Totalisers and the Gnawing Agony They Create
There must be a word in the English language to describe the sudden and unprompted realisation that the totalisers on Blue Peter used to chart the progress of their annual charity appeal were set at a pathetically attainably low level in order to give the children watching a sense of awe and collective achievement as they saw the appeal total soar past the original target on to several new totalisers lined up alongside the original totaliser while the over-enthusiastic saucer-eyed presenters gibbered on about how well the appeal was doing. It's a feeling akin the the recognition that your entire childhood is naught but a tissue of lies, but this as-yet-unnamed Blue Peter feeling is all the more spirit-crushing in its specificity.
Not sure what a totaliser is, and confused by my insistent use of the word totaliser? An example is visible at Rotherham United Football Club's site where you can see how much money they've raised for no stated purpose. I like to think it's a fund to allow the good people of Rotherham to disband Rotherham United Football Club. Over half way there!
I know this is a comment on an old post, and Paul's probably already flagged this up if you haven't already read it, but here's some more ranting on the TO star-rating debate...
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.guardian.co.uk/culturevulture/archives/2006/01/24/written_in_the_stars.html#more
Ah, very interesting, Louis, very interesting. Also, several days before me, so the move was obviously widely noted. Although accusing Time Out of pretentiousness and then using the phrases 'evaluative burden' 'the superciliousness standard' is a clear case of the pot being a prick.
ReplyDeleteAlso, yes, it was 'Hidden' that got the extra special sixth star. And some art book or other gets six stars this week. It's a world turned upside down.