Plastic Man 1 (1966)

Plastic Man #1 (1966) was, for me, the best cover of the silver-age. Sure, I know that Plastic Man debuted in the '40s, and that Jack Cole was a fantastic artist. Sadly, for both Jack and myself, I wasn't around then and so missed the birth of this iconic superhero. However, when Gil Kane drew his version of the DC revived Plas, I was an eager young comic-devourer and I loved this comic. I loved Plas's attitude above all else - his cynicism appealed to me even at my pre-pubescent age.  I loved the cover, I loved issue 1, and I loved issues 2 to 10. 

One thing I never got - why did Plas say, on the cover "You'll never know, commissioner, whom I ran into!"    Why did he not say "You'll never guess, commissioner, whom I ran into!" Surely that would've made more sense! 

Notwithstanding that, here it is in all its 3 megapixel glory - Plastic Man #1.

Leonard Cohen

Here's my tribute to the late, great Leonard Cohen, who died on 7th November 2016, aged 82.  The lyrics come from the track "Darkness" from his album "Old Ideas" released in 2012.

Life is not a journey - it's for living - NOW!

Alan Watts - Why Your Life Is Not A Journey from David Lindberg on Vimeo.

#Brexit - what the hell is going on?

If anyone out there doesn't understand what's going on in UK politics at the moment, here is a short and succinct resume:-

"So. let me get this straight... the leader of the opposition campaigned to stay but secretly wanted to leave. so his party held a non-binding vote to shame him into resigning so someone else could lead the campaign to ignore the result of the non-binding referendum which many people now think was just angry people trying to shame politicians into seeing they'd all done nothing to help them.

Meanwhile. the man who campaigned to leave because he hoped losing would help him win the leadership of his party accidentally won and ruined any chance of leading because the man who thought he couldn't lose. did - but resigned before actually doing the thing the vote had been about. The man who'd always thought he'd lead next. campaigned so badly that everyone thought he was lying when he said the economy would crash - and he was. but it did. but he's not resigned. but. like the man who lost and the man who won. also now can't become leader. Which means the woman who quietly campaigned to stay but always said she wanted to leave is likely to become leader instead.

Which means she holds the same view as the leader of the opposition but for opposite reasons. but her party's view of this view is the opposite of the opposition‘s. And the opposition aren't yet opposing anything because the leader isn't listening to his party. who aren't listening to the country. who aren't listening to experts or possibly paying that much attention at all. However. none of their opponents actually want to be the one to do the thing that the vote was about. so there's not yet anything actually on the table to oppose anyway. And if no one ever does do the thing that most people asked them to do. it will be undemocratic and if any one ever does do it. it will be awful.

Clear?"
#brexit  

I Name This Ship...

So, the story of the week this week, must be the rather strange proposal issued by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to the public to come up with a name for a new research ship currently being constructed at the Cammell Laird shipyard on Merseyside, England.
The ship (cost £19 million) is being built at government expense and will go to Antarctica in 2019 to carry out scientific research.  NERC asked the public to visit their website and choose, and vote for a name for the vessel.
Some names were eminently sensible.  Many suggested The RRS Shackleton, after the great British explorer who almost made it to the South Pole in 1909.  Some came up with RRS David Attenborough, the famous naturalist, who will be 90 this year while others suggested more esoteric names such as RRS Polar Dream.

However, the out-and-out winner at this moment is the RSS BOATY McBOATFACE which has polled over 27,000 votes, ten times more than its closest rival, RRS Henry Worsley.
Doesn't this tell us something about the great British public? I think it tells us that no matter how many times authorities try to impose sensible authority on us, it usually backfires. The British public like nothing better than something to smile about, rather than something boring and grand.  It fits in with our rather cynical attitude to authority in general. 
It remains to be seen whether the public's choice of name will ultimately succeed, as a) there is still 16 days of voting left, and b) NERC has made it clear that it has only asked for suggestions, and that the final decision rests with it.  I can't help hoping that, in three years time, as the plucky research vessel arrives in Antarctic waters that the crew will raise their glasses and drink a toast to BOATY McBOATFACE!

E.U. - Stay in or leave?

The problem for me (and the average British voter) is that the issues are far too complex for anyone to be able to make an 'informed' decision. I've watched Question Time for the last three weeks, and now I have even more questions than I did before I started watching! Added to this we have the unhelpful 'non-information' fed to us by Cameron, Osborne and Johnson. Headline stuff only, such as "XXXXX jobs will be lost if we leave the E.U." The next day, "XXXXXX jobs will be saved if we leave the E.U.". Therefore the only way that the average voter will vote will be on a 'gut feeling' which is worrying.
I'm not even sure that the British public should be asked to make such a decision. In 1965, Parliament voted to abolish the death penalty, a liberal policy that most voters would support now. However had there been a referendum in 1965, undoubtedly the British public would have voted against such a measure, as feelings ran high that hanging wasn't such a bad thing (ask my dad!).
Therefore we are not qualified, we don't understand the issues, we can only guess how either option might affect us personally, and solid facts are hard to come by. I will vote, and I lean towards voting in favour of staying in the E.U., but currently I am still very much in the 'undecided' camp.

The greatest LP of the 1980s - bar none

Welcome to the Pleasuredome
by Frankie Goes To Hollywood

"I'm sorry, I left me card at home",
"Well, you're late as well. That's three times on the run. The supervisor says if you're late again, we've gotta put you on daily signing."
Followed by Holly's cry "Ha" - is it of anguish or anger?
This is the run-in to Frankie's version of Springsteen's "Born to Run" which in my humble opinion is better than the original.

What on earth are you going on about, I hear you ask. Well, these are the opening lines to just one single track on the magnum opus that is "Welcome to the Pleasuredome." And a pleasuredome it is too - a roller coaster ride of magnificently produced gargantuan sound. Every track is an absolute pleasure to listen to - from the opening track with sounds of birds singing, to the ending with the narrator repeating "Frankie say, Frankie say, Frankie say...No more!" I love it - every goddamn minute of it. Take time out, grab some good headphones and listen to the whole sixty minutes with no interference from any extraneous noise - I guarantee you'll regard it as one of the best hours of your life.
This is, without doubt, the best album of the 80s - even better than Kate Bush's "Hounds of Love."
Just one gripe - I'm sure that on my original vinyl version, there was a track featuring a Prince Charles soundalike asking "Just what exactly is meant by orgasm?" That seems to be missing here - or did I only imagine it?
Listen - go buy this album now - I promise you won't be disappointed.

 

R.I.P. Mr David Bowie

If you're ever sad, just remember that the world is 4.5 billion years old, and you somehow managed to exist at the same time as David Bowie.


Rest now. Your amazing work is done.

Thank you David. For everything.

#davidbowie

Bacteria are Just Hanging Around Waiting for You to Die!

Well, this is extremely interesting. Who knew that life itself was just a perpetual battle with bacteria - and that they always win in the end.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2015/12/12/youre-surrounded-by-bacteria-that-are-waiting-for-you-to-die/#.VnaL7vw97Gk.google_plusone_share

Thirty Years Ago

Thirty years ago, what albums were you listening to? I was listening to The Pogues third and finest album, "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash".  It was named after the 19th century belief that the Royal Navy’s finest traditions consisted of “rum, sodomy, and the lash” (a quote often mis-attributed to Winston Churchill).  

The album was produced by Elvis Costello, and contained excellent tracks, like "Dirty old Town" and "A Pair of Brown Eyes".  The absolute highlight for me though, was "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", a searing indictment of war. It details the futile loss of life and limb following the attempt to take the Gallipoli peninsula in the First World War. Every time I hear it, it brings tears to my eyes.

Whew - that was a close call!

Well there we are. After nearly five months of politicians electioneering, we finally have a result.  And what a result!  Unbelievable!  I have to tell you I slept badly on Wednesday night.  At that point it seemed very likely that we were going to have some form of Labour minority government, loosely supported by the SNP.  A left leaning party, being pulled to the left by an even more left leaning party.  A party opposed to austerity, in fact not just opposed to austerity but anti-austerity! It was a forthcoming nightmare! A spend, spend, spend Ed Miliband, being encouraged to spend even more by Nicola Sturgeon.  Jesus - we would be in debt until all my grandkids had retired!

Luckily for all of us, common sense prevailed in the ballot box and all those (secret and embarrassed) Tory voters voted for the party they trusted the most to give us five years of economic growth, no increase in taxes and a general improvement in their standard of living.

I stayed up on Thursday night, and, like most of us, couldn't believe the exit poll that the BBC published at 10.01 pm.  By 4pm it was apparent that the exit poll was largely accurate, and, much as I wanted to see Paddy Ashdown eat his hat, I retired to bed feeling happier, safer and more contented than I had the night before.

So, anyway, what's all this about anti-austerity?  I don't get it.  I wracked my brains to remember anything, just one little thing that pointed to any form of austerity in the past five years, and I could only come up with one.  The streetlights on the motorway nearby have been turned off every night at 11pm, instead of being left on all night. What a good idea! 

Everything else is the same as it was five years ago. No, I stand corrected - my library is now open 13 hours a day, every day, seven days a week. It used to be open for 8 hours, 6 days a week. Progress!  No austerity there. My bins are still emptied on alternative weeks (landfill, week 1, recycling week 2).  I'm sure I can cope with 5 more years of austerity. As long as it means that we don't have to keep borrowing more and more money and then spend a fortune in interest charges.  I received a letter last year from HMRC, telling me that one quarter of my tax payments had been used to pay the interest on the national debt.  I'm sure that government could have put it to better use.

I'll keep campaigning for cuts in our military/defence spending (why is it we have to have nuclear weapons but that 180 countries, including Spain and Italy don't have any?) but apart from that I'm relatively happy. I realise Cameron has some formidable hurdles to overcome but he has my full support.

Amazing Stories #1 Rasputin

Sit back and pin back your ears while I regale you with a story containing an amazing (nay stunning) coincidence.

Grigori Rasputin was a Russian peasant, mystical faith healer and private adviser to the Romanovs.  He played a significant part in the increasing unpopularity of the Tsar and Alexandra Feodorovna, his wife, and the downfall of the Russian Monarchy. He was murdered by persons unknown on the 30th December 1916 in the city of Petrograd.
 
62 years later, Boney M, a German pop group had a number 1 hit record around the world with a song called "Rasputin." The male lead singer, Bobby Farrell even dressed as Rasputin whilst performing the record, and Bobby acted the part of Rasputin, croaking out "Oh those Russians" at the end of the song.

32 years later Bobby Farrell died, at the tender age of 61. He died on 30th December 2010, exactly 94 years to the day after Rasputin died. And where did he die?  Well he died in the ancient Russian city of Saint Petersburg, which, back in 1916 had been known as - yes - you've guessed it Petrograd.   The truth is sometimes stranger than fiction...

Reincarnation

Of course, as we all know, reincarnation is complete and utter rubbish and not based on any peer-produced evidence whatsoever.  However when I read the contents of this website, even I started to question my own disbelief. After all, this website has all the questions on reincarnation answered.  Incredible!
Since this is all on the interweb, it must be true!


If you have a moment, take a read. It is the funniest thing I've read for quite a while!


http://www.afterlife101.com/Chapter5.html#_Toc1998627

Pink Floyd and 1975

 

So, forty years ago this year. 1975.  Prog Rock was almost coming to an end, well kind of. All the big groups had released their "ultimate" albums.  Jethro Tull - Aqualung and Thick as a Brick.  King Crimson and "In The Court of the Crimson King". Yes and "Close to the Edge".   ELP had released "Tarkus".   Hawkwind had given us "In Search of Space".  Genesis had issued "Selling England by the Pound."  Wishbone Ash had released "There's The Rub."  We'd played the beautiful "Dark Side of the Moon" to death and marvelled at Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells". Was there anything left? Could anyone top what we already had?

We could not have guessed at the beautiful, gorgeous monster of an album that was waiting for us just around the corner.  On 12th September 1975, Pink Floyd released "WISH YOU WERE HERE" and suddenly our lives were complete. We could want for nothing more. Surely this was the ultimate prog rock album ever!

From "Shine on you crazy diamond" to, well "Shine on you crazy diamond" everything that a prog rock fan could possibly want was here - here in this monster of an album!

 

 

Halfway through the decade!

 

Wow - 2015!  We are halfway through the decade already.  And still no-one has tackled the big issue, the burning question - what are we going to call the decade?  It doesn't have a name yet and it's halfway through its life!

I was born in the 50s. My favourite music of all time comes from the 70s. My two children were born in the 80s.  I just feel so sorry for young people currently enjoying this decade - they will have no way to refer back to it in decades to come!  Come on everyone - please put your thinking caps on! Let's have a name for this decade!

Commonwealth Games - Why?

Ok, what I don't get is this. The Commonwealth Games start this month in Glasgow. According to Stephen Fry, of the 42 countries that have anti-homosexual laws on their statute books, 21 of them are members of the Commonwealth. We (Britain) are supposed to be opposed to countries that have anti- homosexual laws on their statute books (Uganda and Kenya are examples). Yet we are not boycotting the Commonwealth Games. Why not? We should be! I personally am boycotting the Commonwealth Games and will not be watching any of it on TV. Can others join me in boycotting the Commonwealth Games, to show those countries that are opposed to homosexuality what we think of them?

Scottish Devolution

Scottish independence raises some really practical difficulties.
For example
I listen to Radio 2 a lot, and every hour they give a traffic report. These reports include things like - "The M74 is very busy this morning, due to a crash at junction 2. Drivers should seek an alternative route where possible."
If independence takes place, I don't think Radio 2 will be broadcasting information about Scottish motorways. After all, they don't broadcast problems with Southern Ireland's motorways. Therefore if Scottish folk are listening to Radio 2, they will have to re-tune to another radio station to get traffic reports.
On "Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs" (on at 9am on Sundays, and a regular listen-to in our household) they often play requests from Scottish people, from Scottish towns. Again, I don't think they'll be doing this if Scotland becomes independent. Therefore those Scottish people who listen to this programme (and others like it - let's call them "British" programmes) will no longer be able to get their requests read out.

More importantly, I'm guessing that postage rates to Scotland from England would go up, as Scotland would, in future be classed by the Royal Mail, as "abroad". I sell a lot of stuff on ebay, and have to specify more expensive postage rates for potential buyers living in Southern Ireland. In future, I'll have to do the same for purchasers from Scotland. This affects Scotland much more than it does England, simply because of relative populations. Scottish buyers will be deterred from purchasing things from English sellers, and English people will be deterred from purchasing things from Scottish sellers. A lot of my sales currently go to Scottish buyers. Also, I'm guessing that the cost of phone calls between the two countries would go up.

What will we call the BBC? It stands for British Broadcasting Corporation, but if "Britain" ceases to exist, it may have to find a new name.

Has anyone in Scotland considered these practical difficulties?

Could June 1st 1967 be the most significant date in Rock history?

Why, I hear you ask. 

Well, as I’m sure you all know, “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was released on this date. No surprise there – probably the most significant album release since the long playing record was invented.

But did you also know that “Piper At The Gates of Dawn” by Pink Floyd was released on the same day? Also recorded at the Abbey Road studios, and at the same time as Sgt Pepper was being recorded, it was the first ever real incidence of proper, real progressive rock being issued by a mainstream label (EMI).  Even today, “Piper” with its beautiful Syd Barrett lyrics and inspired introduction to “Interstellar Overdrive” is a beautiful thing to listen to.  Even today, I still hear new things, things that I’d never heard before in the recording (digital rendition of the tracks helps!)

But – on top of all that – and released on the very same day on the Decca label, was David Bowie’s very first LP, entitled simply “David Bowie”.   At first glance this had nothing to do with rock music – Bowie’s first LP was a whimsical piece - Bowie himself sounding something like a cross between Ray Davies and Anthony Newley. The tracks themselves were little nursery rhyme like stories, sung with skill and panache, but containing little of ‘rock’ emphasis that would be evidenced in later albums.  However this first release – and the young Bowie was only 20 years old on the album’s release date – was to be the forerunner of, among other things, “The Man Who Sold The World” released three years later and possibly one of the all-time great prog rock classics.

The incidence of three of the greatest rock icons of all time releasing their albums (two of them being debut albums) makes June 1^st 1967, for me, possibly the most important and influential day in rock history.