tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-207319352024-03-08T02:35:25.713+00:00Hot RunesKevin's infrequently updated and inconsistent blatheringsKevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-38286327428423608572008-04-29T12:22:00.004+01:002008-05-27T09:42:16.141+01:00Vintage Roots<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjmVQF1V2tk9z06EkjcB1yFDhrSHyB1kIYGcB5qKs3QuF374_kQ8r8G7_-ZMAH9r63Linrk9bfAUHugmLjYZJ141ik1_F6aSUIpXkiM0b2hEgFSwbzYaODLb-GiPfJz69GlX6tOg/s1600-h/DTT01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 71px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjmVQF1V2tk9z06EkjcB1yFDhrSHyB1kIYGcB5qKs3QuF374_kQ8r8G7_-ZMAH9r63Linrk9bfAUHugmLjYZJ141ik1_F6aSUIpXkiM0b2hEgFSwbzYaODLb-GiPfJz69GlX6tOg/s200/DTT01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194627533983971506" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It’s high time I gave some public praise for the excellent <a href="http://www.vintageroots.co.uk/">Vintage Roots</a>, which is an organic wine delivery company. We regularly order a case of wine from them (which we always seem to get through a bit quicker than we probably should). They have a wide range of wines from all regions of the world, all of which are organic so have no nasty chemicals in them. Julie and I have fun choosing 6 bottles each and then noting who chose what, so we can praise or berate each other for our choices when sampling them. Although to be honest pretty much everything we’ve ordered from them has been good. They cater for a range of pockets, starting at £5 a bottle and going up to about £30, although you have to order a minumum of 12 bottles. They also do beers, liqueurs, chocolates, fruit cordials and other items (all organic).<br /><br />Delivery is quick and efficient. Normally within 2 days of ordering, the heavy box of delights arrives. Only once so far have we had a bad bottle (corked), and this was handled brilliantly by their customer service. I phoned them and without any argument they just sent us a voucher which was actually worth more than the corked bottle.<br /><br />So overall, they’re highly recommended by us. Salut!Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-86272471495081454292007-10-26T17:33:00.003+01:002008-05-27T09:41:12.209+01:00Down and out in Paris and Barcelona<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">This is the story of our run of extremely bad luck trying to get to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Barcelona</st1:place></st1:city> last weekend. I should point out that once this disastrous day had run its course, we had a fantastic time and so overall the trip was very enjoyable and we soon forgot about all the problems.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">We were travelling in a group of five - me and Julie, another couple, and another single <a href="http://confusedramblings.blogspot.com/">friend</a>. The original plan (which was all booked months ago) was that we would go to Paris on the Eurostar from London, have a day in Paris, stay overnight, have another day in Paris, then travel to Barcelona by <a href="http://www.seat61.com/Spain.htm#Barcelona">overnight train</a> arriving Friday morning for a long weekend.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">However, 2 days before we were due to leave <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>, a major <a href="http://www.france24.com/france24Public/en/news/world/20071018-France-strike-public-transportation-trafic-information?ppcseid=4002&ppcsekeyword=strike+france&mmtctg=650166968&mmtcmp=14644748&mmtmt=5&mmtgglcnt=0">strike</a> by French transport workers was announced which meant our overnight train was cancelled. The Eurostar was still running. So at the last minute I booked a taxi from our hotel in <st1:city st="on">Paris</st1:city> to <st1:city st="on">Orly</st1:city> airport (because there was no metro or trains or buses in <st1:city st="on">Paris</st1:city>), a flight from <st1:city st="on">Paris</st1:city> to <st1:city st="on">Barcelona</st1:city> with Easyjet, and an extra night’s accommodation in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Barcelona</st1:place></st1:city> (as we would be arriving a day earlier than planned). The other option would have been to stay in <st1:city st="on">Paris</st1:city> an extra night and fly the next day but because of the rugby, all accommodation in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city> was very expensive and miles out of town. Even accommodation in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Barcelona</st1:place></st1:city> was hard to find, and I ended up having to book a different hotel to our main one.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p>After our day and night in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city>, Thursday started well. The taxi turned up and got us to the airport in good time. However it turned out that our flight to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Barcelona</st1:place></st1:city> had been cancelled, also due to strikes! The earliest Easyjet could get us to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Barcelona</st1:place></st1:city> was Saturday. This was no use to us, as it meant we would have lost half our weekend in <st1:city st="on">Barcelona</st1:city>, but also there was nowhere to stay in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city>. We quickly decided that we would just try and get out of <st1:country-region st="on">France</st1:country-region> as quickly as we could, preferably to somewhere in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Easyjet had a flight to <st1:state st="on">Madrid</st1:state> leaving at 2pm so we decided to get that and just take it from there, either by train or more flights, or possibly staying in <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Madrid</st1:place></st1:state> overnight.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p>Our flight was a bit delayed but we made it to <st1:state st="on"><st1:place st="on">Madrid</st1:place></st1:state> at about 4:30pm. We had found out that the train would be a very long journey and wouldn’t get us to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Barcelona</st1:place></st1:city> until very late at night so it wasn’t really a good option. So from <st1:state st="on">Madrid</st1:state> airport we booked <a href="http://www.air-europa.com/en/default.html">internal flights</a> to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Barcelona</st1:place></st1:city>, leaving at about 6pm. That flight was mercifully uneventful, and got us to <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Barcelona</st1:place></st1:city> at about 7:30pm. If nothing else, it all reminded me how much I dislike flying and would far rather travel by train.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Then we got the airport transfer train into <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Barcelona</st1:place></st1:city> city centre and then on to the Metro to Lesseps which is North of the city, near <a href="http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/gaudi/park-guell.html">Parc Guell</a>. An uphill walk through a dark and mainly closed part of town finally brought us to the <a href="http://putxet.barcelonahotels.it/overview.html?source=googleh-hotel+catalonia+putxet">hotel</a> tired, grimy and hungry. The prospect of a shower and a nice meal out was by now very tantalizing.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">However just as we thought things couldn’t get worse, when we tried to check in to the hotel at 9pm we were told there was no record of our booking and the hotel was full. I showed my booking confirmation from lastminute.com and explained it had been already paid for. The desk attendant (Alberto) seemed quite shocked and then proceeded to ring round other hotels to try and find us alternative accommodation. For the next hour we just sat in the lobby of the hotel with Alberto giving us occasional updates, but no nearer having anywhere to stay. Apparently <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Barcelona</st1:place></st1:city> was also booked solid because of a conference. By now even my usually fairly deep well of optimism and practicality was starting to run dry. At 10pm Alberto offered us some food in their restaurant which was welcome and lifted our spirits a bit. At this stage we were starting to eye up the sofas in the hotel lobby and wondering what they would be like to sleep on! At 11pm Alberto offered us a solution which was to take two double rooms from other guests who had not showed up. It meant some unexpected sharing but we were grateful just to have somewhere to sleep. We thanked Alberto profusely who had worked tirelessly trying to help us, even sending other guests away from the desk. They had put a single bed in one of the double rooms and so me and Julie shared that room with Colin. We finally got to bed about 11:30pm, absolutely drained. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">In the morning, we left the hotel and went to our originally booked <a href="http://www.hotel-prisma.com/">hotel</a> who thankfully knew who we were, and from then on the weekend proceeded without incident and we treated ourselves to lots of nice meals and drinks.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Now we are all trying to sort out various refund and compensation issues. One of my tasks is to deal with lastminute.com who were responsible for the failed hotel booking. I will do some updates on that as things progress. I am very displeased with them. If I don’t get a satisfactory resolution I doubt I will ever be making use of their services again.<br /></span></p>Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-3428325891479480732007-10-08T12:21:00.001+01:002008-05-27T09:39:10.141+01:00Lazy AuthoritariansThe government is attempting to <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7032604.stm">ban</a> an anti-war demonstration today, however Stop The War Coalition insist it will go ahead regardless. They are trying to use an archaic 19th century law that can restrict demonstrations while parliament is in session, supposedly to make sure MPs are not prevented from getting to parliament.<br /><br />The obvious concern is that the Brown government is behaving just as badly as the Blair one when it comes to supression of free speech and peaceful protest. I was hoping things would improve with a new administration.<br /><br />But another point is that this protest is not starting until 1pm today. Well, if MPs aren't already at work in parliament by then, I think they should get their lazy arses out of bed a bit earlier.Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-81147898616218838942007-10-03T17:15:00.001+01:002008-05-27T09:39:31.498+01:00Two Breadcrumb Tips<b style=""><o:p></o:p></b> <p class="MsoNormal">I cooked two meals involving breadcrumbs last week, and as a result have a couple of culinary tips:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">For crisp breadcrumbs to sprinkle over a finished dish</span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Toast some bread until dark but not burned. Allow to cool. Break up the toast and put in a food processor. Whizz until you get the desired crumb size, then sprinkle over. This gives you nice crisp crumbs without having to fry them, and also they are lower in fat.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">For breadcrumbs on a dish to be baked or grilled</span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Take some bread and break into pieces. Put in a food processor and whizz until the crumb size is right. Put the soft breadcrumbs in a bowl, and add a small amount of olive oil. Using your finger, stir the oil through the breadcrumbs gently. Sprinkle over your bake or gratin, then they will go crisp and golden under the grill or in the oven.</p>Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-738527133562208112007-06-29T11:04:00.001+01:002008-05-27T09:40:43.933+01:00God Save The ClienteleI wrote a belated review of a gig by <a href="http://www.last.fm/user/kevinlit/journal/2007/06/12/448990/">The Clientele</a> that I went to in April.<br /><br />I just wanted to start using last.fm's journal space for gig reviews.Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-74885290874001408322007-06-01T12:11:00.001+01:002008-05-27T09:40:58.365+01:006 Mix Dumbs Down<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/6mix/">6 Mix</a> is a really cool slot on <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/">6 Music</a>, where a special guest is invited to program an entire show and is given free rein to play whatever tracks they like. I’ve discovered many new artists from the show in the past. I normally only listen if I’ve heard of the guest and think they’ll play something interesting. They’ve had sets by Jose Padilla, Lamb, Coldcut, Ladytron and loads of other interesting people. However, the last one I listened to (R<strong style="font-weight: normal;">ichard Colburn from Belle and Sebastian)</strong><strong></strong><b style=""><strong> </strong></b>was ruined by the playing of jingles and redundant comments from the host (Asha), IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRACKS. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I haven’t listened for a while, but the last time I did, the guest had control over the output and could decide whether to back-announce tracks one at a time, or maybe play three in a row, or even not make any comments at all (the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/6mix/tracklisting.shtml">playlist</a> is on the web next day if something piqued your interest). Now, the guest is seemingly not allowed to talk directly to the audience at all, but is ‘interviewed’ by Asha every few tracks.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The last straw on this show was when Asha blathered on about nothing for about a minute right in the middle of Yello’s electro masterpiece “Bostich”.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I don’t have any objections in principle to track announcements, or even the odd jingle reminding me what station I’m listening to (even though that can be irritating). But they should be kept strictly near the beginning and end of tracks. On this kind of show, a particular personality and flavour is communicated through the music itself – that’s the whole point of it. It feels patronising, like they think we can’t handle some free creative output without having to have it continuously explained.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This comes on top of the axing of Radio 3’s <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/mixingit/">Mixing It</a> early this year which was another tragic episode of killing off unconventional and diverse programming. You can read a slightly sinister account of the presenters’ experience of the cancellation <a href="http://web.mac.com/mjrussell2/iWeb/Site/Mixing%20It.html">here</a>.</p>Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-65676154082038191532007-04-03T13:51:00.001+01:002008-05-27T09:41:28.722+01:00EMI give away music?EMI have <a href="http://music.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2048902,00.html">struck a deal</a> with Apple to offer their tracks through iTunes with no copy protection (albeit at a higher price). The commercial reason for this is to open up the user base to those who use, or would like to use, digital music players other than iPods. Currently tracks bought through iTunes are locked into the iPod.<br /><br />This all makes sense for the parties concerned - EMI and iTunes get a wider audience (although Apple are taking a risk that people don't stick with iPods). But I'm sure they've all done their maths and they think that overall they will both benefit.<br /><br />However in the Guardian's reporting of the story they state that "you will also be able to share tracks with friends". While that's undoubtedly true, I am pretty sure that it would be illegal. Just because the music has no technology to prevent copying doesn't mean that you have the right to make copies of it for others. I'm sure the Guardian is either mistaken on that, or are advocating illegal file sharing.<br /><br />Of course those of us in the know would never buy copy protected music anyway, as we want the freedom to listen to the music we've paid for wherever and however we like, for as long as we like. That's why we use music download sites such as <a href="http://www.bleep.com/">Bleep</a>, <a href="http://www.emusic.com/browse/all.html">eMusic</a>, and <a href="http://calabashmusic.com/">Calabash</a> to name but a few excellent examples.Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-73212969103320311722007-03-27T14:30:00.001+01:002008-05-27T09:41:48.137+01:00Want to live forever?Then use Aspirin, which apparently gives you a 1 in 4 chance of immortality.<br /><br />According to today's Daily Express, "Aspirin Cuts Risk Of Dying by 25%".<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkRAqVQ2Wq2AKLVKW8Pv1ss-fsEoycaQ8twTBbF7KFBgrEgLa15jzk7IBa5MqJHIUKmaIO4PxN-gAOsuf8AGsae7JZui7xHCUPeEyisNJ9G3c7Crq-JhFAFF3jfSfmgmUhmJFyg/s1600-h/2007-03-27.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046597482779156706" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; cursor: pointer; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkRAqVQ2Wq2AKLVKW8Pv1ss-fsEoycaQ8twTBbF7KFBgrEgLa15jzk7IBa5MqJHIUKmaIO4PxN-gAOsuf8AGsae7JZui7xHCUPeEyisNJ9G3c7Crq-JhFAFF3jfSfmgmUhmJFyg/s200/2007-03-27.gif" border="0" /></a>Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1166288869107999242006-12-16T17:06:00.001+00:002008-05-27T09:42:04.444+01:00HMV website goes rubbish<div class="asset-body"> <p class="MsoNormal">The service offered by the <a href="http://www.hmv.co.uk/">HMV</a> online store has gone seriously downhill.<span style=""> </span>This was one of the first online shopping sites I ever used, and until recently have always found them to be excellent. Good stock, efficient searching, reasonable prices and quick accurate delivery. But my last two orders with them have been far from satisfactory. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the first of these two, I ordered about 8 CDs. They were all listed on their website as “Normally despatched in 3-5 days”. As I had selected a budget (free) shipping option I took this to mean that the CDs were in stock but would be sent out less quickly than express shipping. However, three of these CDs were assigned the status “On Special Order With Our Suppliers”. That didn’t sound like something that is going to be sent in a few days. The other 5 were sent within a few days, but one of them was a completely incorrect CD. For the “Special Order” discs, I waited 2 weeks before giving up and cancelling the remaining order. During this time I received one vague eMail about their supplier ordering process in general, but with nothing specific about my CDs or how long they were expected to take. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The second order consisted of 3 items. Again, all items were listed on the site as “Normally despatched in 3-5 days”. And what a surprise, all three items went into the status “On Special Order With Our Suppliers”. A week later, nothing had progressed, apart from the same waffly eMail about their internal ordering system. After 9 days I was about to give up again, when the status of one of the CDs changed to “Complete, will be despatched in accordance with selected shipping option”. What their definition of “complete” is, I have no idea. I don't think it’s complete until I have the CD. It hasn’t even been shipped, so in what sense is it complete? The other two items are still on “Special Order” with no information whatsoever about how much longer it will take.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So I’ve had enough of HMV now. I think I will wait for my complete CD to be really completed, then cancel everything else, and never go back to the website again. It’s a shame because they used to be so good. Maybe there’s just too much competition now and they can’t keep up.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">It’s not having to wait for deliveries, that’s perfectly understandable, if you know before you order. But their published delivery times are ridiculously optimistic, maybe even wilfully misleading. In fact they clearly have no idea at all about how long things will take. Obviously they keep very little stock at all, and just order everything as and when the customer does. This is great for cutting their warehouse costs, but unfortunately damages their reputation as a reliable place to buy things. I buy a LOT of music, and as from now, sadly, none of that will be going to HMV. For their sake I hope their cost savings cover their lost business.</p> </div>Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1164388953048829942006-11-24T17:19:00.001+00:002008-05-27T09:42:34.928+01:00The sinister bathrooms<p class="MsoNormal">More X-Files-style adventures in my dreams recently. This episode –<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">THE BATHROOMS OF DEATH</span>.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">(This dream may have occurred because I recently changed the hot tap on our bathroom sink. Also, the night before the adventure we went to a meal where there was a certain amount of talking about supernatural drama shows through the ages).<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>A shadowy group of state actors posing as water company officials are planning to poison troublesome people by pumping some kind of deadly water into their showers. But they have been found out by me and my crime fighting team (who I can’t remember, except that Penny was doing all the driving).</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>We have tracked them to their base after some car chases through the city (well done Pen). Their base appears to be a normal suburban house but with a gigantic globe of the world in the front garden. This globe also has sculpted human features on it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We crash into the house kicking doors down and that kind of thing. We catch them red handed, playing about with bathroom fittings. I single out the ringleader, a business-suited woman near a shower cubicle. A superb flying kick from me knocks her into the shower and I turn the water on. How ironic, your own doomsday weapon used on yourself, mwa ha ha. The rest of the baddies seem to lose the will to fight, so we start wrapping things up and taking them outside.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>One of my team suggests going out the back way to avoid the public gaze. He opens the side door and lets me through first. But no-one follows and the door slams behind me. It’s dark. My eyes adjust, I am in a deserted corridor. I look up, the ceiling is covered in shower heads. There’s no escape for me as the water starts spraying out. NOOOOO!!! Betrayed by my own team! They’ll pay for this when I miraculously come back to life in another dream, the fools!!</p>Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1164387344176888772006-11-24T16:51:00.001+00:002008-05-27T09:42:44.770+01:00Lost - Series Three<b style=""><o:p></o:p></b> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.skyone.co.uk/programme/pgeoverview.aspx?pid=93">Series Three of Lost</a> has just started showing on Sky One. After the revelations and cataclysmic events at the end of Series Two, I was really looking forward to the new series. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I have to say that the first two episodes were a bit disappointing. Apart from a seemingly endless game of capturing and escaping ping-pong, and a flimsy premise to show Kate getting sweaty in an even flimsier sundress, nothing much seemed to happen. I know some people don’t like Lost because things take a long time to get explained and even then don’t seem to make sense. Even so, the story (bizarre as it is) always progressed and there was always lots of things happening. That just wasn’t the case with these episodes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I have no problem with the absurd side of Lost, in fact I rather like it. It reminds me of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Peaks"><st1:place st="on">Twin Peaks</st1:place></a> which also made little sense, but I still found totally absorbing.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I am hoping it will pick up the pace soon – in fact I am sure it will. I’m not ready to kick my addiction just yet.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">P.S. One strange continuity thing at the start of episode one – when the woman puts on the CD, I immediately recognised the inlay as <a href="http://www.talking-heads.net/speaking.html">“Speaking In Tongues”</a> by Talking Heads. So why does “Downtown” by Petula Clark start playing?? Sorry, that was extremely geeky. It doesn’t matter. Or maybe it does…. This is Lost after all!</p>Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1164380218444890232006-11-24T14:17:00.001+00:002008-05-27T09:43:40.081+01:00London Underground notices<p class="MsoNormal">On Monday morning I don’t know what was worse - the actual <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6164580.stm">delays</a> on the Underground, or the pain of having to read the information about the delays. They had managed three spelling errors in one sentence. The message read:</p> <p class="MsoNormal">DUE TO OVERUNNING ENGINEERING WORK’S, THEIR IS NO CITY LINE SERVICE FROM <st1:place st="on">WIMBLEDON</st1:place></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Now I know I am pedantic about this sort of thing, but that’s just ridiculous. Although I'm not sure it takes the crown from another London Underground message I saw a while ago on the Central Line, which remains the worst public information sentence I have ever seen. It was a warning against buying tickets from touts:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>BE AWARE OF BUYING TRAVEL CARDS OTHER THAN A TICKET WINDOW</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>It looks innocent enough at first glance but read it carefully. The deeper you go semantically, the worse it hurts.</p>Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1156260651910266072006-08-22T16:24:00.001+01:002008-05-27T09:43:50.779+01:00The big-footed lady who doesn't like science fictionConversation overheard yesterday between two elderly ladies browsing the paperbacks in a charity shop:<br /><br />Lady 1 - (accidentally kicks chair)<br />Lady 2 - Are you OK?<br />Lady 1 - Yes, it's just my big feet.<br />Lady 2 - Did you find what you were looking for?<br />Lady 1 - Well I can see "S".<br />Lady 2 - That's Crime.<br />Lady 1 - Who?<br />Lady 2 - No, Science Fiction.<br />Lady 1 - Who?<br />Lady 2 - Science Fiction.<br />Lady 1 - Oh.<br />Lady 2 - Is that what you want?<br />Lady 1 - (Aghast) No thank you. (Pause). Anything but.<br /><br />- The end -Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1156170463976573282006-08-21T15:09:00.001+01:002008-05-27T09:44:01.731+01:00Mah Jong humiliation<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2658/2087/1600/mahjongtiles.jpg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2658/2087/320/mahjongtiles.jpg.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Last night Julie and I played a short session of Mah Jong. Within two hands, she had scored over 2000 points, and I was on just 96.<br /><br />In the first hand, she scored for 'fishing the eyes' which is where you blind draw the exact tile you need to go Mah Jong by completing your pair. Not only that, but it was a pair of white dragons so was worth even more.<br /><br />In the second hand alone she scored 2112 points. It was a superb winning hand with all major tiles including a pair of South Winds, and no Chows. The base score of the hand was only 66, but it was doubled 5 times.<br /><br />Overall it would be fair to say I got the biggest thrashing I have ever received in any game ever.<br /><br />If there is anyone reading this, what's the highest you have ever scored in a single Mah Jong hand?<br /><br />If you don't play Mah Jong, I would heartily recommend it. It's arcane, physical, contains more than average randomness, and looks great.Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1155291779421918872006-08-11T11:11:00.001+01:002008-05-27T09:44:35.007+01:00Real fearThis is going to sound unbelievable but it is true.<br /><br />The thought of travelling in an uncomfortable enclosed space to the other side of the world without a book to read terrifies me more than the risk of being blown up by a bottle of lucozade. I am really hoping things settle down by October when we are scheduled to be flying to New Zealand.<br /><br />If a paperback really is a security threat, I would urge airlines to bring on board a selection of books and magazines for passengers to use. Anything less would constitute cruel and unusual punishment.<br /><br />The whole episode further reinforces my resolve to travel by train everywhere possible from now on, even if it takes days. This is mainly for environmental reasons, but increasingly it is also for convenience and comfort. We are planning to go to northern Sweden at Christmas and we intend to take trains all the way, probably via Paris, Hamburg and Stockholm.Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1154089838553094242006-07-28T12:27:00.001+01:002008-05-27T09:44:48.779+01:0050 Films To See Before You Die<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2658/2087/1600/blue2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2658/2087/320/blue2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Last weekend Channel 4 broadcast a programme called <a href="http://www.channel4sales.com/news/news-article.aspx?year=2006&id=77">50 Films To See Before You Die</a>. It concentrated more on arthouse and cult films than other movie rundowns I have seen recently, being a thinly disguised promo for <a href="http://www.channel4.com/film/filmontv/index.html">Film4</a> which is now free. Despite not really understanding how you could possibly see a film after you die, it was a very enjoyable show.<br /><br />The only thing I really didn't like about the programme was that several times they revealed huge spoilers and endings of films. That seemed a pretty dumb thing to do if the aim was to try and get people to watch and enjoy them for the first time. It's perfectly possible to give an idea of the atmosphere and premise of a movie without giving away vital plot details!<br /><br />I had seen 20 out of the 50 films which wasn't bad going. But of those 20 I had seen, although all good films, I wouldn't class many of them as ones to see "before you die". The only ones I think I would categorise as such would be Three Colours Blue, Brazil, Alien, Pulp Fiction, Manhattan, Trainspotting, and The Shawshank Redemption. Especially Three Colours Blue. That is without a doubt the most emotional, visually beautiful, perfectly acted, paced, and atmospheric film ever made. In case you haven't worked it out yet, I really like Three Colours Blue.<br /><br />Of the ones that I hadn't seen, I had already intended to see Princess Mononoke, Lost In Translation, and City Of God. Nothing in the programme changed my intentions there.<br /><br />From the rest that I hadn't seen, or never even heard of, there were several that the programme convinced me that I would like to see. These were The Ladykillers, Come And See, Black Narcissus, Sexy Beast, Chinatown and The Apartment. Also it reminded me to watch Three Colours Blue again soon.<br /><br />Surprisingly, given the Film4 ethos, there was the usual under-representation of foreign language films. I couldn't believe there was nothing from Spanish directors like Pedro Almodovar, Julio Medem, or Luis Bunuel. Eric Rohmer was nowhere to be seen. The new wave of Iranian cinema might as well not have happened. Even the clips of Princess Mononoke had horrible Disney-like overdubs instead of the Japanese. Well at least they had Three Colours Blue in the list. Did I mention that I really really like that film?<br /><br />Anyway despite that, it was interesting, and certainly the best of those kinds of programmes I have seen. Maybe I will put together my own 50 at some point. You can probably guess what number 1 is. Well that's a start.Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1148485410444919792006-05-24T16:13:00.001+01:002008-05-27T09:45:02.856+01:00The Shame of the Metropolitan Police<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2658/2087/1600/341230.1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2658/2087/320/341230.1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2658/2087/1600/341236.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2658/2087/320/341236.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />In the early hours of yesterday morning, fifty Metropolitan Police officers dismantled and removed placards and banners that were being displayed by long time peace campaigner Brian Haw. This man has been camped out in Parliament Square for years protesting at sanctions and war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has never harmed anyone or used any violence. By carrying out this operation in darkness they obviously intended to avoid it being seen by many people. But several brave souls climbed on top of the sea container being used to throw everything into, and delayed the operation until daybreak so it was seen by many people and media. More reporting and pictures at <a href="http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/05/340346.html?c=on#c148411"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Indymedia</span></a><br /><span class="down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);"></span><br />Apart from being a blatant attack on the basic right to assembly and expression, it is hard to imagine how this can be a valid use of police resources. Jenny Jones, one of the Green GLA members, has demanded to be told how much this operation cost and how it can be justified when there is real crime (i.e. with victims) being committed. There may have been someone being mugged or raped while these police were wasting time repressing peaceful protest to spare Tony Blair's embarassment.<br /><br />And I'm sorry, but the usual 'just doing their job' arguments aren't good enough. No one was at risk. No one was being harmed. The police have a choice which laws to enforce when, where to put their resources, for the general public good. This wasn't some spur of the moment decision where a finely balanced judgement had to be made between free speech and public safety. It was well planned and the objective was clear. Someone simply made a decision that this demonstration would no longer be tolerated. That there are limits on expression, and this man has now used up his quota of free speech. What a total disgrace. Only a few weeks ago Tony Blair had the nerve to say how wonderful it was that people could demonstrate and voice their opposition. Presumably he meant only until it irritated him too much and reminded him too much of his legacy that he is trying so desperately to rewrite.<br /><br />A very sad day for our 'democracy', and I fear just the beginning of worse to come.Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1144073188820970582006-04-03T14:06:00.001+01:002008-05-27T09:45:16.324+01:00Deerhoof - London Scala, 27th March<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2658/2087/1600/200px-Deerhoof-milkman.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2658/2087/320/200px-Deerhoof-milkman.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The cover of Deerhoof's latest album <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001XLXHU">"Milk Man"</a> (left) shows a figure being injured by pieces of fruit. This image is not that disturbing in itself, it's plainly ridiculous because we know fruit is good for you. But the image did take on a new sinister edge when at the end of their recent London show they started throwing bananas into the crowd!<br /><br />That's one example of the fairly high levels of interactivity that were evident. People at the front of the crowd got to play some cowbells, and right at the end there was a full-on democratic process to figure out whether t-shirts would be sold from the stage, or in the bar.<br /><br />So what about the music? Well I've put off talking about that because it's difficult to explain. By turns they reminded me a bit of <a href="http://www.visi.com/fall/">The Fall</a>, <a href="http://www.cardiacs.com/">Cardiacs </a>and <a href="http://www.transband.com/">Trans Am</a>. That covers the experimental, multi-tempo, art/punk side of the sound which is undeniable. But quivering next to that is a delicacy of touch that really confuses things. Their tiny Japanese vocalist <span class="leadintro">Satomi Matsuzaki makes effortless leaps between sounding innocent and childlike to wailing banshee without warning. The overall effect is disorienting but not unpleasantly.<br /><br />The San Francisco band seem to revel in juxtaposition and throwing diverse ideas together to see what survives the impact. They have a wilfully obscure and confusing <a href="http://deerhoof.killrockstars.com/">website</a>. Animals seem to feature heavily in the titles, suggesting a cartoon-ish, fairy story element (Rabbit Dog, Trickybird, The Pickup Bird, Holdy Paws). But then so does the vaguely horrific and nightmarish (Gore In Rut, Dead Beast Queen, Heart Failure). Dadaism does come to mind, especially as they make no attempt to explain themselves.<br /></span><br />It was a very enjoyable night, and I always like the <a href="http://www.scala-london.co.uk/scala/">Scala</a> for an intimate venue. I can't give a setlist because I don't know their stuff well enough. They have a bunch of <a href="http://puzzle.suchfun.net/deerhoof/">MP3s</a> freely downloadable, take a listen and see what you think. But watch out for the killer fruit when you walk past those market stalls...Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1143310847947787972006-03-25T18:10:00.001+00:002008-05-27T09:45:32.636+01:00My Old Dutch<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://static.flickr.com/39/117686727_58a0f63c2b_m.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://static.flickr.com/39/117686727_58a0f63c2b_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Today the BMRB meal club went for lunch at My Old Dutch in Holborn. I think the overwhelming impression we came away with was how BIG and FILLING everything was. Starters were the size of main courses, with mains the size of - I don't know, really big main courses. I had some tasty deep fried cheesy things in breadcrumbs, followed by a pancake with sundried tomatoes, olives and artichokes. After a short break, I managed to squeeze in some ice cream with chocolate sauce. A highlight was the drinks menu which sported a good range of beers, including some premium Belgian ones. I went for Fruli, a strawberry beer. So this will allow us to cross off either D for Dutch or P for pancake on our A-Z of world cuisine. More photos <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevtherev/sets/72057594090291629/">here</a>Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1143211301982199942006-03-24T14:10:00.001+00:002008-05-27T09:45:47.457+01:00Freedom from imprisonment by deranged zealotsWell, for some people anyway.<br /><br />It's great that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1738583,00.html">Norman Kember</a> was rescued this week from his imprisonment in Iraq. This must be a joyous time for him and his family and is cause for celebration any way you look at it.<br /><br />However I can't help thinking also about the many people, including British residents, also being unlawfully detained in contravention of all international legal standards. Yes of course I'm talking about <a href="http://web.amnesty.org/pages/guantanamobay-index-eng">Guantanamo Bay</a>. But we don't hear much about efforts and resources being spent on freeing them. All we get on this is hand wringing and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/guantanamo/story/0,,1712066,00.html">empty words</a>.<br /><br />The last <a href="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1168937,00.html">British citizens</a> who were being held there have been released after years of detention and interrogation without trial. But this is no thanks to Tony Blair, who blatantly sold out his own citizens to ingratiate himself with George Bush.<br /><br />Now, it can't possibly have anything to do with the fact that Kember is a white middle class Christian, and the Guantanamo detainees are about as far removed from that demographic as you can get. Surely not.<br /><br />I'm not saying we should send the SAS in to storm Guantanamo, but I just want to see the same level of determination to end arbitrary lawless detention and mistreatment wherever it occurs, and to whom.Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1141838245690907402006-03-08T17:01:00.001+00:002008-05-27T09:46:16.932+01:00Free Music<a href="http://www.4ad.com/kristinhersh/">Kristin Hersh</a>, former vocalist with <a href="http://www.4ad.com/throwingmuses/">Throwing Muses</a> (one of my favourite bands of all time), has been fronting a new band called 50 Foot Wave for a while now. They have a sound that will be familiar to Muses fans, a bit harder edged though. Anyway, their new EP is being made available to download freely, and copying/sharing is encouraged. It is called Free Music and you can get it <a href="http://www.50footwave.com/freemusic/">here</a>.<br /><p><br />Partly this is being done as a 'thank you' to fans, but also an experiment with a new way of distributing music - there is a PayPal donation link where you can contribute, if you want. I think this home grown approach is a wonderful thing, and is increasingly being taken up by artists especially people who have had plenty of experience with the music business, not all of it positive!<br /></p><p><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Kristin says </span><span style=";font-family:Trebuchet MS,Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" >"Money has so polluted the music world that my overwhelming urge right now is to divorce money from recorded music ... </span><span style=";font-family:Trebuchet MS,Verdana,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" >So we're sending free recordings off into the world to do their work. If people enjoy these songs and are excited by them, we ask that they share them with others. The music business is about fame and huge profits -- egos and greed -- music itself, is not."</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p><br />Kristin still records and tours with solo material, and last year I went to see her perform an evening of Throwing Muses tracks with just her and an acoustic guitar. That was a rare treat, some songs that I haven't heard live since I first got into Throwing Muses about 20 years ago.</p>Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1139828753682486572006-02-13T10:20:00.001+00:002008-05-27T09:46:28.294+01:00Dream OnI sometimes wonder what my dreams say about me. I think my dreams are pretty unusual. I don't seem to have the kind of anxiety dreams that a lot of people have - getting lost, falling off bridges, being naked, etc. Mine are often ridiculously action packed, dramatic and outlandish. They are like adventure movies or computer games. I wake up exhausted sometimes after haring around saving the world and being heroic. One theory I have is wish fulfillment; In my dreams I am usually decisive, fearless, even reckless. In real life, I am actually risk-averse, fairly unambitious, and a terrible procrastinator. Maybe it means I would like to be a more forthright, decisive person. The other explanation, which my wife often suggests, is that I watch too much TV and films.<br /><br />For instance, here is last night's epic:<br /><br />I was travelling on a plane when some kind of disaster struck, and we crash landed in a remote location. Somehow it came to light to me and the other survivors that all the major cities in the world had also been destroyed by the disaster, and that we were among the last humans left alive. We realised that not only did we need to somehow stay alive ourselves, but that the future of humanity also depended on us to get things back together and start repopulating the world. So we tried to survive in the remote wilderness, and inevitably started forming relationships with others in the group. I fell in love with a woman survivor and we decided to settle down together. Everything was going OK, until our first night together, when I found out she was a vampire. She always looked normal in the daytime but at night she grew fangs, her hair turned black and her eyes darkened. She was not evil, but sadly told me that we could never be together because I was a normal human and she was a vampire. She told me some of the other survivors were also vampires. We told the rest of the group to make sure that vampires only paired up with other vampires, and humans with humans, otherwise the next generation would be mutants and may not survive. I was crushingly disappointed as I really loved this woman. I decided to stay single and just help out with general planning for survival.<br /><br />Some weeks later, we managed to repair the plane, and also we had come up with a long term plan to reorganise and save humanity. In the outside world, anarchy reigned due to the general collapse of organised government. There was starvation, poverty and disease everywhere. We had radios and so were keeping up to date with what was happening. Because we were outside of the smashed civilisations, we managed to keep things together and had space to think and plan. We now knew it was our duty to fly the plane back to New York, where we had heard that some kind of world government was left hanging on and tell them what we all needed to do as a species to survive.<br /><br />So we flew the plane back, and we were very fearful of what we would find happening in our ruined civilisation. However as we approached, we could see that all the major cities were actually still standing. Paris, London, and New York were all still there and functioning normally. When we landed in New York and were greeted by huge cheering crowds, we realised that our entire experience had been faked, and we were actually put in that position and fed the misinformation deliberately in order to come up with solutions to the world's problems of racism, violence, war and pollution. They could not wait to hear what we had come up with. We were bursting to tell them.<br /><br />We wondered how we could communicate everything to the general public. We had some genuinely new and innovative ideas that had come about because of our isolation and our true belief that the end of civilisation was imminent. In the end we decided to present it in the form of theatre, where we would get the ideas across using dramatised situations.<br /><br />We worked on the production for a long time, with complex special effects and music. When it came to the opening nights across the world, things went badly. The props and sets were poor quality, the special effects did not work. Actors did not seem to understand the concepts and so did not communicate them properly. They forgot their lines. Everyone wondered what all the fuss had been about. By taking our ideas away from our protected space, by having to get them across to others who had not shared our genuine terror, they had become dulled, corrupted, cracked and flawed. They seemed ridiculous, infantile. Even we ourselves started to lose our grasp on what we had come up with, the concepts just fluttered away on the breath of our words. We knew we had been right, but now the edge was blunted, the crystal ball was dark. It was too long ago, we were all too much in love then, and reality drifted down over us like a dusty old blanket.<br /><br />We slipped out of public view, and people forgot about us. The world carried on not knowing the answers. We missed our opportunity to reshape life on earth, but we knew it was in our grasp once. We were happy because of that. We never let on that there were vampires among humans, because we knew they would be persecuted even though they were kind, but looked frightening.<br /><br />The end.Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1138560146164377872006-01-29T18:25:00.001+00:002008-05-27T09:46:41.010+01:00Feathered FriendsIt always makes my day when I see a bird species for the first time. It's been quite a while since that happened. So on Friday morning I was really pleased when I saw a group of <a href="http://www.birdsofbritain.co.uk/bird-guide/redwing.htm">redwings</a> foraging about on Ealing Common while I was walking from the tube station to my office. I got pretty close to them and they didn't seem bothered. They are very bright and breezy little creatures. They don't breed in Britain except in the Scottish Highlands, but they visit during winter when it gets too cold in their native Scandinavia.<br /><br />My previous sighting of a new species was a few months ago when there were a pair of <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/d/dunnock/index.asp">dunnocks</a> in our garden. They were chasing and pecking each other which is something peculiar they do as part of courtship.Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1137755656796395142006-01-20T10:52:00.001+00:002008-05-27T09:46:58.274+01:00Caff CultureI would like to bid a fond farewell to a local caff called "Cappucino" in Wimbledon Broadway, which has recently closed down.<br /><br />It wasn't particularly salubrious, actually it was slightly grimy. I only went there a few times. But it always delivered what was required after a late night out, which was of course a breakfast the size of Estonia.<br /><br />But the best thing about it, which I will miss most, was the advertising blackboard they had outside which offered something called "Mixed fried up" containing among other things "Musherooms" and "Harsh brauns". This sign always made me chuckle when I walked past it every day.<br /><br />This kind of idiosyncratic place is fast disappearing from our town centres, especially Wimbledon, which was recently <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4606523.stm">shown to be</a> the most homogenous and boring high street in the whole of London. I can see why, as it is almost entirely dominated by the same chain stores you see everywhere.<br /><br />I now actively seek out and use smaller independently run shops. The people who work in them often own them, which means they are more concerned that you should have a good experience when visiting. The average worker in Tesco or whatever couldn't care less if you like shopping there (and I can't say I blame them, given the pay they probably get). It means you get to know people in the local area, and the act of shopping or eating out becomes more than just a transaction of money for goods and services; you can help keep your local area dynamic and individual.<br /><br />Oh, and I also find bad grammar and spelling on public display like that really funny for some reason. A bit annoying as well, but mostly just amusing. I've got a few good examples of that for future posts.Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20731935.post-1137511310914328422006-01-17T14:56:00.001+00:002008-05-27T09:47:09.433+01:00You're so VanianI feel sorry for The <a href="http://www.officialdamned.com/">Damned</a>. I mean the band, not the actual damned. By definition, we don't have any sympathy for them. And even if we did, nothing good would come of it.<br /><br />Anyway, The Damned. They seemed to inhabit too many musical worlds at once for their own good, and I feel they never quite got the recognition they deserved in any of them. Too melodic for punk, too experimental for pop, too witty for goth.<br /><br />Listening to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Album_%28The_Damned%29">The Black Album</a> yesterday, I decided that it's one of the Best Albums Of All Time. It has some incredibly strong songwriting on it, which isn't something you readily associate with punk, the genre they are normally plonked in. Well it certainly brightened up my rainy trudge to Ealing Common station yesterday evening.Kevletshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02244141493259549110noreply@blogger.com0