pollution pledge five years on

owright geezahs

it is of the case that, on quieter moments of an evening, i can be found perusing older (as opposed to future) news periodicals from select london boroughs. this can be quite, well, boring, to be honest, but every now and then a little, mildly interesting, look you see. for this little foray, or excursion, into things off of london (innit) from the past, i had a gander at an edition of the prestigious fulham chronicle, dated 29 November 2016. so, yes, five years ago. 

we have a tendency to think of protests in and around london (innit) concerning traffic, pollution and all that sort of stuff as a fairly recent thing. not so. at least, once, previously, other action was taken to try and draw attention to the perils of such. but it was not always so that people chose to glue themselves to trains, or motorways for that matter. instead, they simply asked people not to pollute so much. 

that's quite a nice story, that is. i am not sure on the science, or my mathematics, but going on that article, just north of fifty (50) people agreeing (in principal) to switch off their engines when stuck in traffic means that over one thousand (1000) people in fulham, and hammersmith, are not dead. 

my guess is that the relative success of the above was not really built on, now that london has a low emission zone and ultra low emission zone in it, as well as the much loved congestion charge. unless, of course, them schemes are just a cash grab by that squatter mayor they have momentarily. 

no, nothing else to add to this, really. except a wish that people would just ask others to be excellent to each other, rather than gluing themselves to things what are transport related. 

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

helicopter at night

heya

i was pretty much minding my business whilst having reason to be outside momentarily, look you see, when i noticed a sound and a light in the sky. well, it would have been peculiar for such to be on the ground, or if not peculiar then not really too noteworthy. 

what it all was is, of course, a helicopter. otherwise, or if it were not so, then the title of this post would not make much sense. curiosity took some hold, and i thought it might be interesting to see how a predominantly black helicopter, flying across a mostly (pastel) black sky, came out in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode. 

not as precise or as clear as it could be, to be fair, but all the same i am reasonably happy with how it all came out. as to which of them quasi dots in the sky is, or was, the helicopter, i am actually not so sure. but, perhaps you are quite skilled at seeing details in Commodore 64 images and have no need for me to speak of which one it is. certainly it is there, though. 

just what was the helicopter doing? i mean, as in other than flying, or sort of hovering? absolutely no idea. from that which i could see it was quite mostly black, had no copper (constabulary) markings, and no sort of flashlight or spotlight thing. yet it was hovering in a way which suggesting methodical and certainly implied officially. 

there's some reluctance in sharing the above, which of course is one of them animated gif things. yes, of course in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode. although there was (so far as i am aware) just the one helicopter in the sky, them dots make it look like at least three (3) things were up there. so perhaps some sort of ufo or similar enthusiast will grab the above and showcase it as being proof of alien visitors, or similar. 

yes i am kind of curious as to what the helicopter was up to. usually (normally) i am not one for immediate suspicion, or conspiracy stuff, but it was rather strange to see one lurking with some intent, yet no signage or any such markings as to say who it might be at the controls. 

a bit better, that one above. you can see the sort of off-white (cream or bone) and black dash in the strange murky orange colour what Commodore 64 mode threw out as the helicopter was directly above me. yes, ok, fair enough, perhaps i should have taken a "regular" picture of the helicopter as some form of frame of reference, but that might have set off the flash, either distracting the pilot, or drawing attention to myself. the latter is of course slightly paranoid, but. 

considering some of the incidents, which i would rather not discuss, that i was quite close to being involved in, a single sliver of doubt roams in my mind that in some remote slight way this thing was there for my benefit. but no, i suspect that if someone were seeking me they would do so in a more direct way, not hover round in one of these helicopter things.

one final look, then, above, in that there animated gif format of Commodore 64 mode. this one looks even more kind of quasi ufo, so have fun if you wish to believe in such. 

so, if this is someone seeking me out for whatever reason that (probably) cannot be good, then i may not be around to write much more. however, if this helicopter was nothing to do with me, well i guess i shall be free to put some more observations here. eventually. 

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

london, briefly

now then

as it happens, or turns out, i was quite briefly in the centre (of sorts) of that there london (innit) place, look you see. whereas i don't have anywhere nearly as much as i had thought or expected to tell as a tale from being there, probably enough exists to vaguely justify this post. or at the least as much as any post here has ever been of reason to be. 

so, my time down there, in that there london (innit) place, involved a fair bit of public transport. trains, mostly but the odd bus. for some sort of vague notion of potential, possible historical significance, i kind of suspect that, maybe, it is worth noting how them down there are all "dealing" with this invisible war on the new plague, or if you like the efforts to combat coronavirus. 

certainly, though, i not so much propose or intend but actually will commence with a transport related image prior to this sojourn. 

that is indeed me, moi, on a more northern based train. yes, indeed, truly i am wearing one of them face mask things what them what do all the science stuff believe to have a degree of assisting abilities in winning the invisible war against the new plague. my understanding, and to partially address the great misunderstanding of them, is that these face masks are not worn to protect you from the dreaded plague per say. no. one wears them to prevent spewing forth this airborne plague on the off chance you are infected. so, the point would be to cease the spread, not directly prevent the wearer from getting a case of it. 

one thing which has, or had, been decidedly noticeable up in the north, so to speak, is a kind of quasi abandoning of all this (that) mask business, and other measures. people have or had become rather comfortable that the war has been won, or are simply bored. which meant that i was one of the few who still chose to wear the requested mask, be it on public transport or in shops. 

not so much down in that there london (innit), i observed on my short stay. but yes, first, of course a selfie outside of that kings cross train station place. 

quite a rare non-Commodore 64 mode picture there for you, just for the interest of anyone who for some reason wished to see me as i am in the more or less present day. indeed, yes, that is the i am assured entirely legit levi's jacket what Zama got for me off the back of Jozi taxi rank, with his view being that it would be "perfect" for them English winter weather conditions. debatable. 

generally speaking, it is not unreasonable to suggest that we, the people, see matters on the news concerning london (innit) and assume, or take it as a given, that what is broadcast represents, or reflects, the place entire. a common and all too easy trap. to this end, one sees all sorts of anti-vax, anti-lockdown, anti-anything you've got marches, protests, etc on the news, all happening in london, and so assimilating this information as it being profligate. not so. 

more observations momentarily, but for some reason one or two of you may wish to see a few seconds, i believe five (or 6) or so, of me sat on the tube train thing. well, if that be so, here you go. 

indeed i am not looking at my most beautiful or magnificent there, but there i am. and here we are. 

for the most part, as in overall, it is the case that, on what i saw, the people of london (innit) are very much keen and eager to advocate the mask wearing life. it's a bit like that thing where people say it is one of those mirror cases, but that fails to observe how a mirror works. whereas in the north it feels quite like just one or two actually still wear masks, down south ("dharn sarf"), it is just a couple not wearing them. mind, how much of that is the invisible war on the new plague and how much of that is inspired by the ludicrous number of cameras down there, well, i leave up to you. 

how is it, exactly, wearing one of these masks for a prolonged period of time, and in a relatively confined space? awful. my understanding is that they are not supposed to be worn for all that long, but on train travels across the land (and back), i had one on for north of two hours and just shy south of three (3) hours. not pleasant, no matter how necessary, and something i have no wish to have a repeat experience of any time soon. 

there is my "do it yourself" plague test thing a while after returning from london (innit), so as to allow a certain level of time for virus incubation (yeah, i saw Alien) and ultimately to check that i was as infection free as a test could tell. oddly, despite this being in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode, i believe you can make out the singular line by "c", meaning i tested negative. 

some conversations in that there london (innit) place gave every indication that the incumbent mayor of london, the squatter who has the position via being (just) least worst, made it "mandatory" to wear masks on all forms of public transport. well, be that as it may, if there was a significant kick off against it down there, i really fail to see how they might enforce such. the sense i got, or have, is that the people of that curious place are wearing them as a genuine act of trying to get on top of this coronavirus business. perhaps i am wrong, but that was the sense i got. 

anyway, yes, more from any future travels and that what i do, as and when such happens. 

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

oh good, more trade federation negotiations

heya

so, a trailer has come out, or been released (or "dropped", look you see) for The Book Of Boba Fett, the latest effort from Disney to extract coins from Star Wars. a task which you would think is quite easy and straightforward, but somehow they keep making a right proper mess of it. 

early signs are, mindful that all we have is a 2 (two) minute trailer, that the mess shall continue. i mean, up to now they have got it all perfectly correct and right with Rogue One then The Mandalorian, kind of all right with aspects of The Force Awakens and bits of Rise Of Skywalker, then rather dreadfully dull with The Last Jedi and Solo. i gave up on Bad Batch after six or so episodes, sorry. 

based on the short, borderline irrelevant screentime the character had in the Star Wars films, it is quite ludicrous that a highly popular cult has built up around Boba Fett. i suppose it is the aesthetics of the character, or the absolute 'badass' (in American) he appeared to be without ever showing it. there was always some potential for him to crop up in a kind of intended for a more mature (as in older, not grown up) audience thing, and in fairness The Mandalorian delivered that in abundance. 

now we have a trailer for a Boba Fett thing in its own right, The Book of Boba Fett, and my first reaction is one of being decidedly underwhelmed. after watching it again (then once more for luck) i can say that i remain underwhelmed. any kind of optimism i have resides in the vague hope of them deciding to do an entirely misleading trailer. i doubt this is the case. 

various degrees of Boba Fett "fans" exist. the most vocal are, of course, them what live in Momma's basement in the likes of Wisconsin (or whatever), who absolutely had better ideas for all Star Wars films and cannot believe that neither George Lucas or Disney ever called them, offered them a billion dollars (give or take) to go make the "perfect" film. other, more well balanced ones, exist, too. a thing in common across all of them would be a wish to not hear Boba Fett say something like "i am not a bounty hunter", for that is at odds with how we know him to be. guess, then, what the first words of Boba Fett are in this trailer.......

oh, f***. are we really going to go down this "subvert your expectations" sh!t again, are we? because that worked ever so well for Last Jedi. you know, when ultra Jedi Luke Skywalker was no longer a Jedi and was not something interesting at all. 

quite a lot of the trailer would appear to focus on Boba Fett holding various discussions and negotiations. sure, there are hints of him doing some serious, top level twatting, but for the most part it seems they want to focus on how excellent Boba Fett is at sitting around a table talking to people about things of stuff. because, you know, what everyone loves the most of Star Wars is them bits off of Phantom Menace when the senate debated things, and all them crazy trade federation negotiations. 

again, this could or might be a ruse, and this series turns out to be a whole load of swashbuckling action fun as it should be. but then why not reveal so in the trailer, i wonder. for the life of me i cannot think of anyone who would have seen Boba Fett and said "i bet that character would be well proper smart sat with others at a table talking", but Disney would appear to have found someone who did say that and employed them to create this. great, just great. 

certainly nothing would bring me more delight than to be entirely wrong, that this is going to turn out to be a really smart, top notch series. for that to happen, they shall have had to go to quite extraordinary lengths to cloud it with this trailer. 

frankly, i suspect, or think, perhaps Boba Fett should have been left as a secondary character. whatever cult following he picked up in the Star Wars films was enhanced by having him in The Mandalorian as a key but far from essential, central or primary character. let's have him sit around and talk a lot does not strike me as a particularly interesting way to take the character. 

it is so, of course, that Disney owns it all, and shall do as they jolly well please. yet, no, but how they keep making a mess is a mystery. take, for instance, Solo. all they had to do was have Han and Chewie running away from Boba Fett for two hours, and there's a top three Star Wars film. instead, no Jabba, a back story that is at odds with what was always told it as being, and very little of what made Han Solo who he was in the first place, flying about. 

of course i will be watching this show, and indeed Kenobi, for which the trailer is also probably already released by now. but my expectations are decidedly lowered, thanks. 

live long and prosper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

alone on a platform, the wind and the rain

howdy pop pickers

well, what do you know. them what do all of those Now compilations (tapes, records and compact discs, look you see) have successfully extracted (several) more pennies from me. as it happens, they have tried to extract more than they presently succeeded with, but i have resisted the completion impulse. 

as has been documented here, on this blog, over the last few years, they have - in some cases for the first time ever - been issuing the original Now That's What I Call Music sets. from one to ten is the plan, with it being that the tenth is out quite soon (at least at time of writing). several valid complaints exist concerning these re-issues, ranging from omitted tracks (licensing, and not wanting to include one off of Gary Glitter) all the way to incorrect versions of some songs appearing, different mixes and that. yet, overall, a lovely waltz down memory lane. or a refreshing of existing playlists. 

not content with taking money from me (and others) with those re-issues, them what do the Now set (i believe, or suspect, EMI, but don't hold me to that) have come up with another set of 80s reissues. these would be the Yearbook series, which oddly started with 1983. sure, that is the year a Now set first came out, but one would have thought they might have decided to address the three (3) 80s years not covered to kick it off with. no matter. here we are. and where we are is at the second volume, 1984.

i elected, or if you like opted, not to purchase the first of these Yearbook releases, being as it was an as mentioned 1983. far, far too much of it was simply Now one and two, and the bits on the set which were not off of them had very limited appeal. yet i bought this edition, despite just about all the songs on it what i really, really like being owned several times over, and not much (if anything) on it being stuff that i felt was lacking. ultimately it came down to the fact that i felt there would be something quite, very, actually wrong with me if i didn't purchase a set celebrating the magnificence of the year in muic that was, is and always shall be, 1984. 

various comments and articles around the internet thing state, claim or declare that 1984 was "the greatest ever year for pop", or music in general. foolish, i say, is the person who tries to definitively state that of any year between, say, 1962 and 1999. it all pretty much went to sh!t after that, so any answer which commences with a 2 is immediately wrong. but still, what a year. Frankie Goes To Hollywood were at number one for about 25% of it, Duran Duran were the biggest thing in the world, Spandau Ballet mostly kept out the way, Wham! and George Michael were confidently established, films were spewing out iconic songs all over the place and, in the end, we believed that we could change the world entire via one remarkable song. add to that U2, after some 4 years of plugging away, started to make a mark, along with an alternative / indie scene so gifted and talented that it forced itself into the mainstream and well, what a year it was. 

the year that it was is almost covered by this set. not quite, for no set could do that, unless someone somewhere does an insane multiple disc set of every song off of that year. pretty much every genre what came to the fore in the year is represented, i think. sure, i would probably have included something off of The Smiths here, but all on does the job, even if i am not too thrilled by some of the ones included. disc three, for example, is unlikely to get played ever again, now that i have played it once. 

ostensibly, or essentially, this is quite Now That's What I Call Music 4, with a few borrowed from 3 and, inexplicably, 2, and then a few others added in. i consider 4 to be my favourite of all time, and remain baffled that, both at the time and when the CD issue came out, it has always been the poorest selling set from the series. go figure. 

my understanding is that a few of my gripes are what one calls the "Mandela effect", where you remember things differently from how they actually happened. i am not sure such is radically true, for a few things included here as 1984 are of debate. yes, i would always welcome a celebration of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, but there is no denying that it was 1983 when it got released and, so far as i recall, topped the chart. true, sure, during 1984 it climbed back up to number two, behind Frankie's second single and second number one Two Tribes, but still. also, i would suggest that the offerings from The Style Council and, in particular, Paul McCartney here were 1983 releases. for some reason i believe the same is true for White Lines, but if Grandmaster Flash says his magnum opus is 84, so be it. 

some debate, too, over the inclusion of Drive off of The Cars here. true, yes, it absolutely was a 1984 release, but i suspect many of us associate it permanently 1985, when it was used to such dramatic effect during Live Aid. i believe it charted higher then, due to association, than was the case on original release. but no, i am not going to research such things, that would be silly and not me. 

curiosity does make me wonder (somewhat) about the absence of Queen, who had become massive once again in this year, after the Hot Space shenanigans. perhaps they, them what make these sets, felt there would be too much "duplicate" stuff, as the band were covered on the regular Now sets. but then, it is so that this set is stating itself as a 'yearbook' for 1984. 

for the debate on "greatest year" for pop, i certainly do remember 1984 fondly. a strong case to argue would be that it was a "defining" year; one in which things changed. go back on decades and one can easily argue that 67, 68 (maybe) were the years that "pop" was clearly not a transient thing, that it would remain, prevail and be accepted as art. off the top of my head, 76 would be the next kind of landmark year, with the coming of punk and disco to the mainstream once again changing things. 

how did 84 change it all? well, sure, up until then we had had synth on the go, thanks to the New Romantics, but a look at the songs here says that it was then when it stopped being a novelty and started being an actual, proper instrument. sexual identity became a "player" in the pop chart, more than it had ever been before. creativity felt like it was reaching a tangible peak. oh, never mind, don't try and spend needless time explaining, just feel it, listen to the vibes. 

chances of me buying other volumes? limited. this one i hummed and haaahed over for a bit, actually putting it back on the shelf at one stage, but then buying it when Tesco gave us some voucher or another. now that i have it and have played it, not sure it was all that wise to get. having picked up all the Now reissues, this was an excess, an indulgence, really. pretty sure all i want from 85 and 86 i shall already have, but open to seeing what they may lure me in with. 

in respect of that bit i mentioned of 1984 ending with some view that somehow music could change the world, i draw your attention to the last track on the last disc. quite a thing, it was, to see virtually every pop star bar Frankie head into a studio together to make that. sure, there were others which followed, but in terms of a record, i don't believe that has ever been topped. 

do i endorse, or suggest, purchasing any of these Yearbook things? again, it was frightfully silly of them, with a blank canvas, to not go back to start with 80, 81 and 82. but, here we are. should it be that for some reason you are keen on 80s vibes compilations, yet refuse to purchase the Now That's What I Call Music re-issues, then yeah, these sets shall do might fine. mind, i suppose most people these days just do streaming or what have you. 

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

replenished refreshments

hello there

for halloween of this year, as regular readers shall be aware, i brought a tale of true terror. for those of you who might have missed it, well, here is a link, look you see. should it be so that you cannot be bothered to click (or similar), a quite short version is that i very nearly ran out of proper tea. gasp. 

yes, i have corrected that, but i thought i would create some needless suspense by starting a new paragraph to say so. but, then again, i suppose the title of the post rather gave the game away. oh. 

no, i have not replaced (or restocked) proper tea on a like-for-like basis. indeed, but of course, i have procured some more Yorkshire Tea, but not the simple, regular form of this. 

the shop which i happened to be in when i remembered that i needed tea (i forget which) had an unusual special on the go. it was so that they had the usually more expensive "gold" Yorkshire Tea, in an 80 (eighty) bag form, on offer for the same price for that number of "regular" tea bags. so, i said, or went, why not, get some of these, mix it up a bit, see if i can't see (or taste, i suppose) a significant difference. 

with a partial degree of interest i have, indeed, inspected the box to see what makes this particular incarnation of Yorkshire Tea of "gold" status. so far as i can work out, for i lost interest after a few lines, the general idea i got was that it is made off of the even more superior tea leaves (leafs) than what the regular is made out of. right. it's just that when it comes to the fags (cigarettes, Americans, and not what you think), they now use the term "gold" as someone said they can't use "lights" no more, in case someone interprets that as them being an in some way healthier smoke. 

i would think, really, that "gold" in terms of "lights" off of fags would be that "decaf" tea, which just sounds hideous. or maybe in the world of tea things like rooibos are considered that, which is not so bad as that is lovely every now and then. should you be interested in that sort of thing then you'd probably be better off reading an actual, proper web thing about tea, but thanks all the same for having a look here.

on a creative impulse, then, i went ahead and "recreated" the horror video off of the previous halloween thing when i quite nearly ran out of tea. only this time it's all a bit disney princess, for as you can see it ends with a shot of a rather relatively full box of tea bags. 

have i noticed all that much of a difference between the regular Yorkshire Tea and this "gold" variation? in truth, no. yes, having made a cup of tea (or two) from this new stash, it was a most pleasant cup of tea, but not one i immediately saw as better, or more golden, than the regular stuff. so no, i doubt very much i would buy this "gold" variation at a higher price. 

but that said, you know what, let me go and have a cup of it now, again, just to have a tester taste, see how it goes. no, i shall not report or comment on it here as such, i just fancy a cuppa that's all. 

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

walking in the air

greetings 

it has only recently occurred to me, look you see, that i have some need, or partial requirement, to make preparations of the events which come towards the end of the year. we are not so far off that week 51 / 52 axis (at least not at time of publication), where it is so that christmas is celebrated. or marked, or observed, or what have you. 

this poses a slight challenge in my lodgings within my place of exile. whilst it is certainly true that i have space in which to live, and exist with comfort, nothing of my "pad" (so to speak) says that any sort of particularly large, or regular, sized tree - real or artificial - shall stand in a sensible spot. oh. i am pretty confident, or somewhat sure, that some retailer or another will do a modest sized, as in small, one for those living in more restricted places. no, i am not sure i am all that particularly @rsed about having one up, in truth, but tradition, etc. besides, there is every chance of me (moi) being stood accused of taking the part of a grinch or grouch if i do not embrace festivities. 

as a sort of quasi interim, if nothing else then this will simply have to do resolution, of course, yes, i have gone off and purchased, or procured, some appropriate kitchen roll. 

by appropriate kitchen roll, or 'towel' as it says (which strangely one can see in the above, despite it presented in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode), yes, i do indeed mean such that has something vaguely christmas themed printed on it. in this instance, that story and animated film what is popular around the festive time of year, The Snowman. which is odd, as for us in England, indeed the wider UK, or if you like the British Isles or Islands, it is really rather rare that we actually get snow at or on christmas. in passing i seem to recall it has only actually happened seven (maybe 8) times in the last one hundred years or so. 

whereas the animated movie version of the story is quite closely associated with the song what is the titular title of this post, off of Aled Jones, my vague recollection is that, at first, it (the film) had a kind of opening monologue or narration off of David Bowie. my understanding is that all versions shown since the first time it was for some reason drop that. perhaps royalties, or something. 

one issue facing my use of this kitchen towel (roll) for the festive season is that i don't particularly use all that much of the stuff. presently i have a quite large roll on the go, and my suspicion is that it shall not be used up until the new year. so, it may well be the case that this The Snowman branded one(s) shall only see use in january or february. when, in fairness, it is a bit more common for us to get snow. 

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

keith smashing someone's face in

howdy pop pickers

rather than publish this on the actual date on the 40th anniversary of it happening (which would be december 18, look you see), i thought i would share this a bit in advance. why? so that you may prepare some appropriate celebrations for it all. a party perhaps, or just remember the day. 

yes, then. this moment in rock history really did happen. despite the formidable reputation what the Stones have, with particular emphasis on personal and live security, someone decided it would be a jolly good idea to get up on the stage. this did not go well for them. 

many thanks indeed to whoever thought it was a good idea to share this clip with the world, via that splendid and wonderful "internet" thing. i believe it to be within the remit of "fair and reasonable use" to place it here, for it should be watched and heeded as a quite serious warning not to tangle with the Stones. in particular when they are performing their art. 

a particularly agreeable aspect of this clip is not so much Keith Richards dispensing swift justice during this gig on the Still Life tour, but an abstract moment of Mick Jagger very much with his groove on. it would, i suspect, have been quite tricky to just switch his groove off momentarily to give someone a good hiding, but anyway Keith clearly had it covered. quite a surprise that Charlie did not pop around and give a bit of a kick; equally no surprise that Ronnie and Bill kept out of it all. 

i, for one can only speak of moi, have been to at least one (1) gig every decade since the 80s. probably more in the 90s than any other time, but a few in the 00s, early bits. and more than i expected in the 20s, but here we are. the point is, at no stage have i ever even considered trying to get on the stage. my interest at being at a concert is to hear the band play, not to try and touch them or get my head kicked right through and all the way in. but, i suppose others have different values. 

certainly, and make no mistake on this one, Mr Richards can go and smack the face in of pretty much anyone he cares to and is unlikely to be questioned, let alone prosecuted. the interesting thing, or something to note, is that this particular incident would have been within a year or so of John Lennon being shot. by that point, then, anyone going near a musician of note without permission was very likely to get a good hiding. 

well, anyway, i suspect mostly that clip (and thanks once again to whoever gone done it) is more interesting than anything i could add, and tells the story well enough itself. 

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

beach is kissed by the sea

heya

a little while ago (here, a link, look you see) my midlife crisis in exile thing went somewhat full tilt, and i bought all sorts of experimental lynx (axe in some countries) deodorants. there was a promise of actually trying them and then commenting here. it has taken some time, but here we are. at least with one. 

having run out of my usual type, that "gold" one, i decided no, well yes, let me try one of these ones, but no not to buy the usual one again just yet. i gave some consideration to which of the ones i may wish to use, and eventually just used the "love" branded one on the basis of, well, it being the first i picked up. 

not a great deal on the tin to go on in regards of expectations for it, except a tie-in (i am reluctant to say endorsement as this does not feel right) with the lgbt+ community, with various messages of support and contact information for people who wish to, well, talk. dig what you dig. 

leaving aside the commendable intentions of the marketing, for anyone who seeks to help anyone in this world, life and what have you is full worthy of praise, there is the matter of what this deodorant might be like. as in, is it any good, and what sense does the scent have of the name? 

certainly, it's not bad. this lynx love one. they have done much, much, much worse, believe you me. but it is not one i would opt (or elect) to use on a frequent basis. my nose has not been calibrated or tested as such, but to me this one smelt of roses. at first. kind of. well, it seemed to smell of how everyone believes roses smell. momentarily after application, though, it kind of went to a "musk" rose smell, and this changed dramatically to a damp musky rose smell. still, not so bad, in truth. 

it's decent, and does the job. there, does that count as some sort of useful review or give any kind of helpful insight? bonus if so. yes, i shall try one or two of the others eventually. actually, i think there are only another two to go, i did not get completely out of control when purchasing.

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

eleven

hello there

so here we are, look you see. this is being published, or going live, at the most magical, mystical time of the year. at the least, sure, in rock and roll terms. 

at eleven minutes past eleven hours on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, in harmony it is so that all forms of life on the planet pause to consider Nigel Tufnel. well, some of us do that more often than then, this is true, but still, all do it at that time. 

this is, well, yes, this is spinal tap, but still, this is quite tricky. most of you, i suspect, are here for the pictures and animated things, but i do feel compelled to do some writing around them. yet what can one say of Nigel Tufnel other than admire? 

certainly, in celebration of this most excellent moment in music mythology, there are some animated things for you. here is one, for instance, below. watch, and behold, in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode, Nigel perform his art. 

one, as in moi, would assume that this whole "internet" thing is filled celebrations of all things Tufnel today. i find it a bit sad that it isn't at all times anyway, but at least it should be today. 

for those who are inexplicably baffled or unsure as to why this precise moment is the moment of universal harmony for celebrations of Nigel Tufnel, it's down to the amp. he is one louder than everyone else. 

yes, you probably are better off just watching This Is Spinal Tap, again and again and again, to get a full appreciation of this. rather that than rely on me to explain it all. 

more animated ('gif') Nigel Tufnel action to help celebrate the day? of course. 

certainly, as you probably don't need me to elaborate on (but i shall anyway), the above is very much the moment Nigel Tufnel explains how all the dials on his amp go up to 11 (eleven). 

go on, then, another picture.

right, well, enough of my yakking. let's boogie, indeed, and may this post have in some way have helped or enabled you to celebrate Nigel Tufnel. 

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

fair is foul

double double toil and trouble

i am still unsure if one is supposed to take this Vine bloke seriously, or if he is deliberately provoking, or if, and i believe this one most, he is supposed to be a second rate Alan Partridge tribute act, running long past the point of being funny and way beyond any memory of it supposed to be just a parody. every now and then i tune in to his radio concern, look you see, to hear what the latest is. maybe one day a clue to which of the truth he is shall reveal itself. 

quite recently, then, this went to a whole new level. he (and i think we have to take as a given he sets the agenda for his own shows) decided to give airtime to a campaign. not just any campaign, but this one linked right here, dedicated to exonerating a few thousand people (mostly women) sentenced to death and what have you, for being witches, five hundred (or so) years ago, in Scotland. and also building some sort of memorial or statue to honour them. 

let me, for the most part, leave it to the official site (link above, also news story right here) to expand and explain on it all. and, of course, encourage you to consider supporting them; i may well end up with one of them mugs on my shelf. for here, though, it is the reaction people had to it, on air. yes, also, it has inspired me to go and rediscover my passion for MS Paint art, here below to illustrate this post. 

obviously the most prominent reaction was the predictable, ready to go "what a waste of time and money" line, as well as asking if "these people" had "nothing better to do". such as, for instance, listen to a radio broadcast on the subject so as to complain, the one that caught my interest, however, was a call or message which suggested we should not be so hasty, for as Scotland is, in the present day, witch free (mostly), some good came from this. sure, i mean, of course one or two of them what got burned at the stake might not have been witches, but greater good, etc. 

before you all kick off and say preposterous, why not cast an eye to St Patrick, and Ireland. is it not so that he is revered for driving snakes from that land, and is celebrated for doing so, proof being no snakes in Ireland? unless you take as a given that his celebration is all clever marketing. should it be so that he brought a greater good (assuming the place is better off with no snakes) to Ireland, then is it not so the same is true of them what rid Scotland of witches? 

anyway, yes, i might well follow this story. but, also, i may very well not. you are, of course, welcome to do much of the same, or something different. 

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

 

gnome

hey there

as a general rule (or guide), i try not to do things what are similar in content for successive posts. for some reason i think that those of them what read this - as in you, look you see - might get "bored". or perhaps it is that i feel like i would get bored with it. don't know. but, or and, yet a recent post what i gone done has somewhat unexpectedly inspired me. 

the brief motion picture, or if you like film, what i made for halloween (2021) appears to have awakened or stirred memories of a career i contemplated. that is of being a full blown, full tilt movie maker. director, if you will. i had this on the list as a potential to do with my life, along with deliberations over being an astronaut, a gynaecologist, writer, assistant to Princess Anne, teacher and so forth. pretty much all the careers what others consider before ending up doing this and that. 

so, with the technology i have to hand, yes, i figured, why not go ahead and make a motion picture. mostly the answer to that is because i lack the time, but then i considered it some more and decided i could, if the interest remained, make it gradually. 

luck, or co-incidence, would certainly seem to be with me in regards of this inspiration. so as to contribute to the boys' celebrations and what have you of halloween, i picked up the above gnome. not just any gnome, of course, but a Poundland one. which cost £2. no matter, it seemed ideal to make a quasi suspense, thriller, romantic comedy sort of horror film with. 

obviously no, the film is not complete yet. i think the term for what stage it is at is "pre-production", for momentarily i am still working on the story, script, etc. being at such an early point of being made, however, did not stop me from starting filming. 

granted, no, sure, i mean yes, not much of how the film might develop is revealed in these provisional scenes. all two of them. but that's how a good teaser trailer works, isn't it? a teaser should give a taste, as it were, and lure an audience in. hopefully that's what is done here. 

quite a drawback is that my film is going to be one of them avant-garde, post-modernist things, as in it shall be a silent motion picture. this is all down to the fact that the Commodore 64 mode thing i use has no sound with it. well, maybe it won't be (entirely) silent, if i can work out how to dub some sound on it and if i can be bothered to do so. 

recently i happened to watch (at last) Interstellar off of Christopher "Chris" Nolan, in whom we trust. other than it being a truly magnificent film, i drew (or took) further inspiration from the experience. so yes, then, i have every intention of making some of the film in that imax format. here's a sneak peek. 

indeed it is entirely possible that Chris, or for that matter Jonathan, Nolan sees this blog and take something of a fancy to taking over this project. this would be a bit like how, as i understand it, they came to make the inspirational Interstellar. well, my initial thoughts would probably be yes, i would be agreeable to a meeting and a handover. but let's not get ahead of ourselves. 

but that said, of course i am planning ahead for the inevitable dvd and blu-ray release. to that end, i am preparing some extras, in the form of deleted scenes, alternate takes and what have you. here's one. 

more of a bit of a "blooper" scene i suppose, since yes, this is indeed some of the provisional post, or pre, production footage i did when i had the camera welded to the phone the wrong way so it came out sideways. but still, this would make for a great extra on the home video release, probably.

well, not much else i can report on this project right now. if i make any further footage that feels like it should be shared, sure i shall showcase it here. or maybe one day you will see it being advertised as coming soon to a cinema near you, made by either moi or them Nolan lads, depending on how discussions go. 

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

somebody special looking at me

howdy pop pickers

so here i am again, then. it is once more the fifth of november, look you see, and so i celebrate, remember, commemorate and reflect on how, on this date in 1991, i was fortunate enough (with a friend, and i hope she is out there somewhere doing well) to see the band tin machine perform at the Newcastle Mayfair. 

as the world at large cares greatly for rounded (or perfectly decimal) numbers, my assumption is that my celebrations this year are not without significance. should my maths be on the button, this is the thirtieth anniversary of that particular gig. no, i do not presume that any of the band do (or did) make a point of marking the date of this concert, at least not to the extent which i have. highly likely that not everyone at the gig with me does either, but i do. 

for those of you viewing this on a device which allows (or is enabled to have) video playback, as has become more frequent in my marking of the anniversary, here you go. below is another clip from the actual, as in very, gig what i was at. somehow someone (to tell the story once more) smuggled in a video camera (which were big devices then) and did a comparatively good job of recording just about the entire concert. many years later a fellow fan went to great efforts to get a copy of it to me. 

here, or rather below, for your viewing and slight listening pleasure is a song from the first half hour of the gig, the cover of If There Is Something what featured on the Tin Machine II album. something of a warning before you click - the sound and video quality from the first half of the gig is very much of bootleg quality, and perhaps not as enjoyable as other clips i have added here. 

perhaps understandably the person doing the bootlegging elected to concentrate the lens on Bowie. this should not be seen as disrespect to Hunt, Reeves or Tony, as they were (indeed are) ace, but of course all interest and focus was on the frontman. 

no, i had little or no idea that If There Was Something was a Roxy Music cover until i opened up the booklet what came with the Tin Machine II CD and noted (or if you like observed) the lyric credit for the song was Ferry, as in Bryan. yes, i absolutely did go and seek out the Roxy original version not long after, and was rather surprised. in its original form the song is about twice as long and a good deal slower paced. still good, but i prefer this one, thanks. 

once again i am uncertain if there is all that much more i can say on the subject of this gig or this band, considering how much i have written over the years. let it be so that all of you who have taken the time to have a gander at this have enjoyed the pictures and video. 

more of the same this time next year? quite possibly, if i still have the technology and devices which allow for the bootleg to be edited down into just the one song. should that not be so, well, it is not like there aren't many other celebratory posts across this blog.............

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

temper tantrum time

hej där

so, then, it must be coming up to the festive era, or if you like christmas and that. why, or how, beyond the calendar, do i know such? because that inuit like elfin pixie off of sweden is kicking off again, look you see. 

no, this is not me "picking" on her, the chosen one, the golden child. if anything, i hold nothing but praise and admiration for the mouthy little one. she is, after all, in a quasi unique position. there she goes, shouting and screaming and demanding anything yet everything which comes to into her mind, and if one so much as dares think of questioning her they get shot down by the self-anointed righteous, who quickly shout "how dare you bully or pick on a child". that's ultra uber diplomatic immunity, that.

for most of the year, then, she generally or tends to keep a bit quiet. come christmas, though, out she gets wheeled for press conferences and what you like, to have a little temper tantrum and shout about things she doesn't particularly like. the details of the present bouts (or rounds) of kicking off are quite inconsequential, but it seems she's shouting at all them people what are banning all that she asked to be banned for not banning it quite soon enough. man, does this generation really demand instant gratification. 

undoubtedly i have raised this point before, but i look back and recall my teenage years, the things that distressed me. one thing which made me quite cross was, of course, that Frankie Goes To Hollywood were denied a 4th number one single in a row by, of all things, Easy Lover off of Phil Collins and Philip Bailey. 

given the chance (or opportunity), yes, i would have loved to have kicked off to a global audience. i would happily have attended press conference around the world, demanding that Collins be arrested, put on trial and found guilty of being a war criminal, and Bailey exiled to France or some other undesirable place so as to reflect on the error of his ways. 

had i suggested that i be allowed to do this, probably i would have just got a "no", but also would have been told not to "be so f*****g stupid", to have a sense of perspective and possibly gotten a right good, well deserved, f*****g hiding too. i am quite certain that i wouldn't have been given a yacht with a crew, invited to sunset dinners with actors or had microphones shoved in front of me. 

if she, Greta, had chosen to mouth off about things what mattered, such as various singles and albums chart errors, and demanded they be rectified, there would be no issue here. but no, instead she goes off on her usual christmas routine, kids are good, adults are bad, etc, demanding things get done which are done and then demanding they be done again. well, what a wonderful festive time she brings. 

vara utmärkta mot varandra!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

duran duran day of release (delayed)

howdy pop pickers

indeed yes, i do know - or am aware, look you see - that this album did indeed come out a couple or so weeks prior to this being published. but, hey, delayed it was in getting a release, so delayed it has been in getting a mention on here. well, i think it was put off from release because of all that new plague stuff, or perhaps it was the recording itself that got halted. 

should this be something you should know, then by all means ask Duran Duran directly, for as the title of this post gives every indication, it's their new album, Future Past, on the go here. from what i can remember, though, and it is quite hazy, it was going to be a late 2020 release, then tour and that. which all happened in this year (2021) instead. 

for a quick, snap, get it over with in the third paragraph review, this record is astonishingly good. no, really, it's quite brilliant, and likely a strong contender for "album of the year". it is, if not already, about to be overshadowed by some "heavyweight" chart (and "streaming") releases, but save a prayer, savour this one whilst you can. 

my expectations for, or of, a new Duran Duran album weren't particularly high. at all. the last studio album from, what, six or so years ago, Paper Gods, was one of them when you are being polite you describe as "challenging" or "expectation subverting". yes, indeed, this translates to more user friendly terms such as "effectively unlistenable" and "sh!t". everything of the record said just go be good to yourselves, boys - rather just wheel out a lucrative "hits" tour every half a dozen years and licence every penny you can out of your impressive (prior) body of work. 

yet i still got excited, leaving that aside, when news came of a new Duran Duran thing. i elected to just pretend Paper Gods never existed, and just accepted that something like All You Need Is Now was the last record they gone done. so with some excitement i tuned in to the erratic Zoe Ball to hear the premiere of the new single, Invisible. and switched it off about 75% of the way in. just a bit too clunky and what not for me. 

due to this, i easily declined the offer off of Simon, Nick, John and the rest of the band to "pre-order" the new record off of their website, no mater how many tape versions or signed things they waved. yet, i did really, really cover for it. as in i was prepared to buy it, no matter how "challenging" it may turn out to be, just for the fantastic artwork. the second "proper" single (of sorts), Anniversary, came out, and then i kind of regretted not doing a "pre-order" as that tune is one of the best things what they have done, which is one hell of a formidable thing for them to have achieved 40 or so years down the road. 

provenance of my copy is the less than rock and roll, certainly not usually associated with new romantic retailer that is Morrisons. i happened to be there on the day of release, they had it at £10 in a standard form, which was 99p less than HMV, so done deal. absolutely no, going on the picture what you can see, i haven't bought that Coldplay album, for i already have a record called Music Of The Spheres, thanks. quite sure the copy of Let It Be i have will do, but some temptation in that 1983 "yearbook" off of them what do Now, but just think i will get the 1984 one, cheers. 

oh, right, i suppose by now i should "review", or comment, on the record. concerns were there at the start with the first single, Invisible, being the first track. not sure why artists do this, for a general rule which is seldom wrong is that if the first track on a record also happens to have been the first single, usually the album is going to be rubbish. many examples exist, but U2's over-hyped and rushed Pop springs to mind. also, in fairness, Bowie's Let's Dance, which outside of the three (3) singles isn't really up to scratch. 

yes, i must confess, Invisible here sounds somewhat (fractionally) better than when they played it to death on the radio. it's still far too clunky and chunky, with it seeming to be all that they can think of in regards of sounds being thrown at it. hearing it properly, on CD, means that one can get the lyrics all the more better, and as John Taylor intimated, it goes quite soul searching. 

where, mindful of the rule of the first song, it went after that was the tell. and, happily, it went somewhere very good indeed. a fear was that track two, All of You, would go downhill fast, setting a poor tone for the rest of the record. thankfully, that one is excellent, as is the next one and indeed Anniversary as the fourth one gives it a hell of a start. 

an ever so slight wobble comes in the form of the titular track, Future Past. good lyrically, but sound wise it kind of aches to be a ballad, yet does wobble, neo-classical Duran sound. no way would i say it's a bad song, but no, not the greatest on the record (that remains Anniversary). it immediately picks up from where the first four got put on pause, mind, and Beautiful Lies is boss. this is one of the tunes produced by Giorgio Moroder, and that was a very shrewd move, getting him in. 

no, i am not really going to go (vaguely) track by track, but just a quick pause to reflect on Wing. ahem. this feels and sounds like a James Bond theme what we never got and really should have.  a lovely, fair, correct, right and proper thing for someone to go and do would be to overdub this over the credits when they had a really, really bad theme on a Bond film. of course, i am thinking specifically Spectre. 

some alarm bells sounded, prior to me playing the record, when i saw how many times "feat", as in featuring other artists, came in to the mix. even if one was the vastly talented Mike Garson. it turns out they are not at all intrusive, and have a jolly good impact. bravo too, also, to that lad off of Blur, is it Graham Coxon, what appears to be now a "Duran". if this is permanent, then this could well be the best bit of band transfer business since Mani joined Primal Scream. 

do i have any (lingering) regrets about not going off to see them live, since i appear to be interesting in gigs as i adapt to my adopted living in exile, mid life crisis thing? not really. going on the bits i saw on the tele, Nick kind of lurks in the back looking creepy. Simon appears to believe that shouting the songs works a lot better than singing them (not sold), and John Taylor seems to have his hair thinning where i do, so i can update my social media / dating profiles that i look a bit like him. but north of £70 a ticket, plus travel and hotel, i am happy to have the CD on the stereo, thanks. 

this record, Future Past, is a stayer, then. in no way is this a disposable, here for the moment record. as classically stylish and substance revealing as any great Duran Duran record has ever been. like Rio, or my personal favourite Medazzaland, i can see this record getting played frequently, depending on just or exactly how many years or what have you i get to go to. 

regrettably, to go back to an earlier point, this album is about to be overshadowed. at the time this gets published on my blog, that Ed Sheridan (or whatever) will have put out his new whatever it is he does, exactly, and that will mysteriously get streamed into history. next is Adele, and then of course there is the small matter of some stuff what Abba found in a cupboard and have presented as a new album. well, whatever. i suspect none of them shall dislodge Duranx2 off of my stereo. 

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