BIG BROTHER
Despise myself for this, but I'm utterly gripped.
Despise myself for this, but I'm utterly gripped.
29 May, 2006
|24 May, 2006
SHOCK REALISATION
Have suddenly, in the last six months, found two OLDER (by quite a bit) men - early 50s - very attractive. Admittedly, personality has much to do with it. One is an architect in possession of a certain Je ne sais quoi. Ten years ago, in my early 20s, the same people would have seemed ancient and pensionable - now they appear charismatic and not-in-the-least unattractive.
So, attraction to/interest in older people (who you'd have never noticed before) has to be a sign of getting older - I don't know of a surer sign. Have only just made the connection between 'noticing that there *is* such a thing as a very attractive older man' and 'not so young yourself these days'. Which is a bit startling, really.
Have suddenly, in the last six months, found two OLDER (by quite a bit) men - early 50s - very attractive. Admittedly, personality has much to do with it. One is an architect in possession of a certain Je ne sais quoi. Ten years ago, in my early 20s, the same people would have seemed ancient and pensionable - now they appear charismatic and not-in-the-least unattractive.
So, attraction to/interest in older people (who you'd have never noticed before) has to be a sign of getting older - I don't know of a surer sign. Have only just made the connection between 'noticing that there *is* such a thing as a very attractive older man' and 'not so young yourself these days'. Which is a bit startling, really.
BIG BRUUUVAH!!
"A suicidal, Scottish-Pakistani former gay rent boy; a pop singer with Tourette's syndrome; a self-professed porn star who claims the biggest breast implants in Britain...It's been called a "psychoanalyst's wet dream". And so it appears to be...
The chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, Andrew McCulloch, wrote to the director of programming at Channel 4, Kevin Lygo, to express his concern at vulnerable people being turned into figures of fun for TV viewers.
"While I can only guess at Shahbaz's clinical condition, we are concerned that vulnerable people apparently continue to be allowed into such a high-pressure environment. "
It's been compelling. Sadly, no longer, as Shahbaz has left the set. Reality shows are only ever as interesting as the 'contestants'. That's why Celebrity Big Brother was so much fun to watch, with Rula Lenska, Barrymore and George Galloway. Shahbaz was the only truly interesting character, so there's no point watching it now. Andrew McCulloch, the executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said "While I can only guess at Shahbaz's clinical condition..." Well, although I'm no shrink (sadly. I think it'd be the most interesting job in the world), it seems to me that he'd be a borderline personality. By turns, passive agressive (not speaking) and aggressive aggressive (shouting and screaming); weeping and sobbing followed quickly by an energetic and outgoing high. Needy and insecure but incapable of listening or receiving advice, etc etc. Highly unstable, in other words.
What gets me though, are two specific things:
- Shahbaz (an otherwise reasonably intelligent person) seems to have made it to 37 without ever having a job - it sounds as though he's lived alone all his life in a council flat, and yet it doesn't occur to him to think "Is there something wrong, here?". His fragile, dysfunctional psyche is writ large across our screens but he seems to be the last to realise. How can that be?!
- Also, the others, of varying ages and intelligence, seem to think he's just annoying, melodramatic and over-the-top. This makes them just as short-sighted as Shahbaz. They must be very stupid indeed if they can't see that Shahbaz, although not sectionable or with a full-blown mental illness, is in need of help - most probably in the form of long-term therapy. Noone thinks to ask him about his past or show a bit of sympathy, they only condemn him and show him zero tolerance.
All of which has made for cruel and queasy viewing. It also illustrates two other things:
- The 'screening' of contestants by psychologists cannot be very rigorous. It was quite easy to see that Shahbaz was in deep trouble.
- People (ie the other contestants, as representatives of society at large) have no understanding *whatsoever* of mental health.
Anyway, good luck to Shahbaz on "the other side". I hope he makes a success of his life.
"A suicidal, Scottish-Pakistani former gay rent boy; a pop singer with Tourette's syndrome; a self-professed porn star who claims the biggest breast implants in Britain...It's been called a "psychoanalyst's wet dream". And so it appears to be...
The chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, Andrew McCulloch, wrote to the director of programming at Channel 4, Kevin Lygo, to express his concern at vulnerable people being turned into figures of fun for TV viewers.
"While I can only guess at Shahbaz's clinical condition, we are concerned that vulnerable people apparently continue to be allowed into such a high-pressure environment. "
It's been compelling. Sadly, no longer, as Shahbaz has left the set. Reality shows are only ever as interesting as the 'contestants'. That's why Celebrity Big Brother was so much fun to watch, with Rula Lenska, Barrymore and George Galloway. Shahbaz was the only truly interesting character, so there's no point watching it now. Andrew McCulloch, the executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said "While I can only guess at Shahbaz's clinical condition..." Well, although I'm no shrink (sadly. I think it'd be the most interesting job in the world), it seems to me that he'd be a borderline personality. By turns, passive agressive (not speaking) and aggressive aggressive (shouting and screaming); weeping and sobbing followed quickly by an energetic and outgoing high. Needy and insecure but incapable of listening or receiving advice, etc etc. Highly unstable, in other words.
What gets me though, are two specific things:
- Shahbaz (an otherwise reasonably intelligent person) seems to have made it to 37 without ever having a job - it sounds as though he's lived alone all his life in a council flat, and yet it doesn't occur to him to think "Is there something wrong, here?". His fragile, dysfunctional psyche is writ large across our screens but he seems to be the last to realise. How can that be?!
- Also, the others, of varying ages and intelligence, seem to think he's just annoying, melodramatic and over-the-top. This makes them just as short-sighted as Shahbaz. They must be very stupid indeed if they can't see that Shahbaz, although not sectionable or with a full-blown mental illness, is in need of help - most probably in the form of long-term therapy. Noone thinks to ask him about his past or show a bit of sympathy, they only condemn him and show him zero tolerance.
All of which has made for cruel and queasy viewing. It also illustrates two other things:
- The 'screening' of contestants by psychologists cannot be very rigorous. It was quite easy to see that Shahbaz was in deep trouble.
- People (ie the other contestants, as representatives of society at large) have no understanding *whatsoever* of mental health.
Anyway, good luck to Shahbaz on "the other side". I hope he makes a success of his life.
17 May, 2006
DROUGHT
I've mentioned the exceptionally wet Spring of 2000 a couple of times over the last few days, with relation to the current drought. Nobody remembers it at all. I do, though. It was astounding. Every day - torrential non-stop rain. As it turns out, the Met Office have a section on their website called 'Interesting Weather'. Here's the entry for April 2000.
A very wet start
After a dry March, the UK had a record-breaking wet April.
Heavy rainfall during the first 12 days of April produced a reversal of the traditional pattern, with significantly more rain falling in the east than the west.
Rainfall amounts over western Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales were not too far from average. In contrast, eastern Scotland and much of England received three times the normal amount for the period.
Large parts of England and some parts of Scotland received well over (in some areas 50% over) the average rainfall amount for the whole of April.
At Heathrow, comparable quantities of rain in April have occurred on only four other occasions during the last 50 years, the most recent being in 1993.
So, rainfall is not so dim or distant a memory. Not yet, anyway.
I've mentioned the exceptionally wet Spring of 2000 a couple of times over the last few days, with relation to the current drought. Nobody remembers it at all. I do, though. It was astounding. Every day - torrential non-stop rain. As it turns out, the Met Office have a section on their website called 'Interesting Weather'. Here's the entry for April 2000.
A very wet start
After a dry March, the UK had a record-breaking wet April.
Heavy rainfall during the first 12 days of April produced a reversal of the traditional pattern, with significantly more rain falling in the east than the west.
Rainfall amounts over western Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales were not too far from average. In contrast, eastern Scotland and much of England received three times the normal amount for the period.
Large parts of England and some parts of Scotland received well over (in some areas 50% over) the average rainfall amount for the whole of April.
At Heathrow, comparable quantities of rain in April have occurred on only four other occasions during the last 50 years, the most recent being in 1993.
So, rainfall is not so dim or distant a memory. Not yet, anyway.
04 May, 2006
TIME (AND TIDE WAIT FOR NO MAN)
So, in twenty minutes time it will be 1am 2mins 3secs 04.05.06.
What else is there to say about it? Not a lot. Just an interesting little curio.
So, in twenty minutes time it will be 1am 2mins 3secs 04.05.06.
What else is there to say about it? Not a lot. Just an interesting little curio.
