Tube booze party ‘irresponsible’
… according to the RMT Union.
Yes, but during the course of public drunkenness and anti-establishment revelry, was anyone stabbed, punched, robbed or molested? Nope, doesn’t look like it!
[Later edit: Looks like there was some disorder, but it's hard to tell whether that's TfL applying a bit of spin to discredit the protesters. Still, it only really demonstrates the usual "few bad apples" truism, rather than conclusively justifying Boris's new policy.]
Apologies for the lack of action, but I’ve been busy doing the sort of vital work stuff that always takes longer than you expect it will. I’ll ease myself back into bloggery with a quick’n'easy website recommendation…
I don’t know about you, but I think the spEak You’re bRanes site does a great job of highlighting all of the most laughably awful drivel from the BBC’s Have Your Say comment site. The latest addition to the site is quite brilliant… an automatic HYS post generator!
So can we now finally lay to rest the assumption that British football violence is exclusively English, and that the Scots are just a bunch of lovable cartoon characters?
Uefa final: Rangers fans’ rampage (Channel 4)
The sooner the collective governing bodies accept that the potential for violence and hooliganism is a consistent presence in several countries, the better it can be dealt with. Labelling one country as the “sick man of European football” makes for a convenient way of passing the buck, but allows the wider problem to fester and deteriorate. Just ask the Italians.
Just when Photoshop trickery memes seem to be getting a bit old hat, along comes a cool new idea that makes me alternately giggle and WTF?!…
As a concept on paper, “photos of babies and fathers with their heads swapped” doesn’t sound particularly interesting, but there’s some freaky stuff there.
It’s my considered opinion that Bumblefoot’s album “Normal” is the finest rock album of the 21st century so far. Nick mentioned how he’s been playing the Alter Bridge album constantly, and that’s exactly how it was for me when “Normal” came out. I don’t think I listened to much else for a couple of weeks, and I still have regularly obsessive phases now, where nothing else quite hits the spot.
So… with the promise of a new album from the splendid Mr Thal this summer, I’m getting pretty excited, and the “Bumblefoot in the Studio” video diary on his Youtube channel is just SO tantalising!
(But not the edible variety, which is much older)
Farewell to the SuperSaver as train tickets change to simplify travel (Guardian)
The complexity of the train ticketing system is not the problem. It’s occasionally a minor annoyance, but not a real problem. The problem is the illusion of choice, where only a tiny number of cheap tickets are available, and the majority of available tickets are “full fare”. When the train companies reduce the price of standard tickets by about 50%, we’ll talk.
It’s all balloons and bunting here, as I prepare for a day of national pride. I decided that we just don’t spend enough time celebrating our identity in the when-it-suits-us British regional sub-entity of England. Maybe it’s because we share our current patron saint, St George, with rather a lot of Johnny Foreigners. We need a national identity we can live by!
So, after at least five minutes of serious thought, I came up with a name for our new patron saint. Please lumber reluctantly to your feet and mumble some sort of half-hearted praise for…
ST GORGE!
St Gorge is so much more relevant to England in the 21st century, and the people who are so desperate to show their pride in this sub-division of an already tiny country. A symbol of indiscriminate consumption, St Gorge celebrates our love of cheap lager, stodgy fast food and shouting abuse at strangers (especially immigrants and poofs).
I’ve even made a new flag! However, rather than completely dispensing with the old one, so popular with those lovable racists, I’ve incorporated elements of the old flag of St George. To bring things up to date, I’ve added the familiar “Stella Rampant” motif, and modified the shape of the cross to reflect the sagging beer bellies and limp dicks of the proud warriors who represent all that is specifically English.
I’ve been a fan of Paul Ford’s Ftrain writings for ages, but this article, from the Morning News, is one of the best things I’ve ever read by him…
I’ve never yet been the victim of credit card fraud, but I know that the banks tend to treat their guiltless customers like criminals in these cases. On the moneysavingexpert site, forum member “zincoxide” has been plagued with calls from a debt collector after being a victim of card fraud, and his responses are some of the best comedy I’ve read in ages…
[edit: oh, and post #147, from a call-centre worker, is interesting]
