My Banner Coverstars

Update: previous banner is here.
My coverstars are, from left to right:
David Hasselhoff – he helped to end the Cold War
Beyonce Knowles – she is a singer
Patrick Fischler – he is an actor, and then some
Audrey Tautou – elle est une actrice merveilleuse
Johnny Cash – he is the man
Samantha Morton – she is an actress
Vladimir Putin – he is President of the Russian Federation
Francoise Hardy – elle est une sacré dame de la chanson française
Adam West – he is Batman
Britney Spears – she is a singer
Leslie Grantham – he is an actor
Ann Widdecombe – she is a Member of Parliament

KITT v Bob Dylan

Ok, folks, you have repeatedly asked for it and here it is. I recently rediscovered this remix version I made of Subterranean Homesick Blues, which features KITT from Knightrider (it’s in mp3 format).
Download the thing

Re-reading Books

An article in today’s Independent reported that Oxfam and Barnado’s intend to open dedicated book stores to benefit from booming sales in second-hand titles. A survey by Oxfam showed:
30% of people had more than 500 books in their homes.
18% of people frequently re-read books.
35% of people rarely or never picked up a book for a second time.

I used to read a novel and then put it on the bookshelf to collect dust. My thinking: I have so many books that I have not yet read, that to re-read an old favourite would be a waste of my precious free time.
However, this year I have returned to a number of books that I have enjoyed over the years. They are not the same books at all. Suppose I read the same book twice, with a pause of ten years in between. Then everything that I have experienced in the intervening years causes me to approach the book afresh, offering new understanding and enjoyment.
As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said: no man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.

So, I recommend re-reading old favourites – and those that are unreadable to you may be just what Oxfam and Barnado’s shoppers are looking for.

Googlephrasing

One of my favourite Google-related activities has been given a name. It is apparently known as googlephrasing – described at Good Experience:

It’s easy. Search Google for a long, slightly obscure sentence fragment, enclosed in quotes, and then revel in the Web-zeitgeist.

A few of the examples given:

“surprisingly, i actually liked”
“there’s absolutely no reason to believe”
“is the best movie i’ve ever seen in my life”

This last example is the subject of an interesting analysis at A Roguish Chrestomathy.

Great Bustard

Great bird news this week! The Great Bustard is returning to the UK.
I love this great, hulking bird. For information, check out – where else – GreatBustard.com

The Bustard is an exquisite fowl
With minimal reason to growl
It escapes what would be
Illegitimacy
By the grace of a fortunate vowel.

Bob Dylan Song Titles

Can you work out the song titles?

1

2

Questions about myself

I don’t usually do this (in fact it is the first time). It’s the holidays and I’m bored…

“eat my * because”

518 Ghits (Google hits) for “eat my * because”

A sample:
1: You made me eat my pericardium because of that ill-mannered woman
2: I can’t eat my guitar, because I can’t crawl inside my stereo
3: someone told me to eat my chapstick, because it is supposed to make you pass breathalyzer tests
4: “No, Mimi, you can’t eat my ears because I won’t be able to hear.”
5: I wouldn’t eat my dog because I have formed a connection
with it, and therefore associate its emotions with my own.

Don’t Look Back

I watched Don’t Look Back today. I like this observation about Bob Dylan, from a Manchester Guardian journalist:

He is not so much singing as sermonizing. His tragedy, perhaps, is that the audience is preoccupied with song. So the bearded boys and the lank-haired girls applaud the songs and miss, perhaps, the sermon. They are there. They are with it. But how remote they really are from life.

Ten moon songs

WATERBOYS – The Whole Of The Moon
VAN MORRISON – Moondance
THE B-52′S – There’s A Moon In The Sky (Called The Moon)
MIKE OLDFIELD – Moonlight Shadow
BLACK CROWES – Black Moon Creeping
NEIL YOUNG – Harvest Moon
REM – Man On The Moon
TELEVISION – Marquee Moon
CREEDANCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL – Bad Moon Rising
NICK DRAKE – Pink Moon