infoxicated

I had to shake my head in disbelief when I read this story regarding an english actor performing in a play at the Edinburgh Fringe. The play concerns racism in football, so this man of questionable sanity takes to the streets of Edinburgh in an England shirt, complete with a shaven head and a St George’s flag painted on it.

And he says, surprize surprize, that he got some abuse.

What… the… fuck… was he expecting?!

I don’t normally get involved in this sort of thing – I’m Scottish, but not that patriotic for the place, and I’ve lived in England for five and a half years of my life so I don’t really give out that strong a Scottish vibe other than my accent (and the fact I’m wearing a Rangers shirt today has nothing to do with it – it’s five a side day!).

Anyhow, if I shaved my head, painted the St Andrews cross on it, stuck on a Scotland shirt and handed out leaflets down Liverpool town center I could 100% guarantee I’d be going home via casualty. Assuming I was ever well enough again to live at home.

It’s common fucking sense that you don’t rub peoples noses in it or you bring the worst side out of human nature. So why is this tosspot Jonathan Salt going to the press and making out that Scotland has a low tolerance for his kind of behaviour? – That Scottish people are in some way racist because of the reaction of a few passionate individuals at the appearance of some pillock trying to drum up an audience for his play?

People like Jonathan Salt make me sick – courting the media with some shock bullshit when all he wants is a little free publicity. At the end of the day, he is asking for it in more ways than one.

Sign the Petition for a Software Patent Free Europe – you know it makes sense!

The weekend saw the first proper visit by my parents since I moved out of home two and a half years ago. I had been a little anxious about it, as due to the way life goes I hadn’t had the best of relationships with my step-father over the last 20 years.

As it turned out every thing was cool – we seemed to get on pretty well and there were no noticable moments of friction over the three days; An achievment in itself if my family history is anything to go by!

It was interesting spending time with my little brother, too. He kind of looks up to me, which I find pretty weird as I’m hardly the kind of role model that should be inspiring to any eleven year old. Since most of the role model thing comes from my PlayStation prowess, it wasn’t too hard to impress him with a couple of levels of Medal of Honour and an in depth stint on Grand Theft Auto 3.

Funny how a game focused on one of the worst times in history and another recreating a seedy criminal underworld can help while away a rainy weekend for two people 18 years apart in age. Looks like video games have crossed the generation gap after all.

All in, the weekend was probably the most enjoyable and relaxed time I’ve spent with my parents in a long long time. Maybe they’re not as old as they used to be… :o)