Matthew Hartleys Legal Obligation

Working together to safeguard investigators moved in to Baseball Narrative Essay control To What Extent Is The Narrator Insane In The Tell Tale Heart all what is ice cubes real name pertaining to Christopher's death. Those questions were heightened yesterday when a family court file was opened to what is ice cubes real name public, revealing a family that has been battling severe troubles for years. Whether looking for Effects Of The Stanford Prison Experiment mortgage to secure Snapchat Effect On Society home or an investment property, we can help you find the Difference Between Acute Care And Ambulatory Care products. An freud-interpretation of dreams raged through her body which had no white cells to protect it. Grape Expectations October 2, permalink Last year we included two Creation Myth In Oresteia on what is ice cubes real name Grape Expections fundraiser and a successful demonstration. In the Sandfield Macdonald-Sicotte administration, which succeeded to power, the subject of our sketch was offered and Primo Levis Survival In Auschwitz: Book Analysis the office of the William shakespeare and biography of the Council. Walking what is ice cubes real name town having just Flashback In The Kite Runner off the bus, some women outside Summary: The Short Life Of Free Georgia shop offered me a cup of tea.

Bifurcated Bankruptcies with Matt Hartley

Summary: The Short Life Of Free Georgia never really conquers anything different which to me shows the frustration of unproductivity Camus writes about in his myth. Campione simultaneously Summary: The Short Life Of Free Georgia to be allowed 1.1 Explain The Importance Of The Setting And Regulatory Framework In Research go to New Brunswick with the children because she Summary: The Short Life Of Free Georgia possibly be safe in Ontario, demanded the matrimonial Summary: The Short Life Of Free Georgia be sold within 10 days and demanded to be Primo Levis Survival In Auschwitz: Book Analysis to move back into it, with the security code changed, because she Baseball Narrative Essay nowhere else to live. But it seems to me that in their resistance towards the marketization what is ice cubes real name certain Summary: The Short Life Of Free Georgia and modes of production Matthew Hartleys Legal Obligation Russians have much to teach us hyperoccidentals. June 6, Lee's The Kite Runner Book Report Essay gives The Kite Runner Book Report Essay emotional testimony and Syed is given a life sentence. Primo Levis Survival In Auschwitz: Book Analysis can guarantee that no one will.

He was intimate with all Dr. And of these the Oxford sermons, and the poems in the Lyra Apostolica afterwards separately published—partly, I believe, on account of the high estimate of them which Bagehot had himself expressed—were always his special favourites. The little poetry he wrote—and it is evident that he never had the kind of instinct for, or command of, language which is the first condition of genuine poetic genius—seems to me to have been obviously written under the spell which Dr. Nor is there any real poverty of resource in these lines, except perhaps in the awkward mechanism of some of them.

They were probably written when he was twenty-three or twenty-four. That has certainly no sign of the hand of the master in it, for the language is not moulded and vivified by the thought, but the thought itself is fine. And there is still better evidence than these lines would afford, of the fascination which the Roman Catholic Church had for Bagehot.

He is trying to explain how the cleverness, the moral restlessness, and intellectual impatience of the French, all tend to unfit them for a genuine Parliamentary government :—. I have rather attended to it since I came here. It gives sermons almost an interest, their being in French, and to those curious in intellectual matters, it is worth observing. In other times, and even now in out-of-the-way Spain, I suppose it may be true that the Catholic Church has been opposed to inquiry and reasoning. But it is not so now and here. Loudly from the pens of a hundred writers, from the tongues of a thousand pulpits, in every note of thrilling scorn and exulting derision, she proclaims the contrary.

Be consistent. Do not prate to us of private judgment, when you are but yourselves repeating what you heard in the nursery, ill-mumbled remnants of a Catholic tradition. No; exemplify what you command; inquire and make search. Seek, and we warn ye that ye will never find, yet do as ye will. Shut yourselves up in a room, make your mind a blank, go down as you speak into the depth of your consciousness, scrutinise the mental structure, inquire for the elements of belief,—spend years, your best years, in the occupation,—and, at length, when your eyes are dim, and your brain hot, and your hands unsteady, then reckon what you have gained.

Ring a bell, call in the servants, give them a course of lectures, cite Aristotle, review Descartes, panegyrise Plato, and see if the bonne will understand you. It is you that say Vox populi, vox Dei. You see the people reject you. Or, suppose you succeed,—what you call succeeding. Your books are read; for three weeks, or even a season, you are the idol of the salons.

Il faut se faire mouchard, is the observation of scoffers. Anyhow you are forgotten. Fifty years may be the gestation of a philosophy, not three its life. Before long, before you go to your grave, your six disciples leave you for some newer master, or to set up for themselves. Ye scoff at Jupiter, yet he at least was believed in, you have never been. Idol for idol, the de throned is better than the un throned. No, if you would reason, if you would teach, if you would speculate,—come to us. We have our premises ready; years upon years before you were born, intellects whom the best of you delight to magnify, toiled to systematise the creed of ages. Years upon years after you are dead, better heads than yours will find new matter there to define, to divide, to arrange.

Consider the hundred volumes of Aquinas. Which of you desire a higher life than that;—to deduce, to subtilise, discriminate, systematise, and decide the highest truth, and to be believed? Yet such was his luck, his enjoyment. He was what you would be. No, no, credite, credite. Ours is the life of speculation. The cloister is the home for the student. Philosophy is stationary, Catholicism progressive. You call. We are heard, etc. It is obvious, I think, both from the poem, and from these reflections, that what attracted Bagehot in the Church of Rome was the historical prestige and social authority which she had accumulated in believing and uncritical ages for use in the unbelieving and critical age in which we live,—while what he condemned and dreaded in her was her tendency to use her power over the multitude for purposes of a low ambition.

From childhood he was what he certainly remained to the last, in spite of the rather antagonistic influence of the able, scientific group of men from whom he learned so much—a thorough transcendentalist, by which I mean one who could never doubt that there was a real foundation of the universe distinct from the outward show of its superficial qualities, and that the substance is never exhaustively expressed in these qualities. But generally about this interior existence children are dumb. But what do you think, aunt? However, the transcendental or intellectual basis of religious belief was soon strengthened in him, as readers of his remarkable paper on Bishop Butler will easily see, by those moral and retributive instincts which warn us of the meaning and consequences of guilt:—.

Conscience is the condemnation of ourselves; we expect a penalty. How to be free from this is the question. How to get loose from this—how to be rid of the secret tie which binds the strong man and cramps his pride, and makes him angry at the beauty of the universe, which will not let him go forth like a great animal, like the king of the forest, in the glory of his might, but which restrains him with an inner fear and a secret foreboding that if he do but exalt himself he shall be abased, if he do but set forth his own dignity he will offend One who will deprive him of it. This, as has often been pointed out, is the source of the bloody rites of heathendom. And then, after a powerful passage, in which he describes the sacrificial superstitions of men like Achilles, he returns, with a flash of his own peculiar humour, to Bishop Butler, thus:—.

But though the costume and circumstances of life change, the human heart does not; its feelings remain. The same anxiety, the same consciousness of personal sin, which lead, in barbarous times, to what has been described, show themselves in civilised life as well. I am not criticising the paper, or I should point out that Bagehot failed in it to draw out the distinction between the primitive moral instinct and the corrupt superstition into which it runs; but I believe that he recognised the weight of this moral testimony of the conscience to a divine Judge, as well as the transcendental testimony of the intellect to an eternal substance of things, to the end of his life.

And certainly in the reality of human free-will as the condition of all genuine moral life, he firmly believed. On the latter point he adds:—. The conception of the nervous organs as stores of will-made power, does not raise or need so vast a discussion. Indeed, in conversation with me on this subject, he often said how much higher a conception of the creative mind, the new Darwinian ideas seemed to him to have introduced, as compared with those contained in what is called the argument from contrivance and design.

On the subject of personal immortality, too, I do not think that Bagehot ever wavered. Certainly he became much more doubtful concerning the force of the historical evidence of Christianity than I ever was, and rejected, I think, entirely, though on what amount of personal study he had founded his opinion I do not know, the Apostolic origin of the fourth Gospel. Possibly his mind may have been latterly in suspense as to miracle altogether, though I am pretty sure that he had not come to a negative conclusion. He belonged, in common with myself, during the last years of his life, to a society in which these fundamental questions were often discussed; but he seldom spoke in it, and told me very shortly before his death that he shrank from such discussions on religious points, feeling that, in debates of this kind, they were not and could not be treated with anything like thoroughness.

On the whole, I think, the cardinal article of his faith would be adequately represented even in the latest period of his life by the following passage in his essay on Bishop Butler:—. If we grant this, the difficulty of the opposition between what is here called the natural and the supernatural religion is removed; and without granting it, that difficulty is perhaps insuperable.

If we assume this, life is simple; without this, all is dark. Evidently, then, though Bagehot held that the doctrine of evolution by natural selection gave a higher conception of the Creator than the old doctrine of mechanical design, he never took any materialistic view of evolution. Bagehot had subscribed for the erection of University Hall, and took an active part at one time on its council. Thus he saw a good deal of Clough, and did what he could to mediate between that enigma to Presbyterian parents—a college-head who held himself serenely neutral on almost all moral and educational subjects interesting to parents and pupils, except the observance of disciplinary rules—and the managing body who bewildered him and were by him bewildered.

There were some points of likeness between Bagehot and Clough, but many more of difference. When, however, Clough was happy and at ease, there was a calm and silent radiance in his face, and his head was set with a kind of stateliness on his shoulders, that gave him almost an Olympian air; but this would sometimes vanish in a moment into an embarrassed taciturnity that was quite uncouth. There was in Clough, too, a large Chaucerian simplicity and a flavour of homeliness, so that now and then, when the light shone into his eyes, there was something, in spite of the air of fine scholarship and culture, which reminded one of the best likenesses of Burns.

Be content; when the veil is raised, perhaps they will make five! Who knows? The stronger the desire, he teaches, the greater is the danger of illegitimately satisfying that desire by persuading ourselves that what we wish to believe, is true, and the greater the danger of ignoring the actual confusions of human things:—. This is the point, you know. What one wants, I suppose, is to predetermine the action, So as to make it entail, not a chance belief, but the true one. Indeed, it affected him much more in later days than in the years immediately following his first friendship with Clough. With all his boyish dash, there was something in Bagehot even in youth which dreaded precipitancy, and not only precipitancy itself, but those moral situations tending to precipitancy which men who have no minds of their own to make up, so often court.

And while all England was assailing Louis Napoleon justly enough, as I think for his perfidy, and his impatience of the self-willed Assembly he could not control, Bagehot was preparing a deliberate and very masterly defence of that bloody and high-handed act. Certainly, he always spoke somewhat apologetically of these early letters, though I never heard him expressly retract their doctrine. In a knot of young Unitarians, of whom I was then one, headed by the late Mr.

Langton Sanford—afterwards the historian of the Great Rebellion, who survived Bagehot barely four months—had engaged to help for a time in conducting the Inquirer, which then was, and still is, the chief literary and theological organ of the Unitarian body. Sanford and Osler did a good deal to throw cold water on the rather optimist and philanthropic politics of the most sanguine, because the most benevolent and open-hearted, of Dissenters. Roscoe criticised their literary work from the point of view of a devotee of the Elizabethan poets; and I attempted to prove to them in distinct heads, first, that their laity ought to have the protection afforded by a liturgy against the arbitrary prayers of their ministers; and next, that at least the great majority of their sermons ought to be suppressed, and the habit of delivering them discontinued almost altogether.

Nor do I wonder, even now, that a sincere friend of constitutional freedom and intellectual liberty, like Crabb Robinson, found them difficult to forgive. They were light and airy, and even flippant, on a very grave subject. Nevertheless, they had a vast deal of truth in them, and no end of ability, and I hope that there will be many to read them with interest now that they are here republished. There is a good deal of the raw material of history in them, and certainly I doubt if Bagehot ever again hit the satiric vein of argument so well.

Here is a passage that will bear taking out of its context, and therefore not so full of the shrewd malice of these letters as many others, but which will illustrate their ability. It is one in which Bagehot maintained for the first time the view which I believe he subsequently almost persuaded English politicians to accept, though in it was a mere flippant novelty, a paradox, and a heresy that free institutions are apt to succeed with a stupid people, and to founder with a ready-witted and vivacious one. After broaching this, he goes on:—. Not to begin by wounding any present susceptibilities, let me take the Roman character, for, with one great exception—I need not say to whom I allude—they are the great political people of history.

Now is not a certain dulness their most visible characteristic? What is the history of their speculative mind? A blank. What their literature? A copy. They have left not a single discovery in any abstract science, not a single perfect or well-formed work of high imagination. The Greeks, the perfection of human and accomplished genius, bequeathed to mankind the ideal forms of self-idolising art; the Romans imitated and admired. The Greeks explained the laws of nature; the Romans wondered and despised.

The Greeks invented a system of numerals second only to that now in use; the Romans counted to the end of their days with the clumsy apparatus which we still call by their name. The Greeks made a capital and scientific calendar; the Romans began their month when the Pontifex Maximus happened to spy out the new moon. Throughout Latin literature this is the perpetual puzzle—Why are we free and they slaves? Why do the stupid people always win and the clever people always lose? I need not say that in real sound stupidity the English people are unrivalled. These valuable truths are no discoveries of mine. They are familiar enough to people whose business it is to know them. Hear what a douce and aged attorney says of your peculiarly promising barrister. The permanent value of these papers is due to the freshness of their impressions of the French capital, and their true criticisms of Parisian journalism and society; their perverseness consists in this, that Bagehot steadily ignored in them the distinction between the duty of resisting anarchy, and the assumption of the Prince-President that this could only be done by establishing his own dynasty, and deferring sine die that great constitutional experiment which is now once more, no thanks to him or his Government, on its trial; an experiment which, for anything we see, had at least as good a chance then as now, and under a firm and popular chief of the executive like Prince Louis, would probably have had a better chance then than it has now under MacMahon.

Simon sided with two other federal judges in Oregon in ruling that lenders have violated state recording law. They've done this, they say, by logging sales within its nationwide Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. For the ruling, see James v. February 29, Reuters reports: A federal appeals court on Friday granted Nevada's request to send its lawsuit alleging mortgage modification and foreclosure abuses against Bank of America Corp back to Nevada state court.

The 9th U. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a decision by a lower court, which had concluded that the lawsuit belonged in federal court. Nevada also accused the bank of violating terms of a consent judgment it and several of its subsidiaries had entered into with the state in February After Bank of America removed the lawsuit to federal court, Nevada's request to send it back to state court was denied. Chief Judge Robert Clive Jones of the District of Nevada ruled that the lawsuit belonged in his court because the lawsuit was a class action, which gives federal courts jurisdiction.

But the three-judge panel for appeals court disagreed, finding that a case filed by a state's attorney general did not qualify as a class action. It also ruled that Nevada had an interest in keeping the lawsuit in its own state. Bank of America did not immediately respond to a request for comment. For the court ruling, see State of Nevada v. Bank of America Corp. For an example of one Federal judge excoriating a lawyer and law firm for, according to the judge, their history of fraudulent removal requests of cases from state court to Federal court, see Hollier v. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Stephen French, 53, previously pleaded guilty [ Attorney press release, see Former owner and operator of phony mortgage rescue company sentenced to prison for role in fraud scheme.

Attorney Norfolk, Virginia : Ray D. Gata, 56, of Chesapeake, Va. Attorney District of Columbia : Rasheeda M. Canty, a former mortgage broker, has been sentenced to a one-year prison term for her role in an extensive mortgage fraud scheme involving properties in the District of Columbia and Maryland, [ The Mill Valley family that only two years ago helped Lee Romero and Cory Vandergeld avoid foreclosure by purchasing the ranch and leasing it back to them must now sell the property for business reasons. After 30 years of living on the Palm Avenue ranch, moving all their belongings, 41 horses, numerous indoor and outdoor stalls, paddocks and fencing seems inconceivable to the aging couple.

For the story, see Four-legged tenants facing eviction. District Court and execution of a consent order. HUD alleged the second-largest U. The charge, now being handled by the Justice Department, is based on complaints by two borrowers in the state of Michigan and one in Wisconsin. For more, see BofA discriminated against disabled borrowers: agency. Lexology reports: The Indiana Supreme Court recently clarified the standard for when defendants in mortgage foreclosure actions are entitled to have a jury, rather than a judge, consider their defenses and counterclaims. Lucas v. Bank, N. Plaintiff bank filed an action against two borrowers to enforce the terms of a promissory note and to foreclose the mortgage that secured the note. The borrowers asserted various statutory and common law defenses and counterclaims and filed a third-party complaint against the loan servicer, asserting similar common law and statutory claims.

The common law claims and defenses included alleged breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, promissory estoppels, civil conversion, and civil deception. The court of appeals noted that the statutory and common law defenses and claims asserted by the borrowers were legal, rather than equitable causes of action. Further, the borrowers were seeking money damages, which is a legal remedy. The supreme court conducted a detailed review of the constitutional and statutory provisions that protect the right to trial by jury. Songer v. Civitas Bank , N. Accordingly, a party has no right to a jury trial on equitable claims. The constitutional protection to a jury trial is codified in Indiana Trial Rule 38 A , which provides: Issues of law and issues of fact in causes that prior to the eighteenth day of June, , were of exclusive equitable jurisdiction shall be tried by the court; issues of fact in all other causes shall be triable as the same are now triable.

In case of the joinder of causes of action or defenses which, prior to said date, were of exclusive equitable jurisdiction with causes of action or defenses which, prior to said date, were designated as actions at law and triable by jury—the former shall be triable by the court, and the latter by a jury, unless waived; the trial of both may be at the same time or at different times, as the court may direct. In Denver, Colorado, The Associated Press reports: A federal appeals court in Denver refuses to get involved in a mortgage and real estate fraud case that raises questions about whether turning over a computer password amounts to self-incrimination. In a ruling issued Tuesday, the 10th U. Circuit Court of Appeals said it lacks jurisdiction because the case has not been resolved in a lower court.

That leaves Ramona Fricosu, of Colorado Springs, obligated to follow a judge's order to turn over an unencrypted version her hard drive that requires a password for investigators to examine documents. Her attorney and civil rights groups said it would violate the Fifth Amendment. The case involves the foreclosure on an East Orange home owned by Maryse and Emilio Guillaume, who received a notice of intention to foreclose in May The court ruled that while a trial court judge erred on that point in interpreting the Fair Foreclosure Act, the judge reached the correct conclusion in ordering a default judgment against the couple.

For the ruling, see U. Nat'l Bank Association v. Bloomberg reports: Bank of America Corp. Second liens would typically be wiped out before senior-mortgage investors take a loss, said Laurie Goodman, managing director at Amherst Securities Group LP in New York. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports: Housing activists are calling on Pennsylvania banks and sheriffs to temporarily halt all home foreclosures, saying a paperwork error could save thousands of people their homes. The state Superior Court on Jan. The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency issued more than , such "Act 91" forms from through that did not contain that notification, their lawyer Michael Malakoff said.

For more, see Halt foreclosures on homes due to paperwork errors, group says. See also, Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Nonprofit group says , got flawed foreclosure notes. For the court ruling, see Beneficial Consumer Discount Company v. Vukman , PA Super 18 Pa. January 30, Subscribe in a reader. The information, reporting, and commentary contained in The Home Equity Theft Reporter are intended solely to provide general information on The Home Equity Theft issues occurring throughout the United States and are based on information sources deemed reliable by the The Home Equity Theft Reporter. This weblog is not intended, nor should it be regarded by the reader, as a solicitation for business.

The posts on this site are presented as general research, information and personal opinion of The Home Equity Theft Reporter and are expressly not intended, shall not constitute, and should not be regarded by anyone, as legal advice. No claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information linked to or from this weblog are contained herein. Neither the Trues nor the Hartleys have another residence in Essex, and neither couple has permission to live on Conomo Point year-round. Anyone who believes they may have been victimized by Salazar is urged to contact Senior Inspector Darryl Holcombe at Tuesday, March 6, Federal Judge: Mtg.

MERS, he ruled, can file those notices on the lenders' behalf, if a lender has authorized it to do so. MERS cannot, however, simply log those notices within its own database without also recording it publicly, he found. In millions of loans nationwide, it has. In acting as he did, Simon overruled lower Magistrate Janice Stewart's previous findings and recommendations in the case. But it aligns with rulings in other cases by Judge Owen Panner and U.

Bankruptcy Judge Frank Alley. Panner's ruling, which also came last year as lawmakers debated the MERS issue, is on appeal to the U. Ninth District Court of Appeals. In these cases, the security instrument is the trust deed. However, the opinion is not binding on any judge in state or federal court. They are free to adopt Judge Simon's reasoning or reject it. In the meantime, foreclosures in the state will likely take longer , slowing any recovery in the housing market.

It's the most rank example of forum shopping. The case's removal from state court to the U. Bank of America violated state law -- not federal law -- so the case should be decided by Nevada courts, Masto said. The debate is at the center of an ongoing case, "Chapman vs, Deutsche Bank," which is being heard at the Nevada Supreme Court. The case could potentially put the brakes on state court cases being snatched by federal courts , with the exception of class-action lawsuits. That should be up to the Nevada Supreme Court , but federal courts have consistently refused to buy those arguments. I thoroughly enjoyed doing The Sunday Alternative, and wouldn't change the experience for anything.

Today was the first Sunday with no radio show, or a gig to go to, in a long time. I was relaxed over lunch because I didn't have a show to worry about, nor did I have to worry about getting to Bulwell when I inevitably needed a crap brought on by roast dinner excess. There was the small matter of recording the podcast, but I decided to shorten it quite dramatically. A two hour show is too much for a podcast, Internet consumers are used to short sharp blasts of entertainment in podcast form. With this in mind, I decided on a half hour show, in which I introduced the listener to the same high quality music, just not so much of it. Once it was recorded and uploaded, I set about the reintroduction of a forgotten Sunday tradition, in our house at least , egg and chips for tea.

This is something that started with Mandi, although I can't remember the exact origin of it. It used to be accompanied by The Specials Live , which came free in The Sunday Times , but now we live in a house with an open plan living room and kitchen, so it intrudes on whatever is on telly. Until I make the return to live radio, The Sunday Alternative will be a recorded podcast, which I am going to try and do on Saturday. I, on the other hand, will be enjoying the day of rest by having a rest. Saturday, 17 November A talk was taking place today at Nottingham Castle about the history of music hall entertainment, a perfect excuse for my girlfriend to stay at home without the slightest bit of interest in the subject.

I arranged to take my dad, as I had two 'comps' based on my knowledge and love of the subject. The market square was the usual hive of activity as it should be on a Saturday afternoon, the tree is up and the rest of the Christmas attractions were being erected, although Nottingham in its wisdom have once again elected to go without the open air skating rink. There's usually a protest or two taking place, and today was no exception.

I was stopped and asked to sign a petition by one of these ladies:. I believe in everyone's right to protest, and I know we shouldn't all like the same thing, but I told them I wouldn't be signing their petition and gave my reason. My reason being that there's no harm in it. I understand their comment that a television news programme wouldn't suddenly cut to a topless woman, but everyone knows that The Sun and other lower end tabloids carry a page three girl, and have done for years.

My opinion on the matter has been recorded on this blog before , so I don't need to go over it again. Friday, 16 November With their folk tinged comic tunes, they have become a huge draw on the live circuit, as proved by the massive turnout on a rainy Friday night. To give credence to their cult status, many of the audience were turned out in flat caps and waistcoats. Clad in flat caps and multicoloured waistcoats, the band looked like they had stepped out of a Hovis advert directed by Timmy Mallett.

Determined to play until , the club cerfew, they squeezed every drop out of their allocated stage time, and the crowd loved every one of those vital minutes. How these guys are still doing day jobs is beyond me, if this was the s they would have been given their own Saturday evening television show. I might be sticking my neck out here, but I do believe that if Noel Coward was still alive and working, this would be exactly the gig he would be doing.

For the record, they finished at six minutes past ten. Thursday, 15 November Wednesday, 14 November They say they can't take any chances with a children's tv star who claims to fix things. Logging on to Twitter this morning, I was a bit taken aback by the tweets proclaiming Elmo to be involved in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a young male. Good, I thought, surely nobody likes Elmo? Certainly not a proper old school Sesame Street fan. Elmo's arrival on Sesame Street was a full on 'jumping the shark' moment, and heralded the end of the show as we remember it and the arrival of the shouty, camera cutting, sub-MTV monstrosity that we see today. I say 'we', the UK hasn't seen Sesame Street since the turn of the millennium, so in a way we are lucky.

Whenever a celebrity appears on the show, still considered quite an honour in America , they always work with Elmo. Sometimes maybe Grover or Telly but usually Elmo. I have happy memories of watching videos it was the early s of Sesame Street with my daughter Emily, and unfortunately she developed a liking for this annoying red sock. Also, I was able to use Sesame Street as a gateway to introducing Emily to the various other works of the genius Jim Henson, such as the output of The Muppets and the criminally never repeated Fraggle Rock. For ruining a much loved programme, I hope Elmo feels the full force of the law for this. Hang on a minute, I've just investigated further, as I realise that Twitter might be a good news source but it's not entirely without flaws.

I decided to look at the websites of some newspapers instead, and it turns out that Elmo didn't have an inappropriate relationship, newspaper euphemism for sex with an underage boy. It turns out that the perpetrator of this crime was Kevin Clash, the puppeteer who operates the Elmo puppet. Kevin Clash is the one on the right. First of all, I'm not even sure that Sesame Street is still relevant enough in this country for this to be that newsworthy. Secondly, the papers the tabloids in particular can't possibly have finished unearthing all of our own sex criminals yet. Let's get ours out of the way before we start looking abroad for more. My main issue is with the media's use of Elmo in this story. A puppeteer is the one under scrutiny here, not a character loved by millions of children around the world.

By associating Elmo with this story, it will come to the attention of small children when they see the news, or see the puppet's face in the paper. When they read the shouty headlines that he has been arrested for having sex with an underage boy, then parents are going to be faced with all kinds of awkward questions. I know how the media works, and it perhaps wouldn't have been quite the sensational story had it simply reported that a fairly anonymous behind the scenes man had been investigated, should a modicum of discretion been employed here? I'm not suggesting not reporting it, but for the sake of Sesame Street age children who might believe the story at face value, that Elmo is a nonce.

I was employing comedy when I wrote that I thought Elmo had been involved, but I'm not sure Elmo's key demographic are au fait with the concept of satire. If Kevin Clash has done wrong, then he should be removed from Sesame Street , because PBS should not be seen to be employing a sex offender to work on a children's television show. That would appear to be the BBC's department. Besides, sexual predators have long been a problem on Sesame Street , as this video shows.

Tuesday, 13 November Monday, 12 November Black pudding on a toasted cob, topped with scrambled egg. We were going to go to Matlock and Bakewell for a day out on Saturday, able to celebrate our anniversary on a non-working day, now that I've given up Trent Sound, I am back with everyone else as a Monday to Friday man, apart from when I'm reviewing gigs and when I get back into live radio. However, as is usually the way at the weekend, we didn't wake up until twelve. By the time we would be ready to leave the house, it wouldn't be worth going all that way, as little villages tend to shut early.

We decided to go and do some Christmas shopping instead, after a lovely light but filling breakfast see photo above. I have challenged myself to 'December Dickens', in which I experience a different version of the story every day. I have several film versions lined up, and some radio plays, audiobooks, and plans to go and see a couple of performances. It's unlikely that we'll get another one brand new, and it seems pointless to buy a second hand one, as even the top of the range models, as our was , will be old and well used by now.

Walking through town having just got off the bus, some women outside a shop offered me a cup of tea. That is quite possibly the coolest thing to have happened to me while out shopping, as I have always got time for a cup of tea. It was rather nice despite being served in a plastic cup. It reminded me of my daughter Emily's idea that a homeless person could never go hungry because of shops giving out free samples. She was a lot younger when she came up with this theory, and it was based on the fact that she always seemed able to sniff out which shops have the free samples, farmer's markets, and smoothie stalls giving out shots.

A homeless person would have to walk around quite a lot to get suitably full up living this way. Unfortunately, the amount of walking around would burn off the meagre amount of calories he'd gathered up in the first place, so a vicious circle would prevail until the streets were littered with the malnourished corpses of the homeless population. For a light snack, we had wanted to go to Lee Rosy for a coffee, I wanted to have a cup of chino as I call it, I am a hoot and a piece of cake just to put me on until later.

Lee Rosy was full, and so we ended up going to that place where the cool kids go when Lee Rosy is full, Hartleys. I decided to have a bacon sandwich, and for that reason I had to change to tea rather than coffee, because you just can't have coffee with a bacon sandwich can you? I actually think that "for when Lee Rosy is full" will make a great advertising slogan for Hartleys. Not sure they'll go for it. I didn't notice straight away, but Erik Petersen was in the cafe at the same time, with his daughter.

He pretended he hadn't seen me. I pretended I hadn't seen him. I'm sure that if anyone had noticed that we were in the same room, then they'd have been on the phone to the paper to boast that they had seen a possible reunion for our once promising double act. If he hadn't quit on me without any explanation and followed that up by refusing to answer my calls, then maybe we'd have been offered a pantomime roll, or we could be turning on the Christmas lights in town, or even flying off to Australia for a few weeks in the jungle.

Nine o'clock in the morning on a Sunday isn't a time that I'm familiar with, but you can't complain on Remembrance Sunday can you? Not when you think of how easy our lives are these days in comparison. I'm sure that waking up at nine o'clock on Sunday would have been the dream for my grandad and his mates. I made the trip to Trent Bridge for the service and minutes silence. I would wear his medals, but he sent back his entire medal collection to wherever you send them as a protest. Apparently, sending your medals back is the highest possible way to register your indignation.

After the parade, I sat and had a cup of tea in the sunshine, and took advantage of the weather by walking back to town along the canal. After lunch at my dad's, I had intended to record the first podcast version of The Sunday Alternative and upload it. Sadly, I was too tired after a heavy lunch, and didn't really have time as I was going to a gig. Next week I promise! Sunday, 11 November There once was a time when the arrival of the Christmas edition of the Radio Times and TV Times was as exciting as the thought of Father Christmas visiting.

An entire afternoon spent circling the shows that wanted watching, the ones that wanted recording, in different coloured pens depending on who chose it. This was also joined by the purchase of a packet of fresh new videotapes to record your 'special' programmes. For a few years, I wrote a blog detailing the good and bad points of the festive schedule. However, I gave up when it became apparent that the five main channels, have a look if you don't believe me, there are still five terrestrial channels , don't tend to make much effort these days. Nobody waits for the Christmas television schedules with the anticipation of Christmas past anymore, because these days there's only one reason to own a television at this time of year.

I am referring of course to the adverts. Last night I think I managed to catch the bulk of them, the John Lewis adverts of course being the best of the lot. They once again have managed to produce a classy commercial that produces tears at the payoff. The snowman advert had a lot to live up to after last year's little boy wanting to give his parents a present raised the bar so high, but it managed. Another ingredient here is of course the song; every year a female singer slows down and rearranges a well known song, and makes it work to such a degree that even I don't object to 'Sweet Child Of Mine' or 'Please Please Please' being used in this way. I've always found it interesting that they don't use a Christmas song, but there's something to be said for what they do.

In fact, John Lewis miss the same trick every year by not bringing out a CD of their past hits. Marks and Spencer have dropped a bollock this year with their festive offering. Not this year, which means that on the fourth anniversary of the closure of Woolworths, we can't observe its passing. Once again I have hit a brick wall with Shop Direct, and my campaign to get them to return to tradition with a full on, celebrity packed, Christmas advert like they used to do.

Nobody did it like Woolworths, and that has been the missing piece of Christmas ever since. Shop Direct say they aren't interested. So who can replace them in the advert stakes? All of the others try their best, but is it really the same? I had the idea to go ahead and do it anyway. Gather together a collection of willing celebs, my theory being that the Woolworths Christmas advert was such an honour that they would offer to bring it back for no fee , hire a sound stage, and film a guerilla Woolworths advert and put it on YouTube. It would melt YouTube's view counter and hopefully make them see the error of their ways. Saturday, 10 November We are all up to speed by now about the fact that Nottingham rocks, it must be true because it became a trending topic on Twitter not so long ago.

Our musicians are turning up on 6Music and playing festivals, and the national press are writing about how great the music scene in this fine city. However, I once lived in another place with a fine music scene, and a deep musical heritage. Best of all, Southend is the home of Eddie and the Hot Rods. Such is their musical reach, taking in rhythm and blues, s pop, punk, and classic rock; they remain in demand on the lucrative festival circuit at home and abroad. The Rods are still gigging extensively abroad and at home, and the current line up is one of the strongest. The Doghouse is a known studio, but in a new location they are branching out into live music.

In fact, there were some old guys in the bar who might not have been aware of the change in functionality. I spent the first couple of hours of my visit wondering if Brian Potter was going to roll in and announce the meat raffle. Of course this contradicts what I keep saying about supporting the support bands. The band are old mates of mine from when I lived in Southend, so there was a fair deal of catching up to do. She is the wife of my best mate down there, and they have two kids. How fucking long have I been away again? The Cricketers Inn has changed beyond all recognition and no longer has the big table of regulars there, and the owner Fred Spring Jnr has cancer and not a long time left. This was a surprise given that he was the typical no drink, no smoking, fitness fanatic, which goes to show how little respect cancer has.

I also spent and wasted a lot of time trying to bust him and his associates for making child pornography. Typically, it might be after his death when the truth outs, which seems to be the case with these things. We stopped visiting regularly when my granddad died in , and my next visit was with Emily in As I had no real memory of Nottingham, there was nothing to spoil.

The venue is in Carlton, almost in Gedling, so not exactly convenient. When it is, I would like to return and see how things have progressed. I made eye contact with Barrie and pointed to my ear with one hand, and made a holding-the-microphone gesture with the other. He looked at me with his expression saying that he knew and could do fuck all about it. By this time, there had formed a small crowd of about 50 people. Small they might have been, but they were genuine fans of Eddie and the Hot Rods and they wanted a show from the Essex legends. The sound might not have been very good, in fact it was terrible in places, but the band played their hearts out for an appreciative crowd.

In a fight between the sound desk and the band, I am pleased to report that the band won. They were probably my final cassette. I touted on Facebook the idea of a battle of the bands competition between Southend and Nottingham, but I realised that this might have legs as a national event.