thumping the tub
Tub-Thumper - 1. A speaker or preacher who for emphasis thumps the pulpit; a violent or declamatory preacher or orator; a ranter. (from oed.com). This blog will be a combination of reasoned posting somedays and an occasional rant.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
INTERNATIONAL STRANGENESS DAY
Still happy about my first appearance on Blunt Cogs

Go Below the picture to see what INTERNATIONAL STRANGENESS DAY is all about.

This is my little character.

My strip is (currently) the second one down. Have a look through, it is a great site.

I have been blogging much more sporadically than before as it seems many people have been. Maybe all the anti-blog propaganda got to us eh? Maybe it is just summertime.

This however, is the first international strangeness day at thumping the tub. I have decided in the vein an old sketch (skit, if you are american) about answering the question previous to the one you have just been asked (who can spot the reference i wonder??) to go round all my favourite blogs and post a comment about the article I read on the previous blog. I just hope this is a more interesting way of promoting some of my favourite other blogs and hopefully making them connect with each other so we can really start to make a little community here? Yeah? Isn’t that the point? I wonder who will return here to find out WTF is going on?

The most important point of this is that I had three Microsoft word pages of full of blogs that I didn't check for a while and 1 and a half pages of them have given up (incidentally, M*crosoft word still refuses to recognize the word 'blog'). I am wondering if this is anything to do with all the anti blog propaganda or are people just bored of it?

Hmmm

Keep blogging, keep going, they hate us and that is the obvious proof we are doing something well.

Anyway, I am about to begin it now and the complete process should take an hour and a half or so and I will update this post with a list of the blogs I visited in the correct order after I have finished.

WARNING - I WILL BE GETTING STEADILY DRUNKER AS I DO THIS - WHICH I HOPE ADDS FUN TO THE EXPERIMENT.

Sites and links will begin from here, the first site I am visiting is someone who helped me with a few things when I started blogging so the comment on his site will be posted on the next one I visit..

first blog... Born at the crest of the empire

the next five, and remember if you want to check the comment on your post you have to check the NEXT blog in the list...

Neil Shakespeare
Watergate Summer
Graeme Anfinson
Ravings of a semi-sane madwoman
Less People, Less Idiots

Next 5...

Amelopsis
Fatrobot
Kickass
Huh, no shit
Rex kramer, Danger Seeker

Next 5...

Lose The Noose
Left Of Center
Keir Neuringer
Xenophile
Peacechick

Next 5...

Justin Barker
Disillusioned Kid
Average tosser
Rory Shock
Spontaneous arising

Phew, this is harder than i thought it was going to be.

Next 5...

Big Stick Small Carrot
The Curmudgeonly
Guerillas In The Midst
Morning Martini
Safe T Inspector

Next 5... (i think i am going to stop on 30 blogs)

Unbrainwashed
State of the day
Kim Ayres
Rebelle Nation
Anti-barney

I think i am going ot give up at 30 blogs...

Alternate Brain
Inveresk Street
Sumo Merriment
Existential Angst
Culture Ghost

and 3 hours and 6 beers later i finish where i started at born at the crest of the empire on the post "is the US losing the war on terror", which is a few posts down.

sorry to those i didn't mention (and there were plenty i could have) it was expediency rather than rationality at work here.

i will mention those i didn't mention in the next international strangeness day which won't be the same because that isn't what strange means
posted by michael the tubthumper @ 11:53 am   13 comments
FIRST CARTOON

The Good people over at blunt cogs have decided to publish my little cartoon (the fools! haha).


It is currently the first one up. Take a look and see if you like it.

I wrote it but the redoubtable average tosser designed it and made it up for me.

I recommened you have a look through all of the archives. It is one of the most original and funny things in blogworld and I am damn pleased I got in it.

So happy in fact, that I typed in 'Happy' on a google image search and I got this... ... which may look like an amorphous blob but is apparently a 'Happy Octopus'.
posted by michael the tubthumper @ 6:31 am   2 comments
Sunday, June 25, 2006
MURDERERS COME WITH SMILES
It is in Goodfellas, "murderers come with smiles". So do fucked up people. The world is fucked up as we all know.

This is superb...



The people who grinned themselves to death

They smiled so much and waved their flags
As she saluted to the military band
Most of the people failed to see
She had a broken bottle in the other hand
And she took them by surprise
When she took them by the throat
And said my friend you’re not allowed to vote
But they shook it all off
With a nervous laugh and cough
Next time, she said I’ll let those people choke

The people who grinned themselves to death
Smiled so much they failed to take a breath
And even when their kids were starving
They all thought the queen was charming

She polished all upon the wall
And ran her hands right through her hair
So if the lady took the time to call
All the houses on the street would not compare

And she thought it really funny
That she hadn’t any money
But those she looked up to, they had
But they shook it all off
With a nervous laugh and cough
And when they took her riches it was sad

The people who grinned themselves to death
Smiled so much they failed to take a breath
And even when their kids were starving
They all thought the queen was charming

posted by michael the tubthumper @ 4:07 pm   5 comments
Saturday, June 24, 2006
ART NOT OIL
A couple of posts down in the post 'MOSTLY' a lot of people really loved this graphic...
It comes from the good people at ART NOT OIL

They have lots of really good stuff on their site and organise events around the UK.

Here are some samples of other stuff they have done. I highly recommend having a look through their galleries.
posted by michael the tubthumper @ 8:50 am   0 comments
Thursday, June 22, 2006
WORK IT OUT
I had a special post planned but events overtook me so for the moment I am posting this because every time I hear it fucks me up.

The australians have the whole "waltzing matilda" going. This is a song by an irish band about some of the things that happened in WW1 from the point of view of an aussie soldier at the time

Oh, and the battle in question was churchills fuck up. The idea that everyone in the UK regards winston churchill as a hero is absolutely wrong. Many people then and now regarded/regard him as a murderous bastard who made a couple of good speeches. On the whole, we're quite pleased he is dead. Ask the hunger strikers, the suffragetes and a million other people why. Anyway...

When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback

I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
We sailed off to Gallipoli

How well I remember that terrible day
How the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He chased us with bullets, he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again

Now those that were living,did their best to survive
In a mad world of blood, death and fire
And for seven long weeks I kept myself alive
But around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, christ I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
And no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
to the green bushes so far and near
For to hang tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me

So they collected the cripples, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The legless, the armless, the blind, the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
and they turned their faces away

And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
And I watch my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams of past glory
And I see the old men all twisted and torn
The forgotten heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll go a waltzing Matilda with me?

posted by michael the tubthumper @ 7:37 pm   4 comments
Sunday, June 18, 2006
MOSTLY
Most of the people who want other people to go and fight in wars have never been in one themselves.

Most of the people who sell you junk food wouldn’t eat it themselves (when was the last time you saw an executive eating at McDeaths?)

Most of the people who try to deny people access to drugs because they want to make more money have no problems getting health care.

All of the government ministers who always want to build more roads and have less public transport have chauffeur driven cars

Most of the soldiers in World War One hated their officers more than they hated the opposite side. There were many cases of officers being shot in the back as the soldiers advanced.

Most of the people that say global warming isn’t happening are large corporations whose profit-making would be seriously curtailed if there were any effective laws introduced.

Most of the people who are so incensed by even the slightest criticism of Israel are from the United States.

Most of the people who talk about the 10 commandments neglect to mention the sermon on the mount (thanks to Kurt Vonnegut via Mickey Z).

Most of the people who don’t believe in sex before marriage also believe you should be fruitful and multiply (thanks to Bill Hicks!)

Most of the people who believe you should ban smoking DON’T also believe that you should ban driving, which is another habit that kills both users and non-users, causes pollution and creates an unpleasant smell.

Most of the usually right-wing protestors that support hunting in the UK that were arrested got considerably more lenient sentences than those protesting on the opposite side.

Most oil companies have large sections of their websites devoted to telling you how much time they are spending on renewable energy. They don’t really mention that it is a tiny fraction of their business. They also tend to try and steer the discussion away from paramilitaries.

More of most UK MPs time is spent with lobbyists rather than voters.

Most of the people who won’t support a total ban on landmines do not know anyone maimed or killed by one http://www.brooklynbrothers.com/movies/un60.mov

Most of what George Orwell said was fantastic....

"Capitalism leads to dole queues, the scramble for markets and war. Collectivism leads to concentration camps, leader worship and war. There is no way out of this unless a planned economy can somehow be combined with the freedom of the intellect, which can only happen if the concept of right and wrong is restored to politics."

posted by michael the tubthumper @ 8:20 pm   10 comments
?!?!?!??!?!?!??!!?!?
Sometimes political debate is technical in nature, sometimes it is bigoted and nationalistic.

Other times it is just completely bizarre.

This little bit from the daily show is funny but as much as the presenter is funny, it is difficult for him to make the piece any more bizarre than it already is...

Unfortunately i can't embed it, so you will just have to follow this link..

http://tinyurl.com/fyg2v
posted by michael the tubthumper @ 6:30 pm   0 comments
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
3rd LITTLE FILM
My 3rd little film. This one is the product of not being able to sleep and is only 22 seconds long.

Oh, and in case anyone got the wrong idea, the previous post was not anything against gays in the military, the people who wrote those little pieces were actually gay. It was just a good little bit of absurdism...

Anyway, the film...
posted by michael the tubthumper @ 5:13 pm   9 comments
Sunday, June 11, 2006
SUNDAYS ARE SUPERB 3 - NEW EYES
Sometimes the smallest and most normal things can change the way major events run. Imagine how differently things would have turned out if this had happened...

the first ten seconds is something else...then it starts...

This one is an early idea about gays in the military...
posted by michael the tubthumper @ 10:43 am   2 comments
Saturday, June 10, 2006
HELLO AGAIN
Still not posting. I need to get back to it but I can't make any promises at the moment.

In the meantime here is Neil Young busking in my home town in 1976

This second one is a bit studenty but i still think it is funny. Some people decided to race the glasgow subway. It is quite well done.
posted by michael the tubthumper @ 11:51 am   0 comments
Thursday, June 01, 2006
PUTTING THE FUN IN FUNERAL
I really need to get back to doing some posting but I have been doing a lot of writing for my non-tubthumping ventures.

In the meantime I just wanted to point you toward this little video. It is John Cleese speaking at the funeral of Graham Chapman (the member of Monty Python that died).

For my money it is the SECOND funniest thing I have seen that is to do with funerals an that sort of thing. The funniest is the headstone of british comedian, Spike Milligan, which simply reads "I told you I was ill."

Anyway, enjoy...

posted by michael the tubthumper @ 2:46 am   9 comments
U.S. MONETARY Cost of the War in Iraq - other people are spending too, and the human cost is much higher
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What is Tubthumping and who is doing it?

Name: michael the tubthumper
Home: Glasgow, Scotland
About Me: Tub-Thumper - 1. A speaker or preacher who for emphasis thumps the pulpit; a violent or declamatory preacher or orator; a ranter. This blog will be a combination of reasoned posting somedays and an occasional rant. 28 years old, I write and research for a couple of websites and also do my own stuff.
See my complete profile

Thumping The Tub Video

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I have made a few short movies. Here are links to free downloads for them all in the order that I made them (as far as I can remember). Please feel free to use, distribute, disagree with, shout at etc etc

  • Praise The Lord and Pass The Ammunition
  • This was a REAL song from World War 2. I was so stunned by it I had to make a movie

  • How Far Is It From Here to Nuremberg
  • This is my attempt at a video for the excellent, if worrying, David Rovics (see links) song

  • What You Like
  • I believe the word for this is "splenetic". Only 20 seconds long.

  • Imperial Measures
  • What is going on in Iraq? Some things you knew, some you didn't. A couple of bits of info are out of date now.

  • Wish You Were Here
  • Wish You Were Here is a 6 minute film about the unprecendted rate of animal extinction we are currently experiencing

  • Gorillas and us
  • I don't like creationism, neither did Douglas Adams

    Recent Thumping
    Older Thumping
    Links

  • spinwatch
  • adbusters
  • internet archive
  • art not oil
  • blairwatch
  • bushflash
  • camcorder guerillas
  • corporate watch
  • campaign for press freedom
  • noam chomsky
  • common dreams
  • counterpunch
  • cost of war
  • david rovics
  • democracy now
  • dissident voice
  • the dossier
  • downing street says
  • etims
  • robert fisk
  • food not bombs
  • global research
  • gmwatch
  • impeach blair
  • indybay video
  • killing hope
  • lobbywatch
  • mediachannel
  • medialens
  • mickey z
  • mixed up records
  • george monbiot
  • mark thomas
  • john pilger
  • radio 4 all
  • schnews
  • snow shoe films
  • sourcewatch
  • tom englehardt
  • ukwatch
  • video activist network
  • howard zinn
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    some of the blogs I look at
    Arse of the month

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    The inaugural 'Arse of the month' award goes to our very own Scottish First Minister Jack (Joke) McConnell. He seems to spend a lot of his time sucking up to english politicians and yet it appears they don't even know his name. Follow the link to see..

    NODOBY KNOWS ME
    It's All Gone Scottish

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    A list of some other Scottish sites and blogs most of which, if not all, are pro-independence. I don't agree with content on all of them obviously. Some are Scots at home, others abroad.

  • The Scottish Patient
  • Kim Ayres
  • Our Scotland
  • average tosser
  • 1820
  • big stick small carrot
  • J. Arthur MacNumpty
  • World of Jack McConnell
  • The Firefox Chronicles
  • Independence 1st
  • Radio Free Scotland
  • Scots and independent
  • Scottish Independence Guide
  • TCOAW
  • Small Nation
  • Inveresk Street Ingrate
  • Radical Glasgow
  • Want to Swot?

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    If you like this site and think it is time to start getting informed here are a few real favourites of mine that will help you blow away the corporate and government propaganda you are constantly bombarded with. It is added to every so often.

  • politics and the english language
  • Beyond Hope
  • the gore exception
  • your tax dollars at work
  • a cultural chernobyl
  • choose life (not trainspotting)
  • shooting an elephant
  • a war crime within a war crime...
  • the menace of liberal scholarship
  • the modern era of law
  • naming the problem
  • the four ages of sand
  • a news revolution has begun
  • come september
  • money is the cause of poverty
  • countering corporate power
  • Other Stuff

    Who links to me?

    For a DotSCOT Domain!

    Fight Spam! Click Here! Blunt Cogs Image Hosted by ImageShack.us Image Hosted by ImageShack.us Politics Blog Top Sites BlogRankers.com Scottish Blogs Blogdust Find Blogs in the Blog Directory Top 100 Scottish Websites
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