I am also not at the beach anymore at the time of posting this but that's not important because in 2 days time I fly off to another beachy location, I'm not winning at life but I'm certainly taking it to extra time where I may lose on penalties.
As I write this I am worried about the possibility of skin cancer, we are warned about the sun and its effect on our skin much like we are warned about the sun newspaper and how that can give you brain cancer or some other metaphoric ailment that makes you briefly contemplate murder or at least arson. Please don't kill anyone or set fire to things as a result of reading this, I don't want some over sensitive student magazine on the phone wanking on about how irresponsible I am.
Anyway poorly conceived metaphors aside how shit are we at being alive if you can't even go outside without the risk of baking to death? I mean humans are so feeble, we live on a planet made up of mostly water yet can't survive in said water, some of us can't even sail across the stuff without turning into Linda Blair. I refer of course to the vomiting part, if your head spins round 360 degrees or you feel the urge to violently masterbate using a crucifix then probably see a doctor .
The sun, (for those of you based in northern England it's that orange ball in the sky that other parts of the world can see when the clouds go away) has already fricasseed my tender Yorkshire skin as I defiantly announced to anyone who would dare suggest I had to choose between cream up or death; I'll be reet.
I, like many others, don't really know how likely it is to contract cancer from the sun, I have heard about the likelihood and then formulated an opinion on the chances of it happening to me before deciding that tertiary information is sufficient and refusing to read up any further on it because let's be honest, who needs to be informed these days before having an opinion?
Well in the age of social media, instant information and the apparent dumbing down of society it seems no one needs all; or in fact any; of the facts before arguing vehemently their point with anyone stupid enough to be drawn into cyber debate about anything!
This is something I have noticed about a number of stand up comedians, wannabes and hobbyists whose path I have crossed due to my own probably deluded vision of a comedy based venture, they have such strong opinions on the square route of fuck all.
It may be that I have only recently noticed it, that performers are worse than your average human or that I only happen to notice the particularly self absorbed explosion of opinion that could easily have been worded in a way that perhaps better reflects the intended tone.
What's particularly frustrating about this is that 90% of these posts, replies to posts or even blogs (such as this, my own wanky expression of opinion which of course creates a pot and kettle situation) come from truly lovely, talented and intelligent people.
Almost everyone I have met through stand up is a remarkable human, they are often so bright, so gifted, so much more than I could ever be that I feel like wincing and running away as I could never be like them.... But then we become Facebook friends and they post something that to me reads
"I am a cunt I am a cunt I am a cunt oh and your opinion can't possibly be right because I'm an enormous cunt"
The thing is, I wouldn't want anyone to not feel like they could spout their opinions on their own Facebook pages, but can we at least expect someone to have a differing opinion no matter how horrific, stupid or possibly wrong without shouting them down and becoming aggressive or even oppressive?
If some Facebook conversations were real life face to face chats I could only imagine most conversations ending with Wild West style saloon fights with the Facebook group moderator as town sherif just deleting historical verbalisations as if that makes them no longer relevant. Even the Amish would probably be reduced to slapping each other now and then if they used the Facebook rules of communication.
I'd like to see more debate, discussion and opinion as I'm open to changing mine if someone is able to formulate and argument that makes sense, imagine how many UKIP supporters would have voted elsewhere if rather than being called an ignorant prick they were advised on the facts, or how many newbies to something would either quit straight away or go about things the right way if instead of being belittled it was explained to them what danger they are doing.
Not all morons can be un-moroned this way (genuinely want un-moroned to become a word) but if we can change how we behave on social media in order to come across a little more approachable it may benefit us all in the long run because like it or not we can not control how others perceive us and our personal brand may be being damaged by the way we interact with others on social media.
I still don't know if this sun is killing me, but at least of these are to be my last days on earth, I'm bloody enjoying them here in Spain.
Jim x
