....and the (heart)beat goes on

Wow! 9 Months!

2009-01-20T14:35:00.001+00:00

It's been 9 months since I last blogged. Unfortunately the creative juices dried up when I started my new job. I hope that they are now back and I can start contributing again!

Stolen Songs

2008-04-23T16:14:00.002+01:00

Part of being in a relationship is the sharing of beliefs, ideals, likes and dislikes. With that comes the sharing of music, art and films etc. But once that relationship ends I find that those things shared are now co-owned and have extra, personal, meanings which is why I haven't listened to "Out of Sight" by Spiritualized from their Let It Come Down album for 5 months; a song I adore and shared with my ex, which she loved, and that we danced to, cuddled to and loved to.

It's a song I'd love to reclaim as my own but time has not allowed that to happen....maybe one day.

Out of sight is always out of mind
I think out of mind is out of sight
I was just looking for some peace of mind
I just couldn't find a peace of mine

They say that pride comes just before a fall
I have fallen and I wasn't sure
You know that I have fallen further before
I just cannot stand falling no more

If I am good I could add years to my life
I would rather add some life to my years
Life is really what you make it they say
I can't even make my mind up today

The world keeps turning it keeps me in my place
Where I stand is only three miles from space
Standing space is all the space I can stand
Gravity just keeps on keeping me down

A Series of Lines - Worcester City Art Gallery

2008-04-17T14:30:00.004+01:00

It's not often that Worcester City Art Gallery does modern but their current exhibition of works and ongoing collaborations of Esther Appleyard and Craig Kerrecoe is worth visiting - especially as it's free!

I'm not much of an art critic so I won't offer a critique of their work but I found their interest in DNA, data storage and human beings relationship with predetermination and free will challenging and interesting. What makes Esther Appleyard's work especially relevant is that she looks at DNA and genetic manimpulation from the point of view of being a wheelchair user with a genetically inherited condition.

There's a new cafe as well on the first floor that's worth visiting.

In Praise Of #3: Dear Catastrophe Waitress - Belle and Sebastian

2008-04-14T16:30:00.004+01:00

I've posted lots of praises in the last two weeks but hey - here's another! Belle and Sebastian must get bored of being described as whimisical but i'm going to do it anyway - the albums preceeding this release were whimsical and somewhat lightweight. Having signed to Rough Trade they obviously got a much bigger recording budget and employed the legendary Trevor Horn as producer - and what a job he did. Horn is, of course, famous for his bombastic productions of ABS, Frankie Goes to Hollywood etc but he's a changed man now. It has horns, it has strings, it has beautiful arrangements - in fact the closet comparison I can make it that it is, soundwise if not lyrically, the noughties version of Love's Forever Changes, itself a classic album.

A must buy.

In Praise Of #2: Lakeland's Customer Service

2008-04-10T11:21:00.002+01:00

Nowadays I think we accept poor customer service too easily so I think good customer service should be highlighted. I was in Lakeland in Worcester at the beginning of the week (not my usual haunt I might add) with a friend. We were greeted as we walked in and we had a look around trying to find what he wanted - not finding it we asked a member of staff who led the way to the ground floor and straight to product he was after. Perfect customer service.

So if you're looking for kitchenware you know where to go!

In Praise Of #1: Emusic.com's 75 Tracks for 99p

2008-04-09T12:21:00.002+01:00

I like emusic. Being one of the first legal music sites to offer DRM-free mp3 they have no major label artists but they have enough on offer to make it a decent site to buy from. Their current offer of 75 tracks for 99p is excellent value for money (you have to sign up, download your tracks and close your account within a month).

The great music I've bought with this offer;

Finisterre - Saint Etienne
Dear Catastrophe Waitress - Belle & Sebastian
From The Hip - Section 25
Complete Organ Music, Vol. 1 - Olivier Messiaen
Eight Parabolic Studies - Henri Pousseur
Persepolis Remixes Edition 1 - Iannis Xenakis
Krannerg - Iannis Xenakis
Dox-Ork - Iannis Xenakis
Coro - Luciano Berio
Das Atmende Klarsein - Luigi Nono
The Confession of Isobel Gowdie - James McMillan

Secret Vices #3: Time - Electric Light Orchestra

2008-04-07T12:30:00.003+01:00

I was brought up on Beethoven and the Rolling Stones with a bit of ELO thrown in for good measure. I'm not really sure why I like this album - it's a concept album (a good 10 years after concept albums were in vogue) and according to wiki it "tells the story of a man, circa 1981, who is taken away by time travelers to the late 21st Century. Once there, he marvels at the wonders that the future offers, but is also increasingly amazed to find that he longs for his own time (the past) and the woman he left behind because of his journey forward". Sounds great eh? Why anyone would hanker for 1981 is beyond me - all I can remember was race riots, a huge economic recession, having my teeth knocked out in a car crash and Manchester City losing the FA Cup Final to Spurs (an event that has caused significant psychological trauma since). Anyway Time has some cool computerised vocals, Jeff Lynne momentarily forgetting he was trying to be The Beatles circa Sgt Pepper and a couple of horrendous tracks.

Tag

2008-03-23T10:36:00.002+00:00

Thanks to Fireman Nick for telling me about this short film last night. It's a film by Matt Duggan and produced by Annex Film Group and it's about a simple game of Tag that is destroying Shane Wayne's life--will he escape? Or will he be the next one "IT"?

Part One

Part Two

Possibly My Favourite Cinema Scene Ever

2008-03-20T00:06:00.001+00:00

Having had the misfortune of seeing 10,000 BC at the cinema tonight (possibly the worst film I've seen in a long time but, then again, the competition is seriously stiff for that accolade) I needed some proper cinema and found this on the interweb tonight. It's from Mike Leigh's Naked with a performance from David Thewlis that can only be described as the best performance never to win an Oscar

Favourite Album of 2007

2008-03-19T18:11:00.007+00:00

I know we're nearly a third of the way through 2008 but I've been pondering these last two and half months and have finally come up with a decision.

The shortlist

Disco 4 by Pet Shop Boys (especially their remix of Yoko Ono's Walking On Thin Ice)
Finding Forver by Common
Kroungine by Bola
Untrue by Burial
Send Away The Tigers by Manic Street Preachers
Calibi Yau Manifold by Dopplereffeckt
Grinderman by Grinderman

And the winner is (drum roll please).........

Send Away The Tigers by Manic Street Preachers. I don't think any band has produced an 8th album that is so focussed, angry and on the button as this one. The last two albums were treading water but this harks back to the glory days of their first album Generation Terrorists when they were firing both barrels. A spectacular, unexpected return
to form.

Tonight's Entertainment

2008-03-11T23:30:00.002+00:00

For the first time in a long time I missed film night this week and instead attended a talk on the works of the great British architect Edwin Lutyens in Ludlow given by TV's Gavin Stamp. Not my usual cup of tea but my stepmum was out with work colleagues and my dad didn't want to go alone. I felt a bit underdressed and out of place in jeans, Transformers t-shirt and trainers but was glad I didn't bother to wear my old fogey cords and brogues as I would have looked the same as everyone else. The Assembly Rooms didn't exactly smell of death but I was the youngest there by a good two decades and I thought I might get a lollipop at the end for being such a well behaved boy!

Next month's talk is on the history of corrugated iron in the building industry.....I think film night might be a better option

Curiosities of Worcester

2008-02-27T15:12:00.002+00:00

I'm a member of a group on Facebook called Curiosities of Worcester which I sort of have a love/hate relationship with. It's a collection of photos of Worcester "personalities". I love it because we should celebrate individualism but hate it as well because some of the names are offensive as well as some of the comments (usually about body odour etc).

I thought it was pretty harmless although I could understand why some family members might be offended by it. But now it seems to have got out of control. One of the members of the group, James, was recently visited by the Police. Here's his statement

"Well, earlier today, while at work a police woman came in looking for me; she asked my manager if we could speak in private, where she pulled out a file filled with information on this very site. She proceeded to give me a verbal lambasting, and besides the fact I told her that all but two of my photos were completely with permission for this site, I was told I would have to take them down.I’m not the only person this lady of the law is after however, just one on the long list of those who have added to this politically incorrect yet extremely entertaining group. As much as it pains me to say this, it might be a good idea for those who have added pics on here to take them down, like I have had to do…"

A bit of an over-reaction. Why did the Police have to visit him at work? Surely a home visit would have been more appropriate?

Earthquake!

2008-02-27T02:05:00.004+00:00

I was happily doing a mix tonight and my decks and monitor shook - it wasn't some bangin' tune I was playing but another earthquake! Thankfully not as bad as the 2002 one!

I did find this great website. It looks like the epicentre was somewhere around Lincoln - hope the Cathedral is not damaged.

Coincidences

2008-02-26T11:24:00.004+00:00

I'm not a religious person so I don't see God's hand in them and I don't believe that events are pre-destined to happen in the exact manner of a prior plan or formula but I have two recent coincidences that have spooked me out. Some things seem coincidences when there not such as the odds that two people share a birthday, for example, reaches 50% with a group of just 22 but others I can't account for.

The first was on Sunday night when I was discussing the age of my landlady's dog and told her that her dog must be nearing her centenary in human years. The next day I got an email of her telling me that her dog was 100 exactly on the day before. I know little of dog/human years so had not done any calculations!

The second was a few months back. My then girlfriend had taken her son to school and I was at a loose end so got started reading a book, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E.Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) his account of the Arabia campaign in the Great War. When she came back we walked into town and passed the war memorial. Looking at it it said that it was unveiled by the Chief of Staff General Allenby. I commented that Allenby was Lawrence's superior officer during the Arabia campaign and that I had just read about him. I bought myself a Guardian and started reading it when I got home and inside there was a pullout of archive stories from throughout the Guardian's history. One of the stories was on the funeral of Lawrence and quoted Allenby's eulogy that he gave at the funeral. Spooky eh?

ChavWatch #1

2008-02-20T14:41:00.003+00:00

Saw a chav today with his Nike Air hooded top, tracksuit bottoms, trainers and rosary beads around his neck!

Secret Vices #2: Homes Under The Hammer

2008-02-18T11:59:00.010+00:00

I doubt many would have seen this unless they are unemployed, stuck on the sofa ill watching daytime TV or they're a budding property entrepreneur. This programme follows property developers who have bought properties at auction and finds out what they're going to do with it and then comes back some months later to find out how they've got on, whether they've stuck to the budget and then get some fly-by-night estate agents in to revalue the property.

Having lived in rented accommodation for most of my adult life, in the great scheme of things, landlords come just below murders and paedophiles so when a developer goes over budget and the property makes a loss I'm happy. Very occassionally there are developers I do empathise with like the couple who bought properties to renovate and then let to DSS claimants; their aim was to sell up in a couple of years and go and build schools in Africa.

Can't wait for the housing crash to see all these buy-to-let landlords lose it all!

Stupid?

2008-02-14T15:19:00.004+00:00

Another gem overheard in the library yesterday between a chav and his mate; "How do you spell stupid?"

I had a good cackle to myself whilst admiring the irony!

More Tattoos!

2008-02-13T15:01:00.002+00:00

Heard a great story from X at Film Nite last night - and apparently true! A rather large, chavtastic, not-the-best-looking woman went into a tattooist and wanted the names of all her 9 children tattooed on her back. When finished she went back upstairs. Thinking that she had left the tattooist shouted up “9 kids? Who’d f%&k that?!”. The receptionist was suitably embarrassed.

Everything Happens To Me

2008-02-08T14:29:00.000+00:00

It's been a slow week on the blog front so I'll end the week with some lyrics that just about sum up my life at the moment!

Everything Happens To Me (Matt Dennis / Tom Adair)

Black cats creep across my path
Until I'm almost mad
I must have roused the devils wrath
cause all my luck is bad
I make a date for golf and you can bet your life it rains
I try to give a party and the guy upstairs complains
I guess I'll go thru life just catchin colds and missin trains

Everything happens to me
I never miss a thing
I've had the measels and the mumps
And every time I play an ace
My partner always trumps
Guess I'm just a fool who never looks before he jumps

Everything happens to me
At first my heart thought you could break this jinx for me
That love would turn the trick to end despair
But know I just cant fool this head that thinks for me
I've mortgaged all my castlesin the air
I've telegraphed and phoned
I send an airmail special too
Your answer was goodbye
And there was even postage due
I fell in love just once
And then it had to be with you

Britain's BPMs

2008-02-06T14:42:00.000+00:00

Article on the Guardian's website today arguing that Britain is a country divided by it's taste in music and tries to explain why different towns fall for different sounds. I found the BPM (beats per minute) stats interesting;

John O'Groats - 190 bpm
Manchester & Liverpool - 150 bpm
Birmingham - 120 bpm
London - 90 bpm
West country - 80 bpm

My favourite website at the moment is....

2008-02-01T16:58:00.000+00:00

My favourite website at the moment is http://www.pprune.org/forums/ (pprune is the acronym for The Professional Pilots Rumour Network).

Be warned! You may never want to fly again!

Secret Vices #1: Street Wars

2008-01-30T12:35:00.001+00:00

The first in an occasional series of things I like but really shouldn't. Street Wars is on Sky 3 (and cousin of Road Wars) and it uses CCTV footage from town and city centres to show drunken louts of both sexes fighting each other. Some assaults are quite horrific (kicking someone when they're on the ground etc) and some just look like fools who can't hold their beer and let their drunken bravado get the better of them whilst a Sean Bean soundalike in his rough Sheffield tones precises the violence by saying "I bet they'll regret that in the morning, muppets" and such like.

Coupled with this CCTV footage is some fly on the wall, as it happens footage from a town, usually Guildford, where the presence of the camera crew only seems to make the situation worse. My favourite scene was of a homeless bloke spraying graffiti on various phone boxes etc fully in the knowledge that CCTV was watching him. A police van turns up with the camera crew only to find that his aerosol was hairspray.

Wasting Time

2008-01-29T13:10:00.000+00:00

You would have thought I'd have wasted enough of my life on Brain Game (and Brain Game 2: Stress Management!) but I've found yet another game to waste time by. It's on my phone (and also available on the DS lite). It's called Zoo Keeper and the premise is quite simple like all the best games.

"Your objective is to erase the animal symbols that fill up the screen by aligning them three or more in a row or column, while trying for a high score by erasing them in a combo. The Level ends when each different animal symbol has been erased. Symbols are aligned by swapping one tile with one next to it. If this makes a line of three or more matching tiles with either of the swapped tiles, the tiles stay in this position and the line disappears. If no line of three or more matching tiles is formed, then the tiles swap back to their original position. Lines can be horizontal or vertical, and combinations can mean that many lines disappear at the same time."

I do have a number of ethical problems with it though! It seems you are not a very good zoo "keeper" but an excellent killer as the animals disappear as if blown up. It is a Japanese game and will all know that some of their attitudes to animals are questionable (especially whales!). The second issue is in relation to industrial relations - when you lose you are berated by your boss thrusting a phallic like cigar at you and yelling abuse such as "I'll get the cleaning lady to do your job"" or "You are definately fired!". I'd certainly join a union and complain if I was talked to like that!

See for yourself and play online here (it is in Japanese though!)

Even the wealthy feel poor

2008-01-28T17:00:00.000+00:00

Grrrr there are sometimes when you read the newspaper you just want to throw something, anything, at the wall. It's not a frequent occurance with me but this article in the Indy got my blood boiling!

"Just what does it take to feel comfortably off in the Britain of 2008? An annual pay packet of at least £150,000, a second (or third) home and children at an expensive public school were among the lifestyle features deemed essential by the "working wealthy" in new research.
Nearly one in 10 British households are now classed as being well off, with the average working wealthy family earning £88,000 a year – nearly triple the average income across all households of £33,000, according to the insurance firm Hiscox.
The working wealthy take two foreign holidays a year, have more than £20,000 of annual disposable income and homes worth at least £390,000.
But despite this, 90 per cent of them do not feel wealthy. Instead, they say they would need to earn upwards of £150,000 a year, own more than one property and send their children to a private school before they felt rich.
The typical wealthy individual lives in the South-east and is a professional with an income of between £50,000 and £250,000. They say they are "no longer ordinary, but not yet extraordinary"."

Try living like the vast majority and then still have the gall to whinge.

Two Types of Music I Dislike - Country and Western!

2008-01-25T13:09:00.000+00:00

As you can tell from the title I'm not a great fan of Country and Western - I can just about put up with Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash and that's about it. But perusing the Observer's Guide to Rock and Pop I found the following three gems that made me chuckle (please bear in mind I haven't actually listened to these records!).

‘Are You Drinkin’ With Me, Jesus?’ - Mojo Nixon

Should we take a cab home, Jesus? Aw man, we can hoof it from here… / I know you can walk on the water, but can you walk on this much beer?

Drop Kick Me, Jesus (Through the Goal Posts of Life) – Paul Charles Craft

Make me a piece of your master game plan / Free from the earthly temptations below / I’ve got the will, Lord, if you’ve got the toe

I Don’t Know Whether To Kill Myself Or Go Bowling – Thom Sharpe

Those are my options / It’s that or watch TV