ITV news have gone hardcore. They were showing images from the parliamentary budget hearing and a live feed from Iraq at the same time using split screen. It’s almost like 24, only boring.

Doesn’t that devalue them both? It’s like the budget isn’t important enough to be concentrated on and while we’re at it, no one’s going to look at these boring images of Iraqis looting some godforsaken city so better provide them with an alternative.

And isn’t the idea of journalism to work as a filter and provide a commentary to what’s happening? The way I see it, reporters are paid to sift through the tide on incoming (mis)information and try to make some sense out of it? Geez.

Also couldn’t help noticing that the words ”social justice” featured quite often in the Chancellor’s speech. I’m a relative newcomer to British politics (going for the understatement of the week here), so I’m assuming that is a New Labour buzzword. I’d be interested in knowing what it’s supposed to mean (I believe his words were supporting enterprise and social justice).

The Chancellor was talking about improving the incomes of people in low pay jobs. He said that the modern way of doing it was to provide tax credits instead of rising the minimum wage. Now I’m a bit simple, admitted, but doesn’t that mean that the financial burden falls on the state instead of the employers? Mr Brown had calculated that the new tax credits would almost double the income of single-parent working families. If it’s already nearly impossible to get by on minimum wage, shouldn’t the government be pushing for higher wages instead of throwing in their own money? I’d rather have the credit go to the employers instead of the workers, because if there’s an economical downturn, the credits might go away and then the poor bastards are back on shit pay, which mightn’t happen if they’d raise the wages now.

But what do I know?

Talking elevators, lots of people named William or James and the Science of Star Trek Exhibition.

The man in the neighbouring apartment is playing the guitar at the very moment I’m writing this. It is yet unclear which song he’s murde–, uhm, interpreting at the moment. Just for the record, his favorites include Ticket to Ride, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door and, as of late, No Woman No Cry.

The man is a decent enough guitarist, but his singing is a different matter altogether. First of all, it’s not in tune. Second of all, he’s still singing. Third, it’s fucking 4 AM. Why can’t the poor bastard just go to bed? Thanks to his perseverance, I must have heard Ticket to Ride more times than ever before in my life. Come to think of it, my years have been remarkably devoid of budding nocturnal instrumentalists.

(A Completely Unrelated Yet Somewhat Amusing) Footnote: I still can’t for the life of me understand why the heating has to be turned off in the middle of the night. One unpleasant side effect of this is that it’s rendered nighttime visits to the loo unenjoyable. Nothing takes the fun out of bodily functions like sitting on damp, cold toilet porcelain and freezing your ass off. It’s not that I’m asking for too much, is it now? Just a cozy nice little place where I can relax and take a dump whenever I like.