Richard Wright 28 July 1943 - 15 September 2008

Today, there is much sadness in me. I have completely lost my interest in listening to any kind of music. For music has lost a legend and all the sad songs in the world won’t heal the pain.

Richard Wright, the keyboard player from Pink Floyd, Died yesterday of cancer. He was the founding member of the group and wrote music on every album apart from Final Cut.

My first experience of Floyd was back in the 80’s. It was the delicate sounds of thunder tour when I first got to see Floyd live on stage. It was love at first sight. The long intro for Shine on you crazy diamond, the female harmonies in The great Gig in the Sky, Gilmour’s guitar sounding album perfect, Nick Mason keeping every beat and Richard Wright’s keyboard skills blowing everybody away. What a night. I’ll never forget it.

Thanks Richard for the music. Thanks for the great memories. Thanks for influencing scores of musicians, but mostly, thanks for Pink Floyd. Your music will live long in the hearts of the fans.

I would like to write something beautiful that encompasses what was a wonderful career, but alas I have no words. So I’ll say what every other fan will say. Richard and Sid, Shine on you crazy diamonds.


Marky

Mitchell & Webb

The creators of the hilarious Peep Show series, and without a doubt, my favourite comedy duo at the moment. If your looking for sarcastic, cringworthy, adult humour, I give you Mitchell & Webb.

It's been nice.

Will the world end on Wednesday? Black Holes, Quarks, leptons and the Higgs Boson
Posted on September 8th, 2008
by Peter Davies in All News, Country News, Environmental News, France News, Odd News, Research News, Science News, Technology News

While the rest of us go about our daily business, maybe worrying about our mortgages, the elections or perhaps even global warming, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) will conduct a multi-billion experiment that critics say could create a black hole right here on earth that will destroy the world. Unless an urgent appeal to the European Court of Human Rights by these worried scientists succeeds, the world’s biggest scientific experiment will fire up on Wednesday, September 10, 2008.
This bizarre experiment will use a massive (17 mile) donut shaped tunnel, deep underground and straddling the French and Swiss borders called the Large Hadron Collider to smash atoms together at around the speed of light. The purpose is to recreate the conditions that existed a fraction of a second after Big Bang – the birth of the universe – “to provide vital clues to the building blocks of life”, (Jonathan Petre, Mail on Sunday). They expect to generate sub-atomic particles never detected before, including the Higgs Boson, predicted by British Scientist Peter Higgs way back in the 1960s. The Higgs Boson is crucial to the theory of particle physics and current understanding of the structure of the universe.
The Large Hadron Collider even has its own rap (Rapping the LHC), written by Kate McAlpine, a physics graduate from Michigan State University who works in the press office at the CERN offices in Switzerland. “…Two beams of protons/ swing ’round/ Through the ring they ride/’til in the hearts of the detectors/ they’re made to collide!/ And all that energy packed/ in that tiny room/ becomes mass,/ particles created from the vacuum…” It’s pretty good.
But some scientists who are opposed to the experiment claim it may cause a black hole that could swallow the world. “The concern is that the moment we press the return key, the particle accelerator could create a black hole that might eat up the whole planet”. If a big enough black hole develops, the world will disappear taking us with it in an instant. Another worry is that a number of small black holes will develop and that these may join together over the coming months, wreaking increasing havoc with Planet Earth; causing earthquakes and breaking up the earth’s crust over time until the whole world is eventually destroyed. These threats have been discounted by the scientists at CERN, and by most physicists around the world.
Let’s hope the doomsayers are wrong and CERN are right! But if it all goes wrong, at least Zimbabwe won’t have to worry about Mugabe any longer…
END

Something to read.

I've posted this so that I can read it at lunch time while listening to my tunes. Shakespeare and Rod Stewart. Brilliant.

Shakespeare homepage

Troiles and Cressida

Entire play in one page

Act 1, Scene 1: Troy. Before Priam's palace.
Act 1, Scene 2: The Same. A street.
Act 1, Scene 3: The Grecian camp. Before Agamemnon's tent.
Act 2, Scene 1: A part of the Grecian camp.
Act 2, Scene 2: Troy. A room in Priam's palace.
Act 2, Scene 3: The Grecian camp. Before Achilles' tent.
Act 3, Scene 1: Troy. Priam's palace.
Act 3, Scene 2: The same. Pandarus' orchard.
Act 3, Scene 3: The Grecian camp. Before Achilles' tent.
Act 4, Scene 1: Troy. A street.
Act 4, Scene 2: The same. Court of Pandarus' house.
Act 4, Scene 3: The same. Street before Pandarus' house.
Act 4, Scene 4: The same. Pandarus' house.
Act 4, Scene 5: The Grecian camp. Lists set out.
Act 5, Scene 1: The Grecian camp. Before Achilles' tent.
Act 5, Scene 2: The same. Before Calchas' tent.
Act 5, Scene 3: Troy. Before Priam's palace.
Act 5, Scene 4: Plains between Troy and the Grecian camp.
Act 5, Scene 5: Another part of the plains.
Act 5, Scene 6: Another part of the plains.
Act 5, Scene 7: Another part of the plains.
Act 5, Scene 8: Another part of the plains.
Act 5, Scene 9: Another part of the plains.
Act 5, Scene 10: Another part of the plains.

Henri

Henri Julien Félix Rousseau was born May the 21st 1844.
He haled from Laval in the Loire Valley.
The Loire Valley is renowned as the garden of France and the cradle of the French language. If you no your wine you’ll know the Valley.( “Hic”)
Henri was a day student of Laval High school, but due to his family leaving town because of mounting debts, he rented a room at Laval High. He was average at most subjects but excelled in art and music.
After leaving high school, he worked in a law office whilst studying law.
During his first year, he committed a small perjury and quickly joined the army in 1863.
When Henri’s father died in 1868, Henri moved to Paris and got a job as a customs officer to support his mother. This is how he earned the nickname Le Douanier (the customs officer). A year later in 1869 he met his first wife Clémence Boitard, a cabinetmaker's daughter. They proceeded to have nine children together but tragically tuberculosis was plaguing France at the time and he sadly lost seven of his youngest.
In 1871, he gained promotion to the toll collector's office in Paris as a tax collector.
It was not until his early forties that he started to paint seriously and the annoyance of work soon saw Henri leaving his employment to concentrate on his art.
His childish style left him open to heavy criticism in the art world as he was thought untutored. Most were shocked and openly ridiculed his paintings.
Henri was largely oblivious to this and strived to gain mainstream acceptance.
From 1886, he exhibited regularly in the Salon des Independants, and, although his work was not shown prominently, it drew an increasing following over the years. In 1893, Rousseau moved to a studio in Montparnasse where he lived and worked until his death in 1910. When Pablo Picasso happened upon a painting by Rousseau being sold on the street as a canvas to be painted over, the younger artist instantly recognized Rousseau's genius and went to meet him. In 1908, Picasso held a half serious, half-burlesque banquet in his studio in Le Bateau-Lavoir in Rousseau's honor.

His true recognition was not forthcoming until after his death.

I have loved Rousseau’s work since I discovered a book of his paintings in college. His life story is an inspiration to every artist to keep going. Even if nobody likes or understands your work. Do not be disheartened, keep exploring and defining. Life is full of ridicule for the truly gifted. Be it expectation for the already recognized or damnation for the misunderstood. It is the strength of our spirit to go on that holds the key to our greatest works.

Henri Rousseau in case you don't know. A true genius

We salute you
Gentle Rousseau. You can hear us.
Delaunay, his wife, Monsieur Queval and myself.
Let our luggage pass duty free through the gates of heaven.
We will bring you brushes paints and canvas.
That you may spend your sacred leisure in the
light of truth Painting,
as you once did my portrait
Facing the stars.

no more the outcast.

One week, three hours, twenty two minutes ago I gave up smoking. I refuse to touch another ciggy. Never again will the sweet smooth smoke, slide down my throat and fill my lungs. It's been fun, but now it's time for us both to move on. I'll be spending the next week getting rid of that horrible smell of stale smoke from my favourite recliner (who would have thought none smokers were right about the smell. Go figure.), and my ex best friend. Sweet Mayfair lights will be moving out. Fair thee well lads.

Why is it the fun things in life kill you. Cigs, cake, pie, chocolate, beer are all killers in there own right, so why are they all so good? The bitch of it is, that Because my taste buds are kicking back in, three of this dirty five are being much enjoyed. A little too much. So now it's time to get on the wii fit board and burn some pie. Run fat boy run!