Welcome to this weeks Musings!
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Why did God Invent Modelling?
Well I will tell you. It has a lot to do with switching off from things you can do fuck all about. Let me explain.
In the words of hippy Neil from the comedy series “The Young Ones” this week has been “heavy man”.
The state of the UK and the rest of the world is in a bad way.
In the case of the UK the Brexit process has shown that irrespective of whether you voted to remain or leave the European Union our politicians are for the most part not fit for purpose. Not really a surprise but shocking to learn that so many of them are seemingly in it for their own ends and completely out of touch with the people. Quite where the country goes from here remains to be seen but I feel certain that in years to come when we look back this period will prove to have been highly significant.
If that wasn’t enough to worry about the state of our oceans, the direct result of dumping our waste in them, is coming back to haunt us big time. The environmental impact is according to scientists devastating our marine life and the planet as a whole.
Still, like everything the foregoing needs to be kept in perspective. In this case it doesn’t much matter what the UK does or what happens to our marine life because unless we get our fingers out we will all be fucked in 10 years time or so as a result of climate change. One way or another the future looks bleak. What can we do?
On a personal level the UK will do what the UK does and I guess I will get on with it and come the next election hope I can cast a vote in favour of the political party most in line with my personal thinking. In the case of marine life if I give up eating fish then I am probably doing as much as I can to help the little buggers survive along side recycling. As for climate change I reckon I can cope with rising see levels and high winds. I live a decent height above see level and if the winds keep blowing my fencing down then so be it. I simply wont bother to repair the fence and that’s fine by me. Truth is it is a token gesture. The world needs to address the two biggest problems, I cannot do that on my own.
Is there anything else I can do?
Well, yes there is. I can pick up a brush, a model and some paints and shut myself away from a world that has gone barking mad. Come to think about it I’ve been doing that for years.
And that my friends is why God invented modelling.
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Strange but True
No canaries live on the Canary Islands.
The same holds true for the Virgin Islands…
Not a single canary …
… and not a lot of people know that!
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This week TIM has been watching …
… Line of Duty series 5, the finale.
Once again Line of Duty gripped the nation. OK so it gripped about 10 or 11 million but we have a load more channels these days (and still very little on!) so I guess the days of 20 to 30 million people tuning in to watch something when we only had a couple of channels are long gone. I digress.
As with series 1 through to 4 it proved to be a most enjoyable watch. The final episode contained a few twist and turns but in case you haven’t watched it and are planning to I will say know more. All I will say is the theory my daughter and I came up with was on the money.
Looking forward to series 6 already.
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This week TIM has been listening to …
… IRO’s podcast and hearing him going on and bloody on!
The link for episode 2 is below.
In last weeks Musings article under this heading I didn’t mention that I had listened to the first episode and all I have had since is IRO on my case getting all upset and emotional the way only he can. So, in an effort to ensure his stay in rehab is a short lived one I thought I would give him a shout out this week (the guy is so insecure).
The first thing to say is that the photo of him and his mate Warren (that name evokes memories of Ronnie Barker and Porridge) is either very old or IRO is wearing a wig or has gotten himself a new hat. A minor detail. On a positive note the lads have clearly attracted at least one very sensible, clever and almost certainly good looking and astute follower who pointed out that the initial podcast was amateurish but all the better for it. The same can also be said for episode 2. The two episodes do have one other thing in common and that is IRO’s mate once again steals the show!
I’m joking of course.
As with the first episode I seriously did enjoy it and IRO and Warren have a great rapport with each other (which doubtless is of concern to their wives) but like Line of Duty I will say no more for fear of spoiling it for anyone who hasn’t yet tuned in. It is fun and I really do like the guys pub style banter and I am genuinely looking forward to episode 3 which is out now.
(How was that for you IRO, OK? Great. Now would you please, please, please leave me alone, it’s fucking embarrassing!)
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Until next time.
TIM
The Imperfect Modeller 
Nothing like a bit of toy soldiers to take one’s mind of the impending doom of the various existential threats & political dramas that surround us! Funny you should mention the plastic thing though – I have been wondering if the recent focus on plastic pollution might change the industry’s view on plastic minis & start a shift back to the more recyclable metal minis… I know lead is toxic, (blah blah blah), but I also wonder how many plastic Space Marines are bobbing about in the Pacific!
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Interesting point. Hadn’t followed it through with any potential impact on our hobby but if people do start to get very serious about plastic then there could well be implications. I’ve always been one for planning ahead so on a positive note I can justify to SWMBO that it is time to increase my stash!
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I wasn’t going to comment on the photo Dave ,now after reading yours I can’t see to what with the tears !!!and the other dampness whish I’m learning to control ! ,no no have to go ……
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Haha, sorry about that Pat!
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Thanks for the shout out old mate. I’m glad you can still hear let alone understand our sense of humour considering the vast age gap. 😉 In all seriousness we really do appreciate you listening and giving us feedback.
As for the state of the world… sheesh, where do I start? Maybe I shouldn’t actually. I’ll just say this. There will always be crap but as long as we can wipe it away that’s all that matters.
Stay cool mate 👍🏼
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I’ll have you know I am in my prime Huckleberry! I genuinely enjoy the podcast, I think someone to operate alongside makes it better than the videos you were doing. I did like those, just think the podcast is better. As for the planet, it’s largely out of our hands. Just wish it wasn’t in the hands of the politicians, they generally fuck up everything.
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It is sad that the state of oceans are not taken seriously. I know in South Africa the Chinese have made a deal to basically land rape as well as ocean rape the shores. The government officials obviously dont give a tos, cuase Hey, water just magically appears when I turn on a tap… ass hats..
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Crazy isn’t it!
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Dave, you’re obviously in an optimistic mood today! 😉 As always, I enjoyed the read! I haven’t dared tell IRO I haven’t listened to his podcasts – it’s nothing to do with IRO, I just don’t do podcasts, end of! Since you say he’s really such a shy, sensitive type, I’ll maybe have to let him down gently, but by saying this on your blog I can at least ensure that, if there’s any fallout, it heads your way and not mine! Don’t say I haven’t got your best interests at heart!
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You’re dead to me now JNV 😉
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Haha, cheers John! I guess if we only have a limited time left on the planet then we can’t waste a second. I can’t say I have ever listened to a podcast prior to IRO but it does work well alongside painting. Multi-tasking is the way forward if I’m to make the most of my time left that is for sure!
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The problem I have is that I can’t multi-task! That means if I listen to a podcast it takes all my concentration and stops me from painting minis with my characteristic sloppy painting style. On that basis, I’m sure IRO would prefer me to keep practising my painting rather than listening to a podcast, in the hope that I might eventually turn out something half decent! 🙂
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Nothing wrong with your work John but if you don’t learn to multi-task you might never get those armies of yours finished! 😉
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If it’s any consolation, just look at any point in recorded history – or even what scienticians have worked out about what our various ancestors from non-recorded cultures have done to both flora and fauna over the millennia.
Yes, we’ve been doing shortsighted, batshit crazy stuff the entire time.
Don’t worry. Humans will die off before life on Earth does through making the place uninhabitable to ourselves. Our perspective is just crazily skewed towards ourselves and ourselves alone.
Sure, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take care of the place as best we can as individuals and make governments and corporations as responsible as we can (hint, not actually much), but I still dutifully do my recycling and don’t drop rubbish in the street, even though it doesn’t count for much against things like this:
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150402-the-worst-place-on-earth
You’re welcome.
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To some extent I think the world is naturally evolving just as it has done for millions of years and doubtless will comtinue to do so. Man is just helping to fuck things up and speed the process along. If God is pissed off with us you sure cannot blame him. Things like this link are just horrific.
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