Friday 16 March 2007

We told you it's not just us...

Well this blog soared past its first 1,000 visitors in the first five days since we publicised ourselves (welcome to you each and every one, although you've drunk us dry. Bring a bottle next time).

We thought a few people might agree with us about the horror of OWM, but it seems we have scratched open a festering sore on the flesh of Observer readers everywhere. The many heartfelt comments on this site speak for themselves, but hello - all over the country bloggers are tearing our favourite supplement to strips, soaking the tatters in lighter fluid, incinerating them, snorting up the ashes, sneezing them out into a Kleenex and then burning that too. Here are just a few we found on a quick trawl around.

There's a wonderfully spiteful (and avowedly hungover) rant about the Grazia feature from Eilidh, who is clearly a woman after our hearts.

The David Cameron interview incurred suitable wrath from Skimskitta who skewers it with glee:


"What does this article begin with? a dissection of Tory policy? a
view on Cameron's leadership style?, maybe something about the amazingly bungled
handling of the EU under his leadership? No the first 500 words or so deal with
the 'groupies' (which the reporter recognises herself in) waiting 'dreaming of
photo opportunities', then a discussion of how smooth Cameron's cheek is! (no
seriously, an exact quote 'I assume that he shaves, but it is hard to believe he
needs to. He has apple cheeks!') "

But the OWM feature that really sent the blogs foaming though lately has been the 50 Men Who Really Understand Women. There's a very smart (if slightly earnest) feminist critique by Joanna Tocher at The F-Word; an assortment of heavy hits and deft stiletto strokes are delivered by Princess Emmaline ; atommickbrane and incorruptible. But our runaway favourite and brand new number 1 site is Freaky Trigger. They rose to the challenge and turned the tables.


Irrational. Contradictory. Mad. The top 50 is an irrational
list. But what do you expect - it was voted for by men!


We at Freaky Trigger towers were shocked when we saw the
Observer Woman Magazine’s
Top 50 Men Who Really Understand Women article -
it seemed somewhat familiar! Surely, we thought, this couldn’t have been stolen
from an up and coming Freaky Trigger article?? We hereby bring the publication
of of Freaky Trigger’s Top 50 Women Who Really Understand Men forward for your
delectation. In it, you will find women who understand men are drunks, women who
understand their function as breast carriers, women who have carved out new
ground within the fiercely competitive mens footwear market, and women who know
that the true function of men is to be ground under heel like dogs. Your panel
consists of a bunch of flabbergasted male drunks, and one exhausted female drunk
who took dictation.


The list is inspired, but we won't steal their thunder and spoil the surprise. Read for yourself.

xx


Please drop us a line if you spot / create any OWM-related gubbins, or better still, drop it in the comments box. Same goes if you'd like to be added to the esteemed blogroll that is See... it's not just us.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Anybody want to see my reply from Observer Woman?

Anonymous said...

I have been muttering for some time now to anyone who will listen about how very annoying OWM is (am I not allowed to read the news? review? Busine...(oh ok I don't read the business section)). So delighted to find I am not alone.

Spitting Mad said...

you betcha, incorruptible!

Lisa... welcome. This place is rapidly becoming a group therapy club for people who have found they are not alone.

Anonymous said...

You are setting your sights much too narrowly - the only readable bits of the Guardian/Observer at weekends are the news, sport and business (because it's news under another name). All of the "lifestyle" bits are smug, self satisfied reflections of the most pointless, trivial aspects of a too-much-money-to-spend, souless culture. Shopping and eating, is there really nothing of more value than that?

Spitting Mad said...

Our plans to take over the world are in the pipeline we just need to get more drunk first.

mwahah hah hah haa

Anonymous said...

this is so wonderful. i have been ranting about OWM since it first came out..keep it up

miss-cellany said...

How happy am I to find you, and find that I am not alone. There I was on the verge of a near breakdown, for thinking I might not be 'woman' enough, according to their 'rules'.

Perhaps I am 'normal' after all. Thankyou :)

Occasional Poster of Comments said...

And I was wondering if it was just because I'm male that their Top 50 thing seemed like nonsensical bollocks with a distinctly odd perspective on women (which Freaky Trigger's genius list intro skewered perfectly)...

Actually, no I wasn't. I mean, there was just no rhyme or reason to it - on Daniel Craig: "Does Craig understand women? Who knows - that's not why he's on this list." Seriously, what?!

At best it was totally misnamed - a list of men who have had some kind of direct/indirect impact (positive and perhaps otherwise) on women's lives, maybe, I suppose. But that wouldn't have been attention-grabbing would it?

And as for that David Cameron interview...

Anyway, your blog is brilliant. And actually quite reassuring to men as well. I mean, I don't claim to understand women, or even people in general, frankly (I spend most of my life feeling ever so slightly bewildered, to be honest), but I just couldn't believe that OWM could be representative of anything but a small proportion of women. And I'm not sure any man would want to believe that is. Then again, the whole of the Guardian/Observer seems to be becoming increasingly out of touch with all but a small and deeply irritating sector of the population, so OWM's probably no surprise.

sian and crooked rib said...

im sorry, i only just read the 50 men who understand women.
umm. where do i start.
PHILIP GREEN! STUART ROSE! i used to work for m&s and they weren't very understanding about my period pain. who else? oh yes, the editor of the daily mail.
they understand women alright, that papers famous for the sympathy they have to all women, just so long as they are not single mothers, foreign, or not white.
for fuck's sake! bill clinton? yeah, he understands women well enough to bomb them and their babies. what next? george fucking bush? snce when did david cameron understand women, with his party pushing for stricter abortion laws.
i couldn't read much further, i work in a library and i don't think they'd appreciate me verbalising my rage...