Cry Me A Rivers

Joan was unavailable for photos

So Joan Rivers appeared on David Letterman’s show and called cockney songbird Adele "fat". She joked: “What is her song? Rolling In The Deep? She should add Fried Chicken.” And our tabloids have rushed to Adele's defence like the guardians of morality they surely are *cough*
Excuse me but have they forgotten that Joan is a comedian? And besides having a pop at others, she isn't afraid to include herself in the pee~taking, in fact she routinely pokes fun at herself so it isn't like she's afraid to taste her own medicine. Let's not forget, Britain has birthed its fair share of near-the-knuckle comics from Monty Python to Bernard Manning. Go seek out out an early Manning show (probably on Youtube) and see for thyself, but be warned, make sure theres no ethnic minorities or even the elderly nearby.
I will be the first to admit that Joan was bang out of order with the Holocaust/Klum remark, that was totally wrong but her comments toward Adele were in my opinion pretty tame and although I can't speak for Adele, if it was me they were aimed at then I wouldn't have a problem. (And im sure the singer feels the same, afterall she's a Brit like me, we have thick skins and take the mickey out of each all the time.) Being called fat? No drama.
Folks ought to know by now that Ms Rivers has an acerbic wit and most annoying is the fact that Americans have nobody who is able to stand up to her with razor sharp repartee. Imagine a scenario of Joan and Sir Winston Churchill together onstage? That would be awesome to behold! Remember the exchanges between Sir Winnie and Lady Nancy Astor? Google them if you don't and you will see what I mean.

By the way I can't believe Joan was born in 1931. She looks fabulous for 79! Yes yes, we are all aware she has had cosmetic surgery but seriously, it doesn't bother me a jot. I think she looks stunning. In fact having just been browsing photos of her in younger days, Id say she looks better today. Good for Joan, and I for one applaud her sense of humour.

Prank Too Far

Dai Jakes resisted the urge to air his views on the 'Royal Prank Call' until today because to be honest I have been too angry to get my thoughts in order; and had I published them on the day that the sad news broke it would have come out like a wall of 'white noise', seething with rage and spewing profanities toward anyone in a corked hat, drinking Fosters. But attacking blindly is the fools way so I decided to hold off the blog until I gathered my thoughts some more and calmed down.
We all know the story by now and my heart goes out to the loved ones of Jacintha Saldanha, a nurse who by all accounts was dedicated to her job and a devoted mother. Sad times indeed and I pray they have the strength to get through this awful time. Some cannot understand how a person could take their own life after being 'pranked' by a radio show but not everyone is the same, everyone has a different breaking point. Take internet trolling for instance. It doesn't bother me in the slightest because to me its just words on a screen but others find being trolled a real problem. Mrs Saldanha was humiliated globally by two Australian dimwits and the strain must have been immense, resulting in the tragic consequences.
The thing I don't understand is why prank calls are considered comical in the first place? Seems a very low form of comedy which doesn't need an awful lot of creativity. The type of stunt bored teenagers would do during breaks of Call Of Duty. Cheap humour aimed at those in even cheaper seats.
As for the DJs themselves, well the less said about them the better I feel. Especially when they turned their public apology into a sickening display of "we are victims too, sob". (I can feel anger pricking my skin again.) Victims? No. Halfwits? Definately and I hope their careers in radio are finished for good and we never see or hear from them again. It is supposed to be the season of good will toward all but Dai Jakes is all out in regards to these two. And now i'll sign off to calm down again. Cheerio!

How To Kill A Film

Withnail's reaction

Most people will have seen the British comedy film Withnail & I (1986) which features Richard E. Grant and Paul McCann as boozy out of work actors. Its probably one of the most quoted movies of all time. And it is funny. Or it used to be. I made the mistake of watching it one too many times and now the film is dead for me. Not even Uncle Monty or a Camberwell carrot could help get a chortle out of my laugh box today. Very sad because it is a great film and if you haven't seen it, please check it out. It is hilarious. Sadly however, no longer so for me. *Unhappy Face*
Think i'll join Withnail in the zoo with a bottle wine.

Leslie Nielsen R.I.P

I was sad to hear that Leslie Nielsen has passed away. He was in a very select group of people who could make me genuinely laugh (it takes a LOT to humour me outside of the morbid) and now that group has gotten smaller. He died from complications from pneumonia at a hospital near his home in Fort Lauderdale, surrounded by his wife, Barbaree and friends. He was 84.

Master of the dead pan

I remember first seeing him, like probably millions of others did, in the comedy Airplane! where he played a doctor. Nobody could touch Leslie when it came to doing dead pan. The next film I saw him in was not a comedy but a horror, Creepshow where he played a killer who drowns a couple. It showed it was not only comedy he was capable of.
Of course movie buffs will know that he also played the lead in The Poseidon Adventure and Forbidden Planet but it was Airplane! and Creepshow where he caught my eye. And the Naked Gun series of films. Who could forget those? Based on the criminally short 1982 series Police Squad! they were slabs of hilarious, comedy GOLD. Need cheering up? Let Detective Frank Drebin on the case and you will soon be lost in peals of uncontrolled laughter. He never fails.
So that is this evenings drinking film sorted out. Airplane! followed by Naked Gun (where I get the chance to not only watch great comedy scenes but also feast my eyes on the beauty that is Priscilla Presley. Bonus!)
On a personal side note I was happy to learn that Leslie's mother was Welsh and that he was a real gentleman in real life.
Rest In Eternal Peace Leslie Nielsen ~ you will continue to make us laugh in this often bitter world you have now left behind.