2012

Not that incredibly tedious and frankly rubbish effects fest starring John Cusack and Thandie Newton, or even the forthcoming summer olympics to be held in London, but rather the Mayan prophecy of the world as we know it ending in 2012.
Now previously, I -like you, I suspect- had dismissed this as rubbish, merely the end of time from the perspective of some long dead and largely forgotten Central American shamen.
Lately though, I've been wondering if there might be more to it than it first appears -bear with me, I haven't gone mad- the terrible earthquakes and resultant tsunami which have just devastated a large tract of Japan is just the latest in a seires of terrible natural disasters. Just off the top of my head I can name terrible floods in Bangladesh, Australia, Peru and Brazil. Earthquakes in Chile, New Zealand, China and Haiti. Massive tsunami in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean. Volcanos erupting in Iceland and the Phillippines. I'm bound to have missed some or forgotten a few, but my point is I can never remember so many disasters in such a short time span. Is something going on, are we building up to a major cataclysm or is it just coincidence?

I think I might be changing my mind.

Did they get it right?

Televisions. And doggy birthdays.

The time has come to say goodbye to a long serving and faithful friend. Yes, dear readers the Rascal family's main tv -a near 10 year old Samsung Plano- has just about come to the end of it's useful lifespan, as it's developed an almost constant high pitched squeal and a strange line sometimes occurs across the top third of the screen. I know what you're thinking -"why is he telling us this?" I'm telling this to you to see if anyone else has the same thoughts as me about modern Tv's. I have no problem replacing the Samsung -it's been great for a long while- but when we bought it, it was huge.  Now, it appears, it's tiny.
We were round at our daughters a few days ago, and in their living room they have a TV that must be nearly 5 feet across -it's ridiculous. Their room isn't the biggest and this thing completely dominates it. Like a shire horse in a bedsit. Not for me.
And, at the risk of sounding old, have you tried looking at Tv's to buy recently? I have.
"Ah, you want a 60 inch lcd with hd 3d wifi backlit plasma"
"Do I?"
I didn't. I just want to watch the rugby without it screeching. A Sony Bravia it is then, the same size as the one we have now.

Do not want

Also, it's the Devil Dogs' birthday. She's 1.

Short thoughts

You know when you're in the cinema and someone near you is noisily munching their way through what seems to be a titanic sized vat of popcorn? It annoys the crap out of me frankly, but I doubt I'd shoot someone for being a bit loud during a film. What am I talking about? Well, that's exactly what happened during a screening of Black Swan in the Latvian capital Riga, last week. Riga police confirmed that a 27 year old man had shot a 42 year old man at the city's Cineplex, and that the argument began over how loudly he was eating his popcorn. The moral of this story? Don't annoy Latvians.

A Latvian, yesterday. Scary.

Here's a question. Do you take a sword to work with you? No? How about a bazooka? I thought not. I mean, there are some jobs where you might take a weapon to work - Ninja, Yakuza, train robber, Game Keeper - but not that many, and certainly not footballer. So why then, I've been wondering , did Ashley Cole take an air rifle to Chelsea's training ground with him and then promptly shoot a work experience kid with it, albeit accidently. Because he's a fucking moron, that's why. Case closed.

Finally and sadly, Jane Russell has died aged 89. Most famous for starring in westerns and with Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, she was one of the most beautiful of the Hollywood leading ladies in the post war era.

Cake.

What happens when you introduce a one year old girl to a slice of chocolate cake?

This.

Happy birthday Hope.

Cage the Elephant - Thank you, Happy birthday

This album is a fraud. No, really, it is. I mean, it's good -really good- but it sounds like Cage the Elephant have raided my CD collection and got stuck in the section where the Pixies, Nirvana and a little bit of the Melvins are kept, because if you threw those 3 bands into a pot and boiled them (bear with me, this slightly clunky analogy will finish soon) you'd end up with CtE.
60% Pixies, 35% Nirvana, just a dash of Melvins, perfect.

Anyway, on to the album itself. It's good -better than their much ballyhoo'd debut cut- and tracks like "Aberdeen" and "Shake me Down" are impossibly catchy, whilst "Japanese Buffalo" might be the best track I've heard this year (that isn't written by PJ Harvey). However "Indy Kids seems too contrived with it's musings about "being just like you" and doesn't sit well with the rest of the album, but the hits here far outweight the misses, and this would be a good addition to any collection.

If you're going to rip someone off, make sure it's someone good.

Meat America

No, that isn't a typo - it's the title of a set of images by photographer Dominic Espiscopo.
They won't be to everyones' tastes but I like them, particularly the shot of Louisiana with a slick of olive oil beneath it, very funny. Anyway, have a look.

More here and here

PJ Harvey -Let England Shake

For me, a new PJ Harvey album is a cause to celebrate. There hasn't been a single one I haven't enjoyed listening to again and again, so when I found out that the theme of LES was war, I was slightly concerned -I mean who wants to listen to an hour of war songs?- Not me, that's for sure. However, whatever misgivings I might have had about the album were torpedo'd halfway through the first song.
Put simply, this is PJ's finest effort since 2000's Stories from the City, Stories From the Sea.

You see, this album is not only about war, it's about nationalism and imperialism as well and how their effects are felt by the people on the receiving end of their twin pronged attack.
This is a history lesson on the regimes and bloodshed of the reasonably recent past, a history lesson done with beautiful, haunting vocals and heartstring tugging guitars. It's Harveys' lament to her country, chronicling her distress and her love for England. Just Brilliant.

Go and buy it, download it, whatever - just make sure you get a copy.