Sunday 30 March 2014

30.3.14 Cunt of a Selfie OR Selfie of a Cunt


I suspect I am going to be in a minority when it comes to my loathing of the "selfie", and the stupid number of photos that are now not just taken, but shared.  The lengths to which people now go in the pursuit of recognition, fame and general attention-seeking are preposterous.    Sometimes there may be a reasonable need to include yourself in something, but the vast majority of pictures are simply unnecessary, and often cringe-worthy.




There are far too many pictures of cunts, but that does not stop the onslaught of cunting photos.  What will the next craze be?




As noted in a book I recently saw, they are everywhere!

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30.3.14 Signs Of Error and Other Material


Premisses



I don't think you'll find a better example of a rather fucked up shop sign than this.  I can't believe that the owners who commissioned it are that dozy, or that the sign makers were oblivious of the howling error.  I wonder how many customers have a clue and bother to mention it to Mr or Mrs (assuming there is one) Santino.  Not enough to prompt any action, I assume.

Belfry

An expensive cardboard brochure for simply THE spa at The Belfry is amusing in respect of one of the offers, a 140-minute session for two.  The wording is in my opinion slightly misleading:

"An experience designed for those wishing to share a special moment with your partner or friend."

I would suggest that a deficiency in the use of English has arisen here, because it seems to be targeted at wife swapping/sharing.  I am not sure, as the reader, I'd want to take up an offer for someone to share a moment with my partner!

Need A Taxi?

Ordering a pint a while ago, I noticed pinned to the wall an invitation to use Paul's taxi service, via the small card which sadly read:

Paul's Taxi's

Under the simply two-word summary of the business was a phone number, though I decided that if Paul could overuse apostrophes, he might be inclined to overcharge as well.  I left with my cider.

B & Q



Toliet Accessories?  Didn't someone notice when it was being printed, or put up?


Corner Shop

This is an example of a classic mistake, displayed on a small free-standing board outside a local shop.  Items for sale included:

Ice Cream and Ice Lolly's

This is sometimes known as the Greengrocer's Apostrophe.


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30.3.14 The Art Of English - Speech


Part 1 - Speech

There are numerous ways in which twats use English in the wrong way, or try to reinvent word usage for no apparent reason.  In some cases, there is no concept of 'reason' at all, and the root cause is ignorance and/or stupidity. Pretentious people are also keen to contribute, adding pathetic twists to things that are apparently attempts to be cool, modern or simply annoying as fuck.  In no particular order, I will relay my views on various elements of the spoken word, vocabulary, usage, cuntishness [which is not yet an accepted 'word' but this is my blog and on that basis I can choose the c-word and its derivatives whenever I like] and style.

Uber - this is an excellent example of a word that's suddenly caught on, despite it not even existing in the fucking language.  In a bid to provide some sort of extra emphasis, people seem to think it's good to stick "uber" in front of another word to accentuate, increase, intensify or elevate.  What complete bollocks.  I suspect these are the same people who are tempted (and usually succumb to that temptation) to use "epicentre" in some sort of strange attempt to add extra emphasis to the word "centre" - another complete fuck-up, and abuse of the English language.

In a row - this was for a rather long time a simple and adequate way of explaining things that came one after another.  A sequence of events, or things can occur or happen in close proximity [time or distance].  Thus, in respect of trying to hit a target, "he knocked over three in a row" leaves no one in any doubt that on each of three attempts, he knocked one over.  Strange then, that in the world of sport, most notably football, pundits and TV presenters have now started to adopt a different terminology for this sort of message.  Teams no longer win three matches in a row.  Instead, they win "three on the spin" or "three on the bounce".  What the fucking fuck?  Pretentious and stupid, and the desire to try and be different, and invent some sort of weird and exclusive style for relaying bog standard fucking information is pathetic.  As for Alan Hansen wittering on about "eight games on the belt" I've no fucking idea!

Christina Perri has released a single called Human.  Sadly, though, the written word is rather different from the one she actually uses when singing.  The lyrics, unsurprisingly, include the word human quite a few times, a word that when sung by her taken on the revised sound you'd associate with 'human'. The one letter different is more annoying than should be the case for the single letter fuck-up.  At least she does not sing "Who-men" and manages to make the first syllable "Hyou".  Even so, she gets no congratulations from me for that avoidance of another fuck-up, and I think she ought to reflect carefully on why the word 'human' is spelled with no 'e' - because there's no 'e' sound in the word!

Conscious Uncoupling is the way in which Gwyneth Paltrow chose to relay the news that she and her husband had split.  A bit pretentious, eh?  Still, not quite as pathetic as Mary Nightingale on the ITV News managing to fuck up the pronunciation of 'Gwyneth', opting instead for Gwenyth.  Such an error is hardly acceptable when your employed to read the fucking news and so be able to read and speak properly!

Vince Cable managed to alert the media, ahead of a speech about immigration, that he was "intensely relaxed" about the matter.  What a prize fucking pillock.  He sat and thought about what to put across to the journalists, and decided on this 'taster' before he actually said anything at all.  We are all used to getting so-called news about what the news is going to be, but it's even more annoying when a sound-bite is engineered, especially when the words used are fucking contradictory, even oxymoronic, and almost a Googlewhack.

Prepositions are open to abuse these days, none more so than "around", which has come to replace the word "about" when pretentious people get to talk shit.  This means that no longer are there, for example: "Some issues about whether it's safe to use chainsaws".  Instead, there are: "Some issues around whether it's safe to use chainsaws".  This is simply poor, and affected - infected speech, I'd say.

Inappropriate touching - In a world where 'touching' is nearly always linked to a major scandal, use of the word, you'd think, would perhaps be minimised. Instead, we find extra use of this verb through the pathetic shit uttered by people who want to make their speeches seem more flowery, and more varied. However, the end result is either an excessive use of the phrase "touch on" or "touched on", or worse, use of the term when it is in fact wholly inappropriate. First, people like to "touch on" a subject, and then tell you fuck all about it; in essence, there was fuck all touching going on, and the provision of information was in fact more tantric!  Then there are those who refer to others who went before them; for example: "Earlier on, John touched on the difficulties with record keeping".  There are others who say they are going to "touch on" a particular subject and then spend fucking ages molesting the cunting subject! If an agenda might benefit from the inclusion of a cunting matter, then there is nothing wrong with mentioning the cunt, or covering the cunt, or talking about the cunt - but touching on the cunt is a no go!

Mispronounced Words

There are numerous words that for some reason provide challenges for those wanting to use them.  In other cases, pretentious twats decide to vary the pronunciation for no fucking good reason.

Consumer - This is NOT 'Conshoomer', nor is it 'Consoomer'.
Sneaked - 'Snuck' may well be an accepted word in North America, but it most definitely is NOT a word in English, and 'Sneaked' is correct here.
Columnist - The pretentious will decide to pronounce the 'n' just to be fucking annoying.  In English, it is allegedly optional whether to do so, despite the 'n' in 'Column' being silent.  There is simply NO NEED to sound the 'n' so why some people bother is beyond me; maybe they are just attention seekers.
Omega - The stress is most definitely on the FIRST syllable, but ever since the fucking advent of Omega 3 in food, there's been a strange persistence on the part of advertisers to promote the stuff with stress on the second syllable. This has now given rise to millions of people being under the impression that stressing the first syllable is wrong (!) and most of the cunts don't even know it's the last letter of the Greek alphabet!
Finance - Another example of twats taking over, with the proper long 'i' sound being replaced with a short 'i'; where does this fucking shit start?
Decade - Exactly in line with the 'Omega' problem, we have a never ending line of people desperate to denote 10 years through use of a term that's mispronounced, and instead of 'Decade' being said in the same way one might start the word 'Decimal' or the word 'Decibel', we are lumbered with second-syllable stress and the exact same sound as 'decayed'.
Negotiate - Perhaps the most common word most annoying mispronounced; there is 's' or soft 'c' in the middle of this word!  Pretentious twats say "negossiate".
Islamist - This is Islam with 'ist' on the end, but it seems there's no room for people retaining any stress on the middle syllable.  Conform and Conformist will best relay my view.  Clearly CON-fer-mist is just silly.
Supervisory - Simply Supervisor with an extra 'ee' sound at the end, NOT a licence to use a short 'i' in the middle!
Via - This has a long 'i' and is quite simple to say; yet, we get twats using a short 'i' and making it sound like "veer".  Get it sorted.  Via, Viaduct, Vial.
Vulnerable - There is a fucking 'l' as the third letter, and it is there so that it is not pronounced "vunrable".  The bone on your arm is an "Ulna" not an "Unna".

Words and Phrases to Avoid - These are words and terms that do the user no credit at all, because they are never said in context and/or given their proper place.  Instead, they are abused, overused, and fucking annoying.

Awesome, Chillax, Epic, Award Winning, Iconic, Bestest, National Treasure, In-Branch, Journey, Take it to the next level, Nailed It, Put in a shift, Step up to the plate, Bad day at the office, Showed character, Grit and determination, Amazing, Legend and Dope.

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30.3.14 Mother's Day





Mother's Day is a rather good film, and worth a watch.  This is the Australian remake, with Rebecca De Mornay.  I believe this would be a good antidote to the marketing shit that has forced people to spend £400million - £450million, supposedly.  I have no idea what a mother thinks of a son or daughter who has trotted off to Morrisons or Lidl or wherever, to take advantage of a tacky offer relating to flowers, chocolates or something else.

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Saturday 29 March 2014

29.3.14 TV Round-Up - Shit On The Box


I haven't commented on the television schedules for a while now, but feel it's appropriate to provide a few highlights now.  The first must be to rejoice in the departure of Mr Selfridge.  It is not the actual programme that causes the main problem, because it is easy enough to find something else to do between 9pm and 10pm on a Sunday.  The sheer agony came with the relentless touting of the programme by the cunts in charge at ITV.  In fact, beyond the last episode, there were still adverts to watch the fucker, via ITV Player. Anyway, that's died down now, so we are safe until another series looms.




Another fairly recent departure was the last in the latest woodwork lesson from Stephen Tompkinson, in DCI Banks, whose acting is more like a plank than a plank is!  Thankfully he's off screen for a while.

I was amused with last week's offering on BBC2, following the efforts of Kate Humble during the lambing season.  Here are some of the listing details for Lambing Live:

Sunday - Kate Humble and Adam Henson revisit people featured in previous series.  Yawn - or should that be "Baaaa" then?
Tuesday - Kate Humble and Adam Henson are in the Scottish Borders with the Dykes.  Bit rude, eh?  Oh, it's their name.
Wednesday - Kate humble discovers that performing ultrasounds on sheep can be a surprisingly mucky business, while Adam Henson goes in search of a rare and elusive wild sheep in Cyprus.  WTF?  Why's the BBC paying for him to go there?  We've got sheep here!
Thursday - Kate Humble meets a very different kind of sheepdog, while Adam Henson learns there is much more to grass than meets the eye.  Plus, a chance to catch up with all the lambs born today at the Dykes' farm.  Fuck me, this is exciting!
Friday - Kate Humble learns about the dedication and attention to detail it takes to raise lambs for their meat, while Adam Henson looks at the future of breeding.  Hmmm . . what's Adam going to breed with, I wonder?

Channel 5 has adopted what must be the poorest offering this morning, because a check of the schedules shows that last Saturday, at 1.30pm, it offered us the George Segal film, The Bridge at Remagen.  Imagine my surprise when I saw today's listing had, at 10.35am, the George Segal film, The Bridge at Remagen.  What a complete con!  Last Sunday it showed, at 11.00pm, A Bridge Too Far.  Following on today, at 12.55pm was A Bridge Too Far - yes indeed, a bridge too fucking many!

We are not allowed to see anything these days without being accompanied by some or other "celebrity" or "personality", because we are incapable of properly appreciating or understanding anything unless we are told about it by someone who has switched career, or is taking a sabbatical.  This means we must endure Adrian Edmondson pissing about, as well as Griff Rhys Jones. Neither is watchable.  Why do commissioning cunts think that we will be well disposed to accept someone who was once upon a time funny in a completely new role? For some strange reason there's been a decision at some fucking meeting that has rubber-stamped this approach because it was decided there's excessive goodwill to people who were funny in the past.  'Ade', as we are forced to call him now, is one of many people tootling about all over the place. Griff is at it, as is Caroline Quentin, Robson Green and Martin Clunes. Then we have the wandering efforts of Christine Bleakley, although I think there will be no further series, thankfully.  Give these jobs to people who are presenters!

Back to Channel 5, well not if I can help it, but to the listings anyway, I see there's competition in how to name programmes.  Surely the best/worst name is Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead for a programme, even if the content will be far from good television.  Others that follow the theme but with less 'punch' are - Famous, Rich & Hungry and Booze, Bust-Ups & Brothels: Soho Blues [which apparently both gets an ampersand].  On Monday this week, you will have the chance to see Conned, Fleeced and Left for Broke, which moves away from the ampersand convention.  What next?  Hands, Knees and Boomps A Daisy, probably.

The Emma Willis overload continues, and I don't just refer to the wailing, booming loudness with which we all have to contend.  Not only is she being dreadful on The Voice, she's appearing tomorrow on ITV in Catchphrase Mother's Day Special [who decides on this shit?] and over on Channel 5 at 6.10pm, she's hosting Mum of the Year 2014.  Enough is enough - or actually, any is too much.  Blimey, it's bad enough that she's on The Voice.

Incidentally, on BBC2, we are stuck with another manic Foghorn Leghorn, in the shape of Zoe Ball, who manages to outdo Emma Willis for decibels and manic verbal onslaught.  The programme is so fucking aptly named that in this single respect, congratulations are due to the BBC.  I refer to The Voice: Louder on Two [which it certainly is, as explained].

On ITV at 11.10pm on Tuesday, Trevor McDonald is back inside Death Row [the inspiringly named programme that's being repeated is Inside Death Row with Trevor McDonald] but the real shame is that they keep letting the fucking bloke out!

On ITV at 2.00pm on Tuesday, the awfully named offering Auf Wiedersehen My Pet features someone called Chiara who is looking to re-home her two guinea pigs as she no longer has the space to keep them. [WTF?]  Any fucking programme that eats up an hour of life while depending on the witheringly shitty basis of finding two guinea-pig sized spaces in the home of someone other than the present owner is tragic!




The BBC serves up more fucking food.  Mary Berry Cooks [as if we didn't fucking know!] is ploughing on, and is joined now by yet another helping of Masterchef.  I am full up, and in fact as 'bloated' as the BBC on food programmes.

As if to give credence to my earlier moaning about presenters, Martin Clunes has been despatched to Africa to tell us about lions in a programme due to be shown on Friday at 9.00pm on ITV.  I suspect it might be rather more bearable than Ade at Sea on Thursday at 8.30pm - again on ITV.  Not too sure why this channel is keep to promote these non-presenters in presenting roles.  Still, I am just as clueless about ITV News policy.

Apparently some cunt in charge decided that my potentially pressing need for a conservatory warranted the break in the early evening news the other day. Yes, I had to endure the interruption to the news so that for 30 seconds I could be forced to listen to how Pennine Conservatories can give me a 'home appointment' to discuss a conservatory or orangery.  How the fuck is one advert for this shit a basis for cutting the fucking news in half?  The only benefit that I can summon up is 30 seconds relief from the smug grin of Alistair Stewart, who must surely be the owner of the creepiest face on television.

Kirstie's Best of Both Worlds - no she's fucking not.  Both in this life and the afterlife, I've no need of input from Kirstie Allsop on Channel 4.

If you're really desperate to kill an hour and learn nothing at all, try ITV tomorrow at 11.10am.  River Monsters offers us "an investigation into the Loch Ness Monster."

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Friday 28 March 2014

28.3.14 News In Pictures - Outside of Dudley Zoo


Barbara Knox



To most people she's 'Rita' from Coronation Street.  She's been arrested on suspicion of drink driving, and the 80-year-old may thus have exceeded the limit of 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.  The greater possible crime, though, must surely be the attire, as it suggests she's auditioning for a role in the forces.

Obama



The more threatening of the two Obamas has had more than her fair share of attention in recent days, what with the visit to China.  I am struggling to see how she gets to do so much and be listened to so much when she has never been elected.


Cable Car



Not a 'cable car' in the conventional sense, but a car that could serve Vince Cable as a Motability contraption, especially as it's in his team colour.  The doddery old buffoon really out to get out less, so maybe we should deny him use of the vehicle.


What a Tit



Indeed "What a tit", but we nevertheless like him a lot, and X-Factor would not be the same without him.  As for Sinitta, we could all do with a lot less of her - less exposure all round, not just the bazooka.  One of life's "hangers on".


Blatter



There's nothing that needs to be said about Sepp Blatter, as I think there can be very few people alive who don't have an accurate opinion of this despicable arse.


Murray - Mint!



I couldn't resist another showing of this spitting image.


Caveman



Sometimes you see a picture and wonder how someone ever came to be admired and so well rewarded, outside of Dudley Zoo.


Fancy Dress



Sometimes you see a picture and wonder how someone ever came to be admired and so well rewarded, outside of Dudley Zoo.


Blair



Deja Vu - Sometimes you see a picture and wonder how someone ever came to be admired and so well rewarded, outside of Dudley Zoo.


Ashton



Catherine Ashton is an overpaid whilst ineffective career politician who is simply dispensable, and yet again I find the same thought crossing my mind: sometimes you see a picture and wonder how someone ever came to be admired and so well rewarded, outside of Dudley Zoo.


Blair Witch Project



The Blair Witch has taken lessons and watched a lot of Ray Winstone films in recent years.


Pothole



The state of Britain's roads has hit an all time low, with thousands of potholes causing massive inconvenience.  Claims for personal injuries sustained after accidents and claims for damage to vehicles have hot record levels.  The council in the above case decided to "investigate" a pothole, which involved digging around it for some reason.  The enlarged feature is now massive and the council cannot afford to fix the road.  Twats.


Courtney Stodden



This must qualify (at a stretch) as the most desperate use of a rubber balloon ever.


Mavis Riley Returns



Playing the part of a burglar, Les bears a striking resemblance to Mavis!


Moyes



Wrecking just about everything, Moyes is having a tough time, with no help from any of his players.


Blair Preaches



Blair likes to think he's superior, but yet again I find myself dealing with the recurring thought: sometimes you see a picture and wonder how someone ever came to be admired and so well rewarded, outside of Dudley Zoo.


Krankies



I see that the voting will include those who are 16 and 17, for the single reason that they are thought more likely to vote for independence.  If there were the slightest chance that the extra input would increase the 'no' vote, then Salmond would of course have stuck with the well established precedent that one has to be 18 to vote.  Slimy prick.

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28.3.14 Stony Faced Warrior


It seems there's a "to do" over comments between Yoko Ono and Judy Murray. I have never been a fan of Yoko, but then there's been little that endears me to the 'Braveheart' woman.




Her rather pompous comments don't properly reflect her profile, so I've helped out by providing a decent view of the granite-faced person for your delight - or not.

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Wednesday 26 March 2014

26.3.14 Felled By Fellaini


Not for the first time I find myself wondering how on earth Marouane Fellaini has escaped proper punishment.  At Everton, he was most commonly thuggish during his appearances, and was permanently at the top of the 'Dirtiest Player' table, vying with Grant Holt for the top spot.  Since the move to Man Utd (for the ludicrous fee of £27.5million) he has not played often enough to keep at the top of the dirty play league table.




He certainly has excellent use of his arms, even if his legs are fucking useless most of the time.  This was demonstrated through his elbow in the game with Manchester City.  The pictorial view above can show this far better than any words from me.

The referee managed to show him the yellow card rather than a straight red card, which demonstrates more of a fuck-up by the referee than the offensiveness of Fellaini.  He wasn't finished there (Fellaini, not the referee, who provided no further sanctions) because he later managed a fowl that was deserving of another yellow card, and thus a sending off.  But he escaped and so I thought it appropriate to show Michael Oliver how he might better referee in the future, and how easy it is to withdraw the right colour card from his pocket.




I hope this helps, ref - it's quite easy, and I'd suggest that with Fellaini around, you might ensure you can draw it quickly in the future, without fumbling.

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26.3.14 We've Consciously Uncoupled


If ever there was a statement to display how weird an individual is, it's the rubbish meted out by Gwyneth Paltrow on her Goop website.  This woman is away with the fairies in so many ways, and has no sense of reality, judging by her various outputs, be they postings online, statements to the press, or hints on how to live a better life.

The 'so perfect' (and therefore qualified and entitled to pontificate) woman has for ages tried to suggest a superiority, and the aloofness has been taken to stupid levels.  Now we learn that there's something slightly less than perfect about Gwyneth, and I cannot say I'm the least surprised.

I've no idea what she's been up to with other blokes, and my desire to learn a single detail on the subject is non existent.  However, I am sure the media will waste lots of time and effort raking over various aspects of a spoiled relationship, and present us all with details we could well do without.  The 'Conscious Uncoupling' referred to by Gwyneth on her website is a weird expression that I thought could only be linked [pun intended] with trains and rolling stock.




Once upon a time she seemed quite a reasonable person, probably back in the Sliding Doors days.  These days, her strange existence and website hints suggest a rather more odd outlook and detachment from real life.  I think her 'guru' style will go down less well in light of her own troubles.

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Tuesday 25 March 2014

25.3.14 America's Worst Export?


Arguably there is little that's more obscene than crassness, and the setting of a poor example.  I suggest that the Obamas have managed to tick both boxes.




The alleged 'cultural' visit by Michelle, her sour-faced mum and the two kids, is a display in ostentatious excess, with what is little more than a holiday at US taxpayers' expense - and some expense. The various headlines include the $8,400 per night cost of staying over at some-or-other hotel, and a similar cost associated with another stay at a different hotel.  Whatever the costs of that, though, they are dwarfed by the massive amount that's spent on security and the flights and the whole fucking shebang.

I would say that the worst export the USA could have forced upon China was the Obama women, as I fail to see what possible benefit could be derived from any party through the freebie pissing about that so many are photographing and filming.  Sure, for the four travellers, there's a jaunt that costs them nothing, and people are pandering [reference to pandas intended] to them.  For everyone else, though, it's a headache and pointless.  How there could be any argument that Michelle's gallumphing around has a benefit to USA-China relations is beyond me.  A 'person-to-person' soft diplomatic tour is a laughable description of the visit!

It seems completely mad that a family can have such a holiday when the world is perhaps on the verge of a further crisis regarding the relationship with Russia.

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Sunday 23 March 2014

23.3.14 Church of England - Business Sense


Just under 800,000 go to church on a Sunday, and there are, according to the Church of England official website, more than 16,000 churches.  This means that each one caters for 49 people, on average.  This is hardly a decent turnout, and I would say provides a very good level of justification for some consolidation.  If only there were this many Post Offices for the rather more numerous visitors that would call.




With such small numbers, it would be reasonable as a first step to 'decommission' a quarter of them.  The 4000 redundant churches would leave the 795,000 church-goers to fight for places at 12,000 establishments.  They would not have to fight too hard, as the average capacity would have to be just 66 people - more than enough pew space, I'd say!

The closure of 4000 churches would of course save an awful lot of money. Any business with just 49 visitors on the busiest day would not last long, especially as the average spend level is about £3 into a collection plate.  The money raised on a Sunday, on average, therefore pays for no more than the day's outgoings.  That's the best possible assessment I can give, meaning that at best, the rest of the week is not paying its way.  Yes, there are funerals, marriages and christenings - things that are indeed money spinners for the parishes.  How sad that 'Ash Cash' is the thing that some parish clergy probably look forward to.  The outlook is probably similar to that of news reporters who actually love a tragedy and/or death, because a major loss of life gives them their moments of glory and attention.

The website also claims that 46% of the population thinks that central taxation, local taxation, the National Lottery or English Heritage should be primarily responsible for providing money to maintain churches and chapels.  That's fucking outrageous.  With a church on Sunday holding (and don't forget, that's probably over rather more than just ONE service) just 49 people, how the fuck can the CofE pontificate [pun and any offence taken is intended] and expect locals to want and pay for religion if they are not interested?  Whatever the questions were in the survey that collected this shit, they were skewed.

About £110million is spent per year to maintain their churches, although the required figure is estimated at £195million - again based on notes on the website.  If this figure is slightly out of date, and we take a reasonable assessment that £160million per year is about right, then that is £10,000 per church, just for maintenance.  So, closing 4,000 (as a start) would improve efficiency, while saving £40million per year.  Then there's the benefit of not needing so many staff to ponce around, and the sell-off of property that would bring in a fucking fortune.  This all makes complete sense.  The 12,000 remaining churches would be better attended (slightly) and there would be loads of money in the kitty for maintenance after cost reductions and the property windfall.  As it is, the property portfolio is allegedly around £800million, so all in all, there's no justification for the Church of England to bleat about poverty, or contribute to stupid financial arrangements.

QED / Amen

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23.3.14 Ferguson - Alpine Recipe For Weight Loss


It is amazing to learn the secrets of how Sarah Ferguson lost so much weight. Not that I am the least bit interested of course - why on earth would fucking weight loss constitute news?  Well, in this case, a woman with plenty of weight to lose actually losing some if it is newsworthy in one respect.  NOT because the woman concerned is the rather useless and pointless Sarah Ferguson, but because of the method by which she's allegedly lost 3 stone.




It is claimed, by the way, in some quarters that she's been transformed from "frump to magazine cover girl", a claim that defies all standards in any weights and measures system.  At fifty-fucking-four, she's no girl.  As for "cover", yes, being covered would be an improvement, generally.

Losing 3 stone in eight weeks is simply ebb and flow in fat-fucker terms.  If I choose NOT to get 3 stone fatter, and then not have to lose it, will I get applauded?  I think not.  Anyway, she's managed it and so let's have a look in more detail at just how this feat of human endeavour was achieved.  My first thought was that Weight Watchers had finally paid off.  She was the face of the company for a while, and surely she had to knuckle down and get with the regime?  No.  Instead, we learn of some rather pathetic means, and the various advantages she had in managing to do so well.

Let's see if the recipe of her own successful approach is one that can be passed on and made available to the thousands who struggle daily to stop getting fatter.

1 - Find yourself a luxury chalet for 8 weeks, preferably in a fancy resort such as Verbier, the Swiss location Fergie opted for.
2 - Make sure you employ a private chef, and a fantastic one at that.
3 - Employ a personal trainer.
4 - Partake in walking in healthy, scenic surroundings; the Alps would be a good choice.
5 - Benefit from regular deep tissue massage.
6 - Enjoy proper rest and relaxation.

Having access to Venison for breakfast and a whole host (well, perhaps half considering the diet) of fancy foods will not be possible for most, nor the time to adopt such a focused approach to getting rid of some fat.  All this would be irrelevant to us, and be her private business but for the fact that she's publicised the whole escapade - in Hello, of course.  She is proud of her new look and so pleased with herself that it demands she gets public appreciation. Yawn.  Fat people losing weight, gaining weight - this is not 'news' and not of concern to the public.  As for flaunting the results and being pleased as punch, fuck off with that.  It's almost as bad as the vastly overpaid footballer who happens to be standing in the right place to be hit by the ball, which then, through sheer good fortune, takes the luckiest deflection possible and goes into the goal, and who then proceeds to celebrate as though he actually had any hand (well any part other than a hand, actually) in the fucking scoring of the cunting goal!  Where's the humility?  Where's the acceptance that it wasn't all down to you?  Good fortune is not willingly acknowledged.  Just because you name's on the score sheet, it doesn't mean you are deserving of all the attention, whether you're a premiership footballer or a rather pampered bit-part ex-royal sideshow.

...

Saturday 22 March 2014

22.3.14 The Voice - Quarter-Final Part 2


The Results

"Make some noise for our quarter-finalists".  No chance - they made enough fucking noise of their own!  The communal wailing to start the half-hour show was unnecessary.

Jason Derulo appeared as padding next, taking up a few minutes of my life that I will never get back - is there a form I can fill in to get some sort of compensation?  This complete BOLLOCKS was embarrassingly pathetic, cuntish, useless, self-indulgent, ear-achingly dire, disgraceful, offensive, despicable, pretentious, cuntish PISS.  That's my abbreviated, U-Rated objective opinion.




Will's Team
Sophie-May v Iesher
Fucking travesty - Sophie-May got through and Iesher was cast aside.  The real problem here was Will's 'wankerishness' through his selection of Jermain instead of Iesher.

Kylie's Team
Lee v Rachael
Lee got the vote, which was probably the correct choice, to join Jamie.

One Republic provided more padding for this marathon show.  At least I could listen to this without having suicidal thoughts, unlike the feelings generated by the dollop of Derulo.

Marvin spoke to the four coaches and provided more duff padding.  "I've never felt so alive," said Ricky.  Well, considering you're seemingly borderline comatose, that's surprising!

Tom's Team
Bizzi v Georgia
Neither deserved a place, considering the exit of Iesher, and even Rachael. Sally was already through, and she was joined by Bizzi.  Praise the Lord. Amen.

Ricky's Team
Emily v Chris
The winner was Chris, to join Christina-Marie in the semi-final.

Marvin: "That's not the last we'll see of the acts; they'll be back next week with Zoe Ball."  Yes, The Voice Louder is on BBC2 during the week, so that the BBC can milk the fuck out of the competition, and give a last sight of the losing acts.

...

22.3.14 The Voice - Quarter Finalists


The 'Lives' as they've been referred to all last weekend are now underway, and both Emma Willis and Will.i.am wasted no time in labouring the point - 'we are live'.  This was all after some excessive whooping by Emma who had obviously taken something before the show.




Will's Team



Jermain is nauseating, because everything is amazing and he is so privileged etc etc.  The VT allowed us to see his relentless links to politics and ambitions. I wish he'd fuck off and become an MP as this seems to be his obsession, aside from the protestations that music is his first love.  As for his singing, it was nothing special at all, just an exercise in making various sounds and smiling like an idiot.  Seeing him on BBC Radio and having Ed Miliband next to him and shaking hands was the kiss of death for Jermain, and his chances in both music and politics.  As for Ed, his chances of being PM fucked off ages ago.  On reflection, Jermain's actually got better odds of being PM than Ed.

Sophie-May is of course stylish and has talent.  I do think that people need to be so careful with the 'forced' tampering and warbling.  The song was a bit messy, but she's certainly got a good voice.  Emma held the microphone and spoke so noisily that it was clear that no microphone was necessary.  I suspect that Emma's been taking lessons from Tess "Foghorn Leghorn" Daly. Emma asked Tom "How do you make a song like that your own?" and Mrs MWSC wailed in agony as she walked past, en route to the kitchen  What a shit question from a shit presenter.

Iesher arrived and the VT was preoccupied with the 'confidence' aspect.  Her performance rather suggested no confidence issues at all!  A pop song that was sung in a rather straightforward way.  She had a quick go again of a couple of lines, and looked rather better than the other yellow dress-wearer [that would be Wailing Willis].

Will was allowed to give a pass to one of the three, for an automatic place in the semi-finals.  We learned that making the decision was "hard", but I'm not sure if that's higher or lower than "tough".  The audience shouted, then it all went quiet.  "Everyone was mega-dope super-fresh."  Thanks, Will.  The word "amazing" was used for the 84th time so far.  Why the fuck he chose Jermain I've no idea.  "He's a bit dated, isn't he?" said Mrs MWSC and I agreed that carbon would be necessary to get an accurate reading!

Willis told us all the details about voting to choose between Sophie and Iesher in the public vote.  Willis shuffled them off with a "Go and see Marv."  Sorry, luv, but "Marv" is simply not acceptable.

Mrs MWSC pipes up with: "Tom Jones is like an undertaker".  How could I not agree 100%.


Kylie's Team

Jamie was up first with A Thousand Miles.  The voice was too wimpy and high until he got to the shouting and wailing bit, when it was just not right.  Mrs MWSC helped me out with "wispy" as the correct adjective for his voice on the non-wailing bits.  Vanessa Carlton's song was ruined.  "I could polish it; I could buff it," said Kylie to Jamie and I realised she was talking about his car, not anything else.  Tom said that Jamie reminded him of himself, a bit.  The egotistical undertaker then went on to use his stock descriptor - "powerful". Willis annoyed with her presence until she introduced the next act and we moved on.

Lee helped us Make It Through the Night rather well, by simply standing still and singing the song well, and quite distinctively.  Good voice control!  Wailing Willis told us it was beautiful, and then suggested to Ricky that he's "stripped it back" - what a cunt of an overused term.  Will thought it was "enchanting", although Willing kept on about "haunting".

Rachael was pretty good as well, better than during last weekend's effort.  I got bored with listening for a few minutes, so that's all I've got to say.

Kylie was prompted by Willis, and opted to take Jamie into the semi-finals. What a shock, because he was shit.

"Marv's waiting for you in the green room," wailed Emma, and the Jamie shuffled off for a meaningless exchange, which was mercifully short.  Sadly he then had a pointless word with Lee and Rachael.


Tom's Team



The excruciating shite that preceded Tom's pontificating was all linked to the Tom Appreciation and Sucking His Nob palaver.  Yawn.

Bizzi was up first.  All I could think about was "Get busy with the fizzy, that's Sodastream" as the jingle used to go.  He sang with too much breath and pissing about with intonation.  Not my cup of tea, or fizzy drink!  So NOT entertaining.  There was the requisite element of wailing, and I thought Emma Willis had taken over for a few lines.  Her next actual input was fucking disgracefully awful -
Willis: "How do you turn a singer into a soul singer?  Can you even do that?"
Tom: "He's already a gospel singer, soul singer."

Sally has a pure voice and sang a simple slow song that suited her voice. Similar to Eva Cassidy, in style.  She was excellent and got excellent comments.

Georgia aka Adele's cousin who has only met Adele once when she was a kid and who hasn't spoken to her since.  It started off with a shit note, and crawled along being not-quite-right, with a bit of wailing, and dodgy vocals.  Very weak, and noisy; at the end I wanted to kick her in the fanny!  "That was wonderful," wailed Willis, in a way that would have made the other Willis wince (- you have to be a certain age to know what I mean).  Will told us she was "pitchy" but I rather get the sense of "bitchy" being more appropriate.

Tom was required to choose one for a fast route to the semi-final.  "Tonight the three of you did fantastic."  [Use a fucking adverb, Tom!]
Tom: "Now?"
Willis: "When you're ready, Tom.  I'll get your Horlicks in a minute."
[I made up the last seven words, but the old git does need a carer.]
He picked Sally, as if there was ever any doubt - thank God.  Bizzi and Georgia waddled over to Marvin and he prompted the vote pleas from each one. Marvin is simply POINTLESS.


Ricky



You think it's all over, and then, mind-numbingly, there's still Ricky to go.  I really didn't want to endure someone almost as bland as Marvin.

Chris was able to sing a song (a strange choice) pretty well.  Tom managed: "I think he did wonderful," and managed to swerve yet another fucking adverb.

Emily sang a diabolical song - Happy.  Fucking SHIT, and her pitch was enough to evict tinnitus from the world and replace it with something worse. When it finished, my ears lapped up the silence - well, for a seconds, until Willis wailed.  Tom Jones said everyone had been great, and I considered he should be in a wing-backed chair in a nursing home, not in a red chair on BBC1.  Can some cunt give him some Horlicks.

Christina Marie was last to perform.  The song choice was weird, and I wondered if she's been listening to Elaine Paige a bit too much.  Then it moved on to some warbling and wailing, and a couple of shouts.  What a shame that someone who's got a good voice decides to try too hard to make a noise.  She probably deserves to get somewhere, but this song was borderline to me, and not actually the best to demonstrate her talent.  "Tremendous, really tremendous."  Thanks, Tom.

Ricky was asked to make a decision, after a burst of Ruby, Ruby, Ruby.  His choice to go through was Christine Marie, and she trembled over to Marvin, so that he could talk shit.  He asked how she managed that, listened for 10 seconds and then handed back to Wailing Willis.  Marvin, I have a bent paperclip on my desk that's got more talent than you, and is in better shape to present a programme on BBC1.  The other two went over to him afterwards, and he told us that Ed Balls had tweeted.  WTF?  Keep politics out of The Voice - take note, Jermain.

I decided that I would not be spending 15p on a vote, despite Emma Willis entreating me to do so, and providing a round-up.  Iesher and Lee would in theory get a vote from me.  Georgia was bad enough for Bizzi to get a nod, and the choice between Emily and Chris is too close to call.

After two hours of this (without advert breaks) we have a further half hour for the Results, shortly.  Crikey!

...

22.3.14 Comic Strip Presents





The ubiquitous Kelly Brook has had her picture taken some more, which is of course NOT news.  As ever, her 'media presence' forms a comic strip which is of insignificant value or interest - just the occasional mild amusement.  This time, though, we are presented with some accompanying information that someone mistakenly thought I'd be interested in; she's engaged.  This is the same bloke from whom she has already managed to 'split' during their lengthy 11-week relationship.  Still, they're back together and managing to displace from newspapers everywhere many things far more important and actually newsworthy.

With apathy I read the accompanying drivel, and found myself chuckling here and there.

"According to The Sun, the 34-year-old was left dumbstruck by his proposal but took just three seconds to agree."

I have always had my doubts about the three-second rule, and I reckon she should have left him there.  As for "dumbstruck", well . . . . !  More amusement was provided by a 'friend', who told The Sun:

"It's still a closely guarded secret and came to Kelly as a massive shock."

Some friend, some secret, and not much of a shock really.  The pot-kettle-black element of the story comes from the rather hypocritical view taken by KB when she split from David McIntosh over his being "fame hungry".  What a nerve - her, not him.  I think that self-promotion is in Kelly's DNA, and I can think of few others who court attention from anyone with a Canon to a Box Brownie.  Anyway, back to the friend again:

"Kelly is at that time of her life now where she wants to make a commitment and she has fallen head over heels for David."

I think this is the same sort of commitment that's been made previously, with engagements to Jason Statham and Billy Zane.  The saga with Danny Cirpriani was simply long and very painful for all concerned - mostly us poor readers. The Mirror describes her new bloke as the "father-of-one muscleman" and this suggests (to me at any rate) he's perhaps not the best qualified chap I've ever come across.

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Friday 21 March 2014

21.3.14 Green Is The New Red




For as long as anyone can remember, there have been (for very good reasons) connotations with the use of red, amber/yellow and green.  Red is a colour that can be associated with 'danger', and so is adopted for many warning signs, and is also linked with 'hot', 'stop', wrong, and a general highlighting of a problem. Green, on the other hand, is linked with 'go', 'good', 'all clear', 'pass', and has a general 'no problem' association.  This very simple arrangement serves us all rather well, most obviously when we approach traffic lights, but in other areas as well.  When I see a red flag, I know I ought not to swim.  If I get a bill that's red, I pay it rather quickly.

I have heard a long long time ago the view that green ink is considered kinder to those having their work marked, especially in school, but there is a severe danger that this will simply lessen the message that is passed on to those whose work is below standard.

Teachers at a school in Penzance have been told not to use red ink when marking work, because red is a 'negative' colour.  Instead, they are expected to use green ink, with the pupils making any comments in purple.  Now, as colour schemes go, I can't really say I endorse any use of purple ink when blue and black have always been used for the writing and red has always been the colour used for corrections and marking.  In Penzance (and probably in many other areas of the country as well) there are pupils who are confused.

The headteacher has come out with the rather wet rambling of:

"Students make more progress if it is a dialogue and the new system is designed to help that."

How wonderful, that there can be a multi-coloured dialogue for pupils to engage in.  She goes on:

"A lot of primary schools are already using a similar system amazingly well and I think it was felt that red ink was a very negative colour."

I am struggling with Ms Davey's use of tenses, because if red was a negative colour, then surely it still is?  Anyway, the sentence construction is fucked, because "red ink" is not a colour; "red" is a colour, and "ink" is a liquid that can be any one of various colours, one option being red.  Thus, I think the better construction would have been and one of:

. . . it was felt that red is a very negative colour
. . . it was felt that the use of red ink is very negative
. . . it was felt that red ink has very negative connotations
. . . it was felt-tipped pens that signalled the end of school standards

Sorry, I made the last one up on the spur of the moment.  What is without dispute is that green is associated with 'good' and 'positive', so using it instead of red to highlight something that is incorrect and negative is hardly helpful. Would any twat ever design signs at a level crossing as follows?


  STOP                GO  


I think not.  Fortunately we have Professor Michael Reiss from the Univerity of London's Institute of Education to help us all out, with the wonderful confirmation that:

"If schools start using green ink to criticise students' work, green may become the new red."

Thanks, prof. - that's so helpful.

...

21.3.14 Justice-Free Zone - The UK


Just when you think there's nothing left to surprise you about the complete fucking absence of justice, there's yet another case.  The latest example of how this is now a cunt of a country comes with the case of a 42-year-old chap, Scott Taylor, who was punched by a bouncer.




Scott was left disabled and is now in need of permanent care.  Neil Hotchkiss, the 33-year-old bouncer admitted grievous bodily harm - as if there could be any fucking doubt on that score, considering Scott was on a life support machine.  He's now totally dependent on a full time carer, is in a wheelchair and has a caved-in skull.  Meanwhile the bouncer gets a sentence of 16 months!

The Sentencing Recorder said: "As far as the Taylor family are [sic] concerned, any sentence I pass on you will be grievously inadequate for the very serious injuries suffered by Mr Taylor."

You're not wrong there, Mr Adrian Jack, but you really went for it with the fucking inadequacy!  16 months is outrageous, not least because he will serve 6-8 months.  If it was doubled, it would have been lenient as fuck!

...

Thursday 20 March 2014

20.3.14 Sexercize Is Musically Awful




As lyrics go, the ones for Kylie's single "Sexercize" are pretty dire.  Aside from the annoying use of a 'z' instead of an 's' in the name, it's basically a load of shit, but provides her with an excuse to writhe around and produce a video that will attract attention.  I am not complaining, specifically, but simply highlighting that I have not missed the irony.  She is a judge on The Voice, which of course maintains that it is the voice that counts, not other factors, yet Kylie's audio output is simply very weak, and well behind the video output.  Here are the lyrics:

Flex it real tight
Keep on moving so nice
Move it for me tonight
Let me see you sexercize
It’s not just your body
Gotta keep it up with me
My mind is slammin’ see
Let me see you sexercize
I wanna see you beat all your best times
And if you’re lucky imma teach a class that’ll turn you blind
Sexercize
Come on baby
(Bounce bounce)
Sexercize
Feel the burn
(Ride it out)
Sexercize
Let me see you take it down to the ground
Let me see you pick it up
Let me see you bounce bounce bounce bounce
Let me see you Sexercize
Come on baby
(Bounce bounce)
Sexercize
Feel the burn
(Ride it out)
Sexercize
Let me see you take it down to the ground
Let me see you pick it up
Let me see you bounce bounce bounce bounce
Let me see you
Stretch it out baby
Yeah take your time now
I’m burning patiently
Let me see you sexercize
I’ll make you wait for more
Make you ache to the core
Tomorrow you’ll be sore
Let me see you sexercize
I wanna see you beat all your best times
And if you’re lucky imma teach a class that’ll turn you blind
Get it get it sexercize
Put your hands in the sky if you’re feelin’ alright
Get it get it sexercize
(Don’t quit don’t quit)
If you wanna stay tight
Get it get it sexercize sexercize sexercize
Get it get it sexercize sexercize sexercize
Get it get it sexercize
Put your hands in the sky if you’re feelin’ alright
Get it get it sexercize
(Don’t quit don’t quit)
If you wanna stay tight
Get it get it sexercize sexercize sexercize
Get it get it sexercize sexercize sexercize

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