Retro Yakking

 In’t WordArt brilliant?

I’m generally not a massive fan of Sundays. They’re like a strawberry milkshake - brilliant, but you know its gonna be over soon and you’ll have to wait seven more days for another to come around. Still, it could be worse: there could be two Mondays to start and end the week.

Besides, statistics show nobody reads this blog on a Sunday so I can do pretty much what I like and nobody will notice. So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to run through the town centre wearing nothing but a Santa Claus hat and beard combo.

First, though, I feel I must extend my gratitude to a selection of the Retro Yakking readership, namely those who’ve been kind enough to post links to the site all over the interwebs recently. Or at least, in a forum or two.

I’d better start with the Rivington Barn Bikers, or else they might run me over on their Harleys, BMXs, Kawasakis, or whatever they feel will best crush the spirits of a small-time internet weblogger. Not that they would all do this, but I’m not taking any chances, you know how it is.

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Clarkietron welcomes you to this super special Sunday post!

Well, would you look at that? Another Sunday has rolled around before I even realised it was Friday. Which it isn’t, so I guess that didn’t really make sense.

Anyway, it seems I haven’t actually done a proper blog award shout out in ages. This was brought to my attention recently by Wiggy, who was so kind as to include me in a list of his favourite blogs and also nominate Retro Yakking for a Best Blog Award. To him, I am grateful in more ways than one; firstly, it’s a pleasant reminder that some people actually do read Retro Yakking; secondly, for being such an awesome blogger and providing some much-needed entertainment.

Now it’s my turn to nominate fifteen of my very favourite weblogs for the very same award, so here we go…

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The more I use it, the more I realise the web is literally full of websites parodying current affairs Onion-style. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it’s the in-thing amongst Internet trendy types looking to make a quick buck or two off the back of popular culture’s, erm, popularity.

It seems we can’t get enough of them, however. Fresh ones are springing up seemingly by the day, and older ones are crawling back out of the woodwork for a bit of a smoke in the web’s lunch hour. Things are becoming so competitive it can often be hard to separate the real truth from the glorious fabrication, evidence the web is continuing the proud tradition of such red-tops as The Daily Sport and The Dandy.

Here’s a selection of some of my favourite such websites that parody some of the more established news outlets.

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Another week, another 168 hours of ego surfing on the world wide web.

It’s nice to know that, for all the extravagant and sometimes unscrupulous lengths Harry Yack goes to in order to bring you the latest news stories live from his smelly stable, some people out there actually read them. Or at least look at the pretty pictures.

Apparently, there is an email doing the rounds regarding my article about Gordon Brown selling Britain’s gold to a Cash for Gold website. And apparently said email has been reproduced on the Rumor Mill news website, an interactive forum that concentrates on, well, all sorts of rumours. I have it on good authority from my sources that the story in question is not simply a rumour, but accepted fact amongst a large percentage of the country’s populace. Granted, they are conspiracy theorists, but what difference should that make?

A word for this week’s guest site — you know, the one on that banner in the sidebar there. Donkey Rations is much more than another simple food blog: it doesn’t mince(meat) its words when it comes to microwaveable hotdogs, watered down tomato sauce and rip-off fish finger sandwiches.

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I lie, partially. This week’s so-called ’shout out’ is more of an acknowledgement of the fact people are actually talking about Retro Yakking - in that sense, I suppose this post is one great big gloatfest. But can I not indulge myself once in a while?

Fret not, however, for there may be one or two hidden gems for you blog trawlers out there.

First of all, I want to thank Big Boo at Child of the 80s (again) for reminding me of the early nineties children’s TV show Knightmare. After reading this post on his blog, I subsequently did a bit of research (read: Googling) and uncovered the not-so-exclusive news that the show could be back on DVD at some point. Now, I say could, in that not many people hold out masses of hope, if opinion at the Knightmare Forums is anything to go by.

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