29th May 2012 BBC & The Guardian - Tabloids Now/

I read a brief report published on one of the prestigious British Papers, The Guardian, disparaging the Spanish singer Pastora Soler, on her appearance in the Eurovision Festival of song contest last weekend:

 

'She has the face of a constipation sufferer and, probably due to the economic crisis, wearing what must be the 3rd best tablecloth of her mother.' So commented The Guardian.

The usually dignified BBC says: 'She looked rather emotional, must be because she has an account in Bankia.' (Bankia is the bank in Spain on the point of total bankruptcy recently, a huge and ongoing scandal affecting a lot of businesses and savers.) 

 

Still, it seems to me that these media's foremost objective is to report news, not to judge, jeer or mock, had completely degraded their profession and put themselves in the category of 3rd rate Tabloids, centring the importance on scandals and sensationalism for cheat frills. Even get down to as low as criticizing the singer's appearance and her dress without any opinion on her singing. What's that got to do with her ability to sing? 

As to BBC, hitting below the belt to a country's unfortunate crisis is despicable, putting their own reputation at stake.

 

I don't expect anyone to agree with me, nor would I apologize for what I said here.

 

Tags: bbc, theguardian

Prev: 29th May 2012 Drinks & Drunks

29th May 2012 Drinks & Drunks

Something for you tell in a Bar or Pub ~

1. You'll be delighted to know, that alcohol does not make you fat. It makes you lean - against tables, chairs, floors, walls and people.

2. Perhaps the biggest drunk was the fellow who saw the billboard that read, "Drink Canada Dry." He went there and tried to do it.

3. A drunken man gets on the bus late one night, staggers up the aisle, and sits next to an elderly woman. She looks the man up and down and says, 'I've got news for you. You're going straight to hell.' The man jumps up out of his seat and shouts, 'Oh no, I'm on the wrong bus, I wanted to go to Baltimore.'

4. Remember, an alcoholic and a drunk are not the same thing at all. The alcoholic has to attend meetings.

5. Ever hear the expression "hard drinker"? Never made much sense to me, drinking is one of the easiest things in the world to do.

6. Booze is the answer. I don't remember the question.

7. A drunk is brought in front of the judge.

The judge says, 'You've been brought here for drinking.'

The drunk says, 'Okay, let's get started.'

8. Richard comes home from a night of drinking. As he stumbles through the front door, his wife snaps at him, 'What's the big idea coming home half drunk?' 

Richard replies, slurring, 'I'm sorry honey. I ran out of money.'

9. Many things can be preserved in alcohol. Dignity is not one of them.

10. An amnesiac walks into an inn and asks the barman, 'Do I come here often?'

Tags: drinks, drunks

Prev: 29th May 2012 Mr. Chatty & My Brother

29th May 2012 Mr. Chatty & My Brother

Have you amongst your friends or acquaintances a Mr. or Mrs Chatter Box? You know, the person who is always happy or at least seemingly so, very friendly, almost overly so? On top of those very affable qualities, he/she can always talk for at least 5 minutes or longer, without having to stop to take a breath? Always has a lot to tell you, inform you, advice you, relate or explain to you & ask you a whole string of questions all in one long breath?

I do, have such a friend I mean. More of an acquaintance, in my book anyway. It's a HE so I'll call him Mr. Chatty here. 

No sooner had I walked into my daily haunt this morning, & before I had found a table to sit down, Mr. Chatty spotted me, sprung up from his chair & rushed over planting a sloppy kiss on both my cheeks. I was just about to say Hello but ...

" Hey, fancy seeing you here ( He has always known I am in this same cafe each morning )! How are you? Oh, no need to tell me (okay, I won't), you look just gorgeous (his standard phrase to every woman)! So you had been away to UK, huh? How was it? In Croydon again were you? Was it Croydon? Were you caught there by the non-stop rain? Wasn't that awful? How long were you there? Bet you were mighty glad getting back here in the sun, he? But of course you were! Would you like to ..."

I had stopped listening somewhere round the bit about Croydon, & all along I was never given the chance to say a word or answer any of the questions, except " Ah, Yes, Really? Umm ... " every now & then. Of course answers were not necessary nor were they even expected for sure. In any case, he had confirmed certain facts all by himself & had already answered the rest!

For courtesy sake, I waited until he involuntarily needed to stop to take his first breath & said : " Hey, new shirt. Lovely", with the hope that he might stop asking me more questions. The tactic worked but then he immediately launched into a long story of the complex procedures of choosing it, buying it, when, how, why, what for ...

I was saved by the arrival of his friend who was apparently 15 minutes late (I hated him for tha ) coming to join him. I couldn't wait to make my escape fast enough, & moved myself as far away from their table as I could. He called after me:

" Give my regards to your brother! "

My brother?? I don't have a brother!!!

Tags: mr.chatty, brother

Prev: 28th May 2012 Lateral Thinking (2)