SevenMinutesToMidnight

Have you noticed how Jeremy Paxman loves to push himself into the news agenda every few weeks .
Such as by criticising the poetry of Robert Burns , or by letting it be known that he's written to Marks & Spencer's to complain that their underpants do'nt provide enough 'support' for his figure .
Now he's in the news again for saying at the Hay Literature Festival that most of us are Barbarians for working and watching television rather than visiting art galleries .
His series about The Victorians and their paintings was very good indeed , but if he is so cultured , how come he did'nt write the book acompanying the series , which bears his name ?
Many artists were geniuses but we do'nt necessarily need to  look at their original works to appreciate them , and we are not necessarily Barbarians if we have little interest in , or little time to study 'fine art' .
Mr Paxman was comparing the 'Britain's Got Talent' acts to the works of acclaimed painters .
Which is hardly comparing like with like : The performers on that show get only two minutes : How could any of the 'Great Artists' have created one of their masterpieces in two minutes ?
I do find much of that programme to be irrelevantly , ephermerally , moronically pointless but if people enjoy watching it then where's the harm in that .
It's easy to say that 'Classical' music is inherently superior to Popular music .
There could have only been one Mozart , Beethoven , Brahms , Bruckner etc . , but also there could have been only one Elvis , Beatles , Doors , U2 , etc . .
Because one work of art apparently takes more time and intelligence to produce than another is it necessarily superior , and more healthy to look at / listen to ?
Some 20th and 21st century 'Classical' music is most unpleasant and disturbing to listen to .
So is it more beneficial to make a huge effort to tolerate that than to watch and enjoy some stupid novelty act on a television 'talent' show ?
If it's harmlessly enjoyable at least for some then that's great .
I do think that some 'popular culture' can be harmful but I'll not get into that now .
So can some supposedly 'high culture' if one immerses oneself in someone elses expressions of tortured despair .
The BGT producers have put out a statement that Susan Boyle is 'emotionally exhausted' and needs to rest for a few days . She's accused of swearing at and throwing a cup of water over a Floor Manager after last night's show .

Our 94 year old friend who lives in this terrace received a letter for a man she's never heard of , at her address , from a court about unpaid debts .
Then another letter to another man , a 'final warning' from a debt collection agency .
Someone phoned them on her behalf and and they stated that they can verify that he lives there , which is rubbish as she's lived alone there for over 20 years .
People have contacted the court and the police on her behalf .
The debt collecting / bailiff idiots better not break into her home and steal from her .

Something like that nearly happened to me once at a previous addresss relating to a previous occupant of it .

I still dream about my 'ex' who left me left me over four years ago and who I've not seen or spoken to for well over two years .
I absolutely do not miss her personally , or want her back at all . And yet . .

Apart from a bit , not too much , of Swan Lake style ballet I care little for dancing .
I thought that the Britain's Got Talent final should've been between Susan Boyle , Shaun Smith and Julian Smith .
Hollie Steel may develop into a superb soprano singer but at ten years old she's just too young , and the other finalists were all rubbish as far as I'm concerned , especially the 'Stavros Flatley' morons , whose act I utterly detest .
Surely any fit and energetic person can learn dance-moves if they want to , but if someone can technically explain to me why the Diversity dance group were the most talented act in the competition than maybe I'll take their word for it .

In today's 'Mail a piece about the 43 year old former computer-hacker Gary McKinnon who faces being deported to the U.S under anti-terrorism legislation and being sentenced to 70 years in jail for having repeatedly hacked into U.S military computer systems , apparently searching for classified documents about UFO related matters , using a dial-up connection , between 2000 and 2002 .
He did get carried away and become a nuisance , but there's no way that he's any sort of terrorist , and the Cambridge based Professor Simon Baron-Cohen , an expert on the Autistic-Spectrum-Disorder Aspergers syndrome , saw Gary McKinnon on a tv programme and subsequently met him and diagnosed him with that disorder , reportedly because he spoke in a monotone voice , did'nt use hand-gesture-expressions , and exhibited and 'overly literal' view of the world .

My Mum , with the very best intentions for some reasons thought me likely to be afflicted with Aspergers Syndrome : I may talk monotonally if very depressed , though I've more and more used hand-gestures while talking over the last 15 years or so .
I've filled in Professor Baron-Cohens Aspergers-Diagnosis questionairre online more than once , and each time the score was'nt high enough for a diagnosis .

I went to an event at Saint Edmunds Hall , not knowing what to expect , but not minding paying the £5 admission or £2 for unchilled cans of lager as it's a fundraiser for a cancer charity .
Almost everyone there was aged 14-17 , and the bands were young , loud , energetic , and I could barely make out a word that was sung , but that's okay .
I stayed for half an hour , then came home to watch the BGT result , then went back for 20 minutes .
As is usual when I go anywhere I was alone and did'nt know anyone there , but , it made a change , I suppose .
The people in front of the stage in the photos I took look like ghosts .

Featuring Abba and Bryan Ferry on video , and Johnny Wakelin . Presented by Dave Lee Travis .

A good article in today's 'Mail about the 'Britain's Got Talent' programme by the criminology Professor , David Wilson , who was once a psychological advisor on 'Big Brother' until quitting in disgust after a week  :
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1189340/Exploitation-Britains-Got-Talent-makes-Big-Brother-look-saintly.html

He spoke to Stephen Nolan on Radio5live this morning , angry after hearing Piers Morgan , one of the judges on the programme say that Susan Boyle has been crying a lot , was ready to abandon the programme on Wednesday , and that she's now installed in a 'safe house' with a friend , having left the hotel where the other finalists are staying .

Professor Wilson said that the 'Britain's Got Talent' experience is cruelly damaging her and that she should not be allowed to take part in tomorrow's final , which would surely be crueller , and of course she should take part so long as she feels able and wants to .
He insisted that if BGT were an academic psychological experiment it would have been abandoned by now due the damage it's doing to Susan Boyle .
Obviously it's not an academic study ,  and if it were there would not be a lot of money at stake , which clearly there is , and she's sure to get lucrative recording contract offers if she triumphs tomorrow .

Having said that there clearly is something 'not quite right' about her . Her singing voice is impressive , and with work can become even better but she is more vulnerable than most , although Piers Morgan points out that a lot of support , including from medical professionals is available to contestants if they need it .
He blames the pressure on newspapers and on " Demi Moore twittering about her morning noon and night " , whilst David Wilson blames the exploitative programme for the pressures that seem to have been pushing Miss Boyle towards breaking point .

A few cynics have suggested that really she's a shrewd operator who knows exactly what she's getting into and how to maximise publicity for herself , but I think the facts of her shyness , her solitude and her significant learning-difficulties speak for themselves and one can't help but hope for the best for her although let's not forget that she wanted to compete on the programme , and unless she's really 'cracking up' my heart is'nt really bleeding for her that much : She's very possibly on the verge of becoming rich beyond her or most people's wildest dreams .

According to some reports Miss Boyle has been threatened with being sacked from the show due to her two or three outbursts of rudeness at the hotel , but I bet that its producers are loving all the ratings-expanding publicity .
I'd like to watch her in the final though I find most of the other acts unwatchable from what I've seen , and some are just creepy untalented oddities , who in a sense are being exploited , though no one has to audition to participate .

" Teenagers are up to the minute with ipod prices , but have no idea what a loaf of bread costs , a survey has found . . . .
The poll of 1,000 youngsters between 12 and 19 produced estimates ranging from 1p to £200 for a loaf of bread . The average was £4.31 , against a real life price of 80p to £1.50 . "
From todays Daily Mail .

I find it quite funny that some of the surveyees playfully or sarcastically quoted prices as low as a penny or as high as £200 as their estimation of the price of a loaf of bread .

" Children are growing up trusting no one because society treats adults as suspicious unless they have been vetted , an expert warned yesterday .
The requirements to check the backgrounds of all who have the slightest dealings with youngsters is causing a generation to distrust adults , warned Tim Gill , a former adviser on play .
Children are also increasingly fearful of other youngsters because they are encouraged to see minor spats and teasing as 'bullying' , Mr Gill said .
The level of playground bullying is being over-stated by protective parents and teachers who apply the label to squabbles and pranks previously assumed to be part of growing up , he warned . . . . .
" There is a sense in which we in the UK appear to be more and more anxious about any contact between adults and children . There is this idea the state has to approve any contact with vetting and police checks . I argue we have gone to far . I think we as adults think the world is a much more dangerous place than it was , and I do'nt think that is true " , he said , in a contribution to a discussion on risk , hosted by Girlguiding UK . "
From another short piece in the same paper .

Of course parents are rightly concerned about possible dangers to their children , and bullying can become unbearable torment but what is sadly too often lacking is good old-fashioned common-sense .

Elsewhere in todays paper , 20 year old Peaches Geldof is allowed to stay in London's luxurious Mayfair Hotel  as often as she wants for next-to-nothing , in return for being photograped in front of it , and mentioning it in magazine columns .

And 'Britain's Got Talent' hot favourite Susan Boyle has reportedly been behaving strangely and unpredictably at the London hotel that she and the other semi-finalists are staying in .

I finally watched James Bond : Quantam of Solace ,  reduced to £7 in Tesco's . A bigger screen may have helped but , as I'd already heard , it's 'alright' but SO disappointing compared to Casino Royale .
More of the same but incoherently paced and lacking the atmosphere and finesse of its predecessor .
In fact like a typically disappointing sequel , and now we await the threequel .
I know all Bond movies are inherently formulaic to a point , but what QOS needs and lacks is any freshness of story and approach .
Just more of the same but not as good as is'nt enough .
Or maybe I'm finally 'growing out of' action movies , but I do'nt think so . 

Melissa Etheridge : The Boy Feels Strange , ( c ) Island Records Ltd ( I'm not sure of the year , but not this century ) .
Nice .

I ordered a second-hand book , via amazon , from
http://www.book-donors.co.uk/ 
They sent a completely different book , and were quick to issue a refund and apology , without asking me to return the book they sent me .
They seem a very laudable , non-profit making Scottish-based charitable project , with over 100,000 reasonably priced second-hand books in stock .
The book I ordered but did'nt get is ' The Trial of Jack The Ripper : The case against William Bury ( 1859 - 89 )' by Euan MacPherson .
I'm by no means the only person fascinated by Victorian London and by the mystery of that awful case  . I do'nt really have the means or expertise to research it myself , but , 121 years later , there are dozens at least of people actively researching it at any one time .
The psychology of 'conspiracy theories' is that any evidence found to be negating the theory is dismissed as part of the conspiracy .
The psychology of enduring mysteries is that the more mysterious they are the more alluringly fascinating they are , so that anyone coming up with a seemingly plausible explanation is likely to be treated with scepticism by other researchers .
The chances of compelling evidence definitively pointing to the guilt of anyone re . those horrific murders coming to light now is remote in the extreme , and even if it did , most other researchers would disbelieve it and carry on pursueing or inventing their own theories .
There's widespread disagreement not only about the known suspects but also about how many murders can be attributed to the same individual .
The popular 1970's 'Royal Conspiracy' theory seems obvious nonsense , despite being taken up by film and television drama makers ever since .
I know who I do'nt think was responsible or involved , and could name at least three definite possible suspects , but this will probably still be being puzzled over in a hundred years time , still with no conclusive proof or consensus of agreement , and the identity of the killer of however many poor , poverty-stricken prostitutes in London in 1888 , and/or also before and/or  after then , and/or also in America and/or elsewhere will almost certainly never be known .
http://www.casebook.org/intro.html

More weird and wonderful , terrific and traumatic 70's Top Of The Pops stuff , with ITMA Tony Blackburn .
Beginning with The Undertones : Teenage Kicks .

After having said here that I thought I'd spotted a betting opportunity by backing MU to win tonight I changed my mind completely and backed Barcelona .
So I've won back half of what I lost on my dead-loss 1000 guineas bet .
I may back whatever Johnny Murtagh will be riding in The Derby , on June 6th .
So the great MU are not invincible . Good . I'll still no doubt keep hearing about them every single day of the rest of my life , though .
I thought that Sir Ferguson sitting on his bench , vulgarly chewing gum all evening said it all really .

It gets worse , with 'The Wurzels' , then better , with Kiki Dee .
A nasty but sort of nice 1970's Top Of The Pops nostalgic Odyssey . . .
I used to feel snooty about YouTube , but it's an undeniably invaluable resource for the resourceful . .

I watched the deleted scenes from The Reader , and after having said it should be slightly shorter I now think it should have been about 20 minutes longer , as some of the unincluded scenes explain things more clearly , and one powerful left out scene , of a conversation between Michael and a man who's giving him a lift to the camp that Hanna worked at should certainly be in it .
Also I meant to say that Bruno Ganz is superb as the Law Professor .
There seems to be an unwritten rule regarding films nowadays that it's too risky for them to last more than two hours maximum , as otherwise people will get bored .

I do'nt understand why 'gay marriages' were allowed then disallowed in California .
Surely if two adults love and want to commit themselves to one another that can only be a good thing , a cause for celebration .
There can never be too much love and commitment in this world .

From 1977 ( though I thought it was '76 ) : Donna Summer : Love to Love you baby , ( c ) PolyGram Records Inc ( New York ) .
I once played this during my brief stint as a DJ , to the merriment of drunken lesbians who were dancing and singing to it .
I also have the 16 minute 46 seconds version !

I bet that our would-be 'Herr Fuhrer' , the proposterous Nick Griffin is delighting in the attention his shabby little hate-party is getting from Archbishop's Williams and Sentanu .
The tiny minority of bnp supporters vote for them because they are pissed-off .
They are pissed-off because they are white working-class in highly immigrated into areas of the UK who feel let down by everyone .
The Archbishops intervention will only strengthen their conviction that no one in the British establishment gives a damn about them , and their resolve to embrace the hated bnp .
The June 4th local and european parliment elections are still several days away .
Their Arch-Graces could have timed their intervention better .
What are they so terrified of  ?  They are making the bnp out to be infinitely more popular , powerful and well organised than they are .
So what if they gain a seat in the european parliment , or a small handful of local council ones .
Some of the white working-class in parts of a few British towns and cities do feel 'swamped' by immigrants of different cultures , who they rightly or wrongly perceive to have been given preferential treatment over them , and the liberal-left British culture of being overly and often unnecessarily protective of their perceived sensitivities of immigrants has made some disadvantaged indigenous Britons feel all the more angry and alienated .
Their minority view deserves representation .
We all know of the horrors of Nazi Germany yet no extremist / fascist  party has ever come close to gaining power in Britain , and yes we need to be vigilant but please let's not aggrandise the bnp into being something they'd love to be but are not  .
Most people can see through their attempted veneer of respectability and most people hate them .
Before June 4th I'll state my reasons for advising anyone against voting for them  , but let's not flatter their little ego's by thinking they could possibly by any stretch of the imagination come anywhere remotely close to being able to achieve any significant political power in Britain in anything like the remotely forseeable future .
The Archbishops are underestimating and insulting the overwhelming majority of Britons by assuming any more than a tiny minority of us to be likely to vote bnp .

I went back and found the swans nest , but with no swans . I assume the signets have grown up fast and flown the nest . Unless they were frightened off by people noisily gawping at them . Someone had thrown a battery into the nest .

Went for a walk and tried to find the swans nest , with six signets in it , that has been on the local news .
Could'nt find it .

Mad Man Moon by Genesis , from A Trick of the Tail , ( c ) Virgin Records Ltd 1975 / Charisma Records Ltd 1984 .
A lovely track , almost with a sweet innocence about it .
Some of the best music is made through enthusiasm , enjoyment and love - as long as talent is there too - as opposed to cynical commercialism .

I've just watched the dvd of The Reader , out on monday . I do'nt feel I can 'review' it properly as I'm still not entirely sure what I feel about it .
As you probably know it's set in Germany and about 15 year old schoolboy Michael , played by David Kross , his affair with emotionally repressed tram conductress Hanna , Kate Winslet , in 1958 , and how it unexpectedly comes back to haunt him eight years later when , as a law student , he discovers that Hanna is on trial for war crimes .
By revealing , or persuading her to reveal her illiteracy he could help her but should he , and will she co-operate if he tries .
You could say it's about love , lust , loyalty and compassion but its central theme is the evils of nazi war crimes , and whether they can or should ever be forgiven or atoned for .
It has to end unhappily for Hanna because it would be considered too controversial if it did'nt .
With its flawless acting and excellent production values it's a fine achievement . If you like slow-ish , intelligent , thoughtful films examining complex moral issues then you'll love it .
If you prefer fast moving entertaining or 'feel-good' movies you might prefer to avoid it .
My only real criticisms are that it could benefit from being a few minutes shorter , and that when Ralph Fiennes takes over the role of Michael he looks at least twenty years older , rather than only ten .
Some of the first half is pleasing to watch , though the sex scenes are less 'explicit' than you might have heard .
It depends how you define 'explicit' , as you mostly only see their heads and shoulders .
Its second half is more sad and grim , although you do'nt see anything explicitly upsetting .
Imagine how shockingly controversial it would be deemed to be it featured a man in his thirties initiating a passionate affair with a fifteen year old girl .
Oh and the dvd's in full-screen , not silly little 'letterbox' format .

So I went to Norwich today for a haircut , and tried to find something similar to the nice casual jacket I somehow lost several months ago , but could'nt .
I considered buying the dvd of 'Changeling' , reduced to £7.95 in Borders bookshop , but figured it's probably not the sort of film that one would want to see more than once , that it'll no doubt be on 'free to view' tv within a couple of years or so , and that if it's as depressing as the Clint Eastwood directed 'Million Dollar Baby' and 'Mystic River' I'm not sure if I want to see it anyway .
I've felt tired all day , and I slept a bit on the coach ride back .
This evening I sat with my Mum , and yawned my way through the Chelsea Flower Show and a programme about children competetively reciting poetry that she wanted to watch .
I have my own tv , dvd etc in my room but I do'nt like to be alone in the evenings if I do'nt have to be .
I'm glad for the haircut : My hair grows more in thickness than in length , and when that gets too bad I do'nt like to go out on a windy morning after having washed it , as that's liable to mould lumps of hair as if bumps on my head a la'  'The Elephant Man' .
The young lady who cut my hair is pregnant , and , when her bump was touching me I wondered if I'd feel her baby kicking , but I do'nt think I did .

I do'nt want 'sevenminutestomidnight' to be a depressing blog , but people are talking about this anyway : How monstrously outrageous that three adults who collaborated in the sadistic torture and slow murder of a beautiful , innocent , adorable two year old baby boy over many months and who lied and manipulated again and again to cover up their depravity can be eligible for parole in three , five and ten years ?
The psycopathic boyfriend , also convicted for the rape of a two year old girl , who has also tortured animals for fun should have to serve a minimum of 40 years , and the mother and the lodger who knew exactly what was going on and could have stopped it at any time , whether or not they actively took part in the torture , do'nt deserve to be let off lightly .
Whatever happened to the idea that ordinairy people's sense of revulsion at such atrocities should be taken into account when sentence is passed , and what sort of a deterrent can today's sentences possibly be ?
I even wonder if some of our 'liberal elite' consider the expression of concern about apparently largely uncontrolled immigration , or about 'gay adoptions'  to be worse 'crimes' than the deliberate and prolonged torture and murder of children .

( c ) EMI Records Ltd , 1973/1997 , originally recorded in 1972 , and Not in the 1998 film of the same name .

Hot One by Shudder To Think from the 1998 film Velvet Goldmine , ( c ) Epic Records .

I've cancelled my one night trip to London on June 12th . I was going to see The Damned at the Shepherds Bush Empire .
For the hotel I should get a refund from superbreak.com - 20% , and I've put my ticket for sale on play.com , which will probably only sell if the concert is sold out which it is'nt yet .
Although now I'm registered as a play.com seller I'm sure I have other items to put for sale on it .
I gave up on ebay when they stipulated that accepting payments via paypal has to be an option , because I'm too dimwitted to understand how paypal works or how payments can be sent to an email address . I did once set up a paypal account , then tried to verify it or something , which did'nt work , so I gave up on it .
I just do'nt enjoy going to things alone , except maybe the cinema , though apart from a gimmicky little tiny cinema that I've never been to there's not one very near here , and I do'nt drive .
Going alone to the Nelson Mandela 90th birthday concert last summer was alright , I suppose I'm glad I went , though I would'nt have minded that much if I had'nt .
I did'nt want to to to The Gambia for a week in January which I'd booked some months before . I nearly cancelled it , and though it was'nt all bad I wish that I had'nt gone .
I have no one to go anywhere with ( other than my  Mum ) .
I'm not ugly or dirty or unkind , uncaring or untrustworthy at all , but that's just the way it is for someone with my inhibitive type of 'personality disorder' , or whatever it is .

Naughty Leo has been going through Lucy's catflap , next door , and eating her food , not that he is'nt well fed here .

I'm not sure where Leo stands on Socialism , but in Norwich in the early 90's I was for a while acquainted with a Socialist Labour Councillor who I recall extolling the virtues of the socialist-sympathiser Dr . Ian Gibson MP , who , it seems , is no more high-principled than are most of his colleagues where free money is available .
The conservative MP Nadine Dorries says on her blog that she fears it's only a matter of time before an MP resorts to suicide over the 'Telegraph's expenses revelations .
I hope not . It's not like being exposed as a child-molester . It's human nature to be acquisitive and I suspect that even if wages for all MP's were doubled or even trebled many of them would still feel unable to resist claiming  taxpayers money for whatever it says in the expenses rules that they can claim for .

I watched the 2008 movie 'Shutter' , which on the cover says ' From the executive producers of The Grudge and The Ring ' , which just about says it all really , as it's yet another entry in the practically exhausted 'Vengeful ghost of Japanese girl/young woman haunts and kills people' genre .
Another Hollywood remake of a Japanese derivative of The Ring / The Grudge etc . . . , which ought to be more atmospherically , scarily suspenseful but just is'nt , and is just about watchable despite being so unoriginal , implausible and predictable .

I had an email from play.com saying they've already posted my pre-order of The Reader , out next monday , which I look forward to watching and reviewing .

I feel like ranting against The Catholics , following today's headline news of shocking reports of horrendous sexual , physical , psychological and emotional abuse of vulnerable inmates of Catholic children's homes in Ireland over at least six decades until the early 1990's , which , incidentally , will not result in any prosecutions .
I refrain from doing so because , although of course the Catholic heirachy are only sorry because this has been exposed , I hope that the monstrous institutionalised Catholic culture of hideous sado/sexual paedophile abuse is now a thing of the past , which will never again be tolerated or covered up .

Back to Westminster MP's expenses I hope that the proposed new rules , which include no money for furniture , insurance , telephone line etc . for MP's 'second homes' will not deter any sincerely committed prospective MP's of modest means from running for parlimentary constituencies not within commutable distances from London .
Not that I'm in any way justifying the outrageous cynical avarice of dozens of MP's that has recently been revealed .

I thought that watching tonight's itv1 programme 'tears , lies and videotape' would be a waste of time , which it largely was .
About Karen Matthews who arranged for her daughter Shannon to disappear in the hope of emulating the McCann's in terms of gaining sympathy , and much more importantly money , who tried to set up one of her large extended family to miraculously find Shannon , who was being kept in the flat of another member of the extensive family  , to miraculously collect reward money .
Fools who think the rest of us are bigger fools than they are . She lied remarkably convincingly during press conferences and tv interviews , then kept giggling about it all whilst not in the glare of the publicity she'd invited .
Also the programme featured other familiar cases of people having sooner or later been caught out lying in front of tv cameras .
We all like to think that we're good at spotting lies and liars .
Some of us are very bad at lying but those who are good at it can be very convincing indeed , being caught if at all by inconsistencies , or by eventual discoveries evidencing their blatant lies .
If the McCann's accidentally overdosed their beloved daughter Madeleine causing her death , realised their terrible error , then rejoined their friends , chatting and laughing with them over their evening meal , then feigned shock at finding her missing at 10pm , then mysteriously managed to hide her body with police and journalists all around them , then sought maximum publicity to keep the case in the public eye as they are still doing today then they really are astounding liars and illusionsists are'nt they .
I hope their defamation case against the Portugese detective who is still alleging that is succesful .
Not all Members of Parliment are liars , but as for those MP's who claim not to have realised  their mortgages had been paid off , that stretches credulity to well beyond breaking point .
The 'Telegraph are absolutely brilliantly executing their  ' drip . . . drip . . .drip . . . ' operation to destabilise our already weak and vulnerable labour government  .
The Sky News political pundit John Craig thinks that Speaker Michael Martin could be gone within days , and the Daily Mail's Peter Oborne reckons there's an 'even money' chance of Gordon Brown been replaced , probably by Health Minister Alan Johnson , by the summer recess .

Favourite movie moments from 1941 : Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde .
Not critically considered to be the best Jekyll and Hyde film but Spencer Tracey and the then lovely Ingrid Bergman were so good in it , and this clip is simultaneously sinister and funny .

Carly Simon : From her 1987 Arista Records Inc album Coming Around Again , Itsy Bitsy Spider , a mix-up of the title track and the childrens song .

Morgan Freeman , Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey in a scene from the classic 1995 movie Se7en , very possibly my favourite movie of all time .
( Contains swearing , and verbal references to murders . )

Last night I tried writing a list of things that annoy me , having heard of a UK based survey of annoyances , which I could'nt find online .
Instead I asked others what annoys them most , on the 'Ask or Answer' group , to which there's some good answers .
I've had insufferable neighbours in the past but nowadays what annoys me most is this laptop randomly freezing up .
Also : Jonathan Ross , and anyone who thinks that shouting and/or swearing and/or general vulgarity and offensiveness and/or scatological references is in itself clever or funny .
And boring football and cricket , and hearing about Manchester United every single day of my life .
And the dreary old Eurovision Song Contest nonsense . I do'nt exactly know why genuinely talented singers , especially British ones won't take part in it , although can you imagine Leona Lewis or Katie Melua having to degrade themselves by grinning like synchronised swimmers and jiggling like oversexed baboons all evening  , like the winning entrants from Norway , whose song I personally gave one and a half out of five .
And the greedy grasping immoral MP's who we keep hearing about , who are only sorry that they've been caught out .
It also annoys me that this has so disproportionately engulfed all UK news media , which seems set to continue for we do'nt know how much longer  .
However it does'nt seem right to whinge on about what I do'nt like without trying to contrast it with what I do like , such as lovely women  , hugs , cats , dogs , horses , friendship , conversation , good music and lager/beer .
Oh and , I've just remembered , it annoys me that most films on dvd are in stupid little 'letter-box' format , so not worth bothering with unless on an at least 37" widescreen tv .

Record of the day : Kylie Minogue : I believe in You ( Mylo Vocal Mix ) , from 2005 I think .

So there I was worrying about my cat again , imagining the worst because I'd not seen him for over four hours and he did'nt come when I called him .
Before going out on a one-man pussycat search party I went out the back once more , and caught him in the glare of my torch , nonchalently ignoring me , no doubt thinking ' what's that pestering idiot calling me for - can't he tell I'm out on a serious recreational hunting mission !  ' .
What is wrong with my emotions , which are normally very stable though still too often not ( ? ) . I do'nt know .  I may have inherited a gene from my Dad's side of the family , but if so , although he put himself down a lot and conversely could be pompous and he had his oddities he was successful in his career , as were his brothers , and he knew a lot about classical music and had a talent for playing the piano .
My relationship with him was sadly very difficult at times , although I think he and I always 'deep down' knew that we loved each other .
I have my good points but have not been successful and I have no talents , and I've for so long been cursed with a social shyness , and difficulty in connecting with people .
I'm thoughtful , empathic and conscientious though there are plenty of people who I can 'take or leave' , despite not being overly fond of  my own company for very long , and others who I'd  love to reach out to , but am generally too inhibited to try .
If there were a bar in this town with a friendly ambience which was open late I'd love to go there and relaxedly meet interesting people but there's nothing like that here , and I never found any lastingly meaningful friendships when living in a city either .

So the Daily Telegraph's revelations about MP's expense claims will continue into , and no doubt beyond tomorrow .
It would be interesting to know if they are selling more papers on the back of that , except to a few Westminster obsessives , who can get the information from the 'Telegraph's web site in any case , as well as from other papers/websites .
Understandably ordinairy voters and taxpayers are annoyed , but we've had this every day for a week now , and is'nt its continuance becoming rather boring : There WILL be much needed changes to the MP's expense system , so what's the point of continuing with the high-profile daily revelations ?
First about Labour MP's , then Conservative , then Lib-Dem ones . Of course the 'Telegraph is ,  always has been a staunchly Conservative paper . I suspect that all or most of the rest of its revelations will be about Labour MP's again , designed to leave the impression in the public consciousness that they are the most corrupt members of Parliment , whether or not that is so .

The cheeky vulgarian Lib-Dem MP Limbet Opik , who boasted during one Prime Minister's Question time of his then relationship with a member of 'The Cheeky Girls' had the nerve to claim for a £2,500 television . Mercifully that claim was rejected .

It's still quite chilly here even when rarely sunny , due to the cool winds that so often pervade the english east-coast .

The seemingly never ending saga of MP's expenses took a bizarre turn this morning , on Victoria Darbishire's R5live programme when Linda McDougall , or should that be Linda Mitchell as she's married to the labour MP Austin Mitchell , started going on about her knickers .
That she needs one pair for London and another for Grimsby , " and never the twain shall meet " .
One listener texted in : " Has'nt 'Mrs . Knickers' heard of suitcases " , and another that it sounds like she does'nt wear any whilst commuting between London and Grimsby .

It's really very frugal of her to get by on only two pairs .

Michael Portillo did a Horizon programme about a year ago about Capital Punishment executions , and tonight's one which was about trying to scientifically understand the human capacity for physical violence .
For my bus journey this afternoon as the Daily Mail had sold out I bought a Daily Express , whose editorial opined that if the perpetrators of the latest case of yobs viciously attacking and killing a man who asked them to be quiet were judicially hung that would  send shockwaves through the rest of our National yob-culture community , instantly making Britain a safer place .
It may make a difference but as they concede it's not going to happen .
Mr . Portillo , who amusingly  took care of two fake plastic crying babies to the point of exhaustion maintains that nothing makes him inclined to be physically violent .
I know I'm not unusual in having occasionally entertained thoughts of violence against people who have non-violently hurt me .
Surely we humans are more developed than animals , and should rationally realise that offensive - as opposed to defensive - physical violence is Never necessary or acceptable .
And yet there's something in most of us that makes us want to lash out , whether or not we do , on occasions when another person makes us feel hurt , insulted , humiliated , especially if we're already feeling stressed and exhausted .
If we are reasonably intelligent , well brought up and well balanced mentally and emotionally we will hopefully manage to go through life without ever offensively hitting anyone .
And yet we all know of the apparently growing problem of yobs who absolutely delight in behaving obnoxiously , and physically hurting , sometimes killing anyone who has the temerity to challenge them .
Severe sanctions no doubt would deter some from committing violent crimes for fun , though less so anyone feeling provoked in the heat of the moment .
Tonight's programme recreated the famous experiment conducted by Stanley Milgram in the early 1960's , getting volunteers to think they are administering increasingly high voltage electric shocks to other volunteers in another room , with the person in charge telling them to carry on , irrespective of the audible cries of pain , and potentially lethal doses of electricity that they're apparently inflicting .
This was not the first time that the experiment had been recreated , and as it says in the Radio Times it must have been difficult to find 12 volunteers who had'nt heard of it .
Of course it's all faked , and no one is being given electrical shocks at all . Most volunteers continued to pull the switch when the  person in another room had failed to memorise word-associations , being firmly but not intimidatingly told to by the person in charge .
So perhaps there's also a dark aspect of humanity that relishes having the power to hurt others with impunity , and sadism is'nt exclusive to the shadowy 'S&M' scene .
The original Milgram experiment was designed to test people's obedience to authority in the light of the horrors committed in the name of nazism in the war .

Propaganda : Dr . Mabuse , ( c ) ZTT Records 1984 . From Their 1985 ZTT Records album 'A Secret Wish' .
http://www.ztt.com

One eighties track that will not be played on 'The Beach' ( local radio ) , because it's not bland or tame or soporifically dreary 'easy listening' .
Excellence .

I just borrowed this pic from the BBC website ( copyright : KNS News ): An 18 year old painted a 60ft penis on the roof of his parents house , in Berkshire .
They say he'll have to scrub it off when he returns from travelling .
But whatever is he trying to say - Any Freudian analysts out there ?

My cat is still extra-fussy about his food but otherwise seems fine , and I'm not feeling too great really , but will be better ( than I am now ) again .

104 Tracks that anyone should be thrilled to have on their i-pod , or other mp3 player :
U2 : Beautiful Day
U2 : Where the Streets have no name
U2: Original of the species
U2 : I still have'nt found what I'm looking for
U2 : Staring at the Sun
U2 and Green Day : The Saints are Coming
David Bowie : Heroes
David Bowie : Suffragette City
David Bowie : Life on Mars
David Bowie : Fame
David Bowie : Sound and Vision
David Bowie : Starman
David Bowie : Let's Spend The Night Together
David Bowie and Queen : Under Pressure
Queen : Radio Gaga
Queen : You're my best friend
The Who : I'm Free
The Who : See me , Feel me
The Who : Won't get fooled again
The Rolling Stones : Gimme Shelter
The Rolling Stones : Brown Sugar
The Rolling Stones : Tumbling Dice
The Rolling Stones : The Last Time
The Rolling Stones : You can't always get what you want
Roxy Music : Street Life
Roxy Music : Do The Strand
Roxy Music : Both Ends Burning
Roxy Music : More Than This
Roxy Music : To Turn You On
Roxy Music : Take a chance on me
Elton John : Philadelphia Freedom
Elton John : Island Girl
Elton John : Circle of Life
The Doors : The Crystal Ship
The Doors : Light my Fire
Diana Ross : Touch me in the morning
Diana Ross : Remember Me
Diana Ross and the Supremes : Baby Love
Diana Ross and the Supremes : Automatically Sunshine
Stevie Wonder : Supersticion
Stevie Wonder : Living for the City
Stevie Wonder : He's misstra know it all
Stevie Wonder : Higher Ground
Rod Stewart : Downtown Train
Rod Stewart : Do ya think I'm Sexy
Oasis : Do'nt look back in anger
Oasis : Wonderwall
Pulp : Do you remember the first time
Pulp : Common People
Robbie Williams : Angels
Robbie Williams : Feel
Madonna : Frozen
Madonna : Sorry
Madonna : Borderline
Michael Jackson : Beat It
Michael Jackson : Thriller
The Beatles : Help
The Beatles : While my Guitar Gently weeps
Simple Minds : Do'nt you forget about me
Simple Minds : Mandela Day
Neil Diamond : I am . . . I Said
Neil Diamond : Sweet Caroline
Abba : Waterloo
Abba : Knowing Me Knowing You
Bob Marley and the Wailers : Jamming
Bob Marley and the Wailers : Three little Birds
Eddy Grant : Joanna
Bruce Springsteen : Born To Run
Meat Loaf : Bat out of Hell
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers : American Girl
The Killers : Somebody Told Me
The Kaiser Chiefs : Ruby
Amy Winehouse : Back to Black
Cher : Believe
The Verve : Bittersweet Symphony
Jefferson Starship : Miracles
Kiss : God Gave Rock n Roll To You
Lou Reid : Walk on the wild side
Richard Harris : MacArthur Park
Dusty Springfield : I close my eyes and Count to Ten
Barry Ryan : Eloise
Simon and Garfunkel : My Little Town
Avril Lavigne : Sk8er boi
The Eagles : One of these Nights
Siouxsie and the Banshees : Arabian Knights
Sisters of Mercy : This Corrosion
The Shadows : Wonderful Land
Toyah : It's a Mystery
Ultravox : The Voice
Elvis Presley : Kentucky Rain
Bon Jovi : Living on a Prayer
A-Ha : Hunting High and Low
Texas : Black Eyed Boy
Leona Lewis : Better in Time
ATB : 9pm (Till I come)
Hi Tac : Say Say Say ( waitin for u )
Frankie Goes To Hollywood : Relax
Eminem : Stan
Duran Duran : Rio
The Bee Gee's : Tragedy
The Beach Boys : Good Vibrations
Sinead O'Connor : Nothing compares 2 U
Roy Orbison : You Got It
Tubeway Army : Are Friends Electric

by Vaya Con Dios , from their 1990 BMG Album Night Owls .
As I've said before I love their early 90's music , evocative of late-night european cafe'- bars . . .
Vocals : Dani Klein .

Because criminology interests me I'm reading a book called Predators by the american psychologist Anna Salter , which I got from one of the library booksales .
She makes some interesting points about ' New Age' philosophies :

"Listen to New Age philosophy , and you will discover a remarkable thing : It consists almost entirely of beliefs that the world is controllable and benign . We all have a guardian angel who looks after us . Everything happens for a reason . The bad things that happen in our lives are all simply there to teach us karmic lessons . This is surely the best of all possible worlds . In fact , we really do'nt have any problems at all that can't be cured by tuning into a higher energy level .

If you think this latter must be an exaggeration , read There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem by the best-selling author Wayne Dyer . The book begins with two quotes , " You have no problems , though you think you have " ( from ' A Course in Miracles ' ) , and " There is nothing wrong with God's creation . Mystery and suffering only exist in the mind " ( from 'Ramana Maharishi' ) . " If God is good and God made everything , then everything is good " , Dyer tells us .

But how do I tell that to my clients who were raped and molested as children , those who have been the victims of domestic violence , and most of all those who have had children abducted or murdered ? Do I really tell them that they are simply vibrating at the wrong frequency , as Dyer contends , that illness , fear and anxiety occur when people are vibrating at 10,000 cycles per second ? If they could only get up to the 100,000 cycles a second they'd be in the region of sound , light , and spirit , in Dyer's opinion  . . . " .

I'm fairly open-minded about most 'new age' stuff I've heard of , although much of it seems largely an indulgence for ( mainly female ) comfortably-off folk , and some of it I find irritatingly wishy-washy , vague , and not rooted in the real world .
There is a lot to be said for positive thinking and positive creative visualisation . It's not magic , and does'nt insulate from the possibility of anything awful happening , but it really is true in my opinion that positive people who value what they have and expect the best  have an advantage in life .
That's not to say that it's okay to  blame others for their misfortunes because they may have done something bad in a previous incarnation which they're atoning for in this one , because they're not 'vibrating' at the right 'frequency' whatever that means , or because they are depressed and therefore not expecting anything nice to happen .
It's harmful to wallow in depression , resentment and general negativity for sure . 
But some people are more sensitive than others , and if they've had a miserable life so far they can no more force themselves to start expecting the best to happen than they can jump 100ft into the air . 

Oh , the excitement that goes on around me while I innocently slumber . . .

10cc , from 1976 I think , from the 1997 Mercury Records album 'The Very Best of 10cc' :
I'm Mandy Fly Me .
( which was inspired by an airline poster of an air stewardess , with that slogan on it ) .

A good article in today's 'Mail which expresses how many of has have come to feel about Bono :

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1178165/CHRISTOPHER-HART-Why-BBC-love-Bono-hes-dreadful-old-hypocrite.html

I love U2's music , though less so their very average recent album , which we had to wait four and a half years for , but really , Bono's ego does seem to be getting the better of him , unhinging him from reality somewhat , do'nt you think ?

And it was obscene of the BBC to have given them all that free publicity . The BBC who , with endless repeats of Coast ,  always thinks it know's what's good for us but who , like Bono , Blair and Brown seems to be losing the plot .

My attention's been drawn to a site called madeleinefoundation , which presents facts , falsehoods , half-truths and nasty innuendos designed to lead the reader to the inescapable conclusion that Gerry and Kate McCann must have  either  deliberately or accidentally killed their daughter , Madeleine , or 'covered up' an accident or something else .
I'd take it more seriously if published by a professional investigator who had checked and sourced all their facts , but we do'nt know who's behind the site or why , however their frequent sneering references to 'The Doctor's McCann' seems to provide a clue to their motivation .
I do'nt think that The McCann's , or that all white professional English middle class folk are perfect , and I have wondered if they , and perhaps some of their friends might have been hiding something .
But the Portugese police failed to build any convincing case against them , and if they had a big 'guilty secret' , other than that they left their young children unattended whilst in holiday mode , dining close by , not for one moment expecting anything awful to happen , then I think it would have 'come out' by now .
It's a mystery that can be endlessly theorised about , but hopefully tonight's programme
( 9pm , Channel 4 , thursday ) may  shine some light on it .

Backstabbers .

Fifty killings a year committed by people who have "had contact with mental health services" .  Hmmmm . . .  
We know about the disinhibitive power of alcohol and other substances , but can a diagnosis of mental ill-health have a similar effect ?
Not that mental illness does'nt exist , which  it does , or that most sufferers of it are'nt harmless , which they are .
And so are all the other murderers and manslaughterers mentally healthy then ?

I'm watching 'The Scars of Dracula' ( 1970 ) , which Christopher Lee has hardly been in so far .
Like other 'Hammer Horror's' it's low budget , and easy to laugh at and to parody , just a wee bit sinister  , and , just occasionally , faintly sexy too .
An evocation of the good old transylvanian days when men were men , women were wenches , and the evil undead Dracula could never be permenantly laid to rest .
Reminding me of creeping downstairs after my parents had retired to bed , turning the old black and white tv on , and kneeling in front of it with the sound barely audible .
Oh , those were the days : the allure of the forbidden .
Also I read the Bram Stoker Dracula novel when I was about twelve .

The New Star Trek movie looks to be good , btw .

Eric Clapton , from his 1974 ' 461 Ocean Boulevard ' album ( and from EC best of collections ) : Let It Grow .
Nice .

Quote of the evening : " She brought integrity into politics " : Tony Benn on Margaret Thatcher , talking to Ian Collins on TalkSport .
To be fair , as I always try to be , he was asked if he had anything complimentary to say about her , and I think he meant that she honestly spoke up for what she beleived in .
And sorry to disappoint the unrepentant haters of Lady T : She has'nt died : It's thirty years today since she became Prime Minister .
How can anyone , other than the most ignorant and blinkered anarchist communists say that she "destroyed britain" . . .
She certainly went on too long , and made mistakes , but her greatest achievement was saving her beloved Britain from the destructive stranglehold of the then grossly over-powerful and overly left-wing-politicised Trade Unions , not that trade unions should'nt exist , of course they should .
And one reason why there's a growing sense of impatience with Gordon Brown within the parlimentary labour party is that they do'nt want to let the Conservative Party back in for potentially another 18 years , which more and more of them are concluding may happen with Brown still in charge at the time of the next general election , probably in a years time .

Tony Benn also quoted Thatcher as having said that 'New Labour' was her 'greatest achievement' .
But socialist policies just do'nt win national general elections in Great Britain , though the SNP keep hoping in Scotland .

I watched tonight's Panorama , again about the appalling 'Baby P' case , which is too depressing to write about at the moment but I'm glad it's not been forgotten .

Evidently the final of the World Snooker finished earlier than expected , as BBC2 were showing Yet Another repeat of that 'Coast' programme , which is alright if you like that sort of thing , but it must be the most repeated BBC tv programme of the last four years or so .
I emailed the BBC via their website - a laborious process - to complain about them showing that Yet Again , when they have a library of hundreds , probably thousand of films .

One book I got from the monthly 'fill a bag for £2' booksale at the local library is a good condition art book featuring good reproductions of many paintings by Balthus ( 1908 - 2001 ) : Quirky and  fascinating , his paintings are sometimes beautiful , never ugly , and their commonest themes are adolescent girls and cats .
I also got a book about the great fire of london , which I hope to read .
This morning my Mum's 94 year old friend from down the road phoned her and jokingly announced that she's going to send her a bill for a thousand pounds : Because Leo ( cat ) ate all the bread and other food she'd left out for the birds !

 

Diana Ross & The Supremes : Love Child . ( c ) Motown Record Company , 1968 .

There'd been nothing I'd fancied seeing on tv for so many consecutive evenings , until tonight when I saw the first of three itv programmes featuring Martin Clunes exploring British Islands , tonight : The Shetland's , and one of the outer hebrides , where due to the weather and the remoteness life is tough , but such beautiful scenery , and close sense of community .
He did'nt mention the drug and alcohol addictions that are said to be rife in the Shetland's . 
He was likeably just being himself , not irritatingly trying to be funny all the time like some other television personalities doing travelogue programmes .

I heard a professional gambler on the radio this morning saying he does'nt bet on horses first time out in the season , irrespective of their last year's form .
I wish I'd heard that before I backed the favourite in todays 1000 guineas , who was backed down to 8/11 , 8/1 bar , but could only manage to finish fifth .
That's okay so long as I learn from that , and do'nt have another bet for a few weeks at least .

I've felt more than usually depressed , damaged , anguished , exasperated and stuck recently , which would be no fun , in fact incredibly boring for anyone to read about , so I'll not write about it , though I know I can if I want to . Also I seem to be talking , muttering away 'to myself' more and more .

The second and third taken in the back yard , and Leo cat is putting some weight back on , though still scratching himself more than usual , despite having had 'frontline' flea protection .

Now the News of the World is on about Gary Glitter again , who they photographed and filmed in London , reminding us that he's " still a constant danger and threat to innocent kids " .
Evidencing that he looked at waitresses in a Japanese restaurant , and 'exploited his hearing problem' to get one of them to lean closer to him . Or maybe he really could'nt hear what she was saying .
That he walked past two schoolgirls in the street - In the photo he did'nt appear to have noticed them - and that he's drunkenly tried to strike up conversation with women in the street , and with other men . But not children .
At the same time as warning us about the great danger they say that ' evil glitter the monster ' presents , the piece was written in a jokey way , saying his disguise makes him look like Rolf Harris  - " catchphrase - can you see what it is yet ? "  ,   and having added sinister 'horror movie' music to their one and a half minute video clip of him .
The point is that he's served his time for downloading nasty child-porn photos in the UK , and for having abused two girls , aged 10 and 11 , in Vietnam , which I am in no way whatever excusing , and I certainly would'nt invite him round as a family friend if I had daughters .
But his fame as a pop star in the seventies does'nt make him any more dangerous or worthy of punishment , there are people who've done worse than he did living amongst us who we've never heard of , he is not going to snatch children or babies off of the street , there is no evidence that he's been pursueing children since returning to Britain , and if he is so evil and dangerous , why do the notw write about him in such a sniggering way ?
If the notw were really the moral newspaper they pretend to be they would'nt be wallowing in tawdry smut week after week , and they'd be out to expose people , including paedophiles who are doing real harm in our society , not harrassing Mr. Glitter when there's no evidence that he is , or Max Mosley for his consensual private adult gathering .

On Radio5live they're talking about  hugging strangers , tomorrow / today , May 3rd .
It sounds great . Except that there's some people I would'nt want to hugged by , and , I'm sure , some who would'nt want to be hugged by me .
And that hugging strangers could lead to misunderstandings , and accusations of sexual assault .
It's called 'random huggers day' . About 'breaking down barriers' , as well as 'playfulness' and 'fun' .
Thirty people wearing 'random huggers' t-shirts in Richmond , Covent Garden and South Bank , London , and a possibly a few in Brighton , and in Falkirk , Scotland .
Offering  'free hugs' to 'random strangers' . For as long as the recipient wants the hug to continue .
The 'free huggers' work in pairs .
There's something very special , necessary , reassuring , healthy and healing about warmly given , received and reciprocated friendly affectionate hugs , which of course need'nt at all be sexual , though of course it's not impossible that they could arouse such feelings .
I do'nt meet many people who I feel impelled to hug , or many who I could'nt bear to hug if they wanted me to hug them .
This sounds like a minor , london-based gimmick , but how good it could be if it were to 'catch on' nationally , and internationally ... ?
So long as no one's compelled against their will to be hugged , which they would'nt be , and so long as those most in need of a hug do'nt get left out .

And So . . . It's Free Hugs Day .
Hug someone !?
http://www.randomhuggers.com/