Minx

Well its 4.50am and I can’t sleep, so I’m going to tell you about a new cd of mine that arrived yesterday – because I’ve nothing better to do!

Some time ago I tried to get my hands on Toyah, not the singer but an album of hers, I can only dream of getting my hands on the woman herself……. anyway I digress.

The album in question was called ‘Minx’ and when I searched for it a while back it was only generally available on ebay and on vinyl for an extortionate price. Recently I had noticed Toyah was re-releasing her back catalogue of albums onto cd and kept my fingers crossed that the Minx album would eventually appear. This week I searched Play.com and there it was but out of stock, initially I ordered hoping it would be swiftly back in but then frustrated I decided I couldn’t wait so looked on Amazon and there it was cheaper and widely available. So I cancelled the order on Play.com and placed one with Amazon - two days later I had it.

Minx is a classic slice of the 80’s, released in 1985 it moves away from Toyah’s punky roots and is more mainstream, fitting in with the ever changing fantasy induced hedonistic styles of the mid 80’s era.

Here’s my favourite video from the album, it’s called Don’t Fall in Love (I Said) and is an 80’s gem plus Toyah is wearing latex in it! (time for a cold shower).

Toyah-Don't Fall In Love (I Said)

Slab Square

On Tuesday after my x-rays at the hospital I decided to make something of the rest of the day, so armed with my trusty camera and a fistful of pain killers I caught the train to Nottingham. Come what may I was going to hobble around and do something rather than be stuck indoors on such a sunny day. At first I was ok but after a while I decided to seek respite with a sit down and go and have a look if the work had been completed on the old market square also known to locals as ‘slab square’ located in the centre of the city, after all it had been fenced off for ages, surely it should be done now?

To my horror it was still boarded off, work started back in October of last year and isn’t going to be completed until November this year, so can I ask why it’s taking over a year to do? I felt sad at not being able to sit in the square and watch the world go by, I’m sure I wasn’t alone either.

Getting curious I decided to ascend the town hall steps and take a peek at the progress and below is a picture of what I saw if you click here you can see how the old market square once looked and how it will look on completion.

Please hurry up!

Super-Turkey

I went to see the new Superman Returns movie last Sunday and all I can say to people considering it is – avoid. I’ve never been a massive super hero film fan, I did like some of the Batman ones but really didn’t care for much of the rest.

On going to see the movie with my blogging buddy and old work mate Thulsa Doom (yes that’s his real name!!) I wasn’t really expecting much but tried to remain optimistic. To say the film was dire was an understatement, Superman says probably less words than Perry White the editor of the Daily Planet and the plot is thinner than a page of it. Kevin Spacey doesn’t work as arch villain Lex Luther and the rest of the cast contribute very little. To conclude, this movie is more wooden than Sherwood Forest.

Anyway, click on Thulsa Doom's name if you want to pop over to his blog and read more about it, he wasn't keen either but then again he really wanted to see it!

To make matters worse for me, I made the error of wearing an old superman logo t-shirt to which a little girl in the cinema foyer remarked 'that superman isn't very big mummy'. It's moments like that you wish you had superman powers and could fly off. Needless to say I didn't visit the mens room during the film in case any more kids wanted to comment!

Dredd-ful

Last Wednesday Channel 5 showed one of my least favourite films of all time, then again C5 does screen all the crap movies (ok someone has to show them!). The film in question was 'Judge Dredd' which is about the fanatical law abiding anti hero from the popular comic 2000AD. It stars Sylvester Stallone as Dredd with Max Von Sydow and Armand Assante in the suppporting cast. It was made back in 1995 and directed by Danny Cannon (who?). So you’d think with a decent cast and a wealth of background stories to go on it would be good? Not so.

As a kid I read the Judge Dredd stories for years in the 2000AD comic. A lot of the stories were stand alone episodes but there were also epic stories involving the Angel Gang, Judge Death and the Apocalypse war to name but a few.

Anyway, onto the movie.

Die hard Stallone fans and people that like badly thought out action movies love this film but for me it does nothing to capture the essence of the Judge Dredd character or events in the 2000 AD comics. The film comes across as a turgid as it tries to shoe horn several Dredd stories into one. Stallone doesn’t work as Dredd either as the comics portray Dredd as a mainly taciturn character who is obsessive about the law and thinks nothing of blowing law breakers away, he lacks empathy and though he is athletic he’s not encumbered by layers of muscles. Dredd never reveals his face in the comics either, this just adds to his menacing mystery though he may have revealed his visage in later comics I didn’t read. A good choice for Dredd would have been Clint Eastward who physically resembled him or even better an unknown actor. The Dredd stories always came across as slightly noir set in a dystopian future with the odd hint of dark humour now and again which the movie really didn’t capture, maybe Tim Burton should have directed it? Though the film attempts to transpose things in order to make it work for the big screen it fails miserably, sure mega city one looks like mega city one, the costumes look like judges costumes but the feel isn’t there at all. I guess if you haven’t read any Dredd in 2000AD and you like limp action films then it's ok but if not then this film is truly blasphemy!

Anyway, no offence to Stallone but I want to go on record as saying the film is a travesty of the comics and utter crap.

Blog shortage

Sorry there has been a blogging shortage of late, I do intend to rectify it. The reason for not blogging so much is that I've been on codeine based painkillers that have been doping me out and making me really lethargic and drowsy, the recent heat wave hasn't helped either. I'm not going to jump on the sympathy ladder here, this isn't really that type of blog, though I do like to disclose things at appropriate times. What I will mention though is the fact I have been in a fair degree of pain of late and in the near future I hope to get things sorted and get things back on track.

Bring back Partridge

I really wish comedian Steve Coogan would bring back his fab character and cursed chat show host - Alan Partridge. I guess I can't complain though because Mr Coogan is currently gracing our screens as pest exterminator and ageing ex rock roadie 'Saxondale' (BBC2, Monday, 10pm).

Anyway here is a clip of Mr Partridge himself performing an 'Abba' Medley' on his spoof hit chat show 'Knowing Me, Knowing You'.

And as Alan would say 'and on that bombshell - check out these links'

http://www.alan-partridge.co.uk/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/partridge/

http://www.alanattack.co.uk/

Ramsey

I like Gordon Ramsey, some say he's arrogant and aloof, swears far too much but I love the guy, to me he's genuine and not afraid to be vociferous about things he's passionate about. If he doesn't like other chef's - then he says so, if he doesn't like someone in general - he says so. The thing is with Gordon is he has a fervour for what he's doing, he's not some droaning stereotypical chef we've had to put up with before. Outwardly Gordon seems an ogre, inwardly he's empathic. I like his directness, his pragmatic approach and his innate straight talking ability, there's no flowery cuisine talk from him - just flowery language!

I'm no maestro in the kitchen but Gordon creates dishes that are simple but with that touch of flair. Last week he received an OBE and to me it's a deserved one too - well done.

Any one who hasn't caught his new(ish) show called the 'F-word' should check it out, Channel 4 on Wednesday at 9pm. Anyone who can make Cliff Richard say 'F**k' gets top marks in my book, it was a definitive bit of tv history and hilarious to boot!

World Cup post mortem

So, the world cup is at last over, it’s a shame it ended the way it did too. Here’s a few of my musings on it, bearing in mind I’m no soccer pundit or expert. I know my blogging buddy Shep did an excellent job of covering the world cup day by day (sober!) where as I’ve only really covered the start and end. Ok, so Italy win, fair play to their penalty prowess but you a definite scowl to their on pitch etiquette of theatrics, insults and diving.

The Players

Several players stuck out for me, the Japanese goal keeper Kawaguchi, Podolski of Germany, Maniche of Portugal and of course Zidane, Thuram and Ribery of my favoured team France. Of course there were many other fine players to grace the world cup.

The Teams

No team really stuck out in this world cup, a couple peaked and then faded, others where non starters, some teams were slow to get into it. All a mixed bag really, even the soccer pundits echoed that no one team had really shone out in this world cup, I have to say that I agree. Even the winners Italy, ok so they won but using any underhand means possible, I refer of course to the Zidane incident.

The Referee’s

There’s a lot of talk about having two referee’s in the future, in all honesty what’s the point? In this high tech day and age the referee should consult with off pitch footage post match, after all there are probably hundreds of camera’s from all nations around the pitch. I accept the fact that in some instances he cannot make decisions based on camera evidence as this would upset the flow of play as he runs to the sideline to investigate but I think there’s another way. The other way being having impartial FIFA based cameramen film the match then any player infringing or flaunting the rules can be reprimanded after the game based on irrefutable camera footage. Then FIFA can use this to send players home or hand out further cards after a match. The idea of two referee’s doesn’t work for me and would probably lead to disagreements as one ref tries to out do the other. So, in conclusion, play the game as normal with the ref, then after the game an independent panel watch the game and penalise any players breaking the rules after at a hearing. This I’m sure would make players think twice before trying anything subversive or sneaky.

Zidane and 'that' incident

Well, seemingly the press were quick to vilify Mr Zidane initially but are now showing evidence that he was indeed pinched on the nipple hard by Materazzi and then taunted. The actual words said by Materazzi are still a mystery but professional Italian lip readers who watched close up replays state that Materazzi taunted Zidane about his mother who is in fact ill at the moment. There was other speculation from the press that Zidane was called a terrorist.

I can’t support what Zidane did, I accept there’s gamesmanship in football but what Materazzi said must have cut deeply. Whilst some of the press say Zidane ended his career in shame, I disagree, let’s not readily forget all the good he has done for football, all the pleasure he has brought to millions. The Italians knew they were on the back foot in the second half as France relentlessly attacked, so resorted to low level tactics. Lets remember the pressure that must have been on the players and realise that nearly all geniuses all lose it from time to time, whether it’s a footballer or an artist.

In France Zidane is still a hero, that goes for me too. I’m not letting one moment of madness affect my judgment of him. It’s a shame France lost in such a manner but to me they always shine in the world of football.

Friends

Friends, work mates, associates, acquaintances, people that sometimes drift in and out of your life – what are they all about?

Some time ago I took it for granted that ‘friends come and go’ so to speak throughout your life. Work mates seem to be the ones that come and go most often, we often promise to stay in touch but we all move on, such is life I guess. Then come associates etc, people we may meet on holiday and exchange addresses and phone numbers, we promise to remain friends but with the best will in the world it hardly happens. Another example is pen friends we often have when we are children, or perhaps people we’ve met via email etc.

Then lastly there are close friends, its hard to define a ‘friend’ really in a few words, some could be childhood or school time friends, others good friends we meet through long term work or through other friends, hobbies and interests – or just folk you meet down the local boozer.

The irony about friendships is that they often end, for a multitude of reasons, some silly, some because we change as people, some because of distance and lives routine and lastly because we have a fall out.

I never like friendships ending, not for any reason. Friendships often take ages to forge and bond and all friendships contain empathy and trust to differing degrees.

Personally I’d say I have a lot of friends but in the same statement I have very few close friends, I guess that’s the way I prefer it. I’d say a lot of people were like me in that respect because it’s hard to maintain a large circle of friends and remain sincere or keep in touch.

What really eats me though is when people throw away friendships needlessly after they’ve taken years to build. Friendships that go down the pan for stupid reasons, because one person is stubborn or maybe perhaps because their partner dictates to them which friends are suitable for them.

I’ve witnessed a couple of examples recently, both without sensible rhyme or reasoning.

So should I be philosophical and revert to my statement of ‘friends come and go’ or should I be sad?

The honest answer of course – has to be sad.

Monsters Are Waiting

The Monsters Are Waiting, an unorthodox name perhaps but its as unique as the sound of the band. I first discovered them from the Suicidegirls website as one of their songs ‘Monsters’ accompanies a video sequence and immediately fell in love with it. Then came the task of researching them and finding out a little bit more. I previewed some of their other songs and realised I was totally into their sound.

What is their sound though? Well it’s a sort of retro, alternative one with subtle twists and catchy riffs, oh and the vocalist Annalee Fery has a voice to die for! There’s an inner strength to their sound but not an overbearing one, it interweaves with the clever melodies of their songs and begins to captivate.

So came the wait for their debut album, released on 06.06.06 and called ‘Fascination’ which incidentally is the title of the opening track, a gem of a track too. I had to wait a couple of weeks to import the cd from the States but it’s been worth it. I used Amazon and one of their sellers called ‘Caiman’ that are a large outfit based in Florida.

Monsters are Waiting very much remind me of an 80’s band called The Passions, both vocally and instrumentally. My fave track of the album has to be ‘Monsters’ which is a ‘swing yer pants’ kind of track, its infectious, a lovely melody and great vocals, Monsters is probably the best track I’ve heard all year so far.

Go check them out at their website below where you can see their video 'Fascination' and check out some of their songs.

http://myspace.com/monstersarewaiting

Fountain of Shame

My local council have just spent 1.6 million on revamping the market place in my town. For that vast sum of money we get a fountain in front of the town hall, the war monument in the centre of the market place has been cleaned, we have a couple of new seats, new slabs/paving and some modern metal market stalls for the traders.

Personally I think it's shocking, a shambles, a complete waste of money, the overall effect adds very little to the market place. Whilst the work has been going on it is obvious that alot of market vendors have taken their trade elsewhere, and who can blame them?

A friend of mine that is a market trader said around 30 traders have left as they are no longer happy with the current set up and new market management team. It's really bad for the town as we used to have a thriving busy market with bargains galore, sadly those days seem to have passed.

Another thing is, why did the council have to spend the money on a new market image? It wasn't many years ago since it was re-slabbed and cleaned up, instead their initiative had alienated traders and met with frowns and negative comments from the towns folk. Why didn't the council use the money to build some cummunity centres for the local kids? They would have had somewhere to go at night and keep occupied instead of walking the streets getting into trouble.

Patriotism, hype and my fave team

I’m sick of seeing England flags, I really am. My neighbourhood is festooned with them, they now even hang across the street - they are seemingly everywhere. I was over at Newark a couple of days ago having a drink with my dad and a pub even had small goal posts in the gents urinals with balls dangling on string, I’m sure you can guess where you had to aim! So, with patriotism sweeping the nation, I have to ask myself, is it the right kind of patriotism?

Personally I have to say no. My reason for this is I find it sad that as a nation we get so excited about football but don’t get worked up about things that matter, take for instance the recently announced 512 Million NHS deficit or the state of public transport. We’d rather go out and support a mass marketing exercise and be sheep, follow the crowd and buy England flags. There are plenty of reasons as a nation we can be patriotic, our multiculturalism, our cities and countryside, our actors and the list could go on but why get sooooo excited about football?

Now for my actual football thoughts;

I do like football, though I’m not fanatical about it, I follow Notts County and do go and watch them occasionally but the team I’m going to look out for and cheer in this world cup is……. France. My reason for this is years ago, back in the 82 and 86 world cups they played fab football against teams like Brazil and Germany – with the gifted Michel Platini et al. I recall as a boy watching the nail biting world cup in Spain 1982 when France lost to Germany on penalties, it was a heartbreaker to watch and from that moment onwards I made a point of looking out for them.

I was to be rewarded in the next world cup – Mexico 86, when France played some more excellent Football, in the first round they beat the much fancied Hungary 3-0, then came the second round when the beat Italy, winners of the previous world cup 2-0. Then to my amazement in quarter finals they went onto beat the mighty Brazil 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Alas the semi final was tinged with irony as they met Germany again and lost 2-0.

Despite cruel losses France won the European championships in 1984 with Michel Platini dominating the competition as the leading goal scorer. Platini retired early aged 32 scoring a fantastic 41 goals for France over 72 matches. I’ll never forget the flair and valour of the France squad from that era, characters such as Giresse, Rocheteau, Six, Tigana, Bats, Six and of course the immortal Platini. France did of course go on to win the world cup in 1998 when they beat Brazil 3-0, of course it was a totally different squad then and watching it I found myself thinking about Platini and his squad and wishing they’d have won back in the 80’s.

Of course, I’d like to see England do well, I'm patriotic too despite the total hype, marketing overkill and bogus patriotism. Before anyone reading this thinks I’m not all there for cheering France on, remember this – Football is a world sport where anyone should be able to cheer on any team regardless of colour and country. The world cup should be treated as a celebration of football and not down to narrow minded and sometimes violent bandwagon patriotism.

Platini