Category Archives: Newsworthy

Redressing The Balance

by in Newsworthy and tagged , | 9 Comments

I think that most of us would agree that sexism is wrong. Just like displays of racism, anti-Semitism and ageism which should be frowned upon and advocates of such prejudice be tarred and feathered and paraded through the city. Those medieval ancestors of ours really knew how to make a point.

As a young man growing up, I knew that it was right to treat women as equals. They could be anything that they wanted to be and as adept or even better than any man in the role they chose. Fair enough and just deserts for the struggle of the suffragette movement of times gone by. Everyone knows that sexism is unjustified.

So surely the same can be said for sexism against men? Discriminating or objectifying men must be as bad as doing likewise to women? But it doesn’t seem to quite work out that way. Continue reading →

Malawians Vent Anger Against Farting Bill

by in Newsworthy and tagged , | 4 Comments

This week sees the implementation of a truly bizarre anti-farting law in the south-eastern African country of Malawi. The Local Courts Bill states that:

Any person who vitiates the atmosphere in any place so as to make it noxious to the public to the health of persons in general dwelling or carrying on business in the neighbourhood or passing along a public way, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.

So it seems that if you break wind in public, you could have the action taken against you by the police. Or, in other words, you could feel the full force of the law if those around you feel your full force. This ill-advised law flies in the face of medical advice because, as everybody knows, if you hold in farts then your heart will explode. And that’s a medically proven fact. Probably. Continue reading →

The World’s Hairiest Girl

by in Newsworthy and tagged , | 8 Comments

No, this isn’t another tale of my dating disasters. I’m not that bad. I just felt compelled to comment after seeing the news stories this week featuring 11 year old Supatra Sasuphan from Thailand, who was reported as being ‘delighted’ at winning the dubious accolade of the World’s Hairiest Girl by the Guinness Book of World Records. Presumably this title has been left unclaimed since the sad passing of cousin Itt from the Addams Family some time ago, and accompanies the boy’s title held by Scott Howard who starred in the 1985 film Teen Wolf.

Little Supatra has thick hair growing all over her body. And I really mean all over – even her face. She is one of only 50 cases of Ambras Syndrome documented since the middle ages, when it was more common for those with such an affliction to end up in circus freak shows alongside Hunchbacks or as contestants on the medieval Britain’s Got Talent. Continue reading →

Are Bloggers Geeks?

by in Newsworthy and tagged , , | 6 Comments

Before you all shout in unison: “DAMN RIGHT YOU ARE GEEK BOY!” allow me to examine the evidence. Barely a week goes by without a reference to an influential blog being mentioned in the media or top bloggers such as Perez Hilton being interviewed as if they are experts in their chosen field. And maybe some of them are. But despite this, sometimes I feel embarrassed to admit that I have a blog as I can just see people’s poorly hidden reactions, based on their preconceptions. They think that I’m either a geek with delusions of grandeur but nothing interesting to say, or someone who probably sits at home stroking a white cat whilst planning cyber-world domination.

But do they have a point? Six months on from the launch of this blog which started with Online Hating, a rant against the pitfalls of online dating, Continue reading →

Is Mobile Payment Really Needed?

by in Newsworthy and tagged , | 1 Comment

Hot news this week is the apparent revolution in how we pay for goods and services, with the introduction of Near-Field Communications (NFC) to mobile phones which will make it possible to authorise payment via the swipe of the handset over a sensor. What’s that, security fears, I hear you cry? Well have no fear, as 1 in 10 transactions will require a PIN number for proof that you haven’t just mugged someone. So, 1 out of every 10 muggings will result in a disappointed mugger returning to the streets purchase less, looking for the next victim. That’s reassuring.

And let’s just ignore any high-tech criminals who may wander around transport hubs, ‘accidently’ bumping into you with something rather large protruding from their pockets. Is that an NFC reader in their pockets or are they just pleased to see you?  Hello Mr Hacker. Either way, you probably want to avoid such a scenario. Continue reading →

From Holiday To Homeless

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In One Easy Step

It seemed like a great idea at the time. I was to take a much-needed sabbatical from work, escaping from the rat race for 6 weeks or so whilst simultaneously moving out of my house and storing away my belongings to save myself several hundred pounds in rent and bills. That should mean that the effective cost of the holiday was much less than if I had kept the room. Genius.

I left for India seemingly safe in the knowledge that, although I’d heard on the news that rental costs had increased, it had never taken me too long to find somewhere to live in London in the past. How hard could it be? I had allowed myself a few days to find somewhere upon my return.

The first problem that I encountered was a missed return flight, meaning that my first day of house hunting was wiped off due to the delay. Whoops! When I finally made it back to the Big Smoke, I checked myself in to the cheapest ‘hotel’ that I could find, my room coming complete with a water leak Continue reading →

Police Horse vs. Students (Horse Wins)

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I work directly alongside Westminster Abbey, close to the Houses of Parliament, which means that I have a prime position whenever there are protest marches in London. There have been several student protests over the last few weeks in protest at education cuts and proposed rises in university tuition fees, but on this day my working day was disrupted by the big daddy of all student protests, as MPs prepared to vote on the changes that evening. From just after 1pm there were countless riot police and police on horseback preparing for the 40,000+ protesters who were marching through central London.

From around 3pm the action got tasty! Police implemented their ‘kettling’ tactic but hundreds of protesters forced their way through, having thrown flares, smoke bombs and pieces of metal fencing that they had broken up. Continue reading →