Like Jesus

in the spirit of the suffering of jesus at easter, our household has embraced the season. rather than risk tetanus, we've got for a more modern approach. food poisoning. brilliant. 

my immune system took the pragmatic approach and collapsed early, so i'm now fine. S's took on the bacteria, fought a valiant rear-guard action, and has now succumbed.

this has, needless to say, cut severely into chocolate, beer, wine, whisky, and hot x-bun consumption. 

coming soon: another cabal review.

b

Wind farms, activists and illness

In so many ways, win.
The greatest cause of wind farm related illness (stress, sleeplessness etc etc), is apparently activists playing on peoples fears - not the windfarms themselves.

Brilliant. Read summary here.

me

Cooking with Bruce: Red kidney bean daal

I found this one in an Aussie vege food magazine, but I've edited things a bit. Mainly as I see no reason at all to buy raw lentils and kidney beans, and cook the bastards for days on end to make them (slightly) softer. So buy them precooked. It just makes sense.

One thing that kinda pisses me off about being [mostly] vegetarian is the expectation that you love lentils. In general, I hate lentils. They're boring, generally poorly cooked, and have only been interesting here (note the Rush t-shirt!):


Red Kidney bean daal
packet/tin red kidney beans 250-300gm (ish)
packet/tin lentils 250-300gm (ish)
1T chilli flakes
1T coriander powder
thumb size grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 stick of cinnamon
10 cloves
1t cardamon
250gm [ish] of chopped tomato
50-60gm unsalted butter
75ml cream

Drain and rinse beans, add chilli, coriander, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, cardamon and tomato and slow cook over a low heat for an hour (I guess...). If it gets dry, add water. stir occasionally. Add cream and butter and cook for 10-15mins stirring occasionally, remove the cinnamon stick. Serve over rice, naan, or other stuff.

btw: for the girls-blouses out there, I'd suggest pulling the chilli down (this probably applies to most of England too, given what I've had described as 'hot', pah!).

Love, B

Cooking with Bruce: Cupcakes

I know, it's all a bit trendy. Sorry.
I was wandering into town yesterday and came up with, hey I've got spare pomegranate seeds (as you do) and some limes. Those would work well together.

As usual, these measurements are guesses..but you can use gluten free flour and they taste good.

60gm unsalted butter
2/3c caster sugar
egg (beaten)
2/3c flour  [gluten free, eg rice, is fine]
1t bicarb of soda
75ml (ish) sour cream
pomegranate seeds
zest of lime

Cream B + S; add egg and smack it around until fluffy, add everything else. Put into either paper cases or greased muffin tin, cook for 20 mins at 180C.

B

Mea Maxima Culpa - the movie, and a rant

I’ve spent a portion of my Saturday watching a documentary on catholic priest child abuse. There's a dearth of good docos in Loughborough, the local cineplex catering for the masses, so rather than wait for curzon on demand, I wandered along to Mea Maxima Culpa.

A harrowing exploration of the systematic abuse of deaf children at a Catholic school for the deaf in Milwaukee, specifically by Fr. Murphy.
It was a legal challenge relating to this abuse by Fr. Murphy that led to the uncovering of the Irish child abuse scandals, and realization that the church had known of them for a long period of time. Interestingly a line in the movie suggested the church has documents of abuse stretching back to the 4th century. Their response to allegations appeared rooted in an older age, hide, deny, attack, and never admit. Although the church refused to offer their viewpoint to the documentary, it is unlikely to directly contradict evidence from a former (bishop??) who  at least was concerned by the impact on the victims - something rare by the evidence presented. Sadly he was undone in the eyes of the church by his admission of homosexuality, even though his was a relationship with an adult with no suggestion of impropriety.

No-one in the holy see came out of this looking good, and if even half of what was alleged to be known is true, then Pope JP and Bene appear highly complicit in the coverup.

Here's the trailer:


But it got me thinking. I'm not saying atheism is the correct choice for everyone, but one thing it does do is encourage criticism, whereas organised religion places certain individuals in positions of absolute power. And that seems wrong to me. No one is infallible, failure is the one constant in humans. But a continued mantra of priests are better than lay members offered an opportunity to abuse on a grand scale.
There was some effort at redemption by the group, but I was struck at how it appeared a self help/anonymous group. An argument was advanced that the litigants (remember this was America) were trying to reclaim the church for the people, an interesting humanist perspective.
Complicating matters is the legal position of Vatican city and its position as a state -an invention by Mussolini for support of his fascist party. Fascinating stuff.

So what should they do? Well transparency would be nice, but is unlikely to happen. A truth and reconciliation commission?? Could be a start. Indict pope bene - couldn't hurt. It would be nice to wake people up to the realization that papal infallibility is as real as political integrity.

One glaring point not explored was the stupidity of not enforcing the separation of church and state. I don't want to go all socialist on you, but separating the two helps critical thought. Which is why I am completely against faith based schools and academies. How can you teach critical thought if you are having to teach it with the understanding that Jesus was conceived by a virgin birth, or that Mohammed was the last prophet of god. Ridiculous.
It’s very hard to teach evolution if your default answer is ‘god did it’. For one thing, it prevents a full understanding of the complex issues of DNA change and subsequent inheritance.

I’m not against Michael Gove’s restructuring of the education system here, some of the monkeys I’ve had to deal with certainly argue that it needs it (no more so than in NZ tho’). But allowing academy’s to be faith based schools seems will produce a herd of non-critical, blind, and indoctrinated faith fodder. How, and I ask this in all seriousness, can a faith school of actively teach an intelligent and rational critique of another denomination - given they’re historically so loving and caring.

Aside from my rant, the movie was excellent. Go see it.

B

6 nation week 2

Pah. Stupid pointless exercise picking anything.

Wales look crap, and they've lost their captain for this week. Ireland looked better than expected with B O'D, and England looked quite good. And that really hurts saying.

So this week, pointless as it may be.

Scotland v Italy : Should be close this one. I'd like to back Scotland, but given Italy's effort last week? A draw would be good, but in a fit of stupidity, Scotland by 5.

Wales v France : France should have this. But again, could be very very close. France by 3.

England v Ireland : England by 12. I don't think Ireland can deliver again.

6 nations and Art Gallery surprises!

News articles 

Art Gallery is unwitting host to treasure hunt I love this. I suspect it's all a hoax, but cool way to get people to a gallery - especially as the gallery has no idea...

6 nations preview

And so the roller coaster of northern hemisphere rugby rolls around, the 6 nations kicks off today. The English are, as usual, crowing about how good they'll be this season, based on their win over the all blacks. All of the other losses last year appear to have faded into obscurity, the win over the world champions is all that counts.

Wales are looking like they'll have to draft in shane howarth's legendary grandmother, probably at prop.

Scotland will once again be strong contenders to win the championship…oh who am i kidding, but at least their new coach appears to have a sense of humour.

Italy will pick up a win somewhere, and generally challenge more than expected.

Ireland, if they continue how they played at the world cup, and last 6 nations, are bereft of ideas and could, given their injuries, come near the end.

France is also rebuilding, a polite way of saying they're as disorganised and confusing as ever.

So my picks? 1) France / Scotland (evidence I'm on drugs) 2) England 3) Wales 4) Scotland 5) Italy 6) Ireland.

Todays games:

Wales v Ireland Quite an interesting game, Wales are stripped of players and seem to be suffering a crisis in their rugby support structure. Ireland are boring. Wales by 6.

England v Scotland Damn I'd like the Scots to shove one up the English. Realistically I'm not hopeful. England by 12.  [drug prediction: Scotland by 3]

Italy v France Italy will be leading halftime, France by 15 at full-time.

Albums of 2012 - the TopFlight List

Yes, having promised this list some time ago, I decided to leave you all in a state of panting excitement.

Rather than actually list them in any order, there's the best, and the rest of the top10.

Crippled Black Phoenix - (Mankind) The Crafty Ape. You like post-rock? and don't have CBP The Crafty Ape? Shame. Shame on you. It's superb, doesn't feel like a 2CD set which is always a good sign (hell, listening to Transatlantic, which aren't [technically] 2CD albums, feels like a triple...). It's grungy, dark, tuneful, and addictive.

Ian Anderson - Thick as a Brick 2 (I'm linking to Burning Shed rather than j-tull). Really, I thought this would be rubbish, there's so many examples of bands coming back to their masterpiece and failing (Queensryche, Meatloaf, etc) that expectations were low. But this was great, nice tribute themes to TaaB1, while exploring what could have happened in the intervening years.

John K Samson - Provincial. The first solo album from the lead singer of the Weakerthans was a lovely piece, more delicate and personal than the Weakerthans material. And very addictive. The same quirky, engaging lyrics, but a more personal delivery.

Scott Walker - Bish Bosch. Not the most prolific of musicians since his avante garde switch (road to damascus moment?), this is the third album in what are, at least thematically, a trilogy of experimental, challenging, and always interesting albums. It's confusing, intense, dark, twisted, at times funny, and quite overwhelming. And exactly what I wanted from SW.

Mark Knopfler - Privateering. He's been solo for a number of years now, with consistently good - and sometimes great - albums. But this one, a double, is coming close to his best. MK is playing more blues, and the synergy between his voice (always sounding prematurely aged during the Dire Straits days), the lyrics, and the music is sublime. I'm really looking forward to the gig in May.

Marillion - Sounds That Can't Be Made. It was actually quite a close run thing if this made the top10. To some extent the flow of the album is poor, and that's the result of the opening epic Gaza - clocking in at 17mins, which may be the best piece of music Marillion have recorded. The rest of the album is very good (standouts including Power and Sounds That Can't Be Made), but it's a game of two halves. The more I've spun it, the more I thought it should be in the top10.

Swans - The Seer. Described variously as post-punk or post-rock, I 'found' the Swans this year. Another double album. Another dark, impenetrable, twisted, disturbing listen (is that three this year?), it's either utterly brilliant or completely pointless. The more I spin it, the more I'm leaning to brilliant. It's certainly challenging.

Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion. Well it wouldn't be a yearly best of without some Steve Wilson input...this one is his collaboration with Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth. Both Opeth and Wilson have been getting more and more experimental (infact the Opeth gig this year was, effectively, jazz metal funk), this album has it's roots in 70s dark rock, ambient? I dunno. I like it.

Gazpacho/The Enid - March of Ghosts/Invictus. Yes I'm cheating and having two. But you can see a bit of a link between the two. Invictus was a surprise, it's the Enid, but far more orchestral than the recent albums. Essentially it's a classical album, by that weird prog-classical-rock band. Gazpacho can, as usual, do no wrong. March of Ghosts is moving, dreamy, dark, absorbing, and draining.

And the best?
Paul Buchanan - Mid Air. Most bands get more complex over the years, Paul Buchanan (the Blue Nile) has got simpler. There is nothing here. Fragments of music coalesce into songs, drifting in and out - and yet perfectly formed. It's a short album (36mins), made up of 14 tracks. And it leaves you floating, happy, and yet slightly melancholic. Meh, I dunno how he does it. But it is perfection.

B

Albums of 2012 Pt I

It appears to have been a very good year for music, I worked this out as I had real problems chopping this years releases down to 10, I got it to 19 without too much trouble, after that no much how much coffee, xmas cake, or booze I threw at the problem, I was stuck. In the end I cut and pasted those that really rocked my world and felt sad for their brethren.

Disappointments

But firstly, disappointments of the year. And I know this section will annoy some people...

Steve Hogarth / Richard Barbieri - Not the weapon but the hand
I love the music, but found the lyrics a bit off. It's grown on me, so I haven't given up hope. And yes, Neil's labelling of this as 'HairyBaby' has stuck.

Anathema - Weather Systems
I wasn't in love with the previous album, and this one is a natural progression from it. So if you loved the last one, this one is even better. Except for me! Personally, their highlight is still A Natural Disaster. I just find WS very samey and lacking balls. Subject matter also grates with me.

North Atlantic Oscillation - Fog Electric
I loved their first album, bloody marvellous. This one lacked the vibrancy and quirky charm of the first one. Oh well....

Squackett - A Life Within a Day
The theory was great, Chris Squire and Steve Hackett record an album. Sadly the product didn't live up to the expectation, it came across as a 2nd rate Hackett album. I spun it few times and yet cannot recall anything from it.

The xx - coexist
Loved the first one. Brilliant stuff, delicate, quiet, breathy, and different. The sophomore effort doesn't challenge the first one, it follows the same structure, but came across to me as too derivative. There's a couple of great tracks on it, so all is not lost !! Bring on the third...

Those I cut before from the Top10

Leonard Cohen - Old Times. It's a piece of lovely Cohen, he's got no right sounding this good. Really. I loved it.

Peter Hammill - Consequences. I wanted this in the top10, I really did. It's such a fascinating absorbing album. But went for TAAB2 instead. 

The Eastern - Hope and Wire Double album of Christchurch alt-country goodness. This may yet sneak into the top10, possibly at the expense of Marillion....

Admiral Fallow - Tree Bursts in Snow Quirky Scottish pop. Love it. And one of the best gigs of the year (Leicester) for me, and (yayayayay) I get to see them in Scotland next week....

Jack White - Blunderbuss I'm not a big White Stripes fan, but this was interesting fun rock. 

Rush - Clockwork Angels Ooohhh something addictive, and was a contender for the top10, but was reasonably easy to cut - the last 3-4 tracks on the album are up there with the best Rush have every released.

Pineapple Thief - All the wars It reminds me of Manic Street Preachers, it's very good indie-rock, but on album it does seem to lack some passion? Is that just me? I dunno, live - they were brilliant and the songs came alive something fierce. 

And sometime in the next few days, the top10.

me x

Interviews at Work

We had an internal vacancy at work, which I felt i should apply for - admittedly on the understanding that I'd be filling in space as the role was set up for someone else.

Anyway, the day turned out to be amusing. I walked in, as I usually do, it was cold but not freezing (been kinda mild this winter, so far). I got about 40 mins in, and discovered my bag and unzipped itself and my shirt had made a break for it.

So I turned around and pottered back (25min) to find my shirt. It looked ok, so I figured it was *slightly* closer to work than home, so turned around and headed back the way I'd been/gone already.
The walk to work took about 1h45, as opposed to the usual 50-55min.
Things were looking good.

I had a shower, put on the shirt, the tie, and approached the mirror to adjust the tie. A brown, mud looking mark, was visible on my shirt. CockityBollox. But aha, if I kept my left arm still, I could hide the mark. Result!!!

Those of you who know my talking style, know I wave my hands, those who have been lectured/tutored by me, know its even worse then...
So basically, I went for a Stroke Victim look, rather than my standard Gay Expressionalism. This worked, and hopefully didnt look too odd.

Presentation went well, managed to get my points across well - I thought so anyway. And the questions seemed intelligent, suggesting I had managed to get things across.

Didn't get the role. No surprise there. Oh well.

Me x