missed calls

geetings


i have noted with some interest that i have not had any calls for Stephen or Steven Carr, look you see, since i posted the telephone numbers of people calling my number for him. i am going to go right ahead and assume that this is a happy co-incidence, but you never know.

this post is indeed related to more calls, but of a missed variety. and, also, they are calls to my other, other phone. one of the many what Spiros gave me and, interestingly, one that has a number which i have only given to one person, my (considerably) better half.

yes, that is indeed a picture of the missed calls on the iTwat what Spiros gave me, with the picture taken with my trusty blueberry phone. what it lacks in Commodore 64 mode it surely makes up for in quality.

what two people have called me? well, both are from London, innit. the numbers are :


02079461309


02079461003 

and if you click on them, you will get taken to a "who called me" page of results, where the people of the land file comments about what calls they got off these numbers. 

both seem to be used to reach out to people to assure them that they have had a car accident and they can claim, or that they have PPI compensation due, or some other such rubbish. i have no doubt that my iTwat phone number came into their possession by them just randomly generating numbers to dial. or perhaps the service provider that i have the SIM of in the phone gave it to them. i don't know, and in truth i am not even sure who the service provider is - i bought the SIM last June, shoved £10 credit on and have not needed to charge it since. 

so, anyway, if you've had calls off of either of these London, innit, numbers, if i were you i would not lose sleep over missing the call and i would certainly not bother about calling back. unless, of course, you've had some sort of car accident that you think they can score you insurance compensation off of - undoubtedly at a premium charge, to be sure. 



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

eggs. sort of.

hey there


some rudimentary postal joy for you, look you see, with a present that arrived in the post all the way off of New Zealand, after having its origins in the Africa of the South.

what is the above? pretty much exactly what it says in the box, really - a box of 48 chocolate marshmallow eggs, and produced and sold by Beacon, one of the more respected confectioners presently operating in South Africa.

my feelings on chocolate marshmallow eggs? i do not particularly care for them as such. if i were told that i could never ever have another one, well i would just get along mighty swell with that. the remainder of my family, however, not so much. the 75% of my family that you like a whole lot more than you do like me really love these, and miss them dearly. so, it's just as well that my dear sister gets them imported off of Africa to Zealand that is new, and kindly shares them with us over here in the Land of Eng.

have i, you might well be not wondering and have no interest in the slightest at all about, been challenged to combine Boba Fett off of Space Wars with welding in recent times? why yes, as point of fact i have, and here is the spiffing video in Camcorder mode that i made of my triumph.

do not for one minute, dear reader, read into my above words anything along the lines of me being unhappy about the postal arrival. i am positively thrilled by it, and delighted by my sister's generosity. i, like you, rather like the other 75% of my family that is not me more than me, and it always, always does my heart good to see them made so very happy.

and, as i believe you may well observe or detect in the next picture, happy they are.

yes, they have gone right ahead and had at least two each. i would expect the whole box of them to be pretty much gone before long, to be honest. well, there's next to no point in saving them.

i do know, from my travels across the seas and oceans, what it is like to so sorely miss something from home. it can be small, it can be big, it doesn't matter - if you miss something then you miss it, and it's always wonderful to get the chance to experience it once again. 

thanks again, sis! lovely card, too!



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Glastonbury 2016 in no shock shock move

now then


for some peculiar reasons, and i am assuming this  for the most part is a quirk in the dynamics of how search engines work (which is not as well as you might think), my inarticulate, random and frequently unfounded musings on the subject of Glastonbury finds a popular audience. whilst the 2016 line up is so incredibly dull that it doesn't really inspire much in the way of words, i thought i'd better throw something together. and, here it is.

So, the pretty much complete Glastonbury 2016 lineup has been announced and, look you see, it’s a controversy and fuss free one. Splendid.

After recent disasters (Kanye West) the organizers have found the perfect formula of musical acts which actually fit in with the ethos of what the Glastonbury festival was, yet meet all of the commercial considerations of what the Glastonbury festival now is. Nice one.

Headliners? Not acts that I would cross the road to see, but there’s no denying that 66% of them are major acts.

I am not sure who or what Muse are, but I’ve heard the name Matt Bellamy before. I have asked the kids of today about them, and they give me the kind of “meh” response that the kids of today give to everything.

what's with the picture of some lass doing her nails? nothing, really. i just simply could not be bothered to dig through the internet for free to use images of Glastonbury, so have just grabbed some free to use images of, well, whatever. you people complain when there are no pictures, so here are some pictures.

Adele was pretty much a given in the minds of many, but quite a coup for festival. Just as Keith Richards once said that The $tone$ would never play (“we don’t do mud”), Adele had said she wouldn’t. I am not what you would call the target market for her music, but there’s no denying she is a huge star, selling records by the truckload.

Coldplay were a formality for this festival the moment that they announced their current album was the last, and their current tour shenanigans would be the final ones. For some reason they have become the “go to” band for Glastonbury, and this performance means that they will equal the number of appearances what the Bootleg Beatles have made.

I don’t know about Muse, but Adele and Coldplay have very happily, and with great financial success, gotten into bed with the BBC before. This will have been a major factor in them being headliners, you would think, with their popularity and indeed suitability for an English music festival being a happy accident.

Biggest surprises? Well, the Foo Fighters not trying again is one. It has become custom for bands to drop out due to illness or injury and for them to come back and have another go the following year. Also, no Noel Gallagher is a shocker. He too likes BBC money and likes to see himself as some sort of “elder statesman” of the festival.

Complete no surprise? The Stone Roses. The Stone Roses have no interest whatsoever in accepting BBC money and they certainly would not sign over broadcast rights to them. However long The Stone Roses last, you will not see them at Glastonbury. Also, you can again forget this idea of bands like The Smiths, Oasis, etc, reforming for a one off performance for Glastonbury. This concept exists as a good idea in the minds of London journalists alone. If either of those bands were to reunite (highly unlikely), or any other band, they would not do it in a way that would see most of their fan base excluded from being able to see, and nor would they do it in a way that benefits the BBC above everyone else.

Missed opportunities? The biggest is Art Garfunkel. Whilst it’s awesome to see him on the bill, wouldn’t it have been a wise idea to ask if Paul was at all free, and give this rather celebrated duo a headliner spot?

Otherwise, a mix of old and new, with a recurring theme being that you can understand the talent and interest in all of the acts on the bill, whether you happen to like them yourself or not. It’s great to see that non-music lovers are catered for too, as presumably the presence of Annie Mac on the poster means a session of blip beep noises in no discernable order.

Mostly, then Glastonbury will come and go without any huge excitement or large volumes of complaints. It’s the safe, middle of the road, pedestrian corporate music extravaganza which it pretty much should be every year. I hope the many hundreds of BBC staff and fellow corporate sponsors, as well as those who got tickets, have a sensational fuss free and relaxing weekend.



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

half art

heya


you will be pleased, if not delighted, to learn that little or no point of this blog post pertains to me as such. i will be providing the words, look you see, but as ever these are words you can elect to ignore or simply bypass in order to appreciate the pretty pictures. and, to be sure, i trust that you do appreciate them, or otherwise like what you see.

my (considerably) better half has been hitting the art world once more. after the magnificent triumph of the most smart Bowie portrait, she's been beavering, or if you like painting, away at a few other things. i requested that she might take some pictures so that i can put them here, and she agreed to this.

it does my heart good to see my (considerably) better half once again engaged in painting, or as she calls it painty-doodles, once more. the act of her not doing all that arty stuff is, arguably, as unnatural as the idea of me not writing. or however you want to word that, probably with the negatives removed.

what's that? cut down the writing so you are not distracted from the images? for sure.

my (considerably) better half doesn't actually refer to painting as painty-doodles as such, but she should. that's a smart term that i have just come up with for it, and everyone is welcome to use it, or otherwise make use of it.

two shots of the same painting coming up now, one under the gaze of artificial light and one with an on the whole natural light being cast upon it.

which is which? no idea at all, mate. all i know is that i can see there is a difference between them. one of you clever, informed people who are good at art will know which is which, i expect.

not a lot else i can offer, except to say that i like 'em, and hopefully one or more or all of these paintings have been something which you have found to be pleasing on the eye!




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

restitution

hello there


this weekend is, of course to be sure, Easter, look you see. a most peculiar holiday in the sense that the majority of atheists, in particular the lippy ones, take it as a holiday instead of insisting on working through it to show the courage of their conviction in their stance. that minority who are vocal about it instead of just getting on with it - you know, the ones which confuse "atheism" with "superior intellect" - say that it's not a "Christian" holiday but a "Pagan" one, and so they are perfectly fine enjoying a long weekend. yes, quite, except they clearly don't quite grasp "pagan" in terms of either Christianity or religion, and it's not marked off as a pagan holiday.

anyway, moving on from that opening that is likely to upset one or two people (sort of sorry for that, mostly learn to be the master of your emotions and find something else to read), it being Easter struck me as being the perfect time to engage in some restitution activities, sort of.

if you are a longstanding reader of this blog with absolutely nothing better to do that remember or recall details; yes. yes indeed, this is my much beloved bedding for Barbs in use once again.  for various reasons, mostly related to moving across the world and storage, this is the first time i have decorated my bed with it in some 29 months. well, i say "my", it is of course the bed of myself and my (considerably) better half. let me not shock you, younger members, but when you are married you get to sleep with a lady.

why now? well, why not? sure, partially it's due to me getting all excited about unpacking stuff off of storage now that i can, but mostly because it is Easter. there is not one finite time of the year where it's better or preferential to think of Barbara Streisand, for we should all think of her all the time, but it is true that she is more forward in thoughts at Easter. so now.

any conventional Easter celebrations on the go? yes, kind of, insofar as the boys had some smart eggs and things for the day today. and they got some money too, which has presently made them wealthier than what i am, but that's beside the by and of little interest to you.

of the eggs that they have got, one of the ones they were most enthusiastic about was a bit of Jurassic World styled branding thing. it's an "excavation set" rather than a conventional chocolate egg, and rather than eating it you short of chip away at the egg in order that you may be able to excavate a dinosaur fossil. well, a plastic representation of a dinosaur fossil, but same thing.

i have been prone to getting quite meta with certain things on this blog of late. i suspect, for i cannot say for certain as it is not my place to do so, that the idea of an egg featuring remnants of a dinosaur being a thing on Easter is one of those "meta" things.

are the eggs any good? yes, i suppose so, if you like making a mess with a chalky sort of rock thing in order that you may extract a plastic dinosaur skeleton which you will look at for a few moments and then discard. and who here among us does not like such things? 

but more of that just now. for now, i imagine you want more of the bedding for Barbs, but you wish to see the restitution of it in the glory of Commodore 64 mode. and here it is.

there are those of you who are mildly interested in why exactly this would be considered bedding of Barbara Streisand and wish to learn more, yet for some reason are not prepared to click on the above link to read on this, or indeed click here to see why it is referred to such is so revered terms. there is no great mystery, it just happens to be bedding of such superior quality that i believe, in my imagination, that it would be bedding that would not displease Barbara.

it has, more than once but thankfully never with any sort of legal ramifications, that in referring to this bedding as being bedding for Barbs, i am creating an image or suggesting that it is the case that Barbs in some way approves of or endorses this bedding, or indeed that it is the case that she has used this bedding herself. to this i can only say i am not at fault for the way people interpret or understand what they read; i can only write what i can write and if that creates confusion for you, well, the problem is yours and not mine. i could, i suppose, send a picture of it to Barbs with a note along the lines of "hi, Barbs, here is my bedding, do you like it?", but i suspect, as was the case the last time i reached out to her, i simply won't get an answer.

i'll just carry on assuming that this is probably the sort of bedding that Barbs might quite like, then.

more dinosaur egg of Easter fun, then. earlier you saw James excavating away, so for the sake of balance and being fair, here you go, here's William taking his on too, and looking quite serious about doing so.

that is indeed my (considerably) better half, diligently assisting as a good parent would, in particular when instruments of a sharp nature are being used.

do i have any Easter eggs on which i may feast myself? no. the lack of them for me has little to do with any sort of beliefs or things and everything to do with the fact that i've not particularly ever been fond of the chocolate they use in Easter eggs. i will stick with a straightforward, no nonsense Mars bar or similar.

but yes, bedding. just what feature or quality is it of this bedding, beyond the elegant and sophisticated pattern and design on it, that makes me believe it is a set which would not displease Barbs? the exotic and exciting use of buttons.

generally, when it comes to buttons in or on bedding, they are limited to acting as a seal to contain a duvet within a duvet cover. in this bedding, as you can see, extra buttons feature on the bedding, forming an attractive and distinctly linear pattern.

what sort of duvet do i put into this bedding? just a conventional one, alas, and probably one which falls far below the standards which you would think you would offer to Barbs. i would like to think that Barbs has each and every feathered critter on earth brought before her and selects from them which feathers she wishes to have placed in the duvet that she uses. i am of a decidedly lower status, and so mine features whatever feathers they shoved into it down at the factory where it got mass produced.

another look at the boys, and indeed my (considerably) better half, excavating away at the Jurassic World branded eggs of Easter before this post draws to a long overdue close? certainly.

right, then, off to enjoy what remains of my Easter sunday, or if you like sunday which happens to be Easter. a shorter day too, to be sure, as the dynamics of daylight saving means that this day is one hour less than the normal prescribed 24 hours. oh yes, it would have been nice if they elected to do that on a working day, say 3 in the afternoon on a Monday, but no matter.

i trust that your weekend has had as much reason for rejoice and merriment as mine.




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

second

howdy pop pickers


there is absolutely no good reason why anyone would reference my blog for any sort of cutting edge information. i do appreciate this, look you see, but every now and then it's nice for me to pass a comment so that i may feel relevant and, as it were, "with it" in a very real sense.

promises were made that were ultimately not delivered on. promises in respect of what? well, now, in this era of big data and widespread information, there is now such a thing as a "midweek chart", in which the sales of records and pop singles are given an indication report prior to the weekly chart proper.

in the most recent of these midweek reports, there was some promise, or perhaps a threat, of the band James being crowned number one in the chart proper with their quite remarkable, brilliant new album Girl At The End Of The World. as things transpired, alas, it was not crowned number one. but close.

the sheer word of mouth, force of will and love of quality music that has drawn people to the James record was not, it turned out, enough to remove Adele from number one. second to that huge selling record, however, is no disgrace at all.

far from it, in truth. from what i can work out, there was nearly no advertising or promotion of the James record prior to its release, and when it did get released there was little fuss. it didn't even make it onto page one of the "new this week" section of Google Play or iTwat store at first, and you're all aware of how entirely disinterested HMV were in promoting it.

James did not lose out in the transition from midweek to actual chart in the way that Primal Scream did. the midweek chart had them at number 6; the final chart has them pegged at 12. oh dear. it's not like they have ever been big sellers, i suppose, but i had hoped the album would have gotten a bigger audience. perhaps this will come over time, as you, the people, discover what a great album Chaosmosis is.

the most awesome thing about this chart is that it's vibrant and healthy. it shows that the people still love the music and buy it. there's just the one "Greatest Hits" in there, and that's the understandable one of Bowie. new music, whether by the acts of today or the legends i honour from my youth, remains alive and well.

dig what you dig, man.



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

strolls with the blinding vibes

hey there


this morning, and indeed for elements of the earliest stages of this afternoon, look you see, i took a stroll around the grounds of the village. this is not uncommon for me, in particular not over a weekend. the stroll i took today, i should mention in passing, was somewhat more pleasant than the one yesterday. this is not so much despite the more inclement weather of today than it is rather because of it; the sun being obscured by clouds meant that a distinctly lower number of townies were about.

as i strolled i was listening to some vibes. yes, i was listening to them on that early edition iPod off of Apple; the one which proved to be most robust and waterproof when tested against a washing machine. what was i listening to, exactly? i had it on "shuffle" mode, for it is called the shuffle model of the device, and so it was a mix or if you like blend of the Cats & Dogs album by Mental As Anything, the Black & White album off of The Stranglers and some remixes of Get Real by Paul Rutherford.

these are, as i dare say you are already aware, cultured as you are, some most splendid vibes of the highest quality. they are so good, as point of fact, that they apparently blinded me to the gesticulations, gestures and waves of a dear old friend that i walked past as i engaged with the vibes.

fortunately, he elected to disturb by vibe engagement by means of a call to my mobile phone device.

for those reading this that had the misfortune to know me in their youth (as opposed to meeting me for the first time in the future, perhaps) and the good fortune to know him, yes, rejoice, for that is indeed Mr Flint, or "Flinty" as he was colloquially and kindly referred to from time to time.

it has been an absolute delight, and one of the best parts of coming home, to catch up with all sorts of people from days gone by. what makes it all more wonderful is that they seem genuinely pleased and delighted to see me; whereas i would not care for myself at all much. it did my heart particular good to see Flinty.

memories? on an academic level i was always a little in awe of him, really. i mean, it would not take much for one to be a better or more apt student than i, certainly, but he always took to matters of education and learning with a far higher sense of confidence ir ability that it felt like i did. whereas i was prone to the "wing it" approach, he tended to do it all properly.

on a far more important level, on more than one occasion Flinty and i went off to that most venerable institution, the Odeon cinema, to watch movies of note. i am pretty sure we went off to see the David Bowie adventure Labyrinth one night after school, and i distinctly - and very fondly - remember going to see Police Academy 3. i very clearly both of us creasing over with laughter in our seats at the bit where Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait) ramped and crashed a motorbike into a flower bed. if i could remember facts and mathematical equations as well as i can remember Police Academy related stuff i would probably have been a much better student.

just what is this picture here? well, i was trimming and shaving my beard, right, and thought i might experiment a bit, see how a moustache worked out. the best way to judge such things, of course, is to take an image of it with the camera on Commodore 64 mode.

no, i haven't let it, beard and moustache all now tripped down to a sensible, Crockett off of Miami Vice level designer stubble. or at least as close to "designer" as i get, really.

under what circumstances was it that Mr Flinty was in my area and could ensure a meeting? that would be mostly classified, but he did tell me he was doing something called "Geocaching". i am not 100% sure what this is, but knowing his academia level is far higher than mine, i am going to assume that it is in some way related to all that "genome" stuff. again, and this should be no surprise, i would not be 100% sure what all thet genome stuff is, but i think it's all blood, DNA and that thing like in those four documentaries where they brought dinosaurs back to life with somewhat serious, mostly predictable but on the whole thoroughly entertaining problems. if i were going to do a really smart project like that, i too would appoint Flinty to do it, as he would be better at it than i would.

anyway, let me get on with the remainder of the evening. and, of course, milk it for all it is worth, since we lose an hour of time tomorrow.

may your weekend thus far been at least as excellent as mine, and then get even better!




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jar/spoon/spoon/jar/jar/spoon

hello once more


it would be normal for it to be the case, hence it being the case, that when i only have a slight update to post that i would choose to introduced it with the words "nothing really". i cannot do this with this post, look you see, as it's fairly major and significant, or significantly major.

the many Richard enthusiasts out there who pass by here in the hope of seeing an update off of Richard will be most pleased to see that he has elected to share a video with me, and in so doing has given tacit consent in regards of me sharing it with you.

alas no, i am uncertain if the film by candlelight is a deliberate mood enhancing effect, or if it is as point of fact something done at the discretion of Eskom, who are prone to leaving the people of the Africa of the South without electricity no matter how much they pay for it. Bono, Jim Kerr, i really hope you are thrilled with the state of the country you insisted be in place.

right, i am off for some jolly adventures, so i will leave you to enjoy watching the above video clip as frequently as you so wish.



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

entertainment now

hello there


i was indeed going to call this post the value of entertainment, but i am sure i have pinched that name in the past and, look you see, it has little or nothing to do with either ZTT or the Art Of Noise. so i didn't except for this opening paragraph where i have used the term.

whereas i am hardly on the cutting edge, or any such edge, of being witness to the latest and greatest of entertainment media, i do from time to time engage in taking in such things. i quite enjoy posting my comments and that on them here, and that's what this post shall be all about.

a bit of a mixed bag, really, as you might be able to see in this picture.

if any or all of the above strike you as interesting and for some reason you'd like to learn of my comments on any or all of them, well then have i got great news for you if you elect to read on here.


Title : Goon 
Provenance : Spiros, probably off of a Charity Shop
Value : unknown, market rate for Charity Shop DVD £1

I was sort of vaguely half aware of the film Goon prior to Spiros championing the film. My thoughts on it, although I could not state them as such with any clarity of being confirmed, were along the lines of it’s probably good, but if you have seen the magnificent Slap Shot then you have seen pretty much the best ever ice hockey related film for a mature audience what is ever likely to be made.

To this extent, no, Goon certainly did not surpass or overtake Slap Shot as being the best of the best. Reviews have, however, favourably and positively compared Goon to the Paul Newman film, and they are right to do so. The best way I can describe the justification of the comparison is that it echoes much of what made Slap Shot so dearly loved, rather than, say, ripping it off, remaking it or “paying cheeky homage” to it.

That said, there are some very clearly “paying homage” moments to the classic, in particular the Russian brothers inviting direct comparisons to the legendary Hanson brothers. Different in actions, but equally “out there” as bonkers, fringe yet memorable characters.

Is Goon a film for you? Do you enjoy comedy which features a formidable level of potty mouth foul language, crude and crass jokes, an arguably sexist / misogynistic portrayal of and approach to the ladies and lots of macho violence existing purely for the sake of all things macho? If yes then this is an exceptionally well made, superbly acted and finely presented comedy of that nature, and would be one with few equals.


Title : 60s and 70s California Rock
Provenance : Yorkshire Trading Company
Value : 20p, down from £1

Yeah, I paid 20p for this. Twenty whole pence, in coins of money. They were clearing out discs and doing so at a price which is probably lower than the value of just the box the disc was in alone.

It would not be often that I know what all you people want, but in this instance I know what you people want. What it is you people want is a snippet, in Camcorder mode, of The Turtles doing the most well known song that The Turtles did.

There’s not really much in the way of a plot or synopsis I can do for a music DVD, in truth. It’s not some sort of “concept” music film like what Led Zeppelin would make, just a collection of movie clips that were presumably selected as they were either out of copyright or featured really low royalty costs. Most compilations are made that way.

You get a mix of what is considered “California Rock” in the context of what footage was available with the above in mind. So, that’s The Turtles, Linda Ronstadt, Sonny & Cher, The Byrds, The Mammas and The Pappas and, as you can see in this clip in classy Camcorder mode, Brian Wilson off of The Beach Boys doing Sloop John B.

Man, I love Sloop John B. It’s off of the Pet Sounds album, with Pet Sounds being one of those held up as being argued for “the greatest album of all time”. I don’t know if you can, outside of The Stone Roses, ever consider a record to be the greatest of all time, but Pet Sounds is one of those described as “a classic which is essential for all music fans” that actually lives up to the description.

It’s hard, nay impossible, to argue with this disc in terms of pricing. I would have paid more than 20p for The Turtles bits alone, likewise the Brian Wilson performance. A very nice find, I would say.

Title : Secrets Of The Clown 
Provenance : Poundland
Value : £1

Secrets Of The Clown is, to get to the point, crap. The reviews and comments across the internet, which I did not read before purchasing but did read before attempting to watch, all say this. They are not wrong to say it.

If I were to grasp at a positive, it would be that it featured a premise which was a slightly new take on the “slasher” section of the horror genre, and was an interesting one. But it gets let down by the bizarre decision to record or release it in a very poor quality, always dark image and the horrid, awful, rubbish acting in it. I couldn’t make it through to the end, so I have no idea if the different spin on a standard horror film carried on and made it all worthwhile for anyone.

Why on earth did I buy when there was every chance that it would be awful? Why did I watch it despite knowing that the reviews said it was awful? Because the 18 certificate on the back was accompanied by text which said the film featured “graphic nudity of a sexual nature”. Writing that on something is the most straightforward way to get £1 off of me, look you see. In regards of the hour or so I watched, there was only some mild nudity, and it wasn’t really of a sexual nature, unless you get off on dead bodies. The BBFC presumably do, you’d have to conclude.

What will I do with the disc? Probably strip it of the box and use the box for something, and then post the disc and cover art insert to someone like the Viscount of Stockton, the Ambassador for Burkino Fasso (or whatever) or Spiros.

Title : All The Lost Souls off of James Blunt
Provenance : Poundland
Value : £1

James Blunt. Welcome to the modern world. He is an artist that scored massive sales with a really good song, became a subject of scorn and mockery because the excessive saturation of his really good song led to people deciding he was somewhat wanky and a little whiny, has become championed as a hero of the modern world because of the witty and wry way he bothers to respond to spiteful, jealous comments by people having a go at him on all that Twerker Snap Book Chat Face thing.

Me? I just find his music pleasant and enjoyable, really. I mean, great that he takes on and tackles wankers of Twerker, but let’s be honest here – finding a wanker on Twerker and outsmarting them is like shooting fish in a barrel, except easier. You cannot move for morons on the thing.

Is this album any good? I don’t know, to be honest. I haven’t heard it since I bought it, and I don’t think I heard it at any stage of it being out (10 or so years I think). I do, however, have the 1973 single somewhere. I do love that song, and have heard it, and both the song and the video off of that are included in this CD and DVD set which Poundland sold me for 1. Yes, Camcorder footage of the video is here.

Whilst Poundland predominantly sell traded in, second hand or “replay” discs, often they have brand new, factory sealed ones for sale at the £1 price. This James Blunt set, as indeed was the case with the Clown DVD, is one such incident of this. Presumably there was a warehouse full of unsold copies which Poundland picked up uber cheap and are now selling off at a profit. This beats, for example, dumping unsold copies of something in a landfill site, which was the case with Atari and the ET game, and many other things back in the 70s and 80s.

Well, if it’s there then whoop, indeed, there it is. There’s every chance that the above has been of some use to someone somewhere, and if that is true in particular with helping the people avoid Secrets Of The Clown then so much the better. There are, I can assure you, cheaper and better ways to access “graphic nudity of a sexual nature” that that film.

For anyone not really swayed one way or the other by the items of entertainment mentioned here, I can only hope and indeed trust that some entertainment was drawn from the way I wrote of these things.

cheers as ever for reading, either way!




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

discovery

g'day


yeah, yeah, i know. i should, look you see, be posting about how the small matter of The Stone Roses recording something in 2016, and presumably releasing it, will actually be a thing, despite #SR040316 being a red herring. i will eventually, but for now this.

today wasn't a day that i made a discovery as such, but it was a day that i remembered to take images of it. and here is the first such image.

yes, buttons on the primary command control of my vehicle. or maybe they are secondary ones, i don't know, some consider the ignition and steering more important. anyway, the discovery i made was that the button which features two rectangle things and some sort of fountain like ejaculation is, in fact, a button that controls the windscreen wipers.

the significant part of this discovery is that the top one lets you switch on the windscreen wiper that is on the back window. no, i had not used it before and no i had not worked out how to before this week. i mean, i had noticed in passing that there was a wiper on it, but i assumed it was just for show.

is, you ask, my rather smart Bowie portrait, done by my vastly talented (considerably) better half, now hanging on a wall? yes it is. and here it is again.

the rear window of a car is, to me, pointless. why would i look behind me? it's what is in front of me that matters when i am driving. oh, sure, it's nice to be able to have a bit of a gander where you are going when reversing, but ultimately it is the responsibility of anyone behind you to get out of the way when you are doing some smart backwards driving. they can, after all, see you coming.

a reasonably live picture for you of what's happening in a pub in London right now. yes, Spiros sent it on. 

for reasons i would rather not discuss here on a mostly suitable for all ages blog, Spiros does have reason to visit the gentleman's bathroom from time to time whist out and about in London, with the reason usually relating to an arranged meeting with another gentleman. who was it that Spiros was meeting tonight? i am not sure, but Spiros did mention that the gent in question was most decidedly not Jewish.

the consequence of my finding that button that makes the wiper on the back of my car work? sure, just ignore the reflection of me and concentrate on the smart half circle it makes.

that's smart, that is, and might prove to be very handy if for some reason i all of a sudden decide to start driving like a big girl and watch out for what is behind me.

beautifully perfect half circle it makes, sorry that this picture doesn't do it justice. it's like someone has put an absolutely massive protractor thing on the window, presumably from the pencil case of a giant, and traced it on the window.

 another look at the Bowie portrait, in situ so to speak, to finish off with? sure.

righty-ho, the long weekend which celebrates eggs and bunnies and sentences of crucifixion is now with us. i will be out and about, but surely i will drop in and do an update or two from time to time.

if not, and you're reading this before, have a super, awesome, eggtastic Easter.




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!