just to let you all know that I'm still here and happily in love :)
will be around more as the weather turns bad...you know what it's like, I don't want to waste precious sunshine hours inside typing away!
Have lots to tell you about but little time at the moment...so bear with me and stay tuned to Piddys Place as more will appear shortly...meanwhile if you like come over and join me at Facebook (http://www.facebook.com)
if the link doesn't work just search on Neil Piddock and you will find me...such dumb fun!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Sunday, July 01, 2007
apologies
...I have been sooooooooooooooo busy with my little self...now I'm partnered up, life is a bed of fuschias (not a big fan of roses!)...also been doing some extra shifts with the dead people so I have not really had five minutes to myself over the last couple of weeks...
The big news is we won the lottery at work with our syndicate...how much did we win... £137,000 pounds ..woo hoo! 26 of us in the syndicate so it was a very nice £ 5300 each approx...new telly, holiday, etc etc on the way!
managed to catch two really good films between shifts... I smell an Oscar nomination for "Reign Over Me", Adama sandler as you have never seen him before playing the part of a guy who can't face up to the fact that he lost his family during 9/11...an absolutely stunning and moving film with such good acting from Sandler and Don Cheadle...well worth a trip to the flix...
...secondly a film called "1408" based on a Stephen King story, very very good acting from John Cusack who nearly has the whole 105 minutes of film time to himself on screen. Good effects, storyline..a good ghost story without the gore :) go watch!
If I haven't mentioned him I have started seeing a great guy who ticks all the right buttons and it seems to be working out fine...M has a fantastic personality and I hope he is around for a long time..I need him in my life right now...aaahhh!
Onward dear friends......
The big news is we won the lottery at work with our syndicate...how much did we win... £137,000 pounds ..woo hoo! 26 of us in the syndicate so it was a very nice £ 5300 each approx...new telly, holiday, etc etc on the way!
managed to catch two really good films between shifts... I smell an Oscar nomination for "Reign Over Me", Adama sandler as you have never seen him before playing the part of a guy who can't face up to the fact that he lost his family during 9/11...an absolutely stunning and moving film with such good acting from Sandler and Don Cheadle...well worth a trip to the flix...
...secondly a film called "1408" based on a Stephen King story, very very good acting from John Cusack who nearly has the whole 105 minutes of film time to himself on screen. Good effects, storyline..a good ghost story without the gore :) go watch!
If I haven't mentioned him I have started seeing a great guy who ticks all the right buttons and it seems to be working out fine...M has a fantastic personality and I hope he is around for a long time..I need him in my life right now...aaahhh!
Onward dear friends......
Monday, June 18, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Cool The World
hi all...I have designed a logo t-shirt for the Stop Climate Chaos day and have a shop for you to visit...I make about 5 pounds profit on each t shirt so that money will be going to the Stop Climate Chaos fund...hope you can help and I hope you like the design.
http://www.shirtcity.com/myshirtshop/merchandising/482820/t-shirtshop.html
http://www.shirtcity.com/myshirtshop/merchandising/482820/t-shirtshop.html
Saturday, June 16, 2007
whoops!
yes...i know it's been a while but when I get five minutes to myself i will write a bit more :)
meanwhile here's an awesome video for you to watch
the track is 'Allies' off the new Blue States album available in August xx
meanwhile here's an awesome video for you to watch
the track is 'Allies' off the new Blue States album available in August xx
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Another new home...
For those of you that want to try something new...it's a great site which you can do a lot more on audio visually...yso you can either follow the blog here or there...enjoy!
http://piddy77.multiply.com/
http://piddy77.multiply.com/
Friday, May 25, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
vittles....
Hi all...hope everyone is enjoying lovely weather...lots happening round here, prince ticket frenzy, live earth ticket frenzy, music festivals have started (even though I am now an armchair festival goer and rely on the digital red button for my festival fun)
On another forum that I belong too someone asked what your favourite youtube clip was, it took me a while but I came up with this one which is the crazy christian US wife swap aftermath...you have to watch it in full, it's simply amazing lol
Just listening to lots of good stuff at the moment..Tangerine Dream 'spring in Nagasaki', a beautiful piece composed privately for a japanese businessman...well worth a listen...also an amazing mix by Fred deakin called 'the triptych', a 3 cd set that mixes drum and bass up with siouxsie and the banshees via disco and rock gods!...it has to be heard to be believed...
More coming soon...off to enjoy the weather on the roof with my instant barbecue box :)
On another forum that I belong too someone asked what your favourite youtube clip was, it took me a while but I came up with this one which is the crazy christian US wife swap aftermath...you have to watch it in full, it's simply amazing lol
Just listening to lots of good stuff at the moment..Tangerine Dream 'spring in Nagasaki', a beautiful piece composed privately for a japanese businessman...well worth a listen...also an amazing mix by Fred deakin called 'the triptych', a 3 cd set that mixes drum and bass up with siouxsie and the banshees via disco and rock gods!...it has to be heard to be believed...
More coming soon...off to enjoy the weather on the roof with my instant barbecue box :)
Friday, May 11, 2007
Go raw!
Feature Article
How To Select The Best Raw Foods
When we first start changing our shopping habits, depending on our background, it can take quite a while to become proficient in knowing how to select ripe and optimally fresh and live raw produce.
With this in mind, this week's article is about how to fast-track your raw food shopping skills to pick the best no matter where you are. Knowing how to do this can save lots of time, money and disappointment, because you'll feel confident that every choice you make will be the right one!
How To Select The Best Fresh Produce
SIGHT - Generally we can tell just by looking at a food if it is good or not, but things like chemicals we cannot see with our bare eyes. What we can see though, is:
Colour - As a general rule of thumb, the brighter and/or deeper the colour the more nutrient-dense and ripe that food is.
Size - Bigger doesn't always mean better, but with tropical fruits it often does (- but these are generally only found in their native countries.) Small tomatoes often taste better than the big ones, much sweeter and tastier, berries too, but if a fruit is unnaturally small for its kind then that may mean it's inferior or on its way out. So this is a case-by-case scenario - you'll learn more about this as you go along, although much will be common sense.
Shape - Truly good organic food is often irregular in shape but these foods often don't make the shelves for this reason. They are not "perfect" looking enough and so therefore don't make the grade. Visit any good organic farm shop and you'll see lumps and bumps and other irregularities, but my goodness you'll know that looks don't matter when you taste them and feel how much more real they are in every sense of the word!
Life! - Sometimes you can just see that produce is looking healthier or more alive than others. Think limp lettuce versus perky pepper!
Other visual signs - Food does actually speak to us via its own language. Yes really! Think about it for a moment... Bananas go speckled when ripe. Bell peppers go from green, to yellow, to orange to red as they ripen to perfection. Melons round out a little more, and when perfectly ripe look as if they might burst open - durian too. Conversely look out for the less-positive signs, such as those of unripeness (green-ness) and mould or decay (white or brown). None of these you want. You want robust, sparkling, "come and get me" kinds of foods that will impart some of what they've got to you!
SMELL - Fresh fruits should smell, but many don't. A lot of this is down to the air miles they have travelled, being picked while unripe and being kept in storage too long and at too cool temperatures. So try to select fruits that do have a good natural scent wherever possible. This is most likely to be possible with some good quality mangoes, tomatoes, red bell peppers, some pineapples, some melons and bananas. This list is by no means the definitive guide, but it is my experience here in the UK. Of course local and seasonal is going to be best.
TOUCH - What the eyes can't see and the nose cannot smell, the fingers can feel. And picking up and squeezing your food is also hugely important. This is especially true with fruits which generally speaking need to "melt" a little when you squeeze them - that is to "give" a bit with gentle pressure but not stay dented! Good examples are avocados, mangoes and oranges.
SOUND - Yes we can use our hearing to detect good food! That doesn't mean to wait for your apples to sing or your sweetcorn to sigh, but in the case of melons - the perfect example - if you tap your potential purchase with your fist while holding it to your ear you are listening out for a dull thud. If it sounds weak or tinny, it's not yet ripe - put it back and try again!
And finally - TASTE. Well that's the ultimate test but not always practical in a shop setting which is why you have to learn how to rely on your other three or four senses. But if you CAN get to taste the foods before you buy, then of course, go right ahead and use your finest sense of all to make your buying decisions for you.
So that's how to select the best fresh produce, but what about all the other raw foods like nuts, seeds, olives, dried herbs and spices, oils and all the raw foods that come in a bottle, packet or jar?
How To Select The Best Dried / Pre-Packaged Produce
Organic and fresh always need to remain your priority however your raw foods show up, but there's a lot about food that we don't have a clue about until we start investigating and what I have discovered along the way is this:
Nuts. The best way to buy nuts is in their shells, but when this isn't possible then buy de-shelled nuts that are as whole, unchipped and unmarked as possible. And when you've bought them they should ideally be kept in the fridge, as their oils can go rancid, especially when out of the shell. Yes, it's true, some "raw" nuts are heat treated, Brazils and cashews being the most likely suspects, but personally I do not let this become too much of an issue. Having seen some people become what others might regard as a little too neurotic about whether their "raw" nuts are truly raw, I think it far better to eat these foods even if they're lightly heat treated than not to eat them at all.
Seeds. These tend to be a lot hardier, and less prone to rancidity than nuts, so just going for organic, generally speaking should take care of making a good choice.
Olives. Perhaps surprisingly most olives are not raw. They are often pasteurised during the bottling process and usually highly treated to make them palatable (natural olives are very bitter), are bottled in brine (salt water) and often with a preservative mixed in. If you've tasted truly raw olives you'll know that there really is no comparison, and if you haven't then you're in for a treat. NB: To my knowledge truly raw olives are only available by mail order in the UK, but the brand "Olives et Al" are the best of the rest available in shops UK-wide with minimal processing and are great tasting too.
Dried herbs and spices. These are subjected to heat in order to dry them out, however, you will use so little of them in your "un-cooking" that in my opinion it's really not worth getting too excited about that fact! Start by opting simply for organic and when you have more time see what different quality of dried herbs and spices are out there...
Sea vegetables. These are sometimes heated sometimes not. Not very helpful! - so you may have to read the packet carefully or ask the vendor or manufacturer. In the case of nori sheets, one of my personal favourites, you need to go for purple/black sheets rather than green (the opposite way to what you might think). The green is toasted and doesn't taste as good either.
Oils. Most oils are heat treated to some degree, yes, even the ones that say "cold pressed" can be subjected to heat. It's all to do with the amount of heat generated during the processing - the temperatures can get quite high and so the oil ends up being quite a different product than it would have been if the extraction method was a lot more gentle. There are oils on the market that are produced with minimal heat, and yes, again, you will most definitely taste the difference, but these are a lot more expensive and can be harder to get hold of, so to start with just go for virgin, cold-pressed organic oils and this will be a huge step in the right direction.
So that's the pre-packed stuff. Anything not mentioned here is relatively problem-free to find, and if you use the "raw and organic" rule as your main criteria for selection then, generally speaking, you can't go too far wrong.
© 2007 Karen Knowler
Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.
How To Select The Best Raw Foods
When we first start changing our shopping habits, depending on our background, it can take quite a while to become proficient in knowing how to select ripe and optimally fresh and live raw produce.
With this in mind, this week's article is about how to fast-track your raw food shopping skills to pick the best no matter where you are. Knowing how to do this can save lots of time, money and disappointment, because you'll feel confident that every choice you make will be the right one!
How To Select The Best Fresh Produce
SIGHT - Generally we can tell just by looking at a food if it is good or not, but things like chemicals we cannot see with our bare eyes. What we can see though, is:
Colour - As a general rule of thumb, the brighter and/or deeper the colour the more nutrient-dense and ripe that food is.
Size - Bigger doesn't always mean better, but with tropical fruits it often does (- but these are generally only found in their native countries.) Small tomatoes often taste better than the big ones, much sweeter and tastier, berries too, but if a fruit is unnaturally small for its kind then that may mean it's inferior or on its way out. So this is a case-by-case scenario - you'll learn more about this as you go along, although much will be common sense.
Shape - Truly good organic food is often irregular in shape but these foods often don't make the shelves for this reason. They are not "perfect" looking enough and so therefore don't make the grade. Visit any good organic farm shop and you'll see lumps and bumps and other irregularities, but my goodness you'll know that looks don't matter when you taste them and feel how much more real they are in every sense of the word!
Life! - Sometimes you can just see that produce is looking healthier or more alive than others. Think limp lettuce versus perky pepper!
Other visual signs - Food does actually speak to us via its own language. Yes really! Think about it for a moment... Bananas go speckled when ripe. Bell peppers go from green, to yellow, to orange to red as they ripen to perfection. Melons round out a little more, and when perfectly ripe look as if they might burst open - durian too. Conversely look out for the less-positive signs, such as those of unripeness (green-ness) and mould or decay (white or brown). None of these you want. You want robust, sparkling, "come and get me" kinds of foods that will impart some of what they've got to you!
SMELL - Fresh fruits should smell, but many don't. A lot of this is down to the air miles they have travelled, being picked while unripe and being kept in storage too long and at too cool temperatures. So try to select fruits that do have a good natural scent wherever possible. This is most likely to be possible with some good quality mangoes, tomatoes, red bell peppers, some pineapples, some melons and bananas. This list is by no means the definitive guide, but it is my experience here in the UK. Of course local and seasonal is going to be best.
TOUCH - What the eyes can't see and the nose cannot smell, the fingers can feel. And picking up and squeezing your food is also hugely important. This is especially true with fruits which generally speaking need to "melt" a little when you squeeze them - that is to "give" a bit with gentle pressure but not stay dented! Good examples are avocados, mangoes and oranges.
SOUND - Yes we can use our hearing to detect good food! That doesn't mean to wait for your apples to sing or your sweetcorn to sigh, but in the case of melons - the perfect example - if you tap your potential purchase with your fist while holding it to your ear you are listening out for a dull thud. If it sounds weak or tinny, it's not yet ripe - put it back and try again!
And finally - TASTE. Well that's the ultimate test but not always practical in a shop setting which is why you have to learn how to rely on your other three or four senses. But if you CAN get to taste the foods before you buy, then of course, go right ahead and use your finest sense of all to make your buying decisions for you.
So that's how to select the best fresh produce, but what about all the other raw foods like nuts, seeds, olives, dried herbs and spices, oils and all the raw foods that come in a bottle, packet or jar?
How To Select The Best Dried / Pre-Packaged Produce
Organic and fresh always need to remain your priority however your raw foods show up, but there's a lot about food that we don't have a clue about until we start investigating and what I have discovered along the way is this:
Nuts. The best way to buy nuts is in their shells, but when this isn't possible then buy de-shelled nuts that are as whole, unchipped and unmarked as possible. And when you've bought them they should ideally be kept in the fridge, as their oils can go rancid, especially when out of the shell. Yes, it's true, some "raw" nuts are heat treated, Brazils and cashews being the most likely suspects, but personally I do not let this become too much of an issue. Having seen some people become what others might regard as a little too neurotic about whether their "raw" nuts are truly raw, I think it far better to eat these foods even if they're lightly heat treated than not to eat them at all.
Seeds. These tend to be a lot hardier, and less prone to rancidity than nuts, so just going for organic, generally speaking should take care of making a good choice.
Olives. Perhaps surprisingly most olives are not raw. They are often pasteurised during the bottling process and usually highly treated to make them palatable (natural olives are very bitter), are bottled in brine (salt water) and often with a preservative mixed in. If you've tasted truly raw olives you'll know that there really is no comparison, and if you haven't then you're in for a treat. NB: To my knowledge truly raw olives are only available by mail order in the UK, but the brand "Olives et Al" are the best of the rest available in shops UK-wide with minimal processing and are great tasting too.
Dried herbs and spices. These are subjected to heat in order to dry them out, however, you will use so little of them in your "un-cooking" that in my opinion it's really not worth getting too excited about that fact! Start by opting simply for organic and when you have more time see what different quality of dried herbs and spices are out there...
Sea vegetables. These are sometimes heated sometimes not. Not very helpful! - so you may have to read the packet carefully or ask the vendor or manufacturer. In the case of nori sheets, one of my personal favourites, you need to go for purple/black sheets rather than green (the opposite way to what you might think). The green is toasted and doesn't taste as good either.
Oils. Most oils are heat treated to some degree, yes, even the ones that say "cold pressed" can be subjected to heat. It's all to do with the amount of heat generated during the processing - the temperatures can get quite high and so the oil ends up being quite a different product than it would have been if the extraction method was a lot more gentle. There are oils on the market that are produced with minimal heat, and yes, again, you will most definitely taste the difference, but these are a lot more expensive and can be harder to get hold of, so to start with just go for virgin, cold-pressed organic oils and this will be a huge step in the right direction.
So that's the pre-packed stuff. Anything not mentioned here is relatively problem-free to find, and if you use the "raw and organic" rule as your main criteria for selection then, generally speaking, you can't go too far wrong.
© 2007 Karen Knowler
Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Monday, May 07, 2007
Prince is coming!, Prince is coming!
ओह थे जोय, थे एक्ष्कितेमेन्त्...प्रिन्स इस फिनाल्ल्य किंग बैक तो लोंदों
Yes you saw right...Prince is playing the O2 arena in greenwich for 14 dates (i Believe) from the 1st August to the 14th August which means he will play for me on my birthday...no idea how much tickets are yet but i bet they are a lot considering he has been charging 312 dollars to see him in las vegas!...I am sure it won't be as expensive as the glorious barbra streisand at 600 pounds a ticket (yes you read that right!) but i gave her a miss this time!
More news?...nothing else today as nothing else matters...Prince is coming !
Monday, April 23, 2007
Release the Stars....
Hello children...today Auntie Jemima is going to tell you how to make a real life space rocket that will fly as far as Charles Atlas will make you strong, out of 20 rothmans, two used johnnies and a pair of those rubber chicken fillets that your mum uses to push her saggy northern tits up with...shall we begin?
howdy all...hope you are okay...after my little sojourn with extended family in the lake district I'm back and I'm now a mean green motherfucker from hell...well not quite but I am getting back into the swing of my raw and live diet...slowly...which went right off the rails when confronted with the pie shop in Morrissons on holiday. Real scotch pies and peppered steak pasties...stop it...stop it right now...back to raw food!
I managed to bag two tickets to the Live Earth gig happening at wembley stadium on the 7th July, one of the tickets is currently doing well in Auction and am now looking forward to that....went to see Within Temptation, loved the gig but Lisa didn't like the Astoria and sounded like our mum all evening ;)...it was a seedy dark dive which was overpacked and sweaty...just the right atmosphere!
Have seen some great films recently, 'Sunshine' directed by Danny Boyle is magnificent and very moving, 'The Curse of the Golden Flower' from China is probably one of the best films I will ever see...it's unwritable how awesome the film is...go see :)
I have been toying with some new writing ideas, one is a kiddies book about an epileptic sheepdog and the other idea is based on a screenplay treatment that I came up with a few years back which deals with a poor polish girl in her quest for western oral hygiene...the tentative name of the book is 'A toothbrush for Anna' which also happened to be the name of the near film. It's funny how ideas come back to bite you when you are not looking...so keep up with the blog and you will see some extracts shortly...'Anna' starts ..."Annas mothered stared at the pigs feet that she had been stirring in the pot for three days, the taste of her motherly sweat entwined with sweet taste of pork would bear magnificence when placed on the paupers table at Anna's birthday banquet..." and so on ...
Sorry about the erratic life of the blog but as I explained before I don't want to give myself deadlines even though I know there are people desperate for a piece of my action!
I need a boyfriend, partner, lover, squeeze...whatever you want to call it, but i need a person with a cock right now...I'm special and I deserve to be in love...somebody help me out for fucks sake!
Just before I go for today...the new Rufus Wainwright album is out...YAY!...it's time for another use of the word magnificent, as it is just that...executive produced (very filmic) by Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boy), the album takes you into Rufus World and tangles you around his tongue until he spits out the last words of the final song and you with it...phew.
By the way, the pic at the top was taken by my bestest friend :)
somebody pass me some sugar puffs.............................
Monday, March 26, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Raw and Live!
The heading?...no not me, my food. I have started my adventures in raw and live food and it's a fascinating journey through the propogation of sprouts to the wonders of what happens when you food process walnuts, carob powder and dates together to create a non dairy and non wheat chocolate cake. . . oh i do like my food experimenting...just waiting for the delivery of my dehydrator on Tuesday and watch me fly!
I've now officially forgotten what sex is...thats it, I'm on the shelf, unwanted and unloved like the shop soiled kettle with the damaged box...reduced to a good offer and still nobody wants it...who am I going to ply my damaged goods to now!...I need a vegetarian geeky looking person who makes me laugh...thats all i ask in life, I'm a lot less fussy these days :) ...someone like Henry from accounts off 'Ugly Betty', if you look like that please contact me as soon as possible.
There have been so many films out recently but I do have 2 to reccomend to you today, '300' , an awesome part animated blood and sandals epic that really kicks ass...made in the same sort of vein as 'Sin City' '300' looks phenomenal and has turned extreme violence into an exercise in balletic display. Also on offer is 'Bobby' which is a tremendous film set on the day of the assasination of Robert Kennedy, 22 peoples stories (so many famous stars to shake a stick at) entwined on one fateful day...it's very moving, dramatic, well written..in fact it's a fucking great movie, what was more astonishing is that it was directed by Emilio Estevez and I can still say that it's brilliant!
Music wise it's been a bit dull but we are loving the beautiful new Kosheen album, also the album by OneTwo (claudia brucken from propoganda and paul humphreys from OMD), also honourable mentions go to macy gray and also The Besnard Lakes whose albums are currently on my playlist.
Gossip?...well my workmate 3steel is deserting me for pastures new...they all leave in the end :(
also which ex Primark wannabe is currently looking to hold meetings to pursue a part time career in tip making?...watch this space...
Monday, March 12, 2007
INLAND EMPIRE
HE LOOKED INTO HIS SOUL...THERE WAS A GIRL IN TROUBLE...PEOPLE WATCHED...UNABLE TO HELP FROM THEIR LINEAR WORLD...THERE WAS A GIRL IN TROUBLE...SCREAMS...SCREAMS....gO gO DANCING WHORES...LIGHTS FLICKERED...THE SOUND OF FLAMES EXPLODED...THERE WAS A GIRL IN TROUBLE...GYPSY CIRCUS PEOPLE WENT OFF TO CARE FOR ANIMALS...BUT...THERE WAS A GIRL IN TROUBLE...
Off we went to Cambridge to see David Lynch's film and if you have read the above then that is what it's like...I have no idea what I watched for 3 hours but something excited, intrigued and scared me...but i don't know what...bloody fantastic film..only in Arthouses in the UK, hence the trip to Cambridge to the Picturehouse which is a great cinema. Glen was also with me aka Bugyell (composer, idealist, teacher, raconteur, friend)...Glen came down for the weekend so we had a film frenzy of arthouse delights, Glen's great, he understands my movie needs!...but...
THERE WAS A GIRL IN TROUBLE.........
Friday, March 02, 2007
the road to fame!
I thought I would search myself on google the other day and lo and behold I have my photos scattered far and wide...just thought i would share the usage with you all!...
http://racingarticles.com/blog/labels/Sponsorship.html
http://weight-loss-story.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_weight-loss-story_archive.html (May 13th entry)
http://retts.net/2007/02/07/thing-6-ring-of-fire-ring-of-fur-ring-of-fir-for-eric-rettberg/ (where someone has used part of my pic as the middle section!)
http://www.its-your-choice.co.uk/issues/water/
http://archaeology.about.com/od/churches/ig/Great-Churches-of-the-World/St--Catherine-s-Monastery.htm
http://www.worklifematters.com.au/content/view/42/47/ (this one has 'flash' usage but rotates about 3 of my photos in the top left corner, so you may see one or you may not!)
http://esetalblog.com/2006/05/
I also have some photos going round on a country wide exhibition about park homes...how very exciting it all is!
http://racingarticles.com/blog/labels/Sponsorship.html
http://weight-loss-story.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_weight-loss-story_archive.html (May 13th entry)
http://retts.net/2007/02/07/thing-6-ring-of-fire-ring-of-fur-ring-of-fir-for-eric-rettberg/ (where someone has used part of my pic as the middle section!)
http://www.its-your-choice.co.uk/issues/water/
http://archaeology.about.com/od/churches/ig/Great-Churches-of-the-World/St--Catherine-s-Monastery.htm
http://www.worklifematters.com.au/content/view/42/47/ (this one has 'flash' usage but rotates about 3 of my photos in the top left corner, so you may see one or you may not!)
http://esetalblog.com/2006/05/
I also have some photos going round on a country wide exhibition about park homes...how very exciting it all is!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
The Unknownn - Self Titled (Album Review)
I came across this band on myspace, www.myspace.com/theunknownn , when I was approached to be their friend...all I can say is thank god they found me!
First of all I have to say this is one of the best produced albums I have listened to in all my 27 years of serious music listening, the separation between vocal, bass, keyboards and guitars is spot on...the vocals at times becoming isolated and fragile whilst still integrating with the music going on behind.
The album opens with 'Nocturne' (a personal favourite), spacey beats, multi layered breathy vocals and sparse instrumentation all add up to an amazing start. The first surprise (as such) appears on 'Raw' when the track breaks out into a wall of sonic new rock but with the vocals still appearing melodious and moody....the band keep transporting me back to the 'Portishead' sound of the early 90's but with a much more modern feel.
It doesn't justify the intensity of the album to break it down any further as it is a complete entity and as such needs to be listened to as a whole. An hour of listening to The Unknownn is an hour of your life that will either be changed forever, or the music will dig deep into your subconscious until you are ready to 'hear' them properly. The band also refutes any egotism by crediting no one, so the spotlight falls on 'The Unknownn' as a collective rather than a set of separate people.
If you were able to only afford to buy one album for the next 6 months, this should be it, it's exciting, it's dark, it's mysterious, it's celebratory, it's hallucinatory...it's 'The Unknownn'
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