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Friday 31st October
It's Halloween again and one of my favourite 'holidays' is fast becoming something to dread. When I was younger it was all about apple bobbing, pumpkin carving and scary costumes but, now that trick-or-treating has become popular with older kids, it seems that demanding money with no effort made at a costume (and throwing eggs on the house of anyone who refuses) is the done thing. I saw a link to a story on BBCi about parents who think that Halloween is actually dangerous fun and so I assumed that it was going to be about the same problem. How wrong I was. It was an article about how there should be an alternative celebration that isn't dark and doesn't encourage children to dabble in the occult. If it wasn't for Christians fearing the pagan festival of Samhain many years ago and declaring it a night of evil, there probably wouldn't be the popular celebrations of Halloween that we see today. So now, instead of a minority of people whose beliefs centre around the earth and nature celebrating a festival peacefully, we have a full-blown Hallmark holiday complete with Christian backlash. Why can't we all just go out and have a bit of fun without being forced to buy stuff we don't need from overcrowded shops whilst simultaneously promising that we won't sneak off and start worshipping Satan?
Posted on October 31, 2003 | Comments (3)
Wednesday 29th October
What an interesting day I've had. First of all I discover in this week's Auto Express that someone has "invented a highway that can be unrolled from the back of a lorry like a carpet and folded back up again when no longer needed". Next I make my first every trip to a Big W store and find that it is a bit of a pikey magnet (not meant in the 'traditional' sense of the word, you understand). Then I find out that the Tory party think IDS is as dull as the rest of us do. And finally I was surprised to see that the last episode of series three of Teachers was directed by Andrew Lincoln and also featured no fewer than three tracks by The Darkness. But surely nothing can beat this little guy for 'story of the day'. Aww!
Posted on October 29, 2003 | Comments (3)
Tuesday 28th October
I've been thinking a lot about being childfree lately, partly fuelled by two articles on the subject the weekend before last, but I won't bore you with it now because (a) I'm a bit too slow off the mark, and (b) it's already been discussed in great detail on Green Fairy's site. However, one of the reasons for having kids is so that a part of you lives on after your death but I've found one guy who's come up with an altogether more ingenious way of doing this. Jonathon Keats is selling the rights to his brain and thoughts after he dies, depending on technology becoming available soon that will keep his brain alive and be able to extract the thoughts. It's an interesting idea but, at the risk of sounding clichéd, is it art?
Posted on October 28, 2003 | Comments (3)
Thursday 23rd October
Yesterday afternoon we heard a very loud roaring and one of my colleagues leapt out of his chair and over to the window. "It's Concorde!", he excitedly declared. I was suspicious for a second, as he can be a bit of a wind up merchant, but decided to look sky-wards anyway and there it was. No other aircraft has such a distinctive silhouette, or speed for that matter, so before we knew it the legend was gone. It's hard to believe that something so advanced was so old and that I'll now never get a chance to fly on it. Not that I could have afforded to.
I have written a couple of articles for other sites recently (links will be added to my writing page soon), and have seen some films that are virtually demanding reviewing (Kill Bill and Finding Nemo), but will have to take a break from that sort of writing next month as something bigger is looming. Last week I discovered NaNoWriMo and have decided to enter, so any spare time in November will be spent writing a novel. Probably the worst novel in the world, but they reckon it's quantity that counts and no one has to read it if I don't want them to. I'm hoping it might be reasonable enough to share with you nice people but, if not, I can always market it as a cure for insomnia.
Posted on October 23, 2003 | Comments (10)
Wednesday 22nd October
After writing an article about them in April, I hoped that I'd never again experience the incompetence of British Gas. How wrong I was. Since the house move debacle we've been steadily paying every bill they sent us, only now it transpires that I didn't notice none of those bills were for electricity. The idiots changed the meter in our house over from a pre-payment to the standard billing type over a year ago and on Saturday we received a letter to say that the (non existent) pre-payment didn't appear to be working as they'd had no money from us. You'd think they'd be keen to sort this out too and get some cash for what they've somehow provided, but when Topper phoned up he just got the usual clueless monkeys on the end of the line and the promise of a call back that never happened. So, if I go quiet all of a sudden it will be their fault as I can only currently update my site from one pc which (oddly enough) needs electricity to function. OK, so being cut off is a worst case scenario, but I think I should prepare myself for that when British Gas are involved.
Posted on October 22, 2003 | Comments (8)
Monday 20th October
At the end of last month The Guardian ran a piece about 50 Women to Watch. I thought it looked interesting but didn't have time to read the whole thing so that copy of G2 was stashed in the 'to be read' pile. When I did come to read it over the weekend, I spotted a name I recognised - Catherine Redfern, editor and founder of The F-Word. I was impressed that the paper has obviously been reading her site, and was pleased to be able to find out some of Catherine's plans for the future. Fingers crossed for the printed magazine idea, and not just because I'd like to see an article of mine available from a newsagent someday - honest!
Posted on October 20, 2003 | Comments (2)
Sunday 19th October
The Guardian ran a Best British Blog competition last year and it really got me in to the idea of keeping a weblog. After reading some of the winning and runner-up blogs, and visiting chums from their blogrolls, I decided to turn my site into something better and have a crack at writing things that people might actually want to read. I think the competition helped a lot of people like me to find new places to go on the web where we can read interesting stories, well-voiced opinions and comments on all sorts of topics. Not everyone thought the competition was such a great idea though, and the debate raged for quite a while before Scary Duck deservedly won the crown. This year The Guardian has actually listened to the comments and criticisms levelled at the idea in 2002 and has taken a few on board - now it is the British Blog Awards (no overall winner), and categories have been introduced. However, as could perhaps have been predicted, the bitching continues. I won't be entering the competition myself, but not because I think the idea is flawed. If you don't like it, just don't enter.
Posted on October 19, 2003 | Comments (7)
Friday 17th October
The mini-blogmeet went rather well, I thought. It was a shame that Jane and Adrian couldn't make it but Fab Cafe was indeed fab, as were Sarah and Lyle (and Chris, but then I already knew that). Topper tagged along for the ride and we didn't tease him too much about not having a blog, although it did lead to a rather amusing conversation about Live Journal. (The delightful Jude was mentioned at this point and so she'd better post some bloody funny stuff now I've told people she's great and posted a link - no pressure!) Unfortunately I'm not one of those bloggers who can remember everything, word for word, and so my report on the evening will have to be short. Suffice to say that at one point Lyle uncharacteristically uttered the words "pardon me" and we all managed to create some sort of cuddly moose porn show on the table. Photos will follow...
Posted on October 17, 2003 | Comments (12)
Thursday 16th October
There was one support band who looked and sounded how Busted would if they decided to go a bit more rocky. Then another who proceeded to make the most noise possible using a drum kit, three guitars, two sets of vocal chords and no discernable musical talent. Then, however, The Darkness came on stage and order was restored to the universe. They were quite amazing and it was one of the best gigs I have ever been to. Nuff said.
(By the way... Manchester blogmeet, tonight, Fab Cafe, 8pm. Bring a cuddly moose, or similar.)
Posted on October 16, 2003 | Comments (11)
Wednesday 15th October
After reading greenfairy's post that centres on a wristwatch showing the amount of time you have left to live, I began to ponder on one particular part of the text:
"So you spent from age eighteen to twenty one under the duvet instead of going out and socialising with other people - did you enjoy the time in bed? So what's 'wasted'? Why do we have the notion that certain ways of spending time are more 'worthwhile' than others?"
I always thought that other people's lives were worth so much more than mine, feeling that I did nothing of any note and spent too much time sat on my fat arse doing nothing, but I now realise that's not the full picture. OK, so what I get up to might not have as much effect on others as someone who spends their spare time doing voluntary work, but that doesn't mean that how I choose to spend my time isn't worthwhile to me. Today a colleague commented on how I never seem to have watched the same tv shows as her because I'm always out 'gallivanting' (and Zed reckons I have a life too), so I'm now left wondering why it took the 'brain droppings' of someone I've never met for me to realise just how ace my life is. Anyway, hold that thought... I'm off to see The Darkness now!
Posted on October 15, 2003 | Comments (0)
Monday 13th October
Oh dear. Another Monday, another week at work. My life is really quite good right now except for the quarter of it that is spent doing dull stuff to earn money, but it's not the easiest thing in the world to fix. Especially when you've job-hopped so frequently since graduation that you're in danger of becoming unemployable. Still, at least I'm not jumping on the age old bandwagon and deciding that sprogs are the answer to my life's bad parts. I mean, how on earth can having something that saps all the goodness out of you for nine months, and then all the money out of you for a further eighteen years, possibly be a good thing? There is only one benefit as far as I can see (a guilt-free way to dump this 'career' nonsense and sit at home all day), but this is far outweighed by the bad parts. I know I've written an entire article ranting about work being pants, but I'm in that kind of mood today. Perhaps Tuesday will bring some fun and a post that's less introspective and of slightly more interest to the outside world.
Posted on October 13, 2003 | Comments (4)
Sunday 12th October
After a long and tiring weekend, I'm off to get some much needed sleep to prepare me for the events of the week ahead (including a Darkness gig and a Manchester blogmeet), but not before I quickly scour the news for anything of interest. Today I am made to feel smug that I'm a woman as, if I desperately wanted to raise some money, I could do something like this. You poor guys out there probably wouldn't make nearly as much money doing the same thing. It does, however, make me wonder just how many stupid men signed up for the site mistakenly thinking that they would find Dutch sportswoman porn. Making money out of the easily led does seem to be a top internet business model these days, if some of the ridiculous spam I receive is anything to go by.
Posted on October 12, 2003 | Comments (7)
Thursday 9th October
Apparently it's National Poetry Day today and already there's plenty going on in blog land, so I thought I'd better get my finger out and join in the fun. Not really knowing a great deal about poetry myself, the Poetry Society's theme for this year of 'Britain' was a tad tricky, so I've just plumped for a British poet (does that count?). See below for a couple of samples of the genius of Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), and click here for something of his with a more British subject matter.
The Keekin'-Glass
How daur ye ca' me howlet-face,
Ye blear-e'ed, withered spectre?
Ye only spied the keekin'-glass,
An' there ye saw your picture.
On Politics
In Politics if thou would'st mix,
And mean thy fortunes be;
Bear this in mind,-be deaf and blind,
Let great folk hear and see.
And on the subject of politics (for those of you who aren't keen on poetry), pop along to Statesman or Skatesman for full instructions on how to settle a family argument properly.
Posted on October 09, 2003 | Comments (5)
Wednesday 8th October
I know that California now has an actor as Governor, and that some Tories are planning to oust Iain Duncan Smith, but the real news for me today is that early next year Chris Moyles will be coming to rescue me from my own personal radio hell. For around three years I have suffered the evils of local radio, but at last there's only a few more months to go to salvation. I know... I have a sad life.
Posted on October 08, 2003 | Comments (13)
Tuesday 7th October
As a hefty 30 people have had a go at my friend test, I've decided to close it so everyone can have the answers, if you're at all interested. Unsurprisingly, Topper was my highest scorer with 89 (the only reason he didn't get 100% was that I decided the answer to one question as I was writing the quiz!), and Cat, BW, Skeddy, Jude, parm, CJ, Bryany, chris and the mysterious X also made it to the top ten. If anyone else is bothered, here are the answers:
* 23% got my middle name right - Hamilton
* 30% correctly answered that my favourite food is peking crispy duck pancakes
* A massive 70% guessed that I'd spend any lottery winnings on cars (not that tricky really)
* Only 37% knew that I'd studied Textile Design and Design Management at uni (13 people said Journalism with Multimedia Technology - if only!)
* 33% were right that I've been dying my hair for over 10 years (although 6 lovely people thought I was a natural blonde!)
* Last time I went on a 'proper' holiday it was 1992, which 20% guessed correctly
* The one I decided on the spot was that running my own magazine would be my ideal job yet 53% still guessed correctly
* 23% knew that I don't own a Canon Eos SLR camera, and
* 40% knew that I've been with Topper over 4 years.
Posted on October 07, 2003 | Comments (4)
Monday 6th October
Since when has 55 been a realistic sample size for a medical study? Surely you can't assume anything from that.
Posted on October 06, 2003 | Comments (5)
Friday 3rd October
For a while now I've had a strange feeling that I'm going to die of cancer. Not now and not soon, but the nagging feeling is there that breast or cervical cancer is looming. Perhaps I've seen my future but I suspect that my brain has subconsciously decided that, aside from being killed on the roads, cancer is probably the most likely killer that could come for me. It may sound morbid but cancer is everywhere now. My Great Aunt died from it as did my 20-year-old cousin, but my Grandma survived and hopefully so will my colleague's niece. The little girl is only five and is currently undergoing treatment which, as is to be expected, is making her hair fall out. I discovered this awful news because in order to raise money for the hospital and to make her niece feel a little better about herself, my colleague is having her hair shaved off. When we see her next on Monday morning she will be 'the lady in the hat'. There is not much that anyone can do to make a cancer sufferer - especially one so young - feel better, but this really has struck a chord with everyone who's heard about it. I hope she raises a lot of money for the hospital and, most of all, I hope the little girl is going to be OK.
Posted on October 03, 2003 | Comments (9)
Thursday 2nd October
Not only do some people get to spend their days getting paid for doing research on biscuits, but then the BBC manage to use "that's the way the cookie crumbles" on the main page of their news site. I am still thinking of an area that needs some researching that would keep both me and the headline writers entertained. Perhaps I should just stick to being angry that money is being wasted on this stuff and then go out and buy the Daily Mail. Then again... maybe not.
Posted on October 02, 2003 | Comments (6)