Only joking

Yesterday I grabbed a book to read on the toilet. I'm in the middle of reading another book but I have pages to go in it before the next chapter stop so I thought I'd get something where I could read the introduction. I picked out Manufacturing Consent. There was no topicality in mind when I took the book off the shelf, it's just something I've owned for over a year without reading (like many other books). However, it does seem to tie in the with Sachsgate. I'm fascinated by celebrity and fame so I'm not immune to its appeal but at a time when the financial markets are rising and collapsing on an almost daily basis, the US Election is less than a week away and most people are concerned about staying warm this winter it is absurd that the top story is about two famous people who left a lewd message on the answermachine of an old man who was famous in the seventies.

I heard the original show on BBC iPlayer last week and thought the comments inappropriate and wondered how they could let a pre-recorded show go out for broadcast. Additionally, Brand's apology was minimal this week as he still insisted it was funny. I've read My Booky Wook, as a fan of Brand, but one thing that stood out was his apparent lack of remorse for any of his actions if they provided an anecdote for the book. I think that sometimes people can be oversensitive and as someone who tries to be funny himself, I realise it's usually the most innocuous remark that causes most offence or upset. When I say innocuous, it's usually something which strikes a personal chord with the recipient. Sometimes I want to say, "it was only a joke and you shouldn't take it so seriously" and at others times I'm forced to apologise because I've upset someone I know.

Ultimately, humour and impulse was the root of Brand and Ross's message and to see them vilified in the respectable tabloids (Mail and Express) is absurd. It does provide a nice distraction from what's really going on.