The Jeremy Kyle Show - shorthand for dysfunctional lives, trash television watched by students, the unemployed and housebound.
I have a big concern about the "lie dectector' tests - as it ought to be well known that they do not detect lies and can be deceived.
I suspect Jeremy knows this, but doesn't tell his audience what he knows. But how cane we find out ? Perhaps he ought to be made to take a lie detector test?
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Deal or No Deal
Deal or No Deal, hosted by Noel Edmunds can be a compelling programme to watch. The format is simple, but the psychology is interesting.
Noel Edmunds is well known for his belief in cosmic ordering - you order your hearts desire and the cosmos will arrange it. Noel asked for a revived TV career or not depending on your point of view :-)
Despite knowing that they can't actually change the value of their box, everyone is encouraged to hold hands, cross their fingers, send vibes and above all be 'positive' to help the contestant choose a low value box for elimination. This all switches of course when a deal is made with the banker and then everyone has to send positive or negative vibes wishes etc that the box is of high value.
I don't think anyone yet has just started with box number one and worked numerically through them, although mathematically, it ought not to affect the outcome.
The programme is quite sad in that people are encouraged to "be brave" and believe that they are fated to have been dealt a high value box - and so plough on to the end,rejecting all offers from the banker, with usually disappointing results. This is worse when it is people who would find even the relatively small wins
"life ttransforming"
I am sure there is a website somewhere which lists all the games !
Noel Edmunds is well known for his belief in cosmic ordering - you order your hearts desire and the cosmos will arrange it. Noel asked for a revived TV career or not depending on your point of view :-)
Despite knowing that they can't actually change the value of their box, everyone is encouraged to hold hands, cross their fingers, send vibes and above all be 'positive' to help the contestant choose a low value box for elimination. This all switches of course when a deal is made with the banker and then everyone has to send positive or negative vibes wishes etc that the box is of high value.
I don't think anyone yet has just started with box number one and worked numerically through them, although mathematically, it ought not to affect the outcome.
The programme is quite sad in that people are encouraged to "be brave" and believe that they are fated to have been dealt a high value box - and so plough on to the end,rejecting all offers from the banker, with usually disappointing results. This is worse when it is people who would find even the relatively small wins
"life ttransforming"
I am sure there is a website somewhere which lists all the games !
Monday, 22 August 2011
Bring back national service ?
Brian Sewell, art critic sets out why he thinks national service wouldn't work.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23979661-it-did-me-good-but-national-service-wont-work-now.do
Paul Daniels (Magician) amongst other suggested young offenders be sent to help the troops in Afghanistan.
Tempting though this might be, it probably just shows why national service wouldn't work. The army these days would like to think it has come a long way from squaddies mindlessly obeying order. It it not very likely you would wish to put your life int he hands of a useless young offender.
When people talk about community work - it's usually something like litter picking or painting over graffiti.
Firstly this assumes there is an unending supply of litter and graffiti (there may be) and that it is a suitable and worthwhile punishment.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23979661-it-did-me-good-but-national-service-wont-work-now.do
Paul Daniels (Magician) amongst other suggested young offenders be sent to help the troops in Afghanistan.
Tempting though this might be, it probably just shows why national service wouldn't work. The army these days would like to think it has come a long way from squaddies mindlessly obeying order. It it not very likely you would wish to put your life int he hands of a useless young offender.
When people talk about community work - it's usually something like litter picking or painting over graffiti.
Firstly this assumes there is an unending supply of litter and graffiti (there may be) and that it is a suitable and worthwhile punishment.
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Custer, Sitting Bull, and the famous battle and other library books
The last stand , Custer, Sitting Bull and the battle of the little big horn by Nathaniel Philbrick - ISBN 978-1-847-920009-6
Probably more than anyone needs to know about the Battle of the Little Bighorn and more.
One of the advantages of being a historian in this day and age is so much more information is available for you to study. Not just in different recollections but also in archeology. Hilbrick does an excellent job in weaving all this into a gripping narrative.
A large amount of coverage is given to the fights involving the other part the Seventh Calvary led by Bentine and Reno, where accounts by survivors give a greater certainty as to what took place.
Buildings that changed the world - Klaus Reichold and Bernhard Graf - ISBN 3-7913-1945-0
Pyramids, Great Wall of China, Windsor Castle, Macgu Picchu, Taj Mahal, Chartres Cathedral, you get the idea. I was rather sad that Persepolis was destroyed by Alexander the Great - it is said in revenge for the Persian destruction of the Acropolis in Athens.
Probably more than anyone needs to know about the Battle of the Little Bighorn and more.
One of the advantages of being a historian in this day and age is so much more information is available for you to study. Not just in different recollections but also in archeology. Hilbrick does an excellent job in weaving all this into a gripping narrative.
A large amount of coverage is given to the fights involving the other part the Seventh Calvary led by Bentine and Reno, where accounts by survivors give a greater certainty as to what took place.
Buildings that changed the world - Klaus Reichold and Bernhard Graf - ISBN 3-7913-1945-0
Pyramids, Great Wall of China, Windsor Castle, Macgu Picchu, Taj Mahal, Chartres Cathedral, you get the idea. I was rather sad that Persepolis was destroyed by Alexander the Great - it is said in revenge for the Persian destruction of the Acropolis in Athens.
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
It's Absurd - people are turning into rhinoceri
Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco is a play written in 1959. The story is that people are shocked to see a Rhinoceros charge down the street. Soon it emerges that people are turning into Rhinoceros. Eventually everyone has turned into a rhino apart from Berenger. He wants to, he tries to, but he is for some reason unable to become a rhinoceros. It is part of the Theatre of the Absurd - but it is not absurd, it is an allegory for conformity.
A film has been made and several stage plays - but I imagine that none have done it justice. At one stage around 1963/4 plans were made to make it into a film staring the Comedian Tony Hancock as Berenger. In his prime, he would have been brilliant, perhaps even at the time, he would have been great, but for various reasons the film wasn't made.
In these days of computer generated special effects, a film version would be more fantastic than ever.
In the lead role, someone like Jack Dee.
A film has been made and several stage plays - but I imagine that none have done it justice. At one stage around 1963/4 plans were made to make it into a film staring the Comedian Tony Hancock as Berenger. In his prime, he would have been brilliant, perhaps even at the time, he would have been great, but for various reasons the film wasn't made.
In these days of computer generated special effects, a film version would be more fantastic than ever.
In the lead role, someone like Jack Dee.
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