Tonight, back with London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night, for a Funzing talk. This time, the talk was entitled "Can You Trust the Media?", and was given by Annie Machon, who gave an interesting talk last month on Russian Hacking. Another 30% discount. I just wish she'd use some visual aids.. At the Lighthouse again, terrific. :-/
Well, at least this time I wasn't rushing. Last time, I had to take the Tube, then trek from Old Street - hit up for money on the way. This time, praise be, I had time to take the bus; get on a short walk from the office, get off just a short walk from the bar. Great! The area might be colourful, but it's not pleasant for a casual stroll.
Into the bar, then - and as I was having a look around, was hailed from the side I wasn't looking at. There was a Funzing gal, with a table and loyalty cards - which reminded me! So now I have another, fully stamped card, whoopee. They did have a thing where you didn't have to have a physical card, just email them, 'coz they'd have the details. I notice that died a death. Anyway, she went through the whole thing about how to claim my free talk. Then gave me another voucher - Funzing30 seems to be in vogue again.
She also kindly informed me that there were bars on both levels, so I decided to avoid the travails of carrying a drink upstairs. At the upstairs bar, a fellow beside me was kindly asking all the questions - as I pointed out to him - that I also needed answers to. Basically, there's a £10 minimum on cards (must've known that before, but forgotten. Or maybe I had cash.) Now, a large glass of wine only costs £8.50, and they don't do snacks. However.. a bottle only costs £10. (!) Guess what we both did..
And so I took my seat, and in due course the talk began (no visual aids, gee). She is, as before, a great speaker. Someone in charge did decide that she was too softly spoken, and at some point increased the volume on the mic quite dramatically. But aside from that, we were well occupied in listening to her.
Everybody knows - or should - that you can't trust the media. "Believe none of what you read, and half of what you see", as the saying goes. This idea seemed to come as a shock to some in the audience - I guess there are always ingénues. Mind you, I knew the maxim by the age of 12 - haven't always abided by it, but I am well familiar with the concept. A lot of her talk dealt with her personal experience, which made it interesting; she had plenty to say about how she and her partner, David Shayler, quit M15 and sold their whistleblowing story to the press. They chose the Mail on Sunday, figuring that the Guardian would be too obvious a choice - people would be too dismissive of the story if it were printed there. They then went on the run around Europe. Unfortunately, their big breaking story coincided with.. the death of Diana! God, she's everywhere.. even on the bloody news when I got home! I don't know whether she was as annoying as a person as the news coverage of her has been.. Anyway, that was the end of their breaking news.
She gave us a potted history of fake news, starting all the way back in 1924, with something called the Zinoviev letter. Published by the Daily Mail, it purported to be evidence of a Russian plot to put Labour in power in Britain. (Gosh, does that sound at all familiar?) All concocted by the Tories, of course. Fast-forward to the Iraq war - Tony Blair, and his desperate attempt to convince everyone that the "enemy" had Weapons of Mass Destruction. Just so that everyone could attack Iraq, in retaliation for 9/11.. which they had nothing to do with. (But they did have oil!)
And so to the present day - with the founder of Amazon buying the Washington Post, and fake news proliferating over the 'net.. the most interesting tidbit of information for me tonight was that a company called Cambridge Analytica was behind the election campaigns of both Farage and Trump! Ah, now that explains a lot. Seems they use online social media behaviour to micro-profile certain individuals, then use targeted advertising to get them to do whatever they want.. like voters in swing states, for example. And you know something, I believe every word, for the following reason; were I in charge, that is. Exactly. What. I. Would. Do. It's logical, it's efficient, and with modern hi-tech, it's perfectly possible.
Mind you, beware of Trump-bashing.. as she said, it's an interesting theory that all the anti-Trump rhetoric coming out (and some has been extreme) is because he's friendly with Russia, and someone doesn't want him to be.. and you know why I think that's plausible? Look at the Reds Under the Beds attitude that the US government adopted, within living memory, and tell me that this is different.
So, a thought-provoking talk. Only problem was the blasted noise from the full-volume band, clearly audible downstairs - why do Funzing constantly run talks in unsuitable venues like this?? A fascinated crowd engaged her in lively discussion afterwards, and hung around even after the Q+A to discuss things. Me, after two glasses I'd had my money's worth - I was entitled to another free drink, but said enough! Two for £10 is good value. And I wended my way home, by bus again, entertained by an Asian-looking guy who complained to the driver that he bumped his head when the driver stopped abruptly, and by a gay guy down the back, who by the sound of it was trying to come on to another guy who was not only straight, but actually accompanied by his significant other! See now, you just don't get this level of entertainment on the Tube..
Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again. On Monday, I'm finally going to see Dreamgirls, at the Savoy, courtesy of Amazon Tickets.
Well, at least this time I wasn't rushing. Last time, I had to take the Tube, then trek from Old Street - hit up for money on the way. This time, praise be, I had time to take the bus; get on a short walk from the office, get off just a short walk from the bar. Great! The area might be colourful, but it's not pleasant for a casual stroll.
Into the bar, then - and as I was having a look around, was hailed from the side I wasn't looking at. There was a Funzing gal, with a table and loyalty cards - which reminded me! So now I have another, fully stamped card, whoopee. They did have a thing where you didn't have to have a physical card, just email them, 'coz they'd have the details. I notice that died a death. Anyway, she went through the whole thing about how to claim my free talk. Then gave me another voucher - Funzing30 seems to be in vogue again.
She also kindly informed me that there were bars on both levels, so I decided to avoid the travails of carrying a drink upstairs. At the upstairs bar, a fellow beside me was kindly asking all the questions - as I pointed out to him - that I also needed answers to. Basically, there's a £10 minimum on cards (must've known that before, but forgotten. Or maybe I had cash.) Now, a large glass of wine only costs £8.50, and they don't do snacks. However.. a bottle only costs £10. (!) Guess what we both did..
And so I took my seat, and in due course the talk began (no visual aids, gee). She is, as before, a great speaker. Someone in charge did decide that she was too softly spoken, and at some point increased the volume on the mic quite dramatically. But aside from that, we were well occupied in listening to her.
Everybody knows - or should - that you can't trust the media. "Believe none of what you read, and half of what you see", as the saying goes. This idea seemed to come as a shock to some in the audience - I guess there are always ingénues. Mind you, I knew the maxim by the age of 12 - haven't always abided by it, but I am well familiar with the concept. A lot of her talk dealt with her personal experience, which made it interesting; she had plenty to say about how she and her partner, David Shayler, quit M15 and sold their whistleblowing story to the press. They chose the Mail on Sunday, figuring that the Guardian would be too obvious a choice - people would be too dismissive of the story if it were printed there. They then went on the run around Europe. Unfortunately, their big breaking story coincided with.. the death of Diana! God, she's everywhere.. even on the bloody news when I got home! I don't know whether she was as annoying as a person as the news coverage of her has been.. Anyway, that was the end of their breaking news.
She gave us a potted history of fake news, starting all the way back in 1924, with something called the Zinoviev letter. Published by the Daily Mail, it purported to be evidence of a Russian plot to put Labour in power in Britain. (Gosh, does that sound at all familiar?) All concocted by the Tories, of course. Fast-forward to the Iraq war - Tony Blair, and his desperate attempt to convince everyone that the "enemy" had Weapons of Mass Destruction. Just so that everyone could attack Iraq, in retaliation for 9/11.. which they had nothing to do with. (But they did have oil!)
And so to the present day - with the founder of Amazon buying the Washington Post, and fake news proliferating over the 'net.. the most interesting tidbit of information for me tonight was that a company called Cambridge Analytica was behind the election campaigns of both Farage and Trump! Ah, now that explains a lot. Seems they use online social media behaviour to micro-profile certain individuals, then use targeted advertising to get them to do whatever they want.. like voters in swing states, for example. And you know something, I believe every word, for the following reason; were I in charge, that is. Exactly. What. I. Would. Do. It's logical, it's efficient, and with modern hi-tech, it's perfectly possible.
Mind you, beware of Trump-bashing.. as she said, it's an interesting theory that all the anti-Trump rhetoric coming out (and some has been extreme) is because he's friendly with Russia, and someone doesn't want him to be.. and you know why I think that's plausible? Look at the Reds Under the Beds attitude that the US government adopted, within living memory, and tell me that this is different.
So, a thought-provoking talk. Only problem was the blasted noise from the full-volume band, clearly audible downstairs - why do Funzing constantly run talks in unsuitable venues like this?? A fascinated crowd engaged her in lively discussion afterwards, and hung around even after the Q+A to discuss things. Me, after two glasses I'd had my money's worth - I was entitled to another free drink, but said enough! Two for £10 is good value. And I wended my way home, by bus again, entertained by an Asian-looking guy who complained to the driver that he bumped his head when the driver stopped abruptly, and by a gay guy down the back, who by the sound of it was trying to come on to another guy who was not only straight, but actually accompanied by his significant other! See now, you just don't get this level of entertainment on the Tube..
Tomorrow, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again. On Monday, I'm finally going to see Dreamgirls, at the Savoy, courtesy of Amazon Tickets.
On Tuesday, I was back with the Scarlet Ladies for a talk on Generation Sex. Until Let's Do This advertised a concert that sounds really good.. at the Apples & Pears Bar. Hey, I do allow myself to change if something sounds better.. and as I say, the Scarlet Ladies are not my kind of ladies.
On Wednesday, I'm with another new group - North London Friends - for an interview with Michael Palin, at the Knowledge Centre Theatre at the British Library. I was really torn, though - the London European Club is off to an early music concert the same night, and I do love that - but had already booked this, and it is Michael Palin. Hey-ho..
Next Thursday, I was back with North London Friends, and another talk on Fake News - different speaker, mind! This is the Fulbright Commission annual lecture, at the British Library. However, much more attractively, Let's Do This are reviving what used to be a regular Man with the Hat event - we're off to St. Martin-in-the-Fields, for some Vivaldi concertos. With a discount, yet! London Concertante, as usual.
On the 8th September, until the other day I was still technically booked for free comedy in Hammersmith with DiscoverLDN.UK. But, as I say - good atmosphere, but the comedy is usually pretty bad. I was saved - again - by Up in the Cheap Seats, who are off to see Doubt, a Parable, in Southwark Playhouse. Aww.. it's so long since I was there, and I have so many good memories of it from my time with the Man with the Hat!
On the 9th September, Helen and I have our 25km sponsored walk, in aid of Haslemere's Cat Protection Society. We're going as Dick Whittington and his cat, respectively, and the route is the Thames Bridges Trek. You can donate here.. Got a pair of Skechers Go Walk 4s today, woo! Dying to try them out now.
Which will tire me out nicely, just in time for my flight to Prague the next morning! I'm at a conference there, Sunday to Tuesday. (What a nice company I work for!) Gee, but I love Prague - most beautiful city I've ever seen, and I've seen a few. They're putting me up at a nice hotel too, just down the road.
So, I fly back on the 12th September, and on the 13th I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats, at Sadler's Wells, for the Hofesh Schechter Company grand finale.
On the 14th September, I was at another talk with Walks, Talks and Treasure Hunts - this one, at Southwark Cathedral, is about the River Effra, South London's Secret Spine. Another free Eventbrite event, this is to publicise a book about the subject, and the talk is again given by the author. Another thing that had no tickets, then it did (no notification)! Now I've changed though, and will be off with Up in the Cheap Seats to Loot, at the Park Theatre. Got the last £20 ticket, yay! Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 18th September, I was off to Showstopper! at the Lyric. Ticket courtesy of From the Box Office again. I have actually seen this before - but, being an improvised musical, it literally is different every time! But you'll never guess - the Crick Crack Club finally announced their autumn schedule last Friday, and now, that night, I'm off to Eaten Father, Eaten Mother by Ben Haggerty. In Soho Theatre, first time in ages.
On the 19th September, back with the Scarlet Ladies, for a talk entitled 100 Women - Their Breasts, Their Stories. Although actually, if I didn't like the other night's, I think I'll hate this - will be looking for alternatives.
On the 20th September, Funzing (same two groups) and Jennifer Rees again - this time, a fun talk about the Psychology of Batman Villains! The first of hers for which I managed to get a 30% discount.. and it's on nice and close to me again. Seems to be a feature of her talks!
On the 21st September, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - with Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich, Random London, and DiscoverLDN.UK. But yay, I have my alternative at last! Going to some comedy I have to pay for, which will probably be better. Mae Martin is at Soho Theatre. Advertised by a group called Moxie Ladies.. good luck to them, but as they charge extra, I'm going solo.
And on the 22nd September, the same free comedy - with DiscoverLDN.UK. I rather doubt it though - don't you?
On the 23rd September, I was to do the same, but am now headed to the launch of Rob Luft's new album, Riser, at King's Place. As advertised by The London Jazz Meetup. I finally ended up paying their membership fee after booking an event with them the other day, for November, which someone is attending that I know. So I figured it was wiser!
I had booked the same free comedy, with the same group, on the 24th September, but was again saved - this time, by the World Music Meetup! They're off to see Kefaya, in Nell's Jazz and Blues bar, back in my old stomping ground of North End Road! Happy days, when I was working there..
On the 25th September, a group called Theatre and Stuff is off to see Prism, at Hampstead Theatre. They're charging extra to go with them, though - so I happily bought my own ticket. What the hey, odds are I won't know any of them anyway.
On the 26th September, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats - to see Wings, at The Young Vic. Accidentally booked standing, I think.. :-/
On the 27th September, with Up in the Cheap Seats again - for Jekyll & Hyde, presented by the National Youth Theatre, at the Ambassadors Theatre.
On the 28th September, with another new group: London, Surrey and Beyond.. for an event called "A Unique Experience. Olde Pub, Gerry's Private Club, 2 'i's Famous Fish 'n' Chips". Which says it all, really! Then it's back to Ireland for the weekend again.
On the 2nd October, I had booked at Hampstead Theatre, for No One Will Tell Me How to Start a Revolution. North London Friends are attending - and charging extra, so I was going it alone! But now it turns out I'm spending the week in the Stockholm office - back on the 8th.
On the 3rd October, it was free comedy in Hammersmith - nominally. With Free Comedy Nights in Hammersmith, Wimbledon and Greenwich. So, that was easy to cancel, for Stockholm!
On the 4th October was Up in the Cheap Seats and Labour of Love, with Martin Freeman, at the Noel Coward Theatre. Cheapest tickets from the venue, for once!
On the 5th October, same group - headed to see the Company Wayne McGregor, at Sadler's Wells.
And finally! on the 6th October, headed to see Chekhov's The Seagull, at the Lyric. Third night in a row for that group - almost as busy a group as I am a person! So, four things in all I had to cancel, without refund.. what the hey, I'll doubtless be saving money in Stockholm! Expenses paid, after all.
On the 9th October, I'm finally going to see the show so many people have asked me whether I'm seeing. Ink is showing at the Duke of York's Theatre.
And on the 10th October, I'm back with Up in the Cheap Seats for Ballet Boyz at Sadler's Wells.
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