All done...

You shouldn't be here!

Update your RSS feeds to:

http://lithaborn.co.uk/?feed=atom

This blog, hosted on Blogger's servers, will no longer be updated. I'm now posting to the real blog on lithaborn.co.uk.

The change is going ahead right now

Normal service will be resumed just as soon as we're sure what is normal anyway.

Ok, so it's more than tempting...

I signed up for some of that webspace today. No-one's in the office until tomorrow, so it's then that I'll finalise things.

Not sure if you'll see a huge amount of difference, or if I'll try and get Movable Type working, or one of the blogging platforms that comes with the webspace, but this time you'll have lots of notice.

The URL will always point to a blog of some description, so if the RSS feed suddenly stops working, or doesn't show a new post for a few days, you know where I'll be.

This is almost too tempting...

I think I've mentioned before that I run the website for the Church I grew up in.

In the process of finding hosting for the site, I found a rather usefully titled site - Churchhosting.co.uk. Well, how could I resist?

Also, they invoice their customers, which I've found is quite a rare occurrence.

So anyway, everything was set up and working just fine, so I didn't bother with the site's Control Panel too much.

It's working, don't try and fix it. Fair play.

Well, tonight I decided to have a bit of a click around to see what some of the nifty buttons do.

I discovered a huge amount of site applications - like a forum, chatroom server, powerful picture gallery, guestbook, PHP tools...you name it!

What I'd forgotten is that this hosting company doesn't just cater for Churches, but also for individuals looking for a not-for-profit hosting package.

So in short, I could buy myself some webspace instead of piggybacking this here blog off the Church webspace, all for a pittance.

Problem is, we don't just have Easter fast approaching, we have a spate of family birthdays to budget for and right now that pittance would knock a noticable hole in our finances.

Fucking damn tempting, though...

Quick thoughts...

I'm in a reflective mood. Just been for a walk to liberate some money from a nearby cashpoint and got kinda thoughtful about various things. More on that later.

On my way to the bank, I happened to be listening to The Division Bell. At what point between Momentary Lapse of Reason and this album did Floyd become U2 lite? I had to check I'd uploaded the right directory. Not even close to what I was expecting. Odd.

Apparently Prime Minister Brown has committed an extra fuckwad of money to continuing our subjugation of other countries. I totally missed the Budget this year for the first time in ages. I did however catch the headlines about it being hailed as a "Budget for Education". So tell me, has he reformed the Student Grant rules? Has he scrapped all this Tuition Fee bollocks? I'll have to have a look and find out. I'm guessing the answer is "no".

If anyone out there knows how to get a Belkin wireless LAN card working on Windows Millenium, do drop me a line because it's pissing me off.

I'm tired, it's been a really nice spring day and tomorrow we're off to the Chinese for lunch with my mother-in-law, her sister and various others. Goody.

We got our new Cable box. Yay.

Another quiz...

This time it's rather an interesting one, though. Thanks to Sheerie, a fellow hedgewitch who dropped by to comment on the Star Trek post.

You scored as Celtic Pantheonic Pagan. Your answers leaned very close to that of the Celtic Pantheon. Very popular now among pagans, the Celtic Gods seem to draw those who are sensitive and insightful, but also very passionate about their beliefs. Many Pagan Holidays are named for this pantheon and here is where you'll find many stories on Horned God, Green Man, and Druids. You likely either have been or want to visit Stonehenge one day. Many Arthurian legnds include references to the Celtic faith, as well. Celtic Pantheonic Pagan 85% Zoroastrian Pagan 80% Egyptian Pantheonic Pagan 65% Roman Pantheonic Pagan 60% Shamanic Pagan 55% Ecclectic Pagan 55% Eastern Pagan 45% Kabbalistic Pagan 45% Greek Pantheonic Pagan 40% Sumerian, Babylonian, and Mesopotamian Pagans 40% Norse Pantheonic Pagan (Asatru) 35% Catholic (Pagan?) 10% What kind of Pagan are you? created with QuizFarm.com

I'm back...!

OK, so I never went away. Someone at Telewest fucked up and only cut our TV and Phone.

I'm not gonna complain!

Well, anyway, the first sign that they'd actually acknowledged that we'd given them our last twenty quid was when I got through to the speaking clock this morning.

Oh good I thought, we can catch up on some stuff on Teleport tonight!

Apart from one thing...when I was forcing the...let's say slightly recalcitrant Scart plug into the back of the Cable Box, said box slipped out of my hand and bounced neatly off the top of the TV.

The engineer will be popping round tomorrow morning with a new box, which is a bit annoying as we were planning on embarking on some quality shagging...

No, we will not be propostioning the Cable Guy, even if it turns out to be a large chested Cable Lass...

Well...

Back to where it all began...

Genesis - From Genesis to Revelation

Bloody 'ell!

OK, I guess everyone's seen the images of Peter Gabriel dressed up as a sunflower, or daisy or whatever, but I hadn't ever realised just how much of a hippie band Genesis started out as.

This album comes at you direct from the Age of Aquarius, summer of love, commune living days of the 60's and a bigger slice of real honest to goodness hippie groove you could not hope to find.

I was shocked - truly shocked, but then my recent overexposure to Pink Floyd can probably account for some of this: imagine wading through tar, traversing still-smoking battlefields, then falling headlong into a field grown high with wild flowers, bathed in late summer sunshine and dancing naked with the beautiful people. Culture shock?! Heavy, man...

Where's the radio friendly bland pop meanderings of the 80's? It's fair to say that when you're talking about complete and total 180 degree turnarounds, Genesis is there at the top of the heap.

If you're not quite sure of my opinion of this record yet, let's just say that as an old hippie myself, I loved it.

Next up: Nursery Cryme

Any Star Trek fans out there...?

Over at Ain't It Cool, there's a rather lengthy and quite fascinating essay on the contents of a script that's been hovering around the Trekverse for some time...

Starfleet Academy.

Learn about what Kirk, Bones, Spock and Scotty did at school here.

Still hanging on...

Seems someone forgot to switch my internet access off.

Well I'll be paid up to date by midday, so if they cut me off before that I'll be mightily pissed off...

OK, more pissed off than I am now, anyway...

Now that's more like it...

So far I've listened to about 30 minutes of this concert.

At last, the sound has a context. This is a much more natural environment for the sweeping, vast sounds on offer.

I still don't have any particular emotional attachment to the music, but now I've heard it the way it was meant to be heard - played live to screaming fans.

Yes, much better. Wonder what the next hour will bring...

Chicken Licken never thought of that...

A 50 meter long part of the new Wembley roof has fallen down, creating an "Enormous bang".

Oh yeah, I'd be so happy to stand under that roof now!

The "Should" List...

Eagle eyed regulars (all one of you) will recall that I've mentioned my "Should" list a couple of times lately.

This is basically a list of all the things I should do, read, watch or visit before...well, before I die, really.

Anyway, I thought I'd share that list with you - along with the reason they're on the list. It's a bit long, so you'll have to wait until I've coded it into a popup window or something, but that's something I can work on while I wait to be reconnected.

In the meantime, any recommendations?

Point to ponder...

I've been thinking about the MPAA, the RIAA and all these filesharing prosecutions that are going on, and I got to wondering something...

You know all these charity shops, market stalls and car boot sales (not the bootleggers or con artists, but the kids flogging their old Transformers videos) where you can pick up anything by Mantovani or Brother Beyond, or Jane Fonda's Workout video for 50p? Do they pay royalties to the artist? I'm assuming the answer is "no".

And as they don't pay royalties, isn't buying from these people tantamount to taking money out of the artists' mouths? Apart from handing over your money, isn't it very much the same as downloading music or movies from the web? The artists never see the money, the studios never see the money. Isn't there something in the copyright laws about not being able to give away or resell the item without the artist's consent?

Now I wonder how long it'll be before they start prosecuting Oxfam...

It's all about...

Since embarking on my Floydathon, I've been made aware - from multiple sources - of all the intrigue, backbiting and arguments that have peppered the band's history.

The problem is, I don't care.

I've never been one to immerse myself in all the gossip and real lives of the artists I enjoy. Oh, I watch the gossip websites, but not as closely as most. Now and again there'll be a titbit that grabs my attention, but not for more than five minutes.

For me, the music is where it starts and ends - and no, the mystery of why a band's image or sound inexplicably changes doesn't interest me at all. The way I see it, I'll either find out one day, or I won't. In the meantime, if the music's good, I'm happy.

At the end of the day, isn't that what it's all about?

In other news, I've just finished listening to a borrowed copy of E.L.O's "Out of the Blue", which is, let's face it, the perfect incarnation of 70's electronica. what's needed to make this album perfect is to listen to it in this room:

Bloody Telewest...

Touchy and annoyed perator #1 tells us we've got until Monday to pay the last - and most critical - installment that we forgot to pay last month, and we won't get cut off.

Mystified and apologetic operator #2 tells us that actually we'll be already cut off when we wake up on Monday morning and it'll take up to 72 hours for them to register the payment.

All because we were £20 short on the last bill.

This leads me to a number of conclusions:

1) Telewest are officious cunts.

2) I'll be off the radar until Thursday.

3) Time to crack out the Freeview box again.

Play nice, See ya later...

In the air...

Following Stef's suggestion, I'm now taking a slight diversion on my journey through Pink Floyd's back catalogue, with a live show from Sapporo, Japan 1972 and a show from Paris, 1989. I reckon I know what they're going to sound like, but I'm open to be pleasantly surprised.

I might even line up the DVD on my Blockbuster list.

In the meantime, I've decided on a new music marathon to embark on: a group whose lineup and style have changed over the last thirty years, but who have been persistently in the top echelon. A group whose music forms the backdrop to many lives, but which inspires more indifference and derision than love.

Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Phil Collins. The Genesisathon will begin shortly...

Momentary lapse of interest...

The Floydathon wends its weary way to 1987, and A Momentary Lapse of Reason.

This is a return to Floyd's stadium oriented content, with the echo already there. Sweeping guitar interludes and occasional bursts of vocals bring "Wish you were here" to mind. I can well imagine people saying it's Floyd's return to their roots. As a new listener, I wouldn't know, but this is so reminiscent of WYWH that I could easily play them back-to-back and not see the join.

This isn't altogether a bad thing, and I can now see how Floyd get their reputation for performing mindblowing gigs, but does that transfer well into a format that's accessible to the new listener? Does it grab the guy who isn't cranking up his record deck and minutely adjusting his quadrophonic speakers? Can someone who's just stuck this on his walkman to listen to on a crowded bus get as much as the audio geek out of this album?

No. WYWH and Lapse are in danger of alienating the casual listener. Like Judge Dredd the movie, it's one for the die-hards.

Not that I didn't like it, it was OK, but I haven't found a new favourite - not by a long stretch.

Next on my chronological slog through Floyd's back catalogue is Division Bell, which I'm not looking forward to.

Only 42% corrupt..?!

Dilettante You scored 41% Experience, 65% Adventurousness, 66% Kinkyness, and 42% Corrupt!

You have definitly found your way to pleasure. You know what you like and continue to do it. Do not hesitate to continue to push your limits. Do not get stuck only doing what is comfortable. Sometimes we learn the most about ourselves when we push ourselves harder and further on the journey to self discovery. Please remember to rank my test. Thank You

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 88% on Experience You scored higher than 78% on Adventurousness You scored higher than 76% on Kinkyness You scored higher than 89% on Corruption

Link: The Sexual Experimentation Test written by LadyLilithDreams on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Take a chance with a couple of kooks...

The Floydathon gathers pace with The Final Cut.

Well now. Something has happened here that I never thought would. I actually quite like this album.

I know, knock me down with a feather.

Morose, yes. Unrelentingly whiney, yes. But you see, I've never heard an album that sums up my feelings on the real cost of both World War 2 and the Thatcher years better than The Final Cut.

Everything's there, the powerlessness, the horror of seeing the whole country fucked over by the government, the aching frustration...

"Oh Maggie, what have we done..."

I can see why people don't like this album - it's not really the Floyd that's gone before (apart from The Wall, and that doesn't count). This is the stark, bleak work of angry people. They're saying things that people don't want to hear. We don't want to know that the War killed our friends infront of our eyes, we don't want to be reminded the depths of depression we were all feeling in 1983.

The 80's these days means mis-matched clothes, boots over jeans, retro heaven. Forget that the evening news had a section every night on how many factories had closed, how many people had lost their jobs that day. Forget that everything that was built up over the previous 150 years was stripped and sold for vast profit in the space of four years. forget that they tried to tax us for simply being alive...

I've been watching "Our Friends In The North" on DVD for the first time since....oh, god knows when, and it's fascinating to watch all of these threads coming together, cohering into a solid mass of excellent drama - and then to listen to Final Cut - well, it brings the whole feeling of the times back to me.

By the way, I can also heartily recommend listening to this album back-to-back with Bowie's Hunky Dory, which I've just discovered is a thoroughly teriffic album.

Luvvie grub...

Geilgud Shrimp Remoulade, Vivien Leigh's Brandy Snaps, Dickie Dahling's Chicken Risotto...

All courtesy of the recently rediscovered Theatre Recipe Book, a copy of which I'd quite like to own.

Not what you'd expect...?

Madison Young is one of my favourite fetish models, whose Livejournal I found some time ago.

It's fascinating to be constantly reminded that these girls you're used to seeing poured into latex outfits and covered in ropes also have regular lives - a bit like getting your head around the idea that A-list celebs shop at tesco's just like we mere mortals do.

Anyway, through the links on her LJ I discovered a new site from the Blog of Ms Marina who describes herself as "Resident Headmistress of Purgatory at Bar Sinister, fetish model, artist, singer, ex-professional gypsy, masseuse, world traveler, potential nymphomanic."

What kind of site could this woman have linked to on her Live Journal?

Well, here it is, freaky, slightly OTT, but reassuringly totally work safe!

When will they ever learn...

Ian Blair's in trouble again, this time for recording phone conversations.

Why is he still there?

Floydathon Pt 2 - Wish You Were Here...

Well, it's an improvement. No electronic birdies for a start.

You can tell fromt he first ten minutes that this would be a terriffic album to hear live. But then, there are more fulfilling ways to spend six hours.

Because six hours is about the amount of time it would take to allow the Floyd time enough to wring the very last drop of nuance out of its' throbbing, interminable stadium worthy music.

Actually, "worthy" is the word I'd use to describe WYWH. While Ummagumma is the epitome of Experimental Prog Rock, WYWH is it's slightly calmer older brother. The evolution of Floyd's singular style couldn't be more obvious. WYWH is everything Prog Rock should be - forty-five minutes of gadumbadumba................whee...........howl..................wooo interrupted with two verses of sung accompaniment.

Listening to it is to be transported back to 1975, looking out over the ocean, Cinzano in hand, with "Shine on you crazy diamond" floating out of your 8-track and over the water.

Background music, like Dinner Party Jazz could never be.

Next time: The Final Cut

Well, that was a waste of time...

some people will do anything to avoid being found guilty of genocide.

Tweet...tweet...tweettweet..fucking shut up already...!

Is my lasting impression of listening to Ummagumma.

If I'm being generous, I can see what they were trying to do here. It's not the first "experimental" music I've listened to and it's far from the worst, but there's experimental and experimental - there's people like Jean Michel Jarre who compose music in a classical mode using electronic instruments, there's Philip Glass and his sound sculptures, and then there's people who just fuck about with their instruments to se what cool noises they can make.

Ummagumma is not composed in a classical mode. Neither is it sculpture. Indeed, I've heard more harmonious noises coming from a room full of toddlers.

I se what they're trying to do...no, really I do. Recreating nature with electronic instruments, delivering shocks and all that. It's very much a product of its age and hasn't aged well. There are redeeming moments: "Set the controls for the heart of the sun" isn't too bad, and there are moments of interest in "Grantchester meadows", but these are very much in the minority, a bit like listening to Holszt's "Planets Suite" and liking "Jupiter" because it's got that Rugby song in it.

In fact, it's a LOT like that. Only the Planets Suite is good. In fact, I fancy listening to it now...

I should say at this point that I didn't listen to the live part of the album, and I only managed 40 minutes of the other part.

Previously, I have tried to listen to "The Wall" and "Dark side of the moon" and also found them very hard to connect with. I don't particularly want to limit myself to just the "greatest hits", Floyd is on my "should" list, so I'm going to keep trying other albums to see if there's one or two I can connect with.

So anyway, Ummagumma is a Thumbs Down, The Wall is a Neutral and Dark Side of the Moon - Don't shoot me - is another Thumbs Down. Don't know what's next, the Ummagumma download was included in a set of 19 albums, so I'm spoilt for choice.

Still not liking Prog Rock, still got those tweeting birds ringing in my ears. But I will update my opinion of the genre. Strike "pretentious" and replace with "Portentious".

Unintelligible, pretentious, self-indulgent fretwank...

Is my considered opinion of Prog Rock, but with Dave - sorry, DavID - Gilmour and Pink Floyd currently darlings of the music world once again, I thought I'd take another foray into enemy territory.

For research purposes only, the otherwise visciously expensive Ummagumma was duly downloaded and transferred to ye olde MP3 player.

My review of said album may well be short, sharp and to the point, but you can look forward to it anyway, can't you?

(Also residing on the player is Jean Michel Jarre's "Equinoxe", Cypress Hills' "Greatest Hits From The Bong" and a selection from my "misc" folder, including Bis, the Pistols, Cream, Stevie Wonder and Simon and Garfunkel - four and a half hours crammed into 120Mb - so, not much of a mix really)

First rule of engineering...

You may recall, dear reader, this post where I mentioned our tempramental radiators.

Well, today I fixed them.

Last night was a particularly cold night at Lithaborn Towers, and as the thermometer in the living room dipped below 17 celcius, I consented that something was, indeed, fucked.

I checked circuit breakers, I tapped flues, I changed fuses, I flipped switches, I burned matches.

Nada.

By then it was 3am, so I lit the fire and went to bed.

With one kid off to school and the other eating breakfast, I was free to resume my investigations this morning. Didn't get very far though, as younger anklebiter is going through her "superglue" phase - as in "sticking to me like superglue".

Anyway, we sat in the warm glow of the fire all day, ignoring the frost thickening on the rest of the house until 3pm.

When, in a flash of frustration-born inspiration, I aimed a punch at the thermostat.

So, anyway, everything's fine now...

Yam yam...

Yesterday we discovered that Sweet Potato chips ("fries" for my American reader) - with garlic, oregano and coriander - are really really nice.

Unfortunately, my IBS means they go straight through me, but hell, they're too nice not to have again!

I wanna know how I got some wrong!

Totally Radical! You scored 83%!

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 38% on eightoniums

Link: The improved 80's Test written by chimpwithalimp on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Yep, a lot of questionnaires...

I demand more booze...

1. First time you ever drank?

Aged 14 or so, sneaking nips of Martini while coming home for lunch.

2. More of a beer or liquor person:

depends what mood I'm in. Never lager.

3. What type of drunk are you?

Open, giggly, stupidly brave.

4. How many on your Top 8 have you been drunk with?

None.

5. How many on your Top 8 have you taken care of when they are drunk?

Ditto.

6. Favorite Drink:

Waggledance, Jim Beam. Whatever looks like the nicest bitter on Trad taps while in a pub.

7. Beer:

Better than the acidic shit they call fermented apples, and vastly better than any lager.

8. Shot:

Tequila!

9. Top 5 Favorite beers (if applicable)

Waggledance
Pedigree
Bass
Banks's mild (Original)
Brew XI

10. More of a Bar or Club person:

Bar, then on to a club. Chance would be a fine thing these days.

11. Alcohol you absolutely despise:

Vodka. Yechh!

12. Ever bought a stranger a drink:

Sort of. I was trying to get off with her, y'see.

13. Been thrown out of a bar/club for fighting?

Nope. I'm a lover, not a fighter.

14. Been thrown out of a bar/club for anything else?

I have a memory of being thrown out of the women's toilets with my ex, but I may have imagined it. It was more than a decade ago and I've tried to forget everything I did with her...

15. Ever make out with someone in front of a cheering crowd:

Yep. We were nine years old.

16. Most amount of money spent in one bar/club:

Oh, never more than about £50.

17. Ever buy a round for random people:

Once, I think.

18. Best band you've seen while drinking:

Sepultura.

19. Ever danced on the bar/stage:

Nope. No-one should be subjected to that particular horror.

20. Best town/area to drink in:

Anywhere with heavy metal playing.

21. Do you forget a lot of what happens during a night of hard drinking?

Not really. Even though I might want to.

22. Ever been drunk around your parents?

Well, there was the year a friend bought me a bottle of whiskey which i got through over the run up to Christmas, then found the 3%ABV 250ml bottles my parents handed round on Christmas Day had the effect of sobering me up...

23. Name the people on your friend's list that you definitely think are going to repost this.

Anyone who wants to!

C'mere...

FACT: You embody the German principle of Konstantzusammenschaft, which is best described in English (without using the obscure English word "sammenschaft") as "eternal togethermanship". The Loverboy Random Gentle Love Master (RGLMm) Well-liked. Well-established. You are The Loverboy. Loverboys thrive in committed, steady relationships--as opposed to, say, Playboys, who want sex without too much attachment. You've had many relationships and nearly all of them have been successful. You're a nice guy, you know the ropes, and even if you can be a little hasty with decisions, most girls think of you as a total catch. Your hastiness comes off as spontaneity most of the time anyhow, making you especially popular in your circle of friends, too. Your exact opposite: The Billy Goat Deliberate Brutal Sex Dreamer You know not to make the typical Loverboy mistake of choosing someone who appreciates your good humor and popularity, but who offers nothing in return. You belong with someone outgoing, independent, and creative. Otherwise, you'll get bored. And then instead of surprising her with flowers or a practical joke, you'll surprise her by leaving. ALWAYS AVOID: The Nymph CONSIDER: The Window Shopper, The Peach Link: The 32-Type Dating Test by OkCupid - Free Online Dating. My profile name: Lithaborn

Gonna have to work on lowering that percentage...

Very Kinky You are 33% pure!

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 15% on purity

Link: The 100 Point Sexual Purity Test written by ocicat on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Cumbrian Wind Farm rejected...

So this...

Looks better than this?


Fucking idiots.

Now your baby can look as cool as your iPod...

Hands up, who wants one?

Hope you weren't eating...

From Digital Spy (I've gone right off my dinner):

Richard Madeley reveals his sordid past

Richard Madeley has revealed that he used his fame to bed dozens of women before marrying Judy.

Madeley revealed that after splitting from his first wife he felt free to go wild: "I enjoyed the fruits of being a young single man on TV," he is quoted as saying in The Daily Mail.

"The effects of being a TV personality were obvious. I sowed a lot of f***ing oats and loved it."

However, since meeting Judy he has put this past behind him and only has eyes for his wife of 20 years.

"If you don't have a strong sexual appetite for each other then it never works," Madeley told the April issue of GQ magazine. "And we do."

Noooo!