o
v
e
r
y
o
u
r
h
e
a
d
.
.
.
|
|
|
| |
|
Crawling through technology, life and love Contact me: hotmail gmail home 
Listening: 
Playing: Mario Kart - Wii iTuning: Podcasts - Russell Brand, Chris Moyles and Mark Kermode Reading: Then We Come To The End - Joshua Ferris Bits and Bobs: Wish List Gerry's Lyrics Pop Quiz Minipops Quiz Sites I like: Marc Almond Top 40 Singles News IMdb The Register Hacks Recent GBlogs Arsenal FC Some blogs I enjoy: bboyblues2000 bitful blogadoon brainsluice chig groc minkered scally sparky troubled diva Books recently read: A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon The End of Mr. Y - Scarlett Thomas I Never Knew That About London - Christopher Winn The Arsenal Miscellany - Adam Gold Young Hearts Run Free: The Real Story of the 1970s - Dave Haslam Magical Thinking - Augusten Burroughs Veronika Decides To Die - Paulo Coelho Time Out Guide - Amsterdam Lillian's Story - Kate Grenville The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins Schott's Original Miscellany - Ben Schott Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J K Rowling A Gay History Of Britain - Matt Cook Time Out Guide to Madrid Time Out Guide to New York Kingdom Come - J. G. Ballard The Hours - Michael Cunningham Mutants - Aramand Marie Leroi A Young Man's Passage - Julian Clary Growing Pains - Billie Piper The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath Wild Swans - Jung Chang Highbury: The Story of Arsenal N.5 - Jon Spurling Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins - Rupert Everett Affinity - Sarah Waters Lighthousekeeping - Jeanette Winterson Tipping The Velvet - Sarah Waters The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini Of Human Bondage - W Somerset Maugham Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier Lucky Man - Michael J Fox Labyrinth - Kate Mosse Fingersmith - Sarah Waters The Night Watch - Sarah Waters The Pedant's Revolt - Andrea Barham The Republic Of Trees - Sam Taylor Written On tbe Body - Jeanette Winterson Untold Stories - Alan Bennett The Plot Against America - Philip Roth Read All About It - Max Clifford The Folding Star - Alan Hollinghurst Thursbitch - Alan Garner Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - David Sedaris Staying Alive - Matt Beaumont The Bookseller Of Kabul - Asne Seierstad Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince - J K Rowling A Short History Of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson Count Karlstein - Philip Pullman The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood The Spell - Alan Hollinghurst The Double Life Of Daniel Glick - Maurice Caldera The Smoking Diaries - Simon Gray Straight- Boy George Digital Fortress - Dan Brown Deception Point - Dan Brown The Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith Angels and Demons - Dan Brown Sydney - Time Out Guide Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood Eleanor Rigby - Douglas Coupland The Scarecrow and His Servant - Philip Pullman Tha Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown The Perks Of Being A Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky Planet Simpson - Chris Turner The Line Of Beauty - Alan Hollinghurst Barcelona - Time Out Guide The Closed Circle - Jonathan Coe The Clerkenwell Tales - Peter Ackroyd Copenhagen - TimeOut Guide The Butterfly Tattoo - Philip Pullman The Broken Bridge - Philip Pullman In Search of the Pleasure Palace - Marc Almond Brick Lane - Monica Ali Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre Last Exit To Brooklyn - Hubert Selby Jr You Shall Know Our Velocity - Dave Eggers Touching The Void - Joe Simpson Life Of Pi - Yann Martel Istanbul - Time Out Guide Millennium People - J G Ballard The Duchess Who Wouldn't Sit Down - Jesse Browner Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland Eats, Shoots and Leaves - Lynne Truss The Wind-up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami Our Man In Havana - Graham Greene The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon Lyra's Oxford - Philip Pullman Doran - Will Self Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides the book, the film, the t-shirt - matt beaumont High Society - Ben Elton Man And Wife - Tony Parsons I Was A Rat - Philip Pullman Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix - J R Rowling Great Apes - Will Self Barrel Fever - David Sedaris Round Ireland With A Fridge - Tony Hawkes Close Range - Annie Proux The Third Way - Anthony Giddens dot.con - John Cassidy The Salmon of Doubt - Douglas Adams One Hit Wonderland - Tony Hawkes The Thief Lord - Cornelia Funke The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen The Cloud Sketcher - Richard Rayner Keane: the Autobiography - Roy Keane A Wasteland of Strangers - Bill Pronzini The English - Jeremy Paxman How to Lose Friends and Alienate People - Toby Young Dead Famous - Ben Elton The Amber Spyglass - Phillip Pullman (again) The Subtle Knife - Phillip Pullman (again) Northern Lights - Phillip Pullman (again) The Bear and The Dragon - Tom Clancy 101 Reykjavik - Hallgrimur Helgason Forward The Foundation - Isaac Asimov Carter Beats The Devil - Glen David Gold The Tin Princess - Philip Pullman Atonement - Ian McEwan The Tiger In The Well - Philip Pullman The Rotters Club - Jonathan Coe Generation X - Douglas Copeland Perfume - Patrick Suskind All Families Are Psychotic - Douglas Coupland The Shadow In The North - Phillip Pullman No Logon - Naomi Klein The Dirt - Motley Crue Miss Wyoming - Douglas Coupland The Amber Spyglass - Phillip Pullman The Subtle Knife - Phillip Pullman Northern Lights - Phillip Pullman The Ruby in the Smoke - Phillip Pullman The Sandman - Miles Gibson Blood and Gold: The Vampire Marius - Anne Rice The Actrocity Exhibition - J G Ballard Shameless - Paul Burston Sing Out! - Boze Hadleigh Brilliant Orange - David Winner New Boy - William Sutcliffe London - Peter Ackroyd Wonder Boys - Michael Chabon One For My Baby - Tony Parsons How To Be Good - Nick Hornby White Teeth - Zadie Smith Lust - Geoff Ryman Tulip Fever - Deborah Moggach Dead Souls - Ian Rankin The House Of Sleep - Jonathan Coe A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - Dave Eggers What a carve up! - Jonathan Coe The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon The Grapes Of Wrath - John Steinbeck Heartwood - James Lee Burke Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson Man and Boy - Tony Parsons The Map Of Love - Ahdaf Soueif e - Matt Beaumont The e Before Christmas - Matt Beaumont  
Archives: September 1971 February 2001 March 2001 April 2001 May 2001 June 2001 July 2001 August 2001 September 2001 October 2001 November 2001 December 2001 January 2002 February 2002 March 2002 April 2002 May 2002 June 2002 July 2002 August 2002 September 2002 October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 
|
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Ben's 40th Birthday...
It's Ben's 40th today - so happy birthday, fella. But it was on Sunday he had his big party. He held it at the Comedy Cafe down in Shoreditch and it was a right old laugh. Martin was DJing and the band Sound Of The Suburbs were playing - live rock karaoke dontcha know. All the lovelies were there to help Ben celebrate his middle-age; Sarah, Christopher, Katrina, Jamie and Nick. Plus a few celebs too; his cousin Martin Freeman, Ed Byrne and Dara O'Briain to name but three.     You can see more snaps as a slide show or as a browsable set. Monday, July 30, 2007
Roger and Kevin's Wedding...
 On Saturday Roger and Kevin got hitched at Islington Town Hall. It was a lovely ceremony, lovely readings and lovely people. It was a lovely reception at The Green afterwards, a lovely glass of Pimms waited for us, there were lovely balloons, a lovely free bar, lovely food and a lovely cake. It was simply a lovely day.And I got a chance to pull the key-gag on Roger. Tee hee. More snaps here. Friday, July 27, 2007
Roger's Stag Night...
Roger and Kevin are getting hitched on Saturday so a Stag Night was in order for Roger. On Thursday we went bowling at Rowan's in Finsbury Park. Vicky was the organiser - a role that she was born to - arranging for the lanes, the entry and little presents. Fab. I took a few snaps (two below) and you can see the rest of them in a slideshow by clicking here.  
Brain Teaser Answer...
Janet is five years old. Next year she will be six, twice the age she was two years ago when she was three. Thursday, July 26, 2007
Brain Teaser...
When she is one year older than she is now, Janet will be twice as old as she was two years ago. How old is Janet? Wednesday, July 25, 2007
The Producers...
Last night I went tout seul to see super-group The Producers perform at the Jazz Cafe in Camden ritzy Parkway. The Producers are Trevor Horn, Lol Crème, Stephen Lipson, Chris Braide and Ash Soan. The night was mainly a showcase for their new CD, Studio 1, but there were plenty of their collective oeuvre. Peppered with lots of onstage banter. The set list was: 01. Two Tribes (with that driving thrusting bass) 02. You And I (newie - a la PSB/Robbie) 03. Right Time (newie - a sweet ballad) 04. Barking Up The Right Tree (new single - plinking, plonking pop) 05. Music from Bel Air (newie - about his 'small' 7 bedroom house in Bel Air) 06. Rubber Bullets (10cc - a test tube full according to Jonathan King) 07. Your Life (newie - atmospheric very PSB, very YES, bit like 'This Is You Life') 08. If I Was Invisible (Chris Braide penned song originally for American Idol Clay Aiken) 09. Freeway (newie - a la Buggles' Clean, Clean) 10. Man on the Moon (newie - sweet little Let's Go Fly A Kite power ballad) 11. Elvis In Vegas / Looking For Love (newie - escort agency ditty a la Buggles' I Love You Miss Robot...) 12. I'm Not In Love ( 13. Video Killed The Radio Star (Buggles crowd pleaser) 14. Slave To The Rhythm (encore - with guest vocalist being... wait for it... "Ladies and Gentleman..." "Heeeeere's... Tina!" Yes, Miss Tina Charles! The woman we all Love to Love - and the original 'doo, do-do-do, doo' vocalist on Video Killed the Radio Star dontcha know?) And what a great way to end the set. The session musicians had spoken. Incidentally, the other one from 10cc (no, not Godley, the one with the moon face) was there - talking loudly during the songs. Clot. And Trevor Horn's family are there too - I steered clear of his son. Obviously. A fun night. Who knew I could have so much fun by myself? Well, me and 200 other Trevor Horn fans (Hornies?). Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Potter Potty...
The queues leading up to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows going on the sale at midnight last Friday night in the West End were bonkers. Perhaps wisely we just stared in the window at midnight rather than venturing into the scrum. But selling 11m books in 24 hours is pretty impressive. But perhaps not quite 11m readers in 24 hours though. I bought two. Amazon didn't deliver my preordered one until Monday so I bought a backup one in Salisbury's on Saturday. Monday, July 23, 2007
London Gay Men's Chorus...
Andy treated Stu and I to a trip to the Cadogan Hall on Friday to see the London Gay Men's Chorus. They were performing a show they called Bad Boys consisting of songs by Wham!, Gloria Estefan, Carl Orff, Queen, James Bond songs, The Eagles, Carmen and Jerry Springer - The Opera etc. Great fun.
Brain Teaser Answer...
After 280 seconds, the Big Wheel would have gone round exactly 28 times, the Rotator would have gone round exactly 35 times and the Twirler would have gone round exactly 40 times. This happens because 280 is exactly divisible by 10, 8 and 7; it is also the smallest number with that property. So they were in line again after 280 seconds, or 4 minutes 40 seconds. Friday, July 20, 2007
Brain Teaser...
Janey started on the Big Wheel at the same moment that Barry started on the Twirler and Sheila started on the Rotator. The Big Wheel went round once every ten seconds, the Rotator once every eight seconds and the Twirler once every seven seconds. If all three children started at the bottom of their respective rides, how long would it have been before they were in line with each other again at the bottom of each ride? Thursday, July 19, 2007
Mario Party 8...
My copy of Mario Party 8 for the Wii dropped through the letter box last week. Imagine my surprise when I discover that Nintendo has pulled the game because it contains offensive language. Specifically, a blue wizard called Kamek says: "Magikoopa magic! Turn the train spastic! Make this ticket tragic!" And sure enough - here's the proof. 
Barnet 0-2 Arsenal...
It was a friendly last Saturday but Paul and I thought we'd make the trek up the Northern Line anyway. We won and Barnet's ground is on a slope. I shall say no more. Wednesday, July 18, 2007
BBC Prom 5...
Last night Stu and I went to the Royal Albert Hall to see the fifth of the BBC Proms 2007. First was Sam Hayden's Substratum (a BBC commissioned world premiere, dontcha know). And to be honest it was 15 minutes of unlistenable cacophony. Like putting a 50 piece orchestra in a large bag and pushing it down the stairs. Then came Bernstein's Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety. 36 minutes of melodious joy. Great fun. After the interval came Ives's Symphony No. 4. Bit of a mess to be honest. A bit like two player-pianos having a bare-knuckle fight behind the circus carivans for half an hour with a 90 strong orchestra and 130 strong choir egging them on from the sidelines. Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Easy Star All-Stars...
Last night Simon, Stu and I went to the Jazz Cafe in Camden Town's ritzy Parkway to see reggae outfit the Easy Star All-Stars. They performed various of their hits but drew mainly from from their seminal work Dub Side Of The Moon (a complete reggae reworking of Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon) and their newer piece, Radiodread (the reggae treatment given to Radiohead's OK Computer). The masterminds behind Easy Star All-Stars are Michael Goldwasser (a.k.a. Michael G), his production partner Victor Axelrod (a.k.a. Ticklah), and his two Easy Star label partners Eric Smith and Lem Oppenheimer. This New York reggae band are in fact a loose collective with a rotating line-up. Last night there were eight of them on a stage and they did a pretty good job of keeping us entertained. I barely stopped dancing. Strongly recommended. Monday, July 16, 2007
Picnic...
 Yesterday Tim and Andy organised their annual picnic - this year in Regent's Park.Sadly, after a promising start the weather rather let us down and it was bit of a wash out. We had fun retiring to the Black Cap to dry out though. I took more snaps here.
Gay Film Night...
Vue in Islington is having a four-hour Gay Film Night tonight: showing Mysterious Skin and Shortbus back-to-back. Good for them. Friday, July 13, 2007
Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix...
James and I went to see the HPATOOTP this morning. At 9:30am in fact. We thought we might be fighting off the screaming hordes of kids bunking off school but in fact there were just twelve of us in the cinema. The film was fab. Best of the five so far; dark, moody, scary, moving and really rather wonderful. Go see.
Brain teaser answer...
1 DJ Skinf Lint 2 red 2 DJ Park'n Ride 3 yellow 3 DJ Slam Dunk 1 green 4 DJ Jam Jar 4 blue
Brain teaser...
During a recent music festival, four DJs entered the mixing contest. Each wore a number, either 1, 2, 3 or 4 and their decks were different colours. DJ Skinf Lint came first, and only one DJ wore the same number as the position he finished in. DJ Slam Dunk wore number 1. The DJ who wore number 2 had a red deck and DJ Jam Jar didn't have a yellow deck. The DJ who came last had a blue deck. DJ Park'n Ride beat DJ Slam Dunk. The DJ who wore number 1 had a green deck and the DJ who came second wore number 3. Can you determine who came where, which number they wore and the colour of their deck? Thursday, July 12, 2007
Pam Ann in Virgin Stewardesses...
Pam Ann's own take on the M&S adverts (Not work friendly!) [Thanks Stu]
BBC, ITV, Channel 4 plan single broadband TV player...
UK terrestrial broadcasters are supposedly in talks to establish a single platform for on-demand TV to broadband devices. Called Project Kangaroo it will do the equivalent for broadband what Freeview did for terrestial telly. And three cheers say I. Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Matthew Bourne: The Car Man...
 Last night Stu and I went to the Saddler's Wells to see a restaging of Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man. The action takes place in and around a garage in the fictional, vaguely Western, small town of Harmony, USA, population 375. That number will go down before the night is over.After their hard day at work the car mechanics at the garage go upstairs and take a rather revealing communal shower, accompanied by Bizet’s famous Toreador Song. This is only the first of a host of musical jokes in a performance that can be as funny as it is moving. The action really shifts up a gear though when a handsome drifter called Luca turns up at the garage - for he is both the Car Man of the title and the Carmen of the plot. The Car Man is a theatrical tour de force: fast, funny, physical, sexy and extremely violent. Part ballet, part modern dance and a whole lot of Broadway Bourne’s choreography is intensely physical and full of graphic sexuality. Even we were a little taken a back at the amount of gay sex in it. But then we shouldn't have been surprised after seeing Swan Lake. Go see. Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Marc Almond is 50...
Last night Stu, Davie, Paul, David and I all went to the Shepherd's Bush Empire to see Marc Almond perform. And what a show it was. Back on form after his near-fatal accident Marc was obviously enjoying himself from start to finish. Sure there were the forgotten lines, sure there was the minor tantrum during What Makes A Man A Man? (when isn't there?) and sure he wasn't always spot on with his set list choices. But boy did he put on a good show. There were no snazzy lights, no swelling orchestra and no go-go boys. Just Marc doing what he does best. Singing. He plundered his back catalogue fairly thoroughly; my own personal golden nuggets were Tears Run Rings, Ruby Red, My Hand Over My Heart and his newy Redeem Me (Beauty Will Redeem The World). Of course the sing-a-long songs were there too towards the end and I think his fans have earned the right to join him in Say Hello, Wave Goodbye and Tainted Love on this special occasion. And hardcore fans there were. Everywhere. The crowd was packed full of people I knew from way back when - some I'd not seen in 20 years or more and others I'd only met at Marc gigs in such far flung places at Bremmen and Istanbul. It really was like being at a party. A birthday party. A 50th birthday party. Of a survivor. A survivor that gives me goose bumps when I see him perform live. He's back on form and back in my heart. I love you Marc. Happy Birthday. Monday, July 09, 2007
Friday, July 06, 2007
Torchwood Goes to CERN...
Torchwood's Captain Jack has been sighted at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. OK, it's a publicity stunt but good to see John Barrowman with a hard (hat) on. Missus. Thursday, July 05, 2007
Europride Madrid...
 Last weekend we went to Madrid for Europride. Along with 1,999,998 other people. It was rammers. But great fun. We stayed in a lovely hotel and spent the weekend milling about in the streets, drinking (they sell beer by the litre), watching the main parade (too slow, no barriers) as well as doing a spot of tourism (Guernica and city bus tour). More pix from the trip here. Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Dr Who: "that nice man from Gallifrey"...
So Catherine Tate will be the new Dr Who Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Stuart's Birthday...
Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday dear Stuuuuart Happy birthday to youuuuuu
Pop Quiz Answers...
01. A. Peter Noone. B. Pete Shelley C. Pete Sarstedt 02. Patti Smith 03. PiL 04. Plastic Bertrand 05. 1978 06. Let's Go Crazy, Gett Off & Pop Life 07. The Pointer Sisters 08. Pat Benatar 09. Propaganda 10. 1984 11. Babies, Do you remember the first time? & Something Changed 12. Placebo 13. The Pixies 14. The Propellorheads (Ft Shirley Bassey) 15. 1997 16. ...you can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares" 17. Pink 18. Primal Scream 19. Peaches 20. 2002 < -5 BoyLOGS +5 ? > < webloggers > < # Blogging Brits ? >
|
