Author Archives: Jon

Hi We’re Your Weather Girls

I have been recovering from my trip to the USA by spending a great deal of today asleep and generally caching up on the mail, the Christmas cards, the washing and all the other things you need to do when you’ve been away for a week. It’s almost Saturday night and I am going supermarket shopping (you see, dear reader, I have a very exciting life).

While I managed to listen to the radio and some CDs I did, eventually, resort to music television so that there were some pictures to provide an alternative visual while I drank my tea (real tea, not a USA-style tea, is one of the greater comforters in my life).

The Hits is showing some so-called classics this afternoon. The video for It’s Raining Men (The Weather Girls) looked so dated that it made me wonder what those brought-up entirely on the sophistication of the modern day music video would make of these dated images.

Interestingly, it occurred to me to that it’s the video that looks a lot older than the music sounds. Allowing for the fact that It’s Raining Men is part of the soundtrack to my youth, I still think it’s the video technology that has made the noticeable leaps in the last 20 years.

And it’s 20 years next March since It’s Raining Men was a hit for The Weather Girls. Originally charting in the UK in August 1983 it eventually made number 2 in March 1984. It’s one of those songs that I would have sworn topped the charts but, apparently, not. I would imagine that a combination of Nena’s ‘99 Red Balloons‘, Lionel Richie’s ‘Hello‘ and Duran Duran’s ‘The Reflex‘ kept it from the number 1 slot.

On this day…

2003: Customer Service
2002: Is Bigger Really Better?
2002: End of a radio era

On this day…

2003: Customer Service
2002: Is Bigger Really Better?
2002: End of a radio era

Customer Service

I have spent most of the last week in the United States – in Raleigh, North Carolina to be exact. It brings home to me the many differences between two cultures that, in other ways, are very similar: from the price of fuel to the availability of public transport; from the car culture to the size of the food portions.

All of these have been discussed many times by many people. It is, however, the American approach to customer service that is the constant surprise to me. The whole “Hi, how ya doin’ today?” in all its smiling insincerity is always the biggest shock upon landing almost anywhere in North America. It really is a delight.

I don’t think it’s my British cynicism that allows me to acknowledge that it’s not really meant – it’s taught and it’s expected. So what? It’s so much nicer than the grumbled, stumbled approach in many shops in the UK. Any kind of service from the rental car place to the hotel, from Starbucks to the bar was from somebody smiling with a confident and welcome approach to their job. For my tastes it is, sometimes, a little too much but I can’t help and wish that a little more of this faux-friendliness made its way into shops in London.

And while on the subject of customer service, I would be surprised if there are many around these parts that have not experienced the appalling service of parcel delivery providers this Christmas. My own gripe was is with the inability of the Royal Mail to be able to cope with the increase in parcels. My local postman (who is a very friendly guy, by the way) delivers a card when the parcel doesn’t fit the letter box. The sorting office needs some time to process that. Currently, that seems to be 48 hours. They only open for collections from 8am to 1pm (how useful is that to anybody who has a job to commute to in London?). For several weeks the Saturday morning queue has been so long as to be down round the block. Friday morning’s queue was equally long and at 12.45 nobody else was allowed to join the queue – which lead to several arguments along the lines of “I was here before One and this is the last day to get my parcel”. The response, from the lady with the road cones to stop more people joining the queue, was typical of the can-do helpful attitude around here,

“What do you expect me to do about it?”

On this day…

2003: Hi We’re Your Weather Girls
2002: Is Bigger Really Better?
2002: End of a radio era

On this day…

2003: Hi We’re Your Weather Girls
2002: Is Bigger Really Better?
2002: End of a radio era

I Favour Legalisation Of Homosexual Marriage

Reading Jase Wells today I notice he has a pointer to the American Family Association’s gay marriage poll. Interestingly, the polls shows those in favour of homosexual marriage ahead of those against (albeit by a slight margin). I’m going to be interested to read the final results and – should they stay in support of gay unions – how the AFA interprets them. Use your vote wisely!

On this day…

2003: Three Hundred Million

On this day…

2003: Three Hundred Million

Three Hundred Million

According to New Media Zero, UK online ad spend in 2003 could be as high as £350m which is very promising news indeed for those of us involved in the industry. The article doesn’t break down the money and I would be interested to know where it is being spent – I just hope it’s not on more pop-ups!

On this day…

2003: I Favour Legalisation Of Homosexual Marriage

On this day…

2003: I Favour Legalisation Of Homosexual Marriage

Busy Busy Busy

OK, I have to face the fact that I haven’t had a great deal of time to write here over the last few weeks – which has been difficult for me as it’s very much an outlet for me. Still, I’m sure I am going to be writing more soon.

On this day…

2005: links for 2005-12-15
2002: Die Another Day

On this day…

2005: links for 2005-12-15
2002: Die Another Day

S.W.A.T.

colin farrell in swatAccording to the internet movie database, the basic premise of the movie S.W.A.T. that I saw on the plane is, “An imprisoned drug kingpin offers a huge cash reward to anyone that can break him out of police custody and only the LAPD’s Special Weapons and Tactics team can prevent it”. It’s about all you need to know really.

If you read this site a great deal you will know that I have a strange love of action movies. I think they are – by and large – a huge waste of time and yet I constantly enjoy them and will watch the same one again and again. This would be no exception. The plot could be passed off as a true story – more or less – but (and correct me if you’re in LA) helicopters be shot out of the sky and races through the subway tunnels can not be an every day/week/year occurrence.

Still, Colin Farrell is Jim Street the cop on the boundaries who makes good and Samuel L. Jackson is always enjoyable in everything he does. Even LL Cool J was good and it’s always good to see Josh Charles on the screen.

Go an enjoy this movie and then see Colin in the Man of the Moment section.

On this day…

No other posts on this day.

On this day…

No other posts on this day.

Worthy of Comment

Media Guardian carried a story about Telford FM today:

The authority today ruled that the Midland News Association, the owner of the Shropshire Star and several other papers in the area, would not be allowed to buy Telford FM on public interest grounds

Media Guardian

Sadly, no time to comment.

On this day…

2004: Kew Garden’s Winter Wonderland
2003: Gay Life in Britain

On this day…

2004: Kew Garden’s Winter Wonderland
2003: Gay Life in Britain

Gay Life in Britain

Also today, no time to comment on G2’s look at being gay in Britain today:

[I]s the mainstreaming of homosexuality only successful when done with a knowing wink? There’s a vast gulf between the cute campery of the likes of Brian Dowling and an actively sexual gay man

[Source]

Still, Tom does a much better job.

On this day…

2004: Kew Garden’s Winter Wonderland
2003: Worthy of Comment

On this day…

2004: Kew Garden’s Winter Wonderland
2003: Worthy of Comment

Gay Dads

I don’t often re-read books that I have read before but for some reason I decided to re-read Dan Savage’s story of the adoption he undertook with his boyfriend, Terry. The second time round it’s just as great at the first time I read it.

I enjoy Dan Savage’s writing and ‘The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided To Go Get Pregnant‘ did not disappoint.

It’s the true story of Dan and his boyfriend’s quest to adopt a baby. In Portland they are able to take part in an Open Adoption where the birth mother selects the parents for her child. This book covers the decision making process, the initial seminars, the selection and the birth in detail with a warmth and humour that make it an engaging tale. Dan takes a look at his life and his relationship to explain the process that got them to the point of adoption.

As gay adopters there is a different view of the process but I think it will be relevant to anybody considering adoption; the worries and the pitfalls are mainly the same. While Dan’s style is humorous and engaging it does not detract from the seriousness of the process and the depth of care all involved show for the baby.

A thoroughly warm and entertaining read that is also informative and insightful.

On this day…

2005: Flickr Christmas: Jamie Enjoys Herself
2005: Civil Partnership: Locally In Wandsworth
2005: Tribute To Atlantic 252
2002: Invisible Maps

On this day…

2005: Flickr Christmas: Jamie Enjoys Herself
2005: Civil Partnership: Locally In Wandsworth
2005: Tribute To Atlantic 252
2002: Invisible Maps

A New Month

December: I should be thinking a little bit about Christmas and trying to remember to send a card to those people I always forget. Instead, for some reason, I am worrying about the increasing amount of spam to email accounts that I don’t even use. Demon is my ISP and has been forever. Some of my email addresses are spammed a great deal – I imagine as a result of using Usenet without hiding emails (hey, this was 1994). Demon doesn’t allow me to block mails to a specific address at the server end – it’s all client-side. So, I download it to remove it – or at least I download the mail headers. They do bounce emails after 30 days, and I am going to have to resort to that with one of the mail addresses (the one that put all this in my head as I waited for the 700 headers to download this morning). They, however, have to hold all that mail for 30 days. I don’t want it, nor do they, so please, Mr Demon, deny email to specific addresses – I am thinking of your greater good here. [Related Link: Demon and Spam]

On this day…

2005: Civil Partnership: George Michael To Wed
2005: Flickr Christmas: Advent Is Here
2002: Christmas Comes But Once A Year
2002: Link and Think

On this day…

2005: Civil Partnership: George Michael To Wed
2005: Flickr Christmas: Advent Is Here
2002: Christmas Comes But Once A Year
2002: Link and Think