2022
I think it was sometime in 2008 when i found myself sat in front of my computer monitor and keyboard wondering what else i could do via the internet to pass my time...
Twas when i found myself thinking, for possibly the first time in quite a while actually, 'i wonder whether you can read a newspaper???'...
A thought that was quickly followed by, 'i wonder which is the most popular???...
'The Sun seems to be a very popular one', i further thought...
So, a Google searching i went...
'Oh my goodness', there it is, i noticed, within unexpected surprise and rising interest...
So, to The Sun website i went...
'Oh my goodness, you can make comments', i realised - which, in effect, means that you can, potentially at least, communicate with the whole world, whilst simply sat at home, i realised - how incredible is that...
So, after a choice of user name came to mind, sign up i did - as The Dolphin initially - and then, after what seemed like a rather short period of time, as Dolphinius, after finding, one day, that for some strange reason i could no longer continue to make comments under my original user name...
Much to my surprise, i also realised that each user had their own user page - a facility that enabled you to submit personal blogs for example - 'wow', thought i, 'this is incredible'...
There even turned out to be weekly highlighted most popular blogs/offerings section - which i won one particular week - an occasion where my personal accompanying picture of a dolphin (or was it 3???) was changed/substituted for the smiling(???) face of Graham Norton(???), for some then completely unfathomable reason...
There had been an article stating that some BBC radio staff were to be, voluntarily, relocated to Salford, if my memory serves me correctly - so i typed a somewhat light-hearted related small blog-type offering - one that included YouTube links to three particular songs...
...Three Little Birds by Bob Marley - Don't Worry Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin - and thirdly, Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life by Eric Idle...
I can only assume that Graham must have read and played its contents, and found it to be amusing - i couldn't really believe it was so, but why else, thought i, would The Sun choose to change such a picture thusly - very strange indeed...
I remember that there was also a box in which to say something about yourself, within such a personal page/section - a box wherein i typed the following - 'I have lived an interesting life. It is not one that i would particularly recommend to anyone, but never-the-less, it has been an interesting one'...
...'Interesting', like all things in life, being somewhat comparative/subjective, i would now possibly add - and i possibly would now recommend it to others - but only because it has resulted in personal Growth...
Anyway, that put aside, i also remember wondering what i could possibly comment upon - and then thinking, 'well, i've supported Manchester United since my school days (some lads at school had asked me what team i supported, and i said that i didn't, so was told that i had to (Manchester City or Manchester United), so Manchester United it was), so why not start there i thought...
...Little realising that such comments would be challenged - something that i found to be completely unwelcoming and rather stressful actually - as i simply didn't wish to interact with other people in such a way, as the comment facility simply invited you to make a comment, and that is all i wished to do...
Anyway, i remember correctly unintentionally predicting two consecutive Manchester United results - and then thinking, 'i better be careful or i might start drawing attention to myself' - and then, when my friend 'Jeremy' later popped round, i explained the situation to him, saying 'i better get the next one wrong, otherwise i'm going to draw attention to myself'...
...And so i did - Manchester United were away to Liverpool - i remember feeling somewhat guilty about it, for, rightly or wrongly, i suspected that some people may have been putting bets on, based upon what i said...
...Strange i know, but i was prone to potentially a great deal of anxiety, during that period of time especially - and such anxiety can cause, perhaps irrational thoughts to arise - and i was concerned that the bookies may not like it at all...
...Also, i simply didn't think that it was right, for i don't think that gambling is a good thing to do, or promote others to do - and it was spoiling my enjoyment of watching such matches at 'Jeremy's' gaff, and causing anxiety to arise - so i simply closed my mind off to such things...
Anyway, if my memory serves me correctly, i then wondered what else i could comment on - and found myself looking within the boxing section of such a paper - where i realised that the vast majority of comments seemed to be made by people who were perhaps boxers themselves - either that, or they were simply very knowledgeably about such a sport...
I very much enjoyed watching Joe Calzaghe box - i simply thought that he was a rather excellent pugilist, and admired his skills greatly - he had a great style, could think on his feet, and recover from a knockdown quickly and effectively...
The only problem was that seemingly many other commenters didn't seem to share my views - so my comments were often in contention with theirs - which made me want to prove them wrong...
...Which, in turn, resulted in me making unintentional predictions once again - predictions that i got right - i simply didn't seem to be able to avoid it...
Anyway, one day there was an article about Amir Khan - another boxer whom i very much admired - he was wishing to put off his then next fight, to December of that particular year, as the proposed date would have clashed with Amir's observances of Ramadan...
Some commenters seemed to be suggesting that it was simply a tactic that Amir's camp were using in order to prepare more (well i think so anyway) - and i simply didn't agree, so stated that in my opinion such a fight should take place at the later date - resulting in another particular commenter taking issue with me...
...And another commenter coming to my defence, stating that he (the one taking issue) wasn't a clairvoyant (or am i possibly getting it confused with another occasion???) - and thereby seemingly suggesting that i was - something that completely took me by surprise, as i simply never saw myself in that way, whatsoever (i still don't actually, as a clairvoyant, from my perspective, is someone that actually wishes to follow such a path in life, and willingly chooses to do so in a professional capacity, whereas i have simply never wished to do such a thing, and regard myself as someone who is somewhat unqualified to do so)...
I remember quoting The Beatles song, Let It Be, within such a context, as that was the tune that came, seemingly unbidden, to mind - anyway, with or without the consideration of my personal input, such a fight was delayed until December - something that i found myself being pleased for Amir for...
Another section within The Sun online newspaper that i used to contribute comments to was one where a number of well-known celebrity-type people used to write weekly(???) articles within - i used to enjoy their more relaxed style of writing, and the various themes within them - so found myself making occasional comments there also...
Somewhere along the line i found that i changed, quite fundamentally really, the way in which i made comments - shortening them so that others has less to bite at within reply - i was simply becoming really tired of such intrusions, as i found them to be stress-inducing and time consuming, and they were wearing me down and causing me find such interactions to be simply unpleasant and have a worsening effect on my mental health...
And at a later date still, i found humour starting to be infused into parts of some of my comments also - which somewhat surprised me actually, as, before then, i simply didn't seem to have the capacity, or inclination, to express myself in such a way - such being the nature of what i would now call 'A Team' Inspiration...
Both of these changes very much caused me to continue making contributions - for without such changes i would possibly simply have stopped due to perceived necessity, however reluctantly - twood very much seem that such, by then acknowledged, Inspirers/Helpers wished me to continue within such endeavours...
I experienced what i would call a rather strange event at some point during the time i was making contributions on The Sun online newspaper - for i received a phone call one day whereby the caller remained silent - within mind i saw/visualised(???) a woman stood behind her desk in her office, simply listening to my voice through a speaker phone (intriguing huh - whether representative of truth or otherwise) :-) :-) :-) ...
At some point i moved on from The Sun - whether it took place after taking a rest from commenting, i simply can't remember - who knows, maybe i simply fancied grazing within pastures new, or felt the time had come to do so...
I think it was The Independent that i chose to make comments within - with The Telegraph becoming my next port of call - or possibly vice versa of course...
Anyway, whatever the truth of the matter, twas within comments on The Independent that i related to Resurrection Shuffle (shovel) by Ashton Gardner & Dyke - twas within relation to a 2010 article regarding the 33 Chilean miners who found themselves to be trapped underground - resulting in a news/media coverage during the series of weeks that it took to drill a borehole and bring them back to the surface within a capsule one-by-one...
What i found to be most interesting was the fact that both the lyrics and certain accompanying video details (boots worn and displayed by the pianist/singer) very much seemed to mirror certain details within such a situation - almost as if acting as a presage to such an event - such a likeness, within my eyes at least, caused me to add Isn't Life Strange by The Moody Blues to the end of such an offered comment...
I didn't stay very long making comments on either The Independent or The Telegraph online newspapers - in the case of The Telegraph it was purely because i found the then comment interface software to be somewhat problematic, which resulted, at some stage, in me being unable to continue contributing - i think in both instances i possibly simply didn't feel that i belonged there, as i felt somewhat distant, as if i had no real feeling of connection with either of them...
So, on to The Guardian i went - which was a pretty big deal for me really, as i very much felt out of my depth there - so it was within a certain trepidation that i started rather tentatively making comments...
Once again i found my comments being challenged - and realised that often if the main thrust of my comments were left unaddressed, then other parts were being seized upon - so, once again i simply chose to cut off such secondary avenues of attack by shortening such comments to their bare bones...
I very much got the impression that some people simply wished to show/prove themselves to be intellectually superior - a 'know your place' type of mentality being practised perhaps - who knows, maybe my user name of AnAverageJoe more readily invited such a stance/reaction/response...
Of course, such a shortening made me seem to be somewhat cold/impersonal - especially, perhaps, with my increasingly established 'threeness' exerting itself - or sometimes multiples thereof...
But, in reality, it was simply a tactic to fend off unwanted intrusions upon the comments we are all invited to make - for i simply wished to make comments and no more than that - simple input for those presumably analysing such comments to either consider or otherwise...
The 'A Team' of course, from my perspective at least, seemingly often came/come to my aid - and i have found myself typing replies that have seemingly brought such perceived intrusions/attacks to an instant end - something that i am very grateful for, and something that quite often causes me to chuckle also...
...The soothing (for me anyway) effects of Inspiration eh...
I remember being set upon by one person on one particular day, whereby i sensed, rightly or wrongly, that he had suffered a bad day at the office - and had sought to regain his sense of self-worth by selecting an easy target - only to find his self-esteem in even worse shape...
...Tis possibly misperception on my part - but i do remember finding it to be rather amusing at the time - and if true of course, it was a much deserved lesson for him, from my personal perspective at least...
There are of course some very nice people who comment onth Guardian online - and i have very much enjoyed interacting with them - they help to make it fun/enjoyable...
And of course there are many seemingly very clever/knowledgeable people indeed (some of whom seem to use such 'cleverness' to their personal detriment, and others to their personal credit) - within many different disciplines - including mathematical wizards that leave me in awe of their abilities...
Over the years that i have been making comments there, i have, more recently, become much more relaxed in my approach - i now regard such personal interaction there as simply being a pastime within what are now my retirement years - indeed, i get the impression that there are perhaps quite a few likewise retired people, simply adding their individual voices and exercising their individual minds within both comments and replies onth Guardian Online...
I sometimes make comments onth Mail Online newspaper also - tis a much different environment to The Guardian - very much 'celebrity' based in actual fact...
Tis an online newspaper that i regularly peruse - on an almost daily basis (generally speaking - although there are varying periods of time when i choose not to do so) in actual fact - but one that i far less regularly make comments within (at the moment at least)...
Guardian and Mail commentary is fundamentally different - often seemingly reflecting the fundamental differences in views commonly held within each camp - and onth Guardian swear words are permitted, whereas Mail commenters are held on much tighter reins within such a respect...
Guardian people seem very much to be 'Remainers', with often a seeming inability to let go and accept the process of democracy - and within such a respect very much seem to look down with distain and intolerance on the majority of voters who chose to vote within such a referendum - so in such a respect they very much seem to be people who only accept the democratic process if and when electoral results coincide with their own voting choices...
...Whereas Mail people seem very much to be 'Brexiters' who, in the main, seem happy with the results of their voting choices...
Guardian people also very much seem to be vaccinated people - with a seemingly high degree of intolerance and distain, by some at least, directed/shown towards the unvaccinated - indeed a fair many of them would very much seem to wish to enforce such vaccinations onto those who simply do not wish, of their own free-will choice, to be vaccinated...
...Whereas Mail people, or at least a core number of them, simply do not see such a need to be thusly vaccinated - thankfully such a supposed virus has now mutated enough times to render it possibly less serious than contracting seasonal flu - something that has been around for many a year and seemingly kills/culls many people within each annual winter season...
Mail people seem very much into 'celebrities' - an apparent interest for which the Mail seemingly rather generously panders - if only to observe a perhaps sizeable number of commenters regularly giving many/certain a so called 'celebrity' a fairly tough/unflattering time...
But hey tis a good place to go to for a light-hearted play - whenever the mood happens to take me of course - which can be good fun, given that the moderators don't swat aside such attempts too often, in what i often consider to be a rather unfair way, may i add...
So, what to say in summary???...
Well what really prompted me to write such a blog as this was to explain how my current, and fairly long-standing, ways of commentary communication evolved, and why it did so in the way that it did...
So in such a sense i now very much feel that i have done so - and i feel pleased to have now done so - so, all is good in my word world dahlings, in a/an general/overall sense at least...
No matter what newspaper(s) we perhaps choose to read and perhaps comment within, we all share the commonality of living within conditioned boxes - whatever form such boxes seem to take - and no matter what size of box we happen to be currently conditioned within...
...Boxes of limitation and bias - like Russian dolls perhaps - gradually larger ones (or indeed smaller ones, depending upon which way we happen to be travelling perhaps), until we have, perhaps, escaped/transcended all of them within this Earth school of learning, to then perhaps find ourselves residing within a place called Liberation/Freedom...
(https://www.ourquantumparticulates.org/videos/a-newspaper-journey)