Deadbeat Dad

Window lickers*

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 11:44:00 +0000

Lilith has helpfully compiled a photographic survey of potential Labour leadership contenders.

I haven't been so spooked since my dad took me to Madame Tussaud's when I was a kid.

* Naturally, I use the term 'window licker' in accordance with the Draperian definition: 'someone looking in a window, like a kid at a candyshop, wishing they were inside'.

Sunday Supplement: Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 11:12:00 +0000

David Oistrakh rocks out to Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto:

Jade Goody: The final word

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:38:00 +0000

[h/t b3ta]

Sunday Supplement II: Brace Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 12:02:00 +0000

Enjoy this terrific comedy short from Michael Wechsler and Terry Keefe:

Guaranteed to bring a tear to any man's eye.

Sunday Supplement: The Joy Of Sax

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 09:45:00 +0000

Stan Getz and John Coltrane, with Oscar Peterson on piano:

Hot chick with douchebag

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 06:55:00 +0000

Stolen from Guido's Friday Caption Competition.

More of the same here.

Fuck you too, U2

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 13:02:00 +0000

And there was I thinking that I was alone in regarding Bono as the biggest celebrity twat on the planet. Not so.

Fnarr! Fnarr!

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:23:00 +0000

This brought out my inner Finbarr:

Still, I'm not half as odd as regular F-Word contributor Jennifer Drew, who denounces the advert thus:

As regards AMI - well they are promoting a phallocentric male-centric discourse on what supposedly passes for 'real sex.' Ergo: it is centered around the male sexual organ functioning according to patriarchal definitions.

Honestly, I'm not making it up. Go and see for yourself.

The hen pecks the cock...

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:57:00 +0000

...and makes him crow*:

* Ran (dir. Akira Kurosawa, 1985)

[h/t Ambush Predator]

SFTW: Dress-down Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:51:00 +0000

This fun lip-dub is a long-standing favourite of mine, and Harvey Danger's Flagpole Sitta is always guaranteed to get the joint jumping. Enjoy.

Guitar porn (possibly nsfw)

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:30:00 +0000

No, not that (nice pups, though).

This:

Not available for Guitar Hero, yet.

[h/t Geekologie]

Midweek Mellow: Impossible Germany

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Wilco have always had a lovely lilting sound which is distinctively their own. The introduction of Nels Cline to the lineup in 2004 was, clearly, a masterstroke on the part of frontman Jeff Tweedy:

Impossibly beautiful.

The more corrupt the republic...

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 05:50:00 +0000

...the more numerous the laws:

(h/t Bristol Graffiti)

Bang on the money

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:47:00 +0000

Another masterpiece from Beau Bo D'Or:

[ story | back-story ]

SFTW: The Daddy

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:43:00 +0000

Who is the greatest western musical artist of the 20th century? For my money, it boils down to a choice between John Coltrane and Jimi Hendrix. This week, Jimi gets the nod:

Tchaikovsky on a fretboard.

Fancy a stab at this yourself? The latest issue of Guitar Techniques (#162/March 2009) -- hot off the press -- headlines with an in-depth guide to 'Jimi's finest ever track'. I know where the rest of my weekend is going. Pity my neighbours...

Promoting diversity

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 07:23:00 +0000

I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I read this:

I studied chemistry at university and I loved it. I now work in policy, where one of my main interests is promoting diversity in science and engineering.

Think of it next time you hear a feminist whining about the under-representation of women in technical professions.

Burning questions of our day #367

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:51:00 +0000

From The F-Word, fount of 'contemporary UK feminism' in the blogosphere, a question no sane person ever thought of asking:

Can fellating a man, in a mutually consenting situation, be liberating for a woman? Is it an empowered female action, rather than the epitome of misogynistic control? And can we just enjoy it?

I am lost for words.

Midweek Mellow: A thousand miles behind

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:04:00 +0000

Enjoy this charming collaboration between Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash:

"One too many mornings, and a thousand miles behind." Don't you just know that feeling...

Sunday Supplement: Barry the mentalist, Rufus, Shannon Matthews and more

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:09:00 +0000

Recession aside, Britain under ZaNuLabour is a grim place to live, so here are some funnies to take your mind off the slide towards totalitarianism.

Barry gets us off to a flying start:

Click on the image to see the full thing. [story]

Veteran b3taer HappyToast takes a sideways glance at the special relationship between Bush and Blair: [story]

Follow the link to see the animation...

While Giant Squid toys with the P-word: [story]

A short video interlude now. Head over to YouTube and meet Rufus. He's a badass. (h/t b3ta)

You can always count on Anorak News to track the burning issues of our time, and today it's the latest in the Shannon Matthews saga. Wickedly entertaining, and a perfect excuse to reproduce Tattsyrup's marvellous Collector's Plate:

Click to see the full-size image. It's worth it.

It's amusing sometimes to browse the more esoteric titles in the magazine section of my local Borders bookshop, just to see the range of curious and geeky pursuits which are accommodated (nothing smutty: I'm talking Classic Tractor and the like). This, erm, 'specialist' publication, courtesy of Fresh Water Mole, looks like a sure-fire winner:

I'm a sucker for film gags too, and anything Kubrik-related is guaranteed to catch my eye -- especially when it's this good:

If you enjoyed that, then check out the Terry's Clockwork Orange from HappyToast too.

And if this masterpiece doesn't tickle your funny-bone, I don't know what will:

Cracking bit of image editing, Gromit!

And, finally: I cannot even begin to explain the appeal of Hot Chicks With Douchebags, a recent addition to my blogroll (a no-brainer). Just go and see it for yourself. Douchebag1 and his army of co-conspiritors have created a work-in-progress of purest infantile genius.

SFTW: Made in Wales

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:34:00 +0000

The fabulous Stereophonics:

And a hot milf on backing vocals to boot... (don't pretend you didn't notice). What more could you ask for?

SFTW: Heard It Through The Grapevine

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:14:00 +0000

Classic CCR grooves to kick off the weekend:

An oldie, but a goodie.

Night Ops battle dress: the camo-sole

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:15:00 +0000

Click for full-size image:

b3ta explores the funny side of war.

Stephen Baskerville: A hero for our times

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:45:00 +0000

Family courts are not simply unfair, or inefficient, or biased. Family courts are crooked.

Stephen Baskerville is probably the most cogent equal parenting advocate anywhere in the world today. Watch this superbly produced little promo for his book Taken Into Custody (subtitle: The War Against Fathers, Marriage, and the Family) and you will understand why. Supremely articulate and incisive, he exposes family law for the criminal racket that it is (h/t Christian J):

All of this applies equally to UK Family Law Plc, of course: over 6,000 lawyers alone are engaged in the industry here (I obtained the figures myself directly from the Solicitors' Family Law Association and FLBA when I was doing research for Fathers 4 Justice a few years ago). Factor in the small army of judges, Cafcass workers, mediators, child psychologists, court staff and assorted other ground feeders, and you begin to appreciate the scale of vested interests opposed to reform; a legal presumption of shared residence would put most of them out of work overnight.

If you want to hear Baskerville expand on the themes introduced in the promo video, check out the extended interview with him here:

Compelling stuff (despite the slightly iffy sound quality at the NY end).

You want more? Head on over to YouTube.

Sunday Supplement: Wabash double whammy

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 11:20:00 +0000

Wabash Cannonball has been covered by numerous country artists, and here are two of the very best. First off, the irrepressible Jerry Reed:

Yee-hah! And now for an instrumental version from one of the finest contemporary pickers, Doyle Dykes:

What a ravishing sound. (Okay, so it helps when you have your own signature kit from Taylor and Rivera...).

Not only a stunning musician, Doyle also happens to be a world-class dad: check him out in this double act with son Caleb, and supporting daughter Haley.

Perfect Sunday fare.

SFTW: Texan Flood

noreply@blogger.com (Deadbeat Dad) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:17:00 +0000

What do you get when you marry Stevie Ray with Stevie Wonder? Triple-X guy-on-guy action is what you get. Something to blow away the 'festive' cobwebs: