marshall mcluhan, true life and perez hilton.

i'm being a bit naughty today. i'm still suffering from severe lack of internet at home so i'm taking the opportunity to blog whilst i'm at work (on a saturday! i always thought the perks of being a tutor were that you wouldn't have to work on saturdays... what a swizz). i can't wait for the day bt receive my housemate's cheque and decide to reconnect us. i imagine it to be a very liberating experience. but anyway... i could go on all day about the liberating experience of getting the internet back in my life... but i won't. back to the topic in hand.

i'm beginning to think this research blog is potentially the bestest idea i've had in a very long time. with my first post, i received a fantastic link to a rare audio file of Marshall McLuhan. already a great addition to my research. thanks to the author of the star larvae blog for sharing that with me.

this week i watched an interesting channel 4 documentary, my daughter grew another head and other true life stories, well... i say it was interesting, it seemed initially so anyway...

the documentary was about the phenomenon of the British "true-life" magazine industry. despite the rise of the internet, use of blogs etc as well as the rise of more coffee table or collectable magazines... "true-life" magazines have a readership over approximately 11 million every week. my brain of course went "bing! that's research right there!". so i decided that i would watch it... but it quickly turned into the sensationalist channel 4 documentary that i thought it would. there were some view points from the journalists which i found quite interesting but then it inevitably focused in on the experiences of the people who sold their stories, which wasn't why i watched the programme in the first place to be honest. by all accounts, i got increasingly irritated and switched off at the second ad break.

i mean i could be wrong... it could have got really good and i'm sure when i've got my internet up and running at home again i will catch up on 4 OD so if my opinion does change i'll eat my hat (and write an update).

in other news this week... i wrote an email to Perez Hilton. oh yes. it's of course been unanswered but hell i thought i'd give it a try. it was all in the name of research as he is arguably king of the blogging universe when all he's done is essentially make a career out of bitching about famous people. i think he is a bit like marmite and katie price... you either love him or hate him. either way he is certainly controversial and rather fascinating. as i have yet to hear from the horse's mouth i would love to get some opinions from you lot. feedback would be appreciated whether you love him or hate him. maybe you have a theory as to why he has become so successful? whatever... i would just love to know. leave a comment or email me should you want your opinion to remain anonymous.

anyway i guess i best get back to work... although nothing is happening right now. if you're bored and you're in the area come down to Southampton's Learning Festival to learn lots of ace new things... it will also give me something to do.