Diggin' an 'ole

Sad to lose Bernard Cribbins, who narrated the Wombles when I was a kid. Hope he's buried with a bowler. 

Crocodile

 I often think about and rewatch Black Mirror episodes because they're well done and have interesting themes & ideas.

"Crocodile" is one of those I rewatch occasionally, mostly because of the atmosphere, mesmerising setting of Iceland and the two female leads, Kiran Sonia Sawar and Andrea Riseborough. 

Spoilers (despite it having been out for about 5 years, where have you been?:

The main difficulty I have with the story, however, is the complete brush-over of the physique of Andrea as Mia when it comes to the acts she carries out. It requires huge suspension of disbelief to swallow the way she murders her ex/old friend. Andrea is very slight, stick-thin really, and he is an average bloke, bigger, taller, he could brush her off like a fly. Admittedly he whacks his head on the floor, which is possibly the death-blow anyway, but the struggle beforehand just seems so unlikely. But OK, through his ill-luck/confused passivity, she takes him out. 

Then she has to get his body onto a trolley and then into the boot of her car in the hotel car-park, all without being seen, then drag his body from the car to where she disposes of it. He's got to weigh at least a third more than she does, he's literally dead-weight on the ground, and she does not look like she works out, (sorry Andrea, in this, you look like you control your weight (if you do), solely by diet, not exercise). I know adrenalin can help, but you have to ignore a lot of practical issues here. It's not credible. They don't even show any elements of the enormous physical struggle it would be for her to do any of that, possibly because it would have shown the cracks up even more. 

Reading about the episode in Wikipedia today, apparently it was originally written with a male protagonist in mind, which makes sense.

I'm all in favour of women being given these sorts of roles; the Alien movies would not have been iconic if Ripley had been played by a man as initially planned and not by the amazing Sigourney Weaver. 

But I don't think it does stories, and women as a class, any good to ignore where the character would actually need to do physical things differently than a man would, if she would. She could still Do the Things, and I really really want to see that, but she might need a fulcrum. 

I want to see her find that fulcrum or workaround and use it. 

I mean you can see these movies or series where the bad ass woman character is in a direct fight with a man or multiple men, and it's generally selling us a lie. Unless she has the superpower of enhanced strength or if she is advantaged in some other way, in the most cases the man would outclass her in speed and strength. 

It just needs a bit of thought. Yes to women in action (or sociopathic murdering) roles and doing All The Things, but let's give a passing nod to the challenges. 

It's a false equality to pretend there's no difference.  

And no, this is not saying men are "better", cos if that's all that matters, well, a bullock is both swifter and stronger than any man. 

Meanwhile in London

Climate change deniers be like:

The It Crowd Moss The It Crowd GIFfrom The It Crowd GIFs

Finished 13/07/2022: Just ignore Him - Alan Davies

Yes, I'm the arsehole

 I went to B&Ms this morning to buy some screening to go in the back-garden, because the neighbours have had a relative staying in a tent in their garden for about a month and it feels like there's no privacy. It's the cheapest solution I can think of, although I'm not expecting it to survive long due to living in quite a windy place. If it gives me the summer to be able to wander out and not feel like I'm in a fishbowl, that'll do me. 

Anyway, I was a bit internally surly and getting these 4 bags of screening that were quite heavy and awkward to the till bit by bit. And this family came to the queue while I was getting the things there, and I thought they were going to sorta jump the line (which only really consisted of me getting my pile together). I wasn't expecting anyone to wait for me so wouldn't have minded if they had. But they didn't. And then after I lugged one of the things to the car and came back to get the others, I met the father and his son bringing me the other three, and I almost cried. 

So lovely of them. I might nearly cry again remembering it!  

And I felt bad, because I'd noticed them going round and had been horrified by their choice of a great roll of astroturf, (which is shit for the environment and just generally awful stuff). But I guess they're probably doing the best they can to make an outside space nice for their kids, and I shouldn't be so rotten.

Good news day

 It's a good news day so far - 30-odd Tory resignations and a delegation to tell BoJo to go. Can only hope he actually listens.

Surely he must, they're dropping like flies?

Although his shamelessness is apparently endlessless.

Finished: Finders keepers - Belinda Bauer & Made to Kill - Adam Christopher

Camp frugal

I'm planning on camping for a few nights to save money on my commute as I need to be in the office every day. 

This seemed like a good idea at the time. I guess if it's horrible I can abandon the scheme and take the hit on petrol.

I wish I could afford an electric car in order to save money. Or maybe, better yet, get a more local job. 

Finished: Amongst our weapons - Ben Aaronovitch

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

 So, I'm reliving my youth by rocking out to Rage Against The Machine (while doing the housework, such rebellion) and thinking how little has changed "some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses".

We move forwards, we get pushed back. 

Then I hurt my back hoovering, of all things. 

Sleazy does it

 The Tory rain of sleaze continues unabated. 

It's seldom one finds oneself agreeing with an ex-Tory MP (Neil Parish) ousted for watching porn in Parliament, but it really isn't fair that Chris Pincher hopes to merely resign from the Deputy Chief Whip position and keep the rest of his career, after groping two men while on a drunken binge. 

Pariah Parish

This is not even the first occasion of non-consensual touching this guy has been caught for.

I hope that the men on the receiving end of his unwanted attentions take it further. The bloke shouldn't be in government. Neither of them should be. 

Bottom Pincher

Bad for the blood pressure

 

I was reminded today about this long past minor incident: I brought up with the man teaching First Aid at work that women can have different symptoms with heart attacks to men (I said something fairly qualified and not contradicting him, just a question really) and he poo-pooed it and shut me down. 

Grrrr. The injustice. 

<Goes back in time and pursues him to the ends of the earth to make him admit I was in fact correct>