tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71264527715745574822024-02-19T07:50:29.743-08:00ScattergunMy thoughts on everything from politics to fashion to music. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09636396131533667316noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126452771574557482.post-88468806189261348562014-10-09T10:59:00.001-07:002014-10-09T10:59:11.774-07:00Music - Band of the Week: Spoon<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I cannot remember what first got me into Spoon. As far as I recollect it was around 2008 and I was in serious need of refreshing my music collection. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks to family friends I had gone through my angst-ridden youth phase much earlier than normal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At my Year 5 talent contest in the Isle of White - it was a school trip there, we didn't go specifically for the talent contest - I lip-synced expertly to Conspiracy of One by The Offspring. Some handstands were involved somewhere as well. I won best music performance (my performing career has been downhill since then). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I grew out of the whole pop-punk scene pretty early. American Idiot, rather than being the start, was kind of the swan song for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 2008, aged 16 I was going through my pretentious phase and regarded everything Pitchfork wrote as gospel. As well as I can remember I saw Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga on a "Best of 2007" list and my interest was piqued enough to give it a listen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since then I've been a huge Spoon fan, with their 2002 album Kill The Moonlight a favourite. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is perhaps the most astonishing about the five-piece is their consistency. They genuinely haven't made a dud record since their second album, A Series of Sneaks (1998).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2005 saw the funky Gimme Fiction, 2007 the aforementioned Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Transference came out in 2010 and they have just released They Want My Soul (which I have not got round to listening to yet, I must admit. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For some unknown reason the band simply haven't caught on in the UK at all. Far from household names in their native United States, I still would have expected them to have caught on somewhat on this side of the pond. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my favourite things about Spoon is their diversity despite having a definite "sound". They have a kind of pop-funk sound generally but they roll with it liberally and explore other arenas of noise. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the beatbox-based Stay Don't Go, to staccato, haunting The Ghost of You Lingers, to the acoustic I Summon You, to the is-this-funky-enough-for-you I Turn My Camera On they excel. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Led by charismatic frontman Britt Daniel they were the best overall band of the 00s according to review-aggregating site Metacritic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They're not just sonically blessed - they've delivered some lyrical corkers over the years too. Personal favourite is Jonathon Fisk from Kill The Moonlight, written about a bully from Britt Daniel's youth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">Jonathan Fisk says it's a sin but he don't think twice 'cause to him, r</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">eligion don't mean a thing, </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">just another way to be right wing.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then there is You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga all about breaking up and losing the romantic spark. Britt said of the song: "<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">This song is saying “You need to blow out that flame, we lost it long ago.” It’s actually a really sad song."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">So there you go again, o</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">ut in your dressing gown, g</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">et yourself to bed, b</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">low out that cherry bomb.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Another track from Kill The Moonlight, The Way We Get By, also sounds cheery on first lesson but a darker realisation hides in the chorus. The lyrics speak of getting high and buying pot but just the title of the song suggests it is a sad kind of necessity It's what they need to do to function. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Best album: Kill The Moonlight </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Listen to: </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I Turn My Camera On</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Underdog</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jonathon Fisk </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who Makes Your Money</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">30 Gallon Tank</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stay Don't Go</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Ghost of You Lingers</span></li>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09636396131533667316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126452771574557482.post-16640367567836416982014-10-08T11:40:00.000-07:002014-10-08T11:40:17.627-07:00Celebrity photo hacking - a sexual offence?<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jennifer Lawrence has broken her silence this week on the hack and subsequent leak of dozens of nude photos of herself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The leak on August 31 was the biggest of its kind, involving dozens of celebrities - all female.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speaking to Vanity Fair Miss Lawrence said, among other things: "<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 26px;">It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime. It is a sexual violation. It’s disgusting."</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 26px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I agree with her wholeheartedly and the scandal is all the more shocking for the blasé attitude assumed by some men. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">It was an invasion and theft of privacy that resulted in loss of control of her own body.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqeFXamt-kEGK5hJVwEaBEk3OpAnbNgJYp0pptdODT40MBRouZsPcdnu1OJmFkThugbTHR7L7YCq1J8AduOvi_FY9k3Zfgwvi1NhvgYDvBrwcc6NiXi1Aq7lY98Y44YphXGETzEc_W4F8_/s1600/JLaw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqeFXamt-kEGK5hJVwEaBEk3OpAnbNgJYp0pptdODT40MBRouZsPcdnu1OJmFkThugbTHR7L7YCq1J8AduOvi_FY9k3Zfgwvi1NhvgYDvBrwcc6NiXi1Aq7lY98Y44YphXGETzEc_W4F8_/s1600/JLaw.jpg" height="320" width="273" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 26px;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"It is a sex crime." </span></u></b></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 26px;">A sex crime is a crime</span><span style="background-color: white;"> with a significant sexual motivation or component. I concede is a very general term. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It can range from indecent exposure to groping to rape to sexual slavery. Miss Lawrence's branding of the hack as a sex crime does not mean it is as bad as rape. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nudity does not equal sex but someone hacking private sexually explicit photos for gratification is without doubt a sex crime. The hack itself was sexually motivated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this case the hackers stalked Miss Lawrence specifically with the intention of getting nude photos of her. Convicted of such a crime one would surely have to be placed on the sex offenders register. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fact this stalking was done digitally or electronically should not change anything with regards to its seriousness. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #00000a; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><u>Victim blaming</u></b></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whenever a hack like this occurs, and they are sickening frequent, a large portion of social media sites such as Twitter and Reddit engage in victim blaming. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Celebrities, as alien as they may seem, are people too and celebrities have as much right to do what they want with their bodies as anyone else. Because they choose to use that right for sexually explicit does not, in any way, excuse their right to privacy being so heinously invaded. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the Vanity Fair cover Jennifer Lawrence is naked with much of her body underwater. Again, some people think that belittles her argument. It does not. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To be quite frank I think it makes perfect sense to be nude on the cover. She is delivering her point loud and clear. She decides when she is seen naked, no one else.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a photo distributed consensually. What she does consensually, what she chooses to allow in the public domain, should have no bearing on what images or otherwise she wishes to keep private. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The same victim-blaming happened when topless photo of the Duchess of Cambridge were circulated in the European press. Unnervingly it appears to be a lot more prominent when women are involved.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fcfcfb; color: #00000a; line-height: 18px;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Just because I’m a public figure, just because I’m an actress, does not mean that I asked for this,” she says. “It does not mean that it comes with the territory.”</span></u></b></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although she might not appreciate it, Miss Lawrence has become the face of the hack. As a young, smart and attractive Oscar-winning actress perhaps the public psyche was shocked most be her being a victim, the court of public opinion would appear to be on her side moreso than swimwear/lingerie models Kate Upton and Kelly Brook, who were also victims. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This should not be the case. What was done to them, and other female celebrities was disgusting - a textbook example of the misogyny in society but just because Miss Upton shows parts of her skin and uses images of her body for a living, does not make her any less a victim. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An argument is made that celebrities should know better than to take photos in the first place but why should they have to adhere themselves to special rules because of their celebrity status. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #00000a; line-height: 18px;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Anybody who looked at those pictures, you’re perpetuating a sexual offence."</span></u></b></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps Miss Lawrence's most damning statement and an unerringly accurate one for any of the doubtless hundreds of thousands who did look at the images. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fcfcfb; color: #00000a; line-height: 18px;">Note the verbiage; </span><em style="background-color: #fcfcfb; color: #00000a; line-height: 18px;">perpetuating</em><span style="background-color: #fcfcfb; color: #00000a; line-height: 18px;">, not </span><em style="background-color: #fcfcfb; color: #00000a; line-height: 18px;">perpetrating.</em><span style="background-color: #fcfcfb;"><span style="color: #00000a;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> She is not equating looking at the pictures to a crime, she's saying, correctly, by viewing, sharing, spreading, and generally revelling in the pictures you perpetuate</span></span></span><span style="background-color: #fcfcfb; color: #00000a; line-height: 18px;"> the crime. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #00000a;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">The most inaccurate thing Miss Lawrence does say in the Vanity Fair interview, or the extracts I have read, is when she blames websites. Websites are not to blame. </span></span><span style="background-color: #fcfcfb; color: #00000a; line-height: 18px;">Websites are simply middlemen. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fcfcfb; color: #00000a; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is the content providers she should be angriest at. Blaming a website is akin to blaming Polaroid had the images been physically stolen from her.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 26px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u><b>"I started to write an apology, but I don’t have anything to say I’m sorry for."</b></u></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Miss Lawrence or Miss Brook or any of the other victims did not do anything different to what a lot of women do. None of them should apologise. An apology would only serve to exacerbate the belief they had done something wrong.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apologies should be given to them, for being held, not to a higher standard but to a lower one. That they are celebrities does not stop them being sexual beings, nor should it make them ashamed of that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But that is what has happened.</span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09636396131533667316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126452771574557482.post-50346780718337547732014-10-04T05:03:00.000-07:002014-10-04T05:03:10.498-07:00Fashion: Denim + review of Steady Eddie Jeans (Nudie)<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since I got my job at the Weekly News and had disposable income for the first time since I was 17, I'm slowly putting together a decent wardrobe, albeit with a few misteps along the way (I'm looking at <i>you </i>£100 splurge on ill-fitting Crew Clothing tops).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My denim game has been seriously lacking, with just two pairs of jeans. In fact for about eight months I only had one pair I really liked, which I bought in October last year, a pair of skinny Nudie raws from ASOS. £89 but the fit was not perfect. The waist, at 36in, needed taken in and they could do with being an inch or so longer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had bought them thinking I could wear them quite high on my waist as a smarter pair of jeans but the length and the shallow crotch mean they have to be worn on the hips rather than above them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact the fit is so different from what was pictured on the ASOS site I am now very sceptical about ordering jeans from the site and I definitely would have been better served ordering direct from the Nudie site myself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still they are very versatile and served me well, able to be dressed up with my brown brogues, or dressed down with a pair of Converse. The skinny nature meant they didn't go well with my chunky boots. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few months ago I bought my first pair of Levis 511s a fit I have heard great things about on my fashion gospel, <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/">r/malefashionadvice</a>. They originally felt a little bit tight around the waist but they've now worn in naturally and fit well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now... onto my new pair, which took a second attempt to get right. At first I ordered <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><a href="http://www.nudiejeans.com/shop/dry-ecru-embo/p/919">Thin Finn Dry Ecru Embo</a> but as soon as I tried them on I knew the fit wasn't right. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxWkw360Aa9XnaWfbSOoC1bMnZGx08Ppl9nm2eTbCWXsA2wXO2s1rsEwiljOtIMB78PtDEw8PrzqS2N_45ejLkk4HKp4oxYjER7QHiXc9NXlgBi-mk399PIVHRae8UUep-kpxltMRtF2MX/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-04+at+12.37.36.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxWkw360Aa9XnaWfbSOoC1bMnZGx08Ppl9nm2eTbCWXsA2wXO2s1rsEwiljOtIMB78PtDEw8PrzqS2N_45ejLkk4HKp4oxYjER7QHiXc9NXlgBi-mk399PIVHRae8UUep-kpxltMRtF2MX/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-04+at+12.37.36.png" height="207" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">They were very tight around the thighs and calves, almost a skinny fit which is surprising when you look at the above picture. They might have stretched a bit but they were not what I was looking for. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">After some deliberation, I went for the Steady Eddie's Tonal Dry, a more baggy, casual fit. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After posting my original pair back to Sweden (which cost a rather eyewatering £12) about 10 days later I got an email to say my return had been processed. Less than two days after that I had my new pair. And I love them. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't get me wrong, they need a lot of work before they will be "my" jeans, the breaking in process is a long and arduous one. But all my first impressions are very positive, they fit very comfortably and are saggy without being scruffy. The colour is also darker than the one above and I expect them to fade and wear nicely.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKE1MjQW-ar09yFHfRuaY0IoHdn8ZWgxabqEQhGyTPvkXdyNdtxb8_Xv_e8GVLhS0F5ulocnhZ6q2nfJ01UH-n0v3HSTNqAjkMn0v6d0p-mR5-iPy2MclTZrGfTG06Sc8CSw0B4rvnsbX/s1600/Jeans1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKE1MjQW-ar09yFHfRuaY0IoHdn8ZWgxabqEQhGyTPvkXdyNdtxb8_Xv_e8GVLhS0F5ulocnhZ6q2nfJ01UH-n0v3HSTNqAjkMn0v6d0p-mR5-iPy2MclTZrGfTG06Sc8CSw0B4rvnsbX/s1600/Jeans1.jpg" height="320" width="173" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They are also good and long - so much so I have to turn up the bottoms to avoid over-stacking above the ankles (a pet peeve of mine with saggy jeans). </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I'm being hyper-critical the pockets could be an inch or two deeper but other than they were exactly what I was after. The button fly is great and the pair hang nicely off my hips. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfuDh9mL_TvOHctR41UMr_AgwtyGDUc_47b_pSwZhgm0wLb1luBQsVoUPmFiCf1fNLT8qNGCK3VmHHTzM2gtqEEoVlj4ALSUEr2DmDr6BVwy4byevBldnlzBbENclSMb8mofoU7mFwXNZY/s1600/Jeans2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfuDh9mL_TvOHctR41UMr_AgwtyGDUc_47b_pSwZhgm0wLb1luBQsVoUPmFiCf1fNLT8qNGCK3VmHHTzM2gtqEEoVlj4ALSUEr2DmDr6BVwy4byevBldnlzBbENclSMb8mofoU7mFwXNZY/s1600/Jeans2.jpg" height="320" width="199" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll have to write an update in a few months time once the jeans really start to break in and fade. But for now my denim game is up to three. Next on the list is the ever-versatile black pair. </span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09636396131533667316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126452771574557482.post-11707286402787123762014-09-27T11:17:00.000-07:002014-09-27T11:17:03.974-07:00Apathy - a lost generation of voters<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">As someone who is not shy of one or two strong opinions there is nothing that irks me more, especially with regards to politics, than apathy. </span><br />
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Yet I find myself a member of an apathetic generation. </div>
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An apathetic generation with a seeming in-grown hatred of Tories for cuts, Labour for forcing the cuts on us and Lib Dems for getting in to bed with the Tories. A three-way tie of disdain which leads to so many my age and younger giving up on the political system. </div>
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Numerous polls and research consistently tell us fewer young people than ever get involved in local, never mind national, politics. </div>
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Here in Conwy the average age among County Councillors is likely in the high 50s, if not even further North than that. </div>
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Between 59 councillors, who is representing the younger people in our County? </div>
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There is no doubt I live amongst a largely ageing population - 20something professionals appear to be quite rare - but young people deserve a voice.</div>
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"The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato</blockquote>
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This apathy and lack of interest is despite the fact we*should* know more about politicians than ever before. </div>
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Between Facebook, Twitter and excellent websites such as <a href="http://theyworkforyou.com/">TheyWorkForYou.com</a> it is easier than ever for people to raise issues with local MPs and councillors (although many of the latter haven't taken to Twitter, they are still available on email). </div>
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Using TheyWorkForYou I can find out within seconds how my MP, Guto Bebb, has voted on issues which matter to me. </div>
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According to the website, which I concede is far from perfect, he has voted very strongly for raising tuition fees and very strongly for lowering spending on welfare benefits, as you would expect from a Conservative MP. </div>
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I can even see his recent speech in the House of Commons on a local blog and how often he has voted in Parliament (81.87%, "well above average"). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLiMvSPpfSRcxdIEzljCu-EGI5_eP7p6cEhe6P6I9lceVH_DRBpp_lmbpP6zqTVBeIGo1RcRWXOMIekZOe_tRp7IsbPUEEJsMV-hwJkSczjH1sQ_OxOGrm-qmyzH0uajlX-jZ0ZooyLu3X/s1600/conservative.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLiMvSPpfSRcxdIEzljCu-EGI5_eP7p6cEhe6P6I9lceVH_DRBpp_lmbpP6zqTVBeIGo1RcRWXOMIekZOe_tRp7IsbPUEEJsMV-hwJkSczjH1sQ_OxOGrm-qmyzH0uajlX-jZ0ZooyLu3X/s1600/conservative.png" height="226" width="320" /></a></div>
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The group behind the site, <a href="https://www.mysociety.org/">MySociety</a>, have several other websites which are excellent for journalists and casual constituents alike. There is WriteToThem, WhatDoTheyKnow and FixMyStreet for contacting, find out and fixing respectively. </div>
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We <i>should be </i>an engaged generation. We are not.</div>
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The question that we must ask, is why? And to what end does this apathy lead? </div>
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The most depressing reason why, and one that is regularly peddled out, is people don't feel they can make a difference. </div>
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As a journalist my mantra is "why not ask?". The worse thing someone can do, as long as you ask politely, is say no. </div>
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It could be because I am an optimist but you have to believe your voice, however small it may seem against an ocean of bureaucracy, can be heard and can make a difference. There will always be dispiriting moments, the massive marches against war in 2003 proved unsuccessful, in the USA millions of people are attempting to halt a Comcast merger. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjnO7PImCWYSVt6iX36J-JCNKfyNz40s_08m-NphhpxcKzQDlo6P8rcZ3EM9YSOeXvQG8hgl3V9zzLnAb06hbfFEn_pBzAsky5cRjuRhmdXLddx6OKjKuDWfGHhlA5NFEMI8DTHfiQkCEJ/s1600/temp_comcast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjnO7PImCWYSVt6iX36J-JCNKfyNz40s_08m-NphhpxcKzQDlo6P8rcZ3EM9YSOeXvQG8hgl3V9zzLnAb06hbfFEn_pBzAsky5cRjuRhmdXLddx6OKjKuDWfGHhlA5NFEMI8DTHfiQkCEJ/s1600/temp_comcast.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
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But there are success stories. They range in size from a woman with multiple sclerosis in Rhos on Sea getting a disabled parking space outside her home, to the frequenting beheading of the online hydra by the name of <span style="color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_Intelligence_Sharing_and_Protection_Act">CISPA</a> (</span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act). </span></div>
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Another common reason for apathy is a lack of trust. This is an interesting one to look at. </div>
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The populations trust in MPs has been at an all-time low in recent years, especially in the wake of the expenses scandal. And while that may have been true, almost all of those polled had faith in their MP. So while people think there is a problem with the system, they don't think their MP is the one causing it. </div>
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The under-selling of the Post Office was something which has stirred many column and digital inches but people seem uninterested. I don't know why but I feel such a farce would have prompted rots or at least demonstrations 30 or 40 years ago. In the same vein most unions no longer hold the power they used to. </div>
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There are things which get even the optimist down. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, the man behind some of the biggest cuts in public services in my lifetime and born with the silver spoon in his mouth, claimed back £47 in expenses for two DVDs. They were of himself. Debating "value for taxpayers money". I'm not sure where the value of that £47 is. <a href="http://mpsallowances.parliament.uk/mpslordsandoffices/hocallowances/allowances-by-mp/george-osborne/George_Osborne_0405_IEP.pdf">Page 8</a>. </div>
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But at least we know these things. I have little doubt politicians 50 or even 100 years ago were corrupt, at least to a certain degree.</div>
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Perhaps they were not claiming back public money to pay for DVDs of themselves, instead it might have been as blatant as a padded envelope backhander for a railway contract.</div>
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Corruption, bending of the rules happens in any large profession. As much as it sickens me to say, it is the price of doing business. </div>
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But I digress. Apathy... </div>
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I don't think the First Past the Post voting system helps but at the same time I can't think of a better alternative. </div>
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FPTP means those who need to be heard the most can not be heard at all. Why fight, when the battle is already lost? I wonder how much Conservative money goes into competing with Labour seats in Scotland or the north of England? </div>
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Indeed in Conwy a large elderly population means Conservatives such as Guto Bebb MP and David Jones MP, are sitting quite pretty. This is despite, in the latter's case, a large working class population in towns like Colwyn Bay and Abergele.</div>
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It is important for MPs to remember the cherished - and paraphrased - words of the mythical Josiah Bartlet - "I am the MP of my whole constituency, not just the MP of those who voted for me". </div>
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So how do we combat apathy? </div>
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It is not easy. It is almost ingrained. The closest thing to a political phenomenon in my lifetime is either the rise of UKIP or Boris Johnson's political career, both of which I am more than sceptical of. </div>
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I wasn't alive for the divisiveness of Thatcher. I don't remember the whirlwind of support behind Tony Blair. I do remember the Iraq War. I do remember his downfall. I do remember the economy collapsing around me and I do remember the banks being bailed out. </div>
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I know friends, university graduates, who still struggle for jobs. </div>
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What have politicians done for them? Other than raise university fees? For some this will be the end of the discussion.</div>
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But the Scottish Referendum was a lightening rod. Turnout above 80% across all ages, it was a campaign, however haphazard on the BetterTogether side, which inspired a country even if it did not give birth to an independent nation. </div>
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In May the General Election will roll around again and I highly doubt he campaign will be as vociferous or passionate.</div>
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I think grass roots politics needs a resurgence and as a local journalist I know I can do my part. </div>
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Not just grass roots politics but grass roots <i>education. </i>I firmly believe at the end of the day almost all of societies problems can be traced back to education. </div>
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Children these days, and indeed in my day, are not taught how politics works. So, to them at least, it is just one big wall of bureaucracy.</div>
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Children should be taught how local government works, the difference between unitary authority and two-tier, the difference between revenue funding and capital. The more informed everyone is, the better. </div>
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With the 24/7 news cycle and with transport and the media making the UK smaller than ever, people, younger people specifically, are more likely to care about what's going on in Westminster than on the west side of their county. </div>
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So much time is given on the television to the leaders of the parties when people should not be voting for them. They do not have the powers of a President. Young people should look into their MP, look at their voting record and hold them to account for it. </div>
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I am probably swimming against the tide. But miracles happen. It will take baby steps. This certainly won't be the bugle call for people's opinions to switch the other way. </div>
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But I do hope something, anything can be done. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09636396131533667316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126452771574557482.post-53617252215176608632014-09-25T14:07:00.002-07:002014-09-27T11:17:19.099-07:00Anonymity - what of hiding behind a mask?<i>Blogging about blogging is something of a faux pas but I feel there is a debate to be had nonetheless...</i><br />
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In the past fortnight much has been made, in North Wales at least, about a blog called Thoughts of Oscar.<br />
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Operating for some years the author was anonymous to many if not all and was responsible for several interesting stories about North Wales politics, businesses and individuals.<br />
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Because the author was anonymous they had free reign to post whatever they liked regardless of the facts, often relying on simple hearsay or circumstantial evidence. "Oscar" posted some incredibly vitriolic remarks regarding not only my own paper - The North Wales Weekly News - but also councillors, assembly members and business owners.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMd8nRqjE-mfcRvv4eWqFgCpgVp-NR7y5Dwvef8RIpQUwemkJ4uG3XyBq52k2WWrdadNPDnbE957UjuE0CcXCBkLhu3KnaG8iauzWW17ayfaR0jND_l-FqEWhDE7SbIe-ehnUvu7rV6qIA/s1600/anonymous_full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMd8nRqjE-mfcRvv4eWqFgCpgVp-NR7y5Dwvef8RIpQUwemkJ4uG3XyBq52k2WWrdadNPDnbE957UjuE0CcXCBkLhu3KnaG8iauzWW17ayfaR0jND_l-FqEWhDE7SbIe-ehnUvu7rV6qIA/s1600/anonymous_full.jpg" height="233" width="320" /></a></div>
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Roughly six weeks ago the site hosted an open letter to Aberconwy MP Guto Bebb making several allusions as to his pro-Israel stance.<br />
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Mr Bebb took exception to it, branded it libellous and had his lawyers demand the letter be taken down.<br />
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Now the blog has closed down, seemingly for good, with Llandudno newsagent owner Nigel Roberts outing himself as the sole person responsible for the blog just hours before Guto Bebb MP used parliamentary privilege to name him and Dylan Moore as being two of three people behind the blog.<br />
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Mr Moore, and his business partner David Jones MP, have both denied authorship in the strongest terms and Mr Bebb has since retracted his claim and will look to set the parliamentary record straight.<br />
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For this one extinct North Wales blog anonymity provided a veil to hide behind and make accusations. But it's not one blog, it's also a veil for thousands of others on the Internet.<br />
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Anonymity provides protection, but at what cost?<br />
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<b><u>A good thing?</u></b><br />
The Internet is a dangerous tool when it comes to privacy. Not only is it used to spy on hundreds of millions of people (something that was exposed by an incredibly non-anonymous Edward Snowden), but it is also used by even more people to broadcast their breakfast, travel plans, shopping habits and more.<br />
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But if one knows it well enough, you can easily keep your identity hidden, to both great and terrible ends.<br />
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The main thing anonymity does is free you from a fear of reprisals. This is crucial when it comes to public servants blowing the whistle on poor services or otherwise. As a journalist I can appreciate the anonymous tip off as much as anyone.<br />
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Wikileaks takes great advantage of anonymous leaks of information to expose illegal or illicit practices in some of the biggest companies around the world.<br />
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Of course it's impossible to have a discussion on this subject without mentioning the self-titled hacking group Anonymous. Their methods may be seen as sinister but some of their targets, including Scientology, the Westboro Baptist Church and others, are considerably more so.<br />
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<b><u>"Trolling"</u></b><br />
Of course, there is another side to the coin.<br />
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I'm yet to meet a person under the age of 25 who does not despise the term "trolling" when it comes to online bullying, racism and sexism. On Twitter at least all three are rampant with celebrities, especially footballers it would seem, frequently the subject of abuse.<br />
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Trolling, as a term, not only seems inadequate but also childish. Nonetheless it is firmly a part of online lexicon now.<br />
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A few of the "trolls" get caught, fewer still get custodial sentences for their barbaric, hateful language. But it's not individual cases which alarm me, it's the sheer frequency of it.<br />
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Almost every celebrity could label themselves a victim of it to a certain degree, be it as "light-hearted" as Gary Lineker being faced with "shat on pitch" several dozen times over on every tweet or Mario Balotelli being racially abused or even Jennifer Lawrence, the victim of a spiteful, misogynstic - and so far anonymous - hacker.<br />
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Who would have thought 14 years into the 21st century such anti-tolerance would still be so prevalent. What does it say of our society? Anonymity, used as a shield for so many, darkens the mirror in which we view ourselves.<br />
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There can be no doubt anonymity provides these vile people with a feeling of safety, just as it does with those who do blow the whistle or who do expose greats wrongs being befouled upon our society. <br />
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<b><u>An endless circle?</u></b><br />
While "Oscar" was circling the plug hole already several copycat blogs had cropped up, all trying to emulate him. Within days I myself was being targeted from a self-styled Mr Llandudno on Twitter who took umbrage with my reporting of the furore surrounding the blog. I'm not sure if the irony was as apparent to him as it was to me.<br />
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If pornography and vocal extremism is the price we pay for free speech, "trolling" might just be the price we pay for anonymity.<br />
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In the greater scheme of things anonymity on the Internet is not going anywhere, with just a few clicks anyone can set up an email address and therefore a new Twitter account. A blog is perhaps even easier. And once you've done that there is no limit to how far peoples views can be spread.<br />
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Harsher sentences on those caught is not the answer, to be perfectly honest I'm not sure what is. But anonymity and freedom on the web is going to be a big battleground in the next decade.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09636396131533667316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126452771574557482.post-58622213415308075102014-09-14T09:14:00.000-07:002014-09-14T09:14:32.331-07:00Shopping at 6'7"<i>This is something of a personal rant - what else is a blog good for? </i><br />
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There are certain things about being more than two metres tall I can understand; ducking under doorways has become second nature to me, my feet almost always stick out of the bed, I'll struggle for legroom on public transport (planes being particularly bad) and some children will gawp at me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKj-Vc0BNttlcTdw1-xoMP7EDlFhk4r2oN4Mjabc3uKLoEGF_ANfhEZIsjOnAwvHJ1yp_Ogb2aXHh5Q0poGPYEMqxWJPubk5-voey34Bfru4MmvxcasQ74Nv3GpGSG8s2W1ue9kCjfLZcJ/s1600/Height.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKj-Vc0BNttlcTdw1-xoMP7EDlFhk4r2oN4Mjabc3uKLoEGF_ANfhEZIsjOnAwvHJ1yp_Ogb2aXHh5Q0poGPYEMqxWJPubk5-voey34Bfru4MmvxcasQ74Nv3GpGSG8s2W1ue9kCjfLZcJ/s1600/Height.png" height="298" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bamburgh beach circa 2012</td></tr>
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But if one thing really winds me up more than anything else, it's clothes shopping.<br />
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Eight, maybe even nine times out of ten clothes shopping serves nothing more than to get me in a bad mood and have me f-ing and blinding about my height.<br />
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At 6'7" and a size 13 shoe I understand finding clothes is going to be difficult but it is not helped by the majority of shops who prefer to pretend people my height don't exist. We do. There are two of us in my office and it's not uncommon for me to see people a similar height on the street.<br />
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A trip to Chester this afternoon has put me in a foul mood and got me wishing I was a more reasonable 6'2". Chances are I would still be the tallest person in the room but clothes shopping and life in general would be so much easier.<br />
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But then I think, why should I be getting wound up? What have I done to deserve it? Unlike overweight people I have made no conscious decision to be as tall as I am. Unlike the rubbish you hear some larger people saying it <i style="font-weight: bold;">is </i>just down to my genes. I didn't do any of my sleeping in greenhouses as the saying goes. I could get annoyed at my 6'5" dad but he's had to go through exactly the same issues I've had.<br />
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Shops though don't see it that way. Because of the state of the obesity epidemic going on in our society shops are much more likely to stock clothes for people overweight rather than overheight.<br />
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Budget shops are the worst. I sometimes get labelled as a clothes snob because I refuse to step foot in H&M, Primark to BHS but I have not found anything in these shops in the last five years that has fit me. Crossing the threshold just serves to get me wound up how average people can get clothes much cheaper than myself.<br />
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The whole issue isn't helped by the fact sizing across shops is so eclectic. Women complain about vanity sizing but at least that is understandable with shops wanting to flatter their customers. There can be no such excuse for men's sizing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmDJ2aO59CAhbd42ClmMrSu0vmSL4F87nHCAzEtdX7bq31dwcA2gY_-X38OBe6P7e4ZdAYdTF8W00xtYRDB7-qJ5oVGwJpGoBDO-SEjEfbgsCCHLmZxdNUQ9rez6rrTkBJMJplfjem9Mh/s1600/Fit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmDJ2aO59CAhbd42ClmMrSu0vmSL4F87nHCAzEtdX7bq31dwcA2gY_-X38OBe6P7e4ZdAYdTF8W00xtYRDB7-qJ5oVGwJpGoBDO-SEjEfbgsCCHLmZxdNUQ9rez6rrTkBJMJplfjem9Mh/s1600/Fit.jpg" height="320" width="227" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An odd-sized combination</td></tr>
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A six-month-long hunt for a leather jacket came to an end last August when I forked out a rather eye watering £225 for one from Superdry. My size? An extra, extra large (pictured above). Two months ago I bought a plain white Oxford cotton button down from Hollister. My size? A medium (also pictured above). A grey hoodie from Jack Jones? Extra large. A henley from American Eagle? Large. V-neck jumper from Superdry? Medium.<br />
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It's a complete lottery.<br />
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This itself is annoying but it makes buying things online much more of a crap shoot. Sometimes even sizes in individual shops are different. River Island I'm a large in t-shirts and a medium in short-sleeved shirts.<br />
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This makes things difficult for myself but downright impossible for anyone who wants to buy me clothes as a present.<br />
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My hackles are not soothed when people point me in the direction of WalkTall or High & Mighty websites. The former only stock shoes, although their trainer selection is <a href="http://www.walktall.co.uk/big-size-footwear/big-size-sports-shoes">very poor</a> outside of Converse and Vans. The latter is largely overpriced on the rare occasion it actually stocks something suitable for an under 30.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BMCbaF98dGXfEdE9gm7kcZWmJAmIkbYI8IHZbEoCwfACnhoPfOwNg0GBg5e3KEpsv_Vu9XF5vp9kfOBrb08rXHsa_n1dVIubWUm44cHFRq0lwlvAcCGJmcZSC73Gb2LfnrPCfuURpjQj/s1600/cuff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BMCbaF98dGXfEdE9gm7kcZWmJAmIkbYI8IHZbEoCwfACnhoPfOwNg0GBg5e3KEpsv_Vu9XF5vp9kfOBrb08rXHsa_n1dVIubWUm44cHFRq0lwlvAcCGJmcZSC73Gb2LfnrPCfuURpjQj/s1600/cuff.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How a shirt should fit</td></tr>
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Arm length is the eternal issue when it comes to shirts. I bought four shirts from Charles Tyrwhitt a few months ago with the longest arm length they stock. Still an inch too short. I've taken to unfolding my double cuff sleeves when wearing my jacket so i can have the desirable 1/4 inch of cuff showing and refolding them when I take the jacket off.<br />
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Some things are easier than others. I have little issue buying dress shoes, just last week I bought a pair of very fetching brown leather Jimmy Bee shoes from Slaters which fit immaculately. My brogues from Dune are 14 and were available online, the 13 originally bought for me were too small.<br />
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Certain brands are the target of my ire more than others.<br />
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Topman are, fittingly, top of the pile. Although I find their general styles hit and miss, their sizes are consistently too small. Jackets, shirts, jumpers... all too small. I was looking to buy a turtleneck jumper last weekend and tried on every size from medium to extra large. The only difference? The width.<br />
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They stock every kind of colour and style of jean imaginable. But not every size. 34/34 is the limit. Not even a token size of 34/36. You would have thought, with cuffed jeans very much in vogue at the minute, certain styles would be longer. You would have been wrong.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYmpPvkSHg5_eJiCk7EGKEPfwlpnDYKFZWTVA9Q732e_D1OXZ4wnDcEMDDzGM1jGoFjWoL6rwldR_uS9oiE0u691mOPi1lKktTRUX6x4GCM5JpnM91kPzUJ-qyYSuDo6cnrFkt8C6QqDT/s1600/break.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYmpPvkSHg5_eJiCk7EGKEPfwlpnDYKFZWTVA9Q732e_D1OXZ4wnDcEMDDzGM1jGoFjWoL6rwldR_uS9oiE0u691mOPi1lKktTRUX6x4GCM5JpnM91kPzUJ-qyYSuDo6cnrFkt8C6QqDT/s1600/break.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfect jeans break</td></tr>
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Burton are equally culpable on this front. Slim fit they stock. Nothing extra long. Or if it is extra long it's not slim fit and I have to fork out extra money to have a tailor take them in.<br />
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With jeans the biggest culprit is Levis. The self-styled home of jeans but once again 34/34 is the limit, even in outlet shops. Even online they don't stock 34/36. For my pair of 511s I had to import them from America on Amazon.com.<br />
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Levis.com, almost unbelievably, don't ship to Europe.<br />
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One brand have gone so far as to get me to swear off them altogether. Adidas. They only physically produce trainers up to size 13. And they are well known for running small. I was after a pair of Gazelle's or Stan Smith's. Not anymore. Converse and Vans produce shoes up to 15. Why is it so difficult for the more prestigious brands to do the same? New Balance are also dreadful for finding plus sizes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmf2xBHTEw1nzUIobHLKOieL6YQxgy0O_NeSOM4DuQN26F_6qNqAx6dwUz1LyL8mFIAK_KGwdToZe1etUpFPT6lNeORKx4pWtRbrlU4p8_YZuhM9EugsCVNDm4EHPSPU74XHpOkfXzaMY/s1600/stan_smiths_45976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmf2xBHTEw1nzUIobHLKOieL6YQxgy0O_NeSOM4DuQN26F_6qNqAx6dwUz1LyL8mFIAK_KGwdToZe1etUpFPT6lNeORKx4pWtRbrlU4p8_YZuhM9EugsCVNDm4EHPSPU74XHpOkfXzaMY/s1600/stan_smiths_45976.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stan Smiths</td></tr>
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All of the above though I can live with, all of the above I could tolerate if dedicated shoe shops did a better job stocking line to size 13, or even above. Schuh, Footlocker, FootAsylum, Office, Clarks, Sole Trader. They all almost point blank refuse to stock size 13s.<br />
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And I don't think I am asking for much. I don't expect them to stock size 13 in every line and every colour. Why not just stock certain <i>brands </i>in 13? That way customers can try them on in store, see how they fit and if they don't like the colour they can then order the different pair online, knowing they will fit. How much space would it take up in the store rooms? Not a great deal.<br />
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I have lost count of the amount of times I have sales assistants tell me they've had several people in asking about size 13s. Why not cater to them? Are they trying to drive their custom online?<br />
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I suppose it could be worse. I do sometimes have people who walk past me who are even taller and they have my sympathies. But shops should do more to stock to the vertically challenged and I'm talking about myself when I say that. We, after all, do have just as many challenges as those 5'5".<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09636396131533667316noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126452771574557482.post-11236604041640929592014-09-10T12:27:00.000-07:002014-09-14T09:19:01.883-07:00Scottish Independence - a torn issueIt has reached the stage now where one can hardly move for news about the imminent referendum on Scottish independence. You do not need me to say it is an historic vote not just for the Scottish but Welsh, English and the Northern Irish.<br />
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This is no mere General Election. The wall-to-wall-to-wall coverage is fully deserved.<br />
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The make up of the United Kingdom, something I am largely proud to call myself a citizen of, will change forever.<br />
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Should the Scots vote Yes next Thursday then nationalists in both Wales and Northern Ireland are likely to start demanding further devolution from Westminster.<br />
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Even if they vote No more powers have been promised in Edinburgh for them to govern themselves.<br />
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Carwyn Jones, leader of the Welsh Government, has already said whatever devolution is offered to Scotland post-referendum should be offered to Wales.<br />
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<b><u>Welsh independence</u></b></div>
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Having only lived in Wales for little over a year my views on Welsh independence are naive and, probably ill-informed, but from my view point the few things Welsh Government have been in control of are in a rather sorry state. Scarcely a week goes by without a further startling story about the state of the NHS with waiting times increasing and frequent targets missed.<br />
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Wales's infrastructure is also severely lacking in some respects with no motorway to link the North and South of the country, something which -it is argued - ostracises the more rural North. I remember being flabbergasted having driven four hours from Northumberland to Llandudno, when I was told to drive to Cardiff would require a further four hours.<br />
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One thing crucial to any Government is <u>scrutiny, </u>being kept to account, and it is the job of the party in opposition (along with the press) to provide a large part of that scrutiny. There should also be the threat that if one party makes mistakes, another will take over. It inevitably ends up in a cyclical process - look at the United States - but that does not mean it is a bad thing.<br />
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There can be no doubt independent Scottish and Welsh parliaments would both likely be overwhelmingly Labour, or at the very least overwhelmingly left wing.<br />
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I think this is a weakness of the Welsh Assembly in its current form. There are just 14 current Conservative assembly members, most of them from the North. They have very little chance in getting into power, especially with such thorough Labour heartlands in the South of the country.<br />
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<b><u>Scottish independence</u></b></div>
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Having lived in Northumberland for the vast majority of my young life I am no stranger to Scotland or calls for Scottish independence but the idea of thinking of those just half an hours drive away as foreigners seems alien to me.<br />
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Scotland is a fiercely patriotic country with a strong national identity and history. It is also largely a socialist country, due its working class population. If they were to leave the United Kingdom it would upset the delicate balance in Westminster with the Conservative's much more likely to win a General Election.<br />
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A vote just by Scotland could thus have huge ramifications for the UK (or what's left of it) I grow old in.<br />
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Having grown up in the North East I can understand the feeling of being ignored by London-orientated politicians. HS2 will not directly benefit Newcastle nor the North East. The duelling of the A1 north of Morpeth (through to the Scottish Border ironically enough), has been demanded as long as I can remember with no sign of progress.<br />
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But I still feel we are stronger as a whole than as individual nations. The overarching issue is not that England is larger or superior - rather it is the inexorable pull of London, it's size simply overwhelming much of what should be a <u>national</u> agenda.<br />
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Population-wise London simply dwarfs the rest of the UK and that can lead Scots and Welsh and Northumbrians and everyone else to feel ignored.<br />
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More could, and should, be done to include those who do feel ignored, overlooked or underepresented. It is no good waiting until 10 days before the referendum to visit Scotland, this shows a large part of their problem. David Cameron appeared happy to let Scotland get on with it until the shift of power threatened to go against him.<br />
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He had no decent reason not to be more pro-active in the first place. Yes, this is Scotland's decision but, as I have said, it will affect the whole UK, something which is only now being bellowed by Cameron Clegg et all.<br />
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Put simply the UK's Prime Minister should not have waited until now to convince Scotland to stay and it is their taking granted they would vote No which shows just how little they understand their Northern neighbours.<br />
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<b><u>Conclusion</u></b></div>
Far be it from me to implore anyone how to vote. I do not know nearly enough about the whole affair and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Scotland to go it alone.<br />
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I will say very little seems to have been made clear about the future should they vote Yes but that doesn't mean to say they can't do it. I noted with some interest this week that Slovakia had done very well since splitting from Czechoslovakia, something not many predicted. In fact most thought it would struggle.<br />
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Perhaps it will simply boil down to the optimists (yes) and the pessimists (no) but there can be no doubt whatever the result, the United Kingdom will not be the same again.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09636396131533667316noreply@blogger.com1