Showing posts with label Swearing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swearing. Show all posts

Saturday, 27 September 2014

TV news cameraman and an offer to be refused.

It only seemed like five minutes ago that i was stood outside Parliament as our leaders voted for the last war in our continuing 'War on terror.' (Syria Edition.) Yet here i am again... only this time it's for 'The war on terror... The revenge, Part 3. The Jihadists strike back.' (Iraq Edition.)

This time, we send everything we have... They don't like it up 'em...

 Yesterday, i spent my considerable TV news cameraman talents on wandering the streets asking various people's opinion on the chances of the UK re-engaging in the Middle East. By re-engaging, i mean in the form of dropping a metric shit load of bombs onto Jihadists of various hues, captured American hardware from the previous visit that were left lying around the desert and wedding parties.

It would seem that we are to spend lavishly on sending some highly expensive flying machinery to drop some eye-wateringly expensive bombs on a rag tag bunch of Jihadis driving left behind moderately expensive U.S. Humvees and artillery pieces that we left behind for them to use against us. What are we like eh..?

Anyway, i digress... Our esteemed leaders were recalled from their holiday board meetings at 'BombsULike Ltd' and 'ThinkOfTheChildren Inc,' to vote in Parliament on whether to send our entire Royal Air Force of 6 fighter jets and a mechanic back to Iraq, and to light up our entire stockpile of Tomahawk cruise missiles which are kept in a shed somewhere in Milton Keynes.

The Royal Navy declined the offer, citing a lack of aircraft carriers for their aircraft.

Somewhere in the Ministry of Defence, the stockroom boy had found the 'Fire Before' date stamped on the missiles, causing panic amongst the General Staff who ordered some extra large tupperware and informed the Prime Minister at No 10 Downing Street, who wanted to avoid a repeat of the 'soggy bottomed' Trident missile mishap of some years previous, when they were left unused during the Summer months, costing an overspend on the yearly household nuclear budget.

So here we are again... Voting for war.

Many Voxes were popped. A brand new, not yet in place Bishop was questioned on the moral validity of our intent, and yet more popping of voxes in a different town. Impromptu, well meaning peace rallies sprung up around the area like Autumn mushroom clouds.

"We should have done it properly in the first place.." Said an ex soldier from our previous two excursions to the region.

"Leave 'em to it... Let their God sort 'em out" Said Mrs Housewife.

"Haven't we finished Afghanistan yet..?" Said Mr well intentioned.

News was happening fast. Top of the bulletin lives were planned. We planned ours outside two pubs on a Friday evening in the town centre with some hippies, and hoped for the best. As my Journo and i practiced our moves before going live, a quick witted jester of the local Al-Fresco drinking community breezed past, and loudly intoned some insightful reasoning for our country going to war...

"F**k her in the p**sy..!"

Oh dear... my first one, but at least we were not live, he missed out by a mere three minutes, the twat.

I fear this new jolly jape may become a 'thing' for us TV newsies, following widespread videos of similar happenings from the USA which have pervaded the internet in recent months. Not content with gurning in general at the back of a live shot, these talented, funny and socially aware fuckwits have taken to shouting this... I fear for the future of live TV news links.

Such as everything in life, whatever happens in the States will eventually happen here. You only have to look to the past... Chewing gum, pop socks, Rock 'n' Roll and the sport of precision bombing unlikeable people who are far, far away, whilst our own population still struggle as local facilities are closed down for the lack of cash and investment.

I heft my TV camera back onto my aching shoulder... Bombs away..!

Paul Martin is @ukcameraman on Twitter.

Saturday, 22 February 2014

News Readers: 'Pussy Riot' Or 'Conflagration Of The Mimsy?'

Sometimes, news readers have great difficulty in pronouncing certain names or places, such as the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull that so tongue tied many a mouth piece. So, here's a question for all you coiffered, shiny toothed and strangely tanned news readers out there...


The very mention of the words may cause confusion.

I had an online chat with a fellow TV news cameraman from the US of A called Rick Portier, discussing the very pressing problem of news readers and the Russian punk / pop group called 'Pussy Riot.'

In our humble opinion, people should be called by their given or chosen name, just because the word 'Pussy' makes a cameraman / schoolboy giggle and news readers to blush, doesn't mean that news readers should avoid the word for the sake of public decency.

However...

Here at the ukcameraman institute of news studies, we have come up with a short list of alternatives for the bashful news reader should he or she fumble with the 'Pussy.' ( Ahem... Sorry.) Over here in the UK we are obviously very careful with our use of words and the offence they may cause, and in the Bible belt of the USA, the word 'Pussy' could be changed to more acceptable colloquialisms more in tune with their news watching public.

So here goes:

1. Conflagration of the mimsy.
2. Anarchic pudenda.
3. Feline free for all
4. Vagina melee. ( Medical term.)
5. Cat commotion.
6. Tabby tumult.
7. Kitten commotion.
8. Ocelot uproar.

Yes, i know there is only eight, but unlike Buzzfeed, i haven't got all bloody day to sit around making up a listicle for your pleasure and amusement, i've got work to do...

And please, please, if any of the delectable female BBC news readers are reading this, don't ever change the word 'Pussy,' it's what gets me to sleep at night.

Paul Martin is @ukcameraman on Twitter.

Tuesday, 11 June 2013

Paxman, Newsnight And Delicate Linguistic Nuances.

Welcome back to the ukcameraman Institute of TV News Studies. As you are probably aware, I watch the news a lot. More than is probably healthy for a man who works in the TV news industry. I have my favourite programmes that I like to watch, chief amongst which is BBC Newsnight with Jeremy Paxman.

Jeremy Paxman... Unable as yet, to swear at his guests...

Now, for the benefit of my foreign readers, Jeremy Paxman, or 'Paxo' to me and his good friends, is known as the journalistic Rottweiler of British TV news broadcasting, with a fearsome reputation amongst the higher echelons of political and corporate life. A withering look or a rapier like rebuttal from an argumentative Paxo is like a stake to the heart of many a governmental mouthpiece.

As good as Paxo is at his job however, I believe that Newsnight and the BBC should relax the rules on language during live broadcasts, but only in the case of Newsnight. We wouldn't want f-bombs during the next instalment of CBeebies now, would we? No, what I mean is, I would like the BBC to give free rein to Paxo to use at random, and at his own discretion, the word 'Bollocks' after the 9pm watershed, when anti-answer spin tactics are deployed by interviewees.

Imagine this scenario if you will. You have settled down to watch Newsnight in your dressing gown and slippers, perhaps with a warming mug of cocoa and a chocolate Hobnob to help you wind down...

Paxo: "Minister, would it be advisable to relax the rules on complex inter governmental department spending and procurement procedures during a time of austerity for the British public..?"

Minister: "What I think the public should be worried about is the quite ludicrous proposals of the opposition. With regards to shadow cabinet expenditure white papers..."

Paxo: (interrupting) "Bollocks..."

After wiping the cocoa and Hobnob spray from your tv screen, think about what just happened... It cuts right to the bone doesn't it? No need for complex argument and clever questioning to get to the heart of the matter and gets the minister to answer the question put to them. A simple 'Bollocks' is all that is required to get them all flustered. Imagine the difference it would have made to the now infamous interview with the then Home Secretary Micheal Howard...

Mr Paxman, if you are reading this, please put forward my proposal for inclusion of the word 'Bollocks' into the BBC allowable word phrase book. (Newsnight only) Should this tactic work, may I also put forward for inclusion the word 'Fucknut.' With kindest regards etc...

Paul Martin is @ukcameraman on Twitter.

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