It’s taken me four weeks to write this, because I barely knew where to start.
Channel 4 showed the singular and vastly wonderful The Banshees Of Inisherin at the weekend, and as brilliant as it is in its own right, it also came loaded with all sorts of resonances and finally prodded me into action.
The equally singular and wonderful Jonathan Nash, who will be known to readers of this isolated and quiet island parish under a variety of names, died last month, of death. It was sudden yet expected, and in those respects very much the opposite of the man himself.
Alert viewers may have already noticed a new addition to the central links column: The Sealand Gazette. (If so, they should award themselves 200 Alert Viewer Points and add them to their Viewerscore card.)
The Gazette came about because I have a bad habit of using Twitter as a sort of Post-It Note for news stories I want to keep on file for future reference. It is, of course, singularly badly suited for this purpose, because finding anything you posted on Twitter more than a couple of days ago is a hideous trial and – as I learned only recently – Twitter deletes your old tweets forever when you exceed your quota, which varies according to how prolifically you tweet but can be as little as a few weeks.
So instead, now there's the Gazette, the newspaper for people who increasingly wish they lived on an isolated former gun platform in the middle of the North Sea. Published through the rather nifty Scoop.it platform, the benefits are that it's incredibly easy to use – a couple of clicks adds a story – and both persistent and searchable.
(NB To search the Gazette use the "FILTER" function below the banner, not the Search box at the top of the page, which searches the whole of Scoop.it instead.)
At launch many of the stories are old-ish, because I've been going through my Twitter account grabbing everything I've posted there since April before it gets wiped, but from now on it'll be hot-off-the-presses stuff, and there's even a Page Three girl today as an introductory bonus. (Though of course, it's a rather sinister and troubling one.) Readers can also easily suggest stories to add.
The Gazette should be a lot less trouble to maintain than the short-lived "Reasons Not To Recycle" blog, and fulfil much the same purpose. (Misanthropic nihilism, essentially.) But I'll make a special effort to throw in a few nice stories too, because mass reader suicide isn't the goal. Although in the broader sense, it is a bit.
Young Lochinvar on Learning Insanity: “I think it was channel 4 news I overheard (not 100% sure though) tonight that NHS England was quoted as…” Jan 16, 01:22
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Learning Insanity: “NI UNIVERSITIES ACCUSED OF CENSURING GENDER-CRITICAL STUDENTS Universities in Northern Ireland risk “silencing” students who uphold the reality of sex,…” Jan 15, 23:02
PC Foster on Learning Insanity: “Order of the Bollox Expounders (OBE)” Jan 15, 20:27
Hatey McHateface on Learning Insanity: “Nah, TURABDIN. Wearing a burqa should obviously fall to the minister with responsibility for postal deliveries. BTW, why your capitalisation…” Jan 15, 20:07
Hatey McHateface on Learning Insanity: “Seeing as how Rev Stu has inspired us all by his article to look closely at the real meaning of…” Jan 15, 20:02
Hatey McHateface on Learning Insanity: “Don’t all women experience a tiny frisson of excitement when they think of those mighty pistons thrusting in and out?…” Jan 15, 19:45
dearieme on Learning Insanity: “@Cynicus: I use “female impersonator” and “castrato”. The latter is a bit approximate but, as the Yanks say, good enough…” Jan 15, 17:31
Alf Baird on Learning Insanity: ““SNP Scottish Government has been corrupted and controlled” Yes indeed, as Fanon wrote: the dominant national party is ‘co-opted by…” Jan 15, 16:03
TURABDIN on Learning Insanity: “The great thing about the Burqa is that no one can tell what you are or what you’re hiding or…” Jan 15, 15:51
lothianlad on Learning Insanity: “Excellent piece again Stu. Without you, we would be rudderless. An SNP Scottish Government has been corrupted and controlled.” Jan 15, 14:29
Lorna Campbell on Learning Insanity: “The Jewish American author, Ira Levin, wrote “The Stepford Wives” in 1975. On one level, it can be viewed as…” Jan 15, 14:23
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Learning Insanity: “STONEWALL REPORTS ‘SPECTACULAR FUNDING IMPLOSION’ Stonewall’s annual report reveals its income has fallen by 40 per cent in four years.…” Jan 15, 14:06
Lorna Campbell on Learning Insanity: “Recent studies have found a large correlation between brain and body, James, so it would seem that they are interlinked…” Jan 15, 14:01
James Cheyne on Learning Insanity: “OT, I see Italy is to change their rules based to indigenous populations preference, as France and many other Countries…” Jan 15, 13:09
James Cheyne on Learning Insanity: “Regardless of my own dyslexia and appalling education I still would not want to be sticking my neck out claiming…” Jan 15, 12:54
TURABDIN on Learning Insanity: “ONE DAY AI might provide the means to be anything or anyone you choose in a cyberpunkish universe. No need…” Jan 15, 12:25
James Cheyne on Learning Insanity: “Not so far fetched a scenario as the Scientist and government already consider experimenting on children, babies in the womb,…” Jan 15, 11:52
TURABDIN on Learning Insanity: “IN DEFINING SEX AND GENDER, it seems hormones and a thing called brian dimorphism are involved…maybe also a touch of…” Jan 15, 11:43
James Cheyne on Learning Insanity: “In the future scientific world I could envisage the removal of the brain from its wrong body to replace the…” Jan 15, 11:40
James Cheyne on Learning Insanity: “And I do have a questions, 1: Are the bodies who push this able to define if they were born…” Jan 15, 11:28
James Cheyne on Learning Insanity: “Paid activist, from tax payers money, that no one voted for, Political Phonexology comes to mind. = political evil. This…” Jan 15, 11:05
Cynicus on Learning Insanity: ““I think bollocks is the only acceptable spelling.” ======== Derived from “bullock”, meaning a castrated male calf. “Bullock” and “…” Jan 15, 10:25
Vivian O’Blivion on Learning Insanity: “The John Smith Centre, at the University of Glasgow, announce an upcoming, relaxed conversation, debate format between Deputy First Minister,…” Jan 15, 10:12
Phil on Learning Insanity: “Great analysis of utter bollocks. Sort of off-topic but I’ve just watched a clip of proceedings in the Scottish parliament…” Jan 15, 09:28
turnbulldrier on Learning Insanity: “Thanks for the KLF link. That was a fine start to the morning. As for everything else, “Woo Woo” seems…” Jan 15, 07:31
Willie on Learning Insanity: “This article reinforces, if reinforcement be needed, just how how huge anounts of scarce resources like money and time are…” Jan 15, 07:15
Iain More on Governing For Beginners: “P.S I forgot to add – Get that fuckin Yank NAZI Boat out of the Moray Firth” Jan 15, 01:12
Charles Findlay on Learning Insanity: “I think bollocks is the only acceptable spelling. Anything else would be bollocks.” Jan 14, 22:44
Charles Findlay on Learning Insanity: “I think bollocks is the only acceptable spelling. To spell it bollox would definitely be bollocks.” Jan 14, 22:43
