One can often receive a heavily weighted view of the world if one spends too much time on blog land.  The reason for this is because I think a lot of people started blogging as a way of getting things off their chest, so ‘rant’ entries are fairly common.  Combine that with the fact that many of us blog from work (or as a resulyt of chronic unemployment) and everyone can come across as miserable old sods.  Me included, don’t worry. 

But I try to make an effort at being up beat and cheerful, especially when there’s so much stuff to gripe about.  It’s important to keep an equilibrium!

 

First of all, there’s always the funny side.  There’s the funny side of the Tube strike, the funny side of terrible TV, there’s even a funny side of Big Brother if you discount the fact that it’s in its tenth year and it actually still exists.

There’s the funny side of Obama – his wife is treated as a fashion goddess for no particularly good reason as far as I’m aware.

There’s the funny side of Gordon Brown – that weird thing he has with his mouth is quite funny.  And you know, once he leaves, imagine all the demotivational picture memes that will crop up with phrases like “Worst Successor Ever” or “Be Careful What You Wish For” written all over them.

I am sure you can see the funny side.  As a matter of fact, I think it’s funny just to try to see the funny side of things.  It becomes a challenge, attempting to avoid slipping down the slope of simply laughing at people’s misfortunes.  This is a no-no.

 

Alright, so the country might be in a bit of a shambles.  Everyone you talk to is beginning to sound like Richard Littlejohn, exclaiming that the whole country, nay the planet are all going to hell in a hand cart and you couldn’t make it up.

But there is beauty in that!  Don’t despair!  At least everyone knows we’re up shit creek!  There’s got to be comfort in knowing that.  It shows that people are not as stupid as they make out, it shows solidarity among the normal folk of Britain, it shows that mass media can work as long as we can discern the real from the not-so-real.  And we can.  Gordon Brown is on his way out, and the entire government is in turmoil because we’ve made our voices heard one way or another.  The general animosity towards authority makes me glow with pride.  Look at us!  Don’t “sheeple” me you negative bunch, we know what’s good for us.  Slow to anger, that’s what we British are (except Scottish, who are angry all the time), but there’s still life in us yet!

 

So the BNP got a couple of seats.  Big deal – the national backlash has been much more impressive.  Isn’t that good?  They won’t do so well next time – look what happened in France when Le Pen did marginally better than he was supposed to.  The French came out in droves for the second vote and put that little dream to rest.  We can do the same with the BNP.  Pfff, I mean look at them.  Hitler claimed that his Third Reich would last a thousand years.  That little dream only lasted 12 years and he ruled all of Germany.  The BNP have 2 seats in a Parliament so big it’s got time zones.  This won’t last, don’t you worry.

 

And don’t worry about our creativity either.  Yes, Hollywood keep churning out crappy sequels and prequels and remakes and unbaked films – and Universal Music and Sony keep signing shitty pop acts whose lyrics make alphabet soup look worthy of publication and whose music is so Urgh and Fuck that we can barely allow ourselves to listen… but there’s a lot going on besides.  All you have to do is be willing to find it.  Support them, investigate.  There’s an enormous amount of music being made at the moment, young hip bands who, if you can ignore the sun glasses and bracelets, have a lot to offer.  Film makers with awesome productions, fascinating ideas.  Go and find them.  Next time you go to the cinema, go to the local independent.  Read subtitles.  And if you need your Michael Bay fix (I know I do) download that shit.

 

I mean, I could be depressed about Terminator Salvation.  So far I have seen childhood loves – Terminator and Indiana Jones get raped by sequels – but hey, see the funny side.  Visit www.the-editing-room.com and get it off your chest.  Yeah Terminator Salvation sucks, but it’s been worth it simply for getting to know Christian Bale better via a conveniently recorded weird English/American accent rant thing.  Plus, I’ve heard the lighting on the new Terminator film is brilliant.