Wonders will never cease! I know, it just feels wrong to not post here for the start of another new year.
I don’t know what this year will bring but I hope for everyone to have a better one than this one has been. If you had a good one, I hope you have a great one… and if you had a crappy one, well, here’s hoping you get at least a good one this time around.
Happy New Year and may 2024 bring you everything you’d wish for yourself.
Cheers!
… has passed since I last wrote. And I suspect it could even be another year before I manage it again. I said, in my last post, that I doubt much would change. I was wrong. So much is different this year, not just for us but for the world in general. It seems to be a time of massive change, and not all for the better either sadly. I used to think it was just me getting older and more pedantic but people just seem to be so… I don’t know… out for themselves all the time now. It’s hard to find a balance. So much aggression and tension. It’s very sad to watch people destroying those they love and the world around them. I don’t read the news half as much as I used to… the doom and gloom are starting to get to me so I’m in self-preservation mode. I’m introverting!
Anyway, I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. I keep hoping the new year will bring peace and contentment.
Another year over. A new one about to begin. I suspect nothing much will change but I’ve been wrong before.
It’s been a very strange year all in all. It could even be described as absurd. It’s definitely been a year of crazy!
It’s raining. It really doesn’t feel much like winter ❄️… yet.
Here’s wishing everyone a happier new year. Cheers 🥂
Because we’ve just heard that Queen Elizabeth II has passed away at Balmoral, surrounded by family.
The papers are stuffed full of articles and it will be all over the internet.
RIP QEII
I know I said I’d post daily about the stupid I find on the internet but, honestly, some days there’s just so much stupid that I can’t keep up. And other days I just need a break from the internet.
Today there is so much in the news about the Markles trying to be just like the rest of us and failing spectacularly. Also we have a new prime minister who talks the talk but can she walk the walk? That remains to be seen.
There’s lots of stories about murders and programmes being made about old murder cases. Plane crashes, car crashes and awards ceremonies that might as well be car crashes. Except for Brendan Fraser and his new movie. Can’t wait to see it. Always liked him since George of the Jungle. Brilliant film!
But then I came across this story in the ever faithful DM. In case you can’t be bothered to click on the link, it’s a story about a woman who bought a Cricut machine and has been creating iron-on logos for her teenage son’s clothes. Bragging online that you’re infringing copyrights from some of the biggest brand names out there surely isn’t the brightest thing to do? But that seems to be the logic from people these days. What’s worse is that she’s feeding into her kid’s future problems when he can’t afford legitimate brand named clothing so will probably fake or steal it if it’s that important to him. This, at best, is very bad parenting.
As someone who detests anything branded (except Ford and maybe Apple products) I certainly don’t go out of my way to shove these things in other people’s faces and I certainly wouldn’t produce items with their logos on and brag to the nation that I was saving money on authentic products by producing my own versions. I suspect we’ll be hearing soon how she’s getting “cease and desist” letters from the corporate lawyers for these firms. And it would serve her right. Ignorance is no defence.
I know copyright is a very complicated and, sometimes, grey area but the general rule is seek permission from the copyright and/or trademark holder first. I’m sure if she did this they would never have agreed to let her do what she’s doing. As much as I hate corporate greed, it’s still theft when someone takes money from a company by producing fakes. Regardless of whether or not she’s selling the items to make profit or just using them for her son, she should have sought legal permission and definitely not plastered it all over social media. Aside from anything else, now all her son’s friends know he’s wearing illegal fakes and if that doesn’t heap on the ridicule and bullying then I don’t know what will. Very irresponsible on all levels.
But that seems to be the nature of internet – or rather social media – addicts. They really aren’t a clever bunch are they!
I haven’t read too much on the internet today. There are lots of stories about the ridiculous antics of a certain prince’s wife which surprise no-one much. More lies and weird recollections which “may vary”.
But my son happened across some news links and one of them was a story on the Daily Express (DE) about E10 fuel and the major changes across the UK in November. Upon reading the story, it only applies to Northern Ireland, since we’ve had the stuff for a year now. So, having been clickbaited into reading that, we found links to other stories.
This article, written a few days ago, tells drivers to follow a little known hack to cool your car down and save fuel. We were intrigued as to what this new ground-breaking “hack” could be. And to our absolute amazement 🫢 it’s something we had on our car 10 years ago! Do read the article, if you can find it in amongst all the irritating adverts and links. It’ll be worth your while, honest! Just don’t blame me for your little grey cells losing the will to carry on.
And at the bottom of the article you’ll find this…
Notice the bracketed words in capital letters at the end of each link (that’s just a screenshot, don’t waste your time clicking on it) trying to add gravity to the stories you must read. Once you get to know the DE, if you so wish, you’ll realise that these headlines must be written for the hard of understanding English because often the stories just ramble. The DE is second only in ghastliness to The Sun which is an appalling rag of a paper aimed at very small minded sheeple and is written in language even a nursery age child could grasp. And it makes little sense to anyone with a functioning logical thought process! Quite why anyone reads those papers I couldn’t understand, until I decided to write about the amount of stupid out there in the world today.
Standards have most definitely slipped. It’s disappointing for a forward thinking country that’s supposed to be civilised – but it is funny. And that’s the reason why I subject myself to it all. I’m always left shaking my head but I can laugh about it… and share it with others. I do like to spread the joy!
*this was written on my iPad so I’m hoping the links work, blame Apple if they don’t (my nickname is 🍎!)
No excuses other than life getting in the way. Besides, sometimes it does the mind good to ignore the stupid in the world today. But I’m back at it today with a spectacular fail by none other than the Daily Fail… er, I mean Daily Mail. Close enough!
This story relates to Eddie Murphy. The headline screams, “Still fits like a glove! Eddie Murphy is reunited with his iconic Detroit Lions varsity jacket as he reprises his role as wisecracking detective in first day on set of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley“.
Now, I don’t know what type of ‘journalists’ are working for the DM but I do know that the job title certainly is misused here. The three males in question would be useless at a spot-the-difference competition. They state, “And 28-years after last playing the character, Murphy, 61, was reunited with the now iconic Detroit Lions varsity jacket favoured by Foley in all three of his previous outings during his first day on the set of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley.”
Anyone who can see, can see clearly that they are different jackets. The colours are different, the logos are different and probably the size is different too. How gullible do they think the public are? One person summed it up perfectly, posting this comment… “Reunited with the jacket that’s exactly the same apart from the fact that it’s completely different.”
So how can three ‘journalists’ not see the obvious? It’s certainly left me shaking my head in total disbelief at the poor standard of journalism these days. Indeed, the art has definitely been completely lost since everything went online. Having worked for a newspaper back in the 80s and seeing how it was done properly back then, it very much grieves me how bad things are in the sector now. Virtually every single story I read contains at least one error, be it spelling, punctuation or grammar. A few years ago my ex told me that he thought spelling and punctuation didn’t matter, it was just about making yourself understood. But it does matter. We all know the one about “Let’s eat grandma” and “Let’s eat, grandma” don’t we? Two totally different meanings all for the sake of a comma. There are many instances like this in the world today.
Because I learned English at school and was reasonably good at most of it, my eye is instantly drawn to obvious mistakes. And I have a good enough grasp of the language to know when things don’t read right*. The other thing that definitely is annoying is the one or two words that are in BLOCK CAPITALS to try to highlight some sensationalised fact. What a pointless exercise that is. Trying to create drama where there is none is par for the course these days.
And if I thought the DM was bad, just try the Daily Express for size. It’s an absolute travesty. I read a story the other day which started, “Drivers warned…” Naturally I read it, being a driver and wanting to stay on the right side of the law. And all I can surmise from the article is that if I want to sell my car then I’d better do it before September as that’s when the new registrations are released into the world and I won’t have to compete with new car registrations. I mean, how useful is that little nugget of information? How stupid would I have to be to think my old 64 plate car would command the same price as a 72 plate?
It’s just one more place to mine for stupid on the internet though so stand by for some real gems.
* Just a note to say that I don’t profess to be an expert in English language and am quite prone to making errors myself.
Not because there isn’t much crazy out there but because there is so much that I’ve had difficulty choosing from the mountain of idiocy presented so casually to the general public.
One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how people don’t realise that it’s one thing being stupid but quite another to almost be proud of the fact. Maybe it’s because I’m of an older generation but if I find myself wondering about something, I tend to search Google for an answer. I do love reading Quora, in particular the forum called “Stupid Answers to Stupid Questions.”
I think a large proportion of these questions posted are just to wind people up. Or perhaps they’re posted to see who can come up with the most creative answer. Either way, it can be funny or it can leave you shaking your head wondering how these people function in polite society.
Some brilliant examples include:-
What do the British call the Atlantic Ocean?
What do British people call roads?
How much does it cost to buy all the money?
Why do people claim the United Kingdom isn’t bordered by the Pacific Ocean?
Is there video footage of the crucifixion of Jesus?
Which is cheaper: free shipping or flat-rate shipping?
I mean… come on! Surely there’s no-one daft enough to think these things, let alone ask them on the internet outside of a search engine. Well, it seems there are such people. There are also many Americans posting things that are guaranteed to upset most nations with their superior, but uneducated, attitudes.
This is not all the crazy I’ve found today though. There’s the 10 year old transgender model who supposedly knew at the tender age of two and a half years old that they were in the wrong body… not surprisingly the mother is trans and the partner is trans, non-binary. The father, who is straight, has been removed from the child’s life. Talk about agenda pushing. I’m saying this because, having raised a child, I find it hard to believe that a child would even be able to say the word transgender, much less know what it means or understand the consequences of such an important decision which will affect the whole life of the person.
I try to understand the points of view of these minorities. I have transgender friends, gay friends, pansexual and asexual friends. And I ask them to educate me rather than me just assuming I know what it’s all about. But it seems that there is some degree of infighting amongst these newly labelled genders and sexual orientations. This story in the DM today has me scratching my head. It seems that each of these types of orientations are not very tolerant of each other. I wonder, where will it end? If all the non-straight people can’t get along because of their differences then nobody will ever be tolerant of any other group.
There’s also this story, where a man wants to eat food that others think he shouldn’t be eating. We are not vegan or vegetarian by nature. We were created to be carnivores, our diets need the balance of nutrients from all food sources rather than chemically made supplements to replace what’s missing when we exclude food groups. And again, this intolerance of people with differing views. Just crazy.
There were a couple of other noteworthy stories today. One involves a man who, during his arrest for shoplifting and carrying a bladed weapon, farted in a police officer’s face. The headline felt it necessary to point this fact out, almost making the farting part the actual reason for arrest. Upon reading the story, it was just a secondary part to the arrest story. But it made me chuckle even though it’s abhorrent behaviour and he definitely deserved his sentence.
And then there’s dear old Lewis Hamilton and his dubious fashion choices. I don’t like the fashion industry. It’s something of a joke. People dress like morons and other morons copy them. It’s a horrible industry which exploits people for profits, it’s unscrupulous and manipulative. But, if you can bear it, have a look at this and tell me this is going to catch on because a multi-millionaire racing driver thinks it looks cool. I’m sorry but that outfit deserves every word of scorn poured on it, and judging by the comments from the general public, I’m not alone in thinking this is an embarrassment and definitely a fashion faux pas.
So that’s it for today’s internet crazy. Just in case you were wondering about the answers to those Quora questions… here’s the link to the forum. Enjoy!
Another little grey cell loses the will to live. Over the last couple of days I’ve been reading a lot of ‘stuff’ on the internet. Various sites, including Reddit, Quora, Daily Mail and Bored Panda, are my chosen targets along with local newspapers (I resent calling them that) from around the country.
I’ve discovered, in my travels recently, that there is an increasing amount of stupidity swimming around out there and I’ve decided to start a series of blog posts on the most stupid thing (in my opinion) that I’ve seen on the internet each day. Now, bearing in mind that it’s only tea-time in the UK, there’s still a fair bit of today to find even more stupid than I already have. But that can go into tomorrow’s post.
First I’ll start with yesterday’s stupid so you can get a feel for what I’m seeing online. I was reading an article on the Daily Mail which was taken from Bored Panda about a forum on Reddit that posts stupid things people write on Facebook. Are you still with me?
In this one particular post, a bloke says he can’t understand why we even need farmers because most people just go to the shops to buy their fruit and veg. Well, duh, how the hell does he think it gets to the shops? Honestly! That’s right up there with kids today thinking eggs come from cows, milk comes from pigs and bacon comes from chickens! I’m just speechless at the level (or lack) of education in the world today. We’re supposed to be evolving!
Which sort of brings me onto today’s stupid. This article on the Daily Mail (DM). What prompted me to write this now is that I picked up a crochet project today that hasn’t seen a lot of love lately. It’s called Joyful Dance and it’s a lovely pattern by Helen Shrimpton of Crystals and Crochet. So I’m merrily crocheting on this and my mind is turning over the irony of working on something that includes the word ‘dance’ when the DM article is about exactly that. Dancing. In the rain, to be exact. And how some female (I presume) person of colour (if that’s the correct term now) is complaining because Drew Barrymore posted a couple of videos of herself dancing in the rain.
To put this in perspective, we haven’t had a lot of rain worldwide for months now. So any time it rains, just about everyone I know is out in it (barring thunder and lightning) because it’s so lovely and refreshing – and very, very welcome (for a change). Now, this woman on TikTok of all places, starts ranting about how Drew Barrymore is racist for copying a trend that supposedly started on TikTok earlier this year where black men were filming themselves ‘frolicking’ in the rain, in fields etc.
Ok, so that means that I’ve been racist since I was a little kid, when we used to don our wellies and go out in the rain playing in puddles until we were called in for our tea. I’m going back over fifty years and suddenly, just because a white actress puts a film of herself online doing exactly the same as we all did as kids – before this complaining woman was even born – she’s racist and sexist along with everyone who isn’t black and male!
I’m not racist. I’m not sexist. I’m not anything-ist. Apart from maybe p-ist. I’m so fed up with being labelled by people who don’t know me. Who assume that because a minority of their voices were heard in the media that suddenly they are right and everyone else is just plain wrong.
I thought the whole point of their BLM argument was that they wanted to be equal around/across the globe (got to be inclusive of the flat earthers as well) but they’ve decided equal isn’t good enough. They have to be superior. They’re finding offence and accusing people of being racist when there’s no evidence of it at all. It’s so divisive which, I think, negates their whole point about being recognised for their contributions through the ages.
I saw a question on Quora a few days ago. It could have been posted just to troll people, there’s a lot of that on there. But a teenager was saying that she fancied this white guy but he didn’t want to go out with her and how could she not see that as anything but racist.
Well, I just shake my head at some of these sorts of questions. It’s like, suddenly, if you’re white you have no right to choose who you want to date. I’ve been subjected to this myself in the past. The truth is, contrary to their narrow-minded opinions, I am not attracted to black people in general. And I wouldn’t vilify anyone who felt the same about any race, colour or creed. If you don’t find someone attractive, it’s likely to be about anything but race.
It’s a whole can of worms that would be best left closed. People around the world need to understand that it’s alright to have an opinion. It’s not always alright to voice it especially when you’re accusing someone of a character trait that they might not even have.
If all of this proves one thing it’s that there will never ever be world peace. People just can’t let others get on with their lives without accusing them of something or being offended by everything. I was brought up to “live and let live” and that’s what I do to the best of my ability. But sometimes every boundary is pushed by someone who thinks they know it all and who pigeonholes everyone because it doesn’t suit them to believe we are all the same but different.
I wonder what tomorrow will bring? Each day I read something and think, ‘I’ve heard/seen it all now’. I definitely haven’t!
Except that I just have. The UK is currently in the grip of a few shortages of various items such as lorry drivers, food and fuel. The last of these things is the subject of today’s ‘shake my head’ moment.
I was reading the Daily Mail (for my sins) and came across a story about the fuel shortage and how a tanker had been followed by a convoy of about 20 cars for up to 70 miles because they thought he was carrying petrol and diesel. When he got to his destination (a building site) and informed the drivers that he was, in fact, carrying dry mortar, they were furious that he hadn’t stopped to tell them it wasn’t fuel.
I have to admit that I burst out laughing. It was obvious to anyone that the tanker wasn’t a fuel tanker. It had no ADR stickers on it anywhere, no warnings that it was carrying flammable materials. Not to mention that it’s a totally different shape. And I’m not totally sure but I’m not aware of any fuel tankers being able to carry more than one type of fuel at the same time. Petrol and diesel may be from the same basic ingredients but seriously, how can people not understand that you can’t mix the two? If we could, we wouldn’t need two types of fuel!
So there are at least 20 idiots out there with driving licenses (we assume) highlighted in a spectacular act of stupidity. I can’t help wondering how many more times this has happened or will happen during this so-called crisis. Because it turns out that there isn’t actually a shortage of fuel. There’s a slight shortage of ADR qualified drivers and, apparently, Boris Johnson’s ministers were in talks with the refineries to try to find a solution to that problem when some clever idiot decided to have some fun and leak a fake story to the press about a shortage of fuel. The newspapers and media outlets were just doing what they do, printing what they consider to be news of general public interest.
And that’s how this all began. Maybe what we need is for everyone to be banned from leaving home for a week unless they’re a tanker driver delivering fuel. Get the stations topped up again and then life can get back to some sort of stupid normality.
Because that’s what it is now. Normal as we know it has basically evaporated. Those of us old enough to remember how things used to be when people had a proper education and actually understood the world around them are in a constant state of wonder at how much more idiotic, thick and stupid people can become now.
Panic buying has always been the most stupid thing to do in a crisis. It’s greedy, selfish and shows absolutely no regard for anyone else. These people are the ones who are still hoarding a thousand toilet rolls from when the first lockdown hit over 18 months ago. They bought extra sheds and freezers to fill their guts with everything whilst denying people less fortunate from being able to obtain even the most basic items.
It’s disgusting behaviour. And, quite frankly, it’s just embarrassing. The level of intelligence has fallen off a cliff in the UK. Yes, the pandemic, Brexit etc. were always going to cause issues, but all that was required was some calm, rational thinking. We Brits used to be well known for this.
Acting like an arsehole while throwing away most of what was greedily bought just makes everything even worse. There were so many pictures in the media of household bins overflowing with out-of-date produce because people just bought everything they saw – because they could. There were stories of exhausted NHS workers and homeless people not even being able to get a loaf of bread or a cup of tea. And I, as a normal human being, was – and am – thoroughly ashamed of these people who take what they really don’t need.
I want to throw up in the run up to Christmas when I see people with three shopping trolleys overflowing with stuff they’ll be sick of by Boxing Day. It will end up in the landfill or compost when someone else has had to go without their Christmas dinner. I don’t do it. I never have and I never will. I am simply not that selfish. I realise many people are like me but it’s starting to seem that there are many more that are not like me at all.
Today’s media is chock full of stories like this one. Fuel stations with mile long queues round the block. What’s the point of wasting what fuel you have sitting in a queue idling your engine while you inch forward? What if you get to the front of the queue and the fuel station runs dry? What then?
Well, it seems that the norm these days is to grab a knife or some other weapon from your car and start a fight on the forecourt. Because that’s intelligent… not! I know I’m not alone in feeling totally exasperated with life these days. People are making it very difficult to see the good anywhere, especially with all the murders and other horrors taking place in the world. No-one seems happy with the simple life now. Everything has to be in excess and can’t wait for it either. Complaints and poor behaviour, added to the perpetual sue culture we seem to have acquired in recent years have just added to the weight of life which, at times, seems impossible to bear.
We soldier on because our forefathers gave their lives so we could live a a better world. Oh how they will be turning in their graves now. People need to take a long hard look at themselves and their behaviour. And we desperately need to raise the standards of common decency and education in this country, before it goes totally down the toilet for ever. Those supposedly in control need to get down to the grass roots of the problem and start again, rebuilding from the bottom up with better ideas. Stop focussing on the climate crisis just for a short while and take stock of educating people. Not with pushing agendas and all the nasty behaviour people display when they don’t agree with someone, but with knowledge and understanding of past mistakes so that the same ones are not made again. History is important – erasing it is futile, it can’t be changed by ignoring it. It can’t be changed at all. What has happened is in the past. Learn from it and move on!
Let’s get back to learning the art of agreeing to disagree and just getting along with our fellow man. And don’t bother telling me that I’m being sexist. I couldn’t care less about peoples’ idiotic sensitivities. It’s out of control and too many are offended by everything and everyone. I don’t care who you are or what you’ve got. If you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice to you. Otherwise, leave me be. It is truly exhausting to be living in these times.
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