Media manipulation

I finally saw the infamous Meg Ryan interview with Parky last night. It was repeated on one of the digi channels. Now, I read and heard about the interview at the time and thought Meg seemed like a right cow but on seeing the interview for myself I've changed my mind. The media had given me the impression that Meg had been a surly bitch, only giving one word answers and that Parky had been his usual cosy self. I hadn't expected that the reverse was true. Parky was confrontational from the start (having been his usual self with Shane Ritchie. I don't know what he was like with Trinny and Susannah as I couldn't bear to watch them) attacking her for having an opinion which differed from his on the subject of romance. Admittedly it was an unusual opinion and no doubt coloured by the Russell Crowe debacle but it doesn't mean it was any less valid. It also cropped up in conversation that she was uncomfortable in the spotlight and in interviews. And yet Parky seemed surprised when she became distant and defensive. It seemed to me like she was doing the best she could, faced with an aggressive interviewer who attacked everything she said. Had Parky been possessed by the spirit of Jeremy Paxman? Where was the nice cosy chat show host we know and love?

Anyway, it just goes to show how the media manipulate us. They said she continually gave one word answers when in fact it was only once or twice. They implied she was nasty when she replied to Parky's question of "What should I do with this interview now?" with "Wrap it up!" when she actually said it half-jokingly. I couldn't blame her for saying that. What the hell else did he expect? They also said or implied that she was unfriendly throughout but she didn't come across that way at all. Just understandably affronted by Parky's tone. I briefly voiced my opinion to my brother who was also watching and he agreed with me. Parky has gone down in my estimation.

5 hours 20 minutes and counting to new Dr Who. I thought I'd be watching at home with Bro but I've now been invited to a small gathering of friends, some of whom have already seen the episode. They hated it apparently. Oh well, you can't please everybody. I'm still looking forward to it though and will be there with my celery and jelly babies* sitting on the edge of my seat, oohing and ahhing at the special effects.

* Well, ok, it'll more like beer and Pringles really.

Pants on fire

So much for generous teenagers. There was no credit on that ticket on Saturday so it was useless. Little bastards.

I didn't get to meet the other Who fans either. By the time I texted the organiser to find out where they were, the meeting had broken up. And it was only 4pm. What a bunch of lightweights. Maybe some other time. It did mean that I got home in time to watch the Who night on BBC2 though so it wasn't all a loss.

Oh and I did finally manage to get hold of a copy of the Comic Relief DVD. They had loads in the Manchester branch of HMV. Hurrah!

Happily, I find myself with a day off today. I had booked it because I was supposed to be working on a dance show in Bolton but today's rehearsal has been cancelled. I had a bit of a lie in but it seemed such a nice day that I wanted to get out and about, so here I am. I've been involved with this dance show for about five years now. A local school of performing arts puts a show on every year and the chap who does the lights is my mentor/mate who used to do the lights at TLT. He asked me if I'd like to help out as a spotlight operator and the rest is history. This year its been beset by problems due mainly to the civil service strike (the show is held in the town hall). There were supposed to be two rehearsals (yesterday and today) and three shows (Tues, Weds & Thurs) but thanks to the political shenanigans its now one rehearsal (yesterday) and three shows (tonight, Tuesday and Thursday). And yesterday's rehearsal was running an hour late so the tech team didn't have time to finish focussing and programming the lights. Usually everything runs fairly smoothly. I'm sure it'll be alright on the night.

I promised myself that I wasn't going to spend any money today and apart from buying lunch I've managed to stick to my promise. I did have to take a pair of jeans back to Etam though. I bought some a few weeks ago and they fit perfectly so on Saturday I bought another pair that were the same apart from the colour. Or so I thought. I was going to wear them today but when I put them on they were too tight (the words camel and toe come to mind). I took them back and tried on another similar pair in the same size but again, they didn't fit. I spoke to the shop assistant who told me that my original pair may be from a batch that had different stitching on the back and so are a different style and fit. I'm frequently perplexed and annoyed by this sort of thing. Apart from the stitching the jeans are exactly the same so why does one fit and the other not? Why is a size 16 in one shop completely different in fit to size 16s in other shops (and in this case, the same shop)? It even gives the measurement in inches on the label. Inches don't change according to what fucking day it is, they're constant. Aaaargh! Do men have this trouble or is it just us women? I got my money back anyway and found a pair *exactly* the same style and colour as the ones I have already, in the Manchester branch. I wanted a different colour but the only alternative was black and I'm not particularly stuck on black jeans at the mo. Are black jeans still in fashion? I can't say I've noticed anyone wearing them recently. Not that I'm a fashion victim or anything.

Sweaty Betty

Ooh, summer is here at last. Well, ok, not quite but its bloody scorching up here and I'm walking around without my jacket on for the first time this year. I can finally ditch my winter coat, scarf and gloves. Hurrah!

Am popping in here as usual but this week I'm on my way to meet a bunch of people I've only chatted with on the net. A group of Dr Who fans from the Outpost Gallifrey forum are out and about for drinkies today. I'm a bit nervous as I'm quite shy with people I don't know. Actually I think I may know two of them already but not really well. At least we'll all have something in common to talk about. Especially the new series billboards that have sprung up around town. I'm so sadly excited about new Who. I've even warmed to the idea of Billie as the companion. She can't be any worse than Bonnie Langford...

And talking of wooden things... (d'you see what I did there?) is there anyone out there who knows something about retail law? Its more curiosity than anything but there's a furniture shop that I pass on the way to work that I think may be being a bit naughty. I've been passing it virtually every day for the past three years and in all that time, no matter how many sales they have on, the prices of the items never seems to change. In particular there's a pine double bed with gothic style carving that I've been lusting after for ages and I'm sure its always been £400. They've had so many sales stickers* on it but I'm certain its always been the same price. Is this legal? (*They even had a closing down sale last year but funnily enough the shop is still open for business)

I've done a bit for Comic Relief today by buying the Peter Kay/Tony Christie single. In fact I did my bit last week by buying the Little Britain DVD but I lost the bag with it and a George Michael double cd somewhere in Manchester. I tried to retrace my steps and asked in this net cafe, Caffe Nero and the bus company but it hasn't turned up anywhere. Seems like some fucker has helped themselves to it. And now HMV have sold out of the DVDs so I can't buy another one. Arse.

On the plus side my faith in humanity (well, teenagers) has been been restored as some young lad has just given me his net caff ticket with some spare credit on. What a nice young man. I managed to say thanks but I must confess I was a bit stunned. Must be the weather.

Making my mind up

Fuckety fuck. I've just being writing my post & my money ran out. Tried to save & it hasn't worked. Arse arse arse. Fucking net caff. Have to do it all again.

Brother's op was ok. He's wearing the sexiest white support stockings. I bet they'll be all the rage next year. He burst his stitches at the hospital and got blood on his jester slippers but they patched him up a treat. His return home meant I missed half of the Song for Europe show - Making Your Mind Up though. I saw Javine (fairly good but a bit 'formula'), Tricolore (great performance but awful worthy lyrics) and Gina G (not a patch on 'Ooh Ah Just a Little Bit) but missed Jordan and whoever else was on. I did manage to catch a glimpse of her outfit - a pink pvc catsuit. Didn't anyone tell her the dildo look was so last year?

Work has been fun..... not. I had a bit of a tiff with one of the other women. She asked a question, argued with me about it then accused me of having an attitude problem. Psycho bitch. Its a bit too long a story to go into detail now but suffice to say it wasn't me with the 'tude. And she complained about me the next day to our line manager. Everyone else was outraged as I'm not the first person she's done this to. I'm just the latest on a long list. I was taken to one side my the line manager & her boss who then rolled her eyes as though she'd heard it all before. Why the fuck do they take this woman seriously? Whatever. The other girls & I have been bitching about her for the past week and a half so at least I know I've got some support.

I would post about other stuff - Comic Relief & so forth but I suspect my money is running out again. I just want to mention the Little Britain sketch with Lou and Andy at the athletics track and Andy doing a pole vault in the background. Had me laughing for a good 10 minutes.