My journalism tutor in one of his speeches -- he was very big on speeches -- said that within a couple of years of entering the profession he realised that ultimately it didn't matter who was in power because ultimately nobody is perfect which means that the situation will never be perfect.
Sometimes things would be better than usual, sometimes worse. But never perfect.
He was right.
Pick up the average history book, or a very good history book for that matter because there are some of those, and try to find a moment in the country or indeed the world's history when everything was ok. When no one felt hard done by and everyone was happy.
It hasn't happened yet. It may do. I'm an optimist so I think it may do. But not yet.
If Labour are in power, Tories are unhappy. If the Tories are in power Labour tell them that they're doing it wrong. The Lib Dems, as ever, are stuck between the both of them unable to do right from wrong even when they're actually in government for a change in the way that they could only ever be in government under the present political conditions.
If the present government imploded and another general election was called by Christmas and by some chance Labour got back in, can even their own supporters suggest that the country would be fixed, that everything would be sorted out? Well, no, of course not.
I know that in fact having an ideology gives us something to strive for and having something to fight against reminds us that we can be passionate about about something which matters which isn't the continuation of the species and through procreation or saving the environment.
But looking at this list of comments, I wonder whether people realise that nothing of anything we say about politics really matters. In the end.
He was right.
Politics This isn't the most well best thought through comment I've left anywhere (in fact it's rather rambling) but I was prompted to write this on the The Guardian website at this bizarre story:
reruns of old Pugwash cartoons
TV I'm back. Hadley Freeman reviews this morning's debut episode of Daybreak, ITV1's new morning showdown featuring new signings Adrian and Christine so I don't have to:
There's also an over-abundance of staff. Apart from the fact that the likes of the sport could just as well be read out by Chiles as the separate sports presenter and the news by Bleakley, the correspondents idea is an obvious attempt to replicate the guests who'd appear on The One Show talking about scrabble or duck billed platipusses or whatever. But here there's too little interaction, not enough time for the more freewheeling conversational style which suited this pair so well on the other side.
Essentially, if anything, it seems an attempt to resurrect the formula of TV-AM in the Anne 'n' Nick era which presumably means before too long, converting for modern currency, we'll be seeing Christian O'Connell roaming the beaches making fun of pensioners, the CG animated Sammy Stoat for the kids, and the show being replaced with reruns of old Pugwash cartoons and the Ashley Twins filmography when the production staff walk out on strike with Garroway being labelled a scab for crossing the picket line.
"What a strange thing Daybreak is looking set to be. An odd mashup of GMTV, The One Show, That's Life and, suddenly, Newsnight. No one is claiming that GMTV was a hothouse of intellectual thought, but, really, what on earth can one make of Daybreak – a news programme that shows clips of racing mobility scooters, a funnily shaped carrot and a bulldog on a skateboard and asks viewers to vote for the one they'd like to hear about in more detail. This segment is called Daybreakers, which I'm guessing is a pun of some sort, but one not easily grasped. Better to have called it "Like watching YouTube with an immature 10-year-old."The main problem at this early stage is an over-abundance of format, the desperate need to give things like phone polls and news headlines ear-catching names and the big signings, with the exception of the interview slot, largely reduced to cueing in the next bit of the schedule be it the news, the adverts, the phone in quiz, the adverts, the sport news, the adverts, the funny animal stories, the rotating banana bowl and John Stapleton standing in a football stadium to illustrate a lot of people.
There's also an over-abundance of staff. Apart from the fact that the likes of the sport could just as well be read out by Chiles as the separate sports presenter and the news by Bleakley, the correspondents idea is an obvious attempt to replicate the guests who'd appear on The One Show talking about scrabble or duck billed platipusses or whatever. But here there's too little interaction, not enough time for the more freewheeling conversational style which suited this pair so well on the other side.
Essentially, if anything, it seems an attempt to resurrect the formula of TV-AM in the Anne 'n' Nick era which presumably means before too long, converting for modern currency, we'll be seeing Christian O'Connell roaming the beaches making fun of pensioners, the CG animated Sammy Stoat for the kids, and the show being replaced with reruns of old Pugwash cartoons and the Ashley Twins filmography when the production staff walk out on strike with Garroway being labelled a scab for crossing the picket line.
from the grave ...
Film I'll be back soon. Meanwhile, it's good to know that Robert Altman's still directing films from the grave ...
"An archaeologist"
TV Right, stop whatever you're doing for ten minutes and watch this. It's the animated prequel to the next audio series of Doctor Who spin-off Professor Bernice Summerfield. And I'd make it full screen:
Some back story for the uninitiated: created by new series writer Paul Cornell (Father's Day, Human Nature) and voiced by Lisa Bowerman, Summerfield's adventures began in the pages of the original Doctor Who novels published in the late 90s when the was "terminally" off air (she was the companion in the original novel version of Human Nature), and was a companion of the Seventh (McCoy) Doctor. After splitting with the character she continued in her own series of books which then transferred to audio drama cd for the Big Finish company and were instrumental in getting them to the license to produce original stories featuring the classic Doctors.
The audio adventures for Bernice have run for over ten years; I haven't heard most of them, but the style is rather closer to the British comic book tradition, very 2000 AD. An archaeologist, she's somewhat an forerunner to River Song though she's only rarely been reunited with the Doctor and always seemingly in the right order. She's shifted away from her day job in recent years and this short film is an attempt to draw her back in that direction, smartly referencing Lara Croft to a degree and producing the kind of chase which couldn't be accomplished as well in audio. Smart.
Her nemesis it seems is now Irving Braxiatel, her one time boss, owner of private museum, the Braxiatel Collection (mentioned briefly in the classic series Paris set story City of Death). Brax is a timelord and loomed large in the spin-off Whoniverse having been a major character in both the Bernice plays and the Gallifrey series (about Romana II's presidency) oscillating between malevolence and benevolence and is voiced by Miles Richardson, Ian's son (and sounds exactly like his father when he's playing the older version). Oh and he's the Doctor's brother. Best mention that too.
Some back story for the uninitiated: created by new series writer Paul Cornell (Father's Day, Human Nature) and voiced by Lisa Bowerman, Summerfield's adventures began in the pages of the original Doctor Who novels published in the late 90s when the was "terminally" off air (she was the companion in the original novel version of Human Nature), and was a companion of the Seventh (McCoy) Doctor. After splitting with the character she continued in her own series of books which then transferred to audio drama cd for the Big Finish company and were instrumental in getting them to the license to produce original stories featuring the classic Doctors.
The audio adventures for Bernice have run for over ten years; I haven't heard most of them, but the style is rather closer to the British comic book tradition, very 2000 AD. An archaeologist, she's somewhat an forerunner to River Song though she's only rarely been reunited with the Doctor and always seemingly in the right order. She's shifted away from her day job in recent years and this short film is an attempt to draw her back in that direction, smartly referencing Lara Croft to a degree and producing the kind of chase which couldn't be accomplished as well in audio. Smart.
Her nemesis it seems is now Irving Braxiatel, her one time boss, owner of private museum, the Braxiatel Collection (mentioned briefly in the classic series Paris set story City of Death). Brax is a timelord and loomed large in the spin-off Whoniverse having been a major character in both the Bernice plays and the Gallifrey series (about Romana II's presidency) oscillating between malevolence and benevolence and is voiced by Miles Richardson, Ian's son (and sounds exactly like his father when he's playing the older version). Oh and he's the Doctor's brother. Best mention that too.
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