POE'S LAW
I wrote an article about Poe's Law a few weeks ago. To refresh your memory, Poe's Law states that "without a clear indicator of the author's intent, parodies of extreme views, will, to some readers, be indistinguishable from sincere expressions of the parodied views."
Nathan Poe, the law's inventor, when taking part in a Christian internet forum, said that it was "impossible to parody a creationist view in such a way that someone won't mistake for the genuine article."
Poe's Law, which originally referred to Creationism in particular, has now been expanded to refer to any form of extremism.
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| Free the Bonehead one |
A good example is the Daily Bale, a blog published by the country's leading champion of free expression, Joshua Bonehill-Paine. There is quite a discussion going on in chat room circles about whether his blog is actually a wind-up. As he is currently in prison on remand awaiting trial after one of his publications went wrong, he is either a genuine nut job or else he takes his entertainment very seriously indeed.
One of my favourite examples of the genre is the Landover Baptist Church which, among other things, has a lot to say about the sinfulness of being left handed and excuses it's poor spelling and grammar by explaining that the writer comes from Denmark and his first language is Denmarkian. It still didn't stop people posting comments about how he shouldn't pick on left handed people.
If you are interested in the subject and perhaps thinking of starting a web blog of your own, there is some further reading here that should give you some ideas.
THE TRADE IN LUNACY
Back in the old days, there was no TV and people had to make their own entertainment. One way of spending an otherwise dull day was to pay to be a spectator at the Bethlam Royal Hospital for the Insane, commonly referred to as Bedlam.
In 1598, the Governors of the hospital decided they could raise revenue by charging people to come and look at the loonies and poke fun at their antics. Later, the post of Physician at the hospital, which was an honorary and charitable one, meant that most of their income was obtained in what became known as "the trade in lunacy" where physicians would set up their own mad-house to make money.
Today, we do have TV and the "trade in lunacy" is carried out there. Channel 4 broadcasts a weekly programme called "Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners" where people with severe mental health problems are put on display so the audience can laugh at them.
In this programme, they take a person with an obsessive compulsive disorder which makes them obsessive cleaners and puts them with those whose disorders make them obsessive hoarders.
I do recall a film a few years ago called "See no Evil, Hear no Evil" where a deaf Gene Wilder and a blind Eddie Murphy find themselves caught up in various hilarious situations where neither understands, or is aware of, the other's condition. In the film, we are laughing with the characters as they blunder from one disaster to another.
In "Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners", we are not laughing with them, we are definitely laughing at them as they struggle to come to terms with what can be a crippling and life limiting condition.
Anyway, if you want to watch "Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners", or "Let's Laugh at the Loony Show", it's on Channel 4 at 8:00pm on Tuesdays.
Firstly, I don't give a toss who wins it.
Secondly, why is the Labour Party having kittens over the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn winning it? They are all bleating on about how he is too left wing to appeal to voters.
Hello!! Didn't the Scottish Nationalist Party go into the last election with a manifesto that was even more left wing than Michael Foot's famous suicide note of 1983?
We had Moderate Labour candidates going head to head with the nuclear disarming, nationalise everything SNP. Which party's candidates got shown their arses?
Okay, so Scotland isn't England but it can't be that different.
Actually, I wouldn't mind Jeremy Corbyn winning. At least it would give me an alternative to the Torilabour party we have at present. I suppose I could always vote UKIP.
Check, underpants on head? - no.
Not UKIP then.
There are three other candidates for the post of Labour leader:-
Andy Burnham
Yvette Cooper
Liz Kendall
Bollock to all of them, too.
I do enjoy a visit to the Birchwood pub in Abbey Wood. They change their choice of beer on a regular basis so you never know quite what you are going to get.
Last week, this was one of the selection on offer. Produced by the Black Sheep Brewery and called Monty Python's Holy Grail, it is claimed on their website that it is a full flavoured golden ale with citrusy notes and a long crisp dry finish. Personally, I like my beer to be full of alcohol but each to his own I suppose.
The Black Sheep Brewery is one of the Theakston's family enterprises so you would expect them to produce a good quality beer.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to sample it as I was working my way down a barrel of Doom Bar at the time and by the end of that, the Holy Grail had disappeared. Actually, I prefer a darker beer anyway so perhaps it's just as well.
Today, we do have TV and the "trade in lunacy" is carried out there. Channel 4 broadcasts a weekly programme called "Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners" where people with severe mental health problems are put on display so the audience can laugh at them.
In this programme, they take a person with an obsessive compulsive disorder which makes them obsessive cleaners and puts them with those whose disorders make them obsessive hoarders.
I do recall a film a few years ago called "See no Evil, Hear no Evil" where a deaf Gene Wilder and a blind Eddie Murphy find themselves caught up in various hilarious situations where neither understands, or is aware of, the other's condition. In the film, we are laughing with the characters as they blunder from one disaster to another.
In "Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners", we are not laughing with them, we are definitely laughing at them as they struggle to come to terms with what can be a crippling and life limiting condition.
Anyway, if you want to watch "Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners", or "Let's Laugh at the Loony Show", it's on Channel 4 at 8:00pm on Tuesdays.
THE LABOUR LEADERSHIP CONTEST
There now follows a statement about the Labour leadership contest on behalf of the Thamesmead Grump.
Secondly, why is the Labour Party having kittens over the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn winning it? They are all bleating on about how he is too left wing to appeal to voters.
Hello!! Didn't the Scottish Nationalist Party go into the last election with a manifesto that was even more left wing than Michael Foot's famous suicide note of 1983?
We had Moderate Labour candidates going head to head with the nuclear disarming, nationalise everything SNP. Which party's candidates got shown their arses?
Okay, so Scotland isn't England but it can't be that different.
Actually, I wouldn't mind Jeremy Corbyn winning. At least it would give me an alternative to the Torilabour party we have at present. I suppose I could always vote UKIP.
Check, underpants on head? - no.
Not UKIP then.
There are three other candidates for the post of Labour leader:-
Andy Burnham
Yvette Cooper
Liz Kendall
Bollock to all of them, too.
IT'S A VERY SILLY BEER
Last week, this was one of the selection on offer. Produced by the Black Sheep Brewery and called Monty Python's Holy Grail, it is claimed on their website that it is a full flavoured golden ale with citrusy notes and a long crisp dry finish. Personally, I like my beer to be full of alcohol but each to his own I suppose.
The Black Sheep Brewery is one of the Theakston's family enterprises so you would expect them to produce a good quality beer.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to sample it as I was working my way down a barrel of Doom Bar at the time and by the end of that, the Holy Grail had disappeared. Actually, I prefer a darker beer anyway so perhaps it's just as well.
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