Shepton Mallet in the news

I was looking for a piece that made it into the Fortean Times about the countrys' largest chicken being from Shepton Mallet - a town up the road from us - and I found this piece from the Observer about how fashionable Somerset is these days. We knew it was a bit like that from reading the Sunday Times supplements that get passed onto us. I will let you know if I see any famous people driving through.
I found the rooster story here if you are interested. It's a year old.

Yeah Yeah yeah's Gold Lion Top of the Pops

To see this amazing performance go on 19th March from the Watch Top of The Pops icon and Bob's yer uncle

Tainted Love

After hearing the current chartbound sound SOS by Rihanna, Susan and I discussed its apparent sampling of Tainted Love, the Soft Cell version - who would get the royalties? This led to the matter of the song Tainted Love and who wrote it and of course I was able to authoritatively state it was by the great Ed Cobb who originally offered the song to the Standells, who turned it down - so it went to Gloria Jones who also recorded his 'Heartbeat' recently covered by soul-punk supremos the Detroit Cobras. Jones' version of course became a Northern soul anthem. Cobb also wrote Dirty Water and Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White. Cobb seems to have deliberately wrote lyrics that celebrated the 'bad boy' image of the band in imitation of the Stones. See clips of the Standells doing Dirty Water and appearing on the Munster show! Maybe someone might do a cover of Tainted Love one day in the style of the Standells...
Wikipedia entry on Tainted Love

The War that made America trailers

These trailers are worth a look - the series tells the story of the French and Indian war.

Punk Rock: An Oral History

This new book published by the Ebury Press to mark the 30th anniversary is by John Robb - once of the Membranes and now a talking head on TV. Review here. He made an interesting comment in an interview (see below) that Blogs were like fanzines but easier and quicker.
I read about this in my copy of NUDE Magazine - a kind of arts magazine that we subscribe to... some great features in this month's like a piece of pinball
The printed word does seem redundant in this world of the net but we still buy the odd magazine - we also get 2000 ad, and the Fortean Times and occasionally MOJO.

Vive le Rock Adam Ant

what with the Adam and the Ants dvd withdrawn we are now left bereft of any new clips to enjoy but instead watch this clip of one of his lesser hits (or flops to use the common parlance) although I like it a lot. This is probably one of the few songs to have been inspired by a t-shirt, in this case a Seditionaries design. This song was performed at Live Aid with much notoriety. I hated Live Aid myself and couldn't understand him wanting to do it but there you are.
The Cramps had the best attitude damning all rock do-gooders with the album Stay Sick!

Photoshopped old masters

These are fun - redone old masters.

This one is my favourite...check them out

Checking out my wigwam

This loveable ditty will have you singing along - its the return of Betty Boo - and Blur bassist Alex James - the video is directed by Dom Joly - pretty good too. Sue said 'we tried to explain it to you, that we'd seen it and it was good but you didn't seem interested'. Well I am now, because I have heard it and liked it. See it in full

Gun for PS2

If you wondered - like me - whether there were any gun-based games set before the invention of the tommy-gun you might like this western adventure shoot 'em game.
There's lots of fun game play with horses, hunting buffalo as well as games rounding up cattle and mustangs. A slow-mo gunfight tool enables you to be a dead shot. The horse action is well animated and realistic and the side missions initiated through reading wanted posters are great.
Recommended to fans of the western genre

RSM 95s

These are the SYW miniatures used in Alzheim. They were sculpted back in the 80s if I recall by a policeman in his idle hours. They are proportionally correct which is unusual in metal miniatures these days - figures today usually look like big handed ogres.

The Duchy of Alzheim: More Fortress than you could shake a stick at.

The Duchy of Alzheim: More Fortress than you could shake a stick at.

Duchy of Alzheim

This is an interesting blog based around the creation of 18th century wargames armies specifically for the 'Charge' set of rules. These rules were written by Brigadier Peter Young that have at their heart a series of fictitious 18thc kingdoms fighting it out in simple almost Little Wars style. The scale is big and the units grand in size. This blog is full of enthusiastic projects like this polystyene Vauban project, and casting the semi round Prince August figures. Photos like the one on the left and day by day updates make this a really fun read.

Romanian army in world war two

Well laid out site including movies of armed forces, tanks etc.

World war two microtanks

This has got to be the cheapest way of recreating tank battles in miniature. The company has a long list that seems comprehensive. At about 40p for a tank it makes sense financially and presumably largeish battles won't take up too much space. A 1/300th tank is about 1/2 inch in length.

Clash of Empires Exhibition

Time Machine are a Swiss based company that makes extremely well made mannequins depicting historical scenes for museums and so on. Recently they have done a French and Indian war exhibition to mark the 250th anniversary. Presumably the tortoise wasn't consulted.

World's oldest tortoise dies

Was apparently a gift to Clive of India.

THE LIFE OF COL. JAMES GARDINER, slain at Prestonpans 1745 ebook

This is a fine e-book covering the Battle of Ramillies from a Scottish soldier who fought in the dragoons at Prestonpans. A biography gives these details. Wikipedia entry here

Godfather game for the PS2

This is an interesting game. It is like Grand Theft Auto San Andreas and also a bit like the Warriors - but its old time gangsters - Italian style. Brando actually recorded the voice so it sounds and looks very authentic. Or not. Official site here

Deadbeat Descendant The Fall

This is one of my favourite Fall clips from the excellent Snub Tv programme from the 90s. Finding the origin of some of Mark E Smith's wonderful lyrics is a fun game which some of us nerds play - he was most famously outed as a Neighbours viewer after his single Susan Vs the Youthclub - lyrics here. This song Deadbeat Descendant we sussed out while watching tv - it is a line from a Flintstones cartoon when Fred goes into the future to meet his beatnik ancestors - a chase ensues and I think Fred shouts 'Come Back Here You Deadbeat Descendants!'. Lyrics here

Pegasus Hobbies temporary website

This site has some amazing first looks at a few forthcoming models. There are some very interesting items that will no doubt be well recieved - 1/72 1940 French for the Battle of France?
There is also a range of 1/44th scale figures and prepainted vehicles - thats half the size of 1/72 by my maths. There has been a few companies like Dragon and Trumpeter who have made armour in this scale - 12mm. Also WW1 French, 1940s Polish cavalry... well worth a visit if you're into that sort of thing.