And it's so sad that I'm so glad that you're so bad for me

[alexsarll]

Just as the Hammersmith Palais bows out, it is confirmed that the Spitz is also on the endangered list. I can just about accept the sacrifice of the Astoria to Crossrail, but all these others are being replaced with shops, offices and gastropubs - things of which I've never noticed any shortage in London.

Today's mind-bogglingly Wrong, I-really-hope-this-is-a-hoax website: Thank God I.... They believe that "by becoming grateful for EVERY experience in our lives we discover that we are in fact NOT victims of circumstance but beings worthy of love and a life filled with divine porpose & inspiration!" [sic. And if only they'd typo'd one further and said 'divine porpoise' eh?] Which is a stupid bloody idea, but one with some centuries of history; they've just managed to express it in an especially queasy form by coating it in modern self-help gloss and producing such charming images as this. They're looking for stories for various forthcoming titles, so do drop them a line if you'd like to see your contribution appear in such inspiring volumes as "Thank God I Was Incested", "Thank God I Have A Small Penis", "Thank God I Am Crippled", "Thank God I Am A Dwarf/Midget", "Thank God I Had A Miscarriage" and "Thank God My Pet Died".
(Of course, coming from a christian POV they do count as afflictions some things which others might not. I can imagine a few people I know might be able to offer entirely sincere contributions to "Thank God I Am Bi-Sexual")

If a German commemoration of the war dead in 1970 had seen a senior member of their government declare "The Sudetenland is German, it always was, it always will be," nobody would have found that remotely acceptable. So how come Argentina restating their claim on the Falklands in like terms is passing with so little comment?

Comments

[davegodfrey.livejournal.com]

I like the Astoria. Admttedly I haven't been to the other two you mention, though its a crying shame that London is losing small venues like this.

The Astoria/Mean Fiddler is one of the biggest venues a metal band gets to play in London. (Unless you're Iron Maiden.) I also happen to like the location as I was at Uni up the road, getting to and from gigs was easy.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

The Astoria's not exactly a bad venue, but there are problems with the bar, the sightlines...it's at its best for gigs that aren't too full, I think.
The location is bloody handy, though.