basis for never doing stuff, just in case…
Then…
* Steve Irwin's freak accidental death means we can never swim in the ocean again, just in case...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5311298.stm
* All drills should be banned, just in case... http://www.snopes.com/horrors/techno/drillbit.asp
* Fire hydrants should be removed from the streets, just in case...
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/hydrant.asp
* Molasses and beer should be banned, just in case...
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/molasses.asp
And
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/beer.asp
* Playing cards should be banned, just in case...
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/kogut.asp
* Laughing should be banned, just in case
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/laughing.asp
OK, so I’m taking it to extremes, but you get the point: you can take all the care in the world, but you just can’t legislate against plain old bad luck (you know, special circumstances and being in the right or wrong time and place).
I just can’t help but think that, yes, this girl’s intentions were basically good (publicising an unknown or little known risk)
But
It is such a REMOTE risk that other, more serious risks associated with piercing could be getting ignored:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1748579.stm
I’m pretty sure that “you might be in a car crash where your belly piercing gets pushed into your stomach like a bullet” is going to be pretty far down any list of possible piercing problems…
* link to wee YouTube animation, and French Freedom thoughts
...
found this quite by chance and it's pretty sweet and funny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4cP2oy4ebE
aren't people clever for coming up with and then actually creating this stuff?
It also made me remember my wee observation from the Rugby World Cup games this weekend - the neutrals (people attending the game not affiliated with either competing side) have been really good at supporting the underdog all tournament.
This meant that in Sunday's South Africa v USA game, there was a load of cheering for the 'minnows' - the USA.
Which meant that there was a load of French people cheering on the USA.
Wonder if they were serving Freedom Fries and Freedom Toast and doing any Freedom Kissing at that game...?
}:->
...
found this quite by chance and it's pretty sweet and funny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4cP2oy4ebE
aren't people clever for coming up with and then actually creating this stuff?
It also made me remember my wee observation from the Rugby World Cup games this weekend - the neutrals (people attending the game not affiliated with either competing side) have been really good at supporting the underdog all tournament.
This meant that in Sunday's South Africa v USA game, there was a load of cheering for the 'minnows' - the USA.
Which meant that there was a load of French people cheering on the USA.
Wonder if they were serving Freedom Fries and Freedom Toast and doing any Freedom Kissing at that game...?
}:->
...
Friday, 28 September 2007
* how is he not dead ??
...
Holy cr@p... check out any of the links at the bottom...
"Sixty pint beer binge leads to four-week hangover" - it's about a guy who drank an average of 15 pints a day over 4 days and then wondered why he wasn't feeling too well afterwards...
OK, so the links are just exactly the same story copied and pasted word for word onto various websites, but that means that a number of different places have picked it up and published it.
"60 pints -- roughly 35 litres -- of beer over a four day period"
Well, that's just great.
Aside from being a bit of a scientific and medical anomaly, this guy has also promoted - perpetuated - the worst image of Scotland.
Cuz, you know, it's not like anyone already thinks the Scots like a wee drink or 60...
Thanks for conforming to lazy stereotyping, mate - coming up next, an Englishman in a bowler hat will be Morris-dancing while drinking tea, and a Welshman will be coal-mining and singing in a male-voice-choir while eating leeks and fighting dragons...
One email account is enough. Simplify your life by switching other accounts into Yahoo! Mail.
Thursday, 27 September 2007
* NSFW - link to funny radio broadcast clip
* wheeze *
hilarious!
both the clip and the comments...!
best be careful with that webcam, Mr Nesmith...!
http://www.holymoly.co.uk/news/28/heatworld-news-presenter-goes-into-swearing-frenzy-live-on-air-1539.html
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
On 26/09/2007, Spike Nesmith wrote:
hilarious!
both the clip and the comments...!
best be careful with that webcam, Mr Nesmith...!
http://www.holymoly.co.uk/news/28/heatworld-news-presenter-goes-into-swearing-frenzy-live-on-air-1539.html
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
On 26/09/2007, Spike Nesmith wrote:
Webcam! At my desk! Just because!
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/spikes-show
--
s. =)
"I used to say some people make money and some make history - which is very funny until you find you can't afford to keep yourself alive." - Anthony H Wilson
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)