In the summer of 1983, I was 10 years old. It is the time I think back to when I hear people describe what the childhood cliche of summers were like. In my mind it was hot everyday, the school holidays seemed to go on forever and I was beautifully unaware of the world around me.
My overriding memory of this summer was Michael Jackson and Thriller. I was hanging out at the time with a couple of kids from my primary school, who also went to the choir that I sang in at the local church. One of them had, in their bedroom, a wonderfully futuristic double tape player. This huge contraption could not only play a tape, but could also record off the other tape deck at the same time. This lead to us making C-60, upon C-60 of us singing along to the whole Thriller album.
We would start at the beginning and record ourselves all the way through to the end. When I would return home I would spend the rest of the evening in my bedroom listening to the days work and looking forward to bettering the recording the next day. So it went on for days and weeks. Thriller slowly and surely entering into my childhood psyche, as it must have done for millions of others through the years.
That Christmas we went to stay at my Uncle and Aunts house. My cousins had the Thriller video and although 11 by then, I was scared and mesmerized by what I was watching. I was so scared that I had to watch it over and over on their VHS just to make sure that I hadn't missed anything. It would be a couple of years before I saw American Werewolf in London which would be the first actual horror film I saw.
For some reason my Michael Jackson fixation had stopped by 1984 and heavy metal entered my life shortly after, again Eddie Van Halen's perfect guitar solo on Beat It was a precursor to my lifelong obsession with loud, heavy music.
Michael Jackson had already died for me by 1984 and the media's fascination with the bizarre aspects of his life held no interest. An isolated, lonely man destroyed by his immense fame and monstrous Father, became freak-show fodder for the tabloids throughout the remainder of his ultimately short life.
However, I will always remember that perfect summer and Christmas and Thriller will always be a part of those memories.
So long Michael Jackson, 1958-1984.
Monday, 6 July 2009
Sunday, 13 July 2008
Gordon Brown are you a mental?
So today unveils more of Labour's ploy to win the next election. This will be done, so it seems, by getting the people so offside that come 2010, there will be no hope of them winning any votes and definately "not" being in power. Now this whole plan is quite risky and will definately result in not being in power come the June of 2010.
Today sees the Labour party getting tough on those who carry knifes by putting in place a scheme where...take a deep breath here the comes the tough talking...they will visit victims of knife crime in hospital. OH MY GOD! No stiffer sentencing measures, no community action plans, no examining the background of these feral, urban, zombie hood-rats, nothing but a trip to the hospital to see the result of their actions or potential actions.
Firstly this is totally unworkable. Why would the victim of a stabbing, still fresh from the incident, lying in a ward, want to be the prime exhibit in a grotesque freakshow for the perpetrators of such crimes. Who would agree to let themselves be used in this way. Secondly, if you have the mentality that resorts to knife violence, or that thinks carrying a knife is an ok accessory to have, then I don't think a trip to the hospital will have any impact on your wrong headedness.
Yesterday when the government announced it would put into place measures to tackle this current high profile crime, I was actually thinking that they would be introducing solid, proactive policies to counter the crimes. But, no, again Brown, Smith et el are doomed to fail. We know who the idiots are in Westminster Village.
Cameron will obviously slate this new policy, fair enough, but he will not be able to say what the Tories would do instead. He currently holds the enviable position where he can carry on not telling the public what his policies are and still likely win the next election. Good work if you can get it.
Unless Brown or his replacement (which might be likely in the next year) can a) get the public back on it's side and b) implement proper, far reaching measures, there will be no hope for the Labour party. The time for action is now and the nation is ripe for a political re-think. Labour must tap into this feeling and use what it has achieved in 11 years to really push their message, but also not to be afraid of saying sorry for their mistakes. Although they do not feel that Iraq was a mistake, they could surely admit that not thinking about Iraq post invasion was a pretty bloody massive gaffe.
It will be too late when they are in opposition and they could have 10 years there to think about what went wrong. It is strange to think that this seems to be the path they are happy to choose.
In 1997 they appeared as brave and original. Minimum wage, Didn't mind pissing the utilities off by windfall taxes, didn't kowtow to big business and corporations, but something went wrong...They quickly need to see what this was and change it otherwise 10 years in opposition may turn to another 18.
Today sees the Labour party getting tough on those who carry knifes by putting in place a scheme where...take a deep breath here the comes the tough talking...they will visit victims of knife crime in hospital. OH MY GOD! No stiffer sentencing measures, no community action plans, no examining the background of these feral, urban, zombie hood-rats, nothing but a trip to the hospital to see the result of their actions or potential actions.
Firstly this is totally unworkable. Why would the victim of a stabbing, still fresh from the incident, lying in a ward, want to be the prime exhibit in a grotesque freakshow for the perpetrators of such crimes. Who would agree to let themselves be used in this way. Secondly, if you have the mentality that resorts to knife violence, or that thinks carrying a knife is an ok accessory to have, then I don't think a trip to the hospital will have any impact on your wrong headedness.
Yesterday when the government announced it would put into place measures to tackle this current high profile crime, I was actually thinking that they would be introducing solid, proactive policies to counter the crimes. But, no, again Brown, Smith et el are doomed to fail. We know who the idiots are in Westminster Village.
Cameron will obviously slate this new policy, fair enough, but he will not be able to say what the Tories would do instead. He currently holds the enviable position where he can carry on not telling the public what his policies are and still likely win the next election. Good work if you can get it.
Unless Brown or his replacement (which might be likely in the next year) can a) get the public back on it's side and b) implement proper, far reaching measures, there will be no hope for the Labour party. The time for action is now and the nation is ripe for a political re-think. Labour must tap into this feeling and use what it has achieved in 11 years to really push their message, but also not to be afraid of saying sorry for their mistakes. Although they do not feel that Iraq was a mistake, they could surely admit that not thinking about Iraq post invasion was a pretty bloody massive gaffe.
It will be too late when they are in opposition and they could have 10 years there to think about what went wrong. It is strange to think that this seems to be the path they are happy to choose.
In 1997 they appeared as brave and original. Minimum wage, Didn't mind pissing the utilities off by windfall taxes, didn't kowtow to big business and corporations, but something went wrong...They quickly need to see what this was and change it otherwise 10 years in opposition may turn to another 18.
Saturday, 12 July 2008
Days like these...
So far today I've felt like this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9ZnqlcjCJg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9ZnqlcjCJg&feature=related
Thursday, 10 July 2008
The Lazarus Child
On Monday my daughter was becoming more and more lethargic. She was curled up with me on the sofa most of the day and although she did manage to snatch some sleep every now and then, mostly she was restless and bad tempered.
My wife came back from work at about 5.30, I made dinner and tried to coax our daughter into eating something, which she had not done all day.
As the night wore on she looked like she was getting worse. We employed the regenerative skills of Calpol and my wife took her up to bed.
I stayed downstairs, worried by the real possibility of a late night trip to casualty or the calling the Doctor out. At about 10 o/c I ventured upstairs, there had been no sound from my wife or my daughter for about an hour and a half, I opened the door to our bedroom, it was too dark to see the bed where my wife and daughter were lying, so I turned on the light.
Up jumped my daughter, full of life, smiling, chatting, bouncing, totally back to normal. It took us a further two hours to get her to sleep as she was so excitable and full of energy.
Kids eh?
My wife came back from work at about 5.30, I made dinner and tried to coax our daughter into eating something, which she had not done all day.
As the night wore on she looked like she was getting worse. We employed the regenerative skills of Calpol and my wife took her up to bed.
I stayed downstairs, worried by the real possibility of a late night trip to casualty or the calling the Doctor out. At about 10 o/c I ventured upstairs, there had been no sound from my wife or my daughter for about an hour and a half, I opened the door to our bedroom, it was too dark to see the bed where my wife and daughter were lying, so I turned on the light.
Up jumped my daughter, full of life, smiling, chatting, bouncing, totally back to normal. It took us a further two hours to get her to sleep as she was so excitable and full of energy.
Kids eh?
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Lord Dixon-Smith
Oh dear the Tory goons are at it again - It's only been one day, but they don't seem to be able to shut up.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4297283.ece
Now Lord Dixon-Smith's (LDS) excuse is that the comment "slipped out". To me this is a highly dubious argument. If, in everyday life the word "nigger" is so close to the front of your thought process that it slips out as part and parcel of your normal vocabulary, It really is time to remove yourself from society and slowly gather dust in a corner of a dark room or attic which you can delude yourself is forever England.
If a work colleague had used the word, I would expect them to receive disciplinary action under the gross misconduct procedures and know that this matter was being fully investigated. David Cameron said that the remark was "not appropriate" - Damn right, if you think this then take some bloody action against your front bench spokesman for COMMUNITIES!!! That this man has the role he has, beggars belief, another glimpse into the world of Tory thinking.
Some of the comments on the Times website are heroic in their stupidity. Comments such as "much ado about nothing" from Carol in Bristol and "it's a non issue" from the improbably named James O' Reilly-Ryan. I fear these comments miss the point. Being angry that someone in LDS's position has used such a word and has gotten away with it, with little rebuke from his leader/boss is not a trivial matter and is certainly not Political Correctness gone mad.
Stewart Lee said it best (here) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IYx4Bc6_eE
It is true that there are huge world issues which we are dealing with at the moment (food shortages, fuel, war etc), but if our thinking is so devolved that we settle on being hateful as our automatic setting, how can we be truly sympathetic/empathetic to the world's problems and instill in us the force needed to strip away our apathy and push us towards helping society, this country, this Kingdom, united, together.
So, as the man says...LDS...Tories...Cameron and the rest of your goons...You're a bunch of idiots.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4297283.ece
Now Lord Dixon-Smith's (LDS) excuse is that the comment "slipped out". To me this is a highly dubious argument. If, in everyday life the word "nigger" is so close to the front of your thought process that it slips out as part and parcel of your normal vocabulary, It really is time to remove yourself from society and slowly gather dust in a corner of a dark room or attic which you can delude yourself is forever England.
If a work colleague had used the word, I would expect them to receive disciplinary action under the gross misconduct procedures and know that this matter was being fully investigated. David Cameron said that the remark was "not appropriate" - Damn right, if you think this then take some bloody action against your front bench spokesman for COMMUNITIES!!! That this man has the role he has, beggars belief, another glimpse into the world of Tory thinking.
Some of the comments on the Times website are heroic in their stupidity. Comments such as "much ado about nothing" from Carol in Bristol and "it's a non issue" from the improbably named James O' Reilly-Ryan. I fear these comments miss the point. Being angry that someone in LDS's position has used such a word and has gotten away with it, with little rebuke from his leader/boss is not a trivial matter and is certainly not Political Correctness gone mad.
Stewart Lee said it best (here) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IYx4Bc6_eE
It is true that there are huge world issues which we are dealing with at the moment (food shortages, fuel, war etc), but if our thinking is so devolved that we settle on being hateful as our automatic setting, how can we be truly sympathetic/empathetic to the world's problems and instill in us the force needed to strip away our apathy and push us towards helping society, this country, this Kingdom, united, together.
So, as the man says...LDS...Tories...Cameron and the rest of your goons...You're a bunch of idiots.
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
Camer-Gone
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4290298.ece
All the Tories had to do was to keep relatively quiet until 2010 and the keys to Downing St would just give themselves up to David Cameron. However, it appears that keeping their evil policies quiet is too much for any of this lot.
Boris has severed all links to cheap, cut price oil from Venezuela which in turn will take away the cheap travel for the poorest in London, nice one Boris.
The filth from Cameron's mind has now started to spew out, as witnessed in this latest speech.
He says “Of course, circumstances — where you are born, your neighbourhood, your school and the choices your parents make — have a huge impact. But social problems are often the consequence of the choices people make.” Yeah-Like voting Tory did in the 80's and 90's.
It is clear from his upbringing and recent past that all that matters to him and his cronies is big business and making life easy for his rich associates. He clearly thinks that the poor and needy have to be put in their place and society would be miraculously changed if these slum-dwellers just chose differently.
Us citizens must not allow this selfish, attitude to prevail. We saw what this thinking did to the country in the 80's under Thatcher, we cannot sleepwalk into a Cameron/Tory future. We must think now about what we expect of our politicians and get the questions ready to ask them. This needs to be done for both sides.
For me, if, as a politician and potential future leader of the country, you do not take into consideration the most needy in society and just revert to stereotypes in order to further your agenda, you don't deserve my vote.
We need to challenge politicians of all colours and challenge our friends and colleagues over their stereotypes.
PS - G8 summit in Japan discusses food shortages over an 8 course dinner...Brilliant.
All the Tories had to do was to keep relatively quiet until 2010 and the keys to Downing St would just give themselves up to David Cameron. However, it appears that keeping their evil policies quiet is too much for any of this lot.
Boris has severed all links to cheap, cut price oil from Venezuela which in turn will take away the cheap travel for the poorest in London, nice one Boris.
The filth from Cameron's mind has now started to spew out, as witnessed in this latest speech.
He says “Of course, circumstances — where you are born, your neighbourhood, your school and the choices your parents make — have a huge impact. But social problems are often the consequence of the choices people make.” Yeah-Like voting Tory did in the 80's and 90's.
It is clear from his upbringing and recent past that all that matters to him and his cronies is big business and making life easy for his rich associates. He clearly thinks that the poor and needy have to be put in their place and society would be miraculously changed if these slum-dwellers just chose differently.
Us citizens must not allow this selfish, attitude to prevail. We saw what this thinking did to the country in the 80's under Thatcher, we cannot sleepwalk into a Cameron/Tory future. We must think now about what we expect of our politicians and get the questions ready to ask them. This needs to be done for both sides.
For me, if, as a politician and potential future leader of the country, you do not take into consideration the most needy in society and just revert to stereotypes in order to further your agenda, you don't deserve my vote.
We need to challenge politicians of all colours and challenge our friends and colleagues over their stereotypes.
PS - G8 summit in Japan discusses food shortages over an 8 course dinner...Brilliant.
Monday, 7 July 2008
Quick Sport
I was fed, bottled and watered and waiting for the start of Wimbledon 2008, along with, I guess millions of others around the world. However, for me, I was not watching because I was genuinely excited, but because I thought it was almost my duty.
I have never really gotten sport. Since infant school to secondary school, I was always trying to think of ways out of having to get involved in it. I wasn't an overweight, unfit kid by any means (although I seem to have regenerated Doctor Who like into an adult version of this), it was just that even then, as now, I couldn't muster any enthusiasm for it.
I have tried before with the cricket, but found watching it dull beyond belief, also with the golf, I sloped off nonplussed after about 30 minutes. I always think that this time it will be different, but, it never is.
Tuning in at 1.30 yesterday I watched the pre-match build up, with Sue Barker, Henman and Becker. Yes, this was quite entertaining and it raised my anticipation for the main event slightly. After a delay, where the rain appeared to be experiencing the same nonchalance to sport as I usually feel, the match started.
And then it hit me, after only a matter of minutes I was bored beyond what I thought would be humanly possible. Jeez it was painful, I found that I could not even physically be in the same room as the tennis.
My wife and I took our daughter out for a walk, went to the local shop, had a afternoon nap, some late afternoon tea, cooked dinner, watched Top Gear (why? I don't even drive) and the tennis was still going on! My God, how could this be.
So, it got me to thinking what is the world's quickest sport? 100 meters? 60 meters? Diving? Javelin? I need something that will let me join in with the nation's collective obsession, but quick enough so as not to send my mind into an hysterical mess.
Any ideas?
I have never really gotten sport. Since infant school to secondary school, I was always trying to think of ways out of having to get involved in it. I wasn't an overweight, unfit kid by any means (although I seem to have regenerated Doctor Who like into an adult version of this), it was just that even then, as now, I couldn't muster any enthusiasm for it.
I have tried before with the cricket, but found watching it dull beyond belief, also with the golf, I sloped off nonplussed after about 30 minutes. I always think that this time it will be different, but, it never is.
Tuning in at 1.30 yesterday I watched the pre-match build up, with Sue Barker, Henman and Becker. Yes, this was quite entertaining and it raised my anticipation for the main event slightly. After a delay, where the rain appeared to be experiencing the same nonchalance to sport as I usually feel, the match started.
And then it hit me, after only a matter of minutes I was bored beyond what I thought would be humanly possible. Jeez it was painful, I found that I could not even physically be in the same room as the tennis.
My wife and I took our daughter out for a walk, went to the local shop, had a afternoon nap, some late afternoon tea, cooked dinner, watched Top Gear (why? I don't even drive) and the tennis was still going on! My God, how could this be.
So, it got me to thinking what is the world's quickest sport? 100 meters? 60 meters? Diving? Javelin? I need something that will let me join in with the nation's collective obsession, but quick enough so as not to send my mind into an hysterical mess.
Any ideas?
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