Inverse pool...

Stolen from www.oobject.com

Robyn @ The Village

I am never going to be allowed forget that I made us stand at the back. Ian is OTM though about the confidence trick that Robyn plays. Fair enough though, it was a great gig not least of all because the crowd was so up for it...

Laika by Nick Abadzis

Really enjoyable blend of fact and fiction. A made up biography of the first dog in space from her humble origins, the preparatory training and finally the flight itself. A bit sentimental at times (that said it is about Russians, a nation comfortable with sentimentality in all of it's forms, and a little dog!) it keeps the story moving at a great pace. Would suit animal lovers and the most geeked out of comic fans. Highly recommended.

EL(ol)IET!

LOLCAT ELIOT:



IM IN UR WASTELAND BURYING UR DEAD

april hates u, makes lilacs, u no can has. (1)
april in ur memoriez, making ur desire.
spring rain in ur dull rootzes.

earth in ur winter, covered in snow
can has potato. PO-TA-TO.
INVISIBLE SUMMER! RAININGZES!
im in ur hofgarden, drinking ur coffeez.

at archduke’s haus, invisible sled!
im in ur moutainz, holding on tight.
no can has cheezburger.
oral sex metaphors in ur poem.

More here.

Attempted Book review...

Great read. Murder mystery set around the Salon of Gertrude and Leo Stein in 1920's Paris. Picasso, Braque, Matisse all play their role in trying to capture a blue lady intent on tearing off the heads of painters. Fantastically drawn it manages to convey the feel of the time both artistically and socially. A certain amount of familiarity with the period artistically does help but isn't necessary at all!

Woody Guthrie tribute night...

Met DV and Rener by coincidence (well I knew they were going but I didn't know that I was until about 4!) at this. Great fun, Andy Irvine (of Planxty fame) was the delightful host of an evening marking the 40th anniversary of Guthrie's death from Huntington's Disease. Money was being raised for the The Huntington's Disease Association of Ireland (donate if you feel like it here) and Focus Ireland (donate here). One of the highlights for me (apart from the stomping harmonica led blues at the beginning, the song was Train something or other) was Dust Storm Disaster (lyrics here), a very strong song (supposedly on one chord, Andy confessed he was unable to perform said feat on his bazouki) that reminded me of the photographs of Dorothea Lange. A similar sense of the crushing and unfeeling strength of nature, the frailty of humanity scratching away on this planet's surface etc. Anyway, strong stuff and it was performed beautifully.

Another highlight was the Lindbergh song (lyrics here). A song written to criticize Lindbergh's proto-nazi politics. It reminded me of that brilliant book by Philip Roth The Plot Against America. Well worth a read.

To sum up, it was fantastic seeing a man who had regularly performed these songs for years and returning to them for the anniversary feeling comfortable enough to talk to us about his hero warts and all. I now need to pick up some Guthrie and yes, some Planxty. So it is true, one does turn into one's parents... There are worse things!

Frank's APA finished...

Article finished and published up. Now need to figure out how to put a pdf up on this thing. Might just break it down into parts I suppose...