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Link: Advocate.
The appointment of Australian Bennett King to be the coach of the West Indies cricket team is still generating waves of discussion and opinion.
The latest to have his view of the matter is the legendary West Indies fast bowler Andy Roberts, who has knocked the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for not appointing a regional coach to be an understudy to King.
Julie Burchill presented an excellent defence of Chavs on Sky One last night.
Perhaps we are a nation of chavs — and that suits me fine, as the alternative would be being a nation of pretentious ponces; naming no names, Monsieur et Madame! Look at our “betters”, if you will; the Queen has a gilded coach — it doesn’t get more ostentatious. The third in line to the throne has a bottle-blonde girlfriend called “Chelsy”; the ninth in line has a pierced, even blonder daughter called Zara. Even Burberry, it turns out, was founded in Basingstoke rather than Belgravia. And its “chief financial officer”, who recently had the nerve to attempt to distance her overpriced, underselling product from the replicas still selling like hot cakes by saying “Chavs are yesterday’s news”, is actually called Stacey. STACEY! No doubt she has sisters called Tracey and Lacey and a brother called Casey — and what fun we’d all have down the Bowlplex, legless on Bacardi Breezers! Pot, kettle, bling, anybody?
Yeah but, no but, why I'm proud to be a chav by Julie Burchill
You can listen to Julie on Woman's Hour where she has a go at middle class journalists who are just showing their self loathing by abusing working class kids who just want to enjoy themselves.
The anonymous authors of the hatesite chavscum.co.uk refused to appear on 'Chavs', (perhaps they were scared of Julie). I am thinking of starting a site called royalscum.co.uk as an alternative to chavscum.
Julie comes from Bristol and you can find yourself agreeing and disagreeing with her at the same time. She has currently got a great idea for a sit-com that she is finding a bit difficult to get commissioned:
Burchill remains mystified as to why she has yet to find anyone to commission her idea about a group of atheists trying to survive in heaven. "The boy's in the British National Party and he falls in love with this dead Muslim girl. And there's these Goths who are devil-worshippers, they're in heaven too," she says. "This idea must have been touted around 12 production companies, and I got a big zero from all of them. I just don't understand why." Her own favourite television programmes, she says, are on digital channels such as Living and Bravo; typically, reality shows such as America's Next Top Model. The Sky television press officer, who has sat down beside her on the sofa, is beaming. "It's funny how I've ended up working so much for Mr Murdoch," says Burchill, who is perhaps Britain's best-known Stalinist. "I've always wanted to ever since I saw him at a party about five years ago and found him really quite sexy.
Julie Burchill: Me and my big mouth
I've just had a flight confirmation through by email from BA. Not only have BA handed over the Bilbao route to Iberia as of last November (Iberia being a fairly shambolic enterprise), which screwed up my Christmas plans (all BA Xmas flights cancelled at the last minute) but BA seem also to have 'revamped' (I use the term advisedly) its website, adding a few unnecessary and confusing steps to the transaction. Now I find BA has also 'redesigned' its emails, so that the standard confirmation email arrives in the tiniest font you can imagine (6 point? less?). I'm seriously thinking of acquiring a set of magnifying glasses.
Here it comes, just a few short weeks after Christmas - another heartache, Valentine's day :-( .
All the restaurants will be fully booked up and serving specially higher priced menus for one day only, and the rose sellers are out everywhere, robbing the poor old guilt-ridden grumpy men at £5 per droopy head. Insitutionalised spontaneity, yuk.
The latest BBC Complaints Report has just been published. This report can be funnier than many of the sit-coms put out by the BBC.
The Jeremy Hardy one is my favourite, I definitely disagree with shooting BNP voters in the back of the head, between the eyes is much more appropriate.
Material between programmes
CBBC, 6 August 2004
The complaint
A viewer complained about presenters Dick and Dom apparently imitating “flashers” and then appearing almost naked while promoting the return of their weekend series on the channel.
Finding
The behaviour went beyond the kind of unplanned tomfoolery which had been anticipated, and beyond what was appropriate in this context.
Further action
Independently of the Unit’s investigation, the management of CBBC made clear to the presenters and programme team that acceptable limits had been exceeded, and that any elements of improvisation must remain appropriate to the target audience.
Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation
BBC Radio 4, 9 September 2004
The complaint
A large number of people complained that Jeremy Hardy, in the course of one of his comic monologues, suggested shooting BNP voters in the back of the head, and that this was inappropriate.
Finding
Jeremy Hardy was seeking to satirise those on the left who, as he put it, “always have to be positive about humankind and it’s just so tiresome”. However, the singling out of a particular group as a target for the violent alternative he humorously proposed was inappropriate.
Further action
The Commissioning Editor for Radio 4 reminded the producer of the particular care needed in relation to comedy which proceeds from a particular political viewpoint, and the producer has discussed the issue with Jeremy Hardy.
What Not to Wear
BBC One (Scotland), 18 October 2004
The complaint
Two viewers complained that the word “shag” went beyond their expectations, even bearing in mind the presenters’ well-known outspokenness, and should not have been used in a programme transmitted at 7pm.
Finding
The series had originally been commissioned for after the watershed, and was re-edited in the light of its earlier placings. Because of an oversight, the word “shag” escaped the re-editing. In the context, it was inappropriate.
Further action
Independently of the Unit’s investigation, the word was edited out before the programme’s transmission south of the border later in the week.
BBC News
BBC News 24, 23 August 2004
The complaint concerned a report by Julia Caesar on BBC News 24 on 23 August 2004. The item focused on the findings of a survey of investments showing that women averaged a much higher growth for their portfolios than men, or the market as a whole, for a selected period. The complainant claimed that the report caricatured men as being cognitively simple, impatient and having only a shallow understanding of the processes involved. According to the complainant, the report presented gender and racial stereotyping as news. He was particularly offended by the quotation of a comment made by Angela Knight, Chief Executive of the Association of Private Client Investment and Stockbrokers. Ms Knight was quoted as saying that ”women invest with their heads and men invest with testosterone”.
By quoting this comment the complainant considered the report had entered the “field of eugenics” and that such theories equated to “hate crime”. He further claimed that the broadcasting of such material was in violation of the BBC’s Charter.
Lawyers representing Recording Industry Association of America have filed suit against an 83-year old woman who died in December, claiming that she illegally traded music over the Internet.
Gertrude Walton died in December after a long illness, and according to her daughter, the 83-year-old hated computers.
A Recording Industry Association of America spokesman said Thursday that Walton was likely not the smittenedkitten it is searching for.
"Our evidence gathering and our subsequent legal actions all were initiated weeks and even months ago," said RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy. "We will now, of course, obviously dismiss this case."
My cat looks a bit like Spitney Brears, do you think the RIAA might like to sue her?
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