Friday 2 December 2011

Oops what have I said now, me and my big mouth, cont. page 94.

17 comments:

Super Sam said...

The British used to have a sense of humour. Seems we had a humour bypass operation sometime in the last decade.

Anonymous said...

but what is reassuring is that the Guardian and its readers have, as you might expect, shown themselves to be "completely above" [ahem, cough, cough] being distracted by this malarkey ...

Jeremy Clarkson's One Show rant: complaints hit 21,000 - - BBC faces biggest complaints storm since 'Sachsgate' row as Top Gear presenter claims he discussed comments in advance

Comments (1229)

Mark Wadsworth said...

SS, I don't find Clarkson particularly funny, he's bright enough under the bluster but I don't think he is in any way offensive. A bit childish, perhaps, but aren't we all from time to time?

Mark Wadsworth said...

Anon, is there any point in reading what the Guardian has to say on the topic? You or I could bash out most of their articles in our sleep.

Macheath said...

'Bright enough under the bluster'

I find this all very amusing because I've been using extracts form Clarkson's articles for years to teach the use of hyperbole for comic effect.

They also come in very handy for teaching English colloquial language and culture to German students - his piece on the shortcomings of jury service recently reduced one group to near-hysterical laughter.

A K Haart said...

Good likeness. From what I've seen, I think he's very good at what he does.

Mark Wadsworth said...

McH: to quote from Clarkson's article:

"And get this. On a Radio 2 quiz the other day, a contestant was asked what happens to water at 32 on the Fahrenheit scale. After much umming and aahing, she said confidently, “It melts”.

Now here’s a woman who’s allowed to do jury service, to have a say in who runs the country. And she thinks water melts when it gets a bit nippy.


The woman was quite correct. If you start at (say) 0 F, water is solid (ice), you go to 20 F, it is still solid. If you go to 32 F it starts to melt and turn to liquid.

Or to be even more pedantic about it, at 32 F, water can exist either in its solid or liquid states.

And 32 F is not "a bit nippy", it is colloquially referred to as 'freezing' although from the point of view of an Eskimo, perhaps it's referred to as 'melting'.

So he's bright, but not exactly a genius.

AKH, ta and yes, I agree.

ukipwebmaster said...

Clarkson – Like Unison only funnier:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jh1M2Yvb4I

Electro-Kevin said...

Dickensian.

A good likeness but too much ink for modern times.

You do have considerable talent.

Electro-Kevin said...

PS, I find Top Gear rather tyresome. (sic)

Bayard said...

"The British used to have a sense of humour"

I don't think The Righteous ever had a sense of humour - look at the Puritans in the C17th and Victorian moralists.

Mark Wadsworth said...

EK, ta, yes, I like the way if you draw something with a biro you can make it look a bit like an old woodcut. How anybody ever had the patience to do a proper woodcut is beyond me.

B, good point.

PJH said...

Oh dear Mark, it's clear you're not following the "How to Draw" series - it looks nothing like their Jeremy Clarkson

;)

ADB said...

Could you have a go at drawing Sarcozy as well... I think it may end up looking similar.

Mark Wadsworth said...

PJH, he famously did that joke with a number plate on his own car.

ADB, last time I drew Sarko was here. Maybe it's time I updated that.

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