tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28636242007-11-23T11:09:47.403ZJVKBlogger836125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-28051058541680641712007-07-27T22:46:00.001Z2007-10-22T15:27:07.190Z

Owning-Up Originally uploaded by jovike Surrealist and jazzman George Melly’s uncompromising, witty autobiography. He also wrote two other memoirs of his earlier experiences of childhood and the navy: 'Scouse Mouse' and 'Rum, Bum and Concertina' and the trilogy is now a Penguin Classic.His last biography, about his then approaching 80th birthday 'Slowing Down' is also published by Penguin

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-65540421387068743672007-07-08T15:50:00.000Z2007-09-04T13:06:59.440Z

A short story by Herman Melville: Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street - is it simply absurd? Wikipedia describes the plot, so better read the thing first: the story can be downloaded from Project Gutenberg. Henry James: The Lesson of the Master. Short but massive. Guardian Unlimited Books of the Year 2006 chosen by various critics and writers like Billy Bragg and Simon Callow.

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-52969581373207319342007-06-06T19:24:00.000Z2007-09-04T13:09:12.311Z

Dropping a battered plastic divider by my groceries on the checkout till, I realized how mainstream Apple is these days. The divider carried an advert for iTunes vouchers. When a relative buys me a voucher I shall know that Apple is the only game in town. Must drop more hints. Why is Apple growing so quickly? It's all due to design and I want to explain what that is, why Apple is good at it and

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1174987795069207742007-03-27T10:29:00.000Z2007-06-23T18:19:35.459Z

Hawkwind - Do Not Panic Originally uploaded by jovike. Friday - BBC Four.Only 38 years after the legendary 'Sonic Assassins', aka the 'Psychedelic Warlords' better known as Hawkwind formed, the BBC finally get them in their viewfinders, well, most of them. I think they filmed this documentary a couple of years ago. My mate Al, who performed with Hawkwind on some London gigs, has postponed

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1168293111102045932007-01-08T21:14:00.000Z2007-06-21T17:47:36.741Z

Having to use Windows is horrible, there's no scripting and - but before I start moaning, let's look at what's just happened and then hint at the solution. I've been using Windows for an hour. There are a few problems, some minor usage quirks like hitting return after entering my username to login and getting an error message, instead of the cursor moving down to the password field, and some

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1167591914390103632006-12-31T18:48:00.000Z2007-06-23T18:27:57.399Z

District Dave is a tube driver with an extensive web site. Going Underground has a blog which is great, and much more up-to-date. Annie Mole is responsible for these, you may have seen her on the BBC's tube night (great links here!), in which we saw the caring folk of the Lost Property Office. If you did, you'll be pleased to know that the family who left the ashes of a relative on a train have

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1164184369514221752006-11-22T08:25:00.000Z2007-06-23T18:16:46.019Z

Love is here Originally uploaded by jovike. All you need is Love, the new Beatles album.This can't wait. If you have a hi-fi you need Love. Love is all you need. If you have an intimate knowledge of their music you will especially enjoy the mashups and segues. Rock'n'Reel magazine has been relaunched. As they are giving away 5 CDs with a subscription in Europe, I couldn't resist this as

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1162343087666447062006-10-31T20:58:00.000Z2007-06-23T18:17:44.257Z

Backpack for your mobile. GeekBrief TV is a tech news podcast presented by "Cali Lewis". She's cute and informative. The Amiga is back! This article is old and a bit of a tease but brings us more-or-less up-to-date with the Amiga computer. For more info see amiga.org, amigaweb.net, amigaos.dk, wiki.aminet.net, www.amigafuture.de, www.amiga-hardware.com... in these days of Mac and Windows it

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1161892138527848142006-10-26T19:48:00.000Z2007-09-04T13:13:42.236Z

Triffids and Jizzle Originally uploaded by jovike. Elastic Press have published many of my friend Allen's books, including The Elastic Book of Numbers which has just won a BFS award, and on Saturday 4th November they have a special event to launch a new anthology with a musical theme Extended Play, edited by Gary Couzens, with an introduction by Jean-Jacques Burnel. The event features

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1160730208106864622006-10-13T09:03:00.000Z2007-06-23T18:27:07.678Z

Marconi Radio Telephone Apparatus Originally uploaded by jovike.Some old links that I meant to blog in 2004: these ones are still online: Craigley Heath! This interview with Josie Lawrence with Danny Baker (from his old breakfast show on BBC Radio London), Amy Lamé and Mark O'Donnell is still there and well worth a listen. Is it life-changing? perhaps. (Real Player required) It includes

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1159589968254023962006-09-30T04:16:00.000Z2007-07-29T08:25:41.589Z

His Master's Voice Originally uploaded by jovike. Huge comment thread on Jarvis Cocker's appeal for memories of unintentionally Scary Songs to which I have contributed Rolf Harris's 'Jake the Peg'. Rolf's performance on Blue Peter with three legs protruding from his long coat greatly alarmed me as a child. Plastic Fantastic lists the Guardian's Laura Barton's favourite independent record

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1155648903051568272006-08-15T13:30:00.000Z2007-06-23T18:40:23.715Z

Skin of the Moon Originally uploaded by jovike. I was fortunate to catch this show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. I bought the t-shirt just because I liked the Voodoo Vaudeville artwork and the woman who sold it to me recommended Skin of the Moon as very funny and "random" - well, I loved it. It all made perfect sense to me being a gentleman of a certain age; anyone who can dance the

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1148046437375716272006-05-19T13:44:00.000Z2007-06-23T18:35:48.201Z

Save Water! Originally uploaded by jovike. The Mayor of London floats his solution to England's drought: Ken Livingstone says "if it's yellow, let it mellow". Call this a drought? Plants love it, says Ken. Conserve water. Water Company Hypocrisy! or is it? Unfortunate, more like. No drought order yet. Phew. I've made a poster to celebrate Ken's advice. To print it in various sizes, get

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1145081824834722512006-04-15T06:14:00.000Z2007-06-23T18:41:21.728Z

This Eastertide my task for you is simple: match the opening paragraphs with the six books and give your answers in the comments in the form 1A 2B etc. (If you enjoy this, here's another one I did earlier.) Cheers! Book 1: Louisa M. Alcott: Little Women (1868) Book 2: R. D. Blackmore: Lorna Doone Book 3: John Bunyan: The Pilgrim's Progress (1678) Book 4: Alexandre Dumas: The Three Musketeers

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1141747029760943072006-03-07T15:57:00.000Z2007-06-23T18:46:39.558Z

ivor Originally uploaded by jovike. Comic genius Ivor Cutler died on Friday. John Junkin died today. Oh no, and Linda Smith has gone too. Ivor's sessions on the John Peel show were a joy. His honesty and economy of language remain refreshing, as does his careful pronunciation. I would always be there with my cassette recorder, possibly missing a night in the pub to catch his latest radio

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1135279134307483102005-12-22T19:18:00.000Z2007-06-23T18:50:46.439Z

Hawkwind Christmas Party ticket Originally uploaded by jovike. You'll never guess where I was last night! Hawkwind's Christmas party was a special gig at the Astoria in Charing Cross Road. Support was Spacehead, whom I missed by spending too long chatting in Borders over the road, and Man, the "Welsh Wizards". Man and Hawkwind did a US tour together in 1974. Yes, a long time ago, and now

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1130990483626570082005-11-03T04:01:00.000Z2007-06-24T08:57:33.959Z

The Valerie Plame Affair. The Evening Standard: The Paper that Hates LondonAs El-Attar points out in his unpublished letter to the Standard, the only hatred and terror for sale in this case was the hatred and terror being incited by Robert Mendick and sold by the Evening Standard. Craig's BookNotes has a new address AGAIN: now at http://booknotes.weblogger.com/ - cut and paste it where it counts

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1130910402683297262005-11-02T05:43:00.000Z2007-06-25T00:21:27.409Z

Alan Clayson is performing on Saturday and Monday evening in the capital, and reforming the Argonauts after twenty years for a concert on the 3rd of December. Update: great gig! Dark suited, the group played all the complex numbers with gusto. At 51, the bassist was the youngest. Alan Clayson himself, with a shock of white hair, has lost little of the brio and fine enunciation that I saw him

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1138524171909146662005-08-19T20:13:00.000Z2007-07-01T22:09:20.225Z

Day 4: We returned to the City of Arts and Sciences today to see the Museu de les Ciencies Príncipe Felipe. This is a huge building with a skeletal framework, which is covered with so much glass the window cleaner has a job for life. The best part of the museum is the interactive experiments on the lower levels, ostensibly for children, which are a lot of fun. As in all museums there are many

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1136729490582689722005-08-18T18:45:00.000Z2006-08-19T22:11:18.286Z

Day 3: The honour of our presence today was awarded to the City of Arts and Sciences, a large development near our hotel in the South of the city of Valencia. We walked there. The sky was still overcast as you can see from the photos. In this picture, on the left in the distance is the massive Palace of the Arts, still under construction. On the right is the much smaller L'Hemisferic, a combined

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1128172694117582272005-08-17T22:18:00.000Z2006-01-08T13:41:53.030Z

Glamourpuss Originally uploaded by jovike. Day 2: Breakfast in Cerveceria Bocateria, around the corner in Calle Antonio Suarez. This place is recommended: they do a bona apple tart and coffee for brekkers and at lunchtime something more substantial. The picture is Espe on the Puente Exposition, a bridge that goes over the former course of the river Turia, now the Jardin del Turia because all

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1128171431706195262005-08-16T22:57:00.000Z2005-10-01T13:05:55.060Z

Day 1: Espe and I are off on our hols. We're staying in Valencia, Spain, for a fortnight. Valencia is the capital of the district of Valencia in Eastern Spain. Like Catalonia, it has its own language similar to Spanish. Valenciana is no easier than Catalan, and street signs could be in either language, so Avenida del Puerto could be something like Via de Porto on a map. We set off early,

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1120809775226112982005-07-08T07:57:00.000Z2005-10-01T15:36:28.590Z

My fourth encounter with a terrorist bomb in London was yesterday morning at 08:49. I wasn't sure whether it was a bomb at first, despite my experience of them. I realize now that the bomb in the tunnel near Aldgate tube station that shook our building was right under us, and the airborne shockwave that came out the station entrance hit our windows at the same time as the bang. For a while I

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1118574300632700012005-06-12T10:59:00.000Z2006-08-19T22:13:36.576Z

Oldeast monumental structures discovered: By the time of the Norman conquest, the rural framework was complete in England. And in 4700 BC in Austria!

JVKtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2863624.post-1114134807810742182005-04-22T01:50:00.000Z2005-04-22T01:53:27.810Z

London has a new free newspaper, The London Line (beta) at tube stations on Thursdays. It's jolly good. Some of it reads as if it is made up, especially the real stories. I love it.

JVK