outrageously large 3d painting at canary wharf

Just brilliant!

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colonel sanders and alice cooper

These are the sort of people l should have been going out drinking with years ago, instead of all the 'ordinary' ( in the loosest possible sense) people l know. Colonel (Harland to his friends) Sanders created the finest foodstuff known to man, and Alice (Vincent to his friends) Cooper was still knocking out great records and drinking as though the well was about to dry up*. Unlimited KFC, booze and rock music (and all the trappings that go along with that). What's not to like? (apart from my guaranteed early death, and that would have been well worth it).

*That maybe makes no sense, as you would probably limit your drinking if the well was drying up, hoping more water would appear from somewhere. Nevermind.

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lethbridge, alberta 1908

Even though l don't have a problem with heights, I certainly wouldn't like to have been working at the top of this bridge, as it looks mighty unsteady (and l bet there wasn't much adherence to the Health and Safety manual at the time).

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lower city (2005) -sergio machado

A Portuguese film, Lower City follows the journey of Karina, a prostitute who wants a lift to Salvador. She meets two lifelong friends, Deco and Naldinho in a bar, and they agree to give her a lift on their boat in return for sexual favours. They swear a woman will not come between them, but (of course) she does, and after various exploits in Salvador, they fall out. Along the way there is also a stabbing, a hold up, a suicide and some cock fighting (not that sort!). Never share a woman with your friend (especially if she represents some kind of twisted escape).

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nausea - john-paul sartre

Antoine Roquentin has settled in Bouville (Mudtown), is writing a historical novel, meeting 'The Autodidact' in the library, while thinking about a reunion with his ex girlfriend, Anny. As it is by Sartre, he also ponders life, and the absurdity and meaning of it. This also involves him suffering from what he refers to as 'The Nausea' (hence the title), as everyday objects and people start to make him feel ill. After all - what is the point of anything? Most people glorify the past, keep themselves occupied, do deeds that make them feel self important and don't even know they exist. Who cares what choices you make? Blah blah blah, existential angst by the pageful, but he is moved by the sound and artistry of a jazz record, and in the end he decides he may as well write a classic book of fiction, because if nothing really matters (as Del Amitri sang), you are free. If you are free, you can make your own choices and pathways, and that also gives you responsibilities (a bit like Spider-man), one of which could be to create great art. A good novel, but Sartre doesn't half go on a bit.

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more silent movie posters

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coming home (1978) - hal ashby

Coming Home stars Jane Fonda as Sally, who helps out at a military rehabilitation centre while her husband is away fighting in Vietnam. She then proceeds to fall in love with Luke Martin (Jon Voight), a paralysed and bitter Vietnam vet (and old school friend). This of course, presents a problem when her husband returns home to discover what has been going on. Slow and slushy, but with top performances by Fonda and Voight (both won Oscars), plus a superb soundtrack (The Beatles, The Stones, Tim Buckley etc). Bruce Dern is also excellent as Sally's husband (Bob Hyde), especially near the end.

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the sex pistols as a hanna- barbera cartoon

The Sex Pistols as a cartoon by Hanna-Barbera.

By Montygog.

Good stuff!

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paul mccartney - come and get it live in bologna 26.11.2011

Apparently this is the first time Paul McCartney has sang 'Come And Get It' live on stage.

Now l am all for him redoing some of his less familiar back catalogue (he wrote it for Badfinger, and it was a hit), but rather sadly, l also wouldn't be at all surprised if it was all part of his insecurity as he gets older, wanting the world to know what songs he wrote (getting the Beatles song writing credits reversed) and blathering on about how he was the true artistic explorer in the 1960's, rather than Lennon.

Then again, maybe l am just too cynical.

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gary speed suicide

I didn't know until watching Match of the Day 2 tonight, that Gary Speed had hanged himself overnight.

At the age of 42.

He was on Football Focus yesterday looking cheerful, and Mark Lawrenson said he spoke to him afterwards and he seemed fine, looking forward to an evening meal.

Everyone seems to be really shocked with this, and there are no reports (at the moment) that 'he had problems etc'.

It just goes to show how you can never really know what somebody is feeling.

There was the case of the German referee (Babak Rafati) trying to kill himself a week or so ago, and Stan Collymore wrote (rather timely, but to late too affect this story) about his struggle with depression the night before Gary Speed took the action he did.

I'm sure there will be a lot of people who will thing Gary Speed had everything they would have wished for.

A successful playing career, an international manager, a wife and two children, and still (relatively) young and rich.

It just goes to show, that all means bugger all if you have serious issues.

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muhammed ali and joe frazier - sports illustrated and mark kram

After posting the Ali Life covers the other day (here), l re-read an article by Mark Kram for Sports Illustrated about the 'Thrilla In Manila', which included this quote by 'Smokin Joe' Frazier.

"Man, I hit him with punches that'd bring down the walls of a city,". "Lawdy, Lawdy, he's a great champion.".

The article itself is one of the best ever and is here.

This was a time when it meant something to be heavyweight champion of the world, and there were a few people who were (more or less) evenly matched who could all have taken on that role (although Ali was still a God, even if he was often written off at the time).

Then it all became mismanaged and crap.

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polish poster for close encounters of the third kind

This Close Encounters Of The Third Kind poster looks kind of crazy (but l like it).

Reminds me of the FPO.

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the crimson rivers (2000) - mathieu kassovitz

There is now a squeal to The Crimson Rivers (Crimson Rivers 2 - Angels Of The Apocalypse), but yesterday was the first time l had seen the original, and it was pretty good, to say the least (even if it did not make a lot of sense).

There are some murders in a pretty little village/town (filmed around Grenoble) with an outstanding place of learning (in real life - this place).

Two policemen end up getting involved in the investigation (and behave in a classic buddy movie style of having to tolerate each other, then getting along and assisting each other in the end).

The film was gory in places, the scenery was excellent, and the lead roles were both played superbly (by Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel as the investigators).

It should have involved clones, not swopsies though.

French subtitled films - they're great!

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life magazine beatles covers

I still have not crumbled and started collecting Life Magazines (see earlier post), but here are some more that l would want stashed away once l do eventually crumble.

What can l say? I'm from Liverpool, l love The Beatles and l love collecting comics and magazines, especially ones l consider historic.

Methinks l will have to crack on and do some overtime to fund my addiction.

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judge william adams and the beating of his daughter

Although this story happened a while ago, l have only just seen the video of the beating and thought l would highlight it some more.

There is more to the story (and some developments), but it is amazing that Judge William Adams is even considered fit to preside over cases, especially those involving children, if this is how he behaves at home.

This incident was caught on film, but there would have been many more over the years, and for him to say he 'lost his temper' is pathetic.

His wife, even though l have no doubt she must have suffered the same kind of abuse from her husband, should also shoulder some responsibility, as she has a duty of care to her children. She did not just stand aside meekly and watch the beating, she joined in. It was to a much lesser degree, but she still did so. She, as an adult, should have protected her family from the bastard of a husband, and if that meant leaving and exposing him as a bully and aggressor, that is what she should have done. Even if her daughter was going off the rails and behaving badly, this kind of punishment is out of order (unless you have paid good money for it in a specialist club).

As a non violent kind of guy (most times), and also liberal in my views (as a concept, not supporting the current political party), l would normally defend the aggressor because of his upbringing/having a bad day/it was a one off/he regrets it/there is a reason for it, but this was obviously a case whereby it (the beatings) must have happened on numerous occasions. Beat him (the Judge) severely l'd say, then defend yourself because he had done wrong and you were angry (and if there is a video of the beating, say it is not as bad as it looks).

Notice how l never mentioned the daughter has axatic cerebral palsy, as that does not even matter. The Judge should be prosecuted and punished (severely).

toodle pip.

attack the block (2011) - joe cornish

I had been looking forward to 'Attack The Block' for a while, as l loved Joe Cornish on the (now sadly no longer with us apart from in cyberspace) 'Adam And Joe Show' on the radio (even if they are posh boys - they are still funny).

A group of youths mug a nurse, get involved with an alien invasion (as you do), but turn out not to be such bad lads after all, as they try to defend 'their block'.

Joe Cornish obviously loves his monster and horror movies, but l got a bit bored of all the chases with the aliens/monsters, and you always thought that the kids would redeem themselves and turn out to be OK in the end, but it was still a decent film that l was not disheartened by (and that is saying a lot).

Now if only they would crack on with some more radio shows.....

Nearly forgot. Nick Frost is getting bigger. I thought my brother lived in Leeds.

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