Comments on: Contrived “Firsts” http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/2007/10/20/contrived-firsts/ Everyone has a right to my opinions Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:35:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Robert Sharp » Blog Archive » Voting for Someone Different http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/2007/10/20/contrived-firsts/#comment-133227 Robert Sharp » Blog Archive » Voting for Someone Different Fri, 16 May 2008 00:46:59 +0000 http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/2007/10/20/contrived-firsts/#comment-133227 [...] chance of becoming the UK’s first female Muslim MP.  If she is elected, it may count as a contrived first, but I understand that the campaign against her is likely to centre around her religion and gneder, [...] [...] chance of becoming the UK’s first female Muslim MP.  If she is elected, it may count as a contrived first, but I understand that the campaign against her is likely to centre around her religion and gneder, [...]

]]> By: Hanson http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/2007/10/20/contrived-firsts/#comment-108531 Hanson Fri, 02 Nov 2007 02:27:35 +0000 http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/2007/10/20/contrived-firsts/#comment-108531 I dunno about firsts, but along a vaguely similar theme, I used to be avidly into the Guniess Book of Records, when it was in a kind of columned Encyclopaedia format and focused on things like tallest buildings, oldest people, coldest temperatures etc. Around the turn of the millenium thye replaced it with a shiny, more pop-culture based version which rather than being continuous, is presented as one double-page-spread per "subject"...so "film special effects" get as much attention as "people and nations". This, together with a tendency to put huge pictures of pretty people we already know about and don't buy the GBOR to see (Britney Spears, Olsen Twins, David Beckham) and justify it by inventing a record to suit. So we get things like a big picture of Vanessa Mae taking up half the classical section (with the caption "youngest violinist to record both the Beethoven and Tchaikovsky concertos"). More closely related to what you said, "firsts" used to be completely frowned upon because they can't be beaten, but the new style Guiness loves them, although preferring to call them "earliest" as if that sounds more like a record! I dunno about firsts, but along a vaguely similar theme, I used to be avidly into the Guniess Book of Records, when it was in a kind of columned Encyclopaedia format and focused on things like tallest buildings, oldest people, coldest temperatures etc. Around the turn of the millenium thye replaced it with a shiny, more pop-culture based version which rather than being continuous, is presented as one double-page-spread per “subject”…so “film special effects” get as much attention as “people and nations”. This, together with a tendency to put huge pictures of pretty people we already know about and don’t buy the GBOR to see (Britney Spears, Olsen Twins, David Beckham) and justify it by inventing a record to suit. So we get things like a big picture of Vanessa Mae taking up half the classical section (with the caption “youngest violinist to record both the Beethoven and Tchaikovsky concertos”).
More closely related to what you said, “firsts” used to be completely frowned upon because they can’t be beaten, but the new style Guiness loves them, although preferring to call them “earliest” as if that sounds more like a record!

]]> By: Clarice http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/2007/10/20/contrived-firsts/#comment-103919 Clarice Sat, 20 Oct 2007 13:21:02 +0000 http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/2007/10/20/contrived-firsts/#comment-103919 Ooooh yes! John Galagher on the bbc news, was apparently the first englishman to win the rugby world cup. Never mind that he was playing for New Zealand at the time. And never mind that it is a team game... And of course, I am the first person called Clarice to submit this, the first, comment to your post. Ooooh yes! John Galagher on the bbc news, was apparently the first englishman to win the rugby world cup. Never mind that he was playing for New Zealand at the time. And never mind that it is a team game…

And of course, I am the first person called Clarice to submit this, the first, comment to your post.

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