The BBC charges me £139.50 a year for the privilege of being treated like an idiot
Monday, November 17th, 2008The BBC does clearly think I am an idiot, as only an idiot would want the tide of mindless drivel, the murrain of talentless overpaid jerkwads, the torrent of shameless self-promotion and the flatulence of worthless non-news that now composes the promo-infested ego-stroking bias-spewing mess that is the Corporation’s output. And yes, I pay them £139.50 a year for this, but then I have no choice: it’s extorted out of me by the BBC’s money-with-menaces outfit, TV Licensing.
Anyway, what brought on these bitter reflections was a fascinating post at the Layscience Blog revealing the true depths of feeble-minded fatuity that lay behind Big Bang Day, the hysterically hyped-up coverage of the ’switching on’ (which was nothing of the kind) of the Large Hadron Collider with which the BBC bored the nation’s backside off in September, apparently under the impression that this represented serious science reporting. In a classic BBC beyond-parody moment, it turns out they even wanted the LHC team to fit a special Big Red Button that would be pressed at the crucial moment.
By the way, I have nothing against the Large Hadron Collider, which is a marvellous thing. And guess what, it didn’t destroy us all by creating a black hole capable of swallowing the universe (nor even one capable of swallowing the BBC, alas).
