Author: Mosh

eBay item 2289787221 (Ends 01-Dec-04 19:13:36 GMT) – Blink 182 Ticket Newcastle Dec 2nd STANDING

It’s sold. Some guy emailed me direct via eBay. His mate’s a fan, I just want the face value of the ticket plus maybe a couple of quid for the booking fee. Everyone’s happy. Yay.

Just need to arrange where to meet him on Thursday night!

I have to confess that this story worries me somewhat. While I am most definitely not anti-gay (more gay men = more women for me, and lesbians are always good to watch), you have to wonder where something like this will stop.

Now, I appreciate that “Elephant Man” should be pilloried, called an arse, kicked about and covered in a bucket of ****… and that’s just because he looks like a ****. Come on – check out that publicity still used on the above link. The problem is that we supposedly have freedom of speech in this country.

While the lyrics he uses are derogatory, and I have to say I’ve not heard them though I doubt I’d understand them anyway, they’re his views. Or at least the views of his publicist who reckons they’ll get him some column inches and shift a few albums.

Current law, I believe, allows censorship where its believed that the published words may incite hatred or violence – or legalese to that effect. Well, you can argue that this tosser’s stuff does. I want to punch him, after all, though I don’t think that’s what he intended. The thing is, you’ve got to draw a line. If you ban albums with anti-gay lyrics on, then you have to ban those with racist lyrics. You should also ban ones that include piss-takes of religions, and that would include at least two Weird Al Yankovic albums. Then maybe those that hold a derogatory view of the royal family (bye, bye Sex Pistols), or suggest ill will towards the government…

It’s a slippery path. I’m all for freedom of speech, even if I disagree with what someone else is saying. If nothing else it gives them the chance to stand up in public and show what a cock they are.

I suppose a small mercy is that, for the moment at least, it’s taking attention away from the devil-worshipping, gun-toting, best-friend-killing, animal-torturing, suicidal evilness that is heavy metal.

So… what do you lot think. Specifically looking at Brighton & Hove council’s attempt to ban anti-gay music from shop shelves. The poll’s in the usual place: left hand side, near the top. Poll closes once the votes trickle out, or about a week.

I leave the office at 1pm today and won’t be home again until Friday night. I can’t guarantee having web access until then, so things may be quiet on here. I will attempt to do something stupid to blog about on my return or, failing that, I’ll tell you all about cleaning the loos at Rios one night.

Don’t have too much to eat before reading that one.

Shooting Parrots today has a post about an idiot common at this time of year: the fog light fan, who doesn’t know the difference between the rear screen demister and the little button that blinds the driver behind you.

Anyway, I’ll let you read his waffle about that and move to another thing that tee’s me off. It’s not drivers. It’s not speed cameras. It’s the matrix signs.

For those outside of the UK who maybe don’t know the term, these are signs randomly dotted up and down the motorways of the UK. They’re simple dot matrix things, usually square, made up of several light bulbs and can display various messages, often fictitious, sometimes wildly apocryphal. In a way, they’re like temporary traffic signs. Only whereas traffic signs warn against a permanent, known issue (give way, danger of frogs crossing, old people who’ll get trapped in your wheel arches if you don’t go over them fast enough and so forth), the matrix signs are designed to deal with temporary or emergency situations.

Sadly, they rarely work. I don’t know who controls them, but they’re either taking the piss most of the time, or they just connect the control panel to a room full of epileptic chickens and flash lights at them for a giggle and see what happens.

The resultant displays seem to fall into three categories:

Stating The Bleeding Obvious – “FOG”. Yes. I know. I can see it. Although for one brief moment, I thought there were 3000 Jamaicans at the side of the road getting high. Or the other favourite “QUEUE”. No ****, Sherlock.

Taunting – “40”. I’m in a queue of traffic. I’ve not moved for 30 minutes. I *want* to do 40. 40 would be paradise. But please tell that to the 185,256 cars in front of me who don’t seem to want to move.

Just plain wrong – “M1 closed J35 to J32”. No. It wasn’t. It was open and had been all day. Instead you directed people on a 50 mile detour down the A1. Why?

The one remaining alternative is for them to remain blank. This usually happens when there is a closed lane or something ahead. Let’s face it, they’re a great idea. They just never bloody work.