Retroexposure

Chapter 19 - News That Beggers Belief/Celebrity deaths

Thursday 10th January 2008 11:08am
I've been kicked off Facebook again! I have more of an idea why now, but it still doesn't make any sense. There's a group on there called The Six Degrees Of Separation. A guy set it up to promote his book, and its popularity just exploded! The idea of six degrees of separation is that if you picked only two people anywhere in the world, they can be connected by just six people. It sounds crazy, but I guess it can be true. As I understand it, you don't have to be related, it's a case of interaction, i.e. people you have worked with or spoke to, or even in this modern world, emailed!
Anyway, I'm getting off the point. Where was I? Oh, yes – getting kicked off Facebook. I joined the Six Degrees group and I've made quite a few friends. So the other night, via my mobile, the posting board got turned into a giant chat room! Facebook have obviously implemented a limit to how many posts that you can make in a certain amount of time, so to us serious chatters we always run the risk of getting suspended! The thing that winds me and my friends up, is when 'members' post shitloads of 'adverts' promoting other websites, yet they don't get suspended at all and all they do is post the same message every single time, they don't actually interact with anyone.
I was comforted to know that several of my new friends had also been suspended for exceeding limits as well. Their way around it though was to have a second Facebook account that they can use while getting their main account unsuspended! I might do that myself when I go to the library Internet tomorrow. However, knowing my luck, Facebook will introduce a new law over night, and then I get caught setting up a new account and get thrown off permanently!! I emailed Facebook last night from my phone and sent my grovelling email to come back, so hopefully I won't need the second account.
I really do talk a load of shit sometimes, don't I?! 11:34am

Sunday 13th January 2008 12:30pm
First things first, I'm back on Facebook! No, my account hasn't been unlocked, as yet (I hope it will soon though), but I did set up a new temporary account in the meantime. However I won't be using it as much as I did, which will please Mum, as the mobile provider – 02 – has finished their free Facebook promotion! Which is terrible!! Seriously, I don't mind really, as it was getting annoyingly addictive.
The second thing is about two stories I read in yesterday's newspaper. The first was about a coastguard that rescued a teenager and was forced to resign his post after his superiors chastised him for not following health and safety regulations and the other story was about a set of twins who got married to each other. Sounds weird writing that sentence, don't it? The twist is that they didn't know that they were each other's twin as they had been separated at birth! I'll go into detail about both those stories later. Back in a bit!! 12:41pm
2:54pm
I'll start with the Coastguard story.
From the Sun (by Alistair Taylor):
A Hero Coastguard who saved a girl from a crumbling 300ft cliff ledge has been forced out of the job – for breaching health and safety rules.
Volunteer Paul Waugh, 44, climbed down 100ft without safety equipment in a gale in the dark to rescue Faye Harrison, 13.
He held on to the teen for 30 minutes before an RAF helicopter arrived to winch them to safety. He won two awards locally for his brave rescue.
But he left the job he has loved for the 13 years after Coastguard management slated him for failing to wait for support or use health and safety gear.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: "We're very mindful of health and safety rules. We aren't looking for dead heroes."

The Sun's Editorial comment to this was:

What have we come to when a coastguard is forced to quit for breaking health and safety regulations while saving a girls life?
Paul Waugh held teenager Faye Harrison for half an hour to stop her falling 300ft to her death from a crumbling cliff during a gale.
He won several awards but the politically correct Maritime and Coastguard Agency said he failed to use "proper safety equipment."
Would they be happier if Paul had stuck rigidly to the rules and Faye had died?

However, I think Jeremy Clarkson's reaction to this story sums it all up for me.

A Coastguard who climbed down a cliff face to help a stranded teenage girl has resigned...because bosses said he broke the safety rules.
The world, I swear to God is going mad.
When Paul Waugh arrived at the cliff to find a 13-year-old girl cling to tufts of grass by her fingernails, he knew he should go back to his car for his high visibility jacket, a banksman, some goggles, a hard hat, climbing shoes, a blow-up Edmund Hillary (who died this week), safety gloves, a Geiger counter, a tide chart, an air bag, and a team of advisors.
But it would have taken several minutes to get to his car, where the kit was stored. And about 43 years to get properly dressed for the mission. By which time the girl would have died of old age.
So instead, he scrambled down the cliff as quickly as possible. Which is a big health and safety no-no.
In fact, a spokesman for the Maritime And Coastguard Agency said: "Our responsibility is to maintain the health and welfare of those who we sometimes ask to go out in difficult and challenging conditions to effect rescues."
Wrong, I'm afraid. Your responsibility is to the people you are rescuing. What's the point of being a coastguard if all you do all day is look after yourself?

The other story really beggars belief! The twins that got separated at birth had met each other later in life and had fallen in love with each other and got married. It was only after they got married that they discovered that they were twins. Once they made that discovery, had to make the heartbreaking decision to get the marriage annulled by a High Court judge. He was forced to rule that the union was never valid by law.
It's such a tragic and cruel twist of fate. The identity of the twins and exactly how they made their discovery hasn't been revealed.
I can imagine that it will incredibly hard for them to deal with this. A sexual love is so much harder to get over than a platonic or brotherly/sisterly love. It's not going to be easy for them, but I hope they find a way to get over this. As I understand it, they didn't have any children together, which is a good thing in the circumstances. But, I'm sure they consummated their marriage. That'll be the biggest hurt of all. You certainly can't call the relationship incest, in my opinion. Incest, in my definition, is two immediate family members knowingly sleeping together. This is just a tragic mess.
What I read in today's News Of The World implies that this story may not actually be true, as a high-ranking family judge hasn't even heard about this story. If it is a false story, this will deeply embarrass the peer that leaked this story, Lord Alton. He said that someone told him about this particular story. He is a pro-life crusader and used this story to highlight problems with The Human Embryology and Tissues Bill which is due to be voted on in Parliament on the 21st January. The purpose of the bill eases the path for lesbian and gay couples to have test tube babies as well as recognising same-sex couples as parents.
I just hope that this isn't just someone's idea of a sick joke. 4pm

Thursday 17th January 2008 10:52am
Yesterday, Mum and I caught a bit of 'This Morning' on the TV and saw a well-known Army exercise instructor do a group workout with the theme tune of 'The A-Team' playing in the background. So after finding a CD with that tune on, we did about 10 minutes worth of exercise. It's best to start of slowly, you know! I must have packed a lot into the ten minutes, cos my legs have been killing me ever since! Much like when I did those squat thrusts a few months ago. Last night though, I decided to add to my pain and misery by accidentally dropping a 5kg dumbbell on my toes and foot! I haven't broken my foot, but I may have broken my toe! It hurts like hell! Tomorrow, I've got to see L for my next appointment after missing her last month, so I've got to grin and bear it! 11:04am

Saturday 26th January 2008 12:54am
Actually, that didn't happen. I had to miss my appointment with L, due to my self inflicted injury. She wasn't too happy about it, and warned me that I had a severe warning letter coming to me. To get the warning revoked, I'd have to get a written medical certificate from my doctor. Of which, I subsequently went and collected.
DAC's totally besotted with me! There's no other word for it. She was looking for a flat earlier in the week, and sadly she didn't get it. I'd promised her that I'd help 'christen' every room in her flat! She was so sure that she'd get it. I love her, but I'm still not quite sure in what way. I care about her deeply, there's no question about that. She wants to marry me and have my kids. Could I put her through all that pain and suffering?! More than likely!! She's dead serious too. So serious that she asked for my ring size! That was before I'd told her that in a leap year, it's traditional for the woman to propose to the boyfriend on the 29th February! Why did I tell her that? I tried to put her off saying that I'm financially unsuitable and that she'd have to wait a long time before we got down the aisle. She says that that doesn't matter; she wants to prove her commitment to me. Can a couple be engaged yet live in two different cities? I guess I might be finding out at the end of next month!
It's been a sad week in Hollywood. Last week, a young actor called Brad Renfro died of a possible drug overdose at the age of 25. And just last Wednesday, the Oscar-nominated actor, Heath Ledger, died in similar circumstances at the age of 28. Two very tragic cases; why did it have to happen? I knew Brad from a film called Apt Pupil, and Heath from a film called A Knight's Tale. They were both great young talented actors, it is such a terrible waste. I don't know about Brad Renfro, but as far as Heath Ledger is concerned, I can imagine that his home country of Australia will probably look at him as the Aussie version of movie legend James Dean. Brad had a troubled life, but Heath had a young daughter, so I'm guessing that one was a deliberate drug overdose and the other was accidental. That's my own opinion, but I have no proof to confirm or deny.
I eventually saw L for my appointment yesterday. It went ok, and yes, my warning has now been revoked! On the way home, I jumped off the bus at an early stop so I could catch another bus at the shopping area, but after walking to the stop. I decided against it, and for the first time, I walked home from there! Because of my rear-end problems, I'd been too worried or scared to do so, but today, I did it! I'm quite proud of myself really. Now, the next test, is can I do it again? I guess we'll soon see! Also, L reckons that I should try and contact a publisher about this project that I'm doing right on these pages. The question is: whom do I contact? And in what form do I send it to them? I'll check out the autobiographies at Waterstones on Tuesday when I sign on. Also going to try and sell my never-been-used telescope. I hope a budding astronomer will be interested. 1:22am

Sunday 27th January 2008 1:05am
I'm not making a habit at writing in the early hours of the morning, but there is something I felt I had to comment on. Last week I taped a documentary called Eat To Save Your Life which was presented by the chef Jamie Oliver, and several experts. And talk about an eye-opener! It scared the fucking shit out of me! I don't swear as coarsely as this in my diary usually, but this warranted that kind of reaction. It featured an autopsy of a 25 stone man. Now they didn't reveal his age, but looking at his body, I'd say that he was, what, roughly 10 years older than me? I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I'm changing my outlook on my life. I have to. Starting Monday, I've got to try and start walking more, not necessarily with Sven, just go armed with my mobile and it's radio headphones, and a small bottle of water. I've got to change my life, otherwise in 10 years, that body on the autopsy table could well be mine. At my worst I weighed 26+ stone. I have absolutely no intention of hitting that mark again. I so wish I knew about this documentary before it was made. I'd have loved to be part of the 18 members of the public that was invited to take part. Although, I could imagine 17 pairs of eyes on me when that autopsy was being shown!
MONDAY THE 28TH OF JANUARY IS WHEN MY NEW LIFE STARTS!!!!!
1:17am
　
　
Monday 28th January 2008 2:03pm
It's started!! I'm learning from my earlier mistakes already. Instead of taking Sven to the verge down the road for his ablutions, I'm walking him further. I did yesterday afternoon as well. I obviously knackered him out when I took him for an extra walk at lunchtime with Mum, because when I went to take him for his usual afternoon walk, he point blank refused to go! I'd opened the front door to let him go out at his own pace, but he just turned round and went and sat back in his basket!
So today I took him for a longer walk than normal and although I said that I'd be going for an extra walk myself, I didn't. I used an aerobic stepper instead. I'm not going to over-exert myself just yet. I'm going to be doing a lot of walking around town tomorrow when I go to the job centre to sign on and some other things, so I'll be getting my exercise there too. 2:10pm

Thursday 31st January 2008 12:04am
I've been making progress with my new regime. Slow, but at least it's progress. When you are unemployed, life tends to suffer, and your personal hygiene tends to suffer as well. And with me, it suffered big time. Up until this week, I only bathed once a week and I hardly ever cleaned my teeth. I haven't seen a dentist in, I think, about 16 years. Yet considering all the dental treatment Mum had at the tail end of last year, my teeth seem to be in a better condition than hers! And now, I've showered every morning, and I've started to brush my teeth every morning too. I might even move to brushing twice a day, I did tonight! I brush for about 30secs to a minute. Anymore and my gums would probably bleed very badly. I've heard that there are toothbrushes that actually have songs electrically added to the brush, so that you have to brush your teeth for however long the song lasts. Technically anyway. I might have to get one of those, as it features either a Queen track or Bon Jovi. Just as long as the Queen track isn't Bohemian Rhapsody. I don't think anyone would have any gums left if they brushed for six minutes or more!!
Tonight, Wednesday, it was announced that the TV presenter Jeremy Beadle died aged 59. He lived longer than Brad and Heath who died earlier this month, but still, fifty-nine is not that old. Not these days. I mean Mum is only two years shy of that, almost (Her birthday is in March). Mind you Jeremy had cancer a few years ago, and died of pneumonia. They always say that bad things happen in threes, and I must confess when Heath died, I was waiting for the next famous person to kick the proverbial bucket!
And why is it that when the newspapers or television's teletext service, announce that a celebrity is ill in hospital, you always seem to know that the next thing you read about them will be their obituaries? The first time I witnessed that 'connection' was when Freddie Mercury died in 1991. I read on teletext that he announced that he was dying from AIDS. The following morning, I was getting ready to go to school, and I turned on the teletext to read that Freddie had died. He was a big musical icon of mine, and still is to be honest. I know this has turned into a morbid topic, but writing this down is making me remember about when other people died, and you have a kind of 'do-you-remember-what-you-were-doing-when-you-heard-about...' moment. People knew where they were when JFK was shot, or John Lennon was killed, or when Elvis died. For my generation, it was when Freddie died or when Princess Diana died or in my case and many other wrestling fans' cases, when Owen Hart died.
When a wrestler dies so young, you feel that it's a huge tragedy, but you sometimes think that they brought it on themselves as many of them died from drug overdoses or as a side effect of taking steroids. Owen was the exception, as I think he is the only big name wrestling superstar to have died in the wrestling ring. Next year, May 23rd (I think) 2009, will be the tenth anniversary of his death. Where does the time go? Many wrestlers I grew up watching have died - The British Bulldog, Davy Boy Smith, and Eddie Guerrero are ones that meant more to me. They both died of drug related conditions. You feel sorry for them, especially for Eddie as he had an addiction and was trying to kick the habit, and I think he was successful. One tragedy that I must comment briefly on has to be Chris Benoit. Last July, under circumstances that has either not been disclosed, or at least, not disclosed over on this side of the Atlantic, Chris killed his wife and son before killing himself. His death and tragic circumstances shocked me for days.
* The WWE, the wrestling company Chris worked for, took a serious amount of heat and criticism at that time. They have since implemented very strict drug tests and suitable punishments if the talent break the rules. Which, in September, I believe, made the roster very light when several wrestlers were suspended over certain allegations! *
Initially when the chairman of the WWE heard about Chris's death, he dedicated a whole episode of the WWE's Raw show as a tribute to Chris, with several wrestlers giving their own tributes. However, the next night he had to apologise on the broadcast of another WWE show, when the truth behind Benoit's death came out. From that point on, all mention of Chris Benoit, be it on their website, broadcasts or magazines, had been permanently deleted.
Enough of this morbid subject, I am now off to bed! 12:56am