I popped and got an iPhone 4 the other day, it’s nice (and it won’t cost me much once I recycle the old 3G – and the battery was dying).

I decided to stay with O2, I’ve not had problems with them and changing providers is fraught with hassle. The guys in the shop made it quite easy — except that I’ve discovered that the salesman lied to me to sell an insurance policy. This is a proper O2 shop (the receipt says Telefonica O2 UK Ltd and everything).

The salesman told me that insurance was compulsory on iPhone4 upgrades. That sounded fishy and I said I did not want it, only to be told a that it was free for 14 days and that I could cancel without being charged. I asked how, just to confirm, and they said by phone.

Then received my bill via email this am and that charged me for insurance at £15. The customer service rep on the telephone has refunded that and cancelled the insurance — confirming that there’s no such thing as compulsory insurance. But as it is credited in the next month’s bill,  how many £15s are O2 receiving and getting interest on for one month? How many people don’t check or cancel. How much commission is the liar (fraudster?) making.

Watch yourselves.

But I’ve a theory that it was the “not much happens” “dip in and out” long arching narrative thing that was what got people interested in the first place — much like how Twitter works (unless you’re obsessed), or much like how the Australian soaps were a revelation in low-impact TV. I think that by making it too hard to watch they killed the format.

Reality TV, when you define it as pointing a camera at people having real emotions, is much broader than Big Brother — and most of it is edited to be as action packed as possible. It’s tiring, only the committed can keep it up. Live football is reality TV, although the Olympics – three weeks of lots of coverage, unknowns and new stories evolving is more like what we’ve come to know as staples of the genre.

I’m not of the opinion that “reality TV” is dead, but I think people want two different things; either the slow “nothing much happens” – but it happens for a long time — or the tight visceral shared experience (the way the big X-Factor finals, or even important elections do).

Reality TV commissioners — let’s face it Channel 4 in this instance, they’ve got the money — you’ll want more “event TV” that has that endurance aspect. So here’s my pitch — you want something like live uninterupted coverage of Gimpo’s 25 Hour M25 Spin or this.

Brekkies is a once mighty brand fallen to the odd appearances in Wilko, and this tabby has felt the sting of every rung of that ladder on the way down. He’s landed on his feet, but you can see the upward glance to the heights of Wiskas or Felix the longing look in his eyes.

The saddest cat I’ve yet seen, however, is this morose tom. I know advertising wilko’s own brand cat litter isn’t the carear he dreamt of, but he’s a litle podgy and you know that if the litter works for him it’ll be good quality. He looks a little eggbound here.

The losers, the outsiders, the real people have history too. It deserves recognition, YOUR history deserves a blue plaque.

So now it can have one, the Campaign for Real Heritage will place a plaque anywhere, commemorating any event you like. Just get a sticker, fill in the gap, and stick (with permission, obviously).

Stickers available to buy here. They come in ones, tens and fifties — depends how much history you wish to create.

When you’ve made history, have a ceremony, take a photo. Place it here.

“Most art – and certainly the greatest examples – is private and exclusive, created by elite professionals for an audience of amateurs. Though touched by it, we cannot touch it. Schemes that physically involve the public in art or music are an important part of art, but should remain a small one”

isn’t that up to the artists rather than the critics, Mark?

Is it a or b? No.

Top line from second hit on google.

No Mr Band, I expect you to be good in singing.

“Jobs for a 15 year old? selling tablet and macaroon”

Second google hit, after one telling you what the fern effect is.

I now feel the same way that you do when you find out a girl you like is a dog person rather than a cat person, or that someone likes Oasis, or watches Eastenders.

It’s not as bad a discovering someone votes tory tho’.

No seen this before.