The Self-Referential Art Of The Blog (Part Some Of Many)
When I first started blogging, and indeed for some while previously, there were a handful of blogs that I read religiously. Every day I'd stop by and on days when the bloggers in question hadn't updated I was always ever so slightly disappointed. Since I started this thing, I've broadened my blog reading, often because I've discovered people who link here, or by backtracking comments. It seems to be true, for me at least, that the more you blog, the more you receive blog. A few other people I've discussed this with have had similar experiences. But along the way, some of the sites that I used to regard as essential parts of my daily routine have ceased to be so, for which I feel a little guilty. I mean, I still stop by every now and then, but generally more then than now. A couple have gone quiet, Tin Man a while ago, ChrisR more recently, but the others are still there, just not so much in my mind anymore, and inevitably others have become more prominent to me. Is this other people's experience too?
Hello Sailor!
One sailor reportedly picked up a prostitute who he believed to be female. Realising he wasn't who she appeared to be, the sailor reportedly declared: "Blimey, you're all there!" Nevertheless, he apparently became "infatuated".
This kind of incident led admirals to argue that most of the men accused were only inadvertently homosexual, rather than dangerous "perverts".
The Royal Navy apparently got its knickers into a right twist over the behaviour of some of its recruits back in the 1960s, according to documents revealed by the Public Records Office. One of the things I've never really understood is the circularity of the whole 'open to blackmail' argument. If the thing wasn't so stigmatised in the first place, there wouldn't be anything people could be blackmailed for....
A Deayton Replacement?
The BBC News site is running a poll to see who (of their five options) should take over as the presenter of Hav I Got News For You? now that Angus Deayton has been fired. They quote from the candidates' own appearances on the programme - my favourite is Stephen Fry's "I have not penetrated Prince Edward's intimate circle."
The Most Boring Capital City In The World?
Lara appears to have done the apparently impossible, and had a good time in Washington DC. I'm almost more impressed by this achievement than by the insane mega-activities than she habitually indulges in....
UPDATE - Okay, there's something weird going on with her permalinks - just check out her blog homepage and see the entry for October 28th.
I’ve Never Metafilter I Didn’t Like….
I don't much link to MeFi threads these days - partly because I don't swing by there so much, but also because for a long time a depressingly gung-ho, jingoistic, "Let's make war on whoever the hell we like and let's start with Iraq" mentality seemed to have moved in and taken over. However, occasionally, a comment in a thread catches my eye and I find myself succumbing.
From yet another thread about the real motive behind a possible assault in Iraq:
"(Quote)IT IS NOT ABOUT OIL!
IT IS ABOUT ELIMINATING THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY
YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO KILL YOU & ME(Unquote)
No, it's not. It's about the oil.
There. I have presented just as much evidence to prove my point as you have presented to prove yours.
Shouting doesn't make it "more right," it just makes you look like a spoiled child who wants desperately to believe what his Uncle Dickie is telling him, meanwhile me and lots of the other children on the playground remain bound and determined to make up our own minds and not be dictated to by the likes of you. Given the backgrounds, interests and investment portfolios of Cheney, the Bushes and the men who put them where they are today, to think that it's about anything other than the oil is just ridiculous, and completely ignorant of how business and politics work in America."
These Dreams
I don't often blog dreams, but just lately, I've had so many very odd ones that I thought I should. I've been not sleeping so much again lately, so my unconscious clearly sees a need to pack as much strangeness into every available moment as possible.
I've had a series in which I've had things stolen, from a car to some clothes off a washing line, but all of which while I was in odd circumstances (having dinner with some people I haven't seen since university, on a date with a woman I've never seen before, on holiday in a strange city where I didn't speak a single word of the language and everyone appeared to be deaf anyway....), I've also had a couple in which I've been back at university and either missing vital exams or have failed them (these are particularly real and for some reason especially upsetting), and I've had a few return engagements from the old favourite where I'm trying to organise a group of people going away together and everything that can go wrong, does go wrong.
It's quite clear that my unconscious hates me.
Re:Search
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago the petty complaints that characterise the letters page of the Radio Times. While researching something I was writing elsewhere, I found myself visiting the websites of the various broadcasting regulators of the UK. These two points are connected.
Reviewing the list of things that apparently rational adults find to complain about on British television is truly eye-opening. The things that offend 'taste and decency' range from the depiction of sex aids on This Morning (insert obligatory John Leslie dildo joke here), to Chris Tarrant making an anti-Scouse joke at the Baftas, to Brookside running a storyline (that would have been planned and filmed well in advance) that on some superficial level might possibly have been perceived to have some slight similarities to the Soham murder case, and on into trivial quibble after trivial quibble. I think if I was an Independent Television Commission complaints investigator I'd probably have gone mad by now. You can find summaries of rulings here.
A Very Bad Man
Strange journey home. Delays on the tube meant lots of hanging around at the station, and a woman standing a few people away from me kept turning and giving evil looks to the man standing behind her. I couldn't work out what was the problem. Then, as we pulled out of the station she finally snapped at him, "Stop touching me!". He did this eye-rolling look that seemed designed to convey that he hadn't done anything, and that she should be so lucky.
I decided I didn't like him because of the look, but I didn't know whether he was actually touching her or not. Then at the next station, as people got off, I quite clearly saw him trail his hand across her bottom. She turned and told him to fuck off, but she couldn't move away from him because of everyone else around her, and no one seemed particularly interested in moving to let her into another space. As we moved on I could see him moving his hand towards her again, and some inexplicable urge made me reach across the couple between us and tap him on the shoulder. He looked round , and I said "She doesn't want you touching her, so don't." I don't know who was more shocked, me, him, or the woman in question. He looked at me, and said "Fuck off - it's none of your business." To which I replied, "I think it is. Leave her alone."
Lord knows what would have happened if the train hadn't pulled into my station, and the woman got off as I did. He stayed on board. She smiled and said "Thanks", then headed off to the other line as I made for the exit.
A strange interlude.
Ca Plein Pour Moi
An open invitation to put Barnaby out of his misery: Does anyone know which film soundtracks Plastic Bertrand's hit Ca Plein Pour Moi has been used on? He's sure he's heard it, but isn't sure where. We've found a few, but he hasn't seen them, and I think it's frustrating him a little....
A Monday Morning Mixed Bag
Various things:
The UK version of the soundtrack to the Buffy The Vampire Slayer musical episode Once More, With Feeling is released today. Amazon have it for £10.99 with a one to two week delivery, so I'm hoping that an actual shop can do rather better.
Speaking of Buffy, Joss Whedon discussed the likelihood of season seven being the last in an item on TV Guide Online.
Owen at Bloing points us to a site which aims to find "1000 People More Annoying Than Mick Hucknall" - which is one of those sites which looks like it's going to be funny until you start to read the reasons for the various nominations, and discover that people's definitions of 'annoying' are occasionally deeply offensive. Martina Navratilova's on there because 'she's an ugly lesbian', Elton John is described: "He is damn ugly somewhere between a pig and a ogre and his is an unashamed arse bandit." (nice grammar there), and generally, just check anyone gay or lesbian, any woman who might be seen as too small or too large, and generally anyone remotely outside a fairly narrow (largely male), demographic. And be prepared for some unpleasant views and nasty language. Ah, the democracy of the internet.
Elsewhere, Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt has denounced the ads running for this week's Motor Show as sexist because they feature a big close-up of an attractive woman. Whether she's right or wrong, she's giving the Motor Show more attention than the ad itself, which is of course the unfortunate side-effect of drawing attention to something one thinks is bad. Still, someone in their advertising agency must be feeling rather gleeful this morning - no doubt they charged a small fortune for the 32 seconds or so it must have taken them to think "Hmmm, why don't we advertise a car event with a half-naked woman?" Because that's never been done before.