There’s situations we all hope we never get in. Topping my list would be pretty much anything to do with a crocodile, charging elephant or enraged grizzly bear, unless of course it’s in the safety of a safari park with guides and large, large stun guns or preferably in a Disney move. Just in case you do ever find yourself in a rather unfortunate predicament, the Guardian have kindly provided some tips on how to survive, in theory, attacks from most of the beasties listed above. Highly suggested reading.
Category Archives: Stuff to do
To celebrate its birthday, for today and today only, WeGotTickets are having a booking free day so whatever gigs you’ve been eyeing up today is a good day to purchase! I just got my Woven Hand ticket for their London show for £13.00. No extra £3 or £4 in charges, just a sweet little deal at £13. I believe we call this a WIN.
Like Hank III? Like a little rockabilly? Well meet Wayne The Train Hancock, a chappy that the littlest of all the Hank Williams calls an inspiration. Hank III reckons he’s realer than him and his Pappy put together: “Wayne Hancock has more Hank SR in him than either I or Hank Williams JR. He is the real deal.”
It’s this Monday in The Luminaire in Kilburn. Very very exciting. Boys, grab your stetsons. Ladies, well heck, grab yours too.
PS This is the start of a killer week of rockabilly in the Luminaire, Ireland’s finest Imelda May on Wednesday and Thursday with support to the one, the only, Wanda Jackson. Yeehaww :]
Turning off the tv, and taking your time back is a concept that’s recently come to me. I moved recently; in my previous house I had Sky+ and boy was I an evangelist for it. To me, it was seriously great, freedom to go do what I wanted and come back to catch up on all my favourite shows and movies. Heaven sent for a girl like me with not a lot of time on her hands. In my new house however, I’ve had no tv for the past few weeks. Has it been a big deal? No. I’ve been unpacking, listening to music, watching internet television as a I pleased but able to dip in and out while updating my twitter or this here blog. And my two of my favourite Interweb gurus Seth Godin and Clay Shirky seem to be thinking along the same lines:
“At the local health food store lunch buffet, they offer stir fried tempeh.
I never get it. Not because I don’t like it, but because there are always so many other things on the buffet that I prefer.
I never get it. Not because I don’t like it, but because there are always so many other things on the buffet that I prefer.
That’s why I don’t watch TV. At all. There are so many other things I’d rather do in that moment.
Broadcast TV was a great choice when a> there weren’t a lot of other options and b> when everyone else was watching the same thing, so you needed to see it to be educated.
Now, though, you could:
- Run a little store on eBay
- Write a daily blog
- Write a novel
- Start an online community about your favorite passion
- Go to meetups in your town
- Volunteer to tutor a kid, in person or online
- Learn a new language, verbal or programming
- Write hand written thank you notes each evening to people who helped you out or did a good job
- Produce small films and publish them online
- Listen to the one thousand most important operas
- Read a book or two every evening
- Play a game a Scrabble with your family
None of them are perfect. Each of them are better than TV.
Clay Shirky has noticed the trend of talented people putting five or six hours an evening to work instead of to waste. Add that up across a million or ten million people and the output is astonishing. He calls it cognitive surplus and it’s one of the underappreciated world-changing stories of our time.”
Your time can be your own. Distractions are detractions from the stuff that’s worth doing.
*I apologise in advance for my overuse of Gil Scott Heron quotes. But he probably won’t ever stop, lyrically, being the man for me.
Mums get in for half price this Sunday at London Zoo. Considering the normal ticket price is £19, that’s quite a saving. You don’t have to bring mum ID or proof of birth. As far as I know.
Get your half price voucher here.
Well more like 200+ rules, ideas thoughts from some bestselling authors. Get the inside track from writers like Elmore Leonard, Margaret Atwood, Ian Rankin, Zadie Smith and Will Self. And get an inside track on scribes like Philip Pullman who simply says “my main rule is to say no to things like this, which tempt me away from my proper work.” Indeed. I wonder, when asked to write about something you do, which is your living, your livelihood, how honest are you? Despite how established you are, there’s always the fear of some little upstart coming up from the back. I imagine that worst feeling of all is being told by the newest, most insipid author on the block “you inspired me…”
After reading this article in the Guardian by Carole Cadwalladr how much do I want to be one of the 1500 people that visit North Korea annually?
A lot to say the least. Sounds fascinating. Particularly like the Canadian guy who chose North Korea to be his first foreign visit!
The line-up for the 2010 Bonnaroo has just been announced and is making me seriously consider taking at trip to Tennessee in June. Over the weekend of the 10th-13th, the mighty Stevie Wonder, Jay Z, Dropkick Murphys, Gaslight Anthem, GWAR, Kid Cudi and Tori Amos to name just a few of my favourites, will be playing the festival. Check it out and ting, and maybe, just maybe, see you down the front.
In an aside, I was djing in Dublin on Saturday night (at a 40th birthday party of a family member). I played Superstition by Stevie Wonder. I have never seen a dance floor clear so fast. People over 40 should have their voting rights rescinding. No good citizen doesn’t appreciate Stevie!
Having just written Mock the Week, I now get the play on words (mock the weak for those of you that are experiencing a similar downturn in brain activity. I blame Christmas) but back on topic.
SRO Audiences, the company that fills the audience for the big BBC shows including Alan Carr: Chatty Man, The Graham Norton Show and erm, Most Haunted, announced today that it has tickets available for the next recording of the Mock the Week (rather than mock the weak, the weak being the politicians, trembling at the might of the brutal comedians. I guess it gets funnier when you think about how I actually managed to miss that one. It’s like the time I got ‘only Smarties have the answer’. Did I mention I have a masters degree? Take that education!)
Anyway, time to redeem myself; here’s the link (www.sroaudiences.com), so go grab yourselves some tickets to gawk at Dara O’Briain and see if the absence of the deliciously irreverent Mr Frankie Boyle is apparent.
Spring Break are unleashing their very own brand (made up entirely of covers) of 80s power rock majesty on The Luminaire in Kilburn, London on midnight, Friday 30th – like the ghouling hour, between the Friday and Saturday – geddit?
The party starts in The Old King’s Head directly underneath the venue from 9pm ish. Should be hard out awesome!
Stuff you need to know:
Tickets / Venue info / Band
Yours truly, delisha 