Culture

This Is For My People

Age, Culture, Fans are slans!, Video
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Can it really be 31 years ago? For those youth who think they and they alone invented clubbing and getting out of your head, and for those like me who were there (and for those who just pretend they were there) here’s Wigan Casino as it was, from the 1977 documentary, This England:

I’m going to watch this over and over and see who I recognise. Looks like half the lads I went to school with were there.

Damn, I want my misspent youth back so I can misspend it all over again; only this time I’ll make sure to cop off with the bloke with the floppy fringe. Or I did I actually do that? It’s all gone so hazy….

Making Friends and Influencing Cloggies

Culture, Dutch politics, Europe, Wingnuts
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More bad news for those US leftists considering the allegedly liberal Netherlands as their reserve bolthole now Canada’s gone wingnut. Here’s Radio Netherlands on the witch-hunt being orchestrated by far-rightist Geert Wilders against former 80s activists now in Dutch mainstream politics:

What did you do in the 1980s? That question has cost one Dutch member of parliament his job, and led one party to bring a motion of no-confidence in a government minister. Here in the Netherlands, the 1980s was a time of economic crisis and of social activism, particularly in the housing rights and anti-nuclear movements. Now a number of Dutch politicians are being called to account for their alleged activities, or support for activities, dating from that period.

Accused of activist past: Dutch Environment Minister Jacqueline Cramer

Resigned: former MP for GreenLeft, Wijnand Duyvendak

Geert Wilders’ right-wing Freedom Party has spearheaded the accusations.

[…]

Of course the other parties are loving it, and are even rubbing salt in:

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Manners Maketh The Mutt

Blogs, Culture, Fashion in Action!, Food
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Some days I really miss The News Blog. This is one of those inane blog problem column letters that Steve Gilliard and the News Blog commenters would have really gotten their teeth into (if you’ll excuse the lame pun):

From Chowhound’s Table Manners blog:

Is Fido Invited?
When it’s not OK to bring your dog to a party

By Helena Echlin

Dear Helena,

Why are some people so weird about dogs? Ours gets lonely at home, so sometimes we take him out with us. He is a pit bull but has a sweet personality. Recently we took him to a drinks party. He got a little hyper with all the attention he received and was jumping up and begging for cheese straws. Anyway, the hostess got in a snit and told her husband to ask us to take the dog home. I was a little annoyed. He wasn’t making a mess. He was being cute. In fact, his antics were making people let down their guard at kind of a stuffy party. Were we wrong to assume he’d be welcome? —It’s Not a Party Without Dog Drool

No, no way. That has to be a fictitious email. They take their pit bull to parties and they still get invited places? Helena’s reply boggles the mind too:

An uninvited dog could do worse than monopolize the conversation. It might frighten the children, send someone into a sneezing fit, chew on the draperies, or defile the shrubbery. Says Magee: “Sometimes if we go somewhere with a back garden and the other person has a male dog, the dogs tend to get into pissing contests, and Baker may piss on a plant that might be one [the hosts] like.”

Or something even worse could happen.

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Picture Post

Culture, Fashion in Action!, Funny, General goshdarned cuteness, Parenting, UK politics
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If only… the ‘eighties might’ve been a bit more fun.

Howard did always have something of the nightclub about him… oh. It’s not that Howard. As you were, then.

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I may just order one of these books for some prospective new parents I know. It’s the perfect companion to My First Cavity Search.

“What a wonderful gift for new parents! How to Traumatize Your Children includes useful chapters on narcissistic parenting, parent as best friend, killing self-esteem, the convenience of neglect – and even how to enjoy your legacy of trauma. Not only does this book provide lots of laughs, but it actually reinforces how you really should raise your kids. 190 pages, hardcover”

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If this guy is genuine, this is very very sweet and funny. If not, well then it’s more than a little bit odd:

“Is this you? Please, if you recognise this person, read on“

You’ve got to be resourceful in love these days though, so full marks for trying and extra brownie points for being cute about it.

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From the Flickr photostream of Reciprocity, this is one of a gorgeous set called Twisting Light

Animal Dance – Twisting Light #5 The next one in the series of refraction patterns formed by passing light through various shapes of moulded and formed plastic. Photographed direct on to 35mm film.

I thought that this one looked like a chorus line of long necked llamas with large floppy ears gyrating in front of the spot lights. You may think differently. :-)

To me it looks like a headless row of dancers from an Ancient Greek vase or maybe a bit of William Morris border. Or the crysanthemums on a bracelet I bought in a second-hand shop (or ‘vintage’ store, I suppose I should learn to call them if I want to be fashionable). I prefer ‘otherly-owned’.

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If you are minded to be fashionable and want to mine the past for clothes, old magazines are invaluable for getting your eye in. Vogue is putting together a searchable online archive of all its covers from 1916 to the present day. Here’s March 1960: the makeup’s nice, the colours are lovely but I do hope the shape of that coalscuttle hat never, ever comes back in again.

“The cover is described as a “spokesman for black and white, a leading fashion pair”, while the London Look is said to be “understated, soft fabrics, with sashes as a feature and lots of patent leather”.”

Things don’t change that much do they – except the cover price. Good lord, 2/6- for a magazine – that’s only 12 and a half pence! (Around 20 eurocents, or 500 bucks.)

Oops. That I automatically knew that (and recognised a coalscuttle, what’s more) says more about my own personal vintage than I really care to reveal.