Clicking on Doc40 puts me in a foul mood, and I am now deliberately attempting to be objectionable. The Content Warning is pissing me off. It’s like a correct schoolmarm wagging a reproving finger at me, and I guess I’m taking it out on poor Germaine with this photo that our pal Jeff Dexter just unearthed. It will probably offend someone. But I’m also marking time as I figure out what the “objectionable content” fire curtain really means to the future conduct of Doc40. Already some negative ramifications – especially in the realm of search engines – need to be thought through. Meanwhile here is what Professor Greer is still writing about me after all these years.
“Russell Brand also reminds me of Mick Farren, former lead singer of a band called the Social Deviants, then just the Deviants, who ran with the Hell's Angels who did the security at Phun City, a rock festival he organised in 1970. Since those heady days, he has decamped to the US and written 23 novels, Wikipedia tells me, and "11 works of non-fiction including four on Elvis Presley and a plethora of poetry". Mick and I were as close as you can get at one time; I think he now thinks he invented me. Mick glued together a personality for himself out of a cluster of ready-made images - Elvis, the Fugs, Lou Reed, the Hell's Angels, Frank Zappa - all stewed in mockney. He was punk before punk, which was not surprising because he predicted punk. Like Brand, Farren had a tendency to get stopped by the police. He was mouthy, talked tough and was anything but. Brand's like that - not so much a Hell's Angel as a Hell's Cherub, with his short upper lip and habit of speaking through clenched teeth like a featherweight Tommy Cooper, dropping references to Schopenhauer and ball-bags in a breath, simply to amaze and appal.” (Click here for the rest)
But it’s just the old bitchy Bohemian world kids. You shoulda seen the Café Royal in 1897.
Click here for The Jive Bombers
The secret word is Impeded
Nice try Mick. But Germaine did not offend me. Someone who looked that good and has a working brain is not a problem.
ReplyDeleteI find to content warning an annoyance nothing more. but I'm not considering things like search engines, or new readers.
I still have no idea what actually set this non-sense off. I cannot figure out what in the content rules was the trigger for the message.
Try a picture or two of Dr. Laura. See it that offends.
I think the whole thing is an attack on Aleleeinn freedoms. I'm only hear a week or two and the bottom falls out.
I say blame me. I'm too twisted already to care.
Or be offensive. Send us to Teabagger political sites and claim its all true.
Your only hope is to have your sense of humor surgically removed. I've seen it done in whole segments of business management.
Have you considered appearing on "Dancing with the Stars"? And that's not in the usage policy either.
Seriously though, this is simply as Maynard calls it "Stupid SHIT".
If you have to move the blog let us know. We aren't much for being followers, but we'll be there.
What would I do about Google's imposed warning? I'd go for maximum publicity about the arbitrary nature of it, about the absence of any right to appeal, and about how it contrasts with Google's own invasion of our collective rights without so much as a by-your-leave. (Steetview anyone?)
ReplyDeleteAnd if that didn't get me anywhere, a self-hosted Wordpress site would be my chosen alternative. There are options for migrating content I believe, although I've not tried them out in practice.
Ah yes, Dr Greer. So clever she can comment on books she's never actually read.
ReplyDeletei quite like the warning,feels like i should get my old leathers out while i`m reading it.hells cherub,i think there may be a bit of a spark there old boy.me,i`m saying nothing.
ReplyDeleteoh,i forgot to say.blimey.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't have a warning on your blog it's not worth having.
ReplyDeleteAll these years later and she can't stop talking about you. Not bad.
ReplyDeletei recall the jigsaw in OZ where you revolved the pieces to reveal her nether-petals 'down under', but hey who needs jigsaws?
ReplyDeleteNot offended; got any more pictures? Always had a thing for Greer, from long before I met you. Imagine my jealousy/admiration. What is it about smart British brunettes? I rather like Nigella Lawson too.
ReplyDeleteWhat Greer wrote was not entirely uncomplimentary--we are all the stylistic sum of our influences, don't you think? She missed a couple--Dylan, Morrison.
Seems like there ought to be somebody you could contact for some kind of explanation about the new barrier--a bit of research is in order. Might make a nice piece as well.
I didn't know you had a thing for Germaine. She is, however, Australian.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to get a bit irritated with the content warning since it doesn't seem to set a cookie but insists on asking me every time. But apart from being easily irritated by a single extra click, I'm not worried. If it does reduce hits on search engines it could be a problem for you though - in which case, if I were you, I'd follow the instructions on how to download the whole thing, then move to Wordpress and upload the entire blog in a new home. It'd take a while for people to get the message and follow, but moving a blog isn't unmanageable (or so they say).
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm wondering is what, exactly, was offensive? A few cheesecake pictures are unlikely to unhinge the little 'uns and the odd absurd paperback cover was, after all, just a picture of a published book, which is not generally speaking a felony offense. I guess blogger really doesn't bother to check the facts when someone reports you, which is a little bit cheap of blogger (but on the other hand they don't exactly charge much).
Well, I'm still here anyway...grumpily awarding the second click to get through.
Oh, and I second the comment about Germaine - if she's still using you as the yardstick for every 'edgy' celebrity, I guess you made an indelible impression. Go you.
Also, your link to Dr. Greer's outburst is broken.
ReplyDeleteYou are Russell Brand's dad! Haha!
ReplyDeleteWorking link for article. From 2007.
And what's this about George Lazenby? I thought it was Barry Humphries.
Are you now the de facto standard against which all renaissance deviants are measured? It appears you are Germaine's standard at least. She "accuses" you of mixing "Schopenhauer and ball-bags in a breath" after doing almost the same thing herself. She still thinks pretty highly of you. And she didn't deny that "you invented her". Pretty high praise for an offensive blogger. ROFL
ReplyDeleteThis all just leaves me very cross. I don't care how alluring Doctor G looked back in the day. The biddy was an arrogant fool then, and appears to remain one still. Mind you, as one or two have said, she still seems to remember you - I'd guess that's a compliment.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I saw a photo of Russell Brand I thought it was Larry Wallis!
ReplyDeleteCan we have some gratuitous Valerie Leon at some point? She always made me feel "kinda funny" ;-)
ReplyDelete