Saturday, October 17, 2009

Lion's Claw

Lion's Claw is a thriller staring the postman who looks like Stuart Maconie (Posty Maconie) and the car mechanic mechanic who looks like a dwarf version of George Clooney (Dwarf Cloonie). Clooney plays an ultra-cool assassin who think a long way ahead and Maconie's the gritty northern cop who's trailing him and likes psychadelic music. Johnny-5 makes a cameo appearance too.

This, my latest movie, was inspired by a new place I found today up on the moors. Today was annual pilgramage day for me and dd (or r or whatever it is he's called today). when we returned to the satan's own mushroom fields where the very mushrooms special proliferate at this very specific time of year. These days the whole event is much more about seeing them there and enjoying the lovely views in the clear skies free of summer's heat-haze. I'd like to go up there when it snows as it'd look amazing but there's good reasons not too. The actual act of taking a proper dose of trippy mushrooms is something I've not done for years as you really need to put a couple of days aside to let yourself recover. I tend to be very open to suggestion after I've come down off heavy hallucinogenic drugs and all sorts of funny ideas and obsessions can get planted there. Who needs that? Still. I do miss it. That brief connection with the universe and all the laughing and wowing, then that strange roller-coaster comedown when you peice every thing back together again and then the actual moment of trip-down when you're just cold, tired and alone and all the magic's dissipated off. Actually it's extra nice having someone to hold at that point. Not been too often for me I'm afraid.

However the omniportance (new word!) of those experiences to both dd and I is such that we really relish the chance to go up there and be with the little ones again and every time, we explore the hills a little further and today we found this mysterious circular structure about the size of a one story building with no windows or doors and steaming slightly. The steam was actually caused on closer inspection by the sun shining on the puddles laying on its flat metal roof. The structure we deduced was the top of an air vent above a tunnel or mine and sure enough, back at the bottom of the valley near where vannie was parked, there's the entrance to several train tunnels . The entrance was marked BR 1956, though I'm not sure if that was just the date that entrance was made. At least one or 2 more of the tunnels would be much older I'm guessing but I'll have to find out where the line went from and to. The tunnel is now used to run high-voltage electricity cables.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

It all ends with Marillion

Mr Perfect - Handcart Boy 20/09/06 Laibach - Life is life 21/09 Randy Crawford - Almaz 24/09 Sly & Family Stone - Stand 30/09 Big Star - September Gurls 01/10 Dexys - Gino 04/10 Peter Gabriel - Moribund the burgermeister 11/10 Dead Kennedys - Straight A's 11/10 Curtis Mayfield - Freddie's Dead 14/10 Kevin Ayers - Sweet Deciever 18/10 PJ Harvey - Sheela Na Gig 21/10 Deadly Snakes - Gore Vale 26/10 Misty in roots - Mankind 28/10 Stanley Winston - No more ghettos in america 28/10 Pendulum - Tarantula 28/10 Robert Wyatt - Sea Song 04/11 Morrissey - The youngest was the most loved 17/11 Viv Stanshall - Gums 18/11 MC5 - Kick out the jams 19/11 BBC Radio4 5PM News. Nothing good 20/11 Buggles - Video killed the radio star 22/11 Cardiacs - Insect hoofs on lassie 22/11 Genesis - Harold the barrell 24/11 Half Man Half Biscuit - Goodnight Irene 25/11 Super Furry Animals - Northern Lites 26/11 Leonard Nimoy - If I had a hammer 27/11 Spacemen 3 - Transparent radiation 27/11 Ennio Morricone - Giu la testa 30/11 Captain Beefheart - Electricity 13/12 Kirsty Mccall & The Pogues - Fairytale of new york 14/12 Stevie Wonder - The first Garden 17/12 Eno - Just another day/Golden hours 18/12 Rod Stewart - You wear it well 26/12 Pulp - Do you remember the first time? 28/12 Stevie Wonder - Don't you worry about a thing 30/12 Muppets - Wizard of oz 30/12 Teenage Fanclub & De la soul - Fallin 13/01/07 United States of America - The Garden of earthly delights 13/01 Toni Iommi - Laughing Man 17/01 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Ramshackle Day Parade 25/01 Bob Marley - Redemption Song 27/01Mercury Rev - Holes 31/01 Isley Brothers - Highways of my life 05/05 Robert Downey - Pound 28/07 Sugar - Helpless 12/08 Bobby Womack - Across 110th Street 11/9 Weather Report - Jungle Book 14/11 Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding 01/12 Frank & Walters - Happy busman 13/01/08 Amon Duul 2 - Die 7 fetten jahre 16/01 Gomez - Las vegas dealer 17/01 Don Henley - The heart of the matter 18/01 Sidney Bechet - Quincy street stomp 21/01 Adam Buxton- The tetris song 6/2 Scott Walker - Jackie 10/2 Rufus Wainwright - Poses 23/2 Stevie Wonder - My cherie amour 24/2 Leonard Nimoy - If I has a hammer 23/3 Stevie Wonder - The secret life of plants 24/3 Joe South - Games people play 29/3 Deanna Durbin - It's foolish but it's fun 01/4 Half Man half Biscuit -4ad3dcd 2/4 The Rutles - Cheese and onions 5/4 Neneh Cherry - Buffalo Stance 15/4 The Fall - Mr Pharmacist 18/4 Nina Simone - Work Song 20/4 Frank Zappa - Uncle remus 23/4 Randy Newman - Short people 28/4 Simon & Garfunkel - Old friends/bookends 13/5 Boards of canada - Sherbet head 13/5 Captain Beefheart - So glad baby 16/5 The Residents - A spirit steals a child 18/5 Radiohead - Life in a glasshouse 26/05 Talking Heads - Once in a lifetime 30/05 Elton John - The Boy in the Red Shoes 08/06 Raymond Guiot & Guy Pedersen - Flutes Ad Libitum 14/6 The Belle Stars - Sign of the times 23/6 The Lemonheads - It's a shame about Ray 28/06 Michael Jackson - One day in your life 09/07 David Cronenberg's Wife - Runaway Pram 12/07 PULP - Do you remember the first time? 18/07 Talking Heads - The great curve 23/07 George Harrison - What is Life 08/08 Scott Walker - It's Raining Today 23/08J acques Brel -- Ne me quitte pas 02/09 Kevin Ayers - Shouting in a bucket blues 19/09 Crosby, Stills & Nash - Suite Judy Blue-eyes 20/09 Bob James - Angela (Theme from Taxi) 26/09 Devo - Uncontrollable Urge 29/09 Violent Femmes -Add it up 02/10 James Morrison -You give me something 02/10 Lucky Dube - Going back to my roots 08/10 The National Anthem of Oceania by Dominic Muldowny 09/10 Supertramp - The logical song 13/10 Peter Gabriel - Big Blue Ball 15/10 Icicle Works - Love is a wonderful colour 17/10 Teenage Fanclub & De La Soul - Fallin` 17/10 Randy Crawford - One day i'll fly away 19/10 The Groundhogs - A year in the life 22/10 The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - My pink half of the drainpipe 23/10 Spandau Ballet - Gold 24/10 Motorhead - The Claw 01/11 David Bowie - Let's Dance 01/11 The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset 02/11 Peter Gabriel - Waiting for the big one 04/11 Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World 05/11 Amon Duul II - Traveller 11/11 Perry Como - Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree 26/11 Firehose - Choose any memory 28/11 Squarepusher - A real woman 01/12 Pet Shop Boys - Always on my mind 02/12 Pavement - Trigger Cut 04/12 The Walker brothers - Nite Flights 08/12 Peter Gabriel - Indigo 11/12 The Pogues & Kirstie MacColl - Fairytale of New York 24/12 The Ronettes - Sleigh Ride 24/12 Bad News - Cashing in on Christmas 25/12 Susanne Vega - Marlene on the wall 29/12 Pink Floyd - Time 01/01/09 The Four Tops - Walk away Renee 06/01 Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding 06/01 The Smiths - Bigmouth strikes again 12/01 Gil Scott Heron - The revolution will not be televised 13/01 Neil Innes - For the benefit of mankind 17/01 Simon & Garfunkel - America 20/01 The Hold Steady - Stay positive 21/01 Devo - Gut Feeling 22/01 The Eagles - Doolin-Dalton 24/01 Scott Walker - Copenhagen 28/01 Sophie Ellis Bextor - Mixed up world 04/02 P.J Harvey - Sheela-Na-Gig 08/02S uper Furry Animals - Don't be a fool, Billy 13/02 Ween - The rainbow 18/02 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street 21/02 Haircut One-Hundred - October is orange 28/02 Spandau Ballet - Lifeline 01/03 Todd Rundgren - I saw the light 03/03 Joe Jackson - Steppin' Out 04/03 Electric 6 - Synthesizer 07/03 Deanna Durbin - Spring in my Heart 09/03 Senser - The Switch 09/03 The Divine Comedy - Absent Friends 10/03 The Rutles - Hold my hand 18/03 Judy Henske & Jerry Yester - Horses on a stick 24/03 Genesis - The Shepherd 28/03 ABC - Poison Arrow 30/03 Cornelius - Brazil 08/04 Culture Club - Victims 10/04 Scott Walker - The old man's back again 12/04 Eurythmics - Here comes the rain again 13/04 Gnarls Berkley - Crazy 16/04 Sugar - The act we act 17/04 The Four Tops - Your love is amazing 19/04 Hawkwind - Dragon rider/ Web weaver 25/04Stevie Wonder - The secret life of plants 28/04 Rod Stewart - You wear it well 01/05 Elton John - I guess that's why they call it the blues/Cry to heaven 01/05 The Tornadoes - Telstar 05/05 J Spaceman - Silent Sound 06/05 The Moody Blues - Have you heard 06/05 Cassette Boy -Brackish water 08/05 Cardiacs - Fiery Gun Hand 13/05 Nick Drake - Northern Sky 13/05 Crosby, Stills & Nash ~ Wooden Ships 15/05 The Who - The kids are alright 17/05 Steve Harley & The Cockney Rebel - Mr Soft 18/05 Half Man Half Biscuit- Joy Division Oven Gloves 18/05 "Poverty" by Ennio Morricone from the soundtrack of Once upon a time in America 25/05 Stevie Wonder - Higher Ground 26/05 Jon & Vangelis - I hear you now 27/05 Genesis - Lilywhite Lilith 29/05 The Velvet Underground - Who loves the sun 05/06 Woody Guthrie - Hard Travelling 06/06 Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe - Let's Pretend 07/06 Aztec Camera - Somewhere in my heart 09/06 Blodwyn Pig - Change Song 12/06 Haysi Fantayzee - John Wayne is big leggy 13/06 The Motors - Airport 15/06 Tracy Chapman - Fast Car 20/06 Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding The Wedding Present - Brassneck Fairport Convention - Meet on the ledge Super Furry Animals - Something for the weekend 04/07 Renaldo & The Loaf - The elbow is taboo 07/07 "Unexpected violence" from the soundtrack of The bird with the crystal plumage by Ennio Morricone 08/07 Sixpence none the richer - Kiss me 10/07 Bongwater - The drum 11/07 Soft Machine - As long as he lies perfectly still 13/07 Dan Antopolski - Sandwich rap 21/07 Michael Jackson - Morphine 24/07 Jimmy Cliff - Sitting in limbo 28/07 Phil Oakey & Giorgio Moroder - Together in Electric Dreams 30/07 Tony McPhee - Please leave my mind 07/08 Gamelan Sekar Tunjung Geding: Corobalen, minggah ketawang Basonto 08/08 Yello - Domingo 08/08 Buggles - Video killed the radio star 11/08 Ritchie Havens - Freedom 15/08 Crosby, Stills & Nash - Helplessly hoping 17/08 The Boo Radleys - Lazarus 22/08 Nirvana vs Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give Your Teen Spirit up 23/08 The Noisettes - Wild Young Hearts 24/08 Eno - How Many worlds 26/08J immy Cliff - Many rivers to cross 29/08 The Manic Street Preachers - Motorcycle Emptyness 30/08 Marillion - Cinderella Search 01/09 Marillion - Punch & Judy 02/09

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

On your knees!

I look like a king today.

It's always said around mental health services that you know when a man is becoming ill again when he stops shaving.

Of course it's rubbish or Brian Blessed would be....oh hang on, I'll start again.

Of course it's rubbish or Fidel Castro would be.....oh make your own mind up.

Well really they don't count as they probably both take some kind of care of their beards as I should be taking care of mine instead of doing this. It's a bit grey but it is a good beard and when I take my joke glasses off I look like the king I undoubtedly am. I'm descended from the hammer-of-the-scots himself and have a more solid claim to the throne than those Hanoverian pretenders. Of course it's pretty much an irrelevance as I am in my heart a republican. However if the country needs again the determined leadership of an absolute monarch in some time of great peril I would consider temporaily putting aside those qualms and take the crown as the new Arthur. Obviously I couldn't be King Koosie or that other name.

Or I might just shave this thing off tomorrow. It is getting itchy.

I thought about The Velveteen Rabbit today. It was because of escape pod funnily enough. The story was called Skinhorse goes to Mars and I'm still not convinced theres not a connection. Yes. No.

If I feel like a King it's Alfred. Some woman's shouting about burning some cakes and I'm thinking "Some fucking king. Can't even toast my own rubbish dinner, hiding in this shithole marsh while my enemies rampage my kingdom. "
But then I look at my kingly beard in a muddy stream and think:
" Well what the fuck do I know about toasting cakes. I'm a king for fucksake. Yeh. I'm the King. Look at this beard. I AM YOUR KING! "

Yeh. Bit of history there. Alfred the Great to you mate. He turned it around. So will I. I am your king. On your knees!

Aw, You are so pretty when you're on your knees.