vaccination three (the search for spock)

heya

many, or quite a few, or just some (well, one or two) were quite surprised when it turned out that what the ruling government of the day had told us might not have been accurate. generally speaking, we have a tendency to trust our elected governments, look you see. it is hardly ever that we are misled by them, or not too much. 

so, the idea put forward, that two stabs (jabs) of this miracle drug vaccination would be quite class, turned out to be not as correct as it should be in terms of winning the invisible war against the new plague. now we are under some pressure to go get a third one done. and likely a fourth (4th) one too, but maybe that only around easter or what have you. 

despite the three factors which suggest that i had no need for further stabs - had two already, have taken all precautions and according to scientific evidence i am immortal - for a quiet life, yes, i went right ahead and got this extra (third) one done. i appreciate such shall distress them anti-vax types, or those that would like harm to befall me, but it is done now. 

indeed that is one of them "lateral flow tests", what shows if you have plague or not. so far i have a perfect record of all negative results, which feels like a weird sentence. so far as i am aware i am expected to keep doing these tests, around twice a week or daily if i come into contact with someone infected, despite being uber-jabbed. 

quite an interesting sideline, or if you like cottage industry (not cottaging industry) has sprung up around these tests. once you have done one, it seems there is a market for the used test thing, irrespective of the result. some people out there rather like the idea of a week (or so) off verk or school, and will pay coins for a test that shows them to be infected, regardless of their status. by the same measure, there are a few anti-vax types what want to go to events like gigs and football matches, but will not get the vaccine. they shall happily pay for a test that shows they are negative. no, i advocate neither and do not engage in such, don't blame me for capitalism. 

unexpectedly, then, i am in a position where i can (kind of) evaluate more than one type of vaccine. for my first two jabs i got that posh sounding oxford one, or whichever one it is that the French are all so, so scared of. when it came to this third one, i got one of the others, that one that sounds rather too close to "manlove" for my liking, or that it is named in honour of that Glenn Medeiros bloke. 

whereas i doubt that i will ever be called on for a professional opinion, my view is that the oxford one is the better. after two jabs of that one i had limited side effects, just a bit of a tender arm for a day or so and that was it. not the case with this Glenn Medeiros Manlove version, oh no. north of two full days plus some hours later and my arm still f*****g knacks off it, so it does, and i feel rather light in head and tired. lethargic, even. maybe they gave me opium or similar by mistake. 

the vaccination that i would have wanted? well, probably the 'pizzer' one what Daz was selling for a fiver in one edition of The Viz. going on the article, it makes one's head swell to twice the normal size, and creates an impulse or urge to go round biting people. that sounds quite smart entertainment for a few hours. 

anyway, the way things are going, i suspect (or expect), should i survive them, reports on jabs four, five, seven and beyond to follow here. 

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

best.....

hello there

well, cor blimey, another year just about all done. at the very least it was, or is, at time of writing and subsequent publication, look you see. so, in keeping up with a vague tradition (of sorts) that very few have any interest in, time for me to give consideration to "highlights" of the year. 

for clarification, this, or these, are all of course my interpretations of "best", or the finest. i have no realistic expectation for anyone to agree with the choices, or assume that such is correct. we would all have our view on such, certainly, and mine would be no better nor worse than, say, someone what screeches loudly about theirs on all that social media stuff. yes, by the way, this is relevant to the year 2021, although in some instances a calendar year is transcended. or what have you. 

in no particular order of importance or success (or "best") level, then. 

.....plague of the year

a rather nice and easy one to start with, for the winner is, of course, what used to get called coronavirus but now suspiciously gets called covid-nineteen instead.

which variation, strain or "mutation" of it is best, though? now that is a question. everyone was all excited about that "delta" one when it came out, but the (presumably) last of the year, that omni consumer products one out of RoboCop seems prolific whilst not doing much damage. 

.....album of the year

quite tricky, this one. it turned out that a few good albums came out during the year (2021). none of them, ultimately, disappointed, and yet i am struggling to name one (1) as better than the rest. 

surprise records were that one off of Inhaler, bought via a cheap offer off of a facebook ad, and the one from The Stranglers, which turned out to be better than what i expected. the one off of Crowded House did exactly what a Crowded House record should do, and well enough. happy days for the one off of Duranx2 turned out to be really good. as did the new one off of James, although no, it does not scale the heights of Girl At The End Of The World. the Manics album was nowhere near as disposable sounding as the previous, and Bobby Gillespie successfully stopped the rut that was the poor last couple of Primal Scream records. quite a good year for vibes, then. 

.....service station of the year

finally, or at last, i managed to make it all the way to the one service station what i have dreamed of visiting since (the upper later end of) the mid 80s. 

getting to call in at the legendary donington park service station was certainly a highlight of the year. this is of course the service station most likely (probably) visited by hundreds of thousands of metalheads on their way to monsters of rock , not to mention top bands like Bad News, Motorhead and what have you. alas, some maintenance work was underway, so i could only use the temporary urinals and not the ones what Lemmy would have used, but still. 

.....humanitarian of the year

many, many interesting and (partially) wonderful people have done all sorts of things to help out fellow people. this is as true of this year as any. but, that said, quite a straightforward choice this year; for someone stood out more than anyone else. indeed, yes, i speak (write) of Arse Flare Man out of the Euro 2020 (or 2021, as it turned out), cup final. 

should you be (and i would speculate blissfully) unaware, this is the brave, plucky chap, immensely comfortable with his sexual fluidity, who inserted a flare into his backside (his arse) and ignited it for the entertainment of others and to celebrate England making a football final. he did so after going on a bit of a binge of heavily stepped on, ineffective cocaine and cheap cider. roughly half the population saw him and said yes, this is the kind of thing we have missed during lockdown, whereas roughly half the population saw him and said yes, this is precisely why all English people should be on lockdown forever. in a real sense, then, he unified a grateful nation. 

.....film of the year

i watched a few films this year and most of them were reasonable entertainment. certainly the best of them was that Interstellar that i finally got around to watching. but that one was not released this year, was it. a dear old friend once said a "new" movie only becomes an "old" one after you've seen it, but that is not helpful for a look back at a specific (in this case 2021) year. 

by default, then, and mindful of the fact that i have not yet seen this new Spider-Man one, it was certainly, perhaps infamously, so that the most recent (at time of writing) James Bond one, No Time To Die, came out this year. it was, after all, quite good. very good, in places. 

.....book of the year

and quite like films, i read a few books, but am unsure which ones (if any) were published in the year under review (2021, again, if you missed it). the one which comes to mind, probably (perhaps) the most enjoyable, was that debut novel off of him, the tall one from Pointless. the second one came out in hardback this year, if that counts, and should it turn up in paperback next year, then yes, i shall probably pick it up and have a read, assuming i am still around. 

.....weather event of the year

them what do the weather forecasts have, it must be said, a bit of a reputation. some regard them as people what just have a guess at how a particular day might be; others are less diplomatic and refer to them purely as outright lying b@stards. or similar obscenities. 

yeah, that picture there above (just before this writing) was taken on an evening where they said it absolutely, certainly, totes would not snow. thanks for that. 

.....gig of the year

it turned out that i only made it to (some) 66% of the gigs i had intended to for the year. but, of them, 100% of the gigs what i gone went to were ace. very difficult indeed to say which of them was the greatest or "best". the Manics, and indeed support band Low Hummer, were class, and i had the chance to see them with a good friend. more right here, if interested. 

yet a Manics gig was, is and always shall be, a known quantity of (high) quality. one can more or less take as a given that the chance will, every couple of years or so, forever present itself to see them, and it will be that they shall be class. such chance does not come quite so often. and so, on that basis, gig of the year, for me, goes to Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. for those interested yes, more here, and for anyone who wants the basics, it was one of them gigs you appreciate as being a privilege to have been in attendance for. quite remarkable, stunning and many other such celebratory words. 

right, well, that's in all likelihood enough of that. i am not sure all that many people still read what i do here, but if you did thanks for doing so. just as long as your 2021 was more good than bad, well, that's all that particularly matters, in the end. 

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

have you sought fortune, evasive and shy

howdy pop pickers

last christmas is, i appreciate, a bit of a subjective term. also, of course, the name of a quite (rather) popular song, look you see. so, for some clarification, it was christmas last year (2020) what i received one (or 1) of the items pictured here. the other is from some time ago and was likely showcased here, but for the sake of completeness here it is again. 

also, yes, this is me showcasing my commitment to not doing something explicitly Bowie related at least once a month, which is going ever so well. so, on that note, here's a picture, presented in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode, of course. 

your attention is drawn, if you so wish it, to the top (upper) part of the image, as that was the gift element from last festive season (see previous comments for year clarification). it is a kind of commemorative, or special, £5 coin off of The Royal Mint (them what do the money and that, well, just the money) for us here in the UK. or England, and indeed Wales, mostly, for Scotland and Northern Ireland have a quasi free for all approach to producing cash representative notes. 

indeed it is a £5, or fiver, coin. such things are not widely used here, and tend only ever to be issued as these sort of "special" things. but, oddly, they are not just ceremonial. they are, as the saying goes, perfectly acceptable as "legal tender". but, or yet, no, one would not, i would assume, think that anyone possessing one of these would go off and rush to spend it. or otherwise dispense of it. 

so far as i am aware, and they do tend to make this quite clear on the website and what have you, this coin in no way, shape or form is considered an "investment", and is (highly) unlikely ever to have a value which exceeds face value, which would be £5. my reasonably safe (further) assumption is that anyone what procured one of these did not do so in the hope that the value beyond aesthetic would appreciate. also, i doubt big player investors would dabble in the speculative market of low value coins. 

my ability to picture something clearly, or lack thereof, means that i don't have all that decent an image for you, save the above. for some sort of narration, then, the portrait is a late 70s "Berlin" Bowie, surrounded by (or with in the background) the celebrated Aladdin Sane lightning bolt, plus stars which one can presume references Blackstar. 

quite a lot of scorn, sneering and contempt appeared to greet the launch of this commemorative, yet perfectly serviceable, coin. not sure why, really. from what i can ascertain the royal mint issue several such coins each year. as for Bowie merchandising, cashing in and what have you, this is far from being the silliest thing to have 'Bowie' written on it. a casual glance of the official webstore thing reveals, from memory (or off the top of my head), items such as barstools and what have you. 

well, anyway, mostly, or for the most part, f*** what anyone else thinks of things. i really like this coin, the image on it and what have you, as well as the dapper presentation it comes in. nice cd size sort of box, too, so looks good as part of the regular Bowie collection on the shelf. 

pictured above is the previous venture into Bowie currency that i mentioned (and pictured in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode). no doubt this featured before here, but we are here now. that's a £10 note off of Brixton, London (England). apparently, and i am not so good with fiscal terms, it is tied, index linked or what have you, to the same equal nominative value of the Bank of England £10. 

that last point, as clumsy and convoluted as i have presented it, is really rather important. i have noted one or two of the rather more entrepreneurial types (scam artists) are trying to sell editions of this note for considerably higher than £10. one person was trying to sell one on that great virtual car boot sale of the internet, ebay, for north of £80. be careful not to get conned. 

just why, exactly, Brixton felt the need to introduce, or impose, its own currency is something that i was probably aware of at the time, but have since forgotten. oh. well, i am sure anyone interested can do a google or what have you to resolve the mystery. if, indeed, it is a mystery. 

for a huge chunk of my life it was so that never once did i consider having Bowie on any sort of form of physical currency. when i got the first such thing, the Bowie note, i suppose it never occurred to me that one day i would have a second of them. and yet here am i with two. shall a third exist? perhaps. 

no, i really have no intention of ever parting with either of these. should you wish for one or both of them yourself, it does not strike me as all that difficult for you to obtain them. but, if it satisfies a need in you, feel free to look at them on here for as long as you wish. 

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

learn to love me, assemble the ways

now then

there is (or are) any number of sayings, phrases and cliche type things which appear to become ever more relevant with my progression through life. one (of many, look you see) which recurs a fair bit is that one about teaching an old dog new ticks. unsure if it is meant to be that you can or cannot do so, but anyway it would appear i pick up some from time to time. tricks, that is, or knowledge. information. 

such an instance happened recently, rather than at some undetermined point in the future. hence me being able to write of it. well, write in an actual, it happened way, as opposed to some theoretical speculative prose, pondering on how a matter may go. you know what, let me move on. 

off i went, as i am so prone to do, to purchase some tapes. well, not actual tapes (as such), but the modern day equivalent of such, optical digital discs. a dvd and so-called blu ray, to be precise, if an instance of precision is your thing or bag. they, the two of them, featured measures to discourage those who may wish to take the discs but not purchase them as such.

yes, they are, or were (until such time as i purchased and removed them) security protected. my basic understanding is that underneath the labels you can see are a special thing of some description. should one attempt to leave a store (or retailer) with them without this special thing being deactivated, as in not paid for, then an alarm sounds. i imagine the idea or theory is that a security guard or similar then chases down, in a ruthless way, them what tried to steal the tapes (discs). 

many, or at the least a few, do of course wonder why, in this era of "streaming" and "online", it is so that tapes (discs) still exist. well, lots of reasons. for a start many of us (moi) included, like to just put a tape in the machine and get on with watching, rather than worrying if an internet connection is fine, or puzzling over which subscription service one must sign up to in order to get the film (or documentary) they wish to watch. from the other side, which is them in the industry what make films and documentaries, to abandon physical media release is to leave their business model entirely at the mercy of these online services, and that is not going to happen. 

just which tapes (that are discs) did i purchase what are security protected? well, oddly, none (or neither) of the two are directly for me as such, but i have a passing interest in each. 

it's Dad who is quite keen on the Robbo disc you can see there, being as it is the recently made documentary on Bryan Robson. yes, i am interested in seeing it. however, i suspect it shall focus on trivial things, like his time as a player at West Brom and Manchester United, as well as his England career. what i really want to see is a documentary which gives insights into that time he signed Branco to play for Middlesbrough. as for the other tape (disc), that's something called Shang-Chi, which i believe is another of them splendid Marvel super hero things. it's one the boys wished for, as despite the fact that they are of the generation what just "streams" films, they rather like the aesthetic pleasure principle of a complete collection sat on a shelf. nice one. 

back, then, to the subject of the "security protected" stickers. which you could only see a partial level of text from in the initial image, presented in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode. now, earlier on, i suggested a benefit (or indeed pleasure) of just watching a tape (disc) rather than faffing with streaming and that was simply putting it in the machine and watching. it appears the retailer what sold me these (asda, for sake of completeness) have a peculiar idea. 

at no stage whatsoever had i ever considered microwaving an optical, digital disc, in truth. well, no hang on i think at one point my brother and i might or may have microwaved a Bros cd, but let us not go there right now. to microwave a tape (disc) sounds to me an extremely silly idea, and i am confident that no good could come from doing so. what's microwaving it going to do? all the same, i suppose from a liability perspective it is wise for the shop to suggest removing the security sticker before doing so, but i think saying "do not microwave this" would be a much more better guidance to give. 

certainly, perhaps, yes, an undeniable perk of living in a land which offers untold freedom is that one in able to go right ahead and microwave anything that they jolly well wish to, with the constabulary only likely to be called upon to act if some distress is consequentially caused. but, or yet, still, no, i am not able to endorse or approve the idea of microwaving tapes (discs). thanks, though, for the precautionary warning or advice about what to do with the sticker if i did. 

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

festivus

hi there

so far as i am aware, and i am certainly not going to check, it is so that i have not gone done a proper, full tilt post on festivus before. until now, at the least, look you see. as an ardent Seinfeld fan it is perhaps amiss of me not to have done so, but such happens. 

a likely (or probable) barrier stopping such a post would be that there seems to be a sense of no point in doing so. true, granted, yes, that thinking would act in equal measure as a prohibiting factor to just about all posts here, but still. in this instance, though, some validation. either one is aware of the magical, whimsical ways of festivus and thus needs no further information, or they are not. for those in the latter segment of the previous sentence, you genuinely (really) would be best served watching the relevant episode of Seinfeld, which is The Strike from, as i recall, series (or "season", if American) nine (9). 

but, well, we are here now, so here's some images (animated and still) from the episode, all of course in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode. 

for the sake of completeness, festivus is the creation of Frank Costanza, easily the greatest mind of the latter stages of the twentieth century and, in all likelihood, the last great thinker what we, humans, shall count as one of us before we extinguish ourselves. inspired by the folly of the commercial ways of what a conventional Christmas has become, festivus is for the rest of us. 

how does one celebrate festivus? well, mostly you could (or can) just say happy festivus to any and all you see on the date marked as when it should be celebrated (December 23). if you were of a mind to go full tilt festivus, then you need a simple, preferably straight aluminium pole. or, if you are in America, one of those "aluminum" poles, which is a lesser, weaker version of aluminium but all the same appears to work for them. 

the meal served at a festivus celebration is shrouded in mystery, but is believed to be meat loaf served on lettuce. prior to serving and eating, though, first one must partake in the airing of grievances, and then engage in the feats of strength. 

yes, that pretty much is it. simple, yet brilliantly effective. for a bonus, or to go extreme festivus, you could always demand someone read a poem, and when they claim to need glasses to do that shout at them that they don't actually need the glasses, they are just weak. oddly this can count as part of both airing of grievances and feats of strength. 

no, and perhaps to my shame, i have never really engaged in a proper, formal (or full) celebration of festivus. despite rumours i do not keep aluminium poles around. airing of grievances is something i do every now and then, i suppose, and engage in feats of strength as required. otherwise, i am not all that overtly keen on meat loaf, tell the truth. well, the food, obviously, the music is smart.  

right, well, as it stands i have managed to write more here than i suspected would be so. and so that's a good a point as any to depart, suggesting you watch all of Seinfeld, or at the least this one episode. i really should watch it, Seinfeld, more frequently. effectively i can "drop in" at any part of any episode an immediately find myself smiling and laughing, such is the genius of it. 

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

bah, humbug

ho ho ho there

yes, probably, i should have saved this for December 23 (UK time), look you see, for that is of course the date of Festivus. and of course in many respects Festivus is better than Christmas is, what with it featuring smart stuff like aluminium poles, airing of grievances and feats of strength. but, no matter. 

i am kind of sort of, as in directly and actually doing so, breaking the chains of tradition this year. a couple of things existed which i was particularly pleased to do at Christmas, with one being a throwback to an era gone. that one would be purchasing the mega, double edition of the Christmas tele guide, with a more recent one getting a smart Christmas CD off of Poundland. not this year. 

whilst out shopping i noted (observed, perhaps) that the usual "mega" Christmas tv guides were out. also, due to the calendar and that, i saw that it didn't cover all of the festive time, for they all appeared to have listings up to and including December 31, meaning the treasures of the first day (proper) of the new year were not covered. oh. 

so i looked at them, considered a purchase, and then hopefully in an internal monologue way, said to myself (for i have no one to talk to, anyway), you know what, just f*****g no. i wasn't prepared to pay for the premium magazines (Radio Times and TV Times) which were either just south or farcically north of £5 each (!!!!), and also i could not be bothered with the cheaper, hovering south of £2 variations of this. essentially i would be purchasing a magazine which would not be read, with it full of details of shows on the tele which i would not be watching. so yes, a rare common sense decision of mine. 

having browsed the web (or internet, if you will) a bit, it seems all i really need to know is now known, anyway. which is that, yet again, Channel 5 (or whoever) are betraying us audiences. no, then, once more they are not broadcasting the legendary Chas & Dave Christmas Cockney Knees Up 1981 this year. i think this is the third or forth (4th) year they have failed to show it again. oh, should for some reason you have no idea what that is, exactly, then here is a link to one of my celebrations of it. 

before continuing on with this, yes, i did detour to Poundland. usually it would be so that, around now, they would have a range of extremely cheaply licenced CDs of Christmas music on offer, for sale. not so this year. actually i get the feeling that them, Poundland, are stopping selling discs, as they appear to be decreasing the number of such on the shelves. with no new cheap disc of Christmas music, i guess i shall have to dig out one of the ones i have bought in years before, be it either of the Christmas discs of The King, Elvis Presley, Mr Sinatra or indeed Chas & Dave Greatest Christmas. or all of them, i suppose, i mean what's to stop me. 

more or less it is so that i am at a point in my life where i am not really particularly interested in what's on the tele. sure, if there's some darts or snooker i shall watch, but otherwise not especially. as and when i do get what one might ascertain or determine as being free time, generally i would lurch towards listening to some music whilst reading. or typing things here, for who(m)ever it is what reads such. 

if for some reason you relied on me (moi) giving advance warning on decent stuff to watch on UK tele, then my apologies to have briefly let you down by not purchasing one of these guides. as for the lack of a new Christmas disc, well, i cannot say sorry for such, for i would have bought so if Poundland had felt the need to sell it. 

right, anyway, well, if the Poundland near you got Christmas discs in, happy listening. equally, if you bought (or purchased) one of them guides for what's on the tele and that over the Festive (and Festivus) period, happy reading, and of course viddy well. 

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

statue

hello there

inexplicably and most decidedly unintentionally it is so that, i think, every year i bring you images of a statue what has been put outside of a football stadium. or, if you like, a stadium what is ostensibly used predominantly for football, look you see, but other things may happen there. yes, for clarification, by that i mean proper football, and not that (admittedly hugely enjoyable) variation of the game what our friends in America use the term for. 

perhaps i am mistaken, and it would not be the first time for me to be so, but i believe this is the southern most statue i have ever presented images of here. this, at the least, would be in terms of images i have taken, and relies a lot on you, dear reader, having a conventional understanding - acceptance, even, of how one defines south. 

several, in fact many, i would suggest, would hardly need me to give any sort of clarification here. but, yes, for the sake of completeness, this is indeed the statue of Sir Alf Ramsey what one can find on Sir Alf Ramsey Way, a street running by the surprisingly easy to access stadium where Ipswich Town Football Club perform their art (play matches). going further, to this day, or as of publication, Sir Alf remains considered England's greatest ever football manager, for he is the only man appointed to the job what has won a trophy, being famously the World Cup in 1966. plucky young (as of yet not knighted as such) Gareth Southgate may challenge the title, but for now, no. 

what, exactly, was i doing down in Ipswich, and for that matter how come i ended up in the presence of this statue? mostly verk reasons. as in, exclusively. quite by chance and accident, default rather than design, what is expected of me in verk took me right next to the stadium. knowing as i do how Dad, and a few others, like images off of my employed adventures, i could not help but take advantage of my location and circumstance for a few pictures. so yes, coming up is the obligatory "selfie". 

not really sure who, if anyone, would actually wish to see me, but there you go, an update on how i presently look, or at least did in the early stages of December of this year (2021). that does indeed appear to showcase a receding hairline, rather like what happened with Bruce Willis, and i am certain that i am getting a bald patch at the back. at the least it is a thinning out as decent as it can be case like what Prince William has, and not the ridiculous looking one what him, the short one off of Pointless, crudely showcases under studio lights. 

did i have a preference for my hair going knacked, or went f****d? yes, in retrospect. i think, mostly, it would have been smart if it went that "crown" kind of bald thing like what Agent Skinner out of X Files had on the go. should it have gone that way, then i probably would have even gone and got some new glasses (spectacles) frames like what he had on, and try to look compassionate yet stern in discussing looking for aliens or similar. 

at a guess, though, i suspect mostly anyone reading this would be a lot more interested in seeing the statue of Sir Alf than reading musings on the vanity subject of my hair, so there you go, another picture of it above. which, granted, you probably saw before reading this. 

certainly it is so that no, at this stage, i know not where it is that verk or other adventures may take me next. that's the fun of it all, really. but yes, with good fortune, luck or even fate, should i remain a thing of existence, then most decidedly i shall seek the chance for further images of football statues as i go.

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

ten to the dozen

howdy pop pickers

well, i believe this post marks the end of a quite unexpected, mostly agreeable vibes journey. this is all about, somewhat delayed after the release of it, a bit of a gander at the current, or if you will most recent, release of Now That's What I Call Music 10 (ten) on CD, look you see. and that would be the correct way to make reference, for this one was the first to get a proper compact disc release, in full, at the time, whereas some volumes had singular disc "highlight" issues. 

if this was already out in a double disc, complete (and indeed more complete then than it is now) form, why exactly the re-issue? presumably to make a nice, neat set of "ten", after re-issuing the first on CD for the first time ever (as in ever) was very successful indeed. no matter, for i never did have this, or any Now set, on CD before, so purchased it was, to sit on the shelf, mostly. 

the era, or period of time, covered in (or on) this set is roughly the middle bits of 1987, right through to about November or so. one or two of the tracks included here were pre-preemptive, so to speak, as they hadn't yet become available to the public to buy, but it is assumed they would be chart successes. 

overall, or kind of (sort of) in short, this is a pretty good set. volumes 7, 8 and 9 were not exactly the most amazing issues, containing a few classics and several that perhaps should have remained in the 80s. this would indeed be a nice way to end the re-issue campaign, as it would do such on a quasi high, at the least. 

for those curiously interested in moi, oddly only one song on here is one what i bought the single off of, and it was the CD single too. that would be the magnificent Rent off of Pet Shop Boys. not played it for some time, in truth, and hearing it here once more reminded me of what a bloody good song it is. cheers for the memory jog, nice one. 

going off at a tangent, or non-linear, is kind of my thing (or bag), so at this time i believe i was more still mourning the fact that Frankie had split, whilst exploring a mix of "different" vibes, through friends or my own journey. my soundtrack for 87 was most likely Sputnik (of Sigue Sigue), Prince, Motorhead, The Smiths, maybe Beastie Boys. also the Male Stripper 12" on repeat. bit of Laibach, too, most probably, thanks to the hysterical video for Life Is Life, but maybe that was a year or so later. 

yet i appear to have not much beyond fond memories of (very) nearly all the tunes included here. perhaps it's because these tunes were on the bus on school trips, or at the school or youth club disco, or indeed featured on the must-watch Top Of The Pops on Thursday nights. quite possible, if such shows were on at this time, a few cropped up on The Tube, or Friday or Saturday Live, and similar. 

best track on here? oh, easy one for me, Crockett's Theme off of Miami Vice by Jan Hammer. i absolutely love this one. Norman B@stard had the CD single of it, and i got him to make us a full 90 minute tape of it on repeat. most smart, that was. stand, as ever, to be corrected, but i think the biggest hit here is China In Your Hand off of T'Pau. whereas i much preferred their first single (i think it was their first), Heart And Soul, this one was at number one for ages, i think five or six weeks. 

rather weird, how time and memories work. listening to them here once more, and i had a thoroughly enjoyable couple of hours just listening to these two (2) discs, the likes of Johnny Hates Jazz, Wet Wet Wet and in particular Curiosity Killed The Cat are nowhere near as big massive tw@ts as teenage me dismissed them as so. especially him with the f*****g beret off of Curiosity. smart songs, actually. 

perhaps the biggest surprise for me was being able to get through the Nina Simone song without switching it off. i found it grating at the time, far (far) too twangy for my tastes, and the animated video of a cat or something was simply hideous, a clear case of trying to cash in on the success of the video for Reet Petite the previous Christmas. actually it turns out, and maybe this is just a more mature and sophisticated version of me now, i rather like it. 

absent tracks? well, two. i don't remember one, but the one that i do recall reading as being excluded due to some sort of "rights" issue is really annoying. that would be Here I Go Again (87) off of Whitesnake, fronted by that chap who claims to be "the most famous person ever to come from Saltburn", which i do not have the energy to quarrel with. once more i have some really fond memories of that tune at the time, so on a shiny disc, to have it, would have been quality. not to be, unless i go and but a Whitesnake CD, i suppose. probably not, no. 

in respect of songs what have "stood the test of time" or what have you, well, last track on disc two is Fairytale Of New York off of Pogues and Kirsty MacColl. infamously conceived as a bet that a song could not be done which was overtly of Christmas but also did not suck, it remains brilliant and, if anything, grows in popularity and stature every year. some nonsense kicks off each December, with some radio stations playing a (slightly) censored version, but such is the modern world. 

should it be so that this is now "it", we are really over and done, no more original variations (less licencing issue tunes) to be reissued, well. considering these ten (10) sets cover a period of, say, 5 years in the middle of the 80s, they oddly do a good job of comprehensively covering many hits, but by no stretch of the imagination do they tell the whole story of this golden, great era. the biggest omissions, and this is all due to licensing and rights and other such nonsense, for this 83 - 87 era are Prince, Madonna and The Smiths. not having their chart success and phenomenal cultural impact included in these sets does make one feel, well, this is a good half of a story. 

kind of glad that i picked up all ten (10) volumes of this, but as with the original issues, for the most part it shall only be Four (4) that i play often, or at all from them. have two copies of that one, so i can listen at home, then listen as i go about doing verk stuff. some of the others may get played every now and then, but probably not. 

oh, fear not, i have every confidence that them what do the Now sets shall find an interesting way to fleece more coins from me for vibes in the not too distant future. 

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

with your feet in the wishing well

hi there

i am probably, more or less, somewhat "due" to do one of them posts where i draw on my special powers. you know, when i consult my smart deck of fancy cards, and eight ball device, to tell tales of the future, look you see. however, time is tight (as the song goes), and i am all rather drained. such a post shall be done soon, but for now, this. 

there you go, via the magic of the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode, a special wishing well image for you. as the title of this post, in part, promised. rather than relying on my unusual skills to ask of the future, here, in this post, you are very welcome to concentrate and glimpse what is yet unwritten but shall surely exist. 

anyway, yes, there you go. highly likely that further posts of more substance are to follow. well, more content, as such. the substance here is all for you to create; be careful what you wish for. or not, since we are in an era of "yolo" and all that. 

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

return to reading

hello reader

well, what can i say. after not picking up a novel for a bit, i appear to have read two (2) quite quickly. this is perhaps mostly down to me being on my travels of late, look you see, with some journeys planned and, as it happens, unexpected. 

so, as would be usual, having read two (2) novels, now is the time to pause and ponder on them. give some form of quasi review, i guess, on the off chance such information is of interest, if not particular use, to any of you out there kind, or bored, enough to pop by and have a gander. 

to go with the usual, standard, then, an image of the 2 (two) novels with a spoiler-free sort of overview kind of thing. 

from memory, and indeed via checking an inner page of this one, The Burning Girls is the fourth novel off of CJ Tudor. yes, she has become an autopilot purchase. absolutely nothing "new" here, but a brilliant novel all the same. i was somewhat reticent about A Time For Mercy, being as it is a second sequel to A Time To Kill off of John Grisham, but then it turned out to be one of his finest works. and yes, he has done quite a lot. 

right, ok, that covers a more or less spoiler free overlook. except, for those interested, to throw this your way, as it happens it doesn't really seem to matter if you haven't read any of the other Grisham novels concerning the characters in this (further) sequel, he covers the important stuff at the relevant points. but, that said, they are worth reading. 

on to a closer, if not necessarily better, look. and do note that, as careful as i shall endeavour to be, please take as a given a *** SPOILER WARNING *** for all else ahead. 

it would be exciting not to begin where i did with these two, but also a bit silly. with that in mind, the first of books read for this round, mostly on trains as it happens, was The Burning Girls off of CJ Tudor. 

provenance of my copy? not really sure anyone is all that interested, but yes, indeed it was the "book of the week" or what have you down Tesco. or maybe it was one on a special price for "club members". don't recall, rightly, but on the basis of her other three, as mentioned earlier a pretty straightforward  decision, it is, to buy what she publishes. well, what she writes and her publisher publishes. 

never mind that, what of the plot, you may ask (or not). wow that was some negatives there. anyway, a lady vicar (of the female kind) and her teen daughter are kind of sent, with little choice in the matter, to a remote village. the previous vicar sort of kind of died in circumstances i shall not mention, and it was determined that she would be the most ideal, indeed splendid, replacement. being a remote, most decidedly English rural village, there is some consternation at a lady doing a "man's job", of course, and also the mystery, or puzzle, or even if you like controversy, over what, precisely, happened to the previous vicar, and why. a matter which, but of course, the new lady vicar, and daughter, get all somewhat embroiled in. 

bit strange, this one. i am not sure how to word it. on the one side i would stop a bit short of calling this novel brilliant, or similar, and yet (allowing for circumstances meaning i had not much to do but read) i found i could scarcely put it down. many of the elements i mentioned there shall probably feel rather "been there, done that" to many readers, as would parts i elected not to mention for fear of spoilers. and yet it is all such a compelling read. there is a finite number of story premises to tell, the trick is telling them again in a new, interesting way. and this does that, magnificently so. 

oh, yes, very much so. in answer to any questions about how well this captures the essence, or stereotypes, or even realities, or living in a rural English village, this one does the job. with some considerable, if not formidable, experience i speak so. the way, or manner, in which it is all depicted, described, how the narrative goes, is just full credit to CJ Tudor and her remarkable skills. sure, some, in particular one, of the plot twists (or what have you) don't work as well as they could, which is likely why i am reluctant to throw "brilliant" at this. but, all the same, a highly enjoyable read. 

what sort of "category" or genre does The Burning Girls fall into? kind of macabre mystery thriller, i suppose, with a deft turn into really genuinely suspenseful horror, in truth. so no, probably not for the overtly squeamish, but the mildly so should get by just fine. absolutely recommended.  

going on to the next novel (of two) what i read, then, means a relatively recent (for me) return to John Grisham. after his breezy, this will do Camino Winds, it was splendid to learn that the next one in paperback was a return to his true strength, the "legal thriller". but, as highlighted above, i did have some reservations, what with this being another sequel. 

you of course wish to know of the provenance. well, a strange one, this. by chance i had reason to do business with WH Smith, something that most shall be aware to generally avoid, for they tend to price things way higher than anyone else. yet here was the latest Grisham with a half price sticker on, meaning it was probably more or less the same cost as what i would have got it off of Tesco or similar. as for the business i was doing there. likely the post office, or maybe the latest edition of The Viz. 

and the plot of this one? once again the central character, maybe flat outright protagonist, is Jake Brigance. here he is pretty much strong-armed, if not flat forced, to take on a state defence ("defense" in American) case that all other lawyers have fled from - the role of defending a 16 year old boy who has shot (and murdered) a rather popular police officer. seems like a rather open and shut case, with any lawyer daring defend the boy likely to become a social pariah. and yet, of course, not all to do with the case is as it seems......

now this really was, is, brilliant. quite excellent. superb, even. know, and note, much of the details and aspects of the novel are rather harrowing, and not comfortable to read, but it is well worth pursuing. if i were called upon to give a brief, sort of buzz quote review, then it would be "compelling reading". there, go stick that on the jacket (or cover) of the next print run of this novel. surely it is so that Mr Grisham checks out my blog to see what i think of his latest works. 

my crime with enjoying this is to have a double standard, or be contradictory, or a more aggressive way of describing such. i despair at how much of, in the real world, domestic American matters, of no relevance to the world, dominates the news and associated media here in the UK. yet it is intriguing to delve into this novel and read, with some disbelief, how convoluted, needlessly complex and ultimately possibly unfair the American system is. which is weird, they had a blank canvas and all the resources in the world to build a perfectly functional society, yet they have succeeded in making a right headache of it all. on reading this, one would not like to find themselves accused of being in the wrong, be it minor or as is here major, with the law, for you would appear to be damned and lost no matter what. 

it is widely accepted, or a notion taken as a given, that the Jake Brigance character is one which Grisham created as a kind of "alter ego"; the lawyer he would have liked to be had he not become a very, very (very) successful novelist. presumably or probably there is something telling that, after a few decades, all of a sudden he has reverted to using this character once more to tell a narrative. no, i am not sure what the tell is, but i felt obliged to draw attention to it. 

every time i do one of these posts my speculative wondering is whether or not i have added anything of value to anyone (at all) about what i have read. also, it strikes me that yes, my proclivity for convoluted, needlessly lengthy sentences is probably why i never became no novelist myself, like. an issue, i guess, is that when i've read something that i particularly liked, well, there is not all that much i can say except that it was good. 

well, anyway, on to the next book(s) or novel(s), then. surely, certainly, as and when i have read two (2) further, assuming i am still around then it is likely i shall comment here. but, for now, these ones are books well worth considering and reading. 

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

once more with feeling

heya

yeah, go on then. it's getting (at time of writing, look you see) close to the end of the year, so why not, another look at (yet) another car wash. in the greater good and glory, of course, of Commodore 64 mode. 

once again, as is pretty much custom or standard for these posts, i have no idea why these looks are quite popular among(st) you, dear readers, but here you are. more lookers than readers, i suspect, as yet again there is probably not so much i can say what i have not already. 

as you can see it was a pretty clear, blue sky (as in actual, not thinking) day when i went. sunny, but not so warm. rather cold, as it happens, with that icy, crisp (hello, Faye) bite to the air, threatening colder times to come. which, at time of writing, with some snow around, are decidedly here. 

why was i at a car wash facility again? do i really need to answer that? i am fairly sure, indeed confident, that you would be able to work out why someone would wish to visit a car wash. although, in this post-Breaking Bad era, maybe not. so, to clarify, i went to get my vehicle clean(ed), so that it was not all dirty and was in fact all shiny. 

the image above, if you were wondering (or are at all interested), is of them bit massive soft floppy brush things, moving towards me, inside the vehicle, to do all that great washing stuff. work a right treat they do, and deliver a tremendous performance. better than what i could do, at the least. 

but, be content not with just a still image of them. here, below, is a bit of animated video gif stuff of the very same brushes, about to do their thing. 

dear me, what did i take so many images for, and why have i added them all. well, in respect of the former, or first, point, there is not really all that much one can do whilst sat in a vehicle during a car wash. one can only sit and contemplate life choices for so long. if i were not taking these images, well, likely i should just be sat bored. like, i suppose, the majority of people visiting a similar facility, if not the very same one. 

for some reason it feels like a fair while since i have included some "side window" shots from inside the car wash, so let me rectify, or address, this peculiar feeling. on the off chance anyone is interested. 

a particular fear, and there can be not all that many, which strikes one when in the car wash is to wonder if the windows what can wind down are all wound up correctly. some nerves can strike, for due to the natural laws of water, just a slight gap could see you get drowned or something. doing anything about it is tricky, for if one (to be safe) tries to see if the window is up, they may well inadvertently open it a bit when it was not to begin with. that could get a bit messy. if not messy then, certainly, soggy. 

sure, indeed i have taken an image of the other side window. actually, no, it is an animated gif thing. with the added bonus (if you are into such) of the big floppy brush thing for that side of a vehicle going right ahead and working its merry magic, in a cleaning capacity.

well, there you have it. as there is now, at time of publication, just (slightly) south of three weeks left of this year, i would not expect another car wash update until a new, the next, year has dawned. if you feel you are missing out, please feel free to browse this blog, as there are several posts on this subject. 

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

flying up the charts

yo ho ho pop pickers

we are, i believe, approaching or near enough to all that christmas stuff to justify presenting a very much christmas related moment from pop history. a most peculiar and interesting one, look you see. or, at the least i think so. 

the eighties (80s) were a glorious time for pop. it was very much an era of flaunt it, to go bigger, bolder, more exotic, outrageous and attention grabbing as possible. go big or go home, it all was. pop stars embraced being megastars and truly thrived on it. sadly, this seems all gone now. maybe it's just because the constant stream of information and social media just doesn't make them special no more. 

for who won the overall battle of the decade, who was the most outrageous, who was the most flamboyant and grandiose to attract all the attention, i know not. hard to determine the greatest of them all. but still, rather not worry on who or what was the best, just enjoy all the moments. like, for instance, that time they put an ostensible pop star on a plane and asked them to perform. 

oh, yes. i am indeed speaking of that time in the mid-80s (i forget when, exactly, but possibly 85) when excess got to the stage of throwing no less than Feargal Sharkey on a plane, asking him to perform a bit as it flew over the sky of london (innit), for where else would they do such at the time. 

being (or to be) fair, this was a grand, ambitious, bold and most importantly fun move. indulgence was the go, and no one was really whining all that much about excess or waste. why would you not shove a pop star in a plane and have it fly around for the sole purpose of a three minute song was the mantra, or motto, of the era. how i miss those days. 

although, that said, as it turned out there was (very) good reason as to why you would not shove a pop star on a plane and ask them to perform. no, not even those reasons, the saucy things what the likes of Led Zeppelin and the Stones were rather (in)famous for on planes in the 70s. more a practical reason, but rather watch what happened rather than me just write it all. 

so yes, then, on a plane, a pop star cannot really hear the feedback or monitor sound, so is (as was the case back then, think it was something to do with unions and "live" music on the tele) unable to mime along to the tape of the tune. oh dear. 

quite class, that is. i mean, if you are going to put a pop star (and band) on a plane to do a song, yes, maybe, just maybe test it before broadcasting the effort live? surely it wouldn't have been a bad idea to do a bit of a test run, make sure there was no technical issue with doing what they planned? going full tilt billy ho with it was brave and ambitious, but ultimately only created a moment remembered for reasons perhaps not intended. 

if you are going to have a pop show on a plane, then yes, only the (very) best of the best should be on board to present it. which is why, yes indeed, that is (oooooh) Gary Davies (on your radio) acting as the presenter, or master of ceremonies if you like, of it all. 

many thanks indeed to whoever had the good idea to do a video of this fantastic incident, and of course also to them what went and put it on the internet, making it possible to share here. 

no, so far as i am aware, this idea was never ever tried again. so, in a very real sense, i guess Feargal Sharkey reigns supreme as giving the best ever live top of the pops performance off of a plane. that he equally holds the title of worst ever such performance is simply being picky. 

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

lynx recharge under review

hello there

time, then, for further exploration of what lynx (or axe, in some territories) throw out there in the form of deodorant. which may be an obvious clarification, for i am not at all sure they do anything else but that. oh yes, they do, i forgot they also do a "body wash", look you see. and a sort of aftershave, sometimes, i think. 

presumably there is no sense of ambitious or needless suspense here, for the title gives every indication that i had a go at one lynx deodorant ("body spray") called recharge. what is it that drew me into having a try of this? the price. it was, as i recall, about £1.50 in proper money. also, i had not heard of it before, so figured why not. 

yes, true, after the fact i did consider, in answer to "why not", just how many types of lynx what i had decided to give a go which had ended in abject failure. by now i should appreciate that sticking to pretty much the only two (2) decent ones, excite and gold, are what i should do. however, "yolo". etc. 

let us not mess, or even p!ss, about here. presumably, or it is reasonable to assume, you are here mostly to learn of what this one is like. right, let's have a look at what they say, and what that translates as. from the label, or writing on the can - 

arctic mint - a kind of musky scent

cool spices - slightly musky smell

sport fresh - is to carry an air of musky

for the claim of "don't mask odor, stop it", i am not quite sure what the difference is with the proposed alternates. is it that now, having applied it, for forty eight hours (as they have written) no unpleasant odor shall emit from my person? this is not something i wish to experiment with. 

in the astonishingly unlikely event that one would wish to see such a thing, yes, there above is me going right ahead and applying some of this stuff. of course, in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode. perhaps i should have given some form of warning prior to that animated gif thing, but there we go and here we are, all done now. 

was i, or am i, in any way, shape or form happy with this "recharge" deodorant? not especially. i mean, they have done worse (never forget their africa + marmite blend idea), but also better. there is little or no chance of me purchasing this one again, for i tend not to seek to smell all musky all of the time. 

as i recall there is at least one (1) more experimental lynx (or axe) i picked up, which is probably at the back of a cupboard somewhere. yes, i shall try it, but maybe it will be best to leave such until the new year. 

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

jacket

howzit

there is a general tendency for things to happen to me, or rather me be in circumstances that i did not expect. often this stems from default rather than design, look you see, but it is not to say i am adverse to going all full tilt "yolo", or having a go. such is how i seem to be spending a good deal more time down in the south (or southern area) of our lands than i had anticipated. 

a continuance, or maybe consequence, of this is me, moi, finding myself in more hotels than what i thought i would. perhaps this is common sense to some degree, for where else would i dwell when so far away from home, or if you will my place of exile? 

in one particular hotel, which was rather posh, i was for some reason quite taken with the grand, glorious nature of the "open wardrobe" thing what blessed my room. a place to hang garments, or what have you, for certain purposes. for some reason, and no reason explicitly beyond that which has seen me post all sorts of things here, i thought a partial niche audience here may wish to see my infamous jacket hanging in such a fine structure, useful of purpose and magnificent to look at as it is. 

certainly, this is the jacket. it fasts approaches a period measured as ten (10) years that i have been the proud custodian of it. for clarity, or if you are not a regular reader and are unaware, it is so that the jacket you see is of a distinct provenance. it was obtained for me by my mate Zama, off of the back of Jozi (Johannesburg) taxi rank, for a modest fee. assurances at the time were provided, by Zama, that not only was it "100% legit and genuine" a Levi jacket, but also it would be "perfect" for those English winters and all that snow stuff he had heard of yet, tellingly, never experienced directly. a cloud of question has hung over those statements ever since, but that makes life interesting. 

how happy am i with the way in which these images have come out, presented as they are in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode? partially. of course the jacket looks great, even if it isn't quite up to the task of defending one against (the impending) snow, but i rather suspect this sequence of images does not show off the true magnificence of its surroundings. maybe chance shall permit me to take further pictures of it; this would depend on where i end up next. 

right, well, there we go. anyone interested in Commodore 64 style images of (possibly) bootleg jackets that are not particularly all that much use in snow will, i trust, be satisfied with this. for me, now it is a point at which i must consider selecting garments to take with me for further travels. yes, for luck, good fortune and sentiment, the jacket shall travel with me. 

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