remain and survive booklet

For anyone who remembers the impending Nuclear war scares in the early 1980's, and the policy of 'Mutually Assured Destruction', here's a 'Remain and Survive' (in the European Union) booklet based on the government's 'Protect and Survive' booklets from 1980. Very cleverly done.

I'll stick up the 'Protect and Survive' booklet tomorrow for comparison.

toodle pip

look who's back (er ist weider da)

I'm waiting for my ebay delivery of  the book version of 'Er Ist Weider Da' (Look who's back) by Timur Vermes , and while eagerly hanging around my letter box for it, have been checking out the trailers of the film, which look pretty good.
l guess l may have to catch it on DVD or Sky, as l can't see any local cinemas putting it on, but  hopefully l may be proven wrong (and it's not often l say that).
Hitler has returned to face the modern age, and he's not a happy man.
Who say's the Germans haven't got a sense of humour?



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the dylan quiz

Think you know your Bob Dylan from your Dylan Thomas?
Try the Dylan quiz
Here's my result, which l must admit l was disappointed with.
                                         
toolde pip

the blood moon - crappy photographs ahoy!

My rather crappy photographs of the recent 'Blood Moon'.  The sky was really clear and free from light (up on the moors), but as you can tell, my camera is shite at taking night time photographs.
You can't tell from the above pics, but the moon looked really impressive, and to me, seemed a lot closer to Earth, and more of a rounded shape, highlighting the fact that we have such a rock orbiting the planet at such close quarters, and reinforcing how magical space is (bloody hippy that l am).
I've nearly finished reading 'Moondust' (by Andrew Smith), about the various missions to the moon, and looking at it that night, it reminded me of the bravery of the astronauts and how often the missions were so close to failure (and some obviously did fail, with drastic consequences).
An amazing feat (and yes - l do believe men landed there!).

The picture below was not taken by me, but this is how the moon looked up on t'moors.

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sepp blatter has resigned!!......oh no hold on...

So, at long last, Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA has bowed to pressure (of whatever sort) and announced his resignation after 17 years.
Hurrah!!!!
Only it isn't yet, and he will almost certainly try to sort out a nice deal for himself by backing his no doubt handpicked stooges, whenever the reigns are handed over.
The only surprise is that it has taken so long, and when it all kicked off last week with the arrests in Switzerland, it actually came as a shock, because the bribes, corruption and fiddling had been so epidemic over the years, with nothing being done about it, and Blatter re-elected each time, it felt like it was a never ending season in Hell if you were a football fan concerned about the way the game is going.
Hopefully he will face charges himself, but will no doubt suddenly develop Alzheimer's or something similar and escape the justice he deserves, after all, he hasn't remained in power for so long by being a nincompoop.

There's an excellent book about FIFA corruption called 'Foul' by Andrew Jennings which l highly recommend, but to emphasise how long everyone has been helpless but aware of the seedy shenanigans, it was published in 2006.

John Oliver on 'Last Week Tonight' also pretty much nails the latest developments.



Here's to a bright new future (l very much doubt, as there will still be plenty of people out there willing to be bribed).
At least it's a start (as The Jam would say).



toodle pip

more goodies

More goodies picked up while l've been out and about at the charity shops, plus some swag from 'Sound it Out' records in Stockton.
The pile of books to read is geting bigger.  I managed to read 'Boy about Town' by Tony Fletcher yesterday, but the ongoing mess next to my bed is also growing.
I've said it before, and l will say it again, l need more time off work (or to win the lottery).

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jb barrington - woodchip anaglypta and nicotined artex ceilings

JB Barrington is still on tour and still has his poetry collection 'Woodchip Anaglypta and Nicotined Artex Ceilings' available.
Buy it here

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recent car boot sale purchases

Sometimes it's actually worth dragging myself out of my pit on a Sunday morning.  Here's some recent car boot purchases, some of which l already have, but my old scratched copies will be replaced by these and moved on elsewhere (when l eventually get around to it). Also, l've already read the 100 year old man book on my kindle, l just fancied a hard copy for the bookshelves.
If l only had more money and time on my hands...............(and a bigger house).
I'd be even more of a sad bastard.
And in the meantime, l'm also trying to plough through these..

It's a hard life.

toodle pip

sleaford mods - the duchess, york march 5 2015

 

Filmed by JB Barrington (the support act) from the back of the stage, the magnificent aural onslaught that is The Sleaford Mods at The Duchess, York, at the start of the month.
I certainly enjoyed The Sleaford Mods, who lived up to my prior high expectations, but was also chuffed that JB Barrington was on first, a modern day bard of Salford, following in the footsteps of John Cooper Clarke. He was also great, and an unexpected surprise. As his favourite book is Robert Tressell's 'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist, plus the fact that he was good enough to sign my copy of his poems, l will even overlook the fact that he is a ciddy fan. As they say at the end of  'Some Like it Hot' "Nobody's perfect".
A top night all round




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gogglebox

After recommendations, I've started watching Channel 4's Gogglebox  recently, and actually enjoy it a lot more than l thought l would do.  At first, it was 'Why would l want to watch other people watching TV?', it sounds like an insane idea, and l certainly have better things to do with my time.
Turns out l haven't, and the show can be quite funny.  Also, despite my prejudices against the upper clases (I know! - I've got many, many issues), my favourites on the show are the posh pissheads, Stephanie and Dominic Parker, probably because they remind me of a recent relationship (minus the poshness).
My nagging reservation about the show that prevents me enjoying it more, is the rather obvious elephant in the room (not me). That is, these people are on TV each week themselves, have achieved some kind of twisted celebrity, and are aware of how they are coming accross on our screens.  In which case, they must sometimes be playing up to the cameras, and not being their natural selves, and l can't get that nagging doubt out of my tiny little brain whenever l watch it.
Still good to watch for mind sapping relaxation, plus through the clips shown, l get glimpses into other programmes that l avoid like the plague.
X Factor - l'm talking about you, and as a cynical yet comedic look at talent shows, l recommend Ben Elton's novel 'Chart Throb'. You'll think differently about the shows afterwards.

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