Quote Of The Day

"Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake - Chessmaster Savielly Grigorievitch Tartakower (1887-1956)"

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Ibiza...

Today Overyourhead is off on it's summer hols for 10 days to (hopefully) sunny and warm Ibiza. I seriously intend to leave the world behind so am unlikely to be blogging until I get back (OK, famous last words). See you soon.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Who Wants To Be Millionaire?...


A million quid maybe not quite what it used to be but it would sure take a long time to save that kind of dosh.

Who Wants To Be An Millionaire Idiot?...


So you've made it on to the show. It's your big chance. What could go wrong?

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Arsenal 2-1 Dinamo Zagreb (5-1 agg.)...


Thank God. A win in our new stadium. So we go through. It was a good game - fun to watch, with lots of cheering (and jeering). The Croats were in fine voice too - letting off smoke bombs and beating their drums. An added bonus was when they scored their opening goal: all their fans took their shirts off and waved them in the air. And they left them off for the rest of the game too. Nice.

Candi Staton...


Last night Stuart, Darren, Rob and I went to see Candi Staton at London's glitzy Jazz Cafe.

Candi was on good form, the audience were behind her all the way and she put on a great show. All the hits and more. Can I get a witness?

Highlights were her classics such as In the Ghetto, Stand By Your Man and I'd Rather Be An Old Man's Sweetheart. But her new release was a killer too - His Hands - a clever song about love, abuse, and redemption written by Will Oldham. Candi emotes first about a husband's hands of love, then his hands of violence, and finally forgiveness from the hands of God.

Naturally the crowd went wild for Young Hearts Run Free towards the end and the final number You Got the Love. Funny that the encore was just that same song repeated though.

My guilty pleasure was midway through the set when Candi said, "This next song was a big hit over here in England." And proceeded to sing her quite wonderful 1977 hit Nights on Broadway. I was in disco heaven.

Punch...


Ha ha. Funny clip of lady getting punched by another lady.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

David McAlmont...


Last night Stuart, David, Darren, David and I went to see David McAlmont at London's glitzy Jazz Cafe.

McAlmont was simply wonderful. Effortless holding both the audience's attention and every note. He was promoting his new album Set One - You Go to My Head so we were treated to many standards such as You Go To My Head itself, Night and Day, Saving All My Love For You, Black Coffee, Under My Skin, One for My Baby, A Certain Smile and Shadow of Your Smile.

For an encore out came Bernard Butler and we were then treated to the magnificent Yes, Falling and Speed (the new single).

The high point of the evening for me was the rather saucy cover of Bessie Smith's Kitchen Man. "When I eat his donuts, all I leave is the hole / Anytime he wants to, why, he can use my sugar bowl." Marvelous.

Crystal Meth: Before and After...


Crystal Meth is bad for you, boys and girls. And if further proof be needed here's some before and after shots from an Amercian Police anti-drugs site. Mind you these people didn't look much cop before they started using.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Fun With Treadmills...


The band OK Go have a great video out for their single Here It Goes Again. Fun with treadmills.
[Thanks Rog]

Happy Birthday, dear...


I was at a comedy show in Oz, the comedian told a funny story about a dwarf. Suddenly a dwarf shouts up from the audience, something about it not being funny. To give the comedian his due, he said he didn't see him down there - to much amusement (to me anyway). The dwarf replied that it was his birthday and he had spoilt it.

The comedian feeling a little guilty now then proceeds to get everyone in the audience to sing happy birthday to him. The only thing is, no-one knew the little guy's name, so when everyone got to the line they simply sang, "Happy Birthday, dear....dwarf!..."

Ha ha. Maybe you had to be there.

Friday, August 18, 2006

(Moto)Red Square...


Scissor Sisters will play a free gig in London's Trafalgar Square next month. Apply for tickets via the Motorola website: £1-50 a text all proceeds go to the Red charity.

Emirates from My House...


The Premiership starts on Saturday. First Arsenal game of the season is Aston Villa at home. As you can see below it doesn't take me long to get there.

[Click for bigger version]

Thursday, August 17, 2006

"Gas Attack In Soho Pub"...


We were out celebrating Darren's birthday last night and post-dinner popped into Comptons for a beer. We were questioned on the way in by a rather cute policeman. We didn't know why until today though...

"Gas Attack In Soho Pub", screamed the Standard headline. The BBC are a little more sedate about it with Noxious substance let off in pub.

Cover This...


Yesterday I bought a couple of albums I'd been after for a while; Betcha Bottom Dollar by the The Puppini Sisters and Bande A Part by Nouvelle Vague. Both albums are essentially covers albums, the Puppini's doing The Andrews Sisters and Nouvelle Vague doing punk/rock/new wave as lounge.

Interestingly both albums contain a cover version of the same song: Blondie's Heart Of Glass.

High on my list of 'next to buy' is the Easy Star follow up to Dub Side Of The Moon, the rather wonderfully titled Radiodread (you can listen to samples on that link too). Whereas Dub Side Of The Moon was a reggae reinterpretation of Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon Radiodread will be a similar reworking of Radiohead's O.K Computer. Can't wait.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Google Tests Blogger Upgrade...


There is a new Blogger beta out with some supposedly some fabby new features such as categorize posts with labels, controlling who can read it and changing the appearance and content of it with a mouse instead of HTML. I guess I'll have to wait to be invited to try it.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Unmanned Barge...


"Pete has got plenty to play with and is still the nailed-on favourite, but Nikki's drifting like an unmanned barge. She could easily fall at the first hurdle."

One-liners...


So these are the nations three best one-liners:

Pete Kay: "Garlic bread, it's the future, I've tasted it"

Mrs Merton: "So, what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?"

David Brent: "If you were to ask me to name three geniuses, I probably wouldn't say Einstein, Newton... I'd go Milligan, Cleese, Everett, Sessions...".

Friday, August 11, 2006

Big Brother Ruined...


It pains me to say this but... I've lost all patience, sympathy and interest in Big Brother this year. Shame really as I'd been hooked for the whole three months rarely missing a show but with one week to go I feel betrayed by the producers. Sure housemates leave, housemates return, but this year the show's producers have gone too far - blatant changing of the rules to get the show that they want (and promote) has turned it from a show that the public want to an over-produced rip off. Never once in the previous seven years I've I believed the show to be 'fixed'. But this week has changed my mind.

I, for one, will be switching off in the final week.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

'Plot to blow up planes' foiled...


Looks like it's RIP hand luggage.

A terrorist plot to blow up planes in mid-flight from the UK to the US has been disrupted, Scotland Yard has said. It is thought the plan was to detonate explosive devices smuggled on aircraft in hand luggage. Police have arrested about 18 people in the London area after an anti-terrorist operation lasting several months.

The Department for Transport set out the details of the security measures at UK airports: Passengers will not be allowed to take any hand luggage on to any flights in the UK, the department said. Only the barest essentials - including passports and wallets - will be allowed to be carried on board in transparent plastic bags.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Krakow / Auschwitz
We arrived in Krakow on officially the bumpiest flight ever. That from Drew and James - both seasoned and frequent flyers. I had white knuckles and a wild staring look by the end of it. Thank you Captain Kangaroo.

The hotel was perhaps a little further out of town than we had envisioned - but hey, that gave us ample opportunity to sample Krakow's mad taxi drivers at close quarters.

We dropped our bags off and went into town for a look around. Biggest medieval town square in Europe, dontchaknow. All rather picturesque. After a spot of brunch we talked about whether we wanted to make a trip to Auschwitz concentration camp.

I think we all had mixed feelings about going (Should we go? Was it right to go? Would it be tasteless to go? etc) But we made up our minds, got on a bus and an hour later we were standing right outside the famous Arbeit Macht Frei gate.

It all seemed so strange - having a English speaking Polish guide telling us in plain terms the horrors of what took place there 65 years ago; "This is where the Jews were stripped of their possessions", "This is where the Jews were shot" - utterly unreal to hear and to come to terms with to be honest. But the tour was deeply respectful and the many Jews who were touring at the same time seemed to feel so too. It got the balance right between telling you the facts and making clear the awful tragedy of what happened.

About an hour in - just after looking at the mound of children's shoes and the mountain of human hair - a sense of utter despair washed over me. A profound sense of sadness that such despicable acts of torture and inhumanity could be carried out right here, right in this very room where we were standing.

It was an education too. I'd naively thought Auschwitz was just one place. In fact there was Auschwitz II - a huge second camp where Jews were kept under even more inhuman conditions and where the mass executions took place - 2000 Jews at a time gassed in four massive gas chambers and then their bodies carried up in lifts to be burnt. There was even an Auschwitz III. In fact there were forty or more sub-camps in the area. Auschwitz was a huge killing machine. Sickening, it turned my stomach.

So it was harrowing tour, yes, but I am glad I went. Nothing can quite bring something home like seeing it with your own eyes.

There was a massive rainstorm with thunder and lightning on the way back to Krakow which just seemed to reinforce the sense of sadness of the place. We had just visited.

We had a quiet evening when we got back - just a bite to eat in town. That night I had nightmares about what I'd seen earlier that day. An unforgettable experience.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Poland...

Overyouyrhead is off for a few days break. This time Poland bound with Drew, James and Nat. Flying into Krakow and home via Warsaw. Might try and moblog if I can. If not - see you Thursday!

Brighton Pride 2006...

Stuart and I went down to Brighton for the day on Saturday for the annual Brighton and Hove Pride parade and festival. It was lots of fun as I think the pictures below.