the red bastard

I thought my brother lived in Leeds.
One of the most surreal comedians l have ever seen - the  wild and wacky Eric Davis as Red Bastard.  Only in America at the moment, but l will be keeping an eye out in case he tours the UK, as it would be great to see him in a small club. His website is here.
Comedy gold.

toodle pip

stormin' norman whiteside photograph from the arc

It's only taken me since July of last year to work out how to get the Norman Whiteside photograph off my mobile and onto the computer, but here it (and he) is.  From the excellent 'gentlemens' night at the Arc.
It's about time Hammy got off his arse and arranged another one.

toodle pip

the bloody grass and the lawnmower

The downside of having a decent garden is having to cut the grass, especially the first cut of the summer.  I actually did this a few weeks ago (and cut the vines from the rabbit run), but the next time l went to cut the grass, the petrol lawnmower started spluttering  a bit, so l put in some oil.  Maybe the wrong oil, maybe too much oil.  Either way, it then stopped working, despite the vigorous and prolonged curses and kickings l administered (the vicious bastard, it's always had it in for me).  I have tried getting the oil out and also had a mate looking at it, but to no avail.  Since my return from Menorca though, l have dropped it off in the hands of Stan the Man, the lawnmower repairer extraordinaire.  He asked me to phone him today to see how he was getting on with it, and he said he has had it up and running, repaired the leaks, got rid of the oil and water, and l should be able to collect it on Tuesday.  Hurrah!!
The bad side of that is, l will then have to crack on with the garden again.

toodle pip

get lucky - daft punk (the peter serafinowicz video)

Still my favourite video of Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky'.
There's not a lot of stuff by Peter Serafinowicz that l like, as he always comes across as too smug and self satisfied to me (although he may well be an incredibly nice guy), but the video for this is spot on.  Arched and subtle.

toodle pip

miami university's underwater photography competition winner

This is the photograph that has won the 2013 Underwater Photography Competition at the University of Miami.  Taken by Kyle McBuurnie.
It's not bad, not bad at all (and rather spooky looking).

toodle pip

the rolling stones rehearsal sheets

The Rolling Stones sure know how to do things in style.  These are a couple of rehearsal sheets for the current tour, which l got from Ronnie Wood's twitter feed.  I don't know if all the sheets are the same design, or these have been adapted by Ronnie himself, but l like them, and it's the sort of crap l would frame and stick on the wall.
It's a shame the band sound crap most of the time nowadays.

toodle pip

I'm back!! (again) - this time from menorca

Well, at long last, l'm back again.  It's been a strange old time and l have just returned from Menorca (through work), but should be back in sunny Catterick until at least September, so the blog is now back on.
I'm really brown, I've now got two cars, and l have seen the Spanish Elvis (who was so bad, it was excellent).  Stone me - what a life.

toodle pip

2nd line jazz - the roots of rock and roll

The birth of Rock and Roll - Second Line, the precursor to Rock around the Clock and many others.

toodle pip

a pretty big gob

Now that is what l call a big gob.
From here

toodle pip

give a fuck o meter

Something l can relate to and something else for a t shirt

toodle pip

the helicopter fan

A genius idea

toodle pip

some very drunk people

Glad to know l'm not alone in falling over.
From here

toodle pip

more spiders from hell

Both of these are so, so wrong, and freak me out, although l will admit they are both clever, especially the hairstyle.
As if l haven't got enough to worry about without the fear of encountering spider type creations like these when l least expect it.
Both pictures are from here.

toodle pip

andrew collins on the government cuts

There's a great article by Andrew Collins about the governments cutback programmes that l have just read (full article is here), and as he can express himself a lot better than l can, l thought l would repeat some of it, as he echos my views 100%.

Attacks on benefit claimants, the poor, the out of work, the disabled, the sick, are easy to tot up as net gains. But – and here’s where every single one of these cuts affects us all, even people who live in gated communities and have second homes in the country – I don’t personally want to live in a society where the worst-off are treated with corner-cutting contempt. This is the seventh richest nation in the world. In the world. And yet a report commissioned by the TUC predicted that by 2015, almost 7.1m of the nation’s 13m youngsters will be in “homes with incomes judged to be less than the minimum necessary for a decent standard of living”

 Either you believe in society or you do not. Either you link the experience of the poor to the experience of everybody else, or you do not. If you do not live in one of the 3.7 million low-income households whose council tax benefit is cut as of today, then you do indeed seem to be alright, Jack. And if you can step back from the bigger picture – from “breadline Britain” as it’s been branded – and still not care, as it doesn’t affect you directly, then you are a better person than I am. 

This government is run by people who do not think about or care about how other people are getting on. They truly believe, as if it were a religious creed, that if you fall by the wayside, it’s your own, lazy fault. If you’re not an “entrepreneur”, if you don’t do three jobs, if you haven’t saved, then you’re a shirker, or a sponger, or a waste of space. If you agree with this creed, sleep well. If you don’t, then you’re alright by me, Jack.

maurice williamson on gay mariage

A great speech here by Maurice Williamson, the New Zealand member of parliament, giving his views on gay marriage (which they have just legalised).   I'm not so keen on him being a member of The National Party, but his views on the gay marriage debate are more than liberated.

toodle pip

piff the magic dragon on penn and teller

Not the greatest trick, but the guy in the dragon outfit has a natural talent for comedy.  Very funny and dry.

toodle pip

richie havens is dead

I have just got up and discovered that Richie Havens has died.  Always best known for his Freedom / Motherless Child appearance at Woodstock in 1969 (thanxs to the film), the last time l heard him was during Django Unchained in the above clip (which sounded magnificent with cinema sound).
The Woodstock appearance is below.
By all accounts a lovely man with time for everybody, he had a great raspy voice, and man, he could sure thumb a guitar.
The flower power generation is dying off brothers and sisters - make the most of it while you can.



toodle pip

photographs of manchester united's 20th title

You can never have too much of a god thing when it comes to winning the League, especially after how last year's Premiership title race finished.  Here's some photographs of last nights 20th title for Manchester United.
Bliss.

toodle pip

the green lantern gets power ringed to death

Not a fate l would wish upon my worst enemy.  The Green Lantern is about to get power ringed to death.
No wonder he is looking so pissed off.
By the way, the Green Lantern film starring Ryan Reynolds was one of the worst of it's kind l have ever had the misfortune to see.  I'm talking crap really (no change there), as l didn't really sit through it all.  I switched it off after about half an hour, and trust me, l really wanted to like it, as l used to read and love Green Lantern comics when l was a kid.  However, if it looks like crap, sounds like crap, and probably smelt like crap on the set, it's crap of the highest kind.

Avoid this film - it's crap

toodle pip

why men never remember - marianne j legato

Loaned to me at Christmas time by Kerry (Bloody hippie).
What it boils down to, is we see things differently and act in different ways because of hormones. Drugs react differently on men and women, and it's all the woman's fault, as us men are perfect (I made that last bit up).
Some good points, but dragged out and repeated too much, and it's probably due to that attitude that Kerry gave me the book to read in the first place.
I'll be rubbing crystals under a pyramid shape next.

toodle pip

my picture in the attic

No wonder l have stayed so young looking.  I have just found this in the attic.
For those that don't recognise it, it's The Picture Of Dorian Gray, and actually, l'm looking more like it with each passing day.
Damn!
I blame God (again!)

toodle pip

jamie foxx in the new spider-man movie

I'm already looking forward to Amazing Spider-man 2 (due out next year), which will be featuring Jamie Foxx as Electro (one of Spidey's arch enemies).  Here's Jamie as his alter ego, the non more geeky Maxwell Dillon.
My best friend used to dress like that until l got his mind right (Hello Robbo!).
I just hope they try to stick to the stories and timeline in the comics, even if Electro is going to be based on the Ultimate version.

The Ultimate Electro

toodle pip

the league of gentlemen (1960) - basil dearden

 

The League of Gentlemen lobby cards

A right old carry on and make no mistake old boy, The League Of Gentlemen has Norman Hyde (Jack Hawkins) assembling a ragtag group of corrupt ex soldiers, all specialists in their own fields, so that they can pull off a bank job (and possibly inadvertently inspire The Great Train Robbery).
The job itself is based on a fictional crime book (The Golden Fleece), and is planned meticulously, but will they get away with it?
There's plenty of the old 'What ho's' and 'I say Darling', and as to be expected, the acting is completely over the top in places, but it is certainly enjoyable if you like old black and white movies.
There's also innuendos towards homosexual behaviour (still a criminal offence at the time) and a short mincing performance from the one and only Oliver Reed (looking very attractive), which is so camp it has to be seen to be believed.
Featuring a great line when Hyde is asked about a portrait of his wife, and if she is dead.  He replies "I regret to say the bitch is still going strong".  Feisty language back in the day, and even now.
The lesson to be learned?  Cover every eventuality, no matter how insignificant they might seem.  I know of what l speak, as l have served some time after not covering my own tracks in the past (obviously l'm now rehabilitated).  You don't want to end up in chokey.



toodle pip