Modern Music is Rubbish

My point?

Why bother buying any new music when there is SO much old material missing from the hallowed collection?

Go forth, obtain second hand records (and CDs). Save the planet. Put cash into the hands of cool record store owners. Dust off your turntable. Dig out that Steve Miller Band vinyl. Do you really want to give money to people who put spy-ware on music CDs like Sony do?

Recently I've been reminiscing and picked up a ton of stuff by Hawkwind, The Mothers of Invention (Frank Zappa), Pink Fairies... and I should catch up on oldies by the likes of Budgie and Poisoned Electrick Head too... Damn, these records I never bought way-back-when are still so good, you just know it's gotta be better than Coldplay

There is a glimmer of hope with some of our music making a retro shift with acts like Bloc Party, Kings of Leon and even The Bravery etc... but all that other pop and chart c-RAP... I mean 50 Cent? Damn, did you know that in the UK (by today's exchange rate) he's 28 pence?

Discuss.

Wire & Ice

Chimera Bridge, Minley Manor, Hampshire.

Went biking today. It was cold. Before the ultraviolet rays could thaw out the late frost and melt the frozen layers atop the muddy puddles, I managed to grab this shot of ice crystals on barbed wire, the mist still thick over the forest, the midday sun straining to shine...

M3 by Moonlight

Not posted a photograph for you lot in a while, so here's a fresh one, just 15 minutes old...

Trip to Trumpton

I meant Farnborough. Trip to Farnborough, OK? Some observations from a trip into town...

1. 7 year old kid spitting but his grem landed on his arm. Twice. Haha. Kid, don't spit. Or if you are going to spit, at least do it properly OK?
   
   
2. "Spud" Williams - I haven't seen you in years, Spud, and I would have stopped to say hello but you were a bit busy; OK really busy; infact you were having a right old barney... with yourself!
   
   
3. Old guy in car near the Princes Mead car park ticket machine, thankyou for giving me your parking ticket, it expired over an hour ago. But thanks anyway :)
   
   
4. Skinny 18 year old shopping mall "security" guard with feathered haircut - I felt like causing some mischief just to see what you'd do about it, you big poof.
   
   
5. Non-chav lads hanging around Princes Mead shopping mall, I salute you for not wearing the uniform of the Chav (white trainers, sportswear, goldie lookin' chain, cap) but wearing vests and t-shirts? I'm a hot-blooded guy, just ask my girl, but it's bloody cold outside, it is afterall November. I know your image is more important than your physical wellbeing, but you're probably too cool to be cold right?
   
   
6. Same aforementioned lads, now in Clinton Cards shop, please... stop opening the noisy cards, they're not funny anymore. And "scratching" the card so it goes "Happ... Happ... Happ... Happ... Happ... Happ... Happ... Happ... Happ... Happ... Happ... Happ... Happ... Happ... Happ... Happ..." STOP NOW before I ram that card sideways up your backside!
   
   
7. Still in the card shop - do you have to play N-Sync, Boys2Men or whatever the fuck that crappy boy band is on your shop sound system? There's one thing worse than shit music and it's REALLY LOUD shit music...
   
   
8. Kid in NY baseball shirt - Have you been to NY? No? Then don't wear a NY shirt. It may be fashion but that's kinda sucky - hence I don't wear the Alaska T my Gran bought me.
   
   
9. Kuwaiti Property Developers who own Farnborough town centre - this time last year there was a Farmers' Market full of great local produce and they were sad they wouldn't be around in 2005 because they'd a) lose business because b) the Queensmead part of the town centre was due to be demolished (to make way for yet another supermarket? Gee, thanks) It's quiet here. Very quiet. It's been quiet for a year now. So why haven't you done anything? Are you a profits before people company? Wait... what about people AND profits? Now there's an idea...
   
   
10. Owner of the Global Emporium shop selling ethnic wares and other diverse and rather cool hippy stuff - Whilst the rents are dirt cheap in town, that's a good move setting up in our town of Skaters, Metallers, Punks, BMXers, Rockers, Hippies and Goths. Salut.
    
    
11. Security guard in supermarket, I'm sorry. I thought it was you. I was gonna say you should maybe have a bath sometime this year, but it wasn't you that stank to high heaven, so I apologise, I got it wrong, see #12 for explanation
    
    
12. Checkout girl, I'm glad you mentioned it, you could have thought it was me, and I thought it was the security guard (see #11) But having to sit at that till with the bad smell of cat food, aahh cat food... for 3 hours!!; I don't envy you. It smelled like the far opposite of premium quality cat food and for that you have my sympathy. (Note to Self: Look up antonym of Premium) I did offer you a whiff of my Vics nasal inhaler, but everybody seems turn it down, strangely enough. I'm puzzled as to why?

Oh, and Brom-man, after that comment the other evening, look what I found in the card shop... (the original classic is on the left for those of ye who don't know )

"Oh, you've got green eyes...

...Oh, you've got blue eyes
...Oh, you've got grey eyes.
And I've never seen anyone quite like you before
No, I've never met anyone quite like you before"

She's got brown eyes actually, but how's Barney to know?

Me, Big C and A hit Brixton again. That's the third time @ the [insert brand of crap lager here] Academy in a row. This time we went to see...

...New Order, and they were pretty damn good, kicking off with the Joy Division stomper "Ceremony", "Love Vigilantes" and the recent (favourite of mine) "Crystal". Hooky played a mean bass and that new fella, replacing Gillian Gilbert (where'd she go?), helped fill the air with an additional guitar (and keyboards of course) to provide a fatter, more rockin' New Order sound.

The ever popular "Regret" flowed next, much to the delight of the popsters in the crowd, with the last single "Krafty" and a rendition of another off the latest LP, "Turn".

Then it was back to the frantic bass line of another JD class track "Transmission" followed by "Your Silent Face", "Waiting for the Sirens' Call" a live rehash of "True Faith" and "Bizarre Love Triangle" before launching headlong into "Love Will Tear Us Apart"

But it didn't stop there - a little bit of "Temptation" followed by a thumping epic of "Blue Monday" and they left us gagging for more.

So they came back and gave us "Shadowplay", unfortunately lost the shrill of the Gibson SG in "Warsaw" and gave us the choice of finalé: "Atmosphere" or... and we all picked this one, just to hear Steve Morris keeping up the tempo... "She's lost Control"

Fucking Awesome!

I would tell you about the 3-pint bottle of Grolsch Big C consumed in the car on the way up to the old smoke (typical), the Incident Unit outside Richmond tube, the pub that was so packed they wouldn't let us in (until I flashed a who-could-resist smile), the snail on the rim of the public toilet, the homeless guy showing off his dog's tackle for small change, Lamb & Chicken Kebabs and the Big Issue vendor who just wanted cash but wouldn't give me the tatty copy of his mag... but there isn't room, so I'll come back to that some other time

Fire Me Up

I rarely talk about work here, and I'm not about to change and make a habit of it, but I just wanted to share this...

Some years ago, a company I worked for had the marvellous idea of buying motivational posters. You know the sort... Like Teamwork, Achievement, Imagination... you get the picture

Anyways, that's just what we needed; Working our butts off already (without any motivational aids) angling for a long-overdue and well-deserved payrise, some new IT kit or even just some recognition for our efforts, then seeing money squandered on these clichéd Motivational Posters in very expensive frames! Not to mention getting the ever-practical IT staff to drop important projects in order to drill holes in walls and hang the damn unwanted things (which I now know for a fact aren't up there anymore)

So yeah, I just wanted to remind everybody of these great things...




...with the very best demotivational posters at www.despair.com and a few other gems dotted around the place... such as teamwork, yes more teamwork and these funky Alternative Motivational Posters.

So, did any of guys and girls get where you are today by the miracle of motivational/ demotivational posters? Any (un) success stories you wanna share?

It's an inch too wide...

...so I'm sorry, I won't be able to squeeze it in.

So yeah, it's time for a new microwave oven I think. It's just that the one I want is an inch too wide for the only place in the custom-built kitchen where a smaller microwave was designed to fit.

And the one I want is SO cool... get this, there's a button on it that says CHAOS DEFROST. Awesome! CHAOS DEFROST. Seriously, it's true. I had visions of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulu-esque freaks or Warhammer RPG monstrosities, ready to re-animate at the touch of a button. Nice. Or as one guy so eloquently put it...

"I imagined activating it and seeing the End of Days, as the very essence of chaos itself was thawed out to wreak untold havoc upon the unsuspecting world. You’d think Panasonic would be more careful than to provide the gateway to armageddon in a kitchen appliance."

So at 510mmm it's an inch too wide to fit into the slot.

Ho hum, time to find a smaller new microwave; No funky button though, no chaos defrost