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....