A weekly roundup of media news and talking points, sans effort

Thought for the Week

“These are really terribly rough times, and we really should try to be as nice to each other as possible.” The late, great Lou Reed, best selling solo artist and Velvet Underground legend, who died this week, aged 71.

 

Weekly High

It’s safe to say that most airline passengers don’t really pay much attention to the pre-take off safety briefing. Which is strange, considering how many people are at least a little nervous about flying. In a bid to re-engage with on board customers Virgin has decided to do away with the tried, tested and decidedly boring decade-old ‘to fasten seatbelt pull here’ spiel with this 5-minute-long music video-style clip. Oh, and in the U.S. there’s currently a competition for the public to appear in the next version by showing off their moves in a 15 second video tagged with #VXsafetydance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtyfiPIHsIg#t=45

 

Weekly Low

China isn’t renowned for public relations, freedom of speech or civil liberties. As such it’s not particularly surprising that the government of Ningguo in Anhui decided to use photoshop in an attempt to convince people local officials were taking the plight of an elderly resident seriously. Then again, maybe her woes stem from the fact she’s ridiculously small, or that she is trapped on a balcony, surrounded by giant politicians, then we owe someone an apology. See the full story here.

Things that may happen in the next week

Britain will burn, or at least plenty of bonfires will be lit on Tuesday for Guy Fawkes night, our annual celebration of a failed attempt to destroy parliament. The trial of Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, two of the central figures in the News of the World phone hacking scandal, will continue. And, as of today- 1st November- the country will be overrun with moustachioed folk raising money for Movember.

Just in case you missed it…

Troubled mobile phone manufacturer BlackBerry is rumoured to be in talks with Facebook amid rumours the social network may be interested in buying the tech brand. Read the full story here.
 
If there is a success story, blunder, or news event you’d like to see included email helloATsmokinggun.co.uk or tweet using #blaggersblog. Happy Friday!