BBC still miffed at Russell

I was a bit annoyed to learn that the BBC wasn’t going to air this year’s “Never Mind the Buzzcocks” episode with Russell Brand as guest team captain. It was originally due to air on October 30, but that was in the thick of the ruckus over the answering machine message. I kept hoping up until the last minute that they’d decide to tack it onto the end of the season, but that never happened. Channel 4 hasn’t had a problem with airing new episodes of Russell Brand’s Ponderland in the wake of the controversy and civilization hasn’t collapsed.

(Ooh, just realized from the Wikipedia entry that there’s going to be a Ponderland Christmas special on Sunday. Cool. Also just realized that he was in “Bedtime Stories”, Adam Sandler’s new movie. Double Cool. Russell Brand is one of the few comedians who can actually make me laugh out loud when I’m alone.)

Speaking of movies (and Russell Brand), I watched “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” the other day. It’s not a particularly good movie, but I was surprised to see that Russell Brand did a pretty credible job. I expected him to pretty much act as himself (“himself” being his usual over-the-top stage persona — I have no idea what he’s like in private), but he actually played it moderately seriously.

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Must. Control. Fist. Of. Death.

I’m trying.

I really am.

But there are times when the urge, the NEED to tell someone what a complete and utter wanker they are is so overwhelming. I’ve never yet given in to the Dark Side, but I sometimes leak a little (or a lot of) snark and snippiness. It can’t be helped. Consider it a pressure valve, keeping me from saying something I shouldn’t.

Most of the time, I’m expected to just grin and take it. The private messages from people bitching at me, the forum threads devoted to venomous snark directed specifically at me for things I had nothing to do with, the public sniping, the e-mails chock full of whingey frothiness (at me, not to me) about insignificant things. Those people, they’re hard to ignore when they’re at it all the time. All. The. Time. Just once, I’d like to be able to just say exactly what’s on my mind without having to self-edit it. But I’d have to leave the communities that leave me open to such attacks in order to do that, because what I want to really, truly say would not be nice and would have me booted out very quickly.

So, perhaps I’ll save it for the day I want to burn all of my bridges with one match strike.

I’m not quite there yet.

Maybe I’ll find a way to get past it without giving in, to channel the negativity into positive energy. I know which would be more productive all around, but I also know it’s the uphill battle.