For various boring reasons, this review is a week late. Some Historical Context A few weeks ago I told you all how much I disliked reggae. But ska is different to reggae. Ska isn’t one of my favourite musical styles but there can’t be many people who were listening to popular music in the late… Continue reading The Specials
Month: August 2012
Week Notes 33
Blogging Two posts here this week – a “classic” album review and a rant about recorded delivery – and one over on Perl Hacks. Things are definitely looking up. Health It seemed that my weight loss had pretty much stalled for a couple of weeks. For far too long I hovered just above the 14… Continue reading Week Notes 33
Recorded Delivery
Do you ever use the Royal Mail’s Recorded Delivery service? And, if you do, do you ever take advantage of the the fact that your delivery has been recorded? I mean, do you go to their web site and check that the delivery has taken place? Or do you just assume that it has all worked unless… Continue reading Recorded Delivery
The Velvet Underground and Nico
This week’s classic album is another one that I recommended. It’s The Velvet Underground‘s debut album from 1967. Some Historical Context It feels like I’ve always loved The Velvet Underground but that can’t possibly be true. I think I actually discovered them about thirty years ago. I know that I saw Nico in concert in… Continue reading The Velvet Underground and Nico
Week Notes 32
Blogging Four blog posts this week. One of the best weeks this year. There was the weekly “classic album” post (reaffirming my suspicion that I don’t like reggae), two on the BBC’s lack of coverage of the Curiosity rover and one on the gullibility of people who share things on Facebook and Twitter without checking… Continue reading Week Notes 32
BBC on Curiosity
A few days ago I complained to the BBC about the lack of live coverage of the Curiosity landing. The automatic response promised a reply within ten working days. Impressively, it arrived just now. Less impressively, it didn’t really say anything useful. Thanks for contacting us regarding the BBC’s Olympic Breakfast on 6 August. I… Continue reading BBC on Curiosity
Gullible
Did you know that the word “gullible” doesn’t actually appear in the OED? A lot of people I know spend a lot of time poking holes in tabloid stories. It’s fun hobby for all the family. The tabloids are so bad at checking facts that it’s usually easy to find the basic flaws in things… Continue reading Gullible
The Chances of Anything Going to Mars
At just after 6:30 this morning, history was made. NASA landed the Curiosity rover on Mars. That was undoubtedly the biggest news that was happening live at 6:30 this morning. I don’t think any reasonable person could question that. The people scheduling the stories that would be covered on the BBC News Channel are obviously… Continue reading The Chances of Anything Going to Mars
The Harder They Come
This week’s “classic album” is Jimmy Cliff’s The Harder They Come – which is actually the soundtrack of a film and therefore contains some songs that aren’t by Jimmy Cliff. Some Historical Context This will be short. I’ve never heard this album before. Oh, I know who Jimmy Cliff is and I recognise a few… Continue reading The Harder They Come
Week Notes 31
Blogging Only one blog post last week, and that was my self-enforced “classic albums” post. I have a few ideas for posts this week though – and I might well have a bit more time to get them written. Health The fitness regime is going well. I’ve been running five times since this time last… Continue reading Week Notes 31