Instructions and ethics

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 ~ No comments yet

Two things are currently making me GRRRRRRRR quite a bit. One is a minor annoyance that crops up frequently, the other a fairly fundamental gripe with a certain profession.

In reverse order then, my main gripe is with the current batch of moaning politicians who are saying that it isn’t fair that they are having to pay back monies claimed because the rules have been changed and … well it’s just not fair. Cue stomping of feet and many huffing noises (no, not that kind of huffing), like the spoilt children they are.

Now, don’t get me wrong, it is slightly unfair to change the rules NOW and apply them retrospectively. I get that. The thing is, regardless of any rules, if we are all honest we’ve all broken a few rules in our time and WE KNOW WE ARE DOING IT.

So whilst they may have been able to claim for redecorating their kitchen in this seasons fashion, or getting that custom bookcase built to store their precious historical parchments, deep down they must’ve known they were taking the piss.

If they didn’t then it’s worse still, they are completely immoral.

So, yes changing the rules isn’t fair, and whilst I might try and claim a few extra pounds for a taxi ride here and there (on my yearly trip outside of the office), I wouldn’t think “you know what, it’d be much quicker to hire a helicopter, so I’ll do that” and presume that that was ok.

My company, like most, will pay for your dinner if you are away on business. I COULD order caviar, lobster, the finest champagne and finish off with half a bottle of exclusive brandy. I don’t though because that’s just taking the piss. Yes there are other reasons, ones I would like to see reflected back on to the way politicians expense claims work, such as having the knowledge that ultimately I’m spending my own money (the company pays me after all), but ultimately I am presumed to be professional about these things.

Shame we can’t say the same for our politicians.

Ohh and that other thing? Well it’s about places listing ADDRESSES on their website but forgetting that I don’t know what the building is like, nor the fact it’s one door with unclear signage above it. A photo of the premises would help LOADS!

Phew. That feels better.

RIP John Hughes

Saturday, August 8, 2009 ~ No comments yet

Being off ill, and spending most of my days dozing, means I’m slightly behind on some things. So I was very sad to hear that John Hughes had died.

I wouldn’t say I was a big fan, but given that I grew up with such movies as Pretty in Pink and Ferris Buellers Day Off, I guess I was a bigger fan than I thought.

To my shame I didn’t see The Breakfast Club until a few years ago, which is both a good and bad thing. Good in that it would probably have coloured my view of life for a while if I’d seen it as a teenager (very easily influenced), good that I probably appreciate it more as a 30-something and realise it is a very clever movie, and bad because I feel like I did actually miss out on something that was, by all accounts, quite a marker in the movie landscape.

Oh well.

Weird Science was the movie that stuck in my mind the most, although that is completely down to Kelly LeBrock, of course. Planes, Trains and Automobiles is still funny and then there is Home Alone. Without doubt one of the best comedy movies of the past 20 years, if you strip away all the schmaltz there is 30 minutes or so of, quite simply, the best slapstick humour I’ve ever seen (including THE best male scream ever).

A sad day indeed.

He seemed to have a gift for capturing the sadness we all feel from time to time, and allowing us to wallow there for a moment before reminding us that life is for living and, frankly, screw everything else. It’s a common theme in all his movies, those moments of introspection and melancholy, without which I don’t think audiences would’ve related as well as they did.

And for those who were fans I’ll point you to this blog post by another fan who ended up being pen pals with Mr.Hughes (via). It’s fascinating.

What a shame he ended up leaving Hollywood behind, perhaps the greatest lesson we should take is how he conducted himself during his life.

It’s hard

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 ~ 2 comments so far

Listening to the news on the way to work this morning, some chav sounding lassie from some London suburb or other was bemoaning the fact that she found it hard not to bunk off school.

Yes, that’s right. She wasn’t finding it hard to attend school just hard not to bunk off at least once a week.

She said she had once “even” been arrested whilst bunking off which didn’t reflect well on her school, or her parents but it was just really hard not to bunk off. I’m guessing peer pressure is probably the reason but that’s just a symptom of the underlying disease

I’ve touched on this theme before, several years ago, and whilst part of my reaction disgusts me I can’t help that knee-jerk feeling that somewhere, somehow, discipline has been lost, and my contempt for that girl rises to the top.

Do we blame the parents? The teachers? The government? The kids? Probably all of them in different ways and magnitudes.

And the thing that really annoys me is that fixing, or at the very least addressing, the slow decline of moral standards in our society must be possible.

Just, you know, it’s, like, hard.

Why can’t I own Englishmen?

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 ~ 3 comments so far

There was a bit of a stramash in the Scottish press yesterday, when a fairly high profile Reverend in the Church of Scotland coming out of the closest and declaring himself a big gay (those may not have been his exact words…). As many of you will already know, religion and homosexuality don’t mix very wel at all, with homosexuality being stated as an “abomination to God” by some.

Yes, don’t worry, it really is 2009.

Big Rab picked up on this news as well, saying:

The whole thing reminded me once again of the excellent “Why can’t I own a Canadian?” letter and the episode of the West Wing on which it is allegedly based. I don’t know if the letter is genuine but it sure covers all the relevant points.

I’m not going to repeat the entire thing here but it’s funny and pointed and you can read the full thing on his blog:

Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?

Reflecting on Jade Goody

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 ~ 2 comments so far

I don’t comment on current events all that often, as I’ve said before I rarely feel that I’ll be adding anything new or particularly insightful so I consider it best to avoid the topic altogether.

That and I can usually see both sides of every story so can find it hard to find a position for myself.

The recent death of Jade Goody is one of those examples. I’m not particularly interested in her as a person, but what does both intrigue and disgust me is the way mass media has treated the past few months of her life. Granted she’s allowed open access and welcomed them in but, from where I’m sitting, surely there was a point where someone, somewhere, must’ve thought “ok, this is enough”.

Apparently not though. I’ve read a few blog posts about her, opinion pieces that add little to my understanding of either her or the perception of what she ’stands for’ – which is a bit rich I think, given that I doubt she ever considered the fact that she was representing anything other than herself at any point in time, more power to her for that.

So I’ll simply quote the best blog post I have read on this topic, and let you go and make up your own minds, although I’m sure you already have.

My impression was of someone who didn’t know all the answers – or indeed, many of the questions – but wasn’t going to let that get in the way of having a good time and making something of herself. Who loved life, even if she didn’t quite understand it.

Clearly others saw a different reflection: someone ugly, stupid, small-minded, who thought very little of themself and took delight in venting their frustration on a weaker member of society in the most ugly, bestial way possible. Kill the pig, cut her throat, spill her blood. Put her head on a pole, teach others to fear and revile her.

From The Queen of East Angular, over at Hydragenic.

Twats. A rant.

Monday, February 9, 2009 ~ 1 comment so far

RANT 1

Dear Person in the car in front of me.

I’m sure you are very very important and that you must get to work with as much haste as possible, god forbid you waste even the briefest of moments on your journey. However, see all that snow pilled up on your car? No, you probably can’t as you are too busy peering out of the porthole you’ve cleared for yourself on the windscreen.

Well all that snow, pilled up on the roof and sides of your car, is currently dislodging and showering the people driving behind you. Twat. I hope if you have to brake suddenly, and given you can’t really see the road properly I’d say there is a good chance of that happening, that all the snow on your roof doesn’t’ suddenly slide down and completely obscure your view.

Or, you know, perhaps I hope you veer off the road and remove yourself from the gene pool

/RANT 1

RANT 2

Work for a bank? Been budgetting based on your bonus? Isn’t that the opposite of the advice you tell us “idiots wot kno’ nuffink about money”? Twats.

The slow burn of bile started on Sunday morning when Darling stated that the bonuses being paid out to banking staff would be looked at to make sure they aren’t too high.

Not, “Bonuses? Are they mad? We’ve just given them taxpayers money! Screw their bonuses!!”.

Twat.

I’m really really sorry for all those people who work in the banking sector, the people in the branches who didn’t really have much say in any of this*, but the fact remains. The banks fucked up, they went along with schemes they neglected to understand or knew to be unworkable (I’m still not sure which is worse), so why the hell do ANY of them deserve a bonus?

However, undeterred I’m going to be approaching my boss this morning. Unfortunately, having not fucked anything up my chances are slim.

/RANT 2

Ohhhhh, that feels better.

* I’m aware that people working in a branch will have worked hard and be on a bonus related scheme. My problem isn’t with them.

President Obama

Wednesday, January 21, 2009 ~ 1 comment so far

The United States of America has, in case you’ve been hiding under a rock these past couple of months, a new President. Bye bye Bush, hello “Change” and a big dollop of hope.

Like many others I’ve been a little swept up in the general goodwill that President Obama seems to carry with him, and whilst it is obvious that he is an intelligent and charismatic man, I’m not entirely convinced his perceived persona is fair.

It’s easy to forget, as most of us are slap bang in the middle of it, that the way we use the internet has changed in the past four years and whilst the way the Obama campaign used the internet is well documented I think there is a more subtle effect of their “internet aware” campaign that is glossed over. It’s not just about the money that they generated, they were also very smart at getting the word out. Call it soft marketing (I hesitate to use the word ‘viral’ here) but the fact remains that I’ve read and know more about President Obama than any previous President.

That may be partly down to the fact that I share many of his views, partly because he seems closer to my generation, or just because he seems like a smart, reasonable man. But the fact remains that word of mouth, via the myriad of social networks in which we all dip into, has been a driving factor in his campaign.

Given how internet savvy his campaign was, I’m certain I won’t be the only person looking at how his Presidency continues to leverage the benefits of being internet aware.

Bravo to the Obama web/marketing machine, and here’s hoping the man can live up to the hype (anyone else think we are setting him up for a fall already?). Time will tell but for now I’m keen to see what he’s made of, what decisions he takes (he’s off to a great start on that front already) and how patient the USA, and the rest of the world, will be.

And, if proof were needed, the Whitehouse blog is already up and running.