the strypes - snapshot and wilko johnson dealing with death

This has been on steady rotation throughout the day, and l think it's great!   The Strypes new album (in old money) called 'Snapshot', which is short in length but full of energy and attitude. They certainly copy their influences, but their music, clothes and presentation is spot on.  I wouldn't go as far to say they have the same aggressive attitude as Dr Feelgood (who they sound like the most), but they obviously have time to develop, and Wilko Johnson and John B Sparks (from Dr Feelgood) certainly support them.

This sort of stuff makes me want to be 17 again.  I hope they don't blow it.

Here's The Strypes with Wilko and Sparky (as l call him), doing the Feelgoods 'She Does It Right'.



Here's the Feelgoods doing the original  



And here's Wilko talking about his terminal cancer on Breakfast TV.  I'd like to think l would react the same way to the news of my impending death as he has with his own.  What a genius guitarist and a fine example of a man.  See (or buy) Oil City Confidential for more affirmation.



toodle pip

the daily mirror action replay flick books

When l was a young whipper snapper we didn't have any computers or video machines, we had to contend ourselves with Daily Mirror Goal Action Replay football flick books, which came out in about 1972/73, and repeated famous goals when the pages were flicked through at a steady (but reasonably fast) rate.
Ah, those lovely innocent days of my youth.
I've just retried the George Best one and a couple of others, and they all work just the same as they did back in the day. Sod new formats, this was ingenious!!
Try goggling flick books nowadays, and l bet the results will make your eyes water.

toodle pip

the jenni sparks new york map

I was looking at some maps the other day with a view to framing a couple (probably of Manhattan and London), and was reminded of this little beauty by Jenni Sparks.  It's a hand drawn map of Manhattan and can be bought from here.  It's very cleverly done, and it looks great, but l might just go with the normal kind of maps so they both match (I'm sure l might be autistic!).
Then again, l might easily change my mind tomorrow (I'm that kind of guy).

toodle pip

michael jackson and alfred e newman in mad magazine

What a great and prophetic cover this was. Michael Jackson and Alfred E Newman on the cover of Mad magazine

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arguing about napoleon (and then the masons)

Napoleon Boneparte with his arm in his waistcoat

I was round at Joe's place earlier today, and we ended up having a discussion / argument about Napoleon Bonaparte (as you do).
Why was Napoleon's arm always in his waistcoat in paintings (and what was wrong with it?)  Did he fight at Trafalgar or Waterloo?  Did he die at Elba or St Helena?  What did he die of, poisoning or ill health?
See what happens when two idiots with only a faint grasp of history get together? I wouldn't mind so much, but we weren't even drinking!!
Anyway, although Joes arguments had me doubting myself, he was exiled at both Elba (where he escaped from) and latterly, St Helena (where he died).  He fought at both Trafalgar and Waterloo (in that order), and died of stomach cancer (like his father), although there were high levels of arsenic found in his body (but this was not due to the wallpaper).
As for his arm, it was in the waistcoat as either a fashion of the times, or it was to do with the Freemasons, and a sign of masonic rituals and membership, whichever you wish to believe (see photos below). It also had nothing to do with painters charging by the limb ('an arm and a leg' expression)
I'm glad to say l was correct with all my statements, and Joe is an idiot.

 George Washington

 Joseph (Uncle Joe) Stalin

 Karl Marx

 Marquis de Lafayette

 Simon Bolivar

 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Some Masonic information

Some more Masonic information

And even more Masonic information and the invaluable source for the above photographs can be found here.
Don't trust anything or anybody!! (and don't get me started on The Illuminati and the New World Order!)

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clockwork orange lobby cards

More crap that l would like to have framed.  Lobby cards from the film of  'A Clockwork Orange', one of my favourite films of all time (which would explain a lot). Viddy well brothers and sisters.

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horse on the way to the pub

The joys of living in the countryside.  Stopping to stroke a horse on the way to the pub.
Then again, it drives me crazy (or crazier) the amount of horses on the road that l have to slow down for (obviously when l am driving a car, l don't walk that fast).

toodle pip

5 guys meeting up over 30 years for a photograph

This is the kind of thing l can appreciate.  Five guys have been meeting up at Copco Lake, California, and re-enacting the same photograph of themselves every 5 years over the last 30 years.  A splendid idea, and the dedication to such a task leaves me suitably impressed.
From here.

toodle pip

another night out in the boro

Mmmmmm   a new Indian we hadn't used before

Instructions for Kerry's injections

The joys of having Mr C - the house is a playroom

Went off again to Middlesbrough yesterday evening to see Robbo and Kerry (and Mr C!) as a kind of joint birthday do for me and Robbo.  There were a couple of disasters beforehand, as Robbo had to take Kerry to a private hospital for some cortisone injections in her back (she's now knocking on a bit), there was also some drama in the Boro with people that we are all close to that l won't go into, and l had to turn around half way towards their house as there had been some kind of a crash and the road was shut down.  We only had a quiet night anyway, with myself and Robbo heading to the Rudds in Marton (for the first time), getting some food from the Jolsha Indian Restaurant at Marton Square (also for the first time), and then returning to Nunthorpe to talk shite until Robbo fell asleep (not for the first time, and he's also knocking on).  I was impressed with the Ruds pub and the indian food (despite them forgetting a dish), but less impressed with the ageing process. Luckily l am now invincible and indestructible, and still look 21 (after many ales have been taken).

Nearly forgot, l bought Robbo an excellent book about Steve Ditko, which l managed to leave alone and not read beforehand prior to handing it over. Believe me, that took strength of character.  I'll have to nick it from him in the future when he is not paying attention.

toodle pip

richmond live 2013 - my brother is lost

A photograph of Richmond Live 2013 (not taken by me) that features my brother wandering around with his pint, as we all lost each other within a short time of arrival, due to chatting to people and getting sidetracked (drink may also have played its part).
I bumped into him again shortly afterwards, despite hiding behind some bushes for half an hour or so.
He's hard to shake off.

toodle pip 

the real tarzan of the apes and gerald the gorilla

Tarzan of the apes, looking a bit camper and longer haired than the best known Johnny Weissmuller portrayals.
Brothers and sisters, I present to you the largely forgotten Elmo Lincoln (Otto Elmo Linkenhelt), the first movie Tarzan from the 1918 -1921 versions (unless you count Gordon Griffith, who played the young Tarzan).
This was a time when even wild men of the jungle weren't afraid of their feminine side, and who also looked as though they had a more than 'special' relationship with the apes.
Lincoln also made fleeting appearances in a couple of the 1940's Tarzan films, then starring Weissmuller (Tarzan'e New York Adventure) and Lex Barker (Tarzan's Magic Fountain), but was uncredited.
Fame can be so fleeting.

And thinking of special relationships....Gerald The Gorilla, from Not The Nine O'Clock News, featuring the recently departed Mel Smith, with Pamela Stephenson and Rowan Atkinson as Gerald.
Wild...l was absolutely livid!



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the darlington monthly magazine (slight return)

After my brief piece about The Darlington Monthly magazine the other day, oh joy of joys, l actually found a paper copy when visiting someone in Darlington Memorial Hospital.
Sadly l couldn't find the article l was originally searching for, but l have found out the cover star is Mick Copeland, the business development manager from Frank's Factory Flooring.
I can now rest in peace.

toodle pip

mr jet black from the stranglers

You'd think that not having to have a proper job and being in a punk band that have quite a following would make you happy.  Mr Jet Black (Brian John Duffy) from The Stranglers begs to differ.  Mind you, he is now 75 years old, so no wonder he is looking pissed off.

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the nude / topless photograph of marilyn monroe

Most people are aware that Marilyn Monroe was a playmate in the first copy of Playboy magazine in 1953, with some old snaps that were taken before she was famous, and these can easily be googled if you wish to see them.

However, there is also a picture being sold around the web that shows Marilyn topless and holding a flower, which l came across (fnarr fnarr - stop snickering at the back) by accident while searching for something else. Don't get me wrong, l wasn't displeased by the find, but it does bear a remarkable similarity to another shot of Marilyn holding a flower, only this time she has a dress on.
Now l would never accuse anyone of downright fraud (as though l can cast stones and aspersions), but l certainly wouldn't have thought licenses have been granted and permission obtained from the original photographer, but who knows, maybe there were two more or less identical photo shoots (but l very much doubt it). Either way, she looks great with or without the dress.
Now how do l work photoshop, there's some pictures l want to doctor.

toodle pip