I want a stall at the fete selling strawberry shortcake

[alexsarll]

Yesterday I was handed a flyer for Czech mail-order brides, "unspoiled by feminism". Which is not just sleazy, but baffling. If you want the loaded and lonely, surely you flyer on Friday night as the City bars are chucking out, or in Knightsbridge tobacconists, not in Victoria on a Wednesday lunchtime?
Then again, this was shortly after I learned that Cardinal Place has a wind consultant called Professor Breeze, so it may just have been one of those days when plausibility goes out the window. Consider also the state of the Comedy that evening, where they had hybrid Hallowe'en/Christmas decorations up - so there's a werewolf menacing the tree, for instance, which has been decked with a string of skulls. I was there to see The Melting Ice Caps, aka Luxembourg's David Shah solo. And that is *solo* as in a one-man show, just him and a backing track (except for the two songs where he's joined by a flipbook wrangler). It can't be easy to stand up there and perform with no band, no instrument, no Dutch courage, not even any of the overacting and performance art techniques you'd get from someone like Simon Bookish, but he does it - stands there and sings his songs, beautiful songs about love and time and making the best of it all. Lovely, if heartbreaking - both for the songs in and of themselves, and that this is happening at half eight in a pub basement, rather than in the grand setting it deserves.
So of course because it's an implausible day, why wouldn't he be followed by a band with Foxy Brown on vocals, a total Shoreditch refugee on rhythm guitar and one of the From Dusk 'Til Dawn vampires on histrionic lead?

Newsarama are running a pretty revealing ten-part interview with Grant Morrison about All-Star Superman, one of the best superhero comics ever. I post this for the fans but seriously, even if you're only a casual/Greatest Hits comics reader, even if you think you don't like Superman, I don't blame you but this is the exception.

I finally remembered to check for an update on the story about the pirates stealing 30 tanks, which has been driven from the news by the small matter of the world's economy falling over and bursting into flames. Apparently:
"United States warships have surrounded the Faina for weeks to prevent the pirates from trying to unload the weapons, and a Russian guided missile frigate is traveling to the area."
It was seized a month ago! If the Russian navy is always this slow, we have so little to worry about from Putin.

For anyone given to complaining about txtspk as part of the decline of modern literacy &c, I give you 1880s emoticons.

Comments

[azureskies.livejournal.com]

Really enjoying the Morrison articles so far - glad I stumbled across 'em today, given that I hardly ever read Newsarama since its awful, awful relaunch. Some of it's retreading old ground (how many times have we heard that "I met Superman" story now?) but it's still a pretty fascinating read. I particularly like the way #10 seems to have always been set aside as the "Right, this is my definitive statement on Superman" standalone issue. I'd say in that case (as in many others) he succeeded one hundred per cent.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

I know the 'meeting Superman' story has been done, but each time there's some new detail I didn't know, and it just never gets old. The bit which gave me pause was when he says how much better his Krypto stuff was than 'Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?'. Look, Grant, just get over the anxiety of influence re: Alan already, please.

[moleintheground.livejournal.com]

All Star Superman made me cry big real tears about seven times. Such a phenomenal piece of work.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Likewise. And then it sets up DC One Million which still, a decade plus on, makes me cry like a baby every time I read the end. Or sometimes even when I just think about it.

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

Is that where Vandal Savage gets taken out? Humanity loses, superhumanity wins: like flies to wanton boys are we to th'gods.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

You can take Lex Luthor or Batman as a representative of humanity, but Vandal Savage? The man got an incredible new ability after contact with a mysterious meteorite - he's the original superhuman!

[angelv.livejournal.com]

Then again, this was shortly after I learned that Cardinal Place has a wind consultant called Professor Breeze

Aptronym! Anyway SUCH a bad idea getting someone who is CLEARLY pro-wind to be the wind consultant. No wonder it's so...er...windy.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Yeah but at least he's Professor Breeze - the place feels like it was designed by his colleague Professor Hurricane!

[augstone.livejournal.com]

nice. glad you finally got to see TMIC. he's really great.

i just related the mail-order bride story to my sister. following it with "so i now have a date for the wedding tomorrow".

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Good work.

[willjsm.livejournal.com]

I have seen the future of Heroes on BBC3. I think many of your concerns will be entirely put to rest. :)

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

This week's episode was very much the last chance as far as I was concerned - but it did manage to buy itself a stay of execution. Although, that entirely predictable return at the episode's end? That nearly undid all the good work.