Songs

Enjoying this week:
Hot Chip - 'Over And Over'
Delays - 'Valentine'
Sash! - 'Encore Une Fois'
Mark Ronson - 'Just'

Not sure about:
The Streets - 'When You Wasn't Famous'

Avoiding like the plague this week:
Sparks - 'Perfume'

Smile

Four things to smile about today

▪ I absolutely stormed my seminar this morning
▪ The fantastic Delays single Valentine is out today
▪ The old guy I stepped off the pavement to make way for actually said "Thanks"
▪ Our rooms have finally been cleaned!!!

Macclesfield

The burning question of the last few weeks has been "Macclesfield: is it in the North, or the Midlands?"

The correct answer, of course, is the Midlands, but this has been disputed by some Macclesfolk desperate not to be bunched in with the Brummies. Which is understandable, but wrong.

INCORRECT - note how daft the line looks as it kinks around Cheshire (where Macclesfield lies)

CORRECT - the map now looks far neater and it actually makes sense

Islam vs Cartoons

In an attempt to be serious for a moment, here is my two-penny's worth on the Prophet Mohammed cartoon saga. The reason being the fact that this is one of very few news stories that I can't actually make up my mind about.

In September last year, right-wing Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllandsposten printed a series of twelve cartoons, some depicting the Prophet Mohammed. More than this, the cartoons depicted him as a terrorist: one of the most striking shows his turban as a comedy-style bomb. The point was not to dismiss all Muslims as terrorists, merely to remind us that Islam is not squeaky-clean: we support them as we do any faith in a fight against terrorism, but their views do not tally with ours: extreme repression of women is just one example.

That aside, to Muslims, any representation of Mohammed is strictly forbidden and therefore highly disrespectful. We could argue, then, that the people to blame here are the reporters and editor of Morgenavisen Jyllandsposten. In such a politically volatile world, taking a step such is this seems designed to merely provoke a reaction.

But the publication of these cartoons broke no law: in a free society, why can't these pictures be printed? In theory, to the "neutral", what makes these pictures any different from a cartoon of God? Or Jesus? Or the Buddha? Or the one with loads of arms? We live in a society where the press has complete freedom of expression, after all. Morally, the decision is less sound: of course, we should still be respectful to other cultures.

Here's where the tale gets ugly. Sensing an opportunity to stir up trouble, the cartoons quickly found their way over to the Middle East and other prominent-Muslim nations. Indeed...

"Last November, Abu Laban, a 60-year-old Palestinian who had served as translator and assistant to top Gamaa Islamiya leader Talaal Fouad Qassimy during the mid-1990s and has been connected by Danish intelligence to other Islamists operating in the country, put together a delegation that travelled to the Middle East to discuss the issue of the cartoons with senior officials and prominent Islamic scholars. The delegation met with Arab League Secretary Amr Moussa, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohammad Sayyed Tantawi, and Sunni Islam’s most influential scholar, Yusuf al Qaradawi. “We want to internationalize this issue so that the Danish government will realize that the cartoons were insulting, not only to Muslims in Denmark, but also to Muslims worldwide,” said Abu Laban.

On its face, it would appear as if nothing were wrong. However, the Danish Muslim delegation showed much more than the 12 cartoons published by Jyllands Posten. In the booklet it presented during its tour of the Middle East, the delegation included other cartoons of Mohammed that were highly offensive, including one where the Prophet has a pig face. But these additional pictures were NOT published by the newspaper, but were completely fabricated by the delegation and inserted in the booklet (which has been obtained and made available to me by Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet). The delegation has claimed that the differentiation was made to their interlocutors, even though the claim has not been independently verified. In any case, the action was a deliberate malicious and irresponsible deed carried out by a notorious Islamist who in another situation had said that “mockery against Mohamed deserves death penalty.” And in a quintessential exercise in taqiya, Abu Laban has praised the boycott of Danish goods on al-Jazeera, while condemning it on Danish TV." - Source


The Saudi Arabian ambassador is recalled from Denmark after the government there refuses to apologise. The newspaper later apologies, and the Prime Minister applauds this but (rightly) maintains: how is the government responsible for what a newspaper based in its country?? Bomb threats are sent to the newspaper's offices.

Danish - and bizarrely, other Scandinavian - companies were boycotted. Muslims stopped buying Lurpak Spreadable in their droves. So much so, Arla Foods went out of business in the region, and were forced to lay off all 100 staff: their sales actually hit zero.

Madness ensues. We get to January, and French newspaper France Soir publishes the pictures to show people what all the fuss was about. Within a day, the editor has been fired. Publications in Germany, Italy and Holland also re-print the photos. So far, their only appearance in Britain has been in a wide-angled shot on BBC News 24. Of course they are all available online, but I have chosen not to publish them here.

You might be able to find them at http://face-of-muhammed.blogspot.com though.


Yesterday, the European Union's office in Gaza was surrounded by masked gunmen. Were they prepared to kill?

Reporters Without Borders said the reaction in the Arab world "betrays a lack of understanding" of press freedom as "an essential accomplishment of democracy." Muslim groups argue that the cartoons simply reinforce incorrect stereotypical views of the Islamic faith - which they do, and I agree with this view whole-heartedly. I'm still torn, however, over whether they should have been published or not.

France Soir's front cover carried the headline "Yes, we have the right to caricature God". The cartoon below shows a number of gods sitting on a cloud, with the Christian god telling Mohammed that they've all had to put up with it in the past. I can't help finding this funny (for a French joke, anyway) but also worry it completely misses the point.

Yes, we must respect the views of others: but should that be at the expense of freedom? The freedom to - dare I say it - criticize an oppressive regime?

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12!

Remember Sesame Street? Remember the Pinball song? I had been searching for this song for so long, and have now finally found it!! It was by The Pointer Sisters, was incredibly funky and is also pretty rare to find on CD... although you can get it here.

2x

Desperate to put off packing my bags for Sheffield, I've discovered a new way to listen to my music collection: at twice the speed...

Franz Ferdinand - 'Walk Away'
Good (like a "professional" remix)

The Strokes - 'Last Nite'
Poor (doesn't work quite so well)

Coldplay - 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head' & others...
Good (actually sounds upbeat!)

The Dead 60s - 'Riot Radio'
Not bad

The Go! Team - 'Get It Together' & others...
Totally mental (think drum'n'base)

Damien Rice - 'Cannonball'
Bizarre (think singing through a comb to oriental music)

Gorillaz - 'Clint Eastwood'
Rubbish (apart from the beat - it's too fast already)

Blur - 'Parklife'
Good (but it does your brain in)

The Libertines - 'What Katie Did' & others...
Mental (this is what it sounds like in Pete Doherty's head)

There's a challenge for you then: find a song that sounds better at double-speed than at the standard 45rpm...

Christmas

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. I was lucky enough to get the CDs I asked for this year, so I've been listening to the Gorillaz "Demon Days", De La Soul's "3 Feet High And Rising" and admiring The Go! Team's "Thunder, Lightning, Strike". What with being "at that difficult age", most people settled for cash or gift vouchers, so I'm sure my music collection will continue to grow...

No Christmas is complete without Boxing Day football... although this year's strange arrangements meant a trip for the mighty Dartford FC to Aveley, Essex, today instead. If you weren't there -- and let's face it, that's most of you -- you missed a three-nil victory, a punch-up, some comedy chanting, a snow-storm, and the chance to get frostbite. The 3:30 kick-off didn't help, so not only was it cold and snowy, but also pitch-black by half time.

Have a fun week: remember it's your last chance to do really silly things before dismissing them as "so 2005"...

Science

Apparently, this is me in an English lecture:

I'm still trying to work out if it applies to the rest of the time too...

Snow

Yes, finally...


...it's snowing in Sheffield


...and the forecast is getting increasingly bleak!!

Public service announcement

Be aware of a new car-jacking scheme...

You return to your car left in a car park, unlock your car and get inside, start the engine and shift into reverse. When you look into the rear view mirror to back out of your parking space, you spot a piece of paper stuck to the middle of the rear window.

Switch off the car (with the keys in the ignition) or leave the engine running and jump out of your car to remove that paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view... when you reach the back of the car...

The car-jackers appear out of nowhere, jump into your car and take off. It's a really simple steal: the door's unlocked, keys in the ignition, maybe with the engine still running.

Pretty clever though, you'll have to admit.

Number 1

People sometimes ask - "What was number 1 in the charts on the day you were born?". Usually, they hope to be able to ridicule you for being born in a week when some really embarrassing group were top of the charts with a spoof record about carrots; sometimes, it's actually annoyingly cool.

I've always told people - after looking it up on one website - that the re-release of Jackie Wilson's Reet Petite was top of the pops on Wednesday, 21 January, 1987. But then, after testing my birthday again to show someone, a different song came up!!

Apparently there had been a mix-up, because although the charts are published on a Sunday, the date of the chart is given as the following Saturday's: the "week ending..." date is given. Jackie Wilson was number 1 the week before I was born, but Steve "Silk" Hurley was number 1 week ending January 24 with Jack Your Body!!

I was actually quite gutted. Granted, Jack Your Body has been mashed up for a relatively cool Citroen advert, but it's just not the same, is it? Feeling a little low, I decided to have a look around this second website: the Quirky Number 1s page would probably cheer me up, I thought... and how!!!

The Number One 'That Got Away With It'
Steve 'Silk' Hurley - "Jack Your Body"

Strict chart rules govern which releases are eligible for the chart. One such rule stipulated the maximum playing time allowed on a 12" single (to avoid it being classed as an album). Unfortunately, nobody spotted that the 12" version of Steve 'Silk' Hurley's 1987 track "Jack Your Body" exceeded the maximum playing time. Its sales were incorporated into the overall total for the title. It, thus, enjoyed two weeks at number one in January of that year. In fact, it should never have been there! The effect was that Jackie Wilson's re-issue of "Reet Petite" (which it 'knocked off the top') should have enjoyed a fifth week at the summit and Aretha Franklin & George Michael's "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (which eventually replaced it at the top) was deprived of its first week (of what should have been three) atop the chart.

So there! I'm still claiming Reet Petite!

Happy thoughts

Not a proper blog today, but just a quick (sugar-coated) list of things that should make you think, make you smile, and make you happy...

At least 5 people in this world love you so much they would die for you ▪ At least 15 people in this world love you in some way ▪ The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you ▪ A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you ▪ Every night, someone thinks about you before they go to sleep ▪ You mean the world to someone ▪ If not for you, someone may not be living ▪ You are special and unique ▪ Someone that you don't even know exists loves you ▪ When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it ▪ When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look: you most likely turned your back on the world ▪ When you think you have no chance of getting what you want, you probably won't get it. If you believe in yourself, sooner or later you will get it ▪ Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks ▪ Always tell someone how you feel about them; you will feel much better when they know ▪ If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they are great.

Yes, I am in a good mood today.


Ultimate feel-good album:
"Thunder, Lightning, Strike" by The Go! Team

Thought for the day:
They say it takes a minute to find a special person,
An hour to appreciate them,
A day to love them,
And an entire lifetime to forget them