Blunderbus

[lupestripe]

I have written about the buses in this city many times but I thought I would share with you an incident which happened on my way to work yesterday. Those of you who follow me on twitter got the story in teal time.

I left the house at 9.15am to make the five mile journey to work. The scheduled 9.22am bus didn't turn up so I had the choice between two buses at 9.32am. Clearly the bus company makes up its timetable as it goes along.

So I got on one of the buses which trundles along. After 9.30am fares switch to off-peak so a lot of the elderly wait until then to catch the bus into town. Now halfway through my journey there was (assumedly) a scheduled driver change but the replacement driver failed to turn up. Instead of waiting, the initial driver just dumped his bus on a lay-by and buggered off without a word of explanation.

Many people were confused, and the old folk particularly. I tried to explain what I thought had happened but ultimately we were dumped in the middle of nowhere and left to fend for ourselves. If you dumped old people in a lay by on any other occasion you would be arrested. Seems to be company policy with the bus company.

Other buses did eventually come but didn't wait for the old folk who were still stoically sat on their initial bus. They also didn't wait for an elderly man who was clearly trying to hail the bus but who was partly obscured by the first bus which was still sat there. I still don't know whether the replacement driver showed up.

I am now sat on the bus this morning sandwiched between two chavs having the most tedious and assinine conversations EVA INNIT. I think it's rude and discourteous - I think I am in a minority of one.

In other news, Rebecca Black has received a lot of coverage for her song 'Friday'. The 13-year-old's cut has been described as the 'worst song ever'. Now, it is laughable and truly awful but she doesn't deserve the mean and spiteful comments she has received. The chorus is quite catchy for a start, suggesting that it isn't the worst song ever. If you take it as a piece of bubblegum pop written by a teenager, what were people expecting? I guess I find some people's jealousy and hatred quite disturbing and to turn on a 13-year-old girl with some of the comments I have read is nothing short of disgusting.

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Comments

[enteirah]

Have you made sure to actually write to First about this one? For all they may have poor service and aren't likely to do much about that one, the drivers abandoning vehicles is unlikely to be company policy and is actually something they probably take quite seriously (unfortunately less out of concern for the public mind, and more out of concern for the vehicle).

[stuart-otterson.livejournal.com]

I'm with Ent on this one, this clearly needs some complaining about. Sending an email to First will at least let you know you've said something to them rather than just know you've shared it with us.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

Yep, something I intend to do. They already know about the affair because they responded to me on twitter regarding it.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

They already know what happened through Twitter but I will also be writing a letter of complaint too, which I will also send to my MP.

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

You know MY opinions on this whole matter. I'll just leave it there.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

Evidence of your opinion in action really.

[rustyfox.livejournal.com]

Dumping a bus full of people is pretty awful but makes me wonder how First treat their own staff. Perhaps drivers are working to rule - shift ends, go home, "not my problem if another driver isn't on time, warned them a hundred times, not being paid now" etc. He's obviously got his reasons for storming off but it's still hugely irresponsible.

Or maybe he just decided to quit Reginald Perrin style!

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I get the impression it was a sense of entitlement. My break, I'm not paid enough to sit here, I'll go. Public service it ain't.

[alexf0x.livejournal.com]

You need a license and a car so you can join us in the world of sky high maintenance, but zero public transport BS. I have to deal with crap from a lot of bad drivers but it's preferable to the stinking mess that are bus companies.

Oh and Rebecca Black who is she? *looks up wikipedia - and notes the words utterly horrible and excessive autotune*. Oh man I know it cruel but I have to check that out now for a laugh.

[alexf0x.livejournal.com]

Oh god I just saw that video and by god that was bad, really really bad! I didn't know if I should of died cringing or laughing.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

It's awful but also hilarious. I love it! I honestly think it's brilliant because it's so terrible. And, to be fair, the chorus is quite catchy.

[alexf0x.livejournal.com]

Oh I had to bite something just to stop laughing, mostly at the heavy autotune.

If I had any talent with a music editing suite I would mix her song with the sound track to system shock, just to see how creepy it gets.

"L- L- L-Look at you H- Hacker P- Panting and Sweating as you run through my c- Corridors. It's f- f- f-Friday!"*

(*OK it's nerd/gamer humor but you will get it if you've ever played the game, although many a let's play are on youtube if you haven't).

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

As Rolling Stone have said - she sounds like nothing else in pop. And that's what makes this distinctive.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I have two problems with cars - both of which you elude to. The first is their sheer expense and the second is the idiots who are also on the road. They are driving a machine which could effectively kill you and I don't think I trust the public that much with my life, as cynical as that sounds.

[alexf0x.livejournal.com]

Dealing with idiots is something that will forever happen and this morning was no exception due to the mist and fog in Cambs. People driving way too slow and way to cautiously (forcing me to make very heavy executive decisions about overtaking which with the weather I didn't want to do), or not putting on their lights so seeing them in the fog was impossible.

My blood pressure has settled now before you ask, but given the choice between dealing with days like this, and 2 hour commutes’ on craptastic busses I know what I would choose.

Cars, expensive and painful, but the personal freedom is worth it (more so since I live in the sticks and have no choice).

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

If I was in your position, there would be no choice. I'd have to get a car. Here, the bus service should be every 10 minutes and it should take 25 minutes to get into the city centre. Should being the operative word. But, in the grand scheme of public transport, the service here is quite good and it's just not quite bad enough to warrant getting a car.

I am thinking of getting a scooter though, if I could find somewhere to park it and guarantee it wouldn't get stolen.

[keeganfox.livejournal.com]

The first time I heard the song "Friday" I didn't think it was particularly awful. Just more teen pop. The "worst song ever" title, amazes me. Sure the lyrics are hokey and she's not a professional, but there's no pretense of that either. I guess everyone's forgotten Roseanne Barr's mutilation of the US national anthem. (hint: it's on YouTube)

[alexf0x.livejournal.com]

I just saw that, worst ever? Not really sure, but it's right down there in the shit pits of utterly abysmal. She can't sing and the autotune is so heavy she sounds like GaLDOS from portal or Shodan from system shock (it even had the creepy Shodan electronic stammer at one point), add on top that it's a generic bland as the come pop song, with a drab video.

I don't blame her though for this mess, I blame the twot in the music industry that thought that she had talent and green lighted this mess.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I don't think the intention was for it to ever go viral. Apparently, it was done by a company where, if you pay $2000, they will record a song and make a video for you. I feel she posted it on You Tube for her friends to watch, someone saw it, and suddenly it's all over the net.

[alexf0x.livejournal.com]

It is available via iTunes apparently (if you really want to wreck your hearing).

But can $2000USD really buy studio time, editing and full video production? Either way I just hope some Muppet doesn’t give her a contract to produce more novelty records.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

I got the figure from Wikipedia. It may be bollocks.

[radmoose.livejournal.com]

Nope, you are correct. ARK Music does these projects for $2,000US. They provide you with two songs to choose from and will do the recording and music video. They post it to YouTube and iTunes.

She didn't write it and she actually didn't like the song, but the other choice was about love and she thought it was too mature for her. The "rapper" in the video is one of the song writers and co-owner of ARK Music.

The song isn't the worst ever, but it could use some major tweaking/rewriting. The production value for $2,000 for the song and video is rather good. Most songs/videos costs many times that. But, it still is FRIDAY.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

God, someone OFFERS a song like that. Sheesh! If it was written by a 13-year-old I would have thought 'good effort, bit crap'. The fact it was written by a professional. The mind boggles.

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

Please don't remind me of that - that was truly mangled.

[hytiger.livejournal.com]

Was the bus left running?

[lupestripe.livejournal.com]

It wasn't sadly. I was tempted.