Music industry saved by ringtones!: another arrow in the quiver of the pro-filesharing lobby, this – if the music biz is able to exploit new revenue streams so well, can it really be hurting as bad as the RIAA etc. suggest? Ringtones work as a […]

In a vague attempt to reclaim the pub element of this blog, I present a diverting link to one of the songs from MJ Hibbett‘s GRATE (obv.) new album, which is based around the idea that the pub is the true symbol of englishness. There are also […]

Tigers and Cockerels and Lobsters
I’m a big fan of Japanese arts, and I hadn’t been to the British Museum in a few months. I was disappointed that the regular Japanese room was closed, but there was something in one of the print rooms (4t[…]

Last Thursday evening I saw the trailer for the five-part Matthew Barney art flick The Cremaster Cycle. I’d heard a little bit about this series, caught the few last words at the end of one or two conversations. Little Adam said, “like […]

702 – “I Still Love You”
Pharrell,
“I Still Love You” still makes me float after at least 100 plays. It’s like Kool & the Gang’s “Summer Madness” that way – it’s a romantic song […]

What was and what might have been
so, MissVicky had a birthday and obviously it was a perfect occasion to go to a restaurant we had both been lusting after for quite some time. Moro is a mediterranean restaurant with a big reputation, the reviews for[…]

One of the best reasons to go to a barbeque is not so much the food, as the eclectic selection of sauces, chutneys and relishes that people have in their cupboards. This weekend at a Dulwich barbiel I had the tastiest hot sauce I have ever smeared ov[…]

Ending 24-2 (or 48 as I liked to call it) with a cliffhanger was a terible idea. It is one unfortuantely picked up from the rest of US season based TV that do not have such tight ongoing storylines. In those cases the season cliffhanger exists mainly[…]

The Grave Maurice (on Whitechapel Road) is not what it was. Popping in there for a swift post-curry pint yesterday was a sorry experience. The barman was terrific and the people were friendly so it wasn’t actively nasty, but the place is fallin[…]

To second Martin’s Lawrence Block appreciation below – I am a dipper into detective fiction and it only really sticks when I hit a character I like. Chip Harrison was the clincher for me, a bumper library collected edition with a ridiculo[…]