Blog of the Day Revisit
Blog! Couldn't agree more Ranleigh:
"Note to Self - From now on only go to Matinees. Do not, I repeat do not go to evening films. $9.50 is too much for a movie even if the damn thing does run something like 3 hours. Also, while matinees are virtually empty ensuring a relaxing movie going experience, evening showing are completely packed meaning you'll have to sit within the heavy oppressive blanket of humanity feeling all hot and claustrophobic while some huge guy spills over into your seat. The feeling of claustrophobia will be worse when the running time is something like 3 hours. In fact everything is worse when the running time is 3 hours."Unless it's something with Lord, Rings, Dances or Wolves in the title. I'm sorry what?
Blog of the Day Revisit
Blog! Ladyblog's Erika:
"I just got super glue on my tongue. Thank the Lord, it isn't stuck to anything. It's just there. It's annoying and hard and well, stuck. I guess I deserve it. I shouldn't have had super glue anywhere near my mouth. You see, I have several cracks on my fingers that are killing me, so I bought some super glue and filled in the cracks. I didn't buy the real super glue, of course, because there were others that were cheaper. Two for the price of one, in fact. The stuff took longer than I thought to set and I don't know how it ended up on my tongue, but there it is. I am tired. I am a dork."I sometimes get brown sauce in my hair ...
Blog of the Day Revisit
Blog! Matt Haughey has been threatening to start The Ticket Stub Project for some years and it finally launched yesterday. It's fascinating, idiosyncratic and nostalgic. Already started glancing through my books looking for old tickets I can write about ...
Blog of the Day Revisit
Blog! I feel you pain. The title says it all ....
I hate trains, oh how I hate them. The journey time is one thing, but the fact that one is constantly surrounded by screaming kids, belching lads and chatty old ladies is quite another. Virgin have scrapped their smoking carriage in favour of a 'Quiet Coach' for one - having sat in one of these on the way into the city on Friday, I can honestly say that it should have been reported under the Trades Descriptions Act. There were kids everywhere, screaming and squawking, fat bald thirty-something men drinking cans of Tennants Super and an old Grandma behind me who chirped and tweeted her way city-bound.But was it any better under British Rail?
Blog of the Day Revisit
Blog! This is probably old news to everyone ... but I've just been reading 'Scotblog' and it's bloody good ...
Blog of the Day Revisit
Blog! DaisyBlossom offers a stunningly accurate description of what also happens to me at concerts:
"When the matches came out and started playing, everyone starting moshing and slam dancing which had me crushed against the stage like you wouldn't believe. I used to mosh when I was like 15 and 16 but back then I didn't realize how annoying it is to be unwillingly part of it. I got the wind knocked out of me 2 times as people we pushing me into the stage which came right in my abdomen. Unfortunately, I couldn't move so all I could do was try to guard my rib cage the best I could. It was so gross though, I mean people are like humping me. Their whole body jumping up and down right on my backbody was I think the grossest feeling in the world. I was in agony the whole time the matches were out there but like I said I still loved their music."As Sheryl Crow sang 'No one said it would be easy ...'
Blog of the Day Revisit
Blog! Take care of yourself Dave. If you can survive university, you can survive anything ...
Blog of the Day Revisit
Blog! The irony of the Wrzl Weblog:
You are searching for meaning of the life? We sure that we cant help to find the meaning of your life. But everybody knows, this is a search. The ultimate search. Search for a clue. You are going to find that clue from another human beings. Other people's wisdom, weirdness, happiness, delicacy, sorrow, stupidity... And the ultimate search begins here.It's actually a wicked list of ladmag style link and flash games. A sort of bubblegum version of Metafilter ...
Blog of the Day Revisit
Blog! Michelle at Demerol signed my guest book today and said some nice things. Her sight is an emotionally charged place and obviously work a visit. Particularly love these animated gifs, 360 degree cat swings around all the rooms in her department.
Blog of the Day Revisit
Blog! Altered Context made my heart melt:
I talked to Samantha on the phone for about two hours today. The sound of her voice was so...perfect. I love her so much. We are without a doubt soul mates.What a feeling ...
Photography Slightly zoned to see that this poster of 'that kiss' is TATU who I may have mentioned before. Suddenly everything makes sense. [Related: The Guardian, Metafilter]
TV And heavily trailed throughout the hour was a second season of “The Book Group”, which as always with these things appeared from nowhere. It wasn’t clear if everyone was back for it, but I thought I aught to put the early warning system in place. If you can catch any of the late night Thursday repeats, that would be a good primer. Or, then again, there is always the DVD …
TV In my previous review of ‘Friends’ way back in November 2002, the best I could muster that it’s “It’s actually quite good. Not classic.” The ninth season began on Channel 4 tonight (shockingly early by all accounts – only a day behind E4 – we’re actually watching a season which is still on in the US), and for the first time I was satisfied. For the first time in months, I laughed for moment after moment throughout the entire episode. And then did it again with the second in the double bill. I didn’t recognize the writer’s names in the credits, but they had their characterization was perfect. Joey was not simply dumb for it’s own sake; Ross was pathetic, but in the way we all can be. This was back to basics stuff, the six characters so fully formed now we know what they’re next move could be, and yet we were still surprised. The complex plots which have hampered the show in recent times shorn away to basics. Rachel trying to stop her baby from crying; Joey trying to apologise to Ross; Chandler trying not to move to Tulsa. That last plotline was a joy, a return to the mighty Weenus moments of previous seasons as he wrestled with office politics. Yes, the meeting with his boss was unrealistic, but this is a sit-com … and it’s good that for the first time in ages everyone seems to have remembered that. Roll on episode three.
TV Anyone actually watch 'Trust' last night. No one I work with had even heard of it (the BBC press machine in full effect there). It was an awful awful thing and I was going to write a long review, but as ever, The Guardian's Gareth McLean gives a very good survey ...
"Trussed, more like. This legal eagle drama is a great big turkey. From its opening scene - which is supposed to demonstrate Stephen's hectic lifestyle, but actually makes you think: what a twat - to its closing titles, almost everything about Trust is misconceived, misjudged or just plain bad."But for me it was so bad it was good. It's just as a shame it's to 'North Square' what 'Charmed' is to 'Buffy'.
Music Sometimes you can hear something for for your entire life and then realise that what you thought you knew was only a fragment of the true story. When I heard the song 'Wimoweh' on a compliation from the folk group The Spinners at the age of ten I thought it was their own composition. So when I heard the Tight Fit song 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' I thought they had ripped of Davis, Hall, Grove and Jones. Later I heard Pete Seger sing it and decided that The Spinners had covered his version. And it stayed as one of those songs I knew inside out; the last time I head it was the fer bars which appeared when Marcel the Monkey jived on 'Friends'. So when I noticed there was a documentary about the origins of the song on BBC4 the other night, I thought it would be interesting to see who originally recorded it.
It was a composition originally devised by Solomon Linda, a Zulu migrant who was enticed into going to New York with his group The Evening Birds to record their music for the producer, Griffiths Motsieloa, who released it on the then standard 78s. It sold a hundred thousand copies. For which Linda recieved lunch money, having signed the most simplistic contract available, having been told that black people couldn't earn proper money, by his record label. By scrawling his name on that little slip of paper he signed the rights away imperpetuity. So a year after 'The Tokens' recorded their version in 1961, the one which sold six million copies and imortalised the tune for the modern audience, Linda died in poverty. His family couldn't even afford a gravestone.
In fact the most arm chewingly embarassing moment in the programme was an interview from a cable tv station. When The Tokens recorded Wimoweh their record company all but forced them to use the top vocal -- which is where 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' chimes in. Their producer, George Weiss wrote those lyrics based upon Linda's original language. So there was Weiss, in this interview claiming to the presenter that he had written the whole thing himself including the Wimoweh bit. Linda's name didn't come up once. This old rich man treading on the grave of the real talent.
Afrkaan's writer Rian Malan, noticing the injustice decided that he would take up the fight on behalf of Linda's remaining four daughters. Part of his campaign was an article in Rolling Stone magazine which he hoped would open up the debate (the documentary was a partial adaptation of the piece). It's quite long but worth printing out and reading on your way to work. He has also compiled a guide list of other cover versions of the song. It's staggering how something can balloon, but the origin author lacks the credit.
It was a composition originally devised by Solomon Linda, a Zulu migrant who was enticed into going to New York with his group The Evening Birds to record their music for the producer, Griffiths Motsieloa, who released it on the then standard 78s. It sold a hundred thousand copies. For which Linda recieved lunch money, having signed the most simplistic contract available, having been told that black people couldn't earn proper money, by his record label. By scrawling his name on that little slip of paper he signed the rights away imperpetuity. So a year after 'The Tokens' recorded their version in 1961, the one which sold six million copies and imortalised the tune for the modern audience, Linda died in poverty. His family couldn't even afford a gravestone.
In fact the most arm chewingly embarassing moment in the programme was an interview from a cable tv station. When The Tokens recorded Wimoweh their record company all but forced them to use the top vocal -- which is where 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' chimes in. Their producer, George Weiss wrote those lyrics based upon Linda's original language. So there was Weiss, in this interview claiming to the presenter that he had written the whole thing himself including the Wimoweh bit. Linda's name didn't come up once. This old rich man treading on the grave of the real talent.
Afrkaan's writer Rian Malan, noticing the injustice decided that he would take up the fight on behalf of Linda's remaining four daughters. Part of his campaign was an article in Rolling Stone magazine which he hoped would open up the debate (the documentary was a partial adaptation of the piece). It's quite long but worth printing out and reading on your way to work. He has also compiled a guide list of other cover versions of the song. It's staggering how something can balloon, but the origin author lacks the credit.
Rings "A recently leaked trailer for The Return of the King has Tolkien fans outraged over the apparent addition of a new character - Jar-Jaromir. The scene depicted in the trailer shows Jar-Jaromir shouting, "Gondora gonna fallsa";
he then trips over a corpse and knocks down a couple of Uruk-hai." (I'm in a wierd mood. I still have a cold) [via everybody]
he then trips over a corpse and knocks down a couple of Uruk-hai." (I'm in a wierd mood. I still have a cold) [via everybody]
Commerce Right, I'm in a bitter mood (this ongoing fever has meant that I haven't been able to do half the things I was planning to do this week) so I'd better get started. I'm not at all surprised that Dixons are showing a slide in their profits if my visit to the Liverpool store to buy my Christmas printer was anything to go by. I went there because I'd looked all over town and hadn't found anything to fit the profile of something cheap that will do the job, buy y'know nothing fancy.
After a browse about the store I saw a pile of Lexmark's for £25.00 each (some of you are going to sigh here but I'll continue). There weren't any on display so I asked one fo the sale people for some help. As always happens in Dixons he looked about 12 but as always I gave him a fare go. I asked him what kind of cartridge came with it. Colour or Black. 'Dunno.' He says, 'Could be either.' I asked him if there was a way to tell. He sighed and went and asked his friend on the other side of the shop. Who tells him it'll be a colour one. I asked him if it will also print in black and white -- I'm told that it won't. I ask him to show me the cartridges which go with it. He sighed again and leads me to were the cartridges are. He feverishly looks them up and down. I eventually go over to the printers myself, make a note of the code and find the cartridge -- which will be £25.00. So now my printer is suddenly double to price. But I decide it's still worth it and head for the till.The girl at the till doesn't look up at me. She is still chatting to her friend. Then a voice chimed in from behind me -- 'Have you got a lead for that?' It's yet another sales person. 'Doesn't it come with one?' I asked. 'No.' And he shows me the USB leads. The cheapest one they had was £14. So now my cheap printer is £64. I was about to pay anyway, when this sales person, in the kind of sarcastic voice which would make you punch anyone else says: 'Not so cheap now then is it?' So I put the printer down ... I step away from the shop.
This only confirms that if you're going to buy anything you should stay well away from that moribund company ...
After a browse about the store I saw a pile of Lexmark's for £25.00 each (some of you are going to sigh here but I'll continue). There weren't any on display so I asked one fo the sale people for some help. As always happens in Dixons he looked about 12 but as always I gave him a fare go. I asked him what kind of cartridge came with it. Colour or Black. 'Dunno.' He says, 'Could be either.' I asked him if there was a way to tell. He sighed and went and asked his friend on the other side of the shop. Who tells him it'll be a colour one. I asked him if it will also print in black and white -- I'm told that it won't. I ask him to show me the cartridges which go with it. He sighed again and leads me to were the cartridges are. He feverishly looks them up and down. I eventually go over to the printers myself, make a note of the code and find the cartridge -- which will be £25.00. So now my printer is suddenly double to price. But I decide it's still worth it and head for the till.
This only confirms that if you're going to buy anything you should stay well away from that moribund company ...
Film Analyse This was the last film to need a sequel. But Fame Tracker suggest that there may be a few more to come ...
"Analyze ThisI think I was the only person looking around for "Still Being John Malkovich"
Analyze That
Analyze the Other Thing
Analyze What?
Analyze Whaaa?
Analyze This Again
Re-Analyze That
I Thought I Asked You To Re-Analyze That
Sobol: A Whole New Analysis!"
Music The short list for the Grammies has been released. Knowing I know nothing about music, here are my picks:
Record Of The Year Don't Know Why - Norah Jones (because it's the only one which hasn't been on Mtv or Emap heavy rotation long enough to irritate the hell out of everyone)
Album Of The Year Come Away With Me - Norah Jones (it's the only album I have -- and Eminem -- again!?!)
Song Of The Year Complicated - Avril Lavigne & The Matrix, songwriters (Avril Lavigne) (Because I love the idea that The Matrix from the film was behind the record as a way of subjigating the masses in preparation for the upcoming overthrowing of humanity by the machines. And the thought of Agent Smith hunched over a piano trying to work out how a teenage girl feels about boys is a bit funny)
Best New Artist Norah Jones (they wouldn't touch Ashanti after last time. John who? And it's almost as though no one but Lavigne recorded anything this year
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Soak Up The Sun - Sheryl Crow (although -- for once I've actually heard all of the songs. Hard decision. I'm sure Spears will get it becuase it appears to be only thing she's been nominated for).
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Your Body Is A Wonderland - John Mayer (still haven't heard of him)
Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal Hey Baby - No Doubt (it would good to see No Doubt back.
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals The Game Of Love - Santana & Michelle Branch (something I didn't mind seeing on heavy rotation)
Best Pop Instrumental Performance 18 - Moby (or the made up award so that Moby can win something)
Best Pop Vocal Album Let Go - Avril Lavigne (just to be fare -- didn't any men record any good albums last year? What was Ryan Adams up to other than kicking people out of his gigs?)
Best Dance Recording Gotta Get Thru This - Daniel Bedingfield (because I'm in a charitable mood -- once this was a hit he started to produce ballads. Makes sense.)
Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Alone - Susan Tedeschi (haven't we been here? Picked this time because I like her surname)
Best Male Rock Vocal Performance45 - Elvis Costello (just for being nominated)
Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With VocalIn My Place - Coldplay (for getting Gwyneth Paltrow. You really do deserve an award, my friend)
Best Hard Rock Performance All My Life - Foo Fighters (because I've heard of them)
Best Metal Performance My Plague - Slipknot (because that takes some conviction)
Best Rock Song The Rising - Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)
Best Rock Album C'mon, C'mon - Sheryl Crow (it's the one I bought)
Best Alternative Music Album Behind The Music - The Soundtrack Of Our Lives
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance More Than A Woman - Aaliyah (she'll end up winning it posthumously anyway, so what the hell)
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance Take A Message - Remy Shand (with a name like that he may have been picked on at school)
Best Contemporary R&B Album Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape - Meshell Ndegeocello (see above)
Best Female Rap Solo Performance Scream a.k.a Itchin' - Missy Elliott (my god she's lost weight)
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group And lo my musical knowledge escapes me. Who are all you people and are you any good? Skip to the end ...
I've a good feeling about Norah Jones. I mean she may win a few awards on the night ...
Record Of The Year Don't Know Why - Norah Jones (because it's the only one which hasn't been on Mtv or Emap heavy rotation long enough to irritate the hell out of everyone)
Album Of The Year Come Away With Me - Norah Jones (it's the only album I have -- and Eminem -- again!?!)
Song Of The Year Complicated - Avril Lavigne & The Matrix, songwriters (Avril Lavigne) (Because I love the idea that The Matrix from the film was behind the record as a way of subjigating the masses in preparation for the upcoming overthrowing of humanity by the machines. And the thought of Agent Smith hunched over a piano trying to work out how a teenage girl feels about boys is a bit funny)
Best New Artist Norah Jones (they wouldn't touch Ashanti after last time. John who? And it's almost as though no one but Lavigne recorded anything this year
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Soak Up The Sun - Sheryl Crow (although -- for once I've actually heard all of the songs. Hard decision. I'm sure Spears will get it becuase it appears to be only thing she's been nominated for).
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Your Body Is A Wonderland - John Mayer (still haven't heard of him)
Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal Hey Baby - No Doubt (it would good to see No Doubt back.
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals The Game Of Love - Santana & Michelle Branch (something I didn't mind seeing on heavy rotation)
Best Pop Instrumental Performance 18 - Moby (or the made up award so that Moby can win something)
Best Pop Vocal Album Let Go - Avril Lavigne (just to be fare -- didn't any men record any good albums last year? What was Ryan Adams up to other than kicking people out of his gigs?)
Best Dance Recording Gotta Get Thru This - Daniel Bedingfield (because I'm in a charitable mood -- once this was a hit he started to produce ballads. Makes sense.)
Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Alone - Susan Tedeschi (haven't we been here? Picked this time because I like her surname)
Best Male Rock Vocal Performance45 - Elvis Costello (just for being nominated)
Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With VocalIn My Place - Coldplay (for getting Gwyneth Paltrow. You really do deserve an award, my friend)
Best Hard Rock Performance All My Life - Foo Fighters (because I've heard of them)
Best Metal Performance My Plague - Slipknot (because that takes some conviction)
Best Rock Song The Rising - Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)
Best Rock Album C'mon, C'mon - Sheryl Crow (it's the one I bought)
Best Alternative Music Album Behind The Music - The Soundtrack Of Our Lives
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance More Than A Woman - Aaliyah (she'll end up winning it posthumously anyway, so what the hell)
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance Take A Message - Remy Shand (with a name like that he may have been picked on at school)
Best Contemporary R&B Album Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape - Meshell Ndegeocello (see above)
Best Female Rap Solo Performance Scream a.k.a Itchin' - Missy Elliott (my god she's lost weight)
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group And lo my musical knowledge escapes me. Who are all you people and are you any good? Skip to the end ...
I've a good feeling about Norah Jones. I mean she may win a few awards on the night ...
Blog! I've been visiting Plain Layne a bit lately, initially because she looks a bit like Tori Amos but mostly because it isn't often you stumble across something so honest and elloquent:
"I inhabit a world that has shifted into unbearable poignancy. A familiar-looking face in a bright bustling crowd will remind me of her, or any Spanish I overhear. My heart is broadcasting cliched songs of love and longing to the radio. Everyday objects have become remarkable things, suffused with memories of her, like the striped chopsticks of mine that she loved. In the Bug I remember Christmas with my family at the resort, and how we saved up our affections for a deserted dirt road and the backseat. My bedroom is drowsy and plush with her ghost. Life seems far better -- and far worse -- whenever I glimpse a couple in their happy private bubble, hands clasped, leaning into each other, eyes shining with contentment. That should be us. That was us."Today, Layne introduced me to the work of the Kabalarian's who seem to spending their lives giving their own definitions of baby names. I smell both a fish and a rat, but here anyway am I ...
"Your name of Stuart has created the desire to focus on the details of your immediate interests to the extent that others consider you to be fussy. You are attracted to, and could excel in, the mechanical or technical fields, such as computers. Instead of establishing the system and order you would like, you are over-particular in some things that matter to you personally but lax and indulgent in other ways. You place great importance on whatever you happen to be interested in, and can be quite thorough and detailed in what you are doing, but find it difficult to be consistent. You scatter your efforts when things becomes too monotonous. You have intense urges and feelings for which you can find no expression. At times you are motivated more by moods and desires than by sound logic and reason, and under conditions of stress you could react inadvertently in temper or stubbornness that you would regret later. The indulgences prompted by this name can lead to high blood pressure and its relative ailments, as well as nervous tension affecting the whole nervous system. "Oh who want's to believe these things anyway?
Media Is the BBCi website far too big and monopolistic? Editorial from 'The Guardian' discussing whether the BBC's website, funded by the British license fee is taking the thunder away from commercial websites worldwide trying to achieve the same results in advertising run market place. There is some logic to the argument -- when e-marketing revenues are dwingling how can some sites compete with this bohemoth? On the other hand, if they were achieving the same results people would be going to them instead, and the BBC's website is very, very good in some places, indispensible in others. [Metafilter]
Music I'm not at all surprised that I don't actually own any of Hybrid Magazine's top album's of 2002, because I have a well honed dodgy sense of musical direction (currently listening to the "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack). I know I really should like bands with names like "The Rocking Horse Winner" or "The Mooney Suzuki" (or that I should like bands) but I got Pink's "missundaztood" and Avril Lavigne's "Let Go" for Christmas instead. The Pink album may have been a mistake. Jury still out on Lavigne ... but I'm drifting. I don't actually know why I don't get these things which other's laud for their quality. I'm sure that some of it is to do with availability -- music radio in Liverpool is very limited, but much of it's to do with my ear. That said my next endevour is the soundtrack to Luc Besson's action film "Taxi" which is the epitomy of French cool, so maybe there is hope yet. Anyone like to suggest something?
TV Regular reader will remember that I lement terribly the passing of the Channel 4 lawyer drama "North Square" about a group of lawyers in a fictionalised Leeds. The review which accompanies the expected page at the IMDb covers most of the good things about the programme -- it was sharp, funny, gripping and as robust as the US series which are lauded over. Now compare and contrast with the BBC's BIG NEW DRAMA SERIES "Trust", as presented in their press release ... it's the same show! Only set in London, and featuring Robson Greene (of all people) instead of a real actor. I'm reminded of the silent era when film companies in rival countries didn't buy in product they copied and made their own version. Yet anothe winner from the BBC ...
Winter You know my embargo on mentioning the weather on this weblog? I'm about to break it. A bit nippy doesn't cover the sheer ice which nipped throught the crevices of my body today. I was going to write something nice and poetic about it all, but it's so cold that I simply couldn't capture the feeling in metaphore. So instead I'm just going to say. It's cold.
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