It has long been a tabu in this house to mention the "B" word, as this inevitably brings on a downpour of Biblical proportions. In fact, it is God punishing us for being to optimistic and idolatrous about the sun.
So the Met Office have had their feathers ruffled for telling us we are going to have, and I quote, a "Barbecue Summer". (Do let me know if you have had one, and I will come and stay)
Gordon Brown is apparently ready to go head to head with David Cameron on a US Presidential style, live TV debate. Bring it on! I want to see him pissing himself live on television and grinning like a tit in inappropriate places.
I have moved from a place where my nearest neighbour was half a mile away. I now live next to a cottage with four kids. Why do they scream all the time? I am probably going to end up on the news over them. Don't get me wrong. I like kids, but I could not eat a whole one.
I am missing my chickens. I went to visit Mrs Enderby today in her new home. She is pining and wasting away. The Marans ignored me. They have moved on.
Avon and Somerset Police prepare for Sharia Law
Bonkers Avon and Somerset Police, the racist force who dumped hundreds of applications from white males in the bin because they were white, have now issued hijabs (headscarves) to female police officers. The Force is of course in the grip of PC (That's Political Correctness - not Police Constable) madness. It's a force that will do anything to appease Muslims but who are not so accommodating towards majorities, who, after all, pay the greater part of their wages. Communities get the kind of policing they want and deserve. Bristol is the epicentre of PC in Britain, where such nonsense as -consulting gays about cutting back foliage on The Downs in case it reveals gay cruisers- so it does not surprise me.
Things are not quite how they once were
"Fings, ain't wot they used to be" went the song and the title of a 1960 musical. It was all about Cocknees. But I digress, and this is only the first sentence. To go "on message", I am saying that I believe the era of Political Spin, and the Politics of Spin is an anachronism which should be a memory.
In 1997, Labour sailed to victory on the back of a campaign, designed and directed by the Prince of Darkness himself, Peter Mandelson. We all got to know the word "Spin" and phrases like "on message". It was a triumph of will. It was a consummate demonstration of the power of media control - the triumph of irrational messages over stark reality.
We wrinklies often complain about modernity, but the particular strand of it, the era of Spin, must surely have run its course. We all know what they are doing! There is a concept in Lit Crit called "defamiliarisation". It is a literary device which relies upon the reader being taken by surprise, for dramatic or rhetorical effect. The author takes a well known subject or idea and presents it in such a way as to suggest that the reader views the subject or idea in a fresh way. It is about altering perception and about artifice.
And so we are back to Spin. Spin was a sort of inversion of the literary device. The idea of spin was to create alternative perceptions, based upon a strategy of manipulation. As the creator of "defamiliarisation" wrote:
"The purpose of art is to impart the sensation of things as they are perceived and not as they are known" (Viktor Shklovsky)
We are no longer taken by surprise, accordingly, when Gordon Brown "invests" rather than "spends" or Gordon is "getting on with the job" or he ends "Boom and Bust"we cannot take him seriously. If he admits anything at all, it is always couched in his own para language, which to you and me, is...lying. Gordon's is the party of "investment" and the Tories are the party of "cuts" One might say that Labour Spin is about changing perception about words, unless of course, they relate to the opposition.
And this is where we draw away from the baroque analogy; defamiliarisation is dependent upon interpretive communities - those who generally speaking, have the same perception about words and concepts. If I were to describe a woman's breasts as "Bristols" it relies upon a bit of common knowledge and a passing awareness of Cockney rhyming slang.It may have once shocked and surprised and added a certain tawdry frisson, but now, the synonym is barely registered, it is so common.
And so to my point. Today, we hear that Lord Malloch Brown has been letting slip that we do not have enough helicopters. This is not something the Labour spin machine wanted us to hear. And so they first tried to suggest that the article in the Telegraph "misrepresented", Lord Malloch Brown's words. Then, the Telegraph printed the transcript of the interview, showing, beyond doubt, that the cat was out of the bag. Then, insiders at Number Ten tried to suggest that the minister concerned was "out of the loop" and not in a position to make such statements. These phrases necessarily subvert the language in which they are couched, usually stretching the meanings of words to breaking point.
Later today, we shall discover that Labour has lost the safe seat of Norwwich North. The Spin machine has gone into overdrive, suggesting that anything less than a Tory majority of 10,000 will be a humiliating defeat for David Cameron. The BBC has suggested that unless Labour meltsdown into third place, the same spin applies. This, after losing yet another by-election under the un-elected Brown.
Really guys. It may have worked for you in 1997, but we are all older and wiser. In the iterim, stark reality has intervened. People are struggling with massive challenges in their personal lives, such as job loss and debt. The novelty of spin - its power of deception and manipulation has faded with our familiarity with it. So much so, that cynicism about politicians is now at an all time high.
We know you came to power on Spin and Lies. We know it is all YOU know. But now, after record levels of unemployment, the biggest financial meltdown in centuries, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the failure to clean up Parliament, Peter, fings aint wot they used to be. We are on to you, and it wont work anymore.
In 1997, Labour sailed to victory on the back of a campaign, designed and directed by the Prince of Darkness himself, Peter Mandelson. We all got to know the word "Spin" and phrases like "on message". It was a triumph of will. It was a consummate demonstration of the power of media control - the triumph of irrational messages over stark reality.
We wrinklies often complain about modernity, but the particular strand of it, the era of Spin, must surely have run its course. We all know what they are doing! There is a concept in Lit Crit called "defamiliarisation". It is a literary device which relies upon the reader being taken by surprise, for dramatic or rhetorical effect. The author takes a well known subject or idea and presents it in such a way as to suggest that the reader views the subject or idea in a fresh way. It is about altering perception and about artifice.
And so we are back to Spin. Spin was a sort of inversion of the literary device. The idea of spin was to create alternative perceptions, based upon a strategy of manipulation. As the creator of "defamiliarisation" wrote:
"The purpose of art is to impart the sensation of things as they are perceived and not as they are known" (Viktor Shklovsky)
We are no longer taken by surprise, accordingly, when Gordon Brown "invests" rather than "spends" or Gordon is "getting on with the job" or he ends "Boom and Bust"we cannot take him seriously. If he admits anything at all, it is always couched in his own para language, which to you and me, is...lying. Gordon's is the party of "investment" and the Tories are the party of "cuts" One might say that Labour Spin is about changing perception about words, unless of course, they relate to the opposition.
And this is where we draw away from the baroque analogy; defamiliarisation is dependent upon interpretive communities - those who generally speaking, have the same perception about words and concepts. If I were to describe a woman's breasts as "Bristols" it relies upon a bit of common knowledge and a passing awareness of Cockney rhyming slang.It may have once shocked and surprised and added a certain tawdry frisson, but now, the synonym is barely registered, it is so common.
And so to my point. Today, we hear that Lord Malloch Brown has been letting slip that we do not have enough helicopters. This is not something the Labour spin machine wanted us to hear. And so they first tried to suggest that the article in the Telegraph "misrepresented", Lord Malloch Brown's words. Then, the Telegraph printed the transcript of the interview, showing, beyond doubt, that the cat was out of the bag. Then, insiders at Number Ten tried to suggest that the minister concerned was "out of the loop" and not in a position to make such statements. These phrases necessarily subvert the language in which they are couched, usually stretching the meanings of words to breaking point.
Later today, we shall discover that Labour has lost the safe seat of Norwwich North. The Spin machine has gone into overdrive, suggesting that anything less than a Tory majority of 10,000 will be a humiliating defeat for David Cameron. The BBC has suggested that unless Labour meltsdown into third place, the same spin applies. This, after losing yet another by-election under the un-elected Brown.
Really guys. It may have worked for you in 1997, but we are all older and wiser. In the iterim, stark reality has intervened. People are struggling with massive challenges in their personal lives, such as job loss and debt. The novelty of spin - its power of deception and manipulation has faded with our familiarity with it. So much so, that cynicism about politicians is now at an all time high.
We know you came to power on Spin and Lies. We know it is all YOU know. But now, after record levels of unemployment, the biggest financial meltdown in centuries, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the failure to clean up Parliament, Peter, fings aint wot they used to be. We are on to you, and it wont work anymore.
I have moved.
I have finally managed to get on top of my house move. Mercifully, this was the least stressful move in history. Very unlike the last time when I hired cowboys to move my stuff and my car broke down as I prepared to drive up to Scotland from Bristol. Moving is horrible. It reminds one of how much shite one surrounds oneself with. I mean.. did I really need yet another tea set/electric gadget/jumper/piece of furniture that never really fits anywhere?
We moved into a delightful little cottage, complete with wood stove that runs, well, everything really. Apparently the previous occupants could not get it to stay alight. This is because people, men in particular, have lost the ability to do the most fundamental bit of elemental magic...make fire. It is a piece of piss keeping a wood stove alight, but apparently this practice frightens and amazes the under-thirties. Much like my son, who joined us on holiday, and was completely confused by blankets and sheets, having never used anything but a duvet.
And we wonder why there are "dangerous cliff" signs on dangerous cliffs.
We moved into a delightful little cottage, complete with wood stove that runs, well, everything really. Apparently the previous occupants could not get it to stay alight. This is because people, men in particular, have lost the ability to do the most fundamental bit of elemental magic...make fire. It is a piece of piss keeping a wood stove alight, but apparently this practice frightens and amazes the under-thirties. Much like my son, who joined us on holiday, and was completely confused by blankets and sheets, having never used anything but a duvet.
And we wonder why there are "dangerous cliff" signs on dangerous cliffs.
immigration policies have turned the UK into a shithole
Today, Mustaf Jama has been jailed for at least 35 years for the murder of a police officer, Police Constable Sharon Beshenivsky, who was shot dead during a bungled robbery. Jama is a Somali.
Jama was 12 when he was brought to Britain with his mother and two siblings by a Kenyan people-trafficker in 1993. By 2005 he had 21 criminal convictions, including three robberies.
This is what happens when immigration from all the shitholes in the world is allowed unfettered access to the United Kingdom. We already have our own domestice crime, but in the rest of the world, life is cheap. We have already seen this demonstrated by the black on black crime that emanates from the West Indian population, especially the youth. I have personal experience of living in Brixton and Bristol, two areas with high non-white immigrant populations. They have created virtual no-go areas where crime is allowed to grow like a virus.
Since Labour gained power, this has grown exponentially. In Bristol alone, there is a Somali population of over 30, 000, the majority of whom are failed asylum seekers. I am not making this figure or the facts up - it was admitted by a Labour Minister!
It is a simple cultural fact that life in Africa and the West Indies is cheap. Gun and knife crime is endemic in many countries, and now it has been imported, with the blessing of our politicians, to this country.
You have a vote. May I suggest that you use that vote to elect a party who will do something about this travesty of our national security and pride?
Jama was 12 when he was brought to Britain with his mother and two siblings by a Kenyan people-trafficker in 1993. By 2005 he had 21 criminal convictions, including three robberies.
This is what happens when immigration from all the shitholes in the world is allowed unfettered access to the United Kingdom. We already have our own domestice crime, but in the rest of the world, life is cheap. We have already seen this demonstrated by the black on black crime that emanates from the West Indian population, especially the youth. I have personal experience of living in Brixton and Bristol, two areas with high non-white immigrant populations. They have created virtual no-go areas where crime is allowed to grow like a virus.
Since Labour gained power, this has grown exponentially. In Bristol alone, there is a Somali population of over 30, 000, the majority of whom are failed asylum seekers. I am not making this figure or the facts up - it was admitted by a Labour Minister!
It is a simple cultural fact that life in Africa and the West Indies is cheap. Gun and knife crime is endemic in many countries, and now it has been imported, with the blessing of our politicians, to this country.
You have a vote. May I suggest that you use that vote to elect a party who will do something about this travesty of our national security and pride?
Normal Service, one day
This blog will remain semi-inactive for the next few weeks, due to our moving house and there not being a landline in the new property. I am accordingly at the mercy of BT.
I have not mentioned the death of Michael Jackson. But there again, why would I?
Went to see Crosby, Stills and Nash at Edinburgh Castle. It was a bloody cold gig, and the act was more suited to a medium sized indoor venue, rather than the Tattoo rig. They were good, and they looked like and sounded like a band that had played together for forty years. I am not sure I have much more to say on that, except that Crosby and Stills had about five layers of clothing on and from where I was, all you could see was these podgy round faces peering out from woolly hats and scarves. They appeared to have difficulty playing their guitars and some of the singing was a bit raggy. I did it stone cold sober, and really should have taken a flask of whisky to keep warm. I like CSN but broadly speaking, my musical tastes are a lot harder.
I shall wait until The Sensational Alex Harvey Band (without Alex) tours again before I do another big live gig. (That is, unless my own small foray into the world of music takes off)
Has the tide turned against the BBC? Ben Bradshaw isn't exactly cosying up to them. Personally, I think it is only a matter of time before the scandal of the licence fee collapses under the weight of public disobedience.
Au Revoir
WW
I have not mentioned the death of Michael Jackson. But there again, why would I?
Went to see Crosby, Stills and Nash at Edinburgh Castle. It was a bloody cold gig, and the act was more suited to a medium sized indoor venue, rather than the Tattoo rig. They were good, and they looked like and sounded like a band that had played together for forty years. I am not sure I have much more to say on that, except that Crosby and Stills had about five layers of clothing on and from where I was, all you could see was these podgy round faces peering out from woolly hats and scarves. They appeared to have difficulty playing their guitars and some of the singing was a bit raggy. I did it stone cold sober, and really should have taken a flask of whisky to keep warm. I like CSN but broadly speaking, my musical tastes are a lot harder.
I shall wait until The Sensational Alex Harvey Band (without Alex) tours again before I do another big live gig. (That is, unless my own small foray into the world of music takes off)
Has the tide turned against the BBC? Ben Bradshaw isn't exactly cosying up to them. Personally, I think it is only a matter of time before the scandal of the licence fee collapses under the weight of public disobedience.
Au Revoir
WW
By the Way
Yes I had a nice holiday. I really did. I spent a week on the Hebridean Island of Luing, for my Summer Holiday, and for the most part the sun shone and the sea was blue. And it was very, very hot. I had no TV, no radio and very limited internet access via a very dodgy phone signal. I re-discovered giant jelly fish after foolishly attempting to bathe in the iced translucent ocean.
Usually, when I go "away", something massively newsworthy happens. I only find out about it weeks later when this terrible event gets mentioned in passing. Do tell me if I did.
GERMANIAC (music by Die Krupps)
All I can see for now is that Bernie Ecclestone has made some comments about Hitler being "organised" and that dictatorships are not all that bad. This has caused those who love to be offended to go into hyperdrive. It is a measure of society's insecurity about morality, that people cling to the last vestiges of what is held (collectively) to be definitively "evil". In other words, many things in this world are abhorrent, but people no longer agree with each other as to what these things are.
Conveniently, Hitler is clumsy synonym for a lot of bad stuff; you know, that stuff which is bad, killing Jews and stuff, which I agree is bad, but for reasons that I have spent time thinking about at great length. Hitler did not kill 6 million Jewish people. A considerable number of his fellow Germans killed them and many more stood by and nodded approvingly, or supplied the forced labour, or the manufactured the Zyklon B or just kept their heads down and refused to dissent.
Individuals cannot commit genocide, any more than individuals can decide what kind of government we should have. It requires collective will, which I find rather more scary (and evil) than the rantings of an obviously mad man.
Bernie's mistake of course, is not thinking that Hitler had his good points or that you would rather drive a BMW than a Rover 75, Bernie's mistake was believing he could say such a thing in a climate of witchhunting and paranoia, mediated by insecurity and ignorance, and this desperate desire we have to find scapegoats for our own lack of belief in basic morality.
Strange but true:
The man who invented Zyklon B, the chemical used to gas Jews, Homosexuals, Gypsies, and other unwanted humans - was a Jew. Fritz Haber was a Nobel Chemistry Prize winner who fled Germany in 1933 due to the persecution of his race.
Fleurs du mal
You can't buy a packet of Spangles, if you only have Five Pee, by Dead Flowers For Daphne.
(for those who need to have their memories jogged)
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