Saturday 21 January 2012

Not so Glittery Twitter...

So. Today we were given the news that the @officialglitter account is not actually the real Gary Glitter. I can't say I completely surprised. I mean, we've established the guy is a vile member of the human race, but I don't think he's quite so witless as to open himself up to the wrath of Twitter users.
So, this begs the question, who did set up the Twitter account. Well, that little genius was someone called 'Ben' as I found out when I did a little digging and found his blog. It didn't take too long and I'm sure we'll hear more from him at some point. Anyway, he claims he set the account up as a social experiment to highlight the dangers of predatory paedophiles on social networking sites.

He says;
'I set this Twitter account up as a social experiment to highlight the dangers and safety of children using the social networking sites and to discover and question public morality,' 

Well, call me a pessimist, but it looks to me more like a case of a trying to gain a little bit of media coverage for not actually doing much. I mean, who of us doesn’t already know that the safety of children and the vulnerable is a problem on the internet? Most of the public realise there is an issue, and do their best to avoid it and stamp it out when it is encountered. There are even PROFESSIONALS working on solving this very dilemma with workable solutions. But, Twitter is a wonderful tool for engaging interesting and likeminded people, sharing information, encouraging freedoms. And, d'ya know what Ben? Most of the people who use it, and other similar sites, are not there to spy on children. I mean,  what does he suggest be done about it? Twitter is already regulated to a degree. But, unlike Ben, not all paedophiles announce themselves so loudly, all glitter and trumpets. That's generally not how predatory paedophiles work is it? All more regulation would do is restrict peoples freedom to share information, which, as we've seen in recent uprisings, is a vital lifeline, and something we should be trying to preserve (See SOPA/PIPA/ACTA). 

That, however didn’t stop people jumping on the bandwagon to support him, judging by the comments posted after his blog. Even Piers Morgan stepped up to congratulate the idiot. 'Very clever' apparently. Really. REALLY? Cos Piers Morgan of all people, is the one who's best to judge people's moral compass? He's not even that good at judging a bloody talent contest. Or even, while we're at it, working out which direction his own moral compass should be pointing.

The bloke who set up the account also quoted celebrities and other twitter users who'd made jokes about the decrepit idiot, vilifying them for making fun of a serious issue. A bit rich, I thought, coming from the one pretending to be that idiot!

All that aside, as I said this is a serious issue and not one anyone should take lightly. However, I think things like this are best left to the experts, and to those of us who use the internet as it was intended, as a tool for knowledge and good. Not jumped up little media whores.

Wednesday 11 January 2012

And Bully's special prize.......


I switched on the TV yesterday lunch time, expecting to see maybe pretty Australians or middle aged couples selling off their family silver. Instead, I was confronted with pretty much the polar opposite. Slightly overweight, pale looking men, wearing what appeared to be their entire family's silver (maybe gold plated, maybe the neighbours too looking at the sheer amount of it). And they were throwing pointy things. Yes folks, it's the World Darts Championships. 

Now, darts have been around me all my life (and I don't think they were being aimed at me!). My Dad has played for as long as I can remember in a few local pub teams and has even become somewhat of a legend amongst my friends for it. One of his fellow team members a few years ago was none other than Trina Gulliver, the Lakeside Womens World Darts champion of 2010. So he's not a bad player. I even remember him playing a friendly game against Eric Bristow when I was six or seven, and I was far too excited for a child of my age when he returned with a signed photo bearing the message 'Hayley. Don't worry, your dad will beat me one day!, Eric'. He didn't, btw, but I suppose there's still time. 

My mum also played darts for while, which I could never understand, since she seemed to hate the game. However, I realise, since creating two highly strung girls myself, it was an obvious ploy to get away from me and my sister. 

So, given the family record, (and the training from watching 'Bulls Eye' every saturday tea-time) I should be brilliant a darts, right? WRONG! I tried playing myself a couple of years ago, with a team comprised of some of my work colleagues, imaginatively named 'Library Lushes'. (Can you guess where I work?) We actually did pretty well and got through a couple of seasons with surprisingly few injuries. But it's bloody hard! You need really good hand-eye co-ordination (to hit the board) and spacial awareness (to avoid hitting anything/anyone else around the board, or in some cases, the room). A few of our members found it staggeringly difficult. And then you have to do MATHS! I have a new found respect for my dad who can do fairly complicated sums in super quick time to work out what numbers he needs to hit to win- and then hit them! Sadly then, it seems I have not inherited this talent. Though, to be fair, I haven't put in the time and effort at the local pub that my dad has managed to over the years. 

As such, regrettably, I don't suppose I'll ever be good enough to join this lavish world of designer chic, pointy sticks and beer. I guess i'll carry on just playing my dad now and again, and losing. And you never know, if they ever bring back Bulls Eye....


Monday 9 January 2012

My First Blog Post

Well, here I am. I've finally decided to take the plunge, bite the bullet, take the bull by the horns, whatever other idioms fit, and start my own blog! Truth be told, I have been thinking about it for quite a while and actually set this blog up a few months ago now. That does not mean, however, that I have managed to think of anything to write about in that time. Quite the opposite. I'm fairly sure that over that time, a substantial amount of my brain cells have died off, leaving me possibly less able to write anything of interest now than I was then. But it can't be that hard, can it? Bit like riding a bike I imagine. I'll either get better with practice or you can watch me becoming increasingly unstable.
Whatever happens, I might enjoy the ride. You're very welcome to watch. Like rubberneckers watching some kind of horrific accident.