the sun - december 11th 1972

One of the people l work with has a son who works as an electrician. While he was pulling up some floorboards the other day, he found this old copy of The Sun newspaper from December 11th 1972. Reading it, it really was like travelling back to a time that l know l lived through, yet looks so alien (yet quaint).
The adverts at the top are for bricklayers, who can earn plenty of money if they are self employed. As much as £1.25 an hour to be precise. Even the police could earn a whopping £1,400 a year at 19 (way too much pay for them, even then).
As for the sports, Malcolm Allison, the then manager of Manchester City had been slapped down by his chairman for showing an interest in the wayward (and transfer listed)  George Best, as the club said they wanted no part in it, and stressed he had been stating his own view, not the clubs. It is also a sad reminder to me of how crap Manchester United were at the time. It certainly felt like a long time since the European Cup win in 1968.
The paper itself cost an outrageous 3p, and cigarettes are being advertised inside for 20p a packet.
The TV listings are proper old school, with the two BBC channels, plus the regional ones (with 'Alias Smith and Jones!'). Not exactly a lot on show for the youngsters, but at least they treated the viewers as adults (apart from the early shut off times).
One trivia fact, this was also the last day of the manned moon landings, as The Challenger lunar lander Apollo 17) touched down that day, leaving the moon on the 14th. Since then - bugger all. That is (of course), if you believe they even went there in the first place (which l do).
History, it's marvellous!

toodle pip

kate moss in the 2012 pirelli calendar

I know it is old hat to be banging on about Kate Moss being skinny, but the photograph on the 2012 Pirelli calendar, does indeed make her look too skinny  (at least to me). Anyone with a rib cage showing that much needs a few bacon butties inside them.

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davy jones of the monkees has died

Rather sad news that Davy Jones from The Monkees has died from a heart attack at the age of 66.
I always liked The Monkees, and think a lot of their records are overlooked as being too 'bubblegum'.
I even like 'Head' (no, not that.....behave at the back and stop sniggering).
Anyway, remember him this way.

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jack kirby does inglourious basterds

For those of us who are into comics, Jack Kirby was genius. He had a certain distinct style, was certainly his own man, and the Silver Surfer issues he did (1 - 18) are some of my favourite comics (and of course l have all the originals). He did not however, do these comic adaptations of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. These are by Martin Duhovic and they capture Kirby's style brilliantly. I'll stick up some Kirby stuff at a later date, but pretty much all of his stuff is worth reading, even if it gets a little hallucinogenic (to say the least) at times.
Meanwhile, Duhovic's online comic 'Weird London' (Issue 1 Part 1) is available to read here.

toodle pip

back to bleeding work

Damn! The time off work has flown by and l am now back into the swing of things. Loads has gone on while l have been off, and l am slaving away at the moment, but it is made worse as l have a (very) sore throat, so l am not sleeping very well.  However, the FPO, being not as tough as me, is off work now, as she has it as well, so is currently on the sick.  How very dare she.
I am however, now classed as a 'Top Talent' at work (I've been appraised)  and have been sorely missed by everyone.  I should bleeding well think so as well.

toodle pip

obesity soap

My $2 is already in the post. I reckon l should be pretty svelte by the summer time.

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some london scans

It was all go - food and drinks all the way (but not in that order).

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todd snider at the borderline

The reason for going to London - Todd Snider at The Borderline on Wednesday night (22nd Feb).

Sweet.

More London stuff and tales later.

toodle pip

joe is off the whisky

I went round to old Joe's yesterday, with the intention of taking a decent bottle of whisky round to share with him, but it turned out to be a sober experience, as he told me the night before that he is not drinking at all at the moment, as he is waiting to have an operation next week, and has been told by the doctors to lay off it beforehand.
Bit of a swine really, as l have been swotting up on the stuff, with the handy chart featured above.
Mind you, it's not surprising really, as he also said he had got through 28 bottles of the stuff between the week before Christmas and last week.
That is as well as the 5 or 6 cans he was having every day.
No wonder he is buggered.
Saying that, he is going to be drinking again after the operation, as he said he would rather enjoy his life and die younger, rather than abstaining from things he likes.
I'm amazed he has already lasted as long as he has, he has got the constitution (and body) of an ox.

toodle pip

pointed boots for london

Thinking about fashion, l've got to dig out some clothes later, as myself and the FPO are off down to London tomorrow morning.
If l could only remember where l left my cowboy hat and boots...

toodle pip

minoan dress sense

This is how ladies (up to a certain age) should dress. In Crete about 3,000 years ago, the Minoan women wore clothes that supported, yet exposed their breasts. Sometimes it's a shame that times (and fashions) move on.

toodle pip

into the wild (2007) - sean penn

The real McCAndless shortly before his death

Into The Wild is based on the true story of  Christopher McCandless,  who gave away all of his (from his parents) money, travelled around a bit,  then went to Alaska, where he found an abandoned bus, used it as his base, and lived out in the wild, away from society, and being at one with nature, in all it's wondrous glory (hence the title). Bloody hippie. Although the story itself is good (based on the book by Jon Krakauer), l couldn't relate to McCandless as a person (played by Emile Hirsch), as he just came across as a spoilt git who wanted to make a name for himself, by self mythologising himself everywhere he went. Apparently, he touched people (not in that way) he met along his travels, with one old fellow even wanting to adopt him. If l had met him though, l'd have given him a slap and sent him on his way, as he was just irritating. He eventually starves after eating poisoned berries (although non were found in his body afterwards), as he had been unable to cross the river back to civilisation, even though there is a crossing less than half a mile away from where he was, which shows how much he must have explored the area. Pretty much everything about him got on my nerves. Even when he sent his money away, he put a note in to say it was all of his savings, and made sure he told people about it when he met them. Pah!  He should have sent it to me if he didn't want it, stopped whining, and at least let his sister know he was safe now and again. Still, that's one less spoilt middle/upper class git to be dealing with, so it's not all bad.
The music by Eddie Vedder was excellent, and there was also a rendition of 'Angel from Montgomery', so that at least helped me tolerate the film. What a disappointment.

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dynamite underwear

While l am off shopping for the tie below, l think l will get myself  some new underwear to go with it. The ladies won't know what's hit them, the poor defenceless fools.

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glow in the dark tie

I've got to get myself one of these before summertime gets here and it gets too light.

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roman beware of the dog sign at pompeii

While l was looking up Roman swear words the other day (don't ask), l found this little beauty. It is a 'Beware of the Dog' sign, made out of tiles and found at Pompeii. It shows that things haven't changed that much since the olden days, but l am a bit pissed off, as l have been to Pompeii, but never saw one of these. I was however, surprised how far away Mount Vesuvius is, as it really made you realise how powerful the eruption must have been, as l had always assumed it was right next to it. They must have crapped themselves when it all went off.

toodle pip

scalping in the wild west

I've said it before, and l'll say it again. Times were hard in the old days, especially in The Wild West. Not only were there the everyday struggles of trying to make a living, and just surviving generally, there was also the risk of being injured or killed by outlaws or Indians. Add to that, even if you survived an Indian attack, they would probably have scalped you, thinking you were dead.
This happened to the two unfortunate chappies above.
The top person is William Thompson, who was scalped by the Cheyenne in 1867, and that is his hair in the trophy case.
The fellow below is Robert McGee in about 1861, who was scalped by the Sioux when he was a child.
I bet it was mighty painful, and rather them than me.
As stated before, times were hard.

toodle pip

short cuts (1993) - robert altman

Now this is the kind of film l like. Plenty of interesting characters, no great rhyme or reason to the stories, and it also finishes without tying up the loose ends, leaving you wondering what will happen to the some of the people involved. I wont go into the various tales, but some are interlinking, some aren't, and not all of the characters are nice. It was great to see Tom Waits and Lyle Lovett acting, as they were superb and believable.  Short Cuts is pretty long (about 3 hours), but certainly worth it from my point of view.
Thinking about it, this is how 'The Hurt Locker' should have been made. Join the peoples lives at a random moment, become involved with the story, and then an unexpected finish. It would have been so much better.

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