Topic: Misc.
Humbug about sex, part one.
This story baffles me. The popular computer game "Grand Theft Auto, San Andreas" was banned from shops in Australia and re-rated to 'adults only' in the US after it was discovered that it was possible to see graphic sex scenes by downloading a special patch from the internet.
This might seem understandable were it not for the fact that the game permits players to kill civilians, steal property and take drugs for amusement. I watched a friend of mine play an earlier version of the game (Vice City) and in the first minute he sliced a defenceless female character to death with a samurai sword for no reason whatsoever, before robbing a drug store and driving off in a stolen car. All part of the fun.
Yet it's only when players learn how to make their characters give pleasure to others instead of killing, robbing or mutilating them that it causes offence!
Humbug about sex, part two.
I bought Private Eye today and was amused to see that page five made fun of the number of female columnists writing about nannies. I called Vicky Coren about it, as she had noticed the same thing.
One of the pieces derided in the Eye was from a woman who said that nannies, like children and pets, needed to be set clear limits. She went on to complain about a lesbian nanny she hired who downloaded pornography onto her computer. This, the writer noted, was a clear cry for help and a sign that the nanny needed boundaries set for her.
"No", said Vicky. "She was looking for pictures of minge".
Quite right. It reminds me of the drivel people talk when they say that teenagers who have sex are suffering from low self-esteem. Utter bollocks. They have discovered that their genitals have nerve endings. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best.
What is the point of W.H.Smith?
Growing up in the 1980s, I recall going to W.H.Smith's on a Saturday morning and seeing the place absolutely packed with customers. It was the Times Square of High Wycombe. If you stayed there long enough, you'd see everyone.
Recent visits to one in Fulham have left me stunned at how dead it is. It doesn't have anything like the stock of books that the local Borders has. It is competing with Rymans (about 100 yards down the same road) in the all-important market for plastic folders and hole-punchers and its music section is pitiful compared to what is available in Virgin and HMV.
All of this is so sad. Not because I'm a shareholder, but because as a teenager in a packed branch I could read substantial portions of the books and magazines I liked for free without being noticed. Now I would stand out a mile. Bah!
_ DY
at 6:02 AM BST
