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Arthur Conan Doyle–“The Five Orange Pips” [The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes] (1891)

Posted in Arthur Conan Doyle, Australia, Blackmail, Lady Lamb, Magana, Mitski, Murder, Mystery, Racism, Regrets, Robbery, Sherlock Holmes, Short Story on March 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: hiatus.

[READ: February 4, 2024] “The Five Orange Pips”

The fifth story in this collection is notable to me for the context of the mystery more than the mystery itself.

A gentleman named John Openshaw tells Holmes that his Uncle Elias has been killed.  As a young man, Elias went to Florida, joined the Confederate Army, made some money and came back to England.  John lives on his estate.

Recently Elias received a mysterious letter from India with the initials K.K.K. on it.  The only thing the letter contained was five orange seeds (pips).  Elias frekaed out and became even more reclusive.

Elias was found dead on the grounds of his house, but it was ruled a suicide.  John did not believe it was a suicide.

John’s father inherited the estate.  He soon received a similarly peculiar note with orange pips.  This note told him to leave Elias’s papers at the sundial.  But Elias had burnt the papers.  John’s father was dead soon after–this one ruled an accident.

John has now received a letter asking for the papers and that’s why he has come to Holmes.

What’s most notable about this story is that the K.K.K. (and this seems really obvious now, but who would have guessed) stands for Ku Klux Klan. The Klan was effectively defunct at the time he wrote this.  Sadly it has been revitalized since this writing and remains the scourge that it was at the time.

Obviously, Holmes didn’t go after the Klan, but it’s nice to know that the ship carrying the Klansmen was destroyed in the story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The four novels of the canon:

  1. A Study in Scarlet (1887)
  2. The Sign of the Four (1890)
  3. The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902)
  4. The Valley of Fear (1915)

The 56 short stories are collected in five books:

  1. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892)
  2. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894)
  3. The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905)
  4. His Last Bow (1917)
  5. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892) contains 12 stories published in The Strand between July 1891 and June 1892

  1. “A Scandal in Bohemia” (June 1891)
  2. “The Red-Headed League” (August 1891)
  3. “A Case of Identity” (September 1891)
  4. “The Boscombe Valley Mystery” (October 1891)
  5. “The Five Orange Pips” (November 1891)
  6. “The Man with the Twisted Lip” (December 1891)
  7. “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” (January 1892)
  8. “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” (February 1892)
  9. “The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb” (March 1892)
  10. “The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor” (April 1892)
  11. “The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet” (May 1892)
  12. “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches” (June 1892)

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Arthur Conan Doyle–“The Boscombe Valley Mystery” [The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes] (1891)

Posted in Arthur Conan Doyle, Australia, Blackmail, Lady Lamb, Magana, Mitski, Murder, Mystery, Regrets, Robbery, Sherlock Holmes, Short Story on February 21, 2024| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: MAGANA-Teeth (2024)

I saw Lady Lamb back in 2019 when they opened for New Pornographers.  In my post I had singled out her bassist Jeni Magaña

fantastic bass from Jeni Magana.  Magana is also the bassist for Mitski and she has such a dynamite sound.  I could have listened to Magana play all night long.

I recently got a DM from Audio Antihero saying that since I seemed to be a fan, would I like to hear the new Magana solo record?  I initially assumed that it was a new album by the singer of Lady Lamb (Aly Splatro), it had been five years, I can’t be expected to remember everything.

The record didn’t sound anything like Lady Lamb, and that’s when I read the liner notes and saw my mistake.

Teeth is available next month, and you can hear a few songs now.  The bandcamp page says Magana describes the album

as “Witchy Rock,” … unlike any of her past works. An album about “regrowth and a new view on the world,” its sound touches on Acid Folk, Alternative Pop, and even Krautrock as she tackles the bleakest and most brutally honest subjects of her songwriting career.

I liked the album a lot and although I haven’t had time to write about albums so much anymore, I wanted to give this indie label a shout.

All other instruments: Jeni Magaña

The album opens with strummed guitar that sounds slightly-off–in an intriguingly (minorly) dissonant way that I found really intriguing.  Then “Garden” introduces Magana’s lovely full voice.  Keys float in to flesh out the sound as it builds somewhat.  It’s not really an indication of what will come next, but it does hint a little at the unusual music within.

“Beside You” introduces a starkly fuzzy guitar line and what sounds like electronic toy piano.  But most of the music fades back for the verses as an electronic drum (the snare is close to a clap sound) keeps the music going.  It’s like eccentric bedroom pop, but it sounds really clean.  The song is about 3 minutes long and half way through it’s like a full band joins in and the song explodes into fullness–with some terrific harmony vocals.

More unusual instrumentation follows on “Matter” which features not one but two (I think) clarinet melodies to introduce the song.  Then comes in a cool electronic bass sound to propel the song.  Incidentally, Jeni Magaña plays everything on the record except for drums (Jonathan Smith) and strings: Violin: Jenna Moynihan and Cello: Marie Kim.  The mixing of the clarinets and the big synth sounds works wonderfully together–in one of those moments where when the bass notes return after the middle part it’s like an old friend returning.

“Paul” strips the music back to a quiet, prepared-sounding guitar and her beautiful voice.  Magana’s voice sounds familiar in a way that I find very comforting (although I can’t place who I think she sounds like).  After a verse the song builds up with a few flutes and strings.  The melody is lovely.   And I love the return of the clarinets. (more…)

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Aunty Donna: The Magical Dead Cat Tour (Perelman Theater, Kimmel Cultural Campus, Philadelphia, PA, October 7, 2023)

Posted in Aunty Donna, Australia, Broden Kelly, Funny (ha ha), Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Mark Bonanno, Perelman Theater, Philadelphia, PA, Religion, Zachary Ruane on October 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 7, 2023] Aunty Donna

I don’t recall what made me check out Aunty Donna one night.  But the opening skit of the first episode had me cracking up.  I’ve been a fan ever since.

The only “problem” with them is that their jokes are so vulgar, so over the top rude, that it’s hard to share them.  Especially with the kids.  I mean, even their merch–which includes a hat that says Morning Brown is hard to explain without going a bit red in the face.

So what was this show going to entail?

Well, the promo told us this

Dear Human Beings,

Hello, I am a Magical Dead Cat, the titular Magical Dead Cat from the very title of this very show. I write to you today because I have discovered the most wondrous sketch show on the popular streaming service Netflix – Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun. I was so impressed with said show that I issued Aunty Donna this challenge: entertain me with a 2 hour live show, one that features all new sketches, but also a few fan favourites. It MUST include a short interval, and based on availability / budget, possibly an opening act. If Aunty Donna succeeds in pleasing me with a rip-roarin’ show, I have promised to surprise them with a special, web slinging, mystery guest!
Come, sweet humans, and see if Broden, Zach and Mark are up for the task!

With loving grace,
The Magical Dead Cat.

The show also came with a warning that there would be occasional coarse kanguage.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It was filled front to back with nothing BUT coarse language.

They opened the show by having an announcer introduce each of the three comedians.  And as each one’s name was announced they came to the front of the stage and did a high-stepping dance.  But the announcer continued to re-introduce Broden and Mark, as Zach’s face fell and the other two grew exhausted from all of their dancing. (more…)

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The Murlocs / Paul Jacobs (The Black Box at Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, November 7, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Australia, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Philadelphia, PA, Pottery, The Black Box, The Murlocs, Underground Arts on November 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: November 7, 2022] The Murlocs / Paul Jacobs

I saw The Murlocs just before the pandemic.  The show was a lot of fun and I was surprised at how crowded it was.

Everyone knows that King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are hugely prolific.  Well, fascinatingly, KGATLW’s Ambrose Kenny-Smith and Cook Craig are also in The Murlocs.

I’m not sure if this show was also in The Black Box (an awesome intimate venue), but I had scheduled another show for the following night, so I didn’t really feel up for two nights in a row (after the craziness of October, it seemed wise to back off a bit).  I’m sure they’ll be back–they seem to need to constantly be on the road.

I didn’t know who Paul Jacobs was.  Had I realized he was the drummer for Montreal band Pottery, I would have been far more interested.  Pitchfork says of him

Paul Jacobs’ cartoon world is constantly expanding. Since uprooting himself from the border city of Windsor, Ontario to the perpetually buzzing Montreal music scene, his hand-drawn animations and hallucinatory illustrations have graced the covers of multiple albums per year. As the drummer of post-punk quintet Pottery, Jacobs is the engine behind yelpy extended jams that sound equally at home on a nightclub dancefloor or at a psych festival. Yet it’s solo albums like Pink Dogs on the Green Grass where Jacobs’ soft-focus, lysergic visions truly bloom.

He seems like a PERFECT fit for a KGATLW spin off.  Indeed, he seems like a KGATLW spin off himself.

I probably should have gone to this show.

 

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King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, October 22, 2022) [rescheduled, rescheduled again]

Posted in Australia, Franklin Music Hall, Full show video, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Leah Senior, Philadelphia, PA on October 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 30, 2019] King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard [rescheduled from May 22 and then October 22, 2020 and again on October 23, 2021]

After  the previous King Gizzard show in this very venue, I was all set to wait in line for this one.  People arrive very early for the merch.  But when I got there (close to 8), there was no line to get in.  That’s because the merch line was (once again) insanely long.  It went almost to the stage.  In fact, it was unclear who was on line and who was just milling about.  Well, even though I would have liked a poster, I certainly didn’t need to wait in that line (or spend $50).

The show started very late.  While waiting last time, I felt a sense of existential “what’s the point” last time, and I kind of felt this this time.  It’s crowded, it’s hot, we’re just standing here.

And then they came out and all was forgotten.  They launched into Oddlife.  By  the way, the band has released six albums since the last time they played here, so who knew what was coming.  This song featured the “Flying Microtonal Banana” guitar, so there was bound to be a couple more microtonal music.

Up next was “Billabong Valley” on which Ambrose sang (and played guitar).

At some point, all the yahoos who were hanging back started pushing in trying to get into the center for the inevitable pit.  I was really blown away last time at how mobile the KGATLW crowd was.  Slamming, pogoing, bouncing, just full body contact everywhere.  We were all pushed way away from our original position.

After the looming fun of “K.G.L.W.” Stu switched guitars to his new inverted flying V.  Although they had played songs from Infect the Rat’s Nest last time, this time they played two different songs from it, and they inserted the thrashing “Predator X” from Omnium Gatherum which fit perfectly.

Then things slowed down immensely for the mellow acoustic vibe of “Her and I,” the final song on I’m in Your Mind Fuzz.

So far, “Billabong Valley” was the only song they’d played for me before.

Then they began “Crumbling Castle” and the fans went nuts.  It’s one of my favorite songs, but I didn’t know it was everyone’s favorite song (who knows with KGATLW–they have 22 albums out).  “Castle” and “Her and I” take about 20 minutes alone, and this show was turning from a headbanging ball into a jam fest.  Especially when it segued into “The Fourth Colour” also from Polygondwanaland/

Then Ambrose said it was time to dance as they played King Gizzard’s rap song “The Grim Reaper.”  There was much dancing and waving.  And then they segued into “Ice V” the only song from the three albums that they released in October.  It’s probably my favorite track on Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava.

Then they called Leah Senior out and she began reciting some of Altered Beast with Leah doing the narration.  In 2018, they had played us Alter Me I and Altered Beast I.  This time it was Alter Me III and Altered Beast IV  It was like the ended the story four years later.

They ended with “Evil Death Roll” a rollicking good time from Nonagon Infinity.  They jammed this out for a pretty long time, throwing in teases from other songs.

Comparing this show to previous shows, the number of songs in significantly lower.  But they really jammed out some songs in the middle, giving this a more psychedelic feel than previous shows.  This in no way stopped the crowd from pushing and shoving and surfing.  Indeed ,some guy was just pushing me, for no reason that I could see–quite hard too–until I asked him to switch places with me.  Which he did.

Despite how much I love them, I decided that I don’t think I’ll be seeing them again.  The crowd is just not my crowd.  Unless they play somewhere else (but there’s really nowhere bigger than Franklin Music Hall) and they keep selling that venue out pretty easily.

Markit Aneight had a much better view than me and filmed the whole show

 

Franklin Music Hall October 22, 2022 Franklin Music Hall August 30, 2019 Union Transfer June 18, 2018
Oddlife ∑ Planet B ℜ Digital Black ⊗
Billabong Valley ⇔ Perihelion ℜ Vomit Coffin ⊗
K.G.L.W. £ The Great Chain of Being Ω The Lord of Lightning ⊗
Mars for the Rich ℜ Stressin’ ℘ Cellophane β
Predator X Ø I’m in Your Mind β Alter Me I ⊗
Organ Farmer ℜ I’m Not in Your Mind β Altered Beast I ⊗
Her and I (Slow Jam 2) [Iron Lung tease] β Cellophane β Evil Death Roll ∝
Crumbling CastleΔ I’m in Your Mind Fuzz β Billabong Valley ⇔
The Fourth ColourΔ The Balrog ⊗ Nuclear Fusion ⇔
The Grim Reaper Ø Acarine € Rattlesnake ⇔
Ice V ¥ Murder of the Universe ⊗ All Is Known Ω
Alter Me III (with Leah Senior) ⊗ The Bird Song € Crumbling Castle Δ
Altered Beast IV (with Leah Senior) ⊗ Let Me Mend the Past ∼ The Fourth Colour Δ
Evil Death Roll ∝
(Altered Beast & Hypertension teases;
contained elements of Invisible Face)		 Billabong Valley ⇔ Deserted Dunes Welcome Weary Feet Δ
Nuclear Fusion ⇔ The Castle in the Air Δ
Doom City ⇔ Muddy Water Ω
All Is Known Ω The Wheel Ω
Boogieman Sam € Robot Stop ∝
Cyboogie € Gamma Knife ∝
Self-Immolate ℜ Some Context ⊗
Hell ℜ

© Changes (2022)
≅ Laminated Denim (2022)
¥ Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava (2022)
Ø Omnium Gatherum (2022)
µ Butterfly 3000 (2021)
£ L.W. (2021)
∑ K.G. (2020)
ℜ Infest the Rats’ Nest (2019)
€ Fishing for Fishies (2019)
Ω Gumboot Soup (2017)
Δ Polygondwannaland (2017)
⊗ Murder of the Universe (2017)
⇔ Flying Microtonal Banana (2017)
∝ Nonagon Infinity (2016)
β I’m in Your Mind Fuzz (2014)
℘ Oddments (2014)
∼ Float Along – Fill Your Lungs (2013)

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Leah Senior (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, October 22, 2022) [KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD] [rescheduled, rescheduled again]

Posted in Australia, Franklin Music Hall, Full show video, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Philadelphia, PA on October 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 22, 2022] Leah Senior [rescheduled from May 22 and then October 22, 2020 and again on October 23, 2021]

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard created a record label (Flightless) and they released Leah Senior’s latest album.

I had listened to Leah Senior when it was first announced that she was going to open for them on the tour.  I think her new album wasn’t out yet, because I found what I heard to be fine, decent folk music.

Or as NME says:

Her first two albums, 2015’s ‘Summer’s On The Ground’ and 2017’s ‘Pretty Faces’, are sparsely arranged folk records – usually just Senior and her guitar, maybe a bit of piano – with songs she says were often born from anguish. But on ‘The Passing Scene’, Senior moves away from the sounds of early Joni Mitchell to something echoing the late-’60s, jazzy, jam-band sound of Karen Dalton’s ‘In My Own Time’. Senior says she approached recording with a sense of playfulness for the first time.

Because live, these songs were delightful!  Fun and bouncey with a fantastic band and, the killer ingredient: backing vocals by her sister, Andi.  Together the two of them sang beautiful harmonies.

I expected to like her set, but I was enchanted by it.  By her voice, by the way her band fleshed out these songs and by the overall vibe she generated.  She played guitar for the first few songs and then switched to piano/keyboards for the rest.

I was less enchanted by the loud dude near me who felt compelled to talk a lot about which King Gizzard albums he had and how much he hated baseball and how mean the Aussies were during the lockdown.  Fortunately, the person he was talking to moved away from him and he was left talking to no one and we all enjoyed the last few Leah Senior songs ever the more.

I couldn’t see her all that well–a wall of KGATLW fans were in my way, but her voice soared over any obstacles.

Markit Aneight has a video of the whole show

  1. Time Traveller §
  2. Daisy
  3. Graves §
  4. Pony [new]
  5. Ocean Quilt Lady §
  6. There’s No Fish §
  7. Where Am I
  8. Love Outlast My Heart ♥
  9. Evergreen §
  10. Bug in a Bath §

§ Passing Scene
♥ from Love Hurts compilation

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Chris Womersley–“A Lovely and Terrible Thing” (Australia) [The 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar #3] (2011)

Posted in Alberto Manguel, Australia, Canadian Content, Chris Womersley, Christmas, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Hingston & Olsen, Short Story, Supernatural, Surreal, The Short Story Advent Calendar on December 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK:  hiatus

[READ: December 3, 2021] “A Lovely and Terrible Thing”

This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my seventh time reading the Calendar.  The 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individually bound short stories.

As always, each story is a surprise, so you won’t know what you’re getting until you crack the seal every morning starting December 1. Once you’ve read that day’s story, check this link where editor Alberto Manguel is providing daily commentary on each of the stories he selected for this year’s calendar.

You know this story is going to be unusual because the main character works for Ripley’s Believe It or Not (I didn’t know they had that in Australia).

He is off to investigate a claim when his car breaks down in the middle of nowhere.  After a few hours of fruitless struggle, a local man approaches.  They decide that the place the driver is going is too far to walk so the local (named Angola) offers to let him spend the night at his place. (more…)

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King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard / Leah Senior (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, October 23, 2021) [rescheduled]

Posted in Australia, Coronavirus, Franklin Music Hall, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine on October 23, 2021| 1 Comment »

[POSTPONED: October 23, 2021] King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard / Leah Senior [rescheduled from May 22 and then October 22, 2020; moved to October 22, 2022]

indexOn May 24, King Gizzard announced that they were pushing back this tour for another year.  It seemed surprising since everyone else is filling in tour dates this fall, but they made a valid point

We’ve made the (very hard) decision to reschedule our USA/CAN tour once again.

This was an extraordinarily tough decision to make but I hope y’all can understand the complexities that come with a giant tour of the States and Canada with a 6 piece band and a 6 person crew from Australia during a pandemic.

We’ve tried our hardest to reschedule as many of these shows as possible at the same venues. That means your ticket will still be valid if you want to go.

For our NY show, we’re unfortunately going to be canceling it, you will be given a full refund and will have to buy a new ticket at the new venue. Sorry! It’s bigger though so everyone should be able to get tickets. Exciting news on that and other new shows coming soon! 🙂

If you’d like a refund contact your local venue as soon as you can to arrange.

Thanks to every gizzhead for your ongoing support and love. We will get back on the road as soon as we can.

Love king gizz Xoxox

I was bummed when KGATLW had to postpone a show in May. I mean, come on, Coronavirus, would certainly be over by May, right?  Well, now it’s October and things are still crazy.  I really hope they can do this again next year.

Of course, knowing them, they’ll have three more albums out by then.

I have become a huge fan of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (are there any other kinds of fans of them?) since I first heard about them a few years ago.

I’m sad that I missed them on the tour just before the first time I saw them (at a smaller venue when newbies like me hadn’t heard of them yet), but I have seen them twice since.

In both cases, the band overcame somewhat unpleasant (to me) situations (obnoxious capacity crowds and unreasonable heat) to change my mind from swearing I’d never bother seeing them again (before the show), to hoping they’d come back really soon (after the show).

I’m not at all surprised that this show was postponed and they have already rescheduled the new date.  So we’re all good.  I just hope the damned air-conditioner works next time.

The last time I saw KGATLW, the two opening bands were kind of doom/psychedelic–perfect matches for KGATLW’s more recent sound.  This year’s opener is a singer named Leah Senior.

Leah Senior did the narration on KGATLW’s Murder of the Universe album.  But her music is a completely other thing.  She sings gentle folk songs with delicate guitar playing and her beautiful soft voice.

I can;t imagine how well she would go over with a rowdy KGATLW crowd and I also wonder if that means that KGATLW would play their more mellow stuff?  Nah.

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Jeffrey Eugenides–“Walkabout” (New Yorker, June 11, 2007)

Posted in AFROPUNK, Australia, Coronavirus, Essays, Film & TV, Fire, First Nations of Australia, Jeffrey Eugenides, NENNY, New Yorker, Nudism, Portugal, Quarantine, Quest for Fire, Suicide, Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, Tiny Desk Concert, Walkabout on June 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: NENNY–Tiny Desk Meets AFROPUNK: #202/196 (May 1, 2021).

Tiny Desk Meets AFROPUNK was the opening event of AFROPUNK’s “Black Spring” festival. The virtual celebration, hosted by Jorge “Gitoo” Wright, highlighted outstanding talent in Afro-Latin and Afro-Caribbean music across the globe. Our showcase featured four artists who honored their homes and celebrated the art their heritage has inspired.

With warm maroon box braids nearly sweeping the floor and glitter adorning her eyes, NENNY’s presence demands full attention before she even opens her mouth. Dressed in a flowy, all-white outfit accented with a pastel checker pattern and surrounded by a matching four-piece band, the 18-year-old Portuguese singer-songwriter and rapper appears otherworldly, almost heavenly, as she harmonizes with electric guitar and jumps across the room, dancing with her entire body. NENNY first appeared on heads’ radar in 2019 with her single “Sushi.” She’s continued to impress with several more singles and the release of her debut project, 2020’s Aura.

I love that her band is all dressed with the same fabric–pants on the guitarist, shirt on the bass player and sash on the drummer.  They play three songs.  I have no idea what she’s rapping about, but the flow in Portuguese is pretty great.

Jonatas gets some really great guitar sounds in the solo of “Bússola” and I love the deep bass that Peterson gets.

When she talks you can tell just how young she is.  She’s full of energy!

“Wave” opens with sampled acoustic guitar as Nenny sings this ballad.  I like that she switches from rapping to singing and her singing voice is really good.

Keyboardist Gui Salgueiro starts “Tequila” with an acoustic guitar sample and Ariel plays some cool percussive sounds while a spoken word (in English) interview plays.  When the song kicks in she’s rapping in Portuguese again and the electric guitar plays leads while the acoustic is still looping.

She really does seem to float around the room in this high energy Concert.

[READ: June 1, 2021] “Walkabout”

The June 11 issue of the new Yorker had several essays under the heading “Summer Movies.”   Each one is a short piece in which the author (many of whom I probably didn’t know in 2007 but do know now) reflects on, well, summer movies.

It’s interesting to me that Roger Agnell wrote about Quest for Fire, a small French Canadian production (with full nudity) and Jeffrey Eugenides writes about Walkabout a small Australian movie (with full nudity).

[This movie is permanently lodged in my own consciousness because I was living in Boston when it came out and it screened at the Brattle Theater for seemingly ever.  I often thought about seeing it, but never did].

Eugenides says that he saw it at his family’s yacht club (!).  His father and brother were sailing so he and his mother went to this movie that they knew nothing about.

He summarizes the little I know about it.  A father drives his children–a teenage daughter and young son–into the outback.  He then sets the car and himself on fire. (more…)

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James Felton–52 Times Britain was a Bellend: The History You Didn’t Get Taught in School (2019).

Posted in Australia, Disease, Elephants, Eurovision, Funny (ha ha), Geese, Hindus, History, Humiliation, India, Ireland, James Felton, Law, LGBTQ, Liars, Military, Morality, Museums, Muslims, Non-fiction, Pakistan, Plague, Politicians, Poo, Priests, Prison, Religion, Revenge, Sex, Slavery, Toilets, Torture, Vikings, Violence, Wales, War, Witches, Yuck! on May 26, 2021| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: JAMES NEWMAN-“Embers” (England, Eurovision Entry 2021).

.Eurovision 2021 is over and the big news (aside from drug-taking accusations against the winner) is that the entry from England received zero.  Nul points.

This is not unique, but it’s not something that anybody wants.  It’s actually better to not make the finals than to make the finals and get nul points, because no one is going to forget that.

So just how bad was “embers?”

I’m not going to defend the song, because I would never listen to it on purpose–it’s not my thing.  But by the same token I can think of a lot of songs that are much worse than this.

This song is just kind of bland.  It thinks its big and catchy with the horns and the “light up the ROOM!” line.  But really it just doesn’t do much.  I could see this song playing in a club and people would dance to it and then forget it.  No one would ask who it was or request it again.

And maybe that’s worth nothing.

[READ: May 26, 2021] 52 Times Britain was a Bellend

Bellend is such a great insult and it is exclusive to Britain, which is a shame.

Also a shame is just how terrible Britain as a country has been throughout history.

Obviously any global superpower is going to be dickish–you get power by crushing others.  You could write this same book about the United States and cover just the last four years.

But Felton, whom I’ve never heard of before, but who is apparently a huge Twitter presence, narrowed history down to 52 (one a week) examples of Britain being absolutely horrible (and somehow managing to make it funny).

How did he decide on these events?  Well, they are judged by today’s standards (saying “I’m from the past” is no excuse).

What you’ll get here is a good overview of fun and horrifying times when we were cartoonishly evil, from a comedian just as appalled as you are about what shits it turned out we were in the past.

Most of the terrible behavior involves other countries.  Like starting wars with China because they wouldn’t buy British opium.  Or making Zanzibar pay for the bombs that Britain dropped on  them. (more…)

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