My kinda cop

6/25/2009 1:07:00 AM

I never thought this could happen: I'm hooked on a police series on TF1. There's just something enigmatic about the screen presence of Elsa Mollien. Wish they needed another bad guy, say, from Brussels.

http://www.tf1.fr/claire-brunetti/

That charming man

6/10/2009 2:48:00 AM

It is rare to find an audience as varied as the one Morrissey had in Antwerp on Monday: middle-aged parents with their kids, the rockabilly scene, the gay community, the usual pop crowd, and loads of people you could meet in any supermarket. And, of course, us, the Smiths-nostalgists, fighting back the tears.

At 50, Morrissey has become the Frank Sinatra of pop. May he live till 100.

Louder than bombs

5/28/2009 6:11:00 AM

It's saddening to listen to a Western minister talk about world politics these days. Events are "unacceptable" and "they need urgent attention". Then... well, nothing. Google David Miliband's speeches, for example, and you'll know what I mean.

Couldn't you hire a professional writer? Someone who can write a sentence without an adjective.

Like Nicholas D. Kristof.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/opinion/21kristof.html?_r=1

Lesen gefährdet die Dummheit

5/15/2009 7:24:00 AM

I feel a certain longing for books that cover absolutely everything. The best one I've read so far is from 1976: Mankind and Mother Earth by Arnold Toynbee. It's still so topical that it's almost frightening. The discrepancy between man's technological progress and his moral and political inadequacies has been with us since the beginning. The real question is whether it's about to become fatal.

http://davidderrick.wordpress.com/contents-of-mankind-and-mother-earth-2/

Something to write home about

5/6/2009 2:05:00 AM

The sad thing about most columnists today is the fact that they write about a virtual reality - stuff they've seen on their pc screen, on tv or - saddest of all - in other people's columns. Is there a non-violent way to get them out of their offices?

That's why it's so refreshing to run into someone who's actually lived through something worth writing about. Like Maggie Robbins.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/magazine/03lives-t.html

Soundcraft

4/27/2009 1:45:00 AM

How times have changed for us soundfreaks. Warren Cann of Ultravox practically became a persona non grata at Roland when he tried to tweak his CR-78 to produce that distant thunder on "Vienna" thirty years ago.

Last year, OMD began their show with Gregorian chant which is easily accessible on the Roland library. I of course snatched it for my Heraklion song (see profile).

Viva ingenium!

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/33335/live-architecture-morality-more/

And justice for all

4/22/2009 2:58:00 AM

In a recent WSJ article, officials from the previous US Administration are kind enough to explain that they didn't really torture anyone. No-one was actually meant to die and the sessions didn't last that long anyway.

Ever heard the expression 'half pregnant'? Please tell me you're joking.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124018665408933455.html

And if a ten-ton truck kills the both of us

4/17/2009 5:10:00 AM

Just when I thought I'd seen everything in spin, the car lobby expands our horizons once again. An "independent" study shows that it's dangerous to own small cars since they might be crushed by large cars. With that logic in mind, we might as well ban bicycles and pedestrians too. They might also be crushed by large cars. Keep the chosen path, guys, and those taxpayer dollars will surely come raining in.

http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr041409.html

Goodnight, travel well

4/14/2009 3:42:00 AM

I'm glad to note that those members of my generation who have not yet died of substance abuse have become decent chemists. Examples:
- One strong multivitamin tablet just before going to sleep makes you dream dreams even in the worst shithole on earth (from a British commando).
- An ampoule of vitamin D a day and you never get ill (from a Finnish businessman).
- High-dose magnesium, calcium, vitamin B and a lot of hot chocolate will kill any alcohol withdrawal symptoms except delusions and clouded consciousness which mean that things are really bad (from a French musician).

These are the things that dreams are made of.