bookjam

Have you ever joined one of those book clubs? You know, the ones where you get a few free books to start and then a monthly choice? I have and have also experienced the change from 'this is good' through 'hmm I didn't mean to order THAT' to 'Stop right now!'. When we sign up, we know its a form of inertia selling, but hey, what is so difficult about saying 'No' to a choice every month? In my case, the club varies the frequency and sends extra offers, which I am sure is designed to confuse and disorientate. They also had special rules about free postage, but only if I ordered by POST (how weird is that?) and I couldn't ever talk to anyone on their phone system. Any emailed comments were also only answered by some kind of robot, so the whole experienced was somewhat negative.

You notice I use Past Tense? And today when I needed a book, I ordered it via a friendly online bookstore.

The club's loss.

Tag: books, commerce

Sieze a lunch

A rather speedy lunch, when we bundled into a car and headed for Banks, for what was actually identical Ceasar Salads, followed by Cappucinos.

None of us had much time, but we still managed to get through a lot of conversation in what was really just one hour, with the car ready to move us on at precisiely five to two!

Tag: lunch, restaurants, food and drink

keeping it Peel

In some ways it is hard to believe almost year has gone by since broadcaster John Peel passed away. Today is the BBC John Peel day. He was a one-off presenter, madly into music, but always pushing the edges of what could be done. Whether spinning 'Several species of small furry animals gather together in a cave and grooving with a Pict' or 'Teenage Kicks', there was an intelligent and deep love of the content he played.

One time radio pirate, name changed in USA and doing a lot of grass roots DJ-ing before he made the 'edge' of music his own.

Just looking through his artist listings from his live shows illustrates the number of bands and people he premiered. And quite a few of these have small slices of the original gigs - Here's David Bowie singing Velvet Underground's 'White Light/White Heat' with the Spiders from Mars.

Nowadays, theres a John Peel group in last.fm, so the vibe lives on.

Tag: music, johnpeel, John Peel

animal suction

The last vacuum cleaner expired in a not so obvious way. It continued to whirr, made loud noises but just pushed the dirt around in front of it. I'd dismantled it and re-assembled it to check there were no blockages or twiny strings messing up the mechanism, but I think the motor had just lost the plot.

So time for a replacement.

Enter the Animal.

After a browse around the internet, this piece of purple space technology was astonishingly good value (around 30% less than a store price) and delivered in a couple of days. It seems to generate a black hole of suction and has all kinds of microfilter systems included.

bug spotting

Spotted my first 'Nerds on Site' car in the UK today. I have long expected that there would be a rise in the need for 'digital plumbers' and this is an example of the trend. They have a strong image with the red beetles and I believe the lady drivers get 'Lady Bugs' with spots on them!

just plain wired

I spent part of today wired with a clip on radio microphone. When I first wear these things I am very self-conscious. The technician says things like "don't worry - the sound is off and I'll tell you when I switch it on".

For the first ten minutes I then walk around as if there are 20 microphones following me, somewhat conscious of what I am saying.

Then I forget (until I'm 'up') and anything could be happening and I'm oblivious of those listening.

Wallace and Gromit's other close shave

I was saving a Wallace and Gromit post for the UK launch date of the film, but hearing about the fire at Aardman Animation has caused me to bring the item forward.

The fire wiped out the "entire history" of Aardman Animation but was said by creator Nick Park to be "no big deal", compared with other world events such as the current tragedy in Pakistan. The fire broke out at just after 5.30am. Ten crews battled to bring the blaze under control as a number of surrounding roads were sealed off. The roof later collapsed, along with three interior walls.

The sets and props from Creature Comforts, The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave are all thought to have been destroyed, along with those from Chicken Run - Aardman’s first feature-length release.

Aardman's spokesman said: "Today was supposed to be a day of celebration, with the news that Wallace and Gromit had gone in at number one at the US box office but instead our whole history has been wiped out.

Well, despite it all, here's to a successful film, from an immensely entertaining production company.
Tag: aardman, Wallace and Gromit, fire

Star Wars bloggerhead

I was wandering around the hard shell of the heavily pluggaged Bloggerheads site today; Manic's Star Wars tribute caught my attention because I think Star Wars fans might find this 3 minute broadband film synopsis genuinely interesting.

And then there's the Star Wars Photoshopping Project.

Original excitement.

Beam me up Scotty?

Izzy whizzy lets get busy!

Tag: Star Wars, Sooty, Photoshop

Scary Warehouse

Counting towards Halloween, I though something a little spooky would make a change. Here's an interesting French site, with deserted warehouses and a closed hospital. Take a look around, by clicking the picture, if you dare.

You may need to take a bath afterwards.

KT Tunstall

I have been listening to KT Tunstall in my car for several months - pretty much since the CD was released. KT is Kate with attitude. A singer-songwriter with good lyrics and listenability. Mysteriously, I get a lot of KT Tunstall hits on this blog, so I thought I'd write a little more.

With Chinese blood, and growing up in Scotland's St Andrews, KT Tunstall always knew she had been adopted at birth. "I grew up knowing I could have had a million different lives. It makes your life mysterious and your imagination go wild." KT spent her childhood up hills and under canvas with her outward-bound parents. Musically, she started with piano, then flute, then by mid-teens on to guitar and writing her own songs. Hungry for experience and independence, she gained a scholarship to Kent School in Connecticutt, New England.

KT returned to St Andrews then Royal Holloway College. Whilst in London her writing lead to the creation of over a hundred songs.

Eye to the Telescope was recorded in a little studio in Wiltshire. KT didn't want to use too much equipment, preferring to be inventive to get interesting music.

The lo-fi, visceral, boot-wielding approach was inspired by KT's recent conversion to the hiss and crackle of early blues. "On the whole, I'm a positive, skippity-la-la person but I love the dark side of music and I will always want to explore that. It's a positive-sounding album but there's stuff underneath for sure."


I saw KT's performance in the Glastonbury TV studio, when all the electronics and backup things went wrong. Unabashed she flipped into a full acoustic and untreated version of Black Horse and the Cherry Tree. A great performance, bettered by its almost impromptu edge.

And here's a Promo video from the BBC

black horse and the cherry tree

Tag: music, guitar, KT Tunstall

Autumn's first kiss

The Autumn Faery blew her first icy kiss across my cheek today. I was outside around dusk when I felt that slight electric crackle in the air, a light wind from the North and that unmistakable aroma of leaves. Most of the trees are still green, but there's already a few traces of gold on the ground. Two more weeks and the season will fully have changed.

Tag: autumn, fall, season, faery

wired bra

A London woman was an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting. She had a lucky escape, thanks to the wire in her bra, which deflected a bullet. The shooting happened outside an urban music awards ceremony at Barbican Centre in central London. The shooting incident was captured on London's extensive video camera network and the BBC has a video account of what happened.

Tag: bra, bullet, london, surveillance