A masterpiece of one-upmanship (or should that be one-downmanship?)
Entertainment.
One of my many, many personal Monty Python favourites — the Pope and Michaelangelo:
All text © 2009 Gary William Murning
It was inevitable, really, wasn’t it? Obama orders Guantánamo to be closed, knife robberies and burglaries are up in the UK, Gaza smugglers get back to work — and the story that everybody seems to be talking about most is Jonathan Ross’s return to television after his three-month ban for making lewd calls with Russell Brand to the actor Andrew Sachs.
And, of course, it’s just as inevitable that I feel I have to say something further on this quite ridiculous state of affairs.
Initially, because of the involvement of Andrew Sachs, I considered this “prank”, or whatever you want to call it, a joke too far. His granddaughter, in my opinion, was fair game, but to involve him in that way… it just left a rather bad taste (as the “dancer” said to the “comedian”). In the intervening months, however, with the BBC continually being pushed to monitor and restrict more rigidly what their presenters say, I find my more usual stance coming to the fore on this matter.
It is time to take a step back, yet again, ladies and gentlemen, and survey this whole episode — and all similar episodes — more rationally, without the knee-jerk response of “that’s offensive!”
What really made me sit up and take notice today was a reference that some guy made on BBC News 24 to an earlier comment Jonathan Ross had made to David Cameron — Ross asking Cameron whether he had fantasised about Margaret Thatcher. This was given as evidence of Jonathan Ross’s recidivistic tendencies. He’s a bad boy now and he’s always been a bad boy. Why? Because he makes jokes about people in positions of power/authority? Because the jokes push the boundaries of good taste? I’m sorry, but this kind of joke is very different to the mistakes he would later make — and the very suggestion that such humour should be somehow eradicated, or even edited, is, frankly, unacceptable and deeply disturbing.
As Kurt Vonnegut said “The best jokes are dangerous, and dangerous because they are in some way truthful.”
Such humour plays a vitally important role in our society. Its purpose is to challenge, to say the things that we feel we cannot say ourselves. To impose restrictions, to pander to the simpering, politically correct idiots who are scared to offend anyone and everyone, is a further imposition — a further dilution of our right to express an opinion, however unorthodox.
Jonathan Ross made an error of judgement. Speaking for myself, I’d much rather live in a world where such mistakes can occur than one where the censorship of the imagined masses removes all possibility of their ever happening.
I’m not quite up to proper blogging, yet (getting there, though), but something a friend said on Twitter reminded me (by a slightly circuitous route) of this — and I just had to share.
All text © 2009 Gary William Murning
BBC News.
Losing one’s sight must be one of the most frightening experiences imaginable. It’s something that I have thought about on occasion — how it would affect me, the sights I would no longer be able to enjoy except in memory. The vulnerability of it, I’m sure, I would find especially difficult to contend with.
But also being unable to escape to the pages of a book would have a huge impact on me and my ability to deal with such a situation. My favourite refuge would be — without the possibility of learning Braille — out of bounds. Granted, audio books would be a possibility but… the times I’ve listened to them as a sighted person this medium has always struck me as far removed from the act of reading itself. Braille, it seems to me, would be the only replacement I’d find authentic enough.
So — a worthwhile cause, I would say.
“Donations to the campaign can be made via the National Braille Week website or by calling 0300 321 0000.”
BBC News.
© 2009 Gary William Murning except for quotations.
Whilst researching, earlier today, the soundtrack for “something” I won’t be mentioning or sharing in any real detail for quite a while, I stumbled across a song that fitted my requirements perfectly. Already very familiar with it, I was again struck by just how powerful it is in its original form.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Jacques Brel, be warned — he isn’t very pretty. But as a poet and performer, he truly was magnificent.
All text © 2008 Gary William Murning
Okay, I surrender. It’s Christmas and this here atheist feels Christmassy. What the hell.
Let it snow and let there be Elvis. Christmas as it really should be.
[Edit: My apologies — I had to turn off the snow because it was messing up the loading of my page… hell, Christmas makes me feel so darned powerful…]
All text © 2008 Gary William Murning
It would seem that Virgin Media — UK supplier of broadband, telephone services (landline and cellphone) and cable television — is finally getting its finger out and beginning the process of providing a better, more competitive package of services.
‘Speaking at the launch of Virgin’s 50Mbps broadband service [yesterday], Berkett [Virgin Media chief executive] said that four linear high definition channels would join the digital cable lineup “over the next three months”.
‘Berkett said that “getting access to HD was problematic” because a platform operator and broadcaster – alluding to Sky – had “locked HD away for a period of time”. He said that the situation “has changed over the last 18 months” and that “a lot of non-platform providers” now have content to offer in high definition.’
Today it has also been announced that their 10Mb and 20Mb broadband services will be migrated over to its new DOCSIS 3 platform.
‘The new version of DOCSIS – the specification for data over cable – permits channels to be “bonded” to allow more efficient use of the available spectrum. Virgin has built the new version 3 infrastructure for its new 50Mbps service, launched yesterday, but will migrate its mid and high tier customers to the platform.
‘Chief technology officer Howard Watson likened the move to “adding lanes to the M25″ and then ensuring that all Virgin Media customers could benefit from the new capacity. The original DOCSIS 1 network will be retained for the entry tier 2Mbps service.
‘”In time, the upgrade to DOCSIS 3.0 means Virgin Media will be able to handle more than three times the data currently handled by the cable network,” the company said.’
With the rumoured possibility of the rolling out of an ISPTV television platform in the not too distant/distant future, could it be possible that they may actually be working at establishing themselves as a real competitor to Sky?
It doesn’t seem all that is feasible. But we can hope, right?
Many of you will already be familiar with Richard Dawkins’s series, Enemies of Reason. In this series, Dawkins examines the all-too-readily accepted charlatanism of psychics, astrology, homoeopathy and more.
During one section of Enemies of Reason concerning spiritual readings, Dawkins interviews the illusionist Derren Brown in order that he might be better prepared for the tricks (cold reading etc) that will inevitably be used during a visit he plans to make to a spiritualist church.
Below, you will find the complete, uncut interview (not shown in the original series.) The interview is taken from “The Enemies of Reason: The Uncut Interviews“.
All text © 2008 Gary William Murning
Okay, so it’s true. As bizarre as it might seem, and however much you might wish not to hear it, I, the above-mentioned Gary William Murning, writer, owner of this website, world-renowned grumpy old bastard, actually felt — very briefly — a little bit Christmassy earlier today. It was rather fleeting, and, you’re right, it may just have been the cheese I ate last night, but there it is. I looked at the token Christmas tree, thought how pretty the lights and baubles looked —
— and then slapped myself a few times, went along to YouTube (dashing all the way) and found the perfect antidote.
Dear Stephen Fry and the QI team. Facts many of us are possibly already more than familiar with, but presented so entertainingly!
