On a lighter note – here in Bournemouth, UK it’s bloody cold for the last week of April. I guess I’m hoping it’s heralding a bright (warm) Summer ahead – but who knows?
Certainly the UK Met office doesn’t – their 30 day forecast is, em . . . about as good as I could do, without the use of their £97,000,000, 000 super-computer (no, really) .
Have a quick read – it really is a laugh – http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/long-range-forecast/.
We, as a planet are moving out of the 2015/16 El Nino (https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/enso/march-2016-el-ni%C3%B1o-update-spring-forward) – and they’re (Christ! there’s always a “they” isn’t there?) talking about possibilities for a La Nina (I’m not making this up, I swear) – though surf as I might, nothing is mentioned about ramifications of an La Nina for Northern Hemisphere.
Curmudgeonly old git wot I am – the WIN10 preview start menu build seems fantastically cluttered with the addition of a ‘rail’ down the far-left edge.
(I’ve thoughtfully marked it in the pic -with a lovely wiggly line).
Not sure – in the longer run if MS’s and Google march toward ubiquitous icon markings (EVERYONE knows what these icons mean – don’t they . . . I mean, DON’T THEY?) – no, really NO, they don’t. This is singularly inaccessible to most except frequent and constant users.
Phil Glenister, (chosen doubtless for his forthright/no-nonsense/pseudo-tough/everyman image) tells us he’s fed up with the public complaining about their energy prices.
All the UK public need to do is log-in, add a few details, switch and . . . (pause whilst he whisks a fistful of £20 notes out of his shirt pocket) SAVE.
Singularly failing to inform us that power in the UK is TWICE as expensive as the European average, or that you-switch are being PAID by the suppliers to list their services.
Who the hell really SHOULD have to switch, and deal, and switch, and deal – to get a reasonable price for Gas or Electric?
So it’s our fault is it? Our fault we’ve neo-liberalised ourselves into believing this sort of thing is good idea. That you can be encouraged to keep jumping around between Banks, Telecoms, Energy-suppliers, Insurance companies – in the name of some assumed benefit, not at all linked to true value or loyalty. Such a fickle, non-enduring, PLASTIC way to live.
Only two minutes to listen to here (and forget it’s about Junior Doctors) this lady’s words cut through and reveal a little of what is going-on in our country.
Here is a snippet from Alex Proud’s piece in The Telegraph UK newspaper.
The entire piece is <<here>> it’s a long piece (1767 words) but give it a go, if you’ve a mind to.
“However, brands are addictive, so as time went on, I spent more and more time thinking about the brand and less and less time thinking about photographers and art. People would ask, “How are things going?” and I’d say, “Great. The brand got some really good exposure this week. In Dazed, which is right where our values are.” I’m still not sure what I meant by our values. But I guarantee you conversations like this are taking place in a thousand architect-designed offices around the country right now. And the people involved will be talking in that weird super-serious tone which is only ever used by those whose jobs are totally unserious. It’s a tone you never hear doctors or structural engineers use.”
Before any comment, I suppose you need to try and get underneath this – e.g. how scientific was it?
1) Did the answers come forth as those being questioned imagined ‘someone’ might do something about it (in the way that ‘someone’ ELSE always has to do something about something, never YOU).
2) Were the respondants reminded that a state of happiness is not inextricably bound-up with “what you have” – and if not, then the answers were never a true measure of happiness from the outset?
So, onward – to my fourteen years of teaching teenagers. On the face of it, they should be the happiest bunch of souls you could meet; most have the absolute latest gadgetry in their pockets, wide-screen TV’s in their rooms, get driven to wherever they need to go, don’t appear to be hungry, or soaking wet, or exhausted from work, or be worrying too much about money.
What a lot do seem to be assailed by (without their knowing it, possibly) is an unrealistic set of life expectations – that should appear from no-where, just for them to scoop up and ‘have‘ somehow: of social acceptance (it was ever thus) – now warped by Electrical connectivity into branded, blanded, god-knows-what.
But hang on, hang on – this is all so wide, and I’m in danger of hi-jacking a topic to massage my own prejudices – stay off the wine, stay on the coffee Steve.
For what it’s worth – here’s what I think:
I think those who said they were unhappy, did so because they saw others (not them) behaving so obviously “up” and took that to be ‘happy’ – therefore – they themselves couldn’t be described as ‘happy’.
The sight of someone being ‘Up’, ‘flashy-eyed’, ‘fast talking’, ‘swishy-haired’, ‘unbelievably INTERESTED’, dramatically HAPPY etc is channelled into us from every TV screen, every mobile device, every billboard, newspaper, mag, supermarket advert – EVERYWHERE, EVERY FEW SECONDS.
It seems that to just be ‘normal’ – ie: fairly calm, reasonably happy most days – is just SO YESTERDAY.
aldi et al – tune into the mainstream, and become weaker for it
Such a shame. It wasn’t long ago I really enjoyed being an Aldi or Lidl shopper. I felt on the verge of great discoveries. Truly kicking aside the fake-friendly, bargain-lying, pack-your-bags-for-you-sir? Utter crap that I felt constituted the UK supermarket scene.
Fast forward to 2016 and you can hardly tell them apart. And with that the prices, once about half or a third of comparable goods in Sainsburys, or Tescos – are now edging-up as market share gains, and habits are re-set.
Witness their Social media pages, their TV adverts, music style borrowed from the established players, chatty-batty commenting, so obviously tuned to the mainstream – not a German mis-quote, or misunderstanding of a slogan in site, sight, site, either will do in this case – and all the worse for it.
I don’t suppose it should come as a surprise. With such riches sprinkled – neh! Ladled upon the undeserving, for running around; for kicking a ball and then being photographed with their mouths wide open whilst they shout about it (ever noticed that?)
Sportspeople are approaching the status of Singers and Comedians (themselves made truly hideously rich for, well, singing and comedianing), and now the corruption thoughts lead to the business tie-ins.
Nike this time as French prosecutors launch a fresh inquiry into the awarding of the 2021 World Athletics Championships to Nike’s hometown of Eugene – can you just IMAGINE the flood of ASPIRATIONAL TV IMAGES Nike would flood us with, on the lead-up to these events?
One of the largest truckloads of evil cynicism ever to grace a screen.
Lite Bytes from Steve Evans 