art - what is it good for?

A couple of days ago, while trying to ignore proper work, l read the comments below in the letters section in The Northern Echo. Since then, there has been no response, so here's mine.
I'm all for councils trying to save money, and the article made it out as though there are many funds that should be utilised because they are not used. A good argument.
On the other hand, speaking as a a supporter of the downtrodden, poorly educated  mass who, in the future, may wish to gaze upon awe inspiring works, makes me ponder the thought....what will happen to the artworks if they are sold? I'll tell, you what. Locked away in private collections so none of the proletariat can view them. A short term gain for the councils that makes the rich happy, and the poor even more disenfranchised.
Art is for the people brothers and sisters, it's one of the rare opportunities to be close to a work of greatness, and imagine infinite possibilities, and an age of wonder.
Then again, we could flog them off to rich bastards, and spend our times looking at each other, wondering where it all went wrong (There was no revolution).
I know where l stand.

toodle pip

nigella talks dirty (again)

I've featured this clip before, but what the Hell - it's Christmas, and it's funny.
Nigella Lawson talks dirty.

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michael jackson's children

Prince and Paris Jackson

                               Michael Jackson himself, in various stages of colour and appearance

                        Michael's dermatologist, Arnold Klein (now deceased).  I'm suggesting nothing

It's long been speculated that Michael Jackson's children (his birth ones, not the allegedly interfered with ones), are not genetically his, and anyone seeing them growing up must be pretty blind if they thought otherwise.
However, l've nothing against Michael bringing them up as his own, as long as everyone is happy and taken care of (with no fiddling). It's also good to see Paris having a laugh and doing the moonwalk, but l think that deep down, they may be very damaged individuals, who will be in and out of the news for years to come. Especially the girls.

                              For The Daily Mirror film of Paris doing a short moonwalk - look here.

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donald trump and boris johnson

The Daily News have got it spot on, an old adage that is still true today.
I think Donald Trump is a joke, but a dangerous one, who may well get elected.
Normally l would say 'Only in America', but then l think of our own loveable nincompoop, Boris Johnson. l wouldn't be surprised if he rocks up in the future as the leader of the Conservatives, and possibly the country. A bright man pretending to be a bumbling idiot, who has not hidden the fact that he thinks some people (let's face it - the poor) are too stupid to improve their lives. I suppose it's still better than the spoon fed idiots acting bright that we are lumbered with at the moment.
But not much.
Bring on the revolution!

                                                         Possibly our future 'glorious' leader

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the new beatles statue in liverpool - plus more

                                                   
                                                        Photos by Paul Dean, from here

A new Beatles statue by Andrew Edwards has been unveiled on Liverpool's Pier Head by John Lennon's sister, Julia Baird, and the deputy mayor of Liverpool.
It is looking towards Ireland and the United States, and at least it looks like them, unlike some earlier efforts.

                                                           The one at Mathew Street

                                                       John Lennon outside The Cavern Pub

                                                                        Cavern Walks

     Ringo Starr outside the 'Hard Day's Night' hotel (and George Harrison, below, also outside said hotel)

And there's more!

                                                                   Altmaty, Kazakhstan

                                                                            Houston

                                                                          Mongolia

And last, but not least ....... the waxworks at Madam Tussauds

My favourite one is probably the John Lennon one in Cuba, which you can sit next to. One day, l intend to do so.

 toodle pip

the destroyers captain is.....

The United States' largest destroyer, the USS Zumwalt, is heading out into the Atlantic for sea trials.
It looks pretty impressive, state of the art, and space age (or a council block of flats like The Byker Wall), but the best thing about it, is that the captain is called.......wait for it..............Captain James Kirk.
His parents must have had a sense of humour, but surely (don't call me Shirley), due to nominative determinism, he was always destined to have that kind of job.
More about this story here.
Spot the original one below. Clue - one is minus the 'T'.

This One?

Or This one?     

                                                           USS Zumwalt tries to hide

toodle pip

holly woodlawn is dead

As a fan of pretty much all things Lou Reed wise (discounting Metal Machine Music), and a lot of the Andy Warhol stuff, the death of Holly Woodlawn on Sunday was another addition to that great art collective in the sky.
Don't know who she is? Only the 'Holly came from Miami FLA' in Lou Reed's 'Walk on the Wild Side', one of the greatest singles of all time, which reached the giddy heights of #10 in the UK charts back in 1972. 'Little Joe' is still alive, but he's the last one of those mentioned in the song that is still alive now.
Luckily, there's still John Cale, Moe Tucker and Doug Yule left from The Velvet Underground.
Enjoy them while you can.
More about Holly here.



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bon scott and the valentines

Well l never! I didn't realise until last week that Bon Scott, the original singer of AC/Dc, used to be in a band called The Valentines. I always thought that he was AC/DC's driver, who then took over vocal duties, but The Valentines have never been on my radar, despite loving the early AC/DC stuff and seeing them live many times.
Also....Nice hair.

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newspaper apology

I was reading some old newspapers recently (as you do) when l saw this apology in The Sunday Mirror for an earlier article about Lee Rigby's fiancee having a relationship with one of his army pals. No doubt the original story would have been plastered all over the front page, but most people who read it would not have realised how incorrect it was.
As l've never read the original story, l don't know how much of it was true, but going by the (very small) apology, it seems not a lot.
No wonder l never take anything at face value.

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david bowie is moved by scott walker

I'm a fan of both David Bowie and Scott Walker, and found the clip below pretty moving.  Even though it is a few years old, it has only recently come to my attention, so bear with me.
It's Bowie's 50th birthday, and people are paying their tributes to him. Now Bowie is normally a pretty cool character, and usually keeps his emotions well hidden, but he obviously fails to do so with the Scott Walker message.
Tears may even have been shed during the pause.
"He really got to me there, l'm afraid"



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hilary benn's speech

While I still don't agree with the air strikes against Syria, l will admit that Hilary Benn's speech in favour of the strikes was particularly well thought out and persuasive, deserving of the applause.
It also confirmed my loathing for David Cameron, when the prospect of him apologising to Jeremy Corbyn for calling Corbyn a terrorist sympathiser was suggested, as Cameron's weasily smile and smug look to his colleague confirmed to me (as if it needed confirming) that he is a spoon fed arrogant patronising toff of the worst kind. If l'm reading too much into that look, so be it.  l'll take my chances that l have summed him up correctly, or at least to the best of my abilities without a private education behind me.
Twat.



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there's a storm a coming - richard hawley

I've been catching up on 'You Me, And The Apocalypse' on Sky recently, and without giving anything away, 'There's A Storm A Coming' by Richard Hawley was used at the end of a recent episode, to great effect, fitting the dramatic conclusion of the particular storyline perfectly.
It was also featured in the recent version of 'Brighton Rock', and l nearly posted about the song after seeing that, but never got around to it (things to do, fish to fry etc).
Myself and a friend (Powlie - l'm thinking of you) argue all the time about who first introduced the other to Richard Hawley (obviously l introduced him), and Cole's Corner is still one of my favourite albums, so to hear Mr Hawley enhancing my movie watching experience, is obviously an added bonus for me.
To make up for my tardiness, here's two versions of the song, one live, and one from the Brighton Rock soundtrack, which features the heavier version l (and film makers) am so enamoured with.
It builds up after about 2.30m.
Superb stuff - expect to hear it in lots of adverts soon.

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let's all go and bomb syria!!.............sorry, l meant belgium

Here's an interesting short video of how the Syrian conflict has played out over the last few years, and how, to any right seeing individual, it can easily escalate into a much larger conflict.



It's a mess, and l'm not sure what the answer is myself, but l do know that bombing areas in the Middle East, with the unavoidable deaths of innocent men, women and children, is only going to radicalise more extremists, and put the western nations at greater immediate and long term risk, not less. As a start, I'd probably go for sanctions, and preventing / persuading other countries not to buy ISIS / ISIL oil or support them, and try to get the neighbouring countries to sort it out,but l can't see that happening in the in the near future, if at all.
I've said it before, but I'd rather have more freedom and take the risks involved, and show we are a caring encompassing nation that welcomes other races and religions, promoting free speech, as long as it is not preaching hatred and violence. It's already illegal to incite in such a way, but l'll be treading a fine line, as there are a few politicians of the English kind that l would love to punch in the face (at least), and often state this in public, despite me being an easy going kind of fellow.
Anyway, Private Eye have summed some of it up. You can't defeat ISIS by bombing, as they can plan attacks from anywhere, and probably have supporters in all countries, albeit in small numbers (I assume), but as to the answer? It may require a proper, troops on the ground all out war, and who wants that? I'll take my chances with a free and open society any day, and still travel to places such as Egypt, Tunisia, France and Belgium.
Remember to put that on my headstone if l get blown up.

toodle pip

the reaction to terrorism

These pretty much sums up how l feel about the current terrorist activities, and the gung ho reactions to them.
Never mind folks, we'll soon be bombing Syria.

From here

And here

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the project apollo archive

If you want more proof that man has been to the moon, check out the hundreds of photographs at the Project Apollo Archive, which has just been released, and can be found here.
Some of amy favourites are below, and the released batch reinforces to me how brave the astronauts were, and how alone they must have felt out there, looking back at Earth, or the never ending vastness of space.
Yet also, the best moment of their lives, never to be repeated.

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the deluded jimmy liddle commentates on liverpool

The deluded scouse commentator, Jimmy Liddel (who in the real life, was my father's favourite player), is, to me at least, one of the funniest things on the internet, especially when Liverpool get a good hiding.
I can't work out how to embed the recent videos from their site, but here's Stevie Gerrard's farewell game at the end of last year.
As it goes on, it just gets better and better.
Warning - does contain the odd swear word.
And here's a recent one against Manchester United that l can't work out how to transfer over properly.

toodle pip

the velvet / peanut underground

Excellent. I used to love the Charlie Brown and Peanuts books when l was a kid, and l love The Velvet Underground now.
A win / win situation for me.
This would look great on a t-shirt.



And as proof that The Velvet Underground is not just weird music, here's one of their many slow love songs. Lou Reed sure knew how to write a tune.



toodle pip

squibb's funeral, adam and the ants and the motive - plus slade!

I've had a busy time lately.
I was at York and Middlesbrough with Robbo last weekend, and then this week, there was Squibbs' funeral on Wednesday, (although l went off to work after it), then an Adam and the Ants tribute band at Catterick Village on Friday, followed by The Motive in Richmond on Saturday night. Plenty of people out and about, and stoppy backs on both Friday and Saturday (and in York). Apparently there's a load of photographs about to be emailed to me from Saturday in Richmond (I insisted they were not to be put on Facebook), and it was a pretty raucous affair, but excellent fun.

                                                        Adam Ant has let himself go a bit recently

It's a hard life, but sometimes you've got to put the hours in, and the funerals bring it home that you've got to try and enjoy life while you can, although l do have an assignment l have to complete and send off this week.
Next up, a Slade tribute band in Darlington on Saturday. So to get me in the mood....





By the way, the Adam Ant picture is actually two people l know, Jacket and Mrs Jacket.
Both mad.

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large rat alert

Now this is what l call a rat! Killed by Wapping on the London Underground.
I'm glad l haven't had to deal with any that size in the back garden.
What a beast.

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nikolai tolstyh photographs / papercuttings

This is a simple idea, and has no doubt been done many times in the past, but l'm impressed by these papercuttings / photographs by Nikolai Tolstyh, which have cut out animals, coloured in by being held over colourful backgrounds, mainly from nature.
Simple yet very effective. Check out his instagram page, where there are plenty more to be seen.

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