Illuminating mischief

If you’re reading this then chances are you’re aware of the recent story regarding Mr. Clarkson and his alleged “fracas”. This latest episode in Mr. Clarkson’s is the latest in a long litany of events which have horrified some people and caused amusement for far more. The reaction to this latest incident is – to my mind – really quite illuminating, but before we get to that – a quick recap. What is known is that after some manner of “fracas” Mr. Clarkson has been suspended from his job and the next episode of TopGear has been cancelled. Beyond that … Continue reading

Fun with facts

Apparently Channel 4 are showing yet another poverty porn series, which seem rather the fashion these days. This one is called “Benefits street” and has caused something of a stir – which is probably why they chose the title. After the first episode there has been all sorts of people claiming that the program is either highlighting a really important issue or cruel evil exploitation of honest working class people. Many people are claiming that it’s just fueling hatred and dividing people as some part of an evil Tory scheme, and that the program is distorting the facts. This has … Continue reading

Are they related?

Hot on the heals of forcing up the costs of DVD’s and all sorts of gadgets for the rest of us by closing a vat loophole. Private Eye proudly reports that the Quooker is a “quook of shite” thus getting egg on the face of many upmarket newspapers that advertised it (P11 Eye 1305). Sadly for reasons of space it would seem they didn’t have time to report that a certain well known satirical magazine has also been more than happy to take the advertisers shilling for the self same product (Eye passim). As the two scans above show (I … Continue reading