“It’s a Cry for Attention”

“The Daily Mail’s coverage of the ‘Emo’ movement has been balanced, restrained and above all, in the public interest.” So 200 My Chemical Romance fans held a peaceful protest near the Daily Mail offices and draw an official statement from the paper, in wake of the band offering their condolences for Hannah Bond’s tragic death and re-affirming that they are “vocally anti-violence and anti-suicide.”

Perhaps if the Daily Mail wanted to add some credibility to its “the whole thing is based on the black parade which is all about dying” quotes, it could take a leaf from The Times, which ventured to South America where emos frequently get beaten up for “looking homosexual”. The Times comments, “…‘The ones that cut themselves are not emos. It’s a cry for for attention’. Which, despite what the Daily Mail would have us believe, is what emo is really about. The suicide of Hannah Bond is an isolated tragedy.” One of those peaceful protesters commented, “It’s been brilliant, such a good atmosphere… Most people here always listened to My Chemical Romance positively.”

The Daily Mail petulantly point out that, “all this provides wonderful publicity for Warners and the impending release of My Chemical Romance’s latest album.” As a newspaper, the Daily Mail should have been aware of that and fully considered the implications of what they were published before publishing. That they didn’t is their problem.

Reading really is Medicinal

After a pilot scheme in Worcestershire, where 50 patients were prescribed books relevant to their life situation – assisting with treatment for depression, stress, self-esteem issues, anxiety and related conditions – the scheme is being rolled out across Worcestershire. More than 80% of the patients who took part said they would use the service again.

NICE (the National Institute for Clinical Excellence) recommends bibliotherapy for the above conditions. The pilot was run by Worcestershire Primary Care Trust, Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership Trust, Worcestershire County Council Public Library Service and Worcestershire Health Libraries.

I’ve already said previously,

Following a narrator through their romances, problems and screaming at them for making bad decisions (with the comfort that we wouldn’t have done that), is the closest we’re ever going to get to walking in someone else’s shoes. If we can lose ourselves in someone else’s viewpoint, we stand a greater chance of understanding how others behave in the way they do, even if it seems inexplicable to us. That’s the real escapism: chance to be someone else and use their story to make sense of ours.

So, here’s hoping the other Primary Care Trusts sit up and take notice. At least now I have yet another excuse for all my reading: it’s medicinal!

Dead, Undead or very much Alive?

Apparently I’m dead… (according to the Daily Mail, anyway)

or should that be undead, since I’m very much alive, despite the side-effects of hayfever medication.

One suicide is always one too many and Hannah Bond’s untimely death was a tragedy. It’s understandable that her parents would want to look at why, but let’s put a few facts straight:

Emo – from the word emotional – is a reference to angst-filled lyrics and melancholy themes…foremost of these ‘suicide cult’ bands is My Chemical Romance

Emo actually comes from “emotional hardcore” a term applied to bands such as Fugazi and Sunny Day Real Estate, bands inspired by the hard rock of Black Flag and Henry Rollins. Bands that get tarred with the “emo” brush are frequently punk-inspired and punk was very much about energy and fast-living, not moping about like a contemporary Marcel Proust.

It is largely a teenage trend and is characterised by depression, self-injury and suicide

That’s why My Chemical Romance sing “I’m not afraid to keep on living” then. Actually, didn’t they used to say this about goths, at least until they decided that goths would grow up into lawyers, doctors or journalism? “Teenagers scare the shit out of me” (MCR again).

Their first single ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’, from the album ‘The Black Parade’ was released in 2006

Whilst it’s true that “The Black Parade” was released in 2006, there are three preceding albums: “I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love” (2002), “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge” (2004), “Life on the Murder Scene” (2006).

Hannah’s parents noticed scarring on the inside of her wrists…she told them she’d inflicted the wounds herself and that it was part of an emo initiation ceremony.

Listening to music does not require an initiation ceremony (other than buying the music). It does not require you to dress in black, dye your hair or self-harm. Remember, the original man-in-black was Johnny Cash and no one suggests he inspired self-harm or suicide.

In fact there’s nothing new here. After all, we all know that Marilyn Manson was responsible for the Columbine shootings, not two, possibily bullied, isolated teenagers who had access to their fathers’ guns and bought bullets in a supermarket, who may or may not have been fans of the aforementioned singer (yep, might have been a good idea to check that one out before apportioning blame). Back in the depression-era, Billie Holiday insisted that there was a third verse about it all being a dream before she’d sing “Gloomy Sunday”, a song banned in several countries for being a ‘suicide anthem’, after all economic recession and food shortages couldn’t possibly have had anything to do with it could they?

I’ll buy My Chemical Romance’s next album guilt-free. Music doesn’t incite suicide.

“Mother ” is not a Job Description

How do I describe myself? Writer, marketing assistant, poet, information assistant, short story writer, web copy writers, reviewer, website manager, blogger, web article writer, database manager, writing competition adjudicator, marketing researcher, mother? Does it matter? Look at the list again and pick the odd one out.

Shirley Dent’s “Writing mothers need our help” is right, and in her reading of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” as being about that feeling of isolation, being cut off from the world simply because you’ve had a baby. No one asks a man if he’s going to work part-time after hearing he’s going to be a father. I was accused of being “scarily efficient” because I wanted to get my newborn daughter into a sleeping routine so I could plan to write. Inconsistently snatching ten minutes here, half an hour there doesn’t work. Nurseries, schools and childminders still default to contacting mum if there’s a problem: after all she’s not doing real work therefore she can afford to be interrupted.

Actually, she can’t, because being interrupted and either having to book annual leave at very short notice, irritating colleagues in the process, or having to somehow find a way of making up the time taken out of a working day to deal with a minor problem completely screws up the household chores and writing plans. Not all mothers have access to a nearby, supportive network of friends and/or family who can make up the childcare gaps and that impacts on writing time. A sick child will always want to be with a parent (usually mum) but looking after one is never a fun way to spend your annual leave. And if you’d planned on using that annual time to write, it’s your writing that gets sacrificed. How you do combine a selfless activity (mothering) with a selfish one (writing) when everyone wants to write you off as solely a mother?

The odd one out, by the way, is mother: all the others are job descriptions.

Is your bedtime reading different on holiday?

A survey of 2248 people by Travelodge found that guests at their hotels favoured celebrity autobiographies as bedtime reading. Top three were autobiographies of Jordan (aka Katie Price), David Beckham and Sharon Osbourne. Assuming that the small number of people (relative to the number of guests Travelodge hotels have) were being truthful, then I’m guessing that Travelodge were inviting readers to compare and contrast our reading habits and feel good that most of us are more literate.

But is it a fair comparison? I could list what’s sitting on my bedside table, but some of those books are for review, some for market research and some reading for pleasure and I needn’t be honest about which books fall under which categories. And would I pack any of them to go on holiday? Holiday reading and home reading may overlap but I can’t be the only one who mostly tackles literature at home to be read against a backdrop of familar routine, and packs the easy read for holiday where I want to focus and explore different surroundings. It’s hardly surprising then, that hotel guests pick the familar stories they’ve probably already read in celebrity magazines and features to aid themselves to sleep in unfamilar surroundings.

The survey doesn’t encourage me to use Travelodge hotels, who were after an easy headline and publicity. Although, if forced, I would be tempted to leave behind my own books and see what they make of poetry.

Prozac doesn’t work…

if you’re not clinically depressed.

Back in 1994, Elizabeth Wurtzel in “Prozac Nation” wrote,

As Prozac becomes viewed as a silly drug for crybabies… the people whom it might really help – the ones who need it – will start to think that Prozac won’t help them. In the rape-crisis debate that currently rages, many feminists argue that too loose a definition of rape results in not taking ‘real’ rape seriously, while others claim that anyone who feels violated was violated – and what gets lost in all the screaming and yelling is that there are all these real people who are raped and are in terrible pain. It seems entirely possible to me now, given the tone of so many of the articles about Prozac, that people will forget how severe, crippling, and awful depression really is.

She was right to be angry. Prozac can help some people with severe depression. It’s also useful in the treatment of eating disorders such as anorexia. What it’s not good at is treating people who aren’t depressed, who actually need additional support, a talking-based therapy or practical help out of a difficult and stressful situation. So why the non-story?

Others have already written on buried data and how clinical trial results can be given a positive spin. Others have suggested that doctors are too quick to reach for the prescription pad. However, when there’s a shortage of psychological therapists and a year long waiting list, doctors don’t have much choice when a patient needs help now.

As usual, the story’s somewhere between the lines. Elizabeth Wurtzel touches on it,

The secret I sometimes think that only I know is that Prozac isn’t that great…. after six years on Prozac, I know that it is not the end but the beginning.

Prozac only makes the symptoms of depression easier to cope with. It does not cure the underlying cause. If you appreciate that limitation, then Prozac becomes a coping strategy, something that makes the depression easier to live with whilst you begin to delve into the underlying cause. In effect, it’s a drug equivalent of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which arms you with coping strategies but doesn’t treat the underlying cause. Both make it easier to live with depression but neither will cure it.

The real story and the real problem is the tendancy to latch on to the newest apparent tool (whether drugs or therapy) for a class of mental health problems as a one-size-fits-all cure. You wouldn’t buy clothes on that basis. So why the rush to treat people like that?

 The real answer lies in treating individuals individually and accepting that drugs will work for some, some will respond better to therapy and some need a combination of both.

Saturday afternoon’s for Protesting

Why 300 people took the trouble to spend part of Saturday morning meeting on a field within the proposed Pennbury “Eco Town” site to say no.

1. Are these houses needed?

Harborough Borough Council have already planned to build the 6,500 homes the government have alloted on brownfield sites. Leicester, like most cities, has already seen extensive conversion of commercial properties into luxury, contemporary apartments, new build developments to the north, current new builds in Kibworth, Scraptoft and expansions to Thorpe Astley and Hamilton have been agreed. Pennbury’s 15,000 houses are extra and no attempt has been made to demonstrate need. So that’s a no.

2. But aren’t Eco-Towns a good thing?

Eco-homes are a good thing. Using brownfield sites is a good thing. Phrases like “carbon neutral” sound good. But developments that aren’t needed and aren’t developed in sympathy with existing facilities and infrastructure are not a good thing. When brownfield sites are available, building on green wedge is not eco-friendly. In Pennbury’s case, this is a no.

3. Won’t Pennbury contribute to existing infrastructure?

Pennbury is being built between two A-roads that already suffer heavy traffic. The Co-operative Group have said Pennbury will have two park and ride sites (not exactly generous given the scale of the housing). Pennbury is supposed to include commercial and business premises so could theoretically be a self-contained development, but that assumes that people moving to Pennbury will also work there. Citing commercial sensitivity, the Co-operative Group are saying nothing further. This nothing further also covers community centres, doctors’ surgeries, dentists, libraries, etc. In the absence of definite information, the answer has to be no.

4. Will Pennbury include schools?

The villages along the A47 corridor (eg Thurnby, Bushby, Houghton on the Hill, Scraptoft, Tilton on the Hill, Billesdon, etc, etc) are in the Oadby schools catchment area. However, Pennbury will be built between the A47 corridor villages and Oadby. If the Oadby schools are oversubscribed, then, as Pennbury children are nearer, they will get priority, so where do the A47 corridor village children go? Whether Pennbury will include schools is subject to commercial sensitivity. So that’s a no too.

To summarise:

Are Pennbury’s houses needed? No.

Isn’t Pennbury “Eco Town” a Good Thing? No.

Won’t Pennbury contribute to existing infrastructure? No.

Will Pennbury include schools? No.

Nimby-ism is a lazy criticism of anyone who objects to housing developments. But objection to Pennbury isn’t nimby-ism (it’s not in my back yard for a start), it’s a sensible reaction to the lack of information, the pressure on existing infrastructure and the negative impact the so-called “Eco Town” will have on local environment. No to Pennbury.

You Couldn’t Make it up Department

Why didn’t someone at Woolworths put “Lolita” into a search engine before agreeing to release a range of girl’s bedroom furniture featuring “Lolita” beds?

(and could some commenters please read the book – Lolita is not a sexually precocious girl but a normal girl whose stepfather interprets as sexually precocious as an excuse to rape her).

Low-Brow Myths Bad, Compensation Good

“What an insult it would be to thriller writers to suggest you need to be stupid to write them. It seems to me so irritating that you would denigrate a remarkable genre where much of the best writing is done.”

So Joan Brady didn’t sue the shoemakers who took over the neighbouring property because the fumes caused her to abandon her literary novel “Cool Wind from the Future” in favour of a thriller, “Bleedout”.  So what did she sue them for?

After Joan Brady’s legs went numb, numb enough for her not to feel pain if she stuck pins in them and numb enough for her to stop driving and toxicology tests confirmed she had toxic peripheral neuropathy severe enough to force the Whitbread Prize-winning author to stop her current novel, she phoned South Hams Council’s environmental health team. (Incidentally, Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike, suffers toxic peripheral neuropathy from experiencing with various glues for trainers and now uses leg braces.) The environmental health team assumed they had faulty meters at first. They were recording concentrates of 600 parts per million of butanone. The safe limit is two parts per million. Other vapours drifting into Joan Brady’s home through the party wall included n-hexane, butanone and toluene. The shoemakers won’t admit liability but did settle out of court. Joan Brady is free to return to “Cool Wind from the Future”, but is enjoying writing thrillers too much for the time being, “At least you can kill people in a book”.

It’s stories like this that completely discredit rants like Andrea Smith’s in the Leicester Mercury, a rant that sweeps in the so-called “compensation culture” and blames people for suing councils for tripping over uneven pavements and taking up money that could fund other things. Actually it couldn’t: council budgets and allocations aren’t that simple. The government’s own figures from the Compensation Recovery Unit show that whilst road traffic accident claims are up (no surprise to any driving on British roads), claims for general accidents are down.

If there is a compensation culture it’s in local authorities who prefer to set aside funds to pay compensation claims rather than paying for maintenance so people don’t trip in the first place. Andrea Smith, who often writes on environmental issues and chastises people for not using public transport or becoming greener, would find her anger better directed at getting local authorities to improve the environment for all of us by maintaining pavements. Victims of other people’s negligence and disregard for others’ health and safety, whether a prize-winning author or a sixty-eight year old tripping on a pavement and suffering a fractured hip, are entitled to compensation and should not be made to feel guilty for claiming.

Pennbury: the “Eco Town” that isn’t

Brief update and I’ll try not to rant. The Leicester Mercury managed to get hold of a leaked copy of the Co-operative Group’s plans for Pennbury “Eco Town”. To quote the newspaper:-

“The classified details, which were unknown until today, include plans for two new park-and-ride sites.

“One would be on the A47 close to Houghton on the Hill, and the other would be close to the A6 – on the eastern edge of Oadby. A bus terminal serving public transport going in and out of Leicester is also planned on the Roman Gartree Road – which would have to be rebuilt and widened.

“These would all be linked by new roads into the centre of the town, formerly the airport site, proposed by the Co-op and English Partnerships.

“Protected land where Great Glen’s mediaeval village used to be will not be built on, but will be incorporated into the project. The site for a railway station serving trains to Leicester and London is also plotted just south of Great Glen.

“The map has been shown only to a handful of MPs and senior council members.”

Just why have the Co-operative Group kept so quiet about this? Surely this is a missed opportunity to get the public on their side and provide reassurances about the impact building 15,000 homes on a green wedge would have? Instead they cite “ensuring the ideas were not stolen by rival bidders”, knowing full well that if they get the go-ahead, they will only be answerable to the Planning Commission Quango, not to local authorities.

I still don’t see any answers to public questions (including ones from children and they’re the ones who are going to have to live around it), there’s no mention of schools and they’ve not said what they’re going to do about the Aero Club’s lease of the airport which still has 14 years to run.