sing sing prison

I've been reading about Sing Sing prison in upstate New York (about 30 miles north up the Hudson river). It was opened in 1826 and was extremely brutal, ensuring the prisoners remained silent by copious amounts of beatings and whippings. The prison (Correctional Facility) is still open today, but no-where near as harsh. The cell above is one of the earlier examples, and does not look like it was a lot of fun to live in. The term "Going up the river" meaning to be sent to prison, originated from when prisoners were sent up the river to Sing Sing. The electric chair photograph is of Ruth Snyder, who was executed in the chair in 1928, and the picture was sneaked out by Tom Howard, a newspaper reporter who had a camera strapped to his leg, so he could capture the image at the moment of execution. It all makes Durham prison (where l went) seem pretty boring (although Bronco, who l shared a cell with, was certainly a character).

toodle pip

whispering bob's 40th

At one time l couldn't wait to see The Old Grey Whistle Test with Bob Harris. He featured so much stuff that l love (Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Tim Buckley etc ), even though he did mock The New York Dolls after they had just stormed the place with Jet Boy. It is 40 years today since he started broadcasting, and although l certainly don't share a lot (or even many) of his musical tastes, at least he has a genuine love of the music and knows what he is talking about (New York Dolls excluded). He went bankrupt a few years ago and nearly lost all of his records, but thankfully managed to keep hold of them as they were deemed essential for his job. It's also about time some more Whistle Test DVD's were released, it's been way to long since the last ones. Anyway, we need more DJ's like like him, playing the music they like, rather than a preordained set list from the radio station. As l said before, a lot of the stuff Bob plays l don't really like, but at least l am opened up to new (and old) music that l haven't heard before. Maybe l should start my own station......

What am l saying that for? Everything is out there now on t'internet. Mostly for free if you know where to look. It's much better now for discovering new music, but it has lost it's special appeal, as you don't really have to make any effort to track anything down and then treasure it because it was hard to find. Then again, most people only get a few CD's, and then love them. I am just a saddo.

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natural history museum wildlife photos

This is one of this years entries for the Wildlife Photograph Competition by the Natural History Museum (I won't bother with the sponser's name). It's an black oil beetle taken by Juan Jesus Ahumada. Pretty damn good l think, but it will have to go some way to beat the 2005 winning picture (as featured on the 2007 Wilco album Sky Blue Sky) of a peregrine falcon chasing some starlings over Rome (by Manuel Presti). Not as good as my picture of Nozzer though (lovely little boy that he is!).

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even more beatles bootlegs

I definitely need to get out more. What a sad bastard l am. Even more Beatles Bootlegs!

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more beatles bootlegs

Lots and lots of Beatles Bootlegs

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beatles bootlegs

I certainly have a lot of Beatles Bootlegs.

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when mowgli was still with us - no room on the settee

mowgli

I loved my cat

Just lying there

With his pointed ears

And his greying hair

He was sometimes ignored

As he was often demanding

And sometimes he stank

While he slept on the landing

When you went to the shops

He’d walk by your side

And while you were shopping

In the bushes he’s hide

He’d been shot with an airgun

And had a hole in his side

That caused trouble weeing

And he very nearly died

His breath, well it smelt

And his walk wasn't straight

When you tried to call him in

Well he'd always be late

You see his hearing it went

And his eyes they got dim

His mind it got muddled

And his body got thin

His nose became dry

And his eyes became glazed

And when he got scared

His hackles got raised

His persistent meows

They kept me awake

He was always after water

Which l'd give and he'd take

And he sometimes had seizures

And often he'd wet

Be distressed when he woke

But calmed down with a pet

And l treated him bad

Which l really regret

And spent a small fortune

On trips to the vet

But He was a mate

For twenty odd years

When l think of him now

l can't hold back the tears

We grew up together

And l got old too

I even miss his breath

That stank of his poo

He was sometimes demanding

And sometimes a pain

But l would give anything

To stroke him again

JD AUG 2010 (with thanxs to James Stewart)

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I've loved you too long - submarine - the beatles - shout

I have just finshed all of these late last night and this morning (as I have no work until 9pm).

I've Loved You Too Long (2008) stars Kirstin Scott Thomas as Juliette Fontaine, who is released from prison after serving 15 years for murdering her 6 year old son. Her sister Lea knows little about it, but lets her stay with her family, although her husband Luc is wary in case any harm comes to their adopted daughters. The film follows Juliette as she tries to rebuild her life, but has a brooding and menacing feel about it, so you are never sure how it will conclude. Juliette does however, confess to her sister that she only killed her son because he had a terminal disease, so she did it out of love, but still felt guilty and wanted to be punished for it, which is why she never defended herself in court or gave any reason for the murder. As usual with a lot of these type of French films, it is slow but superbly done, with great tension and acting.

Submarine is a book by Joe Dunthorne from 2008, about a 15 year old boy called Oliver Tate, who is trying to save his parents marriage. It is an instant classic, strange, intelligent and funny, and is bound to be read by lots of teenagers in the future. I preferred it to Catcher In The Rye, and I think Oliver Tate is a great new creation.

The Beatles - Shout (1996 by Philip Norman), I have read before, but it is worth re-reading every few years (if you are a sad git like me), as it is the best biography of The Beatles out there. Nothing more to say really, apart from this is the reprinted version with some extra bits in it, and Norman does admit he was a bit too harsh in the earlier versions of the book. I do think he is still too harsh and opinionated about some other things (such as Stella McCartney's clothes range), which usually l would be all for, but l think he just comes across as a bit spiteful sometimes. Never mind, it's still great.

Right, back to the coalface (kettle and TV) to make the most of my time off.

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see through skirts

These are not really see through, they just have a picture on them to make it seem as though they are. Clever idea, but l can't say l like them.

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rolling stones bootlegs

As a follow up to the Beach Boys bootlegs l posted earlier, here's The Rolling Stones ones. I have more Stones stuff, these are just the bootlegs . The top picture looks like the normal albums, but these are my illegal Russian ones, all with extra out-takes etc on them. Of course l have them all as normal albums as well (which sad git wouldn't?).

The Beatles ones will be next.

I need to get out more.

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london map from 1845

This is fantastic. London has certainly changed a lot since then.

This is from :

http://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2010/08/11/huge-panorama-of-london-in-1845/

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nirvana and the jacksons - go home productions

Out today by Go Home Productions (Mark Vidler). Class

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beach boys bootlegs

As l am such a sad bastard, l have been sorting through some of my bootlegs today, just to confirm how pathetic l am. These are some of the Beach Boys ones. If that seems a bit over the top, wait till l show the Beatles and Rolling Stones ones.

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steve mcqueen's hunger with michael fassenbender

I was a bit unsure about this film beforehand, in case it just glorified Bobby Sands and the hunger strikers, just putting across that they were all heroes and the English are all bastards, but it didn't. The English still didn't come out of it very well, mainly because they were represented by the Tory government at that time and Margaret (milk snatcher) Thatcher. It did however, show some of the guards in the Maze prison to be human, without pulling back from the violence inflicted on the prisoners.

This is another superb film where the actor loses weight (in this case about 3 stone in 10 weeks) to play the part convincingly. Michael Fassenbender (Bobby Sands) is the actor in question, and is superb throughout. He has a zealous look about him during the first part of the film, and is totally convincing when he loses his weight (when Bobby is on the hunger strike). I do wonder if this may go too far one day, with actors competitiveness taking over, and them trying to outdo one another, may result in permanent damage (just as people trying to outdo Jackass will eventually (if they haven't already) end up killing themselves).

The film is very realistic and portrays what it must have been like in the Maze at the time, so much so in fact, I had flashbacks to my own dirty protest in Durham prison in the 1980's. There is also a great scene where Bobby talks to the priest (Father Dominic Moran, played by Liam Cunningham), which has one very long uninterrupted shot of them speaking to one another. That must have taken one hell of a lot of remembering and it is very impressive.

Another film well worth watching (just don't be eating something at the same time).

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milk

Watched this yesterday and it was excellent. Shaun Penn plays Harvey Milk, a gay rights activist who eventually gets murdered. Penn lost weight for the role and plays him just right, stubborn, brave, and a bit camp. Apparently Milk was more hot tempered in real life and would fly into rages, but this doesn't alter the fact that this is a really well made film. l put off watching it for ages as l always have other stuff to do, but it was well worth viewing. Shaun Penn has certainly matured, l used to think he was crap when he was younger, but he has certainly developed into a fine actor.

l have just double checked and found that Penn won the best actor Oscar for the film, and the film itself won the best movie Oscar. A good choice.

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dodgy richmond live

Dodgy closing the show

Forgot to post the other day that Richmond Live was at the weekend so the FPO and l went down there on Saturday evening, leaving it later than usual because it was raining during the afternoon, and being an old bastard, l didn't want to get soaked and muddy.

I was already a bit tidly when l got there, so when there were volunteers asked for to do some poetry, l was straight up there. l had decided what l was going to say, but when l got to the mike, l foolishly made something up on the spot, which contained swearing. Didn't get a great response from Rapping Ritchie (who gave me the mike), as there were children present. Never mind, punk rock and all that. I also nearly got in a fight with a young lad who was bugging a hippie couple, as l told him to fuck off and leave them alone. His response was "l am only 16, would you hit a kid", to which l replied "Yes l would, l would punch you right in your face". His mates dragged him away when l advised them to do so before he got hurt (luckily for me as l am a soft bastard). He will probably come looking for me when he is in his 20's, so if l get assassinated, it's probably him.

The usual bands were on again (Atlantic Soul Messengers, Jism, The Exploding Buddahs), and the main band were Dodgy, who we didn't think a lot of, so we decided to bugger off early to get a taxi to JT's. can't remember what time we left there, but it was a bugger getting out of bed on Sunday morning, as l went to work.

It was the worst one music wise l have been to (and l have been to them all). They could definitely do with some fresh faces.

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day care for men

A great idea for when the FPO wants to go out shopping (or whatever it is that they do).

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upside down picture

It looks good and it makes you think, which can't be a bad thing.

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loneliness of the long distance runner - girl with the green eyes - lolita

I didn't go to bed until about 4.30am last night, and surprisingly, l was awake again at about 9.30am this morning (even after the FPO had woken me up earlier in the morning), so l read the Sunday paper to catch up on news and got up and watched some films (it's a hard life).

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is from 1962 and stars Tom Courteney as Colin Smith, the anti hero. He gets arrested and put into a borstal, where they discover he is the best long distance runner, so the governor starts to trust him and give him more freedom, in the hope he will win the challenge race against the public school boys. Ultimately, Colin hates the establishment, and although everyone thinks that he has become the governor's pet, he throws the race right at the end, sacrificing glory and a possible early release, to demonstrate that it is all meaningless and he rejects society's values. It is an excellent film (based on the also excellent 1959 book by Alan Sillitoe). Although it is pretty dated, (with a young James Bolam and a supposedly Liverpudlian John Thaw), it is up there as one of my favourite films.

The Girl With The Green Eyes (1964) stars Rita Tushingham as Kate Brady, an innocent farm girl who moves to Dublin and shares a place with her best friend Baba Brennan, who both fall for a middle aged married writer, but he ends up falling for Kate. Also very dated but not too good, didn't manage to watch it till the end, as l got bored after about an hour. I was curious about the film as it is by Edna O'Brien, and l am reading her 'A Pagan Place' (amongst other things) at the moment. Mind you, l may give up on that as well, as it's not exactly gripping.

Talking of gripping (what a link!), that's what Jeremy Irons (as Humbert Humbert) was doing to his stepdaughter in the 1997 remake of Vladimir Nobokov's Lolita. I have read the book and seen the earlier (1962) film by Stanley Kubrick (starring James Mason), but l still managed to forget some of the plot. When Humbert is driving away at the start with a gun and blood on him, l assumed he had killed the stepdaughters husband, but it was his doppelgänger Clare Quilty. My memory is rubbish. I also forgot the reason Humbert gives for falling in love with a child (his childhood sweetheart dies young, and he had been looking for a replacement ever since). I do however, remember the book being darker, and Humbert being a lot crueller. Also in the book, Lolita is 12, but seems to be slightly older in this film. There was a lot of controversy before this film was released, and l do think it romanticises the relationship too much, but they both die at the end, so the moralists should have been kept happy and cut down on their complaining. I still prefer the James Mason version (also starring Peter Sellers!), and may even get round to reading the book again one of these days.

Right, off for a coffee.

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another stupid tattoo

Why oh why was this done? Crappy and scary at the same time, but l suppose it will annoy her parents, so there's something worthwhile about it.

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national geographic animal pictures

Common Carp

Cownose Ray

Longnose Skate

Better than the pictures l take of our stinking animals

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