groc's bloggette: January 2005 Archives

So howcum they're (E4) even now still advertising the new upcoming 'Mount Pleasance' and other new stuff (like Smallville and Desperate Wives etc.) on their channel - but have managed to totally forgot to mention there's a whole new season of the Merikan version of 'Queer as Folk' that started tonight... mmmmmm?

(and no readily - easily found links on the E4 website - y'know, just incase anyone should, y'know like to know about the program ever. Interesting that lack huh?)

by groc at 12:35 AM | Comments (3)

January 23, 2005

BB5 and a kitty pic.

Mwha-ha-ha: BB5 funnies and a great cat photo from the same person.

Contary to what many a snob says I think cat photos are definitely one of the things that makes the internet great.

by groc at 11:43 PM | Comments (3)

adverts -( as in advert your eyes?)

Isn't life way too short to sit through an endless parade of TV commercials? Well I certainly think so.

But advertisers are already trying to work around the problem of time shifted recordings....

But I've an idea - instead of paying the TV companies (or for that matter magazines and newspapers and poster sites etc.) all the millions they already do to advertise stuff, why not pay us directly to watch their stuff? That would be fair wouldn't it?

Oh wait -then only the poorer people would ever watch adverts (but that might be a nice income for them - oh, except they couldn't afford to buy any of the things being advertised at them, but then again -if they managed to watch enough adverts...)

by groc at 12:52 AM | Comments (6)

mac-libel

Apple that company what does 'thinks different' sues a 19 year old merely for revealing that they were to bring out a cheapo mini 'puter 2 weeks ahead of their press release. That's nice of them. Great public relations there Mr Jobs. Bravo.

by groc at 12:09 AM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2005

we're all Criminals now

I'm currently in the middle of watching channel 4's 30 minutes documentary 'We're all criminals now' - on how Local Authorities are seeing all car owners as cash cows - with endless fines for parking and driving offences, then there's fixed instant on the spot pentalites of fifty pounds for dropping a single cigarette butt in the street. All easy targets - when your proper actual criminals are being ignored.

Feeling any better about having an ID card yet?
(I wouldn't put it past Council representatives demanding to see your ID whenever they'd decided you'd broken one of their by-laws and calling in the police if you refuse and then you incurrig an even heavier fine for refusing. This really is the way things seem to heading.)

Update: I wonder if this little news item is also related? In which case you can add on another layer of offensiveness. (Although I personally find the intrinsic naffness of the Rainbow flag highly offensive, but that's just me.)

Basically it's all about Local cash-strapped councils finding they can raise a lot of cash by enforcing extremely petty laws. They don't care who they offend. Right up until they remember "-oh, we have to have local elections... d'oh."

by groc at 06:08 PM | Comments (1)

Tim Burton's

Corpse Bride trailer.
Ooooo000oooOOhhh.

by groc at 01:23 AM | Comments (2)

BT greed

Mmmm hello, suddenly the Post Office telephone deal looks all the more appealling.

BT to gouge late payers.

Sorry, but I don't know of any other company that charges extra for late payments.

by groc at 01:14 AM | Comments (6)

January 21, 2005

Spongebob in pro-homosexual video? Huh? Wha...? WTF.

Nutty Merikan Christians Conservatives attack Spongebob.

(via Lisa )

by groc at 10:33 PM | Comments (2)

Greer

Greer's Sunday Times article on her stay in BB in full.

by groc at 03:11 PM | Comments (0)

tempting providence

it was - that last post of mine. Am currently under very heavy comments-spam attack by those lovely texas holdem poker shits again.

Currently trying to puzzle out how to install bloody MT-comments black list with it's beardy-weirdy instructions.

Comments disabled until ....whenever.

Update: comments back.

PS. Finally gave into Mozilla's nagging and upgraded - and grrrrr my long beloved Art Deco - Aviator theme that I've used for years doesn't work with the new upgrade. I'm pissed off I am.

by groc at 09:01 AM | Comments (1)

January 20, 2005

com-spam defences

I've been doing some reading up on comments spam. All I've done is fill my brain up and make it hurt -ow.

Item one: Google invent a whole new rel="nofollow" tag to hopefully cripple those Spammers who are whoring after links ranking in search engines.

(which means for us MT users to wait for some sort an uprade (groan).)

(Rakka put me on to this.)

Item two: Moveable Type have a whole huge enormous guide on preventing it. (Which I've no doubt comment spammers themselves are reading carefully and learning from.

Then there's comment throttling plug-ins and MT blacklist to consider.

by groc at 10:06 PM | Comments (2)

January 18, 2005

the bible is eeeeevil

Thanks to Nyx and this link - I now have a whole new set of reasons to add to my 'Why I could never be a Christian' list.

by groc at 04:16 PM | Comments (4)

Yet more Spongebobbery

This would go so well sitting next to the Spongebob TV and DVD players - mentioned previously.

by groc at 02:59 AM | Comments (1)

January 17, 2005

2005 set to get so like 1984

As the nation prepares for President Bush's inauguration next week, privacy activists on both sides of the political spectrum are bracing for a White House push to augment controversial domestic surveillance powers gained under the Patriot Act and other legislation passed since 9/11.

by groc at 03:24 PM | Comments (0)

January 16, 2005

Mark Gattiss interview

Dr Who and a League of Gentlemen film, a novel. There's a lot of good stuff to look forward to.

by groc at 02:01 AM | Comments (0)

January 15, 2005

Thwarting the future

Stumbled across this on the Channel 4 website.
Bill Dunster is one man has a solution and a proven track record in producing effective, high-density housing. Unfortunately, the award-winning architect, responsible for the widely acclaimed Bedzed development in South London, warns that the battle for well-designed sustainable housing is going to get a lot worse.

by groc at 02:44 PM | Comments (0)

January 14, 2005

eeeek - want one

A Spongebob portablle TeeVee!!!!

But this is even better! It is abso-bloody-lutely fooking gorgeous!

(Thanks Rakka.)

by groc at 09:55 PM | Comments (3)

sigh.

Power of Nightmares re-awakened. If you missed this series of three documentaries the first time round - here's another chance to see them.

Still no WMD then? Finally given up looking then? Sigh.

So let's look at the facts: another country on a set of completely fabricated pretexts invades another - proceeds to bomb the shit out of it, then detains, tortures and kills many of it's innocent civilians (and is still doing that). Then the US wonders why a lot of people in Iraq and other countries aren't particularly pleased about it. Um. Odd that there are so many self-proclaimed Christians floating around in the upper echelons of the US administration who can’t have heard of some of even the most basic of basics of that religion - such as ‘Thou shalt not kill’, ‘As ye sow so shall ye reap‘,, ‘Do not bear false witness’, ‘Turn the other cheek’ ‘Love thine enemy as you would yourself’ - you know stuff like that…

And the stupidity still goes on.

by groc at 02:41 PM | Comments (1)

January 13, 2005

spongebobby

I've had a very Spongebobby day today...

by groc at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)

camera mail art

via Christie >> disposable camera mail art.

by groc at 11:21 AM | Comments (1)

January 11, 2005

Celeb BB

Hello...
Germaine's walked off.
Good for her.

(Update: channel 4 item.)

I'll be expecting a great article from her for something like the Guardian later...

Second update:
Scotsman news piece.

by groc at 12:58 PM | Comments (0)

January 09, 2005

comment spam scum

I'm currently undergoing the tedious chore of trawling through my old archives - the ones contaminated by that piece of slime comments spammer - and I've just happened upon the entry where I mention my mother's boyfriend having suddenly died at Christmas a couple of years ago - and oh yes, that too has had casino ad spam scrawled all over it too. Maybe they'd like to come over to the UK just to shit on his grave too.

Yet another level of contempt and disgust at these ~~people~~ evil shits has hereby been added.

by groc at 06:39 PM | Comments (0)

January 06, 2005

christmas really screws you up

As carefully documented by Jeremy.

by groc at 08:11 PM | Comments (0)

Hmmmm

I don't want to appear heartless or anything - but with all this wall-to-wall blanket coverage of the Sri Lankan tsunami disaster - I'm left wondering/worrying as to what's happening over in that other albeit completely cynically perpetrated, totally manmade disaster that's Iraq. God knows what they’re getting up to now that the world’s news media attention is so completely currently focused elsewhere…

by groc at 06:18 PM | Comments (1)

sky+ bugs+ and rippoff+

Looks like it's way too soon to start thinking of throwing out your good old tried and trusted video recorders just yet.

by groc at 02:21 PM | Comments (1)

oh no....

The Big Brother Panto - in which a whole bunch of extremely vain, rather pathetic, rather rubbish and totally talentless people get together to put on a totally rubbish Panto. As if Pantos weren't rubbish enough to start with. Here's Channel 4 scraping the bottom of the barrel again.

by groc at 10:31 AM | Comments (1)

Lame spam

A message from the State Wide Broker's Association:
You only have a few days to take advantage of the special (3.95%) reduced rate on your home courtesy of our association. Please complete our quick form so a professional can keep your rate the lowest in the country. Otherwise, your payments will rise without notice.

Please conatct us. Thank you & we look forward to discussing your options with you. Happy Holidays.

Oh yes. Very professional. Except for the subject line: "ingenuity alhambra" -and the senders email: Leonel.Richey@bitemycock.com

by groc at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)

January 05, 2005

failed birdy rescue

I’m upset.

There I was this afternoon watching my ‘Spaced’ series 2 DVD when I heard a lot of loud chirruping I looked up and there’s a cockatiel bird calling to me outside my window. I tried to coax it in but in trying to get my stupid antiqued window, which was sticking badly, open I managed to frighten it off. Poor thing. It flew across to the next window along but it wasn’t going to come to me calling it. I lost sight of it soon after that. I hope it finds someone else to rescue it - there’s a good chance of it either starving or freezing to death overnight.

It was calling for me to help it and thanks to my stupid dumb crap window I wasn’t able to. Whah. I wouldn’t have minded looking after a pet cockatiel either. I’d have liked the company.

by groc at 06:12 PM | Comments (2)

January 03, 2005

Is it safe to come out yet?

Is the 3 month long insanity that is the Holiday season over yet?

This is the part of the year when you see everyone lapse into grim misery. For most all that effort and money spent in one burst of artificially generated jollity if it succeeded has was now worn off - and if it didn't -then there's the lingering sense of disappointment in the air. People are trudging back to work and the weather is still wintry and grim and it's now that we're being constantly reminded just how much of the winter is still left by the advertising industry barraging us all with a series of holiday commercials showing sunnier climes.

Keep 'em dissatisfied, keep ’em believing the best way to happiness is through constantly spending money.

Human beings are so dumb.

by groc at 06:21 PM | Comments (0)

January 02, 2005

1974 - 2004 - (via Nineteen Eighty-four)

I've now got that Shirley Bassey song running round my head:

"It's all a little piece of history repeating..."

after reading this little gem sent to me by Daaaaaavid.

by groc at 07:01 PM | Comments (1)

local blogger spotted in his natural habitat

by groc at 12:49 PM | Comments (2)