Steve's Spot

I've Moved!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:23:00 +0000

I've moved! My new blog will be located over at http://stevespot.tumblr.com/! Make sure you change your bookmark and check it out! :)

See you over there!

"Have Sex, Get an Abortion" - The New Government Policy

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:32:00 +0000

So, the UK Government is planning to advertise condoms and abortion clinics before 9PM in the near future. Why? It's outrageous. It won't help anyone - if anything it will make the whole "pregnancy rates have gone up" thing that little bit worse.

Think about it, advertise abortion clinics and condoms on the telly and you'll suddenly get this hype where teenagers suddenly think "Hey, I can have sex and then my girl can get an abortion. I can wear a condom. Sorted." No. Just because a girl can get an abortion doesn't mean the pregnancy doesn't happen. I can't help but feel these adverts will just encourage careless kids to go out and have sexy time with a lady friend.

It also contributes to kids asking the dreaded question before they should even think about it - "Mummy/Daddy, where do babies come from?" There'll be 2 added questions after that one, too: "Okay... so what are condoms?" and "So if a girl gets pregnant, they can stop the baby coming?" Imagine. What a world.

I'd like your comments and opinions. Do you share my view?

Facebook Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:21:00 +0000

Facebook has changed yet again. The last time they changed it, there was uproar. Groups about the slightly changed layout appeared from nowhere and millions of members joined the groups, over a slight change that nobody really cared about. It was a slight change, people got over it relatively quickly.

This time, it's gone on to the next step. The changes have been compared to that of Facebook's latest rival, Twitter - and rightly so. The redesign focusses more on status updates and latest activities by users, much like Twitter. Now, whenever you update something it appears as a mini post on your wall, your news feed and your friends news feeds. It gets annoying and it's definitely not unique in any way.

The changes have caused such an uproar that it has made it onto the news. BBC Radio 1's newsbeat has a report, an extract of which is below:

More than a million people have now voted against changes to the social networking site Facebook.
The new look site puts more focus on status updates and has been likened to one of its rivals Twitter.
Users have voted overwhelmingly against the new format in an online poll on the site with 94% disliking the changes.
Twitter usage has grown 1,689% in the last year but is dwarfed by Facebook which has more than 175 million users compared to Twitter's 1.78m.

The forum over on BBC has had 300 comments added, the majority of which 100% against the new layout - although there are the occasional few who make stupid comments which aren't worth paying any attention to.

Complete Rubbish! I've stopped using it!
To me it seems the latest changes are to compete with Twitter.
Lee Eastwood, Brighton

There is little evidence on the new-look Facebook that any real usability testing was conducted prior to implementing the recent changes. It wasn't an especially intuitive site to use previously however it was passable. That certainly isn't the case now!

I believe Facebook have rather shot themselves in the foot with this style change. If it had been introduced with more care, and a communication to all members explaining the new features, then it might have gone down rather better!

[x333xxx], Steornabhagh, Eilean Leodhais, United Kingdom

PC World's blog has it down that over 1.7 million people have revolted against the redesign, and the numerous groups on the actual site aren't having any of it. Facebook has done something wrong, but they don't really care.

Clearly, nobody likes the new layout. Yet the staff haven't yet made any implications that they are going to change it back. Why should they? Millions of complaints, negative reports and general hatred towards the redesign don't appear to have ruffled any of the feathers of the Facebook staff, and I get the feeling that no matter how many millions complain, they simply won't change it back.

Off we go to Twitter, then.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the latest Facebook changes, leave me a comment. :)

Girlfriend Got Yer Tongue?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:33:00 +0000

Screw the saying "cat got yer tongue?", the latest saying should be "girlfriend got yer tongue?"

Tracy Davies (40, left) bit off her boyfriends tongue in a drunken kiss on his 45th birthday. She bit down hard during the kiss and bit the final third of his tongue off, and has been convicted of grievous bodily harm. No wonder.

The court heard they had gone to a local shop, buying two bottles of vodka and food for the evening, before going to a pub together.

They later returned to Mr Coghill's Newcastle home, but as the evening progressed Davies grew upset because she wanted to have a baby but was not pregnant - awwwww.

As Mr Coghill moved to comfort her, she asked him to kiss her with his tongue. The court heard that when he did so, she bit it off. What a freak. This is actually sickening.

Julian Smith, prosecuting, told the jury:

"She told him she loved him, she asked him to kiss her using his tongue. He did so and within a few seconds, she bit down hard on his tongue.
"Obviously this caused him pain, he pulled back, and the tongue had come clean off in her mouth. She had the piece of tongue in her mouth, he saw her take it from her mouth, and it fell to the floor."

Mr Coghill fell asleep while the pain subsided but was woken by Davies biting his elbow, Mr Smith told the court. He said Mr Coghill pushed her away and she called an ambulance to the flat, who in turn alerted the police. He added that Davies was surprised when police arrested her moments later, telling officers: "You're joking!"

No, they're not, you cannibal.

Hold the Phone - 2.5million for an iPhone?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:32:00 +0000

$2,500,000. Count the zeros, that's got 5 zeroes, one five and one two. It adds up to 2.5 million dollars. Now, during this time of economic crisis, when people can barely pay their bills and buy food, would you wand to go out and spend a stupid amount of money on a phone? Okay, cool, it's an iPhone. You can get one from eBay for about $80.

If you're buying this phone, then I have a site for you. Click this link.
Can I steal your wallet now, please?

Specifications for the 'Kings Button'

main operating button is integrated with high quality 6.6 carat diamonds
made of solid 18-carat yellow gold, white gold and rose gold
flaunts a white gold line encrusted with a total of 138 brilliant cut diamonds of the best quality

Now, go donate money to Comic Relief.

Loudspeaker Repair to Be Quiet!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:22:00 +0000

After setting up a library next to a loudspeaker repair shop, the council has told the shop to hush. Well, that's not entirely clever of the council.

The family-run business faces the prospect of closure after the eco-geek council told them to hush up or be shut. Let's be honest, it's the council's fault for setting up a library next to a loudspeaker repair shop. What fools.

Mr Boote said:

"We told the council we would be happy to move as long as we didn't lose out financially - but they must have thought it was too expensive to buy our premises out.

"So they ignored our recommendations and went ahead to build the library anyway - so now they are trying to bully us out or shop with environmental health."

This world is mental, eh?
Read the full story here.

Crooks Can Be Stupid

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Okay, so the law isn't great all the time. Okay, so the law is great some of the time. Fine, crooks can be stupid; but so can cops.

Check out some of these pictures for LOL times.

FIFA World Player of the Year and b'Allon d'Or winner C. Ronaldo Forgets His Feet

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:05:00 +0000

Cristiano Ronaldo this year was named the player of the year. No suprise, really, considering his fascinating stats last year. However, when given the FIFA Player of the Year award, he thanked everyone... except the most important thing.

He forgot to thank his feet.

"I can't believe I forget my feet—I could never have accomplished this without them," said Ronaldo, smiling sheepishly at his feet as he addressed the crowd attending the gala ceremony. "They have worked very hard this year, and I am very proud. They are the best feet. Their presence here today makes having Pele present the award even more of an honor, as I know my feet are very excited to meet his."

Weirdo.

Bears Can Dance, Too!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:01:00 +0000

When a meal is available for these Grizzlies, they can show some fancy footwork! Watch the video below and see what you think.

There's a reason that bears are my favourite animals... but this isn't it!

You can watch the whole show at this link. It might sound mega nerdy, but the show was quite cool. Salmon are mental.

Twitter : The Arguement

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:00:00 +0000

What is Twitter? Why do I want to use it? What's the point? Who cares? Can't I just use (insert other social networking site here)? All these questions will be answered - but first, watch this YouTube video below...

Let's start off with the pros, just because they're easier.

First off, we have the simplicity of the whole site. The layout is easy to get to grips with. The main content is on the left-hand column, the wider one. The one with all the updates of those that you are following, and the text box that you type into to update your status. On the right, you have the different options: home, @replies, direct messages, favourites, public timeline and who you're following. Each option takes you to a seperate page of the site and explains, in a small amount of words, what the page is. For example, clicking '@replies' on the right will take you to a page where "Updates beginning with @StevesTweet" are displayed. Click the image to the left to see my homepage on Twitter.

There's also the different messaging formats available. Not only do you have the default status updates available, but you also have the @replies available and the direct messaging. If you don't want to share a status with everyone, you can directly message one person, telling them what you're up to. If you're directing a update towards another Twitterer, then you type @ and then their username anywhere in the update and that person will see the update in their @replies, even if they aren't following you.

Then there's how quick it is to update. The maximum for an update is 140 characters, and as you can see from the video above, that isn't much space for an update. It doesn't take long to fill up and you can fill it up froma variety of different devices. You have the web, then you can set up your mobile to link in with your Twitter account, and update Twitter by text. You can also install applications onto your desktop, browser, or iPhone so that you don't even have to visit the website if you don't want to. Fantastic.

Who cares about what you're doing? The answer is, everyone. Any followers you get care what you're doing. It may not be many, but it still means they care what you're doing. It's not a popularity contest, so just enjoy yourself.

Moving on to the cons...

Of course, there are other sites, such as Facebook that offer these sorts of updates. Quite simply, however, these other sites are not focussed solely on what you're doing. Facebook may have the opportunity to update your status on most of the main pages, but it wasn't made for statuses. It was made for keeping in contact with friends. Comments, messages, groups, pages, photos, videos, etc. are what Facebook is used for. Plus, you can always add the Twitter Application on Facebook, which then links Twitter to Facebook, and then informs everyone that you used Twitter to update it.

The amount of fakes on Twitter is not so good. The last fake I saw was Richard Hammond, although that page has been deleted now. The fake used promises like "If I get to 1,000 followers by Sunday I'll talk about it on Top Gear!" Whilst it can be seen as funny (which it was) it's kind of a let down when you find out that he is not real thanks to a James May update. Still, see the funny side and move on I suppose. The amount of fakes is disturbing and you have to be careful who you follow. Facebook is pretty secure when it comes to fakes, so Twitter will have to tweak it's system slightly to prevent so many fakes.

Of course, the only way you'll ever be able to find out if Twitter is for you is to try it. Worst case scenario is you hate it and delete it. Sorted. Best case scenario is you love it and become an addict. I suppose that's not so good, either...

Coming Up...

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:51:00 +0000

Coming up... I'll be writing a blog about Twitter, and why it's better than those narrow-minded fools over on The One Show believe.

I'll also write a blog about Coursework, the pro's and con's of it all.

And, along the way I'll be handing you some crazy events in the world to laugh to.

Stay tunes.

Bored

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:47:00 +0000

I'm bored of this News Review of the Week thing already. I know, unprofessional, right? Nevermind. I wouldn't complain if I got paid for doing it but I don't. So from now on methinks I'll just write random blogs about random, mental, crazy things. You won't complain because none of you comment. :)

New blog URL: spotsteve.blogspot.com

Cheers.

Snow What? - Review of February, Week 1

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:00:00 +0000

It snowed this week. It snowed quite a lot. From Monday 2nd February all the way through to 6th February, the country (more or less) had been covered in the white stuff. Not milk, not paint, not naughty things, but snow. Snowballs, snowmen, cold feet, hypothermia, and a whole lot of hot chocolate. Oh, and of course the traffic issues, school closures, and general panic which erupted when:

The Government noticed how poor their snow recovery plan is
People realised they would not be able to get to work/school/on holiday
We ran out of salt

Of course, thousands of school children across the UK loved it. No school, no worries. Snow was surrounding the children, and what else do you do with snow but sledge down it, throw snowballs and be a general pain in the ass to adults.
Clearly, it was not all fun and games. The most notable of tragedies that occurred this week was that of Francesca Anobile, although there are also the clear, everyday issues of trains, tubes and buses all being dysfunctional. RIP, Francesca.

Moving on, we see UK interest rates crash down to 1% in an attempt to boost the crippled economy. It appears that this is controversial, but then again everything is. One citizen said "I'd rather see interest rates go up to help savers and strengthen the pound", which is a fair point, and one I think I would go with.

Football fans were left devastated after the winning (and only) goal of the Merseyside Derby was missed on ITV. The match went into extra time, and the goal came in the 118th minute of the game, just 2 minutes before the game finished. After watching the game for almost 2 hours, you can see why some football fans may have been left gutted. For those of you who want to see the strike, take a look below.

Meanwhile, kissing in India can get you into serious trouble. Look around you before you kiss, otherwise you could find yourself in the same position as Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty, who faced protests and accusations because of a seemingly harmless kiss in public.

An Edinburgh scientist has quantified the amount alien worlds out there, in space. This might shock some more sceptical people, seeing as it has long been believed that alien life does not exist, simply because no alien life has been discovered. However, the scientist is adamant that there could be thousands of species of alien life out of our knowledge, and has argued "If alien life forms do exist, we may not necessarily be able to make contact with them, and we have no idea what form they would take." Personally, I'm sceptical too, and Duncan Forgan (the scientist) doesn't exactly 'wow' me with scientific evidence and hypothesise.

Clarkson is at it again. This time, he's not insulting truck drivers over murdering prostitutes, or showering caravan fans in flames of hate, but he's insulting our current Prime Minister. Don't get me wrong, Brown isn't the greatest PM we've ever had, but he's certainly not worthy of being called a "one-eyed Scottish idiot" by a cynical, sarcastic lump that drives cars for a living. You wouldn't hear our favourite man from the Top Gear team say that - just in case you were wondering, I'm talking about Hamster.

Meanwhile, a ghost ship is expected to arrive at Teesside for dismantling and recycling. The ship was rejected by both India and Egypt for being too dangerous, because the asbestos on board the ship will cause damage to the environment and staff working on the project. Able UK says that the dismantling and recycling of the 32,700 tonne ship is the biggest of it's kind in Europe. Impressive, but you have to wonder what the "rigorous controls in place" that they talk about are; and if they will work. A member of 'Friends of Hartlepool' (aww, bless) stated: "we've now got a ticking, toxic time bomb and we're going to live in a nightmare haze of toxicity for the rest of our lives." Clearly, the member has no faith in the "rigorous controls" that Able UK have spoken about - and who can blame them, how can you possibly contain 700 tonnes of asbestos-contaminated materials? Good luck to Able UK.

Whilst the United Kingdom has been having one of it's coldest (and snowiest) winters in a long time, Australia has been having deadly heatwaves and hazardous bush fires, threatening thousands of people and killing 100 since the final few days of January. Opposite ends of the world, opposite temperatures, but the effects differ. Deaths over in Australia, transport shutdown in the UK. I know which I'd prefer to have.

In other news (always have to say that!), a 3 year old boy from Wales was killed by 2 family dogs, both put down. The story is perfectly summed up by a neighbour, "you see these stories on the telly and you don't think it is going to happen on your street." My heart go out to the family and friends, and the boy.

Well, that's it for this week. Clearly, there are many, many, many more news stories out there but I picked a random bunch that seemed easy enough to blog about. Thanks for reading, and (hopefully) catch you next week! Be sure to comment.

New Leaf, New Blog Post - Review of January

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 19:00:00 +0000

In a month where we all promised to turn over a new leaf, Cristiano Ronaldo turned over his car to the crushers. The Manchester United ace was in his Ferrari on the way home from training when his wheel fell off his car. The car ended up in a heap at the side of the road. Poor little car, Ronaldo already had a replacement lined up - a Bentley.

Oh, and of course the Ballon d'Or winner was unhurt. That's a relief. Great news for the guy that cost England the World Cup back in 2006.

Then of course we have the Gaza conflict. Palestinians, Israeli's and a whole lot of bombing going on. The offensive began on the 27th December, but with such a high profile attack going on, I had to include it. I don't like including depressive topics but this is worth a little bit of space. Below is a map of all the areas which have been affected by the offensive.

Clearly, it's all a bit confusing as to how it started and what's going on. A ceasefire, a truce, continued attack, and death. Key obstacles to peace are Jerusalem, Borders, Settlements, Water and the bad history between the two. I got confused by the whole thing so I'll leave the professionals over at the BBC to answer your questions.

Next up we have the Cock finding love after being kicked out of his estate. The Cock (Basil) was kicked out of his old estate in 2008 after complaints about the ol' thing. Now, he's been adopted by Ms. Thorburn, and he's been keeping her 23 lady Cocks (yeah, yeah, they're called hens - let me have my fun) company. Ms. Thorburn explained that "Bonnet just adores him and I hope there will be some chicks soon" - basically, Thorbun wants to watch the darlings get it on... I joke, I joke. No offence, Ms.

Now, I'm not sure about you, but if I were a six year old American boy, I wouldn't be crashing cars and walking to school having just crashed a car. That's what one boy did, and boy can he drive. Driving six miles at the age of six is fascinating. Not even I - the 17 year old British kid writing this lame blog - could drive six miles. And once the child came to a stop thanks to a telephone pole, he got out, and continued walking. The best bit of the whole event? Sheriff Chuck Wilkins explained the episode by saying "He was very intent on getting to school"... fantastic -next time, wake your mum up, please.

Oh, right. There's something about a Pink Iguana being discovered this month. Cool. Rather than calling it a Pink Iguana, call it a Pinkuana. Sounds better. Of course, if not then you can always just create a new clothes brand with a Pink Iguana on it. That'd be a sell out. Copyright belongs to me.

Ahem, moving swiftly on from the boring 2% eurozone interest rates...

To the much more exciting revelation of Matt Smith as the new Doctor Who in 2010. Who is he, you ask? Well, not many people know but Piper thinks he'll be great. His portrayal of the Doctor may be, but his hair certainly isn't.

It's a shame Tennant is leaving, really. He may have hurt his back, but that's no reason to stop blasting rubber people with your sonic tool and travelling around in a blue box which is bigger on the outside than it is in... I mean, bigger on the inside than it is out. Crazy Time Lords.

Oh, and for any of you who think Berbatov is an absolute failure at Manchester United, you should show him what this Czech Republican artist thinks of his country. To make a sculpture of Europe is fine. To portray Bulgaria as a toilet and Italy as a country of footballers who prefer the anus' of their team-mates is just wrong. Funny, but wrong. Sorry, Bulgarians and Italians. Truly, I am. Honest.

An 11 year old Mexican matador has killed 6 bulls, apparently. In one fight, too. Now that's super hero work, that is. Surely it goes against those save-the-animals-please charities? I wonder what they think about this kid's killer instincts. A word of warning - don't wear horns near the lad. He might kill you - with a red cloth.

In other news, a happy cow is a milky cow. Don't take that the wrong way, you children. Apparently happy cows produce more milk than unhappy cows. Interesting statistic. I wonder if it works for Chickens? Do happy chickens produce more eggs? Do happy people produce more babies? It's an interesting thought. Think about it. Seriously.

Our favourite sandwich chain is set to set up over 7,000 jobs over the next two years. Great news, considering the amount of unemployed yobs around nowadays. How many teenagers do you think will get those jobs compared to other unemployed adults? It would be interesting to see in the future. I need a job. Maybe I should apply...

Next up, we have the truth: Children's lives are harder than before. I'm glad people have finally realised. All the exam stress, the coursework deadlines and the old teachers who think they had it hard in their day, whining at you to do better... Unfortunately, the article doesn't mean education-wise. It means in terms of love. Ah - I still stick to my point, we young people have it harder than adults of today, in both education and love. Then again, maybe not.

Finally, we say bye-bye to stupid Bush (sorry, Ex-Mr. President) and say hello to the fantastic man himself, Lewis Hamilton. I mean, Obama. Sorry, Mr. President. Your autobiography is very good. I love it. Well done on the presidency. Can you help sort out the world, please? Like, stop this whole Iraq business? Cheers.Oh, and a special feature for you. BBC has titled this page as Bush-isms, and if you're ever feeling pretty stupid because you've failed your exams, or something, just read this and you'll finish reading and feel like Einstein. Seriously.

Thanks for reading. That was a lot of work getting through all that. I hope you enjoyed, and next week we'll only be covering a week. So expect more detail and more of my rude humour. I'll list my apologies to the people I may have offended below:

Cristiano "The Diver That Cost England The 2006 World Cup With A Wink" Ronaldo
Ms. "Bird Love" Thorburn
Sheriff Wilkins
The Boy Who Crashed aka. Nerd
Scientists who named the Pink Iguana, aka. Non-Pinkana-ists
Business people interested in interest rates, aka. Boring people
Matt Smith
Lewis Hamilton
Mr. Obama
Bushman

Later!

One final thing, I would like to take this moment to pay my respects to the friends and family of young Jonathan Marques, the 15 year old boy who went missing on his way to school on the 6th January; and later was found dead. It must be very distressing.

New Blog Idea

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:00:00 +0000

I've had a great idea. Much like Chris Charles over on BBC, I plan to begin writing blogs on the past week or entertaining news and crazy world events; whilst also toning down the humour when speaking on more serious subjects. That way, it won't be too depressing, and I the style might be more like this blog, though toned down slightly to be more mature. I'll be posting one up every Sunday, and hopefully it will be planned and well written just for your enjoyment!

Also, please take note that the URL (address) of this blog has changed to suit the blog, it's now http://newsweekreview.blogspot.com/, so please make sure you over write that bookmark you had!

Oh, right, and one more thing - all images included in this blog from now on will have a caption when you hover over the image. Great stuff. Clicking the image will bring up the full sized image, too. Just to optimize load time!

Remember, your comments will help me to improve and help me to suit your needs and requirements for an entertaining blog!

Cheers, see you in February, (see here for reasoning), love you. :) xxx

Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 10:00:00 +0000

It's the Christmas holiday. I'm busy, revising and holiday-ing. So, no more blogs until February, unfortunately. Exams in January, important ones. This is my last post of 2008. Quite a lame one at that. Sorry, lads and lasses.

Reject

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:55:00 +0000

I know this sounds sad beyond belief - but I feel like crying.

I have been rejected by Bournemouth University.

The one Uni i desperately wanted to go to and it hasn't given me a chance. None. So now I'm upset. I don't know if I know what to do now. It's all terribly confusing.

I have offers from Portsmouth and N'Hamp, rejections by Kent and Bournemouth. Only waiting on Cardiff and I'm willing to bet they'll reject me - because of my reference.

I was not allowed to read my reference until after it had been sent off, and when I read it I was gutted that it failed to mention I was resitting all of my subjects - 4 modules. It only mentioned one.

What. The. Heck?

Do my teachers not understand that resits are possibly the most important thing to speak about in terms of education? The fact that I acknowledge I've done poorly and am willing to put in the hard work to do better?

I'm annoyed. Irriatated. I need to talk to a teacher. Soon.

Did You Know: Kissing Makes You Deaf

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:44:00 +0000

A chinese woman has become partially deaf for up to two months because of a passionate kiss from her boyfriend. This doesn't bode well for the teenagers of the world, does it?

I thought I'd break you into this blog with a few interesting facts from hicards.com:

You burn roughly 26 calories in every one-minute kiss - get kissing, Marjorie Dawes!
The average (... what does that mean?) person spends about 2 weeks kissing!
The 'scientific' term for a kiss is philematology.
The longest kiss on record is 29 hours, in 1998 - that's 45, 340 calories burnt!

Couples are being advised to "proceed with caution" when it comes to kissing. The Chinese woman, in her 20s has become completely deaf in her left ear, and the kiss is being dubbed the "kiss of deaf" by many.

Who does science? Perhaps you can make sense of this scientific explanation: "The kiss reduced the pressure in the mouth, pulled the eardrum out and caused the breakdown of the ear," gutted.

I'm pretty sure that this is a rare case. It's not every day you hear of people losing their hearing because of a passionate kiss - if it was common, then weddings would be ruined, surely? What about exciting kiss scenes in the 007 Bond films? They'd be non existent!

It's pretty clear, we should never kiss again, for fear of becoming temporarily deaf.

Yeah, right.

Don't Eat Irish Pork

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 20:17:00 +0000

When I first read the headline displaying on the BBC Website, I immediately thought the BBC had turned anti-Irish. Turns out that the pork from Ireland runs the risk of contamination. Which is disappointing for you lot, 'cos here I was ready to write about the BBC being racist and all I get is some damn contaminated pigs.

Anyway, who are these 'Food Standards Agency' to tell us what we can and can't eat? What about back in the day when Adam and Eve were strutting their stuff around in the good ol' Garden of Eden? Ah, but wait. God told 'em, they ignored 'im and got kicked out. Can't be the same for us nowadays, can it? I mean, the FSA aren't God, are they?

No, they're not; but they do provide us with the statistics on the pork. Irish pigs have "up to 200 times more dioxins than the recognised safety limit". So who can tell me what dioxins are? Wikipedia has the answer! Ah, that explains it. Chemistry. Never paid much attention to Chemistry. Hey, maybe the FSA are actually racist and hate Irish people? I mean, who actually understands this chemistry-bof analysis of the porklings? Ah, there's something for you to think about while eating your Irish Pork Stew, isn't it?

Whilst Food Prof Pennington says the risk is "very, very low", retailers are still being told to destory all Irish pork products bought since September 1 2008. Well now, that's not very thoughtful, is it? What about those poor homeless people who'd kill to have a sausage every once in a while? Or, better yet, a ham-topped pizza. Cor. I'm sure some of those poor people living in Third World Countries would love some as well.

Still, risk is risk. Don't take risks. Ever.

Well, that seems to be the message from the FSA. Risks are low, there are 200 more dioxins in the pork, but you best be careful. Destroy all products and refund all Irish pork. Now the Irish pig farmers are in trouble, retailers are losing money and us consumers are eating pork which contains up to 200 more dioxins than is required.

Damn credit crunch.

The Woolworths Situation

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 19:12:00 +0000

We all know by now that Woolworths is going down the drain. Slowly, but surely, it most definately is going down the drain. With £385 million worth of debt unable to be repaid due partly to the credit crunch, my workplace is dying.

Which is obviously upsetting for me, I'm losing my job. Yet it's also upsetting for the shoppers, who would be sad to see it go. Apparently, it's a "high street icon", and with its masses of cheap sweets, its lovely Pic'N'Mix and the wide variety of items available at the 99-year-old firm - it is bound to be.

So, word is that there are a range of different companies and people willing to buy out the store. There's Theo Paphitis alleged to have been interested in buying out the store, and Wilkinsons. Oh, and some shareholder. Not only that, but Mr. Brown has pledged to keep us open over the Christmas period. Fantastic.

If push comes to shove, Woolworths will sell up for £1. If not, Woolworths will keep going - at least until they become a century. If everything goes to pot and Woolies cops it, 30 thousand jobs will be lost and I'll be one of those unemployed folk. Fun.

That was just a simple little blog to sum up everything. Woolies are in administration at the moment and plan to keep selling until after Christmas. Inside information is that the Warehouse has enough stock (for all stores) to last 10 weeks.

Oh, and this is just hilarious.
Love the song, and yet her bum cheeks are showing.
Not that I mind. :)
Britney Spears performs live on X Factor.

"Don't Misbehave, Or I'll Taser Ya!"

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:59:00 +0000

Word on the street is that more coppers are going to start carrying tasers around with them. Ouch. Tasers (or stun guns) have been fired more than one thousand times in only four years since they were first introduced into the police force. At the moment only specialist firearms officers carry and use this weapon.

So what are the implications of stun guns being introduced to your average police officer (to be politically correct...)? Does this mean that we, as a country are feeling more and more vulnerable to the thugs that walk our streets? Should we support this change, or should we condemn it? Are they even safe to use?

One lawyer has said that tasers are "weapons of torture", yet Peter Boatman, a businessman (supposedly tasered two hundred times) said that a taser is "no more painful than a cramp", which leaves us to ponder on who's tale is true. Surely inflicting cramp-like pain on a criminal is not a form of torture? So that implies that it's more painful, unless the lawyer is lying.

Either way, Peter does make an interesting point in that he would "rather be tasered than hit with a truncheon". Tasers are far safer when it comes to them not breaking bones or making you generally look a hell of a lot more ugly; yet there is the slight problem of a possible misfire. Such as a shot into the face or even the tenders. I suppose that might be why the criminal is made to turn around.

There's also the problem a taser may cause a child, pregnant woman or generally frail person if fired upon. Surely it would cause major problems for all, and so there must be rules put in place for firing a taser. Is it right to fire a taser on a pregnant woman who is about to assault a police officer? Or stun gunning a frail old man who is about to stab someone in a pub?

The issuing of tasers to more front line police officers is bound to cause moral debates among the government and social groups, so what are your views?

^{How does a taser work?}

'Targeted By Threats', The Tragic Tale of the Racists

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:09:00 +0000

Before I get started, you may want to read the BNP website and the following pages:

BNP Activist details released
BNP targeted by threats
BNP Wiki (probably full of snide remarks, etc.)

Details of BNP activists have been released. Policemen, teachers, and prison officers have been included in the list. Which is quite bad, considering policemen and prison officers are banned from joining the racist political party. The teachers have a slight let-off in that they're allowed to join, but only if it doesn't "compromise professional conduct". Intruiging. There's also an award-winning DJ on the list. I have to say, I'm completely against the BNP because racism is old and outdated. Not to mention cruel.

So here's the thing, they're moaning about being assaulted and threatened because of the group they join (no wonder...), but there's also the thing about there being "a disgraceful act of treachery" from a former member.

Is it really teachery? Most people tend to know what political party people believe in, why are you so ashamed of who you support? Perhaps it's because in the back of your conscience you know you're wrong. More likely, though is the fact that you're probably scared of people attacking you for what you follow. Ironic, that you're scared of being attacked for what you follow, yet you attack those simply because of how they look and/or what ethnicity they are.

The BNP are "call[ing] for an immediate halt to all further immigration, the immediate deportation of criminal and illegal immigrants" in order to try and prevent us Brits from becoming an "ethnic minority in our own country within sixty years". Let's be honest, it won't happen. Not unless the BNP become the new Bolsheviks and start killing their opposition (thank you, History!) in order to gain control they wouldn't have gained otherwise.

Simply, this little leak will aid the Government in sacking those that shouldn't follow the BNP and will help authorities control any extremists (extremists? pah.) that may arise. What's funny, though is that they're worried this will hit their chances of the next election.

As if they had any decent chances before this leak.

Baby P Posterous!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:19:00 +0000

This Baby P thing makes me feel ill. Not only the fact that the social workers failed to notice anything, but the very fact that this child's mother killed it. The mother brought life into this earth, but she also took that life away. Barbarically. The seventeen-month-old boy was murdered. He most certainly did not fall down the stairs.As if that wasn't bad enough, the fat cats have decided to use this as an excuse to attack each other. Political parties will do anything to gain the upper hand. It's quite upsetting, really.

The key question is who to blame for the death? Two men have been accused guilty of the murder. Fair enough. If they murdered it, then they should have a major sentence. Social workers shouldn't be blamed - of course not. They didn't visit the baby sixty times and find nothing wrong. They didn't believe the mother when she said he fell down the stairs. They didn't actually understand that the baby was on the child protection register for a reason. It wasn't a school register, that's for sure.

It's all fine, though. They said sorry. That's all that matters really, isn't it?

Still, at least hopefully they can protect her new-born girl. Keep this one alive, protect it. Just keep it away from Haringey. It's not like they've not cocked up before, is it?

This case means serious changes to personnel and the system which social workers run. Training needs to be rethought and retaught. Child abuse should be inexcusable and we should never have this kind of case again.

Ever.

Reactions

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:21:00 +0000

It's always nice to get feedback on my blogs. Trouble is, most of you lot don't like to comment my blog. So there's a new feature which I've added. Reactions is a good little tool which lets you click whichever you think about the blog.

So, if you click 'Brill' then I'll try and keep up that standard, if you click 'Crap' then I'll need opinions and citicism from you. You can do this by commenting/emailing/instant messaging me. Simple.

Feedback is always appreciated. Cheers lads and lasses.

PS: Layout died. I dunno why. Hopefully it will fix itself. :)

Baby P blog will come tomorrow. All I shall say now is: it's made me so angry.

Remembrance Day

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Curtis) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:55:00 +0000

People around the world will hold ceremonies, moments of silence and remember those that died to keep us free today.

Ninety years ago, the First World War came to an end. Millions had died. Millions wounded. Countries were left in ruins and families were wrecked. Today is the day that we remember those that died on the front line.

(Very) Brief (and quite modern) history lesson for you: some dude dies on a border. Germany go to war against some small country. Everyone else joins in. Massacre.

Today, we think about how life may have been if we had lost the war. Today, we think about how the worl would have turned out if we had lost the war. Today, we remember thse that died for us.

Take a few moments, just to remember those that died for you. Take a few moments to think about why you're on this Earth as a (more or less) free person.

Think. Remember. Never forget.