Listen / Read Sutch usually makes me laugh out loud and today was no exception. It’s partly his rather posh accent, his lofty tones, his phrasing, and of course the things he says. This time it was: “I recall being inspired by a community of thirteen nuns who lived in Istanbul”. Not quite sure what [...]
Monthly Archives: May 2009
Saturday 2nd May 2009: Ann Atkins
Listen / Read Listening to three of these fucking things in a row and trying to formulate a response has given me a headache. A fairly tame showing from Ann Atkins today though. She says you make your own luck. If you have the Judeo-Christian God on your side.
Monday 4th May 2009: Rev John Bell
Listen / Read Oh no he didn’t! Did he just diss Eurovision? Who does he think he is? Who could forget Wild Dances by Ruslana Lyzhychko? And yes, I do know that off the top of my head (but I did have to check the spelling). Who could forget Divine by Sébastien Tellier (and that [...]
Tuesday 5th May 2009: Rev Dr Alan Billings
Listen / Read Yeah, let’s bring everyone together by telling them who the one true god is. Then no one will be confused and everyone can come together in not being wrong about who the one true god is.
Wednesday 6th May 2009: Oliver McTernan
Listen / Read A minimal sprinkling of scripture today. Just a pinch, in fact. And it was a perfunctory gesture, slipped in to meet the religious requirements of the slot. The overall point was a little waffling, but perfectly reasonable.
Apologies
I know I’m being rather crappy at this right now. I’ll play catch up today and attempt to reform my afterthinking next week. What excuse would you prefer? The Chief Rabbi ate my MacBook. Ann Atkins seduced me into a stupor. John Bell sang me to sleep. Vishvapani changed my wordpress password by deed poll. [...]
Thursday 7th May 2009: Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner
Listen / Read I thought at first that this sounded a little patronising. To reduce this conflict to a tale of sibling rivalry seems a little belittling.
Friday 8th May 2009: Abdal Hakim Murad
Listen / Read How to word this… It’s nice and all that most Muslims like it here. That’s all good. I’m glad. But none of them – ZERO PERCENT – think homosexuality is morally acceptable?
Saturday 9th May 2009: Ann Atkins
Listen / Read Ann Atkins sometimes does her own take on the Atkins diet, where she makes you want to vomit everything you’ve eaten. I just about kept everything down, but only because I’m past caring.
Monday 11th May 2009: Clifford Longley
Listen / Read Ever wondered why nationalism and other conflict-prone ideologies like religion so much? Could it perhaps be that religious people are a bit mental already, so all they need is a little push for them to go totally berserk?
Tuesday 12th May 2009: Rev Dr Alan Billings
Listen / Read So the Freedom of Information Act is a secular equivalent to God’s judgement? That an interesting one. So what’s the secular equivalent to God’s wrath? Overpaid newsreaders?
Wednesday 13th May 2009: Oliver McTernan
Listen / Read I might be reading between the lines a little, but this seems to be the biggest dig anyone has had at the Israelis so far on Thought for the Day.
Thursday 14th May 2009: Rev Roy Jenkins
Listen / Read So Rev Jenkins gets together with some of his congregants once a month to talk about misfortune and pray on it. He’s aware that it’s of little or no use, but that doesn’t matter, because whatever happens, God will sort it out in the end.
Friday 15th May 2009: Abdal Hakim Murad
Listen / Read What was this about? Is it just me or was it just a little bit weird? Ming the Merciless doth protest too much, methinks.
Saturday 16th May 2009: Canon David Winter
Listen / Read This is where I usually start swearing. So, in turn, this is where I try my best not to. Judge not lest ye be judged/let he who is without sin… blah blah blah.
Monday 18th May 2009: Rev Dr Alan Billings
Listen / Read I am currently unwell. My throat is sore and my head is throbbing and so every time I cough I get that combined throat and head pain amplification effect. It’s not a massive amount of fun. So it doesn’t exactly help to hear my geographically nearest Thought for the Day reader suggest [...]
Tuesday 19th May 2009: Canon Lucy Winkett
Listen / Read In one of Winkett’s earliest Thought for the Day readings, she stated that Neanderthals were our ancestors. Which, of course, they were not. So, on tackling the topic of evolution, she fundamentally failed. Now she seems to have fundamentally failed on tackling the topic of democracy because to suggest that we should [...]
Wednesday 20th May 2009: Akhandadhi Das
Listen / Read Well, I’m glad Akhandadhi Das is glad that people are really angry about the MPs’ expenses controversy. Because I am undeniably one of them and I feel much better now I have his Hindu blessing, as offered via his bovine limb hacking analogy. I may well go and find my local MP [...]
Thursday 21st May 2009: Rev Roy Jenkins
Listen / Read Occasionally I’m left with my fingertips hovering over the keys for a while wondering how the sweet Je-hee-sus to respond. Like today, when I hear crazy ass shit like this. I think I’m going to have to break it down.
Friday 22nd May 2009: Rhidian Brook
Listen / Read There is no need for me to bitch today, so I shan’t. I’ve commented positively on the Thought for the Day comments page (as suggested by Mutt on the Platitude of the Day comments thread). Readings such as this raise the question of why we can’t have more contributions from people who [...]
Saturday 23nd May 2009: Canon David Winter
Listen / Read I’m bored already. But I’ll try to respond anyway. Apparently, you should say sorry like you mean it, and not do the thing you’re saying sorry for again. Apparently, some apologies aren’t good enough, and just because you use the word ‘sorry’ doesn’t necessarily prove that you’re really really really sorry. Apparently, [...]
Monday 25th May 2009: Clifford Longley
Listen / Read Wait just a minute now – does he mean to say that atheists aren’t inherently evil? Fuck! There goes my dream of becoming a super villain. Thanks for pissing on my chips Longley.
Tuesday 26th May 2009: Canon Lucy Winkett
Listen / Read Oh dear I’m even more behind schedule than I always am. And look what I missed. Lucy Winkett was telling us about climbing mountains. IN HER MIND.
Wednesday 27th May 2009: Akhandadhi Das
Listen / Read This amused me. Akhandadhi Das compared North Korea to his toddler daughter. Let’s just hope Kim Jong-il wasn’t listening.
Thursday 28th May 2009: Rev Roy Jenkins
Listen / Read Yeah, I’m really beginning to suck at this. I shall attempt to recommence. Again. Let’s cut through the crap and cut to the crux of it. Christianity is about the cold hard reality of life. Life isn’t fair, so lump it or like it; that’s what Jesus said. Christianity doesn’t have any [...]
Friday 29th May 2009: Rhidian Brook
Listen / Read I’ve not listened to this reading and because I generally find Rhidian Brook to be something of a Blandy McBoring-Pants and because the title of the reading is “Football can be a force for good”, I’m going to ignore this one entirely because, frankly, I just can’t be arsed. Onwards.
Saturday 30th May 2009: Canon David Winter
Listen / Read Firstly, if I may nitpick, it’s ‘swine flu’ not, as Winter said, ‘swine fever’. They’re different diseases. Secondly, I did like the sentence that immediately followed the listing of the various Britain’s Got Talent performances: “All of this raises the question: what is talent?”. Indeed it does, Dave, indeed it does.