All Bullocksed Up

What's this then with the Chunnel?

Just sayin'. And during the Christmas rush too.

Thanks to "Mortadelo2005" for the use of the image.

Rock 'n Dole Will Never Die?

I've pondered many times in this space why one little island has produced so many musical legends. It's a waste to start listing them ... I'd never stop ... but you have to admit that it's *way* out of proportion for their population.

One clue came in the form of something I had never heard of: the so-called Rock 'n Dole program, a part of the New Deal that Blair installed in 1998.

Apparently, if you did some sort of volunteer work or other service to the country, you were eligible for a handout. And if you could prove that you were working on a musical career, that counted. Nothing like that could ever happen in the U.S. I mean, it was an expressed goal of the program to create more rock bands. They actually saw that a scene like in the photo of Embrace in concert (above) was good for the economy. And you don't get there by logging time at the til in the local Tesco.

I'm not sure how many modern acts got their start this way. Naturally, this specific program came a little late for Zepplin and the Jam. But according to one article I read, Embrace were one and I have to assume that any act you could name now, from Arctic Monkey to Elbow dipped into the program at some point or another.

Now the program is coming to an end. Many a dissertation has been written about the racial attitudes and economic mixture that created the Stones and the Sex Pistols. But that they even had this program for a decade says a lot about that place. Historians will probably look back on this period with curiosity, just as they do the influx of R&B and Soul records into Liverpool in the late 50s and early 60s -- and into the hands of Lennon and McCartney and Harrison. Well, maybe Rock 'n Dole didn't have the same impact, but it's still pretty cool.

I am Howard

In addition to loving the UK, I love Israel, Italy, France and Canada! Are we noticing a trend? Basically I love anywhere that's not here, I guess.

One of the best things to come from our neighbors to the north (members of the Commonwealth, BTW) is Jonathan Goldstein's Wiretap on CBC Radio. It's sort of hard to describe, so check out the podcast, especially, the recent on in which Howard Chackowicz returns from a four-day trip to England with a British accent.

I love this character. I guess I relate to him. But this last episode put it over the top. Of course, I fear that I am as needy and crazy as Howard. And I fear that my efforts to fit in with Brits are met with the same reaction as Howards: "A lot of people were laughing ... when I was making a joke, so ..."

Anyway, listen to Wiretap's Mysteries and tell me what you think.

Wiretap illustration/logo by artist Jack Dylan -- used for the purposes of promoting the show.

Boosh Boys do Python

Even more than the TV shows on PBS, it was the Monty Python records that captivated a 12-year-old Phonybrit. Now the stars of Britain's newest comedy show have a radio documentary on BBC2. I missed the seven-day period when you can still hear BBC radio shows for part one. But part two has just been posted today!

The Beeb also made a video of The Boosh Boys talking about Python below:

Mummy and Papa are Fighting

A UK magistrate has called for the arrest of Tzipi Livni and other Israeli politicians, accusing them of war crimes. What if Great Britain and Israel go to war? I wonder if there were some Anglo-maniacs in Argentina back in Falkland Island days who had their allegiances thusly torn assunder?

Here's to You, Mr. Robinson

So I joined the Scooter Club on Facebook (naturally), and it's proved a treasure trove of inside baseball (or inside cricket as the case may be). The member offer each other tickets to great concerts, alert each other to scooter rallies and events -- and generally trade trivia about scooters.

Lately, most of the posts have been about the passing of one Pete Robinson, and Worchester artisan who made a name in the scooter community for his immaculate restorations ... but mostly for his elaborate chrome engravings. Google this guy and you'll find tricked out scooters that would put the American Chopper dudes to shame. Very interesting, and sad, to learn about such a talented artist this way. Pete Robinson, dead at age 48.

photos taken from Pete's websiste, customchrome.co.uk, and meant purely as a tribute to the man and his work.

What?!

The Commonwealth Summit in Port-of-Spain, on Trinidad, is over a couple of days now and I just noticed one of the major resolutions was to accept Rwanda into the group. HUH?

I always thought that the Commonwealth was basically a confederation of nations made up of former colonies and other parts of the faded Empire. Now I learn that countries can join it like the EU, the G-whatever, and NATO? Rwanda was "owned" by Germany and then by Belgium. But several years ago and they became Anglophiles -- they even made cricket the national sport!

Rwanda is the second country with no ties to Britain to join the Commonwealth, which is presided over by the Queen. Mozambique is the other one.

Does it Get Cooler Than This?

Oh My

Of course, after buying the scooter, I had to watch Quadrophenia obsessively ...

Then I got curious about what became of "Jimmy," Philip Daniels. Seems he was a major part of Eastenders at some point. I don't know why I would assume he'd be frozen in time ... but here is a little before and after:

Poor Tony

Blair didn't make it.

He has been trying to become the next president of Europe for ages. But that Iraq business will follow him to his grave. Some bloke from Belgium or something got it.

Photo by Andy Mettler

For Queen and Country

It's called Veterans Day here. It's Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom and many parts of the Commonwealth.

Harry Patch died in July at age 111. He was Britain's last World War One Veteran. So 2009 is the first year he will not be marching in the parade. We won't have that continuity. Within many of our lifetimes, the same will be true of World War Two vets.

What would Harry think of Gordon Brown's latest dustup?

For those who haven't been following, a grieving mum of a soldier killed in Afghanistan and he have been at loggerheads.

It seems that Brown writes handwritten condolence notes to the families of the fallen. When the mother of Jamie Janes, Jacqui Janes, received hers, she blanched at the 25 spelling errors -- including both her name and her son's. Brown called to apologize, a call Janes recorded and later released in which she suggested to the PM that her sons death could have been prevented if the forces were better supplied and supported.

Now, so many years into that conflict, we wonder what can be done to find "peace in our time." Many people didn't know that the visually impaired politician even wrote these notes (he lost much of his sight in a rugby accident) -- and the spelling errors prove that they are personal.

Meanwhile, mothers continue to grieve.





Photo by Jim Ross

Hammer: Another Uncovered World

As I've said before, one of the great things about being an Anglo-fan is discovering a whole amazing parallel universe -- one that speaks English! I remember Mike Starr, now a well-known TV critic and still a Peter Sellers fanatic telling me about Sellers's early films, including a classic in which he plays a prison inmate. Who knew?

Just last week I heard Madeline Smith and Valerie Leon, queens of the Hammer Films being interviewed on Radio 2. Hammer Studios was the prime B-movie factory in the 50s and 60s. It's a whole world of previously unknown (to me) shlock and the training ground for just greats at Roger Moore.

The movies weren't always top shelf, but the women [insert gesture of a stereotypical Italian chef with his fingers to his lips: "Delicious!"]

I guess I'll have to find some free YouTube and Roku time to mine this new vein.

A Thousand Days Until the London Olympics

Just worth noting.

Britannia Rules the (Air)waves.

Just got around to watching Away We Go. Of course, I thought the soundtrack was some newly discovered Nick Drake sprinkled with some Stranglers. But the original music was actually relative newcomer Alexi Murdoch, born in London, raised largely in Scotland.

Talk about a monoploy. It seems as though the British are still to music what Koreans used to be to grocers and what many people thing Jews are to banking.

Did those feet in ancient times ....

Nice article in the Times on a trailway I never knew about.

Such a surprising island. Last week, Radio 4 did a show about the geological history of Britain. Reminded me of seeing the dinosour fossils in Lyme Regis.

Look, North America is very varied too. But it's so huge. On this mini-continent, there's so much.

What I Wish I Had

Still loving the Chinese scooter, but look at the beauty of the above.

Doctor Ronnie and Mr. Ron

When I posted this shot of my new scooter on Facebook, an old friend wrote, "Quadrophenia nostalgia?"

Well, duh.

Too bad I can't afford a Vespa right now and had to get this Chinese one which is more "motorcycle-y" than those used by the Mods. Still, it's a lot of fun ... when it's working.

"Different to" Americans

I've long been intrigued not only by the different vocab and spellings that they have in England and the Commonwealth, but also the different grammar. They'll say, "NatWest apologize for the inconvenience" as if all the people at the bank were sorry, while we say "Chase apologizes."

One grammatical quirk that really charms me is the when they say, "This is different *to* that" instead of "This is different from that." I really can't make a strong argument about which is more correct. I just love the way do it more.

Oh You, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Just minutes ago, finished watching a film with Lexi: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I had literally not seen a frame of it since I was a tiny kid. What I didn't remember is except for Dick Van Dyke, it's an almost 100 percent British enterprise, shot mostly at Pinewood Studios. Unlike Mary Poppins, Dick does not trot out his much-criticized cockney accent.

Very surreal. The 60s were indeed a strange time.

And of all people, who should pop up? Benny Hill.

Lots for an anglophile and nostalgic to sink his teeth into.

Finally ... MARMITE

I've always heard of it, never tasted it.

So when I was breaking the fast from Yom Kippur, and my new friend Charlie from London brought a jar of Marmite for his kids to eat (they can't get enough of the stuff), I jumped at the chance. Brits grow up with this gooey concoction, and it's next to impossible to get here. Most Americans think it's vile, but if you grow up with anything ... most people around the world don't care for our peanut butter, for instance.

What did I think? I liked it. Probably too intense of a taste to break a fast with -- it's a byproduct of beermaking: yeasty and salty, a bit like a spreadable bullion cube. But that's making it sound bad, which it isn't.

Goes great with bagels.

Radio 4 Update

I blogged about BBC Radio 4's panel shows. This week's Midweek is a great example:

* Lenny Henry, Chef! himself -- now playing the Moor
* The film legend Leslie Caron
* Sarah Butler, a writer who just did a "residency" in the Underground
* and Clarissa Dickson Wright, who writes about traveling through Britain.

Atlantic's Brit Wit

The Atlantic has a great article about British humour this month, with Ricky Gervais and Russell Brand being the prime examples.

It would take more than article to get to the bottom of it, but someday, someone will come up with a theory on why this island nation has produced so many intelligently daft idiot-geniuses.

Parkour Mania

Now that it's been featured on the US version of The Office, everyone knows what parkour is.

Of course, they've known about it in the UK for years. Check out this 2004 video, with some great London sites in the background ...

Only in UK

I'm a big Radio 4 fan. Start stereotyping ... here I listen to NPR, drive a Prius, vote Democratic ... it's pretty easy to extrapolate what I'd do if I was a subject of the crown.

One thing Radio 4 has mastered that really doesn't exist here is the panel discussion. Sure, there are politics shows that have a couple of liberals and a couple of conservatives in the studio and they let them go at each other. I'm not talking about that. I'm thinking of specifically, Start the Week (STW) and Midweek: Diverse Conversation.

These shows are fantastic. Midweek, hosted by Libby Purves and STW, with Andrew Marr, both round up a random group ... say a novelist, an actor, a natural scientist and an NGO official recently back from some wartorn country. All four participants read the writer's book, go see the actor's play, learn about the scientist's achievements and read the memoirs of the NGO person.

The result is the opposite of what you get when you have an actor spouting off about hunger in Africa or something. They sort of interview each other, with the host acting as the guide -- and the segues and connections can often be stunning.

I urge you to podcast these two shows immediately.

My Favorite Torry

The British Parliament is coming up a lot in conversation lately. Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst during President Obama's address to Congress is being seen, even by some who disagree with him, as being firmly in the vain of the "Questions for the Prime Minister" sessions popularized here on C-SPAN. (Of course, even MPs don't call each other liars, but that's hair splitting.)

Then just yesterday, I heard London's mayor, Boris Johnson, on BBC4's Great Lives talking about Samuel Johnson. We just don't have politicians like that. I can't really imagine a Republican going on some radio show and talking about a non-political topic besides sport. Yet, this Oxford grad seemed very well at home talking about 18th century intellectuals.

And since all but the most extreme Conservative members actually believe in making sure that an illness shouldn't wipe out a family financially, I'd be proud to have him as my mayor. Something tells me that he's not going to stop with being mayor though. He's only 45 years old.

Adam Knows

Even the ultra-manly Adam Corolla (The Man Show, etc.) is apparently a little bit of Anglophile. His podcast, which is almost always in the top 10, is a riot. Here's a quote from yesterday's edition:

I love the English. [The] English, they're so much f**king better than that we are. Because for years, I was always like, "Ginger Baker, why is he called 'Ginger,' and Ginger Spice?" Well, when you have red hair and you're from England, they call it ginger. We call it "rusty." They call it ginger. It's so much better. Wouldn't you rather be called Ginger than Rusty?

When He's Right, He's Right

A couple of weeks ago, Richard Bradley blogged about Elbow's performance at Glastonbury. Good on him. I may not go as far as he does in his post about the general beauty of British Pop. But there's no denying it: That band is fantastic. And that song -- "One Day Like This" -- is a towering achievement. Please click below. I'll be shocked if it doesn't stay with you for a long, long time.

Well Done, Lads

This post in memorium to the British soldier who gave his life in the successful pre-dawn raid which freed the journalist Stephen Farrell from his Taliban captors in Afghanistan.

They Keep Pulling Me Back In

I was really contemplating stopping to watch Doctor Who with the new cast change -- there's already so much on queued on my new Roku.

But now I see that Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually) is writing an episode. So, they've got me back.

Any Day Now

It's World Cup time again ... and it's looking like David Beckham may not be included on the squad going to South Africa.

There are milestones in life: When you are older than Playboy centerfold models, when you are older than the President of the US, and when sport stars have entire careers while you are paying attention.

Well, Becks can't carry on forever ... his not playing for England just seems wrong.

The Real Heroes

September 3rd marked the beginning of World War II.

Neville Chamberlin delivered the news in his famous stiff-upper-lip manner:

"I am speaking to you from the Cabinet Room at 10, Downing Street. This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final note stating that unless we heard from them by 11 0'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany."

Plain words that made history. And it set in motion an effort that's beyond words. Sure the soldiers and sailors and airmen made history, but the Germans would have never been defeated if it wasn't for the average British subject. America would have never entered the war if it wasn't for the bravery of those people through the Blitz.

There's a great podcast featuring some of the speeches that motivated these remarkable people.

But my favorite came later, from the Bulldog, and is worth remembering every day:

"Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty -- never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

Not Quite Cricket or "Putting Some English On It."

Not that I've tried that hard, but I still still find cricket a sticky wicket. I do know enough to be aware that England have won some big contest recently (I think against the Aussies?) and that they now have something called "the Ashes."

One thing that really surprised me: Apparently, Lilly Allen is a mad for the game. She's even been known to hire helicopters to get her to games so she won't be late -- and I don't think they are any cheaper there than here. Lilly says that in her hectic life, cricket is a moment of calm. I get that ... with those five-day contests, it must be like playing our (yawn) baseball in a vat of treacle. Baseball's my favorite sport, so count me in!

Other news in sport: Footie started on the 15th of August and Chelsea is out front. Of course, Man U won again last year, so it's going to be another interesting season ... If I can manage to keep on top of it.

Had to Laugh

I'm still furious about the Lockerbie thing, but here's a zinger from Andy Parsons on BBC Radio's I Guess That's Why They Call It the News:

"The Americans are furious, they say there's going to be less American tourism. But surely, that's good for actual Scotish tourism. Less American tourists means that tourists from every other part of the world will be thinking, "Brilliant! This the time to go to Scotland."

Badly Done

I don't like to get political, but news that Downing Street approved the release of the monster partly responsible for blowing up the plane over Lockerbie has me pretty cross.

I'm not going to get cute with this post. I just want to say that although I wasn't directly affected, one thing stays with me about this act of terrorism: So many of the victims were returning from their overseas studies in London. I can't say how many people I know who went through that program. Of course, every tragedy like this has its victims and none are more special than any other.

But those students returning from the semester abroad, that's what gets me.

Skype, I Love You

Wow. I just looked at the date of the last post. No excuses ... I just took a break and I'm sure I alienated my wonderful audience. Let's see how this goes.

I had a great experience in the interim, doing business with some great friends in the UK. Most of it was email, but a lot of it was done via Skype. These guys had Skype enabled on their phone -- in their words, the equipment was "nothing as posh as an iPhone." It just came on their regular handset. Now that is civilized. Of course, they had to know I was calling and have it turned on, so I mostly did "Skype Out," but that's still only 5 cents a minute or something. So much better than the bad old days.

We even did something very revolutionary: I needed to do a video shoot there, and my thought was to have a Skype video conference so I could see and hear the interview subject. That didn't happen due to the lack of WiFi in the the remote Western pub we were shooting in, but they were able to SMS ("text") some photos, which helped a great deal.

We are getting closer. There's only one final frontier that no one seems to be even willing to discuss: the time difference. No matter what you do, the sun is going to rise there at a different time that it does here. If the world were to switch over to Universal Time (UT), then someone would have to start getting used to waking up at 03:00.

And guess what, UT is just another way of saying Greenwich Mean Time. With the way the metric system went over here, good luck. And having London be the de facto center of everything (in that the sun will rise at 06:00 and set at 19:00, depending on the season)? This might take a while.

My Wife Went to London and All I Got was this Lousy T-shirt (Really!)

She assures me that everyone is wearing this Saatchi Gallery souvenir ... but I mean, come on ... so cliche.

Uncanny

Don't forget to look at the video replies; they're pretty funny too. Here's just one:

Joanna Lumley is Absolutely Fabulous Pt. 2

Joanna.

I never thought I'd say this, but Joanna Lumley for PM.

The Bond Girl and New Avenger and Patsy from AbFab has now become a major activist on the political scene.

Good on ya.

If You're Easily Offended, P**s Off

A submission by reader Chris ... Good stuff, but grotie in parts. The parody of the Eastenders theme is worth price of admission!

You're What?!

Get this: The trouble and strife is going to London on business in few weeks and not taking me!

Worst part -- I can't even show a picture of her here because she's a restaurant reviewer. Okay, that's not the worst part. The worst part is that we had planned to go there for our anniversary in a few months, a plan derailed by the economy. And now, I'm out of the picture!

Harrumph!

Come on, FB!

So, I when given an option I always tick "English (UK)" just for the fun of it. I have British English on my GPS, as you can see here.

But come on, Facebook lads and lassies ... is this all you can come up with as being different to Americans? Mobile vs. cellphone? Neighbourhood vs. Neighborhood?

Good Stuff

In case you aren't on Facebook, or none of you friends have put this on their profile:



Actually, these guys, Idiots of Ants are pretty good. I believe they appear on BBC Three's The Wall.

The Other Talented Briton

So everyone knows who Susan Boyle is by now. But Simon Cowell's Britain's Got Talent has another sensation, Shaheen Jafargholi from Wales. I can't embed the clip unfortunately, but click ...

here.

We Need More of This

I love this idea:

http://slowdownlondon.co.uk

"Festivities" continue through May the 9th.

Do You Need More Proof?

This webcast happened about six months ago, I think, but I just can't get it out of my head.

Radiohead. The Smiths. Was there ever a more amazing convergence of gear-ness? So British, so awesome. It's motivation for keeping the blog up for another several months, I'll tell you that much.

The Funniest Memorial in History

So last week, my favourite Beatle was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Eric Idle said a few words, including praise for Paul McCartney's relationship with George in his final days. Few people know this, but Harrison actually died in Macca's house. According to Idle, "... it's one of the reasons I won't go and stay with John Cleese."

I will definitely pay homage next time in Cali.

Disturbing News from Across the Pond

The trouble and strife has submitted the following link to Phonybrit: http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=e3d8e9b1-8caa-4290-b566-2aff2216016e.

It's an amazingly constructed piece by Howard Jacobson from The New Republic on the rise of antisemitism in England. Of course, the English aren't famous for being big fans of MOT's. Just Wikipedia
Photo: © Jonathan Cape "York Castle" for proof. And from time to time, this kind of thing flairs up, particularly during rough economic times (hmmm).


One reason I've heard is that, like the South Asians, Jews (at least the ones who are not "Jews by Choice") are not *ethnically* English. But Jacobson points to something else at work ... the only standby that it's not antisemitic to criticize Israel (which of course we all agree with, otherwise most of the Knesset would be keen bigots) is falling a bit flat lately. Jacobson's primary example, Carol Churchill's play, "Seven Jewish Children." Why not "Seven Israeli Children"? We'd have to ask Churchill.

Anyway, interesting piece in TNR that you should at least scan when you get a chance.

He Even Makes Our Flanimals Laugh

Sesame Street, our Blue Peter, turns 40 in November and they've already started to make their anniversary show. Unfortunately, the producer lost control of the shoot when she invited Ricky Gervais to appear with Elmo.

I truly believe that that is puppeteer Kevin Clash actually laughing, just trying to keep in character.

Another Special SNAFU

You'd think the Obamas would be on their best behaviour with in the UK, what with their poor performance when the Brown visited Washington. (For those who don't recall, beyond a White-House-gift-shop gift to the Brown boys, it turns out that the 25 DVDs that they gave the PM were all region one and unplayable on British DVD players).

Now this: Michelle broke protocol and put her arm around the Queen.

I don't get it ... they're so cool, so elegant ... you'd think they'd be getting on like a house on fire in UK and Europe.

What a Rip Off

Anyone else getting a kick about of the British press kicking and screaming about the Obama's poor choice of presents for Brownie's boys? A guess a model of Marine One really doesn't stand up to all those dresses and things from London's Top Shops. Still it's hardly an international incident.

Also, is there a difference between a "special relationship" and a "special partnership"?

Does Obama's English roots enter into this special partnership somehow?

Snow Again?

What is going on. Of course, it's always snowed in the UK -- but two blizzards in one season?

They're calling for another 8 inches, with major disruptions ...

What the heck is going on?

This Actually Warrants a Post

Nothing's seemed too post-worthy lately. The snow storm in London? Kind of interesting.

I meant to share this, because it's brilliant: The Guardian have arranged for a joint podcast, bringing together Islamophonic and Sounds Jewish. Very good stuff. Don't know why I forgot to let everyone know, but it's still current.

But this I couldn't resist. Ricky Gervais did the Actor's Studio show at Pace University? That's in my neighborhood! Ah well, since I'm not an acting student, I couldn't be there, but here's the YouTube version below:

Big Day for Me

Not only did I Skype the UK (not the whole nation, just my new colleague Lou Clarke at Watchmore TV in London) but I got this pretty pic from my old colleague Mame McCutchin. Hey, I'm not saying it takes much to make my day.

Mame's an Anglofan from way back, solidified when she traveled America looking for art with a UK-based crew.


Check out Mame's blogs (where does she find the time?):
This Idiot
Found Money
and The Daily Draw

The Prisoner

Number 6 is dead.

Well, the Prisoner was never my cup of tea, but so many Anglophiles have used it as their entry point to British culture that I had to mark Patrick McGoohan's passing somehow.

In spite of my feelings about the show itself, I do love this opening sequence. Something tells me that this clip is going to get a lot of viewings on YouTube today.

The Funniest DVD Menu in History

Well, beside being super busy with work, Battlestar Galactica, 24, and Lost are all starting up again -- not to mention the Simon Cowell Show, which I will try to avoid but will fail.

And with all of that going on, I just couldn't resist the I'm Alan Partridge Series 1 DVD when I saw it in the library. Steve Coogan for free? Count me in.

I haven't seen much of this show which stars Coogan as a washed up TV presenter, but I have noticed one thing: The menu is the most inspired bit of madness since the CD, "Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time."

I won't spoil it for you, but suffice to say that you won't see the word, "Play" anywhere and if you want to see the show, you'll want to clear the room of children.

Oh, Harry

Here's the quick version: Prince Harry (that's the one who was photographed wearing a Nazi uniform a couple of years ago). Made a little tape during his army training. In it, he refers to a fellow soldier as a "little Paki," tells another that he looks like a raghead, he makes a mock phone call to his grandmother ("Love to the Corgis!"), and confirms that his pubes are ginger.

Check it out if you wish. I won't comment here as I know little about how soldiers need to set their heads. All I will say is that this is how the man behaves while he knows he is being recorded.

Things I Missed on Holiday

If you've every been on a cruise, you know it takes ages to find out what you've missed.

In this case, I missed both happy and sad news while I was away (I'm not counting the Gaza Crisis ... that was on every telly on the ship).

I have learned that there's a new Doctor: Matt Smith will play the 11th Doctor Who. I'll analyze the choice of an actor who was born after I finished high school another time.

Also Harold Pinter, a towering figure, is gone.

I hope this is all I missed.

Tastes a Bit Squirrely

Saw a piece in the New York Times the other day: Brits are going in for squirrel meat. Well, it's not exactly an fad, but since the population is out of control, the eco-friendly thing to do is to tuck into a nice squirrel pie.

But what interested me was that their squirrels, the red squirrels with the fluffy ears (you know them from the Beatrix Potter drawings) are getting pushed out by those tough-as-nails gray squirrels we have here in New York. It seems the louts carry a disease against which reds have little or no resistance.

It's like:

Gray: Yo, can you tell me (cough, cough) the way to "Lie-chester" Square?
Red: It's pronounced "Lester."
Gray: (cough, cough) Whatever, fuggedaboudit.

So tuck in, Britian, and enjoy our squirrels! Grays for tea is a point of national pride.

Norwegian Wood

Norwegian Wood -- that's what I got when I found out that the Norwegian Broadcasting Company, NRK, had started a free podcast in which they were going to make the entire Fab Four catalog (which they put at 212 songs) downloadable as a free podcast. All you had to do was listen to Norwegian musicologist analyze the song for several minutes prior.

But alas, I got there long after the Apple Corps's lawyers .... the podcasts have been pulled for the time being.

Apple Corp: I have deal for you ... start making your music available online some other way, and I will be happy to pay shell out a few quid for it.

England is Mine, Owes Me a Living

The Smith are available from the Guardian for free.

For a limited time, go here and get the video for Panic.

Ah, the Smiths. Have I ever told you that I was at their American premier? It was at Danceteria in New York. As Morissey once said, "Tell the truth, it really, really helped you."

This photo taken in Her Majesty's realm

Sorry my holiday in the Bahamas put a stop to posting for a while. However, it was a thrill to be in country that drives on the "right" side of the road and has a proper monarch.

Didn't get much of a feel for the country as it was a cruise and I mostly saw other holidaymakers also doing their side trips planned by the ships extortion er- excursion desk.