NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Including Friday’s Feast. Have you had a go yet?

Welcome to my daily Diary post. Have you noticed how quickly the Burma Cyclone disaster has gone from the news? Of course, this was inevitable as soon as the China earthquake struck. But what does this say about the news?
Well, seeing that people are still dying in Burma, and the Junta is still pretty uncooperative, it says that the news isn’t an accurate portrayal of what’s going on. Rather, it’s a ‘snapshot’. But of what?

Of what the news corporations wants us to see.

The sociologist, Baudrillard, noted this in his view that mass media produced what he called ‘infotainment’. News is not a reality, but a form of propaganda.
News corporations, like other companies, need to make money. Hence news today is always geared as much towards entertainment as anything else. And once we begin to see news as entertainment, the news can really be manipulated.

Most news channels are mouthpieces for Big Biz.

So they are unlikely to do anything that would hinder the march of Big Biz. For this reason, celebrity culture becomes part and parcel of the news. This is because celebrities encourage us to spend in order to emulate them.
But there’s much more to this Big Biz propaganda. Alongside the rise of celebrity news has come emotional news. Rarely do we see a tragedy nowadays without a roll call of victims, crying away, baring their soul, and we feel for them every time.

Of course we do, and why shouldn’t we? We ARE human.

But this is not ‘news’. Rather, it is a process whereby our emotions overpower our rationality. You see, the world works through reason, not emotion. For it to be any different would be anarchy.
Emotion is uncontrolled. And in the news placing emotion above reason, the result is the public descend into a kind of emotion-fest, and then, sated, moves on. Hence no tragedy, no annoyance, can any longer produce the rationality in the public to want to do anything about it in the long term.
In essence, by turning the news into a form of emotional entertainment, our thoughts on issues become fleeting, and Big Biz, and the puppet-politicians they’ve put in place, get on with controlling us unimpeded.
Well, that’s enough of a rant for today. After going deep, let’s have some entertainment here, too. Here we go with my this week’s Friday’s Feast.

© Anthony North, May 2008

FRIDAY’S FEAST

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Appetizer: What is the nearest big city to your home?

York. One of the most historic and beautiful cities in the world. Initially called Eboracum by the Romans, Constantine the Great rode from there to save the Roman Empire from collapse.
Guy Fawkes, who plotted to blow up Parliament, came from York, and Britain’s most infamous villain, Dick Turpin, was hanged there. Later, it was to become the centre of the railways revolution.
New York was, of course, named after it.

Soup: On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how well do you keep secrets?

Not telling (I suppose that gives me a 10).

Salad: Describe your hair (color, texture, length).

Light brown. Short. Beginning to thin.

Main Course: What kind of driver are you? Courteous? Aggressive? Slow?

None of the above. I stopped driving in 1984, a couple of years after I came down with chronic fatigue syndrome, as I had a habit of passing out at the wheel. And once gone, I learnt very quickly that I didn’t miss driving.
Okay, I know many need a car due to their job, where they live, etc. But it really isn’t a big deal. Even if people just drove less, think what it would do for the environment. And why do people need SUVs?
They’ll be putting a gun turret on top next.

Dessert: When was the last time you had a really bad week?

The last time I felt self-indulgent.

Okay, that’s it for this week, folks. Have a good weekend. My Diary post will be back Monday. Don’t miss it!

© Anthony North, May 2008

WINDOW ON DEATH

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What’s on today: A story, poem and essay inspired by a Three Word Wednesday prompt. Have you had a go yet? … PLUS … Click Eye On the World for my current affairs.
YOU KNOW IT’S THE WRITE WAY

WINDOW ON DEATH

He was walking, slowly, the weight of the world upon him. It was night, and the dark shrouded him like a veil of death.
He had to stop by the shop window. His legs could have carried him no further. He looked at the window, but not through. What was in there had no interest for him. Only what was happening in his mind. This was of another order. Stark. Vivid. Yet, at the same time surreal.
A picture formed in the window, and reflected back to him.

And a tear formed.

The door opened and she came out. She seemed so full of life, and so beautiful, her long blonde hair, her shapely figure, her sheer elegance, tinged with that mystical sexuality.
The tear ran down his cheek. She had been unfaithful, and always there was eventually a price. But …
He saw it as if a shadow floated and stood close to her. Momentarily, she looked in that direction, but as the gun materialized from the shadow, the shock hit home.
And seconds later, she lay dead, a pool of blood around her.
The image disappeared from the window, but the tears continued to flow.
How long he waited before he heard the door open, he didn’t know, but she seemed so full of life, and so beautiful …
He turned as he raised the gun …

© Anthony North, April 2008

SNAP IT

We do so love our cameras,
snapping that picture true,
wherever we are, it’s taken,
no matter what we do;
They decorate our albums,
our lives laid out thus,
everything about it,
reflected back at us;
But sometimes I wonder what madness,
as we stop and take,
‘cos while we’re playing photographer,
in the event,
we don’t partake

(c) Anthony North, April 2008

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THE POWER OF CELEBRITY

I’m often scornful of celebrities. We seem to be infatuated by them, and the more our infatuation rises, the more extreme and bizarre their behaviour seems to become. It makes some people wonder if it will ever stop.
Of course, it all seems so pointless. But could it be that celebrities play a vital role in modern culture? I think they do – and it isn’t an enhancing role. Rather, it helps to tie us up in chains of consumerism.
On one level, celebrities are more ‘perfect’ than the average person. Of course, this isn’t true, but their beauty, etc, makes it appear so. And the upshot is, we spend, spend, spend to emulate them, not realizing that perfection is an unreachable goal.

But they also work on a psychological level.

They are open with their problems, the abuses they’ve suffered, and in this they appear to be repositories for our angst. Like cultural psychotherapists, our own problems are reflected back to us.
This power over the wallet and psyche fulfils another vital function of super capitalism. Whenever they do something you can guarantee the picture is all over the media. Indeed, there has been an explosion in media alongside the celebrity’s rise.
Big Biz likes this. For the bigger the media gets, the more ads Big Biz places. This is, infact, a control mechanism. For if Big Biz withdrew ads from any one media source, that source would be struggling to survive. Hence, the media doesn’t risk it, and only reports on news friendly to our consumer culture.
We seem to be informed a lot about celebrity, but not much else. This is why.

© Anthony North, April, 2008

CELEBRITY CREATIONS

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What’s on today: A Sunday Scribblings prompt looking into a worrying aspect of cosmetic surgery … PLUS … A couple of ramblings from a short time back. And a whodunit.
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CELEBRITY CREATIONS

Many in Britain have followed the life of Jordan for years. Who is Jordan? Real name, Katie Price, she was a ‘model’ who went on a mission to have the biggest breasts in Britain. Enlargement after enlargement followed.
As did various other ‘cosmetics’, and coupled with a seemingly wild lifestyle, she epitomized the idea of celebrity without talent. But Jordan took her ‘celebrity’ to new heights.

It began on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here.

On this survivalist reality show, she met and courted singer Peter Andre in front of the cameras, and since then, she’s lived an entire family life, with kids, through reality shows.
Hopefully, Jordan has a real life under this publicity façade. But recently there’s been a change. Perhaps embracing motherhood, she’s changed her hair, reduced her breasts, got rid of the tan and had a new nose. Estimated cost £40,000.

This is perhaps the most worrying aspect of all.

We go through various changes in our life, but Jordan seems to have done so in a totally material way. The ultimate in consumerdom, she has changed her ‘personality’ through the knife.
Totally living in the material and the media eye, she has become, literally, her own creationist – a media image in plastic – and has surely confirmed that the throw away society now includes the person.
Somehow, it terrifies me.

© Anthony North, January 2008

This is a post inspired by aSunday Scribblings prompt. Have you had a go yet?

WHY NOT TRY SOME OF MY RECENT RAMBLINGS?

GLOBAL WARMING BACKLASH

A movement against man-made global warming seems to be growing on the internet, and I think it will gather steam. Reasons seem to vary …
… read more …

Fiction Xtra - MATCHBREAKER - a short whodunit for you all

Cuthbert King sat in his study contemplating the letter in front of him. Some sixty years of age, his mind was as sharp as ever, and as he pushed his mass of white hair from his eyes, he turned to Mr Sprat.
‘I don’t think I can resist this one,’ he said …
… read more …

CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME - THE BEGINNING

As regular readers will know, I have the condition, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I’m often asked questions about it, but apart from the occasional mention, I haven’t really written about it …
… read more …

BRITNEY SPEARS ISN’T UNUSUAL

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What’s on today: Can Britney Spears help us understand the mind of the celebrity? … PLUS … How do we sort out the British benefits culture? Yours truly takes an initial look at the US Elections. And another strange little story for you.
YOU KNOW IT’S THE WRITE WAY

BRITNEY SPEARS ISN’T UNUSUAL

The recent antics of Britney Spears are not that unusual – for a celebrity at least. Stretchered away from a situation where she held her children hostage, she now seems to have lost her visiting rights.
What is it about such people that they can so easily self-destruct in such sensational fashion? Well, I suppose the first thing we have to highlight is that the word ‘people’ maybe doesn’t apply.

Do I mean Britney Spears isn’t a person?

In effect, yes, I’m saying exactly this. Rather, brought up from childhood in the glare of media publicity, such celebrities do not have a true grasp of life through which to make sensible decisions.
If we take someone like the British entertainer, Michael Barrymore, he got himself into all sorts of trouble. Yet, he admits he only really lives when he is in front of an audience. Without an audience, he is but a shell.

I think Barrymore nails the problem on the head.

Moulded into something they are clearly not, their media image becomes what they think themselves to be. Such an image is all-pervasive, and I’m sure takes away a definite form of co-ordinated thought.
As such, once they are out of the media, and become ‘real’ people again, they simply do not know how to make proper judgements or react. Of course, we laugh about such celebrities often. But I suppose we should ask, is this the beginning of what will one day be recognized as a media-created mental illness?

© Anthony North, January 2008

SORTING OUT BENEFITS

David Cameron thinks he is going to sort out the UK benefits system. Well, no, he doesn’t really. He’s simply saying so because he wants to better our ‘esteemed leader’ by being more ‘tough’ …
… read more …

US ELECTIONS - A RACE WIDE OPEN

Following Barack Obama’s win in Iowa the media around the world went prematurely mad, and I thought let’s wait and see. It isn’t that I think America is not ready for a black President. Rather, I’m not sure the Democrats think it is …
… read more …

You can comment on any linked post below if you wish

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Fiction Xtra - NU-STRANGENESS - A surreal experiment from Mars

Remarkable news is coming out of the Mars ‘Luna-ring’ particle accelerator unit, in the wake of the unusual joint scientific project undertaken by physicist Prof Robo Galistein and psychical researcher Dr Francis Benjamin …
… read more …

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I WASN’T THERE

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Have you tried Green Scene, my eco-magazine post?

I wasn’t there. I missed it. The rock event of the decade, and I couldn’t be there. Even if I was physically able to have been there, the chances were minimal. Some 20,000 tickets were issued, and 20 million applied!
I wasn’t there. I missed it. It was at the O2 Arena, London, on 10 Dec. I’ve seen some quick shots from the news, but I suppose I’ll have to wait to see more, content with re-watching them at Madison Square Gardens in 1973 instead.

I wasn’t there. I missed it.

I missed the reunion concert of Led Zeppelin. I missed Plant strutting his stuff and Page making his Les Paul howl. I missed JPJ filling with brilliant bass, and Bonham’s son emulating his dad.
I wasn’t there. I missed it. But it brought back memories. It reminded me that, in my own rock days, I began every gig with Communication Breakdown. Which was a lie, ‘cos we certainly did communicate.

I didn’t understand why I like them so much.

It took the later writer and researcher to figure it out. Because above the rock, there was the influence of the occult – and no I don’t mean ‘satanic’ messages in the music.
Page was fascinated with occultist, Aleister Crowley, even buying his old house on the shores of Loch Ness. And like so much of classical music, his riffs held the ‘alchemy’ of the deeper psychology of man. Knowing what I am now, I know why they were so good. But…
I wasn’t there. I missed it.

© Anthony North, December 2007

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Fiction Xtra - LOVE CONQUERS ALL - a gentle mix of romance and horror

How do I describe the events concerning my friend, David. How do we rationalise such things; how do we grasp for under­standing? We are told, from birth, that some things are impossible. Yet at the same time we have phrases such as ‘faith can move mountains’, or ‘love conquers all.’ But can it conquer so absolutely …
… read more …

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TONY ON FOOTBALL AND OTHER NEWS

THOUGHTS FROM A COMMON MAN
News and comment LATEST: England and its pathetic football … PLUS … Inland Revenue assist the fraudsters? Cheers for more beer –if we’ve any sense.
POSTED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY – from a real voice of Britain and the world.

THE FOOTBALL DISASTER

England’s national football team (soccer to those across the pond) has failed to qualify for Euro 2008. Beaten by Croatia at home, the team from the land that invented the game is close to being a global laughing stock as well as national.
Of course, the manager is held to be to blame – again. It is always so. Yet perhaps it is too much to ask for the Football Association to tackle the real sickness at the heart of English football.
This sickness is the Premiership, the top teams, from where the players come. Whilst proper football still exists at lower levels of the game, the Premiership has become a symbol of corporate and celebrity culture. The brand is all, the players pampered celebrities.
You can have ‘the beautiful game’, or the profit and lifestyle. Not both.

© Anthony North, November 2007

DRINK MORE BEER

In an open letter to MPs, UK brewing bosses have told that consumption of traditional British beer has slumped to its lowest level since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Advertising, and price reductions, of designer drinks have been blamed …
… read more …

HER MAJESTY’S FRAUD SUPPLIES SERVICE

An amazing piece of news the other day. The UK Inland Revenue have lost 2 discs containing the names, addresses, national insurance numbers, dates of birth and bank details of 25 million British people …
… read more …

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Inde-Pol

TONY ON SIR PAUL AND OTHER NEWS

THOUGHTS FROM A COMMON MAN
News and comment LATEST: Why does Heather have such a rough ride? … PLUS … Oh dear, Sir Ian Blair is still employed. Are Brits eco-sinners?
POSTED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY – from a real voice of Britain and world.

PAUL v HEATHER

I have purposely not written about the media circus surrounding the divorce of Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills, but I’m afraid the time has come to say something. Much has been said about Heather, and it is true she has done nothing to help herself.
But we must ask two questions. The first, unanswered, is does anyone deserve what she’s had to put up with? And second, why has she reached such pariah status?
I have my own idea about this. In part, it is because Sir Paul is loved so much. But it goes deeper than that. As far as I can see, there are only 5 people from 20th century Britain who will make it to popular world history. They are Churchill, Elizabeth II, Diana, and Lennon & McCartney.
Sir Paul has come as close as anyone ever will to immortality. And stand in the way of world history, and you will be swept away.

© Anthony North, November 2007

THE POLICE AND JEAN CHARLES

So, the first criminal case involving the Metropolitan Police’s assassination of Jean Charles de Menezes has blamed no one, and put the fault down to ‘corporate failure’. How convenient …
… read more …

HOME ENERGY

According to a recent report, energy savings in British homes are going to fall short by 30%, threatening government CO2 targets. Well, us naughty British – always sinners, just like Christianity tells us …
… read more …

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Inde-Pol

TONY ON DIANA AND OTHER NEWS

THOUGHTS FROM A COMMON MAN
News and comment LATEST: What Diana means to us … PLUS … Girl violence is on the increase; Is there an election coming? Tories should watch out.
POSTED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY … from a real voice of Britain and the world.

DIANA

It is ten years since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Britain, and most likely the rest of the world, will reflect upon this. Much is yet made of the conspiracy theories concerning her death, and these will most likely continue for decades.
But of most importance is what Diana stood for. Almost single-handedly, she removed much of the ‘stuffiness’ of the Monarchy, forcing it into the modern world – a legacy that will be followed by her two sons, William and Harry.
Yet it is to be hoped that this modernization is not so fundamental that it removes the Royal Family from its primary task – to provide a link between contemporary Britain and its past. We have perhaps made a mess of things during Blairism because we forgot this.
And also, Diana reflected back to the world a new intimacy, a new caring side to our society. Whether this is really so, or simply media illusion, I’m not so sure. But regardless, history will remember her for the attempt.
But the people will remember her as a typically mixed-up woman, caught in circumstances not of her making, and making the best of it. In this sense, below the icon she became, she was a real person. And perhaps this is what people loved about her the most.

© Anthony North, August 2007

GIRL GANGS

The Metropolitan Police Authority have advised that all-girl gangs have now become a problem in the UK. Further, boy gangs are also now using girls as ‘honeytraps’ to lure victims into secluded places to be beaten and robbed …
… read more …

DON’T BELIEVE THE POLLS

It has been reported that the ‘bounce’ in Labour popularity following the ascendancy of Brownski is faltering. David Cameron is increasingly being seen as the best option for sorting out the economy, health and law and order …
… read more …

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Inde-Pol

ELVIS PRESLEY

Okay, he’s in the news again – the 30th anniversary of the death of the King. Forgive the image, here. With all the Elvis look-a-likes I thought it might be sobering to show what those original fans are really like today.
When I was younger I wasn’t an Elvis fan – I was into hard rock – but as I matured I began to understand what this guy was all about. It wasn’t so much music, but rebellion – a move towards counter culture as distinct from the establishment that had led us in so many wrong directions.

This is what an Icon is …

… and Elvis was, above all else, an Icon.
There are a lot of things that fascinate me about him. In particular, the sociology surrounding people like this. For instance, if you take away the ‘culture’ of his life and death, the social processes involved are very similar to a religious icon.
This becomes more obvious when you look at conspiracy theory. Now, I’m very skeptical of such theories myself, but I am fascinated by how they work – the classic good verses evil scenario – and in so many the conspiracy apes the process of Resurrection – after all, so many believe he is still alive.

The inevitable social movement

I suppose it is always going to happen like this. I think religious movements of the past, and cultural progression today, are identical social mechanisms, made different only by the ‘culture’ of the time.
So Elvis is disclosed as a symbol of social progression rather than a man in himself. Which begs the question, if Elvis had never been born, would society have had to find an ‘Elvis’ anyway?

© Anthony North, August 2007

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If you like fiction, click Fiction Page on Blogroll for my short stories.
Check out the pages. Find my Links on Eye On the World.

TONY ON E-VOTING AND OTHER NEWS

THOUGHTS FROM A COMMON MAN
News and comment LATEST: Will technology be the end for minorities? … PLUS … Jade strikes back; what ever happened to the important news?
READ THE ULTIMATE MAGAZINE POST … from a real voice of Britain and the world.

E-VOTING

The Electoral Commission in the UK has advised e-voting should be suspended until elections have been modernized. This follows pilots of the system in the May local elections. Their main fear concerns security of voting.
My fears range much wider. First of all, what do they mean by ‘until elections have been modernised’? Who, in government, has suggested such a thing? Surely that’s up to the British public to decide. But no, the language suggests inevitability.

Problems all the way

So, folks, an election coming soon, decided by the click of the computer. Wouldn’t it be easy? Everyone could vote – no problem. Except … problem number one: If something becomes too easy, you do it without thinking. And hey presto, if you can’t get rid of elections to stay in power, turn the electorate into unthinking sheep instead.
And then we have problem number two. When something becomes so easy, don’t you just want to do it again and again? Afraid so. The time will be here when direct democracy could become a reality – the time when everyone votes on everything.

Bye bye minorities

Hope you’re not gay in such a world – or an ethnic minority; or too fat; or just someone who thinks different. Direct democracy, you see, always confirms the absolute choice of the majority.
Think deeply about e-voting before you go down that slippery road. Hitler is reborn in the microchip. And it’s us.

© Anthony North, August 2007

THE GOODY AND MORGAN SHOW

If you want to know what’s wrong with modern culture, you couldn’t have done better than watching ‘You Can’t fire Me, I’m Famous’ on BBC1, 31 July 2007. Watching Piers Morgan interview Jade Goody was quite nauseating …
… read more …

AN IMPORTANT FEW DAYS

It has been a vitally important couple of days for the UK and the world. First of all, the 38 year mission of the British Army in Northern Ireland has come to an end. A conflict that split so much of the UK, it is testament to how the world has changed …
… read more …

Have you clicked Diary of a Writer on Blogroll? Meet me, up close and personal.
Click Tony On, on Blogroll, for more current affairs.
If you like fiction, click Fiction Page on Blogroll for my short stories.
Inde-Pol