I don’t like Jim. When Jim goes to the opera, he dresses in smart clothes and drinks gin and tonic, but when Jim goes to his local, he dresses in casual clothes and drinks bitter. What a despicable fraud Jim must be.
I don’t like Jim. When Jim goes to the opera, he dresses in smart clothes and drinks gin and tonic, but when Jim goes to his local, he dresses in casual clothes and drinks bitter. What a despicable fraud Jim must be.
Nice try, john, but you have missed the point, again. The "despicable fraud" bit is not a reference to R2D2’s stylistic manoeuvrings – which, as you suggest with your uncharacteristically elegant metaphor, have some justification, though not as much as you think – but to the numerous instances of misrepresentation (to put it politely) pointed out by Juan Golblado and others in the comments box you so kindly link to.
But don’t let us stop you taking further rides on the Vietnamese railway system that runs through your parallel universe. As those comments also indicate, you and R2D2 provide a lot of entertainment for a lot of people. Just not quite the entertainment that you imagine you provide.
I see that you are too busy being entertained to come up with any arguments … it must be a lot of fun being you, although to be honest this doesn’t really come over in your actual writings, which many people find to be on the bitter and humourless side.
The Marxist Mongers have a new fixation: dsquared.
It’s all rather bizarre.
The ‘Decent Left’ are an odd bunch, one has to say.
SIAW: do you realise your comments read like self satire?
Given SIAW’s comments (and posts) sound like they have been written by a committee (of retired colonels) do you think each one is actually vetted by all of them? Is that why they always miss the moment?
Bitter and humourless? Yes that’s a good description of SIAW’s old blog, that’s for sure. The Popinjays site benefits from some less turgid authors though, being a group blog, and Will’s occasional foam flecked rants at the evil Stoppers are always good for a laugh.
Popinjays is actually a pretty good site; to be honest I find the political views there a bit barking but it is at least written with a bit of brio.
…sigh, as everyone from headmasters to policemen to referees has told me over the years "trouble has a way of seeking you out, doesn’t it, Davies?"
My private theory is that siaw are three people whose significant others were seduced by Gerry Healy in 1968, and they’ve been marinating in the consequent misanthropy ever since.
I get banned from the DSTforWAR’s comments and John and D2 don’t? I’m flattered, really.
Chris, my private theory is that Siaw is one person who sits at his PC dressed as Queen Victoria and sniffs, "WE are not amused," every ten minutes. It takes all sorts.
ahhh you see Dave, me and John are "entertaining". I seem to remember that Harry o’ the Place also promised to stop banning me because I was "entertaining". I’m the fucking Sammy Davis Junior of internet argument, me.
I don’t care what they say. I love you, man.
I never go to the fucking opera!
Why not? You some kind of peasant?
ahhh you see Dave, me and John are "entertaining". I seem to remember that Harry o’ the Place also promised to stop banning me because I was "entertaining".
Yeah, there’s an entry in Mark Kaplan’s Notes on Rhetoric on this:
Entertaining – You find your opponent entertaining. His arguments are ‘amusing’, ‘diverting’ and so on, a kind of sport, which you have enjoyed. At some point, however, this becomes ’embarassing’ and you should advise your opponent to retire before he humiliates himself. At all costs avoid suggesting you are seriously engaged with what he is saying.
SIAW is/are definitely three personages. They called me ‘intelligent and witty’, here on this site. That’s never happened before and shows that the Holy Trinity know a thing or two. Three heads are better than one.
(Perhaps they were being sarcastic, but I’ll kid myself they weren’t.)
Old P, I’ve just noticed that over at Drink Soaked Trotskyist Popinjays Against DSquared, you said that you think Mel P is "sensible", and that you’ve never heard of USSNeverdock. May I suggest that you go there (and stay there), you’d fit right in.
It just sounds like shite to me I’m afraid, Harry. All that shouting in Italian and affected vibrato nonsense. I’m actually fairly certain that there hasn’t been a genuine opera fan for 200 years. Everyone’s just pretending.
If that makes me a peasant, then so be it. I shall apply for my gingham tunic and straw hat with all haste.
Jim,
I’m not a big opera fan myself, and I’m with you on the shouting in Italian and the affected vibrato. But I’ve recently got well into Wagner’s Ring Cycle. You might want to give that one a go, if you haven’t already. (I mean, you might well hate it, but at any rate you’ll hate it for different reasons than other opera.)