Mack Nuggets
Here’s what I’ve been up to on BOBfm lately, including:
Harry Kane; Stormy Daniels; Disaster at Titanic the Musical; A stuck story; The ultimate protest song; Miscommunication; What was on the roof of the car?; The gender bender; Why you should pee on your tomatoes; Andy Summers from The Police; Skiving; Neighbour from hell; Siri doesn’t work; A school trip story; A left behind story; The talking whale; The truth about the childhood obesity crisis; The lady shaving her legs in a public pool; The workplace toboggan team; Israel wins the Eurovision song contest; Why Britain is the greatest country on earth; Minimum pricing for booze in Scotland; Wolf whistling banned in France; The Ikea wardrobe disaster; Saying, “I love you” to a customer; the sinister truth about lego; A special birthday request; The vomit comet; The nickname misunderstanding; Expensive photographs; The truth about World Cup pundits; The camel beauty contest.
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Listen to the latest Mack Nuggets at;
http://www.mackmedia.co.uk/8th-mack-nuggets-audio-video
Filed under: AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Comedy, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, Inspiration, Politcs, Radio, Uncategorized, Youtube | Leave a Comment
Tags: Andy Summers, Apple, Blog, BOBfm, Eurovision, Google, Graham Mack, Harry Kane, Inspiration, Internet, life, Music, News, The Police, Titanic
London Calling
In the latest episode of my show for America;
A communication breakdown with Jane, why British kids are so fat, cheerless pop songs, stuff learned on a train, the cheap watch, the stupidity of the clean air day, the bike and neighbourhood disputes.
Listen to Episode 67 of London Calling here;
http://www.talkers.com/talkersradio/london-calling/london-calling-with-graham-mack-episode-67/
If you enjoyed this Craic, please click “like” and tweet a link.
Listen to the latest Mack Nuggets at;
http://www.mackmedia.co.uk/8th-mack-nuggets-audio-video
Filed under: AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Comedy, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, Graham Mack, Inside look, Inspiration, Internet, Media, podcast, Politcs, Radio, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tags: Adel, Blog, Britain, Computer, Google, Graham Mack, Inspiration, Internet, journalism, life, Media, Politics, Radio, Travel
Science Friction
I heard a couple of powerful things on a train this week. Both of them relate to radio.
The first was a lady I overheard talking to her friend. She said, “I’m reading a book about the people who first split the atom. It’s getting boring now, it’s all about the science, not the people”.
I thought, wow, if only all radio programmers could hear that. I settled back into my seat, put my earbuds in and started listening to the excellent Brandwidth On Demand podcast by David Martin and Kipper McGee. They were paying tribute to Nick Michaels, the voice actor, writer, producer and narrator who passed away recently.
They played a clip from an interview they’d done with him. They asked, what separates a great radio station from a mediocre one? His answer was, “One word, humanity. How human is it?” He went on to point out that radio is rushing in the other direction, trying to automate and take every human out of the equation. Nick said, “It’s only the humanity of a radio station that makes people stick to it”.
Nick was right, great radio stations are programmed using a combination of art, craft and science. Why do so many radio stations sound like they’re programmed using science alone? The science of broadcasting is important but once you become totally obsessed with quarter hour maintenance, horizontal promotion, positioning and music research, you take all of the humanity out. I’ve worked for program directors whose approach is so clinical they should be wearing white coats.
Apart from talk stations, how many commercial music stations have callers on the air for anything other than contests? Where’s the interaction, the banter?
Just like the lady on the train said, if it’s all about the science not the people, it’s getting boring.
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Listen to the latest Mack Nuggets at;
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Filed under: AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Commercial Radio, Google, Graham Mack, Inside look, Inspiration, Media, People, podcast, Radio, true story, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tags: Blog, Brandwidth On Demand, feedback, Google, Graham Mack, Inspiration, Internet, journalism, Media, Music, Nick Michaels, Radio
London Calling
In the latest episode of my show for America; Part two of my chat with Magnus Walker, the Urban Outlaw talks about his Porsches, his book and how to get into the fashion industry.
As well as that, should men fight back against a ban on wolf whistling? No more cheap booze in Scotland and lost cars.
Listen to Episode 66 of London Calling, here;
http://www.talkers.com/talkersradio/london-calling/london-calling-with-graham-mack-episode-66-magnus-walker-part-2/
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Listen to the latest Mack Nuggets at;
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Filed under: 1970s, AFTRS, America, blog, Broadcasting, Cars, Google, Inspiration, Porsche, true story, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tags: Blog, booze, feedback, Google, Graham Mack, Inspiration, Internet, life, London Calling, Magnus Walker, Media, Music, News, Politics, Porsche, Radio, Scotland., Travel
War Of The Worlds
On the 40th anniversary of the double album, War Of The Worlds, Jeff Wayne talks about how the project came about, his life, moving from the USA to the UK, working with David Essex and Richard Burton and how Paul Rodgers missed out on being on the original recording. He also talks about the new live show.
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Listen to the latest Mack Nuggets at;
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Filed under: 1970s, AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, Commercials, Google, Graham Mack, Inside look, Inspiration, Media, Radio, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tags: Blog, Computer, David Essex, Google, Graham Mack, Inspiration, Internet, Jeff Wayne, journalism, Mars, Media, Music, Paul Rodgers, Radio, Richard Burton, UK, USA, War Of The Worlds
Blame Storming
Why are your kids so fat?
Before I reveal the answer, let me just put your mind at rest, it’s not YOUR fault because this is Britain. Britain is the greatest country on earth because when you live here, NOTHING is your fault.
If you can’t find a job, it’s because of immigration, if you can’t give up smoking it’s because the National Health Service stop smoking services is rubbish and if you’re fat, well you’re spoilt for choice there.
According to the media, you’re fat for lots of reasons including, two-for-one offers at the supermarket, junk food commercial, labels on food and my favourite, you’re fat because your doctor is fat.
Don’t worry, it’s got nothing to do with you eating too much and not getting enough exercise. This is Britain remember, where NOTHING is YOUR fault.
This week, we were told why your kids are so fat. It’s got nothing to do with you feeding them too much fatty food and sugary drinks and driving them everywhere. No, they’re fat because of Tony the Tiger, the Milky Bar Kid and the Honey Monster.
The health and social care select committee has called for a ban on “brand-generated characters or licensed TV and film characters” in attempt the tackle childhood obesity.
The TV chef, Jamie Oliver, told the committee that cartoons and superheroes should not be used to “peddle rubbish” and warned Theresa May to act now as “the future of the NHS is at stake”.
Now just wait a minute Jamie! Why are you so keen to blame cartoon characters?
I grew up with the Milky Bar Kid, Tony The Tiger and the Honey Monster and when I was a kid, we were all skinny. There were two reasons for this. First of all, none of our mothers knew how to cook. We ate brown chips, fried in oil that had been re-used in the same pan for years. We changed the oil in the cortina more often than we changed the oil in the chip pan. These chips would be served up with something as unappetising as cold corned beef. It was cold because it had come out of a tin days earlier and had been stored between two plates in the fridge.
The second reason we were all skinny was school meals. We were served liver that looked like it was made by Dunlop, peas that could have been used as ammunition followed by a desert of frogspawn.
When the food you’re given is almost inedible you don’t tend to eat much.
Around twenty years ago, along came Jamie Oliver. With his TV show and books, he’s taught young mums how to cook meals that are actually tasty. And he didn’t stop there, he went on to campaign for better school meals.
Now, according to official figures, school meals are so good that a third of children are overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school!
Jamie Oliver is the reason your kids are so fat!
Craic on!
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Filed under: 1970s, Accused, AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Comedy, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, Commercials, Food, Graham Mack, Inside look, Inspiration, Kids, Media, obesity, podcast, Politics, Public Health, Radio, true story, Truth, TV, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tags: Blog, feedback, Google, Graham Mack, Inspiration, Internet, Jamie Oliver, journalism, Junk Food, life, marketing, Media, News, NHS, obesity, Politics, Radio, school, The Honey Monster, The Milky Bar Kid, Tony The Tiger
Mack Nuggets
Here’s what I’ve been up to on BOBfm lately, including:
Fat shaming.
The lady filmed shaving her legs in a public swimming pool.
Diversity in the NHS.
Boris Johnson gets pranked.
Israel wins Eurovision.
Disgruntled tourists knock Britain.
No more cheap booze in Scotland.
Should wolf whistling be banned?
Unleaded food and drink.
The Ikea disaster.
Craic on!
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Listen to the latest Mack Nuggets at;
http://www.mackmedia.co.uk/8th-mack-nuggets-audio-video
Filed under: 1970s, AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Comedy, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, Commercials, communication, Inside look, Inspiration, Internet, Media, NHS, podcast, Politics, Radio, Travel, true story, Uncategorized, Youtube | Leave a Comment
Tags: Boris Johnson, Britain, Eurovision, Fat, Ikea, Israel, NHS, Scotland., Wolf Wistling
London Calling
In the latest episode of my show for America:
Is the world getting worse?
Stuff we can’t live without but never use.
The Ikea closet catastrophe.
Etiquette on planes.
The breast cancer IT debacle.
A school trip to New York.
Militant cyclists.
Frustration in the supermarket.
Sharks prefer jazz, Steve’s dog likes blues.
The Bank of England and Britain’s has a ‘menopausal economy’.
Jim from Philadelphia checks in to talk about good songs with bad lyrics.
Listen to London Calling, Episode 65, here;
http://www.talkers.com/talkersradio/london-calling/london-calling-with-graham-mack-episode-65/
Craic on!
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Listen to the latest Mack Nuggets at;
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Filed under: AFTRS, blog, Blues, Broadcasting, Comedy, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, Google, Graham Mack, Inside look, Inspiration, Media, podcast, Politcs, Radio, true story, Uncategorized, Youtube | Leave a Comment
Tags: Bank Of England, Graham Mack, Ikea, London, New York, Talkers Magazine
Booze Ruse
Scotland has just brought in a silly law.
You can’t buy cheap booze north of the border anymore. It’s because of the new minimum pricing legislation. The cost of drinks now depends on how many units of alcohol they have. A two-litre bottle of cider that was £2.50 now costs at least £7.50.
The Scottish government says it will cut consumption and save lives. The Scottish government are idiots.
This new law won’t affect rich people, they’ll just pay the extra. This is a law aimed at stopping poor people from drinking too much, but that won’t work either.
Alcoholics are addicts, the true cost of addiction is everything you have. You can end up losing your income, your home, your partner, your friends, your family, even your life. The price of addiction couldn’t be any higher and still addicts continue to use. Do you really think putting an extra fiver on a bottle of Diamond White will make any difference?
This law will reduce the time it takes for problem drinkers to get to a point where they can’t pay their bills. Addicts turn to crime to feed their habit. It’ll start with shoplifting at places that sell booze and could lead to more serious offences.
Because it’s not a tax, extra money from higher prices goes to the retailers. None of the extra revenue will go to organisations that actually help people with drink problems. It will make things a lot worse for people whose lives are ruined because they spend too much on booze.
How did the Scots come up with such a dumb idea, had they been drinking?
Craic on!
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Filed under: AFTRS, Alcohol, blog, Broadcasting, Comedy, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, communication, Complaints, Google, Graham Mack, Inside look, Inspiration, Internet, Media, podcast, Politics, Radio, true story, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tags: Addicts, Alcohol Pricing, Blog, Cheep Booze, Cider, Computer, feedback, Google, Graham Mack, Inspiration, Internet, journalism, life, Media, medical, News, Politics, Radio, Scotland., Scottish Government, Travel, work
London Calling
In the latest episode of my show for America; A chat in a London pub with Magnus Walker, the British fashion designer and car collector. He moved to the United States in 1986 aged 19 and established the Serious Clothing Brand in Los Angeles.
As well as that there’s reaction to the latest Royal baby, why the demise of newspapers is a wonderful thing, Marxists running British schools are closet capitalists, running away stories, why there’s no problem with kids being glued to their phones while surrounded by natural beauty, a nuisance phone call, noisy neighbours, the great indoors and the scandal at the London Marathon.
Listen to Episode 64 of London Calling here;
http://www.talkers.com/talkersradio/london-calling/london-calling-with-graham-mack-episode-64-magnus-walker-urban-outlaw/
Craic on!
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Filed under: 1970s, AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Classic cars, Comedy, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, Google, Graham Mack, Inside look, Inspiration, iphone, Life Skills, Media, motoring, Radio, Uncategorized, USA, Youtube | Leave a Comment
Tags: Blog, Cats, Computer, Google, Graham Mack, Inspiration, Internet, life, London, London Calling, Los Angeles, Magnus Walker, Marxists, Media, News, Porsche, Radio, Sheffield, USA
Flat Mack Furniture
Pride is more important than money.
We’re moving to a new flat, it’s smaller than the one we’re in, so storage is a major issue. We decided a floor to ceiling wardrobe in the bedroom was the way to go, so we took our measurements to Ikea. We chose what we wanted from the various pick and mix combinations and arranged for it to be delivered.
We spent our Friday night last week, in the new flat, opened all of the the flat packed boxes and began construction. At a certain point, we tried to stand up our work in progress. That’s when we realised we’d made a huge mistake.
The wardrobe was supposed to be 10mm shorter than the ceiling height, only the ceiling wasn’t high enough to stand up what we had.
The flat is a new-build and Julie had made the floor to ceiling measurement before the carpet was fitted. Now the wardrobe was about 20mm higher than the ceiling.
We contemplated having a rectangle of carpet taken out so it would fit or even having the sides of the wardrobe cut to size. In the end we decided the easiest solution was a shorter wardrobe.
The next day, I made the call to Ikea and told them how stupid we’d been. I asked if we could package up the bits they’d sent, return them and order a shorter version. The lady on the phone was lovely, said it wouldn’t be a problem and even told me when they deliver the new wardrobe and take away the original one, we’ll get a refund of over £200.
Usually saving a lot of money like that would make me happy but it just doesn’t take away the shame.
Craic on!
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Filed under: 80s, AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Comedy, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, England, Google, Graham Mack, Inside look, Inspiration, Internet, Media, Radio, true story, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tags: Blog, Computer, Flat Pack, Google, Graham Mack, Ikea, Inspiration, Media, Moving House, Radio, Travel
Most people think the world is getting worse. If you read or watch the news, you might think the world is falling to pieces. Trends like terrorism, climate change, and a growing population straining the planet’s resources can make you think our world is in crisis.
We do have major issues that need attention but what you’ve got to realise is that the “news” is just a collection of UNUSUAL stories, things that don’t normally happen. People don’t usually get stabbed on the streets of London. More than 8 million people get on aircraft every day and all of those aircraft land safely. 2017 was the safest year in history for commercial airlines, with no passenger plane crashes anywhere in the world.
To find out what’s happening, we go to the news but what we get is a list of things that hardly ever happen. They’re presented as if they happen all of the time, making us think that the unusual is the usual.
The truth is we’re actually living in the most peaceful, abundant time in history. We’re actually seeing a massive drop in poverty, fewer deaths from violent crime and preventable diseases. On top of that, we’re the most educated people to ever walk the planet.
In the last hundred years, we’ve seen the average human life expectancy nearly double, the global GDP per capita rise and childhood mortality drop.
Last week, it was announced that some of the world’s biggest companies have signed up to reduce plastic pollution. Forty-two businesses including Coca Cola, Pepsi co, Proctor and Gamble, Unilever, Birdseye and Nestle have promised to reduce packaging and increase recycling. They’ve set a target for 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.
So now that you know the world isn’t so bad after all, here’s another thing to think about: it can get even better, very soon.
In their book Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think, Steven Kotler and Peter Diamandis say that it might be possible for us to meet and even exceed the basic needs of all the people living on the planet today.
“In the hands of smart and driven innovators, science and technology take things which were once scarce and make them abundant and accessible to all.”
Look at what computers and the internet have done for us in the last 30 years. They’ve given us easy access to the world’s information, the ability to share knowledge with anyone, anywhere for free. We can buy and sell goods and services globally. Less than twenty years ago, you’d have to spend thousands on the best stereos, cameras, TVs and entertainment systems. Today, it’s all on your phone.
Solar power is now cheaper than fossil fuels. Self-driving cars are already on the roads. Most accidents are caused by driver error. 1.3 million people are killed on the world’s roads every year, more than in all of the wars. Just think of how many lives self-driving cars will save.
Two things haven’t changed:
1. Things keep getting better.
2. People keep saying things are getting worse.
That’s not unusual.
Craic on!
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Filed under: AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Comedy, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, Google, Graham Mack, Inside look, Inspiration, Internet, Media, podcast, Radio, true story, Uncategorized, Words, World | Leave a Comment
Tags: Blog, Climate Change, Computer, feedback, Google, Graham Mack, Inspiration, Internet, journalism, life, London, News, Peter Diamandis, plastic, Radio, self-driving cars, Sky Ocean Rescue, Solar Power, Steven Kotler, The Future Is Better Than You Think, Tom Jones, Travel
Mack Nuggets
Here’s what I’ve been up to on BOBfm lately, including:
You should be peeing on your tomatoes.
Bad news for Titanic The Musical.
Curry is the way to find the love of your life.
Miscommunication.
A gender bender.
The return of the woolly mammoth.
Almost embarrassed in Asda.
Another business idea that could make you millions.
Craic on!
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Listen to the latest Mack Nuggets at;
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Filed under: AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Comedy, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, Commercials, communication, Complaints, Google, Gospel, Graham Mack, Inside look, Inspiration, Media, Radio, true story, Uncategorized, Youtube | Leave a Comment
Tags: Asda, Blog, BOBfm, feedback, Gardener's World, Google, Graham Mack, Inspiration, Internet, journalism, life, News, Radio, Titanic, Woolly Mammoth
Picture This
The older generation complain about young people constantly looking at screens on tablets or phones.
They accuse them of not being fully present, especially if those screen-obsessed kids are surrounded by amazing things going on around them. Frustrated parents have gone on Twitter and shared pictures of their kids surrounded by natural beauty – but glued to their phones instead.
Well how things have changed. I remember going on holiday as a kid to a beach or beauty spot and being surrounded by grown-ups reading newspapers.
How come is was OK for an adult to sit in a deck chair and read the Daily Mirror but now it’s not OK for a young person to sit by a lake and read from an iPhone?
Today’s kids live in an inter-connected, over-communicated world of tech. Their future will be dominated by online gadgets. The kids that don’t embrace this future will be left behind. They’ll be like the kids in the past who couldn’t read.
And that young person staring at a screen in the forest surrounded by trees is checking out what’s happening right now, not reading yesterday’s news off something that used to be a tree.
Craic on!
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Listen to the latest Mack Nuggets at;
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Filed under: AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Comedy, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, Commercials, Google, Graham Mack, Inside look, Inspiration, Media, podcast, Politcs, Radio, true story, Uncategorized, Youtube | Leave a Comment
Tags: Blog, Computer, feedback, Forest, funny, Google, Graham Mack, Inspiration, Internet, iphone, journalism, life, Media, News, Radio, screen, Travel, Twitter
London Calling
In the latest episode of my show for America;
Nuisance calls from ambulance chasing lawyers.
Embarrassment avoided in the supermarket.
A great business idea that could make you millions.
Getting things stuck.
What you can learn from Westerns about the gender pay gap.
Indoor tobogganing.
Why digital broadcast radio is dead.
When Mick got locked in a darkroom.
A chat with Jim McCabe from Philadelphia and small steps that could change your life.
Why you should pee on tomatoes.
Miscommunication.
When chili pepper eating goes wrong.
Gender bending.
Listen to Episode 63 of London Calling here;
http://www.talkers.com/talkersradio/london-calling/london-calling-with-graham-mack-episode-63/
Craic on!
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Listen to the latest Mack Nuggets at;
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Filed under: AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Comedy, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, Google, Graham Mack, Inside look, Media, podcast, Radio, Truth, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tags: Ambulance Chasers, America, Blog, Computer, feedback, Gender Bender, Gender Pay Gap, Google, Graham Mack, health, Inspiration, Internet, journalism, life, London Calling, Movies, Politics, Radio, USA, Westerns
Have I Got News For News
The demise of newspapers has been great for the environment.
Nowadays, hardly anyone buys a daily paper. Imagine the amount of forests that are being saved because everything is online now.
There is no value in printed newspapers anymore. Look at the Evening Standard, you used to have to pay for it, now it’s free. There are people all over London handing them out but not everybody takes one, so sometimes they can’t even give them away.
The big problem is the waste. Every day, tons of newspapers are still being thrown away or left on public transport. It’s not as big a problem as plastic waste, which might make you think that paper is more environmentally friendly than plastic. Well if you look at the example of supermarket bags, it turns out that plastic bags are better for the environment than paper ones.
Plastic bags are thinner and lighter than paper ones, so it takes more fossil fuels to transport paper bags. Making paper means chopping down trees. Those trees could be absorbing carbon dioxide. The paper bag making processes uses 20 times more water than it takes to make plastic bags. A paper bag actually consumes 4 times as much energy in producing than a plastic one. Paper bags cause 70% more pollution and emit 80% more greenhouse gases than plastic.
Don’t get me wrong, plastic is a huge problem. It’s made from non-renewable energy sources. It causes a danger to wildlife and plastics take up to 500 years to decompose. Paper and plastic are both bad for the environment.
Is the solution biodegradable plastic? Technically what we are talking about here is “oxo-degradable” plastics. These are plastics made to degrade in the presence of oxygen and sunlight. Well, if it gets buried in a landfill it won’t degrade at all because it won’t get that sunlight or oxygen.
Oxo-degradable bags are made by adding metals like cobalt, iron or manganese to the plastic. Most manufacturers say they only put tiny amounts of metals into the plastic, but a US study found that one brand contained “very high levels of lead and cobalt”. That’s not good for the environment.
Maybe the answer is edible bags. I’m serious, think about it, you bring home your shopping, wash the bags under the tap, cut them up into squares and wrap them around something tasty, pop that little parcel in the oven for twenty minutes and enjoy a bag burrito!
If free newspapers were edible, you could read the news and have a snack on your way home.
There might be a business opportunity here. How about launching a snack sized, edible, general-interest family magazine, full of inspiring stories, hilarious jokes and surprising advice on health and weight loss?
You could call it, Reader’s Digest!
Craic on!
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Listen to the latest Mack Nuggets at;
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Filed under: AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Comedy, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, England, Google, Graham Mack, Inside look, Inspiration, Media, plastic, Radio, Shopping, true story, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tags: Blog, Computer, Enviroment, Evening Standard, Google, Graham Mack, health, Inspiration, Internet, journalism, Media, News, Newspapers, oxo-degradable, paper bags, plastic, Politics, Radio, Recycling
London Calling
In the latest episode of my show for America, Engelbert talks about coping with his wife’s Alzheimer’s, his new album, singing with his granddaughter, how he got started in show business, his friendship with Elvis and Dean Martin and why he doesn’t talk to Tom Jones anymore.
As well as that, a preview of my chat with Kim Wilde and a look at what’s happening in Britain including: sacrificial salad, a rude French waiter, the sinister truth about the Commonwealth Games, why Prince Charles is a hypo-twit, a final episode for my Dr Who pinball machine, and a question about Stormy Daniels.
Listen to Episode 62 of London Calling here;
http://www.talkers.com/talkersradio/london-calling/london-calling-with-graham-mack-episode-62-engelbert-humperdinck/
Craic on!
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Filed under: 1960s, 1970s, AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, Google, Graham Mack, Inspiration, Media, podcast, Radio, Uncategorized, Youtube | Leave a Comment
Tags: Blog, Dean Martin, Dr Who, Elvis, Engelbert Humperdinck, Google, Graham Mack, Inspiration, Internet, Kim Wilde, Music, News, Prince Charles, Radio, Stormy Daniels, Talkers.com, Tom Jones
Super Awkward
I almost shouted something embarrassing in Asda supermarket yesterday.
As I walked in, a lady carrying shopping and some clothes she’d bought was in the queue at the checkout. The “Happy To Help” man behind her in the green uniform tapped her on the shoulder and pointed out that there was a free checkout further along so the lady grabbed her stuff and ran for it. That’s when she dropped one of the items of clothing. It was a tiny pair of lace panties.
Now the lady was quite a distance from me, about half way between us on the floor was this pair of undies. Thankfully, “Happy To Help” managed to let her know just in time because I had already taken a deep breath and was about to shout, in all innocence,
“Excuse me, your knickers have fallen down!”
Craic on!
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Listen to the latest Mack Nuggets at;
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Filed under: AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, England, Google, Graham Mack, Inside look, Inspiration, Media, podcast, Radio, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tags: Asda, Awkward, Blog, checkout, Comedy, feedback, funny, Google, Graham Mack, Happt To Help, Inspiration, Internet, knickers, life, Media, Radio, supermarket
Radio Ga Ga
Is radio finished?
I never listen to the radio anymore. I listen to a lot of radio stations but not on a device that picks up broadcast audio through AM, FM or DAB. I listen online.
At work, I listen through a PC, at home though my iMac, my Macbook, or my Amazon Echo. In the car AM sounds horrible and FM doesn’t give me much of a choice of stations. The DAB radio in my Lexus is so difficult to operate that it’s easier to use Tunein on my phone and listen online via bluetooth. The cheap SIM Only deal I’ve got means I get 20GB of data a month. I spend more than ten hours a week on the road, I’ve never gone anywhere near that limit.
For twenty years we’ve been told that DAB is the future of broadcasting in Britain. We were told that DAB’s two biggest advantages over analogue radio were more stations and better sound quality. Well, neither of those things are true anymore. With a DAB radio you can pick up less than a hundred radio stations, online, you can listen to thousands. In an attempt to jam more stations on DAB, bit rates have been reduced and a lot of stations only broadcast in mono, so sound quality is another myth.
Almost EVERYONE has access to internet radio, it’s on all smartphones, computers and tablets. You can only pick up broadcast radio on a dedicated receiver.
No wonder so many articles written about DAB uses the phrase, “Dead And Buried”.
Craic on!
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Filed under: AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, Commercials, Gospel, Graham Mack, Inside look, Inspiration, Internet, iTunes Radio, Media, Noise, Ofcom, podcast, Radio, Radio Wars, true story, Truth, Uncategorized, Youtube | Leave a Comment
Tags: AM, Apple, Blog, Computer, DAB, FM, Google, Inspiration, Internet, journalism, Lexus, Macbook, Marshall, Music, PC, Radio
The Good The Bad And The Ugly
You can learn a lot about the reaction to the gender pay gap from westerns.
In most western movies, the plot revolves around the quest to right wrongs. Sheriff’s, Marshalls, members of posses and lone gunslingers set out to avenge a wrongful death, protect ranchers from rustlers or just get even.
Exposing the gender pay gap is also about righting a wrong. The tricky thing is, the reaction to it could end up legalising prejudice and discrimination.
In Britain, more than 10,000 big firms had to report what men and women get paid because of new legislation.
Some people have looked at the numbers and concluded that three-quarters of these companies are paying men more than women. That’s a dangerous thing to do without working out what’s going on here.
We all know that overall, men hold more senior positions at British companies than women, so when you look at what a company pays men, versus women, the numbers will be skewed towards men. We need to look at why more women don’t hold senior positions.
If women are being paid less than men for doing the same job, then that needs to be looked at because it’s wrong. Is that what’s going on here though?
My worry is that the release of these figures will lead to calls for quotas. I know of one large organization that, right now, has targets for the percentage of women it will employ in key positions in the next couple of years. They’ve also got targets for people who are from ethnic backgrounds, LGBT and people with disabilities. That means that if you don’t fit into one of these categories, you’ll miss out on a job until that quota has been met, even if you’re better qualified and have more experience than any of the other candidates.
Everybody can be identified as belonging to a particular group and that group might be under-represented in the business you happen to be in. We need to find evidence that proves you were discriminated against purely because you belong to that group.
I belong to a group that is hardly represented at all in the industry I work in which is broadcasting. I am non-university educated working class. I left school at 16, and after a failed apprenticeship and then a job cleaning power tools and cement mixers for a plant hire firm, I ended up working on an oil refinery construction site as a pipefitter and eventually as an air conditioning engineer. The first time I worked in an office was when I was hired to present the Breakfast Show at my first radio station.
That first radio job was in Australia, so I belonged to another under-represented group in Australian radio, I was a Pom. In a way, that helped me. I knew that to get a radio job, I had to be better and work harder than all of the Australians with university degrees that were going for the same job.
Now I could miss out just because I’m not female, black, gay or disabled, that is discrimination. If the reason you don’t get a job is just because of your skin colour, gender, sexual orientation or physical ability, that’s against the law isn’t it?
Yes, there should be more women, black, minority ethnic, LGBT and people with disabilities represented in key positions in Britains companies and the people you see and hear in the media should represent a more diverse Britain. Quotas won’t fix the problem, they’ll just hide it.
So, why is the reaction to the gender pay gap like a western? Well, it’s about what a quota will do. When a Hollywood movie studio builds a set in the middle of a desert to shoot scenes set in a frontier town, there’s no real town there, it’s just shop fronts. It looks good on the screen but behind those wooden fronts, it’s still just a desert.
Craic on!
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Listen to the latest Mack Nuggets at;
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Filed under: 1960s, AFTRS, blog, Broadcasting, Comedy, Commercial Radio, Commercial Television, Commercials, communication, Films, Google, Graham Mack, Inside look, Inspiration, Media, podcast, Radio, true story, Truth, Uncategorized, Youtube | 1 Comment
Tags: Australia, Blog, Britain, feedback, Gender Pay Gap, Google, Graham Mack, Inspiration, journalism, Media, Movies, News, Politics, Travel, Westerns
