Wednesday, September 30, 2009
I am a gadfly flapping around in the wind of public opinion or somewhat, so needed Kate Harding to remind me that Roman Polanski drug-raped a child and was then a fugitive from justice for thirty years, not a victim of cruel and unusual prejudice. She presents some especially inglorious highlights from the 'OMG!!1! Will no-one think of the poor persecuted rich artist who has been able to get on with his career in Europe' crowd. She points to Joan Shore at HuffPo who, in what I hope is a satirical piece, says that while she doesn't mind about the Swiss Banks holding on to all that looted Nazi gold what she can't stand is their police seizing a rapist. A surprising number of film directors and producers seem to share this view, including Henning Molfenter, who is quoted as saying "There is no way I'd go to Switzerland now. You can't watch films knowing Roman Polanski is sitting in a cell 5km away". Then there is Whoopi Goldberg, who doesn't think nonconsensual sex with a minor is rape. Bernard-Henri Lévy manages to sum up the issue in the pompous manner we all love the French for, We ask the Swiss courts to free him immediately and not to turn this ingenious filmmaker into a martyr of a politico-legal imbroglio that is unworthy of two democracies like Switzerland and the United States. Good sense, as well as honor, require it. Yep, it's dishonourable to pursue a felon for a crime they pleaded guilty to. Fortunately not everyone on HuffPo wants to give a pass to artists.
There's more from Kate Harding here.
If you like that sort of thing, there's a Facebook group here.
There's more from Kate Harding here.
If you like that sort of thing, there's a Facebook group here.
Labels: art, Europe, movies, rapists, United States
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Solidarity with Serbian LGBT Demo
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Text Adventure Pop Songs
I'm not sure if I've invented a meme or rediscovered an old one, but pop music in the style of those old text-driven adventure games. Ok Go!
Common People by Pulp.
>LEAVE GREECE
She came from Greece, she had a thirst for knowledge
>GET PLANE TO HEATHROW
>GET TRAIN TO LONDON
>GET TUBE TO HOLBORN
>EXIT TUBE STATION
>N
>ENTER Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
>ENROL ON SCULPTURE COURSE
She studied sculpture at Saint Martin's College
>LOOK
>EXAMINE TALL AND POOR LOOKING MAN
That's where I caught her eye
>SAY TO MAN "MY DAD HAS LOTS OF MONEY"
She told me that her Dad was loaded
I said "In that case I'll have rum and coca-cola
>SAY TO MAN "FINE"
She said "fine"
>WAIT
>WAIT
>WAIT
And then in 30 seconds time she said
>BEGIN CLASS TOURISM
"I want to live like common people
I want to do whatever common people do
I want to sleep with common people
I want to sleep with common people like you"
>WAIT
Well what else could I do?
I said "I'll see what I can do"
>LEAVE Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
>S
>ENTER Sainsburys
I took her to a supermarket
>SAY TO MAN "WHY ARE WE HERE?"
I don't know why
but I had to start it somewhere
so it started there
I said "pretend you've got no money"
>LAUGH
but she just laughed
>SAY TO MAN "Oh YOU'RE SO FUNNY"
and said "oh you're so funny"
I said "Yeah
Well I can't see anyone else smiling in here
Are you sure
you want to live like common people
you want to see whatever common people see
you want to sleep with common people
you want to sleep with common people like me?"
>SAY TO MAN "PARDON?"
But she didn't understand
>SMILE
>GET HIS HAND
she just smiled and held my hand
>BUY A COPY OF LOOT
>EXAMINE LOOT
>ARRANGE VIEWING OF PROPERTIES ABOVE SHOPS WITH LOW WEEKLY RENT
>ARRANGE TENANCY CONTRACT FOR PROPERTY
Rent a flat above a shop
>VISIT HAIRDRESSERS
>HAVE HAIR CUT
>VISIT JOB CENTRE
>SIGN ON JOB SEEKERS ALLOWANCE
Cut your hair and get a job
>VISIT NEWSAGENTS
>BUY CIGARETTES
>SMOKE CIGARETTES
>VISIT POOL HALL
>PLAY POOL
Smoke some fags and play some pool
>DROP THE LETTER 'H' FROM SPEECH
>MIS-SPELL WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
Pretend you never went to school
But still you'll never get it right
>GO TO BED
'cos when you're laid in bed at night
>EXAMINE WALLS
watching roaches climb the wall
>CONSIDER PHONING FATHER
if you called your dad he could stop it all
yeah
You'll never live like common people
You'll never do whatever common people do
You'll never fail like common people
You'll never watch your life slide out of view
and then dance and drink and screw
because there's nothing else to do
>VISIT PUB IN A WORKING CLASS AREA
>SING
Sing along with the common people
Sing along and it might just get you through
>LAUGH
Laugh along with the common people
Laugh along although they're laughing at you
>DO SOMETHING STUPID
and the stupid things that you do
>THINK 'POOR IS COOL'
because you think that poor is cool
Like a dog lying in a corner
they will bite you and never warn you
Look out
they'll tear your insides out
>VISIT A&E DEPARTMENT
>ASK NURSE FOR TREATMENT FOR BITES
>ASK NURSE FOR RABIES SHOT
'cos everybody hates a tourist
especially one who thinks
>LAUGH AT A&E
>GO TO WORK
>LAUGH
>GO TO FLAT
>LAUGH
>GO TO POOL HALL
>LAUGH
>LEAVE HURRIEDLY
it's all such a laugh
>GO TO FLAT
>PREPARE BATH
yeah and the chip stains and grease
>WASH OFF CHIP STAINS
>WASH OFF GREASE
will come out in the bath
>UNDERSTAND HOW IT FEELS TO LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH NO MEANING OR CONTROL AND WITH NOWHERE LEFT TO GO
(fail)
>UNDERSTAND HOW IT FEELS TO LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH NO MEANING OR CONTROL AND WITH NOWHERE LEFT TO GO
(fail)
>UNDERSTAND HOW IT FEELS TO LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH NO MEANING OR CONTROL AND WITH NOWHERE LEFT TO GO
(fail)
>UNDERSTAND HOW IT FEELS TO LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH NO MEANING OR CONTROL AND WITH NOWHERE LEFT TO GO
(fail)
You will never understand
how it feels to live your life
with no meaning or control
and with nowhere left to go
>GIVE UP
>BE AMAZED AT HOW WONDERFUL THE WORKING CLASS PEOPLE ARE
You are amazed that they exist
and they burn so bright
whilst you can only wonder why
>BUY A COPY OF LOOT
>EXAMINE LOOT
>ARRANGE VIEWING OF DIFFERENT PROPERTIES ABOVE SHOPS WITH LOW WEEKLY RENT
>ARRANGE TENANCY CONTRACT FOR A NEW PROPERTY
Rent a flat above a shop
>VISIT HAIRDRESSERS
>HAVE ANOTHER HAIR CUT
>VISIT JOB CENTRE
>SIGN ON JOB SEEKERS
>LISTEN AS IT'S EXPLAINED THAT SIGNING ON TO JOB SEEKERS ALLOWANCE TWICE IS 'FRAUD'
>APOLOGISE
Cut your hair and get a job
>VISIT NEWSAGENTS
>BUY CIGARETTES
>SMOKE CIGARETTES
>VISIT POOL HALL
>PLAY POOL
Smoke some fags and play some pool
>DROP THE LETTER 'H' FROM SPEECH
>MIS-SPELL WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
Pretend you never went to school
But still you'll never get it right
>GO TO BED
'cos when you're laid in bed at night
>EXAMINE WALLS
watching roaches climb the wall
>CONSIDER PHONING FATHER
if you called your dad he could stop it all
yeah
You'll never live like common people
You'll never do whatever common people do
You'll never fail like common people
You'll never watch your life slide out of view
and then dance and drink and screw
'because there's nothing else to do
I want to live with common people like you.....
>STOP CLASS TOURISM
Common People by Pulp.
>LEAVE GREECE
She came from Greece, she had a thirst for knowledge
>GET PLANE TO HEATHROW
>GET TRAIN TO LONDON
>GET TUBE TO HOLBORN
>EXIT TUBE STATION
>N
>ENTER Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
>ENROL ON SCULPTURE COURSE
She studied sculpture at Saint Martin's College
>LOOK
>EXAMINE TALL AND POOR LOOKING MAN
That's where I caught her eye
>SAY TO MAN "MY DAD HAS LOTS OF MONEY"
She told me that her Dad was loaded
I said "In that case I'll have rum and coca-cola
>SAY TO MAN "FINE"
She said "fine"
>WAIT
>WAIT
>WAIT
And then in 30 seconds time she said
>BEGIN CLASS TOURISM
"I want to live like common people
I want to do whatever common people do
I want to sleep with common people
I want to sleep with common people like you"
>WAIT
Well what else could I do?
I said "I'll see what I can do"
>LEAVE Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
>S
>ENTER Sainsburys
I took her to a supermarket
>SAY TO MAN "WHY ARE WE HERE?"
I don't know why
but I had to start it somewhere
so it started there
I said "pretend you've got no money"
>LAUGH
but she just laughed
>SAY TO MAN "Oh YOU'RE SO FUNNY"
and said "oh you're so funny"
I said "Yeah
Well I can't see anyone else smiling in here
Are you sure
you want to live like common people
you want to see whatever common people see
you want to sleep with common people
you want to sleep with common people like me?"
>SAY TO MAN "PARDON?"
But she didn't understand
>SMILE
>GET HIS HAND
she just smiled and held my hand
>BUY A COPY OF LOOT
>EXAMINE LOOT
>ARRANGE VIEWING OF PROPERTIES ABOVE SHOPS WITH LOW WEEKLY RENT
>ARRANGE TENANCY CONTRACT FOR PROPERTY
Rent a flat above a shop
>VISIT HAIRDRESSERS
>HAVE HAIR CUT
>VISIT JOB CENTRE
>SIGN ON JOB SEEKERS ALLOWANCE
Cut your hair and get a job
>VISIT NEWSAGENTS
>BUY CIGARETTES
>SMOKE CIGARETTES
>VISIT POOL HALL
>PLAY POOL
Smoke some fags and play some pool
>DROP THE LETTER 'H' FROM SPEECH
>MIS-SPELL WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
Pretend you never went to school
But still you'll never get it right
>GO TO BED
'cos when you're laid in bed at night
>EXAMINE WALLS
watching roaches climb the wall
>CONSIDER PHONING FATHER
if you called your dad he could stop it all
yeah
You'll never live like common people
You'll never do whatever common people do
You'll never fail like common people
You'll never watch your life slide out of view
and then dance and drink and screw
because there's nothing else to do
>VISIT PUB IN A WORKING CLASS AREA
>SING
Sing along with the common people
Sing along and it might just get you through
>LAUGH
Laugh along with the common people
Laugh along although they're laughing at you
>DO SOMETHING STUPID
and the stupid things that you do
>THINK 'POOR IS COOL'
because you think that poor is cool
Like a dog lying in a corner
they will bite you and never warn you
Look out
they'll tear your insides out
>VISIT A&E DEPARTMENT
>ASK NURSE FOR TREATMENT FOR BITES
>ASK NURSE FOR RABIES SHOT
'cos everybody hates a tourist
especially one who thinks
>LAUGH AT A&E
>GO TO WORK
>LAUGH
>GO TO FLAT
>LAUGH
>GO TO POOL HALL
>LAUGH
>LEAVE HURRIEDLY
it's all such a laugh
>GO TO FLAT
>PREPARE BATH
yeah and the chip stains and grease
>WASH OFF CHIP STAINS
>WASH OFF GREASE
will come out in the bath
>UNDERSTAND HOW IT FEELS TO LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH NO MEANING OR CONTROL AND WITH NOWHERE LEFT TO GO
(fail)
>UNDERSTAND HOW IT FEELS TO LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH NO MEANING OR CONTROL AND WITH NOWHERE LEFT TO GO
(fail)
>UNDERSTAND HOW IT FEELS TO LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH NO MEANING OR CONTROL AND WITH NOWHERE LEFT TO GO
(fail)
>UNDERSTAND HOW IT FEELS TO LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH NO MEANING OR CONTROL AND WITH NOWHERE LEFT TO GO
(fail)
You will never understand
how it feels to live your life
with no meaning or control
and with nowhere left to go
>GIVE UP
>BE AMAZED AT HOW WONDERFUL THE WORKING CLASS PEOPLE ARE
You are amazed that they exist
and they burn so bright
whilst you can only wonder why
>BUY A COPY OF LOOT
>EXAMINE LOOT
>ARRANGE VIEWING OF DIFFERENT PROPERTIES ABOVE SHOPS WITH LOW WEEKLY RENT
>ARRANGE TENANCY CONTRACT FOR A NEW PROPERTY
Rent a flat above a shop
>VISIT HAIRDRESSERS
>HAVE ANOTHER HAIR CUT
>VISIT JOB CENTRE
>SIGN ON JOB SEEKERS
>LISTEN AS IT'S EXPLAINED THAT SIGNING ON TO JOB SEEKERS ALLOWANCE TWICE IS 'FRAUD'
>APOLOGISE
Cut your hair and get a job
>VISIT NEWSAGENTS
>BUY CIGARETTES
>SMOKE CIGARETTES
>VISIT POOL HALL
>PLAY POOL
Smoke some fags and play some pool
>DROP THE LETTER 'H' FROM SPEECH
>MIS-SPELL WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
Pretend you never went to school
But still you'll never get it right
>GO TO BED
'cos when you're laid in bed at night
>EXAMINE WALLS
watching roaches climb the wall
>CONSIDER PHONING FATHER
if you called your dad he could stop it all
yeah
You'll never live like common people
You'll never do whatever common people do
You'll never fail like common people
You'll never watch your life slide out of view
and then dance and drink and screw
'because there's nothing else to do
I want to live with common people like you.....
>STOP CLASS TOURISM
Labels: Britpop, humour, music, TextAdventurePopSongs
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Crane Park Nature Reserve
Crane Park Nature Reserve
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Some humour for Saturday morning. Keith Olberman goes after Glenn Beck and it's hilarious.
And there's more.
And there's more.
Labels: Fox, Glenn Beck, News International, United States, YouTube
Friday, September 04, 2009
I'm interested in this report from the New York Times that Conservative parents in Houston don't want President Obama to give a speech at their children's school, not so much for that , I tend to think these kind of nuts have always existed and that, possibly goosed by Karl Rove during the Shrubya years, mainstream media will quite happily give vastly disproportionate mention to Conservative craziness to fill column space (have the Birthers gone away yet?). But what caught my eye was this:
"The thing that concerned me most about it was it seemed like a direct channel from the president of the United States into the classroom, to my child," said Brett Curtiss, an engineer from Pearland, Tex., who said he would keep his three children home.
"I don’t want our schools turned over to some socialist movement."
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this fear of infection a purely right-wing thing? Left-wingers will barrack or ignore or walk out on someone they disagree with, I can see opponents of Shrubya pulling their kids because they don't want them used in a poster moment for the war, or because they don't believe Shrubya won the election in 2000 or so on, but I don't think we've ever heard them say "Little Britney went to hear George W. Bush and now she believes that God is telling her to invade next door to liberate their puppy and toys".
So is this exactly the same impulse which one's political culture educates them to react in a specific way? I'm not saying that everyone who is a Conservative reacts like this and all left-wingers behave the opposite, I'm talking about what might just be small groups on either side and I'm probably trying to speak of groups too small to really statistically matter.
"The thing that concerned me most about it was it seemed like a direct channel from the president of the United States into the classroom, to my child," said Brett Curtiss, an engineer from Pearland, Tex., who said he would keep his three children home.
"I don’t want our schools turned over to some socialist movement."
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this fear of infection a purely right-wing thing? Left-wingers will barrack or ignore or walk out on someone they disagree with, I can see opponents of Shrubya pulling their kids because they don't want them used in a poster moment for the war, or because they don't believe Shrubya won the election in 2000 or so on, but I don't think we've ever heard them say "Little Britney went to hear George W. Bush and now she believes that God is telling her to invade next door to liberate their puppy and toys".
So is this exactly the same impulse which one's political culture educates them to react in a specific way? I'm not saying that everyone who is a Conservative reacts like this and all left-wingers behave the opposite, I'm talking about what might just be small groups on either side and I'm probably trying to speak of groups too small to really statistically matter.
Labels: Barack Obama, Conservatives, George 'Shrubya' Bush, lefties, United States
