Stepterix

Festive Greetings

2011-12-24T14:57:00.002Z

A very merry Christmas to all my readers. This is a season marked by festive tunes, most of which leave a lot to be desired. There are, however, some excellent versions of Christmas songs, including Goldfrapp's version of 'Winter Wonderland.'

MM: 6 Underground by the Sneaker Pimps

2011-12-12T11:50:00.000Z

In 1994, Liam Howe and Chris Corner formed the Sneaker Pimps, taking their name from an article published by the New York rappers the Beastie Boys about their hiring of a man who tracked down classic training shoes. Even though they were based in Hartlepool, in the north east of England, their downtempo electronic sound resulted in them being identified as part of the trip-hop scene that had recently emerged in Bristol. They released their first album, Becoming X, in August 1996, utilising the vocal talents of Kelli Dayton.

'6 Underground' was the third single taken from the album, but the first to chart. It reached number 15 in the UK singles chart on its initial release, and number 9 when re-released the following year. It also reached number 7 in the Billboard Modern Rock chart, and is their biggest hit to date.

The band released another three albums over the next six years, including a collection of remixes of songs from Becoming X. They failed to recapture the success of their debut and they disbanded in 2005. Kelli Dayton left the band in 1998 and continues to perform under the name Kelli Ali.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

The demise of Entrecard?

2011-11-06T12:59:00.005Z

Many of you will have noticed that Entrecard has not been working properly for weeks. The owners of the web site have made no statement about this, which rather suggests that the site is not being maintained any more. This would be a great shame as Entrecard has provided bloggers with a lot of traffic over the years.

There are no alternatives to Entrecard which offer the same benefits, but I would like to suggest that Adgitize is the closest. As with Entrecard you can earn points by clicking on adverts on those web sites that have the widget and by having readers click the ads on your blog(s). To advertise your site you need to pay money (via PayPal), but this is no hardship because you will receive payment each month (again, via PayPal) relative to the number of points you accrue.

Unlike Entrecard you only have to click 100 ads per day on Adgitize to receive the maximum number of points. This is reduced to 50 if you advertise on the site. A single monthly advert costs $14, but if you post regularly and click 50 ads per day, you can cover most of this expense. If you post every day then you will actually make a profit of a few dollars. So you may want to run the widget for a couple of months to accrue enough money for your first advertisement.

Even if Entrecard hasn't shuffled off this mortal coil, Adgitize offers an excellent means of getting extra traffic, as well as a way to communicate with other bloggers on its excellent forum.

MM: Commune by Roy Harper

2011-09-12T15:58:00.003+01:00

Roy Harper recorded his first album, Sophisticated Begger in 1966 following a successful residency at the Les Cousins folk club in London. The album suffered from poor distribution and failed to chart, as did his next two albums. He signed to EMI subsidiary Harvest records who released his next album, Flat Baroque and Berserk, reaching number 20 in the UK album charts in early 1970.

Later that year Led Zeppelin released their third album, which included a track entitled "Hats off to (Roy) Harper". The band's guitarist, Jimmy Page, appeared on Harper's next album, the seminal Stormcock, under the pseudonym S. Flavius Mercurius for contractual reasons. The first of many collaborations between the two.

Page appeared on Harper's next album, Lifemask (1973), which was recorded while he suffered with a life threatening blood disorder, and 1974's Valentine, which included the song "Commune" (a video of which is included below). Valentine also featured Ronnie Lane (Small Faces), Keith Moon (The Who) and Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull).

In 1975, Harper released HQ, which featured John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Bill Bruford (Yes) and Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd). That same year, Pink Floyd asked Harper to sing the vocals on "Have a Cigar" for their album Wish You Were Here. He also sang on Kate Bush's album Never For Ever, in reciprocation for her singing a duet on "You", taken from his 1980 album The Unknown Soldier.

In the mid-1980s Harper toured and recorded with Jimmy Page, releasing Jugula in 1985, which reached the top 20 of the UK album charts. Harper continued to record solo material, often featuring his son Nick. In 2000, Roy Harper released his 21st studio album, The Green Man.

MM: The Killing Moon by Echo & the Bunnymen

2011-08-22T14:14:00.003+01:00

Echo & the Bunnymen emerged from the Liverpool post-punk scene based in Eric's Club (which was located on the same street as the Cavern Club). Following his sacking from A Shallow Madness (later The Teardrop Explodes), Ian McCulloch teamed up with guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson, making their live début in 1978. Initially, they used a drum machine for performances before hiring Pete de Freitas.

The band released their first album, Crocodiles, in 1980 reaching number 17 in the UK album charts. Their breakthrough hit came two years later: 'The Back of Love' got to number 19 in the UK singles chart. The following year they had their first top ten hit: 'The Cutter'.

In 1984 they released the seminal Ocean Rain, from which 'The Killing Moon' is taken. In spite of their success, McCulloch decided to quit the group in 1988. Tragedy followed the next year when de Freitas died in a motorcycle accident.

Pattinson and Sergeant soldiered on before finally disbanding the group in 1993. McCulloch, Sergeant and Pattinson released a new album as Echo & the Bunnymen in 1997. Two years later Pattinson left the group to look after his mother, leaving the other two to continue recording and touring.

MM: Cowgirl by Underworld

2011-08-15T16:31:00.003+01:00

Before forming the electronic group Underworld in 1986, Karl Hyde and Rick Smith had made music together since the start of the decade. Yet, they still had to wait another ten years before achieving mainstream success. Thanks, in no small part, to their song 'Born Slippy .NUXX' featuring in the motion picture Trainspotting.

The video featured is of 'Cowgirl' taken from their 1994 album dubnobasswithmyheadman.

MM: Silver Machine by Hawkwind

2011-07-11T16:16:00.003+01:00

Space rockers Hawkwind formed in 1969, and are still touring today with original member Dave Brock. 'Silver Machine' remains their biggest hit, reaching number 3 in the UK singles charts in 1972. You may recognise the lead vocalist as Lemmy, who later went on to form Motörhead.

MM: Rivers of Babylon by the Melodians

2011-05-30T14:12:00.003+01:00

A while ago I posted a quiz asking who recorded the original versions of songs made famous by cover artists. Since only a few correct answers have appeared thus far, I thought I had better list the rest. Congratulations to pictsy for getting #1 and #8 right, and kudos to Dave Lucas for hinting at the answer to #7.

1. 'Stop Your Sobbing' was originally by the Kinks

2. 'The Tide is High' was first recorded by the Paragons

3. 'I Fought the Law' was by the Crickets

4. 'Rivers of Babylon' was by the Melodians, and is included as the Monday Music submission.

5. 'Respect' was by Otis Redding

6. 'Without You' was by Badfinger

7. 'Tainted Love' was by Gloria Jones

8. 'I Will Always Love You' was by Dolly Parton

9. 'I Love Rock'n'Roll' was by the Arrows

10. 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' was by Robert Hazard

We`re Premier League...

2011-05-15T11:19:00.003+01:00

Way back in February I posted about the possibility of promotion to the English Premier League for the club I support. At that point Queens Park Rangers were top of the Championship having only lost three games that far, but I still did not feel optimistic. Over thirty years of supporting the Superhoops, as they are known, had left me expecting disappointment.

In March it seemed that my worst fears were confirmed. The Football Association announced that it was charging QPR with seven breaches of the rules over third-party ownership and agents. These charges pertained to the signing of Argentinian midfielder Alejandro Faurlin in 2009 and his subsequent contract extension. The very real possibility of a points deduction filled media speculation, and when the FA announced that a hearing would take place during the week before the last game of the season it looked like the team's good work would all be for nothing.

A 2:0 victory at Watford in the penultimate game of the season secured promotion for Queens Park Rangers, yet I could not celebrate with the hearing taking place the following weeks. I will not go into the ins and outs of the charges, but needless to say the timing of the hearing caused a great degree of consternation for fans of the clubs at the top of the division, because of the distinct possibility that a legal challenge would throw the play-offs into turmoil. As the hearings progressed I regularly visited fans' forums and other web sites for any news on how things were progressing.

Finally, about an hour before the final game against Leeds United, the FA announced that five of the seven charges were not proven and that the remaining two would not result in a points deduction. I was now in a position to enjoy the last game of the season confident that my team were champions and would be playing top flight football next season. Not even a 2:1 defeat to the Yorkshire side could dampen spirits as Queens Park Rangers lifted the trophy marking the end of a most successful yet harrowing season.

MM: I Fought the Law by The Clash

2011-04-03T15:07:00.004+01:00

Further to my recent cover version quiz post, I have chosen 'I Fought the Law' by the Clash. Even though this song is most commonly identified with these British punk rockers, it was actually first recorded some years before, but by whom? If you know go to the quiz post and leave a comment with your answer. While you are there you might want to try to guess the other nine.

Ten cover versions quiz... a few clues

2011-03-29T14:46:00.003+01:00

A while ago I posted a quiz about songs that are most often identified with cover artists, rather than the original artists, which I asked you to identify. The response was a little underwhelming. So I have decided to run the quiz again with a few clues.

1. 'Stop Your Sobbing'
The Pretenders released their version of this as their first single in 1979. The original version was recorded in 1964 by a British band that included two brothers who were likely to fall-out with each other all day and all of the night.

2. 'The Tide is High'
Blondie topped the singles charts in both the United Kingdom and the United States with their cover version in 1980 and 1981 respectively. The original version dates from 1967. It was recorded in Jamaica by a peerless example of a rocksteady group.

3. 'I Fought the Law'
This tune has been covered by a variety of artists, but is probably most identified with The Clash. It was first recorded in 1959 by a band that had only recently lost their front man in tragic circumstances on the day the music died.

4. 'Rivers of Babylon'
In 1978, the German disco troupe Boney M. had a worldwide smash with their version of this song based on Psalm 137. The song first appeared in 1970 as a reggae hit that featured in the movie The Harder They Come.

5. 'Respect'
Aretha Franklin made this song her own in 1967 taking it to number one in the Billboard Hot 100. That same year the original artist and writer died in a aeroplane crash and had the first posthumous number one in US chart history.

6. 'Without You'
Another cover version that made it to the top of the charts was Harry Nilsson's 1972 recording of 'Without You', which was also a hit for Mariah Carey twelve years later. The original version dates from 1970, when it was recorded by a Welsh rock act who may have suffered with their digits.

7. 'Tainted Love'
In 1981 the electro-pop outfit Soft Cell had their breakthrough hit with this northern soul classic originally recorded in 1965 by a woman who would later date Marc Bolan of T-Rex until his untimely death.

8. 'I Will Always Love You'
Whitney Houston took this song to number one around the world in 1992/3 when it featured in her movie The Bodyguard, but it started life in 1974 when it was written and recorded by a voluptuous country and western singer.

9. 'I Love Rock'n'Roll'
After unsuccessfully covering it in 1979, former Runaways member Joan Jett finally had a hit with this song in 1981 backed by her band, The Blackhearts. The original version dates from 1975, when it was recorded by a London-based glam rock act, but it failed to hit the target, unlike the cover version which flew up the charts. (This is a difficult one, I know.)

10. 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun'
Another cover version that provided a breakthrough hit. This time for Cyndi Lauper in 1983. Oddly enough for a song seen as a feminist anthem, the original version was written and recorded by a man in 1979, whose name suggests the dangers of a woman having a short haircut made famous in the 1960s. (Very cryptic)

Good luck everyone.

Travian tips

2011-03-25T14:13:00.004Z

A while ago I published a post about Travian, the massively multiplayer online browser-based strategy game in which you can choose to play one of three tribes: Gauls, Romans or Teutons. This game can be quite daunting to new players, so I thought I would share a few basic tips to get you started.

Crannies! Crannies! Crannies!
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of building crannies. These enable you to hide the resources that you produce putting them beyond the reach of raiders. The larger cranny capacity you have the better, but be aware that raids that include heroes may be able to dip into up to 20% of your crannies. So to be fully protected you will need more cranny capacity than the amount of resources that you will produce while you are not playing.

Dodge attacks
If your resources are safely hidden in crannies, there is little point in leaving troops to defend your village in the early stages of the game. Make sure that they are always out raiding. When you finish playing for the day send them off on long raids timing their return for after you are back on your computer.

Raid wisely
Once you have a few troops built you will want to raid. Start off with Natar villages and oases that have no animals present. As people stop playing the game their villages will become inactive providing good targets. Getter tools has a good feature that you can use to search for inactive villages.

Various national servers are available and you may find less populated servers, such as those in the United Kingdom, a better place to learn the game. To find the servers nearest to you, visit the United States site and look at the top of the page.

Ten cover versions, but who recorded the originals?

2011-03-19T19:54:00.004Z

Some songs are more readily identified with artists that recorded cover versions rather than the originators. This is a list of ten such songs, but who recorded the originals? Please leave your answers as comments to gain kudos (but no cash prize, I'm afraid).

1. 'Stop Your Sobbing'
The Pretenders released their version of this as their first single in 1979.

2. 'The Tide is High'
Blondie topped the singles charts in both the United Kingdom and the United States with their cover version in 1980 and 1981 respectively.

3. 'I Fought the Law'
This tune has been covered by a variety of artists, but is probably most identified with The Clash.

4. 'Rivers of Babylon'
In 1978, the German disco troupe Boney M. had a worldwide smash with their version of this song based on Psalm 137.

5. 'Respect'
Aretha Franklin made this song her own in 1967 taking it to number one in the Billboard Hot 100.

6. 'Without You'
Another cover version that made it to the top of the charts was Harry Nilsson's 1972 recording of 'Without You', which was also a hit for Mariah Carey twelve years later.

7. 'Tainted Love'
In 1981 the electro-pop outfit Soft Cell had their breakthrough hit with this northern soul classic.

8. 'I Will Always Love You'
Whitney Houston took this song to number one around the world in 1992/3 when it featured in her movie The Bodyguard.

9. 'I Love Rock'n'Roll'
After unsuccessfully covering it in 1979, former Runaways member Joan Jett finally had a hit with this song in 1981 backed by her band, The Blackhearts.

10. 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun'
Another cover version that provided a breakthrough hit. This time for Cyndi Lauper in 1983.

MM: Maggot Brain by Funkadelic

2011-03-08T16:47:00.004Z

I know that this post is a bit late to strictly be consider part of Music Monday, but I thought that I would share it anyway. Today's offering is Funkadelic's 'Maggot Brain'. The roots of the group lie in the Parliaments, a doo-wop quintet led by George Clinton. Following a dispute with their former record label about ownership of the band's name, they took the name Funkadelic and developed a much harder sound fusing funk with psychedelic rock.

'Maggot Brain' is taken from the band's third album of the same name. During the recording of the track, Clinton decided to fade out the other musicians recognizing the potency of Eddie Hazel's guitar. The ten minute solo must rank as one of the most emotional guitar pieces of all time.

This is the full length album version of the track (including the profane spoken word introduction, you have been warned!) What this video lacks visually, it more than makes up for sonically.

Could it actually happen?

2011-02-27T14:15:00.003Z

In October last year I posted the following comment on Facebook about the football team that I support, Queens Park Rangers: "Ten games played with no defeats... 26 points out of 30... 24 goals scored... 3 conceded... Can I start to feel optimistic now?" This reflected the best start to the season that QPR have made in my lifetime, but even then I did not feel to get my hopes up that they could achieve promotion to the English Premier League. My brother, who also supports 'the hoops', and my friends similarly echoed my caution: we football fans can be a fatalistic lot.

It is now the end of February and QPR are still top of the Championship with a five point advantage over the next team. Of the 34 games played, the hoops have won 18, drawn 13, and only lost three. The defence has the best record in the league, only having let in twenty goals so far this season.

So, could it actually happen? Could my beloved R's actually make it back to the top flight of English football after fourteen years of malingering in lower leagues? With only a dozen games left, it seems like a distinct possibility that Neil Warnock (the team manager) and the boys could be facing the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal next season.

This video shows a goal and an assist by QPR's temperamental yet brilliant Adel Taarabt in the recent 2:1 victory over Coventry City.

Travian

2011-02-20T12:25:00.005Z

I have recently started playing Travian again. It is a massively multiplayer online browser-based strategy game in which you can choose to be play of three tribes: Gauls, Romans or Teutons. The game involves the development of villages, the formation of alliances and the eventual construction of a wonder of the world to complete the game.

I had played before, but I would eventually become disheartened by the bickering and internal politics of the alliances which I joined. Nevertheless, I thought I would give the new version a go. All in all, I am rather impressed with the new design.

Version 4 includes a complete revamp of the hero system. Each player starts with a hero which can be sent out on missions and equipped with all manner of items. The hero also provides a production bonus, so you can use him to accrue extra crop, lumber, clay and iron, or all four.

Version 4 is being rolled out on the various national servers and is already running on servers in the United States and United Kingdom.

MM: Young, Gifted and Black by Bob and Marcia

2011-02-14T04:00:00.001Z

I am currently re-reading a book on the history of reggae called Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King by Lloyd Bradley. By happenstance, this week BBC3 aired the latest in their excellent 'Britannia' music series: Reggae Britannia. Taking inspiration from these, I thought I would share a reggae tune for this week's Music Monday.

In 1970, Bob Andy and Marcia Griffiths had a top 5 UK with a cover version of Nina Simone's 'To be Young, Gifted and Black'. You may notice that the version in this video differs from the one that you might have heard before. Many Jamaican songs of the period were remixed in the UK with added orchestration or rock guitars to make them more appealing to foreign listeners.

During the 1960s Bob Andy had been a member of the vocal group the Paragons before embarking on a solo career. Marcia Griffiths also had a solo career during the 1960s before teaming up with Bob. Later she became a member of the I-Threes, the backing group for Bob Marley and the Wailers.

Wednesday wallpaper: Record adapter

2011-02-02T13:39:00.002Z

Wednesday wallpaper returns after an extended hiatus with an image that should evoke memories in those of us who remember the days of vinyl records. The wallpaper is available in a variety of sizes to suit the most common screen resolutions.

If you like the wallpaper but would prefer it to be in a different colour, let me know and I will produce a new set in the hue of your choice.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900
1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

Simon`s Cat

2011-01-19T17:12:00.004Z

While visiting my family at Christmas, my brothers showed me some Simon's Cat videos. I enjoy a quality animation and these well observed and witty shorts certainly fit the bill. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did.

Seasonal Greetings

2010-12-24T13:40:00.006Z

Another site redesign

2010-12-12T13:52:00.003Z

I was never truly happy with my former template design for this blog. I have finally found enough spare time to affect a redesign along simpler and cleaner lines. I may continue to noodle with it over the next few weeks, but I want to keep it is unfussy as possible. Please let me know what you think about the sleeker look.

MM: Common People by Pulp

2010-11-28T11:54:00.006Z

There should be a picture of the British band Pulp in the dictionary next to the word 'perseverance'. Formed in 1978 by Jarvis Cocker and Peter Dalton, Pulp released their first record in 1983. They achieved little commercial success or critical acclaim until their 1994 album His'n'Hers. The following year Pulp broke into the mainstream, releasing the Mercury Music Prize winning album Different Class and a series of hit singles including the brilliant 'Common People'.

Calling all bloggers

2010-11-07T13:17:00.002Z

There are two things that most bloggers would like: extra traffic and extra income. Adgitize offers both for very little effort (especially for those who already use Entrecard). Adgitize works on a points system where the more points you accrue per month, the higher your earnings.

After your registration is completed you will be able to earn 100 points for posting to your blog (up to a maximum of 100 points per day) and you will also receive up to 100 points per day for visits to your site. You can also click up to 100 Adgitize ads per day, each earning a point. Adgitize also has a lively forum where you can accrue a further 100 points per day by adding posts.

By doing the above you can start earning, but you wont receive any traffic until you purchase advertising on Adgitize. You will receive an extra 100 points per day when you have an advert running, and you only need click 51 ads to earn the full 100 points. Last month, my Modern Historian blog received 1,486 vists from Adgitize for only $14.

The best thing about this is that the advertising can pay for itself, and even leave you with a surplus of funds. Last month, I earnt an extra $6 after advertising expenses. I try to post dally on at least one of my registered blogs to maximise my earnings, which has the added benefit of motivating me to post frequently and thus further increase the exposure of my sites.

So if you want extra traffic and a little extra income while joining a friendly network of fellow bloggers, you could do a lot worse than checking out Adgitize.

MM: Birthday by the Sugarcubes

2010-10-25T18:03:00.002+01:00

I listened to a radio documentary about Björk on my way to work today. Mention was made of her first achieving international recognition as a member of the Sugarcubes, in part due to their debut single 'Birthday'. I still remember the first time I became aware of this song. I was watching a television show called The Chart Show on Channel 4 (it later moved to ITV), which counted down the charts for a variety of genres, including the indie singles. I watched in astonishment as they showed the video for an Icelandic band called the Sugarcubes. The low-tech sensibility of the images was paired with sounds that were so foreign to anything that I heard before, and not just because the lyrics were in Icelandic. Needless to say that I rushed to the record shop that week to get a copy of the single (remember those? record shops? singles?)

Here is the Icelandic video for 'Birthday' that left such a deep impression on me.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list...

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

MM: Setting Sun by The Chemical Brothers

2010-10-03T15:02:00.004+01:00

Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons met up in the early nineties at the University of Manchester, where they immersed themselves in the city's dance music scene. Finding a lack of material for their DJ sets they decided to start making their own music, initially as the Dust Brothers, in homage to the US music producers most famous for their work with the Beastie Boys. As they became more popular the original Dust Brothers threatened legal action over the name, and they decided to rename themselves as the Chemical Brothers.

The duo went on to become major innovators of a type of electronic music known as Big Beat, alongside Fatboy Slim and Leftfield. In 1996 they released 'Setting Sun', for which Oasis' Noel Gallagher provided the vocals. The single reached the top spot in the UK, and appeared on the duo's second album Dig Your Own Hole.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Two great new Blogger features

2010-09-21T15:22:00.005+01:00

I recently noticed that Blogger has added two new much needed features. The first is spam comment detection. I, like most bloggers, have suffered from people leaving comments that are little more than advertisements for others sites. The system seems to put all comments that include URLs into a spam bucket, which is accessible from the Dashboard (click the 'Comments' link for your blog, and then go to the 'Spam' tab). Occasionally genuine comments will end up in the spam bucket, but since I receive email notifications of all comments, I can quickly restore them. This means that I will no longer have to consider switching the settings to moderate comments.

The second feature is a stats page, again available from the Blogger Dashboard. This appears to be a scaled down version of Google Analytics, which I will continue to use for more detailed information.

MM: Cantara by Dead Can Dance

2010-08-15T23:27:00.002+01:00

Formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1981 by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, Dead Can Dance released their eponymous début album three years later on the 4AD label. From Gothic beginnings the duo developed their unique sound taking inspiration from traditional music and instrumentation from around the world. I was fortunate to see them live in 1993, on the same tour from which this video is taken.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

I Am Kloot revisited

2010-07-09T04:00:00.001+01:00

A year or so ago, I published a blog post about the Manchester-based I Am Kloot, and their lack of commercial success. With the release of their new album Sky At Night it seems that the trio may be about to break into the big time. Their new single, 'Northern Skies', is receiving national radio airplay as well as the usual critical acclaim. Production duties on Sky At Night were handled by Guy Garvey and Craig Potter of fellow Manchester band, Elbow, for whom commercial success also took time.

World Cup Wallpapers

2010-06-09T11:15:00.002+01:00

The FIFA World Cup finals start in South Africa this Friday. To commemorate the first time this tournament has taken place in Africa, I have created a desktop wallpaper featuring the tournament mascot, Zakumi.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900
1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

UK Elections 2010

2010-04-30T18:20:00.004+01:00

If you live in the UK, you will have noticed that there is the small matter of the general election to be decided next Thursday. The last few weeks of campaigning have been dominated by the televised leaders debates and the resultant surge in popularity of the Liberal Democrats. Nevertheless, the Tories still lead most of the opinion polls (Boo! Hiss!) in spite of the hilarious spoofs of their election posters that have appeared all over the Internet, emanating from mydavidcameron.com. Here are a few of my favourites...

MM: Germ Free Adolescents by X-Ray Spex

2010-04-05T04:00:00.000+01:00

As with many other punk bands, X-Ray Spex formed after lead singer, Poly Styrene (Marian Joan Elliott Said), attended a Sex Pistols gig. Styrene was joined by guitarist Jak Airport (Jack Stafford), bassist Paul Dean on bass, drummer Paul 'B. P.' Hurding on drums, and saxophonist Lora Logic (Susan Whitby). X-Ray Spex soon became a favourite act on the London punk scene.

The band signed to Virgin Records, releasing their first single, "Oh Bondage, Up Yours!" in October 1977. Over the course of the next year they released three more singles, each of which made it into the UK singles chart. The last of these, "Germ Free Adolescents", reached number 18 in November 1978. The same month that they released their hit album of the same name.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

The new Doctor - spoiler-free first impressions

2010-04-03T20:37:00.007+01:00

Like many Britons of my generation, I grew up with Doctor Who. The programme was a fixed feature of many of my Saturday evenings, enthralling me with the imaginative story-lines and the great performances of Tom Baker and then Peter Davison. I avidly read the novelizations of the stories, which provided my only access to the earlier adventures of the Time Lord in the days before video releases. As I grew older, the low production values and the relegation of the show to weekday evenings meant that I watched the show infrequently, and while I was saddened by its cancellation in 1989, I was not heartbroken.

When the series returned in 2005, I was interested to see what the BBC would do with one of my childhood favourites. I was not disappointed. Gone were the wobbly sets and frequent use of gravel pits, but the quality of storytelling and character portrayal remained high. Christopher Eccleston and then David Tennant each made the role their own, as did the talented women who played their companions. Doctor Who became a great success around the world, captivating a whole new generation.

The end of the last season saw the departure of both Tennant and the architect of the new version, executive producer and writer Russell T. Davies. So, it was with some trepidation that I sat down to watch the first episode of Matt Smith's time as the Doctor. At twenty-seven years of age, Smith is the youngest man to take on the role, three years younger than Peter Davison was when he first took ownership of the Tardis. I feared that this choice of lead character would mark the juvenilisation of the show, especially since he was to be accompanied by Amy Pond, played by the twenty-two year old Karen Gillan. Thankfully this was not the case - Dr Who 90210 it was not.

Smith's realisation of the Doctor owes much to the performances of David Tennant. This is hardly surprising since the producers would not want to deviate too far from a portrayal that proved so popular, and because Smith has yet to develop his own characterisation. The chemistry between Smith and Gillan drove the story forward in the absence of many mind-boggling special effects - a wise move by the production team. Hopefully, Smith will be allowed to move away from Tennant's Doctor and find his own voice in subsequent episodes, which will maintain the quality of the last few seasons. My only criticism regards the new theme tune that lacked the bombast of the proceeding one, but this is only a minor flaw.

MM: Anything by Martina Topley-Bird

2010-03-29T04:00:00.007+01:00

Martina Topley-Bird first achieved public acclaim for her vocals on Tricky's début album Maxinquaye. She continued to work with the trip-hop pioneer until their professional and personal relationships soured after which she began to pursue a solo career. In 2003 she released her critically acclaimed first album, Quixotic, which appeared a year later in the United States with fewer tracks and the new title Anything. Both versions include the track "Ragga", co-written and produced by Tricky. Despite the positive reviews, Quixotic and the singles it spawned were not great commercial successes.

Her second solo album, The Blue God, was co-produced by Danger Mouse, but only reached the lower reaches of the charts. She has collaborated with other artists, singing on tracks by Gorrilaz, Primus and more recently Massive Attack. Hopefully, her guest vocals will mean that many more people check out her solo work.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Wednesday Wallpaper: The Fight Continues

2010-03-24T04:00:00.000Z

This week's selection of wallpapers are based on another poster from the Parisian student revolt of May 1968.

If you would like a particular wallpaper in another colour, leave a comment and I will change it for you, and make it available in a future post.

More next week.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900
1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

MM: Cold Haily Rainy Night by The Imagined Village

2010-03-22T04:00:00.002Z

The Imagined Village was the brainchild of Simon Emmerson of the Afro-Celt Sound System. They reinterpret traditional British and Irish songs using multicultural musical styles. The vocal core of the band are father and daughter Martin and Eliza Carthy, and Chris Wood, with musical accompaniment provided by Emmerson, Johnny Kalsi (Transglobal Underground), Francis Hylton, Andy Gangadeen (The Bays), Sheema Mukherjee and Barney Morse Brown. Collaborators include Billy Bragg, Benjamin Zephaniah, Paul Weller and Sheila Chandra.

The video is of a barnstorming performance of Cold Haily Rainy Night from the BBC music show Later with Jools Holland.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Wednesday Wallpaper: Beauty is in the street

2010-03-17T04:00:00.001Z

After an extended break I am happy to announce the return of the Wednesday Wallpaper. This week's wallpaper takes inspiration from one of the many posters that appeared in Paris during the student revolt of May 1968. I hope to produce a series of wallpapers with this as a theme.

If you would like this wallpaper in a different colour and you don't know how to do it yourself, leave a comment and I will see what I can do.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900
1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

MM: Missing Link by Curve

2010-03-15T04:00:00.000Z

The word 'underrated' is overused when it comes to popular music. It often is a cypher for 'I love this band and they should have the same recognition as the Beatles.' Nevertheless, I think the word applies perfectly to Curve.

Curve formed in 1990 around the nucleus of Dean Garcia and Toni Halliday, who had previously worked together in a band called State of Play. They released several EPs and two studio albums on Dave Stewart's Anxious label before they disbanded the group for the first time in 1994. Their mix of multi-layered guitars and electronic beats made them popular with the music press, gaining them some chart success.

Curve returned in 1996, but they failed to recapture their former success, even though the sound that they pioneered had since been popularised by the likes of Garbage. Halliday quit the project in 2005 and continues to work in the music business, as does Garcia.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

MM: Wake Up by Arcade Fire

2010-03-08T04:00:00.000Z

I first heard this stirring track when it was used as background music on a preview of upcoming BBC television programmes. A quick search on the Internet revealed the artists and title, enabling me to acquire a copy of Arcade Fire's brilliant first album, Funeral. So impressed was I, that I became a vocal advocate of the Canadian band's work, harassing my friends to give them a listen. Now I am doing the same for you, dear readers.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

A selection of Groucho Marx quotes

2010-03-05T04:00:00.000Z

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it and then misapplying the wrong remedies.

Now there's a man with an open mind - you can feel the breeze from here!

I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.

Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others.

I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it.

Anyone who says he can see through women is missing a lot.

Military justice is to justice what military music is to music.

The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.

She got her good looks from her father. He's a plastic surgeon.

Behind every successful man is a woman, behind her is his wife.

I worked myself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty.

We took pictures of the native girls, but they weren't developed. . . But we're going back next week.

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Politics doesn't make strange bedfellows, marriage does.

From the moment I picked your book up until I put it down I was convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it.

Outside of a dog a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's to dark to read.
Are you going to believe me, or what you see with your own eyes?

I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury.

Why was I with her? She reminds me of you. In fact, she reminds me more of you than you do!

We give 'em a seventy-five cent meal that'll knock their eyes out. After we knock their eyes out, we can charge them anything we want.

I drink to make people interesting.

Marriage is the chief cause of divorce.

Time wounds all heels.

Why should I care about posterity? What's posterity ever done for me?

How to Behave On An Internet Forum

2010-02-27T04:00:00.001Z

Videojug presents this hilarious and oh-so-true guide, that applies as much to chat channels as it does to forums [surely 'fora'].

Internet: Useful Tips:
How To Behave On An Internet Forum

MM: Senses Working Overtime by XTC

2010-02-22T04:00:00.000Z

XTC were formed 1976 by Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding who had been playing together since 1972. In 1977, they signed to Virgin Records, releasing their first LP, White Music, the following year. In 1979 they had their first hit single, 'Making Plans for Nigel', which was taken from their third LP, Drums & Wires. In early 1982, they released their most successful single 'Senses Working Overtime', which reached number 10 in the UK singles chart.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Great British comedy now available on YouTube

2010-02-20T04:00:00.002Z

Last year the British television broadcaster Channel 4 signed a deal with YouTube to host some of their 4OD (4 On Demand) content. This means that the rest of the world can enjoy some of the channel's quality (and some of its not-so-good) content.

Here are a few of my personal favourites from the comedy section:

Spaced - A surreal situation comedy about two twenty-somethings sharing a London flat, written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson.

Father Ted - Another surreal sitcom following the adventures of three Irish priests on Craggy Island, written by Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews and starring (the sadly missed) Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, Frank Kelly and Pauline McLynn.

The IT Crowd - Yet another sitcom, but this time the setting is an IT support team in a London corporation, written by Graham Linehan and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, and Katherine Parkinson.

Brass Eye - A bitingly satirical spoof current affairs series created by Chris Morris.

MM: A Forest by The Cure

2010-02-15T04:00:00.003Z

Released in March 1980, "A Forest" was The Cure's first hit single, reaching number 31 in the UK chart. It was taken the from the band's second album Seventeen Seconds, which had a much darker post-punk sound than their later work. See a fresh faced young Robert Smith sans sloppy make-up in this promotional video.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

MM: Babylon's Burning by The Ruts

2010-02-08T04:00:00.001Z

For this week's Music Monday I would like to share one of the most exciting singles of the punk rock/new wave period. Formed after meeting at the 1977 Deeply Vale Festival, The Ruts played both punk and reggae tunes becoming involved in the Rock Against Racism movement. In 1979 they released "Babylon's Burning", which reached number 7 in the UK singles chart. Here is a video of them performing that viceral tune on the BBC's Top of the Pops.

Things I have noticed #2

2010-02-06T04:00:00.000Z

Way back in the mid-1980s, BBC television broadcast an excellent six episode drama Edge of Darkness. The story surrounds an investigation by a Yorkshire police officer, brilliantly portrayed by Bob Peck, into the murder of his daughter, an anti-nuclear campaigner played by Joanne Whalley. I will not spoil any more of the plot, lest you get the chance to watch this tense political thriller.

The series' director, Martin Campbell, recently remade the story, giving it the full Hollywood treatment. This movie version stars Mel Gibson and is re-set in America. If only these were the only changes. Whereas the original was a gentle paced exploration of secret governments and government secrets, judging by the trailers and the movie poster, the remake is a gung-ho action thriller. Needless to say I will not be going to the local cineplex to see it; rather, I will watch the 1985 classic version, and I suggest that you do the same.

I have to wonder what we might see next, now that the Hollywood studios have completely run out of original ideas: a remake of The Beiderbecke Affair as a soporific romantic comedy set in Chicago, starring Ben Stiller and Sarah Silverman?

MM: Heaven or Las Vegas by Cocteau Twins

2010-02-01T04:00:00.002Z

I thought I would share the title track of one of my favourite LPs for this Music Monday. The much underrated Cocteau Twins released Heaven or Las Vegas in 1990, reaching number 7 in the UK album charts. Those of you that enjoy this track may want to check out a previous Music Monday post of mine when I featured This Mortal Coil's version of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren", featuring the Cocteaus' Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Things I have noticed #1

2010-01-30T04:00:00.003Z

I have watched many different science fiction films and television series. Many of these involve battles between starships, spaceships, battlestars and so on. During these battles consoles explode, ceilings collapse, fires break out, and compartments are exposed to space, but I cannot recall ever having seen the artificial gravity systems fail. Whoever designs and constructs these systems should get the contract for all future interstellar warship design.

Seasonal felicitations

2009-12-24T21:33:00.002Z

... and a happy new calendar.

Music Monday: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack

2009-12-14T04:00:00.000Z

Another of my favourite songs of all time: Roberta Flacks's haunting yet beautiful version of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face".

In 1957 the English folk singer/songwriter Ewan MacColl composed the song for his then lover and later wife, Peggy Seeger. She has asked him to pen a tune for her to use in a play she was touring with at the time. Because of his left-wing political views, MacColl could not travel to the United States, so he taught Seeger the song over the telephone.

In 1969. soul-singer Roberta Flack recorded a version of the song for her début album First Take. Two years later, her version was used in Clint Eastwood's psychological thriller Play Misty for Me. The exposure the song received through the movie persuaded Atlantic Records to release a cut down version of the song as a single in 1972. It reached the number one spot in the Billboard Hot 100, giving Flack her first hit. The popularity of the song resulted in MacColl winning the Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

Music Monday: Shipbuilding by Robert Wyatt

2009-12-07T04:00:00.000Z

This is one of my favourite songs of all time. Record producer, Clive Langer originally wrote a song for Robert Wyatt, but he was not happy with the lyrics. While at a party, Langer played the music to Elvis Costello, who went off and wrote the lyrics. Costello took inspiration from the Falklands War, which was happening at the time. He contrasted the economic recovery of a struggling shipbuilding area, which would be called upon to replace any ships lost in the conflict, with the likelihood of young men from the same area dying in the South Atlantic.

Wyatt's recording of the song reached number 36 in the UK singles charts, the first top 40 hit for the independent record label Rough Trade. The video of this performance is taken from the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test. I hope you enjoy it.

Wednesday Wallpaper: Fractal Fun #1

2009-12-02T04:00:00.003Z

Having given up with Windows as my OS of choice, I have defected into the Linux camp. As such, I went looking for a decent application that could generate fractal pictures and the like. I found one called Gnofract 4D and had a play with it. Here are my first attempts at creating backdrop images in the usual variety of sizes to suit every desktop resolution.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900
1280 x 1024 1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

Wednesday wallpaper: Neon weave

2009-11-25T04:00:00.002Z

After a brief hiatus, this is the return of the Wednesday wallpaper. This week I have created a variety of images designed to be used as tiled desktop backdrops. The advantage of tiled wallpapers is that they don't use as many system resources as larger images, making them ideal for netbooks and older machines. More soon.

Music Monday: Tin Soldier by Small Faces

2009-11-16T04:00:00.000Z

"Tin Soldier" was released in March 1968, reaching #9 in the UK charts. The lovely P.P. Arnold supplied the backing vocals as well as having hits written by Small Faces members Steve Marriot and Ronnie Lane. This rare colour footage of the song was shown on the Belgian TV show, Boutton Rouge.

Music Monday: "Justified & Ancient" by the KLF

2009-10-19T09:49:00.002+01:00

Sonic situationists, the KLF, teamed up with country star Tammy Wynette for this 1991 worldwide hit. The song reached #11 in the Billboard popular music chart, Tammy's highest ever position.

Music Monday: Au Revoir Simone - Shadows

2009-10-12T09:00:00.000+01:00

New single from the New York trios latest album, Still Night, Still Light. 'Shadows' is a delightful slice of synth-based dream-pop.

Wednesday wallpaper: Abstract chaos #5

2009-09-23T00:01:00.001+01:00

Here is yet another (and probably the last for now) wallpaper created using the freeware application called Chaoscope. I am going to persevere with the Wallpaper Wednesday McLinky in spite of the underwhelming response. If you are a blogger and wish to join in use the code that you can find towards the bottom of this post any time in the next couple of days.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900
1280 x 1024 1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

Wednesday Wallpaper
Join in and share your blog posts containing images for use as desktop backgrounds. You can get the code for this list at Stepterix's blog. Please note that any submissions that do not include a wallpaper image will be removed.

Here is the code for this week...

For blog systems that allow Javascript, such as Blogger:

For blog systems that do not allow Javascript, such as wordpress.com:

If you have any problems using this code then please leave a comment and I will attend to it ASAP.

Wednesday wallpaper: Abstract chaos #4

2009-09-15T20:51:00.003+01:00

Here is another wallpaper created using the freeware application called Chaoscope. I would like to encourage any blogger who has a backdrop image to share to join in Wallpaper Wednesday and use the code that you can find towards the bottom of this post.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900
1280 x 1024 1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

I have also decided to set up McLinky lists for anyone else who wishes to share wallpapers on a Wednesday. So without further ado...

Wednesday Wallpaper
Join in and share your blog posts containing images for use as desktop backgrounds. You can get the code for this list at Stepterix's blog. Please note that any submissions that do not include a wallpaper image will be removed.

Here is the code for this week...

For blog systems that allow Javascript, such as Blogger:

For blog systems that do not allow Javascript, such as wordpress.com:

If you have any problems using this code then please leave a comment and I will attend to it ASAP.

Music Monday: "Song to the Siren" by This Mortal Coil

2009-09-14T01:46:00.002+01:00

In 1983, the founder of 4AD Records, Ivo Watts-Russell, released an EP showcasing the talents of various artists signed to his label, under the name of This Mortal Coil. One of the tracks that appeared on that EP was a haunting cover version of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren" performed by Liz Frazer and Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins. Here it is in all its spine-tingling glory.

Wednesday wallpaper: Abstract chaos #3

2009-09-08T21:22:00.004+01:00

Here is the third wallpaper that I have created using the freeware application called Chaoscope. I would like to encourage any blogger who has a backdrop image to share to join in Wallpaper Wednesday and use the code that you can find towards the bottom of this post.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900
1280 x 1024 1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

I have also decided to set up McLinky lists for anyone else who wishes to share wallpapers on a Wednesday. So without further ado...

Wednesday Wallpaper
Join in and share your blog posts containing images for use as desktop backgrounds. You can get the code for this list at Stepterix's blog. Please note that any submissions that do not include a wallpaper image will be removed.

Here is the code for this week...

For blog systems that allow Javascript, such as Blogger:

For blog systems that do not allow Javascript, such as wordpress.com:

If you have any problems using this code then please leave a comment and I will attend to it ASAP.

Wednesday wallpaper: Abstract chaos #2

2009-09-02T00:00:00.002+01:00

As I mentioned last week, I recently installed a freeware application called Chaoscope, with which you can render strange attractors and other visualisations of chaotic systems. Here is another image that I created using this excellent piece of software (and then manipulated slightly using Paint.NET).

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900
1280 x 1024 1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

I have also decided to set up McLinky lists for anyone else who wishes to share wallpapers on a Wednesday. So without further ado...

Wednesday Wallpaper
Join in and share your blog posts containing images for use as desktop backgrounds. You can get the code for this list at Stepterix's blog. Please note that any submissions that do not include a wallpaper image will be removed.

Here is the code for this week...

For blog systems that allow Javascript, such as Blogger:

For blog systems that do not allow Javascript, such as wordpress.com:

If you have any problems using this code then please leave a comment and I will attend to it ASAP.

Wednesday wallpaper: Abstract chaos

2009-08-26T00:00:00.002+01:00

The Wednesday wallpaper is back!

I recently installed a freeware application called Chaoscope, with which you can render strange attractors and other visualisations of chaotic systems. Here is one of my early attempts that I am making available as wallpapers of various dimensions. I will post more of my attempts here over the next few weeks.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900
1280 x 1024 1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

I have also decided to set up a McLinky list for anyone else who wishes to share wallpapers on a Wednesday. So without further ado...

Wednesday Wallpaper
Join in and share your blog posts containing images for use as desktop backgrounds. You can get the code for this list at Stepterix's blog. Please note that any submissions that do not include a wallpaper image will be removed.

Here is the code for this week...

For blog systems that allow Javascript, such as Blogger:

For blog systems that do not allow Javascript, such as wordpress.com:

If you have any problems using this code then please leave a comment and I will attend to it ASAP.

Music Monday: Sly and the Family Stone at Woodstock

2009-08-16T23:58:00.003+01:00

To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the "3 Days of Peace & Music", here is "I want to take you higher" performed by Sly and the Family Stone. Sly was one of the performers that demanded payment before taking to the stage at the festival, which was initially a commercial venture and only later became free when it became clear that the organisers had vastly underestimated the appeal of the event. Other artists performing at the event included Joan Baez, Santana, Canned Heat, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and Jimi Hendrix, who closed the show in storming fashion.

The Big Four-Oh

2009-07-16T08:00:00.000+01:00

Today is my fortieth birthday, so by way of celebration I have posted a couple of videos. The first is "Something in the Air" by one-hit-wonders Thunderclap Newman. This was the number one single here in the UK on the day that I was born.

The second video is footage of the other great event of July 16, 1969, the launch of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon.

New Design and some leechified content

2009-06-23T22:40:00.004+01:00

I have changed my title image and the background. I am not convinced about the new look, the background in particular. Let me know if you like it or whether you think it would look better as a plain, yet imperious, purple. I still have to change my Entrecard ad, and make suitable changes on the various blog catalogues and other sites where this is registered to remove the word 'Rants' from the blog title.

Once this is done and this blog has been suitably generalised I will no doubt feel more inclined to post a plethora of exciting things here. To keep you all amused in the meantime, here is the excellent Flight of the Conchords in the guise of the Hiphopopotamus & Rhymenoceros.

Lack of posts and other thoughts

2009-06-03T20:44:00.003+01:00

Apologies to any regular visitors to this blog (should such people exist) for the lack of posts of recent. My posts to this blog are intermittent at best and, more worryingly, very few of the articles that I do post may be considered to be rants. Following the last metamorphosis of this blog, I intended that I should regularly vent my spleen about the key issues of the time.

This has clearly not been the case, so I am considering renaming this blog to reflect its more general content. Also, there seem to be many 'rant' blogs out there too, so I have no wish to add to their number. I have thought about just calling the blog Stepterix and leaving it at that. I could then post just about anything I liked, even the occasional rant.

Expect a redesign some time in the near future.

Wednesday wallpaper: Stained Glass Window

2009-05-06T08:00:00.001+01:00

After a month with no posts here, I have finally managed to get around to creating a new selection of backdrop images. The subject this time is a stained glass window from Bristol Cathedral. The window depicts Sir Robert Fitzharding, the founder of the original abbey church in 1140, on left. Next is Eva, his wife. To her right is Prior Richard, the first Abbot. Rightmost is depicted King Henry II.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900
1280 x 1024 1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

Wednesday wallpaper: Blossom

2009-04-08T08:00:00.003+01:00

Spring has most definitely sprung here in the UK. I managed to take a few photos of blossom covered trees before their recent shedding. The image is available to be used as a backdrop or wallpaper for your computer. Simply click on the link below that corresponds to your screen resolution to download the appropriate image.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900
1280 x 1024 1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

Wednesday wallpaper: The Eiffel Tower and the Seine at night

2009-04-01T08:00:00.003+01:00

To mark the yesterday's anniversary of the inauguration of the Eiffel Tower in 1889, I have chosen a photograph of that landmark taken by Sami Dalouche as the subject of the latest set of wallpaper images. Simply click on the link below that matches your screen resolution and either save the image and chose it as your backdrop, or set it from inside your web browser if it has that functionality.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900
1280 x 1024 1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

Music Monday: Kate Bush - Hounds of Love

2009-03-09T00:00:00.000Z

This is the first time I have participated in Lady Java's Music Monday. So, I have decided to share "Hounds of Love" by Kate Bush taken from the 1985 album of the same name. I hope you all enjoy it, especially Lady Java who reached the big four-oh today.

Wednesday wallpaper: Turner`s The Burning of the Houses of Parliament

2009-03-04T09:45:00.000Z

On 16th October 1834, the painter J.M.W. Turner witnessed the fire that destroyed the Palace of Westminster. He produced a watercolour sketch of the inferno as he watched, which later became the basis for a number of paintings on the theme. In the second of a series of collections of wallpapers of Turner's art I present one of these paintings The Burning of the Houses of Parliament (1834).

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900

1280 x 1024 1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

Environmentalism and space exploration

2009-02-25T21:18:00.004Z

I must admit that I let out a cynical laugh when I heard about the failed launch of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory yesterday. Apparently a faring on the Taurus XL rocket failed to separate properly and the spacecraft failed to reach orbit. The launch vehicle and its payload landed in the Indian Ocean near Antarctica. The observatory was intended to gather data on atmospheric carbon dioxide and around the globe, but all the mission achieved was to further damage the environment.

While I am sure that there is value in an empirical analysis of the global carbon cycle to see whether there are any associated changes in climate, I do wonder whether that value outweighs the monetary cost of the project and the damage to the environment caused by rocket launches. Taking a Space Shuttle launch as a case in point, whereas only a small proportion of the exhaust from the rockets is made up of greenhouse gases, there is a significant release of carbon monoxide that may react in the atmosphere to produce carbon dioxide. We could add to this the amount of greenhouse gas released as part of the construction and refurbishment processes.

I am sure that NASA and the other space agencies around the world are busy implementing green measures. Nevertheless, I do wonder why environmentalists do not question the need for space exploration as vocally as they question the need for jet air travel and the use of motor cars. Personally I would prefer that the money was spent dealing with diseases like malaria and ensuring that everyone on Earth had access to clean water.

Payments received: myLot and Homepages Friends

2009-02-15T16:00:00.000Z

I recently received my first payment from myLot - a discussion-based social networking site that pays you for your contributions. The earnings are not staggering but it is nice to receive payment for sharing my opinions, which I would probably do on other forums for nothing. As with each of these sites it is always a bit of a gamble until you see the first payment turn up in PayPal and then you know that it is not a scam.

On the subject of scams, I was beginning to wonder whether Homepages Friends was above-board. They offer a front end to Yahoo's search engine that credits you with a little bit of money just about every time you use it. I had reached the minimum payment amount months ago but had not received payment. Just when I had given up with the site and stopped using it I was surprised to see a rather significant payment to my PayPal account.

It will be interesting to see whether they have sorted out their problems next time that I reach the minimum payment amount. Needless to say I will keep you all informed of my progress making pin-money on-line.

Wednesday wallpaper: Turner`s Venice, from the Canale della Giudecca

2009-02-11T09:45:00.000Z

Continuing the series of wallpapers created from various artworks, this week I present J.M.W. Turner's Venice, from the Canale della Giudecca. The romantic landscape painter completed this work after his third and final visit to Venice in 1840. This and others of Turner's watercolour works of this period influenced some impressionist painters.

I really like Turner's work, so expect a few more sets of wallpapers depicting his paintings over the next few weeks.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900

1280 x 1024 1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

John Martyn RIP

2009-01-29T20:23:00.003Z

I have just found out that the British singer-songwriter John Martyn died of pneumonia during his sleep this morning at the age of sixty.

As a tribute I present the following video of him singing the excellent "May You Never" on the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test back in 1973.

Wednesday wallpaper: William Hogarth - Chairing the Member

2009-01-28T09:45:00.002Z

This week's selection of wallpaper images are taken from the final painting in the Humours of an Election series by the satirical painter and engraver William Hogarth. The four paintings depict the election of a Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire in 1754. In the first three pictures Hogarth illustrates the endemic corruption associated with politics at this time as well as some of the issues of the day. This image, called Chairing a Member shows the successful candidate being carried through town by his supporters.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900
1280 x 1024 1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

Wednesday wallpaper: Canaletto`s London

2009-01-21T09:45:00.004Z

Today's set of wallpapers are various details of Canaletto's painting of the Thames and the City of London from Richmond House (1747). As ever the wallpapers are available in a selection of sizes to suit the most common screen resolutions.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900
1280 x 1024 1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864
1024 x 768 1024 x 600 800 x 600 800 x 480

First Articles on Helium

2009-01-17T21:52:00.006Z

I have been a member of Helium for some time, but had not published an article there until yesterday. Helium provides a medium for budding writers to publish their own work and rate the work of others while sharing in the advertising earnings of the site. They also offer other ways to earn money including subject-based competitions and a marketplace where various organisations commission articles on a variety of subjects.

My first published article is about The raid of Medway, when Dutch forces attacked the British Navy while it was moored at Chatham Docks on 9th June 1667. The article that I submitted is an edited version of one I had published on my Modern Historian blog some time ago. After rating a few articles - a requirement of contributors who wish to earn money there - I also wrote an article for one of the many debates raging on Helium: Capitalism vs. Socialism: Which do you prefer? Regular readers of this blog may be able to guess which of these I chose.

If I see any income from this site I will be sure to write a post here to let you all know.

Wednesday wallpaper: Netbook extravaganza

2009-01-07T08:00:00.000Z

I recently acquired an Acer Aspire One netbook. Its 8.9" screen supports a screen resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. Other netbooks, such as the Asus EEE PC 701, have a screen resolution of 800 x 480. As a result of the increasing popularity of these wee laptops I have decided to create some images to be used as wallpapers/backdrops on them to match the others that have already appeared on this blog: Bee, Sunset and Wells Cathedral.

Here are the 1024 x 600 versions:

800 x 480 resolution versions:

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 1 - "Caravan Girl" by Goldfrapp

2008-12-25T08:00:00.000Z

As is the tradition with these things I should start with a countdown of the rest of the top ten.

10 - "Nude" by Radiohead
9 - "Whiteboy" by James
8 - "5 Years Time" by Noah and the Whale
7 - "Hey Little Bird" by I Am Kloot
6 - "Warwick Avenue" by Duffy
5 - "Daddy's Gone" by Glasvegas
4 - "Clowns" by Goldfrapp
3 - "White Winter Hymnal" by the Fleet Foxes
2 - "One Day Like This" by Elbow

and now I can reveal my favourite tune of 2008 (to anyone who didn't read the title of this post)...

As I wrote yesterday, it was a difficult choice between the ubiquitous Elbow track and the eventual winner "Caravan Girl" by Goldfrapp. This is the second appearance in the chart from the avant-garde electro-pop-cum-glam-folk duo, underlining the quality of the album from which they are taken, Seventh Tree. So without further ado, I present my favourite tune of 2008. Seasonal felicitations to all.

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 2 - "One Day Like This" by Elbow

2008-12-24T08:00:00.001Z

Only narrowly missing on the top spot in my favourite ten tunes of 2008 is "One Day Like This" by Elbow from the Mercury Prize winning album, The Seldom Seen Kid. Readers from the UK will no doubt recognise it from its frequent use as incidental music on the television, not least on the BBC's Olympics coverage. This video shows Elbow's triumphant performance of "One Day Like This" at this year's Glastonbury Festival.

Nine down, one to go... tomorrow I reveal my favourite tune of the year...

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 3 - "White Winter Hymnal" by the Fleet Foxes

2008-12-23T08:00:00.000Z

So far all the artists in my top ten countdown have been British; not, I hasten to add, by design. Consequently, I am glad to include "White Winter Hymnal" by the marvelous Fleet Foxes as my third favourite tune of 2008. The grungey look of this Seattle-based (natch) quintet belies a sound that is reminiscent of the close-harmony folk-rock of the late-60s - which is no bad thing.

Tomorrow... number two... watch this space

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 4 - "Clowns" by Goldfrapp

2008-12-22T08:00:00.001Z

The latest Goldfrapp album, Seventh Tree is a real return to form, after the T.rex-u-like Supernature. The addition of a folkier, more pastoral sound to the synth-driven has produced a number of gems, including this song, "clowns", the fourth single to be taken from the album. The video for the song is from a recent performance for the BBC Electric Proms.

Tomorrow I reach the top three of my top ten tunes of 2008...

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 5 - "Daddy`s Gone" by Glasvegas

2008-12-21T08:00:00.001Z

Today's entry in my top ten tunes of 2008 features another video of a performance taken from the BBC show Later... With Jools Holland, by Glasvegas. The four-piece band, who unsurprisingly hail from Glasgow. combine indie-rock, social commentary and a production not unlike Phil Specter's wall-of-sound. This is especially evident on this poignant track about abandonment: "Daddy's Gone."

Come back tomorrow to find out what my fourth favourite tune of 2008 is...

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 6 - "Warwick Avenue" by Duffy

2008-12-20T08:00:00.000Z

The Welsh songstress Duffy has been somewhat ubiquitous this year, following the success of her 2007 album Rockferry. It has spawned a number of successful singles including "Warwick Avenue," which is a great showcase for her smokey vocal stylings. The video included in this post shows Duffy's performance of the song on the BBC show Later... With Jools Holland.

Tune in again tomorrow when we will enter the top five...

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 7 - "Hey Little Bird" by I Am Kloot

2008-12-19T08:00:00.000Z

Regular readers of this blog will know of my attempts to promote the bitter sweet music of the Manchester based band I am Kloot. This year saw the commercial release of their new album, I am Koot Play Moolah Rouge. Taken from that album is "Hey Little Bird" - number seven in my top ten tunes of 2008.

Number six tomorrow...

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 8 - "5 Years Time" by Noah and the Whale

2008-12-18T08:00:00.002Z

The next entry in my top ten tunes for 2008 is this quirky feelgood tune from London folkie combo Noah and the Whale. "5 Years Time" features singer-songwriter and friend-of-the-band, Laura Marling, on backing vocals. Enjoy.

Number 7 is just a day away...

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 9 - "Whiteboy" by James

2008-12-17T08:00:00.001Z

I wasn't a big fan of James during their hey-day in the early-90s, but the sheer brilliance of the lyrics for "Whiteboy" made this my ninth favourite tune of the year. I particularly enjoyed the lines:

My mum says I look like Yule Brynner
Too old for Hamlet, too young for Lear
Got a shaved head, lost weight fakir
Got a pierced nip cause it's still hip to appear queer

Unfortunately there is no promotional video for the song on YouTube. Nevertheless, somebody put the song on there displaying the cover of album from which "Whiteboy" was taken. That may be no loss because it'll help you concentrate on those cunningly crafted lyrics.

... the number 8 tune will appear here tomorrow... I bet you can't wait...

Top Ten Tunes of 2008: 10 - "Nude" by Radiohead

2008-12-16T08:00:00.005Z

In something of an homage to the much-missed John Peel and his annual 'Festive Fifty' I will be listing my ten favourite tunes of 2008, one per day until the Number 1 is revealed on Christmas Day. Each post will contain the obligatory YouTube video (where available).

So let's get started with...

10: Radiohead - Nude

In Rainbows provides something of a sonic smorgasbord for fans of the Oxford quintet. Each of the tunes on the album could have slotted in to one of their earlier albums, but not in such a way that makes In Rainbows an incoherent random collection of tunes. Here is the melancholic Nude, which wouldn't have been out of place on OK Computer.

... tune in tomorrow for number 9

Adding a Mixx button to the footer of each Blogspot post

2008-11-22T17:44:00.012Z

Recently Graham at Entrecard published a post promoting the use of social content website Mixx. Having become disillusioned with Digg I thought I would give it a try. I have created a profile on Mixx and added the code to my template to put a button in the footer of each blog. The code available on the Mixx site didn't quite work properly so I have edited it to work on Blogspot pages. This code will now use the correct URL for the post, making submission easier.

Now I make it available to you all - or at least those of you who know how to edit your Blogspot templates. Those of you who don't know how should read an introduction to customising the post footers in their templates, like this one from The Blog Doctor. You should be able to easily alter the code of the other Mixx buttons to work too by changing the image source.

Perhaps Marx was right after all

2008-11-16T18:39:00.005Z

All this talk of an imminent financial crisis on an unprecedented scale has made me wonder whether Karl Marx might have been right all along. The financial meltdown certainly makes a change from that other popular discourse of the apocalypse - the melting ice-caps and other environmentalist doomsaying - but maybe it could be good news. Well, good news for anyone who would welcome the final collapse of capitalism due to the stresses caused by its own internal contradictions.

For those of you who like a challenge, here is an excerpt from Marx's Das Kapital, which strikes a chord with me when I come to look at the market shenanigans and economic hocus-pocus that has resulted in the vast majority of us having to tighten our belts (again).

The real barrier of capitalist production is capital itself. It is that capital and its self-expansion appear as the starting and the closing point, the motive and the purpose of production; that production is only production for capital and not vice versa, the means of production are not mere means for a constant expansion of the living process of the society of producers. The limits within which the preservation and self-expansion of the value of capital resting on the expropriation and pauperisation of the great mass of producers can alone move — these limits come continually into conflict with the methods of production employed by capital for its purposes, which drive towards unlimited extension of production, towards production as an end in itself, towards unconditional development of the social productivity of labour.

The means — unconditional development of the productive forces of society — comes continually into conflict with the limited purpose, the self-expansion of the existing capital. The capitalist mode of production is, for this reason, a historical means of developing the material forces of production and creating an appropriate world-market and is, at the same time, a continual conflict between this its historical task and its own corresponding relations of social production.

[Source: Karl Marx, Capital, Volume III, Part III, Ch. 15]

Some of you will no doubt point out that Marxism has been proven wrong by the Soviet venture and by other communist states, all of which could be seen as palpable failures. Nevertheless, I could make the case that each such regime deviated from Marx's vision in some way, or indeed that the required conditions were not in place for a global transition from capitalism to socialism as the mode of production.

Then again, perhaps Christmas has arrived just in time. After all, it is the annual consumer-hogfest during which we buy plastic tat that we don't need. A proportion of which we give to people we don't like in order to celebrate an event that many of us don't believe in. So if you want to contradict Marx and my good self, make sure that you spend lots of money over the next few weeks and boost the economy, or at least maintain its life support system.

myLot

2008-11-02T16:31:00.006Z

For some time I have been looking for various ways to make money online. I have found a few services that do pay regularly for completing surveys, searching, clicking adverts or taking part in competitions. I have noticed that those that pay well tend not to last long, probably because of cash flow issues.

There are plenty of services that do not pay well (if at all) and so are not a particularly efficient use of my time. Paid to Click (ptc) services stand out in this respect as they only credit a fraction of a cent per click, so you would need to click several hundred links to earn one dollar. I am also wary of scam sites: as is often the case, if something looks to good to be true then it probably isn't.

A few months ago I signed up to myLot. This is a social networking site offering similar services to facebook, bebo and myspace. While myLot is not as sophisticated as these other sites in design or in the variety of services offered it does pay money to those who contribute to the many discussions, upload their photographs and refer their friends. Also, if you write a blog you can use myLot to promote it by adding it to their blog directory.

I have found that I am paid a couple of cents per discussion comment. MyLot make payments monthly via PayPal or moneybookers.com as long as you have at least $10 credit. I have yet to receive payment myself, but I have seen many proofs of payment and no accusations that the site is a scam. When I do receive payment I will write another article to show it.

So, if you need a little bit of extra cash and would like to join an online community that is part Yahoo! Answers and part lo-tech facebook then you could do a lot worse than signing up at myLot.

My myLot profile.

Wednesday wallpaper: Bee

2008-10-22T09:45:00.000+01:00

Today's wallpaper is a photograph of a bee gathering pollen from a lavender bush. I was quite pleased with how well this image turned out since it proved that my rather small inexpensive camera could take reasonable close-up photographs. The image is available in a variety of sizes, so just click on the link for the one that matches your screen dimensions and set it as your backdrop on your desktop.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900 1280 x 1024
1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864 1024 x 768 800 x 600

I am Kloot

2008-10-12T18:09:00.006+01:00

My first exposure to the bitter-sweet music of this Manchester based trio was on the equally bitter-sweet BBC situation-comedy Early Doors, written by Phil Mealey and Craig Cash (of Royle Family fame). John Bramwell , Peter Jobson and Andy Hargreaves formed I am Kloot in 1999 and released their debut album, Natural History, two years later. Since then they have released three more LPs on different labels but have failed to convert critical acclaim into commercial success.

Nevertheless, the band have a loyal fan-base (especially outside their native Britain) which may well grow through word-of-mouth acclaim. I know that I for one enjoy introducing friends and associates (and now, the readers of this blog) to the black humour of Manchester's best kept secret. As such I present the video for Proof, taken from their eponymous 2003 LP, which features actor Christopher Ecclestone (Dr Who, Heroes).

Check out the band's official website for more information, and see Tony Naylor's article on the Guardian blog: "Why isn't this band huge?" (a very good question).

Wednesday wallpaper: abstract two-tone tiles

2008-10-08T18:43:00.013+01:00

This week I present another set of images suitable for tiling either on your desktop or on webpages. Although these swirling psychedelic images may not be to everyone's taste.

Again I have various versions of the same image in different colours. If you would like this image in certain shades then leave a comment I will try to create a suitable version.

Wednesday wallpaper: Groucho tiles

2008-10-01T09:45:00.001+01:00

This week's selection of wallpapers are of comedy legend Groucho Marx. These images are designed to be tiled on the desktop, web-page or anywhere else you wish to use them. If you do use them on your web-site it would be good of you to provide a link back to Stepterix Rants. Also if you would like the image in a certain colour and do not know how to change it yourself then leave a message and I will see what I can do.

Pedantry Top Three

2008-09-28T15:47:00.009+01:00

Since I returned to higher education I have become something of a pedant or, as some people prefer to suggest, a language fascist. This may be because I am having to pay more attention to what I write, knowing that my compositions will be scrutinised, rather than merely read. Of course, if I am going to demand such high standards of myself then I am damn well going to treat my fellows in the same manner: a sort of perversion of the Golden Rule - 'do unto others as you do unto yourself.'

Consequently I have joined the legion of hand-wringers bemoaning the destruction of the English language. Above and beyond the increasing usage of SMS style language on the Internet, which has always been acronym heavy anyway, I get angry about the misuse of certain words. As such, I find the following five cases particularly annoying...

1) Less/Fewer
This is such a common mistake that it will probably not be seen as such in the near future. For those who don't know, you should use 'fewer' when you are talking about things that you count individually, such as apples, baboons or Californians; you should use 'less' for things that you measure or otherwise perceive as a continuum, like water, time and colours (as in 'less yellow').

2) Literally
Earlier this year, I was listening to a discussion about American policy towards Cuba on the radio. The presenter was interviewing a university professor about the subject during which the esteemed academic said something along the lines of "the American government literally has a strangle-hold on the Cuban people." Did he seriously expect us to believe that U.S. politicians and bureaucrats spent their time on that Caribbean island with hands clasped around the necks of the populace? I know some people accept that 'literally' can be used mean 'in effect' and to add emphasis to a statement, but that rather undermines the proper usage of the word.

3) Imply/Infer
This is something of an old chestnut and I include it because other language pedants would be let down had I not. So, for the record, the speaker/writer implies; the listener/reader infers. It really is as simple as that. As far as I know, this distinction is not being undermined in the same manner as the other two cases I mentioned, but it is surely only a matter of time.

C U SN 4 MR RNTS N STF

p.s. I realise that by posting this rant I have opened myself up to űber-pedants leaving comments correcting my grammar and punctuation. I look forward to seeing such criticisms because I am willing to learn and become a greater language fascist than I am already.

Wednesday wallpaper: Sunset

2008-09-24T09:45:00.000+01:00

This weeks wallpaper is a photograph of a particularly colourful sunset taken this summer.

As ever I have created a number of version with different dimensions. Simply click on the appropriate link for your screen settings.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900 1280 x 1024
1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864 1024 x 768 800 x 600

Rich Hall

2008-09-21T21:47:00.004+01:00

Rich Hall is one of my favourite comedians currently working. After making a number of appearances on popular US talk shows, such as Late Night with David Letterman, and working as a regular on Saturday Night Live, Hall carved out a career for himself across the Atlantic in the UK, where he has become a mainstay of comedy panel shows, including QI and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. He may have found a more ready acceptance of his dry sardonic humour in Britain; he certainly appears to have found more work here in the UK since the mind-90s than he has done in his native US.

He had published a number of books, including the excellent Things Snowball - a collection of short prose pieces that showcase his imaginative wit and love of language. My favourite piece is a response to a 'Dear John' letter written as if it were an academic article, fully footnoted and indexed. Hall also invented the term 'sniglet' - any word that isn't in the dictionary but should be - and has published several collections of them. An example of a sniglet is "Furnidents: The indentations left in carpet after moving heavy furniture."

The following videos are of Hall's 2005 appearance on Jack Dee Live at the Apollo, which includes language and ideas that may be offensive to some people.

Wednesday wallpaper: Wells Cathedral

2008-09-17T09:45:00.002+01:00

In a new weekly feature I will be sharing some images to be used as desktop backgrounds or wallpapers. For the full screen wallpapers I will create a variety of versions for each of the popular screen dimensions; however, if you use a screen size that I do not cater for please let me know by leaving a comment and I will endeavour to include it in future.

First up is a photograph of the west front of Wells Cathedral in Somerset, England.

1920 x 1200 1680 x 1050 1600 x 1200 1440 x 900 1280 x 1024
1280 x 960 1280 x 800 1152 x 864 1024 x 768 800 x 600

My First Haiku

2008-06-15T01:48:00.003+01:00

It is lost on them
Summer pearls before swine -
Save them for our friends