come back to what you know

I've been very naughty recently and not updating as regularly as I should be. So let's have a look at what I've been up to...

Saturday popped into See Woo. See Woo is a large Chinese cash 'n' carry which is rather cool with live lobsters (not for very long!) and more frozen spring rolls and pancakes than Hong Kong. Got half a duck and had some lovely Peking Duck for dinner. Yum.

Sunday was a family affair down in Lympne with my parents house being crammed chock full as always. I liberated a box of my old photos and some long overdue university work (3 years?). Useful stuff.

Monday... had a lovely meal in Il Bordello, one of the best restaurants in London. Excellent service, huge portions of yummy Italian food and the best bruschetta around. Give it a go.

It was my brother and sisters birthday this week so Jim and I are off to see them today. As it's that time of year for me to get sentimental about the past here's a few links...

Folkestone Then And Now - an excellent old Folkestonian's home page.

The Old Harveians Blog - Oh how I don't miss the Harvey Grammar School... except for some of the boys ;op You know who they are Dear Constant Reader...

Folkestone on Wikipedia

A Folkestone Blog

Finally... Folkestone Gerald No... I haven't misspelt the Folkestone Herald incorrectly!!!

Yesterday marked 8 years since I stopped denying the inevitable and became a fully fledged gayer (got the badge, began attending "How to take over the world" seminars... the usual). I was out last night for Andrea's leaving do. I shall miss her! People were talking about sex and yet again another gay man admitted he had slept with a woman. So own up... how many gay men are there like me, who have never had sex with a woman???

Zoe and Ray stayed over Thursday night, thanks for the malteasers!!!!

And you think we are safe? Even in this country we still have to put up with being looked out of bed and breakfasts and being threatened with a gun. Joy.

Had a lovely, if very boring, day today. I didn't have to go to the office and had to attend a meeting here in Greenwich with a supplier instead (about Furnology... exciting!). Something nice in being able to walk to work with no need to use public transport.

Now I don't know what some people think happens in the customer service industry. Reading this article about Indian call centres you'd hope no one was shocked by it. The central "discovery" of this article is people can be racist and rude. Trust me, if you worked in customer service you'd know that people generally ARE racist and rude.

Before I started work I used to think 99% of the population of this country was comprised of decent, hard working, law abiding and intelligent citizens. Customer service has taught me that about 60% of the population are one of the above and about 2% are all of the above. (all the above and below are my own opinions and don't constitute facts, thought I'd just state that in case one of those pig ignorant debate society members turns up to leave a rude comment about me not making it absolutely clear that these are not facts)

I was totally shocked to discover a very large minority of people I have to deal with daily are rude, unpleasant and mean spirited. Now I'm just very cynical, apt to think the worst of people... I really need to get away from customer service in the long run before I go postal...

This link is for all those crazy football searchers!

Are Ashley Cole and Jermaine Pennat the NOTW Gay footballers?

And another Holocaust denier bites the dust. Now I'm no fan of David Irving (I think the following poem explains why, composed by Irving for his daughter to be recited whenever "half-breed children are wheeled past", I am a Baby Aryan/Not Jewish or Sectarian/I have no plans to marry an/Ape or Rastafarian) nor of those who equate the Holocaust with branding or deny it's existence completely.

BUT... Freedom of speech must prevail! Unless someone threatens violence, or incites it, then no matter what they say we just have to put up with it. Although I suggest not listening... it's your right not to!

A man is put in prison for just saying something that the majority think is reprehensible, but he hasn't threatened anyone nor suggested anyone hurt anyone else. So where do we draw the line? No offense but people such as the German and Austrian governments are not holier than thou. It's only recently they've began to stop denying that the Holocaust affected GLBT people too... who will go to jail for that one? And will the few remaining survivors get the compensation they are due, denied it for so long because being gay was still illegal after the war? No... probably not. Who will go to jail for that????

NoW Drip Feeds Info On Gay Soccer Stars

This is torture. And I don't mean for me. The News of the World is being unreasonably cruel using innuendo and farce to scare those involved in it's current "scandal". If it has proof that these things are occuring it should print their names, otherwise... let it go! It is obviously some kind of petty vendetta being played out in a national paper and to be frank I'm bored with the whole thing.

Reading the story (which I shan't be linking to) I have to say this: what these guys are getting up to doesn't sound very gay. Betting people to suck your cock and playing silly boys games involving showing each other your penis sounds a lot like some pubescent hetrosexual game.

I can relax. Will Young is not involved. Phew! It was some DJ. The "picture" doesn't appear to be of my other secret love Scott Mills, so I shan't worry about the Music Man.

Latest name to enter frey: Ashley Cole.

Please note I want the use of the word gay, homosexual, sick and perverted should be removed from these stories. None seem applicable. Oh and if the NoW believes mutual masturbation and oral sex are "perverted" I'd just like to bless their cotton socks.

Dancing On Kelly Holmes Icy Grave

Oh glorious day. Dancing on Ice just got better. Kelly Holmes was voted off. FINALLY! She was an ice queen of the first degree with her catty comments and stiff movements. She was even a bad loser. About Bonnie, the BEST celeb perform of the series (no contest), she suggested that Bonnie had beat her because Bonnie was "popular with the judges". She beat you because she had talent and a lovely personality.

Jae's First Podcast

Listen to it here

In Other News...

Jurassic Park IV won't be released until 2008.

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Italy rape ruling draws criticism

Oh my God.

And you thought Berlusconi was bad!! Now he seems really quite amusing compared to Italian justice.

Jamie Bamber

Off work. Sick. I hate actually being sick when taking a sick day. Especially when I feel this bad!!!

OK... so my site is being hit by lots of people searching for information about the gay (bisexual?) premiership football stars. Well who am I to disappoint? Why not visit the Famous Males Forums, after you've read Dayorama's early entry into the story.

If you can't be bothered the current smart money is on: Sol Campbell, Jermaine Jenas and Will Young. Personally I think it better not be Will Young... he's mine!!!

I'm sure the evil big wigs at News Corporation won't let this go and I expect your need for information shall soon be met. Just remember... don't buy their papers!!!

Today was the day that I met Corkey Mineola of Bad Weeds fame as he stopped by in London on route to Uganda! Corkey, Colin (a fellow Bad Weeds fan) and I had brunch in the Balans cafe. Thankfully I didn't say too much and hopefully avoided looking like a prat! Luckily Colin was really a rather intelligent and interesting person so Corkey must have got some good content. I'll let you know when the show is up online!

Hmm... first there was Surface. Then came Commander in Chief. My latest current telly obsession is...



One word: Awesome.

In possibly the gayest sport since water polo and rugby you'd expect the fans to be unsuprised by "revelations" that some footballers have sex with men. I mean they shower together, play together and hang out together. If men stay around each other for long periods of time it's bound to happen. I've always found it odd that men who profess to like women spend every waking hour with other men.

But no they get all shocked by it. Weird. Did they not wonder why Mark Oaten made his rent boys dress up as footballers? Have they not seen this music video?

I think it's time these Premiership stars came out and showed the world their not ashamed to be bisexual idiots who took pictures of their sex games as if they wouldn't fall into the hands of the tabloids... d'oh!

I went out last night with work peoples to the Lavendar and had a cool time. The new boy is a witty one (reminds me of Seth from O.C.) and I saw Meredith who is back from America. Very amusing evening any all round including the crazy Vauxhall guy who ran out in the middle of the road screaming "Fuck you" at any car that dared enter his personal space... i.e. the road.

Got home to find the water was still off and both Jim and the bloke downstairs had gone out drinking themselves silly. While Jim lay passed out on the sofa, I headed downstairs to chat and steal some DVDs. Mwhahahaha.

Plumber came today and sorted our water out really quickly. Yay for skilled labourers!

You know some of the comments I've been getting here recently seem endemic of the current blog culture. 1) they take blogging way too seriously. Now I've read the articles on the BBC and in the Economist that show some blogs have power and integrity. That is not this blog! So calm down, step back and reflect... life is too short to take my brain dumps that seriously (and to respond so rudely)! 2) some blogging is self important and written for attention. Some is not. I'm not writing primarily for attention. So do you really think I'll pay attention to you if you are rude?

When I started this blog 4 years and bit ago I did it for two reasons 1) I had just read an article in the old style Guardian techy supplement about blogging and 2) because I have been a journal writer for years and thought an online one would be easier and much more tidy than a handwritten one!! This blog is my diary. Knowing when things happened is important to me. Being able to write my thoughts and opinions, however badly expressed, is important to me. I do it online as I can access it where I want to, I can read it without having to work out what that scribble meant, and because other people can read it... I'm open and honest on here. Keeping a written diary used to feel so dark and depressing because I felt it had to be hidden and secret. Why hide what you think? Honesty is the best policy

Now that doesn't mean I'm not a hits whore, that a small smile won't rise on my face when the Guardian links me or when my hits are up on the month before. We all have a hobby and mine is trying to get as many hits as possible... just a little something to make me happy.

And of course I like praise!

But primarily this blog is for me, and of course for those people who I want to read it like my friends and Jim (and you Dear Constant Reader, don't fret you're always welcome!). If you don't like what I write tell me politely, I love polite criticism! Don't be mean... because I probably am much bigger than you and I don't like mean people! Or better yet (because life really is too short) just move along.. Nothing to see here! Except this...

Last night while we were watching Supernatural, I read to Jim this story. And he said how he knew I was against capital punishment but whoever was responsible should be strung up. And so we got into the usual debate about the death penalty. I just want to know how you feel about this issue? If you are for it I would like you to answer me some honest questions, not because I want to shoot you down, but because I am interested to know how you square certain principles against a belief in the death penalty.

1) Why do you think a country has the right to decide who lives or who dies? Surely no one has that right? (PS the death penalty, abortion and euthanasia all disgust me but abortion and euthanasia are choices made by individuals about their own future and I don't feel we have a right to stop them)
2) If we had the death penalty someone at some time would die an innocent. How do you square this kind of sacrifice of an innocent person with the urge to "punish" some criminal who is worth squat? And how do you feel about a system where hundreds of people would be directly responsible for said innocents death?
3) Death is not a punishment! It does not deter the truely messed up... the paedophiles, the psycho murderers... do you really think the fear of death would stop them from living out their warped fantasies? And I would hope we weren't going to use the death penalty for anything less than the most horrendous of crimes? Death is a release. A life (and yes I believe life should mean life) in prison, as uncomfortable as possible, would be a far better punishment and safeguard against the repition of their crimes.
4) Given that the UK is one of the safest nations in the world and doesn't have the death penalty... is it necessary in any other country??
5) You are all for the death penalty. Could you be the executioner? If not then you cannot be in favour of the death penalty. If you were not prepared to take someones life in that way you shouldn't be prepared to let someone else do it for you. It's one of the real bugbears for me about the death penalty debate; the arm chair executioners. Honestly could you stare someone in the face and kill them, knowing that possibly they were an innocent, someones friend or family... if not step down from the debate!

Hmm... well would you look at that! The film me and Jim saw shooting down in Greenwich has been released and is called Annapolis, not Anapoly. Three cheers to anyone who can track down my blog entry about the filming!!

Mmm... sailors!!

Please visitors click my rent my blog tenant! We must all wuv him very much!!!

As you know I have far too many iPods. Well for the last few months I've been using my video iPod for nothing but music. This weekend I finally realised how stupid I was and Jim showed me how to work it!

My life will never be the same again. Downloaded a couple of Commander in Chief episodes to test the water with that show plus put my fave porno on there too. Watched CinC on the way to and from work... it's awesome... don't know why I like it... is it the fiesty female president? The brilliant plot? Or something else?? Matt Lanter perhaps?



Anyway... the commute to work just got a lot more bearable!

BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Row over Cameroon 'gay' witchhunt

This is always how it begins... now we need an Oscar Wilde to really scandalise them. Then a hundred years later... freedom is ours. You persecute us quietly and we won't fight back. But openly persecute us? We'll find each other, and fight...

Let's turn our attention from the boring real world for a moment... and to one small spark of joy... ITV's Dancing On Ice. Sure it's ITV's way of cashing in on the success of the Beeb's Strictly Come Dancing. But wow! I love it!

It's got the good (Bonnie Langford) and the bad (Andi Peters, thankfully back safely in the audience!) and the truely obnoxious (Kelly Holmes - ungracious in body and mind). I was deeply aggrieved that Holmes, yet again, went through after her robotic performance while my two favorites (John Barrowman and Stefan Booth) had to fight it out in the skate off. And John Barrowman lost!!! Sob... oh well let's just hope Stefan can keep at it!!!

See John Barrowman's and Stefan Booth's sites.

Please I beg of you... don't vote for Holmes!!!

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Embassies burn in cartoon protest

"The Vatican says the right to freedom of expression does not imply the right to offend religious beliefs."

OK Vatican... fine... but if that's the case then freedom of religion and expression does not give you the right to offend my religious belief (based on my form of paganism) that homosexuality is not just right but part of the Gods plans (true). My religion has just recently decided it is forbidden to suggest that homosexuality is anything other than divine in nature (exaggeration).

So if I hear the Pope or some Cardinal insult this deeply held belief I'm going to threaten their lives and burn down the Vaticans embassy (true ;op or maybe I'm just trying to make a point).

Jack Straw. You support the whole anti-freedom of speech thing at the moment. I'll trust however in light of current developments you will be calling up the Syrian ambassador and asking him some very pointed questions about the lack of protection afforded to diplomatic property (especially considering one of the embassies burnt down contained the Chilean and Swedish missions who are totally above the whole argument in the first place)... at the same time could you please remove said protection from the Syrian embassy and see how they like it.

BBC NEWS | England | Leicestershire | Tall girl 'bullied' in chatroom

Bastard short people... yeah I mean YOU! If it wasn't bad enough that you've designed the world to be fiendishly small, you start bullying tall people as well!

If I become prime minister I'm going to make all shelves at least 8 foot high, remove every second step on stairs, and make all bar stalls 4 foot high at least... ah, a perfect world...

No I haven't gone straight. And no I haven't gone mad and started supporting that bloke over the pond. I just went to the fabulous Bush Bar on Thursday which is a very nice bar with excellent cocktails. Mmm... mojitos!! And the meal at Sodore was fab too. Sure the surroundings weren't up to much but the Ethiopian food was tasty and the host gracious.

Last night had a meal with Jim at Vietnam Restaurant.

Just discovered M&M's being sold in a shop in town... thank the lord! I haven't found any M&M's for years!!!

OK... my two cents on the Muhammad cartoon controversy. What is worse? Insulting someone's religion... or inciting violence?? As I looked at pictures of Muslims using threatening behaviour outside the Danish embassy, here in London, waving signs saying "Butcher Those Who Mock Islam" I decided that my sympathy for Muslims has reached it's lowest ebb yet.

I need to meet some nice, sane Muslims beyond the lovely guy at the corner shop. I need positive images to go against the constant negative imagery I see on telly and in the newspapers. Right now all I see is facist bastards who hate Jews, want to end free speech and censor the press. People who don't think twice before hanging gay people or stoning an adultress. Positive Muslim input required!

My last Muslim friend was way back at primary school...

My fave site of the day is: The Church Sign Generator

It's true. You can only ban incitement to violence, or something which would cause significant fear of violence. Humans are pretty stupid, hatred will always exist.

We live in a country where there is a right to freedom of speech and expression. We may not like it a lot of the time. I'd rather we closed down News Corporations offices. I'd rather homophobes were mutilated, executed and hung on Tower Bridge as a warning to others. But I understand that in order to live in a free society bigots, nasties and idiots (like me!) must be allowed to talk freely. Similarly their opponents must be allowed to talk back.

The House of Lords amendments to the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill were sensible and well considered. This was made especially necessary by the sensitivity needed in dealing with two very emotive subjects: freedom of speech and freedom to live your life in peace. And well done to the House of Commons to have the sense to back their compromise.


"The Commons confrontation followed a series of defeats inflicted on the bill by peers in a bid to safeguard freedom of speech.

The peers said only "threatening words" should be banned by the bill, not those which are only abusive or insulting.

They also called for the offence to be intentional and specified that proselytising, discussion, criticism, insult, abuse and ridicule of religion, belief or religious practice would not be an offence."