the public sector strikes and growing up

The Public Sector strikes today are likely to be the largest for a generation, according to the BBC news website. I'm all for a bit of action, in fact if anything, l would prefer more action (and certainly more of the direct kind). On the other hand, l do think the slogan above is pretty true, as (for most people), once they get older, any political fires that may have been burning in their undernourished bellies when they were young/unemployed/a student/low paid tend to go out when wealth/home ownership/family responsibilities (and general selfishness) come into the picture.

Viva la Revolution brothers and sisters!!

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flagg bros - clothing for the brothers

You have to be a special kind of dude to carry these clothes off.

Would suit Shaft (who they say is a mean motherSHUT YOUR MOUTH).

Rise on!

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outrageously large 3d painting at canary wharf

Just brilliant!

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colonel sanders and alice cooper

These are the sort of people l should have been going out drinking with years ago, instead of all the 'ordinary' ( in the loosest possible sense) people l know. Colonel (Harland to his friends) Sanders created the finest foodstuff known to man, and Alice (Vincent to his friends) Cooper was still knocking out great records and drinking as though the well was about to dry up*. Unlimited KFC, booze and rock music (and all the trappings that go along with that). What's not to like? (apart from my guaranteed early death, and that would have been well worth it).

*That maybe makes no sense, as you would probably limit your drinking if the well was drying up, hoping more water would appear from somewhere. Nevermind.

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lethbridge, alberta 1908

Even though l don't have a problem with heights, I certainly wouldn't like to have been working at the top of this bridge, as it looks mighty unsteady (and l bet there wasn't much adherence to the Health and Safety manual at the time).

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lower city (2005) -sergio machado

A Portuguese film, Lower City follows the journey of Karina, a prostitute who wants a lift to Salvador. She meets two lifelong friends, Deco and Naldinho in a bar, and they agree to give her a lift on their boat in return for sexual favours. They swear a woman will not come between them, but (of course) she does, and after various exploits in Salvador, they fall out. Along the way there is also a stabbing, a hold up, a suicide and some cock fighting (not that sort!). Never share a woman with your friend (especially if she represents some kind of twisted escape).

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nausea - john-paul sartre

Antoine Roquentin has settled in Bouville (Mudtown), is writing a historical novel, meeting 'The Autodidact' in the library, while thinking about a reunion with his ex girlfriend, Anny. As it is by Sartre, he also ponders life, and the absurdity and meaning of it. This also involves him suffering from what he refers to as 'The Nausea' (hence the title), as everyday objects and people start to make him feel ill. After all - what is the point of anything? Most people glorify the past, keep themselves occupied, do deeds that make them feel self important and don't even know they exist. Who cares what choices you make? Blah blah blah, existential angst by the pageful, but he is moved by the sound and artistry of a jazz record, and in the end he decides he may as well write a classic book of fiction, because if nothing really matters (as Del Amitri sang), you are free. If you are free, you can make your own choices and pathways, and that also gives you responsibilities (a bit like Spider-man), one of which could be to create great art. A good novel, but Sartre doesn't half go on a bit.

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more silent movie posters

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coming home (1978) - hal ashby

Coming Home stars Jane Fonda as Sally, who helps out at a military rehabilitation centre while her husband is away fighting in Vietnam. She then proceeds to fall in love with Luke Martin (Jon Voight), a paralysed and bitter Vietnam vet (and old school friend). This of course, presents a problem when her husband returns home to discover what has been going on. Slow and slushy, but with top performances by Fonda and Voight (both won Oscars), plus a superb soundtrack (The Beatles, The Stones, Tim Buckley etc). Bruce Dern is also excellent as Sally's husband (Bob Hyde), especially near the end.

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the sex pistols as a hanna- barbera cartoon

The Sex Pistols as a cartoon by Hanna-Barbera.

By Montygog.

Good stuff!

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paul mccartney - come and get it live in bologna 26.11.2011

Apparently this is the first time Paul McCartney has sang 'Come And Get It' live on stage.

Now l am all for him redoing some of his less familiar back catalogue (he wrote it for Badfinger, and it was a hit), but rather sadly, l also wouldn't be at all surprised if it was all part of his insecurity as he gets older, wanting the world to know what songs he wrote (getting the Beatles song writing credits reversed) and blathering on about how he was the true artistic explorer in the 1960's, rather than Lennon.

Then again, maybe l am just too cynical.

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gary speed suicide

I didn't know until watching Match of the Day 2 tonight, that Gary Speed had hanged himself overnight.

At the age of 42.

He was on Football Focus yesterday looking cheerful, and Mark Lawrenson said he spoke to him afterwards and he seemed fine, looking forward to an evening meal.

Everyone seems to be really shocked with this, and there are no reports (at the moment) that 'he had problems etc'.

It just goes to show how you can never really know what somebody is feeling.

There was the case of the German referee (Babak Rafati) trying to kill himself a week or so ago, and Stan Collymore wrote (rather timely, but to late too affect this story) about his struggle with depression the night before Gary Speed took the action he did.

I'm sure there will be a lot of people who will thing Gary Speed had everything they would have wished for.

A successful playing career, an international manager, a wife and two children, and still (relatively) young and rich.

It just goes to show, that all means bugger all if you have serious issues.

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muhammed ali and joe frazier - sports illustrated and mark kram

After posting the Ali Life covers the other day (here), l re-read an article by Mark Kram for Sports Illustrated about the 'Thrilla In Manila', which included this quote by 'Smokin Joe' Frazier.

"Man, I hit him with punches that'd bring down the walls of a city,". "Lawdy, Lawdy, he's a great champion.".

The article itself is one of the best ever and is here.

This was a time when it meant something to be heavyweight champion of the world, and there were a few people who were (more or less) evenly matched who could all have taken on that role (although Ali was still a God, even if he was often written off at the time).

Then it all became mismanaged and crap.

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polish poster for close encounters of the third kind

This Close Encounters Of The Third Kind poster looks kind of crazy (but l like it).

Reminds me of the FPO.

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the crimson rivers (2000) - mathieu kassovitz

There is now a squeal to The Crimson Rivers (Crimson Rivers 2 - Angels Of The Apocalypse), but yesterday was the first time l had seen the original, and it was pretty good, to say the least (even if it did not make a lot of sense).

There are some murders in a pretty little village/town (filmed around Grenoble) with an outstanding place of learning (in real life - this place).

Two policemen end up getting involved in the investigation (and behave in a classic buddy movie style of having to tolerate each other, then getting along and assisting each other in the end).

The film was gory in places, the scenery was excellent, and the lead roles were both played superbly (by Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel as the investigators).

It should have involved clones, not swopsies though.

French subtitled films - they're great!

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life magazine beatles covers

I still have not crumbled and started collecting Life Magazines (see earlier post), but here are some more that l would want stashed away once l do eventually crumble.

What can l say? I'm from Liverpool, l love The Beatles and l love collecting comics and magazines, especially ones l consider historic.

Methinks l will have to crack on and do some overtime to fund my addiction.

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