Lady McScamp.

Hark! A new blog!

2011-11-08T22:08:00.000Z

After practically giving up on this blog a long time ago I felt like I needed some sort of an outlet for anything & everything in my mind and my life has changed so much that I wanted a new blog to go with it, so here it is Dame in The 'Diff! *loud drum roll & excitable roaring crowd noises diminish in a wave of disappointment to a confused 'is that it?' silence*

I wanted something fun which referenced my new home (I vetoed Broad in The Bay...) and felt that 'Dame' was a nod to my love of noir so it fitted perfectly. I've just discovered I can make it all purple so bear with me whilst it crawls from the ashes of my obsession with that colour, hopefully to something a little bit more interesting. Again I have no idea what I want to do with it, much as I didn't when I started this one but I think now I'm more aware of the need for sharing whatever is in my mind regardless if anyone is reading or cares. It's just nice to have some sort of purpose to it all isn't it? And at times when something is playing on my mind it can be quite cathartic to get it all out & have someone challenge a view or ease my mind so a new blog it is!

How to not be you!

2010-06-30T08:53:00.002+01:00

This caught my eye on MSN this morning, I dutifully clicked the link because, even though I'm not a woman who wants to become a captivating girl all the guys want to date, I am really curious about what they might suggest I do to become this girl. Unfortunately the link takes me to the MSN dating site which you have to join, I don't know if this is just a ploy to get you on there or if they genuinely have an article that advises women on how to magically transform themselves into alluring girls once you're a member and I'm not willing to join so will probably never know. The ad gives away so much though that I'm not too disappointed about missing out on whatever advice they have;

How To Be Captivating - You're not, you need help from an ad/article on a crappy messenger service.

Women - We respect you, we're not patronising you here or anything.

Ways to become the girl all the guys want - Again, you're not 'it' already so here's some advice/rules to follow to make you the non woman all the guys (not men or boys, it's like the mid range male group) apparently want, ignoring that this advice is generally bollocks designed to make women feel inadequate & most men who don't think they actually want that in their partners at all confused.

All in all, success! Feelings of confusion & inadequacy all round, now join our dating site which will spam the fuck out of you if it's not already charging you the earth to be on there in the first place & meet like minded also hiding their personalities behind a bunch of shitty rules/advice people.

Oh come on!

2010-06-10T18:15:00.003+01:00

Daily Mail type: ''Phone home! Don't you get it? He's homeless & living in a phone box so let's take the piss out of him! Also he's a foreign so phone home! Like ET that alien thing that didn't belong here either but that's totally not what we were alluding to really we just thought of the first phone related quote regarding homes, something this man doesn't have obviously haha, and threw it in there 'cos we're hilarious like that! We're totally not racist or anything and oo er is that the time best be off to the comments then.....'

Oh dear

This is what happens when too many foreigners come here to this already immensely overcrowded land

This poor man deserves better - preferably back in his own country where he belongs

- roger, brighton, 10/6/2010 13:41

I was about to write, get him deported but he lives in China, So why care he ain't here he ain't our problem.

DM try reporting issues about the UK that matter. Not some loser in China.

- Andrew, Norfolk, 10/6/2010 12:53

Me aged 10...

2010-06-06T15:54:00.002+01:00

For managing to win a rosette for having the smallest dog in the category of 'Littlest Dog at the show' (we were pretty confident he was going to win that one) I was on the front cover of the local newspaper, obviously no news that week & the dude doing the story (how he must've hated being sent to cover a crappy dog show) got my name wrong. Bazul was actually spelt correctly, my mum's decision as Basil was just too cliché or something, he was a little dog & I loved him to bits but my mum owned/fostered big, sometimes temperamental, dogs so he had to be re-homed :-(

Mistakes are made...

2010-06-03T19:06:00.003+01:00

...when typing with one hand rather than concentrating on the actual job at hand....

...also skirt of celeb's mate blown about by wind is a top news story...

WIFE!

2010-05-22T11:27:00.002+01:00

Jack White's wife?? Ok I know he's the musician but she's well known in her own right, I don't see Karen Elson & think 'oh that's Jack White's wife' I think 'That's Karen Elson, she's a model & she's married to Jack White'

How Jack White's wife found her voice

People get drunk on airplanes....

2010-05-18T18:17:00.002+01:00

Irishman? Really? Did that need to be said there for any other reason than for the Daily Mail to do it's raised eyebrows, knowing look at the audience ''I'm not saying anything, but you know.....'' routine?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1279301/Drunken-Jonathan-Rhys-Meyers-launches-foul-mouthed-tirade-airport-staff-hes-banned-boarding-plane.html

Some random* thoughts thrown together......

2010-04-11T10:37:00.005+01:00

I still see myself as a feminist, despite the fact that being white working class and not even a graduate, shock horror, leaves me out of the loop of most feminist discourse, which seems to be very much a nice graduates-only ladies' club for well-off women. I believe in and support equal pay and equal rights for all women, not just well off white and non-white western graduates, which to me makes me a feminist, even if I don't have anything in common but that word with many of those involved and haven't (thank fuck) mastered the impenetrable jargon.

(From CIF - the place that's scarier than the Fail comments.....)

Completely identify with this statement although I'm doing alright with the jargon I think, just not good at using it in my day-to-day life to be honest as my ''splain it in layman's terms Lady, no-body likes a show-off' thought process kicks in. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing, I'd rather be accessible than to isolate myself, one of my problems with feminism is that at times it seems like less of a political movement and more of an excuse for the posh peeps to stand in the corner sneering at the people they deem 'not one of us' which pisses me off for making it an exclusive club that not everyone is welcome in & because, well just really? It's like being 13 all over again and not liking the people who don't dress the same as you or like the same music as you because they 'don't get it like you do!' and their love of Kylie makes them stupid in comparison to you & your love Radiohead because Radiohead is the universally acknowledged band of the clever people or people who want to be seen as clever (See every Nu Metal band, Fred Durst could be a genius for all I know but the guy is a doofus & citing Radiohead as a favourite band will not change that).

I think feminists are trying to bring class issues to the fore but amusingly they too end up excluding the people they're trying to include by being such frickin' jargon based essaytastic showboats of someone's degree/PHD subject that no-one from the 'how can we include them?' class will ever get involved. It can be off putting but running away never solved anything so sticking around, soaking up the theories, coming to my own conclusions but being open to others has been kind to me, not always & loads of times I've thrown a strop about nothing relating to me & my experiences unless it's dictating what I can & can't do in my life - I can't say that's not always the case & sometimes it does seem like a masochistic way to spend my free time when I'm reading shit that makes me feel like a crappy person because I liked that one song or wear mascara but then I step back, realise that yes I do comprehend the theories behind what's being said but I respectfully disagree regardless of the fact that I can't argue my case particularly well like they can. Doesn't mean my voice is any less valid, doesn't mean that they're voice is any more valid.
Also, in all walks of life there are complete arseholes that will only ever feel happy with their dictating to others, 'I understand it all better than you' superiority complex, politics is like shit to a fly for those people.

*Random. I hate that word even when it's used correctly rather than just thrown around to explain a perfectly normal situation that someone wants to exaggerate 'wow the canteen has cake, that's like totally random' - although it's the less offensive of the 3 R's that are used to over exaggerate in daily life - the other 2 being Raped & Retarded.

I'm......confused....

2010-04-11T10:24:00.002+01:00

it might seem odd to hear Lady Gaga preaching restraint, but to be fair to her, what she’s really advocating is a woman’s right to choose.

‘Something I do want to celebrate with my fans is that it’s OK to be whomever it is that you want to be. You don’t have to have sex to feel good about yourself, and if you’re not ready, don’t do it.’ (‘And if you are ready,’ she adds, ‘there are free condoms given away at my concerts when you’re leaving!’

Lauper & GaGa promoting the Viva Glam campaign in the Daily Mail.....the first 2 lines......in the Fail.....who knew they knew? :-P

(I've never bought a Viva Glam lippie, more of a red gal so might pick up Lauper's lippie, do they still have older versions? The US site has Viva Glam 1 which is gorgeous)

Music related linkage...

2010-04-06T21:06:00.002+01:00

YOU KNOW WHAT?

Older generation female rocker ladies making uninformed judgment calls about women making music today, and how (sorry, Jude) no one is angry anymore how the nineties were so much better, when we had Liz Phair and Hole and Belly and L7 on MTV* (aka the blinded nostalgia trope of the aging rock n' roll feminist) IS REALLY FUCKING UNPRODUCTIVE.

I knew there was a reason....

2010-03-20T16:01:00.003Z

....that I've always been rather fond of Kate Nash aside from her music.....

An avowed feminist, Nash makes it a point of principle to work with female sound engineers and roadies wherever possible. "It's really important to be a strong role model. It's one of my main things because I feel I've been exposed in such an extreme way to a lot of sexism. I've become aware of being in a very male-dominated industry where a door opens and it's like, 'Oh hello, it's 12 men and me. Again.'"

Genre Feminism

2010-03-18T22:05:00.003Z

Daughters of Earth: Feminist Science Fiction in the Twentieth Century - This review from The F Word made me wonder if there are any books devoted to the subject of feminism in genres rather than feminist genre fiction. I have the following 3 books, am halfway through The Supergirls which is a pretty interesting, it's the history of superheroines & feminism in comics, the other 2 I'm yet to start. Anyone know of anymore?

In the Chinks of the World Machine: Feminism and Science Fiction

The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines

Ink-stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: Superwomen in Modern Mythology

Another playlist...

2010-03-18T21:44:00.002Z

Comic Book Music! from Leenygma.

(Yes, I'm pretty much filling some space with non Lady Gaga related music. I'm not ashamed to like her but if you ever defend someone or something that then becomes a defining feature of your personality ie 'You're a huge fan' which isn't true. I'm a crappy casual half arsed Gaga fan at best. Is the same if you criticise someone/something - suddenly you are so not a fan in fact you pretty much hate them & wish death/destruction upon them right now! Which is more than a little twisted, I can love something & still be critical, dislike something & see the positive side or just plain adore/hate things - anyway, enough of that, go listen to some comic themed musics!)

Another awesome playlist......

2010-03-13T15:36:00.002Z

As a much needed antidote to all the Lady GaGa all over the place, I'm currently listening to & liking this playlist “I never try anything. I just do it. Wanna try me?”- Varla, “Faster,Pussycat! Kill! Kill!”

and still loving this one from the other day;

Consumerism Harms Women

Lady GaGa

2010-03-13T15:27:00.002Z

I can't say I'm a rabid Lady GaGa fan, I'm not going to any concerts any time soon but I do love her quite a bit. A lot of people don't and clog up comment threads with their complaints, claiming to 'not get it' or wondering out loud why anyone else on earth can possibly like her in that smug way people do when they believe they have good taste. You don't like Lady GaGa - we get that, we really do, we hear you saying it all the time & if that's all you have to say then sod off 'cos it's the musical equivalent of disliking football but then seeking out discussions about football for the sole purpose of complaining about why people pay to watch this shit/it's just men kicking a ball around...blah blah blah

Chances are the Lady GaGa haters don't actually like pop music all together but wander into these discussions in some sort of confused state, baffled as to why everyone else seems to like her including people they respect, 'if that person I respect like her' they think 'then I must to, right?' But then they don't and can't understand why and lash out in the manner of a confused cat getting a flea bath.

Lady GaGa is easy to get & easier to like but you don't have to, it's perfectly acceptable to just not be a fan, you don't have to like her & you don't have to understand why other people do. If you like pop music, and by pop I mean cheesy throwaway pop that is anywhere & everywhere one minute then nowhere the next then you probably like Lady GaGa. If you have an ipod filled with songs you don't really like, by artists you absolutely can't stand but dammit that song they did that one time was so catchy that you secretly love it although you hope no-one ever gets a hold of your ipod & finds out you have it on there then you probably like Lady GaGa. If you like pop music videos, those trashy, crappy, bright & sparkly images that litter your screen with their vapid personality free icons & their meaningless imagery then you probably like Lady GaGa.

If you dislike all of the above then there's a pretty obvious conclusion you will reach, right? If you're not saying 'I don't like Lady GaGa' then I clearly don't get you. I might add, also acceptable to like all the above & still not like her personal taste being what it is and all, I'm just saying the above kinda makes a person more inclined to like her.....

The criticisms;

'She has no talent' - Well yeah she does actually, singing, playing actual, genuine musical instruments, writing/producing songs for herself & others, plus there's her image, stage show & music videos....which leads to...

'If you strip away the image you're left with nothing' - Which is almost true, you're left with a woman who seems to have interests & opinions beyond reality tv style fame & a mind of her own creating pretty decent pop music, pop music that you either like or dis-like.

'She's nothing without the image/her music means nothing' - Again, is pop music, you like it or dislike it, image is something that goes with it, not a new concept. Every artist has an image, as with the music you can like or dislike it, some people like theatrical costumes & extravagant stage shows - I should add those to the list of 'probably likes Lady GaGa' .....

'She's not a feminist' - This is usually in response to the many self identifying feminist fans that love her, well Missy Elliott has never claimed to be a feminist either but I like her too, I like her music which is also pretty decent pop music created by herself that is brought to us with an image & over stylised music videos.

'She's sexualised/sexist' - This confuses me a bit, sure she wanders around with hardly any clothes on at times, she's skinny & white so she's sexist or perpetuating sexism right? I'm not sure, yeah I get the male gaze but I've not yet come across many men who drool over her almost naked self, most seem genuinely confused by her existence, she's indulging in a bit of what's considered male approved sexual imagery but it's not titillating them, why it's almost as if she's revelling in her own sexuality so really isn't that subverting the sexualisation of women in pop music? I don't know, I really can't answer that one but I do think dismissing her on the basis of clothing is like dismissing The Beauty Myth because Naomi Wolf wears make up.

'She's not original/David Bowie did it all already & better' - Nope, maybe she isn't but her not at all original self isn't exactly being replicated & saturating the market in a way that makes her genuinely unoriginal self completely uninteresting to all & sundry who see her as yet another version of the same thing therefore not worthy of discussion. She's taken the average pop star persona made it interesting. Also David Bowie references = Awesome.

I'm not claiming she's the perfect pop star but she's definitely far more interesting than most of the current female pop stars, genuinely seems to have control over her career, has a mind of her own & the guts to use it whilst at the same time being one of the most famous artists around right now.

*I'm using the comments section as a link dump for interesting Gaga related blog posts*

I know it's everywhere right now......

2010-03-13T11:33:00.007Z

...but the Lady Gaga video for 'Telephone' feat. Beyonce is pretty awesome!

I absolutely adore Beyonce with the Bettie bangs;

...and the Wonder Woman-esque outfit........Beyonce as Wonder Woman? I wouldn't mind seeing that film.

Charlotte Raven's take on feminism gone wrong...

2010-03-06T16:48:00.008Z

How the 'new feminism' went wrong

This article was posted in the Daily Mail Hating Feminazi's from Hell Facebook group, I posted a comment on the link & have just pasted said comment below as, even though it's really rough around the edges, it was my immediate thoughts & feelings on the article.

I'm going to read that article again after I've had time to process it as I really hated it, aside from it being incredibly dry & boring it was utter shite that seemed to attack anything & everything, had no real interesting insights other than saying 'ooh remember when we did that? Weren't we daft to think that was a good thing' then reached no real conclusion or solution with the last paragraph stating that we need to be victims to be 'normal'???

It's a mish mash of references that don't seem to connect or say anything particularly useful or inspiring, it contradicts itself too, one minute candid writers offer us nothing as it's a one sided conversation the next Betty Friedan doing the same is a form of self criticism women today are not capable of. If anything though I suppose the article makes it's point that we're all confused, don't know where we're going but are doing it anyway.

As I say though, I'm going to give it another go, it can't be all that bad but my overall first impression wasn't too great & any good points I thought it was trying to make were ruined by the impression that it was just pointing to different women & labelling them or their actions 'good' or 'bad

As an antidote I then found a gem of a mix tape from the blog Don't dance her down boys... called Consumerism Harms Women which is fantastic, celebrates female musicians & cheered me right up.

Mirren on tattooos.....

2010-01-21T10:21:00.003Z

I hate my tattoo... they're common: Helen Mirren was 'very drunk' when she got body art

The 64-year-old said: 'I was very, very drunk. It was a very, very long time ago, when only sailors and Hell's Angels were tattooed, honestly, and prisoners.

'And I decided to get a tattoo because it was the most shocking thing I could think of doing.'

'And now I'm utterly disgusted and shocked because it's become completely mainstream, which is unacceptable to me.'

The Mail has decided to frame this in a way that suits them ofcourse practically running around screeching about how those horrible tattoos are disgustingly common & so says Dame Mirren so it must be true!

I haven't seen the actual show but from the quotes above I can't help thinking these comments were tongue in cheek until twisted by the Mail. Mirren got her tattoo to shock, now it's not particularly shocking to have tattoos, in fact it's pretty common so she's having a bit of fun, feigning annoyance because she's no longer considered rebellious for her body art.

Daily Mail promotes a film.....

2010-01-18T22:01:00.007Z

Is it just me or does this headline seem rather tasteless?

The article goes on;

It is the film that singles out and celebrates the life of one of France's most creative and original sons.

It was also to have been the platform for Lucy Gordon's rebirth as a serious actress.

But Gainsbourg: Je T'aime, Moi Non Plus, which goes on release this week, will be remembered for neither reason.

Because the Oxford-born Gordon killed herself aged 28 in May last year, weeks after finishing filming on what is already being billed as the French film of the year.

And her death casts a dark shadow over the Serge Gainsbourg biopic.

Seems rather dismissive of her death for having the audacity to overshadow a whole film but happy to use details of her suicide to promote it.

Susan Sarandon Interview

2010-01-17T12:36:00.002Z

Susan Sarandon: sexy, single and 63

Facilitating, nurturing, making things happen, organising are all at the core of her. The oldest child of seven, she's had a lifetime of doing things for other people. But who facilitates her?

"Not enough people," she says with a dryness that comes right from the back of her throat. "That's the curse of the confident woman. Most people know that if you take care of yourself and open your own doors, they stop opening them for you. It's harder to ask for help because you get in the habit of taking care of yourself, and I think you forget how to ask."

Some sort of year end review thing...

2009-12-21T12:19:00.006Z

I haven't done an end of year thingymajig before and feel completely inadequate at it as any I've ever read seem to be planned, do other people actually decide what is going to be considered their 'best of...' throughout the year or do they scamper around at the end of the year trying desperately to remember anything that actually happened and worrying about whether or not was actually good or were they just drunk at the time and will they be burned at the stake for claiming to have enjoyed it? I dunno but here are some things I have enjoyed....

My favourite films of the year (although right now I can't really remember what I've actually seen & am resisting the temptation to declare 'Gamer' my film of the year for the Michael C Hall dance sequence alone, yeah I know it's not the greatest film but it was fun & despite my initial reservations it knew exactly what it was & didn't try to be anything else) are 'Up' & 'Moon' the former having me sobbing in the cinema within the first, unexpectedly sad but lovely, 10 minutes and the latter having me sobbing whilst walking home. I don't judge my favourite films on whether or not they make me cry but these two were so gorgeous that not crying is probably a sign that you're an evil robot or something and not a cool one like the Terminator, a shit one from Transformers 2 which I haven't seen because it's shit.

I don't think I have any books of the year, in fact I have no idea if I've even read books that came out this year as I tend to just read whatever takes my fancy and always have far too many books to read that I've picked up along the way (for instance I've only just started reading a book I was given last xmas)but Perdido Street Station has been my favourite book this year. I loved the characters, the creature & the story but most of all I adored New Crobuzon, I've heard the city described as the actual main character of the book and can happily agree with that sentiment.

Here are some webcomics that I've particularly enjoyed;

Girls With Slingshots Two girls, a bar and a talking cactus.....I started this one a few years ago, then fell out of the loop but started again and still love it. Start from the beginning (it will be a quest!) or just jump in the archives and pick a story arch.

The Abominable Charles Christopher Start from the beginning and fall in love with it, absolutely gorgeous.

Chester 5000 A tale of erotic, robotic romance....definitely NSFW, absolutely gorgeous artwork & a sweet story considering how much sex there is.

DAR A super girly top secret diary - this one will have ended by the new year but I recommend starting at the beginning, definitely worth it.

Nedroid will never not make me happy, jump in anywhere & go for the cute cheer up factor.

Stuff I will do in the future is......oooh, I'm going to be all assertive and stop pretending to myself that I have absolutely no idea what I want to do in the future, so here goes; I want a new job, my job was a spectacular disappointment, it's just crappy accounts work which I'm used to but, whilst I wasn't sure about leaving my actually quite nice temp job, the job sounded a whole lot better on paper when in actual fact it's just data entry with the added 'bonus' of dealing with angry people, it's like a massive leap back to my first office job with a mix of the worst parts of the jobs I've had in the intervening years and a big ole 'going no where' slap in the face and to be honest I really hate it and know I could be doing something but need to pick myself up by the pants and give myself a shake, I'd say metaphorically but it was always fun when I smaller so maybe it could still be fun if not really doing anything to help me make decisions.

I need a holiday, I really do, I haven't had one for so long I think I might freak out slightly and worry I'm doing it all wrong and aren't enjoying it as much as I should be and all the usual angst but I really, really need a holiday. Hopefully there will be good food & cute things wherever we decide to go.

The usual eat better, go to the gym, take up a sport, read more, do a course selection of resolution type things except they're not completely crap ones that I know I'll give up within a few weeks as I already go to the gym (not been for a few weeks but I've been crappy & ill) so that's not hard, I wanted to take up some sort of sport as the gym is pretty boring at time although I'm definitely going to pay more attention to podcasts as gym buddies. Reading, I like so is easy & a course kinda ties in with doing something/figuring out what the fuck I'm going to do with my life so I haven't set myself anything particularly taxing other than deciding that I definitely do need to make some changes as I'm not staying in my job for the next year.

I also want a cat, I love cats, I'm a pet person and have always had dogs & cats but The Tom has never really had pets so seems to have 'The Fear' regarding owning a cat (I said you don't 'own' a cat but that didn't allay his fears :-( so we're going to have to meet some kittehs, introduce him to them slowly, see how that goes & then maybe a kitteh we shall have!

Nice Girl the new Nice Guy?

2009-12-05T09:18:00.004Z

I've been listening to mash ups recently and found a Taylor Swift/Kanye West mash up that I really like, having never heard a Taylor Swift song before the lyrics were a weird surprise.

Here's the mash up (loads in quicktime & starts straight away) from Bootie Blog

Lyrics to You Belong With Me :

You're on the phone with your girlfriend, She's upset
She's going off about something that you said
She doesnt get your humour like I do

(Maybe he's a total dick, maybe he told a really offensive joke and she got mad, maybe she has every right to be mad Ms Swift, not disagreeing with this guy, or any guy, is not the greatest symbol of love)

I'm in the room, its a typical Tuesday night
I'm listening to the kind of music she doesnt like
And she'll never know your story like I do

(So you're down to earth and like to listen to music in your bedroom, music that 'she' doesn't like eh? So what would that be then, eh? So you're 'better' than this other girl but you're making assumptions about them based on their musical choices? Really?)

But she wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming bout the day when you'll wake up and find
That what you're lookin for has been here the whole time

(Ooh, we're in Avril Lavigne territory here 'cept without the faux punk pop stylings. I'm still just as confused as when Avril said 'he was a punk, she did ballet, can I make anymore obvious?' Erm, yes, I'm still waiting for you to make it more obvious Avril, I'm guessing you're alluding to cliques & the stereotypes surrounding jocks & nerds and such but Ms Abdul took two steps forward & then two steps back in a bid to convince us that opposites attract and to be honest she had a stronger argument, she even had a rapping cat so she wins. Also waiting around for someone you're convinced will one day love you back is a bit sad and needy)

If you could see that I'm the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can't you see?
You belong with me
You belong with me

(Hmmm....So not disagreeing, 'understanding' and waiting around pining for someone to love you back means that that someone should belong to you? Creepy stalker territory there)

Walkin the streets with you in your worn out jeans
I cant help thinking this is how it ought to be
Laughing on the park bench thinkin to myself
Hey isnt this easy?

(Hanging out with the guy you're in love with & pretending this is how it would be if you were together is just delusional)

And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town
I havent seen it in awhile, since she brought you down
You say you find I know you better than that
Hey, Whatcha doing with a girl like that?

(I thought the lyric was 'you say you're fine, I know you better than that' I might be wrong but anyway, this is just bizarre...compliment him, knock down the other girl, reminder that Ms Swift 'gets' him, then a sneak attack of questioning his decision to be 'with a girl like that' girl like what, eh?)

She wears high heels, I wear sneakers
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming bout the day when you'll wake up and find
That what you're looking for has been here the whole time

(Oh yeah, a girl that wears high heels and short skirts, obviously she's a no good tramp in comparison to the needy girl in the t-shirt & sneakers - you're not allowed to like a variety of styles, just one o t'other and the latter makes you a better person apparently, or obviously)

If you could see that I'm the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can't you see?
You belong with me

(Again, hanging around, knowing everything about him, not stalking in any way....)

Standin by, waiting at your back door
All this time how could you not know that?
You belong with me
You belong with me

(.....oh, scratch that last one.)

Oh I remember you driving to my house in the middle of the night
I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're about to cry
I know your favorite songs and you tell me about your dreams
I think I know where you belong. I think I know it's with me.

(Again with the manipulative 'I know this & that & make you happy really' bullshit, if he genuinely is unhappy then this isn't the way a real friend would/should be behaving, in fact she's just over-complicating things with her own selfish desires with absolutely no regard to what he may or may not actually want)

Can't you see that I'm the one who understand you?
Been here all along so why can't you see?
You belong with me

(Keep repeating it, if he didn't believe it before he might sooner or later given his apparent state of mind)

Standing by or waiting at your back door
All this time how could you not know that
You belong with me
You belong with me

(Or maybe she means his other 'back door' which is extra creepy really, I mean Ms Swift, you have to ask before you hang around that one, tsk tsk, you will never learn will you Ms Swift if you keep overstepping the boundaries of your friendship)

Have you ever thought just maybe
You belong with me
You belong with me

(Maybe he hasn't, maybe the friendship is now completely ruined because Taylor, as his best friend, decided to constantly tear shreds of his actual girlfriend, inserting herself into every moment when things aren't going too well to remind him how much awesomer than his girlfriend she actually is and how they'd be so much better together. A true Nice Girl if ever there was one....)

Oh wait, here's the actual video, I don't want to spoil the end or anything but Taylor shows up all lovely & virginal in a white prom dress & wins the boy whilst her slutty rival (she has a dress with cutaway parts, a true sign of slutdom if ever there was one in Swifts world) & his actual girlfriend walks off understandably annoyed by this creepy drama.

I think I'm Team Kanye on the basis of this.

Marilyn Manson is a pathetic misogynistic piece of shit

2009-11-07T10:23:00.011Z

Go here watch as Manson's desperately tries to re-ignite his own dying career by 'murdering' his ex teen lover who was a 'bad' woman because she broke poor ickle Manson's heart.

I'm not sure when this video was released but it was tweeted on the same day Rhianna went on American tv to discuss domestic violence, the next day the trending topic being #Rhiannasforhead because taking the piss out of a woman discussing a serious issue is the only way people can make themselves feel better, pretend the situation isn't serious & abuse the victim for 'pretending' it is. Two separate artists & incidents, both reinforcing the fact that violence against women is not taken seriously.

The first 5 minutes of the video is Manson singing directly to camera, hiding behind some drapes, looking like Pete Wentz....pretty average boring shit really, he ran out of ideas a long time ago and desperately needs a bit of controversy to make him feel relevant again. This takes the form of ripping off that creepy Justin Timberlake video, the one where Justin breaks into 'Britney's' home & stalks her with some dancing thrown in to distract ones attention away from the weirdness of what's actually happening.

In Manson's video we stalk through the house and watch as a man beats a half naked woman (meant to be Evan Rachel Wood) in the bathroom, he leaves the bathroom & cleans up the blood he got on the door. We then see him continue to beat the woman, we get gorey close ups of her beaten & bloody face, he rips off her bra and there are close ups of her rubbing blood into her naked breasts because apparently beaten, naked & bloody is incredibly sexy and if some people don't yet think that Manson sure wants them to. He continues the beating & the last shots of the woman 'alive' are of her stood, naked & bloody, looking scared of someone off camera before we cut to the scenes of her 'dead' on the floor, the camera moves slowly up her body, lingering on her pants which have been pulled down to her knees before continuing up so we get to see her completely naked, battered body.

If the viewer didn't previously think beating & raping women was sexy Manson sure wants them to think it now and yes, I 'get' Manson, I already have an idea of what bullshit excuses he'll come up with too (something about 'not real life', it being art & art is subjective, it's a character not the 'real' him, it's not a literal example of violence against women, people just don't 'get' him, people are too stupid to differentiate between fantasy & reality....etc etc) but I really can't see what excuse he can come up with now to justify such extreme violence against a woman who is based on his real ex lover who, after she broke up with him, he called '158 times a day' and shared this gem in interviews;

"That damage is part of the record, and the song 'I Want to Kill You Like They Do in The Movies' is about my fantasies. I have fantasies every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer."

Manson is a nasty, vicious, misogynistic piece of shit who's promoting violence against women through his music & videos because violence against women is 'edgy' & 'sexy' and women deserve to be punished if they break up with a man like Manson because women are lesser beings and therefore not allowed autonomy. It's not an act, it's not art and he hasn't created a character that I'm now completely misunderstanding, he's a real person promoting real violence.

Halloween!

2009-11-02T19:07:00.006Z

My desire to paint my body green was too strong so, whilst I couldn't find a wig in the correct shade of green at such short notice, I cannily recalled the song 'Martian Girl' by The Aquabats ( I hadn't actually forgotten it, it's a firm favourite in my house)

''....big orange eyes and green skin, blue was her hair, she came from way up there''

.....she also wore silver underwear but that wasn't happening, luckily I had a blue retro sci fi looking dress that I'd picked up off of ebay for a whole 99p that also matched the colour of the wig, I bought some chrome spray paint from Fred Aldous to turn some old piratey boots into silver space alien go-go boots and turned myself into the Martian Girl!

I think I looked pretty awesome considering it was all last minute (1.30 on the day, I was really pushing it) and the green paint was fantastic, so one day, I will be She Hulk and I shall be awesome and green yet again!

Halloween! Costume Dilemma & Links.

2009-10-25T18:09:00.007Z

It's Halloween next week, I haven't yet decided what I'm wearing and my requirements are that it looks good and I don't get pneumonia. Whilst I don't have a problem with teh sexy costumes and have been known to browse Trashy, dazzled by the brightly coloured and highly flammable costumes, deciding which garish 2 piece I'd like to maybe own myself now that it's actually Halloween I'd rather not thank you. I know Halloween isn't exactly a classy affair as such but I'd rather steer clear of the hen party style tackiness and dress up as something other than obvious T&A (subtle T&A?)

My 3 favourites are;

Catwoman

Yeah she's sexy but she's covered up! Also I love Catwoman, she's popular and it's a bit obvious but I shall always love Catwoman and will one day own a proper leather catsuit so no, this time I'll pass as everything out there is cheap but pricey and not nearly classy enough to pull off.

She Hulk

She seems rather naked but as she's also rather green so it'd be easy to cover up with green tights or leggings and just paint my face & arms green and wear a green wig. This is a serious contender so far mostly because She Hulk is green and awesome and I too would happily be green and awesome or atleast paint my visible flesh green for one night of the year and try my up most best to be awesome. Also she wears other clothes too, she's a lawyer y'know so I could just wear anything and paint myself green I s'pose.

The Question

I pretty much have all the clothes for this one, although my trench is purple, so I think it might be easy to pull off aside from the whole blank face thing. I've found a youtube tutorial on how to achieve the face but don't think it'd work as being able to see where I'm going/drinking are a high priority. Same issues with Rorschach.

I absolutely adore O Filthy Grandeur's costume idea, to dress as 'King Rat' from the Miéville book of the same name, and hope she posts pics. Also Manscamp suggested attempting Lin from Perdido St Station but as he literally just this moment said it, whilst it sounds fucking fantastic, I have absolutely no idea how I'd make it/wear it/what she really looks like by next Saturday.

Halloween Costumes at Oh, you're a feminist?

Choosing a Halloween costume discussion at Feminist Philosophers - A commenter suggests 'feminist' which is actually a good suggestion, good ol' Rosie would be a pretty easy but awesome costume to throw together.

Exercising the right to be sexy at the Fbomb.

Douchebag decree:Dress you up in nothing from your head down to your toes at Bitch who also suggest a theme of dressing like Lady GaGa

The Worst Sexy Halloween Costumes from The Sexist

The List

2009-10-23T19:56:00.004+01:00

Some background - The List is from a gentleman who thought that the best way to woo someone was to hand her a 19 point list of all his 'qualities' so that she can see what a super fantastic person he is, dump her boyfriend and be with him instead. This didn't happen ofcourse, she found it creepy, scanned it, emailed it to her work mate who then emailed it to her mate who happens to be my work mate and we dutifully forwarded it on and on.......

1 - Communication skill
2 - Interpersonal skill
3 - Passionate in love and Romantic (eg shower gifts)
4 - Professional driver
5 - Songwriter composer and singer
6 - Love Kids
7 - Could do with or without additional baby
8 - Go on holiday each year
9 - Engage in running, cycling, music (world music) favourite artists Bob Marley *blah blah blah* and pops of all sorts
10 - Eating out and dining in
11 - Possess strategies for enhancing multiple orgasm in lave making
12 - Feel motivated to take charge and be responsible in looking after my lover
13 - Open to a relationship - long term
Short term, no strings at the moment
14 - Love dancing at clubs once a while
15 - Educated to MSc level
16 - Current scheduled to commence PHD *word I can't make ou* in February
17 - Could be relid on, empathetic, cuddles and not judgemental
18 - Generous and down to earth
19 - Hate wifebiters (sic)

Now the first thing I'd like to know is why 19 points? Why not round it up to a nice even 20? If he could only think of 19 points why not make one up, or list a favourite colour? What's so special about 19? Is it a reference to the Paul Hardcastle 80's hit '19' itself apparently a reference to the average age of soldiers in Vietnam?

Anyway, onto the real problems with the The List...mostly it's really fucking creepy! On a dating site? Sure, fine go ahead list away but handing someone your friendly with at work (or anyone for that matter) a list with all your 'qualities' on knowing they're seeing someone else (or not, still creepy) and expecting them to jump into your arms rather than be even slightly weirded out by it is, well, just odd. It's like Nice Guy syndrome if Nice Guy was a real impatient bastard and needed a way for the woman he's lusting after to see all the things he thinks are ever so special about himself without actually having to bother with all that 'friendship' malarkey.

My personal favourites are;

7 - presumably he's got a kid already but doesn't seem to have gained enough information about raising them to decide whether or not he can be bothered with anymore, additional? Yeah, that's cold.

11 - What the fuck are these 'strategies'?? Does he have some sort of erogenous zone blueprint? A vulva shaped table top strategy game, with dice and a little painted army of multiple orgasm men? A super fantastic dildo? That robot from the Add N to (X)video?

19 - Hate Wifebiters - Yeah it's supposed to be beaters but it looks like biters which makes it even more absurd and amuses me. I don't understand any of this list, it completely baffles me but no 19 is the cherry on top, it's the potential relationship equivalent of Tubbs crying out 'we didn't kill them' at future victims in The League of Gentleman. It's nice to know but doesn't really fill you with confidence.

Overall it's an odd list, I can't ever see myself receiving such a list and thinking 'wow, you're a catch, be gone with you man scamp for I must have this man and his list of 19 qualities this instant!' but maybe someone out there doesn't find this creepy in any way?

*The list should now be readable, it's a bit crumpled from being in my bag & the little blue post it note is covering the name of the offices, he's so classy he just used standard work headed paper*

Some cuteness to lighten the mood.....

2009-09-02T23:03:00.002+01:00

Amigurumi Girl is promoting Craftzine's Very First Crochet-Along! with this picture;

It makes me squee lots. I love all things fuzzy, cute and panda-like but am less than beginner level at crocheting so making this is but a pipe dream unless someone would like to make one and sell it to me at a reasonable price because really just owning it is as good as the whole 'making it' kudos.... :-D

There's a national cupcake week? asks Sugarbomb Bakery. I did not know about that either, I assume it involves eating cupcakes all day every day with donations to charity so I can definitely get behind that one.

Corgis!

There's a guy near us who has a corgi, we stepped off the bus today just as he was taking it out for a walk, it's too cute, even the manscamp who wants no pets is in love with corgi's. One day we will definitely have one!

see more dog and puppy pictures

Metro, like the Mail but free.

2009-09-02T21:30:00.007+01:00

I occasionally flick through the Metro but mostly I ignore it although I can be an annoying peering-over-the-shoulder-person, sorry!. Today the front page caught my attention;

I hate statements like these, no, she was not 'killed over her Facebook status' she was killed because her ex partner was a fucking murderer, the 'Facebook status' is just an excuse which places blame on the victim. This woman was murdered by her ex, no reason makes this justifiable so why pretend it does?

5 children were allegedly used as 'sex slaves' for internet pornography. Now the term 'sex slaves' is disturbing, anything involving children is not 'sex' and abuse is not sex so please can we stop referring to it as such and refer to what it actually is? Child abuse, rape, sexual assault...yes these terms are quite upsetting but not as upsetting as using words which suggest consent.

This is just really fucking horrible, on seeing this headline my reaction was 'why does it matter?'. A little girl was murdered, why is it necessary to invite people to contemplate the possibilities of what happened to her before she died, who needs to know these things?

Then I got home and read Rape victims and the papers from Anton Vowl, regarding the media's obsession with Jaycee Lee Dugard & Elisabeth Fritzl in comparison to the treatment of Katie Price, puts it best;

It's a horrible story, but you have to wonder: what benefit is there to anyone in knowing any of this? Not just the names, but the details? Is this just descending into a bit of a point-and-leer freakshow, rather than the distressing crime it really is? And are the newspapers really helping or just making it worse?

Shameless promotion of a particularly awesome animation.

2009-08-25T19:48:00.003+01:00

Mr Adam 'Caddie' Cadwell, founder of the Manchester Comix Collective & all 'round lovely chap, has gone done himself one of those E4 E-sting things - Little Horrors - which features, um, well little horrors! Is rather awesomely cute & deserving of multiple 'yays'! :-)

Also have a look at Adam Cadwell's web comic The Everyday.

Kate Moss 'mysteriously' feels bad about self.....

2009-08-20T00:28:00.004+01:00

Success! The Mail has (allegedly, by their own admission) managed to bully Kate Moss into thinking she looks wrinkly, generally bad, (with a listed itinerary of her body parts and how awful & disgusting they are to look at although 'experts' deem her to look perfectly normal for a woman in her 30's - bonus attack on women in their 30s!) and several decades older (with bonus attack on Gillian Taylforth thrown in for good measure!).

The Mail must feel so proud of itself.

.....now with added comments!

2009-08-19T22:45:00.003+01:00

This post (the one down there, underneath this one) now has comments! Let's see what delightful things the Mail readers have to say;

Unbelieveable!
Carol Thatcher got the boot for making a perfectly innocent remark, after spragging Chiles went and told tales, but he gets this job offered.
I haven't watched the programme since Carol left and I know I'm not on my own with this one.

- Ronnie, York, England, 19/8/2009 14:04

one law for them and one for us...carol thatcher sacked for inappropriate gaffe made during a private after-show drinkie. good old childish childs, a man to truly be proud of. and the other culprit? the breath-takingly beautiful jo brand,another leftie. just have a look at how many lefties are on the airwaves,spouting their bile and opinions and love of gordon. too many especially in the bbc(i don't have a licence so i shouldn't really complain but what the hell). come the revolution,brothers,and i will still be in spain cowering behind my g&t. i have done my bit,12 years in the royal navy, so now its up to you. ole.

- michael hughes, seron, spain, 19/8/2009

I don't like that Hardeep as he comes across as fake ,biased, ego-centric and a bit creepy. Then again I depise the one show ,with the gushing Adrian Chiles and Christina (yuck) and haven't watched it since they did away with the unfairly set-upon Carol Thatcher who is a lovely person.

- lowen, the ocelot pit, mozzley, 19/8/2009

Strange that Carol Thatcher wasn't treated so well???? She is actually entertaining and quite funny.

- sophie, belfast, 19/8/2009 10:25

what a joke, he should of been sacked on the spot. but being the bbc i can't say i'm surprised they've given him a reprieve - and not Carol Thatcher. i hope no-one tunes in.

- James, Watford, 18/8/2009 23:03

I actually quite like Hardeep so I'm more than a little disappointed he was harassing a woman he worked with regardless of the nature of the harassment, however, Carol Thatcher did not make a 'perfectly innocent remark'. It was an ignorant, racist remark which she then arrogantly refused to apologise for feeling that she had done nothing wrong. 2 people did something wrong, one has apologised and shown remorse the other has acted like it's everyone else's problem, refuses to apologise and makes jokes about it (seriously, if you can bring yourself to watch The Wright Stuff when Thatcher's on it's treated like a smug little in joke although I doubt Wright can be anything but a smug little shit) so the former being hired and the latter being fired is obviously all about that darn 'political correctness gone mad' in the eyes of the average Daily Mail commenter rather how these 2 people chose how to deal with their mistakes after the fact.

I'm not trying to defend what Hardeep did but I respect the fact that he's acknowledged and apologised for his actions, understanding that it was him in the wrong rather than blaming anyone and everyone (especially the liberal lefties) else for his conduct.

There are no ulterior motives here, move along now.....

2009-08-18T21:10:00.008+01:00

'Sex pest' BBC presenter Hardeep Singh Kohli gets Radio 4 job during One Show 'leave'

Fantastic! The Daily Mail is all up in arms about a man who harassed a woman during his time working at the One Show getting a job on Radio 4 whilst he's on a 'leave of absence' for said harassment.
I'm almost certain there are no ulterior motives within this article, it's obviously all about the Mail being morally outraged that someone accused of harassing women is not being punished fully for this, rather than them exploiting an opportunity to write about how terrible the BBC are and have the words 'sex pest' just above the picture of a man in a turban.

(For the record he states it wasn't sexual harassment but he apologised for 'overstepping the mark', not certain what that actually means but 'sex pest' contradicts the information in their own article, although he did make some rude comments on Twitter so maybe that accounts for him being a 'sex pest')

Edit:....now with added comments.

Quick link....

2009-08-18T19:55:00.004+01:00

Reclaim the night

The catcalls, with the boys making lewd suggestions about how I would like to spend my Wednesday night, actually didnt come as a surprise-nor did the descent from lewd suggestive abuse, to blatant sexual threats- when they had failed to illicit the desired reaction from me.

Then later......

I sat outside on my favourite step this afternoon- and heard a very familiar voice shouting about his dick- perhaps it was the recollection of the words- but I recognised this boy immediately as the inadequate little ringleader- who felt that the best use of his time- was to shout abuse at a woman he didnt know-and could easily intimidate. So I stopped him. I asked him if he was the boy who had done that the other night. He claimed it wasnt. I explained that actually, while I wasnt saying it was him- for a 5′11”, well built bloke, and his friends, to shout at a 5′3′ woman, walking alone- was actually a pretty shitty thing to do, and that I was glad it wasnt him- as it was a cowardly thing, that only one of lifes inadequates would do. He said he wouldnt, and blushed, as he sought to avoid eye contact- while his friend looked sheepish. He didnt look quite as intimidating at 5 in the afternoon. He certainly seemed less sure of his sexual prowess when talking to me head on- without the help of his friends and a darkly lit underpass to intimidate me.

My mum used to do things like this, she said go for the ringleader 'cos once you mark them out they don't know what to do with themselves and it shows their mates what pathetic little pricks they are. My mum is rather awesome if a little bit scary.

Some links and things.

2009-08-18T00:55:00.002+01:00

Sociological Images on the film Deadgirl which sounds absolutely charming with it's new twist on the zombie genre with it's 'gang raping of the girl who happens to be a zombie' plot. Just lovely.

5 Reasons we still need feminism

Graham Linehan subverts Daily Mail editorial opinion.

Hollywood's Discomfort with Asian lead characters again at Sociological Images, I have a link over to the right to 'Aang ain't white' for more on the whitewashing of Avatar.

Deeply Problematic has a pretty awesome Mad Men reading list.

No Sleep 'til Brooklands reads Littlejohn so we don't have to.

Top ten products needlessly marketed at women.

How the Daily Mail baits it's readers.

This is why science fiction can't have nice things

The Jaded Hippy has even more links.

And even more links from Adventures of a Young Feminist.

Cat Ladders, yup, that's it. Pictures of ladders that are for cats. Sometimes there are actual cas on said ladders. I like this site far more than I should. One time they had goat ladders.

Chopsticks Vs Forks.

2009-08-06T17:23:00.004+01:00

Ahhh Manchester Confidential, I get this piece, I really do. The author is obviously pissed off after going for a meal with a bunch of smug gits who insisted he use chopsticks 'for a more authentic experience' then mercilessly mocked our poor author's inability to do so and the subsequent request for a fork. A piece about said smug gits and their chopstick use is obviously the best revenge. Except that this piece comes across as an imperialist piece of nonsense, branding the chopsticks themselves 'ridiculous' & 'useless' and using a condescending tone whilst trying to convince the reader that what is actually condescending is using those chopsticks freely provided in restaurants rather than a fork which is the greatest culinary technological advancement obviously created by the West, hahaha take that East and your crappy sticks! I also love the 'Indians eat with their fingers' comment just thrown in there to further prove how civilized us lot in the West are compared to all those uncouth foreign people who don't bother with any form of utensil or anything, they just use their hands & shit except in the West where they couldn't resist the lure of our cutlery prowess.

All in all it's a shitty article, I commented that it was borderline racist as I don't think the author is intentionally trying to incite some sort of utensil based race war but the dismissive insults and underlying ignorance within the language suggest someone who's anti-racism starts and ends with knowing not to use derogatory racial terms in public because people 'can't take the joke and get all offended like'*.

*add heavy sarcasm

Bad Ass Brownie

2009-07-27T20:47:00.005+01:00

I joined and left* Brownies for the exact same reasons as Cath Elliott but sadly I didn't stay long enough to get any badges, I do however have this lovely pic of me:

Wow. I'm certain I wanted to wear the uniform so I'm not certain what the hell's wrong with all that attitude, I seem to recall the hat hurting my ears so it was a choice between vanity & pain or bat ears & no pain. You can see I went for the latter. Or maybe my mum chose for me hence the face.

*Also the 'owls' were really bitchy, I didn't like them. I loved the girl guides though, they got to do all the cool stuff and I wanted to be one so bad but refused to accept I had to be a brownie first.

Links.

2009-07-21T22:21:00.010+01:00

Boiling Point Blog: Toon: Movies for Ladies!

LoL You're a feminist

Nerds leave Fortress of Solitude for Playboy Mansion

Declaring a moratorium on the phrase 'sex sells'

No, sex – in all its troublesome, glorious, tragic, funny reality – can’t be sold to people who’d rather die than admit themselves to be sexual creatures.

What does sell is women’s bodies. The idea of “women’s bodies=sex” is so deeply ingrained in our culture that most people are unable to separate the two. So they go around parroting “sex sells” like fucking idiots, just because they see pornified women everywhere being used to sell shit.

Abyss2hope wrote about a feminist authors troubling position on rape in response to comments Ellie Levenson made on her guest post over at the F Word.

Oh sister, I haven't misjudged beauty pageants or Why I don't agree with India Knight

The travesty is that women in sport are so undervalued that Rachel had to fund her athletics training through beauty pageants, and some journalists feel the need to qualify her achievements by highlighting a famous sportsman uncle. Nobody valued this amazing sportswoman until she has proved herself to be beautiful, and now she has society will reward her, with cash prizes, with sponsorship deals.

This is what rape culture looks like.

Too easy........

2009-07-20T19:06:00.006+01:00

....but I could not resist.

Edit: The Daily Quail makes it right.

Linkage!

2009-07-08T18:10:00.007+01:00

Breasts & Beer - Mother is arrested for 'drunk breastfeeding'.

If women make movies is it automatically feminist?

All Hail to the Mail! & Ewwwwwwww!!

On Burlesque [Essay] at Racialicious.

Magazine Newsstands: Hos Before Brünos over at Gawker

Why chicks cry in romance comics.....

Man Jailed for sex act with sister in the park - this is pretty horrible, the title seems to suggest that this was a consentual incestuous act between the siblings. Except that the sister was passed out on the park bench and the brother sexually assaulted her.

The woman was intoxicated and unconscious throughout the incident. The mother of the pair told McFadden she hopes her son didn’t realize the woman was his sister

......Eh? It's pretty awful that he could do that to his sister but consoling yourself with the thought that your son had drunkenly assaulted a passed out woman who wasn't family is quite awful too.

Yet another woman cries rape as crazed wife tries to murder disabled husband from The Daily Quail.

Short hair & Tattoos = bisexual paedophile?

2009-07-08T10:48:00.004+01:00

The above is a link on the front page of the Fail to this story. The woman featured in that story is not the woman above so I can only assume that short hair & tattoos is Fail code for bisexual, or from now on 'evil bisexual paedophile who is out to get your daughters by exploiting a disturbing trend'

Mail gives up on journalism, articles now sourced from comments

2009-06-29T18:53:00.006+01:00

Like A Virgin (pin-up): Kate Moss dresses up in a red playsuit as she joins Branson for Virgin Atlantic's 25th birthday (published 23rd June) is exactly what it says in the title, apparently it needed 2 whole Mail journalists to write that! The commenters quickly decide that Kate looks like someone else;

I seriously don't believe that is Kate Moss; as others have suggested, Gillian Taylforth more like!

- Jo, Birmingham, 23/6/2009 0:34

Is it me or is Kate turning into Gillian Tailforth aka Cathy Beale!!! especially that 2nd from bottom pic. Looking old!!!!

- jennifer, yorkshire, 22/6/2009 16:09

Doesn't Kate look a bit like Gillian Taylforth??

- claire, newcastle, 22/6/2009 15:56

She looks just like Gillian Taylforth in these pictures!

- Jackie, Gloucester, 22/6/2009 15:39

Is it me or does Kate Moss look like a younger version of Gillian Taylforth

- Sasha, Cardiff, 22/6/2009 15:35

she's morphing into gillian taylforth!

- Hannah, Brighton, 22/6/2009 15:34

Kate Moss looks like Gillian Taylforth.

- Laura, London, 22/6/2009 15:16

Wow, Kate looks like Gillian Taylforth!

- Lou Ewen, Aberdeen, 22/6/2009 15:13

Gawd, Kate Moss, you've turned into Gillian Taylforth! (published 29th June)

It's all in the name.

2009-06-25T09:33:00.004+01:00

The Guardian is doing 'important feminist issues' again, we've had Jessica Valenti discussing her feminist wedding and Julie Bindel wearing make up. Now we have taking your partners surname after marriage, good or bad?

In the 'good' corner Becky Sheaves states;

But my marriage was a huge life change and acquiring a new surname seemed somehow right. Like so many modern couples, I wasn't just teaming up with John by marrying him. I had my son, then called Luke Morris, who was two and John had four older children. We were creating a happy stepfamily. So not only did I change my name, I also changed my son's name too. And now we're all known as the Sheaves family and, yes, it has helped to unify us. That's S-H-E-A-V-E-S, as we're all only too happy to tell you.

Which is nice, she feels it's brought her family closer together, good for her. I don't agree it is that way or anyone else should feel that a name change is the only way to unify a family but that is how she felt and she made that choice.

In the 'bad' corner Michelle Hanson discusses Rebekah Wade's decision to take her new husband's surname;

What a shock to find that Rebekah Wade - smasher of glass ceilings, ruler of men, first woman to edit the Sun and soon to become chief executive of News International - is really a fluffy at heart.

she'll be letting down all those thousands of women, from 1850s Massachusetts suffragette Lucy Stone onwards, who have fought for women to retain their own names and independence

she can go ahead and be plain Mrs Brooks.

She's the last sort of woman you'd expect to opt to take the back seat, yet here she is, giving up her own name like an ordinary little wife

What a pity that not even the new Empress of Wapping has the strength to go against the grain.

So, in favour of changing the surname is a woman's personal opinion of how she felt it unified her own family. Against changing the surname is a critical attack on another woman who has decided to change her surname after marriage, you see even though Hanson acknowledges that Wade is a 'smasher of glass cielings' taking her husbands surname makes her nothing more than a plain, ordinary little wife who is letting down the suffragettes because she doesn't have the strength to keep her own surname even though she did keep her surname when she was married to Ross Kemp but we'll gloss over that or actually, we can use that to attack the bitch too!

Perhaps she felt that Kemp, her previous husband of nearly seven years, was more famous, and didn't want to be overshadowed (or have her editorial integrity challenged) by his fame as a star of EastEnders. But now she is so fabulously grand herself that no amount of name changing can put her in the shade

Hmmm....I'm confused, are we mad because she's playing wifey and taking her husbands name or are we mad because she thinks she's famous enough that a name change isn't going to confuse people as to her identity? Because she's letting down the side or because she's egotistical? (or possibly because you personally dislike her which isn't exactly hard but kinda negates the whole 'feminism' side of the argument if you're just using feminism as a stick to beat another woman with)

If Hanson's only daughter chooses to take her husbands name after marriage she feels that;

All my family's history will be more easily forgotten. Like many other families, they made a tremendous effort to get this far - escaping the Russian pogroms at the turn of the century, building up a new life, surviving two world wars, and then, pouff! It all evaporates because women's names don't matter.

Really? All that will disappear because of a simple name change? Who knew a name change had the power of erasing a persons memories (well, women's memories because we're so silly and frivolous we'll be too busy trying to remember our new names) and a families history.

My surname is that of a man my mum was briefly married to at 17, she kept his name after they divorced and that is the name I was given when I was born several years later. It's not my mum's name, it's not my biological dad's name (I don't see him), it's the name of a man I don't even know. I don't care for my name, it means absolutely nothing to me and, even though I have no plans to marry, I wouldn't feel an amazing desire to keep the name of a man I have absolutely no connection to over a man I love and trust enough to marry.

So, a surname is important to some people and completely unimportant to others, why the hell do we have to make such a big deal out of that, why is the simple changing of a name such a terrible threat to feminism? A threat so great that it seems perfectly acceptable to rip another woman to shreds using various dated 'wife' stereotypes (they're all fluffy, pathetic nobodies!) rather than just accept that it's just a fucking name! I'm perfectly happy with the fact that we can be critical of other women and their actions without being anti feminist but Hanson's article just smacks of petty name calling of a woman who isn't fitting her ideal, it's not constructive in any way and seems like pathetic attempt to bully all other women into believing the same.

As for my name I might change it to Jaime Mckickingmanassscamp, it'll be bastard to spell but I think it lets people know that I'm not one of those pathetic, fluffy women that likes men or anything.

Sexist Buger King ad: Does this make anyone want to eat this?

2009-06-24T20:53:00.004+01:00

Brought to our attention via Jezebel.

Does this sort of advertising appeal to anyone? I know it's supposed to appeal to men in a 'look submissive blow up doll female type thing is gonna get a 7 incher in her mouth, eat BK, yeah' porno ad way but I'm not entirely convinced it would actually be any more successful than just showing the burger on it's own. Is this sort of blatant misogyny in advertising a way to create conversation amongst feminists, who will obviously de construct it in a negative way, so that the product involved then becomes appealing as a sort of anti feminist rebellion? I can't decide if that's just a stupid conspiracy theory fermenting in my mind or an actual possibility.

Facebook's Ethnic Soulmate Menu

2009-06-04T19:24:00.012+01:00

The 'What Ethnicity Should You Be Dating?' Facebook application was in my feed today. I had to take it 'cos you know, it looks like awful racist shit and I can't quite fathom it's existence, enjoyment or the questions that determine how an entire ethnicity may be my ideal match and also, so that nobody else has to.

The questions;

The Results;

'Chocolate love' & 'Soul flavour'?

'Spicy'?

'Chicken chow yummy'? WTF!?!

Ok. I get it, ask a few questions that can be applied to a stereotype and voilà! We have found ourselves a soulmate off of the Facebook ethnicity menu. I tried several times as I assumed there would be a 'caucasian' in there somewhere, possibly described as a 'roast chicken dinner', but to no avail. I still don't understand the part where it's fun or what compelled someone to create it, any ideas?

Ligers and tigons and criminals oh my!

2009-06-01T21:38:00.006+01:00

I've just watched a dreadful episode of Law & Order: SVU (I know, you probably think all L&O is dreadful but I love it) featuring a bizarre story of an animal smuggling ring, Big Boi from Outkast being eaten by hyenas and possibly the death of a major character (he lives, it was a 2 minute advert break cliffhanger) who was under the impression he was about to steal a gibbon rather than get shot.

The dramatic climax seems to be an exotic animal auction with said gibbon hidden in a basketball and rescued by Commander Cragen from those evil smugglers. (I'm not making this up, watch the video)

The episode, featuring vicious African hyenas, foreign smugglers and the rescue of the rare white gibbon, was so awful I immediately thought of the Daily Mail.

The story is basically an advertisement for Operation INFRA (Crimestoppers & Crimestoppers International) with the catchy hook of 'OHMIGAWD Foreign criminals are everywhere'! My favourite comment;

The dumping ground and criminal hideout of Europe. And with the UK's Human Rights bill these people will be untouchable.

- Gary, Barcelona, 1/6/2009 12:45
Click to rate Rating 224

I don't think Gary from Barcelona read the whole article, amusingly he missed;

'Crimestoppers has enjoyed notable success in helping UK law enforcement track down UK fugitives hiding in Spain, so we are confident that the public will yet again help us to locate this new set of internationally wanted criminals.'

Hmm....Gary, ex pat are we? What would you class your 'occupation' as eh? I joke, I ouldn't go accusing someone of being a criminal because of where he lives.....

check the council housing and benefits list , they are sure to be on that

- clive, london, 1/6/2009 12:44
Click to rate Rating 247

Ofcourse Clive is implying that all these foreign criminals are also stealing from the taxpayers purse but then anyone living in a council house or on benefits is a criminal right?

Not racist farmer is cruelly branded racist by local council after presenting them with a factual report based on his own personal experiences with travellers, these facts included;

'I spent 30 years living next to a travellers' site and unfortunately in my personal experience it was hell.

'I had lots of my farming equipment stolen over that period. If my property wasn't bolted down it would disappear overnight.

'Also the place was a complete tip with rubbish everywhere. I also witnessed some very aggressive and unpleasant behaviour.'

He added: 'I wasn't suggesting all travellers acted in this way - of course they don't. I was simply pointing out what happened in my personal experience.

You can't argue with those cold hard scientific facts now can you? Not if you're a commenter on the Mail you can't and you can also come up with these little gems;

My next door neighbour is a Sri Lankan Hindu. If he proposed to turn his semi detached house into a temple, could my local council ignore my objections and threaten me with prosecution for objecting to his plans on the grounds that I was being racist? Frightening!

- Mike Gibbs, Kingston, England, 1/6/2009 14:33
Click to rate Rating 258

Wow, now that's a bit of a leap, Mike mustn't be able to sleep at night thinking about this, he's desperate to share his fears and the Daily Mail comments board is a place where everyone can share their absurd prejudiced scaremongering fears in a big group hug.

Angelina eats cake shock! Umm.....hang on.....

2009-05-25T15:17:00.005+01:00

.....I thought I was supposed to do the mocking?

Eating cake is big news apparently! The rest of the article isn't of any particular interest other than as an advertisement for her upcoming film and pictures of her and Brad just in case you forgot what they, or their family, looked like.

Pepsi Max Streaker Ad

2009-05-25T14:10:00.003+01:00

I think the Visa ad with the naked man was too much, now we're back to the naked women ads, or rather men wearing the naked woman flesh as a suit. I caught the end of this ad on TV, the end being the part that creeped me out the most. He's unzipped his naked woman suit halfway down and is sat drinking his stolen Pepsi Max with his friends whilst the naked woman suit hangs lifeless with her head over his crotch. Ugh. Tasteful.

Daily Mail day links.

2009-05-13T22:04:00.003+01:00

Well, after seeing the awesomeness that is Star Trek (I love you Spock, have a civil relationship with me you logical mangod!) I needed a comedown so popped over to the Fail to see what brain shrinking goodies they had in store for me today;

Did you know Jordan & Peter Andre had split up? For anyone utterly devestated by that revelation and desiring more information we have their last public appearance or questions as to whether or not it's just a publicity stunt? Allison Pearce decides to blame the split on Petey marrying a monster! I haven't bothered to read any of those articles but I skimmed the last one and Ms Pearce pretty much asks;

I reckon Jordan should ask herself some hard questions. Like, how many men would take on their girlfriend's extremely volatile disabled child, not just with good grace, but with what looks suspiciously like love? That's what Peter Andre did with Harvey.

Ahhhh! Right, I get it, disabled children are so unlovable that Katie should be grateful that Pete put up with her and her spawn for so long! Thanks Fail, I hadn't realised that before, my mum's ex had a disabled daughter, do you have some sort of 'Accepting Disabled Kids of Others' award I can give to her? (Possibly but they'd probably take it back after finding out she was a single mum and the ex was a woman, she's pure chavvy evil!) I really don't care about the whole Peter & Jordan saga and I'm uncertain why it warrants 3 stories in one day.

Anyway, onwards to brainy women are having better sex except that it's 'emotional intelligence' rather than good old fashioned cleverness in the brain. Who cares? Let's belittle those 'bimbos' and shove a pic of a half naked woman wearing glasses in there, that about covers it right? I don't really care about assessing my sexual capabilities against the Mails standards but I did see a copy of a book about emotional intelligence at the in laws and well I don't want to think about that any further really. Ok, moving swiftly on........

Oh men and their silly man flu! Except now we have some sort of bullshit science to prove that those silly men and their 'illness'' is just because they are the weaker sex so catch numerous bugs that us hardcore ladies with iron clad immune systems just don't get, those big girls blouses.

On to clothes then, how much thigh should you show for your age? I'm in my twenties so apparently my LTZ (Lower Thigh Zone) can be vulva skimming, henceforth I'm going to work wearing nothing but a vest and a thong, seems like sound advice from the Mail there then.

Pregnant women are making their boys girls! Uggh! Who'd want that? Girls are icky and gross! Anyways, pregnant women should live in some sort of bubble or something because the Mail's Bullshitsciencepedometer says that boys babies will be all girly which means most probably gay and that's just icky!

Oooh a tricky one, they've gone for neutral tone on this one. It feels like they're testing the waters, waiting to see if the comments produce some jezebels who have had the audacity to visit such a place so that they can throw up some print version condemning the society and the whores who inhabit it. Personally the super special STD clinic makes me want to rub my face in the crotch of any passing petri dish of STD's, I mean, free WiFi? I'd buy a coffee for free WiFi so some doctor inspecting my vagina whilst I twitter? Why ever not? (I wonder if they'll publish that last bit?)

Did you know that Two thirds of wives are also raising a toddler? No, not 'women' who have children, wives! Don't get all 'independant woman' on me now, us ladies don't exist until marriage so even if those statistics, whatever they're supposed to represent (evil women not doing the proper thing and staying at home raising the kids?), are wrong it doesn't matter because anyone whose not a wifey doesn't actually exist.

If you decided to read any of those articles and didn't really understand a word of it then here's a dictionary to help you.

Don't do the crime if you can't do the, um....death?

2009-05-10T21:34:00.005+01:00

Samantha Orobator is a 20 year old British woman currently in prison in Laos for smuggling drugs, the punishment for which is execution by firing squad. Currently she will not face the death penalty because she is pregnant, a pregnancy which occurred whilst she was in prison and is believed to be the result of rape. If Orobator testifies in court that she wasn't raped she will be transferred to a UK prison. Now I will say drugs are bad, smuggling drugs is bad and breaking the law incurs punishments etc. etc. but, you know, I'm liberal hippy and I find executing someone by firing squad a bit fucking extreme in any situation. Surely I'm not the only one, surely even Mail readers will find a warm spot in their cold dark hearts to offer some words of support?

Ofcourse they don't.

I cannot find it in my heart to feel sorry for this woman She chose to smuggle drugs knowing the penalty if caught and should be left to rot.Anyone who has had a relative whose life has been ruined because of drgs will feel no sympathy.She accepted the job and must accept the pay

- Christina Crosbie, LESMAHAGOW SCOTLAND, 10/5/2009 9:19

I'm quite certain you do not have a heart Christina.

So if she is sent back to UK and does not serve a term for her crime, what message does this give to other would be drug smugglers!!
If you comit the crime , you do the time.
justice must not be tampered with.

- Molly, Oxford, 10/5/2009 9:01

Execution by firing squad is pretty severe 'justice' Molly, don't you think?

if she is found guilty of drug smuggling she should serve her sentabce in Laos why should she be transfered to one of our holiday camps to serve probabaly a 3rd of her sentance If our prisons were as harsh as these maybe few criminals would be willing to re-offend

- keith, Spain, 10/5/2009 8:45

Ummm......well yeah, if we executed all our criminals then they wouldn't actually exist to re-offend.

Ofcourse theses comments and their ilk are voted up and the 2 sensible ones in support of getting her out of Laos are voted down.

It states in the article that she still faces death, the only thing currently keeping her alive is being pregnant, after she gives birth there is no guarantee she will be safe from execution, again it says this in the article. I don't understand the belief that the death penalty is a deterrent as the facts suggest otherwise but I suppose facts don't matter when there's a killing to be had.

Whenever I start to forgot how much I hate the Fail along comes a case like this and the venomous little bastards that are Fail readers come out of the woodwork to spout forth their sanctimonious hypocritical bile.

I've been lazy but here are some links!

2009-05-04T22:32:00.004+01:00

The Mail: No Principles over at The Enemies of Reason - the Mail comments remind me of when I was a kid and my concept of right and wrong was amazingly simple, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer but ''only for good people'' obviously I grew up and realised the impossibility of that dream but I think a lot of Mail readers still genuinely think that way.

Pimp: A Bad Word Ian takes a break from comics and ponders about the word 'Pimp'

Rebellious Jezebel Blogging talks about the problems with Steampunk and it's representation of PoC, or rather lack of it.

Melanie Philips: Intelligently Designed? from No Sleep 'til Brooklands.

Steve the Penguin asks which is worse calling Truman a war criminal or dropping Atomic bombs on Japan?

Alan Tudyk explains the Theology of Alpha over at io9 - Not yet seen Dollhouse but I love Tudyk and that's a good enough reason for a link.

And a related Whedon link....'Cos chicks shouldn't dig sci fi! from Hoyden About Town.

Creepy man is watching you eat.

2009-05-04T20:17:00.006+01:00

In the UK we have Gillian McKeith, a horribly nasty wench with a PhD in nutritional alchemy and treating people like shit. I loathe McKeith, she humiliates people, looks at their poo and removes all the joy out of eating for everyone, if not through her diet plan then through shouting about irritable bowels and farting whilst they're eating. (Well, that's what she did on Market Kitchen anyway).

In the US they're getting the 'Diet Detective'. Charles Stuart Platkin wants to save your life and saving lives involves stalking, an overly dramatic intervention and then diets, training with more stalking and mini interventions along the way.

Feministing remarks that;

Not only is this creepy, it's just plain wrong in so many ways. Do we really need ANOTHER television show that tells women they are ruining their lives because of what they put in their mouths?

Aside from it all being rather creepy I'm curious about the diet advice given. In this video he tells the woman that he's ~~stalking~~ helping, that it will take 5 hours to work off the calories in the ice cream she's eating. Now I'm not a nutritionist, dietician or doctor but I'm having a hard time believing that 'fact'. If a standard scoop of vanilla ice cream contains 145 calories and a brisk walk ''covering three-and-a-half miles in an hour, burns about 280 calories'' then surely it will take 30 minutes to burn off that ice cream rather than his suggested 5 hours? I could be wrong ofcourse, I'm obviously biased as I've eaten 3 Magnum Almonds this weekend (271 calories each!) and don't fancy walking non stop for an entire day to burn off those calories, but I kind of think I'm right and that this guy is just using lies and scare tactics to get quick results for his TV show.

I can't decide which is worse, a screaming food banshee or a passive aggressive stalker, but I'd prefer both of them to just quietly go away.

Marvel acknowledges the existence of 'FEMALES'!

2009-04-06T07:57:00.010+01:00

Ooooh! Lots of new and fun Marvel merchandise directed specifically at those of us who have lady bits and are therefore FEMALE!!

Karen at Girl Wonder and Ill Iterate Anne have already dealt with this but I had to add my ''WTF???'' Seriously, cosmetics and ''I love boys'' tees? Broken heart necklaces? Is that the best you could come up with Marvel? Can I please see your inspiration for these products aimed at FEMALES! (sorry, I assume they become loud and robotic every time they have to acknowledge the 'other' gender) as I'm certain it's not the FEMALE comic readers I know.

So, lets take a look at the merchandise on offer for us wimmins.

Firstly, the pendants;

Now usually these things are for 'BFF' or maybe 'True Love' type necklaces so I'm not understanding the characters chosen......so if I give the Spidey half to Mr McScamp, he gets to be all clever, witty and heroic and I keep the Gwen half so I end up..........oh.....I don't have much to aspire to there now do I?

Onto the 'cosmetics'

Flavoured lipgloss. I like make up, I am a feeble female after all who just likes to put sparkly things on my face, but these aren't doing it for me. I am a grown woman fully capable of making my own decisions within the realm of cosmetics and these just wouldn't make the cut for any practical or aesthetic reason. I can only come to the conclusion that they are marketed towards young girls who have not yet formed any opinion on make up and therefore need to be told that they must conform to the beauty myth as soon as possible. It's all about the male gaze little wimmins, not your opinions on the works of Ellis or Bendis.

And lastly the T-shirts....

*sigh* I love boys......? I'm not certain why they rock as I've never known them to be accomplished musicians but please tell me why women can only show affection for the male characters rather than aspire to be just like them or an awesome female character? And what's with the v-neck and infantilised characterisations? I suppose the former could be attributed to reading a ''clothes to suit your shape'' article in Cosmo but the latter? We like babies.....or baby versions of the men we want to have sexual relations with but not be equal to? Very confusing messages there.

In conclusion all I can say is way to go Marvel! You've managed to ignore for years and now when you finally acknowledge our existence and loyalty to your creations you patronise us with cheap tat, thanks for that.

I'm not sure if the boys over at Marvel are completely clueless but I can only assume they are so here's some advice: T-shirts in womens sizes. I know, I know, it might seem like a controversial idea but it's the way forward, it's pretty much what every FEMALE comic lover I've ever spoken to wants....oh.......and to quit it with that whole Women In Refrigerators thing, but you know, baby steps.

Daily Mail & 'Fritzl'

2009-03-29T16:01:00.002+01:00

The 'Italian Fritzl', the 'Columbian Fritzl', the foster parent 'Fritzl's' and Fritzl himself interviewed a week after being sentenced to jail, in case you forgot who he was despite the Daily Mails apparent adoration of him.

I haven't read any of these articles. I really can't bring myself to, I'm glad these bastards are being found and charged but I hate the way the press loves to list the abuse committed by these men in great, glorified detail.

Links!

2009-03-18T12:32:00.013Z

No common theme, I am bored at home with angry tonsils and earache so I'll possibly add more later.

Disney to feature its first black princess... but critics complain as she falls in love with a WHITE prince
Damn those 'critics' always trying to keep whitey down. Can't wait for the comments.

Paula Murray, drunken hack, mocks dead and makes light of underage drinking
This is doing the rounds but it's worth posting again, it's a classic.

The Express wins the race to the bottom
Graham Linehan on the whole Paula murray/Sunday Express debacle.

What Crisis? I love the 'Keep Calm & Carry On' slogan but have recently found out that the BNP are trying to adopt it to symbolise

''the new British resolve to survive the threat of the current immigration invasion and the attempted destruction of this country''

Bastards.

The Future of Dollymix
It's back apparently, with a new editor.

Iron Man: The Five Nightmares
Ian talks Iron Man & Matt Fraction the geek! ;-P

OK: The Official Jade Goody Tribute Issue - 1981 - 2009
Yes, she's not even dead yet. This is the pre-death-make-some-cash-quick tribute issue.

The enemies of reason: The Mail: Likes migrants, doesn't like them being barred entry (only if it's English people emigrating, 1st comment is rather interesting)

I will not die for your amusement
Lesbian Vampire Killers? - oh the hilarity! Or not. From the ads I've seen it doesn't seem to have anything resembling an actual plot so I'm going to make a wild assumption that it was picked up for that oh so hilarious title alone which is sad and pathetic.

10 Annoying Habits of a Geeky Spouse The Tom and I are guilty of all of these, I feel no shame!

Oh, I understand.....

2009-03-15T08:39:00.004Z

Man arrested after 'stabbing to death teenage boy who was trying to burgle his house'

Fail quote;

It is understood a Jamaican couple live at the house

It is? Really? How is it understood exactly or do Daily Mail journalists just have a sixth sense for this sort of thing?

Curiosity got ther better of me so I did a quick search;

Teenage burglar stabbed to death from The Press Association contains no reference to the Jamaican couple, handily it has links to all relevant articles at the bottom of the page.

Again I cannot find any references amongst these links to the Jamaican couple I now understand to have stabbed a boy to death. Oh, wait.....

Boy stabbed in bungled burglary from the Times Online tells us;

Neighbour Fazal Khan, a 33-year-old computer technician, described the Jamican couple living in the house as ‘good people’.

Aha! Context! I'm not completely convinced that it's necessary to include race but atleast we now know that the information came from a neighbour who gave up the info willingly and completely unprompted by journalists who do not have any sort of hidden agenda.

Where did Dollymix go?

2009-03-12T22:11:00.003Z

Dollymix, billed as ''Thought candy for your ladybrains'' (which I quite like even if it could be construed as vaguely patronising) has been a daily read for me for a while now, it's not in the same league as The F Word but it's fun in a woman's magazine with a brain sort of way. It hasn't updated in weeks though, since the day before my birthday actually, which is like the anti-birthday present, taking something that I usually get everyday away from me on the day that I'm supposed to get stuff. The other Shiny Media blogs seem to be updating as usual but Dollymix seems to be dead and my comment asking as such hasn't appeared yet so I'm taking that as hardcore factual truth that it's no longer open for business. Am I wrong? Maybe handbags are more popular than feminist-lite reading? Maybe they couldn't compete with Jezebel and (ex-Dollymixer if I'm not mistaken) Bitchbuzz?

Wtf Cadbury's? WTF!?!

2009-03-12T17:23:00.008Z

Been a bit busy recently, moving offices so work is slightly hectic but I just had to point out the rebranded Cadbury's Caramel bunny.

Yesterday this bunny didn't exist, today I am seeing it on every bus and poster. As a reminder, here's the old bunny;

Now, even though she is suggestively offering that there critter some of her Cadbury's Caramel (her ''sugar''? hmmm), she is practically wholesome in comparison to the pouty, wet lipped and flirty lashed monstrosity offering us chocolate now. Actually, prostibunny isn't even offering us chocolate, she's probably on a diet so doesn't even eat chocolate unless it's a Friday when the calories forgone during the week are eaten in one go in a bizarre ritual known as ''treat day''. Prostibunny is actually judging you for eating chocolate, she's ''Still Got It'' you see whereas you are just a fat ugly pleb, eating chcolate when you should be starving yourself to perfection.

I know ''Old Cadbury Bunny'' was always supposed to be sexy, a cute and subversive way to objectify women without people noticing or being that bothered. She probably even created an entire generation furry fuckers too, which is almost an ultimate sin, but this new bunny is actually worse! It's in league with that hideous Orangina advert, where anthropomorphised animals cavorted in an orgy of mysoginy (seriously, what's with the punching vaginas scene?) because somehow, making them all animals distracts from all the sexist bullshit because that's just their animal instinct or something? Pah. Somewhere in adworld a furry is living out their horrible fantasies.

Love & Marriage

2009-03-04T20:40:00.007Z

A woman in Australia is planning on marrying her childhood sweetheart, which is nice, except that he happens to be a serial killer currently serving a life sentence for the murders of 4 people, which isn't so nice. Bride-to-be Bianca Roberts understands people may be concerned;

"I know that some people reading this will find it hard to understand how I could marry a serial killer but that's not how I choose to see James."

Awww. How sweet! It's like looking at an angry lion and seeing a grumpy kitten.

I think what this story really needs is a poll!

I decided to remain neutral so obviously chose ''Who are we to judge?''

WTF? Ok, so most people think my partners love of comic books and collecting Transformers is freaky but 48% of voters on 'Adelaide Now' think marrying a serial killer is a good idea?

In terms of ridiculous polls, I think they have the Fail beat.

'FeMail' Today.

2009-03-03T21:03:00.005Z

Angelina Jolie wears not one, but 2 wigs!!

In the dark wig Jolie looks like a raven-haired femme fatale who could easily be concealing a weapon or two; in the other she is a soft-looking, all-business blonde.

Britney wears a bra!

As expected, Britney will be showing off her regained svelte figure in a series of scantily-clad outfits, including nipple tassels, sequinned bras and fishnet tights.

Jennifer Aniston wears a coat!

Eventually the former Friends star put on a black jacket, clearly having had enough of the cold British weather.

Michelle Obama wears a dress!

Michelle Obama has upset fashion critics by wearing a sleeveless dress in her first official White House photograph.

So upset that....

The Chicago Tribune newspaper in Mrs Obama’s hometown has been deluged with complaints.

Charlize Theron wears high heels which make her really, really tall.

The £400 shoes - black snakeskin with golden spike heels - helped show off the tattoo of a fish on her ankle. But they appeared a little difficult to walk in, judging by her knock-kneed stance.

Why can't we love our bodies? (Ummm......all of the above?)

The average woman thinks about her body once every 15 minutes, and the chances are she will be despairing. Surveys have found only 1 to 2 per cent of women actually like their figure, and while most in the UK are a size 14, many feel a size 12 to be fat.

And something for the little ladies to distract their tiny minds from the thrilling adventures of famous people and being consumed by self loathing.

Ray Quinn wears a wet t-shirt, look at his biceps!

The former X Factor contestant, who used to be a little chubby cheeked thanks to his love of pizza, says he developed his honed physique after buying a men's fitness magazine around a year ago.

I think I just got stupider.

Eastenders 'All Black' Episode Update

2009-02-28T19:21:00.003Z

It seems some people did actually complain to the BBC regarding the apparently controversial 'all black' episode of Eastenders. I'm assuming it's the same special kind of tossers that complained about Cerrie Burnell being disabled and ~~making them feel uncomfortable~~ scaring their children. I would love to read the actual complaints which may or may not turn up here but with the latest summary of complaints being from November 2008 I'm not expecting them soon.

Some links!

2009-02-25T09:53:00.014Z

I have not been on t'internet in almost 2 days, withdrawal symptoms occuring....must catch up......need to know what the Mail have been upto......for now, some links!

"One photographer lay down on the floor to get a shot up my skirt ... The night it was legal for them to do it, they did it. I woke up the next day and felt completely violated by it all."

That quote from Emma Watson is sick, sad and slightly depressing.

Does Madonna still love Sean Penn even though her beat her with a baseball bat?

Best quote: ''It was the most passionate liaison.'' Yes, he beat her with a baseball bat but it was because he was passionate! So it's ok to continue romanticising domestic violence then.

''In 1905, the Mail ran an article headlined “The Workhouse De Luxe”, suggesting that workhouse was a palace where residents luxuriated with music, drama, hot and cold baths, while wearing tweed suits.''

Vintage Mail....not much different to today's Mail.

Black People in Eastenders? Daily Mail PANIC Ensues!!

2009-02-24T16:09:00.004Z

BBC to screen episode of EastEnders featuring an 'all black cast'

Ok. It's an episode of Eastenders focusing on one family who happen to be black. The BBC have not advertiesed it as 'all black' as The Mail itself states, so why the fuss? Eastenders does this all the time, it's not unusual. So off to the comments then where people will remember those episodes that dealt only with Dot Cotton and her wayward son, or the Mitchells fighting in the Vic or the Fowlers being depressed. It's been a long time since I've watched the show........to the comments!

Why?? Can you imagine an all white episode....why cant we just get on with it rather than EVERYTHING being race - religion etc etc....its great to learn about our history - but making an all black episode verges on silly.
Click to rate Rating 105- Bristol, Bristol, 24/2/2009 11:09

The BBC did 'just get on with it' the Mail decided to make a big deal out of it.

If this was to be the other way round with an all-white episode, everyone would be screaming about it being racist. Whats the difference? The way I see it, not that I watch any of the tripe that constitutes as entertainment these days, is that BBC can get away with doing anything they want and dont have to answer for it. Its time they stopped all this nonsense.
Click to rate Rating 81- Annoyed, Leeds, England, 24/2/2009 11:16

Sure we would, people are always screaming about 90% of tv being all white aren't they? (my facts are based on nothing but I bet I'm not far off)

All hell would break loose if the producers advertised an 'all white' episode where no black or asian characters were allowed to speak. what a country we now infest!
Click to rate Rating 71- Keith Jones (Taxpaying Pensioner), Porthcawl, South Wales, 24/2/2009 11:29

They didn't advertise an 'all black cast' either. (Why is being a 'Taxpaying Pensioner' important?)

If it were an all white episode lord knows what would come of it.

I encourage everyone to complain to the BBC. I am.
Click to rate Rating 40- Catherine, Swindon, Wiltshire, 24/2/2009 11:36

Again...most tv and WTF?? Complaining about black people being on telly? Really?

The comments are not all terrible though, I sometimes credit this with sensible readers of the Mail but I'm starting to think it has more to do with ridiculous articles like these being posted on blogs which then encourages the sensible non-Mail reading folks to go over and comment, is that too cynical of me?

Anyway, some nice comments;

Oh for goodness sake what exactly is all the fuss about!? So what if the episode is centred around charaters who happen to be black..There have been numerous episodes based solely around characters who have been white & it's never been commented on...What is this obsession with skin colour-it's absurd we are all people whatever "colour" we happen to be..
Click to rate Rating 22- Jane, Lancs, 24/2/2009 12:59

Indeed!

Do any of you realise how ignorant you all sound. This is an episode about racism, which is dealt with by central characters in Eastenders. If you don't like the plot don't watch it...
Click to rate Rating 4- Bec, London, UK, 24/2/2009 13:11

Hmm...back to my 'non-Mail reader sent via blog' theory, I agree but this is the Mail, ignorant is practically their middle name!

How hilarious it is to hear the usual whining from white people on this site.
'what if there was an all white episode of eastenders it would be seen as racism'
Er, excuse me there have been all white episodes.What about the episodes in the past that have focused just on the Slater or Mitchell families, or Dot Cotton. Last time I checked they were all white! The only difference is the media didn't notice it, like all white people didn't notice it because that is normal! It's only when it's people that don't look like yourselves that you notice it! In fact most drama series on tv as well as most mainstream films all the main characters are white, apart from maybe some bit parts from ethnics. It's just no white people actually notice it whereas we do!
Click to rate Rating 2- Shan, london, 24/2/2009 13:18

Best point, comments are won!

I'll have to keep my eye out on this one to see if the viewing figures go down or the BBC is inundated with complaints from Mail readers....hang on.....do Mail readers even watch Eastenders??

I almost agreed.......

2009-02-21T10:49:00.005Z

but it's still the Mail and it's still incredibly elitist. I had forgotten about this one but had handily saved the link as a draft, I cannot be bothered to read the tripe again as it's not that interesting and I agree in that I also dislike the patronising, self hating shite these magazines churn out, but I hate them all equally.

What annoyed me about this article is the fact that Linda Kelsey was Editor of Cosmopolitan but directs her bile at Take A Break, Bella, That's Life et al. meaning her ''For 30 years I lived, breathed - and defended - women's magazines'' statement means nothing because she's not actually attacking her magazine. Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire and Cosmo are all still perfectly well mannered and respectable tomes but that tacky, chav fodder? Pah! Disgusting!

What did the baby do?

2009-02-18T20:45:00.006Z

I voted 'No' as I feel the baby was innocent in all this, surely the baby hasn't done anything yet?

Oh well.

Man Murders Woman.

2009-02-18T18:54:00.006Z

Father of two batters his wife to death then jumps in front of train.

The title pretty much sums up the story. I don't really have much to say other than a few points that annoyed me immediately.

The man in question is referred to as;

Mark Findlay
Father of two
Company director;
& also company secretary
''seemed like the best dad in the world and a devoted husband'' by the neighbour.

The woman;

His wife
Mrs Findlay (consistently until a quote from the neighbour provides her first name)
Helen
And a statement I can't quite fathom; ''Mrs Findlay had not appeared to be involved in a new relationship.'' (from the same neighbour but this was obviously a question asked by the reporter).

He's the hardworking, loving father and husband and she's just ''his wife'' so it's all ok then, she wasn't having an affair as far as we knew but as a commentor points out;

-How can anybody know what goes on is someone's mind?
Who knows what has been said in anger between the two of them
to make him flip his trolly?
Pressure can do weird things to the mind.
Terrible stuff.
Click to rate Rating 9- Barry Watson, Westerham Kent, 18/2/2009 17:41-

Obviously she must have done something to provoke him right? For once the comments section isn't utterly reprehensible aside from the one above (when I read it anyway) but the article itself is disconcerting considering the views displayed in this gem from Melanie Phillips. The Mail, I gather from reading the articles they deem fit to publish, essentially believes that a man murdering ''his wife'' is ok if she was having an affair as they've already reconciled themselves with the fact that ''typically, men kill their womenfolk in the heat of the moment'' and that ''Infidelity is one of the most serious wrongs that one spouse can do to another''.

Ok then.

Mail bashing is fun but articles like these drive home the fact that it's a serious newspaper with actual real-life-possibly-normal-looking-people who read it and agree with it's views and then I feel a bit empty inside.

Hideous Women.

2009-02-18T12:23:00.007Z

The Mail is on form again. Socialite Tara Palmer Tomkinson went out on the streets with absolutely no make up on! What has the world come to?? Look at how hideous she is??
I thought she looked great and it seems there are some marginally sane Mail readers as most of the comments seem to be saying the same thing. If the commentors continue to disagree with the judgements of the Mail who knows what will happen? Perhaps the constant criticisms of women will cease? Pah! I Lie. That will never happen.

Victoria Beckham makes the mistake of showing off her ''curveless'' body at the launch of her new fashion range.

''The tiny dress clung to Victoria's slender frame, showing little in the way of bust or backside'' drooled DAILY MAIL REPORTER* in a manner reminiscent of the kind of dirty old man that sits in the park during the summer to watch the young girls do hand stands.

Victoria is thin but she is at a fashion show surrounded by very thin people, the sort of thin people who make Peaches Geldof look on the larger side (and Peaches looks like a size 10 to me) and Posh look practically healthy. I'm no fan of Victoria but if she's too thin it's only because she dare not be anything else as the Mail would be there in a flash with a close up photo, heaps of scathing criticism and new body paranoias in the making.

And lastly 'WAG' & Big Brother contestant Chantelle went on a 'make under' show and looks pretty much the same as she did before. Not certain what point they were trying to make with this one other than showing pics of her cleavage and leaving it to the commentors to tear strips off the woman.

*What is it with ''DAILY MAIL REPORTER''? Is the author so ashamed of working for the Mail they can't face putting their name in print? Why do they do that?

Daily Mail Dating

2009-02-15T17:10:00.002Z

It seems that the Mail has a dating site. Uuuugh!!! Aside from the horrible thought of Daily Mail readers meeting and possibly procreating I am shocked that it actually has options for ''male looking for a male'' or ''female looking for a female''. I can only wonder where you end up if you pick one of those options.

Playing the ''get a comment on the Mail'' game and failing....again.

2009-02-15T15:57:00.002Z

I have attempted to comment on this article, regarding the ''catty comments'' actress Gemma Arterton recieved for not conforming to the bizarre body standards the Mail was buying into that week, all bloody day but it just doesn't like me. Maybe it's because I'm pointing out their own hypocrisy?

Kristen Schaal: SG Interview

2009-02-14T21:57:00.001Z

The interview is a few months old now but I just found it and I adore Ms Schaal so here she is.

Batwoman is a Lesbian!!!!

2009-02-12T09:53:00.003Z

Wasn't this news 2 years ago? It's early, I'm hungry so I may be missing something here, it's in a different title so does that make it newsworthy all over again? Pah, I'll find out later.

Lolcats = Cheery McScamp.

2009-02-10T16:27:00.001Z

more animals

This depresses me....

2009-02-10T14:37:00.004Z

The Daily Mail loves it's ''uber chavs''. As a slightly educated 1980's born-to-a-single-mother-but-employed-and-definately-maybe-not-a-chav gal this still depresses me, especially the comments. Who has given these kids any incentive to achieve anything with their lives? I am not in the best frame of mind (read: wtf to do with life + half a bottle of rosé at lunch - ooooh does that make me a chav?) to write anything reasonably coherant on the matter but all I can say is this; I was a pretty good, bookish and nerdy, kid with a pretty crappy childhood and the school system did eff all for me. When I wrote what must have been a decent story in English my tutor thought I must've copied it from a book, when my attendance dropped through bullying and a crappy homelife my teachers punished me, I was put with the ''bad kids'' when I had panic attacks caused by said bullying and couldn't face going to class and when I dropped out of school at 15 no-one gave a fuck and probably assumed I was pregnant.

And I was a pretty good kid. My favourite place to be was in the library, I was always in the top sets for maths and science and I had pretty realistic dreams for any middle class kid but as I happened to be a''chav'' gave them up and ended up telling the careers advisor that my aim in life was to work at Stockpak (the local biscuit factory - I almost did but held out and got a job at Safeway instead). I don't think I'm that unusual other than being a 'ghetto snob'* and having a constant desire to educate myself rather than putting up with what I was given in life which is where I deviate from the norm. If I, at (almost) 25, am only just figuring out that I possibly have the potential to do something with my life, this mostly being borne out of being the rejected freak on the council estate (I read books which made me posh ie weirdo!), then what the hell are all the other 'chavs' supposed to do when nobody actually gives a fuck/believes in them/cares about what they have to offer society? If you treat people like nothing then what the hell do you want in return?

I want to be back in the pub........

*Ghetto Snob

Jessica Simpson wears shorts - Panic Ensues!!

2009-02-10T14:16:00.003Z

Jessica Simpson looking hideous at a gig despite fitting into said 'daisy dukes' she wore at her ''criticized 2005 MTV appearance'' thinnest and not looking like anything other than UK size 8-10.

Haribo Interrogation Advert

2009-02-08T12:16:00.002Z

It's fairly average until the end when the dad asks ''Who ate the last ring?'' and the adorable litle girl flips him the bird. That always makes me giggle.

Law & Order: Powers

2009-02-07T17:32:00.005Z

Powers - Live Action!
Yay!!!! I love me some Powers! Hopefully they don't eff it up and give us another 'Heroes' (I love Heroes, but it's a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Tv Show*) as I love Powers too much and would be more than a wee bit mortified. It's going to be an FX production though and, as far as screening shows in the UK, they seem to err on the side of 'pretty decent' to 'very good!'.

On thinking about casting, Law & Order already had a great Walker/Pilgrim style team up;

Who can beat that? Actually...the pessimism is already creeping in.....

*Really crap but absolutely delicious/enjoyable.

Incomprehension in 1......2.........3..............

2009-02-06T17:03:00.003Z

*Smacks Head Against Table*

John Oliver interviews Kenyan Ambassador.

2009-02-05T14:33:00.002Z

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Oliver's Travels - Kenya

Daily Show Full Episodes
Funny Political Videos

Important Things With Demetri Martin
More Funny Videos

''It's a police station, not a gay police station''

2009-02-04T11:32:00.007Z

The one thing greater/funnier/scarier than The Daily Mail's ubiquitous outrage regarding a public display of support for LGBT History Month by a police station are the comments. They make me laugh and yet terrify me by forcing me to acknowledge that these people are out there, walking around, drinking tea, looking like normal people. How will I know if I meet one?

A few choice comments:

It's disgraceful. Lets get a flag promoting hetrosexuality. See how gay people like that one. It's one thing tolerating other peoples ways of living, it's another having it shoved in your face!
Click to rate Rating 492- Simon, London, 3/2/2009 10:01

The officers who raised 'the gay flag', should be dismissed from the service, immediately; as should the station commander. They are a total disgrace to their organisation and to their country!
Click to rate Rating 165- Desmond, North Devon, 3/2/2009 10:29

The Police force are clearly "Institutionally Heterophobic"
Click to rate Rating 223- Thomas, Dubai, 3/2/2009 10:33

(I especially like how, using TDM voting system which allows any reasonable comment to be voted unreasonable, this comment has been voted down over 200 times. Clearly TDM readers do not understand satire even when it's in their favour)

Thats about right! sums up the average police mindset these days.
Click to rate Rating 103- M Harrington, hitchin, 3/2/2009 10:42

(Ummm....tolerance?)

If you wanted proof that we live in a sick society!
Click to rate Rating 52- Edward Beckett, Belfast, N.I., 3/2/2009 10:59

Dammit!

2009-02-02T15:36:00.003Z

I get all set to do something resembling a 'proper' degree to have some sort of career/life development and then I go and bloody find this! I've wanted to do Media Make Up for years but resigned myself to it being an expensive-never-gonna-happening or going to a crappy college for 2 years to look like a victim of the tango man and have little in the way of actual prosthetics training (and making monsters is what it's all about really)which is not what I was after.

Hmmmm.....new ideas formulating by the moment...........I can do one at the expense of t'other or one and t'other later on for career prospects in later years..........and the career development loan isn't even as large as most student loans............h'interesting.

Snow day!

2009-02-02T12:30:00.002Z

Pictures of snow in case we've forgotten what it looks like in the 12 months since snow last fell. You would think we'd be used to it by now, what with it happening nearly every year around that time called 'winter' but no, yet again we're suprised by the white stuff. I have to admit to a fondness for our ineptitude when it comes to dealing with snow, it should become a part of the British stereotype along with bad food and tea drinking.

Toki - Disturbing puppet animation.

2009-02-01T14:36:00.001Z

I'm generally creeped out by dolls/puppets anyways so this, whilst gorgeous, is really frickin' freaky!

I love The Daily Quail

2009-02-01T13:51:00.001Z

Gays Steal Children From Happy Family

Dating advice courtesy of Nedroid.

2009-02-01T13:07:00.001Z

Zing!

The Bugle

2009-02-01T12:24:00.005Z

The Bugle is pretty damn awesome. It's a bit like ''The Daily Show'' in podcast form and if for some reason you haven't got a clue what I mean by that then it's a satirical news show and please also watch TDS and Colbert as they are also made of pure awesome.

Jo Brand comment incites race hate.........

2009-02-01T12:03:00.004Z

....against the BNP. Ms Brand made a joke during ''Live at the Apollo'' about mailing shit to the BNP members who had their details leaked. I saw it, I giggled, I thought nothing of it. But, apparently the BNP is protected under the race relations act as it's ''technically an ethnic group'' according to BNP spokesman Simon Derby, seemingly said without a trace of irony or shame. Bizarre!

Again, go to the comments......I especially loved the one about Jo Brand being a comic ''desparate (sic) to make people laugh'' ummm.......yes.....like most comedians, ''making people laugh'' is in the job description.

Kitty Cat destroys all evil!

2008-12-23T12:07:00.002Z

(The evil being, working over xmas, I'm so bitter!)

Tina Fey in Vanity Fair

2008-12-07T20:49:00.002Z

Worst Article Ever. I might be a bit harsh in that summary, I read it a few days ago and can't be bothered reading it again but I'm pretty certain it's still bad. To summarise:

Like, Ohmigawwwwddd, she was all like hideously fat and ugly and had really really bad hair and weighed like 150 pounds which is soooooo huge and gross but like she still managed to get a job or something but it was ok 'cos it was just as a writer so no-one had to see how hideously ugly she was but people were so disgusted by her they figured she must be sleeping with someone to have a job at all right? Right? But amazingly, she was like totally talented and funny but no-one really cared 'till she went on a diet and got shiny new hair and now everyone loves. Did I mention she was really fat?

The article pretty much sucks, I've never read Vanity Fair so I can't really comment on the usual content but if it's at all like this then do not buy. I'm not certain what the purpose of it all is, she was an ugly duckling so now we can feel better knowing there's hope for us all? To encourage admiration for the hardships she suffered? Make us feel better knowing she's a secret fatty? I really don't get it, it just pissed me off completely.

Fey is a comedian, surely she said something funny or interesting during the interview? Did her 'friends' say anything else about her other than how much of an 'ugly' duckling she once was?

Purple Hair Girl - John Lewis Ad

2008-12-07T20:36:00.003Z

I adore this hair!!!! The colour is so beautiful. At the moment I'm boring brown whilst I grow my hair out (it's a Brooksy bob, which I love, but still has some pesky layers which I hate)but as soon as I have a lovely shiny mane of hair minus layers I think I shall go this colour!! I love it so much.

Stay classy Pirelli.......

2008-12-03T18:34:00.002Z

Hmmmmmmm .......... Art? Methinks not. If you remove the hideous abuse of women these pictures have no actual, stand alone, artistic merit. They're just plain crappy. Have they done it on purpose? Is it just a joke to rile feminists? If so it's not particularly funny, it's just awful. And the guy in the comments insisting he doesn't ''jump to the assumption of gang rape'' as the woman actually has panties on (I'm jumping to the assumption he hasn't looked at the sequence peoperly, the clothes on her lower torso are ripped off until we are left to assume she's completely naked)but assumes cannibalis. How the hell is that any better? Why the hell is someone trying to find some supposedly deep and meaningful insight (I've never accused anyone of this before but...white male privilege?)into a woman being completely brutalised by a gang of people? Also commenting on how the west will alway 'exoticise and eroticise' natives whilst insisting the pictures must be cannibalism makes me think of this. Hmmmm.....yes, much better, definately no rape going on there then.

Daily Mail, why oh why do you exist?

2008-11-18T23:38:00.002Z

This is just lovely. Whilst being bandied around a national newspaper does seem a tad extreme the comments just make it all the more depressing. Also makes me wonder if any of the commentors are on this list. The Daily Mail does seem rather annoyed about it and a newpaper does reflect the attitude of it's readership right?

RSPCA Australia - Why?

2008-11-18T23:24:00.002Z

This video is awful. Domestic violence to the tune of a whimpering dog because you know, you wouldn't let a woman get beaten so why are you letting dogs get beaten eh? I don't think it really gets that point across and for me just seemed doubly horrendous as both the images and the sounds are already individually distressing. I just don't understand why animal charities get it so wrong.

Nekromantix - Gargoyles Over Copenhagen

2008-06-30T19:18:00.001+01:00

Neon Neon - I Lust U

2008-05-05T20:50:00.000+01:00

Amazing electro and jellyfish, I am sold.

Jeffrey Brown book? In a shop? A shop that anyone can just walk into and buy something?

2008-04-16T20:29:00.005+01:00

I had Cat Getting Out of a Bag as soon as it came out, but then in a fit of altruism I gave it to Tom's mother as a gift to her cat loving friend. It was a success as always but left me without.

Then today, in a bizarre and confusing happening, whilst on lunch browsing the shops* with some ladies from work I found a new copy! YaY! In fact there were other copies! That normal none comic book shop going peeps can see and buy too!!

Amazing.

*The shop is called JOY, it's like a cheaper Urban Outfitters situated right next door to New Look in the Arndale with another shop over in the Triangle.

Visa Naked Man Ad

2008-04-16T19:56:00.003+01:00

It seems this ad is causing some offence. Oh Noes!! Naked man flesh!! What to do?? Luckily I get to see naked man flesh on a regular basis so wasn't too perturbed by this sudden intrusion into my eyes, however, I do have completely hetero girl love for his soon-to-be-advert-wife. How gorgeous is she? I'm completely in love with her hair!! (yup, it's always about the hair) It's not too dissimilar to how my hair usually ends up after leaving it to grow out for a few months following an awesome short 'do, yet I completely adore it (even the colour) and want it now!!

Actually, I don't want it now (but I have taken screen grabs of the hair for future reference). Right now I want my hair cut shorter and cooler as it is a little bit too long and fluffy at the moment (appointment already booked:o) and then I am going to attempt to turn my hair as white as possible! Like that awesomely cool girl I saw in New Look the other week, her hair made me envious. I am going to steal her candy floss hair.

DVNO - Justice

2008-04-15T19:47:00.001+01:00

I love this song at the momento.

Sebastien Tellier - Sexual Sportswear.

2008-02-18T20:01:00.002Z

I know nothing of this artist or his music but I think this song is gorgeous. Must find more!

A-ko chan no Beautiful Cinema!

2008-02-17T13:15:00.003Z

I really, really want this book! It's the new one by Junko Mizuno and is currently only available in Japanese. I have no idea whether or not it will be translated into English so can't decide if I should just buy it or to wait. To placate my little Mizuno loving self I bought this little guy off of ebay.

Adorable!!

The Phenomenauts - Mission

2008-01-28T22:30:00.000Z

At some point I shall have to share my theory on Torchwood but for the moment I can't be bothered so here is some space rockabilly with a Theramin.