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decided I needed to get more of a life..... instead of criticising Bob's suits and indulging in other nothingness, meaningless and shallow thoughts about this and that..... I went to see In Conversation With Russell Brand at the cinema. I was at the Ritzy in Brixton. place barely half full, but anyway.....
It was a Guardian Live Event of Russell Brand in conversation with some journalist from the Guardian (should look up his name really to remind myself) broadcast live across 200 cinemas across England (dunno if rest of Uk was included or not)...
Do you know what pulls me in about Brand?? haha, you really want to know? he's a celebrity talking about politics
Wehey!!!!! not just politics but revolutionary politics!!!! wooooohoooooo!!!!
so he gets a lot of stick from others in the media, especially about having this messiah complex haha
and about advocating not voting lol
John Lydon apparently says not voting is stupid (or words to that effect) and that Brand shouldn't really be advocating it in any shape or form (something like this) - so it makes me pee myself laughing (lots of women get semi incontinent at my age apparently) when in an interview with the Big Issue magazine, Brand's response is 'John Lydon hasn't said anything worthwhile since 1980'.
I don't know whether Rotten has said anything worthwhile or not since 1980, all I know of him since the sex pistols is he was on the anchor butter adverts in a tweed jacket wasnt' it?
but anyhow, it made me holler with laughter when I read that.
hahahahahahahahaahaha - I just loved it, loved it loved it... I don't feel there is maliciousness between these two men, theyre both pretty likeable/loveable in my opinion. and they've both got books out too.
I just bought Brand's REvolution..... and often stand on the London underground opposite the poster advertising John's book as well. Anger is an Energy. hmmm it also looks interesting. but I think one book at a time.
I am so inspired to persue my interest in politics, problem solving and solution finding/exploring again.
thank you Russell. its these people in the media that I LOVE.
(speaking of Bob's fashion faux pas with the crocodile or snake skin suit haha - actually its alright really, I don't mind his suit, bless him, eeek! anyway, moving on..... speaking of fashion, clothes and styles....... there's an exhibition on at the erm,,, think its the design centre about the fashion of Women in power, that looks interesting.... might go see that)
I absolutely cannot stand Russell Brand. He's encouraging people not to vote but wants to be the capital's mayor - who gets voted in. What's that all about?
His sidekick Wossie is another overpaid curiosity that ITV persist with despite poor guests and poor humour. At least I find Norton funny with better guests.
What the pair of them did to Andrew Sachs was unforgiveable. To think of the millions we pay Ross through the licence fee.
Bob Geldof, whose foul-mouthed rant against some newspapers at the British Press Awards caused much bad blood, has shown that he can dish it out but cant take it. The occasion was the ShockWaves NME Awards on Thursday, enlivened by pointed quips from comedian Russell Brand, who hosted the ceremony. But they didnt amuse the sainted Bob, who, upon accepting an award for Live 8, said to Russell: Youre a cnut. To which Russell replied, once Geldof had left the stage: No wonder Bob Geldof is such an expert on famine. Hes been dining out on I Dont Like Mondays for 30 years.
I'm sure Ball Bags Brand is wholly sincere...
He believes in heavy taxation of corporations and that communism is basically sharing. Hmmm.
This happens to be the same Russell Brand who, hours before appearing at Wolverhampton Civic Hall last night, posted a message on Twitter urging everyone to buy his new DVD from Amazon.
The breaking point for me apart from the two passages suggesting 9/11 was an inside job came when, after hundreds of pages of egocentric meandering, Brand lists his conclusions so far: We have shown that he grandly and repeatedly intones. But you havent shown, Russell. Youve told. And youve done a really, really bad job of it.
I salute the things your indifference results in you saying, ArrGee! Surely if ever a book deserves to be in the bargain bin for 50p, this is it and overpriced at that.
Revolution? Revolting.
-- Edited by Mark L on Tuesday 4th of November 2014 05:35:25 AM
I salute the things your indifference results in you saying, ArrGee!
He's not someone who really offends me, and he has his moments like the Geldof famine comment which are very sharp and witty. If someone gave me a free ticket to see him, I'd probably turf up. I can generally take him or leave him.
There are plenty of people I can't stand but he isn't one of them. When I think of people I can't stand, Phil Collins pops straight into my head, which maybe a bit unfair as there are worse cnuts out there. It's hard to explain but for a start I fcuking hate hearing his whiny voice. Still seems like I'm not the only one.
I read My Booky Wook, a few years ago, and found it quite poignant but also uplifting in places. And also very very funny! I really want to like the guy, but somehow can't always manage to - I think he does have quite a cruel streak in him which I don't like. But he certainly manages to get himself and certain topics noticed - so hats off to him, he's someone you can't ignore!
I also cannot stand Phil Collins. I have no time for nor own anything (apart from involuntarily on multi act compilation cds) by him or Genesis. Simon should have played drums on Do They Know.
Generally I do tend to ignore him. I am amazed he gets so much media coverage but I can't say I read, watch or listen to much of it. I doubt I'd have even thought of him but for the topic appearing on this forum. I liken it to say Kim Kardashian though there are probably dozens of others like her. Now I have heard the name, and I know she is famous, but I don't know what for, but before I go and search the internet I'd doubt I'd recognise her from a photograph.
I also cannot stand Phil Collins. I have no time for nor own anything (apart from involuntarily on multi act compilation cds) by him or Genesis. Simon should have played drums on Do They Know.
That's the thing. You can avoid all these acts you actively hate, but then they pop up on some compilation or worse still collaborate with someone you like. Band Aid may have been laudable, but surely they could have done it without Spandex Buffet (sic).
The thing with Marilyn is that she/he was never "mediafied" enough down the years for me to have any strong opinion. I can't even remember the Marilyn song or songs. All I remember is he was Boy George's friend. However those Spandex ****s won't go away. Even Phil Collins had the grace to retire.
PS I know "mediafied" isn't a proper word, but it fcuking should be!
No wonder Bob Geldof is such an expert on famine. Hes been dining out on I Dont Like Mondays for 30 years.
that cracks me up laughing, the sheer hilariousness of Brand's comedy appearing to not give a damn is very very funny indeed.....
but now I seem to remember why bob called him a cnut, or vaguely remember rather something to do with a family member, oh bloody ell I forgot
Brand is brilliantly funny, almost a bit manic/hyper.... bordering on genius
and the messiah complex I've had myself - I once thought I was jesus reborn...... I felt crucified enough that's for sure. I thought I was the only nice person left for a minute. I even thought I might have a dozen disciples somewhere lol.
I am not in the slightest bit interested in reading journalists critques of brand's book because I doubt they say anything very intelligent except slag everything off - hardly interesting.
this guy is getting absolutely slated it seems
I just like him even more for being brave
these journalist numbskulls wouldn't have the balls, no doubt.
(I posted this during a ramble on the London gig forum... but probably more apt for here:
i'll read Brand's revolution this weekend instead. he's been getting a lot of flack from the press hasn't he? or so I've heard. I will hazard a guess and say its all trashy reading (the jouranlists giving him flack) ------ and you say you actually studied?????
I've not been following it all..... so I might be wrong. someone might of written something worth reading about him somewhere.
feminists seem to hate him.... apparently he is/or was a misogymist or however you spell it.. its that late I don't care.. I had to look up what it meant. said woman-hater. so anyway, so what?..... plenty of us go through a stage of hating the opposite sex or humans in general for that matter lol
not saying brand hasn't done some daft stupid dumb insensitive things, like for instance phone a rape crisis line during one of his stand up comedy gigs. now that is bad bad taste.
but perhaps I'm more forgiving than most,,,, as someone who has also done some weird **** in her life........ anyway, I'm expecting to be educated by his book and inspired actually.
I think he's got a point about not voting. I wouldn't necessarily go out there and advocate it.... but I have to say to all those people who value their vote for 'change' (hahahahaha) - of which the only real option is labour, since no one else will get in. and so all you people for change to get the blue brigade out of power that vote labour................... and in answer to people that say its stupid not to vote, what about the suffragettes blah blah blah: WELL, and its NOT stupid to vote for a party that took us to war with Iraq and murdered in cold blood hundreds of thousands of innocent iraqians??? ah you really so great for voting blair in that time??? do you feel really great that you at least voted?
taxing the corporates, if that's what Brand suggests may/or may not work........ it might be ok in the long term but I think a back up plan would be needed in case all the investors fcuk off abroad with their money...... ? might that not be the case? I mean lets get real here.... if only a small percentage have a massively huge humungous share of the total wealth then they can pull a fair few strings I daresay, they'll soon get people on their side...... I'm sure they're crafty batsards. and I'm sure its much like a game of 'chess with the people' - I'm sure they have plans, bribes, blackmail plans all worked out. I mean taxing the corps might seem all just and reasonable, but in the short term they could severely fcuk us I would guess.
but I am guessing. I am going on my limited personal knowledge about these affairs...... its all guesswork based on what I know about people, politics, power etc.
one big chess game out there it would seem.
what about branson? has he expressed any feelings for matey who got killed and the one that got injured when his spaceship crashed? maybe it was just the nature of the journalism (which is not unlikely lets face it) that it appeared his instant sort of reaction was to continue to bang on about progress and moving forward and basically, well, wtf? isn't it all a tad shallow? has he played his game of chess and won and won and won and now the only place left to conquer is space? can the man not think a little more laterally thatn that? one man dead already. one injured. and all the headline reads is about how much he wants to go and play up in space!!!
I mean remember noel Edmond's balloon ride thing? a man died doing that... what did they do? stop it. finish it. end it. it goes no further. we are quitting this. its not worth it. yet a man dies during a spaceship launch and its 'we must go on........ we must have our bloody fairground ride in space'.
well, I've had an online discussion about this, and apparently its all very important.
who cares about the starving, who cares about being brave, courageous and progressive on earth, when we a handful of people can ride around in a spaceship oooing and ahhing at the planet that we're all stuck on.
well perhaps ya can't blame people for wanting to get the hell off earth lol....... yeh some people do drugs to get off the planet, some people hop on a spaceship.
I dunno all the technological advancements are very awe-inspiring.......... but I'm not wholly with the philosophy I guess.
The jury's out on HS2 in my mind even though work etc will be close to my house in Crewe. I try never to be NIMBY ish so if I'm satisfied it's in the national interest so be it.
I don't know which Olympics you watched, but it was far from a farce from here. In fact, unusually in these complaint-ridden times we live in, it's been ages (probably Live Aid) since I've heard so much consensus about how well a massive project like this went. Hats off to anyone who worked on it and put so much time and planning into it.
hmmm I thought the stadium looked mostly empty at the best of times
certainly tourism was at an all time low...... far from what we were led to believe
30% down apparently
and well I barely watched it at all Mark, in answer to your question. I got into the Paralympics a bit and got a little caught up in that in a positive way.
but I don't see the expenditure at all justified for what could of been just as great for all the sports lovers at a fraction of the cost.
I know people get really patriotic about it, ya know, aren't we great, aren't we amazing, good old brits really know how to put a show on and all that. and I know lovers of sport must of had a good time. but I just cant see how it justified the 9 billion personally. in such austere times I just don't get it. what a completely frivolous waste of money. we could of catered for the Olympics without such extravagant expenditure.
I agree. Despite us getting a nice new park, a superb velodrome and a kick ass swimming pool on our doorstep, it was an unnecessary extravagance. And I will finally get inside the stadium next year to see the Rugby World Cup.. Only got park tickets for the games themselves. Nice legacy for us in the neighbourhood, but not sure what use it is to the rest of the country.
Agree with Hs2 as well. Just a commuter line to London which will increase house prices in the vicinity. Fcuk all use if you don't go into London. Trains are fast enough anyway. Struggled to knock back a bottle of Rioja on the way to Cambridge last week, finished it off walking to the venue.
The Olympics had Sydney's vibrancy, Athens's panache, Beijing's efficiency, and added British know-how and drollery. With apologies to Sydney, they might just represent a new Personal Best for the Olympics. The Games were preceded by the usual fatalistic anticipation of a ****-up. It proved groundless. Moving masses of people around a busy city was expected to be a nightmare but London made it look effortless. Security was plentiful but low key. The army, called in to meet a shortfall, proved to be Britain's finest ambassadors. And then there was the sport.
I don't claim to know how much it cost and the debate on whether it was justified is separate to writing it off as a farce, which was what I really disagree with and which was an insult to anyone who worked hard to make it the success it was generally perceived to be.
I don't claim to know how much it cost and the debate on whether it was justified is separate to writing it off as a farce, which was what I really disagree with and which was an insult to anyone who worked hard to make it the success it was generally perceived to be.
I agree, it wasn't a farce. However it was galling to see empty seats at venues I had applied for tickets at. Especially, having paid for the damn thing with my taxes just so some sponsor/corporate/official could turn up if they fancied it. That bit was farcical.
Overall, it has been very good for east London and we have ended up with a lot of good facilities.
On HS2, I really am undecided and as Jules says, there's improvements elsewhere that should take priority. If I need or want to get to London, I'm lucky to live within walking distance of Crewe station and can get there in less than 2 hours which is quick enough for me (and a couple of my neighbours who work daily there) but I need to hear more about HS2 on lots of levels before I denounce it as unnecessary. London house prices are obscene but isn't that more to do with foreign buyers/lack of supply/help to buy etc?
Good rail connections don't do much for Crewe's house prices (open goal developing! )
It's just over 2 hours by train from London to Manchester. If that's not high speed, then what is?
But I think HS2 is more about capacity than actual speed. At best it will knock about ten minutes off the average journey. One interesting stat is that only about 1.5% of people living in Manchester or Leeds actually commute between those two major cities for work. Must be a Lancs/Yorks thing.
I always like regional differences. Being able to whizz form one city to another in 30 mins just makes everywhere one large suburbia. Takes all the romance from the railways.But then most people seem to be plugged into laptops anyway.I travel around Ireland a lot on trains and the Uk as well.You could be passing through the most amazing countryside and most people are staring at a computer screen, totally oblivious to the world outside. That always saddens me.
PS i keep meaning to do the Carlisle to Settle journey, one of the most interesting landscapes in Britain
-- Edited by noelindublin on Wednesday 12th of November 2014 02:21:18 PM
I don't claim to know how much it cost and the debate on whether it was justified is separate to writing it off as a farce, which was what I really disagree with and which was an insult to anyone who worked hard to make it the success it was generally perceived to be.
I agree, it wasn't a farce. However it was galling to see empty seats at venues I had applied for tickets at. Especially, having paid for the damn thing with my taxes just so some sponsor/corporate/official could turn up if they fancied it. That bit was farcical.
Overall, it has been very good for east London and we have ended up with a lot of good facilities.
And Russell Brands team will have a spanking new stadium to boot.
If you look back at history you'll see how journey times have improved (from horse and cart!). You wouldn't expect to take a day to travel from Oxford to York now, it would be laughable. In a few years time, I can see us or the next generation laughing about are daft arguments against taking 30 minutes to go from Lands End to John O Groats!! . It will be the norm.
Do you not remember when Bob called him something that rhymes with "blunt" live on TV at an awards ceremony, after he said he has shagged his daughter? Describes that moron perfectly.
It was after Brand said that Bob knew a lot about hunger, he'd been dining out on Mondays ever since. I had to smile at Bob's face, if looks could kill, BG would be serving a life sentence now .
Do you not remember when Bob called him something that rhymes with "blunt" live on TV at an awards ceremony, after he said he has shagged his daughter? Describes that moron perfectly.
I remember it well. Despite the ferocity of the word Bob used to describe him, Bob came off better in the room. I recall Brand later saying it was hurtful and no way to describe someone who was on drugs and sleeping with prostitutes. I'd have said it was a perfect fit. Couple it with turning up at MTV the day after 11 September dressed as Osama Bin Laden and what he did to Andrew Sachs and arguably Bob didn't go far enough.
do you think HOUSE prices will rocket as a result in more northern cities once its on the commuter belt? hmmm... fortunate for some maybe, perhaps not for others...... c'est la vie.