21 Apr
Do you reckon we caused the Icelandic volcano to erupt too?
Edit: Some feminist skeptic came up with the genius idea of Boobquake, getting 100,000 women to show some cleavage, all in the name of demonstrating that women’s provocative clothing really doesn’t cause earthquakes.
12 Apr
We know the people behind the American Tea Party movement are idiots. Anyone who doesn’t think this, should check this video out.
Today, it hit the news – well The Michigan Messenger and not much else – that one of the sponsors of the “tea party” protests had been selling Straight Pride T shirts at a recent rally attended by Sarah Palin.
Given that only 35% of Americans who support the Tea Party movement think black people are hardworking and just 45% consider them intelligent, I’m surprised they weren’t selling the old White Pride bigotry too.
These people are actually serious
The Tea Party supporters – many of whom embrace the name “Teabaggers” – are named after the Boston Tea Party, when Americans dumped tea into Boston Harbor in protest at British colonial rule and taxation by the government of a foreign power who they did not elect. Somewhere along the line, they appear to have forgotten that Obama is neither a colonial ruler nor unelected (or that the values of the American Revolution were slightly more complex than denying healthcare to the poor).
“I am a big supporter of this movement… America is ready for another revolution and you are part of this.” Sarah Palin
Where’s the revolution to be found in a bunch of wannabe tax dodgers who don’t like having a black president?
11 Apr
The NHS has erroneously taken organs from 21 people after some sort of technical failure. The 21 in question were all signed up to the Organ Donor Register, but were fussy about which organs could be used to save lives and which they wanted to keep.
Apparently, lots of people (including this muppet) sign up to the register and specify that they are willing to donate all organs except their eyes. All the better to see in the grave?
As a result of this mistake, several people are now alive who would otherwise be dead. What can the headlines really say about this? NHS blunder saves 21 lives?
Every year 1000 people die because there aren’t enough organs.
11 Apr
There’s a troubling line in Salma Yaqoob’s latest election leaflet and on the Birmingham Respect website. It reads:
Everyone is equal no matter their race, religion or lifestyle.
Not only does this totally neglect the topic of women’s equality, it also forces us to question what exactly do Respect and parliamentary candidate Salma Yaqoob mean by “lifestyle”? After 6 years of ridicule and criticism, are Respect still getting it wrong on LGBT rights? If Respect consider being lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans a lifestyle, they are lining up with the religious right and a multitude of other bigots who don’t consider LGBT relationships to be natural.
Even if Respect doesn’t mean that LGBT people have made a lifestyle choice, we are forced to ask: where is the mention of LGBT liberation or combating homophobia? And would it kill Respect to finally elevate gender, sexuality and disability to the same level as race and religion?
8 Apr
The prize for the most hysterical headline of the year goes to (surprise, surprise) The Daily Fail with yesterday’s truly dramatic “NOW THE CLASS WAR BEGINS”.
Class war? Just because Labour pointed out that David Cameron is a bit of a toff?
Yes, it does matter if almost half (46%) of the Tory candidates who dare to reveal their schooling attended private schools, many of which – including David Cameron’s own Eton – cost substantially more than the average UK income. Yes, it matters that David Cameron is a relative of the Queen, a quintessential English toff masquerading as “Dave”, a nice ordinary guy. Yes, it matters that Cameron presents the argument that family (and by this he means married heterosexual couples) is more important to children than income: well of course it is in the case of the Camerons, with a joint income exceeding £400,000 before inheritances and a £1 million home sans mortgage. It’s considerably less easy to be a happy family when you’re poor, which is something David Cameron knows a grand total of fuck all about.
Pretending that David Cameron has anything in common with the vast majority of people in this country is absurd; pretending that he will act in the best interest of that majority, the ultimate propaganda joke.
Class war? Sadly not.
8 Apr
Further to my earlier post, it now appears that even a former chair of a Conservative Party gay rights group is voting for Labour in this election. Anastasia Beaumont-Bott was the first chair of LGBTory. She cites as her reason for voting Labour the failure of the Tories to reprimand Chris Grayling after his homophobic Bed and Breakfast gaffe. In her own words:
“I feel guilty because as a gay woman affected by LGBT rights I am on record saying you should vote Conservative, and I want to reverse that… I want to go on record to say don’t vote Conservative. I’d go as far to say that I’ll vote Labour at this general election.”
Beaumont-Bott adds that she left the Conservative Party after encountering homophobia in its ranks. More in The Independent.
Judging by what Tory Bear’s tweeting, it looks like the Conservatives are going to give her some real personal shit over this…
7 Apr
In case some of those LGBTory idiots are still in denial about their homophobic party, mygayvote has come up with this:
7 Apr
A few days ago, I went to see Clash of the Titans at the cinema. It was without doubt the worst film I’ve endured since that other waste of 2 hours of my life, Avatar. I’m aware that this is not going to be a popular opinion, but the two films have a lot in common (and not just that they’re expensive overwrought nonsense).
Clash of the Titans is a re-working of the famous 1981 film. It tells the story of Perseus, son of Zeus, and his journey to destroy the god of the underworld, Hades, before vengeance is taken on the men and women of Argos for their rebellion against the gods.
Back to the similarities between Clash of the Titans and Avatar. Firstly, they both star Sam Worthington in the title role. Worthington was good in Terminator 4 but in these two films he’s the onscreen equivalent of cream emulsion. I just couldn’t give a damn. I cared about some of the supporting characters, but let’s imagine Clash of the Titans’ hero, Perseus, had died half way through the film… It probably would have been a blessing.
The real problem is this: they are not films in their own right, but showcases for 3D Imax cinema. They’re like spun sugar; they look beautiful but really there’s nothing to them. They substitute a good script and solid acting perfomances for fantastic Computer Generated Imagery (CGI). Sure, you may leave the cinema thinking “wow” but the films fail to make any lasting impression. They have money thrown at them, but in the end they aren’t great- they’re just shiny and big and utterly devoid of character. Avatar even received an Academy Award nomination, presumably to honour all the money that was spent. The same thing happened with Titanic, another James Cameron megabucks production, but at least that film was an enjoyable disaster movie and at least people were moved enough to cry when Leonardo DiCaprio plunged to the icy depths of the Atlantic Ocean.
I believe modern special effects are 
the curse of cinema. Okay, they gave birth to the likes of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and some other fairly incredible films, but these only succeeded because the effects were there to tell the story; the story wasn’t written to showcase the effects. Take Avatar for instance. In so far as it has a plot, it’s a tale of Western colonialism, environmental destruction and genocide, with obvious parallels to what happened to the Native Americans. It would be typical Hollywood do-gooder fare, saccarine but watchable, except a good 90% of the film is devoted to exploring the beauty of the computer-designed scenery. I didn’t fall for it. The whole thing looked like a Herbal Essences advert.
Clash of the Titans is possibly even worse. I didn’t find it anywhere near so boring or overworked, but if the film makers had any integrity they would never have made the thing in the first place. They should have left the original alone, instead of attempting a big screen portrayal of Greek myth that is so intellectual vacuous, it makes Katie Price’s autobiography look like Dostoyevsky.
Generally speaking, where the special effects are poor (or better yet, non-existent) films have to focus on possessing a strong script and a stronger cast. When the special effects are good, the opposite is true. The 70s/80s Star Wars films are infinitely better than the more visually accomplished modern prequels. Likewise, the old Doctor Who episodes, with their cardboard sets and cardboard daleks, are considerably better than the ones airing on the BBC today. The online review site, Rotten Tomatoes, neatly summarises my conviction in its review of Clash of the Titans: “An obviously affectionate remake of the 1981 original, Louis Leterrier’s Clash of the Titans doesn’t offer enough visual thrills to offset the deficiencies of its script.” Quite.
Want to save cinema? Kill CGI.
6 Apr
Is George Galloway now taking money off Marks & Spencer as well as the Iranian state?
I thought George Galloway was all about boycotting Israel anyway.
6 Apr
1) Slapometer is a website that lets you slap Gordon Brown, David Cameron or Nick Clegg. I’ve been focusing on David Cameron. He even talks to you as you slap him, which is a nice touch. A quick glance at who’s getting slapped reveals what everyone knows already: half the country loathes Brown, half loathes Cameron and no one gives a damn about Nick Clegg.
2) The Guardian correctly points out that Labour’s newest publicity bears an uncanny resemblance to an advert for breakfast cereal.
3) Talking about Labour publicity, 93% of Labour candidates don’t have pictures of Gordon Brown on their publicity. 86% don’t even mention his name.
4) Splintered Sunrise writes about the people behind the Tory – Ulster Unionist Alliance, standing under the name Ulster Conservative and Unionist New Force. Sounds like something from Star Wars. The UCUNF’s candidates include a Freddie Mercury impersonator (standing for Queen and country, geddit?) and a man called Ian Parsley. I’m not kidding.
5) Surprise, surprise, Salma Yaqoob launches her election campaign for Respect with a gender segregated meeting…
6) Peter Tatchell claims that Chris Grayling’s attitude reveals the “real Tories”. Gay equality? What gay equality?
7) Tweetminster lets you see what Prospective Parliamentary Candidates are tweeting. Pass me a bucket:
“After spending more than 10 hours chained outside Burnley General Hospital, I am ready to do anything for the people of Pendle” - Afzal Anwar, Lib Dem
“Really proud of younger people taking a lead alongside older members in our campaign: Labour is the party of the next generation”- Alison McGovern, Labour
“The Official Campaign Song is: I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash. Perfect lyrics: http://j.mp/dnBGJ4 Just don’t ask me to sing it” – Claire Perry, Conservative
