Sleeping Like A Blog
Jul. 9th, 2009
04:13 pm - Not as big as the Commonwealth Games
Monday marks the start of the 18th Maccabiah Games. "What's that?" I hear you asking Wikipedia. Well, quite simply, it's the Jewish Olympics, the third largest sporting event in the world (after the 'proper' Olympics and the Commonwealth Games). Over the course of the next fortnight, 7,500 athletes representing over 60 countries will compete in 34 sports. The largest delegations, unsurprisingly, come from Israel (2,200 athletes) and the USA (1,000 athletes), but Team GB is the third largest, taking a team of 500 to Israel. But there are delegations representing countries from as far and wide as Panama, Estonia and India (yes, I had no idea either). The whole event is televised on Israeli TV, and even on a dedicated cable channel in the USA. And the draw of the event is significant - 4 time Olympic gold medallist swimmer, Jason Lezak is skipping the 2009 World Aquatic Championships to participate in the Maccabiah, whilst Mark Spitz and (Andy Murray's former coach) Brad Gilbert have participated in past Maccabiah Games.
In amongst Team GB, I'm keeping my eye on a few individuals and teams. The men's Open Football team contains former Wycombe Wanderers youth team player Scott Shulton, whilst the men's Futsal team includes two players who both attended my primary school. However the football competition is incredibly fierce - Team GB has not won a medal in the open football for 48 years, and will have to get out of a tough looking group featuring Argentina, France and pre-tournament favourites Brazil. My sister's friend Tanya is in the women's football team, and my former football teammate Ryan is in the GB cricket team. And the face of the London 2012 bid, Jo Ankier, who I once raced against over 800m provides one of our best prospects for a track & field medal.
Why am I telling you all this? I don't know, really. I guess because I'm sports mad, and knowing people participating in these games gives me an extra reason to pay attention. But also, probably because many of these events run in multiple age categories, including Masters, so I've not yet given up hope that I, too, might one day get a chance to represent my country on the sports field! Good luck Team GB - hope you bring lots of medals home!
ION:
- sticking on a sport theme, Wycombe Wanderers' reject, Ikechi Anya has signed a dream deal with Seville in Spain. Anya was rubbish when he used to play for us, let's hope he's improved now, otherwise I suspect Seville may be wasting their time!
- without Cleese or Graham Chapman, it's hardly "Monty Python stars reunite" is it?
- I'm more excited than I ought to be about the news that the original lineup of En Vogue have reformed
- I have purchased 4 tickets to see Los Campesinos! at the reopened Garage on 28th October (shout if you'd like a ticket, £11.50 each) and I'm going to be trying my damndest to get tickets to see Yeah Yeah Yeahs in Brixton at the end of November when they go on sale tomorrow morning (again, shout if you'd like to come)
- as some of you will have spotted on my Facebook or Twitter, a pigeon has been laying eggs on my balcony. I'm very annoyed about this, and plan to start charging rent
- my holiday to Majorca was absolutely bloody brilliant, and the wedding was totally spectacular. I'm totally miserable about being back here. NEED MOAR HOLIDAY
- going to see Oi Va Voi and Tinariwen at the iTunes Festival tonight. Have a spare ticket if anyone is sans plans for this evening
Jul. 1st, 2009
02:31 pm - Hyde Park gigs galore
I've been to two brilliant gigs in Hyde Park over the last three nights.
On Sunday night, I went to see The Boss. Massive thanks to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
gruffexterior for sorting me the ticket. Bruuuuuce was in inspired form, playing a greatest hits set, and bouncing around the stage with energy that belies his age. Particular highlights were his set opening Clash cover, mass sing-alongs for 'Outlaw Pete' and 'Trapped', a mind-blowing 'Born To Run' during which a woman fainted next to us, and the entire encore, especially the set closer. Support came from the rather splendid Gaslight Anthem, and the rather average Dave Matthews Band. Didn't bother seeing James Morrison, but then again, why would I put myself through that anyway?!!
Setlist: London Calling, Badlands, Night, She's the One, Outlaw Pete, Out in the Street, Working on a Dream, Seeds, Johnny 99, Youngstown, Good Lovin', Bobby Jean, Trapped, No Surrender (with The Gaslight Anthem), Waitin' on a Sunny Day, The Promised Land, Racing in the Street, Radio Nowhere, Lonesome Day, The Rising, Born to Run, Rosalita
Encore: Hard Times, Jungleland, American Land, Glory Days, Dancing in the Dark
Last night, Bon Iver played a Serpentine Session. The support acts played outdoors under glorious sunshine. There was Geordie folkster Beth Jeans Houghton, who looks like Gwen Stefani and sounds like Laura Marling. And then there was an upbeat performance by Kent-based Grandaddy copycats, It Hugs Back. But the main event was Justin Vernon, the man who recorded my favourite album of last year by locking himself away in a log cabin in remote northeastern Wisconsin for three months. It was the third time I'd seen him live, and easily the best. The atmosphere was splendid, particularly on the now-obligatory crowd chorus for 'The Wolves'. 'Blood Bank' sounded much more powerful than before, and 'Flume', 'Skinny Love' and 'For Emma' were all dispatched with style, before a rousing encore of 'Creature Fear'. He also played a great song I'd never heard previously, 'Brackett, Wisconsin'. He said it was the last UK gig for a while, which is a shame, but I'll eagerly await album #2 from my favourite artist of recent years.
No photos yet of either gig - I'll try and put them on Facebook tonight, before I head off to Majorca for my holiday tomorrow morning. Gutted that I'm not going to see Blur in Hyde Park later this week, but the holiday and wedding come first, and I'm sure azureskies and co make good use of the tickets that I was unable to use myself.
Now a few links:
- Gilad Shalit has now been a hostage of Hamas for 3 years. Israel does not even know if he is still alive, and Hamas have denied the International Red Cross access to him. They are demanding the release of 1,000 terrorists in exchange for Shalit. Which is a crazy demand, but to be expected from a bunch of crazy terrorists.
- I heard Richard Bacon interview the woman at the centre of the Soulja Boy phone number story on Five Live last night, and her phone must have rung about 10 times during the course of their 5 minute interview. Soulja Boy has a lot to answer for (and noy just this).
- Former Wycombe captain, Roger Johnson has moved from Cardiff to Birmingham for £5m. This means I now have a player to support in the Premiership next season, and also means Wycombe get a nice payout of £700k courtesy of a sell-on clause negotiated at the time that we sold him to Cardiff. He's a future England centre back, I said it when he was 17, and I still believe it now.
- I suppose I'd better at least mention the passing of the King of Pop. Here's a story about him you might not have heard before.... how Michael Jackson saved the New England Patriots and here's a very good blog piece by Jonathan Bogart.
- Finally, as well as Michael Jackson, last week saw the passing of Steven Wells, former NME columnist. When I was 15, I had my first ever letter published in NME, slating Swells (as he was known by the readers) for a review he wrote of a Spacehog album. Of course, Swells being Swells, he probably quite enjoyed my (slightly abusive) letter. Spookily, when writing his final ever column, written a fortnight before his death, he seemed to have some inside knowledge that he would be passing away on the same day as MJ - check out the last line of his last ever article!
Have a good week, y'all.
09:57 am - "When your life's in a mess"
Please note that what follows contains my personal opinions, and that these are not necessarily those of my employer!
The big news this morning is that the Chief Executive of my company, National Express has resigned, and that we've told the government that in light of the failure to renegotiate the terms of the rail franchise, we are handing the East Coast Main Line back into public ownership. The cost of quitting is less than the losses we'd incur if we carried on running the franchise under the contract.
I'm well aware that train operating companies (TOCs) are the most hated of all private enterprise in this country. Passengers pay extortionate fares which don't even guarantee them a seat. But this situation is a by-product of a franchising system which, in my opinion, patently doesn't work.
In his statement this morning, the Secretary of State for Transport said:
"The rail franchising system was examined by the National Audit Office last year. It was found to deliver good value for money, and steadily improving services."
Steadily improving services, certainly. Reliability has massively improved since privatisation - more trains arrive on time today than at any point in the history of our railways. But good value for money for whom? The NAO's remit when investigating would have been to see whether it is beneficial to the taxpayer. The answer is yes, but with a caveat. Rail companies are criticised for the high levels of profits they earn, yet the railways are a huge net benefit to the public purse. The East Coast franchise has failed not because of operational problems, but because of the £1.4 billion that my employer agreed to pay to the government over the life of the franchise. That £1.4bn number was reached after months of detailed analysis and calculation by a specialist bid team. That they failed to foresee a recession 2 years in the future is hardly their fault.
The caveat to this is that if the railways provide good value for money for the taxpayer, then the government's refusal to renegotiate the terms of the franchise (for political reasons - "we cannot be seen to be rewarding failure") has definitely cost the taxpayer. Instead of earning the £1.4 billion, the franchise will now be re-tendered at a much lower level - probably £800m at most. On top of this, there are costs associated with the re-tendering process. And there will be significant costs in the government setting up the arrangements for running the East Coast mainline as a public company.
Owning any particular rail franchise is important enough to the profitability of transport operators that they are willing to push those premium payments as high as they possibly can in order to persuade the government to accept their bid. Why else would NX have bid £1.4bn for the East Coast shortly after GNER failed to meet their franchise obligations for a lower sum? And how else do you explain the continued interest in operating UK rail franchises from the likes of Deutsche Bahn of Germany, Ned Railways of Holland and other international operators? If you win a UK rail franchise, it can be massively earnings-enhancing for your business, as well as the "prestige" element that comes with operating a major railway.
What the NAO study also fails to mention is that those "taxpayers" are also "customers". And the system of rail franchising, which encourages increasingly higher bids, has meant that TOCs have had to continually increase fares to meet those premium payments to the government. When you buy your £200 return ticket to Manchester or Leeds, you're paying tax to a large extent - the portion of that fare that is converted into profit for the actual rail operator is miniscule by comparison to the amount that goes to the government.
These myths about the economics of running the railways are perpetuated by the government, who are keen to see this stream of income to the public purse continue, and by the trade unionists, principally Bob Crow. It's in Crow's interests to keep reminding the public of how much profit transport companies are making, because that strengthens his negotiating position when salary increases for his members are discussed. No doubt Crow will be crowing (pardon the pun) this morning.
All I'm saying I guess is "don't believe everything you read" this morning.
EDIT* One more point to note: First Class Partnerships are the government's designated 'Operator of Last Resort' and will probably be responsible for running East Coast from December onwards. Whilst they are undoubtedly very knowledgable when it comes to UK rail, they have very limited experience of actually running a major franchise. What are the odds on East Coast's performance actually continuing its improvement next year? My guess is that they are slim, at best. Fares will remain at their current high levels, but it's likely that under FCP, fewer trains will arrive on time, innovation and capital expenditure will be restricted, and service quality will decrease. That's just the nature of the Operator of Last Resort arrangement, not a knock on FCP. The government's refusal to budge from their negotiating stance will not only cost the taxpayer, but also the customer.
Jun. 26th, 2009
03:07 pm - Restaurant Recommendation
You know how people always say they remember where they were when they heard that JFK/John Lennon/Princess Diana had died? Well, in this case, I'll always remember what I ate the night MJ died. Had an awesomely superb carnivorous dinner at El-Vaquero. It's in an equestrian centre in Woodside Park (nr Finchley, up the Northern line), right by daniel_hill's house, and they do "all you can eat" meat. Large quantities of high quality meat. Would totally recommend it (unless you're a veggie). Lovely atmosphere, great food, reasonably priced.
Jun. 25th, 2009
12:17 pm - "Just wave and look vaguely Latino"
This time next week, I'll be on a plane to Majorca on my holidays. Hurrah! 10 day weather forecast says it'll be about 86-87 degrees when I fly out there. I intend to spend plenty of time sitting on the beach, reading my book, sipping cocktails, and generally being very lazy.
I've set up a new blog. Something I've been meaning to start for a few weeks, to allow myself enough time to complete it by the end of the year. It's my countdown of my 100 favourite songs of the decade. I've spent ages agonising over the choices, and although the first few songs that I've written about fall into the indie/alternative genres, there's a real mix of stuff, including plenty of pop still to come. Please bookmark it, comment on my posts, and help me feel like someone is actually reading! You can find it at http://noughtieshits.blogspot.com/.
Two fantastic TV shows I've been watching recently. Sky1's dramatisation of Martina Cole's The Take, a four-part London gangster thriller, which has been absolutely gripping thus far (the final part is next Wednesday). The plot is brilliant, and the acting (particularly by the superb Tom Hardy, in the lead role) has been top notch. Hardy's character is truly evil, vicious, and thoroughly scary, as he becomes more and more unstable. There have been moments which have genuinely shocked me. Is anyone familiar with Martina Cole's books? Are they all as engrossing as 'The Take'?
Meanwhile, Virgin 1 have been airing HBO's 'The Life And Times Of Tim', a two-dimensional animated comedy about a 20-something in New York who seems to end up in ridiculous and awkward situations, week after week. Each episode is generally split into two 15 minute stories - last night's saw Tim accompanying his boss's daughter to her high school prom (typical line: "I'm going to spank my way to the top") and then challenge an elderly man to a fight. Past episodes have seen him pretending to be Mexican, getting caught with a prostitute by his girlfriend, and getting a priest drunk. The humour probably isn't to everyone's taste, but fans of South Park/Family Guy style comedies ought to find it hilarious. Big chunks of episodes are on YouTube for those that are interested in getting a feel for it.
Songs that I'm "digging" right now:
The Gaslight Anthem - The Patient Ferris Wheel
The Rifles - The Great Escape
Jordin Sparks - Battlefield
Dragonette - Fixin To Thrill
White Lies - Farewell To The Fairground
Prodigy - Warriors' Dance
Two links for you:
- Brilliant story from Missouri - a neo-Nazi group volunteered to clean a highway to increase their profile, so the Missouri Department of Transportation renamed the highway after a prominent Jewish theologian who escaped Nazi Germany in the 1930s!!
- Another brilliant story, this one about dogs that have learnt how to travel on the Moscow underground system
Jun. 16th, 2009
01:58 pm - Dewey, you fool! Your decimal system has played right into my hands!
Last night, I was lucky enough to be one of 200 attendees at Sony Ericsson's Pitch Black gig, featuring Friendly Fires playing in.... well, the name says it all... total darkness. I won a competition on Drowned In Sound (ta, muchly). Meeting at the allotted time by Borough Market, we were led into a large cavernous room for free drinks and canapes, before being taken through into another, smaller room for the gig itself.
Pros:
- Novelty value
- Friendly Fires are a super awesome live band
- Free, including FIVE free drinks - very generous of Sony Ericsson
- Amazing glow-in-the-dark confetti shower during the climax to 'Paris'
- Infrared video cameras filming the gig for posterity (apparently videos should be up here shortly)
Cons:
- You go to see FF if you want to dance. And the gig was seated for health & safety reasons
- The band played half a set behind a curtain, and then it fell away to reveal that they were not playing in total darkness, since amps, keyboards, power cords etc. have lights on them
- Infrared video cameras - if I made a silly face, chances are you'll be able to see it on the video
- Competition winners-only gigs are never great for atmosphere, as undoubtedly half the audience are not huge fans
That said, I'd categorise most of my gripes as 'logistical' and the band themselves were superb. I must see this band play live over and over again. They're like a properly good version of Klaxons. Setlist was pretty much the entire self-titled debut album, finishing with a spanking 'On Board' during which the audience ignored the health and safety nonsense and got up for a bit of a boogie: Lovesick; Jump In The Pool; Skeleton Boy; In The Hospital; White Diamonds; Ex Lover; Photobooth; Paris; On Board
On the weekend, I had my friend Ollie's stag. 14 of us had a great weekend down in Bath - did a bit of rifle shooting, a bit of quad biking (the stag's brother-in-law flipped his and nearly ended up going through an electric fence), had a fantastic pizza dinner at Grappa, went clubbing in the hot and sweaty but excellent Blue Rooms, and then one of the best pub lunches of all time at the Michelin-rated Marlborough Tavern. The stag himself is working on the Harry Potter films, so we dressed him as the schoolboy wizard for our night out, leading to many comedy moments.
Bath's really rather lovely. And getting a lift back up the M4 in the sunshine with the roof down has helped my tan out no end. On the way down to Bath, we passed through one of the prettiest villages I've ever seen in this country - Bradford-upon-Avon. Would highly recommend that part of the world for a short break.
What else to report? Have been mostly in Birmingham for werk the past fortnight. The next few weeks include a pair of exciting gigs (Bon Iver, Bruce Springsteen) plus my trip to Majorca for Ollie's wedding. WINNAR.
A few links that grabbed my attention:
- iPhone users - this new app tells you where on the train you need to be for the platform exits at your destination. Of course, if, like me, you grew up in London (and you are a geek) and know the tube pretty well, you probably know where the exits are for many of the stops you'd be most likely to use
- I'm heartened by the news that Eminem is re-forming D12 to record new material
- In "sure to be blown off stage by both their support acts" news, Coldplay have confirmed Jay Z and Girls Aloud will both support the band at both the Wembley shows, rather than one playing each night. Almost makes me want to go. Almost. Can I justify £60+ just to see support acts?
- In "everyone else already knew about this" news, Futurama is returning!!! SQUEEEEE!
- Cristiano and Paris - was it a publicity stunt? Yes, I think so
- And I can't let an entire post go past without any sports news: Football League clubs have agreed to new rules including a transfer embargo on clubs who fall behind on tax payments.
Fixture list at 10am tomorrow. Hurrah. I can start planning my trips to Leeds and Southampton.
Jun. 8th, 2009
11:58 am - A sad day for Britain
After a night to sleep on the European election results, I find myself feeling a mixture of anger, frustration and downright disgust. Almost a million Brits voted for the British National Party. Seventy years after we went to war to prevent a fascist political party from cleansing Europe of minorities, as a nation we're now voting for the Nazis' successors? What is wrong with this country? Broken Britain is crumbling.
I find it quite ironic, given how multicultural our society has become. 16 people have just moved into the Big Brother house, and they represent a typical cross-section of our society. There's a bisexual Russian, a Brazilian, an African-American, an Indian, a toff, an Iranian, an unemployed lesbian, an Irish Catholic, a glamour model. I could go on, but the point is obvious. A million people in this country just voted for a political party who would ban about 80% of the current Big Brother house from even living in this country. Ditto the England football team. And Surallun would be without an apprentice this morning if the BNP were in power. Hell, six months ago, the US elected an African American with Islamic heritage as their President. I've always considered the American people to be, on average, more bigoted than the Brits. Now, I'm starting to see the Americans as enlightened compared to us.
I despair for this country. We've invested many millions on Holocaust education in schools, yet for many, it doesn't appear to have sunk in. I appreciate that we live in a democracy, and that one of the advantages is that everyone has an equal vote. I understand that we're living through a recession, I can accept that there is a significant dislike for the major political parties, given the abuses of power that they've been able to get away with during the boom of the past decade. But there is no excuse. A million people voted for racists to represent us in the European Parliament.
This morning, more than ever before, I'm contemplating the possibility of emigrating. The only reason keeping me here is that leaving would be a concession of defeat. And despite last night's results, no-one should ever let the racists think they've won.
6 million Jews... 500,000 Romani... 200,000 disabled... 15,000 gay men... 2 million ethnic Poles... we can never forget. And now, more than ever, it is our duty to ensure that everyone remembers.
Please go and sign the 'Not In My Name' petition on the Hope Not Hate website. And please, use every opportunity you can to fight against the fascists.
Jun. 3rd, 2009
03:38 pm - A film review, and some links
'4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days' ('4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile') is a Romanian film, which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007. It tells the story of a student trying to get an abortion in the last years of the Ceauşescu regime (abortion was illegal in Communist Romania).
It's a dark, and deeply disturbing film (one scene in particular upset me greatly), yet at the same time, a wonderful example of the impact that a good script and creative direction can have. The dialogue is very natural, and restrained - there are long silences through the film. It deals with a highly-charged topic, yet doesn't allow the levels of emotion in the dialogue to become overbearing or schmaltzy. The direction highlights the bleakness of Communist Romania, and the camera-work is remarkable - lingering on the hands of the backstreet doctor as he pulls on his latex gloves, or focusing on a particular character as she sits in silence at the dinner table, whilst those around her chat (off-screen).
The acting is excellent too. Laura Vasiliu as Gabita, the pregnant girl, plays the part of scared teenager brilliantly. Her roommate, Otilia (Anamaria Marinca), is actually the central character in the film, and plays the role of the practical friend, there to help and offer advice, yet deep down as scared as Gabita herself. The doctor, Bebe (Vlad Ivanov) seems at first glance to be a nasty character, aggressive in tone. But when he explains the risks involved (he faces 10 years in prison if caught assisting in an abortion), it becomes easier to see his point of view.
It's hardly light entertainment, but nevertheless a fascinating film, and if you're not put off by the subject matter, it's well worth watching - I'd go as far as to say it's the best film I've watched this year. If I had one criticism, it's that it ends rather abruptly, but don't let that detract from an otherwise superb piece of work from debutant director Cristian Mungiu (whose next film, due out this month, is a comedy - go figure).
--x--x--x--x--x--x--x--
Now, some links:
- Tanya, writing on the ever-excellent Noise To Signal website founded by, amongst others, azureskies, has posted some rather brilliant anti-BNP cartoons. If you're reading this in the UK, and are eligible to vote tomorrow in the European elections, please, please go vote. It is vitally important that the BNP do not win any seats. Their voice does not deserve to be heard - we may live in a society that welcomes free speech, but that privilege should not apply to those who wish to restrict the freedoms of others (and yes, I am aware that this statement might seem hypocritical, but then I'm not the racist trying to Aryan-ise British society).
- If you haven't yet seen the trailer for The Beatles Rock Band game, which planet have you been hiding on these past few days?
- The best independent football website on the web, 101 Great Goals have published their top 101 goals from around the world in 2008/9. Haven't watched them all yet (that'll be this weekend's task), but if I was picking a Top 3 of the ones I have seen, it would probably be Glen Johnson for Portsmouth, versus Hull (5m 30s into the clip); Simon Cox for Swindon, versus Walsall; and Eliran Atar for Bnei Yehuda, against Maccabi Netanya. Trust me though, all 101 are screamers.
- A story that hasn't really dented the news, but which certainly grabbed my attention - Jimi Hendrix's former roadie claims that Hendrix was murdered by his manager.
- ColdHardFootballFacts.com have done some statistical analysis of which individual and team achievements the New England Patriots and Tom Brady missed out on as a result of the injury he suffered 7 minutes into last season.
- The quest for the most original idea for a gig goes on - Friendly Fires will play a gig in total darkness.
- Former Grandaddy frontman, Jason Lytle gave an interview to Drowned In Sound in the week that his debut solo album was released. It's the most honest and frank interview I've ever heard him give, and it's well worth a read: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4.
- And just to finish on a light note, with news which merely serves to confirm what I already believed to be true about the leaders of the Palestinian people, Mahmoud Abbas has confirmed details of the peace deal which was offered to him by Israel last year. Even from my (admittedly-biased) viewpoint, it seems like Israel were willing to compromise to a far greater extent than anyone could have imagined. I can't see where the peace process goes from here - there's nothing more that Israel can offer the Palestinians. The people of Gaza and the West Bank, and their leaders have made it abundantly clear that they have no interest in a two-state solution. What they want is Israel wiped off the map, and unless they adjust their ambitions, peace will forever be an impossibility.
May. 28th, 2009
10:27 am - Squeeee
I'm going to the Islington Academy tonight to see Jason Lytle perform his first London solo show since Grandaddy split up in 2006. I'm rather excited. I saw Grandaddy live on at least 8 occasions from 1998-2004. I haven't got a ticket yet, but it's not sold out so I'll just buy on the door. Anyone without plans for the evening care to join me?
I was supposed to be in Chicago this weekend for a wedding, but it was contingent on my being able to persuade werk to send me to our Chicago office for today and tomorrow and a couple of days next week. Sadly it didn't pan out, so I'm having to miss the wedding.
Lots of fun stuff to look forward to in June though:
* My school reunion, celebrating 10 years since we left, next Thursday
* Ash gig a week on Saturday
* Stag party in Bath the following weekend
* Bruce Springsteen in Hyde Park, and Bon Iver by the Serpentine (so technically also in Hyde Park) at the end of the month
And then a week in Majorca for a wedding at the beginning of July. Excellent. I need sunshine.
May. 25th, 2009
08:16 pm - Smiles
Well, this has been a Bank Holiday weekend of WIN, really.
In calendar order:
Friday - had emails telling me I'd won a £12 Amazon voucher from TV Bite, and I'd won a Roni Size Reprazent T-shirt and CD from Get Loaded In The Park. The Amazon voucher went on £12 worth of mp3s. Went to dinner with my family, then came home and played Risk with my flatmate and his friend. In the spirit of the weekend, I won, playing it cool before springing a surprise attack on China on my way to completing the mission to conquer North America and Australasia.
Saturday - quiet day reading the papers, watching the L2 playoff final (well done Gillingham; I particularly enjoyed laughing at Grant Holt's face at full time). In the evening, played poker at my friends, G and Vicky, and won £80.
Sunday - watched the L1 playoff final, then went to Marc's to watch the final day of the Premiership season unfold. Marc gave me amazing belated birthday presents - a Wycombe programme signed by the whole promotion team, NFL Tour for the XBox, a Death Cab for Cutie album and a Charlie Brooker book. He then proceeded to beat me to our Fantasy League title by just 13 points, 1932-1919. Over the course of a season, it was amazing that it remined that close. In the evening, I went to Ongar in Essex for my friends' engagement. It was unbelievable - a Greek barbecue (think My Big Fat Greek Wedding in terms of food quantities), lots of Pimms and wine, and gorgeous evening weather. The night ended with about 20 of us sitting around a fire under the stars.
Monday - WIN in terms of odd jobs. I went shopping at the garden centre and did plenty of bardening*, all my ironing, cleaned the flat, and just generally relaxed. I listened to plenty of new music - Green Day's new album, the Gaslight Anthem (as I'm seeing them next month in Hyde Park), and Jason Lytle's wonderful debut solo album. Plus Jordin Sparks' 'Battlefield' about 6 times. Is it the best constructed pop song of the decade? I think it might be. And now it's time for the final double-bill of '24', the perfect way to cap the perfect Bank Holiday weekend.
* Bardening being balcony gardening
May. 20th, 2009
12:04 pm - Back in the game
Following up on my previous post, these were my Tweets during ATP:
12:00PM May 18th on the train back. feeling totally ropey, but well worth it... terrific weekend at #atp
5:04AM May 18th #atp still awake, barely. sitting in the dark listening to coheed + cambria. sleepy
8:37PM May 16th #atp breeders on stage soon, css were great. what's happening in #eurovision?
3:02PM May 16th BINGO!!!
2:29AM May 16th Mandy Moore has a massive head. ATP rules!
11:29PM May 14th #atp, incidentally
11:28PM May 14th Also, why do I always leave festival packing till the very last minute? Ah well, ATP here I come. Huzzah!
In non-ATP news, I've been exceedingly busy at work for some months, but things have calmed down, allowing me to catch up with life. WIN. As a result, I'm now able to bring you some selected highlights of items I've spotted on the interweb during these past few months.
- I got exceedingly excited by the news of a Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse/David Lynch album (especially when I heard that guest vocals were being provided by Iggy Pop, Gruff Rhys, Julian Casablancas, Frank Black, Flaming Lips, Nina Persson and best of all, Jason Lytle). So I was gutted to read that the album may now not be released due to legal problems
- Heidi Stephens' liveblog of Eurovision on the Guardian website has managed to cause a diplomatic incident by offending the entire Norwegian population. No sense of humour, those Scandinavians!
- Cincinnati Bengals' wide receiver Chad Ocho Cinco (who changed his name by deed poll from Chad Johnson) will get to wear his new name on the back of his shirt this season after the NFL officially recognised his new surname
- This is a very cool piece of artwork by a University of Central Lancashire art student
- Here's a picture of the Dalai Lama wearing a New England Patriots cap
- A wickedly funny review of Wycombe's 2008/9 promotion season
- A penalty had to be retaken in a Sunday League football match, when an opponent tried to put off the penalty taker by farting!!
- The NFL changes the time of a New York Jets' game to avoid a clash with the Jewish festival of Yom Kippur
- Amazing maps of Manhattan
How to get a seat on the tube
May. 19th, 2009
01:36 pm - Obligatory ATP post
Cor, ATP was excellent. Mr. darkpigeon has already written a full review of the alcoholic carnage that afflicted the residents of Holnicote chalet R7 (fair play to Fiona who matched the five boys drink for drink all weekend). Aside from drinking rather heavily, I saw lots of bands, specifically (in chronological order) Giant Sand, Throwing Muses, Bon Iver, Blood Red Shoes, CSS, Shellac, The Breeders, Tricky, Mariachi El Bronx, Holy F**k, Melt Banana, Deerhunter, Kimya Dawson, Foals and Madlib. Picking musical highlights is difficult, as most of the aforementioned were thoroughly excellent. However, I can confirm that despite having no prior knowledge of their music, I am now a big Throwing Muses fan. Also, Kimya Dawson's 'Alphabutt' song... "F is for fart, G is for gorilla fart, H is for huge gorilla fart"
Non-musical highlights:
- BINGO!
- Sitting in the chalet, singing along to Pink and Kelly Clarkson on full volume at 5am
- Abusing Spiderman for his refusal to scale the walls of Butlins
- Getting free food off of Damian, the (worryingly over-)friendly waiter/chef in Finnegans
- Ducks. Seagulls. Other interesting flying beasts
- Champagne roast lunch on Sunday
All told, a cracking weekend - special shouts out to my fellow R7 residents, but also to the countless other LJers who were there, many of whom I somehow managed to miss the whole weekend. Hope you all loved it as much as I did. Photos to follow on Facebook ce soir.
May. 11th, 2009
09:36 am - Don't you forget about me
In this age of Tweeting, Tumbling and Spotifying, who has time for LiveJournal? Not me, that's for sure. But werk has calmed down after an absolutely manic two months, and now it's Monday morning and I've got very little to do so here's a brief run down of what I've been up to.
- Bought a Macbook. My laptop was dying a slow, painful death. So I made the decision, and dumped Microsoft. There's a new love in my life now, and it's shiny and white and doesn't crash every time I try and open YouTube.
- Had my birthday. Thanks to those that showed up. It was actually a really enjoyable night, involving pre-drinks at my flat, and then on to the Borderline, to party like it was 1996. Side note: my neighbours, out of consideration for whom I had decided not to hold a full-blown, all-night house party, complained about the noise levels before 10pm. On a Saturday night. On a Bank Holiday weekend. To put this in context, they're not of an older generation - they're a young 20-something married couple. And they really need to get a life.
- Oh, yes, of course, Wycombe got promoted. Just. After attending away trips to Luton and Port Vale, we were at home against Notts County for the last day of the season. We didn't play very well, and got beaten 2-1, but that was ok, because Bury needed to win by two clear goals. We invaded the pitch at the full time whistle, and then someone pointed out that the Bury game hadn't finished yet. And that they'd scored a penalty. A very nervous 2 or 3 minutes ensued, before the full time whistle went in Lancashire, and nearly 10,000 Wycombe fans started the party. It still hasn't quite sunk in yet... I expect that it will become real once the fixture list for next season is published in June. I'm particularly looking forward to my trip to Southampton.
- TV-wise, 'Heroes' finished with a bit of a disappointing series finale, but 'Lost' and '24' just get better and better, and I don't know what I'll do with all my spare time once both series' finish in the next fortnight. Also '30 Rock' makes me laugh so hard, and they've just announced cameos in their season finale from Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow and Mry J Blige. Certain to be one to watch out for.
- Musically, I've been so busy at werk and trying to switch over to my new laptop that I've got a bit behind on new music. However, I have heard Eminem's new album, 'Relapse' (7/10 on first listen), and it's only a week to wait now until Jason Lytle (of Grandaddy) releases his debut solo album, 'Yours Truly, The Commuter'. To say I'm a little excited would be the understatement of the century. Songs I'm loving at the moment:
Tommy Sparks - She's Got Me Dancing
La Roux - In For The Kill
Prodigy - Warrior's Dance
Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers
Lady Gaga - Pokerface (it's really grown on me)
- Gig-wise, the summer season is just about to start, and here's what I have lined up:
This weekend - All Tomorrow's Parties (YAY!)
27th May - Maximo Park at the Brixton Academy
6th June - Ash at Bloomsbury Ballroom
28th June - Bruce Springsteen in Hyde Park
30th June - Bon Iver at the Serpentine Sessions
11th July - Lily Allen at Somerset House
16th July - Kasabian at Brixton
28th August - Reading Festival
- Also coming up, I'm attending the reunion for the 10th anniversary of leaving school, I'm off to Mallorca for a week at the beginning of July for a friend's wedding, and I'm attending the 4th day of the Lords test of the Ashes. A good summer then.
What have you been up to these past few months?
Apr. 24th, 2009
10:47 pm - An open letter
Dear LiveJournal,
I'm not ignoring you, it's just that I've been very busy lately.
Yours sincerely,bengraham
Mar. 17th, 2009
10:06 pm - TV Review - no spoilers
Less than 50,000 people watched the final episode of 'Generation Kill' on Sunday night but like 'The Wire' (from the same creators, David Simon and Ed Burns), I predict that GK is going to be a huge cult success when repeated on Channel 4 (who picked up the terrestrial rights after FX had already begun airing the series) and when released on DVD.
The show was based upon the award-winning three-part Rolling Stone article and subsequent book from music journalist Evan Wright, who was embedded with the US Marine Corps' 1st Recon Battalion during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
As one might expect from two of the finest television writers of this (or any) generation, the series tried to take the viewer on a journey and make them feel as if it was they, themselves who were embedded with the Marines. Attempting to convey the sheer horror of modern warfare is clearly a tough task, and GK accomplished the task as well as any film or TV series I'm yet to see.
But what made GK so addictive, so... compelling, was the insight into the different personalities, and the camaraderie (or lack of) between those very divergent personas. Sure, some of the members of 1st Recon were portrayed as bloodthirsty, testosterone-fuelled macho blockheads, looking for any opportunity to shoot "Haji motherf***ers". Others were more philosophical - the "here to do a job" attitude - whilst a small section of the force were characterised as genuinely wishing to make a difference to the lives of ordinary Iraqis, a theme that came to the fore as the series drew to a close with the troops entering Baghdad. All were united though in their unquestioned ability as the finest front-line Marines available to the US military command.
Central to the plot was the relationship between Wright and his immediate travelling buddies, the inhabitants of the lead vehicle of Bravo Company. Even allowing for a little artistic licence in his portrayal of those with whom he spent the most time, Wright clearly developed a huge affinity for these three men, particularly Brad 'Iceman' Colbert, played exceptionally well by Alexander Skarsgård (who is rumoured to be playing the role of Thor in Kenneth Branagh's 2011 live action superhero film, alongside Samuel L Jackson). Colbert kept himself to himself, but was always supportive of his comrades, no matter how serious a mistake they may have made. He was not afraid to question his superiors, particularly when he felt that a moral line was being crossed.
Alongside Colbert, Josh 'Ray Ray' Person (played by James Ransone) was the vehicle's driver and comedian of the battalion. He underwent a transformation of sorts during the course of the series, as his excitement at going to war ("peace sucks a hairy a**hole Freddie, war is the motherf***ing answer") was tempered by the reality of the situation. He still found time to crack the odd joke as the series progressed ("Yeah, looks like Saddam's big bad Republican Guard hajjis got wind I was coming. As the great warrior-poet Ice Cube once said, 'if the day does not require an AK, it is good'") but he seemed more disheartened by the futility of the mission by the end of the series ("That was cool, who do we invade now?"). The final member of the vehicle was Harold James Trombley, the most trigger-happy member of the team, but who at least seemed to learn to understand the severe implications of his actions in the field of warfare.
I'm not going to give any spoilers, as I insist that eventually, you will all get around to watching (and enjoying) one of the finest pieces of television that I've ever seen. Instead I'll leave you with a clip to whet the appetite.
Mar. 11th, 2009
05:01 pm - Hi honey, I'm home
I'm sorry, I've been neglecting you.
Amusing anecdote: last week I went to Paris for werk, but missed my Eurostar, because the cab I had ordered to take me to St Pancreas turned up late. I always use the same cab company, and this week, for my trip up to Birmingham, I used them again. This time, I allowed plenty of extra time, booking it for 6.35am to catch my 7.22am train (the journey takes about 20 minutes). I specifically instructed the company not to ring my bell when the cab arrived.
So, I get woken up by someone ringing my front door bell at 6.20. It's the driver, but by the time I get to answer it, he's gone back to sit in his cab. I get dressed, checking occasionally that he's still waiting. As I get in the lift of my block, he's still there, but by the time I get downstairs, he's driven away. At 6.36am. One minute after the time I booked it for.
I call the company and shout lots of abuse at them down the phone ("you made me miss my Eurostar last week, now this" etc.) They tell me that the cab will come back for me. He can't have gone far. Two minutes later, a cab pulls up and I hop in.
Now, here's where this story stops being the account of my journey to work and instead becomes an amusing anecdote. We're about halfway to Euston, driving through Belsize Park, when my cabbie gets paged by his office.
"Where are you?"
"I'm on my way to Euston"
"Euston? You're supposed to be going to Heathrow"
"Er, am I?"
Much hilarity ensues between me and my cabbie when we figure out what happened. In the time between me calling my cab company and their driver returning to pick me up, another cab had arrived. I hopped in, assuming it was mine, and someone else living in my block (Flat 7, apparently) has been left waiting for their cab to Heathrow. My driver didn't even work for the same cab company!! But he seemed to be pretty happy at having avoided the traffic jams on the way to Heathrow, and instead had a nice smooth ride to Euston.
I will never be using Meadway again. I might start using Bittacy (the company whose driver inadvertently picked me up) in future. And yes, I made my train.
--------------
In other news:
- "We're getting elevated levels of anti-American chatter"... '24' excelled again this week, was gutted that my Sky+ didn't record the second episode of the double-bill correctly, but it was repeated last night, so I got to find out whether the White House was going to be blown up/world ends/Bauer gets to torture more people/Renee gets kidnapped
- Annie Lennox is doing a cover of Ash's 'Shining Light'. Kill me now, please.
- Franz Ferdinand were on top form in Hammersmith, setlist was: The Dark Of The Matinee, No You Girls, Do You Want To, The Fallen, Twilight Omens, Walk Away, Take Me Out, 40ft, Turn It On, Bite Hard, Michael, What She Came For; encore: Ulysses, Lucid Dreams, The Outsiders, This Fire
- Album of 2009 so far: Lily Allen - 'It's Not Me, It's You' (pretty much flawless from start to finish, 'Chinese' is currently my favourite track)
- Single of 2009 so far: Prodigy - Omen (heard it in a club over the weekend, the place went crazy)
Feb. 25th, 2009
03:28 pm
What with commuting to Birmingham and being involved in this really massive, stressful project (thankfully ending Friday), I've hardly had a chance to breathe, let alone update LJ.
And no change here, because I really don't have time now either. But I wanted to post to tell you that 'Ten Storey Love Song', the second book by Richard Millward is just as excellent (and gritty, and urban, and chavvy, and "down wit da kids") as his first effort, 'Apples'.
I'm tempted to go along to the Glee Club in Birmingham tonight to see if I can get into the Emmy The Great show. But I probably won't. I'll probably just sit in my Travelodge room watching football and wishing I was in London.
Feb. 16th, 2009
12:22 pm - Film Review
I watched 'Buffalo 66' this weekend, having recorded it on my Sky+ when it was on recently. It was released back in 1998, written and directed by Vincent Gallo (who also plays the male lead), and starring a 17 year old Christina Ricci, making what was essentially her first foray into indie cinema after several high-profile appearances as a child actress in Hollywood blockbusters (The Addams Family, The Ice Storm).
Strangely, the film centres around a fictitious event which we don't even see, but which is based on a real story that I already knew! American footballer, Scott Norwood missed a kick in Superbowl XXV which would have won the game for the Buffalo Bills against the New York Giants. The kick, and match are best remembered for the commentator's stunned exclamation as the kick sailed "WIDE RIGHT" with time running out.
In 'Buffalo 66', Gallo plays a depressive, just released from jail after serving 5 years for a crime he didn't commit. As the plot unfolds, it transpires that Gallo's character (Billy Brown) agreed to confess to the crime in order to pay back his debt to a bookmaker after betting $10,000 on Buffalo to win the Superbowl. Brown blames 'Scott Wood' - the kicker for losing him the bet, and hence him serving time. The film opens with his release from prison, seeking revenge on Wood.
The story of how he came to serve 5 years takes a while to develop, but in the meantime, Brown has been lying to his parents whilst he was inside, telling them that he was a successful government agent, and that he was married. Now that he's released, he decides to go visit his parents, and kidnaps Christina Ricci's character, Layla. He forces her to pretend to be his wife, but rather oddly, she seems happy to play along, perhaps wishing to see how the kidnapping will unfold. Ricci's ability to switch between frightened teenage kidnap victim and loving wife is truly special.
I won't spoil the plot any further, but having thoroughly enjoyed the film, I wanted to recommend it to you all. It's a magnificent example of the art of directing. Gallo employs simple, but effective tricks. He leaves the cameras lingering on Ricci's shoes. When Gallo and Ricci get passport photos taken together, we see them from the point of view of the photo booth camera (narrow screen). Another wonderful scene flicks in slow-motion between Gallo getting dressed to go bowling and Ricci loosening her top as she becomes more comfortable in her role as "wife". There's a scene at the dining table with his parents with four cameras, positioned at right angles to each other, showing dinner from the perspective of all 4 characters. The grainy camera-work achieves the ambition of setting Buffalo up as a grim city, without hope.
It's a strange film, unquestionably, but it left me with a surprisingly warm feeling, and for the beautiful direction and production alone, it's well worth renting on DVD if you've never seen it.
****
In other news, the new Lily Allen album is rather lovely.
Feb. 12th, 2009
11:40 am - Gigtacular
I'm in Brum. It's still fairly miserable, so to cheer myself up, I've been doing some gig-planning.
Mr. gruffexterior has very kindly bought me a ticket to see Bruce 'The Boss' Springsteen in Hyde Park in June.
Ladyhawke at Koko on 21st May appears to have sold out already. Don't suppose any of you got tickets and have a spare going?
Does anyone fancy coming with me to see Emmy The Great at ULU on 27th Feb? Tickets are £14 each.
I have spare tickets for Wombats at Shepherds Bush later this month if anyone fancies bouncing up and down to some formulaic indie-pop.
That's yer lot for now.
Feb. 11th, 2009
01:29 pm - Excited of Birmingham writes....
![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/goth_boy/happy.gif){kind=small}
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