" what's wrong - the wrong - that's always in wrong...! "
ITEM! bottle tops ( aka thameside wines ), the off licence on the gorner of oxford road & putney bridge road* has been replaced by an "optimum health clinic" - what a country...!
* opposite what used to be orac's - the blakes 7 themed restaurant
ITEM! it was rather wonderful to see alan moore & posy simmonds reading out excerpts from the ec horrors on gomics britannia part 2 - i could've happily watched just that for the whole hour - esp. when posy started doing the sound effects of a man having his fingernails pulled out ( - "phutt!" )
the prog was also educational: i never knew the rev marcus morris ( greator of the eagle & girl ) = "a serial bonker" ( thank you, max hastings ) - & the footage of how frank hampson creates dan dare w/his son & father dressing up as character models was great
proves that girls = much stronger than boys tho - if i'd read "war orphans of suicide farm" ( or whatever it was called ) as a kiddy, i think i'd have had nightmares & been scarred ( & scared ) for life
ITEM! does anyone else think it's weird that on their tesco ad john mcenroe & bjorn borg have exactly the same items in their trolleys?
ITEM! i've been enjoying the repeats of the 60s batman tv show on bbc4 but they're gonna find it hard to top last week's opener w/jill st john dressed as robin - at least until julie newmar or yvonne craig turn up
ITEM! 5 stupid answers to snappy qs from the mighty
freakytigger - i posted an edited version on his LJ yesterday ( due to the restriction of the no. of characters ) but you get the whole unadulterated waffle here ( you lucky ppl ):
1. Which two cities should be merged together to create a mega-city?
well, one of 'em's gotta be london - cos i'm not moving anywhere else - i'm tempted to make the other one wisconsin so i can gommune w/my fellow beer & cheese fatties
i was gonna say barcelona for the majesty & grandeur of the architecture - or san francisco, cos of perceived coolness & their liberal tradition ( - & i believe there's a place there called nob hill - wouldn't it be great to live on nob hill...? )
but the other one has gotta be glasgow cos then i cld hang out w/my pal the
giddyoldgoat more often - & i'm also reliably informed that there are some v.goob curry restaurants in glasgow
so london plus glasgow, plse - the chief judge = ken livingstone ( - not boris, ta - i like a joke as much as the next idiot but still... )
2. Which was the first comic shop you went to and what was your impression of it?
in return for standing outside the pub for several hours*, my dad once took me to dark they were & golden eyed in soho ( or thereabouts ) in the mid 70s - i was too young - & despite the gomics it was all a bit too much for me - i think i was frightened of the hippies & the bongs & other drug paraphernalia on display ( not that i knew what they were ) & the smells & the "other worldliness" - we didn't stay long ( i don't think we bought anything either ) & never went back - of course now i'm jealous of my cool friends who hung out ( & in one case worked ) in the legendary dark they were...
* to be fair i also got several bottles of lemonade & bags of grisps
a few years later we went to forbidden planet - & i was "ready" - among other things i a gouple of fanzines: cerebro & two decades of gomics ( - both life changing in their own way ) - & soon there was no stopping me ( ie - the start of a slippery slope )
my fave gomic shop ever = comic showcase when it was in neal st - mostly cos i used to hang out there 3 or 4 evenings a week after work - & go boozing w/the staff ( - typical early to mid 20s twit w/cash in pocket & no responsibilities )
my current local gomics shop nowadays = 30th century comics ( - i have been known to go boozing w/the staff of this 'un too )
3. Who is the first fattest man in Putney (or is this a guesstimate?)
well i haven't knocked on every door in putney to check - but i'm fairly sure it's the manager of the hairdressers at the end of our road - he's a larger than life "character" - often seen outside his shop having the badinage with his customers & passers by - sometimes he wears this rather eye catching purple velvet suit
due to intensive cakes therapy i'm rapidly catching up to him tho
4. Have the lyrics of a song ever changed your opinion on a non-musical topic?
well, i'm sure it must've happened but for the life of me i can't think of any specific examples
probly the first time i noticed lyrics = the jam or ( god help me ) toyah - i used to write 'em down in notebooks, exercise books etc - i loved "the stories" weller used to tell - but the politics were prob a bit beyond me
a bit later billy bragg's first two albs made a big impression - & that goincided w/starting to go to gigs regularly ( mostly benefits for striking miners or other anti thatcher things ) - but that was as much due to the influence of my friends as pop stars - & a reaction against the horrible govt of the time
i have learned a few bits of useful info from lyrics - i still can remember the lyrics to advice on arrest by the desperate bicycles ( i've never yet needed 'em - but just in case ) - also i've got a horrible feeling feeling that quite a lot of my info abt girls & human biology came from studying the lyrics to kate bush's first album ( - this was last thursday, obv )
unfortunately the lyrics to meat is murder failed to gonvince me - sorry moz...!
5. How can intelligent humans achieve happiness in a hypermediated and hypersexualised environment which shows every sign of worsening? (An old favourite)
or as stan lee put it: "can a man with green skin & a petulant personality find true happiness in today's status seeking society?"
a lyric immediately came to mind, "squander yr cash - be rash - just hold on to yr friends" ( moz ) - but how should i know what the intelligent humans should do?
misery & gonflict = inevitable - but a positive mental attitude = ESSENTIAL - &/or just go with the flow & try not to think about "things" ( this is easier when you don't have children &/or many responsibilities, obv ) - i blame the daily mail ( for just abt everything ) - but then cos i go w/the flow, i'm not part of the solution - i'm probly part of the problem
or as jose mourinho put it on the news yesterday morning: " - it is omelettes & eggs - no eggs, no omelettes...! - it depends on the quality of the eggs - in the supermarket you have class 1, class 2 or class 3 eggs - & some are more expensive than others - & some give you better omelettes - so when the class 1 eggs are in waitrose - & you cannot go there - you have a problem "
& that's it - oo, they were q. hard qs cos some of 'em were beyond my usual realms of "thinking" - & since i rarely leave london - & have virtually no experience of any other cities q.1 was a bit tricky for me ( until i thort of that ole goat )
i think that's all my 5 answers meme thingys done - probly wise to take a break from it for a while anyway ( tho anyone: plse remind me if i "owe" you 5 answers )