Rant 44 - 13/2/12 Subject: Martyred celebrity syndrome

Rant number 44


I'm sure you have heard by now that Whitney Houston is dead. Its a sad loss of life at only 48, it really is.

I get that.

What's annoying me though, is the endless talk of her, as if she was a bloody saint. Because- to break a bit of news to you all.

She          just          wasn't.

She was famous for repeated visits to rehab for drug and alcohol addiction. Once again - its sad but true.


Now, todays rant isn't about Whitney. Its just inspired by her - because I am fed up of the sycophantic rubbish that comes along every time a celebrity takes a step too far and dies.

I know it is not traditional, to speak ill of the dead - and I'm not suggesting that anyone spends time speaking about the bad points. What I don't want to hear is endless stories etc about how bloody brilliant they were - with no mention of the darker truth.

If I'm very unfair to Whitney for instance. No-one has spoken her name in any big way in years. She was old news and - following repeated abuse of her body and some resultantly bad concerts, she wasn't going to be making any front pages any time soon. Except for in one situation...

And we know what one that is don't we?

The press at the moment are talking about her as if she was a modern day great, a current shining star. And she just wasn't alas.

Amy Winehouse was unfortunately quite the same. Her career had peaked and was falling and - with her inability to stop snorting, inhaling, injecting and quaffing - it wasn't going anywhere quickly. After though, there was little talk of the truth of her addiction.

What we should all realise, is that just because they are celebrities, it does not mean that they have some armor against the stresses of their chosen profession. The media push them so far that escapism seems to be the only way out for some - with the direst consequences sometimes. They then continue to turn them into saints and martyrs, its just silly.

How about someone talking about the addiction and struggles of Whitney. Why not tell the glazed over masses the truth for a change? How about that?

And worst of all, are the endless notes of condolence, flowers, facebook updates and various other personal messages to someone you don't really know. It just seems to be all about being seen to be caring - as opposed to really having an opinion.

Death is sad, but it happens to us all sooner or later. When a tragedy like this happens, rather than creating a saint, maybe we should take a look at the way we treat our 'stars'

Whitney was the baby of the 80s & 90s, but it didn't last. Imagine being a household name, then being a footnote. It had to hurt.

What a mess.

Rant over.

Rant 6 - 6/1/12 Subject: Fluffy news

Rant number 6


Hello again guys and girls.

So what have I got for you today? What's been getting on my nerves?

Fluffy bloody news.

So what is that I hear you cry? It's the watered down, inane idiot crap, that is used to fill in the gaps between real news stories.

We live in a 24 hour society don't we? You can read my blog from anywhere in the world - at any time of day and find out what I think. The same token can be applied then to the news.

If Tom Cruise starts eating babies in the name of scientology in the US (and lets face it, that's not exactly out of the realms of possibility) and is caught in the act of coating a helpless infant in barbecue sauce and cayenne pepper - you can bet that, within mere minutes - an Australian Lighthouse keeper will be shaking his head in disapproval.

This is because of the massive explosion of media communication that has happened within the last decade.

The internet alone has grown hugely in popularity in this time and offers news sites, blogs, video streams, e-mails, tweets and Facebook articles - to name but a few.
Then you need to take into account newspapers, the radio (which offers bulletins multiple times an hour) and multiple news broadcasts on multiple TV channels every day.

Finally - incase you had not managed to catch up on current events at any point along the way, there are 24 hour news channels - to ensure you haven't missed a thing!

News Bloody Overload!


Now in truth, I don't mind this too much. I like to hear the news, if it's worth hearing.

But for the most part...it isn't

Because - despite popular belief to the contrary. Something truly newsworthy does not happen at every moment of every single day! Which brings me to fluffy news...

Fluffy news is what they use to plug in the gaps between the truly newsworthy stuff.

As stated in rant number 4, I like to watch the news in the morning, but - in truth, struggle to find any!

In the last few weeks alone, I have watched news reports about a man who painted a giant 30 mile an hour sign on his house, a cat who went on epic journey and the misadventures of those who follow sat-navs like mindless zombies.

That I have to find my real brain food elsewhere, is a constant frustration!

In the morning, I can almost forgive this. I suppose that real news could be considered a little downbeat.

The problem is, on the 24 hour news channels, there just isn't enough news to go around! So what do they do - stretch out the fluffy news to epic proportion!

This is the cause of yet another annoyance - the ' breaking news update' - another province of the 24 hour news channels. These are required strictly to cut through the crap that the channel is showing (like that surf boarding squirrel and the nutter who tied himself to the birch tree in front of the local council offices) to show some real news.

Would it not just be easier to just report the news when it is report worthy, and forget the fluff?

!!!!!!!Breaking news!!!!!!!!!!
It pisses me right off

Rant over.