Blimey you get nuffink past this ant.

[alexsarll]

I was pleasantly surprised by the relative absence of 'TONY B.LIAR!'-style Stop The War goons et al from Sunday's anti-racist festival in Finsbury Park; the bolshier of the two rubbish comperes did go into a brief bit about the wonder of hijabs, but nothing too hard to ignore. The weather was abysmal - presumably because god is racist - but festival downpours are no big deal when you've got an umbrella-ella-ella-ella and you're within walking distance of your own bed. The running order was a puzzle - presumably St Etienne and Kelis needed to be elsewhere for the evening, or just wanted to be home in time for tea. Though that still doesn't explain why, with so much good material to pick from, they both played sets which badly sagged in the middle. Still, I got to see 'Lightning Strikes Twice' and 'Milkshake' for free on home turf, so I can't complain too much. Jamelia, on the other hand, doesn't have that much good material, but made up for it by being a general trouper and throwing in some well-chosen covers - her take on Gnarls Barkley may not have equalled Greg Dulli's, but her 'Take Your Mama Out' absolutely massacred the Scissor Sisters original. As for the Noisettes...having a black woman front a rockabilly band speaks more directly to the festival's theme than any of the other acts, and I can see why people like them, but based on this showing they're not for me.
Didn't stick around for the rest of it, which means we missed Ken's self-promotion spot. A shame, as I'd been planning to start a chant of 'BORIS!' going. Just for the record - Boris' mayoral bid has the full support of this journal, so long as he makes no more apologies. I really do feel his apologies demean him.

True-but-dubious-sounding lesson learned on Saturday night: when it comes to swordfighting, size really isn't everything, especially if the larger weapon is also a bit on the floppy side.

The carrier bags in Tesco are no longer marked as biodegradable, simply '100% degradable'. This makes them sound as though they're applying for jobs in the p0rn industry.

As to what's happening on my roof...the Devil alone knows, frankly. And that might even be literal.

Comments

Death bears

[mylifebythesea.livejournal.com]

Widdle cuddly bears. Of DEATH. Genius.

I completely missed the fact Boris was going for Mayor. Blimey.

Fear my robot head

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Indeed so. He still has to go through a primary, but I can't imagine the other nonentities up for the tory nomination will trouble him much there.

Re: Death bears

[pippaalice.livejournal.com]

Eeee! I love the death bears. Especially when the people throwing them out go 'sob'.

BTW My cats are about as normal as they are gonna get, they like running at my legs and trying to trip me up and everything. :D

Re: Death bears

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

How much effort does tripping you up require?

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

Ah, good old Boris "We should help Iran develop nuclear weapons" Johnson.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

a) Whatwhenwhere?
b) When set against Ken 'Friend Of The Suicide Bomber' Livingstone, I fear we'd have to consider that a null issue anyhow.

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/10/12/do1201.xml

Crossposted

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

"No one can pretend that any of this is good news. In an ideal world, the Israelis would fly to Iran and repeat their magnificent success at Osirak in 1986, where they bombed Saddam's nuclear capacity in its desert cradle.

But I vividly remember a conversation two years ago with one of the most fearsome hawks in Jerusalem, and he told me that option was no longer available: the stuff is all fizzing away already in hardened bunkers, and the sites are too scattered."

That is not cheerleading for Iran. That is the grave admission that in the current situation, we regrettably do not have the option of treating Iran according to its desserts.

I'm not sure if the idea of assisting them in return for assurances has legs, but nor does anything else on the table, and after how badly we got played over the captures sailors, thinking in those 'they'll not see this coming' leftfield terms is as productive an avenue as we've got.

[worldofagwu.livejournal.com]

- did you miss the holloways? - if so, well done ( they were rubbish imo ) - & what genius thort kelis would be improved by a long introduction from richard "untalented" blackwood...?

otherwise, a v.v.enjoyable if damp day - agree re: jamelia - v.impressed w/her voice, crowd pleasing attitude & legs

- strange to see so many ppl at an anti-racism gig carrying copies of the daily mail - sad to say, i was one of 'em...

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

The comperes and speakers were all bobbins tho, no? And yes, we very carefully timed our arrival to miss the Holloways, whose singer most definitely does have cooties...

I would imagine that the Mail's giveaway was the main reason most of them bought it. Hope so, anyway. And in its own small way even that giveaway was a sign that progress has been made.

[palindrome-boys.livejournal.com]

What are you trying to say about my inflatable cutlass???

And dude, seriously, the Noisettes, Rockabilly?? Nonononono. And there's plenty of black front peoples in Rockabilly, Buzz Wayne being the bestest of the best. (and I love Screaming J Hawkins, despite him not being that Rockabilly, he still gets played at rockin events, and he's The Man.

Are the foxes dancing on your roof again?

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I think the facts when Pippa tried to hit me with it speak for themselves!

Do you not think the Noisettes sound at all rockabilly? Maybe it was just the sound mix in the park, then. I know it's not unheard-of to have black people in rockabilly, but still it seemed like the sort of slightly unexpected genre/race mix which played well with the message - like a white rapper would have been a few years back, say, though now that one hardly counts as noteworthy anymore.

I doubt it can be foxes on my roof - the roof outside the bathroom window, sure, but their climbing skills surely aren't *that* good to be up on top of my room!