Song of the Day - Peter, Bjorn and John

Young Folks by Peter, Bjorn And John (as suggested by the lovely Michelle :))

Peter & Bjorn met as teenagers and in 1999 they met John. Since then it’s been hundred of gigs, 2 albums, many ep’s & singles, lots of love and lots of fussing and fighting. Last album “Falling Out” is available on Hidden Agenda in the states. Check it out man! The third album “Writer’s Block” is out now through Wichita/V2, in to begin with Europe. Everybody writes, everybody sings, everybody plays, everybodys happy. Peter are also studying information science and are planning his first solorecordings, Bjorn has released his fantastic jazz-album with combo Yttling Jazz (www.yttling.se) and are busy producing people like Shout Out Louds while John is traveling round the world playing percussion.

Source: Peter, Bjorn And John on MySpace

Hogging Christmas

Ever thought what if Death dressed up as Father Christmas and did his rounds for him? Probably not I suspect, but Terry Pratchett did. His book, Hogfather, is being made into a TV film. The book is great. Based on the fantasy world of Discworld, it mimics our world with both thinly veiled and deeply complicated allegories to what we think, do and believe in.

I’m normally happy to just enjoy the books, but the film intrigues me, especially with the acting talent on show - David Jason as Albert, David Warner as Lord Downey, Nigel Planner as Mr Sideney and the wonderful Joss Ackland as Mustrum Ridcully the wizard. The book also has one of Pratchett’s most memorable bit parts, that of the art connoisseur and thug Teatime, played by Marc Warren.

Not sure when it’s on, or where (think it’ll be Sky One) but you can find more information about it here. Go on, do it now or Santa won’t be coming this year.

Song of the Day - Snow Patrol

Chasing Cars, from Snow Patrol’s 2006 album “Eyes Open”.

Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Northern Ireland and Scotland signed to Polydor Records. The band was formed in Scotland by vocalist/guitarist Gary Lightbody and bassist/keyboardist Mark McClelland, two students from Northern Ireland, who were at the time pursuing an education in Dundee, Scotland.

Source: Wikipedia

Walking on water

I’ve been perusing the Google ads again and come across the best invention ever. Soon all people will be using these. Bet they can’t wait for global warming to take effect and everywhere to be flooded. These would truly make your life better then.

Lied to by inanimate objects

Yesterday I was lied to by an inaminate object. In fact, it’s being lying to me for weeks. Shower Shine could be seen (nay, heard) mocking me as I scrubbed the mould off the bathroom tiles.

“Never scrub again!” the bottle exclaims in larger than necessary letters (although those with conjunctivitis would be grateful). Well I beg to differ. I’ve even tried adjusting the distance I spray the liquid from (like it would make a difference), although 18cm is pretty hard to judge without a tape measure.

And this may shock you, but it’s not the first time I’ve been lied to by a non-living entity.

Marketing people are, by their very nature, relaxed with the truth. From fake movie critics to the shaving foam that will banish razor burn forever, and the websites that will organise your life, we are constantly bombarded with claims of how wonderful/better/more efficient our life would be with this wonderful product. It’s has been a trademark of the shoddy and dishonest for many a long year, however with the advent of high-speed internet, e-mail spam and websites to flog a product, the snake-oil salesmen are having a field day. I include Shower Shine in that category, though if someone from the company wishes to come round and demonstrate that it actually does work they’re more than welcome. They can demonstrate the carpet stain remover whilst they’re at it (80cm spray distance that results in covering an area 6 times larger than you wish).

This poses a problem for some traditional marketeers - how to compete. Hence “Never scrub again!” sounds a lot more sexy than “Don’t scrub quite as often”. Recommendations welcome….

Electric cars - no, really

Living in London is sometimes like living in a kitchen when you’ve burnt the toast. Hazy, smelly and there’s a bad taste in your mouth. I have no idea why buses and taxis aren’t more environmentally friendly, I’ll ask Ken Livingston if I ever see him. Anyway as part of my job I go to meetings in the West End quite often (or ‘up West’ as they like to say in EastEnders) and while I’m there I see quite a few of these little babies.

Yes, they look ridiculous next to a big 4×4 but I think they’re great. The cost of electricity of running the car for a year is £50 supposedly. Yes, a year. No congestion charge, free parking in certain places and who needs to go over 30mph in London (apart from maniac bus drivers)? I can only see a few problems. Firstly if you don’t live in a major city centre then you’re screwed. I don’t fancy the trip up to Leeds up the M1 in that thing (and you’d never make it as the range is 50 miles). Secondly, you need to burn fossil fuels to create electricity (well not ‘need’ but that’s where the majority’s from) so how much better is it for the environment?

Thirdly watch this video:

and answer this: where exactly is she unravelling her charging lead from? If it’s from the house are you telling me she’s had it strung across the pavement all night like a tripwire? Or even if it’s loose on the ground I guarantee some kids will enjoy having a tug-of-war with your sockets.

Anyway more can be read about it here.

The Decline Of The English Language

Much has been written on the decline of the English language and where applicable I weigh in my tuppence worth. Our language is changing. It always has been and always will be. Declining? No. Changing? Yes.

That is what I thought, until I saw this.

Not one, but two spelling errors in the Daily Mail advert from the London version of the free morning Metro newspaper on September 21st 2006. “challanged” and “appllingly”? Now, I know that not everyone is the greatest speller, but that’s what you use a spell checker for, right? Possibly they ran out of vowels and when someone actually found an ‘a’ they popped it into the wrong word.

I will also ignore the “Skinny moi?” headline as I no longer have the energy to go into what’s wrong with that… Tok 2 u ltr.

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