Daily archives: February 24, 2005


Little Things

I don’t know if this counts as Spinneyhead merchandise or not. I’ve started modelling again, but I don’t have anywhere to keep the finished products. So, because this is as much about the creation as anything else, you can buy them. Recently I’ve become hooked on little Cararama diecast cars. The scale’s almost perfect for OO model railways (like the one that’s taking over my room in my parents’ house. I have to sleep under Bransty tunnel when I go home.) To start things off slowly I’m customising a few of these cars. If you have a layout set any time in the last thirty or so years, they should fit right in. Buy them all and hold a mini cruise. Future projects will be a more involved and will probably lead to more products for Spinneyhead Scale.

My model projects are listed on a special blog. Prices are based upon the cost of the model and the time taken on it. Special commissions are welcome as well.

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Beetle Custom

1:72nd scale Beetle, customised from a Cararama die cast. This car will fit right in to a OO scale model railway for any period from the 60’s to the present. Shown here with a stock Beetle for comparisons.

Mods- bumpers removed, new wheels, larger tyres at the back, lowered at the front, converted to right hand drive and interior detailed including a chrome gear lever.


Walk on by

It’s nearly Bogle time. I did say I’d be cycling it this year but, well, I’m not. I’ve done no training at all. Even then I could get on my bike and do two loops of the route with ease. The thing is, I want to do four loops, so I’d feel like a failure. So this year I’m helping again, driving a silver bus and taking poor aching walkers home.

Clare is doing it, however. You can sponsor her, give me a little while and you’ll even be able to do it by PayPal.

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You don't really need to find out what's going on, You don't really want to know just how far it's gone

I tried to watch Fox News this morning. I feel dirty.

One of the other contributors to Monitor Duty (which I’ve abandoned now because the guy who runs it is a bigot who’ll only accept information that reinforces his prejudices) told me that Fox was important because it “told the truth”. He should watch OutFoxed and get a clue.

There’s no narrative to the documentary, just a series of interviewees- many of them former Fox employees- describing the station’s philosophy and tactics. Their arguments are backed up by examples from Fox programming and copies of internal memos. In essence the channel exists to feed viewers opinion, rumour and gossip whilst pretending to be a real news organisation and claiming to be “Fair and Balanced” (evidence that some Americans do understand irony).

Highlights include the composer of the Fox News Alert music lamenting that the rousing flourish was supposed to announce major items- bombings and suchlike- but now heralds Bennifer news and other fluff pieces, and the revelation that high profile presenter Bill O’Reilly couldn’t be sued for libel because he’s such a pathological liar he can no longer conciously recognise that he’s not telling the truth.

Why is this so important to me? Because the most powerful country in the world can’t be truly described as a democracy if one of the largest news providers is a 24 hour shill for the Republican party. And because Murdoch owns so many papers and broadcasting outfits over here as well- try to imagine The Sun as the main influencer of opinion and be afraid.

(Don Henley, Dirty Laundry)

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