Elevator music

The Arcade Fire perform Neon Bible, the title track from their new album, in a lift. Suprisingly, it's a pretty good version. I was especially impressed by the inovative percussion...

Via Ze Frank

- Mr. Ed

Ferd im SparKasse

Auf einem am Dienstag, 24. April 2007, von der Polizei verbreiteten Foto steht ein Pferd am Montag, 23. April 2007 neben einem schlafenden Mann im Foyer einer Bankfiliale im brandenburgischen Wiesenburg. Der offensichtlich betrunkene Mann hatte sich mit dem Pferd zum Ausruhen in das Foyer begeben, Passanten informierten die Polizei. Die Beamten konnten Tier und Mensch zum Verlassen der Bank bewegen.

Translation ClickyHere via the WashingtonPost

Photo Credit: AP Photo

- Philip.

Gonzo's gotta go

As pressure continues to mount on Alberto "the walking cadaver" Gonzalez to resign, I thought I'd collect some of my favourite moments from his Senate testimony last Thursday. Only serious political junkies need read any further...

See Albie cower when big Dick Durbin (D-Il) gets riled up:


Here's Chuck Schumer (D-NY) giving Gonzo the "no, no, no" treatment:


And to add a bi-partisan flavour to the pasting proceedings, here's Lindsey "light in the loafers" Graham (R -SC) piling on:


...and Tom Coburn (R- OK) telling it like it is:


To add insult to injury, in the past few days no less that 5 other Republican senators have called for the Attorney General to resign. Since we're talking senate hearings here, I just can't resist. Mr. Gonzalez, "have you no sense of decency, sir?"

Thank you and goodnight,

Mr. Ed

~ End political nonsense - resume normal bloggage~

Local Beer Back!

Image from Harveys of Lewes

To follow up, Mr Ed's March 24th post about the removal of Harveys Best from the Lewes Arms when Green King took over the pub and the beer began outselling their own products, I have just read this on The Argus website (I do have my reasons, really!) It seems the the local boycott has been successful, and the finest beer known to horsekind is once again available at the Lewes Arms. I am whinnying in delight...

-Bluecupboard

Horse Tranquilizers

Ah, yes indeed, a topic of note for all ponies in the know- particularly those in Serbia where those Methuselahs of rock, the Rolling Stones have recently chosen to strut their not altogether unterrifyingly well-preservédly funky "stuff" of late. It seems that the chosen site for aforementioned strutorama is to be the Belgrade Hippodrome, which while disappointing short on hippos (not unlike French restaurant chain of similar title) is home to many of our horsey friends, who may require sedation of some sort, rather that go mad in horsey-fashion at the animal rhythms of rock'n'roll showmanship. For the full story, click here...

The beauty of all of this is that it allows me to post the following vid which frankly is not entirely related to much of the above- but it is really quite good.

Dirty...



-Bluecupboard

Beautiful Bed Spreads

Get close to your horsey friends with these beautiful bed spreads; hand crafted by croatian virgins: available exclusiv to z members of club 'pony' : to order yours Call svetlana now on 0845 345 8345

- Philip on behalf of Fox.

So it goes

Kurt Vonnegut 1922-2007.

Image from Rolling Stone
From the Breakfast of Champions:

Listen:
The waitress brought me another drink. She wanted to light my hurricane lamp again. I wouldn't let her. "Can you see anything in the dark, with your sunglasses on?" she asked me.
"The big show is inside my head," I said.

Other memorable quotes from Vonnegut here.

From the NY Times obituary:
The defining moment of Mr. Vonnegut’s life was the firebombing of Dresden, Germany, by Allied forces in 1945, an event he witnessed firsthand as a young prisoner of war. Thousands of civilians were killed in the raids, many of them burned to death or asphyxiated. “The firebombing of Dresden,” Mr. Vonnegut wrote, “was a work of art.” It was, he added, “a tower of smoke and flame to commemorate the rage and heartbreak of so many who had had their lives warped or ruined by the indescribable greed and vanity and cruelty of Germany.”

His experience in Dresden was the basis of “Slaughterhouse-Five,” which was published in 1969 against the backdrop of war in Vietnam, racial unrest and cultural and social upheaval. The novel, wrote the critic Jerome Klinkowitz, “so perfectly caught America’s transformative mood that its story and structure became best-selling metaphors for the new age.”

To Mr. Vonnegut, the only possible redemption for the madness and apparent meaninglessness of existence was human kindness. The title character in his 1965 novel, “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater,” summed up his philosophy:

“Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.’ ”

Mr. Vonnegut eschewed traditional structure and punctuation. His books were a mixture of fiction and autobiography, prone to one-sentence paragraphs, exclamation points and italics. Graham Greene called him “one of the most able of living American writers.” Some critics said he had invented a new literary type, infusing the science-fiction form with humor and moral relevance and elevating it to serious literature.

More obits from the Beeb and the Guardian.

~Update~

Here's another great Vonnegut quote I saw on Boingboing. It's part of the last rites in the Books of Bokonon, from the Cat's Cradle:

"God made mud.
God got lonesome.
So God said to some of the mud, "Sit up!"
"See all I've made," said God, "the hills, the sea, the sky, the stars."
And I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around.
Lucky me, lucky mud.
I, mud, sat up and saw what a nice job God had done.
Nice going, God."

- Mr. Ed

Love Science

Have affairs of the heart ever left you feeling so low, you feel like you might die? Well, a recent study by British scientists suggests that you may not have been exagerating.

Image by David Julian from davidjulian.com

Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London and the Brighton & Sussex Medical School have published findings that suggest that you really can die of a broken heart. The report published in PNAS (the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - or "pee-nas" as it's affectionately known) this week shows that the 'higher' brain centres responsible for memory and emotions can have an adverse effect on heart rhythms. These 'bad vibes' are particularly dangerous for people with atherosclerosis or other heart problems, and could precipitate a fatal heart attack.
link to PNAS abstract (subscription required for the whole article).
link to Guardian article.

- Mr. Ed

Happy Easter

Click on the picture above for an Easter (Egg Day) Message.

Well Done Colin!

Yes, you're spot on there, mate. Brian May, a keen astronomer since childhood, is currently working on a Ph.D. in Astronomy at Imperial college. In fact, he also writes an astronomy column in the New York Times with none other than, the Sky wizard himself, Sir Patrick Moore. Check it out (Unfortunately the real article is behind the pay-for-it Times Select firewall):

(Click on the picture for a larger view)

- Mr. Ed

Mr. Ed why do you tease us so?

I have been braying with excited anticipation of the answer to the riddle you set t'other day.
For those like myself who could not keep their hind legs crossed anymore I feel this, one of Bri's own blog-tastic posts, may give valuable insight.

http://www.brianmay.com/brian/brianssb/brianssb.html

Scroll down to the Sat 17th March post

I think you'll agree it's seethingly nebulatastic!

Colin

Ixtlan?

I found this. Just look at them!!! Just look!!! Ha! Let not this post be mistaken for the long awaited latest edition of the Musical Handbag, P-Clubbers. Oh no. I'll not have these tantro-twats besmirch the good name of the Handbag with their doodlings. Anyhow, to business. Their new album? Why, that would be "Galaxy Overload in the Circle of 8" of course. Listen here.* Or, ideally, don't.

Ixtlan? About as transcendental as scalp ointment.

Distraught,

Chives

* Being currently based in the working stables, I haven't actually been able to give this the listen that I barely recommend you do. Might I have jumped to the wrong conclusions? Could the Ixtlan sound be exactly what the P-Club has been crying out for? Do let me know. But I'll wager its untreated camelspasm from start to finish. I mean look at them!!! Look at them!!! LOOK!!! LOOK AT THEM!!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.

Anyway, let me know if you like it.

Happy happy happy Sunday

I'm just having a super time. We had a great night out, last night, at the MUSC Gay-Straight Alliance Spring Social. Then, this morning, we went to brunch at Vickerys with lovely chums, bloody Marys by the gallon and no end of yummers food. It's 75 degrees outside and if there's a cloud in the sky, then I must have missed it. In summary then, things couldn't be peachier.

With that in mind, I decided to blog digitally bookmark my happy sunny mood by posting a happy sunny song from youtube on the Pony Club. The first thing I thought of was Sunday Morning by Margo Guryan. I came across this song a year or so ago, when my mate Ashley set it as the music on her myspace page. I loved it, so tracked it down on itunes almost immediately. It's a trippy sixties feel-good tune, somewhere in the Lou Reed - Nick Drake - Dusty Springfield region of warm cheese fuzziness. You know - it was Sunday, I was feeling super and shiny, so I thought it was fitting.

However, as soon as I typed her name into the youtube search, my negative inner narrative piped up. "There won't be a Margo Guryan video on youtube, and anyway if there is one, it won't be Sunday Morning, and even if it does come up with Sunday Morning, it'll just be the song used as a soundtrack for some crap home video."

Well, my pessimistic side was half right. It is used as the soundtrack for a home video, but it's a realy cool home video. The sort of home video that makes you wonder why you don't have chiuaua's and live in LA, too. Well, alright. I don't think I really want to live in LA - and having Stewie next door works just fine for me - but it really is a lovely little video, and the music fits perfectly. This is the stuff youtube was made for, and of course, also, that which is so lacking most of the time.
Enough yacking. Happy Sunday and here it is:


- Mr. Ed

Just eight days away

Horrah and Huzzah - finally the final season of the Sopranos is almost here, it starts on April 8th! If you've never seen it before, or you can't remember half of what happened, since you watched it so long ago - here's a 7 minute summary, of the last seven seasons, to help you catch up. Beware though, it is the mother of all spoilers.





- Mr. Ed

Brian May!

Ready for some super-fun Friday trivia? Well too bad, here it is...

Brian May Trivia Which of these statements is true Brian is deathly afraid of vanilla ice cream. Due to a rare genetic disorder, May has six toes on his right foot. Brian May has never been to Scotland. Brian May's real name is Hugh Graspcock. Brian May has no sense of smell. Brian May has a Ph.D. in astromony from Imperial College. Brian May raises and trains poodles. Brian May subsists on a diet of only brown rice, carrots and milk. There is a roundabout named after May in Swindon Despite his curly back locks up top, Brian May has no pubic hair. Current Results

(Yes, that should be "black" not back in the last one - I'm sure there are a million other speeling mistakes too, sorry about that)
I'll post an update with the answer tomorrow.

- Mr. Ed

What's cuter than

sea otters holding hands?

Sleepy sea otters holding hands.

-Mr. Ed

Via Boing Boing

Proving a point

A crazy person from Savannah:



She's proving something all right, but maybe not the point she intended to make.

- Mr. Ed

Organic invasion

The organic food giant Whole Foods is coming to the UK. Whole Foods is very good at what they do; everything looks lovely, the array of different veg, meat, fish, wine and cheese is bewilderingly large, and the staff are helpful, knowledgable and seem to be genuinely happy.
However the nickname "Whole Paycheck" is pretty accurate, whether it's the bison steaks at $25 per pound, or the wild morelles from Oregon - a snip at $90 a pound - it's tough to get out of the shop without spending a small fortune. Anyway, if you want to read more, here's an article from today's Guardian.

- Mr. Ed

Wo ist die sahne bitte?

For those about to embark on a career in German fork-lift driving.........



Mr Chives Eclair I expect a full translation on my desk Tuesday morning.

und ihr Buhne-Gummiknüppel
Colin

Back local beer!

An article from Friday's Guardian caught my eye. It seems the corporate owners of a pub in Lewes under-estimated the local's affection for Harveys bitter. Lewes, the county seat of East Sussex, is a funny little place. It's narrow medieval streets are full of antique shops, it's population consists mainly of fruit-tea drinking pseudo-hippies and it's home to some of the most raucous Bonfire Night celebrations in the country. But by far and away the best thing about Lewes is Harveys brewery. Now, I think I can safely say every P Club member would agree that Harvey's make a damn fine pint, but I can, and will, go further. In my opinion, for what it's worth, Harvey's is the best fekking beer on the planet.

"Eight-thirty on a Saturday night and the pubs are filling up in Lewes. The Elephant and Castle is packed with men watching rugby on the big screen. A mixed crowd is ready to boogie at the John Harvey Tavern, where local Madness-inspired band the Ska Toons are tuning up. Aficionados of real ale and roll-ups are settling down in the Gardeners Arms. And the youth are getting stuck into the lager at the noisy Rainbow.

There's a pub to suit most tastes in the East Sussex town. But the most popular of the lot, the Lewes Arms, which is normally packed on a Saturday, is all but empty. The only regulars here tonight are standing outside in the drizzle with placards and leaflets, politely requesting potential customers to boycott both the 18th-century pub and its owner since 1998, Greene King plc.

The main room, with its bare boards, sash windows, open fireplace, high-backed settle, dartboard and notice declaring that anyone using a mobile phone must buy a drink for everyone in the pub, is deserted. So is the backroom with its old photos and naval memorabilia. Only the tiny front bar, with a window giving on to the lane leading to the town's Norman castle, is occupied - half-a-dozen loud characters who seem to have been there some time. One spots my notebook and bellows: "Wanker!" The thirsty stranger might conclude it is better to go elsewhere.

Hundreds of regulars already have. They have been boycotting the 220-year-old pub since December 11, when Greene King, despite a petition signed by 1,200 locals, including Lib Dem MP Norman Baker, withdrew Lewesians' favourite tipple, Harveys Bitter, from sale.

Harveys has been brewed a few hundred metres away, beside the River Ouse, by an independent family firm since 1790. It was voted best bitter in 2005 and 2006 at the Great British Beer Festival. In the Lewes Arms, as a "guest beer", it outsold Greene King's own IPA, brewed in faraway Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, at least four-to-one. But GK, as supplier as well as retailer, made more from every pint of IPA sold than Harveys. Get rid of Harveys, the thinking went, and the locals, after a bit of grumbling, would switch to IPA and GK would make more money. But it hasn't worked out that way. According to the trade paper the Morning Advertiser, the pub has lost 90% of its business since the boycott, which was 100 days old on Wednesday, and now sells very few pints of anything. At lunchtimes and weekday evenings, hours go by when no one at all crosses the threshold.

But this dispute is not just about beer. Across Britain the traditional "community" local is under threat as never before. According to the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), 56 pubs close in Britain every month, most of them urban locals. Camra's head of research, Iain Loe, says: "The bricks and mortar are often worth more, in the short term, for conversion to flats than the place is as a going concern, even though it may have been making money for 200 years and would continue to do so. Then people move into the new flats and find there's no community, no focus, which the local would have provided."

Ownership of pubs is becoming concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. The giant "pubcos", Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns, own some 9,000 outlets each, while Greene King itself has more than 2,600. "If a smaller pub doesn't fit into their business model they will sell it to a developer to be converted into fl ats or a restaurant without a second thought," says Loe. Last autumn Greene King sold 158 pubs, many of which were destined for redevelopment."

-snip-

...during an hour with the Saturday night vigil outside the pub, four people come out - and only one goes in. Three others go elsewhere after talking to the pickets. Two students, Olga from the Czech Republic and Gloria from Spain, study the Friends' leaflets. "You mean, they won't let you drink the beer you want in your own local pub?" asks Gloria. "These people, they must be crazy."

Quite right.

- Mr. Ed