Wednesday, 25 August 2004
Anthony Browne takes his cudgel to pro-immigrationists ducking the debate, whilst Arun Kundnani discusses the media war against migrants (remember the Daily Express, earlier this year, about the hordes of Roma due to arrive on British shores? where are they, exactly?)
re. the news that the govt is reporting a 13% drop in applications for asylum seekers to enter Britain in the second quarter of 2004, one newspaper this morning reported that
But critics highlighted separate figures showing the number of immigrants allowed to settle in Britain between 2002 and 2003 rose by 20 per cent to 139,675. Sir Andrew Green, of Migrationwatch UK, claimed the application figures were another 'spin operation' by Labour and said the fall was less than in the rest of Europe.
~presumably these are people concerned about Britain a crowded island, not enough hospital beds blah blah blah blah
surely one cannot be too hot and bothered with the 139,675 figure, given this concerns immigrants legally allowed to settle in the UK?
if i am allowed to slip into the phrasing of some of the frothier tabloid shores for a moment, that is not 139,675 scroungers (sic), but rather 139,675 freshly minted Britons {temporary or otherwise}.
Richard Littlejohn, in The Sun yesterday, was ranting about the current smear campaign (the Daily Mail has also been covering this) running against Sir Andrew Green from sections of the Home Office [there were also memorable threads about how the chattering classes will smear anyone as a reactionary if you object to Travellers turning up on your land, if you object to too many asylum seekers and the like: it's all quite strident, in Littlejohn's columns, it is].
newspapers aren't doing Green any favours by implying he's a critic who is actually moaning about legitimate migrants legally settling in this country, as opposed to someone with attention focused on other issues.
after all, i'm sure Green can't be one of those people mentioned as
...critics highlighted separate figures showing the number of immigrants allowed to settle in Britain between 2002 and 2003 rose by 20 per cent to 139,675...
...surely not?
+
meanwhile, the Guardian speaks sense on the same issue, addressing "the rights balance".
incidentally, two other good pieces at the guardian website today are Jo Tatchell on 'The poem that defied Saddam', and another leader on Red Pepper journalist Ewa Jasiewicz, who has recently been detained by the Israeli authorities {magazine press release}.
===
UPDATE:
today's Daily Mail editorial - a paper not a million miles removed from either, say, the Daily Express, or The Sun in how it approaches coverage of asylum seeker and economic migrant issues - is thundering about work permits being chucked around "like confetti".
perhaps Migrationwatch UK (always favourably reported in the pages of the Mail, so is it a safe bet they have the Mail's agenda on this specific issue?) can be fairly easily characterised [or should that be caricatured?] and lumped in with such crass populism...
But critics highlighted separate figures showing the number of immigrants allowed to settle in Britain between 2002 and 2003 rose by 20 per cent to 139,675. Sir Andrew Green, of Migrationwatch UK, claimed the application figures were another 'spin operation' by Labour and said the fall was less than in the rest of Europe.
~presumably these are people concerned about Britain a crowded island, not enough hospital beds blah blah blah blah
surely one cannot be too hot and bothered with the 139,675 figure, given this concerns immigrants legally allowed to settle in the UK?
if i am allowed to slip into the phrasing of some of the frothier tabloid shores for a moment, that is not 139,675 scroungers (sic), but rather 139,675 freshly minted Britons {temporary or otherwise}.
Richard Littlejohn, in The Sun yesterday, was ranting about the current smear campaign (the Daily Mail has also been covering this) running against Sir Andrew Green from sections of the Home Office [there were also memorable threads about how the chattering classes will smear anyone as a reactionary if you object to Travellers turning up on your land, if you object to too many asylum seekers and the like: it's all quite strident, in Littlejohn's columns, it is].
newspapers aren't doing Green any favours by implying he's a critic who is actually moaning about legitimate migrants legally settling in this country, as opposed to someone with attention focused on other issues.
after all, i'm sure Green can't be one of those people mentioned as
...critics highlighted separate figures showing the number of immigrants allowed to settle in Britain between 2002 and 2003 rose by 20 per cent to 139,675...
...surely not?
+
meanwhile, the Guardian speaks sense on the same issue, addressing "the rights balance".
incidentally, two other good pieces at the guardian website today are Jo Tatchell on 'The poem that defied Saddam', and another leader on Red Pepper journalist Ewa Jasiewicz, who has recently been detained by the Israeli authorities {magazine press release}.
===
UPDATE:
today's Daily Mail editorial - a paper not a million miles removed from either, say, the Daily Express, or The Sun in how it approaches coverage of asylum seeker and economic migrant issues - is thundering about work permits being chucked around "like confetti".
perhaps Migrationwatch UK (always favourably reported in the pages of the Mail, so is it a safe bet they have the Mail's agenda on this specific issue?) can be fairly easily characterised [or should that be caricatured?] and lumped in with such crass populism...
FROM THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Niketown accused of bias
Blacks allegedly put in lesser jobs
By Ameet Sachdev
Tribune staff reporter
Published August 24, 2004
The Niketown store on Chicago's Magnificent Mile discriminated against African-American employees by segregating them into stockroom jobs and denying them promotions to higher-paying sales positions, says an amended federal lawsuit filed Monday.
The Michigan Avenue store owned by Nike Inc., one of the world's largest athletic footwear-makers, employed 63 stockroom workers between January 2001 and May 2003, the suit said. Of those, 46 were African-Americans and three were Caucasian. The starting hourly wage was less than $8 an hour, the suit said.
During that same time period, eight of the 33 commissioned sales specialists were African-American and 23 were Caucasian. Sales specialists often earned three to four times as much as a stockroom employee, the suit said.
Lawyers for the 15 plaintiffs, who are current and former Niketown employees, are seeking class-action status for their claims, covering up to 200 people.
The plaintiffs are seeking an unspecified amount of damages, including lost wages and benefits. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Officials at Nike, based in Beaverton, Ore., did not return phone calls.
The plaintiffs also contend that although many worked 40 hours a week, they were not considered full-time employees and, therefore, were denied such benefits as paid vacation and health and dental insurance.
In addition, the plaintiffs claimed that they were subject to a racially hostile work environment. Among the allegations: African-American workers were accused repeatedly of theft, and when leaving the store their belongings were searched, while Caucasian employees were not subject to the same working conditions.
Work rules concerning attendance, sick leave and employee discounts also were unequally applied, the suit said.
The lawsuit also includes allegations that African-American customers were followed around the store.
Despite complaints of harassment to numerous managers, Nike failed to respond, the suit said.
The original complaint was filed in December by two former employees who tried to represent themselves. A district court judge later assigned the case to Noelle Brennan, a former attorney with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission now in private practice.
Kanye mentioned something like this in a song/
Niketown accused of bias
Blacks allegedly put in lesser jobs
By Ameet Sachdev
Tribune staff reporter
Published August 24, 2004
The Niketown store on Chicago's Magnificent Mile discriminated against African-American employees by segregating them into stockroom jobs and denying them promotions to higher-paying sales positions, says an amended federal lawsuit filed Monday.
The Michigan Avenue store owned by Nike Inc., one of the world's largest athletic footwear-makers, employed 63 stockroom workers between January 2001 and May 2003, the suit said. Of those, 46 were African-Americans and three were Caucasian. The starting hourly wage was less than $8 an hour, the suit said.
During that same time period, eight of the 33 commissioned sales specialists were African-American and 23 were Caucasian. Sales specialists often earned three to four times as much as a stockroom employee, the suit said.
Lawyers for the 15 plaintiffs, who are current and former Niketown employees, are seeking class-action status for their claims, covering up to 200 people.
The plaintiffs are seeking an unspecified amount of damages, including lost wages and benefits. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Officials at Nike, based in Beaverton, Ore., did not return phone calls.
The plaintiffs also contend that although many worked 40 hours a week, they were not considered full-time employees and, therefore, were denied such benefits as paid vacation and health and dental insurance.
In addition, the plaintiffs claimed that they were subject to a racially hostile work environment. Among the allegations: African-American workers were accused repeatedly of theft, and when leaving the store their belongings were searched, while Caucasian employees were not subject to the same working conditions.
Work rules concerning attendance, sick leave and employee discounts also were unequally applied, the suit said.
The lawsuit also includes allegations that African-American customers were followed around the store.
Despite complaints of harassment to numerous managers, Nike failed to respond, the suit said.
The original complaint was filed in December by two former employees who tried to represent themselves. A district court judge later assigned the case to Noelle Brennan, a former attorney with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission now in private practice.
Kanye mentioned something like this in a song/
Tuesday, 24 August 2004
lordy it's Ben Watson!
WEDNESDAY 1ST SEPTEMBER
Over the Top, 78 Kingfield Road, Nether Edge, Sheffield
(No.22 bus to Union Road)
8:00pm, £3
Other Music Presents:
Poetry/improv fusion night featuring
BECK-LUNCH IMPROVORS
Ben "Out to Lunch" Watson (words)
Mick Beck (music)
Furious tirades punctuated by unexpected squawks and
elephantine interjections from Beck's bassoon
Ben Watson is a regular columnist for The Wire magazine,
and has published books on Frank Zappa and, more recently,
Derek Bailey. The way he sees the gig can be found at:
http://www.militantesthetix.co.uk/gig.htm
plus
GERALDINE MONK (words)
MARTIN ARCHER (music)
Geraldine continues her long-standing collaboration with
Martin with a selection from her cycle of poems about the
incarceration (in Sheffield) of Mary, Queen of Scots
You're welcome to bring your own refreshments; the nearby
Union pub also has an off licence.
Archer and Monk are rather way cool.
WEDNESDAY 1ST SEPTEMBER
Over the Top, 78 Kingfield Road, Nether Edge, Sheffield
(No.22 bus to Union Road)
8:00pm, £3
Other Music Presents:
Poetry/improv fusion night featuring
BECK-LUNCH IMPROVORS
Ben "Out to Lunch" Watson (words)
Mick Beck (music)
Furious tirades punctuated by unexpected squawks and
elephantine interjections from Beck's bassoon
Ben Watson is a regular columnist for The Wire magazine,
and has published books on Frank Zappa and, more recently,
Derek Bailey. The way he sees the gig can be found at:
http://www.militantesthetix.co.uk/gig.htm
plus
GERALDINE MONK (words)
MARTIN ARCHER (music)
Geraldine continues her long-standing collaboration with
Martin with a selection from her cycle of poems about the
incarceration (in Sheffield) of Mary, Queen of Scots
You're welcome to bring your own refreshments; the nearby
Union pub also has an off licence.
Archer and Monk are rather way cool.
Monday, 23 August 2004
breathtakingly cynical/appallingly bad review of 'Stand up Tall' from Andrew Williams in this morning's free Metro paper.
quoted in full below because its smarminess is worth appreciating:
=
Oh, palpitate everyone: an exceedingly trendy rapper's in the vicinity.
The first track off the much-hyped Rascal's new album is a decent, rowdy old caper featuring a computer game-alike chorus, topped off with his trademark chuntering about causing mischief in the 'hood or whatever.
+
now surely that's worth a metaphorical smack in the chops... ...that said, the debut solo album from Lars Horntveth (he of Jaga Jazzist fame) sounds alright, it's called Pooka and it's on Smalltown Supersound
quoted in full below because its smarminess is worth appreciating:
=
Oh, palpitate everyone: an exceedingly trendy rapper's in the vicinity.
The first track off the much-hyped Rascal's new album is a decent, rowdy old caper featuring a computer game-alike chorus, topped off with his trademark chuntering about causing mischief in the 'hood or whatever.
+
now surely that's worth a metaphorical smack in the chops... ...that said, the debut solo album from Lars Horntveth (he of Jaga Jazzist fame) sounds alright, it's called Pooka and it's on Smalltown Supersound
can one just say how much one wuvs all the entries made on the 22.08.04 at me old muckah Maff's gaff
brilliant line from Nigel Farndale in yesterday's Telegraph: he supposed that a Bangladeshi version of Private Eye would recently have had to lead with
FLOODS HIT SW ENGLAND;
Thousands still not dead
[not to belittle the suffering of people who have had cars washed away, some damage to houses, w'out power for days, but Farndale's reasonable intent is clear - gosh i write some OBVIOUS FINGS eh]
FLOODS HIT SW ENGLAND;
Thousands still not dead
[not to belittle the suffering of people who have had cars washed away, some damage to houses, w'out power for days, but Farndale's reasonable intent is clear - gosh i write some OBVIOUS FINGS eh]
i didn't mean to sound harsh on 'the village' etc. yday.
boy he must get cheesed off with people discussing the twist (the l.c. actually told me pyaar of her friends saw the twist really rather quickly; i mean it was the 1 you were expecting but my sources said it certainly wasn't blatant a la sixth sense) and not focusing on the lovely measured mood-setting/joys of cinematography blah blah blah so yunno fair dos to the bloke not that i'm a huge fan but yeah big up ya chest & large love to film-makers around the globe!
and that includes Dawson ov Capeside, i 'spose...
boy he must get cheesed off with people discussing the twist (the l.c. actually told me pyaar of her friends saw the twist really rather quickly; i mean it was the 1 you were expecting but my sources said it certainly wasn't blatant a la sixth sense) and not focusing on the lovely measured mood-setting/joys of cinematography blah blah blah so yunno fair dos to the bloke not that i'm a huge fan but yeah big up ya chest & large love to film-makers around the globe!
and that includes Dawson ov Capeside, i 'spose...
Sunday, 22 August 2004
update
the forum - full of the joys of summer - is replete with far more knowledgeable actual fans saying our draw was fully deserved.
i must profess my jaded twat status here i suppose and feel the optimism, but since i only go for the craic mostly these days, this is a fair slip.
i must watch things cynically!
speaking of cynical, what did everyone think to a gatefold three disc reissue for '...Village Green...'
quite a lot eh?
well the twist in 'The Village' is at least better than his other films. you don't see it coming til later in. thought it would be something like that or something New Agey maybe.
a shame really all very Harry Potterish costumes...
the forum - full of the joys of summer - is replete with far more knowledgeable actual fans saying our draw was fully deserved.
i must profess my jaded twat status here i suppose and feel the optimism, but since i only go for the craic mostly these days, this is a fair slip.
i must watch things cynically!
speaking of cynical, what did everyone think to a gatefold three disc reissue for '...Village Green...'
quite a lot eh?
well the twist in 'The Village' is at least better than his other films. you don't see it coming til later in. thought it would be something like that or something New Agey maybe.
a shame really all very Harry Potterish costumes...
last year it was difficult to say what one's favourite single of the year was, there were so many brilliant ones.
was it something like the Tom Middleton remix of 'House of Jealous Lovers' or RJD2's mix on the flip of J-walk's 'Another Lover'?
was it something like 'X Gon' Give it to ya' or 'Be Faithful' or even P. Diddy's shouty house effort 'Let's get ill'?
was it 'Breathe'? {a note to Amy Winehouse: you can slag off Blu Cantrell all you want mate, but when one Blu song is BETTER THAN YR ENTIRE DISCOG, perhaps the application of some silence is needed...}
was it something like 'Like Glue' or 'Move your feet' or Danni Minogue's 'I Begin To Wonder' or Rishi Rich Project's 'Dance with you'?
was it various Elephant Man or grime fare?
(well for me it probably was between 'In da club', 'Never leave you' or 'Mundian to bach ke' - on the latter alright 1998 and all that, but officially British singles release is all i meant...)
[i think all those were last year]
this lengthy pre-amble is my way of saying that - despite the fact that, as per, there's already been 8 million brilliant singles this year (someone saying 'Toxic' is it, well 'Toxic' is great, but no it's not it, quite, methinks) - it's quite, quite clear what the single of 2004 is, certainly from this Anglocentric/Anglophone perspective.
'Babycakes'.
Single. Of. The. Year.
2 minutes 36 seconds of GRATENESS oh yes
was it something like the Tom Middleton remix of 'House of Jealous Lovers' or RJD2's mix on the flip of J-walk's 'Another Lover'?
was it something like 'X Gon' Give it to ya' or 'Be Faithful' or even P. Diddy's shouty house effort 'Let's get ill'?
was it 'Breathe'? {a note to Amy Winehouse: you can slag off Blu Cantrell all you want mate, but when one Blu song is BETTER THAN YR ENTIRE DISCOG, perhaps the application of some silence is needed...}
was it something like 'Like Glue' or 'Move your feet' or Danni Minogue's 'I Begin To Wonder' or Rishi Rich Project's 'Dance with you'?
was it various Elephant Man or grime fare?
(well for me it probably was between 'In da club', 'Never leave you' or 'Mundian to bach ke' - on the latter alright 1998 and all that, but officially British singles release is all i meant...)
[i think all those were last year]
this lengthy pre-amble is my way of saying that - despite the fact that, as per, there's already been 8 million brilliant singles this year (someone saying 'Toxic' is it, well 'Toxic' is great, but no it's not it, quite, methinks) - it's quite, quite clear what the single of 2004 is, certainly from this Anglocentric/Anglophone perspective.
'Babycakes'.
Single. Of. The. Year.
2 minutes 36 seconds of GRATENESS oh yes
86400 seconds with an excellent evocation of Amsterdam [and i'm sure Ian won't mind me saying this, but he clearly is a very attractive and nice young man, and charming to boot....i don't know, all these scousers and near-scousers such as he and Simon SDC are lovely and then a manc like me is a bit of a twat it's a shame really!]
Forest drew again didn't they, yeah?
at Bellend Road (i'm so witty). four on the trot.
=
Stalybridge have a lad in the centre of the park, Sykes, he's good he is. came from Worksop. got stuck in. no one really shone for them although their keeper is professional {tho' he got proper verbal grief off us for a foolish proclaimation about his toe - have i spelt proc. right? is there an 'i' in it this way? when it finishes with "_ation" i mean, even i know it's PROCLAIM and the PROCLAIMERS and their Atlantic-crost EPISTLES}.
fucking homer of a ref, obviously.
Sykes' hairstyle meant he looked like Robbie Savage or Justin from the Darkness, which was unfortunate for him in the context of receiving barracking all afternoon, but these things can't be helped.
--
i hope West Brom shit on the Villa tomorrow.
i note the Hearts fans were protesting about possible sale plans for their patch. hmm.
+
Stuart Hall, wireles commentator and man about town, he really is a legend isn't he. his wrap-up of the Liverpool-Man City (bah bah Baros) game was first rate, i imagine it's like going to a party with Bella Emberg and a strengthened cardboard crate of cafetieres
at Bellend Road (i'm so witty). four on the trot.
=
Stalybridge have a lad in the centre of the park, Sykes, he's good he is. came from Worksop. got stuck in. no one really shone for them although their keeper is professional {tho' he got proper verbal grief off us for a foolish proclaimation about his toe - have i spelt proc. right? is there an 'i' in it this way? when it finishes with "_ation" i mean, even i know it's PROCLAIM and the PROCLAIMERS and their Atlantic-crost EPISTLES}.
fucking homer of a ref, obviously.
Sykes' hairstyle meant he looked like Robbie Savage or Justin from the Darkness, which was unfortunate for him in the context of receiving barracking all afternoon, but these things can't be helped.
--
i hope West Brom shit on the Villa tomorrow.
i note the Hearts fans were protesting about possible sale plans for their patch. hmm.
+
Stuart Hall, wireles commentator and man about town, he really is a legend isn't he. his wrap-up of the Liverpool-Man City (bah bah Baros) game was first rate, i imagine it's like going to a party with Bella Emberg and a strengthened cardboard crate of cafetieres
a good mate {in email} of mine was wondering about the guardian/NME-led hype for the Libertines.
i may have replied w' something unkind about Alexis Petridis, granted, but hype is good, it's what you want from the NME, i do like the Libertines.
but i mean i know this new album is okay and supposed to be okay blah blah (out August end of, fact fans!) but let's be frank they're not as good as, say, Elastica were in their pomp.
and, that, my lubbers, is the end of the discussion/
i may have replied w' something unkind about Alexis Petridis, granted, but hype is good, it's what you want from the NME, i do like the Libertines.
but i mean i know this new album is okay and supposed to be okay blah blah (out August end of, fact fans!) but let's be frank they're not as good as, say, Elastica were in their pomp.
and, that, my lubbers, is the end of the discussion/
we say
Altrincham probably didn't deserve their point [our frankly freakish&stuffy goal was certainly against the run of play; form goes out of the window in derbies anyway doesn't it], you have to say (my brother definitively said we didn't), but a wonderful prawn baguette and salad in the pub at lunchtime, a good pint of Bombardier and a Stella, and our vocals lifted the day anyway (not the best vocal performance today from the justly acclaimed Golf Road End choir, but still made noise for 90 minutes and a lot louder than the home fans, who were afflicted with a proper case of the Go back to sleeps...)
+
Stalybridge's ground, the Bower Fold, is a funny place. set among picturesque soaringly green rolling hills and in a part of town with lovely big old redbrick houses that are clearly worth a few bob, one stand bears the recently minted name of Lord Pendry (Kent lad associated with the town for many years, for a long time as its Labour MP), and all the hoardings arranged around that stand are artfully all local Labour party advertisements!
one says something like NORTH STALYBRIDGE LABOUR PARTY SUPPORTING STALYBRIDGE CELTIC
we looked in vain for the hoarding on the other side that would read SOUTH STALYBRIDGE TORY PARTY THINK STALYBRIDGE CELTIC ARE A BUNCH OF CUNTS alas.
Altrincham probably didn't deserve their point [our frankly freakish&stuffy goal was certainly against the run of play; form goes out of the window in derbies anyway doesn't it], you have to say (my brother definitively said we didn't), but a wonderful prawn baguette and salad in the pub at lunchtime, a good pint of Bombardier and a Stella, and our vocals lifted the day anyway (not the best vocal performance today from the justly acclaimed Golf Road End choir, but still made noise for 90 minutes and a lot louder than the home fans, who were afflicted with a proper case of the Go back to sleeps...)
+
Stalybridge's ground, the Bower Fold, is a funny place. set among picturesque soaringly green rolling hills and in a part of town with lovely big old redbrick houses that are clearly worth a few bob, one stand bears the recently minted name of Lord Pendry (Kent lad associated with the town for many years, for a long time as its Labour MP), and all the hoardings arranged around that stand are artfully all local Labour party advertisements!
one says something like NORTH STALYBRIDGE LABOUR PARTY SUPPORTING STALYBRIDGE CELTIC
we looked in vain for the hoarding on the other side that would read SOUTH STALYBRIDGE TORY PARTY THINK STALYBRIDGE CELTIC ARE A BUNCH OF CUNTS alas.
FRONTLINE REPORTAGE
Home defeat is something of a shock to the system. We had a goal disallowed after 9 seconds but Derby looked pretty useful. Can give a fair assessment on the situation we face when Shittu and Bircham return, hopefully sooner rather than later. Bellion goal perfectly illustrates how jammy the Reds are after Bentley and his wonder strike. Glad to see alty are making a name for themselves.
Derby fans are quite a muted bunch and have an in bred tendency. I can say from my recent travels that Maryport is the worst town in the UK. Alsager has possibly the most aggressive and ignorant inhabitants.
Home defeat is something of a shock to the system. We had a goal disallowed after 9 seconds but Derby looked pretty useful. Can give a fair assessment on the situation we face when Shittu and Bircham return, hopefully sooner rather than later. Bellion goal perfectly illustrates how jammy the Reds are after Bentley and his wonder strike. Glad to see alty are making a name for themselves.
Derby fans are quite a muted bunch and have an in bred tendency. I can say from my recent travels that Maryport is the worst town in the UK. Alsager has possibly the most aggressive and ignorant inhabitants.
Saturday, 21 August 2004
six fingered Larry Lightweight has shit us out, but gentleman Matt from Mossley and the chap from Miles Platting (Ancoats branch - now he's got a proper Manc accent) will be there with the three of us
Alty at Stalybridge
City at Anfield
Norwich at Utd
Albion-Villa
it's all going to go horribly, horribly wrong especially for Wilson i fear whose old man is a Canary
Alty at Stalybridge
City at Anfield
Norwich at Utd
Albion-Villa
it's all going to go horribly, horribly wrong especially for Wilson i fear whose old man is a Canary
Friday, 20 August 2004
been hearing quite a bit of the new libertines single.
i like it.
they do indeed sound gloriously shambolic like a maler version of elastica, with some lyrical onanism thrown in (or just about the two main guys, according to some analyses, discussing on each other and all that, and i know that one of them the skaghead is in that babyshambles but it would be nicer if the media ignored him so he could sort his life out and his friend could wuv him again? i dunno).
also the frontman sounds a bit like Jarvis Cocker.
you can see with their messy, ramshackle yadda yadda charm how/why they've been embraced so heartily to the bosom of the indie press.
their new choon doesn't scale the heights of Franz Ferdinand's utterly fabulous 'Michael', with is great for many reasons, plainly musical and otherwise {the fantastic disco whore line and the picture of a good looking indie boy on the inner sleeve &c in the mirror of a bogs in some Glaswegian club, if perhaps not quite Optimo? then probably somewhere quite fashionable??}.
'Michael', say, and the entire catalogue of the Libertines combined, are admittedly nowhere near as good as the two and a half minutes of the radio version of 'Babycakes', granted {some of the mixes of that are wicked, and the original version is at least as fantastic}, but, yunno,
credit where credit's due ~
i like it.
they do indeed sound gloriously shambolic like a maler version of elastica, with some lyrical onanism thrown in (or just about the two main guys, according to some analyses, discussing on each other and all that, and i know that one of them the skaghead is in that babyshambles but it would be nicer if the media ignored him so he could sort his life out and his friend could wuv him again? i dunno).
also the frontman sounds a bit like Jarvis Cocker.
you can see with their messy, ramshackle yadda yadda charm how/why they've been embraced so heartily to the bosom of the indie press.
their new choon doesn't scale the heights of Franz Ferdinand's utterly fabulous 'Michael', with is great for many reasons, plainly musical and otherwise {the fantastic disco whore line and the picture of a good looking indie boy on the inner sleeve &c in the mirror of a bogs in some Glaswegian club, if perhaps not quite Optimo? then probably somewhere quite fashionable??}.
'Michael', say, and the entire catalogue of the Libertines combined, are admittedly nowhere near as good as the two and a half minutes of the radio version of 'Babycakes', granted {some of the mixes of that are wicked, and the original version is at least as fantastic}, but, yunno,
credit where credit's due ~
SLASH
mainly these appear to be boy on boy (or is that the very definition? at any rate one doesn't know).
some of them are very well done, with slow burning sensuality combining well with a good eye for more immediatepleasureof a /genuinely erotically charged passages nature. amos&andy
(i gather most practitioners are straight girls?).
others are also good, but more like a quickie.
and i suppose there's a lot of fairly uninspired tat.
i saw a really nice, good one, about two of the Franz Ferdinand boys (well written and lingered in yr memory, if you like, certain words, rain and clouds and Glasgow skies), and a Blur threesome [also Graham Coxon in the bath].
other good ones include an embryonic Pete Yorn/Julian Strokes thing, and more besides.
i think some of the main slash communities appear to focus on the Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, Ryan Adams & John Mayer, and - of course - the Strokes.
what i'd be interested to know is is there a slash interest for Dawson's Creek?
after all, as soon as he lost his puppy fat Joshua Jackson (Pacey) was a damn good-looking young man. i'm sure there must be people who like this sort of thing that would be interested in him having experiences with, say, the quarterback Jack {James van der Beek never seemed the most interesting}.
or, of course, i would have thought the concept of Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams, er, enjoying each other would intrigue some people...
+
mainly these appear to be boy on boy (or is that the very definition? at any rate one doesn't know).
some of them are very well done, with slow burning sensuality combining well with a good eye for more immediatepleasureof a /genuinely erotically charged passages nature. amos&andy
(i gather most practitioners are straight girls?).
others are also good, but more like a quickie.
and i suppose there's a lot of fairly uninspired tat.
i saw a really nice, good one, about two of the Franz Ferdinand boys (well written and lingered in yr memory, if you like, certain words, rain and clouds and Glasgow skies), and a Blur threesome [also Graham Coxon in the bath].
other good ones include an embryonic Pete Yorn/Julian Strokes thing, and more besides.
i think some of the main slash communities appear to focus on the Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, Ryan Adams & John Mayer, and - of course - the Strokes.
what i'd be interested to know is is there a slash interest for Dawson's Creek?
after all, as soon as he lost his puppy fat Joshua Jackson (Pacey) was a damn good-looking young man. i'm sure there must be people who like this sort of thing that would be interested in him having experiences with, say, the quarterback Jack {James van der Beek never seemed the most interesting}.
or, of course, i would have thought the concept of Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams, er, enjoying each other would intrigue some people...
+
Thursday, 19 August 2004
'shauny wright wright wright' - Poses a genuine question
+
{also from the guardian, everyone w' half a brain knows the NW - principally merseyside and mcr of course - are the football hotbeds, not the NE :- cobblers innit}
+
{also from the guardian, everyone w' half a brain knows the NW - principally merseyside and mcr of course - are the football hotbeds, not the NE :- cobblers innit}
Wednesday, 18 August 2004
To my friends swept away in the maelstrom
Emerita, Andre, Cyprien, Raphael,
Landouald, Helene, Methode
To a few unsung heroes still living
Louise, Marie, Stratton, Victor
Finally, to Gentille, who served me eggs and beer and could be dead or alive, if only I knew
I have tried to speak for you
I hope I have not failed you
+
impossibly brilliant two opening paragraphs from Ian Buruma somewhere in the ‘London’ Granta on Churchill’s cigar, that after develops into an excellent meditation on Kristallnacht, Walter being visibly moved, tolerance, and xenophobia:
It was in 1960, or possibly 1961, at any rate before the first Beatles LP, that I went shopping for cheroots with my grandfather. He was over in The Hague on a visit from England. I was about ten. I was born in The Hague. My father was Dutch and my mother English. To me a visit to Holland by my grandparents felt like the arrival of messengers from a wider and more glamorous world.
My grandfather, who had served as an army doctor in India during the war, liked Burmese cheroots. These were hard to come by in Holland; but, if there was one shop in The Hague that was likely to stock them, it was a tobacconist’s named de Graaff.
-
60% of Icelanders believe in elves??
=
got stung by a wasp the other day. on the thigh.
itches to buggery.
+
listening to U-Roy.
great.
U-Roy, and Busta.
Emerita, Andre, Cyprien, Raphael,
Landouald, Helene, Methode
To a few unsung heroes still living
Louise, Marie, Stratton, Victor
Finally, to Gentille, who served me eggs and beer and could be dead or alive, if only I knew
I have tried to speak for you
I hope I have not failed you
+
impossibly brilliant two opening paragraphs from Ian Buruma somewhere in the ‘London’ Granta on Churchill’s cigar, that after develops into an excellent meditation on Kristallnacht, Walter being visibly moved, tolerance, and xenophobia:
It was in 1960, or possibly 1961, at any rate before the first Beatles LP, that I went shopping for cheroots with my grandfather. He was over in The Hague on a visit from England. I was about ten. I was born in The Hague. My father was Dutch and my mother English. To me a visit to Holland by my grandparents felt like the arrival of messengers from a wider and more glamorous world.
My grandfather, who had served as an army doctor in India during the war, liked Burmese cheroots. These were hard to come by in Holland; but, if there was one shop in The Hague that was likely to stock them, it was a tobacconist’s named de Graaff.
-
60% of Icelanders believe in elves??
=
got stung by a wasp the other day. on the thigh.
itches to buggery.
+
listening to U-Roy.
great.
U-Roy, and Busta.
in the neighbourhood
{w' all due apologies to Tom Waits; lyrics}
the 'burb i reside in is a quiet, fairly affluent, overwhelmingly residential area (shops, a few supermarkets, some churches, an Islamic centre, and only about 7 pubs).
bottom line with your hood
(any hood), is how many murders there are in the average year, and Timperley - generally - never suffers more than a handful.
that said, this one [foot of our road, and so on] from late last night sounds a bit juicy...{a more hopeful mancunian story, from the same site, is here}
--
meanwhile, Jamaica endured 47 killings in a week the other week - Kingston must be one of the world's most violent cities
{w' all due apologies to Tom Waits; lyrics}
the 'burb i reside in is a quiet, fairly affluent, overwhelmingly residential area (shops, a few supermarkets, some churches, an Islamic centre, and only about 7 pubs).
bottom line with your hood
(any hood), is how many murders there are in the average year, and Timperley - generally - never suffers more than a handful.
that said, this one [foot of our road, and so on] from late last night sounds a bit juicy...{a more hopeful mancunian story, from the same site, is here}
--
meanwhile, Jamaica endured 47 killings in a week the other week - Kingston must be one of the world's most violent cities
Migration Watch, the anti-immigration pressure group, has waded into the issue with its usual obnoxious slurs. The group's chairman, Sir Andrew Green, has called the visa scheme "incomprehensible" and points out that the unemployment rate among young British Bangladeshis is high.
His implication is, of course, that there is no real labour shortage and that this is an elaborate scam to bring in more welfare scroungers.
This is plain wrong.
His implication is, of course, that there is no real labour shortage and that this is an elaborate scam to bring in more welfare scroungers.
This is plain wrong.
Childhood
It would be good to give much thought, before
you try to find words for something so lost,
for those long childhood afternoons you knew
that vanished so completely --and why?
We're still reminded--: sometimes by a rain,
but we can no longer say what it means;
life was never again so filled with meeting,
with reunion and with passing on
as back then, when nothing happened to us
except what happens to things and creatures:
we lived their world as something human,
and became filled to the brim with figures.
And became as lonely as a shepherd
and as overburdened by vast distances,
and summoned and stirred as from far away,
and slowly, like a long new thread,
introduced into that picture-sequence
where now having to go on bewilders us.
It would be good to give much thought, before
you try to find words for something so lost,
for those long childhood afternoons you knew
that vanished so completely --and why?
We're still reminded--: sometimes by a rain,
but we can no longer say what it means;
life was never again so filled with meeting,
with reunion and with passing on
as back then, when nothing happened to us
except what happens to things and creatures:
we lived their world as something human,
and became filled to the brim with figures.
And became as lonely as a shepherd
and as overburdened by vast distances,
and summoned and stirred as from far away,
and slowly, like a long new thread,
introduced into that picture-sequence
where now having to go on bewilders us.
Tuesday, 17 August 2004
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE OI OI OI
what is it with all these American websites banging on about Phelps?
give us all Ian Thorpe anyday...
...speaking of sportsmen called Thorpe, did you see Graham's century in the first innings?
patience, skill, a steadying and vital hand, he's all there isn't he eh!
marvellous Robert Key.
i was told the other day my brother resembles Flintoff and it's actually true (build, height, facial appearance).
i, on the other hand, are generally just compared to Tim Roth by various people - friends, friends of my brother, a pub full of angry Basques, &c&c - and i can see this (slight facial and my basic gobshite 'qualities').
i think i've got the short straw there eh??
general all-rounder godlike genius (if inconsistent) or some bloke who's always getting shot up in Tarantino films, hmm yes.
=
RIP
+
enjoyed watching the British men beat Egypt in the hockey but South Korea were good value for their victory apparently.
-
i wuv Amir Khan
what is it with all these American websites banging on about Phelps?
give us all Ian Thorpe anyday...
...speaking of sportsmen called Thorpe, did you see Graham's century in the first innings?
patience, skill, a steadying and vital hand, he's all there isn't he eh!
marvellous Robert Key.
i was told the other day my brother resembles Flintoff and it's actually true (build, height, facial appearance).
i, on the other hand, are generally just compared to Tim Roth by various people - friends, friends of my brother, a pub full of angry Basques, &c&c - and i can see this (slight facial and my basic gobshite 'qualities').
i think i've got the short straw there eh??
general all-rounder godlike genius (if inconsistent) or some bloke who's always getting shot up in Tarantino films, hmm yes.
=
RIP
+
enjoyed watching the British men beat Egypt in the hockey but South Korea were good value for their victory apparently.
-
i wuv Amir Khan
Friday, 13 August 2004
Thursday, 12 August 2004
And it was at that age...Poetry arrived
in search of me. I don't know, I don't know where
it came from, from winter or a river.
I don't know how or when,
no, they were not voices, they were not
words, nor silence,
but from a street I was summoned,
from the branches of night,
abruptly from the others,
among violent fires
or returning alone,
there I was without a face
and it touched me.
I did not know what to say, my mouth
had no way
with names
my eyes were blind,
and something started in my soul,
fever or forgotten wings,
and I made my own way,
deciphering
that fire
and I wrote the first faint line,
faint, without substance, pure
nonsense,
pure wisdom
of someone who knows nothing,
and suddenly I saw
the heavens
unfastened
and open,
planets,
palpitating planations,
shadow perforated,
riddled
with arrows, fire and flowers,
the winding night, the universe.
And I, infinitesmal being,
drunk with the great starry
void,
likeness, image of
mystery,
I felt myself a pure part
of the abyss,
I wheeled with the stars,
my heart broke free on the open sky.
in search of me. I don't know, I don't know where
it came from, from winter or a river.
I don't know how or when,
no, they were not voices, they were not
words, nor silence,
but from a street I was summoned,
from the branches of night,
abruptly from the others,
among violent fires
or returning alone,
there I was without a face
and it touched me.
I did not know what to say, my mouth
had no way
with names
my eyes were blind,
and something started in my soul,
fever or forgotten wings,
and I made my own way,
deciphering
that fire
and I wrote the first faint line,
faint, without substance, pure
nonsense,
pure wisdom
of someone who knows nothing,
and suddenly I saw
the heavens
unfastened
and open,
planets,
palpitating planations,
shadow perforated,
riddled
with arrows, fire and flowers,
the winding night, the universe.
And I, infinitesmal being,
drunk with the great starry
void,
likeness, image of
mystery,
I felt myself a pure part
of the abyss,
I wheeled with the stars,
my heart broke free on the open sky.
Wednesday, 11 August 2004
A mass grave discovered on Saturday near the Bosnian town of Foca could be the largest in eastern Bosnia, say investigators.
The grave appears to contain several hundred bodies, all of which are expected to be exhumed within two weeks. They are believed to be the bodies of residents of Miljevina and Bosnjak who were imprisoned in Foca or in the Livada camp.
The leader of the exhumation team, Amor Masovic, said today that investigators were looking for a total of about six hundred civilians who are believed to have disappeared from the region.
Twenty-two thousand Muslims were expelled from Foca during the war. Another two thousand were killed or disappeared.
The grave appears to contain several hundred bodies, all of which are expected to be exhumed within two weeks. They are believed to be the bodies of residents of Miljevina and Bosnjak who were imprisoned in Foca or in the Livada camp.
The leader of the exhumation team, Amor Masovic, said today that investigators were looking for a total of about six hundred civilians who are believed to have disappeared from the region.
Twenty-two thousand Muslims were expelled from Foca during the war. Another two thousand were killed or disappeared.
i think Britain will have to take what Dr Hassan Abdin says with a pinch of salt.
everyone knows Khartoum has indiscriminately bombed villages and acquiesced in slavery for years.
Human Rights Watch - in a report out today in London - effectively calls the regime a pack of liars.
in hindsight, John Laughland appears increasingly ridiculous, and some of his critics all the more credible each passing day.
everyone knows Khartoum has indiscriminately bombed villages and acquiesced in slavery for years.
Human Rights Watch - in a report out today in London - effectively calls the regime a pack of liars.
in hindsight, John Laughland appears increasingly ridiculous, and some of his critics all the more credible each passing day.
i know i'm kicking a puppy, but heck+
the situations Pat Buchanan mentions here are tragic and monstrous but in allowing the strength and type of his religious convictions to colour his analysis, he does a disservice to what could be a far better article (if a more dispassionate analysis without the right-wing wingnuttery was pursued).
off the top of my head, three things not given some coverage by Mr Buchanan include:
- Christian mobs killing Muslims in northern Nigeria
- Widespread violence against Muslims in Gujerat
- Serbian mobs engaged in communal violence against Kosovo/a Albanians
&c.
the situations Pat Buchanan mentions here are tragic and monstrous but in allowing the strength and type of his religious convictions to colour his analysis, he does a disservice to what could be a far better article (if a more dispassionate analysis without the right-wing wingnuttery was pursued).
off the top of my head, three things not given some coverage by Mr Buchanan include:
- Christian mobs killing Muslims in northern Nigeria
- Widespread violence against Muslims in Gujerat
- Serbian mobs engaged in communal violence against Kosovo/a Albanians
&c.
Tuesday, 10 August 2004
+It is a pity we haven't still got ovens we could put them in and burn them+
80-year-old health campaigner Kit Sampson has returned the MBE she was awarded 14 years ago, to John Prescott, in protest at what she sees as the government increasingly failing the Gypsy and Traveller communities.
there is a related piece on "public hostility and official indifference" here.
~
over the last week or two, some of the coverage in the Daily Express, re. an ongoing story concerning tensions between a camp of Gypsies and nearby residents in a southern England village, has bordered on the genuinely disturbing, and certainly deeply unsatisfactory - surely, indeed, irresponsible - coming as it does from a national newspaper (that, laughably, still has WORLD'S GREATEST NEWSPAPER plastered on its masthead each morning).
80-year-old health campaigner Kit Sampson has returned the MBE she was awarded 14 years ago, to John Prescott, in protest at what she sees as the government increasingly failing the Gypsy and Traveller communities.
there is a related piece on "public hostility and official indifference" here.
~
over the last week or two, some of the coverage in the Daily Express, re. an ongoing story concerning tensions between a camp of Gypsies and nearby residents in a southern England village, has bordered on the genuinely disturbing, and certainly deeply unsatisfactory - surely, indeed, irresponsible - coming as it does from a national newspaper (that, laughably, still has WORLD'S GREATEST NEWSPAPER plastered on its masthead each morning).
here is a kitty (a tomcat).
name?
GIN.
well done kitty, well done.
also,
a related BBC item will be of special interest to that Nina, who will want to read it all.
name?
GIN.
well done kitty, well done.
also,
a related BBC item will be of special interest to that Nina, who will want to read it all.
Leave peacefully. There is no truce with the armed elements. We call for all people to cooperate with police and the Iraqi army and evacuate the areas...
well, this at least (American military urges civilians to leave combat areas of Najaf) should mean the most appalling and grossest examples of collective punishment there were earlier in the year can be avoided.
well, this at least (American military urges civilians to leave combat areas of Najaf) should mean the most appalling and grossest examples of collective punishment there were earlier in the year can be avoided.
URLs that are not what they seem
dnb fans initially excited to learn there is a remarcdotcodotuk will soon be disappointed when they discover there is nothing remotely musical (well, not really) about this site.
remarc, in this instance, is a rather tedious (imo) business development company.
you know, global solutions, and other such loathsome jargonified bollocks about diversifying yr business for today's marketplace...
dnb fans initially excited to learn there is a remarcdotcodotuk will soon be disappointed when they discover there is nothing remotely musical (well, not really) about this site.
remarc, in this instance, is a rather tedious (imo) business development company.
you know, global solutions, and other such loathsome jargonified bollocks about diversifying yr business for today's marketplace...
listened to a few tracks off 'Illmatic' last night for the first time in a long time.
excellent!
laughing at baseheads, trying to sell some broken amps
10 trks clocking in at under 40 minutes, it really is as concisely eloquent, and as perfect, as Housman's 'A Shropshire Lad'.
in fact, the pathos and illuminations of brief brilliance you get in both the younger Housman and early Nas make them very comparable (as far as it goes).
excellent!
laughing at baseheads, trying to sell some broken amps
10 trks clocking in at under 40 minutes, it really is as concisely eloquent, and as perfect, as Housman's 'A Shropshire Lad'.
in fact, the pathos and illuminations of brief brilliance you get in both the younger Housman and early Nas make them very comparable (as far as it goes).
i just think the news that the first truly "standalone" strictly Islamic bank in Britain is due to open later this year is so cool.
and i didn't even know all about the main categories of Islamic finance (although quite a few mates are less ignorant than me)!
and i didn't even know all about the main categories of Islamic finance (although quite a few mates are less ignorant than me)!
Monday, 9 August 2004
Shadow Home Secretary David Davis has an op-ed there today in which everything is to be tougher, everyone is to be vetted, it is unimpressive and a bad thing that so many asylum claims are granted, and that a Conservative administration would sort this mess out.
tighten things up.
crack down on abuses of the system.
i shall have to look for this story in the Express tomorrow.
tighten things up.
crack down on abuses of the system.
i shall have to look for this story in the Express tomorrow.
essential webquiz
The F Scale - a "fascist receptivity" test
- via catallaxy, who got it somewhere else
{quite pleased to see i am a whining rotter on 1.16 and therefore not very fascist...}
The F Scale - a "fascist receptivity" test
- via catallaxy, who got it somewhere else
{quite pleased to see i am a whining rotter on 1.16 and therefore not very fascist...}
taking its name from ray bradbury's classic novel of censorship and defiance that first published nearly 50 years ago and has been made over by hollywood times.
in a fascist future state the fireman's job is to burn books, and like the movie, this is a heart-stopping ride of disco-edged beats, sexy panting vocals and dark drums. italian producer alberto casella stokes the fire on an essential listen.
i like the convergence of sexy panting vocals with fahrenheit 451.
in a fascist future state the fireman's job is to burn books, and like the movie, this is a heart-stopping ride of disco-edged beats, sexy panting vocals and dark drums. italian producer alberto casella stokes the fire on an essential listen.
i like the convergence of sexy panting vocals with fahrenheit 451.
The Arab League has rejected any sanctions or international military intervention as a response to the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region.
"Allowing the Sudanese government to hide its crimes behind Arab solidarity would be an insult to more than one million Muslim victims in Darfur. The Arab League should stand behind the victims in Darfur and take concrete steps to ensure that civilians are protected from further crimes".
"Allowing the Sudanese government to hide its crimes behind Arab solidarity would be an insult to more than one million Muslim victims in Darfur. The Arab League should stand behind the victims in Darfur and take concrete steps to ensure that civilians are protected from further crimes".
you know that sheffield other music network i sometimes harp on about?
well they've got Derek Bailey playing for 'em on the 20th of this month.
s'true!
speaking of Harp, i thought that lager was getting discontinued in the UK, or at least Britain, or at least England.
but i'm still seeing it in quite a few places.
which is good, as gentle and light lagers like that can be useful in this sort of weather.
well they've got Derek Bailey playing for 'em on the 20th of this month.
s'true!
speaking of Harp, i thought that lager was getting discontinued in the UK, or at least Britain, or at least England.
but i'm still seeing it in quite a few places.
which is good, as gentle and light lagers like that can be useful in this sort of weather.
Friday, 6 August 2004
another shabbily parochial local link
what central manchester needs is a Russian restaurant, more places to eat Vietnamese, say, a high-class Ethiopian restaurant, a Belizean hole in the wall, or another Mexican one to ramp up the quality at the currently one (one! one!) Mexican restaurant in the city centre, as good quality Chinese restaurants are ten a penny in the city centre.
nevertheless, expensive pak choi aside, this place sounds alright.
it's replacing the Lincoln, a much loved Modern British/European venture.
never again will we taste their delightful Eton Mess.
ah well
what central manchester needs is a Russian restaurant, more places to eat Vietnamese, say, a high-class Ethiopian restaurant, a Belizean hole in the wall, or another Mexican one to ramp up the quality at the currently one (one! one!) Mexican restaurant in the city centre, as good quality Chinese restaurants are ten a penny in the city centre.
nevertheless, expensive pak choi aside, this place sounds alright.
it's replacing the Lincoln, a much loved Modern British/European venture.
never again will we taste their delightful Eton Mess.
ah well
chas'n'dave lyric i would most like to hear Nas rhyme
YA GOT MORE RABBIT THAN SAINSBURY'S
he could ride the beat from illmatic's 'halftime' whilst saying it {maybe 'ny state of mind'}, that'd be wicked.
speaking of Nas, i know it's a constant rumour, but somewhere over at all hiphop here they're saying Nas and Premier are due to do an entire album together. given Nas has a new album out soon, i guess this wouldn't be until at least this time next year, but worth keeping 'em peeled for...
YA GOT MORE RABBIT THAN SAINSBURY'S
he could ride the beat from illmatic's 'halftime' whilst saying it {maybe 'ny state of mind'}, that'd be wicked.
speaking of Nas, i know it's a constant rumour, but somewhere over at all hiphop here they're saying Nas and Premier are due to do an entire album together. given Nas has a new album out soon, i guess this wouldn't be until at least this time next year, but worth keeping 'em peeled for...
Thursday, 5 August 2004
actually had a nightmare the other night.
was in a bar and they tried to charge me, what was it now, either 14.80 or 15.60, for a single measure of a gin and tonic.
the cuba libres, mojitos, mai-tais, and white russians were all similary overpriced.
i asked for a glass of sancerre and was told it would be thirty-five quid. this is a glass mind, not a bottle!
getting desperate but not wishing to appear so i calmly asked the bartender what ales were on.
i was informed that a pint of landlord (or something) would be some ridiculous price, like a fiver or something like that.
i wouldn't have minded so much except the bar was only in Mansfield! i mean, it's hardly Chelsea is it now (no offence intended to any east midlanders, incidentally).
the bar was next to a rundown looking laundrette that appeared to be periodically catching fire, although a team of hooded mall-rats seemed to be working hard to put out any blazes.
what can it all mean?
was in a bar and they tried to charge me, what was it now, either 14.80 or 15.60, for a single measure of a gin and tonic.
the cuba libres, mojitos, mai-tais, and white russians were all similary overpriced.
i asked for a glass of sancerre and was told it would be thirty-five quid. this is a glass mind, not a bottle!
getting desperate but not wishing to appear so i calmly asked the bartender what ales were on.
i was informed that a pint of landlord (or something) would be some ridiculous price, like a fiver or something like that.
i wouldn't have minded so much except the bar was only in Mansfield! i mean, it's hardly Chelsea is it now (no offence intended to any east midlanders, incidentally).
the bar was next to a rundown looking laundrette that appeared to be periodically catching fire, although a team of hooded mall-rats seemed to be working hard to put out any blazes.
what can it all mean?
speaking of beer glasses, there were some great glasses last night.
a roll-call of some old dependables our eyes enjoyed would include Krombacher, the ever-stylish Erdinger, the iconic Staropramen glass, and the simple brilliance of a JW Lees pintpot (cheap, excellent Mancunian ale).
design wise, the Erdinger glass is lovely, isn't it. certainly more so than the bottle, which sometimes strikes me as trying too hard.
all the pubs at the moment appear to be hammering the old Cruzcampo beer mats. they look great, but, alas, my Spanish booze dictionary is limited to "cerveza". i'd love to know all that stuff.
a roll-call of some old dependables our eyes enjoyed would include Krombacher, the ever-stylish Erdinger, the iconic Staropramen glass, and the simple brilliance of a JW Lees pintpot (cheap, excellent Mancunian ale).
design wise, the Erdinger glass is lovely, isn't it. certainly more so than the bottle, which sometimes strikes me as trying too hard.
all the pubs at the moment appear to be hammering the old Cruzcampo beer mats. they look great, but, alas, my Spanish booze dictionary is limited to "cerveza". i'd love to know all that stuff.
to the best of my knowledge, it's only really weave... and (rechristened!) spizzania that can compete with the Pumpkin arm of the FT empire in terms of multiple contributor blogs.
look at Tom on not playing with your food!
look at that blog that Sarah C uncovered (a wise and true comment of shows that Classic Cafes lot up to be the rockists they truly are in the box, incidentally).
eggbaconchipsandbeans clearly supersedes Spaceman's The Central Manchester Slow Pub Crawl as the new Best Site.
look at Tom on not playing with your food!
look at that blog that Sarah C uncovered (a wise and true comment of shows that Classic Cafes lot up to be the rockists they truly are in the box, incidentally).
eggbaconchipsandbeans clearly supersedes Spaceman's The Central Manchester Slow Pub Crawl as the new Best Site.
Cobra glass in this restaurant was gorgeous.
had a map of India and various legends on the other side, with Bangalore pin-pointed on it, (on the map side i mean).
exquisite traceries, lines, etc.
glorious (Skunk Anansie song title GLORIOUS POP SONG and isn't Skin sexy?).
glad went for that one and not Kingfisher.
COBRA COBRA COBRA.
sat in one bar when Elbow's Guy Garvey and a multiracial gang of mates were downing strange spirits in the back. all v nice.
had a map of India and various legends on the other side, with Bangalore pin-pointed on it, (on the map side i mean).
exquisite traceries, lines, etc.
glorious (Skunk Anansie song title GLORIOUS POP SONG and isn't Skin sexy?).
glad went for that one and not Kingfisher.
COBRA COBRA COBRA.
sat in one bar when Elbow's Guy Garvey and a multiracial gang of mates were downing strange spirits in the back. all v nice.
Tuesday, 3 August 2004
highly disappointing that the North should fail to attend talks with the South in the wake of last week's refugee incidents~
Amnesty International yesterday announced a one million pound donation from Body Shop founder Anita Roddick (and Gordon Roddick), towards their new HQ in Shoreditch.
Three mass graves uncovered in Cote d'Ivoire, reports yesterday said {also, on an Accra summit, from the Cameroon Tribune}.
i ate some of my grandmother's chicken soup last night.
all singing all dancing, all the trimmings, everything bar the kitchen sink in, essentially.
and with a crusty, warm cob (or roll), it really was actually quite pleasant, with plenty of black pepper.
but (and i know i shouldn't be a negative nancy here, but let's get down to business eh), it's just not tomato is it...
all singing all dancing, all the trimmings, everything bar the kitchen sink in, essentially.
and with a crusty, warm cob (or roll), it really was actually quite pleasant, with plenty of black pepper.
but (and i know i shouldn't be a negative nancy here, but let's get down to business eh), it's just not tomato is it...
Monday, 2 August 2004
klassic Matt.
and another thing, if i were to try and make kheer it would come out as a mess.
far better to eat it for dessert, a big load for one pound fifty.
one pound fifty!
the other day i paid over three quid for a bottle (well it's practically a stubbie innit those standard bottles, let's be honest) of Modelo Especial.
three notes!
it was good beer though.
this weekend i had a medium priced double g&t, and a very nice but expensive-ish mai tai.
and another thing, if i were to try and make kheer it would come out as a mess.
far better to eat it for dessert, a big load for one pound fifty.
one pound fifty!
the other day i paid over three quid for a bottle (well it's practically a stubbie innit those standard bottles, let's be honest) of Modelo Especial.
three notes!
it was good beer though.
this weekend i had a medium priced double g&t, and a very nice but expensive-ish mai tai.
my favourite curry caff in the world has recently been briefly closed for refurbishments (there are many better establishments of a curry caff nature within a few streets radius, but i am a local, and this place is my favourite).
it re-opens tomorrow.
i cannot articulate how highly i am anticipating this.
yesterday i ate the best (plain) nan i have ever had.
that is saying an awful lot, actually.
it was delicious in the way that regular cola is retailed carbonated.
a small dinner-plate size, very springy and doughy, with a floury appearance, apart from the pleasingly crisp and slightly charred area in the middle, where a little burnt bread resembled a miniature moon crater, sort of.
the cubed potatoes in the spinach were an excellent accompaniment, whilst the chana was on form, and the chicken was stringy, hot, and exquisite.
last weekend i had a very good balti in the fine city of Birmingham (one of the best two or three i have ever had), mostly king prawns and spinach. the spinach was necessary to get some iron inside me, following the - my fault, admittedly - decision to not eat anything between a very light breakfast at about 11am on the Friday morning (and a light tea the evening before), and a small Subway sandwich (6-inch tuna which really seemed about 4, with all the salad except not too many of a certain thing whose name escapes me but one of the peppers or something, on wheat), at 10 o'clock on the Saturday night.
it would probably be easy to summarise the Brum weekend in one or two phrases, but with hindsight, we can certainly say it was a mistake to start downing strong lager before midday.
it re-opens tomorrow.
i cannot articulate how highly i am anticipating this.
yesterday i ate the best (plain) nan i have ever had.
that is saying an awful lot, actually.
it was delicious in the way that regular cola is retailed carbonated.
a small dinner-plate size, very springy and doughy, with a floury appearance, apart from the pleasingly crisp and slightly charred area in the middle, where a little burnt bread resembled a miniature moon crater, sort of.
the cubed potatoes in the spinach were an excellent accompaniment, whilst the chana was on form, and the chicken was stringy, hot, and exquisite.
last weekend i had a very good balti in the fine city of Birmingham (one of the best two or three i have ever had), mostly king prawns and spinach. the spinach was necessary to get some iron inside me, following the - my fault, admittedly - decision to not eat anything between a very light breakfast at about 11am on the Friday morning (and a light tea the evening before), and a small Subway sandwich (6-inch tuna which really seemed about 4, with all the salad except not too many of a certain thing whose name escapes me but one of the peppers or something, on wheat), at 10 o'clock on the Saturday night.
it would probably be easy to summarise the Brum weekend in one or two phrases, but with hindsight, we can certainly say it was a mistake to start downing strong lager before midday.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS
Iain's place was four years old on Saturday (sorry i'm late).
His LJ has the more personal stuff, whilst The Snow In The Summer or So-So has been running his always insightful, occasionally provocative, and sometimes trenchant (in the most positive sense of the word) take on politics and the news &c for donkey's now.
never less than essential reading.
Happy Birthday Sir!
Iain's place was four years old on Saturday (sorry i'm late).
His LJ has the more personal stuff, whilst The Snow In The Summer or So-So has been running his always insightful, occasionally provocative, and sometimes trenchant (in the most positive sense of the word) take on politics and the news &c for donkey's now.
never less than essential reading.
Happy Birthday Sir!
whatever your views on the conflict in Darfur [passionofthepresent is interesting, and via LENIN'S TOMB is this intriguing daniel brett post: although it sticks in the throat horribly that intervention might/would require the support of al-Bashir, this is realism for you], you won't be surprised by John Laughland's (wasn't he at the Sorbonne? is he still? he's at Sanders Research Associates, whoever they are) tone here, which makes some good points and, er, has some predictable washes.
call me a liberal fence-sitter but the very inclusion of The Sudanese government says that the death toll in Darfur, since the beginning of the conflict in 2003, is not greater than 1,200 on all sides seems offensive, and is certainly at odds with this more balanced (and clearly more informed, let's be frank) assessment from HRW's Africa division.~
We note that the Government of Sudan has established a National Commission of Inquiry and pledged to hold perpetrators of abuses in Darfur accountable. Human Rights Watch believes that the National Commission of Inquiry is unable to appropriately investigate the serious human rights crimes in Darfur/
call me a liberal fence-sitter but the very inclusion of The Sudanese government says that the death toll in Darfur, since the beginning of the conflict in 2003, is not greater than 1,200 on all sides seems offensive, and is certainly at odds with this more balanced (and clearly more informed, let's be frank) assessment from HRW's Africa division.~
We note that the Government of Sudan has established a National Commission of Inquiry and pledged to hold perpetrators of abuses in Darfur accountable. Human Rights Watch believes that the National Commission of Inquiry is unable to appropriately investigate the serious human rights crimes in Darfur/
some tongue in cheek commentary ahead, mayhaps
i'm not sure what part of this article about the Keep Britain Tidy campaign going on the offensive against graffiti is my favourite.
i quite like Ms Nelson's misquoting of Burke (an old motto, apparently?), but i feel that the taking to task of Greenpeace (come on chaps! saving the rainforest or contributing to this evil - sort your priorities out eh) is only equalled by her magic telly [It's impossible to turn on the TV these days without seeing an advert where graffiti is being used] - i wish my TV was like that, i could do with a bit more graf to brighten up the advert breaks.
mind you, the guardian itself provides a link to its gun crime reports at the bottom of the page. a more hysterical reading could suggest the equating of all sorts of crimes is being implied here, but i'm sure even Ms Nelson doesn't think walking past a tag on the subway is as bad as getting shot...
i'm not sure what part of this article about the Keep Britain Tidy campaign going on the offensive against graffiti is my favourite.
i quite like Ms Nelson's misquoting of Burke (an old motto, apparently?), but i feel that the taking to task of Greenpeace (come on chaps! saving the rainforest or contributing to this evil - sort your priorities out eh) is only equalled by her magic telly [It's impossible to turn on the TV these days without seeing an advert where graffiti is being used] - i wish my TV was like that, i could do with a bit more graf to brighten up the advert breaks.
mind you, the guardian itself provides a link to its gun crime reports at the bottom of the page. a more hysterical reading could suggest the equating of all sorts of crimes is being implied here, but i'm sure even Ms Nelson doesn't think walking past a tag on the subway is as bad as getting shot...
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