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I'm not going to go into the Thatcher legacy here, just about a billion other places on the internet to do that if you are so inclined. I managed to get a tweet from the friend I named the cat after (remember Ginger, pain in the backside) calling me utterly stupid for saying New Labour embraced elements of Thatcherisum in regards to the Financial sector in the city. Of all the comments on the internet it was this one he decided to exclusively dig out. He seems to have deleted the tweet a few minutes after sending it, I only knew through email notification. I assume he either got sheepish or read up on my feed. Or maybe it's a hang over to a few choice words I said to his face on the football field, for which I apologised for about twenty minutes later. Meh, it got to me a bit at the time but I'm over it now. I still think I made a valid point.
Anyway, I'd rather have a look at how the reaction to Thatcher's death reflects on us as a society. The internet and particularly Twitter has shown the very best and the utter worst of us since the announcement. Now everyone has a voice, everyone has a global forum. The question no one really wants to ask is should they? We have people spitting virtual feathers at each other, defending idiotic and one eyed standpoints with bile and hate. On the other hand there is some decent legacy debate and reasoned discussion out there, all too quickly corrupted by the Trolls of lunacy. I still think the communication tools of today are marvellous, and think that everyone having a voice is brilliant. I just sort of wish that some people would realise that just because you can say something doesn't always mean you should. And just because no one replies to you doesn't mean the world's against you. The human brain really lacks a workable self editor in times like this.
Then again I'm a fine one to talk, I'm typing this in an online diary.
As for the Thatch, I've put this elsewhere but I'm going to put it here too. If nothing else, the woman did what she thought was the right thing to do. I completely disagree with a vast amount of what she did and her political stance. However I much prefer someone coming to power to make the changes and improvements they see as right rather than have the primary objective to be 'Stay in Power,' look good in front of the cameras, not upset the powers that be and just recycle the status quo. That's a charge I would level at every government since 1990, Tory, Labour and ConDem alike.
Too soon?
And I'm all for having a regular feature in this one being 'Maxy and the Women Who Loved Him.' I imagine it will be steamier than the works of D.H. Lawrence and more poignant than the poems of Lord Byron.
So I put 'The Next Day' on. Still undecided, but it's certainly better than Hours. By all account Bowie has quit all touring and media interviews to just produce music. This part is slightly worrying, Johnny Cash did the same thing at what turned out to be the end of his life. Some of Cash's final stuff was among his best IMO, his version of a song I hold dear to my heart, Hurt, beggars belief when you listen to it.
Anyway, back to Bowie. One of my favourite artists of all time, the album seems like it might be good if not hitting the heights of Heroes etc. The artwork though is exceptionally subtle and clever. Now if you've downloaded it you might have missed out a little, I won't go into what it is but to long time Bowie fans it's pure catnip.
And there is one perfect Bowie line in the first track.
'Here I am, not quite dying.'
So there's a social media campaign to get 'Ding Dng The Witch is Dead' to number one in the charts and it's going well. Doesn't the fact that this involves people giving money to three corporations which are some of the biggest symbols of capitalism in the world give you an irony overload. Sometimes the pure sheep mentality of humankind makes me cry. The Baroness would be proud.
It's almost as stupid as the recent campaign to tell everyone to buy a record because of the lyric 'Fozzy you, I won't do what you tell me!' I may have used a Muppet Show edit in my last line.
Never has Agent K from Men in Black been more right: 'A person is smart, people are dumb.'
BTW that's not a typo in my first musical line, the filter says no to the o.
The state funeral bit is very tough, I haven't done any research so I have no idea what sort of funeral the likes of Wilson or Attlee had, or indeed any other Prime Minister. I can't remember Heath having anything special.
Should the State pay for or towards the funeral? Longest serving PM in modern times and a wartime serving PM? Personally no, I don't want the State to pay for it but I think there is an argument for it to be State subsidised. I'd disagree with it but I really cannot say a debate on it isn't merited and my opinion might well be wrong.
However you say you've been told the State are partially paying for it. Are we talking of throwing in money for the casket and carriage or are we talking about the policing and cost of closing the roads? I feel there are vital differences here as it would be idiotic not to have a police presence there but at the same time is it right for the family of Thatcher to be expected to pay for the employment of a vast array of security guards when they are just burying a family member?
As ever, I think everything has a certain point of view and nothing is simple.
Not commented on your diary before but it is a great read.
Pepsi and Shirley eh.
Afterall, she did some shocking things to this country, i wasnt even born when she came to power but i've never met anyone that had a good word to say about her. What she did to the miners and mining communities was criminal. I was speaking to a miner once who was telling me they had to rely on charity for a year just to survive during the strikes! Tight communities were blighted and split by her uncompromising stance. Unlike the guy who relied on charity to feed his family during the strike those who actually broke the strikes to feed their families were, and are still, "scabs" in their home towns. It would seem she had no compassion or empathy
Welcome. You have no idea how long it took the GF to get that picture. Puppies and sitting still do not mix, we've just lucky she didn't burst that can.
I still think that campaign to get that song to number one is utter stupidity and not a political protest. However if it gets there, the Beeb should still play it. Rules is rules.
In other news I've just bought in direct for Dublin, only ever bought in the full whack for one SPT before when I left qualifying too late. I'm still going to try to sat in anyway but had to get my marker down as I've already shelled out on flights and hotel. So if you see me in those sats and see I already have a seat, please don't accuse me of trying to play the sats for money and stealing seats from other people, it's not been a cheap get yet.
+1 tommy, +1
The funny thing is I stumbled on the Cash version. Had I heard about it before time I'd be saying 'You can't cover that song.' and maybe wouldn't have given it a try. Funny how things can work out.
Yeah a few people have been caught out by the Garfield/Girl in a Bikini Avatar of Goodylad. I think it's a personality test. If you like cartoons and geeky stuff, you see Garfield. If you are a perv, you see those pixel shapely shapes.