This Week 21/10

“If you want my benefits, you can have my disability.”

“God is a racist. god is white and has kept black people in servitude. why would anybody black would want to go to a christian church.”

Am I just the eternal optimist, a man of (bi) polar opposites or is it just the nature of life that you go to bed feeling a bit average and upon waking today feel like the world is an amazing place, full of great music, sunshine wonder and promise. OK, it’s fffin cold out there today but it’s a crisp, clear, bright sky. My cat seems in a great mood, I’ve found a load of amazing new music… I’m playing records in my massive suit (tho maybe not as massive as Mr Byrne‘s in Stop Making Sense unfortunately) at a wedding this afternoon and yeah… dunno, life’s pretty lush today.

I just asked someone if the above seemed a tad naive, to which came the reply “positive isn’t a way of thinking, it’s an actual force that you use to do things and make things happen. Negatvive(ity) works in the same way, so i suppose its only naive, to someone who’s negative and because they’re so damn good and expereinced at being so.” So there you go.

So my counselling for the week over, let’s launch into the hell of Mr Osbourne‘s nightmare before Halloween. What was it Mr Mcquaid said to me last night, something along the lines of we’re going to turn into a nation of the rich riding around on chariots spitting on us plebs.

In the words of Mr Jon Snow, “It’s been a day of numbers and figures today.” or yesterday as we read this.

Who loses? pretty much anyone who isn’t a shiny, shiny… 40% decrease in funding for teaching (as opposed to the 80% they were suggesting a few weeks back. ah, that’s makes em look caring dunt it? what’s that mate, give with one hand and take with the other). The green money policy that was supposed to go back into renewables is now going back and into the chancellor’s pocket… no regeneration on social housing, regulated train fares go up 25-30% – this goes straight into the govt coffers. Half a billion cuts that appear just under the radar (i.e. won’t make the news) that apply to the welfare state. “you see people walking the streets, cigarettes, mobile phones… i mean how do they afford that?” good point mate.

When tax changes are included the top half lose less than the bottom half.:

the richest lose 0.1%
the poorest lost 0.3%

these cuts only just touch on the bankers…

“They’ve declared war on the country for those of us who didn’t cause the problem. We’re left to pay the price.” The city reacts positively to these spending cuts… really?!

Righty-ho then, there’s only one thing for it. Pick meself up a copy of Iron Man 2… apparently according to the commercial “It’s even better than the original…” well, the first one was utterly toilet amazing, so how good’s this one going to be. It’ll bright up the evenings anyway.

The Concretes have their own holiday snaps… – bizarre but very interesting nonetheless!

OK, I know inter-breeding makes you stupid a la the royal family etc but I hadn’t given consideration to pure breed dogs and cats i guess for that matter. Apparently Labradors are well thick!

You know what, I have just been sent such a plethora of amazing linkage from mr shepherd these past few weeks. I think I’m just going to leave you in his capable hands today. So long:

this week:

google street view

www.hairybarsnacks.com

Very good russel brand interview that actually makes me like him and think that he is quite a smart chap.

Really scary russian fire from a few months ago – switch the subtitles on.

Youtube is getting better and better: excellent documentary on the crazy brit eccentrics at the forefront of electronic music in the 60s.

Brilliant obit in the Economist, from such a different time.

A dissection of the 1st sentence of the Da Vinci Code, which proves that I don’t need to read it.

Vote for this reasonable, sensible man who is good at COMMUNICATION:

Why you should never talk to the police – a long but very interesting talk about the US police, but which surely applies in the UK.

What back to the future was almost like

How to make beer in a coffee machine.

Objection

Fascinating conversation with an ex-con

Very odd.

New Tom Waits sounds good.

Apparently this book lists the Star on Page 3 as its top rated place.

How good was that?!

Good weekend all… massively gutted to be missing Matias Aguayo @ Visions on Friday and Robag Wruhme @ fabric on Sat… hot damn!

Wx

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