Tag Archives: Culture

Burning Man

by in Travel and tagged , , | 18 Comments
A wooden Trojan horse. With a bar inside!

My final trip of the summer was a journey into the unknown, as I headed off to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada for the Burning Man festival, an arts festival that is a cashless environment. Yes, everything is free, in the true give-and-take spirit of a utopian community. My first mistake was to allow only one day in San Francisco before commencing the road trip to Reno and Black Rock City, the temporary town that is home to over 50,000 ‘burners’ for one week.

So feeling jetlagged and the extreme heat – it reached 102F – the trip took on a surreal impression as my fellow campmate and I spent 5 hours getting to know each other, stopping only for carbohydrates and saturated fat at a Mexican restaurant. Reno itself is a poor man’s Las Vegas, despite’s it’s claim to have the ‘loosest slots in the USA’. Whatever that means. Continue reading →

Mr. Callous vs. Mr. Charity

by in Newsworthy and tagged , | 5 Comments
Mitch and Amy Whinehouse in happier times

The death of Amy Whinehouse caused reverberations through the music industry. Sure, she had her well-documented problems, but there was no denying her talent. So it seems fitting for her father Mitch Whinehouse to set-up a charity in her name, to help causes that were close to her heart.

But unfortunately, where most of us see only a positive outcome from a personal tragedy, others see an avenue to profit for their own selfish ends. Yes, step forward king of pond life, Martin McCann, who felt compelled to register the charity’s name and web domains in his name, before informing the bereaved father that he would be open to offers to relinquish his ownership.

McCann said to The Sun. “I’m not exploiting anything yet. I’ve just bought some domain names. Anybody could have. It only takes the click of a mouse.” Oh, sure you’re not! Continue reading →

Another Internet Girlfriend

by in Spam Fighting and tagged , , | 37 Comments

Eva, setting fire to a shop in the recent riots

I was thinking just recently. Maybe I shouldn’t have let my doomed relationship with Irina Fluffi and the subsequent threats from her husband Gustav put me off Internet dating. So with that in mind, I replied to a lovely email from a girl called Eva…

From: eva [mailto:aloohaeva@ymail.com]
Sent: 18 July 2011 15:01
To: stewie
Subject: how is your day? Give me please one advice.

Hello !

How is your day? How is your mood today? I hope my letter will find you in good mood.

I don’t remember where I found you. Maybe I found you at any social network or dating site… Really I don’t remember because much time has passed. But in any case I’m glad that now I can write to you. I think it’s cool to talk with someone from another country. Maybe we could share at least a few letters and get to know each other better? Continue reading →

Two Fat Ladies

by in Random Rants and tagged , , | 6 Comments
Oversized marker pens ready, pacemakers set to ‘stun’?

EIGHTY-EIGHT! Somebody please kill me now. That was my thought the one and only time that I have played bingo, a game that is inexplicably popular across the Western world. I say ‘game’ but it’s not really a game, it’s just crossing off numbers.

I just don’t get it. The prizes are less than appealing, there’s very little meaningful social interaction and it’s just dull. So, so dull. It’s so tragic that ‘they’ had to make up quirky nicknames for the numbers, which are recited in unison by the players, just to inject some humour into proceedings. And presumably to also ensure that everyone is still awake.

Mainly because the stereotypical bingo player, the ones who spend quite literally tens of pounds on several game cards, are generally older ladies who are actually happy to consume the fast food on sale in bingo halls. Yes, two fat ladies are indeed a common sight. Continue reading →

Further Discussions With The Prophet

by in Spam Fighting and tagged , , | 6 Comments

Stop bothering me Jack, or else this lightening bolt’s for your butt!

A WordPress member and self-proclaimed messenger of God known as Apostle Jack recently reappeared on the forum for a second time, posting several topics designed to stimulate debate and promote his misguided religious cause.

I tried to resist temptation, in the true biblical sense, but this fool deserved to be mocked for spamming the forum to spread his twisted beliefs and delusions of grandeur.

What follows are four separate topics, each neatly headed by Apostle Jack himself.

‘Conversion’

apostlejack7
Aug 7, 2011, 4:41 PM

If you had to,would you change your opinion about your faith.I have witness the turn around and conversion of many people,some of whom said they never would.Some will never know until they meet the bear in the alley.Some will hear about it and never take that route…..and some refuse to be told.And then there is.. THE WISE:…those that go around what others have to go through and suffer. Continue reading →

Anarchy In The UK

by in Newsworthy and tagged | 12 Comments

House of Reeves set ablaze in Croydon

Mark Duggan, a father of four from North London, was shot dead by police on Thursday 4th August. Like every death in police incidents, it immediately became a case that the Independent Police Complaints Commission would investigate. However, whilst the legal procedure was set in motion, social media speculation quickly gathered momentum. Rumours abounded: Duggan was unarmed; he was shot, execution style. In fact, he was actually carrying an illegal firearm and he was shot in a minicab as officers attempted to arrest him. The inquiry continues and, whilst it is clear that Duggan was no angel, it is tragic that four innocent children will have to grow up without their father.

No-one could have predicted what would follow. On the following Saturday, a peaceful protest against the killing swelled in numbers and grew violent, with mobs rioting with police, looting and setting fire to cars and properties in Tottenham. Copycat disturbances London over the next two days quickly spread to other parts of England, as police resources were stretched to breaking point by gangs of rioters as young as 10 years old. Continue reading →

Long For Donkey Kong

by in That's Life! and tagged , | 8 Comments

I realise that using ‘donkey’, ‘long’ and ‘kong’ in the post title may result in dubious search traffic looking for bestiality sites. Especially now that I have mentioned ‘bestiality’ in the first sentence. Oops, did it again. But this article isn’t about longing for donkeys as such. God, where am I going with this…

I am in fact referring to the retro computer game, first played in the days when you did actually need a PC to play games, before the age of consoles. But this isn’t a nerdy piece bestowing the virtues of an old computer game. It is actually about the days of yesteryear, when a little Stewie (a mere 5’11) was still living with his parents and going to school, with a mind obsessed with football and cars.

The 1980s were a time when life was simpler and fun. Ignoring recession, mass strikes, a hurricane, only four channels of TV and no internet, of course. But as a child, such negativity was soon brushed off. Continue reading →