I thought today I was going to have to lay into the old toot about binge drinking that’s been polluting the Manx and UK press in recent days (e.g. http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/Manx-teenagers-among-the-worst.5117461.jp and http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/mar/27/teenage-drinking-alcohol-binge) .
It annoyed me that people who actually get paid to research and find news are too bone idle to do anything except lift press releases about government and drinks industry sponsored pseudo-research word for word.
It annoyed me even more when, as part of my planned demolition, I was going to refer you to something I did for another website over a year back which would have handily pulled the rug from under this crap. Then I discovered that (possibly in the interests of beigeness, boredom and governmental bum-kissing) they’d pulled it and all similar balanced or properly researched items from the site.
Hmm – who’s been promised a nice seat on a QUANGO then?
So, I wasn’t a happy bunny.
Well, folks, this is your lucky day, and that bit of literary semtex can wait for another one. I just discovered something way more positive.
So, I’m sitting here with a bottle of champers instead, and if this entry meanders off into the valley of purple prose it’s because I’m getting stuck into it.
The Pink Triangle Trust blog is one today,and I’m celebrating. It’s on the sidebar, so go take a look.
Don’t let heterosexuality stop you either. This isn’t just some gay blog; not even just some gay humanist blog. This is one of the best things to happen in the British humanist/secularist/freethought community in ages.
Just at the point when (perhaps with the honourable exception of the Freethinker blog and Mediawatchwatch website) UK humanism was descending into some sort of mealymouthed, middle of the road secular Methodism, along comes the PTT blog like a freethought firework display. I caught it by chance on the first day and have been back every day since.
It’s even one of the reasons I took the leap and started blogging myself. And I have to say in passing it helped the PTT guys were supportive of me too.
Look at the links – shedloads of new sources of inspiration for truly independent thinkers. Look at the contributors – I’ve only met two in person but all seem like friends who have cheered me up on bad days and egged me on to further ripostes against the beige puritans.
Right, half a bottle down – got to get this up on the blog before I start babbling.
Many happy returns Andy, Dean, Diesel, Balaam, Roy, George and everyone else who contributed to the joy of the project.
Slainte, and have one or two for me wherever you’re celebrating today!
10 years ago
1 comment:
Can't think how I missed this, since I have this blog in my Google Reader so as not to miss posts. However, I was away for a few days, so maybe that explains it. So thanks for the comments, Stuart. Much appreciated. And it's good that we're doing something right.
The problem with blogging is always that one is preaching to the converted, but maybe even that can be good sometimes, in that it maybe keeps people's spirits up, makes them constantly aware that there are more and more people of like mind out there.
And, as you point out, you don't need to be good at baking quiche, have a lot of show songs in your CD collection or have a sensitivity to curtain design to enjoy the blog, because I doubt that even half the stories concern gay issues – although, clearly, a fair number do, since it's bigotry that is usually born of religion and aimed at the LGBT community that gives Pink Triangle its raison d'être, and that of the organisation whose name it blogs under, the Pink Triangle Trust.
So thanks again for the kind words. (And I've now discovered who the duty reader is! Only joking!)
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