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Richard Littlejohn, Nicky Campbell and Will Self

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Haus about we all give each other a big lovely huggle?

09:01 / 13.03.02

The Haus rises in acknowledgement of Mr. Bizunth.

Mind you, that seems to happen a lot these days.

10:00 / 13.03.02

quote:Originally posted by The Haus under the Ocean:

Biodynamo (or possibly BioK9 - forgive an old man's poor memory) has suggested that a *universal* standard of living rather worse than that currently enjoyed by us fellows typing away at our expensive computers in countries with a largely functional telecommunications system and the personal means to purchase services from it, but rather better than that of many we share a globe with, could be maintained by globally redistributive methods. Being no econonomist, I cannot comment on these theses.

It was me, and I'm no economist either. Just campaigning. Also, I liked reading this thread a lot as long as it was silly, even if much was lost on me.. I also liked reading the last bits, but for entirely different reasons.

What is this 'Hampstead'-thing you people speak of?

Haus about we all give each other a big lovely huggle?

10:11 / 13.03.02

Hampstead is an area of North London - close enough in to make access to the City easy, far enough out to allow large areas of greenery (the famous Hampstead Heath), car ownership and so on.

Hampstead is a desirable area, and living in Hampstead is largely the preserve of the well-off. There is a stereotype of the "Hampstead liberal" - usually a highly-paid worker in media who has left-leaning politics, espouses "right-on" causes but maintains for themselves an extremely high standard of living.

Nick's complaint is that people living in Hampstead are labouring under an unfair stereotype, which is largely correct. He is also attemtping to argue that there is a racial undercurrent to Hampstead stereotyping - this may be sincerely-felt but is a far harder sell, particularly as the examples of Hampsteadism cited so far have been the WASPy Alex Garland and Will Self.

Haus about we all give each other a big lovely huggle?

10:20 / 13.03.02

quote:Originally posted by Kit-Cat Club:
I have a feeling that Alex Garland lives in Primrose Hill...

Well, that explains everything.

Fuckers

10:39 / 13.03.02

edited due to decision that thread is way over my head.

Other than the fact that Arundhati Roy can kick Will Self's ass in any day of the week.

[ 13-03-2002: Message edited by: Cherry Bomb ]

The Planet of Sound

11:22 / 13.03.02

I feel that some harmless comments, made in jest in a thread that took in Meg and Mog and Roger Hargreaves (author/illustrator of the Mr. Men series) have been somewhat misconstrued. In fact, reading back through this thread, I have seldom seen such woefully hilarious misreading take place in a Barbe-thread.

My emnity towards Alex Garland is the result largely of my own failings to 'make it big' in the world of literature, and is peppered with a smidgen of those self-important Harry Enfield characters (Oi! Garland! No!). For the record, Nick, I lived in a garret in Hampstead myself when The Beach came out, I had failed to get a novel published, he was rapdily becoming a millionaire, I was bitter, bitter, tormented and confused... and there was Alex Garland, wlking in MY streets, appearing in MY papers, rubbing my nose in the... why, the fucker, the bastard, the BAAAASSSTTTTAAARRD...

I'd point out that Will Self's family were actually quite poor, by all accounts. And re-assert that Roger Hargreaves kicks Jan Pienkowski's arse.

The Planet of Sound

11:24 / 13.03.02

quote:Originally posted by Cherry Bomb:
edited due to decision that thread is way over my head.

Other than the fact that Arundhati Roy can kick Will Self's ass in any day of the week.

[ 13-03-2002: Message edited by: Cherry Bomb ]

I feel for the woman's recent prison experiences, but I truly believed The God of Small Things to be the most painfully uninteresting book I've forced myself to read in many a moon.

11:26 / 13.03.02

Cherry, there's a thread over in Books for 'writers who are better than Will Self'...

As for you, Planet, stop being so controversial or you'll get what's coming to you. Roger Hargreaves indeed.

(though actually... King Rollo was quite good)

Haus about we all give each other a big lovely huggle?

11:27 / 13.03.02

Oh yeah?

Why not get a stuffed Mr. Man toy while you're at it?

Slattern!

11:31 / 13.03.02

Look, you, I'm not arguing with you until you answer my perfectly valid point about Fattypuffs and Thinifers.

Slubberdegullion.

The Planet of Sound

11:32 / 13.03.02

I don't think he did King Rollo. He did 'I'm a circle, you're a roundy' etc, and then hit the literart stratosphere with the Mr. Men and Little Misses.

My favourite Mr. Man is Mr. Daydream. Who is yours?

11:33 / 13.03.02

Mea culpa. It was in fact David McKee. Roger Hargreaves is thoroughly below the salt.

11:43 / 13.03.02

Hah - if Cosgrove-Hall were here, they'd kick everyone's arses into a pile, sketch it in that beautifully representative yet spartan style of theirs and get David Jason to do a hilarious voiceover, ably assisted by the zombie corpse of Terry Scott.

Ooo, crumbs DM, here comes Baron Haus-back!

Haus about we all give each other a big lovely huggle?

11:51 / 13.03.02

Madam, I fear your case for Fatipuffs and Thinifers is unanswerable. It is acute, perfectly-judged and entirely correct.

I can only assume you borrowed it.

The Planet of Sound

11:54 / 13.03.02

Mr Y, we're talking literature here, not the ghastly mass-medium that is TV. If we want to venture there, I'd have to concede your point on Chorlton and the Wheelies alone, but would have to point out the influence of Roger Hargreaves on Roobarb and Custard and Henry's Cat.

11:57 / 13.03.02

Outrageous! Why not accuse me of plagiarism or outright theft while you are at it?

I am sure you have only made this base suggestion because you have not actually read the text in question.

Regrettable Juvenilia

12:08 / 13.03.02

quote:Originally posted by Kit-Cat Club:
King Rollo was quite good

Yes - for a shamelessly paternalistic piece of monarchist apologia!

Haus about we all give each other a big lovely huggle?

12:15 / 13.03.02

Oh, it's always "a shameless piece of monarchist apologia" with you, Flyboy. Can;t you see the satirical intent at the heart of King Rollo?

12:16 / 13.03.02

Oh, purlease. Why, as any fule kno, King Rollo is ruled by Cook - and as such, the series is in fact an iteration of the matriarchal worldview of childhood.

The Return Of Rothkoid

12:29 / 13.03.02

quote:Originally posted by The Haus of Horror:
There is a stereotype of the "Hampstead liberal" - usually a highly-paid worker in media who has left-leaning politics, espouses "right-on" causes but maintains for themselves an extremely high standard of living.I would like, at this point, to raise my hand as one of the under-represented unpublished (novelwise, anyway), poor-arse, political-as-sack-of-hammers pot-noodle eating Silent Masses of Hampstead.

Until Saturday, anyway.

12:54 / 13.03.02

Off with you then, with your dirty pot noodles and your... martinis...

12:59 / 13.03.02

I apologise for conflating my media, Sound, it was just that Mr Hargreaves called to mind the Mr Men tv show and I felt honour-bound to bring my earlier point before the house (there's a gag just waiting to pop out there).

I concede the Roobarb & Custard point, but will never have any truck with Henry's Cat. I also feel that Cosgrove-Hall are indirectly responsible for manga.

Also, if it comes down to Pot Noodle deciding which side of the line you're standing on, I'm with the Chicken & Mushroom with soy sauce set.

Anyone who eats the beef one should be put against a wall and shot. I don't care where they live.

[ 13-03-2002: Message edited by: mr y ]

The Planet of Sound

13:21 / 13.03.02

When I lived in Hampstead I was so poor I had to put bread in my chicken and mushroom pot noodle to eke it out a bit. That's how bohemian I was. Yeah. You betcha, man. Oh, yeah.

13:47 / 13.03.02

quote:Originally posted by The Planet of Sound:
I feel for the woman's recent prison experiences, but I truly believed The God of Small Things to be the most painfully uninteresting book I've forced myself to read in many a moon.

Much of the background politics are fairly specific to Southern India. I read it on holiday last year, actually in Kerala, and I loved it.

The Return Of Rothkoid

15:27 / 13.03.02

quote:Originally posted by Persephone:
Off with you then, with your dirty pot noodles and your... martinis...Bah. Rumbled. Maybe I'm Will Self?

Less searchable M0rd4nt

16:13 / 13.03.02

quote:
I'd point out that Will Self's family were actually quite poor, by all accounts.

Indeed. I believe that the consumption of cheesy footballs has been mentioned. No wonder he ended up on smack.

quote:
And re-assert that Roger Hargreaves kicks Jan Pienkowski's arse.

Fuck that. It would take 6.5 of Roger Hargreaves to even make a dent in Jan Pienkowski's arse, you semi-literate nincompoop.

The Return Of Rothkoid

16:50 / 13.03.02

quote:Originally posted by Mordant C@rnival:
Fuck that. It would take 6.5 of Roger Hargreaves to even make a dent in Jan Pienkowski's arse, you semi-literate nincompoop.
Darn tootin'.

Especially when Meg and Mog get all Independence Day on yer ass:

What stands up to that? Mr Noisy's natty brogues? I think not.

Regrettable Juvenilia

22:32 / 13.03.02

quote:Originally posted by The Haus of Horror:
Can;t you see the satirical intent at the heart of King Rollo?

A wather toofleth thatire at best, my friend. Consider the one in which King Rollo makes his wizard turn the peasant's lunch into all kinds of exotic and delicious food, only for the peasant to insist that he was happy with his simple rustic loaf of bread. What other interpretation can there be of this parable, other than that the redistribution of wealth neither benefits the prudent rural working man nor is desired by him, whatever the educated intelligensia may suppose?

The Planet of Sound

13:12 / 14.03.02

quote:

What stands up to that? Mr Noisy's natty brogues? I think not.[/QB]

Style over substance, any day, poor simpletons.

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