Monday 28 September 2009

Overheard #90

Another food-based one from earlier today:
"So how would you make a breakfast bagel , Mike?"
"Well, I'd soak them in water for three hours then throw them away."

Thursday 24 September 2009

From The Flames

So, Phoenix then.

Fantastic group, formed out of the ashes (hence...) of Air's early backing band and one of the first incarnations of Daft Punk. That's not so much 'cool' in my book as '−459.67°F' and falling.

I remember loving their first LP (whose name eludes me without firing up some reference site or other) but which had the standout track/single 'If I Ever Feel Better') way back in 2000 and then the brilliant 'Alphabetical' in mid-2004. If you haven't heard 'Everything Is Everything' then you haven't lived. You haven't? OK, here you go:







Anyway, thanks to Spotify I recently discovered they have a new album out entitled 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' (the title of which appealed to the uber music geek in me, obviously). Here's a sample, 'Lisztomania' which is the first track off the album, and another absolute winner IMHO:







So, y'know, get into Phoenix. Yes, I know they're French but it works for them.

Wednesday 16 September 2009

Overheard #89

A discussion about the recent cold & wet weather led to this:
"So if you only have a small radiator in the hall, how do you get warm?"
"I have a gas fire that doesn't work in the living room."
"..."

Thursday 10 September 2009

NeRoux

You know I really like La Roux.
You know I rather admire Nero.








Love the brooding quality he brings to the original, just by slinging it into the minor key and slapping a filthy bassline round its chops (thanks to Chris for the heads up).

You can also have a lot of fun by opening two copies of this page and playing the tracks slightly (3/8 works) out of sync...

...oh, just me then?

Wednesday 9 September 2009

BomberChessMan

In a random discussion on Twitter this morning, I got to remembering way-back-when in York, making Probemeister techno with John in his room upstairs at The Spotted Cow. Also living at that hostelry were various members of Shed Seven and John's mate Daz, all of whom were rather partial to a game of chess, which they played fanatically and competitively at all hours of the day and night:

The other major distraction from "actually getting anything done" was a Nintendo SNES which as far as I can remember was always running Super Bomberman 3 in four-player Battle Mode:

I couldn't help thinking they were quite similar and that there would definitely be a market for Chess With Exploding Weapons. Pausing only to scribble that on an envelope, I headed for the Patent Office...

...but then I remembered this:


Curse my metal body!

Friday 4 September 2009

Overheard #88

Our office is comedy gold, most days:
"Just so you know, there's a server migration in progress"
"Is that some kind of bird?"

Thursday 3 September 2009

FIFA Fo Fum

With UEFA's recent sudden & random use of the two match ban for Eduardo based on video evidence, as well as the new FIFA decision to stop Chelsea from buying any new players for 18 months, it has clearly become time for some new legislation in football to handicap the top clubs. I have therefore devised some other rules for the 2010-11 season, as follows:
Portsmouth must play wearing one white glove on their left hands.
Fulham can only pass East-West in the first half, then North-South in the second.
Sunderland must play in pink and have My Little Pony boots, shaped like little hooves.
Everton must wear their shirts and shorts back to front.
Aston Villa's coaching staff will only be allowed to communicate to the players in Elvish.
Spurs' players must pass the ball to each other in alphabetical order.
Liverpool must arrive to away matches on monocycles, juggling fiery clubs.
Wigan's goalkeeper must sport a parrot on his shoulder throughout the match.
Burnley can only employ players called Dave.
Hull City's matches must take place on the Humber Bridge and they forfeit the match if the ball gets wet.
Wolves must paint their kneecaps to match their opponents shirts.
Stoke City cannot kick-off if there is an odd number of hot dog sellers outside the stadium.
Any more bright ideas before I pack this lot into a roast swan and mail it to the football authorities? You may notice that Manchester United are missing from this list but Sir Alex would just tell them where to stick their silly rules and carry on regardless :)

Tuesday 1 September 2009

Wood You Oyster?

This sounds terribly rude: Wood Oyster

But it is in fact a fantastic Victorian twist on the horrible bright yellow thin plastic Oyster card holder.


(This means you, Antonia & Ian :)