gimme shelter - playing for change

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paul mason is annoyed

There should be more of this kind of news reporting.
Paul Mason from Channel 4 news is angry with the banks.

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harry enfield in the hildyard arms

Something that wasn't expected at the weekend.  Harry Enfield in The Hildyard Arms in Colburn, Catterick Garrison. One of our few remaining local pubs.
Either that or my drug flashbacks have started to kick in (about bleeding time).

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bootle bomb damage 1941

Bootle bomb damage after an air raid in 1941. This is only one small example, but Bootle was one of the most bombed places in the UK during the war, with up to 90% of the houses damaged (including the one l lived in).
No wonder there was so much rubble about when l was growing up there.

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women concentration camp workers from belsen - bergen

Sometimes the facade of ordinary looking people disguises how cruel they can be.  I deliberately chose not to say evil, as l don't think that people that participate in horrendous acts are necessarily evil, just maybe led astray by circumstances and a breakdown of normal civilisation, with a lack of all it's usual laws, restrictions and moral codes of behavior.  Who can say how anyone would behave in certain circumstances, as there are numerous examples of horrendous behaviour in just about any war. I'm also not singling out the women above as more culpable, it's just that their pictures were readily available, and l can't be bothered at the moment searching for photographs of the men that were involved.
The above were all women (known as Aufseherinnen) found guilty of working for the Nazis in the Belsen - Bergen concentration camp during the Second World War, and either imprisoned or hanged afterwards. Ordinary looking, and who, without the rise of the Nazi party and trickle down, gradually increasing hatred of the Jews propaganda, would most likely never have dreamt they would end up doing what they did. That's the scary part - how ordinary people can be made to engage in evil deeds, if the hatred and dehumanisation of a race or religion is allowed and encouraged to take hold.
More photos and details can be found here.

At one of the mass graves - photo by George Rodger (Time / Life)

The Anne and Margot Frank memorial (she died there)

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dj snake and lil jon - turn down for what.

One of the strangest videos you are likely to see for a long time. DJ Snake and Lil Jon - Turn Down For What.



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mr parrot trying to attract my attention

This is what happens when l try to ignore Mr Parrot and watch the football.  He sits on the edge of the settee l'm on, and starts whining and flapping his wings to try and get my attention.
I think he's in love with me - silly sod.

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between the bars - elliott smith and the civil wars

After listening to Elliot Smith's 'Either / or' earlier this evening, l was reminded of The Civil Wars rather excellent cover version of 'Between the Bars', one of Elliot's tracks on that very album.
I prefer Elliot's voice, but The Civil Wars certainly had a good crack at it.
However, I  was originally going to say they had a good stab at it, but thought people may think l was referring to Elliot's death (as if l am the kind of guy that would even think of doing such a thing!!).
Anyway...enjoy.

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a dog in a spider costume freaking people out

This is hilarious - although it would scare the crap out of me.
A dog running around in a spider costume.
A simple idea, yet very effective.
Enjoy.



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batman fights dracula, and dragula, queen of darkness.

Rather sadly, a film l will probably never see.  Batman fights Dracula, a rather strange looking Filipino offering that is now considered lost.
I know it will probably be crap, but l can imagine it being soooooo buttock clenchingly bad, it will be hilarious.
I also think Adam West (and his costume) must have been unavailable at the time of shooting.

On a related note, here's a comic strip that not many have seen - Dragula,Queen of Darkness (from here).  Originally featured in National Lampoon 1971.
Enjoy

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another haircut, deep purple, and more bleeding books

Today's charity shop purchases are above, while the ones below l have just finished reading.

As if l didn't have enough books lurking around the house waiting to be read.  Here's todays purchases, plus some l have just finished.
As l had a spare five minutes before leaving the house, and my hair was getting too long for my liking, l also decided to give myself a haircut, hence the mess in the waste paper basket.
I can now try and convince myself l look like Ian Gillan (from Deep Purple) in the clip below (Smoke on the Water - New York 1973).



I'm either losing my marbles, or l need my cataracts seeing to.

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raury - god's whisper

Also loving this.  Raury - God's Whisper, which l heard for the first time on the radio a couple of nights ago.
Never heard of him before, but l can see l may have to check out more tracks on Spotify and get downloading.
Music, books, comics, football, TV and movies.  It never ends.
I'll have to pack in work so l've got time to fit everything in.

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whole lotta love with the police academy guy

I saw this on The Afterword site (although they nabbed it from Dangerous Minds), and it's unbelievable.  The guy from  Police Academy (Michael Winslow) doing drums, guitar, and and vocal to Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love' with musician Odd Nordstoga on the Norwegian chat show 'Senkveld'.
I bet Robert Plant wishes he could still sing like that.

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the columbian womens cycling new outfit

The new Columbian Womens Cycling outfit / kit.
Calm down at the back, it only looks see through, but the designer must be taking the piss, and l bet he (for it is bound to be a he) can't believe he has got away with it.
Tweeted here.

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kenichi ebina dancing on america's got talent

Now this guy is good.
Kenichi Ebina showing how it's done, and busting (see how down with the kids l am?) some moves l have never seen before.
From the Chicago auditions for America's Got Talent.

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self portraits with alzheimers - william utermohlen

I've worked with people who have developed Alzheimer's disease, and as you can imagine, it is not pleasant at all for the unfortunate individual who suffers from it.
William Utermohlen was diagnosed with it in 1995, and decided to do self portraits as it progressed, to document the way it affected himself, both in his ability to capture his own image, and his perception of that image.
The results are above.  The first self portrait is from 1967, but the rest are from 1996 to 2000.  William died in 2007.
More information can be found here.

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the spoof greggs the bakers logo -' providing shit to scum for over 70 years'

It's been taken down now, but when you googled Greggs the bakers earlier on today, the blue signage was not the usual one, as you can see in the above image.
I just missed out on taking a screenshot, but managed to get a photo, even if it is poor quality. Much as l am scum myself and enjoy Greggs food, this was a classic prank, and l am all for it.

Saying that, Greggs response to it was also pretty good (click photo to enlarge).

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another brave look for summer - the face-kini

After the photographs of the ball bag pouch for men in the earlier post, here's something for everyone.
It's the face-kini.  Pioneered in China to keep the suns rays off the face, it is a craze that is sure to spread. The above fashion shots are all from the CR Fashion Book, whose article can be found here.
As you may have already guessed, the top photo is of some Chinese ladies.
I've already ordered my own (face-kini, not Chinese ladies), and plenty of people would probably say that it would be an improvement on my normal look.
And they could well be right.

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mr parrot looking happy

Mr Parrot looking happy.  Taunting me after the Swansea v Manchester United result.
He'll be going in the oven if he continues to mock me.

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the story on the wall and enlarged graffiti

I love this sort of stuff.  Someone did a line of graffiti on a wall in Jerome street, London, and then added another line of text to the story whenever it was painted over.
Genius, although l did a similar thing years ago with a small cartoon graffiti which then got painted over, so l proceeded to redo the cartoons, making them bigger with each reapplication, with a message saying that they would increase in size if they were painted over again. It developed into a battle of wits, which l won, until  l got bored of it. I also know that l would have derived a lot more enjoyment out of the battle, as  the shop owner must have been pulling his hair out in frustration, and the police never caught me doing it.
Of course the days of doing stupid stuff like that are long gone, as l am now respectable (sort of), but l was way ahead of my time.

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