tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57540702011-09-12T08:53:54.781-06:00Living with disappointment since 1970. Contact mcmrbt [at] gmail [dot] comSimonHolyHoseshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04914548863832227291noreply@blogger.comBlogger18941100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-91482137548537667392007-07-17T12:49:00.000-06:002007-07-17T12:53:12.325-06:00

I was staying away from here almost deliberately, as I sorta knew Simon would have absented himself by now. Sad but true.Anyhow, I was aping him as usual, in deleting my back pages, and it brought us to a page of Holy Swerve, and one of Bob's valedictories - kinda apt...Moreover, Mr Swerve's last post makes me feel bad as I am currently still in Harbinger of Doom mode, so I am unlikely to post

patrischenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1170079783054790352007-01-29T07:08:00.000-07:002007-01-29T07:09:43.060-07:00

I am alive and well. I am happy. Everything is fine. Sometimes, catharisis is a beautiful thing.

SimonHolyHoseshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04914548863832227291noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1152789274673277482006-07-13T05:14:00.000-06:002006-07-13T05:14:34.946-06:00

This excellent post caught my attention. I'm a pretty happy go lucky kind of bloke and have always tried to stay away from negative people. They always seem to bring you down. Even when the shit hits the fan I try to be chipper - it helps me get through the nightmare quicker. So this really struck a chord with me. Here's a quick snippet "Can any of us honestly say we haven't experienced emotional

HolySwervehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08407569663003091182noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1152627333868468402006-07-11T08:15:00.000-06:002006-07-11T08:15:34.260-06:00

Syd Barrett of legendary rock group Pink Floyd, has died at the age of 60, the band's spokeswoman has confirmed. Let this be a lesson to you all. Drugs are good, then bad, then you die - So you may as well try them, at least once.

HolySwervehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08407569663003091182noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1151409925346708912006-06-27T06:05:00.000-06:002006-06-27T06:05:25.613-06:00

I make a brief return to let you know about this important FIFA World Cup news.Owen Hargreaves Blog.Thanks to Betty for the link.

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1150805228184154742006-06-20T06:01:00.000-06:002006-06-20T06:13:50.866-06:00

i was going to append this to my excellent world cup report, but felt it deserved a post of its own.they're back! haribo happy cola bottles are back in the shops in luvverly 350g bags! i know because i've just scored a bag! and scoffed the lot! and now i feel sick!holyhoses, your official yummy happy cola bottles blog

roynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1150804835513865892006-06-20T05:40:00.000-06:002006-06-20T06:00:35.736-06:00

simon's post made me think of pete de freitas, the drummer of echo & the bunnymen, who was killed on the 14th of june, 1989. he was riding his ducatti motorbike along an 'a' road when some half-blind half-dead old biddy pulled out of a side road in her shitty little car and smashed him up. old people shouldn't be allowed to drive. no-one over 40 anyway.thinking of pete de freitas made me think of

roynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1150794033717692262006-06-20T02:54:00.000-06:002006-06-20T03:00:33.730-06:00

did anyone else see neil diamond in concert on bbc four on friday night? strange bloke. hard to like, as a person, i would have thought. wonder what it's like to be him. to have been neil diamond.as i was watching, i was put in mind of that complete cunt richard ashcroft. their vocal styles are amazingly similar. i can really do without all that mama stuff.

roynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1150447637380927062006-06-16T02:45:00.000-06:002006-06-16T02:47:17.393-06:00

cristiano ronaldo of portugal is the gay pin-up boy of the world cup, apparently. how fucking unoriginal. i've always had a soft spot for andrei shevchenko, myself. although i'm not gay. nothing wrong with being gay, of course, but i happen not to be so. if i were gay (which i'm not), andrei could have me anytime he wanted. you could sort of get lost in his beautiful eyes.my vote for worst

roynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1149784878720927042006-06-08T10:41:00.000-06:002006-06-08T10:41:18.736-06:00

Reading Simon's earlier post about the Aurora reminded me of my own experience, It was something I'd wanted to witness since I'd first seen it on TV as a teenager. It was on my favourite show at the time 'Northern Exposure' (did I really say show? I meant program, sorry). We (me and my girlfriend) planned a trip around Norway, starting off in the capital, Oslo, in the south and ending in Tromso,

HolySwervehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08407569663003091182noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1149782437010382722006-06-08T09:26:00.000-06:002006-06-08T10:00:37.386-06:00

I honestly don't know how this is going to pan out really. In my previous employment, I was - you may have detected - a more or less full-time blogger. I was so "efficient" at my work that I could more or less just browse the innernet and blog full-time. Obviously, it wasn't me doing this. When I say "I", I mean "a friend of a friend".Sometimes this browsing of the internet was work-related.

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1149695539330191492006-06-07T09:50:00.000-06:002006-06-07T09:52:19.370-06:00

Well, I had my first full day in the school I'm going to be teaching in come September.Overall, I think it was okay.Really hot, though.Laughably, I'd forgotten just how hot a classroom gets in the summer.Didn't do a Tony Blair, thankfully, and sweat through my shirt at the armipits.Couldn't believe how ridiculously short most of the girls were wearing their uniform skirts.Under normal

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1149671136807961802006-06-07T03:03:00.000-06:002006-06-07T03:05:36.813-06:00

nice to see a bit of subtlety in the world's terrorists. like a lot of people, i was convinced something bad was going to happen yesterday, what with the 06-06-06 configuration of datage.well done, terrorists.remember that holyhoses is your world cup blog.

roynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1149670984506929262006-06-07T03:01:00.000-06:002006-06-07T03:03:04.520-06:00

can you hear all that flapping? it's the flags i've attached to my burberry baseball cap.i'm pleased to tell you that the doctors have given me the all-clear, i'm match-fit and raring to go, so you can look forward to regular world cup reports from my living-room, friends' living-rooms, and possibly even a few pubs. i'll be right there where the action is, bringing you all the news as it

roynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1149583794577027532006-06-06T02:49:00.000-06:002006-06-06T02:49:54.926-06:00

Grr! Regular listeners to BBC Radio Five Live will have detected that - in every sports bulletin - the presenter has to say something like, "Don't forget that Five Live is your World Cup Station, with every game live."It does not sound spontaneous. It sounds like something they've been told to say every time they report on some aspect of the World Cup. It may be my imagination, but I thought I

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1149511715800380872006-06-05T06:48:00.000-06:002006-06-05T06:51:48.533-06:00

Is it just me or is the quadrennial trotting-out of 1966 and all that just getting a little bit too toe-curlingly embarrassing by now? How a home side with a home crowd and some easily-swayed match officials won a tournament by playing the aerial game and hacking the truly talented players on other teams to death forty years ago strikes me these days as being a little like the fat Marlon Brando

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1149505054111282212006-06-05T04:57:00.000-06:002006-06-05T04:57:34.460-06:00

It's not all recycled stuff over at Bob's Book Reviews�, you know. I just posted up a (long) review of three (count 'em) John Le Carré novels.

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1149424744133192512006-06-04T06:35:00.000-06:002006-06-04T06:56:04.146-06:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } windy_beach_06, originally uploaded by mcmrbt. We just spent a week staying in a house in St. Cyprien, in the Rousillon. Behind you, you've got mountains; in front of you, the sea.The first couple of days it was hot, but

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1149369704241408392006-06-03T15:04:00.000-06:002006-06-03T15:21:44.620-06:00

I only really caught wind of this story when I flew back in to the UK this morning, but it was indeed a strange coincidence that on the plane I finished reading John Le Carré's Absolute Friends which ends on a chilling note that makes you view this whole story with a great deal more suspicion than usual (or, I should say, even more than usual).At the end of the book (yes, I know it's fiction, but

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1149365732082442192006-06-03T14:00:00.000-06:002006-06-03T14:18:19.106-06:00

Early in May, my old PVR failed, and I replaced it with the aforementioned Panachronic model. I was happy/not happy with it to varying degrees. Read my full thoughts here.This afternoon I took it back to John Lewis and swapped it for a Digifusion model, the same as I had before. Better the devil you know, in this case. Why did I take it back?I've always found its interface clunky and slow, a

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148994738689603012006-05-30T07:12:00.000-06:002006-05-30T07:12:19.026-06:00

Magnum In Motion do a great line in photo essays. I've just finished checking out the Chernobyl Legacy episode. It's really quite harrowing stuff, the kind of thing you don't often get to see through the normal media - especially since our wonderful Mr Blair has called for a re-think on our future energy strategy.

HolySwervehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08407569663003091182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148647668249940172006-05-26T06:40:00.000-06:002006-05-26T07:00:23.860-06:00

In a bold experiment, I have recorded some of the opening pages of my eagerly-awaited novel, The Patron Saint of Mid-Life (for want of a better title) as a podcast. Right-click (or control-click) to download.It's an 11.8MB file, 64kbps MP3 (mono), and lasts just under 25 minutes. Science* has proven that 25 minutes is the national average commuting time, so you should be able to listen to my

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148635697072374192006-05-26T03:14:00.000-06:002006-05-26T03:34:22.486-06:00

I had a two week period a while ago, filling in application forms that made me want to slit my wrists. It was a coincidence, really, that so many of them were for public sector organisations, and those people really take the biscuit when it comes to making life as hard as possible. Trying to put you off.It was filling in all those, with the accompanying feeling that it was all a pointless waste

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148592015279761392006-05-25T15:16:00.000-06:002006-05-25T15:20:15.853-06:00

Did I really just hear Jonathan Richman's "Egyptian Reggae" on the soundtrack to an advertisement for Weetabix?Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold, and nothing is sacred. These bastards have no standards at all, and will go to any lengths to piss all over the quiet little corners of our cultural lives so that there's nowhere to hide.If you want me, I'll be on MySpace listening to unsigned

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148574559898398382006-05-25T10:29:00.000-06:002006-05-25T10:30:20.383-06:00

Nope, I haven't read the book. I wasn't bothered about going to see the film either, but my lovely lady friend had read the book and did want to check it out. Being 'Orange Wednesday' (BOGOF) we decided to hit the multiplex. I hadn't noticed our local UCI had changed to an Odeon, when did that happen? You can probably tell I don't get out much.So what did I think? Well I don't usually like these

HolySwervehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08407569663003091182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148564180165752082006-05-25T07:36:00.000-06:002006-05-25T07:36:20.173-06:00

I am, not as handsome, talented or rich as I could beI want more time and less stressI wish for a long and happy life with those I love around meI hate the grey daysI love most of my life and all of my friends (even the ones who sometimes don't deserve it)I miss my dog when we go on holidayI fear mathsI hear workmen, and they give me a headacheI wonder what it's like to leave everything that

HolySwervehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08407569663003091182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148563922639179732006-05-25T07:32:00.000-06:002006-05-25T07:49:00.093-06:00

Travis writes a lovely piece about coaching 6 year olds in T-ball.Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe T-ball is the version of soft/baseball in which the ball is not pitched but balanced on top of a (shoulder height?) giant golf tee. So the kids can get a good swing in and stand a chance of connecting.Good stuff.

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148561895397441152006-05-25T06:58:00.000-06:002006-05-25T07:08:54.933-06:00

To celebrate my freedom from job hunting, I fired up Pro Tools for the first time in an age. For a few scary moments, it was as if I'd forgotten how to use it, but it turned out the microphone wasn't plugged in.Here's the result. A demo of a recent composition called "Outside My Window." It's on my MySpace page (see link on the right) as well, if Castpost is being rubbish.Powered by Castpost

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148557235440818282006-05-25T05:40:00.000-06:002006-05-25T05:44:37.216-06:00

I am about to go on holidayI want to read Marie's novelI wish I was friendlierI hate lying, cheating, selfishness and greedI love my wife and kids and Joy Lynne White's voiceI miss Linda Riley, Loui, James, Simon, and every other episode of NYPD BlueI fear moving up a trouser sizeI hear Trisha Yearwood singing "Everybody Knows"I wonder if one day we will all turn into nanotech grey gooI regret

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148543151926030702006-05-25T01:14:00.000-06:002006-05-25T03:47:22.570-06:00

I've come to the conclusion, after about three months of job-hunting, that all of the jobs you see advertised are fictitious. Or rather, they're fictitiously described so as to ensure that no matching candidate will ever be found.You see, after filling in all those application forms and sending off those CVs, and spending hours writing Personal Statements that showed how I fitted the Person

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148388648970218062006-05-23T06:50:00.000-06:002006-05-24T01:07:30.056-06:00

Those of us who can't pay or won't pay for Sky are only just getting to see HBO's Deadwood on Sky 3 (Freeview channel 10).It's a slow burner, but by the fifth episode, you are hooked. David Milch's research has obviously been painstaking, and the attention to detail in the language is superb.I've always loved the stylised street argot of NYPD Blue. I never felt, due to the compromise of it being

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148378595056354492006-05-23T03:52:00.000-06:002006-05-23T04:03:15.073-06:00

yay it's world cup time again and we all love football, and all big companies love football and they are proud to support our brave boys. yes there are loads of adverts on the telly about football. i don't mind the one with the blue monkeys (simon our nature correspondent can tell us what they actually are) because that is one crazy song, dude, some sort of sixties stones thing going on, i don't

roynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148374615904976152006-05-23T02:47:00.000-06:002006-05-23T02:56:55.920-06:00

yesterday my six year old son was telling me what to do if a bully smashes up your snowman. next time, build your snowman around a postbox. when the bully kicks the snowman he breaks his foot. excellent.which got me thinking. why not design robot boys and girls to wander about so that when gary glitter and his ilk put their dicks or fingers in they get electrocuted. and leave cars lying about

roynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148373660585802272006-05-23T02:23:00.000-06:002006-05-23T02:41:00.603-06:00

Hello and welcome to another trawl through your questions.First up today, Ocado in Trouble. Although Ocado are clearly the best exponents of online grocery shopping, in my opinion, the business model is wrong. First of all, very few people plan out a week's shopping on a proper list. You do not see people walking round Saino's with a shopping list. There are so many in-store offers these days,

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148308118299399372006-05-22T08:28:00.000-06:002006-05-22T08:28:38.320-06:00

I've been thinking about paradigm shifts. I spent some time this weekend looking through some of my old research. For my PhD thesis, I did some work on Thomas Kuhn. And before that, for my MA, I did some work on Freud's abandonment of his Seduction Theory in 1896 which led directly to Freudian psychoanalysis as we know it. And I related that to The X Files. Otherwise, it wouldn't quite be me,

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148307574008516732006-05-22T08:18:00.000-06:002006-05-22T08:19:34.023-06:00

this guy forgot more than lennon ever knew. or something.

roynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148297842847272662006-05-22T05:26:00.000-06:002006-05-22T05:37:24.286-06:00

One of the pleasures of the Perishers in the 60s were the ever-changing fashions adopted by Marlon, the slightly thick member of the toupe.In 1964, he sported the early Beatles look, a smart jacket:Quite soon this was superseded by a mid-60s Beatles look, a nice polo neck:Moving on, things started to get a bit whacky. The stripy t-shirt and cap look was like something out of the Monkees. And

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148291780543143432006-05-22T03:56:00.000-06:002006-05-22T03:56:20.933-06:00

Like many men, I have spent most of my adult life in search of the perfect shave. I'm always willing to experiment, so of course I popped a Wilkinson Sword Quattro Titanium in my trolley.The problem with even the 3-blade razor is always the clogging. The blades are so close together that they get clogged with bristles, and it's v. difficult to flush them out, even with a pressure hose (and don't

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148218759081464042006-05-21T07:27:00.000-06:002006-05-22T06:26:09.566-06:00

Finding my old entry about the wonderful Perishers for the Book Review Blog prompted me to buy a couple more of the Omnibus collections. I've just received #2 (which covers the period 1964-1966, nostalgia fans) and I'm awaiting #3 (1966-1968).They really are priceless. Enormously funny, beautifully drawn, chock-full of social commentary, and yet as fresh today as they were forty years ago. Miles

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148136572407765662006-05-20T08:43:00.000-06:002006-05-21T06:20:51.860-06:00

I've posted this as a comment over on Martyn's blog, but I have to post it here, too.I'm waging a lone campaign to try to get people to understand what goes on with the Eurovision Song Contest voting since they introduced the telephone voting, but I'm a voice in the wilderness. Maybe I'm even wrong, but that's never happened before!Your media and your Wogans call it tactical voting or political

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148116530445631432006-05-20T03:15:00.000-06:002006-05-20T03:16:19.056-06:00

Bob's Book Reviews has already been called* "the most important book review site on the web", so it's only fitting that we have already posted up our first author interview.Roger Morris, author of Taking Comfort answers 10 questions set by Rashbre. Follow the link above.*by me

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148024503640456442006-05-19T01:39:00.000-06:002006-05-19T01:42:08.746-06:00

Now that we've been going since September 2003, I'm starting to enjoy the pattern made by the archive months as they snake down the page. If you blur your eyes, the year has a pleasant shape, like groovy vases sitting on top of each other.The autumn/winter months have long names. Spring/Summer months have short names. I wonder how that came to be?

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1148023062535035932006-05-19T01:17:00.000-06:002006-05-19T01:25:12.090-06:00

Peter Bradshaw in the Guardian gives it one star.Given his track record, makes me suspect it might be quite good fun. My wife is making noises about going to see it. W H Smiths are already selling Tom Hanks-style Da Vinci Code wigs.Can't wait to hear what Kermode says about it this afternoon.Yesterday, that nice Simon Mayo was interviewing Jorja Fox from CSI. I do enjoy the Mayo show. His

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147965437116092972006-05-18T08:53:00.000-06:002006-05-18T09:17:17.580-06:00

When Raf was more or less running the Observer blog solo, it was quite good fun over there. It was how I discovered Marie, for example.But now that blog is more like all the other Guardian group blogs, and the commenting system is all rolled into that "Comment is Free" thing they do. I made a mistake earlier. I posted up a half-baked opinion, which was followed by a certain amount of vitriol and

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147956956113560342006-05-18T06:55:00.000-06:002006-05-18T06:55:56.130-06:00

A lot of you have written to ask for help in understanding some of the comments that get added to people's pages on MySpace. I'm happy to oblige with some sample translations based on comments I have received.They say You have a good style.They mean All style and no substance. And not much style.They say I will be checking out your music tonight when I get home from workThey mean We'll never

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147956768703112232006-05-18T06:52:00.000-06:002006-05-18T07:13:47.590-06:00

BING BONG!The best pre-packed sandwich award goes to Sainsburys 'World Flavours - Moroccan Inspired, Moroccan Style Chicken and roasted red pepper' Small print description reads: Cumin and chilli moroccan style marinated chicken breast dressed with harissa spiced chutney, roasted red peppers and rocket on white multigrain bread.It's quoted as having 405 calories and 4.8 grams of saturated fat,

HolySwervehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08407569663003091182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147937519695879762006-05-18T01:31:00.000-06:002006-05-18T01:32:00.066-06:00

Regular reader Rashbre has contributed some back catalogue reviews to Bob's Book Reviews. There are three over there. I'll leave them unmolested for a day before I start adding more of the holyhoses back catalogue.If you choose to contribute, it would be nice if - like Rashbre - you included a link to some cover art. Also, unless you're happy with me making up categories, you might want to think

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147902451797331012006-05-17T15:40:00.000-06:002006-05-20T08:29:52.223-06:00

Digital viewers who press red this week are able to access a couple of snippets of Springsteen from the session which will be on BBC4 on Friday. It's looking quite good really. His version of John Henry is most entertaining, although the sound engineer deserves a good kicking.*It always amazes me, watching him play, that he doesn't break strings all the time.You can also watch a 20 minute preview

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147899646451407262006-05-17T15:00:00.000-06:002006-05-17T15:40:22.640-06:00

Following on from what Rob has said below. Please Prime Minister what on earth are you thinking when you could be taking a leaf out the Scandanavians' book. It's little wonder that I have so much love for our northern friends. They even do good architecture, shame about the food though…

HolySwervehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08407569663003091182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147871655329331952006-05-17T06:52:00.000-06:002006-05-17T07:14:15.750-06:00

Just before Dan Cruikshank on BBC 2 last night, there was (the final?) part of a series called It's Not Easy Being Green about a family who went Old Testament environmental, from the input to, er, output, as it were. I didn't see much of it, but what they were doing last night was installing a wind turbine in their (large) back garden. It was on the top of a tall frame rather than being affixed

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147864256178080512006-05-17T05:03:00.000-06:002006-05-17T05:10:59.310-06:00

Today I saw the new Alfa 159 for the first time. Very nice looking car. Saw two of them actually, and the blue one looked nicer.This is not a post about anything. Just saying hello. As I just commented on my other blog, yesterday I got my bike out for the first time in an awfully long time. I've been suffering back, hip and leg pain (which I suspect is sciatica) and it finally drove me to try to

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147849122096945532006-05-17T00:56:00.000-06:002006-05-17T00:58:42.110-06:00

I've mentioned Guarro over on Guitargas, but thought they were worth mentioning on Holyhoses too. They already have quite a following on MySpace (over 15,000 plays of their top track), but clearly Holyhoses is "more popular than MySpace", so they'll get the exposure they deserve through us.It's rock music with Flamenco guitar, innit? A little bit different, and quite special. Marcos D'Cruze, the

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147793908276716592006-05-16T09:33:00.000-06:002006-05-16T09:38:28.290-06:00

Since September 2003, when this blog started, we've posted up a fair few book reviews. I've been thinking for a while that these reviews are one of the few useful things we actually do here, so I decided to collect them all together.I've created a new blog: Bob's Book Reviews (all the catchy titles were taken!), and I'll begin to collect our musings on books, writers, and book-related things on

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147779861370460472006-05-16T05:44:00.000-06:002006-05-16T05:44:21.703-06:00

You think a book's been hyped to death, and then the film comes out.Even my Mrs is reading it now. I looked at the first few lines: turgid, badly constructed sentences, didn't make me want to read it. Here are two facts:1. My wife confessed that it took her about 140 pages to "get into it." 2. Tom Hanks' hair looks exceedingly strange in the stills I've seen from the film.These two facts are

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147729092622563142006-05-15T15:38:00.000-06:002006-05-15T15:38:12.630-06:00

It's starting to become embarrassing. As a 32 year old man who can't even put a shelf up without becoming extremely agitated by his own inability to do any DIY jobs either quickly, neatly and without any fuss. Why can't I be more like my old man, he just knows how to do everything. I'm never going to learn. I am a DIY failure. Happy now? Well I've said it. I AM A DIY FAILURE.Still, he'd be

HolySwervehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08407569663003091182noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147718507260984782006-05-15T12:25:00.000-06:002006-05-15T12:47:10.800-06:00

It can't have escaped your notice that some of the digital telly channels are run on a shoestring. If it's not repeats, it's cheap imports (some of which are rather good, hooray!), and if it's not either of those, then it's a film you've seen 90 million and a half times.Just recently, I've caught the same bit of You've Got Mail a couple of times. It's the bit from just after Tom Hanks has put her

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147695983679263892006-05-15T06:16:00.000-06:002006-05-15T10:29:58.676-06:00

There's an interesting snippet in the Guardian today about the premature demise of "fifty quid bloke", aka the mythical creature who habitually dropped fifty notes onto the counter of Selectadisc or HMV and walked away with an armful of CDs. Apparently, he's been replaced by Download Woman, who likes to avoid record stores because they're populated by nerds who look down their nose-hairs at

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147676862146638652006-05-15T01:07:00.000-06:002006-05-15T01:22:13.020-06:00

This fourth (and supposedly final) book in Conn Iggulden's Emperor Series picks up the fictionalised telling of the life of Julius Caesar just after his crossing of the Rubicon and takes it to the end, to the stabbing in Pompey's theatre. There is no aftermath: the assassins walk away, and that's it. You don't find out "what happened next" unless you read the Historical Note in the back of the

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147593183877150992006-05-14T01:53:00.000-06:002006-05-14T01:53:04.213-06:00

James May in The Telegraph wonders whether he should sell his Porsche 911 to his doctor. "Apparently, the Chinese invented everything. While the West was still emerging from the primeval slime - some of which can still be glimpsed around Richard Hammond's house in Gloucestershire - they already had gunpowder, printing, optics and the Ken Hom presentation wok set."Nice rambling piece with a great

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147462027956684722006-05-12T13:07:00.000-06:002006-05-12T13:27:08.306-06:00

Let's pause for a second to reflect on these headlines. New deal ends deadlock over pensions... Blair and Brown agree link with earnings, retirement age to be 68. So says The Gonad. And the BBC have been saying it all day: Brown and Blair in pensions deal... A deal on pensions has been agreed between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown following months of wrangling, the prime minister has confirmed.So

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147442296746683862006-05-12T07:56:00.000-06:002006-05-12T07:58:53.413-06:00

Question: What do you get if your friends girlfriend tries to sell your bosses house?Answer: Hopefully not the sack…It can only end in tears, probably mine.

HolySwervehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08407569663003091182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147436622399927342006-05-12T06:22:00.000-06:002006-05-12T06:25:09.506-06:00

Move along now, nothing to see here. Spell with Flickr. Thanks to Rashbre for the link.

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147434258997964322006-05-12T05:41:00.000-06:002006-05-12T05:44:19.226-06:00

Pissoir in Chinatown Originally uploaded by doglas mccake. i don't get out much, so when i saw an open air toilet in the middle of london i had to get a picture of it.it would be fun waiting around for rob to squeeze one out - anyone within a mile radius of him and he just can't do it.#1998

roynoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147431726182493942006-05-12T04:59:00.000-06:002006-05-12T05:02:06.186-06:00

moulin02 Originally uploaded by mcmrbt.I heard some geezer on the radio yesterday talking about how easy it is to put a domestic wind turbine on your roof at home. Apparently the cost can be as low as £1500, which is closer to £1000 if you get one of them there grant thingies.He reckoned it was so straightoforward that it won't be long before you can buy the things in B&Q and fit it yourself... "

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147369664995546572006-05-11T11:47:00.000-06:002006-05-11T11:53:44.780-06:00

Since HolySwerve has joined this blog, a lot of you have written to ask, how does one get to join? Well, it couldn't be easier!The application procedure is set out as follows. Please mark each sheet of your application with your unique Holyhoses application reference number, which should be included on the outside of the envelope you threw away.Please first complete Form A - Personal Details and

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147364365975132092006-05-11T09:55:00.000-06:002006-05-11T10:19:25.996-06:00

Well Hello. I'm HolySwerve, I'll be posting the odd bit of mundane, misspelt, uninteresting, gramatically incorrect word fop on these pages from now on so you'd better get used to it (please feel free to use your mouse and scroll over my texts by all means).I've been called a lot of things over the years, but mostly in 'real life' I've been called James. Here in www land I've been known as

HolySwervehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08407569663003091182noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147344832259188372006-05-11T04:53:00.000-06:002006-05-20T08:15:24.533-06:00

In a parallel universe, the Tardis arrives to a Britain familiar yet strangely changed. The Doctor and Rose pick up a newspaper to see if they can put their finger on it. In a Guardian concert review, they read the following: Springsteen, whose songs about white collar office workers struck a chord with a generation of Microserfs, once caused controversy by backing Californian Governer Ronald

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147342970662760932006-05-11T04:22:00.000-06:002006-05-11T04:24:57.766-06:00

I couldn't help watching The Apprentice, because my wife got hooked on it.They were a really slimy sample of humanity, I thought, but for reasons which should be obvious I did actually enjoy seeing them all come unstuck in the hard-nosed interview sessions in the penultimate episode. Getting caught out with their lies on their CVs, not researching the company they wanted to work for... You

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147267747458710772006-05-10T07:28:00.000-06:002006-05-10T07:29:07.463-06:00

By posting all those photos this morning as separate entries, I've inadvertantly put us perilously close to our two thousandth post.And by just telling you about it, we're one closer again.Ten to go.

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147267489496758692006-05-10T07:23:00.000-06:002006-05-10T07:25:47.776-06:00

Ah, remember this? When I wake up in the mornin' lightI pull on my jeans and I feel all rightI pull my blue jeans on, I pull my old blue jeans onI pull my blue jeans on, I pull my old blue jeans onYes, that's right. David Dundas' 1976 Brutus Jeans advert tie-in hit was revived a couple of years ago by none other than Keith Urban of that parish. It's a big number in his live act, too.I was saying

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147245550783178212006-05-10T01:16:00.000-06:002006-05-10T01:19:10.786-06:00

ronchamp01 Originally uploaded by mcmrbt.Ronchamp is very near where my wife's family lives. Notre Dame du Haut was built to replace the previous chapel, which was destroyed by bombing or shelling.2005 was the 50th anniversary. My wife's mum remembered that there was a lot of controversy when Le Corbusier built it, and a lot of locals didn't like it. But there are modernist monstrosities, and

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147245294258016812006-05-10T01:12:00.001-06:002006-05-10T01:14:54.263-06:00

ronchamp02 Originally uploaded by mcmrbt.I love the nun's hat look

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147245265583569322006-05-10T01:12:00.000-06:002006-05-10T01:14:25.586-06:00

ronchamp05 Originally uploaded by mcmrbt.Another interior shot

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147245233765845822006-05-10T01:11:00.000-06:002006-05-10T01:13:53.766-06:00

ronchamp04 Originally uploaded by mcmrbt.The little stained glass windows impress Didi

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147245194393334332006-05-10T01:10:00.000-06:002006-05-10T01:13:14.400-06:00

ronchamp03 Originally uploaded by mcmrbt.The light in the interior, as Dan Cruikshank said, is absolutely wonderful. The concrete construction allows for a completely open space, with no pillars to obscure the view.

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147245113361587502006-05-10T01:09:00.000-06:002006-05-10T01:11:53.366-06:00

before_after02 Originally uploaded by mcmrbt.On the left, my mother-in-law with my wife and her brother. On the right, my wife and our kids, last summer

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147245048524967782006-05-10T01:08:00.000-06:002006-05-10T01:10:48.530-06:00

peace memorial Originally uploaded by mcmrbt.I love little details like this. This is at the top of a platform outside the chapel. You can climb it to get a better angle to photograph the chapel, or just enjoy the fab view.

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147244962053661342006-05-10T01:06:00.000-06:002006-05-10T01:09:22.400-06:00

the bells Originally uploaded by mcmrbt.These are the bells from the original Ronchamp chapel, which was destroyed in WWII

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147179488161516252006-05-09T06:58:00.000-06:002006-05-09T06:59:35.736-06:00

This is a bit of a strange one. There's nothing particularly science fictiony about this one, apart from the fact that the setting is Earthlike but not our Earth, and perhaps historical, but not our history. Wen Spencer's A Brother's Price takes place against a backdrop of 19th Century-level technology on a strangely altered world which is run by women. Men are in short supply, and this has

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147093490328463592006-05-08T07:03:00.000-06:002006-05-08T07:04:52.783-06:00

Around the turn of the century, I bought a record by a new Canadian singer-songwriter by the name of Carolyn Dawn Johnson. The opening cut of Room With a View, "Georgia," is a stone classic. If I'm not over you by GeorgiaThen I'll head to AlabamaRoll on to MississippiOr maybe LouisianaI'll drive all the wayTo CaliforniaOh, I won't turn aroundNo, I won't turn aroundIt's a great song in a strong

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1147086660362094632006-05-08T04:33:00.000-06:002006-06-03T13:59:26.863-06:00

What do the following have in common?CSI, Grey's Anatomy, ER, House, Without a Trace.Yes, that's right. They're all shows I'd recorded on my PVR last week, planning to watch them over the weekend. I'd fallen a bit behind with the viewings because of Dr Tanya Byron's occupation of the 8-9pm slot on BBC3. My wife watches The House of Tiny Tearaways, you see, even though each hour of the show

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146999577407307922006-05-07T04:59:00.000-06:002006-05-07T04:59:44.523-06:00

Clarkson in The Times writes his column about a crying baby on his flight to Barbados, which he hopes was eaten by a shark.Very funny. But here is a public service announcement. Babies always cry on aeroplanes, because the change in pressure hurts their ears and they don't know how to deal with it, because they're babies.Parents of babies on aeroplanes should feed them during take off and landing

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146989178351164032006-05-07T02:06:00.000-06:002006-05-07T02:08:57.126-06:00

Nice interview today with that Gillian Anderson in The Observer. She's up for one of them BAFTA things, isn't she?Unfortunately, I heard her on the radio this morning (nice English accent, Gill, you chameleon, you) and she confessed that she almost never watches TV. "I'd rather read a book," she said.All very well, but I think people who appear on TV but don't watch it themselves (luvvies, in

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146898838326564012006-05-06T01:00:00.000-06:002006-05-06T01:03:16.520-06:00

It's going to start pissing down again (in the South of England, I'm talking), but your memories of our "all of it at once" Spring heatwave will be enhanced I'm sure by the wonderful "Summer Girl" by Jessica Andrews.You can download it, too, so rock on! Ms Andrews was previously on the Dreamworks label, but is currently, like me, between jobs. All you need to know is that "Summer Girl" includes

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146835300219559572006-05-05T07:21:00.000-06:002006-05-05T07:21:40.553-06:00

So after all that blather and blither about how he wasn't going to resign, and wasn't going to be sacked, Clarke's parked. Verily, Lord Wilson, a week is a long time in politics. But it's also one of those well, duh moments, and you have to wonder at the workings of the minds behind all the denials. Did they think we wouldn't notice or something?I think they must lead life at such a pace that

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146818322928703312006-05-05T02:38:00.000-06:002006-05-05T09:04:39.616-06:00

I probably won't see it for three years, and I knew Miiissiiion IIImpossiiible would get a good kicking from the hopeless snobs who masquerade as newspaper critics, but one star? Really? Honestly?Can it really be worse than something like My Own Private Idaho? Or a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, or a Steven Seagal? I seriously doubt it. Can we separate our loathing of a Scientologist nutcase from

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146758402324189932006-05-04T10:00:00.000-06:002006-05-04T10:42:28.666-06:00

"Thank you for you application, and for showing an interest in the F.A.. We were overwhelmed by the quality of the candidates, and following the second interviews were faced with a difficult decision. After much discussion, we decided to offer the position to an internal candidate."Thanks again for your interest."

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146752576777264252006-05-04T08:22:00.000-06:002006-05-04T08:22:57.123-06:00

In a continuing series of songs you might enjoy on Myspace, check out the pipes on Lori Lampkin.It's "only a demo" in the sense that my own demos are dogshit on the bottom of my shoes in comparison, but a lovely song. Worth 4 mins of your time. Enjoy.

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146745261129778462006-05-04T06:19:00.000-06:002006-05-04T06:21:01.133-06:00

So what I thought of the first three episodes of season 2 was... not as good as Alias, but then you knew I'd say that.Most particularly, it seemed they got stuck on one scene that lasted around 2.5 episodes. From 3 points of view they did it, same scene, as if it was going to be important or something, but come on. That's just cheap telly. You get the impression that JJ Abrams was off on another

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146728839264304812006-05-04T01:47:00.000-06:002006-05-04T01:47:19.593-06:00

Good post from Martyn at Introverts Anonymous on The Happiness Formula, which I missed on BBC2 last night, being on a Lost jag.

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146666395717311052006-05-03T08:26:00.001-06:002006-05-03T08:28:12.216-06:00

I didn't watch Lost yet, so shut up about it. I taped all three episodes, and I've scheduled a Lost jag for some time later in the week, though coming so soon after my 22-episode Alias jag, it's got a lot to live up to. ITV rather embarrassingly scheduled one of the incomprehensible Matrix sequels against Lost, and came a bit unstuck. According to MediaGuardian:BBC2 helped deepen ITV1's blushes

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146663298699498162006-05-03T07:32:00.000-06:002006-05-03T07:34:58.730-06:00

...old and useless... as if some of us needed any help.Vicki White is - it says here - a 17-year-old singer/songwriter from Manchester. She's only got the one song on MySpace, but it's a good one, and it's worth 3 minutes of your time. Sort of bluesy piano type music, with a very sweet voice. Stop by and say hello.

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146643359977322962006-05-03T02:02:00.000-06:002006-05-03T02:04:22.773-06:00

Unlike most Englishmen, I utterly refused to pin my hopes for the future on a pudgy faced doughboy with a high centre of gravity, so I'm not terribly devastated by Rooney's latest toe hernia. Nike are shitting themselves, though.Rooney, paid £3million a year by Nike, denies that his new Nike boots, for which he is paid £3million a year to wear, put him on crutches. The Nike Total 90 Supremacy

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146581034676388902006-05-02T08:26:00.000-06:002006-05-02T10:30:45.773-06:00

If you're a fan of genre fiction, then like me you may suffer the occasional bout of genre vertigo as you shift between - in my case - SF and thriller, or SF and detective fiction.I'd been on a several-months-long SF jag before I picked up John Harvey's 2005 novel Ash and Bone (his new hardback, Darkness and Light is in the shops as we speak). I tried taking one plain brown Garrison Keillor in

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146578404515191812006-05-02T07:58:00.000-06:002006-05-02T08:00:04.530-06:00

i see that idiot david blaine is up to his tricks again. coo, i hope nothing bad happens.

roynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146513745773429052006-05-01T13:45:00.000-06:002006-05-01T15:09:18.640-06:00

So. Alias season 4 was something of a slow burn compared to previous seasons, but I have to say, when it got going, it was fucking excellent. You've got to admire the courage of the people who decide to build so many twists and turns into what was essentially one long story with a stupendous climax.It's usually the case with long-running series that compromises start being made with the

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146483519533780742006-05-01T05:23:00.000-06:002006-05-01T05:38:41.090-06:00

This post is by way of an appeal.I love good kitchen equipment. I bought some ICTC Cuisinox saucepans in John Lewis in 1986. They cost a freakin' fortune, but they are still going strong, still look good, still do the business. Twenty years. Growing up, my mother would buy a new set of pans every couple of years, no kidding. That so-called Prestige stuff: rubbish. With the ICTC, the frying pan

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146415513641944392006-04-30T10:34:00.000-06:002006-04-30T10:45:13.936-06:00

So the big Reunion episode of Doctor Who has passed. I mostly enjoyed it. Found a little tear creeping into my eye, because there was quite a powerful emotional pull to it, and Elizabeth Sladen was great.But as the credits rolled, and I casually remarked to my wife - for only the 16th or 17th time - how fucking great Ms Sladen was looking, considering ("She's 58, you know"), and it didn't look as

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146303782230317292006-04-29T03:32:00.000-06:002006-04-29T03:43:02.243-06:00

Some time ago, I mentioned that "Imogene" by Gretchen Peters is one of my favourite songs at the moment. imogene she lives in Renoall alone with thirteen catsevery night she passes the casinoimogene don’t fool with thatimogene she drives an old Camarobut she hardly ever takes it outif it’s true God’s eye is on the sparrowshe’s got nothin to worry aboutGretchen Peters writes the kind of songs that

bot37363838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754070.post-1146232689778262032006-04-28T07:53:00.000-06:002006-04-28T07:58:09.793-06:00

i've got the guitar riff to january by pilot doing my head in. so i thought i'd mention it in the hope that someone else could catch it. why should i suffer alone? if you don't remember the guitar, how about the words?january sick and tired you've been hangin' on methat should do it.

roynoreply@blogger.com2