Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Churchyard pic
I know this isn't the best picture ever in terms of composition, but I like the contrast between the bright snowdrops and the grey depressing Churchyard. I took it in a village in Berkshire a few weeks ago.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Contrast
contrast between the natural browns of the tree and earth vs the artificial red of the spray-painted brick.
I also like how it gives the appearance that the land is reclaiming the space from the decaying urban environment, almost in a kind of post-apocolyptic way.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
R.I.P. Corey Haim
Sad to hear about Corey Haim's death yesterday. It sounded like he was just starting to get everything back together after all his issues. Lost Boys is a classic film which will ensure he isn't forgotten for a long time yet.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Chinese new year
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Miniature forest
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Test post via email
Sunday, January 17, 2010
They should have been big, part 3: Heavenly
Well, it's about time I mentioned Heavenly in this series! Heavenly (1989-1996) are a group who I absolutely adore. They're normally tarred with the "twee" moniker, but to me they're just a great guitar band with gorgeous female vocals and funny/sad lyrics. Unfortunately I didn't hear their music until after they had already split up (after the death of band member Matthew Fletcher). If I had a time machine, Heavenly are one of the bands that I would make the effort to go back and see in their early years.
As a sidenote, Heavenly was the follow-on from seminal 80s "C86" band Talulah Gosh, who I also completely adore but who probably weren't quite ready for the big time. Heavenly, however, could have been huge, but they were on a small label and didn't get much exposure outside of the indie community which in those pre-Oasis and Blur days was a surprisingly niche market.
Anyway, because I love heavenly so much, I'm going to post links to 3 videos here, spanning the length of their career. The first is "Our Love Is Heavenly", an early single (1990) which represents their early distinctive youthful jangly sound.
Next up is "P.U.N.K. Girl", from a mid-career EP. Their sound has hardened by this time, as have the lyrics.
Finally, from their last album, is the single "Trophy Girlfriend". This album saw a more mainstream sound and they had a good chance at a break with this, but the band ended the Heavenly name after the death of Matthew Fletcher, and their follow-up band (Marine Research) had a different sound and the moment was already gone by then.
As a sidenote, Heavenly was the follow-on from seminal 80s "C86" band Talulah Gosh, who I also completely adore but who probably weren't quite ready for the big time. Heavenly, however, could have been huge, but they were on a small label and didn't get much exposure outside of the indie community which in those pre-Oasis and Blur days was a surprisingly niche market.
Anyway, because I love heavenly so much, I'm going to post links to 3 videos here, spanning the length of their career. The first is "Our Love Is Heavenly", an early single (1990) which represents their early distinctive youthful jangly sound.
Next up is "P.U.N.K. Girl", from a mid-career EP. Their sound has hardened by this time, as have the lyrics.
Finally, from their last album, is the single "Trophy Girlfriend". This album saw a more mainstream sound and they had a good chance at a break with this, but the band ended the Heavenly name after the death of Matthew Fletcher, and their follow-up band (Marine Research) had a different sound and the moment was already gone by then.
Friday, December 04, 2009
They should have been big, part 2: Strawberry Switchblade
Now, first off, I can understand that Strawberry Switchblade might not be everyone's cup of tea. But, they tick all my boxes, so here they are, on my list of musical artistes who should have been big! Well, interestingly, they were big in Japan, and when I wanted to buy their album many years ago the only way I could buy it at the time was to order an imported Japanese copy! There is now a UK released "platinum collection" though. Anyway, the video which I've included below looks like it's from a Japanese TV Show performance; it's 'Let Her Go', one of their less well known songs (Since Yesterday and Jolene are probably their best known songs, by all means check them out on YouTube). Enjoy :-)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Diaries
We've been doing some packing getting ready to move soon, and in the process I came across my old diaries from when I was a teenager, which I've kept despite how excruciatingly embarrassing they can be. For example, the entry from 17th May 1994 begins "The most important thing that happened today was Quantum Leap." I would have been 17 at the time. How sad is that?!?! It always amazes me that I never played Dungeons and Dragons when I was a kid .... I was certainly prime nerd material.
It's also reminded me that when I was in the final year of sixth form (ie: 17/18), I had a hopeless crush on a guy in the year below, and I wrote about it almost endlessly in my diary but without ever specifying his name or gender, in case my parents decided to read my diaries (which as it turns out, they did). The funny thing is, I was SOOOO amazingly obsessed by him at the time, and from reading my diaries it's reminded me that even walking past him in the corridor was enough to lift my spirits for the whole day; and yet now, I can't even remember his name. I'm pretty sure his first name was Darren, but I have no clue about his surname any more.
It's interesting reading through them, because I like to think that my life and personality has changed a lot since I left school. I like to think that I'm now a lot more confident and comfortable in my own skin. But reading some of those diary entries, it's almost like they were written yesterday. Time plays tricks on the memory though; if I was to meet my younger self now, I wonder whether I would feel that I had actually had changed. I think I would have. At the time I never dreamed that I would ever be 'out' to my family, friends, and work colleagues; and my expectations of life were not great as a result.
Anyway, I'm not entirely sure how to end this post, so I'll just end it. Ciao!
It's also reminded me that when I was in the final year of sixth form (ie: 17/18), I had a hopeless crush on a guy in the year below, and I wrote about it almost endlessly in my diary but without ever specifying his name or gender, in case my parents decided to read my diaries (which as it turns out, they did). The funny thing is, I was SOOOO amazingly obsessed by him at the time, and from reading my diaries it's reminded me that even walking past him in the corridor was enough to lift my spirits for the whole day; and yet now, I can't even remember his name. I'm pretty sure his first name was Darren, but I have no clue about his surname any more.
It's interesting reading through them, because I like to think that my life and personality has changed a lot since I left school. I like to think that I'm now a lot more confident and comfortable in my own skin. But reading some of those diary entries, it's almost like they were written yesterday. Time plays tricks on the memory though; if I was to meet my younger self now, I wonder whether I would feel that I had actually had changed. I think I would have. At the time I never dreamed that I would ever be 'out' to my family, friends, and work colleagues; and my expectations of life were not great as a result.
Anyway, I'm not entirely sure how to end this post, so I'll just end it. Ciao!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Blog Action Day
Today is Blog Action Day. The theme this year is climate change. I'm actually a bit of a secret eco-warrier these days (well, kind of). Regardless of whether you believe in man-made climate change, there are some other very obvious environmental issues to be concerned about, including sustainability, waste, and destruction of forests and wildlife habitats. So, here are some 'green' links I would recommend:
- The Green Party (UK) - They're actually not as radical as some people would have you believe, but in addition to the obvious environmental credentials, I like a lot of their policies about things like community and social justice etc etc.
- Greenpeace - Whether or not you agree with some of their tactics, they are quite effective campaigners, and have a lot of very valid things to say about big business and the political process. I particularly like their recent 'manifesto' 12 policies to save the climate and our planet, which contains some really straightforward and sensible proposals for ending the complete mess we're making of the planet.
- The Guardian's 10:10 campaign, which aims to get people reduce their carbon emissions by 10% by 2010, and thereby demonstrate that actually, it's pretty easy for any of us in the industrialised world to reduce our environmental impact. The focus is on carbon emissions, but many of the way to cut carbon have other environmental benefits - eg: reducing energy consumption, reducing waste and landfill, reducing usage of fossil fuels (flying, cars etc), and so on.
- Friends of the Earth - a bit like Greenpeace, but less in-your-face ...
- The Fairtrade Foundation - although this doesn't explicitly address environmental issues, it addresses social issues which in turn empowers people, and this can have a beneficial knock-on effect on their use of - and attitude towards - their environment.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
They should have been big: part one of a new occasional series!
Yes, I'm back back back! I'm going to do a series highlighting bands I love who deserve to be huge but sadly never made it. Today: Mice.
Mice was the name of Julianne Regan's follow-up band 3 years after All About Eve disbanded. I bought their debut single, Mat's Prozac, in HMV as a complete impulse buy having never even heard of the band or Julianne before. Thankfully it proved to be my introduction to the world of Julianne Regan and her gorgeous voice, and helped to kick-start my obsession with female-fronted rock bands.
Sadly, Mice only lasted for one album, "Because I Can". Their record label went bust owing them tonnes of money which didn't help. Luckily, a few years later the album was re-released by another company as "New and Improved", containing bonus tracks from b-sides and other unreleased stuff. It's a fantastic album, 19 tracks and not a duff tune amongst them. Highly recommended.
Anyway, the video I have for you here is not Mat's Prozac, as sadly that doesn't seem to exist on YouTube. It is instead the follow-up single, The Milkman, which while being perhaps slightly lighter than the rest of their material is nonetheless a cracking tune. Here it is, please enjoy:
Mice was the name of Julianne Regan's follow-up band 3 years after All About Eve disbanded. I bought their debut single, Mat's Prozac, in HMV as a complete impulse buy having never even heard of the band or Julianne before. Thankfully it proved to be my introduction to the world of Julianne Regan and her gorgeous voice, and helped to kick-start my obsession with female-fronted rock bands.
Sadly, Mice only lasted for one album, "Because I Can". Their record label went bust owing them tonnes of money which didn't help. Luckily, a few years later the album was re-released by another company as "New and Improved", containing bonus tracks from b-sides and other unreleased stuff. It's a fantastic album, 19 tracks and not a duff tune amongst them. Highly recommended.
Anyway, the video I have for you here is not Mat's Prozac, as sadly that doesn't seem to exist on YouTube. It is instead the follow-up single, The Milkman, which while being perhaps slightly lighter than the rest of their material is nonetheless a cracking tune. Here it is, please enjoy:
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Sent from my iPhone
I got myself a new toy .... A shiney new 3GS :-) It's the gadget I've wanted ever since watching Star Trek: The Next Generation when I was a kid. I've wanted a hand-held touch screen device for like EVER. And now I have one. Yay!! Don't worry, I won't bore you with loads of posts abou how cool it is. Suffice to say that me and iPhone are very happy together, thank you ^_^b
PS: I really do have no excuse for not blogging now ...
PS: I really do have no excuse for not blogging now ...
Monday, May 18, 2009
Chinese music video
Y played this song for me earlier, and I really like it; it's called"I'm Not Afraid of Demons If I've Seen Hell and it's by a Taiwanese band called Tizzy Bac:
Enjoy :-)
Enjoy :-)
Saturday, May 16, 2009
It's Eurovision!
Yes, it's that time of the year: Eurovision is with us again! Good luck to the UK, although I doubt we'll win :-(
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
London
When I was young, my Mum used to take me and my sister to London several times a year; sometimes to stay with my cousins, and sometimes just for day trips. Being a country lad, it was always quite exciting, even when I got older and had to be a typical teenage boy and pretend not to care.
My earliest memories of London are bomb scares and police at all stations; grey concrete everywhere; beggars and homeless people; and Dr Who. We used to visit MOMI so that I could see the regular Dr Who exhibitions they held there. Whenever we went on the train there were always police around, and I remember several bomb scares and station closures (usually IRA-related). Plus there were homeless people EVERYWHERE (or so it seemed to me, the impressionable country boy!).
Now, my thoughts of London are food, music, art, and seemingly endless free exhibitions and festivals. Y and I don't go out drinking and clubbing much these days, but we do eat out a LOT, and I'd say we're fairly cultural; we'll see an exhibition or performance or something most weeks, as there's just so many free things available in London, and it's a fascinating place just to walk round as there's so much variety, in terms of both architecture and culture.
So, basically, 3 years on I'm still loving living in London :-)
My earliest memories of London are bomb scares and police at all stations; grey concrete everywhere; beggars and homeless people; and Dr Who. We used to visit MOMI so that I could see the regular Dr Who exhibitions they held there. Whenever we went on the train there were always police around, and I remember several bomb scares and station closures (usually IRA-related). Plus there were homeless people EVERYWHERE (or so it seemed to me, the impressionable country boy!).
Now, my thoughts of London are food, music, art, and seemingly endless free exhibitions and festivals. Y and I don't go out drinking and clubbing much these days, but we do eat out a LOT, and I'd say we're fairly cultural; we'll see an exhibition or performance or something most weeks, as there's just so many free things available in London, and it's a fascinating place just to walk round as there's so much variety, in terms of both architecture and culture.
So, basically, 3 years on I'm still loving living in London :-)
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