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Month: June 2012

When you combine twitter with American morons you get depressed…

Published by neilmonnery on June 29, 2012

The internet is arguably the most depressing place in the world if you want to feel good about the human species. I could point to some of the quality of spelling and grammar on internet dating profiles but this piece isn’t about that. This is about stupid American’s who can’t comprehend that someone can have the same name as someone else and not just that – that someone who spells his name differently to someone else isn’t the same person as someone else.

This is the tale of two men – one Jerry Sandusky who is in jail and will spend the rest of his life there for despicable crimes against young boys over many years and one a Baltimore based broadcaster called Gerry Sandusky. This man is not in jail and has not been found guilty of heinous crimes against young boys but apparently many imbeciles on twitter can’t understand the difference between the two.

There is a fantastic piece entitled Gerry Sandusky Is Not Jerry Sandusky (Or: Why The Internet Is Just The Worst Sometimes) which is where I first saw this but if you can’t be bothered to view the link I’ll post a couple of examples here. These are real tweets that this Baltimore based broadcaster has received from people who think that he is the same man as the paedophile who is (and remember this) currently in jail and whilst my knowledge of the American panel system isn’t grand I don’t think too many life inmates have access to twitter.

Gerry Sandusky Twitter 1
And so we begin…

Oh boy…

Gerry Sandusky Tweet
Moron…

So he’s no relation and now the tweeter thinks that he is his dad…

Gerry Sandusky
Gerry with a G is not the same as Jerry with a J…
Gerry Sandusky Tweet
Gerry with a G is still not the same as Jerry with a J…

Just too depressing sometimes. If you go to this poor blokes twitter feed you’ll see he is getting a lot of this. Even now when Jerry Sandusky is in prison. People are just so stupid that they cannot tell two people with similar names apart. I wonder how they would feel if it happened to them and a similar person to their name perpetrated horrific crimes and they were getting stick about it. However people don’t think like that. Heck some people don’t even think.

Some people have also been tweeting his picture and making web pages about him claiming that he is a paedophile and how evil and wrong it is that he has a twitter account from inside jail. Well I suppose it isn’t a surprise from a country that thinks universal health care is a bad idea that they can be this dumb.

I love twitter as it is a great tool but twitter is also a place where the moron can get a voice and that voice can cause damage. It makes me despair. It really does…

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My experience of a distraction burglary…

Published by neilmonnery on June 26, 2012

I was watching Crimewatch Roadshow this morning and they had the case of Robert Kerr – a man who seemingly defrauded many people who has prayed upon many members of the clergy to use their good nature to get money. However he hasn’t just gone after members of the church and has defrauded many a person so it seems.

He always asks for/demands money claiming that there is an emergency that he has to get to but can’t afford it. If this man (photo below) has tried to get money from you then please get in touch with the police as he is wanted by twelve different forces across the country.

Robert James Kerr Crimewatch
Robert Kerr – Mugshot

So anyway my experience of an attempted crime similar to this. As some of you may know I am the son of a now retired Methodist superintendent. Anyway in 2005 I had moved in with my mum and her husband in the manse after university and one day I was sitting in the living room watching baseball when the doorbell went. I did nothing and there was a couple at the door. They came in and from what I recall they gave some sort of spiel about not being able to afford a train fare.

Anyway I’m not really paying too much attention to this but I do notice my mum put her handbag into the living room. They were in the house for an eon and I’m quietly watching the baseball but think it is pretty strange. However I do know that people often do go to the church as a last resort when they need money. Anyway it must have been a good half hour later I notice the door open and a hand pop through and go into my mum’s handbag. That isn’t normal I think to myself and I hear the man say that they are going.

I go over to my mum’s handbag and notice that her cash card isn’t in there. Now I don’t know if my mum had taken it out or what so I go out and show her. This has all happened within twenty seconds and the two perpetrators had already left. My mum opens the front door and yells for her cash card and they say they have no idea what she is talking about but the commotion had caused neighbours to open their doors and the guy takes it out of his sock and gives it back before they disappear.

I can’t remember if it was reported to the police or not but it just goes to show how these people work. They clearly didn’t know there was another person (me) in the house who happened to see a hand going into the handbag. Had I not been there I’m guessing my mum would’ve found out but probably not for ten minutes or so as she’d of had a drink and a fag before checking I suspect and by then they would have been long gone.

The distraction burglary is on the rise and the only thing you can do to stop it is ensure you don’t let anyone into your home unless you know them. There was a case on yesterday’s show of two people doing these crimes with one in a full policeman’s uniform with a fake warrant card. The way they in general work is one person keeps the occupier busy whilst the other person searches for what they want.

Remember any real police officer is more than happy to wait for you to confirm their identity by ringing the police station. People will say that there are many more important crimes out there (which is fair enough) but when people get scammed and defrauded in their own home it knocks their confidence. So people like Robert Kerr and the others I have mentioned need to be caught. Crime affects us all and it is another reason why we should always look out for our neighbours.

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Yodel – A joke of a delivery company – where has my parcel *actually* been delivered to?

Published by neilmonnery on June 23, 2012

I’ve been waiting. Waiting for a parcel. In fact I have been waiting for several parcels recently and the delivery has been sluggish at best. One parcel went missing but the replacement came through but one parcel that was apparently being delivered by Yodel has yet to appear but the ‘funny’ thing is apparently got delivered yesterday at 14:59 according to their tracking service.

Now I work from home as most of you know so taking in parcels isn’t exactly a huge deal. In fact several of my neighbours routinely get deliveries sent to my address knowing that I’ll in most likelihood be in whilst they are at work. Yesterday at 14:59 I was in fact in and certainly available to answer the intercom should it have buzzed. It never buzzed. However the parcel has been marked as delivered to me.

So what could have happened? Well the first thought of most people was that it got delivered to a neighbour. However I live in a gated community where to get access you need someone to buzz you in. Considering no-one buzzed me then it is highly unlikely they buzzed anyone else in my building. Had they done then I’m pretty damn positive that whoever they left it with would have come around and left it in front of my front door. So I’m going to rule that possibility out.

The second option is that the delivery driver has delivered it to another random address in the area. However with no calling card I have no idea as to who that might be. My building is the only one with this post code so any attempted delivery to another address would be way out.

Of course the third option is they just left it on the pavement outside my building where any Tom, Dick or Harry could have half-inched it. If that is indeed what happened then they’ll get rather a surprise when they open the parcel I can assure you of that.

The fourth option is of course the driver stole it himself, which having read the insanely long thread on Amazon about the company wouldn’t exactly be a shocker. I’m sure my ebay seller will either reimburse me or send me another parcel out but that isn’t the point. The point is Yodel say they have delivered my parcel to me when in fact they never even tried.

Here are just a few of the comments in that thread that I think add weight to my thought-process that they are an awful company:

i am a person who hardly complains, but this yodel made my blood boil. i don’t understand why are companies using this stupid and shady company. My experience with yodel was couple of months ago when i upgraded my O2 broadband and they were sending a new router via yodel. I was advised to stay at home the next day to receive the package. They give me a tracking number, i waited the whole day and nobody showed up. I checked the website which stated that the package has been delivered, i called O2 and complain them, they said that they will send me another one, same thing happened next day. And than the next day. 3 times in a row. Nobody showed up and each time web tracking number said that i have received the item. After ten days i received a letter from yodel that the parcel has been dropped with my neighbor (when i was still at home) and i have to collect it from them. And it took me another 2 days to get hold of my neighbour. They dont have a complaint number, all i have to do is fill a feedback form on there website, which i did and never got a reply. I hope nobody gives them any business and the shut down soon.

i had a card pushed through my door by yodel saying parcel inside garden shed.wasn’t even for me,traced it to some guy 2 streets away,good job i’m honest or he would have lost his goods.if thats who amazon are going to use,may have to think again who i buy from.

I recently experienced appalling service from yodel. We were out on first delivery – fair enough, although it was a day later than estimated delivery time – the card said the item couldn’t be left as it needed a signature. I arranged for re-delivery the next day and waited and waited. Then my neighbout came round in the early evening with a parcel that had been left amongst their plant pots at their back door – yes this was the expensive item that had needed a signature! I was less than impressed especially as they had to walk past us to get to my neighbours – thankfully they saw it before it could get too wet in the rain and be damaged or worse. Please stop using this poor service!!!

They are just three comments but there are over 600 on that thread and about 95% of them are saying how awful Yodel are. There are some that say fragile deliveries were thrown over garden fences, I saw one saying that the delivery wasn’t delivered because the driver couldn’t open the front gate, the only issue was that the address it was meant to be delivered to doesn’t even have a front gate.

Yodel are totally useless. Beyond useless. Why well known retailers like Amazon use them I have absolutely no idea.

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In (quite) staunch defence of Adrian Chiles…

Published by neilmonnery on June 20, 2012

Anyone that knows me well enough to know that a career in the media industry will know a few truths about me; firstly that I once had a screen test for a TV company where upon I was told that it was the ‘best screen test they had ever had but that I didn’t have the face for it,’ they’ll also know that I prefer radio to TV and that writing is actually my least preferred medium. I like the pace of buzz of live action. They’ll also know that I have a few broadcast heroes and one of them is a very dull and grumpy Brummie. That man is now firmly in the marmite of TV presenters and in his case the prevalent winds are blowing towards the hate him category.

People of my age will remember what is was like being ill and off school. It was insanely boring. In 1994 though the BBC decided that they needed a lunchtime show on business and Working Lunch was born. The presenter was a relatively unknown man called Adrian Chiles and the rest as they say is history. Working Lunch was actually a very good programme and between Chiles and Adam Shaw it had a very good presenting duo.

For many years he happily fronted the show but then he started to get other gigs around the Beeb. He fronted the spin-off show to The Apprentice and then The One Show passed its trial run and became a staple part of the BBC’s Mon-Fri evening output as well as MOTD2. Chiles was a man on the move and everything was hunky-dory until the BBC decided that they wanted to tinker with The One Show and kick out Adrian on Friday’s because they wanted to appeal to a different audience. He left in a huff to ITV where he fronted the new breakfast show. It was never going to work as Chiles is not the type of guy you want to wake up to (no offence Adrian) but still there was The Adrian Chiles Show and the football.

I think he excels at both. He asks better questions of his pundits compared to his compatriots and whilst he may waffle a bit he shows genuine emotion whether it be happy or sad. In live sport I want a real person fronting everything and not someone with too much glaze on them which means real emotion doesn’t shine through. I see on twitter and social media so many people say hw awful he is but people like to complain. I have seen so many tweets about how awful Dermot O’Leary is presenting The X Factor so let me just say that in this era of social media it is so easy to slag off a famous person for anything.

Personally speaking I think Adrian genuinely does a bang up job or both presenting the show and portraying the mood of the public. Yes the adverts get in the way of his flow but such is life. Presenting on live television is not an easy gig and everyone thinks that they can do better. It really isn’t and I think people should lay off the Adrian hate. If they don’t want to join in the Adrian love-in then that is fair enough but just hating on him is not fair.

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Not Guilty. Not Guilty. Not Guilty. Not Guilty. Not Guilty. Not Guilty.

Published by neilmonnery on June 20, 2012

They are the words a foreman spoke on Monday that ended the very public trial of Roger Clemens. The man who was seen by many as the greatest starting pitcher of his generation had been accused of lying under oath to congress with regards to having taken performance enhancing drugs.

It was just another high-profile case that the American government came up short on. They thought Clemens would be the jewel in their crown but instead deciding to have the key witness who has taken apart from not only the defence lawyers but also by his estranged wife was not a great case. Also the other key witness admitting that he could only be ’50/50′ that the admission of taking performance enhancing drugs by Clemens was an accurate recollection of what happened wasn’t a good sign. Basically the prosecution screwed up and was never in a position to win the case.

The legacy of the man known as ‘The Rocket‘ though wasn’t what was on trial. What was on trial was whether he would be one of the most high-profile inmates in American jails. His legacy that he is fighting so hard to restore will come down to members of the Baseball Writers Association of America as they are the people who get to vote on inductees to the baseball Hall of Fame and this is what is really important to Clemens.

But as commentator after commentator said during the past 48 hours – the law of the land and a jury of his peers isn’t important, they are the important ones and they and they only will decide whether he took drugs or not. It is a strange dynamic that the law of the land is immaterial when it comes to this but such is life.

Already some voters have said that they will not vote for Clemens ever because they know that he did drugs. I love the fact that these writers can know this. Not have suspicions of but they know. Those who don’t vote for him because they have suspicions you can at least see the reasoning but no-one can honestly say that they know he has done such a thing. They can say they believe he did or that they have seen enough evidence for them to strongly believe that he did but to know well that is just crazy. If they know then why weren’t they called by the prosecution to be a witness in the criminal trial? Oh wait it’s because they actually know nothing. Yes I’m looking in your direction Bill Plaschke of the LA Times.

Do I believe that he took performance enhancing drugs during his career? I honestly don’t know. He could easily have done and his career arc was shall we say ‘interesting’ and in an era when drugs were rife within sport in North America but there are other similar career arcs with no suspicions of drugs – for example Kurt Warner.

I do though believe in the age-old adage of you are innocent until you have been proven guilty. He has never been found guilty of having used performance enhancing drugs. Not only that he has been to court where a jury found him not guilty of lying to congress on the subject. For me that is good enough. If I was a voter I’d vote him in because there is little doubt that his numbers belong in the Hall of Fame and until you have that smoking gun then you have nothing.

I think he gets in but not for many years as the whole steroid era of baseball gets shunned by voters who have suspicions of every player in that era. Even guys like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera will not get votes when they are eligible for the Hall of Fame because some voters quite simply refuse to vote for anyone in case they ever get linked to drugs. Suspicion isn’t even needed. It is another reason why the BBWAA are not the right people to be custodians for the Hall of Fame but that is a story for another day.

For today Roger Clemens walks as a free man without a legal stain on his character. However as soon as an accusation is made many people make up their minds and for many of those this court case will not change a thing and that to me is a sad indictment of society these days.

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Nick Clegg speaks and yet again reiterates that he backs the Out4Marriage campaign

Published by neilmonnery on June 20, 2012

Nick Clegg is out and about but he’s not forgotten about us all here in the blazing UK (well blazing for a few more hours anyway) and he has recorded a message to once again show that he is fully behind equal marriage. You can read the transcript below and/or watch the video which has been embedded:

“I’ve always been very clear on this: love is the same, straight or gay, so the civil institution should be the same too.

“All couples should be able to make that commitment to one another, regardless of who they love.

“I fought for equal marriage before I was in Government, and I’m even more committed to making it happen now – as a Liberal Democrat and as Deputy Prime Minister.

“We brought forward our proposals; they have provoked a heated debate.

“But these are proposals about when and how to open up civil marriage to gay and lesbian couples. It’s not a matter of ‘if’ anymore.

“And to those who are worried about some of the opposition to this move or the tone of the debate, let me just say, whether you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual or straight: your freedom to love who you choose is a fundamental right in a liberal society – and you will always have our support. That’s why I’m Out4Marriage.”

It isn’t really news but it is always good to hear. I know it isn’t student fees, or trident, or about jobs but for some people it is about equality and improving their quality of life and that can never be a bad thing.

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The #neverseconds row (with pitchforks at the ready…) – Argyll and Bute Council need to respond

Published by neilmonnery on June 15, 2012

Twitter is alight this morning. No they aren’t up in arms that I have four different packages en route from four different delivery companies and they all have to be signed for. No they don’t care about the pain I have to face staying in all day and being scared to go to the loo in case I miss the buzzer go on the front door of my building. No a nine year-old girl has been banned from taking photographs of her school provided dinners by the local council.

Ok in the grand scheme of things that is probably slightly more important than my worries (although I will soon have a replacement exercise bike seat so that is important. I have been putting on a bit, well a lot, of weight recently…)

The council are Argyll and Bute Council and the girl blogged yesterday that she was taken out of a Maths lesson and told her blogging career with regards to showing off the poor quality of meals provided by the school was over. Her dad added to the post claiming that the school themselves had been brilliant and he (as a parent) had no issues with the way the teachers and staff at his kids school had acted but that it had come from above.

So the council have confirmed that they have banned Martha’s photography but have yet to explain why. There will be an explanation. Not because the kid deserves one (council’s often forgo this type of thing because they are big powerful institutions and don’t like to be challenged) but the kid and her family will get an explanation because it has gone viral and no doubt the mass media will be sniffing around this story. It is the perfect story for our 24 hour news cycle that will mean that eventually Argyll and Bute Council will release a statement.

Now what this statement will say will most certainly be interesting. They are in a tricky position as they don’t really have a leg to stand on for banning the photographs but they will try. Oh boy will they try. I reckon they’ll say another parent has complained and was worried that Martha could start taking photos of other kids and that bad men (and women) would get hold of the photographs. If the defence doesn’t rely primarily on the fact that the camera could be used to photograph other kids without the permission of parents then the council are screwed. This will be their defence.

Will it wash? I doubt it. The news will certainly turn this into a story and the twittersphere is already ready to burn Argyll and Bute Council for being a witch without even hearing what they had to say.

One thing is sure though and that Argyll and Bute Council’s quality of school dinners has spread well beyond the local media and has gone viral. The rest of the UK and the world can now see what slop they serve up and they should be ashamed of themselves. Martha might be banned from doing any more photographs but her crusade as gone far further than anyone could have ever perceived.

Update 11:23 AM: Argyll and Bute Council have issued a statement. Seemingly they decided that they just didn’t like the blog and the fact it showed some of the bad sides of school dinners. Those who want to attack the council for their unjust decision and ridiculous defence now have my blessing. We’ve heard both sides of the story and one is utter tripe…

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What is the difference between the Southend independent group and a true independent?

Published by neilmonnery on June 12, 2012

Well seemingly we are about to find out. Independents are meant to be just that but here in Southend we have a gaggle of them who are classified as the ‘independent group’ on the Council. The independents have ten members and they formed a group so that they could get offices at the council and other perks that alone they weren’t entitled too. However this also meant in practice they were a party and weren’t truly independent. It is something that has never really been transmitted to the electorate across the borough.

Well the independent group is about to go from ten to nine as Westborough independent Dr. Vel has made it clear that he wants to secede from the group and sit as a true independent albeit one that is Conservative minded and has already stopped sitting with his independent colleagues.

With the Thorpe Bay gang of three deciding to go into a deal with the minority Tory administration to get perks for Thorpe Bay to the detriment of some of the other independents the group as a whole is starting to look fractured. Cllr. Ron Woodley has masterminded a move that gives him and his Thorpe Bay colleague the balance of power at the Civic Centre although with Dr. Vel also now set to potentially vote with the Tories it weakens his position slightly.

From what I hear through the grapevine the goings-on at the Civic Centre are very interesting under the surface but on the surface not a lot seems to be happening. The independents are at a point where one section of the group are getting better treatment for their constituents compared to other members of the same group. Independents such as Brian Ayling (St. Lukes) and Martin Terry (Westborough) are most certainly not Tory sympathisers unlike the Thorpe Bay three.

It would always come to a point where the independent group would split apart and that moment is set to come. When 2014 comes around the Labour and the Lib Dems can very strongly point to the independent group in part keeping a minority Tory administration in power. The Tories when they are facing the independents can say that they are Tories in sheep’s clothing so why bother voting for them when they could just vote for the real thing? They’ll say that Virgin Cola is coke but it’s not Coca-Cola.’

Unless the independent group collapses then the independents are set for a hard time in 2014. Those who aren’t part of the Thorpe Bay trio will be tainted by their association with them. If the independents want to grow then they need to kick-off the Thorpe Bay trio from the group and go forward with the six of them with Dr. Vel sitting on his own as a true independent. The problem with independents is you don’t know what you are voting for if you vote for one and in the case of Southend the independents all have a different viewpoint and sit under one banner.

The independent group is not going to grow as presently constituted. They either make the Thorpe Bay three go alone and set up their own ‘Thorpe Bay First’ party (which actually would be a great way for them to go if they wanted to ensure they won their seats for another decade) but would Cllr. Woodley be happy to do this and essentially give up his hopes of ever being leader of Southend Council?

Say what you like about the three main parties and how they are doing in Southend. One thing is for sure and that is the independent group is more fractured than all three of them put together. Now all three of the main parties have ammunition to prove that the independents are a party (albeit one with no cohesive direction) and that by voting independent you aren’t voting for anything. You are just voting against something.

The independents have had a great run in Southend but they now face their most uphill battle yet – and this is one that can only be resolved by something drastic – so lets wait to see what drastic move happens.

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Ian Wright’s England punditry is right up there with my girl-pulling abilities…

Published by neilmonnery on June 12, 2012

This afternoon I read Ian Wright’s latest article on how England are performing at Euro 2012 in The Sun and seriously wondered if his rose tinted specs that he wears on all things England are so rose-tinted it has effected his vision – and mind.

The only thing he got right in my opinion was when he said that we were ‘okay but not great,’ which I think is probably fair. He thought we would win 2-1 if we were aggressive and came out with a more positive mind-set. This is an England team missing several key personnel against a French team who hadn’t lost a game since Laurent Blanc took over the manager duties of the French national side. The fact the weather was scorching hot also didn’t exactly favour the home side. A 2-1 victory for the English was always possible but it was never the most probable outcome.

He is not happy with Roy’s negative approach and couldn’t see us scoring from anything other than a set piece. The fact that James Milner had a one-on-one and got down the inside right channel many, many times obviously escaped his memory as it didn’t fit in with the narrative that he wanted to portray. The underlying narrative that if Harry Redknapp has been appointed then we’d have attacked and really gone for it – and lost 3-0 – but we’d have done it with good intentions.

He questions whether teams can win tournaments by being solid at the back. I’m not sure how his memory is because I distinctly remember that he used to play for Arsenal – in a team that was known for the scoreline ‘one nil to the Arsenal,’ who were strong at the back and hoped to steal games. If you don’t concede then you can’t lose. The age old adage is you have to score to win games but not letting any in is also a good starting point. We loved Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle side the first time around but I’m struggling to recall the names of any trophies they lifted in that era. Harry Redknapp himself only has one major trophy to his name and in Portsmouth’s six game run to FA Cup glory they scored just seven times and let in one. Yes Pompey and Harry Redknapp won the FA Cup but being miserly at the back.

He says that he ‘doesn’t think it can get much worse,’ and you look at the article and think ‘what?’ It is a very encouraging start. The team looked solid and it looked together. They worked hard for each other and stifled a better team. That is good enough for most pundits and indeed most of the media saw it as such but The Sun who thought Harry Redknapp was hosed and are leading the attack on Roy Hodgson already think differently.

International football is a results-based industry. So far so good for Roy Hodgson. We shall see how it works out but there is a reason optimism is down and it has very little to do with the manager. The talent is either getting on a bit, is injured, is suspended or very young and raw. Technically English footballers are so far below the likes of their European counterparts it is laughable. Until that changes then England will never be able to constantly match some of the other nations in an open game of free-flowing football and that is why we need to be more tactically astute. This is Roy Hodson’s forte and so far he hasn’t shown that he is lacking at an international level.

So whilst Ian Wright is foaming at the mouth I most certainly am not. I don’t expect England to entertain. England haven’t got the players to wow us at the moment so you need to find other ways to progress and that it what it looks like Roy is providing.

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Take Me Out Girls USA

Published by neilmonnery on June 10, 2012

For the latest series photos and gossip then please follow the link for Take Me Out Girls Photos for Season Seven – 2015.

Take Me Out has gone global (well it has crossed the pond anyways). Yes our favourite cheesy replacement for Blind Date that is perfect Saturday night television is now on FOX over in the States for a run every Thursday night at 8 EST. Apparently it has opened to a relatively poor audience but as we all know Take Me Out is a grower and if the American’s can understand the cheesiness of it all then it may grow into a force.

Following my successful blog on the Take Me Out Girls UK 2012 I thought I would bring you the Take Me Out USA girls. From the publicity shots from FOX my early favourites are in no particular order Lisa, Caitlin and Mindy. I will endevour to tune into the US version to see if they have recaptured the supreme awesomeness of the UK show and will report back.

So as Paddy would say (but as George Lopez says in the US…) ‘Bring on the girls…‘

Update 1: All the girls from the flirty thirty are on both Facebook and Twitter. Unlike their UK counterparts it seems that they have all created/been created these profiles and they will answer tweets and comments from fans via them. You can search for them on Facebook and Twitter or for a full list to to the Take Me Out page on the FOX website.

Update 2: Ok I’m watching the US version. Here are my notes:

Titles and theme tune are the same (albeit the music is slightly slower).
The girls are still called the ‘flirty thirty.’
‘No likey, No lighty’ is not used, ‘if you are turned off, turn off’ is how George says it.
The love-lift and studio layout are identical.
The girls come out to music down the stairs like the UK version.
Mindy is nuts with her monkey impression but I like that.
Katie Ann likes an All American guy but when a cowboy comes out she turns off for Football rivalry reasons.
Format is the same. Guys comes out, lights on/off then video, lights on/off and then something to impress the ladies (or a second VT). Then guy narrows it down to two if there are more than two left and chooses between the two after a final question.
Liking Debra. She seems lovely.
Doesn’t do the ‘and the power is in your hands’ line when guy gets the power.
Debra gets the first date of the show. I think she’s lovely.
There is no ‘Fernandos’ as it is called the ‘Take Me Out Resort’ which is a shit name to be honest.
Date format is the same as UK version. A treat then a drink or meal.
The first date from last week went well.
Second guy is tight and ‘literally lives at the gym’ unsurprisingly he gets a blackout.
He leaves with a hug from George but it isn’t called some ‘George love’ unlike our famous ‘Paddy love.’
Guy on second date got shall we say tipsy. Kept going in for the kiss. Really rather too forward.
The date sections are a lot quicker than the UK version. About two minutes each.
‘I want to give you a kiss but not date you’ – er…?
Couple of people turned off when third guy said he worked on Wall Street. He then said he quit his job to write children’s books and seven girls turned off. Bad bad bad.
I am feeling this version is far more rushed than the UK version. George speaks to the girls but doesn’t really engage with them.
You can tell it is in a smaller time-slot. The second VT/impressing ladies task is not even thirty seconds long.
‘I’d cook you dinner…only in my apron’ – bloody good line. Pick her.
He does pick Courtni – who is picked after just two guys on the show. Doesn’t even last an episode.
Successful dates leave to ‘Two tickets to paradise.’
Same format of four guys an episode. Episodes are around twenty minutes shorter than the UK episodes after adverts are considered. Honestly it is feeling rushed.
Zaza looks better on TV than in her promo-pic.
There is another dating show straight after Take Me Out called ‘The Choice’ which uses the trick of ‘The Voice’ of guys on chairs who can’t see the girls. Interesting idea. Might record that next week too. Not sure picking a girl just by the sound of her voice is a great thing. I’d always turn around for every Geordie or girl from Lancashire.

Ok show is over. It felt rushed but apart from that it was very similar. Show would do better letting George speak to the girls more as the girls are the stars of the show and the more we know them, the more we feel attached to the show. On the UK version within a couple of weeks we already know 4/5 of the girls rather well. US version needs that.

All photos courtesy of FOX television for publication purposes…

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