does the noise in my head bother you? - steven tyler

As expected, 'Does The Noise In My Head Bother You' was full of rehab, drugs, scatological musings and the history of Aerosmith (with some sex thrown in). There was a lot more whining about the other members of Aerosmith than l expected, and some repetition (the drugs talking), but overall, l enjoyed it, even though l am not a massive fan of the band. I did tape then many moons ago, but l haven't got a clue where the tape is stashed now. Probably in the garage with loads of other crap. One of the best shows l'd seen, even if they were off their faces at the time. Rock and roll maaaaaaaan - it's the lifestyle you expect from your rock stars, as long as they remain cool, but it's a fine line of knowing when to stop, as Steven Tyler himself found out many times.

toodle pip

anne frank - the diary of a young girl

Read while l was taking my extra long bath yesterday, this was pretty much what l expected, after all, although Anne Frank was bright, she was still a young girl trapped in hiding, had been persecuted as a Jew, and l knew what was going on in the war and the ending of the diary before l started.
It was interesting because of the ending hanging over it and some of the period details (in both senses), but there was too much moaning about her mother and the others in the hiding place, and waaaaaay too much pining for Peter and the attic.  If she was going to get caught by the Nazis anyway, they could have done it earlier, and l'd have been spared a lot of the teenage lust and devotion in the second half of the book. I could also have got out of the bath earlier, instead of boiling and cooking all my insides, and everyone would have been a winner.
That's obviously a joke, so don't bother with emailing me and telling me it is in bad taste, because l won't be bothered. Anyway - l blame God.

toodle pip

mother night - kurt vonnegut, jr

The metafictional story of American Howard W Campbell, Jr, who is being held for trial after the Second World War for aiding the Nazis through plays and propaganda broadcasts while he stayed on in Germany during the war. Campbell was actually working as a double agent, and his broadcasts delivered secret messages to the Allies, but he cannot get the proof he needs to defend himself. He tells of his war story experiences, (intertwined with real life characters), his relocation to the USA after the war, and his love life and capture.
In the end, a letter comes, but what is it, and will he use it?
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr is one of my favourite authors, and in Mother Night he raises issues about what is good, the effects of supposedly good deeds, belief systems, and responsibility for ones own actions. Make your own mind up about the moral of the story.
A Classic.

toodle pip

and thinking about preening, self loving footballers...ronaldo!!

If there is one footballer in the world who truly loves himself with 100% conviction, it has to be the preening, petulant, self loving show off that goes by the name of Ronaldo. He is always compared to Messi, which must drive him up the wall, as most pundits would consider Messi the better player, and would rather have him in their team. At least Ronaldo can console himself with a large mirror and loving gazes at himself (as he no doubt oils himself up), as he can at least beat Messi on the looks and body department.
A bit like me in the bottom photo after my 8 hour bath yesterday (a new record!).

toodle pip

recent graphic novels

A prequel novel to the film, but not as good as the film (especially the Swedish one)

 Batman and the Joker - always great

Referencing 'The Wandering Jew' and a rare novel, set in London and Calcutta, this was pretty strange but pretty damn good. I'll be checking out more of Sarnath Banerjee's stuff in the future

More great Batman stuff, this time with vampires!

 They are dead - yet alive....and persecuted!!

 More Batman and Joker stuff - don't get dragged into The Joker's world...

 People close to Peter Parker die as he re-assess everything again. Not as good as the early comics.

In it's own mad world, Captain Haddock is the star for me.

All recent acquisitions from the good old library at Colburn, except for the Tin Tin book, which is mine.
What a way to spend your life. It's great.

the euros - the story so far

Lots of shots of pretty ladies in the crowd

                                        Shots of pretty ladies who are scantily dressed in the crowd

Is it just me, or is Scott Parker's head too big for his body? (and he looks like a Thunderbirds puppet)

How on Earth did the Russian fans manage to get this banner past the (obviously very poor) security?

The wacky Irish fans

The kick around everyone wanted to see

This is how the footballers 'headphones constantly in place' look is going to end up.

More wacky Irish fans

Rooooooney, and all the hype about him coming back after suspension, even though he had not played well in the last two tournaments (now three)

Our likeable and heroic (definitely not racist) captain marvel - at least he will still be lifting the winners trophy (no matter which team wins)

The stupid bloody boots that so many of the overpaid, self loving, style conscious superstars are wearing

What they should be made to play in. If they were good enough for Sir Stanley Mathews etc...

What a surprise, knocked out in the quarter finals on penalties, only this time by Italy. At least it saves us the humiliation of being thrashed by the Germans again. 

Now that all the hype has died down, at least l can relax and enjoy the remaining games, plus l've got a week off to make the most of it.  Hurrah!!

toodle pip

cutting the bloody grass (again)

Once again l have been slaving away in the garden, trying to make some kind of order out of it. I wouldn't have minded so much, but l cut the grass about four weeks ago, and it then proceeded to chuck it down, and   l was either at work (or away) when the weather was nice. It took bleeding ages doing it, and when l could finally cut it again, it was back to its overgrown state, resulting in waaaaaaay too much hard work for me.
I just managed to do it before the rains commenced again, but with a bit of luck, the worst is now over, and it should be OK for the rest of the 'summer', necessitating light cuts only. I bloody well hope so, for the sake of my poor old aching body.

toodle pip

telstar : the joe meek story (2009) - nick moran

This was a bit of a strange film, by anybodies reckoning.
'Telstar : The Joe Meek Story' is naturally enough, a tale of  the troubles life and sudden end of Joe Meek, a misunderstood, gay (when it was still illegal), tempestuous and paranoid music producer, concentrating on his recording and relationships at 304 Holloway Road. At first, l thought there was too much overacting and playing it for laughs, although it wasn't funny. However, as the film went on, it got darker and more believable, with some stand out performances by Con O'Neil (playing Meek) and Kevin Spacey (The Major - Meek's business partner).
I loved the fact that some of the original stars were cast alongside people playing their younger selves, and it was also a case of 'spot and name the actor', as there were plenty of  roles for people you just had to (or l did) try and place from elsewhere ('Horrible Histories', 'The Royle Family', 'Gavin and Stacey' etc).  Better than l expected by the end, but also a disappointment, due to the unsuccessful attempts at cheap laughs.
Mind you, the records still  sounded great.

toodle pip

project nim (2011) - james marsh

What a great, yet depressing documentary Project Nim is. An attempt to teach a primate (in this case a chimpanzee that was named 'Nim Chimpsky', it was flawed from the very start. To me, the worst offender was the professor (Herbert S Terrace) who instigated the project, as it was not supervised properly from the start, had no great plan of action, achievable and recordable aims, and he was also pretty quick to change assistants (probably with a view to getting more shags), tactics and settings, and then suddenly ended the project, leaving Nim to be shipped off and forgotten about. Nim ended up in a research facility, but, mainly due to the persistence of one of the earlier helpers (Bob), and the involvement of newspapers and lawyers, was eventually rehoused in a sanctuary. Unfortunately, Nim was in  a cage by himself, without companions and stimuli, even if the sanctuary had good intentions when they 'rescued' him.  When new owners took it over, Bob was allowed involvement again, and other chimps were added to Nim's environment, so at least he had a happier end to his life.
The extra on the DVD about Bob's story was also tear inducing, but at least it was positive, with his standing in his families eyes rising due to his involvement and persistence.
If project such as this are to be undertaken, the assistants should be there for the duration, plus the chimps should be signed at all through their lives, and encouraged to pas on the signs to their offspring, and that progress (and other offsprings) monitored in an non invasive and enjoyable way for the chimps, who should also be living in an open environment.
Then there is the issue of cattle prods - good or bad?
More or less the same as 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes', except in the movie, the apes escape to take over.
Only a matter of time.....


toodle pip

some recent national geographic photographs

A Storming Victory by Mitch Dobrowner

Candles at Petra, Jordan by Behaven Jani

Deer Blossoms in Japan by Hisao Mogi

The Charles Bridge, Prague by Scott McGarvey

Moonlight night at The Matterhorn by Nenad Saljic

Whale Shark by Thomas P Peschak

Here are some of the recent photographs that have been featured in National Geographic. As usual, some tip top images that put my feeble, limp wristed and cock eyed shots to shame.
Damn their eyes and curse them all to Hell and back!


toodle pip

in our name (2010) - brian welsh

A British soldier 'Suzy' comes back from Iraq to discover her home town is like a war zone, her partner is a 'nutter', and she keeps having flashbacks and nightmares. As she slowly cracks up, the violence escalates, the paranoia rises, and she endangers her own child. There is also a grim meeting with a Pakistani taxi driver from 'The Boro' and a childrens talk that goes a bit pearshaped. Some of 'In Our Name' was pretty believable, but parts were pretty far fetched to my jaded old peepers. Joanne Froggatt as Suzy was pretty good, as was her partner (Drew Horsley), but it's the plot l had trouble with. Would her psycho partner really be talked to by his mates the way they did, knowing he was likely to kick off every two seconds? I doubt it, and l live near, drink with, and know these kind of people only too well. At least l watched it all the way through, even enjoyed a fair bit of it, but wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it (in fact l just wouldn't - full stop).

toodle pip

tubbs is ziggy stardust

What a turn up for the books. It seems as though the original Ziggy Stardust was not David Bowie, but our idiot rabbit Tubbs. Who would have thought?
Enlarge the album cover to see for yourselves.
Other 'supposed' originals are at the 'I am Ziggy Stardust' site, where you can insert your own face.
The title of the site reminds me of a certain car crash l was involved in which involved the immortal lines 'I am Keith Richards', but that's for another time.

toodle pip

men without hats - safety dance - new version

Good stuff - l think l prefer the new words

toodle pip

why we suck - a feel good guide to staying fat, loud, lazy and stupid - 'dr' denis leary

By 'Dr' Denis Leary, Why we suck - a Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid was pretty good, albeit a bit controversial at times (read his views on Autism).
From a working class Irish Catholic family, he pontificates about various subjects, taking the piss, and states his (exaggerated for comedic effect) views on how to solve them (mainly, take some responsibility for your own actions, stop moaning, takes some risks and get on with enjoying life).
Sentiments l can mostly agree with.
Funnier than l thought it would be, and he is obviously not a brainless idiot (although he loves Oprah Winfrey).

toodle pip