Hello there
My name is Johnathan Randall, because I was told never to introduce myself with a nickname.
I am a travel historian. I study and write about how our need to get around continues to shape our world through roads, railways, airports and whole new towns. I love the non-places we pass through along a journey and the effort that goes into catering for people who just want to get a move on.
I am much happier speaking and writing about these things than I was when I was working in the offices of several transport organisations. I will occasionally share what I learned during those times. More generally, my travel thoughts and/or research have been used by the likes of Truck & Driver, BBC local radio, Daily Express, The Guardian, The Independent, Mail Online and Daily Mirror (detail). I am a radio producer experienced with entertainment and talk shows.
While I do occasionally share some of this work on here, it's best to contact me for the full details.
The rest of this page is a much more generic blog, covering my love for media, travel, amusing signs, post codes and lists. It is largely irreverent and mostly outdated.
There are billions of websites on the internet. Thank you for clicking on my one.
Love Island cash-cow gets squeezed again
The whole thing is really cleverly done. It's like they've tried to tick all the boxes of how to make money: have sponsored outfits, make those outfits associated with paradise, have clips with those outfits go viral online, create a sponsored app for people to download, have cute props that can be sold in shops, get your product placement in every shot, go to an advert break every time something happens so people will go on Twitter...
It's genius, but it's a bit like Girls Aloud. Their songs made a lot of money but you knew straight away that they were only in it for the money. They were following a script, a mathematical formula for how to become rich.
That's the thing with Love Island. Each and every series is exactly the same. The "islanders" are all clones of previous contestants. The plot twists are all exactly the same. Each and every fight has been either scripted or edited to make it look as dramatic as possible, so that people can go online and start bullying one of them.
Even the scheduling is exactly the same. The first episode, the final, and any big moments start at 9pm on a Sunday. This doesn't happen by accident: it's finely crafted by experts.
Personally I find such predictable repetition incredibly boring but people don't agree.
January 2020
The Mystery Switch
I have been living in my house for six months (and I have since moved again, so don't bother checking the meta data you weird stalker).
Six months is long enough to work out what most the big switches and things do, but there is one which has evaded me, and it'll forever be on my nerves.
It's not the immersion, so please don't tell me that. It's wired in to something. And I hope it's not just a big red light.
WHAT DOES THIS RED SWITCH DO? pic.twitter.com/1OP1A0BWAR
— Johnathan Randall (@MrJRan) March 31, 2020
January 2020
Lowering Dublin speed limits isn't a great help
Part of the problem - and I know this will sound crazy to anyone who has endured the chaos around College Green - is that the roads are too wide.
There aren't many European city centres who would designate big portions of the street for cars while pedestrians are told to stick to a narrow, crowded path. Yet that does describe most of Dublin City Centre.
Allocating cars a wide expanse of tarmac makes it too easy to drive like you're the only one around, and become totally oblivious of whatever chaos might be happening on the footpaths and in the cycle lanes. That's bad driving, but it's common behaviour.
The other problem - and you're more likely to believe this part - is that traffic on the Quays moves so slowly that the moment you see a gap, it's difficult to resist the temptation to get some movement going. Even if there's a group of Americans crossing at Ha'penny Bridge.
January 2020
Why the Kardashians suddenly care about the planet
In the last few days, members of the Kardashian family - who are basically a cross between a family of '70s oil tycoons and a page 3 girl - have started posting how shocked they are at the Australian bushfires on social media.
Their Instagram stories have been full of cried of this thing called "climate change".
Many of their followers have pointed out it's odd how they've never mentioned it before. It's also odd that they should care at all, given that they fly across the world in multiple private jets.
Most importantly, it's odd that they should feel so helpless, as they have more than enough money to make a significant difference to the resources available to help the awful situation in Australia and to fight climate change all around the world.
You don't get famous if you're not saying the right thing at the right time.
Read yet another moan about famous people >
January 2020
Campaign for Ant & Dec's crew to stop laughing every 5 seconds
Is anybody else fed up - and a bit confused - at the way the camera crew on I'm A Celebrity will howl with laughter every single time Ant & Dec open their mouths?
I'd love to know why this actually happens. Ant & Dec generally have high production standards - they tend to work on big budget shows - and I can't imagine them saying "we're feeling a bit sensitive, can you massage our egos with applause even if it looks ridiculous?"
But why else would it happen? Most Ant & Dec shows involve a live studio audience. It's what they do. They make each other laugh and that makes more people laugh. It's great. But if they can't read a script without getting fake gratification from their colleagues, maybe this isn't the right show for them?
I don't think it can be that. If that was the problem, there would be ways of solving it without going over-the-top.
December 2019
Notions! What's In A Name?
Dublin has many highlights to it, but the slow crawl through a zombie crowd past fast food shops and Disney stores is not one of them.
The street looks tired, and it's filthy. It has irritating and unwelcoming posts all over it that defy basic street design. It's not designed for people: there's no-where to sit or rest for a moment. It wants you to go away.
Perhaps that's the thing that bothers me most when I learn that Grafton Street has been part of some-sort of secret rebranding project to make it sound more classy. You can think of it as Grafton Quarter if you like, council, but I'd appreciate it more if you came up with a stylish street to go with your stylish name.
I suspect that isn't why everybody else is outraged by the new Christmas lights though. The reason for that is really quite simple: you can't tell people what to call things.
November 2019
Crackers and Marshmallows
The internet is full of idiots trying to do eating challenges. It gives me great pleasure to join them.
I genuinely believed my strategy of force-feeding myself would at least lead to a credible result. I hate crackers.
September 2019
A Sickly Team
Simply greeting the team at the start of the show led to the conclusion that the whole team is feeling too sick to work.
September 2019
The Worst Interview I've Ever Sat Through
A discussion about mistakes people make during job interviews led me to some of the most awkward interviews I have ever hosted.
September 2019
Dublin City Council: Where Are We Going?
My overriding impression is that Dublin could be an amazing city. But it's like it doesn't want to become one. And that is so frustrating to see every day.
You go to the premier streets like Henry Street or O'Connell and there are no benches or fountains because the streets are just tools, places we use while on our way somewhere.
The reaction to The Bernard Shaw closing has been impressive, and I'm not surprised some people think it's too much. You might think it's a bit of a stretch that I'm going to tie it into this post.
September 2019
