Monday, December 30, 2013
The Next Thursday Conundrum
Sunday, December 29, 2013
From Ross Noble to Johnny Vegas: Comedians of the Year
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Reflections on Christmas
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Freeing Up Drive C
Friday, December 20, 2013
Bloody Collect+
Deceived By The Delivery: The Graeme Swann Controversy
"We are appalled that Graeme Swann equates a cricket match with the devastatingly serious crime of rape. It is the duty of a people in the public eye to make sure that their own distorted views are kept to themselves and not shared with the general public. These comments lack compassion and intelligence and he should apologise to anyone who has suffered from this heinous crime."The problem I have is the problem I have whenever an offhand remark is countered with a well-considered response. Anybody can make an offhand remark which can then be made to look foolish with an acutely reasoned reply. Somebody well practised at deconstructionism could take many a mild statement and expose some raw misogyny, fascist leaning or underlying assumption about other people and their cultures. We routinely use words to express ourselves which come laden with all kinds of prior meanings but that isn't to say that we advocate the murder of the French whenever we say that somebody has 'met their Waterloo' any more than there's an implied support of colonialism when we say 'I could murder a curry'. So if there has been no reasonable defence made for Graeme Swann, then I think there should be one. There should be a reasoned argument that says something like: 'obviously, he didn't mean to offend anybody who has suffered that most terrible crime of rape, but he used an example of extreme human barbarity to express the profound disappointment he's feeling at the moment.' It should go on as follows: 'Rather than diminish the severity of rape, his comment acknowledges rape's status as an ultimate taboo in our collective morality. Much of our humour comes from exploring these taboo concepts and his remarks belonged to a long tradition of using such terms for darkly comic effect (see Freud's Totem and Taboo). Of course, rape exists and it will continue to exist as long as individuals seek to impose their will on other individuals. It is part of all human potential and, sadly, it will always be part of the sum total of what we call "the human condition". Yet to hide it away and restrict our use of the word for only those moments when we're talking seriously about something is wrong and denies us an important part of our language.' But, of course, if that's reasonably put, it's also reasonable to say that there is a point at which such comparisons become unacceptable. Swann could have said 'murdered' by the Australians and it wouldn't have raised any objection. Had he compared it with ethic cleaning or, even worse, been so specific as to compare it to the Holocaust, he would have been rightly vilified. There might, then, be a matter of degree in this situation. 'Bummed', 'buggered' or even 'butt fucked' wouldn't have raised such alarm. 'Rape', however, is such a sensitive subject and in some sense politicised, he should have known better than to walk down the middle of the wicket wearing his spikes and cutting up the rough. Because, to some, making supposedly funny remarks about rape is tantamount to attempting to reduce the seriousness of the crime. They argue that we desensitise ourselves to the violence of rape by using the word in such a casual manner. And I suppose there might be that danger. The old saying that 'familiarity breeds contempt' has established wisdom about it. We live in a world where it is increasingly difficult to be shocked. Films have developed such an elaborate language of horror that it's hard to think of something that exceeds the imaginations of filmmakers. Saw was a shocking movie but tame compared to what came later. The 'unimaginable' horrors of films of the 1950s are laughable compared to today's torture horror. In another fifty years, what might that generation think about today's Human Centipede? Yet whatever they think about our horror, I doubt if future generations will have any more developed response to rape. There is a difference between styles of horror and certain depictions of physical violence. Whilst the sight of Norman Bates' mother, at the end of Psycho, has lost much of its shock value, the same can't be said of rape scenes from films of the 1960s and 70s. A Clockwork Orange still makes for very uncomfortable viewing as does Straw Dogs. One of the most shocking and uncomfortable films I've seen which still shocks today is Hitchcock's Frenzy. There is something about the act of rape that isn't lessened by familiarity or overuse of the word. It simply never fails to shock. I've laboured longest over the wording of this brief article than I've done over anything in a long time. The very fact that it makes for uncomfortable discussion and there's been little or no debate about a cricketer's use of the term would suggest that it retains its power. Horror has its basis in some part of the brain that's unconnected with our moral actions. Rape remains the ultimate violation, utterly taboo, a place reserved for the worst things that humans can do to one another. And in this respect, Swann's remarks belong to that category of darkly humourous exaggeration we use as a way of commentating on something so out of the ordinary. Is it too much of a stretch to say that it was used in the same way that Alexander Pope meant it when he wrote 'Rape of the Lock'? Well, perhaps it is. Times change and perhaps Swann was unwise to use the word in what might be thought of as a public forum. He might have used the word unthinkingly (but I don't think it was as unthinking as some would wish). Yet if Swann's choice of expression was shocking, some might say it was shockingly funny but shocking nevertheless. And that is how it should be and, in that sense, I don't believe he has any reason to apologise. Just to suggest that he uses it in a way that's disrespectful of all rape victims is to play unfair games with language. It plays politics with the issue by spinning the spinner's words.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Dreaming of Tom Waits
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Getting in the silverskins
Monday, December 16, 2013
The Monday After the Month Before
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Damn, Hell and Bugger!
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
John W Henry: The Cartoon Strip – Episode 5
Saturday, December 07, 2013
A Slow Burning Tragedy Courtesy of the NHS
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Brainwashing & Bestiality: The British Shopping Experience
- "Keep the person unaware of what is going on and how attempts to psychologically condition him or her are directed in a step-by-step manner.
- Control the person's social and/or physical environment; especially control the person's time.
- Systematically create a sense of powerlessness in the person.
- Manipulate a system of rewards, punishments and experiences in such a way as to inhibit behavior that reflects the person's former social identity.
- The group manipulates a system of rewards, punishments, and experiences in order to promote learning the group's ideology or belief system and group-approved behaviors.
- Put forth a closed system of logic and an authoritarian structure that permits no feedback and refuses to be modified except by leadership approval or executive order."
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Still Here
Sunday, November 24, 2013
The blog post in which I reflect on how I'm not making much progress
Friday, November 22, 2013
On Stu, Elberry, Michael and Me
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
A Blog Post That Makes Me Feel Queasy Just By Posting It
Sunday, November 17, 2013
No Time
Friday, November 15, 2013
The Little Old Lady in Boots
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Yet another pointless debate about social immobility among the very people causing it
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Worst Blog Post Ever
It disappoints me when I don't blog. I didn't want to miss another day for precisely that reason. I had a hellish weekend and it annoys me that I've not drawn a gag cartoon in nearly two weeks. Monday and Tuesday, I was busy/distracted/worn out by a variety of jobs that needed doing. I had people to see, places to go, and blogs I didn't have time to write. In my various travels, I did get to hold the new Samsung Note 10.1 (2014 edition) and it was a beautiful as I thought it would be. Somewhat annoyingly, had I waited, various offers might have made it less than the price of my current tablet.
In other news: lost a spoke on my bike and it's next to impossible to find a place to replace it at a decent price. Can't do it myself because spokes have to be right length, down the millimetre.
Still no word about cartoon competitions. I guess it has been announced. I'm not looking and I have to stop even mentioning them.
The only positive is that I've managed to make a little progress on my promotional video.
Okay, this was definitely my worst blog post ever. I'll try to do better tomorrow. Meanwhile, here are some strange shots I took after I discovered the panoramic function of my phone. For some of these, I Just held the camera to the window as the train moved and the camera did its magic. I think they came out looking surprisingly reasonable.