Splendid Isolation

A Belgian sports journalist has sparked fury after making a crude comment about a young reporter’s top on Twitter. Sven Spoormakers posted a picture of Belén Mendiguren interviewing cyclists during a race in Argentina, adding the caption: ‘Is it cold in Argentina?’.
The comment prompted a backlash from fellow journalists who took aim at the Belgian for ‘objectifying’ the young reporter. Spoormakers, a former junior cycling champion, initially defended his comment but later backed down and admitted it was ‘offensive to a lot of people’.

Here’s a pic of the “reporter” in question:

I remember our band’s favorite question when faced with an outfit like this: “Is it cold, or are you just pleased to see me?”

A more pertinent question would be this: “Why did you put that top on this morning?” And don’t give me that “It’s so hot!” bullshit; she wore it to attract the attention of the men she wanted to interview, and any other reason is a fucking lie.

Sorry, love; if the goods aren’t to be looked at, don’t put them in the window. And as for all the other scolds: FOAD, and take your “fury” with you.

More Celebrity Bullshit

February 4, 2020 Kim du Toit Modernism, Show Business, The Gun Thing

After not taking down Orange Man Bad, celebrities need another target for their hysteria… so why not go back to an old favorite?

Hollywood’s hypocritical gun control elites, including Rosie O’Donnell, Darryl Hannah, Amy Schumer, and others are applying pressure on studio executives to cut ties with the NRA. This request comes just over a week before Hollywood comes together on February 9 for the Oscars.
1010 WCST reports that the celebs, joined by the gun control group Guns Down America, sent a letter to the execs which said, “Since the federal government has failed to pass reforms that raise the standard for gun ownership in America, our industry has a responsibility to act.”

Here’s a thought: why don’t these pricks put their money/careers where their mouth is? If these precious little darlings hate guns so much, then they should:

refuse to read any scripts which contain guns or gunplay; or else
tell their agents to put a clause into their next movie deal that if the storyline changes to involve any guns whatsoever, they have the right to walk off the set without penalty.

Let’s see how that works out for them.

Not Much To See Here

February 4, 2020 Kim du Toit Housekeeping

Last Saturday, while doing some routine maintenance on Ye Olde Lappe Toppe, I somehow managed to delete almost all my bookmarks. This means I’ve lost my map to the Internet (which isn’t too much hassle) as well as the shortcuts to every single bit of research I’ve ever done since the world / Internet was young (which is a huge hassle).

The only saving grace (if it can be called that) is that my critical links (banking, rent, taxes etc.) were in a different bookmark folder and were spared destruction.

Fuck.

As such, I’ll be trying to rebuild my online heritage, so to speak, over the next week or two, and thus may take even longer than usual to respond to emails and such than normal. Please bear with me in my Tyme of Troubles:

…and keep sending those entries in for the ULD Rifle.

Also, no chiding me for failing to back up the Bookmarks file — easy in MS Windows (which I haven’t used in about three years), NOT so easy using Chrome, as it turns out.

There are times when I’m so fucking stupid…

[exit, punching self in face]

Killjoys

February 3, 2020 Kim du Toit Nannies, Seen On Campus, Snowflakes

“I know: let’s put in policies which outlaw any kind of fun, lest the Terminally Sensitive be offended in any way.”

That’s the thinking behind this move, apparently:

Oxford University has cracked down on ‘vicars and tarts’ and ‘pimps and hoes’ parties in case they are deemed offensive to non-binary students.
…
The prestigious university body said they could be deemed ‘problematic’ and may stereotype men or women in a highly objectified or sexualised role.

Uhhh I thought that was the whole point of the thing, but nemmind.

I cannot count the number of times I’ve been to costume (“fancy dress”) parties of the kind mentioned above. On one occasion, I recall that a “Pimps ‘n Prostitutes” party competition was won by a couple dressed as a priest and a nun, with second place going to a girl who wore her former — and very posh — private girls’ school uniform for the occasion (see below for an example). (That she was by then in her 30s made for quite an accomplishment, by the way; and no, it hadn’t been altered.)

Never mind; students are endlessly inventive in their schemes to outrage the university authorities, and I’m confident that the Oxonians will come up with something good. (If not, and they just cower in the face of such stupidity, we’re all doomed.)

Incidentally, the pic above is of the Britpop group Girls Aloud. Here they are in another version of the uniform thing:

Just trying to help my Murkin Readers understand this whole “school uniform” thing. That’s me: Mr. Helpful.

Quote(s) Of The Day

February 3, 2020 Kim du Toit QOTD

“The Earth is degenerating today. Bribery and corruption abound. Children no longer obey their parents, every man wants to write a book, and it is evident that the end of the world is fast approaching.”

— From a tablet found in Assyria, circa 2800 BC

And:

“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”

— Socrates, circa 380 BC