EineKleineRob: congratulations on your performance in Rebus...

... but how did you get up the tree?

Both me and Cloud took one look at John Stahl as Andrew McCleod in Friday night's Rebus episode and we both thought "EineKleineRob's an actor?!"

On the Qs

Bless him, just as I only get a fleeting chance to read a few blogs, Paul Fuzz comes up with a gem!

Q awards - take your bow for pointlessness: you've been Fuzzed.

Start your day with a click

Apparantly, there just aren't enough clicks happening at the Breast Cancer Site to provide free screenings.

Go on, click.

And also consider the Child Health, Literacy, Rainforest and Animal Welfare clicks...

Everything is accessible via the Hunger Site.

On the new armed forces memorial

It's just a thought, and maybe it says more about how my mind works. I was listening to Radio 4 discussing the new armed forces memorial being opened today in Alrewas, Staffordshire...

They said it was for all those killed since 1948 (this is confirmed here).

I couldn't help think "why 1948?" when WWII ended in 1945...

I'm just acutely aware of my mother's cousin who died near Haifa between the years of 1945 and 1948, as did many others...

Would that be an inconvenient commemoration?

How come no one told me about my apostrofly?

I've had an apostrofly sitting in Marie's Struggling Author blog listing which read - till just now - "member's only".

I am mortified and have changed it!

Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday

Hey, look, given my erratic postings - and postal strikes - I thought I should say it to myself!

Hopefully at the weekend I will be able to spend most of my time online catching up with the HUGE backlog of posts I owe - now including our visit to see The Decemberists at Wolverhampton.

Cheers to all and I will TRY and get onto bloglines or better still each of your blogs to review your remarks!

Yoko's poem for John

John Lennon would have been 67 today.

As an aside, is anyone else listening to the narrative that started on R4 yesterday (on at 7.45pm after Front Row) about a man's reaction to the death of John Lennon and the man's relationships after finding out about the death?

A state of being rubbish

I know, I KNOW!

If you knew the state of the inside of my head, you'd be worried.

That outside of my head - house building stuff, work - is even worse, does not make for a very coherent or blog checking Lisa Rullsenberg...

Sorry.

Marie's new blog

The Woman Who Talked too Much.

It's as good as ever and is OPEN.

Brilliant.

And against her better judgements, she rather undoes her own efforts to NOT make it include refs to DT or Doctor Who by mentioning latter in sentence 3 of her first post.

Hee.

Bush-whackered

Apologies: my working life feels like constant fire-fighting at present and my attentiveness to things at home (blogging, emailing etc) is sliding away from me.

Stay with me folks. I will aim to resume normal service - whatever that is! - ASAP.

In the meantime, I at least feel 'happy' that I think I have something suitably put together for the Shuffleathon. I just have to burn and make it. And post it.

Defining "physical exertion"

From the BBC:

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as ME, is a condition with a diverse range of symptoms but particularly characterised by profound muscle fatigue after physical exertion.

To say it's a lot more complicated than that would be an understatement - not least for defining and naming the illness. I'd also remark that, for some, 'exertion' can equate to 'filling a kettle with water and putting it on to boil': that rather puts that definition of physical exertion into a different category than, say, running up a flight of stairs.

I try not to get cranky about these issues, but for anyone experiencing ME, the shorthand of the BBC article would certainly have irked. And when the Communications Manager for Action for ME spoke up, I can't help but hear a typeface for irony/sarcasm in her voice:

Heather Walker, Communications Manager, Action for ME, said: "Wouldn't it be wonderful if eating chocolate every day could alleviate the symptoms of chronic illness?

"If it were that easy, there would not be 250,000 people in the UK today whose lives are being been devastated by ME."

Why is it relevant that Paula Radcliffe is now a mother?

The BBC headline read: "Paula Radcliffe is defeated in the Great North Run in her first race as a mother".

The linking page only says:

In the elite women's race, American Kara Goucher triumphed over second placed Paula Radcliffe, who was returning to competition for the first time in 21 months.

Now, I may be being picky but really - surely the significance is that she has been out for 21 months. And I'm not saying that pregnancy and motherhood do not take specific tolls on a person's body, but did the headline really have to imply "She's a mother! She's now rubbish!".

She came second. That's no mean feat. Why can't we just be chuffed at her coming back and being up to such a good standard in her first competitive race in 21 months?

New music acquisitions

So, what have recently entered the Rullsenberg and Cloud household?

This listing dates from mid-August and the Summer Sundae weekender 2007 to the end of September 2007.

The Summer Sundae Showdown

• Tom Russell: Song of the West - The Cowboy Collection


• Tom Russell: Love and Fear


• Various Artists: Wounded Heart of America (Tom Russell Songs)

We had a fabulous time in the company of Tom Russell at Summer Sundae and ran off to withdraw money especially to purchase some of his works. He certainly warrants all the plaudits he has garnered over the years.

The LA Pick-up

• Steve Reich: Phases

A box set of 5 CDs providing a Nonesuch retrospective of Reich's work, this was irresistable (not least for the weakened US dollar). Beautiful sounds.

The Slow Boat Splurge

• La Gloria: Jeramiad

Soundscapes made with such items as Roto mikes, Shimshaw, and Pickup Transducers... Sounds up our street and it is sure is!


• Alastair Galbraith / Matt de Gennaro: From the Dark (South Island) - Long Wires in Dark Museums Vol.2

Reading the description of this from the (actually rather substantial "New Zealand - Experimental" section in Slow Boat, we had to pick this up. Cue an at-the-counter additional run through as to what the work involved. This gives a nice understanding:

Alastair Galbraith is the glue that binds the New Zealand underground. His work ranges from achingly lyrical violin for artists as disparate as Peter Jefferies and the Bats, to the feedback squall she conjures as a member of A Handful of Dust, to the other worldly minatures he crafts for his own solo albums. However, in recent years, Galbraith, along with American Matt de Gennaro, has developed another remarkable performance idiom, one that is positioned closer to the sounding sculptures of Harry Bertoia. In From the Dark (South Island), architectural idiosyncrasies are transformed into nuanced and hypnotic audio. Wires - some as long as 100 feet - are affixed throughout a building. When the wires are taut and stroked with roisined hands or a piece of leather, longitudinal vibrations are sent to the points of attachment, creating a natural resonator. It is not the wires that make the sound, but the wall, railing or window frames at their end: wire length and room acoustics determine the pitch. THe result, achieved in a veil of total darkness, is a beautiful and eeries confluence of chance and accident, architecture and improvisation. As Galbraith puts it, "There is some quite magical feeling of communion turning the lights off and making the building sing."



• Rosy Tin Tea Caddy - Blind Leading the Blind

Cloud picked this up after seeing it at the counter in Slow Boat and reading the following remarks from its inside sleeve:


Billy Earl and Betty Grey met as youngsters. Since then they have surrounded kitchen tables with cheap wine, old laughter, fresh pasta, dirty children, guitars, a computer and endless cups of tea.

Now who could resist THAT!?


• Magnolia Electric Co.: Fading Trails

We heard some very nice music whilst I was buying a beautifully tailored suit from Ziggurat and promptly queried who it was by. Finding it to be Jason Molina's Magnolia Electric Co., we promptly picked up something of theirs from Slow Boat just up the road.


• Tape Man Goes To Outer Space!

What can I say? We like the quirky and will take a gamble on all manner of stuff...!


• Lambchop: Tools in the Dryer


• Lambchop: The Decline of Country and Western Civilisation Part II: The Woodwind Years (Australia/NZ Edition includes bonus disc - The 'CoLab' EP)

One can never have too much of the 'Chop. The dulcit tones of Kurt Wagner on these respective compilations of A-sides, B-sides, live tracks and remixes, and also of A-sides, B-sides, compilation tracks and unreleased songs are particular joys.


• Two t-shirts, including one advertising Slow Boat Records especially for wearing when visiting Selectadisc.

The Swordfish Snaffle

• Alastair Galbraith: Talisman

Captivated by the acquisition of From the Dark, I thought I would indulge in more from this NZ artiste.


• The Elysian Quartet: Gabriel Prokofiev String Quartet No.1 with remixes by Edwin Lalio, Boxsaga, David Schweitzer and Max de Wardener

At time of typing I still haven't had chance to play this but it just sounded so intriguing!


• Tunng: Good Arrows

This was playing in the store and their unique style was instantly recognisable. Yep: we'll have some more of that!


• Thelonius Monk Quartet with John Coltrane: At Carnegie Hall

Cloud felt almost ill at realising he had NO Monk in his collection. We rectified that with this double-whammy gem featuring Coltrane as well...

The Selectadisc Raid

• Various Artists: The End of the Fear of God

69 artistes. A totally mad and typical CD inset commentary from the shop (why don't they let you keep a note of those?!). Had to be done.


• David Grubbs and Susan Howe: Souls of the Labardie Tract

I'll be honest here, I basically picked this up (a) because I knew David Grubbs from a FatCat compilation of super-duper stuff and (b) because a friend did her PhD on the poetry of Susan Howe. It's actually rather beautiful, especially with the weird noises and interludes of Grubbs sounds...


• Mira Calix: Eyes Set Against the Sun

Nope, no idea what to expect but selected from the soothing gems of the Post-Rock section I'm sure it can't be all bad...


• Colleen: Les Ondres Silencieuses

Yet more totally bought on a whim material. I want to be surprised! Quiet or loud, I like to take an occasional gamble.


• Monopolka: Noise Wendy

How can one resist a CD whose packaging is hand-made for each one and features cut-up pieces of cassette tape?!

[There was an additional item which I don't want to mention here because it may become a birthay present for a friend! But its a music DVD I also quite fancy having... decisions, decisions!]


Neil's selection

• Scritti Politti: Early

Neil's historic love for Green Gartside could not resist picking this up.


• Patti Smith: Land (1975-2002)

Yes, we should buy Smith's ouevre, but for the moment this sampler gives us a top up on our current CD owned material by her (vinyl, yep: CD, we hadn't ... apart from a key George selected gem!)


• Arise Rootsman: Jamaican Roots 1965-1983

Cannot resist getting some Trojan dub classics.


• Final Fantasy: He Poos Clouds

It's an Arcade Fire offspring record. That surely explains the purchase? That and the quirky name that amused Cloud...

George and Sonia's selections

• One From the Heart [Soundtrack album]

A classic bit of Waits and Gayle. Sonia needed to replace her worn/lost tape. Bargain.


• Rough Guide to the Music of Iran

Stretching out beyond western music - even if our selections push the barriers of 'music' fullstop! - this is a fine selection of tracks that shames me into realising how we need to keep expanding our musical horizons.


• Ethiopiques - the Very Best of Ethiopiques: Hypnotic Grooves from the Legendary Series

Like the fabulous Getatchew Mekurya bringing Eithiopian sax to the fore, this collection promised a full range of gems!


• Various Artists: Warrior Dubz

Magnificent collection of weird and wonderful works in a dub-hip-hop-rap-stylee.


• John Wiese: Black Magic Pond

Simply so grating that its hypnotically compelling and beautiful. A real find!


• Evan Parker: Time Lapse

Jazz man. It's jazz.


• Ooioo: Ooeyioo - eyioo remix [EP]

Hard to type but suitably on the scale of quirky electronic.


• Free sampler with Plan B magazine

Is that it? I think it may be. I'll try and get links on as many as possible but stay with me folks; this catch up is taking me some time!

The very VERY VERY belated Holiday post: part four - New Zealand (Wellington and back)

Of course, as enjoyable as spending over five hours on a train with beautiful views is, we were on the Tranzcoastal for a purpose: to get the Interislander ferry through the Malborough Sounds, across the sea and over from South Island to North Island - specifically, Wellington.

What really amused us when we landed at Wellington, was that we found the Kaitaki ferry had a big painted over set of letters on its side announcing it had once been 'Pride of Cherbourg': that's a long journey!

Wellington was fabulous, despite a rather overcast start to our main day there: this was mostly because of the Cuba Street zone, the kind of area that makes you want to pack up streets-worth of venues in your TARDIS-sized suitcase and take them home with you. Second hand bookshops! Anarchist bookshop/internet cafes (no Microsoft products in sight)! Vintage clothes stores (Ziggurat - I love you!) Excellent independent restaurants! Slow Boat Records!!! (This last one cued a SPLURGE of purchases that had the stoe owners grinning from ear to ear - but which with the exchange rate was an exceptionally reasonable act).

[This post is a work in progress which thanks to my computer and Blogger conspiring I cannot save as draft]

The very VERY VERY belated Holiday post: part four - New Zealand

We landed in rain. Torrential rain. Coo-er it was like being in the UK all over again. We saw out the window at Auckland airport that our baggage was getting VERY wet being loaded up onto the Christchurch plane. [By the time we had it and got to Neil's family, I realised one of my pieces - a suitcase - was actually wet on the inside! Good job I am the paranoid sort who packs stuff INSIDE carrierbags even inside suitcases...]

We may have took off in rain, but within minutes we were over clouds and glaciers and the mountains of NZ in clear air. Beautiful. We landed in Christchurch and the sun was up and lovely. Mid-Feb equivalent my ass; good job we know that its on the equivalent latitude to Portugal (makes more sense than comparing it to the UK). We headed straight to Neil's parents and looked out on more perfect sunshine and views of clouds. A lovely walk around Oxford and a gradual come-down from all the flying (including Neil recuperating from ear-popping by getting hiccups: hard to know what was worse!)

Having paddled at Santa Monica just before taking off for NZ, it was compulsory I thought to paddle in the sea at the OTHER side of the Pacific. So it was off to Woodend and a beautiful afternoon there with both of us paddling and Neil's parens beachcombing.

Over the course of the next two weeks, we saw and did so much - in addition to the fabulous time we had in the company of Neil's family (especially niece and nephew).

We enjoyed the architectural and sculptural delights of Christchurch, both temporary and more permanant.

We travelled to Hamner Springs (though we ducked out of the thermal pools), taking more pleasure in fabulous views to bungie jump bridges [sorry, I didn't!], water and forest views, walks, and the fun and games of mini-golf... It was warm enough to be just in t-shirts. This was the most extended experience of summer we had had since April in the UK!!

After all that exercise and hilarity we had one of our first superb meals of the visit: this time at Peppers in Hamner. Wonderful! Just the puddings alone were worth the visit but we also had fabulous mains too. Awakening from Cheltenham House, we headed back to Oxford past views that would not look out of place in LA/Santa Monica...

Of course, over the holiday in NZ we had lots of fun with duelling cameras (take five paces, turn and SHOOT!) But with so much beauty in the landscape, it was hard to not just end up shooting the mountains and land around us, especially when we headed on the TranzCoastal train to Picton. What views! Taking in wine country views and regularly running alongside the coastal road, it was a visually stunning journey - with yet MORE gorgeous weather.